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Hooray ! Splendour is Going


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Put me down as a lover of smaller ships. My first cruise was on Celebrity Horizon, and the experience has stayed with me. I'm a lifelong sailor and one of the advantages of smaller ships is the intemienticy with the crew and passengers. I am impressed but the mega ships from a technology point of view, but they just seem to be more like sailing cities. Oh they have a bigger venue of places to eat and things to do. There is obviously a market or RCI wouldn't build them. And I would bet they are more profitable than the smaller ships. But I'll take the smaller and friendlier ships anytime!

 

I've sailed Grandeur and Enchantment and have loved them both. In 10 days I'm out again on Grandeur for 10 days.

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I'm a fan of the smaller ships too. Adventure is the largest ship I've been on, and that was enough. Not everyone wants the same cruise experience. The newer builds are impressive and have all the bells and whistles and they are obviously hugely popular, but If RCL keeps selling the small and building the large, I'll be searching for the smaller ships on other lines.

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roll on 2016 when Splendour moves to Thomson cruises ownership ! :)

 

We're getting rid of the pesky little ships, one by one :) :)

 

Is someone forcing you to book a cruise on one? I don't particularly care for the smaller ships but I certainly find no pleasure in those that do loosing their options.

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roll on 2016 when Splendour moves to Thomson cruises ownership ! :)

 

We're getting rid of the pesky little ships, one by one :) :)

 

Hmmm...not sure why one would celebrate this. Was it parked on your lawn or something? :confused:

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roll on 2016 when Splendour moves to Thomson cruises ownership ! :)

 

We're getting rid of the pesky little ships, one by one :) :)

Most people are sad to see a favorite class of ship leave. Little ships are the best. These Big Honker You Can Have And Enjoy.Bigger is not always better.

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I'm a huge fan of Oasis class - and have found them less crowded than the other classes. However I think it would be a real shame to see all the smaller ships disappear if for no other reason than the fact that they can get into ports which the big ones just can't get to. It will be a shame if, in the future, every itinerary contains the same limited number of ports simply because the ships are so big they can only go to those same ports.

 

We had a wonderful cruise on Azamara last year and would go back with them in a heartbeat if the prices weren't so high, simply because we were able to call into ports which the larger ships can't do.

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Splendour was actually sold to TUI Cruises who will in turn lease her to the Island Cruises brand of Thomson Cruises, which is one of 3 cruise lines operated by TUI AG their holding company.

 

TUI Cruises is partially owned through joint venture by RCL, the holding company that wholly owns RCI, Celebrity and Azamara.

 

In turn, they partially own the Splendour.

 

TUI Cruises has 5 additional new mid-size ships on order to add to their current fleet of 3 and all will be delivered one each year over the next five years. Two of their ships are former Celebrity ships and they have one new build delivered last year.

 

TUI AG also partially owns Thomson Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, where RCL are not directly involved.

 

The Splendour will replace the only current ship operated by Island Cruises, the Island Escape.

 

The Island Escape was operated for years by RCI as the Viking Serenade between 1990 and 2002 and it is fitting that she will be replaced by a RCI ship, Splendour.

 

Viking Serenade was owned during this time by Norwegian, Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA and leased to RCI in a similar relationship.

 

Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA has always been one of the largest owners of Royal Caribbean.

Edited by MADflyer
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Yeah, if it limits RCL's itineraries, I'm not in favor of "the ship is the destination" at all.

 

Good point - the new big ships have limited ports that suck. We have no interest whatsoever in Oasis or Allure for that reason.

 

Don't know why anyone would be "happy" to see a ship go.......:rolleyes:

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I was pretty socked for a minute that Serenade would be going anywhere. The Radiance class ships are very popular!

 

The Vision class is extremely popular with some.

 

Those fantastic aft corner JS terraces are among the best available in the RCI fleet and add in my 'secret' stairway up to the spa and solarium and I am all set.

 

These are very well designed ships and among the best in their class.

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