What Itineraries Would You Like to See Royal Bring Back or Add?

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

We were lucky enough to stop at Alexandria in 2008 on Legend of the Seas. Excursion to the pyramids of Giza was a trip we still talk about today. Also had lunch on board a boat on the Nile. One of the most memorable stops we have ever made. 

We saw the pyramids, Parthenon, Colosseum, Pompeii, and Ephesus all on a 12 day voyage.  
 

mac_tlc

That does sound awesome

[soremekun]

May have already been mentioned....

Weeklong cruises to nowhere from the US.

Yes, I am aware of the Visa situation.

[mac_tlc]

10 minutes ago, TheMastodon said:

that sounds phenomenal !

It really was. I remember our tour guide on the bus ( who was standing next to the heavily armed escort) saying they had 15 million people in Cairo, 14 million cars, and one traffic light!!! It was certainly an “E-ticket “ ride!!!

 

mac_tlc

[bonsai3s]

54 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

We were lucky enough to stop at Alexandria in 2008 on Legend of the Seas. Excursion to the pyramids of Giza was a trip we still talk about today. Also had lunch on board a boat on the Nile. One of the most memorable stops we have ever made. 

We saw the pyramids, Parthenon, Colosseum, Pompeii, and Ephesus all on a 12 day voyage.  
 

mac_tlc

 

Wow! mac_tic, you brought back some fond memories.  We had the same itinerary, but on Celebrity Millenium, 1999. We embarked from Istanbul...so add Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace to the list. Our pictures in front of the Sphinx is our most favorite to date...and yes, walking in Cairo in the middle of "a sea of humanity" was a once in a lifetime experience...and almost had my camera taken by security after taking one photo inside the Cario Museum.

Ah yes, walking up the steps to the Parthenon...walking around the Colosseum...seeing that "small statue" in Pompeii...a picture in front of the God of Nike in Ephesus........I can go on and on.

 

That was our No. 1 cruise...not just for the itinerary but because my parents were with us.  We miss them dearly...rest in peace Mom and Dad.

[rimmit]

21 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

For itineraries I'd like added:

#1: World Cruise on Royal

#2: Cruises that stop in Luxor or Cairo

 

Can any of the RCI ships cruise the Nile?  I think it’s really only the river cruise ships that can fit in the Nile to get to Luxor.  I could easily be wrong , but I don’t think the Nile can accommodate large cruise ships.

[mac_tlc]

15 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

 

Wow! mac_tic, you brought back some fond memories.  We had the same itinerary, but on Celebrity Millenium, 1999. We embarked from Istanbul...so add Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace to the list. Our pictures in front of the Sphinx is our most favorite to date...and yes, walking in Cairo in the middle of "a sea of humanity" was a once in a lifetime experience...and almost had my camera taken by security after taking one photo inside the Cario Museum.

Ah yes, walking up the steps to the Parthenon...walking around the Colosseum...seeing that "small statue" in Pompeii...a picture in front of the God of Nike in Ephesus........I can go on and on.

 

That was our No. 1 cruise...not just for the itinerary but because my parents were with us.  We miss them dearly...rest in peace Mom and Dad.

Sounds like wonderful memories. We took our kids, then 21 and 14, as a graduation present for our daughter who was a  History major. We also stopped in Mykonos, Cyprus and Rhodes. None of our other 36 cruises can compare. 
 

mac_tlc

[zekekelso]

10 hours ago, molly361 said:

Bermuda from PC

 

Key West from PC which might be a moot point if KY votes to ban cruise ships this November😇

Does Kentucky have any ports large enough to handle an Oasis (or even voyager) class ship?

[zekekelso]

Los Angeles r/t to Puerto Vallarta. That’s where the Love Boat sailed (most) every week and I always dreamed of going. 

[Tom47]

We did a  Panama Canal transit, Ft Lauderdale -San Diego on Celebrity Century in 2013.  There a Puerto Vallarta stop.

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

We were lucky enough to stop at Alexandria in 2008 on Legend of the Seas. Excursion to the pyramids of Giza was a trip we still talk about today. Also had lunch on board a boat on the Nile. One of the most memorable stops we have ever made. 

We saw the pyramids, Parthenon, Colosseum, Pompeii, and Ephesus all on a 12 day voyage.  
 

mac_tlc

 

I highly recommend Petra if you do a Suez canal trip

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I highly recommend Petra if you do a Suez canal trip

It’s on the bucket list. We were eyeing a Jewel repo from Dubai to Europe. Hopefully we will have some similar alternatives if we ever get back on the Anyship of the Seas. 
 

mac_tlc

[3213dev]

2 hours ago, rimmit said:

Can any of the RCI ships cruise the Nile?  I think it’s really only the river cruise ships that can fit in the Nile to get to Luxor.  I could easily be wrong , but I don’t think the Nile can accommodate large cruise ships.

 

The Nile is too small.

I think the Red Sea ports for these are Hurghada/Safaga (Luxor) and Port Suez (Cairo) but its about 2.5 hours on a coach.

 

 

[pcur]

Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico..........................oh, and Mexico!

[Hogbay]

At this point ,,,,,,, Any cruise would be phenomenal 🤔

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, soremekun said:

May have already been mentioned....

Weeklong cruises to nowhere from the US.

Yes, I am aware of the Visa situation.

A cruise to no where...no thanks....it's all about the ports/Itinerary for us.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico..........................oh, and Mexico!

If RCI would come back to the west coast...we could do that again and again and again 

[Vera/Lee]

On 8/28/2020 at 6:21 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Hurtigruten

Thanks, that's good to know! I'll look into Hurtigruten. Last summer we cruised on Princess to Alaska. It was beautiful, but I missed Royal (the benefits, knowing the ship and how they appreciate my loyalty). I see you are booked on Mariner for Dec. 14th. So are we. Last year we were on Mariner at the same time and sit behind you at movies under the stars (in the afternoon). We were watching "The Lion King". Your wife was asleep  and I was going to introduce myself and my husband, but you got up to leave. What do you think our chances are that we will get to sail?

Edited August 30, 2020 by Vera/Lee

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

Thanks, that's good to know! I'll look into Hurtigruten. Last summer we cruised on Princess to Alaska. It was beautiful, but I missed Royal (the benefits, knowing the ship and how they appreciate my loyalty). I see you are booked on Mariner for Dec. 14th. So are we. Last year we were on Mariner at the same time and sit behind you at movies under the stars (in the afternoon). We were watching "The Lion King". Your wife was asleep  and I was going to introduce myself and my husband, but you got up to leave. What do you think our chances are that we will get to sail?

 

I do remember watching Lion King for a bit.

Up in the tier seating, correct. Shame we didn't meet.

 

As far as December,  I'm not hopeful, but its a casino cruise, so no need to cancel.  I'm not on that one as of now. Laura is solo.

[Vera/Lee]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

I do remember watching Lion King for a bit.

Up in the tier seating, correct. Shame we didn't meet.

 

As far as December,  I'm not hopeful, but its a casino cruise, so no need to cancel.  I'm not on that one as of now. Laura is solo.

Yes, exactly! You were in tier seating and we were behind you, but not in tier seating. We are also booked on Harmony in November. Both are free, casino cruises for us and I really hope we can sail! 

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Royal and Celebrity have made it abundantly clear that they are really not interested in the market for sailings of longer than 14 days.  In general they like things that fit in multiples of "7" so they can provide a more consistent schedule. They have even been removing many 14 day itineraries in favor of 9/12 , 10/11, etc patterns as the longest they want to offer on a regular basis regardless of sailing region.  My guess is they see a lower yield per day in ancillary items (photos, internet, alcohol, spa, excursions, etc) as cruise lengths increase.  The shorter the cruise the lower the average age, and the more 3rd/4th berths filled, which all yields higher ancillary revenue.

 

If they are going to offer more "exotic" sailings - World Cruise, Africa, Amazon River,  or other off the beaten path ports/longer sailings in the Caribbean. Europe or Alaska, etc they will do so with Azamara and Silversea going forward.  This why RCG has a portfolio of brands so they can hone each to return the best yield.  Move folks from Royal to Celebrity for a more "adult" big ship experience without all the theme park at sea doo-dads, then move folks from Celebrity to Azamara for more exotic and longer sailings and now have Silversea for those who demand the highest levels of service in an all inclusive, boutique hotel atmosphere where they can sail to some of the least visited ports in the world.

 

Many hotel conglomerates have been doing the same for the last few decades - most notably Hilton and Marriott.

[Junkhouse]

Longer cruises from Galveston to Eastern Caribbean.

[Ashland]

16 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Royal and Celebrity have made it abundantly clear that they are really not interested in the market for sailings of longer than 14 days.  In general they like things that fit in multiples of "7" so they can provide a more consistent schedule. They have even been removing many 14 day itineraries in favor of 9/12 , 10/11, etc patterns as the longest they want to offer on a regular basis regardless of sailing region.  My guess is they see a lower yield per day in ancillary items (photos, internet, alcohol, spa, excursions, etc) as cruise lengths increase.  The shorter the cruise the lower the average age, and the more 3rd/4th berths filled, which all yields higher ancillary revenue.

 

If they are going to offer more "exotic" sailings - World Cruise, Africa, Amazon River,  or other off the beaten path ports/longer sailings in the Caribbean. Europe or Alaska, etc they will do so with Azamara and Silversea going forward.  This why RCG has a portfolio of brands so they can hone each to return the best yield.  Move folks from Royal to Celebrity for a more "adult" big ship experience without all the theme park at sea doo-dads, then move folks from Celebrity to Azamara for more exotic and longer sailings and now have Silversea for those who demand the highest levels of service in an all inclusive, boutique hotel atmosphere where they can sail to some of the least visited ports in the world.

 

Many hotel conglomerates have been doing the same for the last few decades - most notably Hilton and Marriott.

I will/have moved between RCI & X for the itinerary but not interested in moving beyond X regardless. JMHO

[Tom47]

We have only cruised once on RCI, 8 times on X and 4 times on Az.  We book, for itinerary.  We have 2 cruises booked on RCI.

[yogimax]

West Coast to Mexico

[AtlantaCruiser72]

16 minutes ago, yogimax said:

West Coast to Mexico

 

I think this is the biggest "hole" in their itinerary lineup.  I know they left the market in the mid 2000s saying they could not operate profitably on the West Coast.   Prior to Covid I always felt it was an opportunity missed in the boom economy of the last 5-7 years.  IF RCG felt there was ample $ to be made I'm sure they would return.  The fact is they feel they can make MORE money in other markets with their ships.

Edited August 30, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72