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Icon: Inaugural Sailing

cruisetorelax44
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beardedladies

beardedladies

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I think the key thing is "at the moment" in little britain's response - I very much expect Royal to add in extra sailings before then as things get finalised. So if being on the first trip is important to you, expect that to change. This may of course be different to what Royal annoints as the "true inaugural" - I've seen that happen before with "pre-inaugural" cruises added in.

Short answer - no official inaugural as yet, and expect the first cruise date to change to avoid disappointment.

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Ourusualbeach

Ourusualbeach

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1 hour ago, beardedladies said:

I think the key thing is "at the moment" in little britain's response - I very much expect Royal to add in extra sailings before then as things get finalised. So if being on the first trip is important to you, expect that to change. This may of course be different to what Royal annoints as the "true inaugural" - I've seen that happen before with "pre-inaugural" cruises added in.

Short answer - no official inaugural as yet, and expect the first cruise date to change to avoid disappointment.

Exactly.  I think they are playing it safe with the itinerary release so they don't end up cancelling a lot of sailings.  Originally she was supposed to have been done fall of 2023 and may still be however I am sure they are factoring in potential delays.  Years ago delivery dates could be much better predicted...now, with both staff and supply chain issues it is much more difficult. 

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Tin can

Tin can

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1 minute ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

It was originally supposed to the from the UK. It was changed... 

 

I would have thought they would have had a few 'soft' passenger sailings somewhere in Europe to iron out any teething problems rather than straight out the shipyard into a 5 day Atlantic crossing. Obviously not if you say its straight to Miami for her.

 

 

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little britain "Live from...." Rare

little britain

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35 minutes ago, Tin can said:

 

I would have thought they would have had a few 'soft' passenger sailings somewhere in Europe to iron out any teething problems rather than straight out the shipyard into a 5 day Atlantic crossing. Obviously not if you say its straight to Miami for her.

 

 

Yes, Mr B “promised” that Southampton would be her first stop.  Shouldn’t make promises you won’t or can’t keep!! 
 

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/news/new-royal-caribbean-ship-icon-of-the-seas-to-debut-in-the-uk-in-2023-33617

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Ourusualbeach

Ourusualbeach

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1 hour ago, Tin can said:

Wasn't it confirmed that there were sailings initially from Southampton, I might have the wrong ship though or that plan may have changed 😀

They said debuting.  I take it that meant a few media and trade event sailings and not revenue sailings.

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shopaholic6

shopaholic6

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32 minutes ago, little britain said:

Yes, Mr B “promised” that Southampton would be her first stop.  Shouldn’t make promises you won’t or can’t keep!! 
 

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/news/new-royal-caribbean-ship-icon-of-the-seas-to-debut-in-the-uk-in-2023-33617

Unfortunately I think after that statement from Michael Bayley, rightly or wrongly a lot of people assumed the Icon would be sailing from Southampton and therefore planned to sail on her for their holiday in 2023. I certainly did.  Unfortunately as Royal have only given us the Anthem, and I’ve already sailed on her, I’m going to have to look for a new cruise line I think 😢

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Ourusualbeach

Ourusualbeach

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Posted (edited)
39 minutes ago, little britain said:

Yes, Mr B “promised” that Southampton would be her first stop.  Shouldn’t make promises you won’t or can’t keep!! 
 

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/news/new-royal-caribbean-ship-icon-of-the-seas-to-debut-in-the-uk-in-2023-33617

And as he mentioned in there it was only for trade events, no mention at all of revenue sailings

Edited by Ourusualbeach
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Plum Happy

Plum Happy

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Some of you all are so dramatic because the ship is not sailing out of Britain.  We all know what happened to delay the building of the ship and the current ongoing issues with supplies.  

 

Put your big girl/boy drawers on and stop whining about things that are out of their control.  You know very well that ship can't sail in the winter in Britain.

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shopaholic6

shopaholic6

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2 minutes ago, Plum Happy said:

Some of you all are so dramatic because the ship is not sailing out of Britain.  We all know what happened to delay the building of the ship and the current ongoing issues with supplies.  

 

Put your big girl/boy drawers on and stop whining about things that are out of their control.  You know very well that ship can't sail in the winter in Britain.

Yes I mean, why WOULD people expect it to come to the UK? You know, after MB said it would? 🙄🙄 and I don’t think anyone is ‘whining’ - it would just be nice to have a different ship from the UK for a change, rather than 75% of itineraries being ‘western or eastern Caribbean’. 

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shopaholic6

shopaholic6

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2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

He never said it would.  He only said it would debut there for a couple of trade event sailings.

No but that’s the impression I (and others) got. Clearly I was wrong. Still disappointing. Not much point bringing it here for trade sailings if it’s not going to actually sail here 🤷🏼‍♀️

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cruisetorelax44

cruisetorelax44

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8 minutes ago, 4Nathan said:

My TA advised yesterday that date of inaugural is Jan. 28.  Guess we will know for certain Monday when bookings open.

that's what i thought, but the 28th is a sunday. and everything i've seen shows sailings on saturday... i'll actually be on a ship on Monday, so I'm going to have to try to book it on board...

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

Posted
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1 minute ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

that's what i thought, but the 28th is a sunday. and everything i've seen shows sailings on saturday... i'll actually be on a ship on Monday, so I'm going to have to try to book it on board...

Good strategy, the ambassador will have more accurate info.

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Tin can

Tin can

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27 minutes ago, Plum Happy said:

You know very well that ship can't sail in the winter in Britain.

 

I agree,  so therefore what is the point in having trade and media sailings from Southampton. The interest in this ship here (UK) in Winter is going to be very low especially if no one can sail on it.

 

A few 25% full cruises with travel agents from Southampton and then a $2 billion ship fired into 5 days straight across the Atlantic seems a risk to me.

 

I'd want it fully tested with the demands of paying passengers with the manufacture on the same continent to attend to any issues before embarking on the Caribbean season but maybe just me.

 

 

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Biker19

Biker19

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10 minutes ago, Tin can said:

The interest in this ship here (UK) in Winter is going to be very low especially if no one can sail on it.

There seem to be lots of Brits on O class and other ships which never sail from Southampton. The event (which doesn't seem to be happening anymore) is not for you (the end consumer) but for others to pump up bookings.

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little britain "Live from...." Rare

little britain

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, shopaholic6 said:

Unfortunately I think after that statement from Michael Bayley, rightly or wrongly a lot of people assumed the Icon would be sailing from Southampton and therefore planned to sail on her for their holiday in 2023. I certainly did.  Unfortunately as Royal have only given us the Anthem, and I’ve already sailed on her, I’m going to have to look for a new cruise line I think 😢

No - he only said it would be trade events - see the original article. 
 

Given she has to drive right by us through the English channel we can all stand on the white cliffs of Dover and wave as she goes past…. 👋 

Edited by little britain
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