Would a Smaller Cunard Ship be Viable?

[Classiccruiser777]

I do like the current Cunard ships but would be an enthusiastic passenger if Cunard offered a smaller ship similar in size to the Prinsendam, Princess or Countess. Am I alone or are there others that believe such a ship would be financially viable?

[bazzaw]

I think it is telling that there appear to be few "small" cruiseships being built these days - must be a reason for that?? I understand that a EUROPA 2 is being built -- but it will be very much for the top end or Town?

 

So - unless Cunard was prepared to build a new one, they would have to do what P&O has done with ADONIA ie rebadge an older smaller ship. I understand that ADONIA is quite popular and difficult to book??

 

I just wish that Cunard had not built two Vista ships - but I guess there was an economic reason for that. One Vista and one other design would have been good (to me:) )

 

Barry

[Whitemarsh]

Wouldn't the smaller ships be less stable and result in higher incidents of sea-sick passengers? People may like the idea of a small ship but if the 'sea hits the fan', so to speak, many may find themselves wishing they were on a bigger ship.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I doubt Cunard will ever get small ships. For many years, they had QE2 and the Seaborn yachts. For a while, they also had smaller ships, Cunard Countess and, IIRC, Cunard Princess. This created identity and marketing issues. They had what for a long time was one of the largest ships out there as well as very small ones. As they went through Trafalgar House and other owners, Cunard never quite knew who they were.

 

Once Carnival got Cunard, they pulled out Seaborn to be its own brand, leaving Cunard withjust QE2 and Caronia, two classic ships. I think this is how Carnival sees Cunard, and if they add smaller ships, it will be to another line, not Cunard.

[MsDeva]

I do like the current Cunard ships but would be an enthusiastic passenger if Cunard offered a smaller ship similar in size to the Prinsendam, Princess or Countess. Am I alone or are there others that believe such a ship would be financially viable?

 

I would love to see the return of the smaller Cunard ships. Never sailed with HAL but the Princess and Countess were a sheer delight and wonderful for those of us who still enjoy the sea, despite how choppy it could get.

Sadly l fear it will never happen.....today it's size that matters.

[Mysticalmother]

I too would sail on smaller ships - especially if they had the Cunard brand - and sailed from the UK. (I am an extremely nervous flyer so avoid air travel as much as possible )

 

We haven't managed to find the right cruise at the right time on P&O 's Adonia yet but it is firmly on our horizon. But we did sail on Artemis a few years ago which was of similar size to Adonia and was a lovely ship - the ambience was just perfect. I know there are Fred Olsen and Saga , both of whom sail from the UK and have smaller ships but I am rather put off both those lines for various reasons which are not pertinent for this forum.

 

I fear however that Cunard are not minded to operate smaller ships without adding a large premium....which may well price some loyal Cunarders out of the market.:( A shame IMHO.

[Rotterdam]

The design of the ship really helps in its seaworthiness. Years ago the drafts of the ships were deeper - so the ship sat in the watera bit deeper than ships today. QE2 sailed beautifully through all seas - mailnly because she was built more as a TA Liner. The shallow drafts of todays ships allow them to sail into more ports but actually no matter the size of the ship they really do not sail better.

 

Todays ships have much larger superstructures - that doesn't help w/ how the ships sail - the wind tends to hit the ship and the rocking is intensified. The Prinsendam sails beautifully because ot was built by the now defunct Royal Viking Line - it was meant to do world cruises...the only strange thing is that the Promenade Deck sits rather close to the water. I did a 14 day TA on her years ago & it was great....

 

Not only did the older smaller ships sail better - the onboard atmosphere was more of a club feel....1000 passengers were a lot back in the 1960's 1970's...great fun for you & your Countess.

 

The newere smaller ships - Oceania & Azamara have some - are quite nice - but again the draft is shallow - so I would avoid them in certain seas. We sailed Azamara Journey on a 16 day Panama Canal cruise - it was nice but the waters heading out of LA were rough & my poor partner had a bad time of it...I tend to enjoy a good storm as long as all are safe.

 

If I had my choice I would pick an older ship that was smaller than one of the newer condos that are sailing today(better yet - sail on the QE2 again).

 

I won't pass up on another QM2 cruise but do miss the smaller ships of yester year.

 

Will you be doing any more posts on your recent QM2 voyage?

 

All teh best from NYC.

 

 

 

Wouldn't the smaller ships be less stable and result in higher incidents of sea-sick passengers? People may like the idea of a small ship but if the 'sea hits the fan', so to speak, many may find themselves wishing they were on a bigger ship.

[gnld]

I doubt Cunard will ever get small ships. For many years, they had QE2 and the Seaborn yachts. For a while, they also had smaller ships, Cunard Countess and, IIRC, Cunard Princess. This created identity and marketing issues. They had what for a long time was one of the largest ships out there as well as very small ones. As they went through Trafalgar House and other owners, Cunard never quite knew who they were.

 

Once Carnival got Cunard, they pulled out Seaborn to be its own brand, leaving Cunard withjust QE2 and Caronia, two classic ships. I think this is how Carnival sees Cunard, and if they add smaller ships, it will be to another line, not Cunard.

 

Over the past few years, Carnival has put $$ into Seabourn by building 3 new small ships of 540 pax each (we were on the Odyssey last year and loved it!). Just recently Seabourn has announced their 3 even smaller, old ships will be sold to Windstar; plus talk about another small ship new build. My take is Cunard will remain a large ship line.

[flag fan]

I doubt Cunard will ever get small ships. For many years, they had QE2 and the Seaborn yachts. For a while, they also had smaller ships, Cunard Countess and, IIRC, Cunard Princess. This created identity and marketing issues. They had what for a long time was one of the largest ships out there as well as very small ones. As they went through Trafalgar House and other owners, Cunard never quite knew who they were.

 

Once Carnival got Cunard, they pulled out Seaborn to be its own brand, leaving Cunard withjust QE2 and Caronia, two classic ships. I think this is how Carnival sees Cunard, and if they add smaller ships, it will be to another line, not Cunard.

 

I agree that the issue is really one of branding--what is the image of Cunard that Carnival Corp. (parent company) wants to promote. I think it is one of large, elegant classic liners with a British flair. The small-ship market will be served by Seabourn--for those who can afford it. I think a small-ship Cunard-level cruise line would be a competitor for Azamara. If Carnival Corp. wanted to go in that direction it would start another cruise line for that market.

[bobby1119]

I sailed Caronia (Vistafjord) on a 14 night Med cruise towards the end of her days with Cunard.

 

She was a classic gem.

 

I agree that today's Cunard want to project a big liner image which Queen Mary 2 fulfills. Not as sure about the QE/QV Vista sisters. Both lovely cruise ships, not liners by any stretch of the marketing imagination.

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

It would be nice if Cunard had a smaller ship in the future, but I doubt this will happen. I cruised aboard both the Sagafjord and Vistafjord in the 1990s when they were owned by Cunard. These were excellent smaller ships with outstanding food and service. I would like to see Cunard build a new ship (named Caronia, of course) of approximately 40,000 tons that could visit more remote ports. This ship could be a modern version of the Royal Viking Sun (current Prinsendam) that used to be owned by Cunard. However, I think that all of Cunard's future ships will be fairly large "Queens."

 

Chuck

[Rotterdam]

She was a beauty ...I wason her in her last days also - there were passengers that sailed only in her for decades...wonderful ship & crew!

 

 

I sailed Caronia (Vistafjord) on a 14 night Med cruise towards the end of her days with Cunard.

 

She was a classic gem.

 

I agree that today's Cunard want to project a big liner image which Queen Mary 2 fulfills. Not as sure about the QE/QV Vista sisters. Both lovely cruise ships, not liners by any stretch of the marketing imagination.

[London-Calling]

Even cruise line sthat operate 'smaller' ships replace them with slightly bigger each time a new ship is required. It's all about "economies of scale" and profit.

 

don't worry, Titanic II will be smaller than many ships by comparison!:wink:

 

http://youtu.be/nlYTJnc2-rQ