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Deployment 2018-19 booking season begins

MADflyer

By MADflyer,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Esahuma

Esahuma

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Yippee - my happy place -just printed off boarding passes for flight tomorrow to Houston - going to visit NASA Space Center - a couple DDD (Diners Drive Ins and Dives) and then board Liberty on 15 Jan B2B - probably in the rain but who cares - it is a cruise!

 

Will try to keep in touch! :D

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MADflyer

MADflyer

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Hawaii Ports show only one Royal ship using the facility after the Alaskan 2018 season

Radiance of the Seas is the name.

If true I don't if this is Explorer or Radiance.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Is that not just Kauai reporting so far? They only have Radiance in 2017 as well.

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BillB48

BillB48

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Just like smaller ships, RCCL leaves those to the Celebrity brand.

 

While X does have more ships sailing through the Canal than Royal as in one ship compared to 0 ships from Royal, X has cut back their Canal cruises significantly this season and last season. The Infinity used to run back and forth between FL and CA for most of the Canal season, presently it has a couple of Canal cruises before and after the Alaskan season, then it is off to other itineraries. X's second Alaska ship would also transit the Canal to FL after the Alaskan season and again prior to the Alaskan season. Right now their second Alaska ship comes from down under.

 

Royal has many more ships that can use the legacy locks compared to X. The 5 ships in the Vision class and the 4 Radiance class are all Panamax ships which can use the old locks. On the other hand the only ships X can tap for the Canal are the 4 Millennium class which are basically the same as the Radiance class.

 

Guess Canal itineraries could be reconsidered when the new locks take on the larger ships which doesn't start until this April.

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Biker19

Biker19

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Royal has many more ships that can use the legacy locks compared to X.

With the announcement of Edge and Icon class ships, it's fairly obvious where RCCL is headed in terms of ship sizes for its brands. So while for the next few years RCI will still have more small ships than X, long term, I don't see that being the case. By the time Icon comes out, I'd be surprised to see any Vision class ships in the RCI fleet and maybe even some Radiance ships gone.

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BillB48

BillB48

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With the announcement of Edge and Icon class ships, it's fairly obvious where RCCL is headed in terms of ship sizes for its brands. So while for the next few years RCI will still have more small ships than X, long term, I don't see that being the case. By the time Icon comes out, I'd be surprised to see any Vision class ships in the RCI fleet and maybe even some Radiance ships gone.

 

Unfortunately that is probably an accurate assessment.

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Ourusualbeach

Ourusualbeach

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While X does have more ships sailing through the Canal than Royal as in one ship compared to 0 ships from Royal, X has cut back their Canal cruises significantly this season and last season. The Infinity used to run back and forth between FL and CA for most of the Canal season, presently it has a couple of Canal cruises before and after the Alaskan season, then it is off to other itineraries. X's second Alaska ship would also transit the Canal to FL after the Alaskan season and again prior to the Alaskan season. Right now their second Alaska ship comes from down under.

 

Royal has many more ships that can use the legacy locks compared to X. The 5 ships in the Vision class and the 4 Radiance class are all Panamax ships which can use the old locks. On the other hand the only ships X can tap for the Canal are the 4 Millennium class which are basically the same as the Radiance class.

 

Guess Canal itineraries could be reconsidered when the new locks take on the larger ships which doesn't start until this April.

 

Isn't there height issues with the Bridge of the Americas for anything above Radience class?

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DragonOfTheSeas "Live from...." Rare

DragonOfTheSeas

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With the announcement of Edge and Icon class ships, it's fairly obvious where RCCL is headed in terms of ship sizes for its brands. So while for the next few years RCI will still have more small ships than X, long term, I don't see that being the case. By the time Icon comes out, I'd be surprised to see any Vision class ships in the RCI fleet and maybe even some Radiance ships gone.

 

If they get rid of these smaller ships they will have to leave some of the home ports behind [i.e. Baltimore] and some of the port stops. That will make their itineraries too similar.

 

They added the Empress back in to do the Cuba cruises. [at a pretty high price for updates] I would expect them to keep a few of the smaller ships for different itineraries. [even if they need some significant updates] unique itineraries go for a premium.

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BillB48

BillB48

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Isn't there height issues with the Bridge of the Americas for anything above Radience class?

 

That has been kicked around some and there certainly could be an issue. The Voyager and Freedom class are slightly out of limits presently, however I think the are close enough that there could be modification to bring one of those ships into compliance or waiver if they wanted to transit the Canal. They have already done something similar with the Solstice in order for her to clear the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver which has slightly less clearance than the BoA. The Quantum class ships are at the max permitted air draft for the Bridge so there is at least one class beyond the Radiance ships that could clear.

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travelgoddess1

travelgoddess1

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Guess Canal itineraries could be reconsidered when the new locks take on the larger ships which doesn't start until this April.

 

See below:

 

Isn't there height issues with the Bridge of the Americas for anything above Radience class?

 

Yes, there is a height issue, and apparently the only way ships other than Vision or Radiance Class can fit under Bridge of Americas is to wait for low tide. It's not practical when a ship is trying to transit the canal during daylight hours at an optimal time for passengers to be out on deck and enjoying the view.

 

The other issue, as always, is the expense of transiting the canal. RCI and the other cruise lines pass along the expense to the passenger, but they still use it as a reason to not offer the itinerary.

 

Panama Canal cruises are my second-favorite itinerary, after Hawaii, so I wish RCI would bring them back, as well. We have done over a dozen Canal cruises, and each one has been exciting. :)

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lighthousemom

lighthousemom

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See below:

Yes, there is a height issue, and apparently the only way ships other than Vision or Radiance Class can fit under Bridge of Americas is to wait for low tide. It's not practical when a ship is trying to transit the canal during daylight hours at an optimal time for passengers to be out on deck and enjoying the view.

 

The other issue, as always, is the expense of transiting the canal. RCI and the other cruise lines pass along the expense to the passenger, but they still use it as a reason to not offer the itinerary.

 

Panama Canal cruises are my second-favorite itinerary, after Hawaii, so I wish RCI would bring them back, as well. We have done over a dozen Canal cruises, and each one has been exciting. :)

 

I gave up waiting for RCI to do PC, and just booked a B2B with the new NCL Bliss. We'll do the Mexican Riviera first. It will go through the new locks. :) I love new ships and big ships, so this seemed like a perfect fit. But RCI is still hands down my favorite cruise line! :)

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BillB48

BillB48

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See below:

 

 

 

Yes, there is a height issue, and apparently the only way ships other than Vision or Radiance Class can fit under Bridge of Americas is to wait for low tide. It's not practical when a ship is trying to transit the canal during daylight hours at an optimal time for passengers to be out on deck and enjoying the view.

 

The other issue, as always, is the expense of transiting the canal. RCI and the other cruise lines pass along the expense to the passenger, but they still use it as a reason to not offer the itinerary.

 

Panama Canal cruises are my second-favorite itinerary, after Hawaii, so I wish RCI would bring them back, as well. We have done over a dozen Canal cruises, and each one has been exciting. :)

 

The taller ships don't really have to wait for low tide, they would be able to clear the Bridge throughout a large part of the day... just not at a couple of hours before or after high tide. There are even some days during the month where the tide doesn't get that high at high tide. Just another scheduling variable:).

 

I don't know why Royal is quick to say the high tolls are the reason they are not doing the Canal. I think most of us could handle that they are just positioning their ships in markets that they believe are more profitable.

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Biker19

Biker19

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They added the Empress back in to do the Cuba cruises. [at a pretty high price for updates] I would expect them to keep a few of the smaller ships for different itineraries. [even if they need some significant updates] unique itineraries go for a premium.

 

They will steer folks towards X for that. I think RCI learned its lesson with the upgrading of Empress, numerous cancellations and delays in getting to Cuba.

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SherriZ366

SherriZ366

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I wish Royal would add a Panama Canal cruise :(

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Me too!! RCI could do a round trip from Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral or Miami, transit the new lock with a Voyager Class ship, and not have to worry about the height of the Bridge of Americas. Princess is doing this itinerary in fall, 2017-winter 2018. Would work for me as we could drive.
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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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Me too!! RCI could do a round trip from Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral or Miami, transit the new lock with a Voyager Class ship, and not have to worry about the height of the Bridge of Americas. Princess is doing this itinerary in fall, 2017-winter 2018. Would work for me as we could drive.

 

Sherri, we did the Jewel one time TO the locks, anchored out for the day,

took a double decker ferry boat through the whole lock system. Was

fabulous. Even got to reach out and touch the wall, great picture.

Nice "booze cruise" with lunch, then bused us back from Panama City.

 

Was a nice alternative anyway. :) The Bridge of Americas was very

impressive indeed. :)

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travelgoddess1

travelgoddess1

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We did a 10 night RT Panama Canal partial transit in 2004 on the Brilliance. It went out of either Miami or Ft Lauderdale, don't remember. I don't know when or why they stopped doing it

 

We did a partial transit out of Galveston in 2003, on Splendour. While we enjoyed it, there is nothing to compare with a full transit. Having said that, I would take whatever they offered. :rolleyes: :)

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