NordicPrince

Let's hope they have a ship renaming ceremony to appease the Lords of the Deep:

https://www.caribbean-pirates.com/naming_and_denaming_a_ship.php

On 8/3/2020 at 3:32 AM, BigMac1953 said:

 

Marmite and Vegemite are basically the same thing.

Both equally offensive to American taste. Don't forget a side helping of haggis.

20 hours ago, Sir PMP said:

 I hope you will get a good one, because she is too big to go to Bordeaux.

I am just wondering on what basis you are saying the ship is too big to go to the Garonne River port, besides your well known bias against the new HAL ships.

The Crystal Symphony docks there and has a draft of 24 feet, while the new Rotterdam has a draft of 25 feet. The new Rotterdam also has azipods which you would think would make it very maneuverable. Is there a bridge that the ship would have to go under?

Just wondering.

6 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

Was lucky enough to sail on a Princess TransAtlantic with John Maxtone Graham his lectures everyday were packed out! 
I’m going to definitely look into those books! Thank You! 

The Only Way to Cross

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

We've sailed on the K'dam and the NS (2x). We enjoy the promenade and would take walks there almost every morning and evening.  We've never had an issue with the "tight squeeze" around some areas.

 

I do like that I don't have to dodge the deck chairs and find it's a very quiet area to walk with lots to view.  We only hold our nose around the doggie toilet area but that's really not necessary!

 

It works perfectly for us.  

 

When we want a shady place to lay down, we go to our balcony if it's the right time of the day or we use those really comfortable huge sofas above the lido deck. 

 

 

There's no reasoning with the old-timers about this. They have their minds made up that they do not like the Pinnacle class because it's not exactly what they are used to with the HAL of yesteryear.

That's OK, more room for DW and I on our future Pinnacle class cruises.

4 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

I'm not an old timer to HAL, but have been cruising since the early 1960's, and started sailing on HAL about 20 years ago, mostly for work. I've taken one leisure cruise on HAL. 

 

Despite the name change, I'm still not a fan of massive passenger capacity, the lack of traditional amenities such as wrap around prom decks,. ample outdoor public space, and pools without movie screens.  So, I still have no interest in sailing on the  new Rotterdam, Kdam or NS. Those ships appeal to many people and I hope the ships will have long careers. Thankfully there's a ship and a cruise line for everyone ! 

 

You should check your facts before posting some of this incorrect information. For example, the Pinnacle class ships have very nice movie screens by the main pool under the Magrodome. Every day at 4 P.M. on the Koningsdam they would show a lovely nature series to enjoy during Happy Hour. 

The Pinnacle class hold 2600 passengers. This is far from massive passenger capacity, Comparatively the S-class vessels of Celebrity hold from 3100 to 3500 passengers and range in the 122,000 to 130,000 GRT range. RCL Oasis class hold over 6200 passengers which to most people is way too big.

There is deck space to walk on an outside deck on the Pinnacle class ships. It is just different from what old time HAL cruisers think of. A promenade similar to previous 

ships would require a complete redesign of the life boats and the dining area.

There is ample outdoor public space as featured under the Magrodome and in the back of the ships by the aft pool area.

I think the ship designers have come up with a way to limit the size of the Pinnacle ships from what it could be to something that expands upon the limitations of the smaller vessels.

The only cruise line that features smaller modern ships is Viking. I have been on them and they have a wonderful product but you pay 3 times more for it. You also get some more amenities included.

HAL is not going to go that way; you might as well get used to it.

I think this is funny. Many of the old timers swore they would never get on a Pinnacle class ship because they don't have a full wrap around promenade or because they are too gigantic or too humongous for them.

Now, change the name to something which is historical to HAL and they're all willing to jump onboard.

I'm just wondering how the people in Holland associated with Ryndam are feeling about all of this.

Me - I like the Pinnacle class ships and think they are a step forward for HAL which gives them something to compete with the other comparable lines.

Ship performers doing "If I were not upon the sea".

Serving our favorite server Charlene. Two cruises later we saw her again and she remembered us.

The Viking Crown Lounge on the Nordic Prince 1990. It was very hard for a woman to keep her modesty going up these outside stairs while the ship was moving. Good times.

RCG - The thought of it wounds the heart. 

Good bye to the wonderful history of Royal Caribbean.

LP came up thru sales as a travel agent and will always have a sales mentality. Couldn't tell you which way the azipod propeller points when you want to go forward. Will rely on her  100% female crews for that.

1 hour ago, KirkNC said:

Yes, I recognize smaller ships cost more.

 

Our one adventure on the K’dam was enough for us, the winner for you was a loser for us.  Some nice features but no promenade, J cabins the size of closets and the ugliest dining room I have ever seen on a ship.

Don't know where you're going to find ships with full promenades anymore. Looks like you're going to looking for a new cruise line.

8 hours ago, Sir PMP said:

I have been on the Koningsdam and did not care one bit of it, so not a winner at all in my eyes and most of the ships will not be allowed in small ports, so you can have it with your 'medium' size ships, I'd rather be on a Prinsendam, or Amsterdam size ship.

You're still not answering the question of how you're going to set the pricing for these very small ships you are looking for.

Prinsendam was only 29,000 GRT so doubt you'll ever see one that size again on a mass market line.

On 7/11/2020 at 8:29 PM, Sir PMP said:

Not negative but positive, why not have 2 midsize ships?

I hate to shake your tree, but Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Ryndam are actually medium sized ships in today's world coming in at 99,000 GRT with 2600 quests. Ships like RCL's giants come in at over 225,000 GRT with over 6200 guests. If you have been on Koningsdam you would find out that HAL has a winner with this class of ship.

Perhaps you are more comfortable with ships the size of what Viking has built 60,000 GRT 1250 people but are you ready to pay 2.5 x more?

You have to face reality at some point my friend. COVID too will pass and Koningsdam class will be the new normal for HAL. 

Changing company names? This is the type of stuff consultants come up with and

consider it "positive" action. All they've done is throw 50 years of maritime history right down the toidy. Royal Caribbean as one of the originators of modern cruising. You would think they would want to emphasize that proud history. RCG might as well be making mufflers.

Or unless the lawyers are planning some legal and financial reorganization subterfuge such as "RCL" was legally responsible for that and "RCG" is a new corporation and "RCL" shareholders get bupkus.

Long live Royal Caribbean - Song of Norway, Nordic Prince, Sun Viking, Song of America, Viking Serenade.

8 minutes ago, gejmeadows said:

Keep the ships smaller, the entertainment and facilities aimed toward us older cruisers.

Lawrence Welk is dead. Doing good with the Music Walk.

17 hours ago, lcand1923 said:

According to a search, Mr. Antorcha spent about a year in Sea World.  Is that true?  I'm wondering how that experience will impact his handling of entertainment on HAL.  Heaven knows, activities on Sea Days have completely disappeared in the past two years. 

 

Best of luck, Mr. Antorcha!

He was there for 10 months. What can anyone accomplish in that amount of time? He probably went there to save a dying place. Well, he's come back for another rescue.

19 hours ago, Himself said:

   HAL passengers are a bit more stayed than are Carnival cruisers. 

Staid.

I have no idea what posters are saying about floating amusement parks and mega ships on the HAL new builds. DW and I were on the Koningsdam in January and it is far from a massive build. It is basically a traditional ship with no waterslides etc. It has a very nice aft pool and a beautiful main pool. The addition of the Music Walk is an added plus.

The ship does not feel crowded at all. There are only 2600 passengers on board.

Compared to Royal Caribbean's behemoths it is a smaller medium sized ship. Even the new Celebrity ships are in the 125 to 140 gwt range.

The larger sized amenities on the Koningsdam such as a real main pool make the ship more enjoyable.

So it doesn't have a real promenade deck. Get over it. There are plenty of other places to sit and enjoy being at sea.

Sad to say but HAL has the same customer base as Cadillac has had. And that it why the Cadillac brand has been in trouble. Too late to change and lost out to its competitors.

We were on the Veendam in 2011 and 2012 to Bermuda. Very nice cruise, it was great to be able to dock in downtown Hamilton. But even then all HAL CC posters could complain about was that the AC was screwed up. You people can't make up your mind.

At least on the new builds everything works just perfectly.

 I've been on Viking and the ships are new and beautiful. You have to pay 2.5 more than HAL to be on them, less than on a high end luxury line. However you get a whole lot more pluses than HAL such as an included excursion in each port and included wine and beer service at meals. Sorry there is no promenade deck.

Maybe this is what the new normal for HAL traditionalists has to be.

Otherwise I think HAL has winners with Koningsdam, Niew Statendam and Ryndam.

We've been cruising since 1990.

21 minutes ago, Dwight1 said:

  But I’m beggining to doubt this industry will survive, at least the large ships. If the vaccine doesn’t come until a year from now, they don’t have enough cash to survive.

I see you're fairly new to Cruise Critic. The travel industry has gone thru cycles before. The cruise industry will no doubt be around. People don't really need a vaccine. What they need is an effective and efficient treatment. This is more likely to happen sooner than a vaccine.

The main line cruise lines will not return to smaller ships as the large ships are the most cost effective to operate.

The cruise lines will raise cash thru the bond markets as they have been doing. Stuff like this is what keeps investment bankers and restructuring professionals employed.

I just wouldn't put your IRA money in cruise stocks. If you;re a day trader and have cash OK but an investor no way.

As always there is no lack of empathy on this board. Everybody jump in the pool (while he's in the water).