Spectrum to sail from Hong Kong

[mattymay]

[Brogan]

Spectrum of the Seas will resume sailings on July 31st out of Hong Kong with cruises to nowhere. Cruise Lines are required to adopt maximum 50% capacity and to comply with the respective sets of hygiene, social distancing and contact tracing methods. All Guests must be fully Vaccinated above Age 16 unless not suitable with medical proof. All Guests will have to undergo a Covid PCR Test within 48hrs prior to boarding and obtain a negative result. All crew will need to be fully Vaccinated. Guests are required to use the LeaveHomeSafe mobile application to scan the QR code before boarding.

Source: Singapore Cruise Society & Hong Kong Cruise Society 

[Chili]

Spectrum has been delayed for another 3 weeks,it doesn’t look good for Royal in China.

 

[Vancity Cruiser]

Man when you read how a cruise was shut down for 1 suspected case of covid, suddenly the US CDC doesn’t appear so bad anymore. 

I am thankful for the US cruise restart and that we are able to cruise even if it means jumping through some hoops and going along with some protocols I don’t love. 

[Chili]

44 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Man when you read how a cruise was shut down for 1 suspected case of covid, suddenly the US CDC doesn’t appear so bad anymore. 

I am thankful for the US cruise restart and that we are able to cruise even if it means jumping through some hoops and going along with some protocols I don’t love. 

I think it’s more than it seems.

China is threatening to block some ships in retaliation for coming sanctions.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Australia allows cruises they might swap spectrum for Quantum in Singapore and send Quantam down under.

[Chili]

Apparently the Chinese central government has just dropped the cruise ban for Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Royal Caribbean might finally get the green light for its cruises to nowhere out of Hong Kong.

 

https://www.china-briefing.com/news/china-travel-restrictions-2021-2022-an-explainer-updated/

 

https://www.chinatravelnews.com/article/169282

[twangster]

39 minutes ago, Chili said:

Apparently the Chinese central government has just dropped the cruise ban for Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Royal Caribbean might finally get the green light for its cruises to nowhere out of Hong Kong.

 

https://www.china-briefing.com/news/china-travel-restrictions-2021-2022-an-explainer-updated/

 

https://www.chinatravelnews.com/article/169282

Great news for Carnival who is about to launch their ship built in China.  It's no so clear what Royal will do.

Spectrum is open for bookings in Singapore through March 2024.  So do they cancel Singapore sailings and redeploy Spectrum? 

Wonder is open for bookings in Port Canaveral through April 2025.    Do they cancel those bookings and redeploy Wonder?

Neither seems like a good solution for guests who booked in those markets.  

No word on Utopia.  Maybe she heads direct to China in 2024.  

[Chili]

50 minutes ago, twangster said:

Great news for Carnival who is about to launch their ship built in China.  It's no so clear what Royal will do.

Spectrum is open for bookings in Singapore through March 2024.  So do they cancel Singapore sailings and redeploy Spectrum? 

Wonder is open for bookings in Port Canaveral through April 2025.    Do they cancel those bookings and redeploy Wonder?

Neither seems like a good solution for guests who booked in those markets.  

No word on Utopia.  Maybe she heads direct to China in 2024.  

I believe Royal has been engaged with Hong Kong over the past months .

If they do send Spectrum to Hong Kong mid year , what will replace it in Singapore is the big mystery. It would have to be a similar class or better.
There’s been a bit of speculation of Anthem coming to the pacific but who knows ?? .It could slot straight in place of Spectrum for a year.

Utopia could go straight to Asia,there’s plenty of LNG for it.

[KWofPerth]

I'm booked on Spectrum in Jan 2024. I would not be pleased with a ship change.

[Chili]

31 minutes ago, KWofPerth said:

I'm booked on Spectrum in Jan 2024. I would not be pleased with a ship change.

When Royal go back to Hong Kong, I think it will be with Spectrum and probably next year.

Singapore has been good to Royal and they won’t be deploying a old ship .It will be Quantum class or better.
I don’t think in will be a Oasis just yet and the only ship I can think of is Anthem.
Quantum class has been successful in the pacific and another would go well in the long term in Alaska,Los Angeles, Australia  ( Lelepa) and possibly even Tokyo.

[GatorCruiser]

Where would utopia go if not the Asian market ? Plenty of oasis class in North American/ European market already 

[twangster]

19 minutes ago, Chili said:

When Royal go back to Hong Kong, I think it will be with Spectrum and probably next year.

Singapore has been good to Royal and they won’t be deploying a old ship .It will be Quantum class or better.
I don’t think in will be a Oasis just yet and the only ship I can think of is Anthem.
Quantum class has been successful in the pacific and another would go well in the long term in Alaska,Los Angeles, Australia  ( Lelepa) and possibly even Tokyo.

The early Quantum class are perfect for New York area winters and I don't see them messing with that success.  Plus it's unknown if WWRY would need to be removed or re-licensed for display in Asia.  It cost Royal millions to strip the broadway show off Quantum when she went to Asia.  I don't think they'll make that mistake again with Anthem.  

Utopia is an interesting name.  Very few of the Pinnacle that were invited to participate in the naming survey chose Utopia over the other names.  Yet Royal went with Utopia anyways. 

In Chinese culture the concept of Utopia is well rooted.  I suspect the name was chosen for OA6 with the intention of sending her to Asia.  

[Chili]

Some good news for Spectrum,it’s doing a second trip to Japan with a overnight in Hong Kong!

It might become a regular thing, take note  I think most of the ports are Oasis capable. I’m pretty sure the Vietnamese ports aren’t.

Ship LNG in Singapore,Hong Kong and I believe multiple ports in Japan.
 

Do you think Utopia could slot into this run?

 

[twangster]

The 3/4 Singapore cruises are commonly the lowest available Royal Caribbean cruises.  They must not be selling well.  

On the surface I don't see any correlation to placing an Oasis class in the region.  I see it more as a desperate move to try something different, something that must have sold well the first time so they are willing to dump all those poorly selling 3/4.  

I read more into the fact that Singapore cruises aren't selling well given their extremely low prices.  Nearly new ship that they can't fill is not a good sign.  Utopia may still go straight to China and never home port in Singapore.  Or it might stop there initially before disappearing forever into China.   

If anything this is not a good sign for Singapore and/or Oasis class from Singapore.  If they can't fill Spectrum on a regular basis they'll never fill a larger ship from there on an ongoing basis.  Stop there once or stay a few weeks on the way to China.  Get the curiously bookings to try a new mega ship then high tail it out of there to a home port where they can fill a mega ship week after week for a year or more.

[JasonOasis]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

The 3/4 Singapore cruises are commonly the lowest available Royal Caribbean cruises.  They must not be selling well.  

On the surface I don't see any correlation to placing an Oasis class in the region.  I see it more as a desperate move to try something different, something that must have sold well the first time so they are willing to dump all those poorly selling 3/4.  

I read more into the fact that Singapore cruises aren't selling well given their extremely low prices.  Nearly new ship that they can't fill is not a good sign.  Utopia may still go straight to China and never home port in Singapore.  Or it might stop there initially before disappearing forever into China.   

If anything this is not a good sign for Singapore and/or Oasis class from Singapore.  If they can't fill Spectrum on a regular basis they'll never fill a larger ship from there on an ongoing basis.  Stop there once or stay a few weeks on the way to China.  Get the curiously bookings to try a new mega ship then high tail it out of there to a home port where they can fill a mega ship week after week for a year or more.

You might be on to something there, back in 2019 the cruise industry in Singapore welcomed over 1.8 million guest onto cruise ships out of Singapore.  Many of the non-local guest came in from China, or Southeast Asia including India. In addition to the local Singaporean market both China and India were largest groups to set sail on cruise ships out of Singapore. But it is obvious the local market the few tourist who did come in 2022 are not enough to sustain this industry in Singapore. 

In 2019 Singapore as a whole had over 19 million tourist visit the nation.  In 2022 the number of tourist who visited Singapore was a measly 4.6 million.  I can not find any official numbers yet on how many people took a cruise in 2022 out of Singapore but if they only had 4.6 million tourist visit the nation I think it is safe to assume they didn't get anywhere close to the 1.8 million  passengers the industry saw in 2019.  

From Japan down to Southeast Asia I think the recovery of the cruise industry and how quickly that recovery takes place depends on China.  Many businesses from the cruise industry to the airline industry are all trying to pull rabbits out of their hats to make a few bucks throughout Asia while they wait for the recovery in China to begin with the hopes that China's recovery will then lift all boats through the whole of Asia. 

[Jamesszy94]

On 10/23/2021 at 10:53 AM, Chili said:

I think it’s more than it seems.

China is threatening to block some ships in retaliation for coming sanctions.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Australia allows cruises they might swap spectrum for Quantum in Singapore and send Quantam down under.

They actually did send Quantum down under 

 

[KWofPerth]

Can anyone tell me whether the Solarium on Spectrum is:

a) for suite guests only, or 

b) has a specific section reserved for suite guests only?

I have received mixed information. Thanks in advance to anyone who knows.

[KristiZ]

When I sailed Spectrum, the solarium was limited to Suite guests and Diamond or above.

[TeRriii]

8 hours ago, KWofPerth said:

Can anyone tell me whether the Solarium on Spectrum is:

a) for suite guests only, or 

b) has a specific section reserved for suite guests only?

I have received mixed information. Thanks in advance to anyone who knows.

B for now.

[KWofPerth]

Haha, thanks guys. Like I said, mixed information.  Appreciate your responses

[lordbryan123]

On 2/14/2023 at 3:16 PM, KWofPerth said:

Can anyone tell me whether the Solarium on Spectrum is:

a) for suite guests only, or 

b) has a specific section reserved for suite guests only?

I have received mixed information. Thanks in advance to anyone who knows.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/sgp/en/cruise-activities/solarium?country=SGP

RESTRICTIONS

16 + (Excluding China sailings)

FOR CHINA SAILINGS ONLY

Access to the Solarium on Quantum of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas is exclusive for Gold Suites, Silver Suites, Crown & Anchor Society Diamond and above members and Royal Premier guests. No age restrictions.

When I was on board Spectrum sailing out of Singapore in Sep 22, the only restrictions were no kids since it was not a China sailing.

[KWofPerth]

16 hours ago, lordbryan123 said:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/sgp/en/cruise-activities/solarium?country=SGP

RESTRICTIONS

16 + (Excluding China sailings)

FOR CHINA SAILINGS ONLY

Access to the Solarium on Quantum of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas is exclusive for Gold Suites, Silver Suites, Crown & Anchor Society Diamond and above members and Royal Premier guests. No age restrictions.

When I was on board Spectrum sailing out of Singapore in Sep 22, the only restrictions were no kids since it was not a China sailing.

Thanks for that info