...
And then for the Thomson side of things: will there be a replacement for the THOMSON SPIRIT, and if so, which vessel? Let the speculation begin!
That's the problem, I think, which all operators of ships of that size are facing (Thomson, Saga, Phoenix, Louis). Second-hand tonnage of ships that size is wearing thin slowly but surely as cruise ships kept becoming bigger and bigger in the past... And the ships of that size they're operating are becoming older and older. (Thomson's ships average 26 years of service, Phoenix ships even 30 years...)
I'm sure that Prinsendam will leave the HAL-fleet with the delivery of their new ship in 2015 and with the delivery of their second new building by MHI in 2016 AIDA cruises might decide to get rid of (at least) AIDAcara (maybe -aura and -vita, too, but that's just guessing).
HAL's Statendam-Class of ships has the right size, too, but I don't think they will be available within the next... say... ten years(?).
So in the (not so) long run operators like the ones mentioned above will have to decide: Start operating bigger ships or building their own new ones...