The Grand minus sky walkers what has replaced it?

[west coast cruiser]

Just curious. I just booked a cruise on the Grand and am wondering what has replaced skywalkers. Is there any place on the ship now with the skywalkers type view?

[aaerobear]

The replacement is a club called One-5 (on deck 15) kinda nice, but not the views Skywalkers had.

[mkazmer]

Not only is there the one-five, the outside of that is a lovely sitting area with cushy furniture, fans, its covered and you can just sit there and relax and see right off the back of the ship. Also the Wedding Chapel is up there as well as Sabatini's I think. Actually Skywalkers wasn't used the way they thought it would be and this makes much more sense and you still get great views off the back of the ship IMO

[yyjguy]

For me the greatest change was the creation of wonderful outdoor decks. The best in the Princess fleet!

[west coast cruiser]

Thanks for your replies. I always like to sit in sky walkers during the day and read and look out at the view. You are right though it really is "under used"

WCC

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

We found one five to be a good late night bar, but still not good as a disco,

 

spent many early hours there with friends

 

yours Shogun

[Pam in CA]

Actually Skywalkers wasn't used the way they thought it would be and this makes much more sense and you still get great views off the back of the ship IMO

Really? Skywalkers was removed because the Grand was the first ship with this design and once built, Skywalkers was too heavy and too far aft, and eventually led to potential hull problems. The design was modified with subsequent Grand-class ships. So, Skywalkers was not removed due to lack of use but for structural and design reasons. And no, Skywalkers is not being removed on other ships as lighter materials were used and the lounge was moved further forward.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Pam is correct, just look at before and after pics,

 

old Grand sat down in the water at the back, after she sat level.

 

yours Shogun

[west coast cruiser]

Does anyone have a picture of club one-5?

[caribill]

Does anyone have a picture of club one-5?

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://c3270052.r52.cf0.rackcdn.com/Grand-Princess-Skywalkers-After-blog.jpg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/27/live-from-grand-princess-before-and-after-part-4/&h=200&w=450&sz=59&tbnid=QWZug3PfH2ZCXM:&tbnh=53&tbnw=119&zoom=1&usg=__c4xDyjO1aXUOvr4CV0MhTXYXqPI=&docid=aAVS57N_vtk2RM&sa=X&ei=L6QFUZz-B6v82gXP6ICQCQ&ved=0CDwQ9QEwAw&dur=6432

[blazerjan]

I was trying to find any before & after pictures of the outside of the ship after removal of the shopping cart handle... anyone ????

[highheel girl]

Not only is there the one-five, the outside of that is a lovely sitting area with cushy furniture, fans, its covered and you can just sit there and relax and see right off the back of the ship. Also the Wedding Chapel is up there as well as Sabatini's I think. Actually Skywalkers wasn't used the way they thought it would be and this makes much more sense and you still get great views off the back of the ship IMO

 

Never knew they moved Sabatinis up to the 15 area? :confused:

[caribill]

Never knew they moved Sabatinis up to the 15 area? :confused:

 

They didn't. Still on deck 7.

[caribill]

I was trying to find any before & after pictures of the outside of the ship after removal of the shopping cart handle... anyone ????

 

Here is not before or after, but during.

 

[west coast cruiser]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://c3270052.r52.cf0.rackcdn.com/Grand-Princess-Skywalkers-After-blog.jpg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/27/live-from-grand-princess-before-and-after-part-4/&h=200&w=450&sz=59&tbnid=QWZug3PfH2ZCXM:&tbnh=53&tbnw=119&zoom=1&usg=__c4xDyjO1aXUOvr4CV0MhTXYXqPI=&docid=aAVS57N_vtk2RM&sa=X&ei=L6QFUZz-B6v82gXP6ICQCQ&ved=0CDwQ9QEwAw&dur=6432

 

Thanks for posting this. It looks like it will be ok.

WCC

[littlesteelo]

Hi All

 

Pam is correct, just look at before and after pics,

 

old Grand sat down in the water at the back, after she sat level.

 

yours Shogun

 

Not true. Look at these pics. The waterline is approximately at the bottom of the stern anchor space before and after:

 

 

 

Observe the new Royal Princess:

 

 

The ship is high because there is not the full amount of ballast in the tanks. I would imagine when Grand was first launched she looked like that too. The increase in draft astern due to Skywalkers, if any, would be counteracted by the ballast water.

 

I imagine Skywalkers was removed because the thing was being put under too much stress from heavy seas due to it's weight, and the cost to repair it was greater than that to simply cut it off.

[highheel girl]

Observe the new Royal Princess:

 

 

The ship is high because there is not the full amount of ballast in the tanks. I would imagine when Grand was first launched she looked like that too. The increase in draft astern due to Skywalkers, if any, would be counteracted by the ballast water.

 

I imagine Skywalkers was removed because the thing was being put under too much stress from heavy seas due to it's weight, and the cost to repair it was greater than that to simply cut it off.

 

 

In this photo the Royal is not fitted out yet with interiors, thats a big reason why she is sitting high on the water.

[fishywood]

The "before" picture in littlesteelo's analysis (post #16) sure looks like an artist's composition rather than a candid photograph (which the "after" shot is). I suspect it is (or was) one of the backdrops used for portraits onboard. Either way it dates to the beginning of Grand Princess' life--before she developed her "weight problem"-- as Monrovia has not been her port of registry for more than ten years now.

[CCFC]

While on the Grand last month I overheard a conversation and they were saying it was removed due to cracking in the superstructure.

 

Skywalkers on the Star princess is still at the back the same as the Grand was, was it constructed out of lighter material or will it suffer the same fate when its done as many days at sea as its 3 years younger.

[TorontoTL]

Not only is there the one-five, the outside of that is a lovely sitting area with cushy furniture, fans, its covered and you can just sit there and relax and see right off the back of the ship. Also the Wedding Chapel is up there as well as Sabatini's I think. Actually Skywalkers wasn't used the way they thought it would be and this makes much more sense and you still get great views off the back of the ship IMO

 

Sabatini's is not there, on the Grand it is on the Promenade deck.

[mkazmer]

Really? Skywalkers was removed because the Grand was the first ship with this design and once built, Skywalkers was too heavy and too far aft, and eventually led to potential hull problems. The design was modified with subsequent Grand-class ships. So, Skywalkers was not removed due to lack of use but for structural and design reasons. And no, Skywalkers is not being removed on other ships as lighter materials were used and the lounge was moved further forward.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me Pam - I really didn't know that - always wondered - never liked the design at all myself. The designers always learn many things from the first ship in a class, don't they???

[mkazmer]

They didn't. Still on deck 7.

 

I was thinking of the Ruby - Sabatini's is on the Sun deck on the Ruby - and we are sailing on her again Feb 24th - sorry

[blazerjan]

Thanks everyone for the great pictures...

[bdjam]

Not true. Look at these pics. The waterline is approximately at the bottom of the stern anchor space before and afterThe ship is high because there is not the full amount of ballast in the tanks. I would imagine when Grand was first launched she looked like that too. The increase in draft astern due to Skywalkers, if any, would be counteracted by the ballast water.

You're reading my mind. If Grand was sitting low in the water aft, she would have had a definite tilt and moving toward Princess Theater would have been an uphill climb. Ballast would have corrected any issues with the aft being heavy.

The "before" picture in littlesteelo's analysis (post #16) sure looks like an artist's composition rather than a candid photograph (which the "after" shot is). I suspect it is (or was) one of the backdrops used for portraits onboard. Either way it dates to the beginning of Grand Princess' life--before she developed her "weight problem"-- as Monrovia has not been her port of registry for more than ten years now.

You mean the ship got a heavier aft as she got older? And I thought that only happened to humans.

[fishywood]

This is how the situation was explained to us by Captain Edward Perrin of the Star Princess in response to a question regarding the status of Skywalkers throughout the fleet, asked during the bridge visit of the Ultimate Ships Tour (March, 2011--just before the Grand underwent her major refit):

 

When Grand Princess was floated out for the very first time in 1996 she sat lower in the water than anticipated. Remember that at the time she was the largest passenger ship ever built so that her design involved plenty of estimates, conjecture and adaptation mid-build. Necessary changes--including but not limited to the design of Skywalkers--were made to the other two builds on that order (Golden and Star Princess) but it was known from the beginning that Grand would need its own structural modification at some point in her lifetime.

 

Like all ships, the Grand accumulated additional weight--if only from the constant painting of the above-water areas of the hull. Movies Under the Stars was added; again, an original prototype that has since been redesigned. Being "bottom heavy" was not the limit of the problem; the tender launches were foundering below the waterline, and significant accelerated wear and tear was found at the front of the hull. It was at that point the decision was made that the removal of Skywalkers would be the best solution to reduce the overall weight. The fact that they will not need to remove Skywalkers from any other ship does not mean that Skywalkers was the only reason the Grand was sitting low in the water. However, removing Skywalkers did have the expected knock-on effect of significantly reducing fuel consumption--a factor that did not influence the decision, said Captain Perrin with a wink.