Neil, any buzz about newbuilds from Princess? They seem to be the only line with nothing planned (at least not that I've heard about) after Ruby Princess. Grand is 10 now, and Star and Golden aren't far behind; and Dawn, Sea and Sun seem like they may be destined for other markets. And Pacific, Royal and Ocean (Tahitian) are aimed at niche markets (world cruises and the like). Just curious.
With Caribbean in 04, Crown in 06 and Ruby in 08, they appear to be on an every two year cycle for new releases. NCL, Carn, MSC and RCCL seem to be the ones building at an escallated pace. I was glad to see RCI finally building something new for their Celeb brand with Solstice and Equinox. I hope that's not the end of their modernizing plan. I suspect with some of the markets like the Caribbean cooling, there may be fewer orders for new ships in the near future. But then again, with everyone reaching out to new markets worldwide, the sky may be the limit if passengers of other countries take to cruising the way the North American market has over the years.
Actually I just did a search to see if any updated info was out and Celebrity and Costa are the lines that have the most new orders, each with 5 pending ships between now and 2012.
There are 31 new ships being delivered in that time frame, not including the more obscure lines. Hopefully this will open up new itineraries and perhaps new departure ports to accommodate all these new releases.
Thank you so much, Neil. So we can look for a new Princess in a couple of years. What do you think: a new Regal Princess? Or will they stick with the gemstone motif? A Topaz Princess? Amethyst Princess? Turquoise Princess? Probably never see a Zircon Princess.
Now that you mention the gem theme, I realize I missed the Emerald in 2007. So they were building them more often than I thought. But with no orders placed, it doesn't look likely they'll have a ship out for 2009. Maybe 2010 they'll release the Garnet, that's my birthstone, I'd have to sail that one!
I guess there only a few of us that like to go to the Caribbean in the summer, so Princess goes where the volume is. The only lines I could find out of Florida in the summer were RCL, NCL and Carnival. No great itineraries, just the standard ports of call. Princess seems to reposition later and later each year. I was looking for next October and there's nothing until November.
Penny, I just received a Princess brochure that shows 7 day Eastern Caribbean sailings on Crown Princess on October 5, 19 and 26; good price too: $599 for interior and free upgrade to oceanviev-obstructed.
Emerald Princess has 10 day sailings on October 21 and 31; $889 and $989.
Think about the Caribbean, Florida and the months of June to November..... hurricane season. In the past few years, many storms have forced countless changes for the ships which in turn have angered many passengers (why I'm not sure as you know it is hurrican season and who wants to sail into a hurricane?). That time of year is perfect for trips to Europe and Alaska, so why not move the ships to "better" places for those months?
In the past few years, many storms have forced countless changes for the ships which in turn have angered many passengers (why I'm not sure as you know it is hurricane season and who wants to sail into a hurricane?). That time of year is perfect for trips to Europe and Alaska, so why not move the ships to "better" places for those months?
Welcome to cruise-chat.
I take issue with your use of "countless" changes for ships during hurricane season. It really hasn't been that bad.
The simple fact is there are markets for all itineraries and abandoning the Caribbean under a perceived threat of hurricanes is simply not practical. Ships are not sailed into hurricanes.
And finally, Europe and Alaska have limits as to the number of ships they can handle. Alaska is already saturated.
You can't move every cruise ship to "better" places. Besides, many of us like the Caribbean in the summer.
Linear Mode
