Ship Class Question

[JoanneF]

How do you know what class your ship is and what the differences between classes are? I've seen lots of posts comparing S-class, Vista class, etc.

We are first-time cruisers on Volendam in June.:confused:

Thanks.

joanne

[grannynurse]

The Volendam is an ( R-Rotterdam class ship) bigger by 60 feet than "S" class and has mid-ship elevators and stairs. I think she was launched in 2000 or 2001, sister ship to the Zaandam.

GN

[soccerfootballmom]

We were on her sister ship, the Zaandam, in March...she's beautiful!! Can't imagine sailing on anything bigger...it was perfect for me:)

Have a wonderful cruise:)

[Stevesan]

How do you know what class your ship is and what the differences between classes are? I've seen lots of posts comparing S-class, Vista class, etc.

We are first-time cruisers on Volendam in June.:confused:

Thanks.

joanne

 

Joanne, HAL's older ships, Veendam, Maasdam, Ryndam and Statendam are referred to as S class. Except for decor, they are all nearly identical in pax capacity and size.

 

HAL next commissioned Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Some refer to them as R class. These two are larger than the S class and they are very similar. Amsterdam is slightly larger and has more pax capacity.

 

The next design, Volendam and Zaandam, are again larger than the preceding R class. Except for decor, these two are twins.

 

Most recent are the Vista. These are the largest ships in HAL's fleet. This class consists of Zuiderdam, Westerdam, Oosterdam and Noordam, all of these are the same basic hull design.

 

Within each group, there are differences in decor. This is most notable within Vista class.

 

The wild card is Prinsendam, a smaller (only 38000 tons), more intimate ship which HAL purchased from another cruise line.

 

By visiting HAL's web site, you can compare a detailed design of each ship

http://www.hollandamerica.com/fleet/fleetHome.do?ship=vo

[shipcafe]

Per Stevesan : "V" Class (Volendam and Zaandam) are technically a different class than "R" Class (Rotterdam and Amsterdam).

[2rg]

One way to consider the Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Volendam/Zaandam is as one poster put it a while back "Stretched S's" While HAL states that the Volendam and Zaandam are sisters and that the Rotterdam and Amsterdam have no sisters, all four ships are basicly a streched version of the S or Statendam class. The differences between them are minor. No flames please. We just got off the Volendam and loved the ship. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[RuthC]

2rg has it pegged perfectly. Other than the mid-ship starcase/elevator bank the S-class, and R-class/V-class are essentially the same. Once you can find your way around one you know them all.

 

Oh, sure there are some differences (deck of aft pool, location of internet or Pinnacle come readily to mind). But the basic lay-out is the same.

[2rg]

Ok all, heres an interesting question. The talk of the stetch S got me thinking. (It's amazing how these little things suddenly pop up in my mind.)

 

HAL has Vista class 4 ships.

Costa built the Alantica in 2000 at 960' long, 85,000 GTW, 2114 pax. I beleive that she is the basis for the Vista class.

Carnival built the Spirit class starting in 2001 at 963' long, 86,000 GTW and 2124 pax. Similar in appearence and similar stats.

I beleive that Princess now has 1 that was scheduled for Cunard, she just recently entered service. The ship was to be based on the Vista's.

Cunard is building the Queen Victoria (?) to be launched in the near future. This ship is also to be based on the Vista's.

Are all these ships sisters even though they are part of different cruise lines? Remember the parent company is Carnival.

[bepsf]

2rg--

The Costa and Carnival ships are much closer in design to one another than they are to the HAL Vista-Class - in the arrangement of major public rooms, single funnels, lack of outside elevators, etc.

The 4th Vista-Class that went to P&O (not Princess) and became Arcadia may or may not be considered a sister to HAL's Vista-Class quartet. Although the arrangement of public rooms is generally the same it has a single funnel, a grill room and lounge added to the roof between the magrodome and the funnel, and different allocations of generally smaller suites.

(No Penthouses, Phil!)

Finally, Queen Victoria will not be a sister to the Vista Class or any other ship as the interior layout will be rather different from all the others. It too is expected to have a single funnel and a grill room/lounge on the roof comparable to Arcadia but may not have the exterior glass elevators and will be stretched 33 feet beyond the 950' length of the Vista-Class vessels.

[2rg]

Ah but you miss the point Brian, what defines a sister ship? Do they have to be identical or is the basis of sister's the hull design which is where most of the design effort goes. The rest is ginger bread. Even though HAL claims the strectch S's are not all sisters they have the same basic hull. As another example the Noordam will carry the same pax as her sisters but will be about 3,000 grt smaller and 16' shorter.