KWofPerth

It appears to me that the delay in the release of Australian itineraries is all down to RCI's pulling of Voyager from the overcrowded Sydney Harbour. There is simply not enough space at the Overseas Passenger Terminal to accommodate all the ships that want to dock there. With local governments not coming to the party to invest in infrastructure or make use of Garden Island (naval base), RCI reached the reluctant decision to move Voyager to Sydney and sail Radiance out of Melbourne/Auckland.

http://www.escape.com.au/holiday-ideas/cruises/ocean/voyager-of-the-seas-to-finish-cruising-in-australia/news-story/603f56149a14b3c0ab366700ead2e02b

This is quite sad considering how the industry is booming down this way, and the thrill of sailing out of Sydney Harbour.

Just now, Bob_KY said:

I've seen many posts about embarkation & disembarkation process and it takes over the vacation's overall cruise experience.   Hmmm??

Embarkation/disembarkation can be likened to a road trip. They have to be endured in order to get to where you want to be. But the trip there is a LOT more fun than the trip home.

On 27/04/2017 at 8:35 PM, EmersonNZ said:

I was interested to see cruises originating and finishing in Auckland. To my knowledge this is the first RCCL cruises starting of ending in NZ with previous cruises all being ex Australia. I think this could help build the cruise market in NZ. The cruise industry itself is doing very well with ship visits dramatically increasing year on year but I'm not sure many NZers consider cruising when planing their holiday plans.

 

Auckland's harbour would be spectacular to cruise out of. A roundtrip of NZ on its own would be a great cruise I imagine.

On 20/04/2017 at 4:24 PM, EmersonNZ said:

It wouldn't surprise me if they did a sailing from Melbourne (It actually surprises me they don't already). The could easily do a Melbourne, Tasmania, New Zealand cruise which i think would do really well. 

Today on Facebook...

2018/19 Season Revealed

Our 2018-2019 Australasian season will see favourites Ovation of the Seas®, Explorer of the Seas® and Radiance of the Seas® return, offering a variety of itineraries sailing throughout Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, French Polynesia, Asia and North America.

Ovation of the Seas® returns for her biggest season yet offering even more opportunities to experience Australia’s newest, most imaginative holiday experience. Unfortunately we bid a fond farewell to Voyager of the Seas® as she will be redeployed to Asia for a year round season. In a first for us, we will offer one departure from Melbourne on Radiance of the Seas®, and even more departures in Auckland to both Melbourne and Sydney.

On 19/04/2017 at 7:22 PM, EmersonNZ said:

I'd be guessing it has to be pretty soon. The last sailing listing so far is March 18 which is essentially this coming season. From what we are seeing down this way the cruise industry is doing very well is the Pacific so I can't imagine it'll be long until they list the next seasons offerings...  

As Matt mentioned above, the itineraries are still showing as TBD for 2018-19

https://loyaltoyoualways.com/Deployment/

Out of interest, the pic for the "Exotic" sailings looks like the Twelve Apostles on Victoria's Great Ocean Road. Could it be that RC is adding Victorian stops in 2018-19? Or even sailing out of Melbourne??

On 11/04/2017 at 1:34 PM, PocketsRN said:

Anyone have an idea when they're gonna be releasing the new South Pacific itineraries?  I figured they would've been included with the Australia dates last week, but they didn't. 

I;ve been checking my laptop hourly for the past week, haha. 

So far on the Australian site, they have added in the past week a Family Sale, an over-55s sale, and today a sale for Caribbean sailings.  But no new itineraries for the South Pacific. Anyday now...

9 hours ago, Matt said:

Correct. Last year there were all sorts of changes to the deployment schedule.  This year saw a little of that, but it sounds like Australia/Singapore is falling behind.  

Thanks Matt. Yes, looks like they've fallen behind a little. Not to worry, it's just building the anticipation for me!

So, sailings for 2018/19 Australia/Singapore were due to be released the week starting the 3rd of April. As luck would have it, I have been off work this week and regularly refreshing my browser while on the RC site. So far, no luck with next year's itinerary - it hasn't yet appeared.

Is the deployment schedule merely an estimate of when sailings will be released? I had eagerly anticipated the week just gone, fully expecting to have booked my next cruise at (probably) the cheapest possible price. Such a disappointment, but at least my excitement at booking a new cruise is simply deferred to a later time :)

They're handy little devices to have. I've never understood the hate.

With Caribbean, Alaska and Symphony behind us, what is everyone looking forward to now for a release?

South Pacific cruises out of Sydney.

I found the port schedule for Sydney harbour, looks like Voyager is sailing out for 11 nights on October 1, so I might book that one, pending pricing.

Great post. It's as if RCI started off enthusiastically with the naming convention but over time lost interest and only half-heartedly adhere to it if it suits.

You either:

a. leave your passport onboard and risk being marooned in a foreign land;

or

b. pack it in your bags and risk it being lost or stolen.

Which is the most likely scenario? For mine, it is b. But pros and cons both ways.

On my one and only sailing (Radiance, Jan 2013, South Pacific) the medical centre had seasickness tablets available for use anytime, free of charge. They were highly effective but resulted in extreme drowsiness. I assume they were similar to Dramamine. No consultation needed, you just had to ask. I presumed this was common practice across the fleet?