Royal's ships 2023/24

[Chiliburn]

9 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Opps, sorry. I misread it at the time. Any over 3500 capacity are banned. 2500 - 3500 can call at those 3 main ports

 

Edit: A spokesperson for Princess Cruises told Condé Nast Traveller they were "in dialogue with port officials" and hoped planned voyages would go ahead. Perhaps that dialogue is still happening?

There must be some negotiations going on because all the brands are advertising French Polynesia for the next couple of years.

[RogueOne]

On 3/21/2022 at 12:45 PM, ScottishRobbie said:

Okay - time for a potentially dumb question. My South Pacific on Radiance 11th Nov was paid in full,  cancellation email says that I need to book new cruise by 5th April (2 weeks tomorrow) to avoid receiving refund. I'm wanting to lift and shift to OV on 16th Nov however the cancelation email mentions nothing about FCC'S and/or when they will be received. Do FCC's get sent out in seperate emails? Or am I best to phone the dreaded call centre? Thanks heaps in advance

We had a 12 Day cruise booked for Dec 9th with a Grand Suite.....I have emailed and called many times with no reply to emails and only perma-hold for 45-60 mins......I finally got a reply from Facebook messenger this morning and they really did not seem to care. No help about finding a similar cruise with the same type of room just I'd see my 12K back in my account within 30 days. I've been on several cruises with RCL.....and I like to be loyal but this kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can only guess their call centers are swamped with customers and they are just numb at this point? 

[Chiliburn]

34 minutes ago, RogueOne said:

We had a 12 Day cruise booked for Dec 9th with a Grand Suite.....I have emailed and called many times with no reply to emails and only perma-hold for 45-60 mins......I finally got a reply from Facebook messenger this morning and they really did not seem to care. No help about finding a similar cruise with the same type of room just I'd see my 12K back in my account within 30 days. I've been on several cruises with RCL.....and I like to be loyal but this kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can only guess their call centers are swamped with customers and they are just numb at this point? 

There’s a lot of people with bad feelings,  it’s not just you.

They are 30 billion in debt from the pandemic and I think they are in survival mode.
Customer loyalty is the last thing they care about.
I was reading that against medical advice and customer feelings they are bringing self serve back to windjammers. They can save quite a few wagers by not having someone serving.

[Aus Traveller]

2 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

There’s a lot of people with bad feelings,  it’s not just you.

They are 30 billion in debt from the pandemic and I think they are in survival mode.
Customer loyalty is the last thing they care about.
I was reading that against medical advice and customer feelings they are bringing self serve back to windjammers. They can save quite a few wagers by not having someone serving.

Self-serve buffet isn't a good idea at the moment. I prefer it to having the staff serve the food, but apparently on P&O Aust after they got rid of self-serve, they didn't have any more outbreaks of norovirus. I think self-serve buffet would be even more drastic with COVID.

 

Agreed - having staff serve at the buffet would require maybe ten staff, but surely that would be worth it.

[Chiliburn]

24 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Self-serve buffet isn't a good idea at the moment. I prefer it to having the staff serve the food, but apparently on P&O Aust after they got rid of self-serve, they didn't have any more outbreaks of norovirus. I think self-serve buffet would be even more drastic with COVID.

 

Agreed - having staff serve at the buffet would require maybe ten staff, but surely that would be worth it.

When you think back about some of the things you would see in those buffets ,it wasn’t very good.

[arxcards]

24 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

When you think back about some of the things you would see in those buffets ,it wasn’t very good.

I have found the hygiene in so many ship buffets to be so awesome, that I sanitise my hands again after I have handled all those serving spoons. P&O's "Pantry" is a pretty good compromise, except for the food, so they won't have to change much.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, RogueOne said:

We had a 12 Day cruise booked for Dec 9th with a Grand Suite.....I have emailed and called many times with no reply to emails and only perma-hold for 45-60 mins......I finally got a reply from Facebook messenger this morning and they really did not seem to care. No help about finding a similar cruise with the same type of room just I'd see my 12K back in my account within 30 days. I've been on several cruises with RCL.....and I like to be loyal but this kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can only guess their call centers are swamped with customers and they are just numb at this point? 

You have the right to feel really peeved. I have had 4 cruises cancelled in just over a month, for 3 different lines. None of these were directly from covid, but from changes to the ships they were going to have here when it all opened.

 

I can book this stuff myself, but I am glad to use a great T/A who can find some plan B options for me.

 

Stay loyal to your brand - you must have chosen them for a reason. The other lines have been upsetting lots of their loyal customers too.

[Chiliburn]

A bit of a roller coaster ride for vanuatu, it looks like it’s gone into lockdown.

Curfew ,non essential businesses closed, only one person can go for food.

 

[Chiliburn]

Vanuatu is still on the highest Covid state, level 3  ,stay at home .

 

 It doesn’t look very promising next season for Royal ships if they can’t access vila and mystery island.

 

 

 

@gbenjo hey graham what are these blokes saying?
 

 

 

[NSWP]

17 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Vanuatu is still on the highest Covid state, level 3  ,stay at home .

 

 It doesn’t look very promising next season for Royal ships if they can’t access vila and mystery island.

 

 

 

@gbenjo hey graham what are these blokes saying?
 

 

 

Been on the jungle juice, lol.

[arxcards]

Lets hope it passes soon. Yes, for cruises to be able to call there, but also for the Islanders. At least they can make some good batches of kava in lockdown.

[gbenjo]

On 4/10/2022 at 1:41 PM, Chiliburn said:

There’s a lot of people with bad feelings,  it’s not just you.

They are 30 billion in debt from the pandemic and I think they are in survival mode.
Customer loyalty is the last thing they care about.
I was reading that against medical advice and customer feelings they are bringing self serve back to windjammers. They can save quite a few wagers by not having someone serving.

No extra wages, the crew are already aboard  ( six or eight month contract) and would not be paid per shifts worked.

[gbenjo]

6 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

Vanuatu is still on the highest Covid state, level 3  ,stay at home .

 

 It doesn’t look very promising next season for Royal ships if they can’t access vila and mystery island.

 

 

 

@gbenjo hey graham what are these blokes saying?
 

 

 

Perhaps they too, are having trouble understanding some of your posts 

Edited April 16, 2022 by gbenjo

[Chiliburn]

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/if-i-test-positive-for-sars-cov-2-what-is-your-refund-policy-and-costs-covered?fbclid=IwAR1bOa_0goG2a1P7RJ7WIMx2O0XbTREU_O88aBs6j03D1oIiP1T2bz5C2bo

[Cruisegroover]

I come across this story in todays Cruise Weekly Newsletter - 

https://issues.cruiseweekly.com.au/2022/May22/cw060522.pdf

 

RCI looking at year-round cruising

 

ROyal Caribbean International (RCI) is considering deploying ships in Australian waters yearround, with the line’s local Vice President & Managing Director Gavin Smith saying the pandemic had created new opportunities to rethink its previous stance on seasonality.

 

Speaking to Cruise Weekly aboard the new Wonder of the Seas as she cruised out of Barcelona this week, Smith (pictured) said the other key factor driving such a decision would be the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal.

 

“What’s important about Brisbane is because of its warm climate, it’s an opportunity for us to go year round,” he said.

 

“That’s really a longer term opportunity for us,” he said, noting that “Royal is a summertime brand”.

 

Similar decisions have already been made in Israel, Cyprus and Panama where RCI has announced the year-round operation of several vessels.

 

“We’ve got new deployments because things are different... for instance, all of a sudden, particularly in Israel, there’s an incredible number of wealthy Israelis who want to go to Southern Greece and Turkey and are doing so in the safety and beauty of a cruise ship.

 

“Similarly we’re coming out of Cyprus, where the Brits are going on packaged holidays,” he said.

 

“So yes, I think the opportunity for Brisbane will be for full year cruising with Royal at some point,” Smith confirmed.

 

This year the company will operate Ovation of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas in local waters from Oct, and in 2023/24 a smaller third ship, Enchantment of the Seas, will also cruise in Australia alongside the two ultramodern Quantum-class ships.

 

Smith noted the huge opportunity for Aussies to experience the best of the Royal Caribbean product close to home - and for travel advisors to communicate the key differences to their clientele.

 

Meanwhile also on board Wonder, the cruise line’s outgoing Senior Vice President of International sales, Sean Treacy, said RCI is looking forward to the Oct resumption of cruising locally.

 

“It was a long time not operating in Australia, but we have a very strong loyal base of cruisers who are very excited about us obviously returning to Sydney with Ovation, but also for the first time bringing Quantum class to Brisbane...that’s a huge story for us,” Treacy said.

 

He also expressed confidence about being able to operate across the Tasman.

 

“There’s currently a lot of dialogue happening with the NZ Government, and I’d say we’re quite positive about the opportunity to operate as planned based on where we are today,” Treacy added.

[Chiliburn]

16 hours ago, Cruisegroover said:

I come across this story in todays Cruise Weekly Newsletter - 

https://issues.cruiseweekly.com.au/2022/May22/cw060522.pdf

 

RCI looking at year-round cruising

 

ROyal Caribbean International (RCI) is considering deploying ships in Australian waters yearround, with the line’s local Vice President & Managing Director Gavin Smith saying the pandemic had created new opportunities to rethink its previous stance on seasonality.

 

Speaking to Cruise Weekly aboard the new Wonder of the Seas as she cruised out of Barcelona this week, Smith (pictured) said the other key factor driving such a decision would be the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal.

 

“What’s important about Brisbane is because of its warm climate, it’s an opportunity for us to go year round,” he said.

 

“That’s really a longer term opportunity for us,” he said, noting that “Royal is a summertime brand”.

 

Similar decisions have already been made in Israel, Cyprus and Panama where RCI has announced the year-round operation of several vessels.

 

“We’ve got new deployments because things are different... for instance, all of a sudden, particularly in Israel, there’s an incredible number of wealthy Israelis who want to go to Southern Greece and Turkey and are doing so in the safety and beauty of a cruise ship.

 

“Similarly we’re coming out of Cyprus, where the Brits are going on packaged holidays,” he said.

 

“So yes, I think the opportunity for Brisbane will be for full year cruising with Royal at some point,” Smith confirmed.

 

This year the company will operate Ovation of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas in local waters from Oct, and in 2023/24 a smaller third ship, Enchantment of the Seas, will also cruise in Australia alongside the two ultramodern Quantum-class ships.

 

Smith noted the huge opportunity for Aussies to experience the best of the Royal Caribbean product close to home - and for travel advisors to communicate the key differences to their clientele.

 

Meanwhile also on board Wonder, the cruise line’s outgoing Senior Vice President of International sales, Sean Treacy, said RCI is looking forward to the Oct resumption of cruising locally.

 

“It was a long time not operating in Australia, but we have a very strong loyal base of cruisers who are very excited about us obviously returning to Sydney with Ovation, but also for the first time bringing Quantum class to Brisbane...that’s a huge story for us,” Treacy said.

 

He also expressed confidence about being able to operate across the Tasman.

 

“There’s currently a lot of dialogue happening with the NZ Government, and I’d say we’re quite positive about the opportunity to operate as planned based on where we are today,” Treacy added.

I wonder what ship they will deploy,I hope it’s not enchantment,there’s some pretty bad reviews about it.

Hopefully a voyager class , Adventure? We haven’t see it in the pacific.

 

Sounds like NZ will be a goer .

[springaussie]

16 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I wonder what ship they will deploy,I hope it’s not enchantment,there’s some pretty bad reviews about it.

Hopefully a voyager class , Adventure? We haven’t see it in the pacific.

 

Sounds like NZ will be a goer .

I am more concerned with 2 ports in 7 days on South Pacifics.

with one being the private island. 

[Chiliburn]

14 minutes ago, springaussie said:

I am more concerned with 2 ports in 7 days on South Pacifics.

with one being the private island. 

Where does the 7 days come from?

Day 1 turn around,2 days at sea, a day in each port ( mystery island overnight to Lelepa) and 2 days at sea back to Brisbane.

 
I wonder if they bring a ship in 2024? Say for winter 

[springaussie]

2 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

Where does the 7 days come from?

Day 1 turn around,2 days at sea, a day in each port ( mystery island overnight to Lelepa) and 2 days at sea back to Brisbane.

 
I wonder if they bring a ship in 2024? Say for winter 

Based on Royal operating 7 night cruises like Carnival and P&O from Brisbane. 3 ports is what I want.
I will believe it when Royal are here for Winter. They will not get the money they will make on Alaska or Mediterranean from Brisbane. 

Keeping Enchantment here appears the best option for 2024. 
 

[woodscruise]

17 minutes ago, springaussie said:

I wonder if they bring a ship in 2024? Say for winter 

I also agree that if any ship here in the winter will be the Enchantment or similar. During our winter months, there will not be the demand from the overseas market to support the larger ships, that we have in the wave season.

[Chiliburn]

29 minutes ago, woodscruise said:

I also agree that if any ship here in the winter will be the Enchantment or similar. During our winter months, there will not be the demand from the overseas market to support the larger ships, that we have in the wave season.

The vision and radiance class are in demand for ports that are not so accessible.Such as Baltimore,Tampa and New Orleans.

I think they would fill a voyager over our winter.With constant temperatures in Texas of 45 degrees we should be a destination for climate refugees.
 

But Royal really needs some new smaller ships ,I can’t understand why they haven’t built something to go through the Panama.
 

Maybe the rumour that Disney corporation has a eye on Royal Caribbean will solve the smaller ship problems.

Disney Dream of the seas

Disney Wish of the seas

Disney Fantasy of the seas

Disney Magic of the seas

Disney Wonder of the seas may need a name change.
 

 

 

[arxcards]

51 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

The vision and radiance class are in demand for ports that are not so accessible.Such as Baltimore,Tampa and New Orleans.

I think they would fill a voyager over our winter.With constant temperatures in Texas of 45 degrees we should be a destination for climate refugees.
 

But Royal really needs some new smaller ships ,I can’t understand why they haven’t built something to go through the Panama.
 

Maybe the rumour that Disney corporation has a eye on Royal Caribbean will solve the smaller ship problems.

Disney Dream of the seas

Disney Wish of the seas

Disney Fantasy of the seas

Disney Magic of the seas

Disney Wonder of the seas may need a name change.
 

 

 

They don't need to be Panamax to go through the Panama Canal these days. To be fair, none of the other major lines are looking at boutique ships either, so the money must be in being bigger and grander. As the fleet of 20-25  year old ships make their way to retirement, the smaller ports will need to grow or miss out.

 

And maybe Disney could impart their influence on the Royal brand instead, and we get these ships here instead:

Disney Ovation

Disney Quantum

Disney Enchantment

 

RCI makes decisions based on money. They operate two ships out of Baltimore, and possible they think they can make more money from one if they based it  here. I would think a likely candidate to cruise here all year round would be one of the ships doing the summer here, and Enchantment would be a starting point.

 

That said, a year round ship has been one of Gavin's wishes for over a decade, and the Australian office has yet to prove a business case for it. Perhaps they have now that the furniture is changing everywhere, and they finally have a passenger facility in Brisbane that can handle ships longer than Legend of the Seas. For the dead of winter, three port 7 nighters out of Brisbane would be a staple.

Edited May 7, 2022 by arxcards

[Chiliburn]

5 hours ago, springaussie said:

Based on Royal operating 7 night cruises like Carnival and P&O from Brisbane. 3 ports is what I want.
I will believe it when Royal are here for Winter. They will not get the money they will make on Alaska or Mediterranean from Brisbane. 

Keeping Enchantment here appears the best option for 2024. 
 

I don’t know but but enchantment ??? RC will be shooting their self in the foot.

It isn’t going to attract  the international visitors, bring back voyager of the seas it’s in better shape than enchantment.

[resordanis]

28 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I don’t know but but enchantment ??? RC will be shooting their self in the foot.

It isn’t going to attract  the international visitors, bring back voyager of the seas it’s in better shape than enchantment.

Chiliburn We were on Voyager late January 2020 and although we don’t mind that class of ship.Their new enhancements didn’t work for us. Plus changes need to be made to the Diamond Lounge especially if Diamond + cannot go to the Concierge Lounge. Although Enchantment is a much older ship, many Australians still favour Rhapsody which is the same size! Don’t get me wrong we absolutely love Ovation, but much prefer a smaller ship like Radiance over Voyager or Explorer. Just my thoughts.😁

[geoff2802]

8 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

 

I think they would fill a voyager over our winter.With constant temperatures in Texas of 45 degrees we should be a destination for climate refugees.
 

 

 

 

That is more like Arizona’s climate, not Texas!  
Would need nonstop flights from Texas to Brisbane to source from that market.  Currently there are none, but I guess it could happen at some point.  
 

Year round cruising is all about getting a financial return on Lelepa. A Vision class ship year round would prove to be an own goal.  They would want to have a better offer than both P&O and Carnival and be competitive with Princess.