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Empress and Majesty are leaving the fleet


JLMoran

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Sad news. Got a C&A newsletter email today with the following:

Quote
As a valued Crown & Anchor Society member, I’m reaching out to make sure you 
were the first to know the latest news about our beloved Empress of the Seas and 
Majesty of the Seas. After more than 30 years with Royal Caribbean, having launched 
in 1990 and 1992 respectively, Empress and Majesty will be leaving our fleet. 

We know this news is bittersweet as many of you have sailed on these ships, and they 
hold a special place in your hearts thanks to the countless memories you’ve made 
with your families and friends while on board. The news hits close to home for me as 
well as I was part of the crew on Nordic Empress (as Empress was formerly called) and 
Majesty of the Seas when we introduced her to the world. 

Both ships made an indelible mark on the cruise industry, helping us to continually raise 
the bar on the cruise experience and leaving a lasting mark on our brand. 

Empress was the first ship specifically designed for short, 3- and ‌4-night‌ itineraries, 
with her first cruises visiting The Bahamas from Miami. This was an important milestone 
in our brands history as we were able to attract new and younger cruise guests to the 
industry by introducing quick getaways. Empress also made history as the first cruise 
ship to sail out of Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, when we opened our terminal 
in 2004. Even just three years ago, in 2017, Empress took center stage once again when 
she set sail on Royal Caribbean’s inaugural cruise to Cuba. It’s been an incredible 
journey and one that’s influenced our brand tremendously. 

Majesty also played a crucial role in our commitment to continuously redefine the 
cruise industry. As the third ship to round out the impressive Sovereign class ships, 
Majesty was more than twice the size of the average cruise ship at the time — and was 
the biggest ship in our fleet when she debuted. She started her adventures with ‌7-night‌ 
western Caribbean cruises from Miami and quickly blossomed into one of our guests’ 
favorite ships. 

Empress and Majesty’s departures are a major moment in Royal Caribbean history. 
No doubt, they will be dearly missed — they may be small, but their lasting impact 
is mighty. 

Decisions like these are difficult, but they are part of our necessary evolution to 
continue introducing new ships and bring you, our guests, the most innovative ships in 
the industry. 

I know many of you may wonder about the crew members you may fondly remember 
from your time onboard Empress and Majesty. There is no need to worry. They are still 
part of the Royal Caribbean family and will be reassigned to other ships once we are 
back to sailing again. 

We know this marks a new chapter in our history, and we are excited about what the 
future holds, but we cannot forget our past and what made us who we are today. I 
encourage all of you to share your memories of sailing on Empress and Majesty on my 
Facebook page; I’d love to see the amazing experiences you had while sailing with these 
two ships. 

As I’ve said before, we miss sailing with every one of you. But calmer seas are ahead, 
and we can’t wait for that day. Thank you for being a loyal member of our family. 
Please continue to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Until next time! 

All my best, 
 
http://www.creative.rccl.com/e-lite/RCI/2014/Masters/email_temp/html/images/spacer.gif
Michael Bayley
http://www.creative.rccl.com/e-lite/RCI/2014/Masters/email_temp/html/images/spacer.gif
Michael Bayley 
President and CEO 
Royal Caribbean International
“Loyal to Royal”

Serious bummer, I had wanted to sail Empress on one of her 7-night Bermuda or the CA/NE sailing that goes all the way down to Montreal before she got retired from the fleet.

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Not unexpected, and it makes economic sense, but it saddens me. Been on Majesty for 3 cruises out of FL, and always enjoyed the (now) smaller scale. I would walk around that ship for days and could decide to go anywhere at any time because nothing was that far away from anywhere else on the ship. Also, I could use the stairs for almost all inter-deck traversing, because most things were between deck 4 and deck 11. 

Thanks, Majesty, for my introduction to cruising. You will be missed and appreciated.

 

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29 minutes ago, twangster said:

Grandeur is next.  

Just googled and saw that, with these two gone, Grandeur is now the oldest ship (being built in 1996) and the smallest (being about 60 tons smaller than it's sister ship Rhapsody) so yeah....it's most likely that Grandeur  is next in line for the chopping block.

That said, I don't know that they would have a reason outside of money to get rid of her. Empress and Majesty lost a HUGE portion of their purpose with the loss of Cuba so between that and the pandemic, it was just the right time to let those classics go.

I've never been on either ship and only saw one in person once on my last cruise, but I  too am sad to see them go, especially with the fact that one of the original ships was scrapped this year, too.

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I have been fairly quiet here just shifting and lifting while maintaining my bubble.  Our last two sailings were on Majesty (9-19) and Empress (1-20).  We found a new appreciation for the smaller ship experience.  Sorry to see them leave the fleet but happy to have had a chance to sail them. 

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Holidays!! 

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40 minutes ago, USFFrank said:

I get it I guess, nothing personal, only business. But for Royals sake I sure hope Cuba doesn't come into play anytime soon. Those were the only 2 ships that could fit into that pier.

Scarlet Lady was scheduled to go there.  Longer than Majesty but 6' shorter than some Vision class.  

The problem with Havana is the prevailing wind and potential missed calls increase as ship size increases.  Royal used small ships for Cuba because they were right sized for the destination.  If Cuba comes back as an option Royal can reevaluate the options in the fleet at that future point in time.  It may be possible more ships can go there but the potential for missed calls will need to be factored into the decision making process.  

Virgin Voyages was willing to gamble it so maybe there are options beyond NE/MJ.

If Cuba does reopen the 3rd party that was going to upgrade the facilities will need to review the business model and make a decision.  If they reignite plans to upgrade the Havana port that could also provide a path forward at little bit down the road.

Honestly that may be a good approach.  Leave Havana for the small ships of Azamara and SilverSea while the port is upgraded and more importantly Havana proves itself to be a stable long term destination.  Cruise lines got burned badly in the travel ban.  The wise approach may be to play Cuba with a slow hand should the restrictions be lifted until it's clear they won't get burned again.

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32 minutes ago, Allen2 said:

Will miss Grand Ladies, the Empress and the Majesty.  Many great memories.  Glad we did not miss Cuba when the Empress was "called back" in service!

I did Cuba on Empress as well and I had a blast!! Alas, my fair Maiden, parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.

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4 minutes ago, PurdueFlyer said:

the Majesty was my first ever cruise back in 1997.  disappointing.  Never got to sail on Empress though.

I wonder what will replace MJ out of New Orleans?

NOLA was a recent reintroduction for Royal so there is no sure thing, but there are rumors that Grandeur might possibly go there. 

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5 hours ago, twangster said:

The problem with Havana is the prevailing wind and potential missed calls increase as ship size increases.  Royal used small ships for Cuba because they were right sized for the destination.  If Cuba comes back as an option Royal can reevaluate the options in the fleet at that future point in time.  It may be possible more ships can go there but the potential for missed calls will need to be factored into the decision making process.  

 One could almost compare the Havana situation with the original Coco Cay and maybe to a lesser extent Grand Cayman, however it would have nothing to do with ship size. Instead if the ships used tenders to get guests to certain ports they wouldn't be able to if the weather was bad and guests were stuck with an additional day at sea or maybe they visited another port instead. Due to bad weather our ship was not able to dock in Aruba on my 2018 cruise on Navigator of the Seas. The captain even put out a video on the in room TV's to explain why which was very nice. FWIW they did decide to go to Nassau instead in order to give us another port to visit.

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Sorry to see Majesty go, but I am at least glad that we got to sail on her before she left the fleet!  I honestly did not expect much since the ship was much older, and much smaller than what we were used to BUT that being said the crew was absolutely AMAZING and we had one of the best trips ever.  It was proof that the ship doesn't make the cruise it is your attitude and the crew! We got onboard not expecting much but were absolutely blown away by the time we got back to the dock! 

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With RC going bigger as they build new ships will they ever go back to building smaller ships? One of the benefits of the smaller ships are the smaller ports if they continue to build only large ships wont that continued to limit the ports of call RC will be able to sail to,  pushing business to other cruise lines that can access the smaller ports I fully understand the profitability of the larger ships I even read somewhere that they could sell it under 50% on oasis class ships and be profitable which I doubt could happen on the Majesty or Empress for example. 

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Sadly the writing has been in the sea for these ships for some time.  

On August 19, 2019 as I boarded Majesty right after an Empress cruise I wrote:

I originally booked a number of Empress and Majesty sailings when the Cuba cancellations were forced upon the industry.  I feared Royal might move these ships out of the fleet.  My plan was to take lots of pictures and document this legacy class of ship that were the foundation of so much that became even much more on later ships.  It was because of the success of ships like this that Royal has become what it is today.   Success breeds success.  As it turns out they aren't moving these ships out to pasture just yet plus I get to sail on some of the best (small) ships in the fleet!  That's a win-win.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14968-the-magic-of-majesty-august-2019-and-then-again-in-october/

It was clear back then that these ships just don't fit with the modern Royal Caribbean cruise line.  Spoiler alert - neither do Vision or Radiance class.   Like Empress and Majesty Royal was making money from them so they didn't have aggressive plans to shed these ships but I think most can agree these ships don't fit the primary business model for Royal Caribbean. 

The Voyager class has proven large enough to be worthy of upgrades (amplification) to bring them inline with the vision and direction of the modern Royal Caribbean.  Vision and Radiance class don't have the space or real estate for the same treatment.  That's not to say Royal will eliminate the two classes now, but just like the writing was in the sea in 2019 for Empress and Majesty the writing in the sea is beginning to appear for these ships as well.  

Royal will continue to make money on Vision and Radiance class where they can but they will also be seeking a buyer or place to move these ships as they do so.  That takes time, you don't sell multi-million dollar ships overnight, the cycle can take months or years.  If you like the older and now smallest ships in the fleet don't dilly dally waiting to book them. 

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13 minutes ago, twangster said:

Sadly the writing has been in the sea for these ships for some time.  

On August 19, 2019 as I boarded Majesty right after an Empress cruise I wrote:

I originally booked a number of Empress and Majesty sailings when the Cuba cancellations were forced upon the industry.  I feared Royal might move these ships out of the fleet.  My plan was to take lots of pictures and document this legacy class of ship that were the foundation of so much that became even much more on later ships.  It was because of the success of ships like this that Royal has become what it is today.   Success breeds success.  As it turns out they aren't moving these ships out to pasture just yet plus I get to sail on some of the best (small) ships in the fleet!  That's a win-win.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14968-the-magic-of-majesty-august-2019-and-then-again-in-october/

It was clear back then that these ships just don't fit with the modern Royal Caribbean cruise line.  Spoiler alert - neither do Vision or Radiance class.   Like Empress and Majesty Royal was making money from them so they didn't have aggressive plans to shed these ships but I think most can agree these ships don't fit the primary business model for Royal Caribbean. 

The Voyager class has proven large enough to be worthy of upgrades (amplification) to bring them inline with the vision and direction of the modern Royal Caribbean.  Vision and Radiance class don't have the space or real estate for the same treatment.  That's not to say Royal will eliminate the two classes now, but just like the writing was in the sea in 2019 for Empress and Majesty the writing in the sea is beginning to appear for these ships as well.  

Royal will continue to make money on Vision and Radiance class where they can but they will also be seeking a buyer or place to move these ships as they do so.  That takes time, you don't sell multi-million dollar ships overnight, the cycle can take months or years.  If you like the older and now smallest ships in the fleet don't dilly dally waiting to book them. 

That's why i asked what the largest class ship that could sail from Tampa, as i see very few options at this stage.  In order to remain at Tampa you have to hold onto 1 Radiance class ship or below or build a new ship with modern updates, that will accommodate passage under the bridge, which i don't see that happening, or turn over that port to one of the sister company's, as they also have ships in that class that fit the bill. 

 

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25 minutes ago, mworkman said:

That's why i asked what the largest class ship that could sail from Tampa, as i see very few options at this stage.  In order to remain at Tampa you have to hold onto 1 Radiance class ship or below or build a new ship with modern updates, that will accommodate passage under the bridge, which i don't see that happening, or turn over that port to one of the sister company's, as they also have ships in that class that fit the bill. 

 

Celebrity's M class face the same destiny.  They don't fit the target demographic that Celebrity is aiming for.  They'll hold on to them while there is no alternative but they are not a long term platform.

Azamara and SilverSea will long have ships that can fit into Tampa but the bigger challenge with Tampa is destination.  Azamara and SilverSea seek to provide a lot more than just better service, they also seek to provide more interesting destinations so they don't commit very much of their fleet to operations based in America.  I don't think Azamara could consistently fill even a small ship week after week visiting Cozumel and/or the Caymans.  Those are mass market destinations.  These 2 brands will put their ships in other regions where they can make more money since these are not mass market cruise lines.

For that reason I consider it unlikely that Tampa is a long term home port for the RCG brands.  Once Vision and Radiance class age out home ports like Baltimore or Tampa just don't work for Royal.  Think 10 years down the road.  It's hard to envision a Royal Caribbean ship there.  Now think 5 years down the road.  Not as clear but also not likely.  So somewhere between now and 5 years from now these home ports may no longer be viable options for the RCG.  That's not because they can't make some money there, but because the few ships that will be in the fleet then that can get under the bridge can make more money somewhere else.

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9 hours ago, r33796 said:

With RC going bigger as they build new ships will they ever go back to building smaller ships? One of the benefits of the smaller ships are the smaller ports if they continue to build only large ships wont that continued to limit the ports of call RC will be able to sail to,  pushing business to other cruise lines that can access the smaller ports I fully understand the profitability of the larger ships I even read somewhere that they could sell it under 50% on oasis class ships and be profitable which I doubt could happen on the Majesty or Empress for example. 

I have asked the same question a year ago , as  for example cruises to  the Greek islands used to be just with Vison and Radiance class but then explorer started to go there and this year Odyssey will . Even if they can not get to port, with the right system and enough tender option they can do it.

Same by the way for Alaska (Quantum going were only Radiance used to go) and even the Norwegian fjords (Where Anthem is going this year if C19 will allow).  I do not have anything against small ships (We went on Rhapsody twice and plan a cruise that cancelled on Jewel) although I prefer the options on the bigger ships. 

What I hope is that we will still see longer cruise than 7 days even with the bigger ships, but I do not see RCL building "small" size ships anymore. 

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