New build Pattern

[Destiny of the seas]

Has anyone noticed that there is a decreasing pattern in the newbuilds,

 

5 Voyager class ships

4 Radiance class ships

3 Freedom class ships

2 Genesis class ships

1???????????????????:confused: :confused: :confused:

[gatour]

Keep in mind, that there are several factors involved...

 

Freedom class ships are really a derivative of the Voyager Class. For Princess, all of new builds since the Grand are derivatives of the the Grand, although they all have different class names. The biggest difference is the number of passengers they hold (extra deck) or a difference in some of the public spaces.

 

The other thing is look at the total passenger capacity coming on-line. A genesis class ship holds twice the number of passenges as a Voyager classs ship, so in essence you are building two - Voyager class ships in one fell swoop.

 

What I find interesting is that they are not removing ships from service, esp with the price weakness in the Caribbean market.

[Destiny of the seas]

The Reason why they are not removing ships from service is that because the European market is going to outrun the Caribbean markets, (possibly)

with plans of keeping ship in Europe all year round*

[isujim]

The Reason why they are not removing ships from service is that because the European market is going to outrun the Caribbean markets, (possibly)

with plans of keeping ship in Europe all year round*

 

For now...........markets change..........another 9/11 incident will change the market scheme again (God forbid)

[Hojo's redbeard]

The other thing is look at the total passenger capacity coming on-line. A genesis class ship holds twice the number of passenges as a Voyager classs ship, so in essence you are building two - Voyager class ships in one fell swoop.

 

What I find interesting is that they are not removing ships from service, esp with the price weakness in the Caribbean market.

 

I've been wondering how long the prices can maintain with all of the extra capacity that keeps coming online. It'll be interesting to see some of the happy hour specials on a Genesis class ship after the first couple of years worth of newness wears off. I've got a feeling it may be a little "too big" for some people out there as well.

[firefly333]

I've been wondering how long the prices can maintain with all of the extra capacity that keeps coming online. It'll be interesting to see some of the happy hour specials on a Genesis class ship after the first couple of years worth of newness wears off. I've got a feeling it may be a little "too big" for some people out there as well.

 

If they jump the price as much as the price jumps on Voyager over Rhapsody, then it will be too big for my pocketbook. I dont completely understand why a ship which holds a lot more people costs more to cruise on. Iv heard about the skating rink, but I very much doubt I will skate. I cant see its worth the extra bucks.

[WhiteSoxFan]

If they jump the price as much as the price jumps on Voyager over Rhapsody, then it will be too big for my pocketbook. I dont completely understand why a ship which holds a lot more people costs more to cruise on. Iv heard about the skating rink, but I very much doubt I will skate. I cant see its worth the extra bucks.

 

Why do they charge more? Because they can.

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

The Radiance, Voyager & Freedom-class ships pay for themselves within a couple of years of being deployed. There is an inherent demand for the "newest" or "biggest", so that would explain why they are so relatively expensive at first. Once the hype cools-off, the pricing adjusts accordingly.

To this add all the "onboard revenue streams" they've taken to the "nth" level (and continue to do so), which they hadn't squeezed out of the Sovereign or Vision-class ships in the past.

Everything after the initial few years is "gravy" and with RCI ships having a life-cycle in the fleet of about 20 years....the math is AMAZING. I'd guess that all 5 Voyager-class ships are almost paid-off, for example. Even the renovations to the older vessels recoup there costs shortly thereafter.

My personal opinion is that with the deployment of the first Genesis-class ship, Sovereign-class vessels will begin to be transitioned over to to Island Cruises (or whomever) and then we'll see the RCI itinerary map change significantly (ie. Voyager-class on the west coast and on the 3/4 nt. Miami-run, perhaps [certainly if/when Cuban opens-up to American tourists]).

I have it on good authority that RCCL has BIG plans for Cuba once diplomatic relations with the island warm-up. The Cuban government has ALREADY made significant improvements to the cruise pier infrastructre, so they'd be ready at a moments notice). As diverse as that huge Caribbean island is, a cruise line could/can create a series of itineraries based SOLELY on this one country. RCI could easily throw 3+ ships in/around Cuba YEAR-ROUND...and probably will.

;)