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  • 1 month later...
7 hours ago, Chili said:

It looks like Ovation will be going to Singapore for dry dock February 2026 .

Any speculations?

 I’m hoping for a short season in Sydney and a new year repo from Sydney to Singapore.

@FionaMG posted this June 27 - I thought it was pretty interesting:

 

Posted a couple of hours ago over on CC (credit: Jumping Cruiser)

"Just from Captains Corner on Anthem about her repositioning. It looks like she is going on quite the world tour! 
 

Summer 24 - Southampton, UK

Winter 24/25 - Singapore

 

March 25 - Dry Dock

 

Summer 25 - Alaska

Winter 25/26 - Australia"

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/27/2023 at 12:43 AM, steverk said:

Is this still a thing in Australia or was that cruise a one off?

You still have to do a pre-departure rat test but you can do itv yourself and provide a photo. Not a big thing and hopefully by the season starts again in October it will be gone.

cruises parting from NZ do not require any kind of test unless it is going to Australia so it is funny to see Australia lagging behind NZ for a change.

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4 hours ago, F1guynz said:

You still have to do a pre-departure rat test but you can do itv yourself and provide a photo. Not a big thing and hopefully by the season starts again in October it will be gone.

cruises parting from NZ do not require any kind of test unless it is going to Australia so it is funny to see Australia lagging behind NZ for a change.

 

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4 hours ago, F1guynz said:

You still have to do a pre-departure rat test but you can do itv yourself and provide a photo. Not a big thing and hopefully by the season starts again in October it will be gone.

cruises parting from NZ do not require any kind of test unless it is going to Australia so it is funny to see Australia lagging behind NZ for a change.

Note that the photo MUST include the test, a copy of government ID, and a device (such as phone) that shows date and time.

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5 hours ago, Allen2 said:

Note that the photo MUST include the test, a copy of government ID, and a device (such as phone) that shows date and time.

We have only ever brought the test with us to the port , haven’t bothered taking a photo but they have only asked us if we have taken the test and not asked to see it. 

I think this “policy” will be gone by October.

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  • 3 weeks later...
12 hours ago, F1guynz said:

Good, we removed any Covid cruise restrictions months ago, for a change we were ahead of Australia on this.

looking forward to cruising on Brilliance in November heading to Adelaide, Melbourne and Kangaroo Island.

I’m on that cruise,we will have to try to catch up 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have watched the Cruise and Travel guy video where he had attended a recent cruise conference and there were some tentative announcement that the first stage of perfect day at Lelepa is scheduled to open in 2026.

Royal also indicated they have heard our disappointment regarding ship choice. One of the long term aims is to have a ship here year round and 4-5 ships over the summer. I really hope we end up with a Freedom class ship here eventually as this is my favourite class of ship. 

I guess it will be a while before we see this eventuate as one would assume it would be tied to PDL being operational.

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17 hours ago, F1guynz said:

I have watched the Cruise and Travel guy video where he had attended a recent cruise conference and there were some tentative announcement that the first stage of perfect day at Lelepa is scheduled to open in 2026.

Royal also indicated they have heard our disappointment regarding ship choice. One of the long term aims is to have a ship here year round and 4-5 ships over the summer. I really hope we end up with a Freedom class ship here eventually as this is my favourite class of ship. 

I guess it will be a while before we see this eventuate as one would assume it would be tied to PDL being operational.

I’ve been following Vanuatu media and not a word of Lelepa. I even emailed the local paper and they haven’t heard anything. 
 

We might have a new cruise terminal for Sydney ,not the most desirable as it’s about a hour or more from Sydney.

I don’t know how big a ship it could take but Celebrity solstice has been there .

 

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/australian-cruisers-could-sail-out-of-wollongong-while-foreigners-enjoy-our-harbour-views/

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1 hour ago, CruisingOz said:

We are also on this cruise. So looking forward to Brilliance. 

It will be good to have something different to Quantum class and it’s pretty rare for Royal to visit Kangaroo island.

Im in cabin 4585 ,I’m travelling solo and if anyone one wants a drink ,my cabins just outside the R bar .

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5 hours ago, Chili said:

I’ve been following Vanuatu media and not a word of Lelepa. I even emailed the local paper and they haven’t heard anything. 
 

We might have a new cruise terminal for Sydney ,not the most desirable as it’s about a hour or more from Sydney.

I don’t know how big a ship it could take but Celebrity solstice has been there .

 

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/australian-cruisers-could-sail-out-of-wollongong-while-foreigners-enjoy-our-harbour-views/

I would rather travel 1 hour to Wollongong than have to travel 6 hours (by car) to Brisbane if it meant we could get an Oasis class ship down here. 

But also, 1 hour to Wollongong would be much preferable than having to get on a plane and worry about delays, lost luggage etc.

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2 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

I would rather travel 1 hour to Wollongong than have to travel 6 hours (by car) to Brisbane if it meant we could get an Oasis class ship down here. 

But also, 1 hour to Wollongong would be much preferable than having to get on a plane and worry about delays, lost luggage etc.

I don’t know if an oasis would get into Kembla, I’ll have to do some homework.

And you are right about the extra hour by train being acceptable. There’s plenty of other ports that are just as inconvenient.

 

Ports NSW says Kembla has a birth of 360 meters,so it’s looking interesting. Oasis is around that.

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On 9/9/2023 at 6:51 PM, Chili said:

What cruise in November?

Its just a sampler on Ovation for a long weekend commencing on the 10th Nov for a  mother / daughter get away...originally booked it because it stopped in Eden for a day but Royal changed the itinerary at the last minute .We decided to keep the booking because it was a good deal with credits I had left  ....

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/3/2023 at 9:05 AM, Chili said:

Port Kembla

Both Port Kembla and Newcastle are being looked at. They have rail transport hubs, good road access, and freeways from Sydney, and Newcastle has an airport, with majority of ship requirements in place. All they would need to build a shed like check-in area, like the one at Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro.  

The NSW Government will not spend the money on a second cruise terminal and although the Navy yard could be utilised, the traffic grid lock and lack of parking and street access rules it out. Port Botany could be considered however I believe they have ruled it out.

We will be no different to Florida where you can board in Miami or around an hour to Fort Lauderdale, and both Port Kembla and Newcastle have hotels, beaches and shopping, etc. 

I wish they would make a decision so Royal can send Australia the third ship.  

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11 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

Both Port Kembla and Newcastle are being looked at. They have rail transport hubs, good road access, and freeways from Sydney, and Newcastle has an airport, with majority of ship requirements in place. All they would need to build a shed like check-in area, like the one at Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro.  

The NSW Government will not spend the money on a second cruise terminal and although the Navy yard could be utilised, the traffic grid lock and lack of parking and street access rules it out. Port Botany could be considered however I believe they have ruled it out.

We will be no different to Florida where you can board in Miami or around an hour to Fort Lauderdale, and both Port Kembla and Newcastle have hotels, beaches and shopping, etc. 

I wish they would make a decision so Royal can send Australia the third ship.  

Kembla has a birth of 360 meters !!! and L.N.G. 

I was reading somewhere ,Royal Australia wants Lelepa ,3-4 ships  including a year round ship for the 25-26 season. That sounds pretty ambitious to me ,someone has been drinking to much coffee.

How about a third ship for next season ,a voyager class would be good thought when they come down from their caffeine .

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Chili said:

Kembla has a birth of 360 meters !!! and L.N.G. 

I was reading somewhere ,Royal Australia wants Lelepa ,3-4 ships  including a year round ship for the 25-26 season. That sounds pretty ambitious to me ,someone has been drinking to much coffee.

How about a third ship for next season ,a voyager class would be good thought when they come down from their caffeine .

 

 

That ship count could include Celebrity and Silversea.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have been chatting with someone very senior from Royal Caribbean Sydney just recently.(who asked to not to use their name)

I asked about a second ship for Sydney next season and the response was quite shocking.

They said because of carbon emissions Royal won’t have a third ship in Australia.

Royal has to reduce its emissions as a company as a whole and because itineraries in Australia have long distances and high fuel burns. Australia is is a unattractive market.

Brillance ,being an older ship will go back to the U.S and do short runs with more port days .as to keep emissions down.

Unless there’s a newer fuel source like biofuel or a gas in Australia,there’s no plans for more ships.

So that doesn’t sound good for us and especially Lelepa.

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On 10/31/2023 at 10:02 AM, Chili said:

I have been chatting with someone very senior from Royal Caribbean Sydney just recently.(who asked to not to use their name)

I asked about a second ship for Sydney next season and the response was quite shocking.

They said because of carbon emissions Royal won’t have a third ship in Australia.

Royal has to reduce its emissions as a company as a whole and because itineraries in Australia have long distances and high fuel burns. Australia is is a unattractive market.

Brillance ,being an older ship will go back to the U.S and do short runs with more port days .as to keep emissions down.

Unless there’s a newer fuel source like biofuel or a gas in Australia,there’s no plans for more ships.

So that doesn’t sound good for us and especially Lelepa.

So that only leaves us with Ovation in Sydney and Quantum in Brisbane then? 😞

There goes our hopes of getting an Oasis class..

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53 minutes ago, mattymay said:

I think it will be Anthem and Quantum for 25/26, purely based off Alaska ships.

I'm glad I got to sail on Ovation before she goes back to the US then. I guess having Anthem down here would be a nice change of scene, but another Quantum ship? Come on Royal.... give us an Oasis or Freedom class ship... maybe I should book a cruise on Brilliance before she too inevitably goes back to the US.

Meanwhile... we're stuck with Pacific Explorer, Encounter and Adventure (don't get me wrong, these are by no means bad ships) but they're basically old Princess ships. And I guess we also have Luminosa and Splendor - but these hardly count as Mega-ships. I just wish there was a new ship built solely for Australia and to call Australia home..

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3 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

So that only leaves us with Ovation in Sydney and Quantum in Brisbane then? 😞

There goes our hopes of getting an Oasis class..

The person said only 2 Quantum for the next couple of seasons and they will assess it then.

I don’t know if an oasis can get into Port Kembla but the dock is long enough and there’s LNG there . That’s about the only hope we have ,maybe a LNG ship split between Sydney and Singapore.

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2 minutes ago, Chili said:

The person said only 2 Quantum for the next couple of seasons and they will assess it then.

I don’t know if an oasis can get into Port Kembla but the dock is long enough and there’s LNG there . That’s about the only hope we have ,maybe a LNG ship split between Sydney and Singapore.

Beats having to travel to Brisbane I guess. (isn't Brisbane the only other place in Australia that can fit an Oasis class?).

I actually wouldn't mind if they started doing Sydney > Singapore again, it's been a while and all the cruises we've had for the past few years have been some combination of Australia & New Zealand or the South Pacific.

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