When is a ship considered old?

[lovethedream]

What is the retirement age of a cruise ship? I know enough about ships to be dangerous and have even watched a few shows on TV concerning the subject. It seems to me, and from other sources that I have heard/read/watched, that the average lifetime of a well maintained ship to be somewhere in the 40 year range or more before they become too expensive to take care of.

Even though they are both now over ten years old, I believe the magic and Wonder are just getting warmed up and look forward to many more years cruising on them. I would not hesitate for one second to put myself or my family on either of them.

Having sailed on the Wonder twice, and a much newer ship with a different cruise line, there did not seem to be any real difference between the two. If anything, the Wonder seemed to be in better shape, at least from what I saw of her.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

What is the retirement age of a cruise ship? I know enough about ships to be dangerous and have even watched a few shows on TV concerning the subject. It seems to me, and from other sources that I have heard/read/watched, that the average lifetime of a well maintained ship to be somewhere in the 40 year range or more before they become too expensive to take care of.

Even though they are both now over ten years old, I believe the magic and Wonder are just getting warmed up and look forward to many more years cruising on them. I would not hesitate for one second to put myself or my family on either of them.

Having sailed on the Wonder twice, and a much newer ship with a different cruise line, there did not seem to be any real difference between the two. If anything, the Wonder seemed to be in better shape, at least from what I saw of her.

Cruise lines do not like to publish the age of there ships and its a comparative thing.

I think 30 years is what is considered the normal lifespan of a ship, but they tend to get sold on to another cruise line, so you see the less 'high profile' cruise lines with older ship that came from the high profile lines. Cruise ships get renamed.

Now some will say the Magic and Wonder will look old at 10 years, others disagree.

With the DREAM in service, they will look old, and other cruise lines ships, coming out will make competition more fierce.

I will bet that both the MAGIC and WONDER will have a major refurbishment after the Fantasy comes into service.

Whats funny with cruise ships is actually a lot of what you see is fairly new, for example the three pools have been completely re covered every two years carpets are changed, floor and woodwork redone. Hull repainted, in fact only the hull ans steelwork is the same.

There comes to mind a line from a BBC, Comedy.

A council worker gets an award for using the same Broom for 20 years. For being Eco friendly.

After the award is given he tells his friend.

I have always been careful with it, I changed the head 14 times and the pole, 10 times, but still have the same broom.

Cruise ship are like that.

 

[lovethedream]

Cruise lines do not like to publish the age of there ships and its a comparative thing.

I think 30 years is what is considered the normal lifespan of a ship, but they tend to get sold on to another cruise line, so you see the less 'high profile' cruise lines with older ship that came from the high profile lines.

I have been to both the DCL website and the RCCL website. In either case, I was easily able to find the ages of any ship in their fleet. Of course, that is only two out of many, so perhaps you were referring to cruise lines in general? And to that, RCCL seemed to have ships considerably younger to older than the current DCL fleet.

 

[lovethedream]

Cruise lines do not like to publish the age of there ships and its a comparative thing.

I think 30 years is what is considered the normal lifespan of a ship, but they tend to get sold on to another cruise line, so you see the less 'high profile' cruise lines with older ship that came from the high profile lines. Cruise ships get renamed.

Now some will say the Magic and Wonder will look old at 10 years, others disagree.

With the DREAM in service, they will look old, and other cruise lines ships, coming out will make competition more fierce.

I will bet that both the Magic and WONDER will have a major refurbishment after the Fantasy comes into service.

Whats funny with cruise ships is actually a lot of what you see is fairly new, for example the three pools have been completly re covered every two years carpets are changed, floor and woodwork redone.

Sorry, you edited after I posted.

 

[kcashner]

Many web sites and guide books to cruises will list statistics on various ships including age, tonnage, etc.

Cruise ships typically have a "life expectancy of 25-35 years, some as much as 40 years. I don't look for the Wonder and Magic to disappear until my grand children have a chance to sail on at least one of them!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have been to both the DCL website and the RCCL website. In either case, I was easily able to find the ages of any ship in their fleet. Of course, that is only two out of many, so perhaps you were referring to cruise lines in general? And to that, RCCL seemed to have ships considerably younger to older than the current DCL fleet.

Sorry, you edited after I posted.

I know i was typing along in my own time, stopped now, yes you can find it easy, but the do not like to publish it, no Anniversaries, or birthday celebrations, they keep it very low key.

Question would everyone want to sail in a ship one year old or ten years old???

 

[lovethedream]

I know i was typing along in my own time, stopped now, yes you can find it easy, but the do not like to publish it, no Anniversaries, or birthday celebrations, they keep it very low key.

Question would everyone want to sail in a ship one year old or ten years old???

That is an excellent question. It is one of the things we noted when we went on the "newer" ship. After our experience, it seemed to make no difference to us what so ever. There are many things I look at before boarding a ship but age is no longer a consideration.

One area we thought there would be a difference was in the rocking of the ship. The newer ships, (and maybe retrofit in the older ones?), have the stabilizers that stick out of the side of the ship to help minimize the side to side motion/rocking. I know DCL has them and the other ship we were on did. However, the other ship rocked, IMO, more than the Wonder did. The seas from all three cruises were very similar.

 

[tvguy]

30 years might be a little low.
The first ship I cruised on is the MS Mermoz, built in 1957. It has been sold and renamed SERENADE and is still cruising 53 years later.
The Queen Elizabeth II set sail in 1967 and was sold 41 years later in 2008. Her future is unclear, but she was sold for $100 million.
The Norway exited cruising in 2003 after a tragic explosion on board, it went into service in 1962, so that was in service 41 years.
The Nordic Prince was built in 1971 and is now the Aquamarine and still cruising 39 years later.
The Caribe I was built in 1953 and is still sailing, now as the Regal Empress 57 years later.

 

[woody73]

Question would everyone want to sail in a ship one year old or ten years old???

I would take the ship that's one year old.

I've been on older ships, and some have had maintenance issues -- particularly with plumbing.

Also, newer ships have the newer amenities.

Woody

 

[truck1]

I happened along something a while ago on a similar subject.Just to add to what Andrew has already said, theres a few other factors that are directly linked to a ships life span.
1 Is how well the ship is maintained.If the maintanace is not kept up from day 1, a ship can age prematurely.
2.SOLAS requirments.One of the big changes that are about to take effect,if it hasnt already, and had a direct bearing on the retirement of at least 1 major ship that I know of off hand, and a direct bearing on why NCL never brought back the SS United States and the Norway was that there is a new rule that any ship in regular service can not have any combustible materials in it.It basically has to be fireproofed.Alot of ships no longer meet this requirement, and it would be too costly to retrofit.
3.Engine wear.The more wear and tear an engine has, and more costly to operate will factor in a ships age.For example, when the 4 US battles ships were recomissioned for the last time before Desert Storm, it was remarked that for a 50 year old hull, the ships were still young since they had fairly low engine hours/use on them.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

That is an excellent question. It is one of the things we noted when we went on the "newer" ship. After our experience, it seemed to make no difference to us what so ever. There are many things I look at before boarding a ship but age is no longer a consideration.

One area we thought there would be a difference was in the rocking of the ship. The newer ships, (and maybe retrofit in the older ones?), have the stabilizers that stick out of the side of the ship to help minimize the side to side motion/rocking. I know DCL has them and the other ship we were on did. However, the other ship rocked, IMO, more than the Wonder did. The seas from all three cruises were very similar.

I would take the ship that's one year old.

I've been on older ships, and some have had maintenance issues -- particularly with plumbing.

Also, newer ships have the newer amenities.

Woody

These are the points people want to go on newer ships on the high profile lines, so they make them then when they get old, sell them on to other lines they can be around a long time, or like some old 'big red boats' fade away...

 

[mickeyfan1]

If you can find Cruise Travel Magazine, each year they publish a "where are they now" list with every cruise ship listed, when it went into service, what the names were/are, and where it is today. You will see the Big Red Boats as being laid up in the Bahamas, the USS Constitution as sunk on the way to the breakers, many are the breakers, etc. It is very easy to find when ships were built, who the godmothers are, etc. It's not a secret, you can also find out the health inspection numbers for ships that port inthe US, andlots of other facts. Google is you friend! And the age of the ships is also listed in the "My Cruise Ships" application on Facebook.

As far as old ships, many cruise ships reach a point where no amount of dry dock will bring them up to SOLAS standards. When that happens, the ship is retired out of the commercial sailing fleet and turned into scrap, floating hotel, car ferry, or what ever. I remember cruising on the Emerald Seas in 1988. What a tub, but we had a wonderful time. If you ever see the forst season of The Love Boat, the ship that was featured became the Star Ship Majestic, one of the 3 Big Red Boats. And let me tell you, the cabins were no where near what they showed on TV, inside or outside cabims, they were tiny. At least the toilets were not in the shower stalls.

Older ships were nice, newer ships are more like resorts, but still nice.

 

[Edd]

The average service life of a cruise ship is approximately 15 years. There are very few major cruise lines that will continue to operate a ship after that period of time.

I sailed on the Emerald Seas about 30 years ago. It was a clunker than

 

[Presentation]

The end of life of a ship is sad.

They wait until high tide then run the ship at full speed into the shore.

Many workers cut the ship apart much like vultures attacking roadkill. It’s actually very dangerous work.

Here is a video of a ship being run aground. They hit another ship doing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X4sVFxuepo

 

[lovethedream]

The average service life of a cruise ship is approximately 15 years. There are very few major cruise lines that will continue to operate a ship after that period of time.

I sailed on the Emerald Seas about 30 years ago. It was a clunker than

RCCL Majesty maiden voyage : 1992

 

[OKW Lover]

The average life of a cruise ship is heavily dependent on where she sails and how well it is maintained. Age alone is a poor indicator of the condition of the ship.

In terms of seaworthiness, a ship that spends its life just doing easy caribbean sailings will have a longer life expectancy than one that does regular transatlantic crossings. That's assuming each is maintained properly.

 

[lovethedream]

30 years might be a little low.
The first ship I cruised on is the MS Mermoz, built in 1957. It has been sold and renamed SERENADE and is still cruising 53 years later.
The Queen Elizabeth II set sail in 1967 and was sold 41 years later in 2008. Her future is unclear, but she was sold for $100 million.
The Norway exited cruising in 2003 after a tragic explosion on board, it went into service in 1962, so that was in service 41 years.
The Nordic Prince was built in 1971 and is now the Aquamarine and still cruising 39 years later.
The Caribe I was built in 1953 and is still sailing, now as the Regal Empress 57 years later.

So I still have many more years of looking forward to sailing on the Magic and Wonder! Cool.

 

[Edd]

RCCL Sovereign of the Seas, first voyage in 1988, sold in 2007 to a german company, no longer with RCCL. Monarch of the seas cruising out of Port Canaveral sister ship to the Sovereign first cruised late 1991 still carries the RCCL name. It is getting up in age and is beginning to show it.

 

[lovethedream]

The average life of a cruise ship is heavily dependent on where she sails and how well it is maintained. Age alone is a poor indicator of the condition of the ship.

In terms of seaworthiness, a ship that spends its life just doing easy caribbean sailings will have a longer life expectancy than one that does regular transatlantic crossings. That's assuming each is maintained properly.

Age alone is a poor indicator of the condition of the ship was our experience. To be fair, I do not know if we caught one coming out of dry dock versus one getting ready to go in.

 

[tvguy]

RCCL Sovereign of the Seas, first voyage in 1988, sold in 2007 to a german company, no longer with RCCL. Monarch of the seas cruising out of Port Canaveral sister ship to the Sovereign first cruised late 1991 still carries the RCCL name. It is getting up in age and is beginning to show it.

I sailed on the Sovereign in 1988...it was an awesome ship, biggest cruise ship sailing at that time. We had cruised twice on the Norway before that, until the Sovereign launched, the Norway was the largest ship going.

Upkeep is the biggest factor with a ship. Old is not necessarily a negative. Sort of like the folks who pay big money to stay at that 100 year old bed and breakfast with no pool and a community bathroom down the hall, instead of the brand new five star Hyatt Regency down the street with a pool, health club, and your own bathroom.