Its the end of the line, but where do the cruise ships go?

So what happens when a ship has reached that point where the cruise line is thinking of replacing it, trading it in for a better phrase just like we do with our cars?

I did write an article 'What's in a name', about how some ships in various guises have had different names. So one way that the cruise lines move on their ships, they sell or transfer to another operator.


Take for example the Spanish operator, Pullmantor Cruises, owned by Royal Caribbean and the current fleet of 3 are all ex- Royal or Celebrity ships, Empress, Soverign and Zenith and will be joined next year by Monarch.

 
Then in the UK there is Thomson Cruises, there 4 ships have come for a variety of background, including Holland America and Costa Cruises. Anybody remember the accident in Egypt in 2010 on the Costa Europa, now sailing as the Thomson Dream?

Thats a great way for the cruise line to move on those older ships, but not every operator can do this, and what about those they have replaced, they end up moving further down the food chain or are scrapped. Like perhaps the old Pacific Princess, yes The Love Boat from the TV.

Or do they? What are cruise ships, in reality nothing but floating hotels.

The original Queen Elizabeth was being used as a 'School' having being retired afetr 30 years of service, when she caught fire and sank in Hong Kong Harbour in 1972. Another classic Cunarder, The Queen Mary has been in California since her retirement and now operates as a Hotel and Event and Wedding Venue.

What happened in the end to the the QE2, well she was supposed to be converted to a hotel but she is now moored in Dubai after the recent global collapse.

Just what is going to happen who knows.But then you have to ask, what will happen to the Concordia when they finish the salvage operation? Scrapped, perhaps that is the right thing but it is amazing what the ship yards can do so maybe in a copule of years she may up in the fleet of your favourite cruise line!!

What's in a name, part 2. Or would this be better in RED?

If you have read my blog before your will have seen a previous article 'What's in a name', but that made me think about ships names and whether they change.

Would this be better in RED?

Got you thinking now, so read on....

My article was about the way some companies change the name of their products after launch to match their requirements and wondered whether the cruise lines did the same. Well, the easy answer is yes and not always after launch.

So one for the memory, Renaissance Cruises a company which folded some time ago and where are their 8 ships now? Well, 2 are with Azamara Club Cruises and 3 are with Oceania Cruises and have all been renamed, no surprise there you say if a ship moves from one line to another the name will change.

But what about the other 3, well they all went to Princess Cruises and were named Tahitian, Royal and Pacific Princess. However now, Royal Princess is P&O's Adonia and to suit the type of cruise that the ship does Tahitian Princess has become the Ocean Princess; but there was an Ocean Princess now P&O Oceana!

Gets more complicated with Sea Princess, which was launched as this in 1998 but in 2003 transferred to P&O and named Adonia, but transferring back to Princess in 2005 becoming again Sea Princess. All because of movements of ships to Ocean Village and waiting for the delivery of Arcadia in 2005.

What about the strange case of Diamond and Sapphire Princess, or is it Sapphire and Diamond Princess? 

With the Diamond Princess, the ship's hull was originally due to be called the Sapphire Princess, however during construction a huge fire swept through the ships deck during construction. Because the ship's completion would be delayed for some time, her sister ship, Diamond Princess,  which was being constructed at the same time assumed the role of the Sapphire. This name swap helped to keep the delivery date of the Sapphire on time, while delaying the delivery of the Diamond....... Follow that if you can!

So why the picture above, if you have not yet guessed it is P&O Arcadia. When the keel was originally laid she was due to be Queen Victoria but close to launch was transferred to P&O as Arcadia, so she has a funnel which is more Cunard like than P&O like.

So the answer to the question of 'What's in a name', is nothing in reality as ships are transferred or have name changes based on the capacity needs of the cruise lines, so we shouldn't really get attached should we?

And would that funnel look better in Red, having sailed on both ships I do think that Carnival have got it right with both ships now having the correct corporate feel to them.

Which is my favourite, well out of the 2 it has to be Queen Victoria.