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#181
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
"Lee Lindquist" wrote in message ... 1) the lido buffet area is much bigger. It extends all the way aft, there is a second service area (on each side of the ship), and the aft seating area is larger -- it includes what was crew/dishroom space behind the aft elevators. I didn't count seats, but I'd guess a 50% increase over Grand/Golden. Yes, and the space came from the wonderful outdoor deck area that used to be behind the Horizon Court. 2) The former magrodome pool are has been reworked, so that the crew space/storage space between the two pools has been opened up as tiered deck space. There are several new tiers of open deck space between the two main pools, where there was nothing (for passengers) previously. Actually this space includes the miniature golf course on the other Grand Class ships. It was upstairs. It has been moved on CARIBBEAN PRINCESS to an area above the aft stairtower. 3) In the Vista Lounge / Club Fusion, the backstage area and particularly the stage area are smaller (making the lounge area bigger) -- and the raised portion with table seating around the bar area has been eliminated. Again I didn't count seats, but Club Fusion certainly holds more people than a Vista Lounge. Part of this is achieved by eliminating site lines and installing video monitors. Club Fusion seems to be the lounge most are disappointed with. Apparently it tries to be all things to all people (casino, night club, show lounge) and possibly it's not working very well? The Vista Lounge on the Grand Class ships was pretty spacious, so it's easy to rework it and cram more seats in. 4) There is an entirely new public area surrounding the ship's funnel. On Grand/Golden this was non-accessable mechanical space. On Carribbean, there is some seating area, and miniatures golf. They had to find a new place for miniature golf since the original spot on the other ships is being used for movie seating. 5) The 'wave theme' surround walls around the pools have been eliminated, making quite a bit more open deck space close to the pools. (I think the hot tubs moved too, but I can't quite remember) Too bad. I felt the pools and their beautiful surround were some of the nicest on any cruise ship. Someone on CC mentioned that the pools are actually smaller on CARIBBEAN. Not sure if that is true. 6) There is a whole new kids/teen area on deck (can't remember 14? 15?) aft. There is interior play room space, and the kids pool has moved there. I'll have to look more closely when I'm onboard to see where the space came from, but I think a lot of it was from the storage space forward (and under) the terraced seating at the aft pool. (And since the kids area is in this new space, something must be in the area forward where it was on Grand/Golden, including the area where the 'Tail of the Whale' kids pool was. This space exists on all the other Grand Class ships, but it is smaller. On CARIBBEAN it has once again been extended aft taking away more outdoor deck space. Since the Horizon Court on CARIBBEAN was also extended, they just built out "The Fun Zone" on top of it. No doubt CARIBBEAN PRINCESS will carry more children then the other Grand Class ships. Yeah -- the comments posted here about how crowded the ship is seem to come from people who've never been on it. It was pretty cheap, so we're going to give it a try. This ship seems to get great reviews. My guess is this ship design was spacious enough to begin with to absorb the extra passengers with little difficulty. Even so, the sister ships will offer basically the same experience with 500+ less passengers. Soon they will also receive the outdoor movies. I'm not sure if they will take away the glass roof over the second pool. I hope not, as that is one feature I enjoy about the Grand Class. If it were not for Personal Choice the task would have been much more difficult to add the extra deck. With a traditional setup, a larger show lounge and dining rooms would have been required. Since everything is staggered on Princess this was not necessary. No additional lifeboats were necessary either since regulations now allow a larger portion of people onboard to use inflatable life rafts. This is what the majority of the crew will use. I'll at least have seven days away from r.t.c. You certainly don't need a cruise to get away from r.t.c. Ernie |
#182
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
"Lee Lindquist" wrote in message ... 1) the lido buffet area is much bigger. It extends all the way aft, there is a second service area (on each side of the ship), and the aft seating area is larger -- it includes what was crew/dishroom space behind the aft elevators. I didn't count seats, but I'd guess a 50% increase over Grand/Golden. Yes, and the space came from the wonderful outdoor deck area that used to be behind the Horizon Court. 2) The former magrodome pool are has been reworked, so that the crew space/storage space between the two pools has been opened up as tiered deck space. There are several new tiers of open deck space between the two main pools, where there was nothing (for passengers) previously. Actually this space includes the miniature golf course on the other Grand Class ships. It was upstairs. It has been moved on CARIBBEAN PRINCESS to an area above the aft stairtower. 3) In the Vista Lounge / Club Fusion, the backstage area and particularly the stage area are smaller (making the lounge area bigger) -- and the raised portion with table seating around the bar area has been eliminated. Again I didn't count seats, but Club Fusion certainly holds more people than a Vista Lounge. Part of this is achieved by eliminating site lines and installing video monitors. Club Fusion seems to be the lounge most are disappointed with. Apparently it tries to be all things to all people (casino, night club, show lounge) and possibly it's not working very well? The Vista Lounge on the Grand Class ships was pretty spacious, so it's easy to rework it and cram more seats in. 4) There is an entirely new public area surrounding the ship's funnel. On Grand/Golden this was non-accessable mechanical space. On Carribbean, there is some seating area, and miniatures golf. They had to find a new place for miniature golf since the original spot on the other ships is being used for movie seating. 5) The 'wave theme' surround walls around the pools have been eliminated, making quite a bit more open deck space close to the pools. (I think the hot tubs moved too, but I can't quite remember) Too bad. I felt the pools and their beautiful surround were some of the nicest on any cruise ship. Someone on CC mentioned that the pools are actually smaller on CARIBBEAN. Not sure if that is true. 6) There is a whole new kids/teen area on deck (can't remember 14? 15?) aft. There is interior play room space, and the kids pool has moved there. I'll have to look more closely when I'm onboard to see where the space came from, but I think a lot of it was from the storage space forward (and under) the terraced seating at the aft pool. (And since the kids area is in this new space, something must be in the area forward where it was on Grand/Golden, including the area where the 'Tail of the Whale' kids pool was. This space exists on all the other Grand Class ships, but it is smaller. On CARIBBEAN it has once again been extended aft taking away more outdoor deck space. Since the Horizon Court on CARIBBEAN was also extended, they just built out "The Fun Zone" on top of it. No doubt CARIBBEAN PRINCESS will carry more children then the other Grand Class ships. Yeah -- the comments posted here about how crowded the ship is seem to come from people who've never been on it. It was pretty cheap, so we're going to give it a try. This ship seems to get great reviews. My guess is this ship design was spacious enough to begin with to absorb the extra passengers with little difficulty. Even so, the sister ships will offer basically the same experience with 500+ less passengers. Soon they will also receive the outdoor movies. I'm not sure if they will take away the glass roof over the second pool. I hope not, as that is one feature I enjoy about the Grand Class. If it were not for Personal Choice the task would have been much more difficult to add the extra deck. With a traditional setup, a larger show lounge and dining rooms would have been required. Since everything is staggered on Princess this was not necessary. No additional lifeboats were necessary either since regulations now allow a larger portion of people onboard to use inflatable life rafts. This is what the majority of the crew will use. I'll at least have seven days away from r.t.c. You certainly don't need a cruise to get away from r.t.c. Ernie |
#183
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
E.k.R. wrote:
I'm interested in all aspects of the cruise industry regardless of what ships I choose to sail on. I never said I will never sail on a mass-market ship again. I'm basically taking a break. For me, it's more than just a vacation on ship .... it's a genuine interest in the industry that goes beyond just being a cruise passenger. Why else would I visit r.t.c. and other cruise boards almost everyday? Ernie, what's your background in cruising? Are you an oceanliner buff or cruise ship buff? How did you get interested in cruising? Do you work in the industry? I've discovered something about myself. I'm not sold on big business as it relates to human industries, too many temptations to produce a generic product. I like a business that serves a target customer, and provides what it claims to that customer and like-minded customers. For me, that's almost by definition, a limited market. I see a thriving mass-market yet I'm not interested in being a generic customer. Not much of the time. However, I have no problem with mass-market lines that promote themselves as value lines. So, in many ways, I'm OK with Carnival and RCI. I used to think I was a ship buff, and I am, but I'm also into the vacation as feeding a soul or souls on retreat in the form of an ocean-going vessel, and a means of souls connecting. I find more and more distractions to that in the form of content and function in the newer ships. Ben S. Ernie |
#184
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
E.k.R. wrote:
I'm interested in all aspects of the cruise industry regardless of what ships I choose to sail on. I never said I will never sail on a mass-market ship again. I'm basically taking a break. For me, it's more than just a vacation on ship .... it's a genuine interest in the industry that goes beyond just being a cruise passenger. Why else would I visit r.t.c. and other cruise boards almost everyday? Ernie, what's your background in cruising? Are you an oceanliner buff or cruise ship buff? How did you get interested in cruising? Do you work in the industry? I've discovered something about myself. I'm not sold on big business as it relates to human industries, too many temptations to produce a generic product. I like a business that serves a target customer, and provides what it claims to that customer and like-minded customers. For me, that's almost by definition, a limited market. I see a thriving mass-market yet I'm not interested in being a generic customer. Not much of the time. However, I have no problem with mass-market lines that promote themselves as value lines. So, in many ways, I'm OK with Carnival and RCI. I used to think I was a ship buff, and I am, but I'm also into the vacation as feeding a soul or souls on retreat in the form of an ocean-going vessel, and a means of souls connecting. I find more and more distractions to that in the form of content and function in the newer ships. Ben S. Ernie |
#185
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
"Benjamin Smith" wrote in message link.net... Ernie, what's your background in cruising? Are you an oceanliner buff or cruise ship buff? How did you get interested in cruising? Do you work in the industry? Ben, I became interested in ships after my parents sailed on the CARNIVALE in 1976. I was 11 years old at the time and fascinated by the wonderful tales they told. The next year I convinced my Grandmother to take me on my first cruise. It was on the LEONARDO DA VINCI and I immediately fell in love with ships and the sea. I became interested in ocean liners and their history from about 1900 onward, and later in the modern day cruise industry we speak of today. I am still fascinated by passenger ships, whether they be small, large, or somewhere in between. While I've become a bit disenchanted with the onboard experience and the likeness of cruise products today, I'm still intrigued by the ships themselves. For this reason I think I will always be cruising (plus my love of the ocean). QM2 is a great example that even today we can build an amazing product that is state of the art, but with many links to the past. She is truly my favorite ship sailing today and offers an amazing onboard ambiance. I have worked in the cruise industry for several years. I attended University of Miami (to be near ships of course!) and worked part time for Carnival during my college years. Later I moved to Los Angeles and took a job with Princess Cruises. I eventually returned to Miami and Carnival, and even worked for Dolphin Cruises for a short time. I've worked both onboard ship and in the various headquarters of these lines. I spent the most time working for Princess in Los Angeles. It's been over 10 years since I've worked in the cruise industry, but I still follow it very closely. I'm still in the travel industry (major airline), but no longer have any relation with the cruise industry (except for many friends still involved). I also enjoy discussing the airline industry, but it's far more complicated and frankly I find it less interesting. I never had the affinity for airplanes like I do for ships. I think my interest in the airline industry evolved from working in it for 10+ years. Unfortunately there is very little positive to discuss so it becomes tedious. Ernie |
#186
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
"Benjamin Smith" wrote in message link.net... Ernie, what's your background in cruising? Are you an oceanliner buff or cruise ship buff? How did you get interested in cruising? Do you work in the industry? Ben, I became interested in ships after my parents sailed on the CARNIVALE in 1976. I was 11 years old at the time and fascinated by the wonderful tales they told. The next year I convinced my Grandmother to take me on my first cruise. It was on the LEONARDO DA VINCI and I immediately fell in love with ships and the sea. I became interested in ocean liners and their history from about 1900 onward, and later in the modern day cruise industry we speak of today. I am still fascinated by passenger ships, whether they be small, large, or somewhere in between. While I've become a bit disenchanted with the onboard experience and the likeness of cruise products today, I'm still intrigued by the ships themselves. For this reason I think I will always be cruising (plus my love of the ocean). QM2 is a great example that even today we can build an amazing product that is state of the art, but with many links to the past. She is truly my favorite ship sailing today and offers an amazing onboard ambiance. I have worked in the cruise industry for several years. I attended University of Miami (to be near ships of course!) and worked part time for Carnival during my college years. Later I moved to Los Angeles and took a job with Princess Cruises. I eventually returned to Miami and Carnival, and even worked for Dolphin Cruises for a short time. I've worked both onboard ship and in the various headquarters of these lines. I spent the most time working for Princess in Los Angeles. It's been over 10 years since I've worked in the cruise industry, but I still follow it very closely. I'm still in the travel industry (major airline), but no longer have any relation with the cruise industry (except for many friends still involved). I also enjoy discussing the airline industry, but it's far more complicated and frankly I find it less interesting. I never had the affinity for airplanes like I do for ships. I think my interest in the airline industry evolved from working in it for 10+ years. Unfortunately there is very little positive to discuss so it becomes tedious. Ernie |
#187
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
"Benjamin Smith" wrote in message link.net... Ernie, what's your background in cruising? Are you an oceanliner buff or cruise ship buff? How did you get interested in cruising? Do you work in the industry? Ben, I became interested in ships after my parents sailed on the CARNIVALE in 1976. I was 11 years old at the time and fascinated by the wonderful tales they told. The next year I convinced my Grandmother to take me on my first cruise. It was on the LEONARDO DA VINCI and I immediately fell in love with ships and the sea. I became interested in ocean liners and their history from about 1900 onward, and later in the modern day cruise industry we speak of today. I am still fascinated by passenger ships, whether they be small, large, or somewhere in between. While I've become a bit disenchanted with the onboard experience and the likeness of cruise products today, I'm still intrigued by the ships themselves. For this reason I think I will always be cruising (plus my love of the ocean). QM2 is a great example that even today we can build an amazing product that is state of the art, but with many links to the past. She is truly my favorite ship sailing today and offers an amazing onboard ambiance. I have worked in the cruise industry for several years. I attended University of Miami (to be near ships of course!) and worked part time for Carnival during my college years. Later I moved to Los Angeles and took a job with Princess Cruises. I eventually returned to Miami and Carnival, and even worked for Dolphin Cruises for a short time. I've worked both onboard ship and in the various headquarters of these lines. I spent the most time working for Princess in Los Angeles. It's been over 10 years since I've worked in the cruise industry, but I still follow it very closely. I'm still in the travel industry (major airline), but no longer have any relation with the cruise industry (except for many friends still involved). I also enjoy discussing the airline industry, but it's far more complicated and frankly I find it less interesting. I never had the affinity for airplanes like I do for ships. I think my interest in the airline industry evolved from working in it for 10+ years. Unfortunately there is very little positive to discuss so it becomes tedious. Ernie |
#188
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
E.k.R. wrote:
Ernie, thanks for bio. Great resume. QM2 is a great example that even today we can build an amazing product that is state of the art, but with many links to the past. She is truly my favorite ship sailing today and offers an amazing onboard ambiance. Glad to hear this, that the engineers/designers pulled off the project so successfully, especially in light of your not so stellar experience on the QE2. There's an advantage to building something great and for the ages over trendy in that this ship will hold its appeal for years, long after the newness has worn off. Ben S. |
#189
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
E.k.R. wrote:
Ernie, thanks for bio. Great resume. QM2 is a great example that even today we can build an amazing product that is state of the art, but with many links to the past. She is truly my favorite ship sailing today and offers an amazing onboard ambiance. Glad to hear this, that the engineers/designers pulled off the project so successfully, especially in light of your not so stellar experience on the QE2. There's an advantage to building something great and for the ages over trendy in that this ship will hold its appeal for years, long after the newness has worn off. Ben S. |
#190
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Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!
"*bicker*" wrote in message .. . Definitely, but I think not in the way that you'd like it to go. Rather, many of those customers feel that they're being charged too much money already, and will more-readily accept service-level reduction than the higher fares necessary to sustain current service levels (much less build back some of what you'd be happy with), and reduce the proliferation of new service fees. How many cruises have you been on, and how many people on those cruises have you talked to in support of your comments? I've been on over 30 cruises and don't feel that they're charging too much already. How many have you been on? --Tom |
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