Planned New Builds - NCL and RCI gearing up!!

[Cruizinman]

]i was just on the epic in the MDR i got Edible steaks on the everyday menu 1 dining room had a ribeye the other a strip loin much better cuts [/color]than a flat iron and i worked 20 years in a meat restaurant supplier so i know

 

Now thats good to know ;):D.

[Gypsywych]

Carnival builds ships that make sense with a costs per lower berth and economies of scale that the others can only dream of.

 

NCL has always made passengers to go extra cost restaurants to get edible food and now I read they are jacking the price of Ocean Blue on the Breakaway from $35 to $49 and the price of the thermal suite from $149 to $199. :eek: Only doctors and dentists can afford that kind of moola.

 

 

And retired military :)

[QDIP]

Im glad someone else realizes CCL is slipping behind in the new build market.

[joepeka]

Im glad someone else realizes CCL is slipping behind in the new build market.

It's good to see someone bringing this thread back to the OP's original topic. ;)

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

ncl and rcl can go ahead and build away. it seems they want the bumper cars, rock walls blah blah blah, to me, it takes away the purpose of a cruise. if I want a rock wall or ice rink, i'll stay home. if I want bumper cars, i'll go to six flags and spend $70 as opposed to $4000. newer isn't always better. carnival is fixing up all their ships, I would rather them do that, than build new. rcl or ncl may have more ships, but carnivals will be the safest and that's ok with me

 

And if I want meatloaf for dinner, I can go to the local convenience store and get it for $3.99 as opposed to $2000.

[TheTravelista]

And if I want meatloaf for dinner, I can go to the local convenience store and get it for $3.99 as opposed to $2000.

 

Like!!

 

Gotta love that cheerleader logic :rolleyes:

[happy cruzin]

It would appear, at least from what I can gather on Wikipedia, that both NCL and RCI are going into shipbuilding mode. Just a few weeks ago NCL introduced the Breakaway, with more on the horizon. RCI has four ships in the works. Carnival has but one on the drawing board, and it's not due for another 3+ years.

 

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NCL (from Wikipedia):

 

 

RCI (from Wikipedia):

 

 

Carnival (from Wikipedia):

 

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Also worthy of note is that Carnival's new ship continues their tradition of offering ships with a lower Space Ratio than both NCL and RCI.

 

Space Ratio "defined":

 

 

Out of these three lines, RCI appears to be the most generous with space, followed by NCL (not too much better than Carnival), and lastly Carnival. Yet the trend with all three seems to be lower space ratios (more people for a given space). Good use of space and passenger flow in areas can help to offset what might be a (relatively) lower space ratio.

 

Here are some space ratio figures (from Travelocity):

 

RCI

Freedom Class.. = 44

Oasis Class.......= 40 (at least one more of these coming along)

Quantum Class. = 39 (one being built, two more planned)

 

NCL

Jewel Class...... = 38-39

F3 (Epic) Class.. = 36

Breakaway Class = 35 (Getaway being built)

Breakaway Plus.. = ?? (two planned)

 

Carnival

Conquest Class.. = 36

Dream Class...... = 35

"Sunshine" Class = 33

NEW Class........ = 33.75 (based on 135,000 tons/4000 guests)

 

LONG ago (in a galaxy far, far away) Carnival had the right idea - the Spirit class ships boasted a space ratio of 41. They remain our personal favorite class of Carnival ships. We've taken four cruises on Dream class ships and can't say we're fans (probably won't sail on one again). With luck, perhaps their new build will have something which causes us to say "let's book it"!

 

On our Allure (Oasis class) sailing earlier this year it rained EVERY day of the cruise, thus all the people that would be at any one of the numerous outdoor spaces found themselves INSIDE. That did tend to make the otherwise spacious ship feel crowded. On our Oasis sailing last month (very nice weather) the difference was obvious. Looking forward to what the Quantum class brings to the table.

 

We felt the Epic had ample room in most places, though my feeling is the effective space ratio for a majority of guests may be a bit lower than the published stats - owing to the space that The (suites only) Haven occupies. It never felt crowded there to us. As soon as we ventured forth, however, we did find some places that seemed crunched: can you say casino??

 

Hoping that Pt. Canaveral will eventually be home to a Quantum or Oasis class ship! Additionally, we'd love to see ANY of the newer NCL ships homeported here... or for that matter a Solstice class ship - heck I'd just like to see one of those sailing year around from somewhere in FL !!

 

 

Tom

 

WOW....you have been busy!! Thanks for sharing ;) :D

[Rottweiler Puppy]

CArnival next ship will be a Dream class with more decks. Bet on it. Probably a Sunshined Breeze, but brand new.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Strange that Nowegian will have 2 ships with the name Breakeaway.

[QDIP]

Carnival should also retire an older ship or two in the coming years as well.

[firefly333]

I did a mock booking on rcl the other day just to get a price (thinking about a quick get away sometime) and the cost was $999 per person...when I clicked on the stateroom I wanted, it was now $2,030 (7 day cruise during hurricane season :eek: for a balcony room. that's over double

 

Believe me I would never pay double, nor am I paying the advertised rates on any of the cruises I plan on taking. I do fill in with last minute cruises I pay full price on, but only when I find a deal. I even mock book my SW air daily to see if it dropped in price.

 

Of course to get a group deal my TA got dates in the middle of winter on quantum out of NJ after I said no way jose, Im not cruising in winter, but in the end I will do whatever to get a good deal. He only had cheap deals in Dec or Jan .. and the Dec was much cheaper, though shorter, and pretty awful ports. Believe me I do whatever to keep costs down. You would never find me paying double for the same number of days

 

BTW I was looking at Elation this spring, when I found the Navigator for 7 days with no solo supplement for $319 pp inside, $419, OV and $669 .. If I can do a 7 day cheaper than a 5 day on Elation, I will. I am solo so that makes some difference on what a deal is for me since Carnival always charges me double, but not other lines. I paid $410.XX total for my 7 day this spring, and got $100 OBC to cover my tips. Less than Elation .. no brainer. but believe me I find deals, I dont pay double, never ever.

[firefly333]

Strange that Nowegian will have 2 ships with the name Breakeaway.

 

I dont think they do? Maybe you are seeing above where it says Breakaway, then 2 more Breakaway class ships planned and seeing it was 2 ships?

[TheTravelista]

Carnival should also retire an older ship or two in the coming years as well.

 

Yes. Quite a few of those Fantasy class ships are long overdue for retirement.

[EZ4]

Yes. Quite a few of those Fantasy class ships are long overdue for retirement.

 

They may not necessarily retire the oldest ships first. Holiday was the last of the class to go.

[QDIP]

They may not necessarily retire the oldest ships first. Holiday was the last of the class to go.

 

Maybe they will rebuild them and change the names?

[Sargent_Schultz]

Yes. Quite a few of those Fantasy class ships are long overdue for retirement.

 

Nah. Lots of us still love them. I even wish the Holiday class was still with Carnival. Holiday was one of my favorites.

[EZ4]

Maybe they will rebuild them and change the names?

 

Did you see the makeover that Holiday got when they sent it to Ibero? OMG, they turned it into a showpiece! They did a 4 month refurb, and it came out almost unrecognizable as the old Holiday, except for the whale tail funnel that is now dark blue. I don't understand why Carnival doesn't do that to their ships while they still have them in their own fleet. If they had taken 4 months with Sunshine, imagine what it could've been.

[Sargent_Schultz]

RCL and NCL both have built solo cabins to appeal to people like me whereas Carnival seems to want to shovel as many into a cabin as possible and the opposite approach. Changing to 200% always on Carnival, but not other lines is pushing me away.

 

Im not a Carnival hater, but I am dissapointed in their new ships being clones of their old ships and not much innovation.

 

Solo cabins only appeal to solos, obviously. I'm not sure Carnival would/should ever build ships with them. That they did away with single pricing for 1As would seem to indicate they get sold anyway. Particularly the ones with portholes. Don't the 1As on Spirit class have two twin beds that can be converted? :confused:

 

I think a cabin that could be sold to one or two people would be preferred to one that could only be sold to solo passengers. If necessary (apparently not), Carnival could easily adjust solo pricing for double cabins, but not easily sell solo cabins to two people. :cool:

[BeachChik]

Strange that Nowegian will have 2 ships with the name Breakeaway.

 

Where did you see that? From what I read one is the breakaway and the one for 2014 will be the getaway.

[QDIP]

Where did you see that? From what I read one is the breakaway and the one for 2014 will be the getaway.

 

The project name for the next ship they have on order is called the breakaway plus. I guess he's assuming thats the ships name instead of just the project name for that 3rd ship

[TheTravelista]

Nah. Lots of us still love them. I even wish the Holiday class was still with Carnival. Holiday was one of my favorites.

 

Do you want them to keep all of them around forever? Some of them should go to make way for newer builds.

 

I do feel they should refurbish and keep a few of them. No need to get rid of them all.

[TheTravelista]

They may not necessarily retire the oldest ships first. Holiday was the last of the class to go.

 

True.

[Cruizinman]

Nah. Lots of us still love them. I even wish the Holiday class was still with Carnival. Holiday was one of my favorites.

I notice that the Sensation has been put on a short leash :confused: .

I guess the old Gal is showing her age, 2 to 5 day cruises only:eek:

[QDIP]

I notice that the Sensation has been put on a short leash :confused: .

I guess the old Gal is showing her age, 2 to 5 day cruises only:eek:

 

Thats how they will keep them making money for CCL By turning the ships over more often.

 

Means a lot more work for the crew with the same pay.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Do you want them to keep all of them around forever? Some of them should go to make way for newer builds.

 

I do feel they should refurbish and keep a few of them. No need to get rid of them all.

 

I want them to do whatever makes business sense - for Carnival - not wannabe competition. To them. Not armchair admirals. Why should any ships leave? Lots of ports want a ship. Ask Mobile. Ask San Diego. More and more people are driving to ports - especially families.

 

Carnival knows its target market. The others are searching for niches. There is no reason for Carnival to follow the losers. If someone else accidentally strikes gold, Carnival has the resources to catch up very quickly.

 

Let others experiment. The *leading edge* is more often than not the *bleeding edge".