Smaller ships making a comeback?

[Biker19]

RCI acquired the Empress. It was formerly operated by Pullmantur Cruises.

I suppose that was my misunderstanding as I don't consider reshuffling within RCCL an acquisition, it was a single ship and also don't consider 16 months ago that recent.

[Cruise4Twos]

Royal brought Empress back with the intention of going to Cuba. Empress was ready to go before Cuba was opened up so rather than let Empress sit idle they did do some non-Cuba cruises. These cruises were MUCH cheaper than what Royal is charging to go to Cuba on Empress. Not sure where you were going with your original post, which I quoted above, or your edit.

 

No need to know where I was going. Where I went was on the Empress 2016.

[John&LaLa]

Royal used it for non-Cuba cruises in 2016.

And they were dirt cheap

 

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[Germancruiser]

Oh dear , when I sailed the then brand new during her inauguration year she was one of the biggest ships sailing.

[John&LaLa]

Oh dear , when I sailed the then brand new during her inauguration year she was one of the biggest ships sailing.

Nordic Empress?

 

I don't recall her ever being big

 

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[ONECRUISER]

Oh dear , when I sailed the then brand new during her inauguration year she was one of the biggest ships sailing.

Yeah at the time, in 1989, Sovereign was biggest cruise ship then Empress. Sailed brand new Sovereign in 1988, was huge looking down on the tiny tiny Love boats and Carnival ships!

[rum & monkey]

RCI acquired the Empress. It was formerly operated by Pullmantur Cruises.

 

 

 

Not sure if you realize it or not that when they switched Empress back to RCI, Pullmantur was still wholly owned by Royal Caribbean. It was not until later in 2016 that Royal Caribbean brokered a deal to sell 51% of their spanish line Pullmantur and their French line CDF (Croisières de France). RCI kept 49% of the cruise lines but still wholly owns all of the ships & planes that Pullmantur & CDF use. The cruise lines now lease them for operation from RCI. Empress was never acquired by RCI from Pullmantur, it was always owned by RCI. She was put back into RCI's fleet for the Cuba itineraries because all the mega ships are to big to dock in Cuba.

In addition to owning Celebrity & Azamara RCI is also a joint venture with the German TUI owning 50% and a minority owner in the Chinese SkySea Cruises line.

 

 

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[cruzinlady1947]

There was a post on a social network where someone posted about the smaller ships. A lot of us were saying we like the smaller ships but, all they are building was the mega ships. Michael Bayley posted and hinted that they might be building a smaller ship in the future. Not sure how small, but I sure hope it is true. We need a new one in Baltimore.

 

 

Gwen :)

[Biker19]

. Michael Bayley posted and hinted that they might be building a smaller ship in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Gwen :)

 

 

Sure, Icon is smaller than Oasis.

 

 

 

 

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[island lady]

 

But our first suite was a GS on Mariner (OK not a "small" ship) and after that we would never go back to a non-suite.

 

We also did a Windjammer Barefoot cruise, which gives true meaning to "small ship".

 

 

So did we!! A GS on Mariner was our very first cruise on RCI, which was to celebrate my "OMG!! :o" half

century milestone. Got spoiled immediately. ;)

 

We also did the Windjammer (Wind Star) in the Med. Loved it!! :hearteyes: Plus even smaller, one of those barge

canal cruises up through France. Heavenly!

[island lady]

Yeah at the time, in 1989, Sovereign was biggest cruise ship then Empress. Sailed brand new Sovereign in 1988, was huge looking down on the tiny tiny Love boats and Carnival ships!

 

Sooo cool!! Wish I had been on her at that time!! :D

[island lady]

There was a post on a social network where someone posted about the smaller ships. A lot of us were saying we like the smaller ships but, all they are building was the mega ships. Michael Bayley posted and hinted that they might be building a smaller ship in the future. Not sure how small, but I sure hope it is true. We need a new one in Baltimore.

 

 

Gwen :)

 

And we need a mid size ship again in PC....we have the largest...and the smallest. Wish we had something in between that did longer cruises. With MJ starting up her Cuba runs in 2019, I am holding out hope we could get a Vision or Radiance class in. Brand new terminal...lots of room...bring it on RCI!! :)

[George C]

Yeah at the time, in 1989, Sovereign was biggest cruise ship then Empress. Sailed brand new Sovereign in 1988, was huge looking down on the tiny tiny Love boats and Carnival ships!

 

I sailed Sovereign in 88 or 89 for 1st time, it was a amazing ship at the time, we saw her in Barcelona last year and it looked so small compared to the other ships, but was lucky enough to sail her a few times in her prime

[Smith0154]

What is wrong with Cuba?

 

An educated guess is that the Cuban government is charging higher port charges than what the market dictates. They have been out of the game for many years and to have new dollars coming into the local economy is another price factor.

 

Then the overnight stay plays into the necessity for overnight longshoremen and security of the pier, thus the higher price for that particular sailing. Higher the port charges to the company means higher price to the consumer.

 

Just my educated guess, needless to say, Cuba is not in my future.

 

Smitty

[OhJinkies]

I'm new to RCI (I have a cruise scheduled for January) but wanted to throw in my two cents. I mostly cruise solo so I need to look for either ships with solo staterooms or low-priced interiors, since I usually need to pay double. I was researching a cruise to the Baltics (which I've put on hold for now) and was leaning toward one of the big, newer NCL ships so I could book a solo studio. But I read a review where they missed a couple of ports due to weather, but the ship's size was also an impediment to being able to successfully dock (or safely launch a tender). So now I'm rethinking -- when I do decide to book, one of the Radiance class ships may be a better choice (I'll just have to watch for sale rates). So I do think that there is a need for smaller ships, and would love to see more new smaller ships. Not every ship needs a rock wall or flow rider!

[FLSteve11]

And they were dirt cheap

 

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And they're dirt cheap again when they don't do the Cuba run. You can sail 5-night cruises on Empress of the Seas for $249 if you want on the itineraries that don't go to Cuba (look at Feb 3 and 26th next year). There are a bunch of cheap Empress cruises out there that don't have Cuba as a port stop

[FLSteve11]

And we need a mid size ship again in PC....we have the largest...and the smallest. Wish we had something in between that did longer cruises. With MJ starting up her Cuba runs in 2019, I am holding out hope we could get a Vision or Radiance class in. Brand new terminal...lots of room...bring it on RCI!! :)

 

That might be tougher with them also building a brand new terminal in Miami as well.

[island lady]

That might be tougher with them also building a brand new terminal in Miami as well.

 

It's sad not to see an RCI ship four out of the seven days at that big new terminal in PC. Money already spent.

 

Miami is getting the new Oasis class ship Symphony already anyway, and currently has Enchantment. Will be

awhile before the new Miami terminal is built. This new one here in PC had a lot of delays.

[Biker19]

. Will be

 

awhile before the new Miami terminal is built.

 

Construction started a few months ago and is due to be completed in a bit over a year.

 

 

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

Construction started a few months ago and is due to be completed in a bit over a year.

 

 

 

 

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I wish them well, but not holding my breath. I'm really surprised they committed Allure to that Terminal so early. I feel waiting till December would have been safer. Someone over there has a big pair. [emoji6]

 

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[John&LaLa]

It's sad not to see an RCI ship four out of the seven days at that big new terminal in PC. Money already spent.

 

Miami is getting the new Oasis class ship Symphony already anyway, and currently has Enchantment. Will be

awhile before the new Miami terminal is built. This new one here in PC had a lot of delays.

Isn't Mariner going out of Miami on Friday and Monday, Symphony and Allure get Saturday and Sunday.

 

Mariner doesn't really need the new terminal, but I'm guessing she will leave from there.

 

I wonder what kind of parking they will be adding.

 

Will Icon be getting Allures old spot in PE? Don't they have to add CNG/LNG facilities for that,?

 

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[Clarea]

I wish them well, but not holding my breath. I'm really surprised they committed Allure to that Terminal so early. I feel waiting till December would have been safer. Someone over there has a big pair. [emoji6]

Maybe they figure worst case they can use two terminals in a row, like they do in Barcelona.

[Biker19]

Don't they have to add CNG/LNG facilities for that,?]

 

Maybe CNG could come via a barge temporarily - we need chief to weigh in on this.

 

 

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

Maybe CNG could come via a barge temporarily - we need chief to weigh in on this.

 

 

 

 

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I read the only CNG facility now down here is in Jacksonville

 

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[FLSteve11]

Isn't Mariner going out of Miami on Friday and Monday, Symphony and Allure get Saturday and Sunday.

 

Mariner doesn't really need the new terminal, but I'm guessing she will leave from there.

 

I wonder what kind of parking they will be adding.

 

Will Icon be getting Allures old spot in PE? Don't they have to add CNG/LNG facilities for that,?

 

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I think Mariner is taking over for Enchantment sometime like May/June doing the 3/4. (I don't remember the exact dates, but it's around then).

 

From what I remember reading, they are going to add something like a 1000 parking spot garage along with the terminal. It needs it, parking there has been getting tighter as the ships got bigger. Plus NCL is also building a brand new terminal as well.