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Status of Majesty of the Seas


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I don't mean to start any rumors although I guess I am.  The Majesty has been docked at the Port of Portsmouth, UK for a few days now, at first I thought it was just a normal service call but now I'm starting to wonder if they may be offloading equipment, artwork and other valuables such as they did with Sovereign and Monarch prior to sending them to Aliaga to be scrapped.  Has anyone heard anything?

As an aside, the Carnival Fantasy has arrived in Aliaga to be scrapped and the Carnival Inspiration is a couple days out from arriving as well.

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At last word from Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain, only the pullmantur cruises will be scrapped. I tend to believe that as i read many financial reports and look like RC is the strongest Cruise line out there. As stated before by Richard Fain RC can make a profit with only 40% cap on many of its Ships

This is due to how new RC fleet compare to the other companies. 

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37 minutes ago, Jjohnb said:

I don't mean to start any rumors although I guess I am.  The Majesty has been docked at the Port of Portsmouth, UK for a few days now, at first I thought it was just a normal service call but now I'm starting to wonder if they may be offloading equipment, artwork and other valuables such as they did with Sovereign and Monarch prior to sending them to Aliaga to be scrapped.  Has anyone heard anything?

As an aside, the Carnival Fantasy has arrived in Aliaga to be scrapped and the Carnival Inspiration is a couple days out from arriving as well.

Fantasy was my first cruise but I won’t lament.  It was a pretty unremarkable cruise with a bunch of women I barely knew.  Frankly, I’m surprised that I ever tried cruising again.

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As long as dock fees are reasonable I think most ships would prefer to be at dock rather than running their engines burning more fuel and navigating around other shipping or living on anchor watch.

They might even be doing engine overhaul or maintenance.  Ships this old require a lot of scheduled maintenance so now is a great time to get stuff done.   

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(Like I know anything, but) IMHO Royal needs their 2 smallest ships, Majesty & Empress. Not only are they what's left of the old time cruise experience ships, because of their size they can go to places the others can't. And right now (OK not right now) they do.

 I'm looking down the line right now, but for example, if (in the unlikely event) they got rid of Majesty and/or Empress and shortly after that we we're allowed to cruise to Cuba again, what's Royal to do? Build new Sovereign size ships so they could go there?

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2 hours ago, USFFrank said:

(Like I know anything, but) IMHO Royal needs their 2 smallest ships, Majesty & Empress. Not only are they what's left of the old time cruise experience ships, because of their size they can go to places the others can't. And right now (OK not right now) they do.

 I'm looking down the line right now, but for example, if (in the unlikely event) they got rid of Majesty and/or Empress and shortly after that we we're allowed to cruise to Cuba again, what's Royal to do? Build new Sovereign size ships so they could go there?

I agree. RC will hold off getting rid of the smaller ships until at least after the election. Who wins the US election will determined what they will do

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Just a thought, if Majesty of the Seas could go to Cuba, surely one of the Vision Class ships could as well? It appears say comparing Majesty to Grandeur (or Rhapsody/Vision) there is only 11m difference in length. Could they not use one of these ships if Cuba opened in that case? 

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2 hours ago, Shanenz84 said:

Just a thought, if Majesty of the Seas could go to Cuba, surely one of the Vision Class ships could as well? It appears say comparing Majesty to Grandeur (or Rhapsody/Vision) there is only 11m difference in length. Could they not use one of these ships if Cuba opened in that case? 

Not sure.  Even Empress hangs way out in the slip (or did).  Taken from near the aft of Empress:   

Empress%20Day%203%20Cuba-1-22.jpg

At some point as a ship gets longer and longer the physics don't work and there has to be a maximum amount of unsupported ship that can't be exceeded. 

The extra length of Vision class may be past that magic number.  I know the Captain of Empress articulated that winds can be tough in this harbor and he expected a number of missed calls for Empress.   A bigger ship with more hanging out into the harbor has to be a concern.  It's amazing even Majesty got in there.  

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16 hours ago, USFFrank said:

(Like I know anything, but) IMHO Royal needs their 2 smallest ships, Majesty & Empress. Not only are they what's left of the old time cruise experience ships, because of their size they can go to places the others can't. And right now (OK not right now) they do.

 I'm looking down the line right now, but for example, if (in the unlikely event) they got rid of Majesty and/or Empress and shortly after that we we're allowed to cruise to Cuba again, what's Royal to do? Build new Sovereign size ships so they could go there?

Would not think the business case would support building a new ship.  If they could show they generate enough revenue from those special car stops, they could purchase or lease from another line culling their fleet.  Would imagine there will be a lot of that in the near future.    Look at the ships that sail the Galapagos , highly specialized small ships, but high price tag (100 or less passengers).  They're forced to have low loading due to Ecuador's rules in minimizing environmental impact.   But they're one trick ponies.

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On 7/28/2020 at 1:18 PM, Jjohnb said:

I don't mean to start any rumors although I guess I am.  The Majesty has been docked at the Port of Portsmouth, UK for a few days now, at first I thought it was just a normal service call but now I'm starting to wonder if they may be offloading equipment, artwork and other valuables such as they did with Sovereign and Monarch prior to sending them to Aliaga to be scrapped.  Has anyone heard anything?

As an aside, the Carnival Fantasy has arrived in Aliaga to be scrapped and the Carnival Inspiration is a couple days out from arriving as well.

They can scrap all the Carnival ones.  But that is my personal opinion.  

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16 hours ago, SandyW said:

They can scrap all the Carnival ones.  But that is my personal opinion.  

Monarch, Sovereign, Fantasy --- with (I believe), the Carnival Inspiration being next.  I do have to wonder though, what's going on with the third Pullmantur ship, the former Celebrity Horizon?  I thought she was coming here too.

Monarch Sovereign Fantasy.jpg

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As I understand it, Majesty was used for a repatriation voyage for UK based employees.  I also know the harbor there rather well, I cruised "Grey Funnel Lines" out of there for 10 years.  Majesty is the largest cruise ship to have berthed in Portsmouth.  There are as far as I am aware, no RCCL storage facilities available in Portsmouth harbour, so whateverr is being off loaded is probably simply routine.

If, and its a big IF, she heads into the mediteranean after her visit, I think  you will have your answer.

 

Edit: Majesty is currently in transit from Portsmouth to Southampton, her track on AIS shows her to be moving at about 7.5kts, on a circular route about 10 miles off Shanklin in the Isle of Wight,. Which tells me she is simply cruising in econo mode. I do see she has itinerary through 2022. However, she has been in service for 28 years, so may be coming to the end of her profitable lifespan

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Quote

As I understand it, Majesty was used for a repatriation voyage for UK based employees. 

Concur, with a twist. Saw a news article independent of RCG about repatriation problems in the cruise industry. Majesty of the Seas was being used to house certain employees off the coast of the UK because a lot of repat flights, which might pop up quickly, are done out of London for Africa and the Middle East. The country in question might say 150 citizens total (not just cruise line employees) today, on this particular flight, or you won't get home for a month. In the article, it used Mauritius as an example.

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On 7/28/2020 at 9:06 PM, Shanenz84 said:

Just a thought, if Majesty of the Seas could go to Cuba, surely one of the Vision Class ships could as well? It appears say comparing Majesty to Grandeur (or Rhapsody/Vision) there is only 11m difference in length. Could they not use one of these ships if Cuba opened in that case? 

I asked this same question once in the Cruise Critic boards and was told that the Vision Class ships cannot dock in Cuba. They gave a technical reason which now I’m forgetting. 

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5 hours ago, Oliver said:

I asked this same question once in the Cruise Critic boards and was told that the Vision Class ships cannot dock in Cuba. They gave a technical reason which now I’m forgetting. 

If I remember correctly, the dock simply isn't long enough to support a Vision Class ship. Apparently it's sketchy even with Majesty. 

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5 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

If I remember correctly, the dock simply isn't long enough to support a Vision Class ship. Apparently it's sketchy even with Majesty. 

If it's a matter of extending or building a new pier, the economics may be such that it's better for Royal to contribute to or pay to build a new pier and run a larger ship to Cuba.  I would think the Cuban government would surely welcome a capital infusion / pier that could accommodate more cruise passengers ($) and additional ships. 

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18 minutes ago, Jjohnb said:

If it's a matter of extending or building a new pier, the economics may be such that it's better for Royal to contribute to or pay to build a new pier and run a larger ship to Cuba.  I would think the Cuban government would surely welcome a capital infusion / pier that could accommodate more cruise passengers ($) and additional ships. 

The political environment of the last several years concerning the ability to cruise to Cuba indicates to me that RCG and the other lines should be loath to put too much capital into it at this time. I am assuming that there are myriad other restrictions concerning investment in Cuba that we may not be privy to.

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7 hours ago, Jjohnb said:

If it's a matter of extending or building a new pier, the economics may be such that it's better for Royal to contribute to or pay to build a new pier and run a larger ship to Cuba.  I would think the Cuban government would surely welcome a capital infusion / pier that could accommodate more cruise passengers ($) and additional ships. 

The Cuban government contracted a 3rd party to expand the port capabilities before the travel ban imposed by the US.

Global Ports Holding had plans to increase the Havana port to six berths by 2024.  

https://www.globalportsholding.com/ports/17/la-habana-cruise-port

Global Ports Holding has also contracted with the Bahamas to upgrade the Nassau port facilities.  They are also involved with Antigua's port expansion.   

Given Cuba's history with both foreign and domestic land owners it wouldn't make sense for anyone to build their using their own money.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
12 hours ago, Andy & Sheryl Unwin said:

Majesty is currently in Cyprus (Souda) as it happens, Empress is now on route to Malta, it will be interesting to see where her next port is

It's actually the other way around, the Empress has been in Souda (Greece) for a couple weeks, Majesty left the UK yesterday en route to Valletta (Malta).  Officially (current position) per RC, the ships are just being positioned there for a warm layup, the passage of time and developing discussions my change that status. 

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7 hours ago, Jjohnb said:

It's actually the other way around, the Empress has been in Souda (Greece) for a couple weeks, Majesty left the UK yesterday en route to Valletta (Malta).  Officially (current position) per RC, the ships are just being positioned there for a warm layup, the passage of time and developing discussions my change that status. 

You are correct, I have edited to make it more accurate. Less confusing that way

 

 

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31 minutes ago, cruiseboys said:

Seems very suspicious that Majesty is now on her way to Malta!  And Empress has been in Greece for a few weeks now!  Seems like a convenient location to place them before beaching in Turkey a la Sovereign and Monarch!  Thoughts?

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/08/19/no-royal-caribbean-still-has-not-sold-empress-of-the-seas

 

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