4 New HAL Ships

[Krazy Kruizers]

I haven't had a chance to look through all the various threads, but has anyone mentioned anything about the 4 new ships to be built after the Noordam makes her debut?

Captain Scott said the new new ships will be similar to the Carnival Triumph in size and construction - they will be larger than the Vista class ships. He also mentioned that at the drawings he has seen, there will be a 360 degree view restaurant in front of the funnels.

PS - Captain John Scott will be the captain on the Noordam.

Has anyone heard anything else about these ships? Will the cabins be getting smaller like those on Carnival?

[peaches from georgia]

The cabins got smaller on the Vista ships and the way to make more money is to get more pax aboard, so I think it is a pretty good guess that they will be at least as small as the Vista ships and maybe even smaller.

 

What a shame to hear this. HAL apparently is taking the exact opposite direction than we had hoped it would take after the Vistas. :(

[Oceanwench]

That's right, KK -- I was at the Mariners' session too, and I remember his talking about it.

He said the restaurant will not rotate! :p

I don't recall seeing the subject mentioned on any threads until now.

[dougnewmanatsea]

All I can say is, I hope it doesn't happen.

 

The Vista-class ships are certainly big enough - we do not need post-Panamax HAL ships.

 

Though one thing you don't have to worry about is smaller cabins - the cabins on Carnival are actually roughly as big as on HAL (in fact on the TRIUMPH-class ships the standard outsides are about 30 sq ft bigger than HAL's).

 

But I really, really hope that this does not happen. I think it would be the wrong direction for HAL. Right now they are the only holdout with a large number of mid-sized, reasonably-priced ships... And while the S- and R-class ships are probably going to stick around for many years to come, if they build four post-Panamax ships, then the S- and R-class will only represent half the fleet - the other half being the Vista-class ships and the new behemoths. Which IMHO means that a lot of HAL pax will be saying hello to Oceania and Crystal.

[peaches from georgia]

... And while the S- and R-class ships are probably going to stick around for many years to come, if they build four post-Panamax ships, then the S- and R-class will only represent half the fleet - the other half being the Vista-class ships and the new behemoths. Which IMHO means that a lot of HAL pax will be saying hello to Oceania and Crystal.

You can say that again, Doug. HAL appears to be willing to abandon its niche in the cruise market and leave it to the premium lines. Sad. :mad:

[cactuslady]

We're already moving to Radisson for our next cruise. Liked the Statendam, loved the Prinsendam, have no desire at all to try anything larger.

[sail7seas]

We had been told four new sisters would be about the size of Statendam and sisters.

 

Sounds like those plans have changed.

Too bad.

[SHayesShip]

I have seen people say this before and I do not get it. I know that the suites are smaller but the standard outside cabins are not. My outside cabin on the Z was 198 sq ft vs. my outside cabin on the Volendam at 189. The inside cabins with an exception of a few odd shaped ones were also almost identical in sq ft between the classes. With that said, I still prefer and feel that that S and R class are better fitted with more storage space. I also would not like any HAL ships larger than the Vista class.

Steve Hayes

 

The cabins got smaller on the Vista ships and the way to make more money is to get more pax aboard, so I think it is a pretty good guess that they will be at least as small as the Vista ships and maybe even smaller.

 

What a shame to hear this. HAL apparently is taking the exact opposite direction than we had hoped it would take after the Vistas. :(

[Esme]

I have heard that the new ships will be bigger or same size as the Vista but with less passengers. :( That sure isn't to my liking either. I was hoping for smaller ships, more like the Rotterdam and/or Volendam.

[RuthC]

I, too, am sorry to hear this news. I love the size of the S-class ships, and do like the R-class. Anything larger I do not wish to sail.

 

Unfortunately, Oceania, Crystal, and Radisson do not seem geared for the solo cruiser. I do not recall seeing any single-share program, such as HAL offers. IIRC Oceania does not have assigned dining. Celebrity has a usury single supplement.

What's the solo traveler to do?

[DFD1]

Sounds like the REAL "Carnivalization" of HAL may have begun. Too bad.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we heard Captain Scott mention the size of the new ships we also got the impression that HAL will start to look more like Carnival.

DH is already looking at Crystal and the Queen Mary 2 for 2007 seeing as we are already booked on HAL for this fall and spring of 2006.

[cactuslady]

[Unfortunately, Oceania, Crystal, and Radisson do not seem geared for the solo cruiser. I do not recall seeing any single-share program, such as HAL offers. IIRC Oceania does not have assigned dining. Celebrity has a usury single supplement.

What's the solo traveler to do?

Good question, Ruth. It was the single share program that got me started on HAL. But solo women have to be a big share of the customer base for many lines. I haven't investigated in detail, but have noticed here and there that single supplements on some lines, for certain cruises. are not as large as I had heard (one RSSC poster reported a supplement of $99.00!).

 

Over on the Radisson board, I've seen some posts from solo travelers indicating that, even though it was open seating, the crew took pains to have them seated compatibly at dinner, often with ship's officers and cruise staff. Also, it appears that Radisson has gentleman dance hosts aboard on most or all cruises. Here is part of one post:

 

"RSSC goes out of their way to accommodate singles and you'll fit about right age wise on that cruise. . . . The gentlemen hosts are generally very nice guys. They'll even take you to dinner. You'll find that you won't feel like an outcast as a single on RSSC. Enjoy!"

 

So perhaps things aren't as dire as they seem. I haven't kept up with the other lines. Try searching the various boards for "solo" to nose around and see what people think.

[TedC]

Oceania has smaller ships - but the cabins all seem to be significantly smaller than comparable HAL cabins. And on the Vista class, HAL accommodates fewer pax than other mass-marketed lines do on similar-size ships.

 

I don't think I want to be on anything larger than Vista class, however.

[venicecruiser]

Crystal's single supp is 25% for the 3-4 lowest cabin categories. With the exception of Harmony-who is leaving the fleet, there are no inside cabins. Radisson's single supp is also 25%-unless they are having a special discounted single supp on a particular sailing-for the 3-4 lower cabin categories. Seabourn has a few 10% single supp fares available on most sailings, then a few at 20%, etc..

 

Claudia

[RuthC]

Claudia, those do sound like reasonable single supplements; but aren't they a higher price to begin with? On HAL I can book a "low and inside" for a good price. Then the additional 50% on top is still a lower total than some of the one's you're quoting.

Isn't it?

As far as the "gentlemen hosts" goes---these guys make the rounds of all the lines. And I usually don't find them worth much. They seem to find their select favorites to dance with and stick with a very small group. I'm not impressed.

[Sierrachik]

We had been told four new sisters would be about the size of Statendam and sisters.

 

 

Sounds like those plans have changed.

 

Too bad.

 

Just last week I had lunch with my TA, she indicated the new ships would be smaller than the Vista class.

 

Time will tell, as it does in all things.

[sail7seas]

Just last week I had lunch with my TA, she indicated the new ships would be smaller than the Vista class.

 

Time will tell, as it does in all things.

 

We'll have to wait and see. Hope your TA is correct. They are not always 'the first to know' but hopefully, she has good sources.

[arzz]

I understand the greed angle -- smaller cabins, more cabins, save money by eliminating drawers and leaving holes in the furniture for chairs (as HAL have done on the Vista class ships) -- what I do not understand is why they would alienate their loyal mariners in order to compete with everyone else's cruise passengers?

 

We will end up with ships that carry different cruise line logos but really no choice.

 

I know that RSSC and Crystal are out there, but they are more expensive -- not all of us can afford an S suite every time we travel yet we still enjoy the quiet ambiance and elegance of the HAL experience.

 

And you would know that this would happen just as I retire and finally have the flexibility to travel at times when the rest of the world is at home and at work!

 

GRUMP - GRUMP - I hope that you are wrong but I don't hold a lot of hope in that direction :(

[RedmondCruiser]

Four new ships would be no surprise. Iv'e heard that Carnival is building similar ships that can be morphed into another line. Take a look at the Vista Class Ships and tell me that the new Cunard Victoria does not look like the same design. The ships may have some layout changes but the basic ships are the same design. Hence transferring a ship from one line to another can be accomplished easily.

 

PS to KK -- just off the Oosterdam and they made the aft pool an adult pool and they actually enforced it.

[terrascape]

One more version to the story from Captain van der Loo on the Maasdam at the Mariners get-together last week. He stated that Holland America has been "listening" to it passengers & has made the decision that the four new-builds will NOT be larger than the Vista class. He stated that the current line of thinking is that they will be about the size of the Vista's with several refinements. The preliminary design is still on the drawing boards and no contracts have been let. His information is that it would be early 2008 before the first vessel could possibly be in service. He said HA was clear they did not want to compete in the "mega-ship" category.

.

[jhannah]

Anything at this point is pure speculation. Until HAL issues an announcement that a contract has been let, nothing is carved in stone. My personal hope is that the new ship sizes will be a tad smaller than the vista class. With so many ships going to the same ports, HAL needs to come up with more exotic Prinsendam-like itineraries to go new and different places. This will require something smaller than a vista to accomplish.

[PRINSENDAM]

One more version to the story from Captain van der Loo on the Maasdam at the Mariners get-together last week. He stated that Holland America has been "listening" to it passengers & has made the decision that the four new-builds will NOT be larger than the Vista class. He stated that the current line of thinking is that they will be about the size of the Vista's with several refinements. The preliminary design is still on the drawing boards and no contracts have been let. His information is that it would be early 2008 before the first vessel could possibly be in service. He said HA was clear they did not want to compete in the "mega-ship" category.

.

 

 

This is along the lines of what I've heard also. My guess is the ships will be a 'modified' Vista vlass... using the same 'platform', (ie below Deck 1) to build a new new design upperworks. This makes perfect sense from a design and costing point of view.

 

I was just thinking today that the STATENDAM is already in her 13th year. Another 7 or 8 years and she might be due for replacement!

 

Stephen

[Vic The Parrot]

My guess is the ships will be a 'modified' Vista class...

 

 

 

Modified means the Ex-Queen Victoria?

 

 

Maybe Cunard is scrapping this other, "new and modified" QV, and giving the leftovers to HAL. An extra restaurant in front of the stack was mentioned. The 'Queens Grill' for the old QV design?

 

To me, it sounds as tho Cunard is scrapping these plans (again!) and redoing the blueprints for the new queen.

 

1st "QV" -- sent to P&O as Arcadia

2nd "QV" -- going to HAL as the ???-dam

==3rd "QV" -- delayed again, so that the QE2 can sail til 2010!==

(Ok, it's a fantasy, but it's mine!)

 

:)

 

 

 

I think we should all wait to see what happens. Whenever new ship plans come out, the end result is far from what company employees describe. I'm sure HAL will design something with that familiar flair we're accustomed to.

[doone]

Terrascape, that sounds like good news, but will wait for HAL to make the announcement. I also hope that HAL puts back those self-service laundries. Those 10-day cruises are tough with no self-service laundries.