RadioBoy

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

They are big money spinners for onboard sales though.

True. But then again, so are cruises to a private island that will have 2 sea days each way (from sydney)

2 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

They won’t abandon NZ it’s the big drawcard for Americans ,asians Europeans.

Last season around NZ there were a lot of Russians onboard.Not to mention Americans.

 

 I don’t think most international visitors care about the islands and this is something to grab their attention and curiosity.

I wouldnt think they will abandon it either.  That said, I do notice on the current itineraries they have a pacific island cruise with the bay of islands thrown in.  They will probably do both together.

Just now, MicCanberra said:

I am thinking they will drop one or more of Mystery Island, Lifou or Isle of Pines for Lelepa.

Agreed. Mystery Island is probably the big loser. 

From an overall itinerary perspective, I think they will also have less of the 3 day "cruises to nowhere".

26 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I wonder if they would send ships from Singapore,probably to far.I can’t really see them spending anything like the islands in the Caribbean.

I reckon it will be a staged approach.  Start with something good but not over the top and then continue to develop it as the needs arise.  Royal are banking on a massive expansion in their market share with this investment.

You would have to think they would have to be looking at having at least 2 ships running year round to support this in the long term.

It would be also interesting to see what their overall  itinerary strategy is with this.  Will they effectively push most cruises through Lelepa?  Will they effectively abandon full NZ itineraries and leave them to Celebrity?  Interesting times ahead I think.

After the announcement yesterday..... I would suspect that one of the main reasons Gavin is back is to manage the development of the "perfect day at Lelepa" resort.

The architects are Australian and the resort would likely be heavily geared towards the Australian cruise industry.

It would make sense that the project would be managed out of the Australian office and in turn, having an experienced operator at the helm would be beneficial to RCI.

Furthermore, if he has been a big proponent of expanding facilities in Sydney, he would want to get back in that game for the increase in traffic they will have as a result of the new destination.

It has been rumoured.  Regardless... its still massive news and a big investment.

It would effectively guarantee that Royal will be doing year round itineraries out of Australia too.

4 minutes ago, BaikG said:

Michelle Oliveria is currently on vacation. Not sure who the current VY CD is. For Spectrum, Fang said that he would be on until the end of the year then going on vacation.

Voyager goes into dry dock next week... so i would suggest there will be no one (from next week) until mid October when it next sails.

My November 16th sailing was deleted too.

Signed up again and hopefully it sticks this time.

3 minutes ago, NSWP said:

So in essence that $200 is a cancellation fee really.

yeah... thats how i looked at it.  Spend $200 to potentially save $200.

23 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

Personally I have never seen or booked a cruise here with a refundable deposit. Without going into the gory details of TAs etc, have I been remiss in my internet cruise searches, do they even exist outside of the USA?

On our booking with Royal Caribbean (via their AU website), we had a choice:

1) Fully refundable deposit until final payment date (but the cruise cost $200 extra).

2) A non refundable deposit with a cheaper cruise cost.

So it exists... i think it just depends on the cruise line.

4 hours ago, fyree39 said:

I'm all for ending smoking in casinos, but I doubt it will ever happen. At least not in my lifetime.

I am a smoker and I am more than happy for there to be _no_ smoking inside.

two reasons:

1) I smoke less if i have to go to a location to smoke.

2) You realise how much it smells when its inside.

I think the announcement was fairly disappointing too.

While the skypad doesnt interest me much, the lack of Hooked Seafood, Bamboo Room, lime and coconut and playmakers was a real surprise.

Its clearly a play for the asian/chinese market compared to the Australian market. Oh well.. you cant win them all I suppose.

While the enforced dress code is largely "smart casual", what people wear seems to depend on the cruise and the time of year.

We went on a new years cruise on Pacific Eden and it was generally casual, however people did make the effort for the white and gatsby nights.  If you are travelling outside of school holidays, then i would suggest the clientele will probably dress up more.  Thats just my opinion though and I am probably wrong. 🙂

We did the Chef's Table over New Year on the Pacific Eden.  I cant recommend it enough.  I think the P&O extra's are a bit expensive sometimes, however this was well worth it for the wine alone.

It is all very civilised and the food is just damn superb.

I got it recently for our November cruise out of Singapore.  AUD$57 including service charge. 

At current rates that works out to about USD$39 per day.

5 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Does this article added to the friendly "debate" as to whether Melbourne or Sydney is better for visiting, where to live, etc.?

Great article! 🙂 (but i am biased).

As much as I am thoroughly a Melbournite, I do think Sydney is the better city for visiting - particulary short visits.  Its an extraordinarily photogenic place.

However, if you want to immerse yourself in the local culture and have more time to spend in a place, then I think Melbourne has the edge.

When i booked our November cruise on Voyager, I was given a refundable option, but the overall cruise cost around $200 more.  I took it purely for the flexibility and it was a good deal anyway.

They might have calculated it as though paid credit in Singapore Dollar or New Zealand or even canadian dollar.

Regardless.... what a nice little bonus! 🙂

9 hours ago, dbn89 said:

I'm definitely interested (currently a single dude in my late 20s) but the price is offputting for a 5 night cruise. If I didn't have to deal with travel to/from the Gold Coast, it may be a little more justifiable... I do like that the target market is 18-40, not 60+ like most of the 18+ cruise lines.

They are clearly after the 18-40 market!  I havent seen any stats, but I would suggest the 18-40 market is probably the most under represented market in cruising out there.  So, rather than work to steal passengers from other cruise lines, they are trying to encourage people who have not cruised before and get brand loyalty that way.

As for the price, its clearly inflated because its the first round of bookings and I would think it would drop as their other 2 ships start coming into service. Also... There are no extra dining costs on board.... so its a fair assumption that your onboard account might be a little lower than another cruise line.

Also... they will hopefully then start to look at the Australian/NZ market and make it a bit cheaper for us down here to get access to the cruises.

I recommend getting something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Charging-Carrying-Universal-POWERGENCE/dp/B075282TD1/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1550033577&sr=8-4&keywords=universal+adapter+power+strip

I have one and it has the USB as well as power. Its all you will need in singapore, sydney and on the cruise.
The great thing is that its NOT a surge detector so the cruise line wont freak out about it.

@punkinlr  Do you know what games you wish to attend?  The game itself usually determines the urgency of whether you should buy tickets or not.

For example: If you are in town on Thursday March 28th, that night is the Richmond V Collingwood game. For that game, you will definitely want to buy your tickets as soon as possible as there is likely to be 80 - 90,000 people going to that game. (the atmosphere at that game will be great too).

Alternatively, if you were going to the Hawks (my team) V bulldogs game on the sunday afternoon, I would suggest a crowd of around 45 - 50,000. The urgency for purchasing tickets to that game would not be as great.

6 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

then a pub, with some real beer and a lounge so the Shielas can let us blokes get on with men’s stuff.

I was thinking about that.  CUB have tank bars now where they deliver directly into the tank.... something like that would be awesome.  Not sure how it would go on a cruise ship though.

40 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

On gala nights in MDR men should be permitted to wear thongs, King Gee shorts and blue singlets

hahahahahah

Or at the least.... one of the black t-shirts with  a bow tie/shirt printed on the front.

3 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

No, no, no! Not a big American style cruise ship!

HA. I agree with you about the "big".  I was more thinking about the branding aspect! (the dreamer side of me was slipping away and the financial side of me was taking over! 🙂 )

I see that coffee is clearly sore point for a lot of people.

We were talking about this before.... if we went for the big American style cruise liner and had "branded" outlets, we would have something like a St Ali coffee on board. Complete with Melbourne hipster barista's as well! HA!

55 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

And pineapple lumps for the Kiwis or for Assies wanting a taste before they get to 'n zd.

AND.... Lolly Cake.  I became obsessed with it when i was on a NZ cruise a few years ago.