What is the future for RCCL in the UK market?

[little britain]

@EmilyJay Explorer is the other ship in Southampton this year. 

Next year it is currently only Anthem, although it has been suggested that Odyssey may visit in late Autumn 🍂 2020....

[EmilyJay]

3 minutes ago, little britain said:

@EmilyJay Explorer is the other ship in Southampton this year. 

Next year it is currently only Anthem, although it has been suggested that Odyssey may visit in late Autumn 🍂 2020....

Thanks. That would be interesting if Odyssey came over... I'd love to try the Quantum Class so will keep my eyes peeled in case of any good Southampton deals come up. 

[little britain]

1 minute ago, EmilyJay said:

Thanks. That would be interesting if Odyssey came over... I'd love to try the Quantum Class so will keep my eyes peeled in case of any good Southampton deals come up. 

Anthem cruises now include the drinks package, but prices still pretty high. I think they will drop....

[CruisingJoe09]

2 hours ago, Bloodgem said:

I think Southampton will become a 1 ship port for RCI.  I just hope it's not the Indy, all the time. As unlike the rest of Britain she was not my favourite ship. 

Which ship would you suggest?

[little britain]

16 minutes ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

Which ship would you suggest?

Anthem beats Independence any day imho. 

Also not an Indie fan. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by little britain

[CruisingJoe09]

Just now, little britain said:

Anthem beats Independence any day imho. 

Also not an Indie fan. 

Not an Anthem fan here. 

 

This is why I liked having both ships - it gave the option for those that wanted something different and those that wanted Indy again. I'm hoping that we don't only get Quantum Class in the UK for the foreseeable future, otherwise I can't sail from there.

[grapau27]

58 minutes ago, little britain said:

Anthem cruises now include the drinks package, but prices still pretty high. I think they will drop....

Cruises up to 5 nights don't include the drinks packages and are very reasonably priced.

Once the free!!! drinks packages are included the prices jump up to pay for them.

Even when P&O had autogratuities kids under 12 did not pay them.

The amount of money generated by tips which RC briefly included on UK sailings was probably a step too far in having 2 ships sailing from Southampton and to leave Independence in Fort Lauderdale sailing to Coco Cay to meet that demand seems good business sense.

[Saab4444]

I believe it is just about that each cruise line decides to focus on certain markets due to limited capacity and Royal decided that North Europe is not part of there key markets at the moment. It is not because of low margins as for other US lines North Europe is in focus with high  rates and full ships. Rates are much higher than on any US or Caribbean cruise even including Canada and Alaska! On board spending and tips may be lower than on a booze cruise to Cocoa Cay but this is only part of the story.

[Bloodgem]

1 hour ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

Which ship would you suggest?

A rotation of ships: Anthem next year, which I like. Maybe Oasis/Allure for 2021. Maybe one of the newer or  older smaller ships another year. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by Bloodgem

[CruisingJoe09]

4 minutes ago, Bloodgem said:

A rotation of ships: Anthem next year, which I like. Maybe Oasis/Allure for 2021 or one of the newer ships. 

Oasis or Allure sounds interesting. With O5 coming out, there will be an additional homeport needed for Oasis Class in Summer 2021 - Galveston won't be ready for Oasis Class until Fall 2021.

 

They will likely have 1 in Miami, 1 in Canaveral, 1 in NJ and 1 in Barcelona. Maybe Southampton could be the place for the other. 

 

Provided that the Indy fans aren't overwhelmed by the size of Oasis Class, they would probably love it as they have many similar features.

Edited May 18, 2019 by CruisingJoe09

[CRUISEFAN0001]

8 minutes ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

Oasis or Allure sounds interesting. With O5 coming out, there will be an additional homeport needed for Oasis Class in Summer 2021 - Galveston won't be ready for Oasis Class until Fall 2021.

 

They will likely have 1 in Miami, 1 in Canaveral, 1 in NJ and 1 in Barcelona. Maybe Southampton could be the place for the other. 

 

Provided that the Indy fans aren't overwhelmed by the size of Oasis Class, they would probably love it as they have many similar features.

What seems clear is that any strategic planning on locations has as much to do as the season as it does the location. You'll probably never see 4-5 Oasis class ships ported in Florida during hurricane season...no matter how many the eventually have in the fleet...so they have to put them someplace else anyway...and history points to Barcelona as one of their successful seasonal alternatives. The day will come when an Oasis class ship ends up in Asia...at least for a "test season" to see how it works out. As for the UK...based on recent events...it seems that market isn't flourishing like some others.

[Rusty Hull]

On 5/17/2019 at 10:38 PM, CruisingJoe09 said:

Anthem is becoming more popular in NJ, but they have brought in Adventure for the Summer seasons which suggests that they were trying to have an additional option for those in the area that didn't like Quantum Class. 

 

Brits are quite stubborn and can sometimes be picky (I'm speaking as a Brit who has both of those traits) so I'm still not convinced that she will be successful.

I am a Brit, actually a Scot, and enjoy a variety of ships. If you have not tried other ships how  can  you decide that Indy is best.

Brexit should not affect tourists from other countries any more than tourists travelling to USA.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

2 hours ago, Rusty Hull said:

Brexit should not affect tourists from other countries any more than tourists travelling to USA.

How can you say that?🤔

There will be lots of disruption as the EU will set new rules for travel to/ From The UK when there is no deal reached......

Let alone all the flight disruptions - when the UK airlines loose their EU slots!😱

[Judyrem]

On 5/17/2019 at 4:24 PM, grapau27 said:

The UK is always hugely welcoming to overseas visitors.

Yes, I am going back to Scotland for the third time next week.

I LOVE the UK.  I have traveled there extensively.  Would love to win the lotto and buy a house there!😀

[Davebhoy]

The cruises on offer next summer (July/August that make up the school hols) offer nothing exciting on the itinerary - one cruise to the Canaries, and other than that it's the usual Med stops.

 

We've already booked our cruise for next year, and for the first time in a good while, is not going to be on Royal.

[Jax129]

On 5/17/2019 at 5:58 PM, CruisingJoe09 said:

They are probably cheap because they are harder to get to. I remember hearing that the airfare to San Juan is expensive.

SO EXPENSIVE!!!

 

I just sailed to Cocoa Cay last weekend and the new 135ft water slide id built to withstand 150 MPH winds. 

[kruzerci]

It makes complete sense for a Quantum class ship to take over the Independence. Independence was a great option for the UK when they needed a large ship but the ship is not cold weather friendly. Now they have better options and the industry and economy is changing. It’s not hard to understand...

 

Royal Caribbean is not concerned about the Cruise Critic population (a tiny percentage of overall cruisers) preferring Indy over Anthem. They are looking for new cruisers who spend more money, not old cruisers who are set in their ways and spend less. Those new cruisers would likely prefer the newer ship and won’t know the difference. End of story. 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

13 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

It makes complete sense for a Quantum class ship to take over the Independence. Independence was a great option for the UK when they needed a large ship but the ship is not cold weather friendly. Now they have better options and the industry and economy is changing. It’s not hard to understand...

 

Royal Caribbean is not concerned about the Cruise Critic population (a tiny percentage of overall cruisers) preferring Indy over Anthem. They are looking for new cruisers who spend more money, not old cruisers who are set in their ways and spend less. Those new cruisers would likely prefer the newer ship and won’t know the difference. End of story. 

Sure that is why they reduced the UK presence to 1 ship only...instead of 2......!🙄

[kruzerci]

20 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Sure that is why they reduced the UK presence to 1 ship only...instead of 2......!🙄

 

No... my bad.  I’m referring to the “Anthem wasn’t well received” posts. Not the “down to one ship” posts.