Nathan Graveson

Just a few weeks from float out!

🚨NEW SHIPS: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Announces Record Cruise Ship Order For Its Three Cruise Brands Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Fincantieri announce agreement for eight cruise ships to be delivered to NCL, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas. Four of these will be destined for Norwegian Cruise Line and delivered between 2030 and 2036 and will have capacity for up to 5,000 passengers and inaugurate a new class of NCL ships. Two will be delivered to Oceania Cruises between 2027 and 2029 and will be derived from the Allura Class ships, and finally two will be delivered to Regent Seven Seas in 2026 and 2029 and will surpass the Explorer Class ships in luxury. Additionally, NCLH hopes to build a new pier at Great Stirrup Cay, its private destination in the Bahamas, to accommodate its new ships. The order is still in the financing process and should be confirmed soon, the ships are also in the design phase and may be cancelled or new orders being added. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Press Release - 2024-04-08_Norwegian_Cruise_Line_Holdings_Unveils_Bold_New_590.pdf

Norwegian Bella?? Norwegian Ultima will be the last ship as it means "final" in Italian so either Bella or Luna?

Back to the Future Musical onboard??

Can't wait to see the beautiful hull art begin painting!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-PBfFcWaA Thought you might find this an interesting conversation... A few allusions to a 4th Icon Class ship being ordered soon?

Hi all, I want to cover a few things I have been thinking about after I found out about this news the other day... I must say, these are my personal opinions, I do have mixed feelings when it comes to Carnival Corp, both in good and bad ways, but that's besides the point. Now, firstly, the shipyard... It must be said that Fincantieri are not a BAD shipyard by any means, however, they lack the experience of building larger, 200,000+ gross ton vessels, something only 2 shipyards in the world have mastered, that being Chantiers De L'Atlantique (Oasis-Class and World-Class) in St. Nazaire, France and Meyer Turku (First 2 Oasis-Class vessels, Excel-Class & Icon-Class) in Turku, Finland. This means that Fincantieri simply do not have either the space/facilities to construct them over that size, or they like to overcomplicate the designs, making it difficult to construct anyways. Then, we have to look back at the failed Pinnacle-Project of the 2000s. A project as ambitious as ever, but was lost to the financial issues facing the Euro currency trade. From what I have though about, we could very well see a new design inspired by that project, with the large promenade deck that wraps around the whole ship above the lifeboat deck, to the top-deck attractions - which it must be said a new, longer version of Bolt would be installed. Also, talking of the Pinnacle-Project, we need to cover size... cause it matters. 208,000 gross tons is what is being reported here. That so happens to be the exact same tonnage of the new Disney Adventure (formerly Global Dream), but no, its not a coincidence. Also mentioned in one of the articles is that this new ship class will be based on Princess Cruises new Prototype ships, the Sphere-Class, which is 180,000 gross tons. What we can expect from this ship is for it to carry much of the same hull design - only enlarged and modified to meet the demands of the increase in tonnage on the main superstructure. No, there won't be a large sphere in the middle, however we can expect a large ocean-view window on each side of the superstructure. Then the competition. Icon of the Seas, is the comparison most people are making, but remember, Royal can do anything and do it well, Carnival can't. Royal could build a 300,000 gross ton vessel any day and it wouldn't even shock us cause they know how to perfect a product, again, Carnival just can't. If Carnival really want to shock the industry, they are gonna have to really push themselves to be bold and different cause the Excel-Class played it safe, nearly identical across the four brands that got them, only few changes. So whatever this new ship class is, it better be different and unique, or else Carnival will fall flat on their faces and Royal will coast on with the majority Market Share....

Current Progress on Norwegian Aqua! From https://www.instagram.com/fedele.chiello?igsh=MW55bnBmbmlhdGZpag==

There will be a 3 Night Preview Voyage from PortMiami on the 23rd January 2023, this will be for media and special guests. This is the same day the ship will be Christened by Lionel Messi, the Icon of Icon.

Some images before the beginning of sales!

My guess for the name of ICON 3 is ... Titan of the Seas

Do you have a link for these?? If so could you please post it!

Woop, Woop!! I don't want to take credit, but I believe I am the first person on the planet to document it on a forum and socials! It happened by chance really, I saw the teaser on Insta, went to the webpage and there it was! That livery is bold, unique and really is putting PR1MA & V!VA to shame!!

Erm...So I found it...

I could see design cues from the Edge-Class, however, we are most likely expecting a Parabolic Ultra-Bow similar to Icon and Edge, and possibly a heavier emphasis on Infinite Balconies!

Its funny really... I think it was almost inevitable for a 4th Icon Class ship to be ordered. But I think a few things need to be considered. Firstly, Royal have had the option of Oasis 7 from Chantiers De L'Atlantique, which was shelved/rejected due to the Icon Program. The concept of Oasis 7 would only follow Utopia: LNG-Powered, similar features, etc. Obviously Royal and Chantiers have a good relationship, however it is no were near the partnership with the Meyer Group. Voyager Class, Freedom Class, Oasis & Allure, Quantum Class and now Icon Class ships have been built at both Meyer Turku, Finland and/or Meyer Werft, Germany. My point about partnerships with shipyards is relevant as Royal put the faith in the Meyer Group for each of these classes of ships, all different and unique, even ground-breaking in design, which shows with the Icon Program that Royal trust them to construct and partially design these new ships. One oddball is the Edge-Class for Celebrity Cruises, all built/being built at Chantiers, you could make an argument for the rest of the Oasis-Class being built in Chantiers, however my argument for it is that Tui Cruises and the Carnival Corporation had booked orders at Meyer Turku for quite a while, leaving Royal to have to move designs to France. Meyer Turku Ship Timeline I've inserted this link to show that they had been booked up by Ferry companies and other Cruise Lines after Oasis & Allure. It also has to be said that size wasn't why they moved, it was the shipyard schedule, so rumours about moving because of size are false. Secondly, Project Discovery/Discovery of the Seas. Let's be honest, Royal needs this. A smaller class of ship, similar in size to the Voyager/Freedom Class ships. For me, Independence of the Seas is the pinnacle of the fleet; packing all the fun into a smaller package. From what I believe, Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany will be contracted to construct these ships within the next few months. Meyer Werft's schedule is empty after the delivery of Disney's 3rd Triton-Class vessel, meaning that Royal could get in there and order their new ships. A rumbling that I heard from a few people I know with high up positions at Meyer Werft is that Royal have been having regular meetings with the team at the shipyard to go over what they want, and also show off their designs. Meyer Werft Ship Timeline Again, I have inserted a link that shows the orders of new ships, bare in mind that Asuka III will be built in the smaller dock where Silver Nova/Silver Ray have been constructed in, leaving the famous Hall 6 empty. Project Discovery, it is a project that truly is secretive, much like the Icon Program was for the past 7 something years. What we can understand so far after the confirmation from various sources such as the Captain of Ovation of the Seas, the ship will be smaller than the Quantum-Class, but bigger than the Voyager Class, potentially putting it in the range of 150,000 Gross Registered Tonnes. That puts it in a similar size category as the Freedom-Class, Norwegian's Breakaway-Class and Queen Mary 2. Obviously, it is still big, however, I think it is the perfect size for Royal to play with, it would allow them to fit the standard Royal features, as well as adding new and exciting features, never seen before. I think we may find out some more information shortly, I do believe that a contract will be signed with the Meyer Group within the next few months for this new class of ships, but you know, we'll see what happens. Finally, the case for a 4th Icon Class vessel. You could say this is a bit of a premature decision as Icon hasn't even started sailing yet, however, the fact that bookings for Icon's 2025-26 Season had to be opened 3 months early, says a lot about the demand for this new class of ship. It shows that a lot of people are putting their faith in Royal for these new ships, showing that Royal has to deliver what the people want. When Star goes on sale next Summer, that will be the final indication of whether or not a 4th Icon-Class ship is needed, if demand is incredibly high like it was for Icon, that ship will be ordered, otherwise it may leave Royal in doubt whether or not to put in another $2 Billion investment. I think we should just hold onto our horses for now, but I think once we see how well Icon performs next year and see how well demand for Star is then we can through all our eggs in one basket and get that 4th Icon-Class ship underway... If I have rambled too much, tough... I just want to share my thoughts and opinions on all the current stuff going on at Royal, possibly adding to some of your thoughts. But yeah, thats me done for now!

Woooo, how exciting!!

For those horn geeks out there, including myself. Here is a new video capturing more testing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5H4nriwC1s

RCCL have the perfect opportunity to use the Edge Class design from Celebrity as a basis for this new class. Firstly, the Parabolic Ultra-Bow is being used on both the Edge Class and the Icon Class, that is the bow of the future. Secondly, they have the opportunity to either use LNG or the new system for Celebrity Excel/Vertex which has the potential for 3 different fuel types. Thirdly, the use of Infinite balconies on the Edge Class is so perfect that it would almost be impossible for RCCL to not use them all over the ship. They will almost certainly redesign the ship to be more Royal in style but it could use the same dimensions as the larger Edge Class ships as it would keep the ship at around that 130,000 GT range. The development of the Discovery Class, is almost certainly underway, it has been for a long time already, I wouldn’t be surprised if we know more about this next year when RCCL put their order in with Meyer Werft for the construction of the first ship for either 2027/2028.

Cheers Pal, that will certainly help the anger levels in the forum!!

Im sorry but the more you ask, the more you wont get it. Royal have NO plans whatsoever especially for the foreseeable future to send an Oasis Class ship to Asia. Both Anthem and Spectrum OTS will be sailing in Asia as of the end of 2024 going into 2025.

No. Not for the for the forseable future, unless Royal make any changes to deployment, however they will send Anthem Of The Seas to Asia beginning at the end of 2024/start of 2025.

Thanks you for sharing your curiosity about my past display of my work, however I will say not further as it sturs up too much drama, so take it from me that I am just a member of the community, no more by your reckoning.

I might as well voice my opinion on Utopia. Firstly, I think we can all agree that the Utopia's launch has been overshadowed by the launch of Icon, which was always going to happen, however not at the scale we first thought. With Utopia, we are witnessing the demise of the original game changers, the Oasis-Class, and then the birth of the next game changer, the Icon-Class, which explains all of our concerns about how she will perform for Royal in the long run. As we all are aware, Royal's approach to new ships has remained the same for a while, such as the introduction of the Quantum-Class (Project Sunshine), during the period of time between Oasis & Allure to Harmony and beyond, this allowed them to show off their next, new product that can really push the boundaries of what is possible with cruising and as we know it. What I am getting at is that the reveal and launch of Utopia couldn't have come at a worse time as the hyped up demand for the new product, being Icon, it makes Utopia almost redundant. Next, we must talk about some of the positives to Utopia and the things that Royal have changed and worked on as the ultimate finale to the Oasis-Class, at least we think, unless that 7th ship gets built. So, lets begin with the design and changes to Utopia. Firstly, the elephant in the room, the brand spanking new Solarium Suites, which provide 280 degree panoramic views across the ocean waves. I will be honest here, after what happened to Oasis during her amplification, I was reluctant to even think about what these would do to the design of Utopia, however unlike her older sister, she won't look like some deformed junk of metal, instead will hopefully add a bit of character to her, giving her a new experience for guests. Next, I would like to touch on some of the top deck changes to Utopia starting with the new Ultimate Abyss slides, as Royal have decided to spice it up giving it more fun and enjoyment along the way including; transparent sections to see the other person racing you, speed increasing rollers to give guests that added boost and the new set of LED lights that add a new immersive touch to the slides. Along with the enhanced version of the Ultimate Abyss, Royal have changed the Playscape onboard Utopia, to make it different and unique to Wonder's Playscape, giving it a more seaside and traditional fishing style that ties into the new Mini-Golf area that connects nicely. Also the improvements to bars and dining on the top decks are also a welcomed addition to Utopia, especially for those summer nights in the Caribbean, such as the improved Lime & Coconut Bar and the new Food Truck on the pool deck. As we have all seen today, Utopia will be another fantastic ship for Royal, however I have one final, massive complaint about her, the itineraries. I'm sorry but I struggled to see all of the Disney Wish on a 3 night cruise, so god knows how you are going to see ALL of this ship in the same time on a ship almost double the size! As much as it is a good idea to offer THE BIGGEST WEEKEND EVER as there deployment for Utopia, but don't you think it would be better suited for Allure as she is older and still isn't amplified? The idea I think Royal were going for was that this ship will be the ship that they want guests to keep going back to, and fair enough, more money returned on their end, but once you've done it 3-4 times and know the ship, won't you just want to go and try something different like Icon or Icon 2 (Star OTS) or even Icon 3 in the future? Or even go smaller with Project Discovery (Discovery OTS) and her sisters in the distant future? All I will say is that I will give Utopia at least 2 years on her Itineraries, but I think that she will move to 4-6 night cruises in the near future, as the Icon Class expands with more ships, allowing Royal to explore more different itinerary options. So all in all then, I must congratulate Royal on the 14 year development of the Oasis-Class, they are undeniably some of the best cruises you can ever go on, packed with fun around every corner, and I hope that Utopia does as Royal wants it too. As much as we can have our reservations about her now, wait until we get onboard her next July and have our faces gobsmacked by the pure excitement she will deliver!