Maiden Voyages

[LouisV]

Does anything special happen on maiden voyages? What was your experience and would you go on a maiden voyage or not?

[Spurs Fans]

Our maiden voyage on Millenium was cancelled due to the ship not being ready. It was a two week Baltic cruise out of Amsterdam scheduled for June 2000. (We did not know it was the maiden voyage when we scheduled it, it just fit our time schedule and what we wanted to do.)

 

So we eventually received a full refund of our cruise price plus two coupons good for a cruise on any Celebrity ship or intenerary for the next 18 months. We used it for our 2001 Infinity Alaska cruise. All we paid were the port charges and taxes.

[LouisV]

So I wonder what the probability of a ship not being completed in time for a scheduled maiden voyage is? I'm looking at the Equinox out of Southampton and am also trying to schedule this cruise in conjunction with the Moto GP races in Italy as a surprise for my husband.

[Spurs Fans]

I do not know the percentages, but that must be available somewhere. All I know is that if it were a cruise that I was absolutely counting on, I would not do it.

 

As I recall from the cruise boards at the time, even though the maiden voyage was delayed two weeks, there was still a lot of hammering and putting things in place on the first cruise.

[LouisV]

I do not know the percentages, but that must be available somewhere. All I know is that if it were a cruise that I was absolutely counting on, I would not do it.

 

As I recall from the cruise boards at the time, even though the maiden voyage was delayed two weeks, there was still a lot of hammering and putting things in place on the first cruise.

 

thanks for your advice! Some cruisers on the boards make it feel like a maiden voyage is one not to be missed.

[c-legs]

thanks for your advice! Some cruisers on the boards make it feel like a maiden voyage is one not to be missed.

Hi,

This all depends on what '' powers your boat''....The concept of a maiden voyage itself is appealing to some; others like the feel and novelty of ''something new''; yet others will go for a specific maiden sailing because ''the first of its class'' ( i-e; HAL's Eurodam , ==X=='s Solstice).

Some folks will mind more than others the realistic fact you're sailing on what is essentially still a construction zone....and others will be so enraptured by the ''maiden''aspect that they will not mind that at all.

Then, there is the possibility of the construction zone being so restrictive that....the initial sailing gets the axe altogether....( read: free cruise....).

There is also the possibility of ''freebies'' during an inaugural...some lines have been known to ''thank their loyal faithful guests '' ( approx 90% of inaugural sailings occupants are....) for ''trying out ''the product, with free this 'n' that.

 

I view a maiden voyage as an adventure into the unknown and would sail it with only that expectation, none others. Probably would be memorable...but perhaps not for all the right reasons.

IMO

 

Cheers

:)

[LouisV]

Hi,

This all depends on what '' powers your boat''....The concept of a maiden voyage itself is appealing to some; others like the feel and novelty of ''something new''; yet others will go for a specific maiden sailing because ''the first of its class'' ( i-e; HAL's Eurodam , ==X=='s Solstice).

Some folks will mind more than others the realistic fact you're sailing on what is essentially still a construction zone....and others will be so enraptured by the ''maiden''aspect that they will not mind that at all.

Then, there is the possibility of the construction zone being so restrictive that....the initial sailing gets the axe altogether....( read: free cruise....).

There is also the possibility of ''freebies'' during an inaugural...some lines have been known to ''thank their loyal faithful guests '' ( approx 90% of inaugural sailings occupants are....) for ''trying out ''the product, with free this 'n' that.

 

I view a maiden voyage as an adventure into the unknown and would sail it with only that expectation, none others. Probably would be memorable...but perhaps not for all the right reasons.

IMO

 

Cheers

:)

 

wow! now that's quite an opinion!! which maiden voyages have you experienced?

[tom_uk]

Sometimes the maiden voyage still happens but isn't quite the maiden voyage anymore.

 

P&O's new ship Ventura is due to go on its maiden voyage on 18 April. This voyage has been listed in P&O brchures as sunch since about this time last year. It will be preceded on 16 April by a formal naming ceremony involving Dame Helen Mirren and the Royal Marines and some skydivers(!), I think. However, over the New Year it became clear that Ventura would be ready a bit earlier than expected, so a pre-maiden 2-night 'party' cruise was put into the schedule for 11 April. This caused quite a bit of debate within the UK cruise community!

 

Ventura was handed over to P&O on 31 March at the Monfalcone shipyard in Italy, arrived at Southampton on 6 April, is currently (8/9 April) on a staff shake-down voyage, will then as advertised go on the Party trip on 11 April, and will experience several rounds of industry ship visits. Then will come the naming ceremony and finally she'll leave for her maiden voyage. All of which asks the question: in all of that activity, how special is the Maiden Voyage anymore?

[LouisV]

After all that activity it just doesn't sound so special after all.