P&O new ship

[gstewart]

Just watching Royal Princess arrive in Southampton. I may be in the minority but I think she is a good looking ship. Looking forward to P&O's version arriving and hopefully being able to sample her.

[littlesteelo]

Just watching Royal Princess arrive in Southampton. I may be in the minority but I think she is a good looking ship. Looking forward to P&O's version arriving and hopefully being able to sample her.

 

The Royal class is most definitely a good looking design. It is sleek and modern, and I like it.

 

There will always be the old moaners who hate all modern cruise ships because they have balconies on them, or because they no longer have cruiser sterns or camber and sheer.

 

I find it hilarious when people say my most hated sentence 'it looks like a floating block of flats', because I would love to live in a block of flats that attractive! :rolleyes:

[jeanlyon]

In the eye of the beholder as they say!. I think it is extremely ugly. I like a ship to look like a liner. So along the lines of QEII or Queen Mary, but maybe bigger. It's not the balconies as such, as other ships have those.

[simonpjd]

Each to their own I suppose. It will be full of wonderful activity centres and novelties. This type of ship are the holiday now. Like an all inclusive hotel somewhere.

Some of us prefer a smaller more intimate vessel where the holiday is more about visiting faraway places and exploring them.

You get the feeling most people on these new huge things probably never go ashore and could be anywhere - it doesn't matter as long as the weather is nice.

Each to their own.

[jeanlyon]

Yes I think you are right Simon. The ship is the all inclusive place, doesn't matter where it goes. Wouldn't suit me at all. Love the smaller more intimate ships. Don't need all the activities and novelties. We don't even do the sailaways - find them embarrassing.

[gstewart]

In terms of all the newer mega ships being built just now, you have to admit she is one of the better ones?

[Sutho]

Only time will tell. I am still thinking of trying the new P&O one for its maiden when it arrives. Large ships do not bother me, only crowded ships are the problem.

 

When you take a look at Ventura and Azura you will notice those ships carry upwards of 3000 passengers, yet Celebrity Solstice and its class are larger and carry less passengers. The problem I found with Azura was that it was extremely overcrowded and more congested than the likes of the other P&O ships like Aurora, Oriana and Arcadia. This new one appears to be a slight improvement in passenger space.

 

What a lot of people do not know is that ships like Ventura and Azura have exact clone sister ships that carry 2,600 passengers and have one less passenger deck. Cruise lines have been sneaky that way by cramming in more passengers on older ship frames not designed to cater to excessive crowds.

[davecttr]

I hope we don't end up with an Azura/Ventura type experience on the new ship. I worry that they will add even more cabins to gain extra revenue.

[kevinyork]

I actually like the look of her too. Definately better on the eye than Azura/Ventura. I wonder if P&O will cram in an extra deck of cabins on this ship?

[tom_uk]

I think she's better than some - e.g. Norwegian Breakaway - but she's not the best. I think she has one deck too many to look really elegant; as she is I think she's a bit top-heavy. I think the Celebrity Solstice class are possibly the best-looking large modern ships, and interestingly I see that while they have 6 accommodation decks between the Promenade deck and the Lido deck, Royal Princess has 7. Of course, the Solstice class are indeed smaller - 120,000 tons as against 150,000 or so tons.

 

It's all about the proportions. I also think that the Oasis class, although truly huge, actually look OK - they have a wide-enough beam, especially with the side overhangs, to balance the great height. And the aft cut-away gives them an interesting shape. Whereas both the Solstice class and Royal Princess just have a continuous slope from the Lido deck to the sea. It can look good, but it can also look slab-like.

[tom_uk]

I was in Southampton yesterday and took some pictures of her - there's one below. There are more, plus an account of the day, here.

 

[jeanlyon]

That is seriously ugly to me. Awful.

 

As someone above said, even if you don't care what she looks like, the passenger numbers on Azura (haven't been on Ventura) are too many. She felt crowded and she was crowded. The Prom Deck is narrow and so once people are sitting there, you can hardly walk round. Also, when the weather was rainy and cold, the inside of the ship felt very crowded indeed. I have never felt that on a smaller ship with different passenger ratios.

[terrierjohn]

I do tend to agree with Jean, it is not the prettiest ship I have seen.

 

It is certainly ugly compared with the Solstice class, however whilst a big Celebrity fan I do think that the best looking cruise liners come from Royal Caribbean, they all look like thoroughbred racing cars fast and sleek.

 

But when on board its the quality of the cabins and public lounges, and the standards of service, entertainment and food which really matter.

[gstewart]

I think she's better than some - e.g. Norwegian Breakaway - but she's not the best. I think she has one deck too many to look really elegant; as she is I think she's a bit top-heavy. I think the Celebrity Solstice class are possibly the best-looking large modern ships, and interestingly I see that while they have 6 accommodation decks between the Promenade deck and the Lido deck, Royal Princess has 7. Of course, the Solstice class are indeed smaller - 120,000 tons as against 150,000 or so tons.

 

It's all about the proportions. I also think that the Oasis class, although truly huge, actually look OK - they have a wide-enough beam, especially with the side overhangs, to balance the great height. And the aft cut-away gives them an interesting shape. Whereas both the Solstice class and Royal Princess just have a continuous slope from the Lido deck to the sea. It can look good, but it can also look slab-like.

 

Agree with you re then Oasis class except if you look at them stern on. That's not their best angle. A touch of "does my bum look big in this" about them.

[davecttr]

shock, horror :eek:

 

Royal Princess does not have a promenade deck, or rather it does but the bits under the lifeboats are 'crew' only. So you have several large 'terraces' but no opportunity to walk from one end of the ship to another.

 

There are also concerns about concentrationg so much entertainment around the atrium. This means you can only have one set of music playing as it carries to other decks.

 

Afficonados of Oceana will understand this. Cafe Jardin is a posh Pizza Hut because you can't move it to the only other possible location, Winners Bar. You can't move Winners to the Atrium because it has entertainment/sports screens which would clash with Tiffany's piano one deck down.

 

This all from the Princess forum

 

hopefully the new ships designers will be thinking about this.

[tom_uk]

shock, horror :eek:

 

Royal Princess does not have a promenade deck, or rather it does but the bits under the lifeboats are 'crew' only. So you have several large 'terraces' but no opportunity to walk from one end of the ship to another.

 

Indeed so - there's a statement on the Princess site that says this:-

 

"The Royal Princess Promenade deck will have limited access to passengers. In order to transit fore/aft from the forward passenger area, passengers will have to go inside the ship."

 

This is on fact very similar to the Solstice class ships - the promenade deck is simply a way of getting to the lifeboats, which are themselves down at deck level, overhang the side of the ship, and block the view out to sea from that deck. There are a couple of 'viewing platforms' along the promenade deck, aft and mid-ships. This is the modern approach.

[terrierjohn]

Indeed so - there's a statement on the Princess site that says this:-

 

"The Royal Princess Promenade deck will have limited access to passengers. In order to transit fore/aft from the forward passenger area, passengers will have to go inside the ship."

 

This is on fact very similar to the Solstice class ships - the promenade deck is simply a way of getting to the lifeboats, which are themselves down at deck level, overhang the side of the ship, and block the view out to sea from that deck. There are a couple of 'viewing platforms' along the promenade deck, aft and mid-ships. This is the modern approach.

Yes but Celebrity do not prevent passengers from using the promenade deck to walk between the 2 wider sun lounging areas.

I wonder what P&O's approach to this will be?

[simonpjd]

Just checking the picture. So she has 16 lifeboats for around 3500 passengers and 2000 crew. mmm. Can you imagine what that would be like in the dark when it is windy and raining.

God help them if it should ever occur.

[terrierjohn]

Just checking the picture. So she has 16 lifeboats for around 3500 passengers and 2000 crew. mmm. Can you imagine what that would be like in the dark when it is windy and raining.

God help them if it should ever occur.

Simon, cruise ships also have at least 2 MES (marine evacuation systems) which the crew would normally use but presumably passengers as well, these are contained in those big white boxes on the boat deck and have a shute and a number of inflateable liferafts, with capacity for several hundred people.

Check them out next time you go cruising.