Cruise Ship Thread Part 2

iowaman · Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:36 am

Due to length of the first thread here is part two.

Part one is archived but available for viewing: Cruise Ship Thread (by jeffh747 Oct 26 2014 in Non Aviation)

OA260 · Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:29 am

Thanks for a new thread.

Princess have started a new ad campaign :

http://youtu.be/qMRasMU98OQ

http://youtu.be/HxVtEKI6aRI

I quite like the stargazing one. Did that on the QM2 across the Atlantic.
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Some cruise news :

Alaska conservationists concerned with cruise ship rules
Towering cruise ships, sometimes four at a time, sit at port in Juneau at the peak of summer, delivering tourists important to the economy of this and other southeast Alaska communities. But some conservationists worry about what the ships could be leaving in Alaska waters and are fighting proposed new rules for the discharge of treated wastewater.
The issue has come up before, pitting business interests against environmental concerns.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/0...-concerned-with-cruise-ship-rules/

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STX France starts work on Royal Caribbean’s fourth Oasis-class ship

STX France has started construction of Royal Caribbean International's fourth Oasis-class cruise ship with the steel cutting ceremony held at its shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class vessel, which is as yet unnamed, is currently under construction at STX France shipyard and the cruise operator awarded the order for the fourth vessel in May last year.
Both the third and fourth Oasis-class ships will feature a split superstructure design, 16 decks with 2,700 staterooms, an 82ft-long zipline, a hand-crafted carousel, the Rising Tide elevating bar, the AquaTheater high-diving performance venue and a Central Park with more than 12,000 live trees and plants.

http://www.ship-technology.com/news/...ns-fourth-oasis-class-ship-4505149

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Norwegian Escape To Feature First Ever Snow Room At Sea

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced several new features coming to its upcoming cruise ship Norwegian Escape. One of the new features will include the cruise lines first ever Snow Room! Yes we said Snow Room!

http://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-...ture-first-ever-snow-room-sea/5674

Not sure what the ''Snow room'' will add but will wait and see. The ice bar on the Breakaway was fun but not sure I would rush to do it again.

DocLightning · Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:32 pm

Greetings from aboard Celebrity Silhouette. We're currently in a storm in the Caribbean. Our cabin is the forward-most cabin and, while the rolling isn't bad, the yawing motion is really pronounced up here. Not at all peaceful, but rather very jarring. Ugh.

Fortunately, I don't get seasick. The husband does. But it's still hard to sleep when the bed keeps kicking you in the back and when there's a loud BOOM! every time the bow hits a wave.

blrsea · Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:44 pm

Anyone did a cruise of Bahamas? I am thinking about it. Which ports in Bahamas are good? Looks like the common ones are Nassau, Freeport, cococay and/or one of the cruise ship's private islands. Any suggestions on the ports to visit while planning bahamas trip?

DocLightning · Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:29 pm

Well, we just finished our second cruise aboard a Celebrity Solstice-class ship (first Equinox and then Silhouette) and I have to say that I can't recommend this class of ship.

First of all, it was an Atlantis cruise, so that does raise its own set of issues (like the gym on that ship is not nearly big enough or well enough air conditioned for a gay cruise), but there were other issues.

1) The elevators aboard were like the elevators at the hospital where I did residency. You had to wait a long time for one to come and when it did, it stopped an average of every 1 1/2 floors. Only once on the whole cruise did I make it from deck 12 to deck 6 without stopping. The ship needs another bank of elevators.

2) The flow from place to place is a bit awkward. The layout just isn't intuitive.

3) The cabins are a bit small for space and the storage space is not well-planned. Much as I disliked the one Carnival ship we took, the cabins were outstanding. The shower is a narrow tube designed for pygmies and the sink is miniscule.

4) They close the buffet down at 11 to 12 to set up for lunch. That's fine, but on a gay cruise especially people get up late. They should swap things out station by station rather than shutting down almost the entire foodservice.

5) Main dining room service on this cruise was open-seating, but dinner could take over two hours. I'm not sure if this is better with a fixed-seating schedule. I stopped using the main dining room after the first night.

Also, at 22kn Silhouette really vibrates in the aft section, even all the way up on Deck 14. Solstice wasn't as bad.

jetwet1 · Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:47 pm

Quoting blrsea (Reply 3):
Anyone did a cruise of Bahamas?

Done a few, honestly Freeport and Nassau are run of the mill Caribbean ports, sadly the cruise industry and the islands that visit have kinda crushed the individualism of each island, you could change the name of each island to Diamonds International and it would be more fitting.

If you do go, just get in a cab and ask to go somewhere quiet and local.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 2):
Greetings from aboard Celebrity Silhouette. We're currently in a storm in the Caribbean. Our cabin is the forward-most cabin and, while the rolling isn't bad, the yawing motion is really pronounced up here. Not at all peaceful, but rather very jarring. Ugh.

We went through that with hurricane Ivan, though I enjoyed it, the wife was not so happy :-P

[Edited 2015-02-08 08:49:15]

DocLightning · Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:02 pm

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 5):
We went through that with hurricane Ivan, though I enjoyed it, the wife was not so happy :-P

I don't mind rolling, but jarring is annoying. Can't sleep with the bed shoving you sideways once or twice a second.

Ken777 · Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:37 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 4):
Only once on the whole cruise did I make it from deck 12 to deck 6 without stopping.

As old and overweight as I am I often found it easier to take the stairs when going down. (I put a limit on 2 or 3 flights when going up)

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 4):
on a gay cruise especially people get up late.

I'm not gay and I like to sleep in. Get settled in sleeping well with that autopap working perfectly and I can drift for an hour or two.

DocLightning · Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:41 am

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 7):
I'm not gay and I like to sleep in.

Yes, but on gay cruises other than "destination" cruises where there are multiple 8AM ports, 3AM is "going to bed early." Some people went to bed at 6AM every day.

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 7):

As old and overweight as I am I often found it easier to take the stairs when going down. (I put a limit on 2 or 3 flights when going up)

That's what we started to do.

jetwet1 · Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:52 am

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 7):
As old and overweight as I am I often found it easier to take the stairs when going down. (I put a limit on 2 or 3 flights when going up)

I make it a habit of taking the stairs on anything except formal nights (the wife in stupidly high heels + stairs that are moving can be a serious insurance claim) just to try to stay in shape.

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 7):
I'm not gay and I like to sleep in. Get settled in sleeping well with that autopap working perfectly and I can drift for an hour or two.

There are certain cruises (Mexican Rivera) where we have been to each port so many times, either with friends or family, we just spend the day in bed, Puerto Vallarta is one of those ports, we've done everything there is to do (highly recommend the zip lining at Canopy El Eden) so we just order room service and relax.

Dano1977 · Tue Feb 10, 2015 12:27 am

My parents have just completed a cruise with a difference.

They went with Hurtigruten on a Northern Lights experdition. Basically the ship is a RO-RO ferry stopping off at 30+ ports in Norway (Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen) Not your typical cruise ship, but the cabin was clean and comfortable and the food was excellent. Drinks were a little pricey £6 or $9 for a beer, but I guess that is a Norway thing rather than the company. The crew were extremely friendly, and the deck officers dined with the passengers every night. The menu reflected typical cuisine to which ever port they were in or sailing to.

And the Northern Lights did make an appearance.

DocLightning · Tue Feb 10, 2015 1:29 am

Quoting Dano1977 (Reply 10):
They went with Hurtigruten on a Northern Lights experdition. Basically the ship is a RO-RO ferry stopping off at 30+ ports in Norway (Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen) Not your typical cruise ship, but the cabin was clean and comfortable and the food was excellent. Drinks were a little pricey £6 or $9 for a beer, but I guess that is a Norway thing rather than the company. The crew were extremely friendly, and the deck officers dined with the passengers every night. The menu reflected typical cuisine to which ever port they were in or sailing to.

How many passengers are carried on these ships?

I know that some cargo/container ships carry passengers who want the experience...

I would do it, but only for 2-3 days on a short trip. Then I'd go nuts.

jetwet1 · Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:43 am

http://www.galutschek.at/ships/lofoten/

http://www.galutschek.at/ships/trollfjord/

http://www.galutschek.at/ships/hurtigruten/

Some videos of the ships serving Hurtigruten, I have to admit this has a certain draw to me, somehow, in all my travels, I have never seen the northern lights, it's on my bucket list now.

Dano1977 · Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:01 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 11):

The Ship my parents went on was the MS Nordnorge. Passenger capacity is 623.

jetwet1 · Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:41 am

Quoting Dano1977 (Reply 13):

The Ship my parents went on was the MS Nordnorge. Passenger capacity is 623.

I just did a quick pricing, wow, this has seriously peaked my interest, sure it's not as inclusive as cruise lines, food is extra, but good lord the price savings are significant.

OA260 · Tue Feb 10, 2015 11:00 am

Quoting Dano1977 (Reply 10):
My parents have just completed a cruise with a difference.

Fantastic. I went on it and would 100% recommend it. Although some refer to it as a cruise it is a working ship so is more like a Ferry experience with meals and some limited entertainment. You really go for the amazing scenery and being part of the local communities though. I would love to do it again sometime.

A few pics from my trip :

Those pics bring back great memories. You can even do small sections of the route from as little as $300pp.

jetwet1 · Tue Feb 10, 2015 1:36 pm

I just looked, a 12 day in a suite came out at $600pp, sure food and drink is extra, but come on, it's not enough to make up the price difference between a suite (which looks very nice btw) and a regular balcony cabin on say The Queen Victoria. I am going to have to give this some serious thought, throw in flights on Norwegian and this could be a great deal.

OA260 · Wed Feb 11, 2015 7:10 pm

16 years for that excuse of a Captain according to Sky News ! May the coward have a horrible jail term . !! The victims of Costa Concordia finally get some justice.

Thunderboltdrgn · Wed Feb 11, 2015 8:19 pm

Quoting OA260 (Reply 17):
16 years for that excuse of a Captain according to Sky News
! May the coward have a horrible jail term . !! The victims of Costa Concordia finally get some justice.

Agreed.

Quoting The Guardian:

Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino guilty of manslaughter

Skipper of cruise ship that sank off the coast of Italy in 2012 killing 32 people has
been sentenced to a total of 16 years in jail

The captain of the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground off the coast
of Italy in 2012 resulting in the deaths of 32 people, has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Francesco Schettino was found guilty of the most serious charges against him by an
Italian court on Wednesday and sentenced to 16 years in jail.

The disgraced commander, who was dubbed “Captain Coward” after it emerged that
he abandoned the sinking ship even as hundreds of panicking passengers awaited
rescue, was not present for the reading of the verdict by a panel of three judges.

jetwet1 · Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:28 am

Good, may he rot in jail.

Dano1977 · Thu Feb 12, 2015 6:00 pm

Captain Coward is going to appeal the decision

ZKSUJ · Mon Feb 16, 2015 11:23 pm

Quoting OA260 (Reply 15):

I saw the Passage through Norway documentary on YouTube with that company, looks amazing. Definitely on the bucket list

atct · Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:49 pm

Quoting OA260 (Reply 15):
A few pics from my trip :

Looks like a fantastic ship!

Courtesy of the DCL Blog.

60 days till I set sail on the MV Disney Magic for a 7 night western Caribbean!

OA260 · Tue Feb 24, 2015 6:23 pm

Quoting atct (Reply 22):
60 days till I set sail on the MV Disney Magic for a 7 night western Caribbean!

Never really warmed to that product but would be interested to see your pics and feedback.

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Royal Caribbean confirms water slides coming to Harmony of the Seas

Just a day after announcing the name of the third Oasis-class cruise ship, Royal Caribbean confirmed that this brand new cruise ship will feature water slides onboard.

http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/20...-slides-coming-harmony-of-the-seas

OA260 · Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:35 am

Royal Caribbean cruises ltd. to sell splendour of the seas

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its cruise ship Splendour of the Seas to TUI Cruises in the second quarter of 2016. The ship will then be leased to Thomson Cruises, which will operate the vessel.
“Splendour of the Seas debuted in 1996 and has served Royal Caribbean International extremely well,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “The ship’s sale is in line with our strategic objective of divesting ourselves of older hardware and keeps us firmly on the course to the Double-Double.”

http://www.travelandtourworld.com/ne...t=ITB+Berlin+opens+with+a+positive

I guess these class of ships are getting too small for the RCI product.

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Some new developments at Crystal .

Genting to buy luxury Crystal Cruises for $550 million

The Asian gaming giant that purchased the former Miami Herald bayfront site in downtown is set for another surprise purchase: California-based luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises.

The acquisition agreement expands Genting’s current cruise portfolio, which includes 28 percent of Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. The parent company, which owns Norwegian Cruise Line, last fall purchased the company that includes premium line Oceania Cruises and luxury line Regent Seven Seas. Genting wholly owns Star Cruises, a major Asian cruise line.

http://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/cruises/article12080459.html

jetwet1 · Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:00 pm

There is also a rumor that the QE2 is moving to New York to become part of the Pier 57 deal, I actually though of the United States when this was first announced, but my source is adamant that it will be the QE2.

Dano1977 · Thu Mar 05, 2015 6:51 am

Quoting OA260 (Reply 24):

Royal Caribbean cruises ltd. to sell splendour of the seas

Such a shame, I was on Splendor of the seas in October 2013, and she was a fantastic ship, and to be sold to Thomson cruises

such a waste and a shame!

A kind of selfie on the rear deck

Splendor along with Queen Elizabeth in the Caldera in Santorini, Greece.

AirPacific747 · Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:15 am

I just came back from my Oasis of the Seas cruise a few days ago. Great experience! It was my first real cruise. I must say that the quality of the food was really good and they often asked us if we wanted extra. Bread, nachos, guacamole, etc was all made onboard. All staff was super friendly.

I got the chance to meet the captain at the "captain's corner" and he made a few jokes involving Carnival cruises how all the leftovers from our ship is sold to Carnival and how Royal Caribbean ships are sold to Carnival after 25 years or so. Any dispute between those two companies that I don't know of or just innocent humor?

Kiwirob · Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:39 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 4):
The cabins are a bit small for space and the storage space is not well-planned. Much as I disliked the one Carnival ship we took, the cabins were outstanding. The shower is a narrow tube designed for pygmies and the sink is miniscule.

Sounds like an average sized hotel room in Oslo.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 4):
That's fine, but on a gay cruise especially people get up late.

So do non gay people.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 8):
Yes, but on gay cruises other than "destination" cruises where there are multiple 8AM ports, 3AM is "going to bed early." Some people went to bed at 6AM every day.

We straigh folks are also pretty capible of staying up late, and partying till the morning breaks and later.

Quoting Dano1977 (Reply 10):
Basically the ship is a RO-RO ferry stopping off at 30+ ports in Norway (Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen)

No they are not. These vessels are first and formost small criuse ships, they have a secondary freight role, freight is boarded by a side opening door. You can put your car onboard, I've looked into taking the car from where I live to Tromsø, with diesel and a couple of nights in hotel's on the drive up taking the ship is not much more expensive.

OA260 · Thu Mar 05, 2015 11:48 am

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 25):
There is also a rumor that the QE2 is moving to New York to become part of the Pier 57 deal, I actually though of the United States when this was first announced, but my source is adamant that it will be the QE2.

Yes I saw that it will be interesting to see if anything comes of it.

Quoting Dano1977 (Reply 26):
Splendor along with Queen Elizabeth in the Caldera in Santorini, Greece.

Lovely photo

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 28):
No they are not. These vessels are first and formost small criuse ships,

Its a grey area to be honest. On a recent Q&A session with HG they were keen to distance themselves from the cruise brand label and actually said they were ''working ships''. They do not offer the same facilities as cruise ships and are indeed more akin to higher end ferries. Stops at ports can be as little as 35-45 minutes and this is purely for off loading passengers and cargo. Having done it myself I certainly would not place it in the cruise ship category whatever marketing people produce.

Ken777 · Thu Mar 05, 2015 11:09 pm

Quoting OA260 (Reply 24):
I guess these class of ships are getting too small for the RCI product.

Pity as I really liked the Splendour of the Seas. One of the best aspects was having the Windjammer at the front of the ship instead of aft, like it is on the other RCL ships I have been on. Very nice to sit and watch over the bow as the ship sails.

When we sailed on her we went out of Venice and, from bits I have read on the concerns of big ships sailing on the Main Canal. No way can I see the jumbos being allowed into the canal areas - especially around the train and bus stations so a ship like the Splendour may be pretty important for Med cruises visiting Venice.

Quoting Dano1977 (Reply 26):
I was on Splendor of the seas in October 2013, and she was a fantastic ship,

We sailed on her in mid September 2013 and, with this news, looks like we'll need to try to get a cruise this fall to sail on her one more time.

Dano1977 · Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:03 am

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 28):
No they are not. These vessels are first and formost small criuse ships, they have a secondary freight role, freight is boarded by a side opening door. You can put your car onboard, I've looked into taking the car from where I live to Tromsø, with diesel and a couple of nights in hotel's on the drive up taking the ship is not much more expensive.

Perhaps my definition of a RO-RO ship is wrong. (Car's and Vans go on and off = RO-RO)

I should of said "Working Ships" -

Quoting OA260 (Reply 29):
Lovely photo

Thank you!

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 30):
We sailed on her in mid September 2013 and, with this news, looks like we'll need to try to get a cruise this fall to sail on her one more time.

RCI are offering some great deals at the moment!

jetwet1 · Fri Mar 06, 2015 1:26 am

Quoting AirPacific747 (Reply 27):
Any dispute between those two companies that I don't know of or just innocent humor?

It's the normal jabs that they take at each other, in all honesty, it's done more to make those loyal to each line, it's been going on for a long time, when I was a kid we would normally cruise on anything except RCCL, my father didn't want to be bothered when he was on vacation, I still remember being on the Carnivale and having an officer make a joke about The Song of Norway "with it's strange bar that's going to fall of the funnel"....And my father handing him his business card...Yes there are times Scandinavians do have emotions lol

I have found the food on Carnival to be slightly better, though as with everything, you may find it different.

Behind the scenes..... How can I put this, you are dealing with a small community of executives all working within 30 minutes of each other, back when my father was with RCL we would have dinner at someones house on Palm Island, they pretty much took it in turns, you would have people from NCL,RCCL and CCL there, apart from the food the big thing was to lay down bets on which ship would be first and last to leave Dodge Island and trust me, when Multi millionaires (at the time) get drunk and start taking things personally, the betting could get serious.

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 28):
We straight folks are also pretty capable of staying up late, and partying till the morning breaks and later.

Amen, as someone who would routinely stay at work till 4-5am, I can pretty much put any non drug user to bed.

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 30):
One of the best aspects was having the Windjammer at the front of the ship instead of aft,

Agreed, The Sea and Sun Princess have the Horizon Court in the same type of location, a great place to eat.

[Edited 2015-03-05 17:29:39]

atct · Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:31 am

Quoting OA260 (Reply 23):
Never really warmed to that product but would be interested to see your pics and feedback.

This is #14 for me (#5 on the Disney Magic) so sufficed to say I really enjoy DCL.

atct

DocLightning · Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:48 am

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 28):

We straigh folks are also pretty capible of staying up late, and partying till the morning breaks and later.

I'm aware of that, but on charter cruises, things are different. The entire ship is chartered out to one subculture, quite often. For example, there are swingers cruises, religious cruises (the crew hate those; nobody ever drinks), nudist cruises (our cabin attendant on Carnival Miracle told us that story...oh the things she must have seen...and the things she wishes she hadn't seen), even charter cruises for guys into fat chicks (not making this up...I couldn't have if I'd tried). (SuperFly! Are you listening???

)

So the atmosphere on any of these cruises will be different than on a normal cruise.

Quoting AirPacific747 (Reply 27):
I got the chance to meet the captain at the "captain's corner" and he made a few jokes involving Carnival cruises how all the leftovers from our ship is sold to Carnival and how Royal Caribbean ships are sold to Carnival after 25 years or so.

Humor. Carnival has never (AFAIK) owned a former RCCL or affiliate ship. They have their own ship classes that get used across their entire fleet. Although, oddly, the Vista class was never used by Carnival Cruise Lines, even though their other brands from Holland America to Cunard use them. RCCL ships usually get sold to smaller third-world cruise companies, such as in some of the Asian lines. RCCL doesn't seem to cross-fleet their ship classes other than that they use older hulls to lower-end brands (Sovereign of the Seas now sails for Pullmantour). Ironically, what your captain said was quite backwards. An old Carnival ship, Tropicale now sails for Pullmantour, as well, and Pullmantour is an RCCL brand.

jetwet1 · Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:29 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 34):
An old Carnival ship, Tropicale now sails for Pullmantour, as well, and Pullmantour is an RCCL brand.

Oh I forgot about that, good catch.

Well I made a bad mistake last night, I sat on the couch with the wife and watched the show on the Smithsonian channel about the Paul Gauguin, so now for our 20th wedding anniversary she wants to take a cruise on her....Thankfully that is 9 years away, so plenty of time to save.

Anyone been on a Tahiti cruise ?

Ken777 · Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:17 am

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 35):
Thankfully that is 9 years away, so plenty of time to save.

If you don't have kids then I'd say don't wait 9 years before cruising. You can take short trips out of LA to get a bit of experience and then start looking at other ideas you'd like to try that are reasonable fryer budget.

jetwet1 · Wed Mar 11, 2015 12:53 pm

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 36):
If you don't have kids then I'd say don't wait 9 years before cruising. You can take short trips out of LA to get a bit of experience and then start looking at other ideas you'd like to try that are reasonable fryer budget.

Hi Ken,

Sorry if I wasn't clear, i've been on 50+ cruises, heck I have 5 booked for this year, I was referring to the Paul Guaguin in particular, it's not a cheap adventure by any means.

OA260 · Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:38 pm

Hi guys . Just back from the naming of P&O's new Britannia. Lovely ship.

I have broken my TR drought and put together a TR for you all. I hope you enjoy and find it maybe useful.

Britannia Rules The Waves+Queen Naming Ceremony. (by OA260 Mar 11 2015 in Trip Reports)

JAGflyer · Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:52 pm

My folks just completed their first HAL cruise on the Nieu Amsterdam ship. Overall they were very pleased with the entertainment, food, and service. The room was quiet narrow however despite them picking one of the larger stateroom categories. As people who normally like Celebrity cruises, they were impressed and would go with HAL again. They brought home some of the literature that is distributed daily showcasing the activities. From the daily info brochures and what they mentioned, HAL truly is a cruise line aimed at the retired/semi-retired crowd in the 60+ category. The comedian even started telling jokes about colonoscopies!

I hope to take a cruise at some point however I'd be more interested in RC or NCL. I'm young but not looking for the 7 day drunken stupor or the passengers that tend to flock to Carnival.

jetwet1 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:59 am

Quoting Jagflyer (Reply 39):
I'm young but not looking for the 7 day drunken stupor or the passengers that tend to flock to Carnival.

As I have said many times, on Carnival the 3/4 day cruises are the booze cruise, the 7 day cruises you have a lot older crowds who really do not party that hard, of course if you go on a cruise during spring break, no matter which mass market line you will run into a 7 day party, but don't put Carnival out of the picture.

Speaking of Carnival, the LA Times had a piece on the Vista, I am loving the Havana club area and cabins, the scaffolding bolted to the top deck, not so much.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/cruise...ta-cruise-ship-20150210-story.html

Quoting OA260 (Reply 38):
Hi guys . Just back from the naming of P&O's new Britannia. Lovely ship.

Great looking interiors, it reminds me of Princess but with HAL tones, not a bad thing by any means, but the 'Ship just rammed a pinata" look just isn't P&O or British to me...I understand they are trying to go for a "modern British" look, but IMHO it just screams tacky.

Ken777 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:52 am

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 37):
Sorry if I wasn't clear, i've been on 50+ cruises, heck I have 5 booked for this year,

My envy is beyond description.

I spent almost 4 years in the Navy with 3 major cruises, but that was different as I had actually work.

jetwet1 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:00 am

Quoting Ken777 (Reply 41):
I spent almost 4 years in the Navy with 3 major cruises, but that was different as I had actually work.

Just a slight difference for sure, though I did actually "work" on the Song of America for a month, well that's what my visa said, it was easier for my father to put me on board than fly me back to the UK, then fly me back a month later once my paperwork had cleared.

And like you I got to share my cabin, except as I was using my fathers cabin, it had a whirlpool tub, so the majority of the time was spent sharing the cabin with female staff from the spa.

Yes I had a good childhood/teen years, I was 19 then.

Ken777 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:15 am

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 42):
And like you I got to share my cabin, except as I was using my fathers cabin, it had a whirlpool tub, so the majority of the time was spent sharing the cabin with female staff from the spa.

LOL! We were stacked 3 high for bunks with a small locker for clothes & personal items.

But we did get some grand port visits on each - like 5 days in Hong Kong every deployment, Sydney & Perth (where I met my wife of 45 years.)

OA260 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:10 am

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 40):
Great looking interiors, it reminds me of Princess but with HAL tones, not a bad thing by any means, but the 'Ship just rammed a pinata" look just isn't P&O or British to me

I think thats the issue. An American perception of British culture may differ from what actually it is. Personally I loved it all and I guess seeing it first hand and being all around the ship is an advantage. I actually did not find anything I did not like about it and usually I do. Its a very different product from the old world Cunard product which as you know I love. Like I said I was never a P&O convert but I would certainly sail Britannia for my own holiday.

jetwet1 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:27 pm

Quoting OA260 (Reply 44):
An American perception of British culture may differ from what actually it is

Remember, i'm English, from Southampton (which btw, thank you for posting the pictures of Southampton in your trip report) but yes, I am probably a little Americanized by now.

OA260 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:19 pm

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 45):
Remember, i'm English, from Southampton (which btw, thank you for posting the pictures of Southampton in your trip report) but yes, I am probably a little Americanized by now.

Yes .... Maybe or maybe you miss old blighty?

Not a criminal offence LOL.. Even for me living outside of the UK for 20 years but obviously over and back nearly every month the UK has changed so much. I dont know the place I grew up in anymore. I love Soton really do enjoy my visits there. My favourite brand is still Cunard though

jetwet1 · Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:04 pm

Quoting OA260 (Reply 46):
Yes .... Maybe or maybe you miss old blighty?

Anytime I get home sick I fly back, by the time we get to the gate I am already thinking I could be in the Caribbean instead, my wife however would move there in an instant.

NorthstarBoy · Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:22 am

On the subject of Royal Caribbean: Any idea when the Majesty is going to retire?
At 25 years old she's currently the oldest ship in the fleet (If not the entire Caribbean).

jeffh747 · Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:45 am

It looks like Oasis 3 is now Harmony of the Seas and from initial renderings will include two or three slides- a first on Royal Caribbean if I'm correct. Details to come in the following months, as she's expected to launch next year. Can't wait! I loved my Oasis of the Seas cruise in August, certainly a memorable experience.

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