Will Princess copy P&O's new ship design

Just as P&O used the Royal class as the design for one of their ships (Britannia), there is certainly potential for Princess to use the design for the new 5,200 passenger, 180,000 ton ship for a new ship class. It would certainly be in line with the move to bigger and bigger ships. I would also expect CCL to leverage the investment in designing the new ship in other lines (most likely Princess).

From what little information has been put out about the design it certainly seems interesting.

Aussie friends greatly enjoyed their recent Britannia cruise & based on their experiences I'd much rather sail with the Britannia's modifications to a Royal-class ship than the changes being made to the Majestic. But those ships are designed to attract different clientele & my desires are much closer to a British experience than an Asian one.

CCL's ship designs seem to have different goals for each of their 3 major cruise lines most often marketed to North American passengers. HAL has the smallest ships, Princess is mid size and Carnival are the largest...all based on current definitions of ship sizes. That indicates to me that CCL considers the demographics of each cruise line & doesn't want all of their cruise lines' ships to be one size fits all..

So I'm hopeful that Princess will never have a 5,200 passenger, 180,000 ton ship. I've enjoyed the Royal & Regal ships several times but don't want to have a larger Princess ship.

I found the interior design of Britannia inferior to its older sibling Royal Princess.

Britannia's atrium was lifeless and the pool deck ambience soulless without MUTS and the classy cabanas located by the retreat pool.

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=7303

A half mile long covered promenade deck sounds nice!

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http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=7303

 

A half mile long covered promenade deck sounds nice!

 

If it's going to be similar to that which is on the NCL Breakaway- and Carnival Vista-class ships (and it sounds like it will) it will be less of an actual 'promenade deck' like what the Grand-Class has since it'll be mostly cluttered with a multitude of restaurant outdoor seating areas, eateries, walk-up snack shops, bars, etc. These same types of venues also take up a good amount of the width of the 'promenade deck' on the Breakaway-class.

I'm sure it'll still be better than what's on the Royal-class, but I'm betting it won't be a true 'promenade deck'.

:D

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=7303

 

A half mile long covered promenade deck sounds nice!

I wouldn't jump for joy just yet. This part of the press release gives me pause:

The 5,200-passenger, 180,000-ton ship, which is due to launch in summer 2020, will "bring the outside, inside, and connect guests with the sea," according to Carnival U.K.'s CEO, David Noyes.

 

Noyes added that this would happen via a Lanai deck -- defined as a covered promenade deck.

 

"We are bringing the outside, inside with a half-a-mile "Lanai" deck, which is a new version of the traditional promenade deck. It will have al fresco dining and intimate hideaways," he said.

Part of that seems to reflect the "Waterfront" on Breakaway, as noted above. (Despite the criticism of it being cluttered with venues, this is still far better than the Royal Class patios):

But the "bring the outside inside" is troubling. They seem to be bragging about having a "covered" Promenade, as if that is something new. Last time I checked, the Grand Class ships all had covered Promenades. So if this is something new and innovative, and they are bringing the "outside to the inside", I wonder if this will actually be an indoor mall (like Oasis), only at the perimeter of the ship with views to the outside. The scale model shown in the article is too small to tell, but I can't make out any area that would be the equivalent of the "Waterfront". Hope I am wrong because I actually think that that is a brilliant compromise toward having a real Promenade and still wanting to generate revenue.

Personally, I detest the concept of bringing the outside, inside. That is the single worst feature about the Solstice Class and the Royal Class ships and their cousins. I want a ship to be outward looking, not inward looking.

Part of that seems to reflect the "Waterfront" on Breakaway, as noted above. (Despite the criticism of it being cluttered with venues, this is still far better than the Royal Class patios).

I loved the 'patios' on the Royal-class! :D

Yes, "cluttered" was probably unfair as a description of the Breakaway-class "Watefront", but I used it more or less in comparison to the Grand-class whose long stretches of uninterrupted promenades are beautiful, elegant, romantic, and, at times, incredibly peaceful.

:D

Just as P&O used the Royal class as the design for one of their ships (Britannia), there is certainly potential for Princess to use the design for the new 5,200 passenger, 180,000 ton ship for a new ship class. It would certainly be in line with the move to bigger and bigger ships. I would also expect CCL to leverage the investment in designing the new ship in other lines (most likely Princess).

 

 

 

From what little information has been put out about the design it certainly seems interesting.

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The fact that the walking area of the promenade is uncovered is a big turn-off. It's always been nice to have the walking area covered in case of light rain or blazing sun. Many people use the promenade for their daily exercise walks. The narrow walking area may be a problem for them.

Also it appears that there is no place to sit and enjoy the view from the promenade unless you are also dining. NOT a good plan!!

But then it's all about revenue, and not what features the passengers prefer. But I do hope Princess does not decide to use similar plans.

Oh well, I have zero interest in ships larger than the Grand class, so I seriously doubt that I would ever book a cruise on a ship with that sort of promenade configuration.

The day Princess has a fleet of ships with all 5,000 passenger capacity is the day I will no longer sail with their cruise line.

OK this is just tangential info that doesn't answer the actual question, but...

When Carnival Corp announced this new design, and the fact that the first two ships would go to P&O Australia and to Costa, much was made that it was likely the Costa ship could have at least a few calls in South Florida during the winter. So a quiet bidding war has been underway between PortMiami and Port Everglades as to which port would handle these calls, with Port Everglades allegedly making plans to upgrade the dock at Terminal 2 (just the channel and moorings, not the terminal building) to accommodate this newest generation of Carnival Corp ship. While by no means certain, should this take place will that mean Princess is in the picture for the next order of this build? Could be...

The fact that the walking area of the promenade is uncovered is a big turn-off. It's always been nice to have the walking area covered in case of light rain or blazing sun. ..

Also it appears that there is no place to sit and enjoy the view from the promenade unless you are also dining. .

Not sure what you mean. The press release says:

Noyes added that this would happen via a Lanai deck -- defined as a covered promenade deck.

And they haven't said anything about limited views from dining areas. We will need to see mock ups and descriptions before we can reach that conclusion.

For me that's way too large!

Just as P&O used the Royal class as the design for one of their ships (Britannia), there is certainly potential for Princess to use the design for the new 5,200 passenger, 180,000 ton ship for a new ship class. It would certainly be in line with the move to bigger and bigger ships. I would also expect CCL to leverage the investment in designing the new ship in other lines (most likely Princess).

 

Princess has announced two new future ships with a modified Royal design. The number of passengers is the same as the Royal design.

(April 4, 2016) — Princess Cruises announced that it has reached an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A. to build two new ships, entering into service in 2019 and 2020.

The unnamed 143,700-ton, 3,560-passenger ships will be the brand’s fourth and fifth Royal-class vessels, featuring an evolution of the successful design platform used on Royal Princess, Regal Princess and the new Majestic Princess coming in 2017.

For me that's way too large!

I agreed with you!!

Tony

What I was referring to was that in the photos, the only covered area of the promenade is where the "sidewalk cafes" are located. The open walking area, out next to the rail, is NOT covered.

What I was referring to was that in the photos, the only covered area of the promenade is where the "sidewalk cafes" are located. The open walking area, out next to the rail, is NOT covered.

Those are photos of the "Waterfront" on NCL's Breakaway. They were simply posted to show what a "Promenade 2.0" might look like should P&O opt to copy any of the ideas from the Breakaway. But the press release quite clearly says that the Promenade will be covered, so even if the new ship does move in the direction of the Waterfront, you should expect to see some differences. The press release suggests that full cover would be one such difference. Indeed, my fears run in the opposite direction. I wonder if the "bring the outside, inside" mantra won't mean that the Promenade will be too much "inside".