New ship orders for princess

[Coral]

We cruised on the first cruise of the GRand Princess in l998 and did a TA on the Ruby this year. The truth is nothing really has changed relative to design of new Princess ships IMHO in all these years.

 

I agree - I like Princess but am not a fan of the Grand class layout.

 

 

We will be cruising on the new Equinox, Celebrity Cruise Line in October. Now this ship does seem to be offering something new and different. We will see when we get aboard.

 

Though I don't think Celebrity is much better. They don't have many different classes. They have some of their older ships (like Princess does) and then they have the Millennium class. They just recently came out with a new class. That did seem to take forever, especially since the Millie class was plagued with pod issues. I just don't think they are that innovative to have 2 classes of ships out there. My thoughts were they realized that it saves them money to have larger ships with more passengers so they went that direction (as other lines have already done).

[Sailaways_]

Though I don't think Celebrity is much better. They don't have many different classes. They have some of their older ships (like Princess does) and then they have the Millennium class. They just recently came out with a new class. That did seem to take forever, especially since the Millie class was plagued with pod issues. I just don't think they are that innovative to have 2 classes of ships out there. My thoughts were they realized that it saves them money to have larger ships with more passengers so they went that direction (as other lines have already done).

 

Celebrity has also been around for less time than Princess, and never had as many ships. So, it makes sense that it doesn't have as many classes. I think what the poster was referring to is that Celebrity has made some innovations in the Solstice class design that set it apart. I love Princess and Celebrity, and I would love to see Princess try a new design/class and not rehash the grand/gems. And if they're going to make bigger ships (I hope not) at least make them feel less crowded. :o

[FLACRUISER99]

I want a bigger Grand Class with a bigger theater & buffet so you cam find a seat without a hassle.

[sidari]

Oh please, dear god, let it not be a Dream hull.

 

sailaways ..... look at the Princess Grand class ships from head on but looking down the side, also HAL, Carnival, and Costa ..... they are all the same hull! superstructure is different until you look at the Newer Carnival ships and Costa ships which are very similar! only the Aft end of the ships are different! apart from the latter 2.

 

Even the Queen Victoria has the same Hull as will the Queen Elizabeth..... something i guess which comes from buying from the same builder to keep the costs down.

[CruisinChris]

Just wanted to toss into the mix of this relevant to the comment about needing new ships for the Panama Canal in addition to the COral and Island: that's really a moot point since canal expansion is already underway. They're constucting a third lane complete with locks that will enable post panamax ships, including the largest freighters afloat to transit.

 

Soon, Princess can move their entire fleet around easily!

[RickEk]

Just wanted to toss into the mix of this relevant to the comment about needing new ships for the Panama Canal in addition to the COral and Island: that's really a moot point since canal expansion is already underway. They're constucting a third lane complete with locks that will enable post panamax ships' date=' including the largest freighters afloat to transit.

 

Soon, Princess can move their entire fleet around easily![/quote']

 

Exactly... Panamax, in the future, will mean something totally different than what it means today...

[cacy6893076]

Are you both one of the same?

 

lol

[vancruisr]

Here's what Carnival execs have said about the issue in the last few months:

 

1. Micky Arison: Carnival is ready to order new ships and Princess is the first in line.

2. Arison: The corporation is not likely to order a ship bigger than Queen Mary 2 (150,000 GRT), due to the limited number of port calls available and diminishing returns of scale.

3. The order is most likely to come in the first quarter of 2010.

4. The design is likely to be somewhat conservative and traditional, lacking flashy features that need to be staffed, such as a glass-blowing studio.

 

Here's a good bet: Two ships ordered for delivery Q4 2012 and sometime in 2013. One will be named "Regal Princess." They will be bigger than Crown Princess, possibly bigger than Carnival Dream, and smaller than QM2. Upon receipt of the first ship, Sea Princess will be permanently redeployed, possibly to Asia, where Ocean Princess will soon pioneer a nearly year-round market. Thoughts?

[tom_uk]

I certainly think that Princess may have fallen behind the times with the number of Grand Princess ships, enhanced or otherwise, out there. The class now extends to 11, I think, with Ventura & Azura. They're fine ships, but the Celebrity Solstice class is superior in a number of ways. There's certainly much more Wow! factor on board Solstice than there is on a Grand class ship, without the Solstice class ships being in any way flashy.

 

I think it's a testament to how fundamentally good the design of the Grand class was in the late 90s that they've done so well, and have also been so flexible - not just the differences between the various generations, but also the differences between the latest Princess ships and the P&O duo.

 

If a new order is going to be placed for more big Princess ships, one question will be what capacity? Will they be effectively the same capacity as the current ships, i.e. around 3000 passengers, or will they go to the next level, i.e. 3500 passengers at normal occupancy and therefore over 4000 at full capacity?

[sarge98]

Does anyone have any specific information on whether princess has any new ship plans in it's immediate future? If so do they plan on competing with the likes of the oasis?

 

 

I don't remember details but Popular Mechanics had an atricle about someone having a ship bigger then the Oasis of the sea built. Name is Genesis.

[RickEk]

I don't remember details but Popular Mechanics had an atricle about someone having a ship bigger then the Oasis of the sea built. Name is Genesis.

 

Genesis was Carnival's super-mega-duper prototype. It's been back-burnered..

[Colo Cruiser]

No biggie for Princess!! Thanks goodness. :eek:

[sarge98]

Does anyone have any specific information on whether princess has any new ship plans in it's immediate future? If so do they plan on competing with the likes of the oasis?

 

Looked it up on MSN search. Royal Caribbeah has a ship being built by the Aker Yards in Oslo Norway. Name Geneses, 220000 tons, 6400 passengers, Believe it's due out late 2009.

[RickEk]

Looked it up on MSN search. Royal Caribbeah has a ship being built by the Aker Yards in Oslo Norway. Name Geneses, 220000 tons, 6400 passengers, Believe it's due out late 2009.

 

I stand corrected. Genesis class was RCCL's large ship prototype which became Oasis of the Seas. Carnival had a prototype for a ship approaching RCCL's size (I can't think of the codename for it now...sigh), but as mentioned, it was back-burnered.

[Thumper69]

I hope Princess doesn't go ULTRA-MEGA ship size like Royal Caribbean's Oasis. It's just too big for me but I would love to have a look. I really like the look and size of the Solstice. The Epic is just plain ugly. Why did NCL do that? Did they pay more for ugly?:rolleyes: Very disappointing as it didn't have to be that way and the ship has some great features. Also from what I have seen with Oasis artist renderings they make this look a little better than reality. The artist rendition of Epic is ugly.:eek: I suppose when your on-board you can't see the ship.;)

 

Anthony