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Serenade Coast to Coast?


Joe01

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In previous years, I've followed the CC thread about deployment but don't post there any more, so let's post here instead.

Does anyone have any rumours about 2020 ship deployments? I had heard a rumor about an Oasis Class (probably OA) going to Galveston. I had also read an Instagram story from Cruise Director Michelle who said that she thinks Royal will come back to Brazil soon. Possibly for the 2020/21 winter season? I wonder what ship. 

Would love if there was something completely out of the blue (like when we found out Mariner was leaving Asia to do the 3/4 nighters from Miami - who could have expected that?)

Any more thoughts?

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6 minutes ago, Matt said:

It will probably be Anthem. Rumor has it that Q5 is NJ bound. AN is due for drydock in 2020 and will have done 4.5 years in Bayonne by that point, so it makes sense.

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It’s only a matter of time before they announce an Oasis or Quantum class ship coming to Galveston. My understanding is that Royal Caribbean is finalizing talks with the Port of Galveston to do some upgrades and enhancements to allow a bigger ship to port there. Only thing that could happen is that the talks fall thru on financial negotiations on who pays for what,

 

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1 hour ago, Oliver said:

It’s only a matter of time before they announce an Oasis or Quantum class ship coming to Galveston. My understanding is that Royal Caribbean is finalizing talks with the Port of Galveston to do some upgrades and enhancements to allow a bigger ship to port there. Only thing that could happen is that the talks fall thru on financial negotiations on who pays for what,

I think you can rule out a Quantum Class coming to Galveston. 

However, Oasis may come there in 2020. The issue is that I have looked up some LB sailings and they are quite cheap so I wonder if TX and the surrounding areas will actually be able to fill an Oasis Class. Not to mention that Galveston isn't a large area and with the number of guests on Oasis Class, it may get crowd trying to enter the port by car even if there is a new terminal.

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1 hour ago, Joe01 said:

I think you can rule out a Quantum Class coming to Galveston. 

However, Oasis may come there in 2020. The issue is that I have looked up some LB sailings and they are quite cheap so I wonder if TX and the surrounding areas will actually be able to fill an Oasis Class. Not to mention that Galveston isn't a large area and with the number of guests on Oasis Class, it may get crowd trying to enter the port by car even if there is a new terminal.

The metropolitan area has 6.5 million and is the 5th largest in the country. We won’t have any problem filling an Oasis class ship. 

The issue will be the money enlarging the port to accommodate it and who pays for it.

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On 9/17/2018 at 1:50 PM, RoyalLaker said:

looks like Serenade will be in Alaska 

 

https://www.portofastoria.com/Cruise_Schedules.aspx

Looking at the schedules released as of now, Serenade will do her last Southern Caribbean run April 24, with passengers getting off May 4.  May 26 she will be calling on Astoria, OR.  So I see a Panama Canal sailing May 4 - May 20ish.  The current Panama Canal sailings listed are all 15 & 16 nights.  Then she'll probably head up the Pacific Coast to Alaska, thus making the stop in Astoria May 26.  

She's back in OR 9/28...so maybe she'll head back to the Southern Caribbean for the winter and redo the same route? 

That would be a fun trip!  Unfortunately I have a son graduating college May 2020...so that trip is out for me.  Bummer.

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There is also all the speculation and rumors stirring about ships that were seen on the market in the last year or so, including Grandeur and Rhapsody.

On another note, looking at changes even earlier than 2020, I don't recall hearing much on what the planned improvements/changes to Oasis and Allure will be from the Royal Amplified program.  Hopefully some more information on exactly what changes we can expect will come out sometime around the release of 2020 deployments.  I am considering booking on an Oasis Class ship again later in 2020.  I find myself leaning toward Harmony or Symphony since I have been on Allure before, but I am certainly still considering Oasis or going back to Allure depending on what comes from their dry dock in in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

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On 9/17/2018 at 4:32 PM, Joe01 said:

However, Oasis may come there in 2020.

I was on Liberty in July, the Captain would only commit that liberty would be in Galveston through 2020 but not beyond, this was announced at the Top Tier event, I asked the Suite Concierge and he would not comment any further either.

I agree with @Oliver , I don't think filling the ship will be a problem, I have been on 4 cruises out of Galveston at different times of the year and between Navigator and Liberty I have never seen a ship sail even remotely not at 100% capacity.

I did try and get a hotel on a Memorial day weekend and the rooms were getting scarce, so I just stayed in Houston, where I normally do for business and then had a nice 50 minute drive down to the port Sunday morning (About the only time driving in Houston is not hectic).

 

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On 9/17/2018 at 1:50 PM, RoyalLaker said:

looks like Serenade will be in Alaska 

 

https://www.portofastoria.com/Cruise_Schedules.aspx

Could just be a place holder.  Easy enough to swap a ship as opposed to trying to get space for a ship when no berth has been allocated for one.  Until Royal publishes it, I'd consider this no more reliable than a rumor.  

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On 9/19/2018 at 2:26 PM, twangster said:

Could just be a place holder.  Easy enough to swap a ship as opposed to trying to get space for a ship when no berth has been allocated for one.  Until Royal publishes it, I'd consider this no more reliable than a rumor.  

Serenade is also showing up in Monterey California as Celebrity Serenade, if you click on the ship name it takes you to Royals website Serenade of the seas.

https://monterey.org/Services/Harbor-and-Marina/Cruise-Ship-Tall-Ship-Visits

Almost a carbon copy of what the Jewel did back in 2015

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/12/13/royal-caribbean-returning-los-angeles-2015

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GALVESTON - July 15, 2018

Port of Galveston officials are nearing an agreement with Royal Caribbean to build a third cruise terminal at the Port of Galveston that could cost $85 million and bring the world’s largest passenger ship to the island in 2020.

“We’re working toward a really good agreement,” said Ted O’Rourke, chairman of the port’s governing board. “It’s a great opportunity if we are able to put it together.”

 

Port Director Rodger Rees in March announced that Royal Caribbean wanted to bring an Oasis-class ship to the island, but that doing so would require a new cruise terminal.

The port already is home to two cruise terminals at piers 25 and 27, but the size of the Oasis-class ships requires additional support, officials said.

Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships, of which there are four with more planned, are more than 1,180 feet long and capable of carrying more than 6,200 passengers.

Officials are discussing putting the third cruise terminal at Pier 10, next to the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and BMW vehicle processing plant, Rees said.

“Right now, the talk is about having Royal Caribbean come in and build the terminal themselves, then we’d have them lease the land from the port, sharing in revenues with them. We’d control the parking aspect of it,” Rees said.

Royal Caribbean officials did not respond to a request for comment by deadline Friday.

The proposed facility would have to be about 155,000 square feet, port officials said.

The BMW facility would not have to move under current plans, Rees said.

The benefit of having Royal Caribbean build the cruise terminal would be that the port wouldn’t have to take on substantial debt and would, instead, be able to focus on its substantial infrastructure needs, Rees said.

Ever since the Carnival Celebration made its first voyage from the island in September 2000, the port has come to depend more and more on the cruise business for revenues.

The port depends heavily on revenues from cruise ships. Port officials anticipate about 55 percent of revenue budgeted for 2018 will be cruise related.

Port officials are projecting operating revenues of about $37.4 million in 2018 against operating expenditures of $37.2 million, according to documents.

“This doesn’t use up our borrowing power to build a new terminal,” Rees said.

 

Addressing dilapidated facilities at the island’s public docks could cost as much as $250 million, a problem exacerbated by the fact the port is projected to bring in only about $250,000 in net income in 2018, port officials said.

For a third cruise terminal to be ready to host an Oasis-class ship in the fall of 2020, officials will need a project planned and designed by about November, Rees said in a previous interview with The Daily News.

There is not yet a final agreement with Royal Caribbean, and all details of the proposed third cruise terminal could still change, Rees said.

The Wharves Board of Trustees must approve whatever agreement is eventually reached with the cruise line, Trustee Elizabeth Beeton said.

The Port of Galveston is a landlord port, which generates much of its income from lease agreements with maritime tenants and fees related to ship calls.

The port is home to three year-round Carnival Cruise Line ships, one year-round Royal Caribbean ship, one seasonal Royal Caribbean ship and a seasonal Disney Cruise Lines ship.

The Carnival Vista, the cruise line’s newest and biggest ship, will arrive at Galveston’s docks Sept. 23.

 

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On 9/20/2018 at 11:08 PM, RoyalLaker said:

Serenade is also showing up in Monterey California as Celebrity Serenade, if you click on the ship name it takes you to Royals website Serenade of the seas.

https://monterey.org/Services/Harbor-and-Marina/Cruise-Ship-Tall-Ship-Visits

Almost a carbon copy of what the Jewel did back in 2015

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/12/13/royal-caribbean-returning-los-angeles-2015

That’s awesome news, Monterey is a terrific port of call. Enjoyed visiting that city on my bus tour in 2015 during my trip to San Francisco, aquarium is amazing ?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/18/2018 at 8:25 PM, KathyC said:

Looking at the schedules released as of now, Serenade will do her last Southern Caribbean run April 24, with passengers getting off May 4.  May 26 she will be calling on Astoria, OR.  So I see a Panama Canal sailing May 4 - May 20ish.  The current Panama Canal sailings listed are all 15 & 16 nights.  Then she'll probably head up the Pacific Coast to Alaska, thus making the stop in Astoria May 26.  

She's back in OR 9/28...so maybe she'll head back to the Southern Caribbean for the winter and redo the same route? 

That would be a fun trip!  Unfortunately I have a son graduating college May 2020...so that trip is out for me.  Bummer.

 

On 9/19/2018 at 5:26 PM, twangster said:

Could just be a place holder.  Easy enough to swap a ship as opposed to trying to get space for a ship when no berth has been allocated for one.  Until Royal publishes it, I'd consider this no more reliable than a rumor.  

Okay, to add to my scenario...Serenade is currently scheduled to call on St. Martin on May 1, 2020 which according to my post above is her last Southern Caribbean sailing.  Her NEXT scheduled visit there is November 5th, then the 20th, and again on December 11th.  So it looks like this is a possibility. 

Even more interesting...Anthem of the Seas shows up on November 13, 2020.  She is calling on Gibralter on October 7, 2020...so staying in Europe or not?  Hmmmm...

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