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Rhomson to take over Royal Caribbean Splendour of the Seas

campolady
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campolady

campolady

Posted
Posted (edited)

Apologies if this has already been posted.

 

Just read this on the Island Escape page of Facebook; apparently Splendour of the Seas is to replace Island Escape:-

 

<<Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its cruise ship Splendour of the Seas to TUI Cruises in the second quarter of 2016. The ship will then be leased to Thomson Cruises, which will operate the vessel. "Splendour of the Seas debuted in 1996 and has served Royal Caribbean International extremely well," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "The ship's sale is in line with our strategic objective of divesting ourselves of older hardware and keeps us firmly on the course to the Double-Double." Splendour of the Seas will complete all scheduled open deployment, and no sailings will be altered or disrupted due to the sale. "Splendour of the Seas has been a treasured member of the Royal Caribbean International family since she entered service," said Michael Bayley, president and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean International. "She has offered countless guests memorable vacation experiences and we look forward to continuing to provide the same Gold Anchor Service our brand is known for right up to the last sailing." Her final sailing will commence on April 4, 2016, and all officers and crew will remain with the company and will be transferred to other vessels worldwide after the ship leaves the Royal Caribbean International fleet. Splendour of the Seas joined the Royal Caribbean International fleet in 1996, and was built by Chantier's de L'Atlantique, now STX France, in St. Nazaire, France. The 69,130-ton ship carries 1,830 guests (double occupancy) and 760 crew. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company that owns Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises and CDF Croisieres de France, as well as TUI Cruises through a 50 percent joint venture. Together, these six brands operate a combined total of 42 ships with an additional seven under construction contracts, and two on firm order. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on approximately 480 destinations.>>

Edited by campolady
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kruzseeka

kruzseeka

Posted
Posted
I just read it on a Thomson FB site too. It's the "divesting ourselves of older hardware" I don't like.

 

Well there we have it - Thomson is getting a new??? ship! Well, new to Thomson but only four years younger than Majesty and still 20 years old! It will be different though, bigger, more balconies and attractions. I'm sorry they haven't gone for a properly newer ship (I never thought they'd get a new one!) but hey ho........ it will be an interesting addition. Looks like they are keen to attract a younger demographic - unless we're all going to get into training for that climbing wall. :D

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topsey130

topsey130

Posted
Posted

Shame, it's the climbing wall and probably what it stands for that makes it a no for me......I wonder if it will be flagged as Thomson or if it will be IE branded. I understand that they are yet to release the new name.

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topsey130

topsey130

Posted
Posted (edited)

This one has been updated and had a rock climbing wall and a 18 hole minuiture golf course.....,but there is a 6500sq Begas Styke casino for those who like them

Edited by topsey130
Typo error
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CRUISIN LINDA

CRUISIN LINDA

Posted
Posted
This one has been updated and had a rock climbing wall and a 18 hole minuiture golf course.....,but there is a 6500sq Begas Styke casino for those who like them

 

Ah you are right :o

 

Mind you, we went on IOTS but didn't use the wall or the flow rider :eek: It was fun watching others coming to grief though :D:D

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1160451

1160451

Posted
Posted

We have cruised on the Splendour of the Seas.

We enjoy Thomson, Fred Olsen and P and O.

We didn't think the Splendour was a mega type ship. Ok it's got a climbing wall and a bigger casino but we felt really comfortable on it.

Did a Eastern Med cruise on her.

Would cruise on her under the Thomson flag without question.

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P&O Lynn Knickers

P&O Lynn Knickers

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Posted (edited)
We didn't think the Splendour was a mega type ship. Ok it's got a climbing wall and a bigger casino but we felt really comfortable on it.

 

Splendour is not a mega ship. But when you compare her to the current fleet that Thomson has, she is bigger.

 

Interesting that RCCL are getting "Rid" of the "Old" Splendour...

I am guessing here that Legend and Rhapsody may also be on the list.

 

The Casino will not be as big on Thomson, just not enough customers for casino's in their target market.

They will make it smaller, and may include new inside cabins in its place.

 

The rock climbing wall will also be gone, when Thomson takes delivery of the ship. Again this feature is not in its target market.

 

I mention Legend and Rhapsody may be on the "Next to Go List", as all are very similiar to the Splendour, and may be considered "Older Stock" by RCCL also.

 

I am suprised that Richard Fain used this term in his press release. He is normally a well spoken man, and his words have been well chosen in the past.

 

I suppose there has to be a home for older ships, and Thomson /TUI maybe the best, as they are serving their cruises to a market who watch their pennies. And having some new additions to replace the really old and unattractive ships they have in service is maybe a good thing.

The truth is, Thomson Cruises, have to change to survive, and their target market for cheap cruises may be changing soon with the arrival of newer (hand-me-down) ships.

 

I rememebr in the early naughties, P&O went mad advertising the "White Sisters" new to their fleet. They were in fact,"hand me downs" from one carnival company to another.

 

Advertising and all that.

Edited by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn is in great form today. GO LYNN
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CRUISIN LINDA

CRUISIN LINDA

Posted
Posted

Lynne, I would suggest that everyone watches their pennies these days and Thomson are certainly not a cheap option any more (if they ever were!)

 

We are getting 10 days in a balcony cabin on P&O for the less than our 7 day cruise in an ocean view cabin on Majesty in June :rolleyes:

 

Can I ask how you know the casino will be made smaller and the rock climbing wall will be dismantled?

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P&O Lynn Knickers

P&O Lynn Knickers

Posted
Posted (edited)

We are getting 10 days in a balcony cabin on P&O for the less than our 7 day cruise in an ocean view cabin on Majesty in June :rolleyes:

 

 

Hi Linda,

great to hear about your upcoming P&O Cruise.

Its the might and power of Carnival, that it can get its companies to squezze the likes of TUI/Thomson.

Its called competition, and yes P&O are not as expensive as they used to be, but then again Cruising itself is the same price now as it was ten years back.

 

Thomson were very much marketiting themselves to the economy end of the market, and as P&O are now matching them/beating them in price, thankfully thomson/TUI have to invest in new ships. However old they are, they are new to thomson/TUI.

 

The Casino will be made smaller, and the rock climbing wall will be removed.

 

 

As for penny pinching, yes i do that too...

 

 

 

.

Edited by P&O Lynn Knickers
Go lynn, she is on a roll today
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wales4ever

wales4ever

Posted
Posted

Judging by the ages on our cruise last week on the Majesty the climbing wall will need a stair lift if it stays...

 

Nice to see a "new" larger ship - and its actually quite good ship, but unfortunately they won't be bringing along some of Royal Caribbean's chefs etc

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stevedeccaman

stevedeccaman

Posted
Posted
Hi Linda,

great to hear about your upcoming P&O Cruise.

Its the might and power of Carnival, that it can get its companies to squezze the likes of TUI/Thomson.

Its called competition, and yes P&O are not as expensive as they used to be, but then again Cruising itself is the same price now as it was ten years back.

 

Thomson were very much marketiting themselves to the economy end of the market, and as P&O are now matching them/beating them in price, thankfully thomson/TUI have to invest in new ships. However old they are, they are new to thomson/TUI.

 

The Casino will be made smaller, and the rock climbing wall will be removed.

================================

 

What a ship with no climbing wall?? what is going to become of us all ;)

So we have maybe leave the ship and see real rocks and caves and things OMG? Geo , kalos, Kruzze, Linda , tell me is it true ? …. Will I have to pay to climb a wall whilst on a Thomson Tour ? :)

 

Stevie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]

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Little Nell

Little Nell

Posted
Posted (edited)

It looks a very nice ship indeed. It will be a vast improvement on anything they have at the moment.

 

I am still trying to work out the implications of Tui owning it and leasing it to Thomson :confused:

 

Who will be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance for example?

Edited by Little Nell
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Sailaway487

Sailaway487

Posted
Posted
It looks a very nice ship indeed. It will be a vast improvement on anything they have at the moment.

 

I am still trying to work out the implications of Tui owning it and leasing it to Thomson :confused:

 

Who will be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance for example?

 

I don't get that one either! After the TUI merger they're all under the same TUI umbrella now, so why TUI Cruises has to lease it out to Thomson I don't quite understand. :confused:

 

Perhaps something to do with the RCL joint venture that TUI Cruises has.

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happy v

happy v

Posted
Posted
As it will be 5 ships in the 'Thomson' fleet with no more Island Cruises, plus a ship they own, I guess it will mean a new destination for the winter then to utilise the entire fleet for winter 2016/17! FAR EAST!!!!!!!! :D

 

I had to laugh..........we'll get there one day.:D

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Sailaway487

Sailaway487

Posted
Posted
does this mean a crew/agency change.... mein shiffs have mainly eastern european crew... crewing agency is called seachef (or something like)

 

According to Thomson's Facebook, I'm sure I read on there they were hoping to transfer most crew over from IE. Might be wrong though.

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