Tonight again another lengthy report and it focused on passengers returning from their cut short cruise. they were all glad about the refund and future credit. The passengers interviewed all had a positive attitude despite this 'dream vaction' being altered. One guy said yes it was to be the cruise of their dreams but these things happen. the mechanics is just something that happend and despite this we had a good time and are glad we can book another holiday.

Another lady was also very positive saying she just had a 5 day cruise to nowhere for free! she too was going to book another holiday.

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Originally posted by phil_a:
So despite this report being embarrasing for P&O - they still got quite positive advertising out of it. (it could have been a lot worse - ie unhappy customers wanting to be seen/heard on tv)

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Think of the pro's:
- brand new 50 000grt ship
- state of the art facilities to match other brand spanking new ships
- far less maintenance costs for a newer ship
- probably more efficient, more environmentally friendly
- better PR (shows commitment to Aust market, ready to fight off competitors like Superstar)
- a ship specifically built for the South Pacific market, not modified interiors from some other region

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Originally posted by pungpui:

Think of the pro's:
- brand new 50 000grt ship
- state of the art facilities to match other brand spanking new ships
- far less maintenance costs for a newer ship
- probably more efficient, more environmentally friendly
- better PR (shows commitment to Aust market, ready to fight off competitors like Superstar)
- a ship specifically built for the South Pacific market, not modified interiors from some other region

vs. current situation:..........

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with the addition of the 'updated' pacific sun, i dont think Carnival Australia will be changing any time soon. Though saying this i guess it depends on how much longer pacific sky lasts

I think that this pacific sky incident will be quickly forgotten as in just 2 weeks there is bound to be reports on the "New" Pacific Sun cruising from Sydney. Then again a month later the arrival of the largest ship to visit Australia.

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Originally posted by phil_a:
The problem with purchasing a new ship is $$$ . how much would they get for pacific sky/ pacific sun? would anyone purchase them? of would they shuffle them round to another Carnival brand?

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hey there phil, i know building ships costs money but what is Carnival and most other lines doing? Building new ships for markets where they see opportunity for growth (mainly!)...is Australia not a market for growth? Clearly by sending over a second ship and all of the articles i've read by local 'passanger surveys' im sure P&O achknowledges that its expanding...

so why not gamble on a new build...what happened to "you gotta spend big to make big"?

Anyway... the idea of a brand new cruise ship of 50,000gt (or bigger) for the Australian market would be great. Maybe Carnival is still not convinced about the Australian market. Maybe they want to wait until someone else moves in before them? Like you said pungpui it would be great if Star could send down here Superstar Virgo. Then maybe Carnival would pull its finger out.

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[ 11-06-2004: Message edited by: Keitaro ]

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Then maybe Carnival would pull its finger out.

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Are P&O determined to give us backpacker ships .

[ 11-07-2004: Message edited by: Keitaro ]

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Originally posted by bmajor:
If P&O/Carnival don't deliver,there are cruise lines waiting in the wings to come in and clean up!!!!!!!!!

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Seriously, though, P&O/Carnival don't have a monopoly on this. Anyone can do it anytime. The relative paucity of cruises, and the number of other lines who drop in for a season and then don't come back, suggest that despite the apparent pent-up demand, the market just doesn't deliver it.

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Originally posted by Globaliser:
the US is a country that shudders at the thought of a "long" 6-hour flight.

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quote:

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pungpui wrote:
I just spent a seemingly non-stop flight from SYD-MEL-KUL-LHR for 26 hours (incl. transits) and I wasnt complaining one bit!

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That’s the price we Aussies pay, but done it once, as most of us Down Under have, we are used to it. Yes, the Yanks love Australia, give them a Star Princess or Sapphire Princess and they are down here in an instant. Maybe as keitaro suggested we could have an AIDA style cruise vessel here all-year round. I wouldn’t say it should be exactly one of them, but one styled for Aussie and foreigner cruisers. I have got the feeling there are many in North America that would come down here even over their summer (our winter).

As for other cruise lines with interest in Australia, I bet you if MSC had more ships up its sleeve they’d send one down here asap. Maybe that will eventually happen, let’s say not earlier than 2009. Star also knows Australia is a good market, but their first priority is SE Asia. If SARS happens to come along again they may consider it, and this time hopefully market their product a little better.

BTW nice rendering keitaro.

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