5400 Pax on RCI new ships - Unbelievable

[JimVrhovac]

Does the term "CATTLE CAR" come to anyones mind......

 

Thank god HAL has no plans to get rid of the R or S class ships in the near future.... They do cost more to cruise on but they are worth every penny of the extra charges...

 

Ruth & Jim

[hammybee]

Oh count on me to find something positive.......

 

 

For those who worry that their cruise ship will be chartered out from under them 10+ months into the future, I think this ship with be safe from any risk of chartering.

[cf_chuck]

Thank god HAL has no plans to get rid of the R or S class ships in the near future....

 

My sentiments also. :D

[platformb]

I think their timing is excellent. sailing into $6-7 per gallon fuel oil and a world wide slowness in everyones economy. Imagine as they sail 50% empty having "only 2,700 passengers on board. However, both of those ships can be run aground and immediately turned into apartment houses and no one will ever know the difference.

[SarahQ]

But what about when you got to port?

 

I was just on the Oosterdam last month, and when we got to Juneau after 42 hours at sea, everyone wanted to get off immediately. It was crazy for the first hour. Fortunately my tour wasn't until 12:30 (we docked at 11) and I had a view of the gangway from my balcony so I didn't even head down until the crowd calmed down.

 

Again, I can only provide my own experiences, but the waits were not that long - that said, we weren't rushing to get off the ship at the very first second it docked. Our ports were San Juan, St. Maarten and Labadee, so we did have to tender once and that too was not terrible as far as I was concerned.

 

The itineraries for these ships (from the information I've heard) will be Caribbean-only, and many of these ports already routinely have huge numbers of passengers there, so I might be the only one, but I don't think it will make THAT big a difference. Just like everything else, the ports these ships will be visiting will adapt.

 

In the end, it comes down to personal preference, as do all choices when it comes to cruising - while there may be lots of people who won't find a large ship appealing, I'm willing to bet there will be many, many more who do (and apparently, so is Royal Caribbean ;).

 

For me, my issue with Liberty wasn't its size, it was the feeling onboard - too Vegas. I much prefer the refined elegance of Holland America. However, with a small child and looking more towards multi-generational trips, my priorities will likely change to being more about amenities, and in that case, the new "mega-ships" may become our best choice for the whole family. In this case, the ports really aren't important, because it will be the ship that's the destination - basically, a resort that moves. And that's what I think Royal Caribbean is banking on.

[TCF]

....for a whole lot of things! Engineering. Design.Creative use of space. But...not for a cuise ship! There is something about the size that I think is going to kill the reason why most of us cruise! Cruising is not transportation to a bunch of different places, but an experience in itself. For uis the ship is 60% of why we go...40% of where we are going!

Our first cruise was on a 2700 passenger ship. We had a great time in every respect...except there were just too many people!

RCL must think there is a demand for the big ships....that they will be able to fill them...or they wouldn't build them!

These behemoths are going to be fascinating to see in real life...but far away from me please!

[bob brown]

I don't think the capacity of the ship matters that much as long as it is well designed to handle it. I have been on the Crown Princess and found it feeling crowded, while I was on the much larger Mariner of the Seas and found it not crowded. I believe that safety regulations require ships to be able to evacuate all aboard in an emergency in a standard amount of time, so larger ships are designed to do that. As for ports, they are probably only going to stop at ports not requiring tendering and they are already improving the infrastructure at thse ports to handle the large passenger flow. In addition, the ship will have a new class of tenders that are about double the size of the present ones.

I personally prefer ships the size of the 'R' and 'S' class for most of the time, but I would like to try these new ships just for the experience, and to see all the latest innovations aboard.

Then it's back to HAL.

[CroozeAddict]

All of the concerns about tendering are unjustified. When the Freedom class came out, RCI put the logistics in place before hand. Getting off these ships isn't a problem ... no more of a problem than the HAL Vista ships at HMC. I'm sure some of you have been to HMC when two ships are anchored at the same time. That's when tendering can be a nightmare.

 

However, I must agree that being in port could cause headaches unless it is the only ship there.

[Alan2504]

Now this is what I would call way too big.................

 

http://shiphappenzz.wordpress.com/20...re-the-future/

 

that is one UGLY ship!!!!!

 

Lets hope it never happens.....

[cferro514]

We thought the QM2 was huge at 157,000 tons and 2,800 passengers.

 

:eek:

 

I can not imagine cruising on a ship this large.

[Taxguy77]

I think any ship that is too large to fit into the current lock system of the Panama Canal is too damned big!

 

Yes!

Last year we sailed on a 700 passenger ship, and enjoyed a wonderful swim and a couple of beers before returning to the ship. A big (read BIG) Carnival ship had just tied up next to us and the people were heading ashore........... I stood with my cane in front of me in a 3-point stance to avoid being knocked down on the dock!

Not for me, I don't even like ports with more than 2 ships in at the same time.

[cruz chic]

It's sounds really big but for some reason I wouldn't mind trying it if I got a smokin' deal.

 

Just think....the ship is so big it could maybe be a 2 caribbean islands at once....St.Thomas get off the front of the ship...Tortola get off the back:D .

[larsenbiz]

WOW! The video and pictures of this ship are pretty amazing. I think that the ship itself is its own destination.

Now, when are they going to build the Cruise Spaceship?:eek:

[cruisecrasy]

....for a whole lot of things! Engineering. Design.Creative use of space. But...not for a cuise ship! There is something about the size that I think is going to kill the reason why most of us cruise! Cruising is not transportation to a bunch of different places, but an experience in itself. For uis the ship is 60% of why we go...40% of where we are going!

Our first cruise was on a 2700 passenger ship. We had a great time in every respect...except there were just too many people!

RCL must think there is a demand for the big ships....that they will be able to fill them...or they wouldn't build them!

These behemoths are going to be fascinating to see in real life...but far away from me please!

 

Remember plse though they were planned before the mort. meltdown in the US & ever-increasing fuel supplement increases...plus

any company can make a mistake (the 'lets build a ship bigger than their ship' routine) and I believe that RCL has made a 'big' (pardon the pun) mistake especially since its the boomers retiring with lots of $ who will help fill the ships and as folks age they prefer 'smaller & more intimate' not floating cities & malls..

 

I hope I am wrong but fear I am not!

 

HAL is being much more cautious and I believe is wise to be so..and keeps my loyalty as I much prefer small to medium sized ships myself.

 

Happy cruisin' all!

[cruzmaven]

RCI is marketing itself to a younger crowd and families. They offer activities (rock climbing walls, surf machines, ice skating) that appeal to families and gen X'ers. The ships are their own destination, the ports are secondary. I believe the ships are going to feature multiple and varied dining venues and be a different type of experience from what most of us consider to be a traditional cruise.

 

With rising fuel costs, if these ships can sail at capacity, I would guess the cost of fuel per passenger is going to be less on these ships than on the more traditional ships.

 

These ships have little or no appeal to me, my 20 year old son, however, can't wait to sail on one of them.

 

Its just a matter of preference.

[localady]

I just read this in a new letter I receive.

 

At 220,000 gross registered tons, the Oasis of the Seas (debuting in late 2009) and Allure of the Seas (debuting in 2010), will be significantly larger than the Freedom-class ships (160,000 tons), feature 16 decks, 2,700 staterooms and a previously unimaginable passenger capacity of 5,400 guests.

 

I would hate to be in port with either of these ships !! :eek:

 

And that is only at double occupancy. No doubt many cabins will be filled with more pax bring the pax compliment to 7000+ !!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I hyperventilate at the thought.......;)

[jtl513]

I wonder how many of the guests would notice if it never left the home port! :D :D That would certainly save on fuel!

[m steve]

where people are used to being crammed into subway cars. I won't be sailing on it as it's way too big. Like a Hummer for a single person.

[bepsf]

Now, when are they going to build the Cruise Spaceship?:eek:

 

Welcome to Fhloston Paradise...

[kakalina]

Brian; I have my multi pass ready!

[MWGuy]

http://www.royalcaribbean-genesis.com/renderings.html

 

Artist renderings of the Genesis Oasis.

[esther e]

5400 pax; let's assume half are male -- that's 2700 Speedos fitting various ages and shapes.:eek: Seriously, last fall we were on a RCI ship going to Canada/New England. 3500 pax. We were counting the days till we could get off. The food was not good. And contrary to what has been said, we waited to get off and waited to get back on. Thank ye, we'll take smaller ships any day of the week!