Shanenz84

I have booked on the Nov 9th sailing - so i'm doing my bit to help the cause! 🙂 Got a good rate on a GS too. 

Building the pier at CocoCay was a two and a bit year long process and that was from the moment the dredge first started pulling up sand.  That was in a region with an abundance of nearby construction workers, barges and other machinery designed for the exact task.  I suspect Perfect Day Lelepa may be further off beyond 24/25 unless they have started dredging already.  Without a pier the best they could do would be tendering up through Quantum class.  
My radar has Lelepa further down the timeline.  The way the South Pacific completely closed up shop ship may have been a warning shot that has left cold feet at the cruise line.  They may want to see the South Pacific generating positive revenue for a few years before contracting the dredge to start digging up sand and that may mean postponing an Oasis down under.   Or, it may mean launching Lelepa as a tender port while a pier is built (like CocoCay) or it may mean pushing it off in the future more than they are willing to admit right now.   
No Oasis class ever visited CocoCay until after the pier completed.  Once we see hard hats working on the Lelepa pier we'll know the multi year clock on its opening has commenced.  24/25 doesn't seem realistic. 
Year round cruising without a Lelepa would be a test of the market to see if there is demand that could pay off a Lelepa investment in the time frame they are looking for.  If Quantum sales are cool as has been suggested that won't bode well for the payback calculations for Lelepa.
If they can't fill Quantum class from Brisbane that is a raising a red flag that could impact both Lelepa and Oasis down under.  Slow sales is a sign the market isn't ready to embrace their lofty goals just yet.  Prior to the shutdown they had cash overflowing from the corporate pockets so they were more liberal with their growth plans.  Now with the corporate pockets drained and their bank accounts in the red they won't be nearly as aggressive with growth plans down under.  Throw in a cool market response to Quantum in Brisbane and all that cold water won't just mean cold feet but significant shrinkage further up the body.  
Once the first year of the restart is in the books they'll know more about the ability of the market to support potential growth plans.  In their weakened state they will proceed very carefully.  Quantum sales had better trend upward soon if cruisers down under desire Oasis class and Lelepa.  Without evidence of demand one or the other, or both will be delayed.

I just noticed that Brilliance is now blanked out for Summer Europe 2023 bookings so sounds like something in the works here for sure. 

I think the biggest problem our cruise industry has, is getting workers .
If you have any local cruises booked you will notice the lack of shore excursions.
 I have a Ovation Cruise and it goes to Adelaide and cruise planner doesn’t have any excursions. I called Adelaide scenic tours which usually do the ship tours but the said they can’t get staff and at the moment won’t be doing any.
So I don’t know what will happen in Adelaide as there’s not much at the cruise terminal.

Yes it looks like they have. I think they've gone a bit conservative for now but as long as bookings return and the ships full up then i'm sure we'll get more options in the future. Also remember Virgin is bringing the new "Resilient Lady" next year as well as "Celebrity Edge" coming down under so these are positive signs of confidence in the region. 
It would have been nice for Carnival to bring a newer ship down under like one of the Dream or Vista Class that would have been a good upgrade and a bit more competitive with other lines.

One week to go.. anyone booked on Pacific Explorer?
Only requiring a self RAT test 24 hours before! Too easy!

I don't believe they would send a brand new ship to our backwaters.
I think the most we can hope for is that in a few years the addition of Icon and Utopia pushes some other Oasis class out our way. I guess it also depends on the state of China, and will they send Wonder and Spectrum back there.

Big cruise ships are allowed in Tahiti and Moorea. Big ships are banned from Bora Bora, the rest is okay
With isle of Pines and Lifou, I believe the draft of the Ovation is too deep. It is fairly shallow, especially Isle of Pines where both the Radiance, Voyager/Explorer dredge up a lot of sand when moored and engines used to maintain position.  

All 2023-24 Australian season is now uploaded on RCI site. One interesting one is the "Circle Australia" itinerary is back with Enchantment. Otherwise the usual mix of NZ, South Pacific & Short cruises.

My guess here is they won't be year round in 2023 in the South Pacific. They'll need to build up with this now comeback season 2022-23 and once they are happy with that then get Lelepa ready. So i'd say 2024 looks more likely for a year round deployment.    
On a side note I see that the Australian deployment (23-24) has been moved up to next week, not sure if this is any coincidence of yesterdays announcement but we'll know what 23-24 holds next week at least. Going by the Alaska 23 deployment i'd say its likely to be Ovation, Quantum (Radiance?) and Enchantment. 

If they were smart they’d put OA6 down under.   Australian based ships sell well and many Americans would fly down to sail OA6.   Kind of the best of both worlds.  

My guess is we wont get an Oasis here until Lelepa is ready.
Then it will be an Oasis in the summer, plus maybe a Radiance as well. Also a Quantum year round.
A Quantum here year round was  planned for 2022 before covid hit. It was on the Sydney port schedule out of Sydney all the way up until Jun 2022. Lelepa was originally due to be completed in 2022.
 

That logic makes sense.
Generally speaking, Royal likes the public focused on one new thing at a time. It is/was Odyssey, and Wonder is next.  
They don't want someone saying, "Oh Icon of the Seas is coming? I'll wait to book my cruise until then." They want you booking now and then later on, book again.

My guess would be Q2 2022, after Wonder as debuted. 

"Where we're going is worlds away from ordinary"
Petra
Pyramids
Chichen Itza
Colosseum
Taj Mahal
Great Wall of China
 
Iconic structures.. you could be on to something there!!
 

Hey this makes sense...I fell for the World cruise idea but this makes more sense. 

Next to El Loco Fresh, I would imagine it's a going to have a specialty margarita menu.

Suite sun deck reported to have a plunge pool added to it.

CONFIRMED! #WonderOfTheSeas (海洋奇迹号) will set sail on her maiden voyage from her homeport in Shanghai on 23 March 2022 for a high seas voyage. 
Royal Caribbean International China will unveil Wonder in a live broadcast on 20 April 2021, with voyages expected to open for booking shortly after.
Source: Singapore Cruise Society

Excellent will be interested to see what we've got for 22/23. Hopefully some new ports its a bit disappointing that the South Pacific for 21/22 only go to the same ports of Noumea, Mystery Island & Port Vila. What's happened to Lifou, Isle of Pines, Mare, Luganville etc? At least some variety be nice. 

Here is an example.. Add taxes and convert to AUD, it would be around $1845.

Yet book in AUD and they will charge you $2691. Works out thousands extra if you are booking for a family, especially when you are getting into suite prices.

 
It's like this for EVERY new release, either wait and over time this gap usually gets smaller, or just pay in USD.
However, if you have paid in USD and need to call them, the first people you speak to get very confused and can't help and they have to transfer you to someone who deals with US made bookings.

Part way through releasing the additional 2023 deployments last night over at Miami HQ...

Well now we know, Grandeur will be homeported in Barbados as of December 2021. Sailing the Southern Caribbean!

Photo credit: Unimedien