Today, Princess Cruises announced that they will be transferring one of their ships, the Royal Princess, to parent company P&O in May 2011. Several sites, including the CruiseLog blog, described the situation more in the context of Princess removing a ship from Alaska in 2011, more than the actual transfer of the vessel, which I think is obviously the bigger story. The Royal Princess was formerly one of Renaissance Cruises ships, the R8. Princess acquired her, along with sisters Pacific and Tahitian (now Ocean) in 2007. After the transfer to P&O, she will be renamed Adonia, and offer a small-ship cruising experience for the line.
This change, of course, means the cancellation of some Tahiti sailings before the Royal is transferred to P&O in May. She will stop sailing under the Princess flag in March 2011, and then likely head for a wetdock (or maybe even drydock) so she can be transformed into whatever P&O wants for her.

My thoughts? First of all, ew, what a name. Some of P&O’s ship names are beautiful (Artemis, Aurora, Azura) but some are truly awful (Arcadia, Oriana, and now Adonia – barf). Furthermore (in the name vein of things), why the heck do the former Royal Princess(es) keep getting shuffled around at P&O? Princess’ original Royal Princess (1984) became Artemis under the P&O brand several years ago. Artemis herself was sold back in September to Artania Shipping, and she will leave the P&O fleet in May 2011. Creepy, no? [cue Twilight Zone music] The Royals just can’t get a break. It’s a shame, because I think Royal is one of the prettier names Princess has for their ships. I wonder if there will be another – a third! – after this. That might get really confusing, actually.

I’m sure some of the Princess diehards aren’t be happy with this news. On the Princess forums on CC, the three smallest ships have a sizable following who excessively tout them as the best of Princess fleet. Now with only two of the little girls left, Princess’ more exotic itineraries will have to be cut somewhat. I suspect the one of the main reasons why Royal Princess was transferred was due to the fact she lacks minisuites, while her sisters Pacific and Tahitian/Ocean do not. Those Princess cruisers really love their minisuites.
Finally, Royal Princess is home to Lorraine Arzt, Princess Cruises’ most traveled passenger. Arzt has spent over 10 years sailing on Princess ships, and now lives aboard the Royal Princess in her own suite. This woman is totally my hero, BTW – she’s even Royal Princess’ godmother, how cool is that? I can’t help wondering what will happen to her. Will she move to another ship? Inquiring (nosy!) minds want to know.

BTW, P&O has wasted no time in promoting their new addition. The announcement came down this morning, and as of this afternoon, P&O’s site heralds Adonia, and even has a mockup of her in her P&O livery. Check it out, the MS Paint job is awesome. 🙂

Is it wrong that I really want to buy one of these shirts to wear on my cruise?

As much as it hurts my brain to actually validate the idiots who insist on referring to cruise ships as boats, the hilarious reference makes up for it. Then again, I also want to buy this shirt to wear on my next Princess cruise, much to my family’s embarrassment.

Anyone have a favorite?

For those who don’t get the reference, please watch this video. To save your ears (and save myself from losing my -4 readers), I have chosen the uncensored version, but there is an uncensored version too (obviously). P.S. In case it wasn’t obvious, a cruise ship association = instant thumbs up from me.

I can’t help but notice the single page that gets the most hits on this site is my About Me page. That’s kind of funny. Personally, I think (know) I’m not that interesting, but I guess who I am is more interesting than my cruise ramblings. Oh well!

So what have I been up to lately? My Christmas cruise is rapidly approaching (under two weeks now baby!) Of course, I haven’t packed yet, but maybe I’ll start making my packing list soon. My packing lists are legendary, FYI. I enjoy planning out what I’m wearing for every single moment (spreadsheets FTW), and I never forget anything, so I must be doing something right. Maybe if I get really bored, I will share my anal-retentive packing methods with you all. Aren’t you lucky?

The other thing I’ve been working on lately is my photo albums. Recently, after much internal debate, I signed up for SmugMug, a pay site for photo storage. I’m really cheap, so at first I found it hard to justify spending yearly to have an internet account for my photos. But, webshots, flickr, and photobucket all weren’t compatible with the way I wanted to organize my albums, and they had space limits. So after SmugMug’s free trial (that’s how they get you, always), I was really impressed with the service and decided to sign up. Note: this is not a commercial for SmugMug, I just like the site. I still don’t like paying for an account, but what can you do? The way I figure it, I probably would have wasted that money on something stupid anyway, so it’s better to have something tangible to show for it.
I’m pretty proud of the way I’ve organized my albums so far. They look pretty decent. Yeah, even with my uber amateur photography skills! There’s still some work I have to do, but when I’m done, I’ll share them here. If my photos are 1/10 as interesting as my About Me page, I’ll consider them a success. 😉

I know there’s been a lot of love for Oasis in the mainstream media (and even here lately!), but I’d like to talk about another new ship on the horizon – the Disney Dream.  I’ve been meaning to write this post for awhile, and to say it’s a long overdue would be an understatement. Disney announced details for its two newbuilds, the Disney Dream (2011) and Disney Fantasy (2012) a month ago on their site. You can see it here. If you do nothing else, at least watch the video at the end of the blog post, it’s great and gives an idea of some innovations to expect on these new ships.

Personally, I’m in love with the AquaDuck watercoaster and the virtual portholes in inside cabins. Actually, the latter sounds more to me like an RCI-ish innovation, so I’m surprised they didn’t come up with it first. You don’t have to really sell inside cabins – they sell by virtue of their cheap pricetag usually – but I appreciate that Disney’s efforts there. I’m not one to sail cruise ships for waterslides, but that AquaDuck looks intriguing (and kind of scary!) The renderings of the kids and teen areas look very impressive (rooms modeled after Toy Story and Monsters Inc, so cool), and it looks like they’ve expanded the adults only sections as well. I love the idea of the Skyline bar, and watching different city skylines materialize each night. Though I’ve never sailed on Disney, I’ve always been impressed by their ship interiors, and it looks like these two will be no different. From the renderings in the video, the majority of the public rooms have that ocean liner feel in their design. It’s not over the top Disneyfication and tackiness inside, but rather refined and classy instead. As a fan of ocean liners and that old fashioned style, I appreciate that.

Disney hasn’t introduced a new ship since the Disney Wonder in August 1999 – that’s over a lifetime in cruise years. I don’t mean that to make Disney sound lame. It’s a compliment, really. I think it’s testament to both good planning in building Magic & Wonder and smart business management that they’ve stood the test of time and Disney hasn’t been releasing ships every year. They know their market and have done a good job catering to it. Magic and Wonder, despite their small size (relatively speaking nowadays), have served them well and now Disney feels confident enough to expand and improve upon those designs in the Disney fashion. Disney knows their audience and I’m positive these new ships will please the diehards and attract new fans too. I know I’m almost sold on a Disney cruise right about now. Good job, Disney!

Carnival made a bold announcement on Tuesday, Dec 1 – they’re ordering a new ship, a third in their new Dream class. To me, new ships are always good news, and this one is no exception. It shows quite a bit of faith in the economy’s rebound, the travel industry, the Dream class, and the current exchange rate. (Because we all know that’s what these negotiations boil down to at the end of the day: I know you’re gonna build it there, Fincantieri knows you’re gonna build it there, Carnival just wants a decent exchange rate when it’s ordered.) The new ship will be the same style as the recently launched Carnival Dream and Magic (2011) and is scheduled for spring 2012.

Honestly, I didn’t expect Carnival or any of its brands to order any more ships until at least mid 2010. Carnival CEO Arison famously declared back in 2008 that there would be no new ship orders in the immediate future, just finishing out remaining orders for the next few years. Amusingly, Arison was most recently quoted on this article at the Cruise Log blog in October “With the weaker dollar we are going to proceed cautiously,” and my personal favorite, “I would venture to say it’s unlikely that a contract (for a new ship) could be signed before the end of the year”. Yup, he said this in October. Poker face, anyone? Or just double talk? With the internet, quotes like this live forever and make you look a bit dumb.* All I have to say is LOL.

In other important news, my Carnival stock went up this week! Score!

Now, going along with my previous post, what will they name it? Hey, what did Disney name their newest ship again? < /rimshot> Yeah, cheap shot, I know. 😉

*Before anyone hates, I do respect Ted Arison’s rags to riches story and business savvy he employed in building his cruise empire. It’s fascinating and the cruise industry wouldn’t be where it is today with Carnival’s involvement. Yeah, I’ve read Devils on the Deep Blue Sea. I just think what Micky said was really dumb.

I just wrote a similar post on Cruise Critic, which inspired me to basically write the same here. While I was on the Equinox two weeks ago, I talked to some crew members and the glassblowers who will roll out Eclipse in the spring (they were really awesome, btw. I wish our cruise had been longer so I could see more of them in action!). All of them confirmed that the next ship name will be Silhouette. Blahblah, I know we shouldn’t trust the cruise ship rumor mill and all, but I’ve seen this name mentioned often on the internet, too. I don’t think we would have heard the name so many times without reason. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire?

So what do I think of the name? (Because I know you’re so dying to know!) I like it, personally. It’s soft and pretty, has good alliteration with Celebrity, and it’s different from all the other names out there. (Cough – RCI and Carnival, I’m looking at you unabashedly copying names from each other constantly). I don’t see it fitting in with the other names in the S-class, but really, do all of the M-class or C-class names go together? Not really. BUT – and this is a big one – I think it’ll be a pain in the butt (to put it nicely) for most people to spell it. 9 years later and it still hurts my heart to see people butcher Millennium on a daily basis. Finally, I liked the name immediately, which says a lot for me, because it takes awhile for names to grow on me. I didn’t like Equinox or Eclipse initially, but the former won me over (still waiting on the latter).

However, I can’t help but wonder why Celebrity has waited so long to reveal the name. If I remember correctly (forgive me if I don’t), the names for Solstice and Equinox were announced closely together, with Eclipse not far behind. So what’s the holdup? As someone who really loves ship names – guessing them, dreaming up new ones, and hearing ones cruiselines select – I wish Celebrity would get a move on with this. Maybe they do have name(s) already. What do I know? It can’t be fun to constantly refer to the ship as Meyer Werft #854. (Please no hate mail, it’s a random guess). Maybe they’ll reveal the new name(s) shortly before they release Eclipse, to get the buzz going for her.

Come on, Celebrity – inquiring minds want to know!

Today, Celebrity’s Equinox will arrive in Port Everglades for the first time, returning from her summer season in Europe and beginning her winter in the Caribbean. Another important event occurring today is that the Oasis of the Seas will be sailing on her first trip with passengers (albeit VIPs, execs, TAs, and other people better than you).

I’m lucky enough to be sailing on Equinox tomorrow/today (sorry, it’s 1am – just a few more hours to go!!) so I’m super excited to both see her for the first time AND sail her. How often does THAT happen? I’ll be sure to take tons of pictures of both of Port Everglades’ new girls, especially Oasis (as seen from Equinox’s pier 25). After port security was particularly nasty last weekend (no ticket, no entrance, now get out of here), I’m eagerly looking forward to shoving my ticket in their faces tomorrow (this) morning. 🙂 I hope Equinox will get some love tomorrow from the port – a tug escort or waterguns would be cool – but Oasis will surely be the star when she departs later in the evening, around 7:30pm. Such an awesome day for cruising, and I’m bursting with excitement that I’ll be there for it!

Bon Voyage, Equinox and Oasis (and me!)

Oasis isn’t the only new kid on the block this week (despite what you may think from reading here and elsewhere!) The Carnival Dream was named today, and the invitation-only ceremony was featured in a live webcast on the Carnival site. Unfortunately, I missed it, but I’m sure it was quite a ceremony. Cruise ship namings are usually pretty impressive events. I appreciate Carnival’s initiative in having a webcast for its many fans – I don’t believe that’s been done before for a new ship, and it’s a nice touch.

It’s kind of sad that Dream has been/is being overshadowed by Oasis, as Dream is pretty innovative in her own right. I’m especially intrigued by the social networking site, the FunHub, which will allow passengers to interact/meet via personal profiles and groups based on shared interest. It’s a great idea in theory, but I’m really interested to see how it will play out in real life. Other design innovations like the lanai on the promenade, expanded waterworks park, and the intriguing “Cove” balconies, balconies close to the waterline that offer a different perspective of the sea. Dream was delivered on Sept 21, 2009, and after a 12 day Med cruise and a 16 day transatlantic, she has joined us in the US for her official naming and start of her cruising life.

So let’s show the Carnival Dream some love today. It’s her birthday, after all! Congratulations to Carnival on the delivery of their new Dream, may she have a long and successful service with them.

OMG WANT.

Okay, I know I’ve hated (in all fairness, just for the terminal takeover of my beloved terminal 18) on Oasis, but this commercial won me over 100%. I’ve been DYING to see actual footage of the inside (grainy shipyard footage of unfinished areas doesn’t count!) and this commercial is utterly perfect. I have to love the Captain too – he’s just so cute when he says the yard where Oasis was “born” (ships are people too, duh!) and being in command of her is an honor, and a lot of fun. Also love the brief shot of her funnel passing under the bridge – that video is tres awesome. I’m sure you all know that my head will be snapping to the TV like one of Pavlov’s dogs when this commercial airs.

RCI, you have to know I’m Celebrity’s biggest fan, so can you let me on for a tour of Oasis? Pretty please? ::fingers crossed::

Adding to your daily dose of Oasis, here’s news from Cruise Critic that says Oasis will be delayed by 2 days. She will now arrive on November 13th. Oasis faced some serious storms while crossing the Atlantic, winter storms with winds between 60-70mph and waves up to 30ft. Yowza, that storm is NO joke, let me tell you. Can you imagine, 30ft waves? That’s crazy.

Though in the article CC speculates that damage has been done to some lifeboats, I think the speculation is worth a mention and nothing more. I’m happy to see Oasis has weathered the storms okay. She’s quite a topheavy ship, and I’ve wondered how that will impact her sailing ability. (I know, I know, most ships are topheavy now, but Oasis just seems really topheavy to me for some reason.) As we all know, handling the ocean is the true test of any ship and it looks like she has passed with flying colors. I’d wager that these rough seas are probably the worst she’ll ever see, as a ship of this magnitude has to be homeported in the Caribbean year round (at least for the foreseeable future – never say never, I guess). Ships nowadays can steer clear of hurricanes without much fuss, so I think it’s reasonable to say that Oasis won’t be meeting any hurricane force winds in the future.

Now that Oasis will arrive two days late, CC says this will impact the loading of the Central Park greenery that’s scheduled to happen in FLL. Yikes, how much greenery is that anyway? The mind boggles. I’m pretty confident that they’ll have adequate time to put the finishing touches on the ship before she sails on her first cruise on the 19th. RCI must have factored extra time into her arrival schedule so that her much-touted first cruises would go off as perfectly as possible.
Second, I’m sure some people will be disappointed, as Oasis’ original arrival on November 11th coincided with Veterans’ day, allowing diehards to catch a glimpse on their days off. Now she arrives on 11/13, which is also, amusingly, Friday the 13th. Spoooooky stuff, huh? I’m sure the haters will be amused by that small fact, along with the news that the ship hit some storms.