Holland America tranferring 2 ships to P&O

[MMDown Under]

With more ships based permanently in Australia, they have the opportunity to offer better, more interesting, itineraries.

 

The cruiselines know that working Australians get 4 weeks' holiday per year and there is a growing retired population.

[Katgoesonholiday]

If I'm spending a large amount of money on a cruise holiday then I want a beautiful ship and plenty of drinking package options. None of the ships currently on the Aus/NZ circuit appeal. I can get much better value for my money by heading to America or Europe so why wouldn't I?

[MicCanberra]

With more ships based permanently in Australia, they have the opportunity to offer better, more interesting, itineraries.

 

The cruiselines know that working Australians get 4 weeks' holiday per year and there is a growing retired population.

 

Spot on, I really hope they do offer a diverse range of itineraries and cater for the people who are tired of doing the pacific islands over and over.:D

[johndon]

Old ships with higher cruise fares from where they have come from, USA. We are being taken for suckers and it is our own fault for not complaining. We could try boycotting P & O for starters but we Aussies are always looking for the cheapest deal, myself included by taking a Carnival Spirit cruise earlier this year. Carnival Company know this and no doubt know the cruise passsenger profiles Down Under so while we accept older ships they will keep coming.

Perhaps with all of these additional ships coming to Oz we will get cheaper fares!!!!!

 

John

[Kiwi Kruzer]

My only misgiving is the age of the ships. I can offset this though , because the size of the ships is absolutetly ideal for Australia ,and Australian ports.

1,200 passengers ....but please please please P&O Australia , do not increase the passenger capacity. You have shown on your other ships that this does not work.

One plus is that these ships are quality.

A complete refurbish or rebuild will pay dividends in the future.

I see these 2 ships opening up a new era for Downunder cruising.

The Verandah suites will open up a whole new world and once word gets out as to how good they are , and the enormous balcony they come with , I am predicting they will be the first to sell out on all cruises

That is of course as long as P&O Australia keep them and the Neptune Lounge.

In some ways , the path is wide open for P&O to set these two sisters up as a separate cruise line that offers a more premium product from the existing Party ship image.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2014 by Kiwi Kruzer

[OzKiwiJJ]

I could be wrong on this but are the cruiselines focusing on building bigger ships for their new builds? Is it more economical to build one large ship for 4000 passengers than two smaller ships of 2000 passengers each? If so, this could be one reason why Australia isn't getting new builds. The new ships go to areas with the biggest market, which I would imagine is the US and Europe. However they don't want to scrap the older, still serviceable, ships so they move them to area where the market is smaller and/or the ships are more suited to the ports they visit, such as Australia and Asia.

 

Not so good for us :( but probably a smart business decision.

 

However it sounds like it would be a great shame if they downgrade the quality of those two ships under the P&O banner.

[MicCanberra]

My only misgiving is the age of the ships. I can offset this though , because the size of the ships is absolutetly ideal for Australia ,and Australian ports.

1,200 passengers ....but please please please P&O Australia , do not increase the passenger capacity. You have shown on your other ships that this does not work.

One plus is that these ships are quality.

A complete refurbish or rebuild will pay dividends in the future.

I see these 2 ships opening up a new era for Downunder cruising.

The Verandah suites will open up a whole new world and once word gets out as to how good they are , and the enormous balcony they come with , I am predicting they will be the first to sell out on all cruises

That is of course as long as P&O Australia keep them and the Neptune Lounge.

In some ways , the path is wide open for P&O to set these two sisters up as a separate cruise line that offers a more premium product from the existing Party ship image.

 

 

You make some interesting ponts, I do hope you are right and they are listening and reading thesse comments.:D

[icat2000]

Spot on, I really hope they do offer a diverse range of itineraries and cater for the people who are tired of doing the pacific islands over and over.:D

 

And who don't want to fly. This is why all the ships no matter what age will appeal down here.

[lizzy77]

I hear most of you saying " that's great, 2 more ships for Aus" well I will talk with my feet and there's no way you would get me on those old ships:mad:

 

They know Aussies don't complain. I can already see the advertising headlines . New, and exciting ships for Australia!!!! What a lot of cr--p:o

[Waihekean]

They know Aussies don't complain. I can already see the advertising headlines . New, and exciting ships for Australia!!!! What a lot of cr--p:o

 

That was more or less the spirit of the e-mail I received today from P & O that it was so exciting to receive two new ships..........and indeed my first thought was: wonder wich hand me downs these are? Not for a moment did I think NEW ships would be arriving "down under".

 

What I still can not understand, especially since the arrival of so many competing ships, is that P & O prices are still so high. Maybe that is only in NZ, but I rather go with Celebrity for a much lower price, but with a higher value experience.

Even with recent e-mail promo's received I can go with Cunard for P & O prices.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Waihekean

[KarateMan]

Too many Australians accept and tolerate mediocrity and celebrate second rate ships. It is the nature of Australians to embrace s--t.

 

You can bet your dollars that the ships wont remain small, they will cram them with extra berths and promote the "friendly fours" with "mate rates" translation = "unfriendly over crowded"

 

Then there will be the ones that recon they can go to new and interesting places. That is a load of garbage to begin with. Name a place that these ships can go to that others cant. There are no new destinations in Australia that these HAL ships can get to that ships like the Diamond Princess or Celebrity Solstice or even Voyager of the Seas cant.

 

At the end of the day all these ships are is a crass insult to Australians and it is really rubbing our faces in the mud by the continued deployment of hand-me-downs here.

[rkmw]

p&o posted on facebook that they will have 1500 passengers on their new ships

[Lanwood]

Oh, come on guys. You have lots of mid size hand-me-downs running around the country. Let me have at least one super biggie.....pleeaasse:)

Edited May 21, 2014 by Lanwood

[johndon]

Inferior ships to what the US market has at far higher prices for cruising than the US.

While we Aussies shut up and accept that we are being given hand me down ships from the US market then The Carnival Corporation who own most of the cruise lines anyway will continue to send their obsolete ships down under. These two ships are even older than the Sun, Dawn and Sea Princesses and they are getting very long in the tooth anyway.

A boycott on P & O is a good starting point but the number of people who participate in this forum as compared with the numbers going on cruses is minimal so there is not much hope of that. The majority of Oz cruisers think they are on a good thing as they have never experienced anything else to compare it with. While most of us are naive Carnival Company will capitalise on this.

 

John

[rugbypopsie]

I'm with you Lizzy, another two old ships. I am also suspicious it's no accident we are getting more ships down here that can't berth. No port fees and more days onboard to gather revenue in the casinos and bars.

 

I have no issue with them being three star if that's the price range but if it's anything like now it won't be. When you take everything into account with a bit of luck and some research you can sail on better ships at the same cost.

 

I want more choice in the fly out cruise home itineraries.

 

Sue

[The_Big_M]

I could be wrong on this but are the cruiselines focusing on building bigger ships for their new builds? Is it more economical to build one large ship for 4000 passengers than two smaller ships of 2000 passengers each? If so, this could be one reason why Australia isn't getting new builds. The new ships go to areas with the biggest market, which I would imagine is the US and Europe. However they don't want to scrap the older, still serviceable, ships so they move them to area where the market is smaller and/or the ships are more suited to the ports they visit, such as Australia and Asia.

 

Not so good for us :( but probably a smart business decision.

 

Spot on. A side benefit is that having stand out features needs a bit more space to add. When you have smaller capacity ships like these, you're more limited in what you can include that stands out.

 

While they can build them, there's economically less value to do so than larger sizes, due to economies of scale and capacity for special features.

 

Unfortunately, with the growth in cruiising locally, it's already having an effect on the island destinations that are frequently visited here. They're no longer as unspoilt as they were a few years ago. Having megaships visit those islands is both more difficult to manage, and also would have a worse effect on the environment.

 

There are many Americans that aren't keen on the Caribbean islands (nearer in particular) as they're over touristed. Fine if you just want to go to a commercially oriented, crowded, overdeveloped beach for a day, but not much more than that.

[MicCanberra]

And who don't want to fly. This is why all the ships no matter what age will appeal down here.

yes, that is true. BTW, you need to update your signature block with the Caribbean Princess cruise or have you changed your mind?:D

[erewhon]

My only misgiving is the age of the ships. I can offset this though , because the size of the ships is absolutetly ideal for Australia ,and Australian ports.

1,200 passengers ....but please please please P&O Australia , do not increase the passenger capacity. You have shown on your other ships that this does not work.

One plus is that these ships are quality.

A complete refurbish or rebuild will pay dividends in the future.

I see these 2 ships opening up a new era for Downunder cruising.

The Verandah suites will open up a whole new world and once word gets out as to how good they are , and the enormous balcony they come with , I am predicting they will be the first to sell out on all cruises

That is of course as long as P&O Australia keep them and the Neptune Lounge.

In some ways , the path is wide open for P&O to set these two sisters up as a separate cruise line that offers a more premium product from the existing Party ship image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If P&O retain what are now the Neptune Suites and Neptune Lounge with similar or better "perks" we may well be interested in sailing on the ships.

Love those big balconies.:D

[MicCanberra]

If P&O retain what are now the Neptune Suites and Neptune Lounge with similar or better "perks" we may well be interested in sailing on the ships.

Love those big balconies.:D

Currently they take 1200 pax, the announcement p&o posted on facebook stated that they will have 1500 passengers on their new ships. That sounds like the suites and the lounge may go to make room for the new cabins/berths.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

We have cruised a couple of times on the Ryndam. It was a lovely ship, with a lot of original artwork and antiques, mainly with a Dutch theme. I suppose those would be taken out as they wouldn't suit the P&O product downunder.

 

 

The extensive artwork on the ships belongs to Holland America and I imagine it will all be taken out and distributed among the existing fleet or sent to Head Office in Seattle awaiting newbuilds. When we were on Amsterdam the Captains wife "Apples" , who was also the social hostess , conducted tours of the ship in which she backgrounded all the art work. HAL treasures their Art Collections and would not allow it to be be trashed on an Australian Party ship....if thats what P&O are intending the 2 ships to become.

 

 

[The_Big_M]

Currently they take 1200 pax, the announcement p&o posted on facebook stated that they will have 1500 passengers on their new ships. That sounds like the suites and the lounge may go to make room for the new cabins/berths.

 

Haven't seen the announcement, but that confirms there is no change from now.

 

The current capacity of those ships is 1512.

[MicCanberra]

Haven't seen the announcement, but that confirms there is no change from now.

 

The current capacity of those ships is 1512.

 

That is good news then as the suites will likely stay. Kiwi Kruzer had posted that they currently have 1200 pax.:D

[icat2000]

yes, that is true. BTW, you need to update your signature block with the Caribbean Princess cruise or have you changed your mind?:D

 

Just still overseas in central asia so havent done any housework cruising style of late.

[MicCanberra]

Just still overseas in central asia so havent done any housework cruising style of late.

 

Fair enough. Enjoy your trip.:D

[OzKiwiJJ]

Haven't seen the announcement, but that confirms there is no change from now.

 

The current capacity of those ships is 1512.

 

According to HAL website capacity for both those ships is 1260. It will be interesting to see where they crowbar the extra 240 or so cabins into.