The new ship

[Mr Luxury]

Jim Avery,

 

While I have no information on this, I would be shocked if all Seabourn did was use the Odyssey hull and/or dimensions to add another deck and try to fool everyone when adding 150 more passengers and a commensurate number of crew. The brand is very much about space per passenger on the Odyssey class ships, something its competitors cannot touch. Seabourn is using a different shipyard for the new build too.

 

I hope we get some official information in the coming months.

 

Happy sailing!

 

I understand that there will be another one in the pipeline after the much awaited new build.;)

[Corony]

I think we all need to give Seabourn a little more credit. I'm sure there was a lot of concern when the big sisters were announced but as we now know there have been some great innovations with the build of the new ships. Seabourn will undoubtedly look at how they can keep the feel of their product offering while building a new larger ship. There will most likely be a lot of what we expect to see and maybe some little surprises that we didn't anticipate on their newest build. Only time will tell.

[wripro]

Seabourn has evolved from what it once was. The O ships do not give the same experience as the triplets which made Seabourns' reputation. I'm sure the new ship will further evolve the product and we will get used to that as well. And I bet if there's another new ship after the current new build it will evolve the product even more. We won't all like it at first but I'm willing to see what happens.

[Mr Luxury]

Seabourn has evolved from what it once was. The O ships do not give the same experience as the triplets which made Seabourns' reputation. I'm sure the new ship will further evolve the product and we will get used to that as well. And I bet if there's another new ship after the current new build it will evolve the product even more. We won't all like it at first but I'm willing to see what happens.

 

Henry,do you remember some of the negative comments that were posted here when Seabourn announced the Odyssey class ships?

 

Some vowed never to sail on them,now they can't stop sailing on them.:D

[Emperor Norton]

We are talking about ideas for a new Seabourn ship not NCL

 

It would be no good for what Seabourn does to have single suites as the ships sail full on nearly every cruise.

 

Single suites would give them less money and that would be a bad business decision.

 

NCL is a different thing altogether.

 

There are enough single sailors that can afford to pay for what Seabourn offers.

 

For Seabourn a single suite would be a new idea:D

 

I have to disagree with your full cruise bit. My last few cruises the ships weren't near full. It seemed more like a bite your nose to spite your face routine rather than sound business practice. :rolleyes:

[oregon50]

For Seabourn a single suite would be a new idea:D

 

I have to disagree with your full cruise bit. My last few cruises the ships weren't near full. It seemed more like a bite your nose to spite your face routine rather than sound business practice. :rolleyes:

 

Your last writing on the restaurant thread. Perhaps you could bring it over here. The one that explains how buffet lines and luxury do not equate.

Can you see the irony?

[texanaust]

Jim Avery,

 

While I have no information on this, I would be shocked if all Seabourn did was use the Odyssey hull and/or dimensions to add another deck and try to fool everyone when adding 150 more passengers and a commensurate number of crew. The brand is very much about space per passenger on the Odyssey class ships, something its competitors cannot touch. Seabourn is using a different shipyard for the new build too.

 

I hope we get some official information in the coming months.

 

Happy sailing!

 

Actually that is exactly what is happening-Odyssey hull with an extra deck. I have seen the plans myself. Seabourn will expand the colonnade restaurant and the plan is to give more space to Restaurant 2. The main restaurant apparently can also be expanded to accommodate the additional guests. Some thought was also given to "stretching" the little sisters by chopping them in half at a certain point and adding new structure. Windstar may be considering this, but I don't know.

[Jim Avery]

Thanks for the info. That is what I thought I had read but I could not re-find the location of the article. That "stretching" of ships has always interested me. Seems a huge undertaking though it has been done for years with varying degrees of success. Interesting to think of a 100' longer Seabourn Spirit. Might give them the space to put in a decent pool.:eek::D

[DUHCAR]

Actually that is exactly what is happening-Odyssey hull with an extra deck. I have seen the plans myself. Seabourn will expand the colonnade restaurant and the plan is to give more space to Restaurant 2. The main restaurant apparently can also be expanded to accommodate the additional guests. Some thought was also given to "stretching" the little sisters by chopping them in half at a certain point and adding new structure. Windstar may be considering this, but I don't know.

 

Isn't it a little wider too?

[Jim Avery]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fcruiselog%2F2014%2F01%2F21%2Fnew-seabourn-cruise-ship%2F4707897%2F&ei=LLLbU8vOKsjroAS8-4G4BA&usg=AFQjCNEDRzHMEXa_9jmcoZJVdNXXCCM5qA&bvm=bv.72197243,d.cGU

 

Hope this link works.

[texanaust]

Isn't it a little wider too?

 

Yes, that is correct.

[markham]

That newspaper's article doesn't help me. Why? How can one additional deck house 75 cabins for 150 more passengers and the crew that look after them? Sure Seabourn can enlarge the dining rooms but what about the knock-on effects to the main 2 bars, pool areas, Seabourn Square and Grand Salon? Doesn't make sense.

 

Please supply a link, if available, to the details you have seen on the ship. And while I don't know much about the subject, I have to believe the ship will be longer and wider and so be built with a different hull relative to what the Odyssey type ship can support.

 

Happy sailing!

[wripro]

Apparently Deck 4 will be all new public spaces including a new restaurant which will offer more space. I can't imagine SB hasn't thought this through.

[Jim Avery]

That newspaper's article doesn't help me. Why? How can one additional deck house 75 cabins for 150 more passengers and the crew that look after them? Sure Seabourn can enlarge the dining rooms but what about the knock-on effects to the main 2 bars, pool areas, Seabourn Square and Grand Salon? Doesn't make sense.

 

Please supply a link, if available, to the details you have seen on the ship. And while I don't know much about the subject, I have to believe the ship will be longer and wider and so be built with a different hull relative to what the Odyssey type ship can support.

 

Happy sailing!

 

Don;t get me wrong, not trying to start any trouble or grind any axes, just curious as we really enjoyed our time on the "Little Sisters". But, and it is a big one,:eek: Every other shipping line, especially under the Carnival umbrella, has expanded by simply adding more cabins. As mentioned before, the extra cubic space keeps the all important Passenger/Space ratio somewhat in balance but I would not expect them to hire more than a handful of extra crew-if that. I watched the QE2 (even pre Carnival) from inception in 1969, gradually add more accomodations. Sometimes at the expense of nice public spaces, with little to no extra crew. More dining venues were added, again at the expense of other public space. On and on you can find examples of the same. Even SeaDream, who used to advertise 102 passengers/98 crew are now at 112 passengers and 95 crew. Again the new accommodations at the expense of public spaces. I would hope Seabourn will buck the trend but if so, they would be the first to do so. At the track I believe they would call that a long shot. Sadly, all cruise lines are following the airline business model. Put more behinds in more seats and "discount" the prices.:eek:

[Jim Avery]

I found a bit of information on a few maritime sites. No info that I can find on staffing levels. Length: 650' on Odyssey, 689' on the new ship. Beam: 84' on Odyssey, 92' on the new ship. Passenger load: 450 on Odyssey, 604 on the new ship. Gross Tonnage: 32,346 on Odyssey, 40,350 on the new ship. I will leave the P/S ratio figuring to you. I am sure it will be a nice ship but it is now squarely in a larger competitive segment. I think we all know it will not be the Seabourn experience of the "good old days" on the sisters. I just hope they prove to be better than the competitors at a comparable price point.

[markham]

Jim Avery,

 

Thanks for that additional information. It will be very interesting to see how Seabourn deploys the space and what the crew to passenger ratio will be.

 

On another note, and not to cause waves, but I have it on good advice that the Odyssey class ships have about 30% more space per passenger than the small ships did. For me this makes them far more desirable. And I would surely miss the luxury of so much interior and exterior space if it were to be compromised.

 

Happy sailing!

Edited August 1, 2014 by markham

[Jim Avery]

Jim Avery,

 

Thanks for that additional information. It will be very interesting to see how Seabourn deploys the space and what the crew to passenger ratio will be.

 

On another note, and not to cause waves, but I have it on good advice that the Odyssey class ships have about 30% more space per passenger than the small ships did. For me this makes them far more desirable. And I would surely miss the luxury of so much interior and exterior space if it were to be compromised.

 

Happy sailing!

 

Interesting premise Markham. Made me think about "space" and which voyages I have enjoyed most. It makes no sense but I have had exciting, memorable times in an interior cabin on QE2. A nice ocean view on Carnival Holiday, well, not so much. Actually it was a nice cabin and probably the cleanest space on that ship. A sea view cabin on Seabourn Spirit was part of a fantastic voyage. A large sea view on Queen Mary 2 was part of a disaster of a Maiden Voyage. Lately, we have had some large aft suites on mainstream lines and enjoyed them very much. The most recent, Pacific Princess in Alaska, was a fantastic aft suite with two bathrooms. The veranda was quite a bit larger than our Spirit stateroom. Having done these larger spaces, our last SeaDream trip was a bit cramped though the food/service was excellent. So, what does this prove? As far as I could tell, nothing. Space does not seem to be what does it. In Jim's World, assuming unlimited billions at my disposal, I would renovate QE2 to her original fittings and spaces and go see the world at 30+ knots with nary a balcony in sight.:eek::D:D

[wripro]

The experience on the triplets had nothing to do with space ratio. It had to do with the intimacy on board, the ability for passengers to meet and connect easily because of its small size, the interaction between passengers and crew, again because of the size. Also the triplets were able to dock where the O ships cannot in small ports. All that went away with the O ships and will be further away with the new one. That said, Seabourn still offers the best luxury cruising experience out there imo. It's just different and we (maybe I) have to let go of the way things used to be.

[markham]

Wripro,

 

The thing is: each to his own.

 

You may value those ships for their "intimacy" while for me it was easy to set my sense of it aside just a bit when I found on the Odyssey class the same warm and well trained staff AND more space. That space find was better appointed cabins with veranda, more restaurant choices and seating for meals per passenger, handicap access, the Square and a real pool area. I can list several other superlatives but won't bother. After all, it's just my opinion.

 

Anyway, and this is possibly of interest to Seabourn's future clientele, long cruises are far more comfortably offered on the Odyssey class ship. I could not imagine spending a month plus on the small ships. Remember a few years before the Odyssey ships Seabourn acquired the Royal Viking Sun, subbed in Seabourn for RV and tried a world cruise on that 670 pax ship that did not get happy reviews? That and the smart and true Seabourn elements of the new ships are the reasons that Seabourn can compete on long cruises now so well.

 

Lastly, so far I have yet to visit a port on the Odyssey ships which differed from a port served by the small ships either. Maybe I've been lucky. What ports are those?

 

Happy cruising!

Edited August 2, 2014 by markham

[Poppy1966]

Lastly, so far I have yet to visit a port on the Odyssey ships which differed from a port served by the small ships either. Maybe I've been lucky. What ports are those? "...............

 

Markham, I've been into two ports on the small ships that the Odyssey class don't sail to. First was Seville. Fabulous sail in and out and an overnight was a real bonus. Five min walk to the centre of Seville. A Seadream ship sailed in too behind us. Second was Bangkok for three days. I missed the very early sail into Bangkok but the sailaway passing the smaller local temples in the little towns/villages along the river at dusk, lit up with thousands of candles was amazing.

[secoma4]

And Tower Bridge, London. But the space, and other reasons put forward by mark ham, win out for the Os.

[wripro]

Markham,

 

As you say, to each his own. I have spent more than a month several times on the small ships and loved every minute. The larger ships, less so. I don't need more space than the triplets provided and what they gave me instead more than made up for it. But again, the O ships, now that the triplets are almost all gone, are still the best around.

[Mr Luxury]

Markham,

 

As you say, to each his own. I have spent more than a month several times on the small ships and loved every minute. The larger ships, less so. I don't need more space than the triplets provided and what they gave me instead more than made up for it. But again, the O ships, now that the triplets are almost all gone, are still the best around.

 

I agree Henry but I can honestly say that Seabourn Square is probably the best addition to any ship in the last ten years

[foxland]

Hye Mr L ..

 

I know you're not a regular reader of Eric G's web site .. but his latest post is made after spending a day in Seattle with Seabourn .. and a few insights into the new ship .. worth a read ..

 

Allan

[margbem]

Hye Mr L ..

 

I know you're not a regular reader of Eric G's web site .. but his latest post is made after spending a day in Seattle with Seabourn .. and a few insights into the new ship .. worth a read ..

 

Allan

 

Is it allowable to post a link to this?