Future HAL builds?

[bobpell]

In these tough times does anyone know what is on the drawing board for the next size ship?

thanks

Bob

[KirkNC]

9 minutes ago, bobpell said:

In these tough times does anyone know what is on the drawing board for the next size ship?

thanks

Bob

I am sure it will be Pinnacle class or larger.

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

I am sure it will be Pinnacle class or larger.

Agree. That would seem to be the very likely future. 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Seth Wayne was on the Koningsdam last month, and during a coffee chat with the cruise director, he was asked about plans for new ships.  He said the next new ship would be a different class than the Pinnacle class, but it would not be bigger.  He did not mention when a new ship build would happen.

 

Frankly, his answer seemed a little contradictory to us.  We remember, when the plans for the Vista ships were announced, being told 1800 passengers would be as big a ship as HAL would build.  Twenty years later, we have the 2650 passenger Pinnacle class.

[kangforpres]

the company has to stay solvent through the pandemic before considering any new capital outlays. Maybe if the industry is right sized and 1/3 less people cruise post pandemic then did pre-pandemic I could see a new 2000 pax ship with the amenities of a Pinnacle class ship would make sense.

 

-Paul

[Mary229]

I would love to see CCL position HAL between Princess and Seabourn.  I think that  is a vibrant, profitable  market

 

adding: I think Princess and HAL have too much duplication to be distinguishable and likely end up with the same clientele 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Mary229

[ontheweb]

Obviously the trend in cruise ship building has been to build larger and larger ships. But just maybe, there is a change in this trend. NCL's newest ongoing build is the Prima (and there is supposed to be future Prima class ships). It is by no means a small ship, but it will carry many less passengers than its most recent builds like the Epic, Breakaway, and Getaway.

[lindaler]

During a speak from the Captain of the Rotterdam the first week of Jan. he said they listened and put the library back and were planning to build smaller ships like passengers had requested.  He did not elaborate further but there is hope.

[KirkNC]

23 minutes ago, lindaler said:

During a speak from the Captain of the Rotterdam the first week of Jan. he said they listened and put the library back and were planning to build smaller ships like passengers had requested.  He did not elaborate further but there is hope.

Don’t hold your breathe.

[rotjeknor]

On our last cruise before before the sh*t hit the fan, I talked to somebody form the technical department from HQ in Seattle . I asked him about future new-build plans, at that time they were seriously considering a much smaller ship to replace the Prinsendam. I suggested going to Ficantieri Shipyards and have them build a modified Viking ship, since they are making about 10 of those.

Who knows , maybe the idea stuck 😃

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

34 minutes ago, lindaler said:

During a speak from the Captain of the Rotterdam the first week of Jan. he said they listened and put the library back and were planning to build smaller ships like passengers had requested.  He did not elaborate further but there is hope.

 

That is good to know, but like @KirkNC said, I'm not holding my breath.  However, that does make some sense since Seth Wayne said the next new ship would be a different class, but not bigger than the Pinnacle class.

 

I'm glad they are beginning to listen to their passengers, which had not been done for a few years.  However, the library on the Koningsdam so far is just a few book shelves with a few books.  But it is going in the right direction.

[FlaMariner]

On our October 2021 Rotterdam TA, Seth said that "no new ships are scheduled".

[ski ww]

Nothing bigger then HAL has now would be nice. Get back to traditional cruise ships with real promenade decks.   

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Don’t hold your breathe.

😒

[Mary229]

The pandemic has given CCL plenty of time to create a future deployment plan.  I hope the quiet time was a sign of strategic planning not a sign of inactivity.  They really need to start strategically considering the group of brands as pieces of one large puzzle rather than independent operators.   I see plenty of opportunity ahead for CCL , I just hope they carve out a niche for explorers and classic travelers not just vacationers and holiday seekers 

[St Pete Cruiser]

The loss of the Prinsendam and S class sized ships has hurt the itinerary possibilities.

More ports are realizing that they don't want or can't handle the larger ships and of course the bigger ships won't go there.  Key West, Charleston, Hamilton Bermuda, Montreal, Venice; the list goes on and on.

[kangforpres]

I'm not sure if it would be as small as a Viking, Regent or Oceania ship but I do think it will not be another Pinnacle or larger. As for getting something to replace the Prinsendamn I would think something on the used market would be available instead and just modify it to HAL's liking instead of a whole new build for a single ship. There won't be a class of 4 Prinsendamn size ships that is for sure.

 

But whatever follows the Pinnacle class that is ordered new from a ship yard will have at least 3 or 4 built in it's class.

 

Let's hope for something the majority of loyal HAL customers will want to spend time and money on.

Edited January 17, 2022 by kangforpres

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Another thing Seth Wayne said on ourDecember cruise when people kept bringing up the Prinsendam was, "The Prinsendam is not coming back", and basically, we should forget that idea.

 

The thinking seems to be the cost to build a small ship compared to the passenger revenue would be prohibitive.  At least that is my impression.

[Boatdrill]

Here's the current ship order book, through 2027. No HAL ships are listed. 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/cruise-ship-orderbook.html

Edited January 17, 2022 by Boatdrill

[Boatdrill]

4 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Another thing Seth Wayne said on our December cruise when people kept bringing up the Prinsendam was, "The Prinsendam is not coming back", and basically, we should forget that idea.

 

Must have been a long day for Seth. 😀  

[AFNavigator]

10 hours ago, lindaler said:

During a speak from the Captain of the Rotterdam the first week of Jan. he said they listened and put the library back and were planning to build smaller ships like passengers had requested.  He did not elaborate further but there is hope.

Alternatively, HAL could take a page from CCL's play book and do major refurbs to some of HAL's older ships...perhaps the four Vista class ships.  This wouldn't be the typical 2-week drydock refresh, it would be major rework.

 

Carnival did $200M total refreshes on three of their late 1990s/early 2000s era ships bringing all the most desirable new Carnival features to those ships.  They basically did top to bottom refreshes across the whole ship adding new restaurants, bars, totally refitted staterooms, etc.  These were each 2+ month reconstruction efforts.  From a passenger standpoint, those 20+ year old ships are now essentially new...CCL even renamed the ships. 

 

For less than the price of one new Pinnacle class ship, HAL probably could do close to this level of refresh on all four Vista-class ships.  They could essentially turn them into Signature class level by adding a partial deck, getting more cabins, adding Tamarind, etc.

 

Also, a lot of modern ships have smaller main stage space because the stages take up so much room compared to how much they get used.  Many new ships--to include HAL's Pinnacle class--are going with two decks for the theater instead of three.  Doing so frees up a great amount of space to enable adding more cabins or expanding Music Walk, bars, shops, eateries, etc.  Maybe they could add the Dutch Cafe or that could be a great location for Tamarind and/or Rudi's.

 

Basically, lots of opportunity to make HAL's fleet look newer at a fraction of the cost of new-build ships.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Another thing Seth Wayne said on ourDecember cruise when people kept bringing up the Prinsendam was, "The Prinsendam is not coming back", and basically, we should forget that idea.

 

The thinking seems to be the cost to build a small ship compared to the passenger revenue would be prohibitive.  At least that is my impression.

 

And it has been said here many times as well.  Yet for some reason, the message is rejected time and again. 

 

I can understand nostalgia for the past and appreciate it. But HAL did not even build the previous Prinsendam. And under today's market conditions I simply cannot imagine a circumstance where they would build one now.

 

[SetAnOpenCourse]

9 hours ago, ski ww said:

Get back to traditional cruise ships with real promenade decks.

Nah, that space with healthy outdoor air is unprofitable.  Mask up, hope your vaccine works on the next strain, and just try to forget promenades ever existed.

[rotjeknor]

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

And it has been said here many times as well.  Yet for some reason, the message is rejected time and again. 

 

I can understand nostalgia for the past and appreciate it. But HAL did not even build the previous Prinsendam. And under today's market conditions I simply cannot imagine a circumstance where they would build one now.

 

Agree, but market conditions change. Who would have thought two years ago that the whole world would be "upside down" in 2022.

And maybe there's some second hand tonnage available that can be tailored to HAL's needs. The Prinsendam was partially rebuild when bought as Seabourn Sun .

 

[MISTER 67]

We love the Signature class ships, just the right size at 86,000 tons with 2,100 passengers and have  the traditional promenade deck. 

Edited January 17, 2022 by MISTER 67