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1 hour ago, mattymay said:

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A handy 18 C&A points, but 331 is depressing!

I just got home from a land holiday in Cairns/Port Douglas. Should have been on Quantum this week 😞

No didn't quote it, it's not a big deal, just paid the deposit again. 

It would have been hot in PD, I used live there but just couldn’t take the heat.

 I remember laying in bed in July in a pool of sweat.

But back to your booking,at first my agent said I would have to pay the deposit again.

I said I’m not canceling it I’m reprising it ,they put to RC .The agent said how did you do that ?

They did another 2 times for some friends,one got the full $1,000 OBC

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On 2/15/2022 at 10:41 PM, Chili said:

So I have put the Australian price match to the test another 2 times with the current WOW sale.

Royal Caribbean didn’t hesitate to match the current price and OBC  under the cruise with confidence price match.

The agent said they where surprised when they reprised the fares

I called to try out the Price Guarantee a couple of weeks ago, 3 separate times (different representative each time), with no luck each time.

They all quoted the "booked a cruise on or before March 31, 2022, on sailings between June 12, 2020 and September 30, 2022" from https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/best-price-guarantee-policy.  Which is fair enough, as the cruise is in December.

I am guessing the only difference is if you went through a Travel Agent it looks like it is not a blocker - but if you booked directly through RC (which we did) no such luck...

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On 2/21/2022 at 5:14 PM, Sj21 said:

I'm hoping the situation doesn't affect our September cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii, which reposition Radiance for the Australian cruise season.

Or my April 2023

 

Brisbane south Pacific

B2b

Brisbane - honolulu 

B2b

Honolulu-Vancouver

B2b

Vancouver-Seattle

Cruise! 

I've never done a b2b cruise before 😉

Speaking of this cruise,  will it qualify for double points?  I'm not Australian. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
42 minutes ago, CruisingOz said:

Having just returned from the US and wanting to take advantage of the double points, it seems Australian cruises are so much more expensive than cruises in the US. Sure there is less competition but it seems far more excessive when comparing similar ships and days

You haven’t missed much here, the cruise ban is like a dog chasing it’s tail.

What was the highlight of your adventure? And what ship?

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19 minutes ago, Chili said:

What was the highlight of your adventure? And what ship?

As this was our first time in that part of the world, each destination was new and amazing. Highlights was taking a ferry through the locks of the Panama canal, swimming with huge sting rays in Antigua, visiting the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) islands, and Perfect Day at Coco Cay. We sailed the Grandeur, Freedom, Odyssey and Symphony. The Symphony was by far the most amazing ship. It is huge and a destination in itself. The shows, especially Aqua Theatre, restaurant's, especially 150 Central Park, and on-board activities, like the Abyss and zip-line. We saw and experienced so much in our 44 sea days. Also Miami is a nice place but South Beach is amazing, with a constant vibe and great variety of food. There is nothing like it in Australia. 

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1 hour ago, CruisingOz said:

Having just returned from the US and wanting to take advantage of the double points, it seems Australian cruises are so much more expensive than cruises in the US. Sure there is less competition but it seems far more excessive when comparing similar ships and days

Pretty sure it's always been that way. A lot cheaper in the US, so long as you are willing to travel that far.

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3 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

Having just returned from the US and wanting to take advantage of the double points, it seems Australian cruises are so much more expensive than cruises in the US. Sure there is less competition but it seems far more excessive when comparing similar ships and days

I’m heading to the US next week and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind clarifying if you did pcr test prior or whether they accept RAT done by a testing company. Just not sure which one to book as it doesn’t specify on anything I’ve read so far just states a negative test result printed on paper with the details.

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1 hour ago, khas said:

I’m heading to the US next week and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind clarifying if you did pcr test prior or whether they accept RAT done by a testing company. Just not sure which one to book as it doesn’t specify on anything I’ve read so far just states a negative test result printed on paper with the details.

I have not been following any rule chances, but for us we had to have an RT-PCR done less than 24 hours prior to our flight departure, and needs to have specific details noted, so we paid for one via Histopath done at the Sydney International airport the afternoon prior. Our flight was at 10am, so we went and had our test done after midday the day prior. Also we had to have a return ticket, people were rejected who had an open ticket.  I assume you have your ESTA, Australian Vaccine passport, noting your two vaccines, or three, which are more than seven days old from date of travel. Also suggest you carry printed copies as well as soft copies on your phone. We were asked several times, like five times between entering the airport and airside and on the way home, at least five times, once even right before exiting customs. Safe travels 

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On 2/24/2022 at 5:28 PM, mattymay said:

Need to fast forward another year and a half. The Aussie cruise market is going to be red hot.

Virgin are sending Resilient Lady to compete with Celebrity Egde. Royal better send Icon so they are not left behind! haha 🙂

 

I like what you did there Red Hot followed by Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady. 😁 

I don't think Icon is going to Australia right out of the gate.  I think there may be a better chance of an Oasis Class ship (perhaps Allure) arriving in Australia in late 2023 for the 2023/2024 Australian spring/summer season. 

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3 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

I like what you did there Red Hot followed by Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady. 😁 

I don't think Icon is going to Australia right out of the gate.  I think there may be a better chance of an Oasis Class ship (perhaps Allure) arriving in Australia in late 2023 for the 2023/2024 Australian spring/summer season. 

Australia doesn’t have ship LNG and there’s no plans of a LNG ship fuel supply.

I agree with a oasis,when things pick up and Spectrum goes back to Hong Kong .We will need another big ship in our region. 
I’m thinking allure in Sydney October-April and reposition to Singapore May-September.

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13 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

I have not been following any rule chances, but for us we had to have an RT-PCR done less than 24 hours prior to our flight departure, and needs to have specific details noted, so we paid for one via Histopath done at the Sydney International airport the afternoon prior. Our flight was at 10am, so we went and had our test done after midday the day prior. Also we had to have a return ticket, people were rejected who had an open ticket.  I assume you have your ESTA, Australian Vaccine passport, noting your two vaccines, or three, which are more than seven days old from date of travel. Also suggest you carry printed copies as well as soft copies on your phone. We were asked several times, like five times between entering the airport and airside and on the way home, at least five times, once even right before exiting customs. Safe travels 

Awesome thanks mate, you're a legend! 

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12 minutes ago, CruisingOz said:

Fingers crossed. Also need NZ to open up and then my October cruises will certainy go ahead

Can't confirm but I read that South Pacific is out for some time still due to low vaccination rates in the region.

I think there is potential for Royal to cancel the season and redo it again with a heavy focus on Aus only. Like they did for 2021-22, although that never went ahead in the end.

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9 minutes ago, mattymay said:

Can't confirm but I read that South Pacific is out for some time still due to low vaccination rates in the region.

I think there is potential for Royal to cancel the season and redo it again with a heavy focus on Aus only. Like they did for 2021-22, although that never went ahead in the end.

I doubt NZ and the islands will be on deck but they won’t redo the season and risk all the bookings they have.
They will just cancel the longer cruises around NZ and the islands and do a couple of coastal cruises.

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25 minutes ago, Chili said:

I doubt NZ and the islands will be on deck but they won’t redo the season and risk all the bookings they have.
They will just cancel the longer cruises around NZ and the islands and do a couple of coastal cruises.

Yeah or that I guess.

So first ships on the scene will most likely be P&O? Tempted to book first one.

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I think NZ will be on board as 75% of people want to see tourism resuming and cruising is a big part of that. We have a cruise booked to the Islands next year in the Royal Loft suite so fingers crossed it goes ahead.

Seeing as Allure is missing from the US schedule I hope we get her down our way in 2023/24 when the new season is announced in a couple of weeks.

 

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41 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

I think NZ will be on board as 75% of people want to see tourism resuming and cruising is a big part of that. We have a cruise booked to the Islands next year in the Royal Loft suite so fingers crossed it goes ahead.

Seeing as Allure is missing from the US schedule I hope we get her down our way in 2023/24 when the new season is announced in a couple of weeks.

 

Wasn’t Allure doing short cruises out of Fort Lauderdale after Galveston?
I think a oasis might be a bit of wishful thinking but how about enchantment in Auckland?

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1 hour ago, mattymay said:

Yeah or that I guess.

So first ships on the scene will most likely be P&O? Tempted to book first one.

It would be good if they could deploy a ship here a bit earlier,even celebrity.
What we have another 7 months?

Im on the first cruise out of Sydney,Radiance to tassie.

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Yes Allure is deployed out of Port Canaveral for short cruises Nov 23 - Apr 24, so not for Australia for that season. Interesting thought about Enchantment based out of Auckland, that would be great even if it was for the winter (southern hemisphere) season only. I'm sure Enchantment could be spared for year round based out of Australia & New Zealand. 

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47 minutes ago, Chili said:

Wasn’t Allure doing short cruises out of Fort Lauderdale after Galveston?
I think a oasis might be a bit of wishful thinking but how about enchantment in Auckland?

Oh I missed that announcement about Allure, pity I am ready to try an Oasis class ship without having to go to the U.S

I would be happy to go out of Auckland on Enchantment although apart from the odd P&O ship we don't really get many departures out of Auckland like we used to.

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1 hour ago, Chili said:

It would be good if they could deploy a ship here a bit earlier,even celebrity.
What we have another 7 months?

Im on the first cruise out of Sydney,Radiance to tassie.

The only one I can see that could be a possibility is Spectrum. It's due in Shanghai Jul/Aug/Sep, although I'm not across the current state of cruising in China, other than they lost Wonder to US and Spectrum to Singapore. But there is still that 3 month gap where it's supposedly back in China?

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2 hours ago, mattymay said:

The only one I can see that could be a possibility is Spectrum. It's due in Shanghai Jul/Aug/Sep, although I'm not across the current state of cruising in China, other than they lost Wonder to US and Spectrum to Singapore. But there is still that 3 month gap where it's supposedly back in China?

Hey this is what us Royal Caribbean groupies need to work on.

COME ON @twangsterhelp us out ,we need a ship in Sydney to beat Carnival Group to be the first.

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8 hours ago, Chili said:

Hey this is what us Royal Caribbean groupies need to work on.

COME ON @twangsterhelp us out ,we need a ship in Sydney to beat Carnival Group to be the first.

The issue I see with getting an Oasis Class ship to Australia is that you are competing against U.S. - Caribbean/Mexico Market for a ship. October through April is Australia/NZ spring and summer season, however here in the U.S. that is when things start to cool off in the northern states and people are looking for an escape from the cold.  Both the Caribbean and Mexico draw huge numbers of American's looking to escape the cold both cruise lines and airlines bulk up their Caribbean and Mexico schedules during that time frame. I think the slowest period for cruise line here in the US is probably the month of January with the holidays being over people heading back to work etc.  But by the time February hits the winter blues is in full swing and cruise ships are packed do to the fact the temperature in northern states could be as cold as -15C/5F or colder with out wind chill and that 28C/82F degrees no humidity in the Caribbean and Mexico is calling their name.  By the time late February comes around it is right into spring break which takes us all the way through most of April when Royal then starts redeploying some ships from the U.S. to Europe.

I would love to see Royal put an Oasis Class ship in Australia but if this short cruise experiment Royal is launching on Allure to the Bahamas and Coco Cay turns into the cash cow Royal hopes it will be that would mean Royal has found a use for all 5 Oasis Class ships in North America from late October through mid April.  I think you may end up having to wait for Oasis 6 to launch to have another shot at an Oasis Class ship in Australia. And even then I think Australia's Oasis Class fortune is directly tied to China.  If the Chinese market has recovered to the point where there is a need for an Oasis Class ship in China from let say late April through early October the perhaps Royal would redeploy the ship from China to Australia from mid October through early April.  

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What will be interesting will be when Perfect Day at Lelepa opens as it does not make sense to me to invest all that money and only have a couple of ships visit maybe a couple of times a week for 6 months. I would have thought at that point you would want at least one ship year round to make it viable. Maybe then we can get Oasis of the Seas as it is the oldest ship and the U.S will get Oasis 6.

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2 hours ago, F1guynz said:

What will be interesting will be when Perfect Day at Lelepa opens as it does not make sense to me to invest all that money and only have a couple of ships visit maybe a couple of times a week for 6 months. I would have thought at that point you would want at least one ship year round to make it viable. Maybe then we can get Oasis of the Seas as it is the oldest ship and the U.S will get Oasis 6.

It probably won’t be a elaborate as CocoCay but as you said for the investment there will be a ship here year round.

But one big problem I can see is the vaccination rate in vanuatu. It’s pretty low .

 

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3 hours ago, F1guynz said:

What will be interesting will be when Perfect Day at Lelepa opens as it does not make sense to me to invest all that money and only have a couple of ships visit maybe a couple of times a week for 6 months. I would have thought at that point you would want at least one ship year round to make it viable. Maybe then we can get Oasis of the Seas as it is the oldest ship and the U.S will get Oasis 6.

If they were smart they’d put OA6 down under.   Australian based ships sell well and many Americans would fly down to sail OA6.   Kind of the best of both worlds.  

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

If they were smart they’d put OA6 down under.   Australian based ships sell well and many Americans would fly down to sail OA6.   Kind of the best of both worlds.  

That would work pretty good but It’s  3 seasons away ,24-25 season .

I think we might get oasis or Allure before then as a trial.

 

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