mattymay

Who's excited? Booking Inaugural for sure! Bring on 2022! Photo Credit : Pascal Collin Photography

No surprise here really.. should book an expensive December cruise now before they take it down and claim a 25% bonus! ?

I don't think this is much of a problem. None of the Australia season will be going ahead anyways due to Australian restrictions.

Good point.. I forgot when they mentioned Carnival they are referring to the Carnival Corporation. I was purely thinking Carnival Cruise Line vs RCI. Makes more sense now.

Yeah I realise the colour is the same, nothing worse than that rusty look! ?

Important question: Did they repaint her hull/sides?

Recent news articles suggest Carnival are burning $650 million a month compared to Royal at $290 million. I guess things like this could account for some of the difference. But with similar number of ships what are your thoughts on why it's such a large difference?

Looks like a fun start to a holiday...

Wonder is now 2022. Been following the build.. if there is a vaccine by 2022 I would definitely consider cancelling Odyssey and booking this instead. Easier to get to China than Florida from this side of the world as well.

The problem in Melbourne is it's impossible to manage when people can't follow the rules. Infected people are knowingly out in the community spreading the virus even though they should have been isolating at home. We had 800 infected people not at home when checked on by police. No choice but to lock everyone up before the numbers get too big to control. The latest outbreak has been traced back to returning overseas passengers hotel quarantine. The security guards employed to make sure guests didn't leave until completing their 14 days quarantine were sleeping with some of the return passengers who turned out to be infected. The guards then passed it on the other people in the community, and now here we are. This is a true story.. I am not even joking! ?

It's really going to depend on the region and what restrictions governments put in place. You guys have 3.5 million cases and can go to Disneyland. We have 10,000 and can't leave the house! ?

I think Meyer Turku said they are slowing production form 2 ships per year to 1 ship per year. Therefore, it could be quite some time before Icon is completed.

Already been returned to RCI and then sold for scrap apparently.

According to some pictures out on the internet it is already being built, blocks from the hull are being transported to Meyer Turku. I don't remember from previous classes of ship, but did RCI release renderings before the build started, or is Icon class extra secretive?

We’re headed back into restrictions because of 25 new cases in a state with a population of 6.5 million. Cruising in 2020 is all but over for us I fear!

Yet we can pack into shopping centres with no respect for social distancing. Could they not begin some cruises that are confined to Australia? There are already itineraries that don't visit OS ports.

To give some perspective we have about 389 active cases of COVID in the entire country compared to 1.3 million in the US. And we still can't sail ? I understand governments do things differently, but that still seems like a lot. Hard to see cruising coming back this year. Hope I'm wrong. Have had to cancel 2 US based cruises as I've got no idea when we will be allowed back in the country. Also, a third from another unnamed cruise line that have a zero options to move cruises, which I don't know what to do about yet.

Avid cruisers may return, but I just don't see there being a strong demand from the general public/first time cruises. Anyone I have mentioned cruising to, be that friends, family, work colleagues, etc.. the standard response is "You're booking a cruise? You're crazy! I would never go on a cruise. Not even if you paid me to go!" As you say cruise ships were not the source, these passengers were already infected before they boarded. But even so The Ruby Princess saga was not just a few noisy anti-cruise rating-seeking media, it was front page news for weeks on every major news outlet in the country. It has definitely poisoned the masses and damaged the cruise industries reputation. I don't think people really care who is to blame, just that if you get on a ship you're going to catch a disease. The Australian government has already stated that the first international travel to reopen will be between Australia and New Zealand once the two countries reach an agreement. Followed by the South Pacific as they are keen to get travel resumed to support these small island economies. That's good news for RCI as that pretty much covers all of their itineraries. Let's say by October when the season starts there are very few cases of COVID remaining (if any) and international travel between Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific islands is open. With proper screening procedures in place I don't see why cruising couldn't resume. Now all there is to worry about is who actually wants to go cruising? And how are they are going to fill these ships? Don't forget there is also Carnival, Princess, P&O, and Celebrity offerings to contend with as well.

When I say last minute I literally mean a week or so before hand, will have something else local as back up plan in case it falls through. If these Sep-April sailings do go ahead I think they will be offering some good deals. Given the bashing cruising has copped here I don't see any full ships sailing out of Sydney next season.

I've got my cash ready, hoping to pounce on a last minute Voyager cruise before its gone for good, if they end up going ahead!!

Based on the Sydney cruise ship schedule I saw a while back Quantum is staying until at least June.. possibly further however the schedule ends. Ovation leaves in April as it does every year. This could potentially be Royal's attempt to port a full time ship in Australia as Carnival is now doing with Splendor. A Quantum class is perfect to leave here during the winter as it can also adapt to the warmer temps as it sails north. It will eventually sail Perfect Day at Lelepa all year round.

Yes!

There are some itineraries to Tasmania. This is my fav - South Pacific is a little misleading! ?

Someone at Royal IT forgot to tick the 'hide' button.

Just two so far..