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Our ship is stopping at Puerto Plata, DR instead of Labadee it looks like a great port- so much to do at the actual port- or some shore excursions available.  Last time we went to Labadee I was disappointed.  Food not good- We were in a suite and the suite area wasn't great- many flies and sand ants-  

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34 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Our ship is stopping at Puerto Plata, DR instead of Labadee it looks like a great port- so much to do at the actual port- or some shore excursions available.  Last time we went to Labadee I was disappointed.  Food not good- We were in a suite and the suite area wasn't great- many flies and sand ants-  

When is your sail date? Mine is Oct 20 and it still shows Labadee.

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2 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Wow, if that indeed turns out to be accurate those ships are a LOT smaller than I expected.  I'm very interested to see the layout and which venues they intend to include.  They will need to be very selective. 

From how the Captan described the development process during the Captain’s Corner Q&A, Discovery started out at around 120,000 tons and got smaller as they analyzed the intended markets and itineraries, ultimately settling on a “Radiance Class” size in the 90,000 ton range.

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4 minutes ago, orville99 said:

From how the Captan described the development process during the Captain’s Corner Q&A, Discovery started out at around 120,000 tons and got smaller as they analyzed the intended markets and itineraries, ultimately settling on a “Radiance Class” size in the 90,000 ton range.

Mine is in a few weeks.  It said labadee until about three weeks ago

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4 hours ago, orville99 said:

Takeaways from this morning’s Captain’s Corner:

 

Last week we delivered 115 pallets of supplies and diesel fuel to Labadee. The lights and commotion were because that delivery not only was to support the shoreside staff but also the local village, so there was a lot more movement in and out of the compound. The deliveries will be continuing on a routine basis, although they will be smaller because the locals hav found an alternative supplier of diesel fuel. Our stop in April was 4 hours, the one last week was 3 (and according to the Captain, the largest delivery to date), and the captain expects that upcoming ones will be around 2 hours.

 

The road (apparently there is only one) that connects the compound and the village with the rest of Haiti is being guarded by the Haitian police, and the gang violence is somewhat contained to the Capitol area because of the Kenyan peacekeeping forces. The Kenyans are 
‘negotiating” with the gangs to find a peaceful solution, but so far have not taken any overt aggressive steps to quell the situation.

 

Finally, the Captain said that he hoped we would be able to start using Labadee “sometime next year”.

 

Orville out…😇

Thanks for posting

We watched the drop off as well.  It was wonderful to see the magnitude of supplies and equipment dropped off earlier this month and I hope it eventually reaches the intended recipients. 

 

We watched a similar drop off on Freedom years ago following a major earthquake. 

 

Royal doesn't do it for  PR, but it is funny that it is rarely reported by the press.   Only the bad is reported. I guess good news doesn't generally sell. 

M

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1 hour ago, orville99 said:

From how the Captan described the development process during the Captain’s Corner Q&A, Discovery started out at around 120,000 tons and got smaller as they analyzed the intended markets and itineraries, ultimately settling on a “Radiance Class” size in the 90,000 ton range.

Nice, I love the big ships, but that limits the ports they can go to. Give us a some modern Radiance class size ships. We might have to pay more per cabin, but those of us that want this will.

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6 hours ago, orville99 said:

Finally, the Captain said that he hoped we would be able to start using Labadee “sometime next year”.

Thanks for today's update @orville99.  It doesn't seem right that Royal is still selling 2024 cruises that show a stop in Labadee.  They should just change the itineraries to show a sea day,  port "to be determined," or the new port, whichever it is.

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14 hours ago, ngrund said:

Nice, I love the big ships, but that limits the ports they can go to. Give us a some modern Radiance class size ships. We might have to pay more per cabin, but those of us that want this will.

My best guess, and this pure speculation, is that as they digested the information from the WC they realized that if they were to ever do anything similar in the future they would need a purpose built ship to do so. IMHO, as the data came in the size of the Discovery shrank to meet the anticipated need for a ship that could operate globally.

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17 hours ago, orville99 said:

From how the Captan described the development process during the Captain’s Corner Q&A, Discovery started out at around 120,000 tons and got smaller as they analyzed the intended markets and itineraries, ultimately settling on a “Radiance Class” size in the 90,000 ton range.

Thank you for posting all of this info.  I would be thrilled with a new, modern technology cruise ship from RCCL at the 90,000 ton size.  Hopefully they will do this.  And maybe make it more of a refined ship than just a smaller amusement park.

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21 hours ago, orville99 said:

OOPS, almost forgot…The Project Discovery new build program is a go, and the plan is to deliver its first ship in 2029, and the size will be ~90,000 tons (Radiance Class size) targeting the Mediterranean, Asia Pacific, and Alaska. According to the captain, if it does the Med in the summer, it will have to come back to the U.S. in the fall and winter.

Conflicting information.  Captain on Anthem last week specifically said VY class size

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36 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Conflicting information.  Captain on Anthem last week specifically said VY class size

Captain said yesterday that Discovery started out as VY size, but was downsized once they decided on where she would ultimately sail. From what he said, the necessity of PC transit to go from pacific to Med to Alaska made a VY size undoable. 
 

I expect they are still tweaking the final design and specs.

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1 minute ago, orville99 said:

Captain said yesterday that Discovery started out as VY size, but was downsized once they decided on where she would ultimately sail. From what he said, the necessity of PC transit to go from pacific to Med to Alaska made a VY size undoable. 
 

I expect they are still tweaking the final design and specs.

Justnpoinying out thstvyhere is conflicting information.  Whi knows what is correct. 

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20 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Thanks for posting

We watched the drop off as well.  It was wonderful to see the magnitude of supplies and equipment dropped off earlier this month and I hope it eventually reaches the intended recipients. 

 

We watched a similar drop off on Freedom years ago following a major earthquake. 

 

Royal doesn't do it for  PR, but it is funny that it is rarely reported by the press.   Only the bad is reported. I guess good news doesn't generally sell. 

M

You are so right about only the bad news sells. When I was in college I took a few classes  in journalism as electives thinking maybe one day I would do some freelance stuff. I vividly recall a Professor telling us that the bigger the boom the story carried the greater the likelihood that it would be printed or reported on radio or TV. 

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4 hours ago, orville99 said:

My best guess, and this pure speculation....

 

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Conflicting information.

 

Capts have told me a couple things in the past that were 100% not true. I believe they do not have the true information as to what the round table discussions are in Miami nor at the ship yards. It's like asking the Apple store manager in your home town what Bill Gates is deciding in Seattle for the iphone20 in 2029

 

If Royal can profit with a 90,000 "Radiance Class" sized ship, they'll build it.

If they can't profit, they absolutely 100% will not build it. Simple as that.

 

I personally believe with the building costs they cannot profit with a small ship. Economies of scale, less balconies, less suites, less revenue producing venues, a berth used at CocoCay for only 2000 cruisers vs. 6000 so less revenue that day in CocoCay, less everything. They would only profit if they charge SilverSea or Oceania pricing per diem... definitely not Royal's target in my humble zero factual-knowledge opinion. I guess we'll see in the years to come.

 

Btw, thx for the Labadee updates Orv, very very interesting.

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2 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Does anyone know how far out Labadee is currently cancelled?


I have a cruise on Explorer the first week of March 2025. I received an e-mail yesterday stating the ship will not be going to Labadee as scheduled; we are going to Puerto Plata instead. 

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Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:


I have a cruise on Explorer the first week of March 2025. I received an e-mail yesterday stating the ship will not be going to Labadee as scheduled; we are going to Puerto Plata instead. 

We have a cruise on Freedom of the Seas for November 2024 with a stop in Labadee, and have not received any notification from Royal that this stop has been canceled. But, seeing the turmoil still residing in Haiti, I’m sure we’ll be moving to another port. 

Edited by choochella
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36 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:


I have a cruise on Explorer the first week of March 2025. I received an e-mail yesterday stating the ship will not be going to Labadee as scheduled; we are going to Puerto Plata instead. 

Would be nice if they update the cruises for bookings. Looking at an Oasis sailing in December that is supposed to go to Labadee, would be happy with the Puerto Plata switch. 

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1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:


I have a cruise on Explorer the first week of March 2025. I received an e-mail yesterday stating the ship will not be going to Labadee as scheduled; we are going to Puerto Plata instead. 

Nice.  Much better option that some are getting (Nassau or PDCC).

 

We are on EX 2-16-25 and have not gotten any notification yet.  Hoping for Puerto Plata or Grand Turk.

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I am doing the 4 day cruise on Independence in November, there is only 1 port stop at Labadee. about 100 days to sail date and so far no news about what is going to my cruise

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1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I have a cruise on Explorer the first week of March 2025. I received an e-mail yesterday stating the ship will not be going to Labadee as scheduled; we are going to Puerto Plata instead.

I envy you - I have final payment due Saturday for a Nov cruise with Labadee on the itinerary and so far no update.  It bothers me because they obviously know we're not going and probably already know what they're substituting.  Seems only fair to find out before final payment.  And yes, I know the cruise contract says the itinerary can change - I'd just like a realistic starting point.

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26 minutes ago, shof515 said:

I am doing the 4 day cruise on Independence in November, there is only 1 port stop at Labadee. about 100 days to sail date and so far no news about what is going to my cruise

I've been looking at this cruise but not wanting to book it until they update the itinerary. With only one stop, I don't want to take a chance on it switching to Nassau. Please report back when they do make a change. On our spring cruise after we received an email with the port change it took another week before they updated their website.

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