Touring Carnival Legend

Carnival Legend is a Kaverner-built Vista class cruise ship. In other words, she has essentially the same hull design as the more recent Vistas that have been built for Holland America, Costa and P&O by Fincantieri in Italy. This has been a very successful design which gives the ships better speed and seakeeping abilities than many cruise ships.

In the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet, the four Vista class ships are better known as Spirit class ships after the first ship in this series Carnival Spirit. They are smaller in size than the Destiny/Conquest/Splendor class but at over 80,000 gross tons are still quite formidable ships. They are the fastest ships in the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet and have a certain distinct elegance.

Like all Carnival ships, the interior of Carnival Legend has a theme. Appropriately enough, the theme on Legend is legends. As a result, guest find themselves surrounded by ancient Greek myths and medieval sagas. Still other public rooms are dedicated to jazz legends or are inspired by famous athletes. At the same time, there are luxurious facilities such as the spa and the fitness center and the spectacular supper club. It is a fascinating escape from the every day world.

My profile of Carnival Legend is posted at: http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalLegend-Profile.html and my photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalLegend-Tour-1.html

Talking Ruby Princess

There is always a certain excitement about going on a new ship. However, one usually has to expect that there will be new ship problems as well. The facilities are untested and the crew is not used to working with each other or within the new ship. Ships work best when they have settled into a routine and it takes time to establish routines.

One of the things that impressed me about Ruby Princess when I sailed on her was that there were no new ship problems. The ship had only been in service less than a month yet the crew knew what they were doing and were able to work together efficiently. In sort, it was the best of all worlds - - one had the feeling of being there at the start of the ship’s career, yet none of the problems.

I spoke about with this with Dirk Brand, the Passenger Services Director on Ruby Princess. Dirk has headed the hotel department on Queen Mary 2 and on several of the Grand-class Princess mega-cruise ships. He is an experienced professional and thus not surprisingly, Princess asked him to bring out their new ship.

Dirk responded by outlining how the Ruby Princess team was formed and the steps that were taken to build that team. My interview with Dirk is posted at: http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-RU-art-Brand.html

The Charm of Statendam

Statendam is one of the “small” ships in the Holland America fleet. It did not start out that way. At over 50,000 gross tons, Statendam is a large ship. However, since she went into service in 1993, cruise ships have become so much larger that she now seems like a small ship.

Many people like the S class ships (of which Statendam was the first built) because of her size. One does not have to walk that far to get from place to place onboard. Also, the S class ships can get into ports that are too small for their bigger cousins. As a result, they are able to do more unusual itineraries, which is often an attraction for experienced cruisers.

Holland America wants its guests to feel that when they go aboard any ship in its fleet, the guests will find the same amenities and features that they enjoyed on their last Holland America voyage. Accordingly, it continually upgrades its ships so that they have the same features as the newer ships. For example, HAL’s specialty restaurant, the Pinnacle Grill, was added to Statendam in 2002. Other enhancements have been made as part of the line’s Signature of Excellence program. Of course, when a new feature is added, it has to be scaled to the size of the ship.

Statendam has a $2 million art collection that is in keeping with the high standards of the ship. The décor is contemporary but restrained and elegant.

My profile of Statendam is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Statendam.html and my photo tour and commentary about the ship is at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Statendam-Tour1.html

Exploring Carnival Freedom

I was trying to think of how to describe Carnival Freedom and the words “big, exciting and fun” came to mind. Now, I suppose I have to say why.

At 110,000 gross tons, 950 feet in length and 106 feet wide, Carnival Freedom certainly is big. Still, she can maneuver in and out of Caribbean ports quite handily with no external assistance. She can carry between 2, 970 to 3,700 passengers depending upon the number of beds that are occupied in each cabin. That is a lot of people. However, the design of the ship is such and things are organized so that one does not feel overcrowded.

The décor of Carnival Freedom kindles the excitement. I admire the way designer Joe Farcus sets out to make each ship in the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet have its own character. Yes, the general layout of each class of ship is the same but the use of color and design makes each one unique. Moreover, the bold colors and often whimsical designs make the public spaces exciting. You probably would not want to have your home decorated this way but it is fine for a get-away.

Fun comes both from the whimsical designs and from the fact that there are so many different options for things to do. These include not just the facilities but the organized activities. They may not be intellectual but they are good light hearted fun.

My profile of Carnival Freedom is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalFreedom-Profile.html and my photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalFreedom-Tour-1.html

Looking at Enchantment of the Seas

In 2005, Enchantment of the Seas was cut in two and a new 73 foot midsection was inserted. This raised her gross tonnage from approximately 70,000 tons to over 80,000 gross tons. As a result, Enchantment is one of, if not the largest cruise ship to be expanded.

While the fact that such a large ship was expanded this was is interesting in itself, what is more important is what the expansion did for the ship. For one thing, it allowed Royal Caribbean to re-design the main pool area. Not only were the pools re-done but an interactive computer-controlled splash fountain was added, whirlpools were added including one cantilevered over the ship’s starboard side, a new bar area was built and two spectacular suspension bridges were created on each side. In addition, the interior public spaces were revitalized and new features added including a specialty restaurant and an art gallery.

Enchantment’s public spaces have a tasteful contemporary look. Except in the casino, there is no neon or bright lights, nothing of the theme-park. In many respects it resembles a good quality modern hotel.

My profile of Enchantment of the Seas is at http://www.beyondships.com/ENOS-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary begins at: http://www.beyondships.com/ENOS-tour.html

The New Ruby Princess

Ruby Princess is the latest ship to join the fleet of Princess Cruises. She is based on the design of that line’s extremely successful Grand Princess but has the benefit of ten years of operational experience with this design of ship. As a result, she incorporates all of the features and the design changes that have been made in the Grand class in the eight ships that have preceded her. In short, she is a well-laid out ship with a pleasing contemporary décor with numerous places to go and things to do.

Of course, the fact that a ship has a great design is no guarantee that it will provide a good vacation experience. Ships coming out of the shipyard frequently have service and/or technical problems. It frequently takes several months for the crew to come together as a team. Thus, it was with some trepidation that I embarked on Ruby Princess’ fourth cruise in November.

I was quite amazed, however, to find that the officers and crew of Ruby Princess were already acting like a veteran team. There were none of the mishaps and service problems often associated with new ships. It was an excellent cruise experience.

Ruby may well be the ultimate Princess Grand-class cruise ship. Only one more ship of this design is on order and that is earmarked for P&O Cruises. Thus, it is highly appropriate that the ship and the crew have come together so well in such a short time.

My profile of Ruby Princess is at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-RU-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-RU-Tour-1.html.

Renewing Queen Mary 2

Passenger ships periodically return the shipyard for refits. These respites from cruising breath new life into worn areas, allow the line to fix broken parts and provide an opportunity to upgrade the technology and/or the features used by the passengers. However, not much is written about what goes on during refits.

Queen Mary 2 (“QM2”) did a refit at the Bolm + Voss Repair drydock in Hamburg, Germany during three weeks in October and November of last year. The ship is now five years old and various laws require inspection and maintenance of various areas. In addition, Cunard Line took the opportunity to counteract some of the wear and tear that results from carrying thousands of passengers week after week Finally, some of the technology and the public spaces were altered in order to keep the ship top-of-the-line.

I had the opportunity to talk with Staff Captain Trevor Lane about the refit shortly after QM2 returned to service. Captain Lane as second in command of the ship and head of the Deck and Navigation Departments is uniquely situated to talk about what was done to the ship. It was a busy three weeks and much was done to the ship that may escape the eye of the casual observer.

My article about the refit is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/QM2-refit-1.html.