F1guynz

I'm sure Royal doesn't care how many people are onboard as long as you've paid the charter fee.  Heck, if you had the money, it could be a family vacation for 4 if you wanted to spend that much.  Since the fee is for the entire ship, the only limit would be the maximum capacity of the ship chartered.

On the RCI charter website they have indicative pricing for chartering their ships. If we could find 2000 people on royalcaribbeanblog.com to go maybe we should just hire a ship. Picking an itinerary we all agree on might be a sticking point. :-)
"The charter rate will be based on full double occupancy regardless of how many people sail, pre-paid gratuities based on double occupancy and any applicable fuel surcharge based on full double occupancy.  The client will be responsible for taxes & fees based on the actual number of guests and will be required to pay for the actual gratuities should more than double occupancy sail.  Additional taxes & fees will apply for triple and quad berths above double occupancy.
Pricing varies based on ship, sail date, itinerary and level of customization.  Actual pricing must be provided by your Charter Sales Manager, but the following ranges may be used in the pre-qualification process to determine viability:"
    Ship Class 3 & 4 Night $700,000 – $1,690,000+ Vision Class 4 & 5 Night $1,000,000 – $1,760,000+ Radiance Class 4 & 5 Night $1,300,000 – $1,700,000+ Voyager Class 4 & 5 Night $1,800,000 – $2,800,000+ Freedom  Class 7 Night $1,800,000 – $2,500,000+ Vision / Radiance Class 7 Night $2,800,000 – $3,800,000+ Voyager Classes 7 Night $3,900,000 – $4,500,000+ Freedom Class 7 Night $5,000,000 – $7,700,000+ Quantum Class 7 Night $6,500,000 – $11,000,000+ Oasis Class Charter pricing will generally be most attractive in non-peak season such as September, October, early December and/or January and will be most expensive from May through August.  Product in Alaska, Bermuda or Europe may exceed the ranges outlined above.

On the RCI charter website they have indicative pricing for chartering their ships. If we could find 2000 people on royalcaribbeanblog.com to go maybe we should just hire a ship. Picking an itinerary we all agree on might be a sticking point. :-)
"The charter rate will be based on full double occupancy regardless of how many people sail, pre-paid gratuities based on double occupancy and any applicable fuel surcharge based on full double occupancy.  The client will be responsible for taxes & fees based on the actual number of guests and will be required to pay for the actual gratuities should more than double occupancy sail.  Additional taxes & fees will apply for triple and quad berths above double occupancy.
Pricing varies based on ship, sail date, itinerary and level of customization.  Actual pricing must be provided by your Charter Sales Manager, but the following ranges may be used in the pre-qualification process to determine viability:"
    Ship Class 3 & 4 Night $700,000 – $1,690,000+ Vision Class 4 & 5 Night $1,000,000 – $1,760,000+ Radiance Class 4 & 5 Night $1,300,000 – $1,700,000+ Voyager Class 4 & 5 Night $1,800,000 – $2,800,000+ Freedom  Class 7 Night $1,800,000 – $2,500,000+ Vision / Radiance Class 7 Night $2,800,000 – $3,800,000+ Voyager Classes 7 Night $3,900,000 – $4,500,000+ Freedom Class 7 Night $5,000,000 – $7,700,000+ Quantum Class 7 Night $6,500,000 – $11,000,000+ Oasis Class Charter pricing will generally be most attractive in non-peak season such as September, October, early December and/or January and will be most expensive from May through August.  Product in Alaska, Bermuda or Europe may exceed the ranges outlined above.

This has become a bit of an issue for Auckland.... there are two issues at play (1) environmentally it means extending into the sea. Our Resource Management Act while allowing this means the extension has to be weighed up against impact to environment, cultural concerns and concerns of other users etc. (2) as suggested there is a genuine feeling that local government needs to be careful building infrastructure that benefits a commercial entity (foreign at that) without clear commitments which would see a return on investment (Especially as the Port itself is a company, though ironically partly owned by Auckland City). IT is easy to say 'but the city benefits from tourism, while true the reality is that benefit in the case of cruise ships (due to their one day stay ) is normally limited to small groups of residents. It certainly is a huge positve benefit... but hard to argue that that benefit which is not highly distributed should not be paid for by those that benefit the most (The port who gets the port fees, the cruise company or the tourism operators etc). I cna argue it either way.
The good news it looks like Auckland will be getting an extension maybe a bit later than it should have. It's funny to think that far small cities in New Zealand (my home of Dunedin with a population of $128k v Auckland 1.4m for example) has a port able to doc Quantum or Oasis class (in our case 2 at once if the need is ever there) ships but Auckland doesn't.

WAAAYTOOO, you always post such interesting and helpful information! :) 

I feel this a problem wherever you are. We live in New Zealand and all the RC cruises are generally Australia to NZ or up to the South Pacific islands. As the interaries are limited I wish they would change up the ships more often so at least something was different. To be fair they have introduced Ovation OTS last year but they charge a big premium to go on her. I would like to go on Freedom class ship because over the last few years the choice has only been Voyager, Explorer and Radiance. A lot of people do seem to enjoy going on the same ship doing the same thing every year but I think you lose the WOW factor after a while.

There is no shame in deciding that you will just stay on the ship in port.  Many years ago, when we were newbie cruisers we had some very experienced cruisers warn us that there would come a point when one Caribbean island looked just like any another.  That point came much sooner, for us, than I thought it would.  We still LOVE cruising in the Caribbean but truly, we, more often than not, just stay on the ship.  Particularly somewhere like Cozumel where, like Tiny, I think I should have some type of citizenship rights (LOL).
As retirement rushes closer and faster to our door, I am soooo looking forward to trying out South Pacific and Asian itins and of course, Europe and the Middle East.  I cannot wait until we can move out to the big, big world and see more of it from our ship's balcony.

I feel this a problem wherever you are. We live in New Zealand and all the RC cruises are generally Australia to NZ or up to the South Pacific islands. As the interaries are limited I wish they would change up the ships more often so at least something was different. To be fair they have introduced Ovation OTS last year but they charge a big premium to go on her. I would like to go on Freedom class ship because over the last few years the choice has only been Voyager, Explorer and Radiance. A lot of people do seem to enjoy going on the same ship doing the same thing every year but I think you lose the WOW factor after a while.

I feel this a problem wherever you are. We live in New Zealand and all the RC cruises are generally Australia to NZ or up to the South Pacific islands. As the interaries are limited I wish they would change up the ships more often so at least something was different. To be fair they have introduced Ovation OTS last year but they charge a big premium to go on her. I would like to go on Freedom class ship because over the last few years the choice has only been Voyager, Explorer and Radiance. A lot of people do seem to enjoy going on the same ship doing the same thing every year but I think you lose the WOW factor after a while.

I feel this a problem wherever you are. We live in New Zealand and all the RC cruises are generally Australia to NZ or up to the South Pacific islands. As the interaries are limited I wish they would change up the ships more often so at least something was different. To be fair they have introduced Ovation OTS last year but they charge a big premium to go on her. I would like to go on Freedom class ship because over the last few years the choice has only been Voyager, Explorer and Radiance. A lot of people do seem to enjoy going on the same ship doing the same thing every year but I think you lose the WOW factor after a while.

I feel this a problem wherever you are. We live in New Zealand and all the RC cruises are generally Australia to NZ or up to the South Pacific islands. As the interaries are limited I wish they would change up the ships more often so at least something was different. To be fair they have introduced Ovation OTS last year but they charge a big premium to go on her. I would like to go on Freedom class ship because over the last few years the choice has only been Voyager, Explorer and Radiance. A lot of people do seem to enjoy going on the same ship doing the same thing every year but I think you lose the WOW factor after a while.

I feel this a problem wherever you are. We live in New Zealand and all the RC cruises are generally Australia to NZ or up to the South Pacific islands. As the interaries are limited I wish they would change up the ships more often so at least something was different. To be fair they have introduced Ovation OTS last year but they charge a big premium to go on her. I would like to go on Freedom class ship because over the last few years the choice has only been Voyager, Explorer and Radiance. A lot of people do seem to enjoy going on the same ship doing the same thing every year but I think you lose the WOW factor after a while.

I saw this on our Ovation cruise. It is $470 NZ (about $322US) for a 14 night cruise. It works out at about $33nzd per person but you can also dine at the speciality restaurants for lunch on sea days as part of this package so seems like great value. The only issue I have are there are so many restaurants to try on Ovation, many complementary including the Coastal Kitchen. So we would not get full value for the cruise. When you look there are not that many pay restaurants on Ovation. Isumi, Chops, Winter Wonderland, Jamie's Italian off the top of my head. Ultimately I think the 5 night dining package will still be best for us on our next cruise.
Part of me still wants to book this but with six complimentary restaurants (and some of these look pretty cool from the menus), plus faithful old windjammer it feels like it would be underused. I don't have an American appetite so small portions do me.
 
 
 

Especially as the first 6 days are sea days. Resistance is they key! I don't normally have something sweet at breakfast, lunch and dinner time at home. Why on a ship do I suddenly feel the need a sweet after each meal.Maybe that isn't just hand sanitiser when you enter the windjammer of restaurant. It is a subliminal spray to make you eat more,

Especially as the first 6 days are sea days. Resistance is they key! I don't normally have something sweet at breakfast, lunch and dinner time at home. Why on a ship do I suddenly feel the need a sweet after each meal.Maybe that isn't just hand sanitiser when you enter the windjammer of restaurant. It is a subliminal spray to make you eat more,

Especially as the first 6 days are sea days. Resistance is they key! I don't normally have something sweet at breakfast, lunch and dinner time at home. Why on a ship do I suddenly feel the need a sweet after each meal.Maybe that isn't just hand sanitiser when you enter the windjammer of restaurant. It is a subliminal spray to make you eat more,

Whereas I enjoy both small and large ships, I would love to see some new small ships built that focus on ports with some of the 'big ship' features like a bionic bar or some of the shows.

I saw this on our Ovation cruise. It is $470 NZ (about $322US) for a 14 night cruise. It works out at about $33nzd per person but you can also dine at the speciality restaurants for lunch on sea days as part of this package so seems like great value. The only issue I have are there are so many restaurants to try on Ovation, many complementary including the Coastal Kitchen. So we would not get full value for the cruise. When you look there are not that many pay restaurants on Ovation. Isumi, Chops, Winter Wonderland, Jamie's Italian off the top of my head. Ultimately I think the 5 night dining package will still be best for us on our next cruise.
Part of me still wants to book this but with six complimentary restaurants (and some of these look pretty cool from the menus), plus faithful old windjammer it feels like it would be underused. I don't have an American appetite so small portions do me.
 
 
 

I wish they would do one Auckland to Auckland via the South Pacfic on Explorer OTS. ATM only Radiance comes out of Auckland and even though Radiance is newer it feels more dated than Explorer. 
Actually I like to try different ships rather than go on the same ones each year so I wish they would swap Explorer for Mariner or Adventure (even though technically they are nearly the same as Voyager and Explorer). As itinaries are limited here I would like to see different ships to keep things fresh.  I guess I am in the minority because most people seem happy sailing on the same ships year after year. Oasis class are too big for Australia and NZ but I would like to see a Freedom class ship here in the next few years.
It is cool having a quantum class ship here but you certainly pay a premium cabin price for a near new ship compared to ships from the '00s
 

I wish they would do one Auckland to Auckland via the South Pacfic on Explorer OTS. ATM only Radiance comes out of Auckland and even though Radiance is newer it feels more dated than Explorer. 
Actually I like to try different ships rather than go on the same ones each year so I wish they would swap Explorer for Mariner or Adventure (even though technically they are nearly the same as Voyager and Explorer). As itinaries are limited here I would like to see different ships to keep things fresh.  I guess I am in the minority because most people seem happy sailing on the same ships year after year. Oasis class are too big for Australia and NZ but I would like to see a Freedom class ship here in the next few years.
It is cool having a quantum class ship here but you certainly pay a premium cabin price for a near new ship compared to ships from the '00s
 

When I was talking to the concierge about this on Radiance he said the problem is that a ship the size of Radiance on a 14+ cruise will make the same money as an Oasis class will make in 7 days.. From a purely financial point of view the bigger ships make more money and they don't seem to have trouble filling them so why would you build something smaller as the payback over the lifetime of a large ship would be much greater.
I guess in the future small ships will be the domain of more specialised luxury cruise lines.
The flip side of that is that RCI keeps complaining that in Australia and NZ that our current cruise terminals cannot support the size of the large ships and are now demanding that new cruise terminals be built to accommodate the ships or they will go somewhere else.
Catch 22 really as if you build bigger facilities then they will probably build even bigger ships.