Jamesszy94

52 minutes ago, mattymay said:

I've solved the lack of variety issue by booking Star of the Seas for 2026. Used up the entire years cruise budget in one go! 

Let's hope Qantas doesn't lose all your luggage again

I mean all good things must come to an end. At least she was put to good use under Celestyal! This is probably the beginning of the end for all the small ships. I wouldn't be surprised if Royal decided to scrap Grandeur soon. 

2 hours ago, Chili said:

I don’t know of any other destinations they could have. If they had a smaller ship here over winter P.N.G and the Solomon Islands would be a change.Cairns as a home  port over winter would be nice.

But I think we will see Royal downsizing and consolidating back to the U.S until they work out how to reduce Carbon emissions. There’s now talk of ramping up the reduction time to 2035 instead of 2050.

Another thing to bring into the equation is airline emissions ,they are being hit with the same carbon laws . It’s going to cost a lot more to come to Australia by air making it a less desirable destination.

As for alternative fuels,port Kembla and Tauranga has L.N.G ??
I think our best option is the talk of synthetic Ethanol being made here. I believe it’s made from water with solar power,similar to hydrogen.

The older ships could be converted to a Diesel / Ethanol fuel a bit like the E10 we put in our cars.

They had cruises to Asia back in 2016-2017, they could go to Asia again. Singapore, China, Japan etc.

Either way, I think Royal needs to either:

- Give us a new ship that's not a Quantum-class or give us a different Quantum class

- Change up the itineraries so it's not always South Pacific, Queensland or New Zealand

- Have one of their ships home port in Sydney/Brisbane all year around

On 11/16/2023 at 10:52 PM, F1guynz said:

Voyager is in Europe until at least November 25 as they have recently released those cruises. Seems like an odd choice to reposition from Rome to Australia at the end of 2025 as that would make for a short season when they normally start in October/November.

Danny from Harr travel speculated that Anthem may go to LA after Alaska and we may get Ovation year round.

I guess we will have to wait a few more months before anything concrete comes out.

They could also just decide to change the ship last minute - we were supposed to get Enchantment here in Sydney, but they changed it and we got Brilliance instead.

On 12/6/2023 at 5:17 PM, Chili said:

Royal Caribbean has disconnected there number in Sydney. That was 02 99375400 . There used to be switch board in north Sydney but all I can find is one mobile number.

It seems to me they maybe down sizing in Australia. There’s a lot of competition.

Personally, I think there's a lot of competition cause the other cruise lines change up their ships every few years!!! We've had Ovation for 7 years (in 2024)!!! And also all the destinations that Royal offers for Aussies are all the same now (it's literally either New Zealand, South Pacific or Queensland, there's no variety in the ports, it's not really surprising that Quantum hasn't sold well like mattymay said above.

But also...it's kind of hard for Aussies to go on Royal cruises if a single cruise season lasts only 6-7 months (Oct - April)

Truthfully, I've only been on Ovation.

Would love to try an Oasis... (come on Royal!! Bring an Oasis down to Australia) or a Voyager class, heck I'd like to try any other class of Royal ships.

Personally for me, I think the Quantum class is great, not too large where there's too many people, but not too small where there's not really much to do.

I guess most people these days prefer the Water slides, Board Walk, Aqua Theatre etc, and since Quantum class has none of those, I guess most people just don't bother....that's just my two cents though

43 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

What do you look for in a cruise? I have done one Princess because it was in our off season. (Australia) and said I may try another in 20 years. 

 

The atmosphere is different. Not in a good way. 

What was different about Princess that you didn't like? I'm just trying to see what my options are and what other people's experiences are like.

Honestly, I'm a very laid back person, as long as I can enjoy the views of the ocean, go to trivia, good food and nice shows and am just able to relax, I'll be a happy camper, I don't really care about water slides, zip lines, surf simulators etc - I can do these back on land, why pay thousands of dollars to get on a cruise ship to do something you can do on land - at least that's my opinion anyway. Also the destinations - I've always wanted to visit South Island, but I've calculated the costs and a 13 day trip around South Island by car/staying in hotels etc would be about the same price as a cruise fair.

1 hour ago, Traveling Mike said:

I have done 4 Princess cruises and have stopped doing them.  The last two Princess cruises I have been on I had the feeling they were for old people.  You need to understand I am 63 years old, and they made me feel out of place.  I like Royal Caribbean because they have a nice mixture of age groups most of the time.  Celebrity is different where there are not many kids but it does not feel like a cruise line for older people.

It's just that I've never tried Princess cruises and would like to try them. Majestic is smaller than the Freedom class but larger than the Voyager class so would like to try a ship of that size. But Brilliance on the other hand... I would gain C&A points.

There's two cruises going out of Sydney that both sail to New Zealand (I mostly want to see Dunedin and Dusky/Doubtful/Milford Sound)

One is a 13N out of Sydney on the Majestic Princess, the other is a 12N out of Sydney on Brilliance of the Seas

They both visit the same ports except for Picton - which MP  visits but BoS does not.

It's ~$250 difference. ($2799 (MP) vs $3050 (BOS) )

My dilemma is that, I know what I'm getting on Royal, but I've never been on Princess - just not sure which one I should sail. My dad doesn't care either way

Help!.

Why all the hate on Grandeur? I mean sure she's the oldest RCI ship, but any ship is better than no ship right?

You have to remember, Freedom and her sisters are 16, 15 (Liberty) and 14 (Indy) years old respectively, they're bound to show some wear and tear especially after the thousands of cruises they've had. It's a shame about Explorer's "amplification" though, hopefully once Royal has full recovered from the pandemic, they can give her a proper amp and give her the love she deserves, same with Allure. I wonder when/if Adventure will get her amp

41 minutes ago, Chili said:

I have 3 on Brilliance this season,I’m all quantumed out.  First one is Wednesday to kangaroo island.

Fair enough. Have fun on your Kangaroo Island cruise. My dad is the kind of person that doesn't care where we go and on which ship, I mean Ovation vs Brilliance... a no-brainer right?

By the way, it looks like Ovation will be in Australia until at least April of 2025 (since that's when our "Summer" cruise season ends.

4 minutes ago, Chili said:

I would be getting in a cruise on Brilliance,it won’t be coming back.

I would like to share a email but I’ve been told not too.

I take it you'll be on Brilliance then? 

If she's not coming back that's even more incentive to sail on her

5 hours ago, Big Tule said:

Well after Ovation this year and Brilliance next Jan it might be  our last Royal cruise...We tend to like the radiance class so will be looking further afield to cruise on smaller ships

I'm seriously considering sailing on Brilliance next year, seeing as how we've got no word on whether her season down here is a one and done, I don't mind if Ovation goes back to the US, I sailed on her this year and back in 2017, so I've been on her before.

At this point, I'll take any ship that isn't Ovation or Quantum (not that they aren't great ships, they are), but It would be nice to just change it up a bit... give us a Voyager back, or even give us  a Freedom class ship. I think RCCL has underestimated the cruising industry in Australia...

47 minutes ago, Mike.s said:

Seems Royal is only intertested in putting more and more ships on short breaks in the Caribbean, those of us in other regions get what's left over.

I guess because that's their most popular destination as well as CocoCay. What a shame. 

2 minutes ago, Chili said:

The person said only 2 Quantum for the next couple of seasons and they will assess it then.

I don’t know if an oasis can get into Port Kembla but the dock is long enough and there’s LNG there . That’s about the only hope we have ,maybe a LNG ship split between Sydney and Singapore.

Beats having to travel to Brisbane I guess. (isn't Brisbane the only other place in Australia that can fit an Oasis class?).

I actually wouldn't mind if they started doing Sydney > Singapore again, it's been a while and all the cruises we've had for the past few years have been some combination of Australia & New Zealand or the South Pacific.

53 minutes ago, mattymay said:

I think it will be Anthem and Quantum for 25/26, purely based off Alaska ships.

I'm glad I got to sail on Ovation before she goes back to the US then. I guess having Anthem down here would be a nice change of scene, but another Quantum ship? Come on Royal.... give us an Oasis or Freedom class ship... maybe I should book a cruise on Brilliance before she too inevitably goes back to the US.

Meanwhile... we're stuck with Pacific Explorer, Encounter and Adventure (don't get me wrong, these are by no means bad ships) but they're basically old Princess ships. And I guess we also have Luminosa and Splendor - but these hardly count as Mega-ships. I just wish there was a new ship built solely for Australia and to call Australia home..

Well... their sister company Celebrity has "Expedition" vessels which sails the Galapagos... 

Maybe if Royal ever wanted to get into the exotic location market, they could make smaller Expedition vessels and sail to places like the Kimberley, Galapagos to name a few. But I guess Royal is the more family-oriented fun cruise line and Celebrity is the luxury-destination oriented one. 

On 10/31/2023 at 10:02 AM, Chili said:

I have been chatting with someone very senior from Royal Caribbean Sydney just recently.(who asked to not to use their name)

I asked about a second ship for Sydney next season and the response was quite shocking.

They said because of carbon emissions Royal won’t have a third ship in Australia.

Royal has to reduce its emissions as a company as a whole and because itineraries in Australia have long distances and high fuel burns. Australia is is a unattractive market.

Brillance ,being an older ship will go back to the U.S and do short runs with more port days .as to keep emissions down.

Unless there’s a newer fuel source like biofuel or a gas in Australia,there’s no plans for more ships.

So that doesn’t sound good for us and especially Lelepa.

So that only leaves us with Ovation in Sydney and Quantum in Brisbane then?

There goes our hopes of getting an Oasis class..

Symphony? Spectrum? Serenade?

Royal aren't obligated to do anything. They could sail into an active conflict zone, but they chose not to because they clearly chose to put the safety of the ship, the crew and the guests first. If you don't like the new destinations and it's a make or break for you, you can always cancel

Can Royal Caribbean change a cruise itinerary?

Quote

In the event of strikes, lockouts, riots, weather conditions or mechanical difficulties, or for any other reason whatsoever, Royal Caribbean® may, at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing or port of call and may, but is not obliged to, substitute another ship or port of call and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to guests by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, deviation or substitution. Royal Caribbean® shall not be responsible for any failure to adhere to the arrival and departure times published in this brochure for any of its ports of call.

The apple never rots far from the tree. Unfortunately, some kids just can't be taught because their parents act the same way. It's just the reality we live in these days when things like Twitter (X), TikTok, Vaping etc exist. Best we can do is just report it and let security deal with it. 

17 hours ago, Tony Crawford said:

I about flipped out when I saw this this morning!  Unfortunately, I can't make the maiden for Icon, but there's no way I miss the maiden for Star!

So exciting!  Only one more question... What's next after Star of the Seas???  I'm BEGGING for an Oasis or Icon class to hit the West coast!

I thought they were done with Oasis after Utopia, unless you mean one of the current Oasis goes to the West Coast.

40 minutes ago, mattymay said:

Cool... now drop the Icon prices because it's not new anymore 

Realistically, how much would they even drop

19 hours ago, JB17 said:

This will also further complicate abbreviations - SotS could now refer to Serenade, Symphony, Spectrum, or Star.

Easy

SeOTS, SpOTS, SyOTS and StOTS..

Or we can just call them Serenade, Symphony, Spectrum and Star