Jumping Cruiser

8 hours ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

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

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! 

20 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

If it was called Legend,why would that make it be going to the Pacific? 
But anyway they must be running out of room in the Caribbean.

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.

4 hours ago, ecslady said:

Where did you read that Liberty is going to Southhampton?  I must have missed something. 

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.

5 hours ago, little britain said:

I don’t with a TA with pax would end in Cadiz due to the lack of international airports for people to get home? 

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! 🙂

23 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I believe that is more likely than 2027 or 2028. But maybe later as they seem quite happy about the results of building more Oasis class and Icon class mega ships. Time will tell. 

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

29 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

@orville99 was reporting what was said at the captain's corner on their cruise. Not sure which ship/captain reported it.

 

I am also surprised it will be that small. I would have bet a minimum of 120K

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 $$$.
 

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

If the class is shared with Celebrity then 90,000 could make sense. 

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*

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

I haven't personally seen Anthem, Quantum or Spectrum lower their funnels but if you say Quantum does that's good enough for me. I assume the others do as well.

I can confirm that Anthem does have retractable funnels.

1 hour ago, Southern Dan said:

I thought I read somewhere that Liberty is finally going to get her amplification prior to the European Summer 2026 season so that will be an improvement over the Independence I’m sure!

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.

5 hours ago, springaussie said:

Bailey has confirmed Ovation is off to Los Angeles for Summer 2025 then going to Singapore.

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

5 hours ago, Southern Dan said:

Another interesting observation from that is the notation is for Icon 3…so where is Icon of the Seas heading once Icon 3 launches?

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!

10 hours ago, topanga49er said:

ugh, not up yet on cruisingpower...

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

5 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

There is a great 12 day Greek isles cruise on Odyssey in Sept. 25, but most of the good cabins are sold out.  I'm hoping they repeat this itinerary in Fall 2026.  I will be the first to book.

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

4 hours ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

Maybe an early TA on the way to dry dock they way Allure and Harmony are doing the next few years?

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.

2 minutes ago, bigeck said:

Also, looks like the 'X' status match is working. More people are booking 'X' and we will have to pay more to book Celebrity to sail Norway/Baltics.

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!

28 minutes ago, JOVERNITE said:

We have early dining (maybe yes and maybe no based on your explanation). When I tried to reserve any of the 4 dining rooms (website & app) it says under our names "Dining time already set". It doesn't offer dining times. We like to eat early. Captain's Club said to make reservations when on board.  How did you make reservations?

 

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.

16 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

So that would mean that Liberty will be going to Southampton?

11 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Yea. Thats great news. Shows RC are really tuned into the UK market ….. said no one ever. 

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!