Tag: Norwegian Breakaway

RBS 101 (2) Revisited

When I did the original posts entitled RBS 101 (Really Big Ships 101) it was really a look at these huge ships that seem to dominate our harbours. RBS 101 (2) was about cruise ships, and when I originally wrote it I had not seen two of the ships. The following is still true though: My reference for this information is the a list of the worlds largest cruise ships, as well as the company websites. Bear in mind that I am only dealing with ships that I have physically seen and I have also deliberately stayed with ships over 1000 ft long. In terms of the biggest ships, I have seen 13 out of the 57 in the Wikipedia list. This list however is n longer correct, but was really a look at the ships as at 2015
 

As we were saying in RBS101 (1), Passenger/Cruise ships are even more complicated when it comes to size. There are many possible options that could make one ship bigger than another in one aspect, but smaller than that same ship in another aspect. 

The important criteria in my opinion are as follows:  Length overall (LOA), GRT, and capacity. That makes things a little bit easier. Of course capacity can be measured by “double occupancy”, or “full board”, but generally double occupancy should suffice. 

The contenders are:
Oasis Of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean Lines. GRT 225282 LOA 1187ft (362m) Passenger capacity:  5412  double occupancy.

Quantum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean Lines. GRT 168666 LOA 1139ft (347,1m) Passenger capacity:  4180  double occupancy.
Queen Mary 2
Carnival Corp. GRT  148528   LOA:  1132ft (345m)   Passenger capacity:  2592  double occupancy.

Royal Caribbean Lines.  GRT: 154407, LOA: 1112 ft (339m) Passenger capacity  3634 double occupancy

Adventure of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Lines. GRT: 137276  LOA: 1020 ft, (310m)  Passenger capacity: 3114 double occupancy 3807

Norwegian Breakaway

Norwegian Cruise Lines. GRT 144017    LOA:  1062 ft (324m)  Passenger capacity: 4000  double occupancy

Norwegian Getaway
Norwegian Cruise Lines. GRT 145655    LOA:  1068ft (326)  Passenger capacity: 3910  double occupancy

Royal Princess

Princess Cruises. GRT  142714   LOA:  1083 ft  (330m) Passenger capacity:  3600  double occupancy  

Celebrity Eclipse

Celebrity Cruises. GRT 122000  LOA:  1041 ft (315m) Passenger Capacity 2850 Double Occupancy 
 
 

Oasis of the Seas and her sister Allure of the Seas really break all records, and dominate in all categories, although Allure is a smidgen larger than Oasis. Newcomer Quantum of the Seas comes in as number 3 in size, although that is only true until her sisters make an appearance.

Interestingly enough our biggest box boat in service is 1305 ft (398m) long. Allure is probably one of the biggest ships out there, although she is to be upstaged by an even bigger ship one of these days.  The most important thing about big ships is that while they may be huge, it does not mean that they are good looking. Size and bulk can ruin the ships lines, and given the propensity for strange sterns and a lack of sheer many modern cruise ships are not good lookers. 
 
So, there you have it in a nutshell, a slightly updated version of an old topic. You can only really appreciate the size of some of these vessels when seen against something else, or when they come past you. Personally I prefer small ships, there is something about being on a ship with 3999 other people that puts me right off. 
 
© DRW 2014-2018. Images recreated 20/04/2016
Updated: 22/06/2018 — 19:18

Southampton Shipwatch 40: Norwegian Getaway

When the Norwegian Breakaway arrived in Southampton in April 2013, they were already raving about her sister, Norwegian Getaway. Sadly I no longer live in Southampton so new arrivals are limited by the amount of leave I have available and whether I can get to see them in Southampton or not (and the prevailing weather too). Getaway was scheduled for her maiden call on 14 January 2014, and I could only get away from work in the afternoon to see her. 
 
That meant she was already alongside at 101 when I arrived.
  
And like her sister, she is a very big ship. In fact she is marginally larger in GRT (145 655) than Breakaway (144 017). In spite of them being sisters everybody I have spoken to is of the opinion that she is a better looker. It is probably the hull artwork that just blends better with what we see.
  
Unfortunately trying to get her alongside is almost impossible. There is just nowhere to stand that puts you at the right angle. The best images I would get would probably be from Mayflower Park. 
 
I then headed over to Town Quay for the view from that area. As you can see she easily towers over the ship behind her, and she probably has the biggest piece of graffiti in the world on her side.
  
I had 3 hours to kill till her sailing so I meandered off into town for some lunch and shopping, intending to return as it started getting dark (which it starts doing just after 4 pm). She was scheduled to sail at 17H00 and I was in two minds about staying or heading back to Salisbury. A 5 pm sailing would mean I would not be getting any good photography.
 
I got back as the light was fading and strolled down to Mayflower for some almost dark pics. She was not lit up as much as I would have liked, but beggars can’t be choosers. 
  
Then I saw that a container ship was moving from the container berths, and I checked that she was due to sail at 5pm too. A spanner was now proverbially in the works.
  
By the time she was past Getaway was ready to go too, and without too much fuss she started to move away from the quay. No tugs required. 
 
And then she too was past me. I managed to video most of this period and managed to capture her wonderful horns doing the traditional 3 blasts. 
 
Then it was time for me to head off to the station; who knows when next I will be in Southampton, it all depends on unique arrivals like this one. Still, I am glad I made the effort, I just wish I had come through in the morning instead. 
 
© DRW 2013-2018. Images replaced 17/04/2016
Updated: 30/12/2017 — 20:19

Southampton Shipwatch 18: Norwegian Breakaway

This was the maiden call of Norwegian Breakaway in Southampton, and the lines were abuzz for a long time about her arrival. A last minute change put her here at 07H15, which could mean anything because many times I have gotten to the harbour and the ship was already alongside. For once I was there early. And she was not in sight. I was cold and shivering and the crowd got bigger until at last I spotted her upperworks above the ship berthed at QE2.
 
You could see she was big, at 146000 GRT she has to be. The artwork on her bows makes a strange change, but then everybody seems to be doing it. I don’t know how long that will last though. She looks kind of mundane when viewed foreshortened through the lens. Not a lot of her upperdeck equipment is visible, and even her mast and funnel are much smaller than I expected. There is this odd water slide sticking up above and it reminds me of a giant tentacle monster that has escaped from the pool.
 
She was scheduled to berth alongside at Southampton City and started to swing in front of us as if she was going into Southampton Ocean. It did give a great opportunity to see her full length. 
 
As well as give us the opportunity to see what they have done with the stern, a very contentious area on any ship, and one that seems to have lost any visual appeal. 
 
They then proceeded backwards past us to berth her port side to at City. It was going to take awhile for her to get there so I decided to head down there as well, and to get some shots of her progress past the Red Funnel terminal.
 
By the time I got to City she was almost ready to go alongside, I am sure the crew on board the German naval vessel were happy to get a ringside view. The seagulls were already gathering to feast on the stuff churned up by her bow and stern thrusters.
 
Then she was dropping her lines and it was almost time for me to go. I wasn’t too keen on her originally, but she isn’t too awful, at least they blended in the additional space into the design and did not glue it on as an afterthought the way they did with Norwegian Epic. However I am not keen on lifeboats that dangle outside the hull, there is just something about that which does not seem right, especially when coming alongside or in a rough sea. But, it does seem to be the current trend, and so far (touch wood) no lifeboats have been lost to bad weather. 
 
 
I suspect she will be popular, as new ships generally are. I have seen images of her interiors and she is beautiful inside, but somehow sharing a ship with 4000 passengers does seem a bit too much for me. I prefer smaller ships.  Welcome Breakaway,  smooth sailing and fair weather for you and your crew.
 
Sailaway. 30 April 2013.

After two days in Southampton she was ready to leave, and just after 17H00 she pulled in her lines and pulled away from the terminal. There was a large crowd watching her go too, and over at Town Quay quite a few cameras had been dusted off.  I had my pics from her arrival so didn’t have to shoot as much, but I did. Because I always do.
 

A last glimpse across the parking lot and I was heading off home too. There are a lot of people awaiting her arrival on the other side of the Atlantic, but for two days she belonged to Southampton.

© DRW 2013-2018. Images recreated 03/04/2016
Updated: 28/12/2017 — 07:34
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