Due to length of the previous thread here is part three.

The previous part is available for viewing:
Cruise Ship Thread Part 2 (by iowaman Feb 6 2015 in Non Aviation)

The new AIDAprima has a very old school bow design, I think it's distinctive and attractive. AIDAprima and her sister are being build in Japan by Mitsuibishi Heavy Industries. I look forward to seeing them in Norway, AIDA are probably the most frequent line in my home port.

Quote: The Hyperion Class AIDAprima will be the first cruise ship to use MHI's proprietary technology Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System (MALS). The system forms small air bubbles, which cover the bottom of the vessel like an "air carpet", thereby reducing friction between the hull and seawater when sailing. MALS reduces carbon dioxide and fuel consumption by approximately 7%. The ship will also be fitted with a detailed filter system, which will reduce harmful emissions such as soot particles, nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide. AIDAprima has a length of 300m, width of 37.6m and a draft of 8m. The gross tonnage of the cruise ship, which will be classified under the DNV GL class, is 124,500t.

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 1): AIDA are probably the most frequent line in my home port.

We had Cara in Belfast yesterday. Also I often see them in Arrecife when Im down there.


On another note Crystal Cruises are to get a second Dreamliner for their luxury tours. I mentioned on the previous thread they were getting one but they recently announced the second one. A very interesting project for sure.


Some great news for London :


London's new cruise terminal gets the green light
Mid-size cruise ships could be moored on the Thames at Greenwich, as Boris Johnson gives the go-ahead for London's first dedicated passenger terminal





Mayor of London Boris Johnson gave his backing on Tuesday to a commercial cruise terminal on the Thames at Greenwich.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Planning Board had last month given its consent for the development at Enderby Wharf, SE10, which will allow mid-size ships – measuring up to 230m in length and with a maximum passenger capacity of up to 1,600 – to dock. Now, with the Mayor's backing, the terminal is expected to be operational by 2017.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cr...terminal-gets-the-green-light.html

Thanks for the info Kiwi. I thought the full construction time lapse video was amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I51m3AI6hyA

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 1): The new AIDAprima has a very old school bow design, I think it's distinctive and attractive. AIDAprima and her sister are being build in Japan by Mitsuibishi Heavy Industries. I look forward to seeing them in Norway, AIDA are probably the most frequent line in my home port.

They've also done away with the bulbous bow. I wonder why.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 4): They've also done away with the bulbous bow. I wonder why.

Slow steaming, at lower speeds it's not necessary. This article is well worth a read. http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/item_10458.html

Quote: At lower speeds the bulbous bow can be a hindrance and can reduce efficiency. Nowadays slow steaming is becoming a preferred option. It reduces consumption and emissions. Container ships and bulkers now are so large that they need not go fast because their attractiveness is the amount of cargo they can shift, reducing shipping costs. So these giants can lumber along their preset lines, timetabled to deliver their goods at a steady, more economical rate. The bulbous bow then becomes superfluous and can actually hamper efficiency as the ratios no longer mean it does its job.

It looks like the bulb is faired into the stem.

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 5): It looks like the bulb is faired into the stem.

If that's even really a "bulb" at all.

But you're right. Cruise ships operate at a wide variety of speeds. Bulbous bows only increase efficiency at a given cruising speed range. Much slower and they increase drag, rather than reducing it. It may be that the folks at AIDA have accepted that the bulbous bow wasn't paying for its drawbacks. And with the bubble air system that should provide plenty of drag reduction.

Well, I give up on posting pictures, to much for my old brain, so links it is.

Anyways, we were on the Azamara Journey, we had booked a deal which gave us an inside cabin to a balcony room upgrade, about a month before the cruise we got a phone call offering to upgrade us to a suite for $2k, I sad no thanks, or the owners suite for $3k, well my credit card broke a number of speed records coming out of my wallet to pay for that one  

Here are some pictures

http://nancyandshawnpower.com/is-a-suite-on-a-cruise-ship-worth-it/

This lady lays it out pretty well.

I will say this, Azamara did a fantastic job on baby sitting us, I am sure they had the room bugged (joking), we would talk about dinner and where to eat, 2 minutes later our butler would knock and let us know the captain had invited us to dine with him and his wife, or the wife talking about getting a facial in the spa just to get a call from the spa asking if the wife would like to have a couple of ladies come up and help her prepare for dinner with the captain, all very surreal and of course a coincidence but still.

As we were in the owners suite we could dine at any restaurant on board, we also had a table reserved just for us at every place so we wouldn't have to wait. Which is really the largest perk of having the owners suite, no waiting for anything, what was a little disconcerting to start with was the crew knew our names even if we had had no interactions with them before, well it turns out, they take the picture from the boarding process and circulate it amongst the crew, so everybody knows who we are and can be greeted by name.

The food was very good, covering all tastes, one night we were at the chefs table, if you've never done one of these on a cruise I highly recommend it, though not as good as the one on the Carnival Dream (shocking huh) it was still a fantastic meal.

I know i'm missing a great deal of things (mostly the ports) but honestly, I had surgery back in January, while I thought I was fully recovered, the heat and humidity (mostly the humidity) kicked my butt, I was good for a couple of hours walking around the ports, but that was it, I really didn't get to see a whole lot.

We flew in premium economy on TK, I have to say, I am sad to see this go, it was as good as mostly business classes (well except for the no flat bed) and would highly recommend it to anyone.

I'm sure I have skipped over a whole bunch of things, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 7): Anyways, we were on the Azamara Journey, we had booked a deal which gave us an inside cabin to a balcony room upgrade, about a month before the cruise we got a phone call offering to upgrade us to a suite for $2k, I sad no thanks, or the owners suite for $3k, well my credit card broke a number of speed records coming out of my wallet to pay for that one

Great feedback and glad you had a good time. I am looking at Azamara for next year along with a few others.

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 7): We flew in premium economy on TK, I have to say, I am sad to see this go, it was as good as mostly business classes (well except for the no flat bed) and would highly recommend it to anyone.

For sure it was very similar to BMI PE back in the day. Will be a shame to see it go.

It seems RCI will be coming back to Miami :

Royal Caribbean Cruises planning expansion at PortMiami

Will PortMiami finally land one of the world’s largest cruise ships?

A deal in the works between Miami-Dade County and Royal Caribbean Cruises appears to be smoothing the way.

The cruise operator, which has headquarters at PortMiami, plans to finance, design, build and operate a new cruise terminal in the northeast section of the port, according to county officials. A preliminary vote before the Miami-Dade County Commission is set for Wednesday.

The agreement would last for no less than 20 years and no more than 60 — “an extraordinarily long period of time,” said deputy port director Kevin Lynskey.

Lynskey said the berth will be 400 meters long — which could fit “an Oasis and then some.” He was referring to the Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas and its sister ships, which are the largest cruise vessels in the world. The third and fourth ships in the class will be delivered in 2016 and 2018.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article34621548.html

Some breaking news from Cunard !



Cunard Appoints Interior Design Firm for Queen Mary 2 Refit

Major 2016 refit being developed in collaboration with British design company SMC and thousands of Cunard guests

SOUTHAMPTON, England, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cunard has appointed SMC Design to lead the development of Queen Mary 2's interior spaces in preparation for her forthcoming major refit in 2016. The Cunard flagship will undergo a multi-million 25-day (27 May – 21 June) extensive refurbishment that will see new interior designs and new guest experiences introduced on the most iconic ship in the world as she begins the next chapter in what has already been an illustrious career.

This announcement follows on from the recent well-received news that Queen Mary 2 will gain 15 new single cabins and an additional 30 Britannia Club cabins during the refit and that the very popular kennels will be expanded to cater for the high demand this unique facility already attracts. Today's announcement about the appointment of SMC Design will be the first of several unveilings the company has planned underlining the importance of the work to be undertaken on Queen Mary 2. SMC Design was founded in 1994 and is a London-based design consultancy that specializes in the maritime sector.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...-queen-mary-2-refit-300142948.html

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 1): The new AIDAprima has a very old school bow design

You're not kidding...looks like the bow of the Britanis.

QE2 declared a dead ship, moved into holding area in Mina Rashid

DUBAI, UAE - The former Cunard Line flagship Queen Elizabeth II is officially dead, along with all plans for her restoration and move to an unnamed city in Asia, according to a source at Drydocks World.

Fans of the ship had hoped for a change in her fortune in mid-August when the hulk of the former Cunard ocean liner was moved from her berth in Dubai Drydocks World to a holding berth in Port Rashid.

-50%

read more here:
http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/2...d-into-holding-area-in-mina-rashid

Dubai certainly knows how to destroy iconic landmarks while they are building some of the newest and world's tallest constructions.

What do these Sheikhs care other than their own pride. Preserving old history does not seem to be any of their concern.

They can afford to spend fortunes buying famous objects just to let them decay far away from public view.

Past the 10 years contract with Cunard no need they have her towed all the way to China or Bangladesh they will cut her apart right there at the dry docks, maybe at Port Jebel Ali.

       

Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 12): Past the 10 years contract with Cunard no need they have her towed all the way to China or Bangladesh they will cut her apart right there at the dry docks, maybe at Port Jebel Ali.

Finally, good riddance I say, keeping these old ships is expensive and ultimately ends up with the taxpayer footing the bill.

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 13): Finally, good riddance I say, keeping these old ships is expensive and ultimately ends up with the taxpayer footing the bill.

Dubai tax payers? Fat chance.

She is privately owned by Dubai World which is just one of the al Maktoum Sheikhs numerous assets. Tehre is no more crew on board so I doubt she would even cost much in maintenance... and then why did they buy her as they knew very well that their plans would fail and they all failed one after the other.

They will have to keep her until end of November 2018 come what may... Unless they set her on fire... not even sure they have her insured.

    

The QE2 has been dead for a while now. Most people close to and following the proposed project knew it was when and not if this ''official'' end would come. It was time to move on a long time ago but sadly some could not let go.

Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 14): Dubai tax payers? Fat chance.

If she returned back to the UK like many foolish people have proposed it would end up costing the taxpayer, no doubt about it.

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 16):

Maybe Jeremy Corbyn would take it under his wing and nationalise it like his crack pot idea for the railways ! On the other hand he is against the Monarchy so anything with Queen in it would surely be changed to something more politically correct.  

Quoting OA260 (Reply 9): It seems RCI will be coming back to Miami

Coming back? They never left. I sailed on Majesty of the Seas out of Miami just last year. They're currently running cruises on Enchantment of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas from Miami and next winter Navigator of the Seas will be shifting from Galveston to Miami.

Quoting garnetpalmetto (Reply 18):

As in the new fleet.   MOS and EOS are tugs compared to the new metal. I did one of my first cruises on MOS many years ago. There was a lack of RCI ships in recent times at Miami.

The lovely NCL Star was in Belfast yesterday. After the dense fog lifted it turned out to be a lovely day.
One of the older ships but still in great shape.


A few pics :

Looks like AIDA has brought back the wedge shaped bow, haven't seen those since the ocean liners of a century ago. I don't think it is done purely for retro purposes and the navel architects know their art.

Just booked a 14 day cruise on the Carnival Pride, TPA - BWI, I actually managed to get one of the aft wraps, something I have been wanting to do for a while and have not managed to do.

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 22): Carnival Pride

My wife and I did a 7 night itinerary was on this ship back in 2004, sailing from Long Beach.

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 23): My wife and I did a 7 night itinerary was on this ship back in 2004, sailing from Long Beach.

We did the same cruise on the Pride in 2008, we were in one of the Grand Suites, honestly, totally underwhelming suite, but we got a silly deal on it so no harm. It was on that cruise we discovered 6281 and the other handicapped rooms, if they are free (I wouldn't take one away from someone who actually needs the facilities the room offers) you end up with a room the same size as a suite, a huge balcony and all for the cost of a regular extended balcony room.

Brawl breaks out on a Carnival Cruise among passengers waiting in-line for cheeseburgers

'Guy's Burger Joint' line on 'Carnival Breeze Cruise Ship'

Read more + video
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ba9_1444321504#Y3gFm2soIZa7WW44.99

       

Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 25): Brawl breaks out on a Carnival Cruise among passengers waiting in-line for cheeseburgers

Whatever your market Dear  

-----

Sign of the times? Next Princess Cruises ship to be called 盛世公主号

In a sign of the cruise industry's growing reliance on Asia for growth, Princess Cruises' next ship will have two names -- one in English and one in Chinese characters.

Currently under construction at a shipyard in Italy, the 3,560-passenger vessel will feature both the names Majestic Princess and 盛世公主号 (Shèng Shì Gōng Zhǔ Haò) on its hull, Princess announced Friday.

As previously announced, in a first for the California-based line, the ship will be based year-round in Shanghai and cater to a local Chinese market when it debuts in the summer of 2017. In making the move, Princess is following industry giant Royal Caribbean, which is in the midst of deploying two of its hottest new ships to China, and several other lines also are expanding in the region.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel...s-cruises-majestic-china/73646036/

A bit of history! Currently on vacation in New York. Yesterday saw the place the Titanic was due to dock and the Cunard letters can still be seen on the gate. Also the hotel where the survivors were reunited once they made it in the rescue ship.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 26): Sign of the times? Next Princess Cruises ship to be called 盛世公主号

Norwegian's doing about the same thing. The second unit of their Breakaway Plus class was to be named Norwegian Bliss but they decided to build the ship from the ground up for the Chinese market and pulled back the name and will rename it.

MAIDEN VOYAGE MISHAPS AND OTHER SEAGOING SNAFUS

Back in the day, the idea of going on the maiden voyage of any new ship had an aura of prestige and glamour that appealed right across the travelling community. Especially in the pre and post war heyday of the transatlantic run, the first sailing of any new ship invariably attracted banner headlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

Passengers, in turn, were intrigued by the idea of being part of a piece of history; a headline grabbing maiden crossing was, quite literally, a true rite of passage that participants could dine out on for years. Many did just that.

But the pace and poise of the Atlantic run has largely given way to the indolent largesse of the contemporary cruise circuit. With an ever increasing conga line of new ships emerging each new year, does the ‘maiden voyage’ of today still have the cachet of old?

-50%
read more here:
http://travelswithanthony.wordpress....mishaps-and-other-seagoing-snafus/


    

In substantial news, it looks like Royal Caribbean is bringing back Empress of the Seas. She had been sold to Royal's Pullmantur brand in 2008 where it sailed as Empress. Pullmantur is now pulling back to solely focus on the European market and Empress will be extensively refurbished and returned to service with Royal Caribbean in Spring 2016. Originally built in 1990 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire for Admiral Cruises, she was known as both Nordic Empress and Empress of the Seas in Royal's fleet. A lot of speculation I'm seeing indicates she'll be used to start service to Cuba.

Quoting Garnetpalmetto (Reply 30): A lot of speculation I'm seeing indicates she'll be used to start service to Cuba.

Ooh, interesting. But the Caribbean is THE premium market for cruise lines. Would it make sense to use a 25-year-old ship, however upgraded she may be, for this market?

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 31):

As with other lines it seems they will go to certain destinations namely Cuba with smaller nieche ships rather than mass housing projects. Cuba should not make mistakes of other places.

Im trying out the Braemar from today. First impressions are rather positive. An older ship but a perfect size.

The Balmoral sailed past us a while ago to an amazing sunset .

Royal Caribbean is launching another mega ship in the spring. The worlds largest cruiseship, the Harmony of the Seas" with a gross tonnage of 227 700. Around 2000 more gross tonnage than the sisterships in the Oasis class.



http://www.royalcaribbean.com/harmonyoftheseas

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 31): Would it make sense to use a 25-year-old ship, however upgraded she may be, for this market?

Might be a good size for the Central London terminal show in Reply 2. Especially as a starter ship to help that market develop. I'm certainly looking at sailing from that terminal and would be fine sailing on a 25 year old ship.

Empress is still a little too big for that Central London terminal. 2,020 passengers if I remember right. From what I hear the plan for her is, indeed, Cuba.

Quoting Mortyman (Reply 34):

Yes its been in the news quite a while now.

Quoting Garnetpalmetto (Reply 30): it looks like Royal Caribbean is bringing back Empress of the Seas.

Small cabins, next to no balconies, she really doesn't fit in with the modern RCCL way of thinking, it will be interesting to see what they do with her.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 31): But the Caribbean is THE premium market for cruise lines.

I'm not sure premium is the correct word in this case, maybe primary, but either way, I just can't see the Empress being competitive with the other ships sailing for all the lines in the Caribbean, maybe a return to the west coast and the Ensenada run ?

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 38): Small cabins, next to no balconies, she really doesn't fit in with the modern RCCL way of thinking, it will be interesting to see what they do with her.

I don't know about next to no - I count 69 staterooms with a balcony between the Junior Suite, Deluxe Suite, and Royal Suites on her. Beyond that, who knows what Royal has planned? I doubt they'd lengthen her (I believe after Enchantment had that treatment it was judged too expensive to get a significant return out of it) but they could always opt for some sort of "clipped on" balcony option like Carnival did with some of their Fantasy class ships.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 37): I'm not sure premium is the correct word in this case, maybe primary, but either way, I just can't see the Empress being competitive with the other ships sailing for all the lines in the Caribbean, maybe a return to the west coast and the Ensenada run ?

I know Jewel of the Seas did some itineraries out of LA this past year that included Ensenada. That said, I still think that Empress not being competitive with other ships in the Caribbean points to a unique itinerary that it wouldn't have much competition on - Cuba, again, springs to mind.

Quoting Garnetpalmetto (Reply 39): I don't know about next to no - I count 69 staterooms with a balcony between the Junior Suite, Deluxe Suite, and Royal Suites on her. Beyond that, who knows what Royal has planned? I doubt they'd lengthen her (I believe after Enchantment had that treatment it was judged too expensive to get a significant return out of it) but they could always opt for some sort of "clipped on" balcony option like Carnival did with some of their Fantasy class ships.

I didn't think it was that many balconies, I totally missed the ones under the lido. I guess they could put the "clip on" ones forward and aft of the lifeboats, I don't see them spending the $$$ to lengthen her either.

Quoting Garnetpalmetto (Reply 39): I know Jewel of the Seas did some itineraries out of LA this past year that included Ensenada. That said, I still think that Empress not being competitive with other ships in the Caribbean points to a unique itinerary that it wouldn't have much competition on - Cuba, again, springs to mind.

Carnival has the Imagination doing the Ensenada run right now, so the level of competition isn't to high and honestly, at this point, they are nothing more than glorified booze cruises. Cuba would be a good idea, except it will still be some time before that really gets into full swing, so what to do with her until then ? 3-4 day Bahama cruises ? or maybe sell her to another line.

On a different subject, i got a call from my Azamara rep today to tell me about the new world cruise, it sounded interesting, except for the fact that there is no way I can take 102 days off work right now and the big thing, as I told him...

"If I wanted to do a world cruise, i would take one that goes you know, around the world, not from Sydney to London, that's half a world cruise".

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 40): I didn't think it was that many balconies, I totally missed the ones under the lido.

What the heck's a lido, we don't call it that on Royal  . Based on the deck plans I saw on Pullmantur's website, the count is:


63 Junior Suites (5 on Deck 7, 1 on Deck 8, 57 on Deck 9)
5 Deluxe Suites (2 on Deck 7, 2 on Deck 8, 1 on Deck 9)
1 Royal Suite (Deck 8)

On the plans below, Junior Suites are light green, Deluxe Suites are purple, and the Royal Suite is turquoise

Deck 7:



Deck 8:



Deck 9:

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 40): or maybe sell her to another line.

Nope - Royal's being explicit that she's going back into service with Royal. The only pending sale they've announced is Splendour of the Seas to TUI Cruises who will, in turn, lease her to Thomson where she'll be Thomson Discovery. No word on whether her engine room fire last week threw a wrench in those plans.

Quoting Garnetpalmetto (Reply 42): What the heck's a lido, we don't call it that on Royal

It was the Lido last time I was on an RCCL ship, of course that was the Song of America, well that dates me lol

Quoting Garnetpalmetto (Reply 42): Nope - Royal's being explicit that she's going back into service with Royal.

Interesting, i'm actually surprised they would bring a 25 year old ship back into the fleet, it will be interesting to see what they do with her.

I'm not sure if this is old news or not, but, it appears that the new locks in the Panama Canal are open/will open soon as RCCL is sending the Explorer of the Seas to Alaska next summer along with the Celebrity Solstice. I believe both will operate round trip Inside passage cruises from Seattle.

Quoting jetwet1 (Reply 43): It was the Lido last time I was on an RCCL ship, of course that was the Song of America, well that dates me lol

I kid because on another forum I frequently use, crossover Carnival cruisers often refer to the "lido." Nope, Royal just refers to it as its deck number or as the "pool deck" these days. The last ship with "named" decks is Majesty of the Seas and even there most people and crew just refer to deck number. It certainly makes it a little easier to understand, especially for a first-time cruiser, trying to figure out which is the "Mariner Deck," for instance.

Anyone know when the Dec 2017 voyages for Cunard get released ?

Live from the M/S Braemar we navigated the infamous Bay of Biscay last night. One of the roughest crossings in memory. Lots of things were locked down and some less well to cope were confined to their cabins.

Today another lovely sea day with nice walks on deck with a bracing wind.

A pleasant arrival in Tenerife :





And a busy day in Arrecife :

Overall thought Phil ?