Jumping Cruiser

Just to confirm, Michelle is onboard and will take over on 8th September!

Katie Knowles leaves Anthem on 8th September. I believe Michelle Oliveira will take over, but await confirmation!

I think they will see how Disney Adventure (Ex-Global Dream) plays out in Asia. She is a similar size to Oasis/Icon, so will be a good thing for Royal to watch before making any firm decisions. However, if she performs well, I expect to see some fierce Royal competition within a few years.

Post #22.

This video gives a good indication of the original plans in 2020. It will be interesting to see the difference between the planned amplification and the actual one.

When I say destination, I mean the next port of call or next destination, which in this case is Cadiz. The TA will not end there and will likely go to either Lisbon or Barcelona. Apologies for the confusion! 🙂

I think we will see Icon 4 in Late 27/Early 28 and Discovery from 2029.

What we have to remember is thatt when Icon was in the works, it was referred to as being smaller than Oasis, but bigger than Quantum (around 200,000 gt). Look how that turned out, something actually 25,000 gt heavier than the largest Oasis class. Despite what’s being reported, my gut is telling me it will be around edge-class size. X seem to be coping well with accessing a variety of ports with this platform, while brining in the $$$. I don’t think a carbon-copy will be shared between the brands, but the platform may well be, similar to how QC are an evolution of X’s Solstice Class.

Ponta Delgada, Azore Islands - Port Bookings (Correct as of 24/07/24) A new call added for Explorer, likely for her EB TA. Destination is marked as Cadiz. 7th March 2026 - Odyssey OTS 27th March 2026 - Harmony OTS 30th April 2026 - Explorer OTS. *NEW*

I can confirm that Anthem does have retractable funnels.

How much of an ‘amplification’ this is going to be though is yet to be seen. We’ll know more when Allure is done next year, but something’s telling me Jason’s tight pocket will have an impact. It’s still a freedom class though, which is yet again another year with a reduction in capacity for the UK market.

Port bookings in LA to back this up. Los Angeles, California - Port Bookings (Correct as of 17/7/24) Ovation now showing regularly throughout the summer, in addition to Navigator, with her first call set for 27th May and last call set for 23rd Sept. May 25: 2nd - Navigator OTS 4th - Radiance OTS 5th - Navigator OTS 9th - Navigator OTS 16th - Navigator OTS 19th - Navigator OTS 23rd - Navigator OTS 27th - Ovation OTS 28th - Ovation OTS 30th - Navigator OTS June 25: 2nd - Navigator OTS 3rd - Ovation OTS 6th - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS 9th - Navigator OTS 11th Ovation OTS 13th - Navigator OTS 17th - Ovation OTS 20th - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS 23rd - Navigator OTS 25th - Ovation OTS 27th - Navigator OTS 30th - Navigator OTS July 25: 4th - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS 9th - Ovation OTS 11th - Navigator OTS 15th - Ovation OTS 18th - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS 21st - Navigator OTS 23rd - Ovation OTS 25th - Navigator OTS 28th - Navigator OTS 29th - Ovation OTS August 25: 1st - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS 4th - Navigator OTS 6th - Ovation OTS 8th - Navigator OTS 11th - Navigator OTS 12th - Ovation OTS 15th - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS 20th - Ovation OTS 22nd - Navigator OTS 25th - Navigator OTS 26th - Ovation OTS 29th - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS September 25: 3rd - Ovation OTS 5th - Navigator OTS 8th - Navigator OTS 9th - Ovation OTS 12th - Navigator OTS & Ovation OTS 15th - Navigator OTS 17th - Ovation OTS 19th - Navigator OTS 21st - Serenade OTS 23rd - Ovation OTS 26th - Navigator OTS 29th - Navigator OTS

My bet would be on Galveston.

Athens (Piraeus), Greece - Port Bookings (Correct as of 12/07/24) Lots of bookings for Explorer and Brilliance in 2026. There is no standard calling pattern for either ships, but the likelihood of it being a copy and paste from 2025 is high in my opinion. 2026: 20th May - Explorer OTS 26th May - Explorer OTS 1st June - Brilliance OTS 2nd June - Explorer OTS 8th June - Brilliance OTS 9th June - Explorer OTS 17th June - Explorer OTS 23rd June - Explorer OTS 30th June - Explorer OTS 8th July - Explorer OTS 13th July - Brilliance OTS 14th July - Explorer OTS 20th July - Brilliance OTS 21st July - Explorer OTS 28th July - Explorer OTS 4th August - Explorer OTS 12th August - Explorer OTS 18th August - Explorer OTS 24th August - Brilliance OTS 25th August - Explorer OTS 31st August - Brilliance OTS 1st September - Explorer OTS 9th September - Explorer OTS 15th September - Explorer OTS 22nd September - Explorer OTS 30th September - Explorer OTS 5th October - Brilliance OTS 6th October - Explorer OTS 12th October - Brilliance OTS 13th October - Explorer OTS 20th October - Explorer OTS

According to a RCB article, Bayley said that they’re looking into doing another world cruise and said while it had been a headache, it had also been a huge success. Next time they are looking to use a ship with more outside cabins (OV/Balcony) though. While I understand it wouldn’t be the most financially viable and profit maximising opportunity, I can’t help but think this would be a great way to launch discovery class. A world cruise on a brand new ship, demonstrating Royal’s ability to bring the best of land and sea together and touting all the new ports they are able to visit, while showing their new hardware around the world. This would truly be giving the people what they want - New destinations and new itineraries! Plus, those at the top end of the loyalty scale and diehard Royals would likely pay top dollar, possibly with a pppd cost higher than on 7-nighters. I know it sounds ambitious, but somehow I think it could work. 🤔

Hi everyone, Looking at booking the presidents cruise next year on Apex around Norway. The price is substantially higher for most categories than for comparable itineraries and dates, as expected. Is it worth the extra cost? What types of events are run both on ship and on shore and are they open to everyone? We are Select CC members, so would be keen to know what would be open for us to experience on this cruise, as opposed to a normal one. If anyone has copies of the daily cruise planner that they could share, that would be a great help! I understand that RC have an improved food and beverage offering on their presidents cruise, is this the case with X too? If so, what differences are we likely to see? Any general info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Won’t be up for a good while. The deployment release is not till Nov/Dec time.

Sydney, Australia - Port Bookings (Correct as of 02/07/24) Lots of bookings for Anthem for 2026/27. Various lengths in between calls likely indicate a similar deployment to 25/26, after a TP from Alaska. 30th October 26 - Anthem OTS 8th November 26 - Anthem OTS 16th November 26 - Anthem OTS 20th November 26 - Anthem OTS 29th November 26 - Anthem OTS 7th December 26 - Anthem OTS 11th December 26 - Anthem OTS 19th December 26 - Anthem OTS 28th December 26 - Anthem OTS 6th January 27 - Anthem OTS 15th January 27 - Anthem OTS 24th January 27 - Anthem OTS 1st February 27 - Anthem OTS 12th February 27 - Anthem OTS 21st February 27 - Anthem OTS 1st March 27 - Anthem OTS 5th March 27 - Anthem OTS 14th March 27 - Anthem OTS 23rd March 27 - Anthem OTS 27th March 27 - Anthem OTS 5th April 27 - Anthem OTS 14th April 27 - Anthem OTS

Grand Cayman - Port Schedule (Correct as of 01/07/24) Currently a few bookings for Adventure throughout Summer 26, all of which are 4 weeks apart. 12th May - Adventure OTS 9th June - Adventure OTS 7th July - Adventure OTS 4th August - Adventure OTS 1st September - Adventure OTS 29th September - Adventure OTS

Booked on this one, can’t wait! Hoping the price comes down a bit though, but not looking likely! 🫤

Limassol, Cyprus - Port Schedule (Correct as of 01/07/24) Currently only a couple of scheduled calls for Brilliance in 2026, it’s likely more will appear for eastern-med ships in the coming weeks. 15th July 2026 - Brilliance OTS 7th October 2026 - Brilliance OTS

Port schedules look to indicate that the dry-dock will be before her European season. Keep an eye on the 26-27 deployment thread for more info.

Fully agree that they are trying to further differentiate the brands through itineraries. Royal are becoming the ‘party’ and ‘weekend’ cruise, X are trying to appeal to an itinerary-focused and relaxed crowd. Maybe this is a way of trying to attract a younger demographic to X? Regarding price though, my 2 X cruises this year (both ex-UK) had a lower pppn price than Anthem, so there are definitely some deals to be had! If only they could introduce a loyalty program that collates points together, rather than just status match, that would be something and defiantly help in this scenario!

You will not be given a traditional time, regardless of what you selected pre cruise. You would have to request this by asking the restaurant manager on day 1, who will assign you the same table each evening. If you want to make a reservation on a night-by-night basis, you can do so the day before you want to dine in a particular restaurant. You can book for 5:30, 8 or 8:30 by calling 7000 from any ship phone. Only the day before though, cannot be done any earlier. Between 5:30 and 8, every restaurant is walk-ins only. However, the longest we ever waited to be seated was 15 mins, so a reservation isn’t necessary.

Yes, Liberty from Southampton. They’ll play the you love ‘Indy’ card, so here’s her sister and most brits will fall for that nonsense! But yet again… another downgrade. They have completely abandoned the Northern European market. No ships from Amsterdam, none from Copenhagen and devaluing Southampton hardware. From current port bookings, it doesn’t look like they will take advantage of Liberty being a ‘warm-weather’ ship in 2026 either and will continue to offer ‘cold’ cruises like they are on Indy in 25. Can’t they actually listen to what the UK market are looking for!