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Oasis Class Ship to Australia?


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On 9/8/2019 at 5:44 PM, Shanenz84 said:

Also, am I correct that Oasis Class do not tender? So this would also have to be taken into consideration.

For cruises to the South Pacific there would be very few ports that could handle it - if any currently.

For New Zealand I imagine Napier, Tauranga, Wellington & Lyttleton (once new pier is complete) should be able to accommodate but at this stage Ovation has to tender in the Harbour when visiting Auckland, which would therefore not even be possible with an Oasis Class ship. 

I’d say more likely an Oasis Class ship would get to Asia before Australia. 

Dunedin (or Port Charmers) could also currently handle an Oasis ship. Ironically like Australia and Sydney New Zealand's largest city's port couldn't currently berth an Oasis ship (Heck, even Ovation has to tender in Auckland).

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I think this is one of a number of reasons Royal is considering a private island in that area, as well as somewhere in Asia...if the rumors are true....given some governments are slow or inactive in working to expand current ports, with cruise lines & commercial shipping for that matter. 

I think it will eventually happen; but, it may be a decade or more before it actually does...unless ongoing discussions are currently in the work, as we speak.

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The private island concept in this area is interesting.  I wonder which country will provide the land?  It certainly wouldnt be Australia.  The cost of doing business on Australian territories would make it prohibitive.

The Bahama's works well for florida because you can do 3 and 4 day itineraries easily.  Where here... you would need to do them all from Brisbane to come close to that timeframe.

Additionally, I wonder if it came to be, would it be a purely Royal Caribbean product or would it be shared with Celebrity to get the economies of scale for the destination.

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I personally don't care about getting bigger ships. A ship of 5000 people seems over whelming to me.

What I really would have liked to see was the ships that are coming here being treated the same as those in the rest of the fleet, i.e. Voyager getting an Amp to, not the same level as mariner and navigator, but a bit more of the the promised hype that those ships made. I am going on her in December and I am pretty concerned about getting food boredom. The only free places to eat are the dining room, buffet, and cafe promenade. Any only 3 paid places. Mariner and Navigator both have 4 complimentary eateries, and 4 & 5 paid respectively. Particularly considering that cruises from Australia tend to be on the long side what with everything being so bloody far away. 

I get that Voyager is a ship shared with the Asian market which Matt has repeatedly mentioned is an outlier in the industry, and therefore can't be treated as similar to the ships in the US, but as there has been so much hype in the community around the amplification program, and the successes of both Navigator and Mariner, and also taking into account that the Australian consumer is far more similar to the US market than the Asia market, I think it's understandable to be feel like the ship is disappointing in comparison. Regardless I plan to have a great time on the ship, as well as in port. 

I wonder if the level of investment is indicative of how long they plan to continue with the Voyager ship. She is 20 year old now, could this be an indication that they don't expect her to remain in the fleet for that much longer, and therefore are restraining their investment into it?

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53 minutes ago, mattymay said:

Brisbane's proximity to the South Pacific is far better than Sydney... keep the New Zealand cruises out of Sydney, but move all the South Pacific itineraries to the new port in Brisbane and bring in the Megaships!!!!

They need to also upgrade Station Pier in Melbourne.  probably one of the best ports for NZ cruises too.

I also find the White Bay terminal in Sydney strange.  a great port.... but limited to certain ships based on what can fit under the harbour bridge.

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6 minutes ago, Vanessa77 said:

I get that Voyager is a ship shared with the Asian market which Matt has repeatedly mentioned is an outlier in the industry, and therefore can't be treated as similar to the ships in the US, but as there has been so much hype in the community around the amplification program, and the successes of both Navigator and Mariner, and also taking into account that the Australian consumer is far more similar to the US market than the Asia market, I think it's understandable to be feel like the ship is disappointing in comparison. Regardless I plan to have a great time on the ship, as well as in port. 

I wonder if the level of investment is indicative of how long they plan to continue with the Voyager ship. She is 20 year old now, could this be an indication that they don't expect her to remain in the fleet for that much longer, and therefore are restraining their investment into it?

Your points are totally valid. The voyager amplification is a bit underwhelming compared to the others... but I am hoping that what they do do is good.  We were on a P&O ship earlier this year (a smaller one) and it really only had 2 additional dining options - chef's table and the grill. So this will certainly be  a step up compared to that.

That said... if they do have a ship permanently in AU waters, you would hope that it would have more of the options available similar to the US market.  The one thing we arent privvy to is what the onboard spend is like in each individual country.  Do AU cruisers spend equivalent amounts to US cruisers?  Its clear that Asian cruisers dont and the offering is adjusted.

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To try and put a positive spin on it, Voyager is getting something done which is better opposed to nothing at all. Despite being 20 years old I can't see it or any of the other Voyager Class ships being retired anytime soon and most likely will still be around for 30 years. When I was on the all access tour on Explorer in February the engineer said that the Voyager Class ships are built pretty well and the engines are made to last they also are more 'mechanical' rather than electronic which means there is less to go wrong than say a Quantum or Oasis Class ship. Just look at Empress & Majesty still being in the fleet at almost 30 years old!

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1 hour ago, Vanessa77 said:

I personally don't care about getting bigger ships. A ship of 5000 people seems over whelming to me.

It's actually not as bad as it seems. Harmony felt less crowded than other ships. No lines, could always get a lounger near the pool, etc..

1 hour ago, Phillo said:

They need to also upgrade Station Pier in Melbourne.  probably one of the best ports for NZ cruises too.

True, it'll be very interesting to see how Celebrity go porting a ship down here.

26 minutes ago, Shanenz84 said:

When I was on the all access tour on Explorer in February the engineer said that the Voyager Class ships are built pretty well and the engines are made to last they also are more 'mechanical' rather than electronic which means there is less to go wrong than say a Quantum or Oasis Class ship.

You can bet Explorer will get full the Amped treatment since it is destined for Coco Cay. 

I'm sure if someone booked Voyager before they had heard of the Amped program, or don't pay attention to things happening on the other side of the world with the rest of the Voyager class, then they would be very pleased with the new additions. But given what 'we' know, It's hard to look to Navigator and then feel like you are getting value for money on Voyager.

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2 hours ago, Vanessa77 said:

I personally don't care about getting bigger ships. A ship of 5000 people seems over whelming to me.

What I really would have liked to see was the ships that are coming here being treated the same as those in the rest of the fleet, i.e. Voyager getting an Amp to, not the same level as mariner and navigator, but a bit more of the the promised hype that those ships made. I am going on her in December and I am pretty concerned about getting food boredom. The only free places to eat are the dining room, buffet, and cafe promenade. Any only 3 paid places. Mariner and Navigator both have 4 complimentary eateries, and 4 & 5 paid respectively. Particularly considering that cruises from Australia tend to be on the long side what with everything being so bloody far away. 

I get that Voyager is a ship shared with the Asian market which Matt has repeatedly mentioned is an outlier in the industry, and therefore can't be treated as similar to the ships in the US, but as there has been so much hype in the community around the amplification program, and the successes of both Navigator and Mariner, and also taking into account that the Australian consumer is far more similar to the US market than the Asia market, I think it's understandable to be feel like the ship is disappointing in comparison. Regardless I plan to have a great time on the ship, as well as in port. 

I wonder if the level of investment is indicative of how long they plan to continue with the Voyager ship. She is 20 year old now, could this be an indication that they don't expect her to remain in the fleet for that much longer, and therefore are restraining their investment into it?

If you want to talk underwhelming, try the DogHouse on Mariner.  Hard to fathom being upset that Voyager isn't getting one.  Limited hours and not that interesting.  

Likewise paying for a Johnny Rockets burger that is basically a WJ burger with some extra sauce on it.  Take JR off all ships, please.  Was JR a smash success on Voyager down under?  SMH.  

The success of Mariner and more so Navigator is because of the short cruise market where folks are used to getting the oldest and smallest ships across all cruise lines.  it's also bound to Perfect Day at CocoCay.  If they had not done Perfect Day then Mariner and Navigator would not be as successful.  It's the combined effect of the two that makes them successful.    

Many people feel Navigator is wasted in the short cruise market.  If it were doing more interesting itineraries it would be even more successful.   

Don't forget Ovation is better than much of the fleet.  If Australia never had Ovation I could see some griping, but seriously, Ovation is a pretty awesome ship.  Wanting only the best ships and accepting nothing short of the top 3 seems a little ... demanding.  

 

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Hardly demanding at all, Voyager is a large ship now getting even more passengers. This amp has removed public space and dining space/options. Heres hoping it is not going to turn into an overcrowded mistake.

Another issue is the advertising and propoganda. Putting all amps under one promotion and then only delivering on some. Amazingly anyone going to book a cruise on Voyager in the future will still see Johnny Rockets included on the ship page as a dining option.

 

 

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7 hours ago, mattymay said:

 

I'm sure if someone booked Voyager before they had heard of the Amped program, or don't pay attention to things happening on the other side of the world with the rest of the Voyager class, then they would be very pleased with the new additions. But given what 'we' know, It's hard to look to Navigator and then feel like you are getting value for money on Voyager.

Yes we were ready to book Ovation but since we have never done Voyager (have done Explorer) the changes are what sealed the deal. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 9/18/2019 at 6:39 AM, Shanenz84 said:

Looks like the NSW government are looking into a new cruise terminal in Sydney, to be situated near the airport at Port Botany/Phillip Bay.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/21579-nsw-government-eyes-sydney-terminal-plans.html

Well they now have a reason with an Oasis class on this side of the world. They should do all they can to lure it here for a season.

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2 hours ago, mattymay said:

I think its almost definite now that we will get Quantum

I hope not. Having both Ovation and Quantum would be too much. We were on Independence a couple of weeks ago and I much prefer this class of ship to Quantum class.

If Quantum comes to this part of the world hopefully Ovation will go somewhere else.

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Also Australian! And while I’ll certainly admit to having done some moaning, my comment was mearly a statement of likely fact. Do you not agree?

The timelines all meet up. Voyager is going back for second round amplification (a program which does seem to be linked to the Caribbean market) in 2021. Wonder is going to be doing Asia full time from 2021, leaving the question open about whether they need so many very large ships. Also I believe that someone commented on an unnamed quantum ship moving to Aus at some point (somewhere in this thread actually), perhaps it was 2021. Therefore it seems reasonable to assume that Aus will get quantum, wonder does Asia, and voyager will go back to the Caribbean market once receiving her final Caribbean makeover. 

Can’t really moan about getting bigger and ‘better’ ships in the fleet when not having them was.....what we were moaning about in the first place...? ?

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Just a tidbit from the NZ Herald which was an article about cruising in New Zealand. They we're speaking with Gavin Smith the current MD of Royal Caribbean Australia, mentioning how with improved infrastructure Royal is keen to bring an Oasis Class to New Zealand. Talk was also about a mooring dolphin which is still being debated for Auckland which would allow Quantum Class ships to dock instead of tender and how it would only be designed for 15 years or so and a more permanent cruise terminal or a different wharf would be needed. Also interesting to note the new purpose built terminal (opening for Summer season 2020-21) at Lyttleton (Christchurch) will also be Oasis Class capable. 

IMG_9580.PNG.4da1795099f7c78085b29282ae75c49e.PNG

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