Ethanol95

Just visited yesterday! Important things to note when considering whether to cancel your tour to Oia. Yes as Biker has mentioned, check how many ships are in port. A normal day is 3-4 cruise ships. With that amount of passengers, queues will not be terrible, though you still have to queue. A bad day is above 5 cruise ships. Lines will be very long for the cable car. We were the 2nd or 3rd tender off the ship and when we arrived at Fira (where the cable car starts from), the queue was already snaking. We waited about half an hour to 40 minutes to get to the front. My tip is to try to be on the first tender if you do want to continue to see Oia. Oia is lovely and beautiful, Oia is also where to best see the 3 blue domed churches, but it will be crowded with narrow walkways at times. We docked when there were only 3 ships tendered that day and already crowds were an inconvenience at times. My advice is if there are fewer ships in port the day you are at Santorini then go for the experience. The views are breathtaking and it is easily now my family's favorite port in the Mediterranean. With mobility issues, I saw a young teenage girl brought by her father in a wheelchair all the way up the mountain. So if she can do it in a wheelchair, I'm sure it's possible for you too. Just maybe travel less and see Oia on your own instead of with a tour group.

China still has pent-up travel demand from Covid. Travelling around the med currently and do not see any Mainland Chinese touring in the peak of summer season. I would think that Shanghai would rebound stronger than Singapore. People still have money, like others, they have reserved cash from covid to travel.

So where is Anthem going now? Still Singapore till any further confirmation right?

If they are talking about Allure replacing Utopia, and then Utopia going to Asia, then it will be a newer one.

Was I wrong in hearing that the newer ships were being designed to also tender within the O class? Heard it a few times, but I don't know whether its just talk or fact.

Is there any timeframe from that C&A post to when we should hear further developments? Or anyone knows anything else?

I don't think Allure can tender in Phuket in the newer deep water bay port.

That's a bit sooner than I expected, I literally don't know where it would call from SG.

So no chance of going to APAC either. Sighh.

I was already jumping ship to carnival back in 2020. Too bad covid didn't let me jump. Must have been fate to stick with Royal. XD

Anyone knows what Adventure is doing? Can't find her 2024/2025 deployment.

And so the mystery goes on...

The thing is, the puzzle should have been completed. But now we might have a larger puzzle then anticipated than when we started putting it all together.

That is true. We will have to wait and see. If what you suggest could be right, we should expect an announcement in the next few months. Of course, I highly doubt that they would cancel their plans for ship in Florida, if they have already run the numbers including the new builds that will enter the market in the coming years.

Is there any ship in RCL's fleet that currently has no deployment for that time frame? And if they were going to announce a ship for the earlier part of the season, they would have announced it with Anthem's announcement as it is a sooner period.

UDP seems to be quite popular. During my few times on SC and QN the last 2 years, UDP was particularly popular during high seas cruisers because it was worth the money with nowhere to go. I would still think it's popular now, but not to the extent you have to fight for it. Maybe best to keep an eye on your cruise planner and see whether any discounts are offered to gauge how fast or slow they're selling out.

They have no more ships left, so this coming season is probably true. We've been a partial deployment destination for a long time in the past, I think they could definitely afford to do it again

Yes, it is officially on Royal's site now

Just tried, I can't see anything as of yet. Also strangely, November 2024 is a selectable option on the calendar. Just that month, comes up with nothing momentarily though. I wonder if they're testing some new itineraries.

China I would say is mostly released already. Except for knowing individual itineraries, they are out. Singapore was never going to come out until late July. Australia is also fully out.

Please enlighten me, what does PDCC stand for?

That's why Allure should have come to SG instead of Anthem! Haha

Technically they can go to East coast of South East Asia, to Vietnam, Thailand, HK. I don't know which ports that side has docks or tenders, but i would think itineraries there stand a better chance for anything bigger.

I share your sentiments on a whole other level 😂

Lol if China gets a Icon or Oasis i would think it would be originally seasonal to test different homeports and markets in APAC, but obviously China first. I would hate to think that Singapore would be abandoned in terms of growth, and be given Spectrum. You don't know how many people were upset with the news Anthem was coming and not something larger this season. Royal can only mislead them for so long, before they move brands.