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Goodbye Grandeur...So Who's Next?


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Unfortunately, Enchantment is scheduled to return to Baltimore to replace Grandeur.  Enchantment was here a few years ago before Grandeur.

I certainly hope they do some maintenance on Enchantment.  It truly looks like a rust bucket right now and as Twangster told us a while back, there are sometimes significant internal maintenance that needs to be done as well.

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2 hours ago, FManke said:

I know it doesn't happen frequently, but, with Grandeur on it's way out, which ship is next?

Any thoughts and/or suggestions?

Imho...all the Vision Class ship needs to go; plus, Majesty & Empress. Time for Royal to look forward, away from these ships...these ships has more than paid for itself, a number of times over. Time to invest & build some newer, LNG, 110k ton ships, with many of the latest & greatest, that the can fit, in unique ways, never before thought of...to replace their aged small ships currently in the fleet. Grandeur had its time; as well as, the others I've mentioned. Time to start replacing those, with newer, intimate versions of those ships, something on the timeline of the Icons, while starting to phase those much beloved, older vessels out.....imho.

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2 hours ago, Zambia-Zaire said:

Imho...all the Vision Class ship needs to go; plus, Majesty & Empress. Time for Royal to look forward, away from these ships...these ships has more than paid for itself, a number of times over. Time to invest & build some newer, LNG, 110k ton ships, with many of the latest & greatest, that the can fit, in unique ways, never before thought of...to replace their aged small ships currently in the fleet. Grandeur had its time; as well as, the others I've mentioned. Time to start replacing those, with newer, intimate versions of those ships, something on the timeline of the Icons, while starting to phase those much beloved, older vessels out.....imho.

Majesty and Empress aren't going anywhere for awhile - they can go places no other ships can, like Cuba and Hamilton/St. Georges in Bermuda.  Not everyone wants the big flashy bells & whistles, so those of us need something in the Royal fleet too.  There is something to be said for classic-style cruising. 

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2 hours ago, KathyC said:

Majesty and Empress aren't going anywhere for awhile - they can go places no other ships can, like Cuba and Hamilton/St. Georges in Bermuda.  Not everyone wants the big flashy bells & whistles, so those of us need something in the Royal fleet too.  There is something to be said for classic-style cruising. 

Agree. And also keep in mind that the Vision class ships do well in some of the Europe itineraries. 

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2 hours ago, KathyC said:

Majesty and Empress aren't going anywhere for awhile - they can go places no other ships can, like Cuba and Hamilton/St. Georges in Bermuda.  Not everyone wants the big flashy bells & whistles, so those of us need something in the Royal fleet too.  There is something to be said for classic-style cruising. 

That's why I specifically stated, 110ton ships...they would small & intimate enough to port in many of the locations you mentioned plus more, while providing an ever more newer experience. These ship does not have to have water slides, trampolines, & flowriders; but, still provide so techno wonders like 270 for an example.

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3 hours ago, Zambia-Zaire said:

That's why I specifically stated, 110ton ships...they would small & intimate enough to port in many of the locations you mentioned plus more, while providing an ever more newer experience. These ship does not have to have water slides, trampolines, & flowriders; but, still provide so techno wonders like 270 for an example.

I don't think the 110ton ships can go to the ports I mentioned.  Empress was brought back specifically for Cuba, and Grandeur, who is less than that, has always docked at the Royal Dockyard, not Hamilton or St. Georges.  110 ton is pretty big for those places.

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12 hours ago, KathyC said:

I don't think the 110ton ships can go to the ports I mentioned.  Empress was brought back specifically for Cuba, and Grandeur, who is less than that, has always docked at the Royal Dockyard, not Hamilton or St. Georges.  110 ton is pretty big for those places.

I've been to Bermuda twice, on Anthem & Escape...Bermuda is Bermuda. There tours and access to Hamilton or St George from King's Wharf...not a biggie.

As far as Cuba is concern...Carnival was planning to sail there with the Carnival Sunrise(formerly the Triumph), which is a 102 ton ship...seriously, come on.

" Carnival Cruise Line What It Is: After entering Cuba early with Fathom, Carnival Corp. arrived at the island in June 2017 with Carnival Paradise. At 2,052 passengers, the ship became the largest vessel sailing into Cuba.

Paradise will be replaced as the largest ship to call on Havana when Carnival Sunshine arrives in November 2019, sailing the first-ever Cuba cruises from Charleston. The line is also marking the first Cuba cruises from Norfolk, in 2020, along with the line's first Cuba cruises from New York in May 2020.

Carnival has announced more than 100 sailings will call on Cuba from seven ports through the 2019/2020 season; the most homeports setting sail for Cuba than any other cruise line. "

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2703

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18 hours ago, DublinFC said:

Will a Radiance class ship fit into the Baltimore Port?  I read or heard on the podcast that larger ships can not fit into the port/harbor area.

Yes -- it is, in essence, the same size as the Carnival Pride, which shares the Cruise Maryland Port with Grandeur.

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My real issue with Enchantment is the lack of Specialty Restaurants ..... they have one vs the 3 that Lady G has.  As for which one would go next..... since they were built in pairs (Legend/Splendour -- Grandeur/Enchantment -- Vision/Rhapsody), logic would indicate Enchantment ..... but since she was enlarged, thereby increasing capacity, who knows.

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48 minutes ago, Zambia-Zaire said:

I've been to Bermuda twice, on Anthem & Escape...Bermuda is Bermuda. There tours and access to Hamilton or St George from King's Wharf...not a biggie.

As far as Cuba is concern...Carnival was planning to sail there with the Carnival Sunrise(formerly the Triumph), which is a 102 ton ship...seriously, come on.

" Carnival Cruise Line What It Is: After entering Cuba early with Fathom, Carnival Corp. arrived at the island in June 2017 with Carnival Paradise. At 2,052 passengers, the ship became the largest vessel sailing into Cuba.

Paradise will be replaced as the largest ship to call on Havana when Carnival Sunshine arrives in November 2019, sailing the first-ever Cuba cruises from Charleston. The line is also marking the first Cuba cruises from Norfolk, in 2020, along with the line's first Cuba cruises from New York in May 2020.

Carnival has announced more than 100 sailings will call on Cuba from seven ports through the 2019/2020 season; the most homeports setting sail for Cuba than any other cruise line. "

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2703

I stopped paying attention to Cuba once the current President took my December cruise away.  

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1 hour ago, Zambia-Zaire said:

I've been to Bermuda twice, on Anthem & Escape...Bermuda is Bermuda. There tours and access to Hamilton or St George from King's Wharf...not a biggie.

I have to disagree with this sentiment. Docking right in Hamilton or Saint Georges is an entirely different experience than taking tours or local transportation to those locations. From King's Wharf you have to plan ahead for what time you want to do something in either of the towns. Being docked there allows much more flexibility.

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14 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

I have to disagree with this sentiment. Docking right in Hamilton or Saint Georges is an entirely different experience than taking tours or local transportation to those locations. From King's Wharf you have to plan ahead for what time you want to do something in either of the towns. Being docked there allows much more flexibility.

They have these little two-seaters mini-sports cars(forget what they call them)that you can rent for like six hours to drive all over the island...is what I was referring to. My wife & I went to St. George in one...she drove back. We spent the day driving around, seeing sights, hit the beach for a little bit, taking pictures, and hit a tee-shirt shop. Trust me, there's ways to get around and enjoy all the island have to enjoy...including Hamilton & St. George. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/31/2019 at 11:03 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Unfortunately, Enchantment is scheduled to return to Baltimore to replace Grandeur.  Enchantment was here a few years ago before Grandeur.

I certainly hope they do some maintenance on Enchantment.  It truly looks like a rust bucket right now and as Twangster told us a while back, there are sometimes significant internal maintenance that needs to be done as well.

I agree, we were on Enchantment last year and while we had a great time, the ship has definitely seen better days.  Hopefully they do a quick "refresh" if they're going to keep it around for a while.

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I agree with everyone that I hope Enchantment gets a re-fresh.  We were on her 3 yrs ago this week, sailed out of Miami.  We enjoyed the cruise, but it was more about the itinerary than the ship.  Port intensive.  Once they bring her up to Baltimore there will be more time on the ship at sea and that is when you really start to see the wear and tear on any ship.

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42 minutes ago, Pima1988 said:

I agree with everyone that I hope Enchantment gets a re-fresh.  We were on her 3 yrs ago this week, sailed out of Miami.  We enjoyed the cruise, but it was more about the itinerary than the ship.  Port intensive.  Once they bring her up to Baltimore there will be more time on the ship at sea and that is when you really start to see the wear and tear on any ship.

Which is one of the many reasons why adding more specialty restaurants is a good thing .....

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On 10/31/2019 at 10:26 AM, Zambia-Zaire said:

Imho...all the Vision Class ship needs to go; plus, Majesty & Empress. Time for Royal to look forward, away from these ships...these ships has more than paid for itself, a number of times over. Time to invest & build some newer, LNG, 110k ton ships, with many of the latest & greatest, that the can fit, in unique ways, never before thought of...to replace their aged small ships currently in the fleet. Grandeur had its time; as well as, the others I've mentioned. Time to start replacing those, with newer, intimate versions of those ships, something on the timeline of the Icons, while starting to phase those much beloved, older vessels out.....imho.

 

On 11/1/2019 at 8:22 AM, HeWhoWaits said:

I have to disagree with this sentiment. Docking right in Hamilton or Saint Georges is an entirely different experience than taking tours or local transportation to those locations. From King's Wharf you have to plan ahead for what time you want to do something in either of the towns. Being docked there allows much more flexibility.

Empress has to be one of my all time favorite ships. Since her return to Royal, she has developed a following that many adore. Royal is re-introducing port that they (along with many other cruise lines)  that they have not been able to sail to in many years due to port size limitations.  The demographic that sails on these voyages do not need all the thrills that come with Voyager, Freedom, Oasis, and Quantum class ships. Give the food, good shows, and a place to read a good book book while watching he ocean pass by is all they need.  The Empress, Majesty, Vision class, and Radiance class provided those amenities. The The Vision and Radiance are really a great class of ship that I am sad will be  leaving.

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