RCI to re-release Rhapsody 2009/10 cruises in AUD!

[croydonCruiser]

I just read this in the latest edition of Cruise Weekly!

 

"Only moments ago North American cruise

line Royal Caribbean International

announced that it will be opening a new

Australian office.

The new office will be based in North

Sydney and headed up by former md of P&O

Cruises Gavin Smith and they will also open

a call centre in Gosford.

The move is part of the cruise line’s

international strategy to grow its non-North

American market and will also include the re

release of Rhapsody of the Seas 2009/10

program in Australian dollars in the coming

weeks".

 

This is excellent news! There will be lots of very happy cruisers! :D:D

I assume they will use AUD for all on-board shopping, drinks etc. I haven't seen it reported anywhere else, but maybe someone else can confirm it.

[Brossy]

Oh wow that is fantastic news, thanks for letting us know. I think I might get myself one of those jobs in the Gosford call centre & become another Kylie (I think I could do a much better job :p). Now if I got a job with RCCL I might get some discounted cruises :D.

[SAKA85]

c'mon Geoff you know you will post the answer to this...i don't know how you do it,but you manage to get answers before anybody else

 

cheers steve

[NSWP]

I reckon Geoff in his real life is the President of Carnival Corp. Right Geoff ? He knows his stuff alright, P&O, Cunard, Princess, RCI, the lot.

 

Geoff can you tell us what brand of pies they sell on Sydney Harbour Ferries?:)

[The Fox]

c'mon Geoff you know you will post the answer to this...i don't know how you do it,but you manage to get answers before anybody else

 

cheers steve

 

hi all ,

 

this is great news but dont expect rock bottom prices on rhapsody.im still waiting to find out if its gunna be permanently redeployment to australia or just do its normal 6 months.......either way its a fabulous result for aussie cruising.A truely great ship with all fares and onboard purchases in aussie dollars.I commented after my October cruise that RCI had no idea how us aussie prefer to cruise.my comments were that they should head hunt some one from P&O and now they have.provided the fares are good they will be a hugh success in australia

 

yipeee

col:)

[arxcards]

I reckon Geoff in his real life is the President of Carnival Corp. Right Geoff ? He knows his stuff alright, P&O, Cunard, Princess, RCI, the lot.

 

Geoff can you tell us what brand of pies they sell on Sydney Harbour Ferries?:)

Roflmao!!

 

Is that a trick question? No, can't even remember if Manly ferries still have pies, let alone what brand.

 

On the other smaller ferries, they took away the pies after the alfredo sauce mutiny of '74. ;)

 

Bit of discussion on the other thread with this stuff this afternoon - when I read it, I also assumed $AU currency all round. Is a great question though - I don't know if Royal Australian was selective with their words, or Cruise Weekly has written the news in an ambiguous way.

 

My tea leaves suggest that Aussie office and Aussie priced purchases are likely to have Aussie currency too. The uncertainty of prices from US onboard currency has been the biggest complaint on Rhapsody this season.

[arxcards]

hi all ,

 

this is great news but dont expect rock bottom prices on rhapsody.im still waiting to find out if its gunna be permanently redeployment to australia or just do its normal 6 months.......either way its a fabulous result for aussie cruising.A truely great ship with all fares and onboard purchases in aussie dollars.I commented after my October cruise that RCI had no idea how us aussie prefer to cruise.my comments were that they should head hunt some one from P&O and now they have.provided the fares are good they will be a hugh success in australia

 

yipeee

col:)

Very much so Col, and I think the appointment of Gavin Smith will help Australianise the facilities, food & drink, and the events onboard. With P&O's announcement of 2 more ships, and our Princozz ones, a permanent RCI ship could result in 7 full time ships in our waters - up from Pacific Star and Pacific Sun just over 13 months ago.

 

Amazing!!

 

From what has been reported of the "big news" today, it seems that it was just a starting point. The info I heard on the radio this morning was that they would be "announcing an increase of involvement in the Aussie market". Announcing Gavin's appointment, a new call centre and $AU prices for cruises hardly fits that bill, unless there is also a plan to base a ship here longer than 6 months per year.

 

PS: The original Cruise Weekly article was titled RCI ponders full time move.

[Brossy]

hi all ,

 

this is great news but dont expect rock bottom prices on rhapsody.im still waiting to find out if its gunna be permanently redeployment to australia or just do its normal 6 months.......either way its a fabulous result for aussie cruising.A truely great ship with all fares and onboard purchases in aussie dollars.I commented after my October cruise that RCI had no idea how us aussie prefer to cruise.my comments were that they should head hunt some one from P&O and now they have.provided the fares are good they will be a hugh success in australia

 

yipeee

col:)

 

I'd be happy to pay slightly more with RCI to get a 5 berth cabin or interconnecting cabins which P&O don't offer on their ships. They also allow more children to travel on their ships which means for me not having to book so far in advance so I don't miss out on a spot for the kids :).

[S&D]

All great comments, and yes - it will be good to find out about any change in itineraries etc.

 

It would seem a VERY expensive excercise to open an office in Sydney, and a call centre, and appoint a very experienced boss - just to support one ship in the area for 6 months a year? (and of course, the Legend in Asia)

 

Let's hope the ship will stay permanently- or maybe she will go back and they will send another in it's place?...all guess work of course, and time - well..weeks...will tell!!

 

Keeps us all cruise afflicted persons out of trouble on here, anyway...;):D

 

S&D

[just hooked]

Do you think they will change the pricing to au$ for the cruises starting jan 09 or will they do the cruises when she returns later next year 09/10

 

roger

[Brossy]

All great comments, and yes - it will be good to find out about any change in itineraries etc.

 

It would seem a VERY expensive excercise to open an office in Sydney, and a call centre, and appoint a very experienced boss - just to support one ship in the area for 6 months a year? (and of course, the Legend in Asia)

 

Let's hope the ship will stay permanently- or maybe she will go back and they will send another in it's place?...all guess work of course, and time - well..weeks...will tell!!

 

Keeps us all cruise afflicted persons out of trouble on here, anyway...;):D

 

S&D

 

The Oasis of the Seas arrives in 2010 & she is a massive ship (5000+ passengers). I assume there will be a fair bit of reshuffling so maybe we will get an even bigger ship than the Rhapsody (the ones with the ice skating rinks would be great :D).

[S&D]

Hi Brossy,

 

yes, that Oasis is one big ship..:eek:...they still seem to keep churning all those ships out...and they all have to go somewhere and be filled up with passengers each week don't they?....:D

 

...and as we Aussies love our cruising, we will be seeing more and more ships down here the next few years I'm sure..:)

 

 

S&D

[mjsshipboy]

Firstly, until Australia pulls it's finger out and improves port facilities, there will be no bigger ships on a regular basis.

 

A prime example of inefficiencies in Australian Ports is that there is only one pier in Sydney big enough to take any modern cruise ship and even that cannot cope with the most modern of ships (Such as the QM2 or RCI's Freedom Class, I have no idea about Voyager Class). Even if the ship could fit, processing 3,000 people through the Overseas Passenger Terminal would be a nightmare.

 

Outside of Sydney, Brisbane built a beautiful new terminal that only the older, smaller ships can use under the gateway bridge and other ports such as Cairns involve tendering.

 

Build it and they will come, as the movie quote goes. There is a reason why Australia only gets the smaller ships....

 

ALSO.... the announcement about the AUD was that they will be advertising cruise prices in AUD, there is no mention that the onboard currency would be changed over. The one time that RCI did that on the Legend in the UK (Switching over to Pounds) the idea was quickly taken back... to switch from USD to another currency twice a year as the ship changes markets is costly and time consuming. If there is a year-round ship in the market, then maybe things would change.

 

IF RCI changed over to AUD, it would be interesting to see, the next time that the USD and the AUD are closer to 1/1 how many people complain about the fact that prices are in AUD and things are cheaper on the ships that have USD......

 

Does anyone have price comparisons for drinks etc. between the Princess ships (NOT P&O) that trade in USD and AUD? I am sure Princesses bar menus etc. were set when the USD and AUD were more on par....

[raringtogo]

doesn't anyone think this may be the death-knell of 'freedom of choice' as to whether we want to book through USA or not? (same as with Princess)

It will be very good if the prices are competitive but not so good if we are going to be stuck with those same old rules that are usually applied to bookings made in Australia.

[sayaguru]

doesn't anyone think this may be the death-knell of 'freedom of choice' as to whether we want to book through USA or not? (same as with Princess)

It will be very good if the prices are competitive but not so good if we are going to be stuck with those same old rules that are usually applied to bookings made in Australia.

 

 

Hi, can you please explain what you mean by this. same as Princess?

 

and "the same old rules?

 

I've only booked a few cruises and not sure what you mean.

 

Thanks,

Lynne

[arxcards]

Do you think they will change the pricing to au$ for the cruises starting jan 09 or will they do the cruises when she returns later next year 09/10

 

roger

Don't know when it will start Roger.

 

Won't be Jan '09, as these cruises are sold and final payment made. I am pretty sure they will remain $AU for at least the rest of this season. Might be possible for 09/10 though. Next years itinerary has been anounced, but they could cope with the change for them.

[arxcards]

Firstly, until Australia pulls it's finger out and improves port facilities, there will be no bigger ships on a regular basis.

 

A prime example of inefficiencies in Australian Ports is that there is only one pier in Sydney big enough to take any modern cruise ship and even that cannot cope with the most modern of ships (Such as the QM2 or RCI's Freedom Class, I have no idea about Voyager Class). Even if the ship could fit, processing 3,000 people through the Overseas Passenger Terminal would be a nightmare.

 

Outside of Sydney, Brisbane built a beautiful new terminal that only the older, smaller ships can use under the gateway bridge and other ports such as Cairns involve tendering.

 

Build it and they will come, as the movie quote goes. There is a reason why Australia only gets the smaller ships....

 

ALSO.... the announcement about the AUD was that they will be advertising cruise prices in AUD, there is no mention that the onboard currency would be changed over. The one time that RCI did that on the Legend in the UK (Switching over to Pounds) the idea was quickly taken back... to switch from USD to another currency twice a year as the ship changes markets is costly and time consuming. If there is a year-round ship in the market, then maybe things would change.

 

IF RCI changed over to AUD, it would be interesting to see, the next time that the USD and the AUD are closer to 1/1 how many people complain about the fact that prices are in AUD and things are cheaper on the ships that have USD......

 

Does anyone have price comparisons for drinks etc. between the Princess ships (NOT P&O) that trade in USD and AUD? I am sure Princesses bar menus etc. were set when the USD and AUD were more on par....

 

Frankly, when we talk about bigger ships, we aren't referring to Freedom or Oasis - just a bit of Aussie tongue in cheek. Thinking more along the lines of a 90,000 tonne one. Sydney has a constraint - we can't raise the Harbour bridge. We also don't want to destroy the beauty of the Eastern side of the harbour by adding another wharf - regardless of how efficient it will make it. Rhapsody will not fit under there or Gateway bridge in Brisbane anyway. QM2 has been berthed successfully at a naval berth, but will not fit into OPT. This is fine for a visiting ship, but not practical to embark a cruise from.

 

When we talk of bigger, it means bigger than Rhapsody - there is a recent rumour mentioning Jewel of the Seas.

 

The discussion about $AU onboard is linked to a likely annoncement of an RCI ship here all year round. The market in Europe is dead, the US is officially in recession - they see an opportunity to better utilise a ship here.

 

I haven't seen $US pricelists for Diamond Princess. I have seen comment that visiting HAL is currently $US4.75 where Rhapsody is $US6.50. Particularly annoying when RCI sell the same beer on a Caribbean cruise for $4.50. I won't be whinging about it, I just won't be drinking anything with an 800% margin from $AU stocked beer being sold at $US onboard.

[Brossy]

Frankly, when we talk about bigger ships, we aren't referring to Freedom or Oasis - just a bit of Aussie tongue in cheek. Thinking more along the lines of a 90,000 tonne one. Sydney has a constraint - we can't raise the Harbour bridge. We also don't want to destroy the beauty of the Eastern side of the harbour by adding another wharf - regardless of how efficient it will make it. Rhapsody will not fit under there or Gateway bridge in Brisbane anyway. QM2 has been berthed successfully at a naval berth, but will not fit into OPT. This is fine for a visiting ship, but not practical to embark a cruise from.

 

When we talk of bigger, it means bigger than Rhapsody - there is a recent rumour mentioning Jewel of the Seas.

 

The discussion about $AU onboard is linked to a likely annoncement of an RCI ship here all year round. The market in Europe is dead, the US is officially in recession - they see an opportunity to better utilise a ship here.

 

I haven't seen $US pricelists for Diamond Princess. I have seen comment that visiting HAL is currently $US4.75 where Rhapsody is $US6.50. Particularly annoying when RCI sell the same beer on a Caribbean cruise for $4.50. I won't be whinging about it, I just won't be drinking anything with an 800% margin from $AU stocked beer being sold at $US onboard.

 

Geoff. You hit the nail on the head there. I was going to reply but couldn't put into words the way you can...so thankyou!. I'd be happy with any ship as long as there is some competition :D.

[arxcards]

I am pretty sure they will remain $AU for at least the rest of this season.

A Faux Pas here - they will likely remain $US for the rest of the current season (through to April)

[raringtogo]

sayaguru -

when I say 'same as Princess' ........

a couple of year's ago, Princess 'blocked' Aussies from being able to book local Princess (and P&O) cruises via USA agents. if you contact a travel agent in the USA and ask for a quote or a booking for a princess ship in this region (either from o/s and ending in Australia, or, to NZ or Pacific Islands for e.g.) they will not be able to book it for you.

 

by Rules, I mean that in my own experience, when booking through an Australian company (and I've used 2 different very well-known on-line local agencies 3 different times) the deposits are higher (a lot), and they are non-refundable. When a lower price (or discount) is advertised for your cruise, you cannot have it applied to your booking and lastly, you cannot cancel without penalty up until your final payment.

 

All these things differ vastly from my experience of booking via America.

 

however, on the brighter side, I did see that Princess offers some unbeatable 'special deals' (sort of last minute deals) that were much better than anything I could find on the online USA websites, so that's a good thing;)

[The Fox]

A Faux Pas here - they will likely remain $US for the rest of the current season (through to April)

 

hi geoff,

 

i had a bit of a fright when i booked dawn princess as it stated we had on OBC of 100.00usd.i thought noway not another rhapsody....but i rang princess ....sun/dawn princess are in aud but when diamond princess visits its usd on board......just a head up for those contemplating booking diamond.

 

cheers

col:)

[Cruzer Nut]

Roflmao!!

 

Is that a trick question? No, can't even remember if Manly ferries still have pies, let alone what brand.

 

On the other smaller ferries, they took away the pies after the alfredo sauce mutiny of '74. ;)

 

 

Yes the Manly Ferries still have Pies onboard :D Mrs Mac's if memory Serves.

 

Think they still come with the Squirt of Marty Sauce from a bottle if you ask as well. :p

[The Fox]

Frankly, when we talk about bigger ships, we aren't referring to Freedom or Oasis - just a bit of Aussie tongue in cheek. Thinking more along the lines of a 90,000 tonne one. Sydney has a constraint - we can't raise the Harbour bridge. We also don't want to destroy the beauty of the Eastern side of the harbour by adding another wharf - regardless of how efficient it will make it. Rhapsody will not fit under there or Gateway bridge in Brisbane anyway. QM2 has been berthed successfully at a naval berth, but will not fit into OPT. This is fine for a visiting ship, but not practical to embark a cruise from.

 

When we talk of bigger, it means bigger than Rhapsody - there is a recent rumour mentioning Jewel of the Seas.

 

The discussion about $AU onboard is linked to a likely annoncement of an RCI ship here all year round. The market in Europe is dead, the US is officially in recession - they see an opportunity to better utilise a ship here.

 

I haven't seen $US pricelists for Diamond Princess. I have seen comment that visiting HAL is currently $US4.75 where Rhapsody is $US6.50. Particularly annoying when RCI sell the same beer on a Caribbean cruise for $4.50. I won't be whinging about it, I just won't be drinking anything with an 800% margin from $AU stocked beer being sold at $US onboard.

 

hi geoff,

 

rhapsody is the largest of the voyager class ships at 78419 tons....the rest are 70000 tons which is the same weight as pacific dawn....but i didnt check the other dimensions.perhaps they might redeploy one of them so they can get under the bridge and berth at darling harbour.

im reasonablly confident with them setting up an office here and appointing gavin smith that they looking a permanent ship sailing out of aussie.

 

just a thought

 

col:)

[luckiestmitw]

hi geoff,

 

rhapsody is the largest of the voyager class ships at 78419 tons....the rest are 70000 tons which is the same weight as pacific dawn....but i didnt check the other dimensions.perhaps they might redeploy one of them so they can get under the bridge and berth at darling harbour.

im reasonablly confident with them setting up an office here and appointing gavin smith that they looking a permanent ship sailing out of aussie.

 

just a thought

 

col:)

 

H Col,

 

Don't quote me but I'm pretty sure Rhapsody is a Vision Class ship...I think the Voyager class are quite a bit larger than Rhapsody...Voyager are more like 140,000 tons.

 

I just hope one of the RCI ships will be here year round........;):D

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip on Rhapsody in October....we have not long to wait now.....:D

 

Regards Sandie :)

[Brossy]

Okay so I got my RCI brochure out and have listed all their wonderful ships in size & class below :

 

Freedom Class 160,000 tons / 3600 pax (okay we can dream :p)

Freedom of the Seas

Independence of the Seas

Liberty of the Seas

Voyager Class 138,000 tons / 3114 pax (still dreaming :p)

Adventure of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas

Navigator of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

Radiance Class 90,090 tons / 2501 pax (a possibility :rolleyes:)

Brilliance of the Seas

Jewel of the Seas

Radiance of the Seas

Serenade of the Seas

Voyager Class 70,000 tons / 2076 pax (most likely :D)

Grandeur of the Seas

Legend of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas

Splendour of the Seas

Vision of the Seas

Enchantment of the Seas

Sovereign Class 73,192tons / 2852 pax (most likely :D)

Majesty of the Seas

Monarch of the Seas

Sovereign of the Seas