Perfect Day at Lepela (Vanuatu)

[Meridian]

Curious if anyone has seen or heard anything on this project.  It was announced in 2019 and due to open in 2022 -  sure we all get it was delayed due to the terrible C -  but nothing seems to have happened since.   Cant seem to find anything on Google,  The RCL page about it is still there but they have released the 2024/2025 itineraries and still nothing.    

We are pretty starved of destinations in this part of the world ex Aus or NZ -  you can only go to the pretty average Noumea etc. so many times before its not worth it..

Anyone seen or heard any update on this?

[F1guynz]

No, I haven’t seen any updates and it is not on any schedule for the 2024/25 cruises so I wouldn’t expect to see anything until at least the 25/26 season.

[Chili]

I have been trolling Lelepa for the last few years and my opinion is it’s gone cold.

In my opinion, there’s not enough business to support the investment ,it’s not the Caribbean .

A few ships for 6 months a year doesn’t warrant the massive investment.

[Meridian]

2 hours ago, Chili said:

I have been trolling Lelepa for the last few years and my opinion is it’s gone cold.

In my opinion, there’s not enough business to support the investment ,it’s not the Caribbean .

A few ships for 6 months a year doesn’t warrant the massive investment.

It would seem that way,  although when they originally announced it they said they expected up to 800k visitors a year vs CocoCay at 3m.  So a fair amount.    Quantum out of Brisbane and Ovation out Sydney are consistently pretty full -  and other ships come and go - ie Brillance is in AU for a short time at the moment and you would think with something worth going to others might be sent to the region - and then there is celebrity ships as well potentially.   Over time people are going to join me and tire of Noumea and as beautiful as they are Lifou and Mystery Island so they might start to see a slow down if they dont shake up things a bit -  we dont have the vast population of the US etc where you seemingly never run out of people. 

[Chili]

3 hours ago, Meridian said:

It would seem that way,  although when they originally announced it they said they expected up to 800k visitors a year vs CocoCay at 3m.  So a fair amount.    Quantum out of Brisbane and Ovation out Sydney are consistently pretty full -  and other ships come and go - ie Brillance is in AU for a short time at the moment and you would think with something worth going to others might be sent to the region - and then there is celebrity ships as well potentially.   Over time people are going to join me and tire of Noumea and as beautiful as they are Lifou and Mystery Island so they might start to see a slow down if they dont shake up things a bit -  we dont have the vast population of the US etc where you seemingly never run out of people. 

The only way I can see Lelepa happening is by Royal taking Carnival on board or Uncle Sam giving some foreign aid .

They are talking about a wharf to take a Quantum or an Oasis class, how much would that cost let alone the resort on Lelepa.

Port Vila ,the capital can’t even dock Ovation or Quantum and the dock there is in disrepair.

I can’t see the sense of building a wharf 50 kilometre away on an island that’s going to be used 6 months of the year.The Vanuatu government is going to say let’s build a decent port in Vila first that everyone can use year round.

[F1guynz]

Even if it is finally built it sounds like it will be a more swished up version of Mystery Island with some food options, cultural performances and nice sandy beaches.

When originally announced in 2019 it was meant to be completed by 2022, given that timeline, once started it should take 2-3 years to complete. so maybe 2026/27 if started in the next 12 months.