Deployment 2021-22 booking season begins

[furloughedagain]

1 hour ago, barbeyg said:

 

We booked AK 2020 the week it went on sale. We booked on 11/5/2018. If 2021 is released at the same time, watch for those to be available early in November. 

Thank you! So helpful!!!

[travelgoddess1]

21 hours ago, Teeara said:

Great itinerary.  I did that on Navigator in April 2017.

 

I have done that itinerary a few times, on several different ships, going back to Vision in 2001. The last time was also on Explorer, out of Port Canaveral, in early 2015.  I enjoy the ports of call, as we can sail further into the Caribbean.☺️

[travelgoddess1]

16 hours ago, FLASHINGLIGHTS83 said:

Anyone have any insight info for 2021 Alaska cruises yet?   Planning a big trip, and am impatiently waiting for the release of itineraries....

 

I am also waiting for this group of sailings to go on sale.  I'm depending on this thread, but also monitoring the ship and potential sail date I want to book. Late in the year is when these sailings appear.

[WaveSplasher]

On 8/31/2019 at 4:42 AM, springaussie said:

Voyager of the Seas Sailings 2021 (Speculated)

12 April - 26 April Sydney to Singapore

DRYDOCK ( No dry dock suitable when based in California/ South America)

27 May - 10 June Singapore to Sydney ( To get around Jones Law.)

10 June  - 4 July  ( APPROX ) Sydney to California via South Pacific (one cruise )

Voyager based in San Francisco or Los Angeles

 

Then possibly move to South America for the Summer in that region. Royal has asked about cruises from South America in recent surveys.

 

https://thecatalinaislander.com/guest-column-royal-caribbean-cruise-lines-may-return-to-catalina-island/?fbclid=IwAR0o3GEi3jEcREtggdMBfHX-kd064_1gStcA0uW1ni3zkW-clw-GVe26dYw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting to have VY drydock in Singapore again after her upcoming drydock in Singapore when she enters next week. 

 

Perhaps given all the flak about her Royal Amplification, Royal will want to add the missing stuff like skypad, the caribbean pool etc on VY before she returns to the US. 

 

In this case, I wonder who will take over Singapore May, June deployment once she's gone. 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by WaveSplasher

[travelgoddess1]

Interesting that Catalina wants to restrict Royal to one visit, Wednesday, per week.  If Royal is tentatively planning 3- and 4-night sailings, they would have to find an alternate port for the weekend cruise. Royal had requested 2 visits per week, per the article. It’s only for 3 months, however, during peak summer season traffic. Waiting for the next chapter. 😊

[little britain]

On 9/3/2019 at 6:09 PM, TwizzlersAddict said:

This is the brochure mentioned 

Well the Anthem TA info is wrong on that as they dropped Halifax as a port several months ago. And the Anthem return is not the same itinerary!

 

Vacancy for the Position of RCI proof reader !!!

[little britain]

On 9/3/2019 at 5:58 PM, Biker19 said:

In that case, the 12/22 date is probably a typo and 10/22 makes a lot of sense, with very few if any sailings before that.

I’m surprised at 10/22 departure... if they waited a bit longer they could get the half term crowd... 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️! 

 

[BettyCruiser]

The brochure does match up with the St. Maarten cruise ship schedule for October 30th though...

[Sunny AZ Girl]

7 hours ago, little britain said:

I’m surprised at 10/22 departure... if they waited a bit longer they could get the half term crowd... 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️! 

 

We have done two TA's from Europe on or close to that date.  

[badgerbill]

Well here is a little bit of tasty gossip courtesy of cruise passenger mag......

" The Port of Brisbane has said it will welcome the arrival of the world’s largest ships, after a Royal Caribbean executive indicated earlier this week that the arrival of Oasis-class ships to Australia is imminent.  RCCL’s Associate Vice President of Marine & Safety, Captain Nik Antalis, said “it’s only a matter of time”, as he urged the Australian cruise industry to develop some of the country’s major ports.  

Brisbane is building a new cruise terminal, which will come on stream next year and has the capability of handling Oasis class. It already has 190 bookings.  Mr Antalis highlighted that the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal is currently the only port that can handle giant cruise ships.   RCCL is not the only line that have these giants in their fleet – MSC, over the last two years have floated out ships like the MSC Meraviglia which has the capacity for up to 5,600 passengers. And Dream Cruises is also currently constructing their own mega ships – Global Class vessels, the line claims, will have the capacity for up to 9,000 passengers.

 

Mr Antalis, in his address to the Australian Cruise Association conference, also compared Australia’s deficiency of Oasis-class ports with Asia, saying that next year, the region has 40 destinations that will be able to handle the world’s largest ships.

But he also heeded some advice, pointing out ports like Hobart, Darwin and Fremantle require very little investment to get these destinations ready for megaships.  The downside though, is that Sydney and Auckland, two of the most popular destinations in Australia and New Zealand, remain problematic to handle giant ships."

 

I have everything crossed for a 2021 appearance 😍 would love a repo onboard the new TBB Oasis class ship from say Barcelona to where ever down here.....  not much to ask me thinks  😊😁

[geoff2802]

4 hours ago, badgerbill said:

 

I have everything crossed for a 2021 appearance 😍 would love a repo onboard the new TBB Oasis class ship from say Barcelona to where ever down here.....  not much to ask me thinks  😊😁

Thanks for sharing.  

 

Sydney OPT would struggle to turnaround an Oasis class ship for sure,  but I have never seen a statement from the port.  In the last expansion of the terminal and docking facilities they did make reference to much karger ships, but no specific limits.  

 

Does anyone know the specific reason/s that Oasis class cannot dock in Sydney OPT?  Is the shoreside or waterside related, or both?  

 

 

[eel]

16 hours ago, geoff2802 said:

Thanks for sharing.  

 

Sydney OPT would struggle to turnaround an Oasis class ship for sure,  but I have never seen a statement from the port.  In the last expansion of the terminal and docking facilities they did make reference to much karger ships, but no specific limits.  

 

Does anyone know the specific reason/s that Oasis class cannot dock in Sydney OPT?  Is the shoreside or waterside related, or both?  

 

 

Thee are two cruise ports in Sydney.  Smaller cruise ships that can sail underneath Sydney Harbour Bridge dock at the White Bay Cruise Terminal.  Larger ships dock at the Overseas Passenger Cruise Terminal (OPT) at Circular Quay.  I believe that the dock or facilities at Circular Quay may be too small for an Oasis Class ship.  It can handle Ovation which is pretty long at 1,142 feet. Oasis is only slightly longer at 1,186 feet so it may be an issue with the width.  Oasis is 208 feet wide while Ovation is only 136 feet wide.

 

It also could be an issue with the size of the terminal and the number of passengers it can handle. As I recall, the Overseas Passenger Terminal building was not all that big.

 

Note that Sydney Harbour is one of the busiest in the world. There are so many boats in there all the time. Perhaps it is a traffic safety issue? Also I have seen references that claimed the Sydney cruise port was operating at full capacity and no net new cruises could be added.

 

At one time they talked about putting a new passenger terminal outside of Sydney proper to handle the very large ships. As far as I know, nothing ever came of it.  I think sailing out of Sydney Harbour is such an iconic experience, it would be a shame to leave from some remote cruise terminal.

 

I did a Google search and found an article saying that a new cruise terminal in Sydney is now an "infrastructure priority" for 2019.  https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/new-cruise-terminal-for-sydney-on-2019-infrastructure-priority-list/

 

[internetwhiz]

Looking for more info about Odyssey Sailings. I’d love to know what sailing would go right before the TA. 

[woodscruise]

3 hours ago, eel said:

 https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/new-cruise-terminal-for-sydney-on-2019-infrastructure-priority-list/

I am not sure if this is the infrastructure priority list, but Sydney Ports last month installed 2 new gangways that can accommodate  1200 people per half hour. 

3 hours ago, eel said:

 

 

[Crism]

4 hours ago, internetwhiz said:

Looking for more info about Odyssey Sailings. I’d love to know what sailing would go right before the TA. 

Same here...but I don't want to know how inflated the prices will be! Celebrity Edge was (and still mostly is) insane for a 7 night cruise!

[banzaii]

10 hours ago, eel said:

 

I did a Google search and found an article saying that a new cruise terminal in Sydney is now an "infrastructure priority" for 2019

The main issue is State and Federal governments cannot agree on a suitable site for additional cruise terminal infrastructure.  Many feel the obvious thing to do is relocate the Navy from Garden Island (just on the other side of the opera house grom circular quay), but they are rrfusing to budge!  Other sites include Port Botany (adjacent to the international airport runway) or other nearby ports in Newcastle or Wollongong.

 

All would but Garden Island would deny cruise passengers the opportunity to sail past some of the most identifiable structures in the world.

[banzaii]

On 9/6/2019 at 5:19 PM, geoff2802 said:

Does anyone know the specific reason/s that Oasis class cannot dock in Sydney OPT?  Is the shoreside or waterside related, or both?  

 

11 hours ago, eel said:

I believe that the dock or facilities at Circular Quay may be too small for an Oasis Class ship.  It can handle Ovation which is pretty long at 1,142 feet. Oasis is only slightly longer at 1,186 feet so it may be an issue with the width.  Oasis is 208 feet wide while Ovation is only 136 feet wide

I have noticed that when Ovation is in port at Sydney OPT, the ship is sitting way past the aft mooring points.  These are on a circular concrete structure that has been added at some point to allow for the "Larger Ships" of the past.  I've been in an aft cabin on Voyager class which almost goes under the Harbour Bridge  so it would be an unreasonably tight maneuver for Oasis class.

 

Large ships have also been known to moor at Athol Bouy and tender into the Opera House steps.  Obviosly not an option for turn-around days or logistics.

 

There are indeed isdues with traffic on the harbour and Circular Quay is a very busy ferry terminal.  Cruise ships are restricted in disembarkment times to avoid peak hours.

 

It is probably a combination of all issues mentioned that restricts Oasis class from using the OPT for embark / disembark.

[geoff2802]

On 9/7/2019 at 10:03 AM, eel said:

Thee are two cruise ports in Sydney.  Smaller cruise ships that can sail underneath Sydney Harbour Bridge dock at the White Bay Cruise Terminal.  Larger ships dock at the Overseas Passenger Cruise Terminal (OPT) at Circular Quay.  I believe that the dock or facilities at Circular Quay may be too small for an Oasis Class ship.  It can handle Ovation which is pretty long at 1,142 feet. Oasis is only slightly longer at 1,186 feet so it may be an issue with the width.  Oasis is 208 feet wide while Ovation is only 136 feet wide.

 

It also could be an issue with the size of the terminal and the number of passengers it can handle. As I recall, the Overseas Passenger Terminal building was not all that big.

 

Note that Sydney Harbour is one of the busiest in the world. There are so many boats in there all the time. Perhaps it is a traffic safety issue? Also I have seen references that claimed the Sydney cruise port was operating at full capacity and no net new cruises could be added.

 

At one time they talked about putting a new passenger terminal outside of Sydney proper to handle the very large ships. As far as I know, nothing ever came of it.  I think sailing out of Sydney Harbour is such an iconic experience, it would be a shame to leave from some remote cruise terminal.

 

I did a Google search and found an article saying that a new cruise terminal in Sydney is now an "infrastructure priority" for 2019.  https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/new-cruise-terminal-for-sydney-on-2019-infrastructure-priority-list/

 

These might all be valid issues.  

I have the following figures from Wikipedia... Oasis beam is 60.5m (maximum); 47m at the waterline.  Ovation beam is 48.9m (maximum); 41.2m at the waterline.  The difference at the waterline is 5.8m (19 ft), not a huge difference.  

Even with the extra 14m (44 ft) length, I don't think Oasis would be obstructing the channel under the Harbour Bridge.  

The harbour is very busy on weekends and they could manage this by departing at 8pm, when it has quietened down but is still light in the summer months.  

Shoreside space in the terminal would be a problem as it currently struggles with Ovation.  Again, a later departure addresses this.  

Sydney ports doesn't seem to have a publicly stated position on ships of this size.  

[geoff2802]

17 hours ago, banzaii said:

The main issue is State and Federal governments cannot agree on a suitable site for additional cruise terminal infrastructure.  Many feel the obvious thing to do is relocate the Navy from Garden Island (just on the other side of the opera house grom circular quay), but they are rrfusing to budge!  Other sites include Port Botany (adjacent to the international airport runway) or other nearby ports in Newcastle or Wollongong.

 

All would but Garden Island would deny cruise passengers the opportunity to sail past some of the most identifiable structures in the world.

I've also been following our governments' floundering on this issue as well.  With no solution in sight, capacity increases can only come from bigger ships replacing smaller ones, thus my interest in Oasis at Sydney OPT.  

Of course there are very few places in the region such a ship can go to.  Brisbane and a Perfect Day island in the area is a start but doesn't make an itinerary.  

[springaussie]

Odyssey of the Seas Name is used for a booking Grand Cayman 15 August 2021. 

[Tall-Cruiser]

1 hour ago, springaussie said:

Odyssey of the Seas Name is used for a booking Grand Cayman 15 August 2021. 

 

If that holds true, then she most likely is staying deployed in the Caribbean instead of heading to Europe during the summer months. 

[geoff2802]

5 hours ago, springaussie said:

Odyssey of the Seas Name is used for a booking Grand Cayman 15 August 2021. 

Being a Sunday, is this call likely to be part of a repo rather than a regular itinerary?  

 

[springaussie]

Most likely just being a one off.

But who knows with Royal Deployment! 

[atgood]

On 8/29/2019 at 6:01 PM, emmy said:

 

Still wondering what will happen to my April 21/21 repo Sydney to Singapore. It is gone from website.  😞   Keeping close eye on this thread 😀

We’re wondering also so I called RCI today.  All the C&A Rep could find out is the April 21 Repo cruise is currently in “Inventory Maintenance” status. 

[emmy]

13 hours ago, atgood said:

We’re wondering also so I called RCI today.  All the C&A Rep could find out is the April 21 Repo cruise is currently in “Inventory Maintenance” status. 

 

Hoping it may still be a go a bit shortened itinerary departure from Brisbane   Thanks for this post