woodscruise

I thought RCCL would have also had the transpacific reposition cruises released at the time of the AU 2026 season end, however RCCL has not released any cruises past April 2026. In the past the Ovation has repositioned to Alaska for the season, and the last 2 years they have had 2 Quantum ships there as well as 2 Radiance class. I cannot see Ovation going back to Alaska in 2026, I think it will remain in Asia, however I cannot see where they will downgrade the premium Alaska, so I think Anthem will continue with the current rotation. It will be interesting to see if they do move Quantum to Alaska in 2026. My feeling is if any ship will be based in Australia year-round then it will be Voyager.

From reading through this topic, one thing comes to mind that you do not put all your eggs in one basket. With the Oasis and Icon ships, they are primary based in the Caribbean, and more recently in the New York region, with another doing a European season in conjunction with a dry docking. What happens if there is another financial crisis as we saw in 2008. By building these mega ships, Royal is limiting to where they can put their assets. I personally, cannot see an Oasis or Icon ship based in the Pacific region, unless China improves dramatically with the Spectrum and Ovation being based there from 2025.

From todays Cruise Weekly 18April 2024 Australia was the world’s fourth-largest cruise market last year, with 1.25 million passengers embarking in 2023. The Land Down Under finished behind the United States (16.9 million), Germany (2.5 million), and the United Kingdom (2.2 million) in terms of total pax, according to data released by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) (CW 16 Apr). The rise in short-break cruises being offered by lines is reflected in CLIA’s data, with the average duration of an ocean voyage taken by Australians last year being 8.1 days, down from 9 days pre-pandemic. The most popular region for Aussies to sail in, outside of Australia and the South Pacific, is still the Mediterranean, with 5.3% of passengers embarking on a cruise there last year, followed by Asia (2.5%), Alaska (1.9%), Northern Europe (1%), and the Caribbean (1%). Growing segments of the Australian cruise industry include trans-Atlantic and world cruises; Hawaii & and the West Coast of the US; and expedition cruises, which captured 0.8%, 0.7%, and 0.7% of the market respectively. “Australians have not just returned to cruising, they’ve come back with enormous enthusiasm and at a faster pace than in other markets worldwide,” said Managing Director Joel Katz (pictured). “Australia has long been one of the world’s most passionate cruise source markets, and these figures confirm an enduring love for cruising among Australian travellers,” he said. Katz said although demand for cruising is strong, close collaboration from Australian governments and ports is needed to support the sustainability of cruise tourism in the future. “To maintain our position as a leading destination and meet demand, it’s crucial that regulatory frameworks and port charges remain internationally competitive,” he said. “Balanced regulation and reasonable costs are fundamental to fostering a thriving cruise sector capable of contributing significantly to the Australian economy,” Katz added. MS

Phil, can you tell me the benefits of Sky Junior Suite. I notice this on Anthem's sailings.

Yes, apparently there is some sort of agreement with the Wiggles. ROYAL CARIBBEAN TEAMS UP WITH THE WIGGLES TO LAUNCH THE ULTIMATE WIGGLY ADVENTURE | Royal Caribbean Press Center

From todays Cruise Weekly: Two RCI ships in Australia in 2025-26 Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has announced its 2025- 2026 deployment in Australia, with two new ships, Anthem of the Seas (pictured) and Voyager of the Seas, set to cruise Down Under (CW breaking news). Anthem, which will make her Australian debut, most recently cruised in Singapore. She will join Voyager Down Under in Nov 2025, which had also been based in Asia. The new Australian ship will cruise “shorter and bolder” getaways from Sydney, while Voyager will make her longawaited return to her new home of Brisbane. The two ships will sail a line-up of 45 cruises to the New Zealand and the South Pacific between Nov 2025 and Apr 2026, and are now open for booking. They will replace Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas in Australia. “Between the excitement of Anthem of the Seas making its Australian debut, Voyager’s return Down Under, and more weekend getaways than ever before, the 2025-2026 summer season is one for the books,” Vice President & Managing Director Gavin Smith said. “Every kind of holidaymaker can make memories in more ways than one with a varied line-up, from short getaways to a longer sailing from Asia, and new experiences like the show-stopping ‘We Will Rock You’ musical production, iceskating shows and six exclusive family adventures created by Royal Caribbean and the Wiggly Friends,” he said. MS

Sydney ports daily movements is showing a departure time of 23:00

A youtube blogger in Australia is reporting that Voyager will come through the Suez Canel in November 2025. I guess we will have to see how this pans out. They mentioned that Anthem will be coming from Alaska via Hawaii and Tahiti.

With confirmation of Voyager and Anthem coming to Australia, Ovation presumably will go to Singapore, any thoughts on where Radiance and Serenade will be deployed too?

Sydney ports is showing Majestic Princess overnighting in Sydney with an arrival time of at Bradley Heads as 20:15

I think this would be better posted on the P&O UK site.

Any idea where Radiance will head too?

Also, only up to October 2025.

Ovation was released with Spectrum and will be in homeported in China.

Aren't 2 Radiance class ships still not allocated to a region after the AK season?

Geoff, If the Red Sea is still a no go, could they run it via South Africa directly to Brisbane, as an alternative (maybe non rev)?

Port of Darwin shows that it is flag in the Marshall Islands.

Yes Brisbane Ports is still showing Voyager arriving 13December 2025

Port of Los Angeles shipping schedule is show Quantum and Navigator both sailing from Los Angeles from October - December 2025. There is no advance port booking for 2026.

Confirmed: RCI developing new ship class Royal Caribbean International (RCI) Chief Executive Michael Bayley (pictured) has confirmed the veracity of swirling rumours the cruise line is currently working on a new class of ships to follow its high-profile Icon-class. Bayley said the next phase of RCI’s ship development plan, currently in preliminary plan stages, will be to ultimately replace its ageing Vision- and Radiance-class vessels with a revamped model. “They are beautiful ships and beautifully constructed but like me and others they are getting older so we are now concepting thoughts and ideas about how we are going to replace those ships with a new class for Royal Caribbean,” he added. “We have already done a fair amount of work within the brand in terms of the concepting process, but these still have to go through the corporate machine, through the board and through a process, but we are actively working on trying to figure out what that would look like”. Bayley added from what he has seen from the early planning phases, the new class of RCI ships “look fantastic”. “We really do have some great ideas on the table and I could tell you a few now but I’m not going to,” he quipped. At a later immersion session, RCI Chief Product and Innovation Officer Jay Schneider declined to be drawn on the exact size of the new class, but confirmed it won’t be as large as the Icon class. “The new class of ships will not be the world’s largest class of ship, we are starting smaller and have not put a size to it yet but it will definitely be a ‘mic drop ship’ [like Icon],” Schneider noted. “It will take the same attention to detail [of Icon], that same level of focus on experience to achieve something like this but just at a different scale,” he added. RCI has two more Icon-class ships on order to launch next year (Star of the Seas) and in 2026. Schneider said the name of the third vessel has been chosen (CW 16 Jan), but has not yet been released to the public. Source Cruise Weekly 23January 2023

Confirmed: RCI developing new ship class Royal Caribbean International (RCI) Chief Executive Michael Bayley (pictured) has confirmed the veracity of swirling rumours the cruise line is currently working on a new class of ships to follow its high-profile Icon-class. Bayley said the next phase of RCI’s ship development plan, currently in preliminary plan stages, will be to ultimately replace its ageing Vision- and Radiance-class vessels with a revamped model. “They are beautiful ships and beautifully constructed but like me and others they are getting older so we are now concepting thoughts and ideas about how we are going to replace those ships with a new class for Royal Caribbean,” he added. “We have already done a fair amount of work within the brand in terms of the concepting process, but these still have to go through the corporate machine, through the board and through a process, but we are actively working on trying to figure out what that would look like”. Bayley added from what he has seen from the early planning phases, the new class of RCI ships “look fantastic”. “We really do have some great ideas on the table and I could tell you a few now but I’m not going to,” he quipped. At a later immersion session, RCI Chief Product and Innovation Officer Jay Schneider declined to be drawn on the exact size of the new class, but confirmed it won’t be as large as the Icon class. “The new class of ships will not be the world’s largest class of ship, we are starting smaller and have not put a size to it yet but it will definitely be a ‘mic drop ship’ [like Icon],” Schneider noted. “It will take the same attention to detail [of Icon], that same level of focus on experience to achieve something like this but just at a different scale,” he added. RCI has two more Icon-class ships on order to launch next year (Star of the Seas) and in 2026. Schneider said the name of the third vessel has been chosen (CW 16 Jan), but has not yet been released to the public. Source Cruise Weekly 23January 2023

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2976685-carnival-says-goodbye-to-melbourne/page/1/#comment-66522734:~:text=goodbye to Melbourne-,Carnival says goodbye to Melbourne,-By bazzaw%2C

Check-in times for international departures is recommended as 3 hours. Bear in mind that if you are traveling to USA there is a secondary security check at the departure gate.

An interesting article re cruising in Australian waters. Source is cruise weekly Thursday 14 February 2023. One year extension for cruise rules International cruise ships have been granted 12 months of additional certainty about their operations in Australian waters, under a ruling issued yesterday by Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Catherine King. The cruise sector has been waiting for some months for a decision on the ministerial exemption for cruise shipping to the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012, which allows foreign-flagged cruise ships to carry passengers between Australian ports. Under yesterday’s update, the exemption will now apply from 01 Jan-31 Dec 2024, a one year period, replacing the current fiveyear exemption issued in 2018, which ends later this month. The ruling applies to vessels in excess of 5,000 gross tonnes which are capable of a speed of at least 15 knots and capable of carrying at least 100 passengers, “used wholly or primarily for the carriage of passengers between any ports in states or territories, except between Victoria and Tasmania”, the document states. “COVID-19 really affected tourism and the cruise industry, so the Australian Government is continuing to support cruise tourism by guaranteeing another year of the exemption,” King said. “The exemption reduces red tape and costs while supporting THRIVE 2030, our national strategy for the long-term sustainable growth of the visitor economy,” she added. King said the 12-month exemption will provide additional time to consult on potential amendments to the Act to aid in the revitalisation of the Australian maritime industry. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) hailed the extension of the provisions to give clarity to cruise passengers, cruise lines, and the Australian tourism industry. However, Managing Director Joel Katz noted that with cruise operations planned and scheduled several years in advance, “CLIA and cruise lines look forward to further urgent consultation with the Australian Government to provide longerterm certainty for cruising and to support the THRIVE 2030 national strategy for the sustainable growth of the visitor economy”. Australian Cruise Association CEO Jill Abel said the extension of the exemption is welcome. “We look forward to the opportunity for further consultation over the next 12 months to ensure the Act delivers the maximum benefits to Australian ports and destinations,” she added. B

Todays Cruise weekly had 2 articles on Melbourne. Australia a “difficult” cruise market Australia is becoming a more difficult market to cruise from, Carnival Corporation Chief Strategy Officer Teresa Lloyd has revealed, stoking fears regarding the lackadaisical decisions recently made by state governments around the country. Lloyd, addressing the media earlier this week in the wake of the cessation of Carnival Corp’s Melbourne voyages of two of its cruise lines (see page 1), said the company is considering “all deployment everywhere” as margins become thinner around the industry. “Australia and this region is becoming more difficult since the restart,” she conceded. “Fuel is very expensive in this part of the world, the distances we have to travel to go to different ports is a long way, we have issues that compound operating in this region.” Carnival has asked for a meeting to fully brief ministers on the significance of the rate hikes, Lloyd said, and to explain what they mean, and what the impact is, indicating the company is not turning its back on Victoria. “We’re confident we’ll have a meeting with the minister soon, and we really look forward to having that discussion,” she said. “It’s too late for 25/26, but for the future, we want to bring the ships back.” Melbourne’s loss is the gain of other cruise destinations around Australia, Lloyd confirmed, with the company set to redeploy some of the lost voyages to Sydney and Brisbane, where it is less expensive to call. Cruise lines were first informed of the magnitude of the rate increase, which will apply from next year, a number of months ago, but only received formal confirmation last week. “A much more moderate increase would have been something that could have been accommodated, but this increase and the prospect of further significant increases is really what’s triggered this decision,” Lloyd said. She ominously added although Carnival Corp hopes it will reach a decision with the Victorian stakeholders soon, other cruise lines within the company are considering their own decisions for the coming seasons. The revelation is the latest wake-up call to just how precarious deployment prospects are in Australia - a roller coaster the industry rode back in May, when the Government of NSW ruled out the construction of a cruise ship terminal in Yarra Bay, without presenting an alternative option (CW 29 May). Cruise weekly 01Dec2023