Fairsky84

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

That's an amazing pic. The plane looks like a dolphin with wings!

That's an Airbus plane that transports large airplane sections for assembly. It's known as the Beluga, and it's painted to look like a beluga whale.

I think RCI has two goals that exist in tension with each other:

1. Replace the aging ships in the fleet with new tonnage that can still service smaller homeports (Tampa, Jacksonville, Baltimore, etc) and more exotic itineraries (Asia, Mid-East, world cruises, etc.).

2. Make these new ships as large as possible to provide more signature "wow" features, increase revenues, and maximize the economies of scale. 

I'm guessing the balance of these two goals will result in the Discovery-class being about 130,000 to 150,000 tons... or about Voyager size. I seriously doubt RCI will ever build another ship for the Royal Caribbean brand that is under 100,000 tons. 

49 minutes ago, tidecat said:

Disney Joy - Norwegian Joy

Disney Enchantment - Enchantment of the Seas

Disney Inspiration - Carnival Inspiration

Disney Imagination - Carnival Imagination

Disney Miracle - Carnival Miracle

Disney Legend - Carnival Legend

 

Sure. But not every Disney ship's name is completely original. For example...

Disney Magic - Carnival Magic
Disney Dream - Carnival Dream
Disney Wonder - Wonder of the Seas
Disney Adventure - Adventure of the Seas
Disney Fantasy - Carnival Fantasy 

The only original names in the fleet are Wish and Treasure. So, if they aren't totally unique at least have names that are associated with the Disney brand and its values. Destiny doesn't really fit that criteria, IMO.

A few more unique, Disneyesque names...

Disney Joy
Disney Happiness
Disney Enchantment
Disney Frontier 
Disney Charm
Disney Whimsy 
Disney Inspiration
Disney Imagination
Disney Miracle
Disney Legend
Disney Cheer
Disney Glee
 

I thought the Disney Adventure (formerly the Global Dream) might have been named Disney Star. As in..."When you WISH upon a STAR all of your DREAMs come true." There are already two other ships' names in that lyric. Of course, "star" is a very common cruise ship name as well.

 

Disney just announced the sister to Disney Wish and Disney Treasure will be named Disney Destiny. It's ok. Nothing really unique or special. I was hoping for something more like...

Disney Miracle
or 
Disney Imagination

 

1 hour ago, schooner_Drinker said:

It’s one of these three for ICON 3

 

LOVE

IDOL

QUEEN

 

Can’t for the life of me remember where i read about it 

 

Legend has already been used by Royal. bless the ole girl 🛳️ 

 

Nancy 🍸

 

And really no Suite Lounge, that’s a major oversight - is this reality.

 

 

I like the name LEGEND OF THE SEAS, but Royal has no history of recycling names from old ships. So, I doubt that will be the name of Icon 3. 

A search of trademarks registered by Royal Caribbean revealed some interesting options. Keep in mind that cruise lines often register possible future ship names that are never ultimately used. Here's a list of both "Live" and "Dead" (expired) trademarks registered by Royal Caribbean. The live names are potential Icon 3 names, the dead names are not. (All names below are "____ of the Seas." 

LIVE TRADEMARKS

Hero

Nova

Idol

Sun

Fun

Marquee

DEAD TRADEMARKS

Passion

Joy

Apex

Pulse

Valhalla

Endeavor

Vibrance

Aria

Intrigue

Melody

Emblem

Phenom

Eon

Aura

Awe

Illumination

Grace

Unity

Nirvana

Divine

Eternity

Paradise

Spectrum

Journey

Given this list, I'd put my $ on Icon 3 being named IDOL OF THE SEAS. 

One last intriguing detail. Royal has allowed the trademarks for their former ships' names to expire. However, they have kept the trademark for "Legend of the Seas" alive. Hmm... 

1 hour ago, Lloyd555 said:

Wonder of the Seas & Icon of the Seas at CocoCay. 

📷 Mercury Chester Jorge Carson

Surprising how much darker the blue hull looks on Icon. I thought RCI would maintain the same livery color on all of their new ships. Or is the Wonder's hull just faded after a year in the sun.

Just found this image of the Icon in the Cadiz drydock. Can anyone identify what the bump is under the hull behind the bulbous bow? I don't think I've ever seen that feature on a ship's hull before. 

 

1 hour ago, Mikew0805 said:

I was under the impression that it was for some sort of structural integrity since the Promenade was opened up to the outside. However, every time I see it.. including this video, I cannot tell where anything is attached to it to provide structural support. I will have to wait to see in person I guess. 

At the 0:43 mark in the video you can see the support beams coming out of the top of the Pearl. 

Still, I'm underwhelmed by the Pearl also. Was hoping for much more than a glorified staircase. 

Yes, Icon has retractable funnels. 

I always thought painting Magic Carpet orange made it look like scaffolding or construction equipment on the side of the ship. Yes, it catches the eye but not in a good way. 

I always hoped the Edge-class ships would follow a 4-letter naming pattern:

Celebrity Edge
Celebrity Apex
Celebrity Luxe
Celebrity Opus
Celebrity Icon
(BTW, Celebrity filed trademarks for "Opus" and "Luxe" back in 2018 but never used the names.)

But "Xcel" is beyond stupid. It's not a real word. It's a commonly used Microsoft program. And it doesn't match the premium, classy reputation the Celebrity brand has been attempting to build for years. It feels down-market and corny. Overall, I've been disappointed with how Celebrity has been moving in recent years. This new name/logo just confirms my suspicions. 

Terrible logo.

Even more terrible ship name. Possibly the dumbest name in the industry.

What is Celebrity thinking? 

33 minutes ago, Lloyd555 said:

I suppose that I'll have to climb all those stair to enjoy those slides.😡
(I actually don't mind. I'm just trying to get a mention in the 'Entitlement of the Seas' FB group. 😁)

 

 

That enclosed slide launch room is much higher, and probably even larger, than the original Viking Crown Lounge on Song of Norway which was also only accessible by stairs.

1 hour ago, rbtan said:

Kind of like Buick/Cadillac/Oldsmobile in the 1980s 

Right. Carnival and RCI have been doing this for decades, but I think RCI was much better at differentiating their ships for each brand. For example, the Radiance-class for Royal Caribbean and the Millennium-class for Celebrity were engineered with the same mechanicals and hull, but you’d never know that from looking at the ships or their deck plans.

Carnival, however, just built identical ships and changed the funnels and decor. Glad to see they’re trying a bit harder with these new LNG classes.

My understanding is that Princess’ Sphere-class shares its engineering (LNG propulsion, hull structure, mechanical systems) with Carnival’s Excel-class and Helios-class ships. Although those classes are built at Meyer shipyards in Germany and Finland, Princess saved a lot of development costs for their new class by sharing these underpinnings. 
 

I actually think Carnival Corp did a better job differentiating these ships than previous shared classes. It always bothered me that Vista-class ships for HAL, P&O, Cunard, and Costa looked almost identical. And the Sphere-class for Princess won’t be mistaken for P&O’s Iona, unlike the many Grand-class ships shared by both brands.

3 hours ago, philbob84 said:

Is the Sun Princess a Project Millie Design?

No.

Those double-decker bridge wings are going to look strange. Oasis of the Seas looks a bit weird since having the deck of windows added above the bridge. See before/after below. But Utopia will have the Solarium dome break up this upper deck of windows so they are only above the bridge wings. Very odd. 

I really prefer it when cruise lines name all the ships in a class around the same theme. For example, RCI's original mega-ships were all royal-themed:
Sovereign of the Seas

Monarch of the Seas
Majesty of the Seas

I wish this had continued with later classes. For example, the Radiance-class (Radiance, Brilliance, Serenade, Jewel) could have been:
Radiance

Brilliance

Elegance 

Romance 

The Oasis-class (Oasis, Allure, Harmony, Symphony, Wonder, Utopia) could have all been musically themed:
Harmony

Symphony

Melody

Rhapsody
Anthem
Aria

The Voyager-class actually managed to stay closely themed around nautical ideas:

Voyager
Explorer
Navigator
Adventure
Mariner

As did the Freedom-class:
Freedom
Liberty
Independence

Here's what I would have done with the Quantum-class (not really a theme but an alliterated naming system):
Ovation
Odyssey
Opus
Oasis
Ode

And, finally, the three Icon-class ships seem to be focused on the theme of fame:
Icon
Star
Legend (?)



 

BTW, a search of trademark filings reveals other potential future ship names registered by Royal Caribbean. Some of these are good and some are truly awful. 

All are " ... of the Seas." 

Unity
Sanctuary
Paradise
Melody (Should have used this instead of Wonder or Utopia. Keep the music theme with the last 4 Oasis-class ships... Harmony, Symphony, Melody, etc.)
Magnificence 

Intrigue
Grace
Joy
Bliss
Eternity
Divine
Illumination
Awe
Vibrance
Euphoria
Nirvana 
Eden
Aura
Love
Idol
Happy (Absolutely dumb)
Fun (This would infringe on Carnival's branding too much)
Nova
Sun
Titan (Way too close to "Titanic." No thanks.)
Hero
Marquee 
Aria (One of my favorites. I like the music-themed names)
Haven
Marvel (I'm sure Disney wouldn't like this one)
 

I'm still hoping Royal Caribbean will name a new ship "Song of the Seas" as a tribute to their first ship Song of Norway. 
 

From Royal Caribbean:
 

MIAMI, Oct. 5, 2023 – Drum roll, please: The next revolutionary vacation is on the horizon, and its name is Star of the Seas. Just shy of 100 days until the introduction of the first-of-its-kind combination of every vacation with the first in the Icon Class lineup, Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International has revealed the name of the next Icon Class ship and its debut season – the summer of 2025.
 

The world’s largest cruise line will follow up Icon’s debut, the start of a new era of vacations, in the boldest way. With the combination of every kind of vacation that’s unique to Icon Class – from the beach retreat to the resort escape and the theme park adventure – the lineup of new experiences and favorites on Star will set the stage for even more ways for every type of family and adventurer to make memories without compromise. Currently under construction in Turku, Finland, the new ship and its features will soon be revealed.

“The idea of combining the best of every type of vacation into one ultimate adventure has created more excitement than ever anticipated, and Star of the Seas will be the next bold answer to the record-breaking consumer demand we’ve seen for nearly a year and counting with Icon of the Seas,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International.
 

Disney Bliss

Disney Star 

Disney Delight

Disney Miracle (This name be may be appropriate given the crazy cheap price Disney paid to acquire the ship.)

Work is getting started to convert the Global Dream into Disney's largest cruise ship. Here's an update: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/shipbuilding-refurb-equipment/global-dream-conversion-disney-begins-under-meyer-wismar

Also, the ship has been spotted with new paint, including a dark hull like other Disney ships. 

Finally, who wants to speculate about possible names for this ship? Given that the ship will sail year-round in Asia and will likely be designed for Asian passengers, I think Disney will probably avoid names like "Disney Adventure" or "Disney Imagination." Maybe they'll go with something easily translated into different languages like "Disney Star."