Norwegian Epic’s Successor: Lessons learned.

One of the things I forgot to write about the other day, when I wrote my Cruise News article, was a small tidbit of information that NCL had released a few days back…the codename for their new ships…”Project Breakaway”.

Since the new ships were announced several months back in October (after weeks of rumors), there has not been much information released about them. All we really knew for a while was what NCL had initially released…the ships would be built by Meye- Werft in Papenburg, Germany, they would each be about 144,000grt (around 10,000grt smaller then Norwegian Epic), carry around 4,000 passengers, and they would be delivered to NCL in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Along with the announcement, a rendering of the new ships was released…which set off a flurry of speculation on the internet.

Then a few days ago, as I said above, NCL revealed the project name for the ships, “Project Breakaway”…not really anything too amazing. Then today, NCL released renderings of the cabins aboard the new ships.

(Mini Suite rendering)

(Standard Cabin rendering)

Now for my thoughts…

I have to say that I like the design so far. The outside of the ship looks good, certainly much better than Epic’s looks (she easily had the most controversial looks ever in the cruise industry). And though she's not really that spectacular by any means (like my beloved Queen Mary 2!!!!....I know, that’s not really a fair comparison), but she is un-offensive and pretty enough…not to mention that many of her yet to be revealed details, are not shown in the rendering, which means that she will look slightly different in the end. I am optimistic though! :D

As to the cabins, I admit, I have mixed feelings here. On one hand, the cabin design looks cool, trendy and pretty well designed. On the other hand, these cabins are interlocked (as in, they are not rectangular and fit together with the adjacent cabins in a…um…interlocking way), which at first glance doesn’t seem bad right? Well to me this says one thing…less space. Interlocking cabins allow designers to squeeze more cabins into less space (which for the cruise lines means more money out of less space) by making the cabins narrower overall, and having them bulge out into the next cabin in places where they need to be wider (such as the where the bed goes) and bulge in where they can be narrower (such as the sitting area). Cruise ship cabins, while comfortable, are already pretty small (at least compared to land based hotels), so any narrowing of the standard cabin is, in my opinion, a mistake, and a downgrade to the passenger experience.

I would love to be proven wrong here but, given this ships size and relatively big passenger number (for a ship this size), my gut feeling is that I am right. The fact that NCL didn’t release square footage estimates for the cabins, is also slightly suspicious.

(((Keep in mind that there are three other possibilities at this point...that I really could be wrong - I know, unlikely - or, that the cabins can, in fact, interlock and still be spacious, or, lastly, that the design will change)))

I do want to say though, that I really do like these cabins...even if they are small (which I am not positive they will be). The design looks great! One of the places where I think NCL can really be great is, in cabin design.

(Norwegian Epic Cabin)

Overall, after crunching the numbers and looking at the cabin design, I am inclined to believe that these ships will be really crowded, much like Epic (ugh...). One of the biggest and most common complaints against the Norwegian Epic, was her crowdedness. According to reviews (not all reviews), it is hard to escape the crowds onboard. This is unfortunate; NCL’s product revolves around the concept of “Freestyle Cruising” where you ‘can do whatever you want, whenever you want, and with whoever you want’…but how “freestyle” can it be when you are stuck waiting in long lines, and competing with so many other passengers to take advantage of the many amenities? These new ships carry 100 less passengers than the Epic, but at the same time they will be 10,000grt smaller! On top of this, using the somewhat crude, and flawed, ‘gross tonnage divided by passenger capacity’ method of determining a ship's passenger space ratio, these ships score less than the Epic, with a per passenger space ratio of about 35sqft compared to Epic's 38sqft.

This all sounds bad, but fear not! There is hope for these ships! I save the best for last… Yes, so far these ships looks like they could be just as crowded as Epic (if not more so)…however, there is one thing that can set these ships apart from the Epic and allow them to be great…good design. One of Epic’s problems is a somewhat weird layout. When you look at the ship's deck plans, you can see part of the reason this ship is crowded (or at least feels that way); it is dis-jointed, and doesn’t have really great ‘flow’.

In an example of how great design helps crowds, we can look at the Oasis and Allure of the Seas. Those ships can carry over 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew (that’s over 8,000 people!), and yet, according to reviews, the ships hardly ever feel crowded. Part of this is because the Oasis Class is huge (the largest cruise ships in the world) at over 222,000grt, but another part of it is Royal Caribbean’s good design. The layout of these ships ‘flows’ very well, public spaces are spread out, and the ships are “intuitive” to get around.

There are many reasons why Epic turned out to be the quirky ship she is (that’s a subject for another article, for another day), such as mismanagement on the part of NCL’s old management team, and trouble with the ship yard, and new owners. However, I hope and think that NCL has learned from these past mistakes and that this new ship will be as awesome as it could be!

Back to the cabins. You can already see that NCL has at least learned something from the mistakes with Epic, in fact, one of the biggest mistakes with Epic…the bathrooms. (picture at right - Standard Cabin bathroom rendering)

As anyone who follows the industry (or who has been reading this blog since the beginning) knows, Epic’s cabins caused quite a stir for a number of reasons, but mostly because of their bathrooms…or lack thereof. The reason was because, they aren’t really bathROOMS per se. Each standard cabin has 2 stalls (with frosted glass doors that don’t leave much to the imagination), one with the toilet, and the other with the shower (the sink and vanity are out in the open inside the cabin). This has been easily one of Epic’s biggest flaws (in fact, many won’t sail on the ship for this reason) as there is not really any privacy in a normally very private spot.

However, NCL has fixed this problem on the new ships. These cabins have the standard bathroom…the kind that is an actual room. For me, this by itself already makes the ship more appealing than Epic. (picture at left - Mini Suite Bathroom rendering)

Anyways, I started this article with the intention of making it short, yet here we are (I am not good at writing short things….), time to finish. Considering everything I said above, I am really looking forward to learning more about these ships! As of right now, the ships could go either way, we don’t know enough about them, yet, to be able to say with way is more likely. However, I am confident that NCL could build a great ship (they have before), they just need to learn from past mistakes, and perfect the good aspects of what they already have! What ever they do, I am looking forward to seeing it!

Recent Cruise Industry News!!

Well, I am trying to finally get back into the swing of things here on the blog. The month of June is already more than half way over (time goes by so fast!!) and so far I have only one new article up for the month, “Come to Alaska”…check that out by the way.

Despite my absence from the ‘blogosphere,’ the cruise industry never sleeps and is constantly moving, giving us more to talk about here on Ramblings. So lets talk about what’s new, interesting, and happening lately in our favorite industry! You will have to forgive me as some of this news is slightly old. :o

- Princess Cruises, Holland America and Carnival Cruise Lines have just announced that they will be implementing a new and more restrictive smoking policy.

Up until now, Princess has allowed smoking inside select cabins and on cabin balconies (ironically the 2006 fire aboard Princess’ ship Star Princess, was caused by a cigarette on a balcony – new safety requirements have been passed regarding balcony fire safety as a result). Princess said that it’s new policy is in line with the global trend towards a more smoking-free environment, and that it will go into effect on all cruises after January 15th, 2012. Princess is however, quick to add that they still welcome smokers on their ships and will still have several different and convienent location where smokers may get their fix. Theses places include cigar bars, portions of the open decks, and in certain areas of the casino and night clubs.

Holland America’s new policy will disallow any smoking in any cabin across their fleet, effective January 15th, 2012. However, smoking on balconies, and in certain other areas, is still allowed.

Carnival’s new policy will be implemented in 2 phases. Phase 1, effective June 15th, 2011, will limit smoking onboard to Carnival’s dance clubs, and certain areas of the casinos, casino bars, nightclubs, and certain portions of the open decks.

Phase 2, effective December 1st, 2011, will restrict all smoking in all cabins across the fleet. Smoking on balconies (with the exception of the smoke free Spa cabins) will still be allowed. All three lines have stated that anyone who breaks these rules will be charged a $250 cleaning fee.

In recent years, smoking has become one of the more controversial subjects in the cruise industry. Obviously, many people are staunchly against it and would prefer that there was no smoking at all…others are just the opposite, and want to be able to smoke more freely.

- Radiance of the Sea has just completed a seventeen million dollar overhaul in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The refit added several new features and venues to the 90,000grt ship, such as, "Samba Grill" (a Brazilian Churrascaria introduced on the Allure of the Seas), Royal Caribbean’s largest pub at sea, “The Quill and Compass,” “Izumi Asian Cuisine,” and “Rita’s Cantina. They have also added a new and improved mini-golf course, a big screen outdoor TV, an arcade, and even a nursery. The drydock, part of a larger 70 million dollar effort by RCI to upgrade their fleet, added several new cabins, (including 3 single cabins), as well as other new eateries from Allure and Oasis of the Seas.

Radiance is offering cruises this summer to Alaska. Then this Winter, it will be repositioned to the South Pacific for it’s first season in Australia.

- P&O Cruises has announced that they will be building the largest ship in the company’s, over 170 year history, at over 141,000grt. The ship will be sister ships to Princess Cruises' recently announced, and completely new, "Royal Princess," albeit with some differences. The most obvious difference at this point is that, unlike the Royal Princess, this new P&O ship will have 2 funnels situated on its stern. The ship will also lack the new “Sea Walk”, a cantilevered, glass floored walk way that takes you over the side of the ship where you can watch as the sea passes almost 200 feet below you, featured on the upcoming, Royal Princess.

Personal Note: Even though I love the way multiple funnels look on ships, I have to say that I am not so crazy about how they have done it on this ship…it looks unbalanced to me.

The ship will be built by Fincantieri Shipyard in Italy, and is expected for delivery in March 2015. At over 141,000grt, the ship will carry 3,600 passengers and will be the largest ship ever built for the British market.

- In a somewhat surprising move, Royal Caribbean has announced that they will be sending the 140,000grt, Voyager of the Sea’s, down to Sydney, Australia in Fall 2012. The ship will be, by far, the largest cruise ship to ever homeport in Australia, and one of the largest to ever even call
there. She will be joining her fleet mates, Radiance of the Seas, and Rhapsody of the Seas, in what some have called a ‘war’ against Australian cruise market leader Carnival Corp.

Launched in 1999, the Voyager was the largest cruise ship ever built and was revolutionary for Royal Caribbean and the industry as a whole. She introduced novelties like, “Studio B” (Royal Caribbean’s ice skating rinks), rock climbing walls, and the huge indoor Royal Promenade; all of which have become staples of RCI ships. The addition of this ship to the Australian cruising fleet is no small upgrade.

In recent times, Australia has seen a rash of new high-end deployments to the country. Both RCI and Carnival Corp. are sending some of their best to be home ported in Australia for a season or more. As I reported a few months back, Carnival will be sending it’s Carnival Spirit, one of their most popular ships, and Holland America’s Oosterdam (both of which I might add, are leaving for Australia at the expense of the cruise industry in California…). Royal Caribbean is taking it up a few notches (if you ask me) from there. They are sending the wonderful, Radiance of the Sea’s, later this year (one of RCI’s best ships and most beloved), the Rhapsody of the Seas (one of RCI’s slightly older ships at 14 years old, but still a great and popular ship), and now, the Voyager of the Seas. On top of this, Celebrity Cruises – a RCI sister company --, will be sending their cutting edge (and one of my personal favorites) Celebrity Solstice, down under next year.

In my humble opinion, Carnival better watch out. RCI seems quite intent on taking Australia.

Moving on…

In an even more surprising move though, Royal Caribbean has announced that they will be first deploying the Voyager of the Seas to China in July 2012. This is surprising to me because I personally did not think that the Chinese cruise market, though fast growing, would be ready for a ship like Voyager. Up until now, like Australia, China has gotten some of the older and less flashy ships home-ported there. Over the years better ships have come, but nothing at quite the level of Voyager. However, obviously RCI must be confident that she will do well there, and I am sure she will be popular. She is a great ship and will offer something new for China!

Before this big move, Voyager of the Sea's will be based in New Orleans.

- Carnival has announced that they will be starting their first year round deployment out of New York City, with their Carnival Miracle. Beginning in April next year, Miracle will be offering 3 different eight day cruises. 1) An Eastern Caribbean cruise, calling at place like San Juan, St Thomas, and Grand Turk. 2) A Bahamas cruise calling at places such as Half Moon Cay (Holland America’s private island), Grand Turk, and Nassau. 3) will be a Bahamas/Florida cruise with stops in Cape Canaveral, FL, Nassau, and Freeport.

(above photo shows Carnival Miracle in New York - by flickr member " Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages" Tom Turner)

Carnival will be joining NCL (who has 2 ships based year round in NYC), and Disney Cruise Lines which announced in April that they will be basing the Disney Magic in NYC for 20 cruises, starting May 2012.

Carnival currently has part time deployments in NYC with their Carnival Glory, and Carnival Miracle. The larger Carnival Corp. also bases Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 out of New York for a part of the year.

- P&O's ships the Arcadia, was recently subjected to very bad treatment by the US Customs and Border Patrol while docked in Los Angeles. Passengers (with a large number of elderly) were made to stand and wait as each passenger was put through an extensive background check, even though the ship had already called on other US port's during it's cruise. The ship subsequently, stayed an extra 24 hours in Los Angeles (cancelling a call in Roatan) to allow it's passengers to actually see this great city. Interestingly enough, I was at the port during this unfortunate event and reported the news on Rambling's Facebook page, right away.
As an Angelino (a person from Los Angeles) I am very sorry to all the passengers on the Arcadia for your bad time in our city.

- Some other small tibbits of news...

- Carnival Cruise Line's is being sued by preservation and environmental groups in Charleston, SC, who allege that the Carnival Fantasy - which is based out of the city - breaks zoning laws (the ship does not meet the city's 60ft height limit) , causes public disturbances, and breaks environmental laws. Personally, I think this lawsuit is absolutely baseless.

- South Carolina's legislator as passed a resolution thanking Carnival for it's contributions to South Carolina and it's economy.

- The Australian government is looking at ways to help ease cruise ship congestion in Sydney, with all the new deployments there.

Anyway…that's it for right now! Keep checking back here for more articles. Thing are busy in life so I make no guarantee that they will be up tomorrow, but rest assured that I am working on getting them posted as soon as possible…hopefully tomorrow…or the next day…or days ;) .

(Sunset from Enchantment of the Seas)

Come to Alaska!

Well, it has officially started! The Alaska cruise season is here!

“YAY!” I hear you yell…ok I don’t really…but those of you who wish to cruise to The Last Frontier should rejoice! This will be a good year for Alaska.

I, however, am going, “BOOOOO!!!” Why? You may ask…well, because I live in Los Angeles, and you know what? I suddenly, and horribly, find that for the next 2 months the City of Angels will play host to no cruise ships. “Why?” I hear you cry…well my dear readers, the dark and terrible answer is a simple one……………IT’S BECAUSE OF STINKING ALASKA TAKING ALL MY SHIPS!!!! GRRRRR!!!! (…no offense Alaska…um…really).

But putting aside Alaska’s maritime thievery, I have decided to tell you about this beautiful, I must begrudgingly admit, cruise destination.

Alaska is the newest, the largest, and one of the least populated states in the union, as well as one of the most beautiful places in the world! Located in the northernmost reaches the the Pacific North West, Alaska is separated from the rest of the continental US by Canada (Darn Canada... JUST KIDDING!!! I LOVE YOU MY CANADIAN READERS!!! EH!!), and straddles the Arctic circle. And as much as I can’t stand having no ships here in Los Angeles ((even though I suppose I should clarify that the Carnival Splendor and Carnival Paradise are based here…but they are in Long Beach and everyone knows that Carnival ships don’t count!!!)), I have to say that I can’t blame the cruise lines for sending their ships to this truly remarkable place.



Boasting places and sights like Denali National Park, Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, the grand Alaskan mountains – including the tallest in the US/North America, Mt McKinley - and the very scenic, Inside Passage (a water way among the archipelago of the Alaskan Panhandle, through which almost every cruise sails), Alaska will astound you with its awesome scenery. Really Alaska’s beauty is second only to California’s!!! ;) …It's true!

Millions of people visit the state every year for its rugged, untouched terrain, unique culture and way of life, and for the many different adventures that one can experience in Alaska. Many of those millions come by cruise ship!

Despite the fact that Alaska is one of the staple destinations of cruising (much like the Caribbean), the last few years have been a bit rocky for the relationship between the cruise industry and the state, causing a loss in tonnage (cruise ships) and a big decrease in passenger numbers. This discord was caused by Alaska's, sometimes overly strict, environmental laws (such as one that will not allow cruise ships to dump Alaskan water into Alaskan water…I don’t get it either…), and by taxes. In 2006, Alaska voters approved a $50.00 head tax on each cruise passenger that comes to the state via cruise ship. Almost immediately the cruise lines sued the state in federal court through the Alaskan Cruise Association, alleging that the tax was unconstitutional and unfair (you have to consider how much money $50 per passenger, on ships that can carry thousands, would cost the cruise lines).

After losing over 100,000 passengers, many ships, and all the money that comes with them, Alaska changed course and reached a compromise with the cruise industry. They would pass a law lowering the head tax to around $35.00, and in exchange, the cruise lines would drop their lawsuit. The law was passed and as a result, the cruise industry in Alaska is slowly returning to normal.

However, despite this drama, Alaska has remained one of the word pre-eminent cruising destinations. Even though the number of cruise ships sailing to Alaska has not yet returned to their previous numbers, there are still many diverse options…enough to suit the vacation needs of any member of the cruising public.

Over 10 cruise lines will be sailing to Alaska this year alone, each one offering a unique and great product of their own. These lines include the fun, mass-market lines such as Royal Caribbean (one of my top picks for Alaska…especially the beautiful Radiance Class ships), Carnival Cruise Lines, and NCL; and the premium lines like the ever sophisticated and cool Celebrity Cruises (my absolute top pick for Alaska, especially the Millennium Class ships), Princess Cruises (who will have the largest ship in Alaska this year, the Diamond Princess), and Holland America Line. Others will include the high end luxury cruise lines of Crystal Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Silver Seas Cruises; and the smaller, lesser known and more intimate lines like American Safari Cruises, or Lindblad Cruises, who only carry a few dozen (if even that) on each voyage.

*quick edit (((New to Alaska this year is Disney Cruise Lines with their beautiful Disney Wonder! The ship is sailing 7 day cruises, round trip from Vancouver, Canada, calling on places such as Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.)))




The cruise ships themselves are also very diverse, ranging in size from the largest (the above mentioned Diamond Princess) at 115,000grt and the 90,000grt Radiance of the Seas, to the medium sized Seven Seas Navigator, to the much smaller yachts of Lindblad Cruises.

Most cruises depart from the ports of Seattle, Vancouver, Anchorage, or sometimes even San Francisco. As I said above, almost all cruises sail through the incredible Inside Passage (with its hundreds of islands and fjords, as well as its many glaciers and mountains that seem to rise right out of the sea), and call at cities such as the state capital, Juneau (a beautiful city, nestled at the base of Mt Juneau and surrounded by incredible scenery), Sitka (the historic state capital), Skagway, and Ketchikan; or at other great sights like Glacier Bay or the beautiful and imposing Hubbard Glacier with its 6 mile wide face (the glacier regularly produces icebergs the size of a 10 story building – a very cool thing to witness - so while the ships get close enough to give you an amazing view of this Alaskan treasure, they also have to maintain some distance).

Alaska also plays host to some of the cruise industry best cruise- tours and excursions, before, during, and after your cruise. Excursions include things like private charter flights over the mountains and gorgeous landscape of Alaska, dog sledding (don’t say “mush”), hiking through some of the most beautiful trails anywhere, historic and cultural tours, gold hunting (Alaska’s history is strongly tied to its gold), and bus tours that take you from your ship to some of the best spots to see Alaska’s diverse wildlife, scenery, or maybe even the birth of an iceberg. One of the areas where the cruise lines invest heavily in Alaska is their cruise-tours. Several of the cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, and Holland America, own their own glass domed train cars, exclusively for their passengers. These trains will take passengers directly from the ship to places like Denali National Park (the largest National park in the US…and one of the most beautiful), and small towns in the Alaskan interior. Of course the ride itself and the scenery on the way are enough by themselves to make these cruise tours worth it. Princess Cruises takes it up a notch with their 4 “Princess Wilderness Lodges” - located in Denali, in Kenai (one of Alaska’s most extraordinary places) and one the beautiful Copper River – reserved exclusively for their passengers on pre or post cruise packages. Other lines offer similar lodge packages; however, they do not own the lodges. Other cruise tour options include hotel stays and tours in Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, tours in Talkeetna (home of the famed Iditarod), motor coach tours, and excursions to Alyeska where you can ride over 2,500ft above the valley on the suspended Alyeska Tramway.

((Interesting piece of information that many people do not know is that Holland America Lines actually owns a hotel chain in Alaska and the Yukon called Westmark Hotels…however, as far as I can tell, HAL never mixes their cruise operations with their hotels.)))

One of the great things about Alaska cruising is that it is easy to find a cruise for most budgets! Many cruises are offered for very cheap and prices can often be brought even farther down by last minute discounting by the cruise lines, or even by talking to your travel agent, who can often get you a really good price. So examples (non-discounted) of prices in Alaska this summer…(remember that cruise prices include the cost of food, entertainment, port fees, transportation between destinations)
-7 days on Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, from $600 per person
-NCL is offering cruises from $750pp
-Carnival is offering cruises on Carnival Spirit from $900pp
-Celebrity is offering a 14 NIGHT repositioning cruise from Alaska to San Diego for only $1,000pp
If you would like to go in style, luxury line Crystal Cruises is offering 12 day cruises, round trip from San Francisco to Alaska, from $4,890pp…keep in mind though that the luxury lines tend to include more in their price, such as airfare, drinks (e.g. alcohol), excursions, and gratuities.

In short, what ever your budget there is definitely a cruise that’s right for you! Yes, Alaska is a great cruising destination… it’s beautiful, has lots of history and a unique culture all its own, and it offers many great experiences to cruise passengers and regular vacationers alike. If you are looking for pristine natural beauty, it doesn’t get much better then this!! If you are looking for warm tropical beaches and palm trees in the sand, well… Alaska is probably not for you (there are no palm trees and its cool all year round), but at the same time I would encourage you to consider it! As any regular reader of this blog knows, I have never cruised before (NOT BY CHOICE!!! >:[ ), so I can’t tell you any of this from experience. But even so, I don’t think I have to have been there to tell you how great it could be! Alaska has always been at the top of my “to-do list” for when I do finally get to cruise, and for all of the reasons I mentioned above! So, in short, if you are looking for a cruise this summer (or any summer really…) be sure to consider Alaska…I am sure you will not regret it!

I still hate them though for stealing my ships! ;)