New HAL Ship, largest ever

[igraf]

Is your "we" speaking for yourself or for HAL guests in general? I don't care for the Signature class ships at all and will avoid the new big one like the plague.

 

igraf

 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. That's pretty large for our taste but we said the same thing about the Signature Class and turned out we loved our Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam cruises.

[RuthC]

I have to begin looking elsewhere for cruise ships. Not sure where to start. ANy suggestions?

Oceania, for ships that are geared to an American passenger base.

Saga if you are willing to go for a British base.

 

Both have smaller ships, and will be somewhat like HAL used to be.

[vicocala]

"Smaller is better" but I am glad they are investing in HAL. Just put a ship in Port Canaveral please!

[RevNeal]

I am willing to withhold judgement on this until I've seen more. Frankly, I'm with Sail in that I never expected to like the Vistas but then I fell in love with the Noordam. I love the smaller ships -- the Prinsendam is a joy to cruise aboard -- however, I also like the larger/more modern vessels. Yes, certain venues aboard the Eurodam (like the Lido) felt a little crowded at times, but she was a pretty vessel and I'm going to be cruising aboard here, again, in the summer of 2013. Perhaps HAL will give serious thought to space-useage issues in the new Pinnacle Class and will give us some larger seating capacity for the high-use Lido, etc. And, would someone please tell the cabin designers that we NEED some drawers!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alcarondas]

Meh, economies of scale and all that. Keeping prices low by reducing operating costs.

 

What I think is a more interesting crystal-ball question is whether HAL will try to split its focus more than it is doing now; At the moment you've got most of the fleet on one side, and the Prinsendam on the other. I wonder if they will continue (or expand) their committment to small(er)-ship cruising by shifting one or more of the S-classes into P'dam-like roles, or have some smallish newbuilds, or if they'll all just be phased out.

 

I can't help thinking that there must be some room between Seabourn and everything else. Whether Carnival wants to create a new niche line to compete directly with the likes of Oceania, or if HAL's mission will be split between Vista/Sig/Pinnacle big ships at mass-market fares and Prinsendam/Maasdam-like small ships at more exclusive prices remains to be seen.

[RuthC]

And, would someone please tell the cabin designers that we NEED some drawers!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that the electrical outlet in the bathroom should be lower than ceiling level. :rolleyes: Some of us would like to be able to use it.

[sail7seas]

I don't see anything being revived from the dead but having full venues for eerything currently in the fleet plus maybe a new concept or 2 would definitely be a good idea

 

 

It seems Odyssey and Marco Polo might be 'before your time' with HAL. :) I suspect you never

had the pleasure of dining in one of them.

 

If you saw the tiles at the entry to Pinnacle on Zuiderdam, the first of the Vista ships, at the time she entered the fleet, the name said, "Pinnacle at Odyssey" and the reason was because that restaurant was to have been called Odyssey but that changed during the construction but the tiles had been made. We have not sailed ZUDM in years so those tiles may ultimately have been changed at one of her dry docks.)

 

They were very popular, well liked GOOD restaurants with very good food and outstanding service. The four existing ones (Marco Polo on Zaandam and Volendam and Odyssey on Amsterdam and Rotterdam) were converted to Pinnacles after Zuiderdam first introduced Pinnacle.

 

It is not 'reviving the dead'...... Personally, I shiver at that expression especially when referencing cruise ships. :eek:

[InTheWASide]

It seems Odyssey and Marco Polo might be 'before your time' with HAL. :) I suspect you never

had the pleasure of dining in one of them.

 

If you saw the tiles at the entry to Pinnacle on Zuiderdam, the first of the Vista ships, at the time she entered the fleet, the name said, "Pinnacle at Odyssey" and the reason was because that restaurant was to have been called Odyssey but that changed during the construction but the tiles had been made. We have not sailed ZUDM in years so those tiles may ultimately have been changed at one of her dry docks.)

 

They were very popular, well liked GOOD restaurants with very good food and outstanding service. The four existing ones (Marco Polo on Zaandam and Volendam and Odyssey on Amsterdam and Rotterdam) were converted to Pinnacles after Zuiderdam first introduced Pinnacle.

 

It is not 'reviving the dead'...... Personally, I shiver at that expression especially when referencing cruise ships. :eek:

 

Yes they were before my time however I'm fully aware of them, especially givn the fact that some combination of the R Class, Zuiderdam and Oosterdam when you eat at the Pinnacle the receipts say "Odyssey Restaurant"... one of the easiest fixes EVER on a MICROS system and even that was overlooked for years and years... Not certain that they are all correct, even now.

 

No doubt it was great. I've seen menus from the main dining room of years gone by and while I still find most of the selections on most nights to be reall good I know had I cruised much earlier on I would have been even more impressed.

 

The reference to reviving the dead was clearly due to the fact that those venues and menus are nowhere in the fleet now, nor have they been for years and years so to bring them back now when a very large number of people would have no clue as to the history and significance... it could easily flop.

 

I'm just interested in seeing some renderings and deckplans at this point. That will make or break my interest in this ship which I have a strong suspicion will be the new or "Nieuw :confused:" Statendam or Veendam

[RevNeal]

And that the electrical outlet in the bathroom should be lower than ceiling level. :rolleyes: Some of us would like to be able to use it.

 

LOL ... the placement of those plugs in the bathroom IS ridiculous. Sure, I can reach it ... but I'm 6-1.

 

While we're at it, we might as well compline a list of those things we need to see fixed-adjusted in future designs.

 

How about ... no trip-steps in the Lido? ;) :D

[kazu]

Unfortunately, I am not surprised:(

 

One thing HAL always had going for it was it's passenger space ratio. From the sounds of things that won't be the case with this new ship:(

 

I think I'll stick with the older ones for now thank you very much. When there isn't much choice - then we'll have to take a hard look at our options!:eek:

 

HAL is going to lose it's diffentiation from the competition IMO. but what do I know?

[RedmondCruiser]

Finally !! I hope that the follow on will be a set of four ships of this class. I wonder if the width will exceed 105 and be designed for the new canal locks.

[Overtime4me2]

Personally, I love the look of the HAL ships as I think they look beautiful, majestic, more like a true ocean liner (except for the back-side of the Veendam....looks like a child added an additional lego on the top.....ha, ha). ;)

 

I'm interested in seeing what the newbuild looks like. :)

[QM2 Cruiser]

Well, this is exciting news! I prefer midsize ships as well, but hopefully HAL will select a layout that maintains the sense of intimacy and tradition in the public rooms. Bigger ships are inevitable in today's climate, but it's possible that the only thing that will transpire from the new space ratio will be a few more stragglers left wandering in the casino after 11pm. :rolleyes: As long as the HAL staples are maintained, such as the wraparound promenade deck, and the lido is expanded to handle the extra passengers, we'll all be in for a great cruise!

 

I can't wait to sail on the PinnacleClassDam!

[RuthC]

How about ... no trip-steps in the Lido? ;) :D

Ahhh, the poorly named.... Oh, nevermind. ;)

 

Your idea of a list of minor corrections is good, though. Those of us who actually cruise the ships, as opposed to sitting at a desk in Seattle, know best what we need:

 

How about returning to those days of yesteryear when we had an enclosed medicine cabinet in the bathroom? So when the seas are high, our pill bottles don't fly all over the place.

Decent lighting around the make-up mirror would be great.

[jtl513]

While we're at it, we might as well compline a list of those things we need to see fixed-adjusted in future designs.

 

How about ... no trip-steps in the Lido? ;) :D

How about NO Lido pool cabanas? :D:D (I know, that's probably too much to hope for. :( )

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Not surprised by the announcement as HAL to be competitive in business needs a larger ship (not that I agree with that but corporate must). Passenger number is about same as Sapphire Princess which we sail for the West Coast Coastal cruises. It is tolerable but we still prefer the smaller ships of HAL. Hope the Maasdam or Ryndam are not the ships to be sold.

[InTheWASide]

Unfortunately, I am not surprised:(

 

One thing HAL always had going for it was it's passenger space ratio. From the sounds of things that won't be the case with this new ship:(

 

I think I'll stick with the older ones for now thank you very much. When there isn't much choice - then we'll have to take a hard look at our options!:eek:

 

HAL is going to lose it's diffentiation from the competition IMO. but what do I know?

 

I fully agree and I think the fact it's BARELY under 100000 tons is grasping at straws. Notice how a while back they could no longer say rooms 25% larger than other ships? It's because even Royal Caribbean, etc were making rooms a little larger in a lot of cases... not just direct competition. Similarly, I bet "midsize" will go away in the marketing gradually and the new emphasis will be on the ships either specifically being under 100k tons, or on the fact there are no "mega ships" which was the term designated when that threshold was broken

 

They should have made a ship that to some degree in scale, size, design, etc would be a "Solstice-killer" and literally go back after Celebrity HARD because I think we can all agree they have really kicked it up several notches both with newbuilds (like them or not you have to admit the inner areas are gorgeous) and much more successful major refurbishes (spend 5 minutes looking at SOE 2.0 (MINUS the retreat and Veendam/Rotterdam afts) versus the Solsticization of Celebrity's older fleet. Those ships are now in the same ballpark as the rest. They brought the rest of the fleet up in a way that looks like they had no budget instead of rearranging 3 bars that were too close together anyway, new colors, tiles and fabrics in the same rooms and some tables in the front of the showrooms.

 

Or go after Oceana. Take more advantage of the HUGE celebrity chef panel and give them each a venue that people will want. Oceana's newest are foodie ships for sure, but even they only have one venue fully setup by a well known chef. If HAL could have a laundry list and kick the fleet up a few notches they would be back in that game.

 

Somehow stagnance and complacency have seemed to be enough, for the most part, the majority of this last decade.

[Ians Grandma]

I am sure that the new ship will have more handicap accessible features, which will be great for us!

[geoherb]

We regularly sail on Princess's ships (Grand class) that are considerably larger by tonnage but carry the same number of passengers. Then there are the post-Grand class ships (Crown, Emerald, and Ruby) that come in at about the same tonnage as the original Grand class ships but with an extra deck of passenger cabins. That takes a big bite out of the space ratio. And yet even on those ships we've never felt too crowded.

 

Unfortunately, the trend in mainstream cruises is to bigger ships. We've avoided Royal Caribbean since it started coming out with the latest Monstrosities of the Seas.

[Steve Q]

I am happy there will be a new ship. I have sailed on every HAL class ship, including the Prinsendam.

 

Celebrity really raised the bar with the Solstice class. I was one that questioned the idea of such a large ship. I was wrong. The ships are beautiful and a significant step up from HAL. The news today will give HAL a chance to upgrade the fleet. Let's hope the design meets many of our expectations.

[Boytjie]

Every time a cruise line announces newer, bigger ships the loyal cruisers wail about how horrible it will be. And in time opinions change and the previous 'hate' becomes a 'love. I am particularly thinking of QM2 and the Eurodam. :) Even the ugly duckling Epic has become a favorite for some.

 

I can't wait to see some renderings of the new build.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I am not the least bit surprised and I have been predicting this would happen for at least a year :) But I have to say I am extremely dissappointed with the size and passenger ratio. I totally agree that they should have gone with something that was going to be a direct competition with Celebrity. By making it under 100,000 and 2660 the Celebrity Solstice Class is still ahead of the game as well as Norwegian with their 2 new ships and the third one that was just announced. Don't get me wrong I am extremely excited and hoping this is actually a ship that I would like to be on the Inaugural Voyage.

I am also dissappointed they did not try something different by changing ship yards :( But something tells me there is a lot of behind the scenes reasons that CCL Corp does not pull away from Fincantieri.

HAL really did need to do this they were becoming the OLD cruise line with way too many old vessels. Hopefully this new ship with a concentration on some new venues will bring some LIFE back into HAL.

Last comment I am thrilled with the name Pinnacle Class, very Classy but Let me ask will we be calling her the "P" Class ships :D

[Boytjie]

Last comment I am thrilled with the name Pinnacle Class, very Classy but Let me ask will we be calling her the "P" Class ships :D

 

People don't use V Class (and S Class for Signature fails), so I don't think P Class would stick. ;)

[sail7seas]

LOL ... the placement of those plugs in the bathroom IS ridiculous. Sure, I can reach it ... but I'm 6-1.

 

While we're at it, we might as well compline a list of those things we need to see fixed-adjusted in future designs.

 

How about ... no trip-steps in the Lido? ;) :D

I agree with you and Ruth.....

 

How about a useful plug in the bathroom and placement of shampoo/conditioner/bath gel at a height they can be used when seated in the tub. On Maasdam, I have to stand up to use them. Wasn't anyone thinking when they placed them? Had they dropped them 12" they would be useable by both someone showering as well as sitting in a tub.

 

DRAWERS.......... please give us back some DRAWERS.

They went from 12 drawers under the counter in "S" and "R" Class Deluxe Veranda suites to """" 3 """". They left an empty space where there should be drawers. No one needs to pull up a chair there. There is the other surface to which a chair can be pulled up if they want a desk.

 

I hope they aren't shrinking the size of the cabins again. They are as small as most of us want them to be. Any smaller and they will not be able to charge the fancy Suite prices if they give less 'real estate'.

 

 

IMO ....

 

 

[cruisetrail]

Also, by comparison since you could pretty much imagine HAL would go larger to keep up with Celebrity (remember when it seemed the other way around?)

 

HAL Signature Class 2100 pax 86000 tons

HAL Pinnacle Class 2660 pax 99000 tons

Celeb Solstice Class* 2850 px 122000 tons

*Solstice at least. I know they got more guests and more decks on some later additions to the class

 

 

13000 more tons for 560 people seems decent, but compared to the Solstice Class where there is 190 less people and 23000 less tons... now it doesn't seem so impressivle.

 

 

Passenger/space ratio does not work that simple.

It depends on the design of the ship.

The Solstice class extra tonnage has been spent on the atrium and domes - something you cannot "utilize".

The Solstice class upper decks are very crowded in comparison with HAL Signature class ships.