New Ship Sailing Timing

[PastorW]

Would love to hear your opinions.....With RC debuting two new ships, what is your approach to sailing on a new ship? Some want to be early as possible to experience the newness, others say wait a little and let them get some kinks worked out.  When is the ideal time to sail on a new ship?  Just some wanted to hear your thoughts!

[Jill]

I was on Wonder’s 3rd sailing. Shows were not 100% up and running. 

Booked on Icon’s 13th sailing. Mostly due to time of year (April). Not a fan of winter cruising. I live in Florida so no need to escape the cold. 

Looking at an October date for Utopia because I don’t like sailing in the summer. Too hot! 

Sailed Monarch in her inaugural year way back in 1991. 

We love “new ship smell.”

[OCSC Mike]

Never really gave it much thought.

I would like to sail on Utopia's 1st sailing just b/c I've never done an inaugural before, I only sail from PC, and we sail in the summers b/c my wife is a teacher so it won't be very often that the stars align like this given our schedule and preferences.

Sailed Wonder for the first time earlier this month and she still felt pretty darn new to us. If not trying to go on the inaugural sailing for some extra festivities, unique experience, etc., I'm not sure the exact level of newness would matter to me, personally.

[Ampurp85]

I was booked on Icons inaugural sailing but after lots of thinking decided I would rather wait. I want things to be in working order and I didn't want to pay new ship prices. I tend to only sail between Jan/Feb and Sept-early November so I'm also limited by that. Cruising is all about experiences, so take that into consideration. Would being one of the first, be worth the cost? Are you okay not seeing all the shows or possibly missing out on dining options? How about new crew members and other kinks? The answer to these questions should help your decision

[jbrinkm]

We wait years... We're going on Symphony for the first time in March (2024), have done Allure the past 2 years. Before that, it was Freedom class ships in 2014 & 2017. Like @Ampurp85, I don't like to pay the upcharge for a brand new ship.

[WAAAYTOOO]

If I were going to book Utopia (which I am probably not), I would definitely snag something as soon as the itins are released but at least 2 months after inaugural.  Too many times there are issues with new ships so I would give it a number of weeks to equalize.  I have no interest in 3/4 night cruises so I will pass on Utopia -at least for now.  I have a feeling that prices are going to be in the stratosphere and I’m not paying those prices for a 3 or 4 night cruise no matter what the ship !

[USFFrank]

The newest Royal Caribbean ship I sailed on was Harmony of the Seas in November of 2021 and that was only because of a fire sale Royal had on that particular cruise in April of 2020. I cannot justify the costs for sailing on the new ships, and I don't necessarily need or use all of the bells and whistles they offer. When it comes to cruising I want the most bang for my buck and if I had the choice of 3 days on a new ship or 8 days on an older ship for the same price or cheaper, guess what I'm choosing.

[D Alt]

I booked a later Icon sailing, but if I can get on the inaugural Utopia I would...Just to try it as a novelty.  Then once that's done, I probably won't do it again. I would prefer to pay less. 

[smokeybandit]

I have no interest in paying new ship prices.

But that does push down (at least relatively speaking) the cost on the near-new ships that I haven't sailed yet.

[Linda R]

I book cruises on new ships as soon as they become available to book, but I do not sail for about a year after inaugural sailing.  On other bookings I also book about as soon as reservations are available.  Booking often 2 years in advance.  Those are the best prices.  If they prices go down, which lately they never do, you can change the fare to the lower amount.  As long as it is before final pymt.

[PastorW]

Thanks everyone. Not sure if I am booking or not just thought it would be interesting to hear people’s opinions on the topic. Have a great day!

[ScottD]

I also wait...we will possible try Wonder next year or two.... but that'll be the closest we get to a new ship for a while 

[tjcruisers]

We wait at least a few years for the most part. We sailed Anthem shortly after it came out and there will a lot of kinks they were still working out (bionic bar, shows having issues and cancelling 1/2 was in, etc). You'll be paying a premium for a cruise that might end up being frustrating.

[BrianB]

I prefer to wait. Let her get broken in a little bit.

I booked Icon as soon as bookings opened, but not sailing until Sept 2024. Nine months should be enough. Plus, there’s always the possibility of repricing should the fare drop…although not very likely.

For Utopia….I’m surprised they would start her off with short cruises. Maybe it’s a new idea to get first timers onboard a brand new, massive ship so that they leave wanting more. I know there’s a concern that weekend partiers will run rampant and turn off fellow cruisers, but if the prices are high it’s likely the weekend booze-cruisers would look for a better value on a different ship. I do like the b2b possibilities with multiple RC private destination stops, but if the price is high for each leg…that would make the total cost unattractive. 

I’ll wait and see.

[JohnK6404]

We would love to sail an inaugural one day just for the experience! I know there are always "growing pains" on these sailings, but they still sound like a lot of fun!

Only recently have we been booking the newest ships. We always book at least a year in advance and have been lucky in finding more reasonable rates since we tend to sail while school is in session. I prefer booking sailings at least a couple of months after the launch of a new ship so they can iron out all of the wrinkles and get everything up and running. Odyssey and Wonder, although the newest in the fleet at the time we boarded, had been in service for some time before we sailed.

We booked Icon for 5/11/24 back in OCT when reservations first opened up. The pricing (as everyone knows) has gone through the roof! We were fortunate to book our midship OV traditional balcony (not the new infinite) for $3,200... My wife's uncle just tried to book an OV balcony to join us, but the only option available was a guaranteed OV balcony at almost $8,200! $5K increase since last OCT and we don't sail for another 11 months! For our upcoming 10/29/23 Wonder sailing, all balcony staterooms are showing as sold out on RC's website! Absolutely insane demand right now!