Lengthening, of Enchantment of the Seas!

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
I just read another thread about the lenghening on Cruise Critic.
Interesting thread. They seem to favor the idea there. Particularly
EKR, Ernie Roller!!!
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=60111

Also Ernie posts a link to a picture of before and after
http://63.217.28.3/images/other2/enchantment_kvaerner_big.jpg

Also someone in the thread suggests that the Celebrity Century class
will also be lengthened.

--
Charles



In general I don't mind lengthening projects for mass-market ships. The new
mid-section adds a proportionate amount of deck space, public lounges,
cabins, and crew areas. What I don't condone is adding an entire deck as in
the case of CARIBBEAN PRINCESS. In this instance, over 250 cabins were
added but NO additional public space, crew areas, or deck space was added.
A win for Princess Cruises and increased revenue, but a loss for the
passenger who receives less space than other similar Grand Class ships.

I am all for Royal Caribbean investing in older tonnage. These are not just
cosmetic cover-ups that so many other cruise lines perform, but complete
makeovers which bring older tonnage up to date with the latest ship in the
fleet. It's a chance to add signature lounges like Bolero's and branding
projects like Seattle's Best Coffee. It's perfect for the market these
ships are geared for, and by making them "new again", RCI should also be
able to increase per diems, or at the very least sustain them.

I applaud RCI for taking the initiative to invest in what they've already
got. Too many other lines are concentrated only on what the next new ship
is, meanwhile the older ships are looking worn and tired. This move also
makes good economic sense for Royal Caribbean. I believe the expense for the
lengthening is about ?45. That equates to approximately ?149,000 per berth.
I believe this is much cheaper than building a vessel from scratch. If you
look at QM2, my rough calculations put the per berth cost at just over
$300,000. I think most ships are somewhere around $200,000 to $280,000 per
berth. So it would seem that stretching is a relative bargain.

If RCI does the same procedure to all four Vision Class ships (which I
imagine they eventually will), they will increase capacity by 1208 berths,
or about that of a smaller to mid-sized cruise ship. The other advantage is
the short amount of time the ship will actually be out of service compared
to that of building a new ship from scratch. This means RCI can see a return
on the investment almost immediately. I would also imagine the financing is
a bit more attractive then a newbuild, and the lower cost helps RCI from
increasing it's debt, which is already quite high.

Ernie

In article , E.k.R.
wrote:

I applaud RCI for taking the initiative to invest in what they've already
got. Too many other lines are concentrated only on what the next new ship
is, meanwhile the older ships are looking worn and tired. This move also

I agree with your take on the lenghtening over Ben and Howards.
Rereading the press release and seeing the before and after picture,
along with your comments, I don't agree with the idea that it means
"another beautiful ship bites the dust". I don't think there is a
reason to get upset about this.

--
Charles

In article , E.k.R.
wrote:

I applaud RCI for taking the initiative to invest in what they've already
got. Too many other lines are concentrated only on what the next new ship
is, meanwhile the older ships are looking worn and tired. This move also

I agree with your take on the lenghtening over Ben and Howards.
Rereading the press release and seeing the before and after picture,
along with your comments, I don't agree with the idea that it means
"another beautiful ship bites the dust". I don't think there is a
reason to get upset about this.

--
Charles

In article , E.k.R.
wrote:

I applaud RCI for taking the initiative to invest in what they've already
got. Too many other lines are concentrated only on what the next new ship
is, meanwhile the older ships are looking worn and tired. This move also

I agree with your take on the lenghtening over Ben and Howards.
Rereading the press release and seeing the before and after picture,
along with your comments, I don't agree with the idea that it means
"another beautiful ship bites the dust". I don't think there is a
reason to get upset about this.

--
Charles

"E.k.R." wrote in message news:XTUOc.516

I believe the expense for the
lengthening is about ?45. That equates to approximately ?149,000 per
berth.
I believe this is much cheaper than building a vessel from scratch.


Please note that should read 45 Euros and 149,000 Euros. Apparently the
Euro sign translates into a question mark (?) on r.t.c.

Ernie

"E.k.R." wrote in message news:XTUOc.516

I believe the expense for the
lengthening is about ?45. That equates to approximately ?149,000 per
berth.
I believe this is much cheaper than building a vessel from scratch.


Please note that should read 45 Euros and 149,000 Euros. Apparently the
Euro sign translates into a question mark (?) on r.t.c.

Ernie

"E.k.R." wrote in message news:XTUOc.516

I believe the expense for the
lengthening is about ?45. That equates to approximately ?149,000 per
berth.
I believe this is much cheaper than building a vessel from scratch.


Please note that should read 45 Euros and 149,000 Euros. Apparently the
Euro sign translates into a question mark (?) on r.t.c.

Ernie

"Benjamin Smith" wrote in message
nk.net...


People like Jeff C and I love them. And to me, lack of a dance floor
that
would otherwise rarely get used dosn't make them failures. And being
90,000
tons doesn't make them failures. I think they are the best ships out
there.
Not failures at all.


I don't think they are failures. I don't like their design and lack of
creativity in advancing Celebrity's product. I don't find them to take
chances and be innovative like the Century class. Mason, Babette and
others don't love them. We are on different sides of the camp on our
opinion of the Millie ships.


But you said that Celebrity was failing.

Differences of opinion of the Millie class ships doesn't make them failures.
I absolutely hated Carnival Destiny. That doesn't make it a failure. It's
probably one of the most profitable ships in the history of the cruise
industry.

--Tom

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article t,
Benjamin Smith wrote:

In light of recent discussions, this is certainly an undesirable
change.
Most of what's being added into these 6,500 tons of space (e.g. over
300 passengers, extra fee restaurant and coffee bar, "art gallery")
are
cookie cutter, revenue enhancers. Another beautiful ship hits the
dust.


I agree. Well stated.

I just read another thread about the lenghening on Cruise Critic.
Interesting thread. They seem to favor the idea there. Particularly
EKR, Ernie Roller!!!
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=60111

Also Ernie posts a link to a picture of before and after
http://63.217.28.3/images/other2/enchantment_kvaerner_big.jpg

Also someone in the thread suggests that the Celebrity Century class
will also be lengthened.


They're pretty close to Panamax. Stetching would preclude using them in
Alaska, unless they did a "rounding the Horn".

Maybe they'll just use them in the Caribbean and Europe.

--Tom

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article t,
Benjamin Smith wrote:

In light of recent discussions, this is certainly an undesirable
change.
Most of what's being added into these 6,500 tons of space (e.g. over
300 passengers, extra fee restaurant and coffee bar, "art gallery")
are
cookie cutter, revenue enhancers. Another beautiful ship hits the
dust.


I agree. Well stated.

I just read another thread about the lenghening on Cruise Critic.
Interesting thread. They seem to favor the idea there. Particularly
EKR, Ernie Roller!!!
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=60111

Also Ernie posts a link to a picture of before and after
http://63.217.28.3/images/other2/enchantment_kvaerner_big.jpg

Also someone in the thread suggests that the Celebrity Century class
will also be lengthened.


They're pretty close to Panamax. Stetching would preclude using them in
Alaska, unless they did a "rounding the Horn".

Maybe they'll just use them in the Caribbean and Europe.

--Tom