twangster

CocoCay was engineered to handle nearly 10,000 guests as built but Coco Beach Club and other areas weren't finished when this was published. https://cruisearabiaonline.com/2019/05/01/royal-caribbean-says-perfect-day-at-cococay-could-handle-three-oasis-ships-at-once/ “We’ve engineered and designed for peak, and the peak was way up close to 10,000. We’ll now operate it with bigger ships coming to Perfect Day, and we’ll see how it goes,” he said. “We’re kind of feeling pretty optimistic about the potential for three ship calls versus two ship calls that could take us up to 12,000 (guests) a day,” Bayley added. That 12,000 guest per day limit would essentially mean three Oasis-class ships docked simultaneously. If both an Oasis class and a Voyager class sail at full double occupancy that's less than 90% capacity for CocoCay as she was built. Ships rarely sail at absolute full capacity and two ships both at full capacity is even less likely. Consequently given usage patterns they feel like they could push the island further and that was before it was finished.

Ask and you shall receive! (but not in the Caribbean) ... Athens. http://www.creative.rccl.com/e-lite/CEL/Common_Elements/bx.gif LET'S GO! THE DEBUT OF CELEBRITY APEX IS HERE I am overjoyed. As global travel quickly becomes a reality again, we can announce not only the redeployment of our revolutionized Celebrity Millennium to the Caribbean, but we can DEBUT our luxurious new Celebrity ApexSM as she takes her inaugural voyage starting June 19, 2021. On March 30, 2021, your clients will be able to book Eastern Mediterranean itineraries of 6–8 nights beginning in Athens, Greece, visiting the Greek Isles, Cyprus, and Israel — complete with drinks, Wi-Fi, and tips Always IncludedSM*. We are so excited to say that new Celebrity Apex itineraries and more information on health and safety protocols will be released very soon!

Summary of the recent CLIA and CDC interaction:

Just a month ago the CDC led the cruise lines to believe the technical instructions would be in hand any day now. I think the cruise lines have started to see the CDC's true colors. All bets are off.

I'm not sure that's Royal's problem. Royal didn't limit guest nationality in Nassau. If the Bahamas won't allow a citizen of some foreign country to enter the country that isn't for Royal to determine, that is up to each guest to validate any visas or other documentation required.

He can rattle away as much as he wants but I'm not sure he can override a federal public health emergency declaration by using a state executive order. To challenge the CDC order could possibly require a federal judge and court be involved.

Dare I say both? Can't I have my cake and eat it too? ?

Meanwhile over at Miami HQ... "Maybe having some smaller ships in the fleet isn't such a bad thing."

I've been eyeing Jewel hanging around Poole Bay wondering what they would do with her. Now we know.

Our return to the Caribbean this summer is already a hit! But did you really think we were going to stop there? Next up, we’re taking our talents to the Mediterranean. This summer, your clients can soak up the Mediterranean sun and explore the captivating coastlines of Greece and Cyprus on all-new 7-night cruises departing from Limassol, Cyprus onboard Jewel of the Seas®! Beginning July 10, 2021, Jewel will call Cyprus home for the first time and sail to the picturesque shores of Cyprus and Greece through October 23, 2021. Your clients can explore a combination of culture-rich cities and idyllic islands, including Limassol; Athens, Greece and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini. As always, the safety of your clients, our crew and the communities we visit is at the forefront of our decision-making process. For Jewel itineraries from Cyrus, we look forward to welcoming fully vaccinated guests 18 years of age and older, as well as children under the age of 18 with proof of negative COVID-19 test results. These current health and safety measures, like others, may evolve as they are evaluated on an ongoing basis. Details on additional health and safety measures will be announced at a later date. With opportunity comes responsibility — so we have come to the tough decision to cancel the scheduled Jewel of the Seas summer sailings departing June 7 - October 31, 2021. Your impacted clients can choose from one of the following compensation options: A refund of all funds paid An elevated 125% Future Cruise Credit to sail with Royal Caribbean® at a later date An opportunity to Lift & Shift your client’s reservation to a similar cruise next year Soon, all impacted guests and associated travel agencies will receive an email notification with additional details pertaining to these compensation options. Safe and healthy cruising IS possible — and we’re witnessing just how much pent-up demand there truly is. With our valued partners and friends by our side, we can conquer it all.

Our return to the Caribbean this summer is already a hit! But did you really think we were going to stop there? Next up, we’re taking our talents to the Mediterranean. This summer, your clients can soak up the Mediterranean sun and explore the captivating coastlines of Greece and Cyprus on all-new 7-night cruises departing from Limassol, Cyprus onboard Jewel of the Seas®! Beginning July 10, 2021, Jewel will call Cyprus home for the first time and sail to the picturesque shores of Cyprus and Greece through October 23, 2021. Your clients can explore a combination of culture-rich cities and idyllic islands, including Limassol; Athens, Greece and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini. As always, the safety of your clients, our crew and the communities we visit is at the forefront of our decision-making process. For Jewel itineraries from Cyrus, we look forward to welcoming fully vaccinated guests 18 years of age and older, as well as children under the age of 18 with proof of negative COVID-19 test results. These current health and safety measures, like others, may evolve as they are evaluated on an ongoing basis. Details on additional health and safety measures will be announced at a later date. With opportunity comes responsibility — so we have come to the tough decision to cancel the scheduled Jewel of the Seas summer sailings departing June 7 - October 31, 2021. Your impacted clients can choose from one of the following compensation options: A refund of all funds paid An elevated 125% Future Cruise Credit to sail with Royal Caribbean® at a later date An opportunity to Lift & Shift your client’s reservation to a similar cruise next year Soon, all impacted guests and associated travel agencies will receive an email notification with additional details pertaining to these compensation options. Safe and healthy cruising IS possible — and we’re witnessing just how much pent-up demand there truly is. With our valued partners and friends by our side, we can conquer it all.

Thinking more about this. Adventure in Nassau was a test they passed with flying colors. It seems Royal nailed it given how demand played out once they opened bookings. Vision will really test demand. Great homeport in Bermuda but now they must wait and see how much demand is really out there. I suspect they will wait to see how Vision sells before announcing more in the Caribbean. Another announcement somewhere else could factor into Vision bookings. Assuming Celebrity does announce a second restart ship for the US market it might be wise to let the four ships enjoy their moment in the spotlight. Getting greedy and going too fast might not be the best move right at this moment in time. That doesn't mean they aren't wheeling and dealing in the background working on the next big thing while they wait to see how the pandemic trends and how long the CDC continues to play dead.

I'm not sure anyone can guess what next unorthodox card Royal has up their sleeve. Celebrity will announce another ship and homeport this week. So far both lines have been placing medium or large sized ships into non-US homeports. In the case of Royal there logically is a desire to leverage CocoCay as a stop. The unknown is what Caribbean nations have been willing to "jump on board" and which have declined. If a ship in Cozumel can only visit the Bahamas for example, that might not work out well. That's just an example. The complexity Royal faces is not just finding a homeport. They need to find a homeport they can build an itinerary to go somewhere within fuel and time range. Bermuda is not ideal in this sense but Bermuda said "yes" so they went there. Jamaica could be a candidate. From there they could reach PDCC, Labadee and Cozumel. The unknown is Jamaica's desire to participate. Barbados has in the past seemed to be willing to put itself out there with other attempts as a restart. Barbados could be a logical place to home port a ship in advance of the Grandeur December launch. The problem for Oasis class is their size as it relates to embarking thousands of guests in a homeport that isn't meant to embark anyone. It's one thing to load 1,500 to 2,000 guests in Nassau. Trying to load 2,500 to 3,000 is a different matter. Royal has rarely run away from a challenge so anything is possible.

Slow news days so they needed a headline with the word "cruise" in it. They could literally state this every day "The CDC today still has not changed their website. The website still says Nov.1 "

Welcome to the message boards. Royal has had two Oasis class call on CocoCay so an Oasis and Voyager class shouldn't be a huge concern.

I think this is a developing situation. What we hear a lot from her now is "we'll know more about the protocols soon". Even the cruise planner for Adventure has this banner: I get the impression they are trying to find ways to ease as many restrictions as possible.

I think that was stated in the days when we all thought Florida would be going by now. They've had to adapt and re-think the restart in a way that wasn't conceivable six months ago.

Unknown at this time. Discussed in this thread towards the end https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/15076-good-news-if-you-have-been-dreaming-of-west-coast-cruises/

I wasn't aware Royal stated that. Celebrity has stated that ship excursions are not required for Millennium. They are allowing self exploration but have stated that guests must follow rules as established by the country being visited. If a country such as Aruba requires masks then you must wear a mask off the ship. If the next country requires something else, then that is required for guests while off the ship.

Negative news generates interest. Interest means ad revenue. Positive news is great but doesn't tend to generate revenue for the media. Several cable news outlets put out blatantly incorrect stories because it generates interest and ad revenue. They aren't reporting "news" they are creating it because it sells and they make more money. It's all about money.

Yes, as long as you didn't cancel the cruise before Royal cancels the cruise.

CWC is a program that allows you to decide to cancel a cruise up to ~ 48 hours before embarkation. When you exercise CWC you get a 100% FCC. Refund is not an option with CWC unless you booked with a refundable deposit. When Royal cancels a cruise CWC isn't in play. When Royal has cancelled a cruise for the pandemic it's considered a Global Suspension event. With a Global Suspension cancellation different options are available. Typically that has been a refund of cash money paid (such as a credit card payment), OR 125% FCC of any cash money paid OR in some cases the ability to shift that cruise to a future date from a select list of eligible cruises with price protection. CWC and Global Suspension are different and mutually exclusive. CWC is you deciding to cancel the cruise. Global Suspension is when Royal cancels the cruise. If you exercise CWC and you cancel a cruise then Royal announces a Global Suspension cancelation of that same cruise it's too late to go back and ask for Global Suspension to apply to your now cancelled cruise. The second you cancel a cruise with CWC you no longer have a cruise so anything else that is offered is not available to you.

There are numerous free things to do that are centric to a beach type getaway. Free loungers and umbrellas on the beach or by the freshwater pool. You don't have to spend money to enjoy or explore CocoCay, the thrill waterpark is just once small area but the overall concept is a beach or pool type day.

Because @Lovetocruise2002 is stuck in Canada and isn't going. Otherwise she would have started one a month ago before Royal announced it.