RCL CEO Bayley Q&A on Allure President's Cruise

Currently in San Juan where there is a island-wide power outage due to a fire at a plant in S Puerto Rico. Heard from a crew member that tonights 130 am scheduled departure may be slightly delayed to accommodate late arriving pax as there are traffic jams all over.

RCL hosted a Q&A panel with CEO Bayley yesterday on Allure. Summary is as follows:

1. RCL will not sail through the Panama Canal in the near future. Cited economic reasons, i.e. $250K governmental crossing fee.

2. RCL will not do Hawaiian itineraries like Carnival is doing. Cited Jones Act.

3. Confirmed Empress was brought back to the fleet for Cuba itineraries. Believes those will commence in Nov/Dec. Cited political/government/Nov election as reasons for the delays. Acknowledged that Carnival Fathom was able to do what RCL wasn't.

4. $200 million terminal investment in Miami will be home to an Oasis class ship.

5. Promised to make gluten-free desserts available in the WJ. :)

6. No plans for a new Freedom or Voyager class of ship.

7. No plans to reintroduce itineraries from CA. Cited low demand.

8. RCL considering RCL Gold/Platinum level reciprocal benefits with Celebrity.

DD or smoking related questions were not asked.

Currently in San Juan where there is a island-wide power outage due to a fire at a plant in S Puerto Rico. Heard from a crew member that tonights 130 am scheduled departure may be slightly delayed to accommodate late arriving pax as there are traffic jams all over.

 

RCL hosted a Q&A panel with CEO Bayley yesterday on Allure. Summary is as follows:

 

1. RCL will not sail through the Panama Canal in the near future. Cited economic reasons, i.e. $250K governmental crossing fee.

Odd - it doesn't stop smaller lines like NCL from doing these crossings

2. RCL will not do Hawaiian itineraries like Carnival is doing. Cited Jones Act.

Again, odd, as other companies don't seem to have an issue with the Jones Act

Thanks for the update

1,2,6,7, are so sad, that RCCL is not really trying to compete!! I will not be buying any of their stock!

Again, odd, as other companies don't seem to have an issue with the Jones Act

NCL Pride of America is flagged in the U.S. so does not have an issue with cruising only in Hawaii vis-à-vis the Jones Act.

Showed my DH #3 and he is ready for his cruise to Cuba. Made him a happy camper to know that it may be that close

NCL Pride of America is flagged in the U.S. so does not have an issue with cruising only in Hawaii vis-à-vis the Jones Act.

That's the only ship that does Hawaii only. The other lines, doing Hawaii, basically do 2-week type voyages to/from the west coast with a week of it spent in Hawaii and the rest at sea getting to/from there. If leaving the US they just do a stop in Ensanada to cover the Jones Act.

Interestingly, Radiance is doing a handful of cruises to Hawaii in May next year anyway, so guess they do have a few cruises to it.

1,2,6,7, are so sad, that RCCL is not really trying to compete!! I will not be buying any of their stock!

Well, 6 is just them building different classes of ship.

For 1, 2 & 7, I think it's really a matter of they feel they get better use of their resources elsewhere. They have a much bigger international presence then NCL or Carnival, so they have been putting their ships overseas more and more. That leaves them with covering the Caribbean and the homeports they're using with remaining ships. They've decided they will do better with their ships in other places, that's all it comes down to.

Showed my DH #3 and he is ready for his cruise to Cuba. Made him a happy camper to know that it may be that close

I'm also waiting for the Cuba itineraries too. I also know I'll be sailing Empress for just that - the itinerary and not the ship. Here on Allure, a Pinnacle who recently sailed Empress described her as being "scummy".

Interestingly, Radiance is doing a handful of cruises to Hawaii in May next year anyway, so guess they do have a few cruises to it.

Actually Radiance only does one Hawaii cruise next May as the second part of their repositioning from Sydney, Australia to Vancouver, Canada where it does Alaska cruises for the summer season. First cruise from Sydney across the South Pacific goes only thus directly to and ends in Honolulu.

This one repositioning Hawaii cruise has been a regular event Fall and Spring for a while now. Since this cruise ends in a foreign port, Vancouver, the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 and Jones Act does not come into play here.

I'm also waiting for the Cuba itineraries too. I also know I'll be sailing Empress for just that - the itinerary and not the ship. Here on Allure, a Pinnacle who recently sailed Empress described her as being "scummy".

I've seen videos and photos and would not describe her as such, but I have not been on her so can't say for certain. She is a small little thing though!

Thanks for the update. Did anything come up regarding Dynamic Dining? Really hoping RCL will listen to the feedback and not take it away (or at least delay its change).

RCL hosted a Q&A panel with CEO Bayley yesterday on Allure. Summary is as follows:

 

1. RCL will not sail through the Panama Canal in the near future. Cited economic reasons, i.e. $250K governmental crossing fee.

 

2. RCL will not do Hawaiian itineraries like Carnival is doing. Cited Jones Act.

 

7. No plans to reintroduce itineraries from CA. Cited low demand.

Competing cruise lines must be rejoicing.

Currently in San Juan where there is a island-wide power outage due to a fire at a plant in S Puerto Rico. Heard from a crew member that tonights 130 am scheduled departure may be slightly delayed to accommodate late arriving pax as there are traffic jams all over.

 

RCL hosted a Q&A panel with CEO Bayley yesterday on Allure. Summary is as follows:

 

1. RCL will not sail through the Panama Canal in the near future. Cited economic reasons, i.e. $250K governmental crossing fee.

 

2. RCL will not do Hawaiian itineraries like Carnival is doing. Cited Jones Act.

 

3. Confirmed Empress was brought back to the fleet for Cuba itineraries. Believes those will commence in Nov/Dec. Cited political/government/Nov election as reasons for the delays. Acknowledged that Carnival Fathom was able to do what RCL wasn't.

 

4. $200 million terminal investment in Miami will be home to an Oasis class ship.

 

5. Promised to make gluten-free desserts available in the WJ. :)

 

6. No plans for a new Freedom or Voyager class of ship.

 

7. No plans to reintroduce itineraries from CA. Cited low demand.

 

8. RCL considering RCL Gold/Platinum level reciprocal benefits with Celebrity.

 

DD or smoking related questions were not asked.

Thanks for the update. Did anything come up regarding Dynamic Dining? Really hoping RCL will listen to the feedback and not take it away (or at least delay its change).

OP stated it did not come up.

Odd - it doesn't stop smaller lines like NCL from doing these crossings

 

 

Again, odd, as other companies don't seem to have an issue with the Jones Act

They do have to flag there ships, and staff them with citizens or work visa staff and comply with US maritime and safety regulations.

Competing cruise lines must be rejoicing.

Why does Royal need to compete in every market? It's a big ocean.

I'm surprised that of all people Bayley does not know that the "Jones Act" has NOTHING to do with foreign flagged passenger vessels going to Hawaii, or any foreign flagged passenger vessels operating out of the USA!

Then again, these folks are just bean counters to begin with. :cool:

Currently in San Juan where there is a island-wide power outage due to a fire at a plant in S Puerto Rico. Heard from a crew member that tonights 130 am scheduled departure may be slightly delayed to accommodate late arriving pax as there are traffic jams all over.

 

RCL hosted a Q&A panel with CEO Bayley yesterday on Allure. Summary is as follows:

 

1. RCL will not sail through the Panama Canal in the near future. Cited economic reasons, i.e. $250K governmental crossing fee. Other cruise lines simply add the fee to the cruise price and still fill their ships. $250,000 ÷ 2,000 passengers is an extra $125 per person.

 

2. RCL will not do Hawaiian itineraries like Carnival is doing. Cited Jones Act. It would be nice if the COE of a cruise line knew the difference between the PVSA and the Jones Act. It is the PVSA that Royal Caribbean has to deal with, not the Jones Act.

3. Confirmed Empress was brought back to the fleet for Cuba itineraries. Believes those will commence in Nov/Dec. Cited political/government/Nov election as reasons for the delays. Acknowledged that Carnival Fathom was able to do what RCL wasn't. Doesn't speak much for RCL.

 

4. $200 million terminal investment in Miami will be home to an Oasis class ship.

 

5. Promised to make gluten-free desserts available in the WJ. :)

 

6. No plans for a new Freedom or Voyager class of ship.

 

7. No plans to reintroduce itineraries from CA. Cited low demand. Fortunately there are other cruise lines.

 

8. RCL considering RCL Gold/Platinum level reciprocal benefits with Celebrity.

 

DD or smoking related questions were not asked.

That is a lot of capacity in Florida. I sure hope they have the demand to fill all those bunks.

6. No plans for a new Freedom or Voyager class of ship.

I wonder if there was some context to this - what was asked? A derivative of the Celebrity EDGE class ship would be smaller than Voyager/Freedom - so not sure if his answer would negate that possibility.

I'm also waiting for the Cuba itineraries too. I also know I'll be sailing Empress for just that - the itinerary and not the ship. Here on Allure, a Pinnacle who recently sailed Empress described her as being "scummy".

Must be one of the elitist folks that said that.

We have been back on Empress and she is far from that. We were impressed that she is in such great condition for an older ship.

I wonder if there was some context to this - what was asked? A derivative of the Celebrity EDGE class ship would be smaller than Voyager/Freedom - so not sure if his answer would negate that possibility.

We are also on this cruise. Someone in the audience made the comment they preferred smaller ships (than Oasis or Quantum class), so they asked the question if there were any plans to build another Radiance, Voyager, or Freedom class ship. The answer was no, but he said if they did decide to build a smaller ship it would be a new class of ships.

Also, for the timing of Empress going to Cuba, we didn't hear him say that they anticipated starting in November/December. He said they have the itineraries and planning complete, just waiting for approval which he didn't think would come until some time after the elections. They are disappointed it is taking so long.

I'm surprised that of all people Bayley does not know that the "Jones Act" has NOTHING to do with foreign flagged passenger vessels going to Hawaii, or any foreign flagged passenger vessels operating out of the USA!

 

Then again, these folks are just bean counters to begin with. :cool:

Lou, the Jones Act does have a section that apply to the protection of the crew of cruise and other passenger ships.

That's why I quoted both it and the PVSA in my post above.

http://www.jonesactlawyers.pro/how-does-the-jones-act-apply-to-cruise-ships/

Someone in the audience made the comment they preferred smaller ships (than Oasis or Quantum class), so they asked the question if there were any plans to build another Radiance, Voyager, or Freedom class ship. The answer was no, but he said if they did decide to build a smaller ship it would be a new class of ships.

Well, a Celebrity EDGE class derivative for RCI would certainly be a new class of ship.

We are also on this cruise. Someone in the audience made the comment they preferred smaller ships (than Oasis or Quantum class), so they asked the question if there were any plans to build another Radiance, Voyager, or Freedom class ship. The answer was no, but he said if they did decide to build a smaller ship it would be a new class of ships.

 

Also, for the timing of Empress going to Cuba, we didn't hear him say that they anticipated starting in November/December. He said they have the itineraries and planning complete, just waiting for approval which he didn't think would come until some time after the elections. They are disappointed it is taking so long.

We have thought...very, very briefly...about going to Cuba but have no desire to have our day dictated to us. We will wait until all restrictions are lifted...which is a way of saying probably never go.

If Mr. Bayley thinks Congress will lift, or even start lifting, the sanctions they placed on Cuba after the election I would be willing to bet a substantial sum of money he will be disappointed.

It was legislation passed by Congress that put the remaining sanctions in place and only Congress can lift them. As much as the next POTUS may want to, they will not have the authority to do anything...just a "bully pulpit". There is still A LOT of voters in the US that don't want anything done until the Castro's are out and real elections are held...and members of Congress like getting re-elected.

Nothing surprising on the other things.

We have thought...very, very briefly...about going to Cuba but have no desire to have our day dictated to us. We will wait until all restrictions are lifted...which is a way of saying probably never go.

 

If Mr. Bayley thinks Congress will lift, or even start lifting, the sanctions they placed on Cuba after the election I would be willing to bet a substantial sum of money he will be disappointed.

 

It was legislation passed by Congress that put the remaining sanctions in place and only Congress can lift them. As much as the next POTUS may want to, they will not have the authority to do anything...just a "bully pulpit". There is still A LOT of voters in the US that don't want anything done until the Castro's are out and real elections are held...and members of Congress like getting re-elected.

 

Nothing surprising on the other things.

You make a big assumption that the President has any concept of a silly notion such as constitutional limits on presidential power. Unfortunately, I don't think either of the most likely contenders has ever heard of it either.