When is a ship considered old?

[erin.w]

Somewhat aside from the topic: how much does it cost to build/buy a cruise ship?

 

[tvguy]

Somewhat aside from the topic: how much does it cost to build/buy a cruise ship?

The estimated cost of the new Disney Dream is $1 billion.
It will have 1250 staterooms.

As a point of comparison, the Maloofs Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas cost $1 billion to build.
That's a 703 room hotel and a 95,000 square foot attached casino.

 

[truck1]

Somewhat aside from the topic: how much does it cost to build/buy a cruise ship?

Carnival is shelling out 762 million and change each for the 2 newest ships to go to the Princess fleet, carrying 3600 guests each.

 

[TheWog]

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...

or they cut them in half and add sections...... RCI's Enchantment of the Seas. I loved the Enchantment pre-update.

 

[TheWog]

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.

How come? Sea conditions? Water temps? I'm am curious?

icebergs?

 

[Anjelica]

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

This is what I am thinking/hoping. I am wondering if the Fantasy will take over say the MAGIC Itinerary once it comes out while the MAGIC is taken out of service for longer than normal "dry dock" time to do a major refurbishment.

To me - the biggest differences between "older" and "newer" ships is really the more technological advancements.

 

[Edd]

I think the mechanics of the ship is a prime consideration. The Magic has been having problems in the turbines which probably indicates the system is wearing away. Two years ago they limped back to PC with one turbine not producing the power they needed for normal operations. Just recently the Magic was stuck at their private beach because the currents were to strong to get it into the lagoon to ship out. The ships are supposed to have engines strong enough to get the job done. The condition of the rooms and the overall upkeep of the interior. Many times rust just gets to bad on a ship. That is why you always see someone scraping rust off all the ships.

All cruise companies have a huge job in keeping these ships maintained. Some don't do as well as others.

 

[truck1]

Just recently the Magic was stuck at their private beach because the currents were to strong to get it into the lagoon to ship out. The ships are supposed to have engines strong enough to get the job done.

That was due more to adverse weather conditions then mechanical issues.Both ships were designed with a set standard for the thrusters, under normal conditions. The 50 mph hour winds, plus currents were simply too much for the thrusters to overcome.Same thing happened to the Carnival Legend coming out of Cozumel. She got hit with a 50 plus mph wind gust that pushed her into the Enchantment of the Seas.And Legend had a tug try to help her.

 

[Rogillio]

"Even while the Air Force works on new bombers scheduled for 2037 it intends to keep the B-52H in service until at least 2040, nearly 80 years after production ended." - Wikipedia

Point being, the last B-52 to roll off the Boeing production line was in 1959. They have been re-engined, re-skinned, all new avionics....total refurbed many times.

My Graddaddy used to tell me about a hammed he'd had for 60 years. He said he'd replaced the head once and the handle 3 times.

I think a ship can look/feel "old" after about a year or two if it is not maintained well.

~Mike

 

[Edd]

I thik that is what I said about the turbines. The thrusters could not put out the power to get the ship undocked. That means they are worn and probably cannot operate at the same amount of power they put out when they were new. The Magic needs to update its power systems. They are probably outdated or worn. The 50 mph at CC were gusts which is quite different than constant wind speed.

The difference between a B-52 and a ship is that the public does not use the BUFF and the public does use the cruise ships to their maximum. Not a really good comparison. Compare ship to ship like the Sovereign of the Seas to th Explorere of the Seas.

 

[cakesnjammom]

when they sink or leak....sorry could not resist...at least I made myself laugh

 

[Pluto 2]

what i was thinking is what dcl will do with a ship that is getting old. rccl and carnival take their old ships and give or sell them to another cruiseline that they own. im sure disney will sell them for what they can get making sure all the disney stuff comes off the ship.

 

[OKW Lover]

How come? Sea conditions? Water temps? I'm am curious?

icebergs?

Sea conditions are the biggest factor. That and having to keep a schedule which means maintaining a faster rate of speed, which increases the forces on the ship. This may be a surprise to some, but ships are not rigid. They bend and flex as they pass through the water. Waves result in some parts of the ship being lifted, while further back (at the trough of the wave) the ship is trying to drop at the same time. The faster a ship is moving, the greater the force on the vessel.

So, if you're out on the open North Atlantic you're going to run into more severe sea conditions than if you spend a lot of time in the relatively sheltered Caribbean.

Of course this is all generalities and the design and construction of the ship plays a part as well.

The above info comes from a long time acquaintance who has a degree in marine architecture.

 

[woody73]

what i was thinking is what dcl will do with a ship that is getting old.

. . . im sure disney will sell them for what they can get making sure all the disney stuff comes off the ship.

I think DCL could sell its old ships to DVC, who could dock them permanently as vacation club properties.

Woody

 

[sapereaude]

the USS Constitution as sunk on the way to the breakers, many are the breakers, etc.

I think you mean the SS Constitution. The USS Constitution or "Old Ironsides" is still floating in Boston Harbor - its the oldest commissioned warship still afloat.

 

[mickeyfan1]

I think you mean the SS Constitution. The USS Constitution or "Old Ironsides" is still floating in Boston Harbor - its the oldest commissioned warship still afloat.

Ooops! You are correct!

 

[FLORIDA_DAD]

cakesnjammom - That is too funny.

We went on the Sovereign of the Seas (built 1988) about 3 years ago, and it was a piece of garbage. I think the rust was actually holding the ship together. It made us turn back to the DCL, even for the extra money. I think the Sovereign of the Seas is no longer sailing - being about 20 years old.

 

[truck1]

I thik that is what I said about the turbines. The thrusters could not put out the power to get the ship undocked. That means they are worn and probably cannot operate at the same amount of power they put out when they were new. The Magic needs to update its power systems. They are probably outdated or worn. The 50 mph at CC were gusts which is quite different than constant wind speed.

From everything that I have heard, the thrusters (5- 1800kw each to begin with) even new would not have the power to hold the ship against the winds, and currents the ship faced. To which your right.It doesnt mean they were worn. They were performing outside the normal conditions that the thrusters ship can handle.It was 50mph winds, not gusts. Plus the high waves and current working with the wind. It was one of those infrequent things that is not anticipated. At that moment, there was nothing wrong with the gensets delivering the power. The ship was making max power and delivering max power from all 5 of her mains to the drive engines and bow/stern thrusters. The thrusters are rated for a certain number of kilowatts. Once they reach that maximum, no amount of power in the world will make them move faster, or make them more powerful. The Wonder which to my knowledge hasn’t had any power issues, wouldn’t have been able to get out from CC either, under those conditions.

 

[lovethedream]

From everything that I have heard, the thrusters (5- 1800kw each to begin with) even new would not have the power to hold the ship against the winds, and currents the ship faced. To which your right.It doesnt mean they were worn. They were performing outside the normal conditions that the thrusters ship can handle.It was 50mph winds, not gusts. Plus the high waves and current working with the wind. It was one of those infrequent things that is not anticipated. At that moment, there was nothing wrong with the gensets delivering the power. The ship was making max power and delivering max power from all 5 of her mains to the drive engines and bow/stern thrusters. The thrusters are rated for a certain number of kilowatts. Once they reach that maximum, no amount of power in the world will make them move faster, or make them more powerful. The Wonder which to my knowledge hasn’t had any power issues, wouldn’t have been able to get out from CC either, under those conditions.

With 50 mph winds, I do not think there is a cruise ship out there that could have "safely" handled that. That along with the wind direction, the currents and waves. Your only 25 miles short of hurricane strength at that point. It is my understanding that either ship can still maintain design speed quite easily. If there were problems with the system, that would prove difficult, if not impossible so everything is working as it should be.

I had my gps with me the last time we cruised on the Wonder so I was able to see what speed she was making at any given point in time.

I would not hesitate to put any of my family at any time on either DCL ship at this time as I believe they are some of the safest ships out there and I look forward to many more years cruising them.

 

[woody73]

With 50 mph winds, I do not think there is a cruise ship out there that could have "safely" handled that.

Speaking of strong winds, remember this?
Severe winds break Disney Wonder's mooring lines at Port Canaveral.

Woody