Deployment schedule: let the guessing begin!

[Ourusualbeach]

We are frequent cruisers on Majesty, for the short weekend cruise simply because we live nearby and can get away easily. We book the cabin we want and know what a very good price is for that cabin. In all the cruises we have taken, there has been one instance where they discounted the rate to $99, and it was for an inside cabin in a very low deck.

 

This ship goes out full all the time....and rarely can you get 'outrageous prices' (as you have described) even 4-7 days prior to sailing.

 

As far as what class of ship will replace Her Majesty....it may not be Navigator -- that is simply what a fairly high level employee on board told us previously -- and if it is a Vision class ship that is fine. It will have a few more things for people to do on board and offer a great vacation cruise.

 

My personal hope is that the ship sail from Fort Lauderdale, since that is even closer to my home.

 

 

Agreed that the $99 is not frequent but it does happen and more often that the once that you stated. Currently there is a 3 day and a 4 day listed for $119 and there are 42 sailings that have a price of less than $250.

 

I agree that yes these are the inside cabins however they are still having to discount them in order to fill the ship. Also this ship has the lowest number of suites and no balconies of any ship in their fleet so it's not like they are generating a lot of revenue from those categories.

[Paulette3028]

Agreed that the $99 is not frequent but it does happen and more often that the once that you stated. Currently there is a 3 day and a 4 day listed for $119 and there are 42 sailings that have a price of less than $250.

 

I agree that yes these are the inside cabins however they are still having to discount them in order to fill the ship. Also this ship has the lowest number of suites and no balconies of any ship in their fleet so it's not like they are generating a lot of revenue from those categories.

 

I am just disagreeing to the degree they have to discount some (and a very few cabins I am sure)....in your own reply you mention $119 pp prices and 42 sailings with a price of less than $250 -- BOTH of those numbers are higher than $99; and neither of them support your price point issue.

 

MANY ships have a few cabins that are unbooked a very few days prior to sailing an EVERY cruise line will make every attempt to fill those last cabins.

[Paulette3028]

Good points about the added venues I just can't see doubling the capacity and putting a newly renovated ship in doing the short cruises. Even the Enchantment that was renovated still has a hard time selling out a lot of times.

 

Enchantment sails out of Port Canaveral, while Majesty departs from Miami, and almost never (from what I know) isn't sailing full. That doesn't mean at full capacity, but it does mean that 'every cabin is booked'.

 

People fly into Miami very often just to get on the Majesty ship for their short cruise and then stay in Miami for a few days, if they don't go straight home. It has a much different enticement perhaps that Port Canaveral.

 

Doubling the capacity for the 3/4 day run that Majesty does, will give the line more profits.

[Ourusualbeach]

Enchantment sails out of Port Canaveral, while Majesty departs from Miami, and almost never (from what I know) isn't sailing full. That doesn't mean at full capacity, but it does mean that 'every cabin is booked'.

 

People fly into Miami very often just to get on the Majesty ship for their short cruise and then stay in Miami for a few days, if they don't go straight home. It has a much different enticement perhaps that Port Canaveral.

 

Doubling the capacity for the 3/4 day run that Majesty does, will give the line more profits.

 

I have never said that they do not sail full. RCI does a great job of managing their prices and dropping them at the appropriate times to ensure that they sail full. All I am saying is that from what I have seen with the discounting of fares closer to the cruise date that they seem to need to do this on a regular basis in order to fill the ship and that IMO they would have a really hard time of filling a ship with a larger capacity.

 

Yes I believe the demand is there in Miami but it would be a lot more profitable to have a Vision class ship with fewer pax and be able to not have to reduce the prices as much.

 

I guess we will see once the new schedules are released although from reading some of the easier posts I believe that someone has confirmed port dates for the Navigator out of San Juan for the new schedules.

[Paulette3028]

I have never said that they do not sail full. RCI does a great job of managing their prices and dropping them at the appropriate times to ensure that they sail full. All I am saying is that from what I have seen with the discounting of fares closer to the cruise date that they seem to need to do this on a regular basis in order to fill the ship and that IMO they would have a really hard time of filling a ship with a larger capacity.

 

Yes I believe the demand is there in Miami but it would be a lot more profitable to have a Vision class ship with fewer pax and be able to not have to reduce the prices as much.

 

I guess we will see once the new schedules are released although from reading some of the easier posts I believe that someone has confirmed port dates for the Navigator out of San Juan for the new schedules.

 

I cruised on Jewel last summer and the last couple of weeks prior to sailing that ship had incredible prices on whatever cabins they had left. So it is done on every ship.

 

I don't believe they will have a difficult time filling a larger capacity ship....many people want the additional features, but can't get away for longer than 3 or 4 days....maybe even some have done Majesty (once, maybe twice) and look elsewhere for a short vacation.

 

I have cruised on Majesty 10 times, love it....even without the extra things available on other ships. I have also cruised on ships in the other classes, and add Allure to the list this coming June/July 2014 -- but I still come back to Her Majesty. What the ship lacks, the crew makes up for -- time after time.

[mj]

Anxiously waiting Anthem's schedule.

 

I agree. Want to book a cruise when it comes to Ft Lauderdale.

[Tall-Cruiser]

Could be an option. Yes, ADVENTURE should be able to call the Brazilian ports, MSC also deploys PREZIOSA in Brazil which is even larger than ADVENTURE (139072 GT, 333 m long - ADVENTURE 137276 GT, 311 m long).

 

But it also would be great too see an RCI ship doing the Cape Horn cruises!! :)

 

Of course, RHAPSODY could also be an option.

 

And I expect that ANTHEM will offer the 6-8 night cruises out of Fort Lauderdale.

There you might be right that INDEPENDENCE will replace FREEDOM out of Port Canaveral or INDEPENDENCE (or maybe LIBERTY) may move to Galveston in order to replace NAVIGATOR, which seems to sail out of San Juan year-round.

 

There is also the rumor that ALLURE will come to Europe a full season and may replace LIBERTY on the 7 nighter out of Barcelona - also she was listed in Rome every Thursday several weeks ago (ports before and after Rome: La Spezia and Naples), so there might be new options for LIBERTY.

ALLURE definitely must come to Europe for the dry dock.

It may make sense to deploy her a full season in the Caribbean.

 

Why would Indy replace Freedom out of Port Canaveral? What would be the rationale? Both ships are indentical, so why not just send Indy to Galveston? If on the other hand an Oasis class ends up in PC then it may make sense to have a Voyager class as well as a Vision Class to complete trio.

 

According to the attached article from FloridaToday, big ships and new ships will be coming to PC.

 

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20140116/NEWS01/301160025/Big-ships-big-plans-Port-Canaveral

[OasisOTS2013]

I agree. Want to book a cruise when it comes to Ft Lauderdale.

 

I don't. It does not look like a good Forida ship. The solarium in completely covered and it will be so overpriced just because its new. I will keep sailing Oasis. Send Anthem to Asia and let us keep Independence!

[foxesden1]

Port calendar shows three 2015 sail dates 9/26- 10/3 and 10/10.

 

http://www.portsamerica.com/cruise/los-angeles-terminal.html

 

***

 

We will be on board!

[shipfriend_max]

Ok, it would not really make sense to replace FREEDOM by INDEPENDENCE, both ships are identical in fact.

So it might well be that INDEPENDENCE or maybe LIBERTY move to Galveston.

The latter one may not return to Europe, so Galveston could be an option.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited January 27, 2014 by celebrity_fan

[Charger2008]

What are the biggest surprises you think will happen in the 2015-2016 deployment schedule?

 

Freedom or Indy to Galveston.

 

Jewel to Alaska.

 

Allure to dry dock in Europe

 

I received a message from a friend who is Sports Staff with RCCL and he said that the Independence would be coming to Galveston. That would be AWESOME :D

Edited January 27, 2014 by Charger2008

[shipfriend_max]

I received a message from a friend who is Sports Staff with RCCL and he said that the Independence would be coming to Galveston.

 

That's what I expect. :D Thank you for the information!!

Could you also gather information about the deployment of other ships??

[ssb]

Everything being said from all sources are dovetailing in!:D

 

Thanks for your information! :)

[Dave85]

I don't. It does not look like a good Forida ship. The solarium in completely covered and it will be so overpriced just because its new. I will keep sailing Oasis. Send Anthem to Asia and let us keep Independence!

 

I think that's a fair point regarding the solarium, but in Florida the retractable roof on the other indoor pool will be open... so I'm not quite as concerned about that. I can't say that I ever hang out at the solarium though (except when there are parties there at night), so I guess it's not a big concern for me anyway lol.

 

We'll see how it works. I'm hoping to hit both Quantum and Anthem next year!

[springaussie]

If you look in the pop down menu for the vessel column for Marina Bay Cruise Terminal in Singapore the Explorer of the Seas is the only Royal Caribbean Ship that has not been to Singapore.

So it would appear Explorer of the Seas is bound to visit Singapore.

 

http://mbccs.com.sg/

 

:mad: No Oasis or Freedom Class yet.

[bus man]

Wonder if RCI would deploy a Voyager or Freedom class for partial Panama Canal transits as the Bridge would not be a factor. That would be a good round trip itinerary from FL -- they used to offer it and other lines do -- a very large, feature-laden ship could be a selling point.

 

From your keyboard to Mr. Goldstein's ears, I hope! I would love to see RCI do this!

[bus man]

But any ship Voyager Class and larger cannot fit under the Bridge of the Americas located at the entrance to the Pacific, and therefore no full transits to the West Coast for the larger ships. There was some discussion regarding a Voyager Class, timing the tides, and ensuring that a high(er) speed supplies enough draft to pull the ship down into the water and squeeze under the bridge... there's no way the captain wanted even to think about that risk, let alone any one of many other variables to deal with when you are already 7 feet too tall and you're trying to get under that bridge!!! :eek:

 

Maybe they could have all the passengers gorge themselves at the buffet (even more than they do now) and weigh the ship down just enough more to squeeze under the bridge! :D

[bus man]

I've gone through this entire thread and seen not one mention of Baltimore. I take it, then, that the consensus is that we'll keep Grandeur and nothing will change for us. (Yes, I know that we can't get anything larger than Radiance class because of the bridge clearances.)

[Paulette3028]

Wonder if RCI would deploy a Voyager or Freedom class for partial Panama Canal transits as the Bridge would not be a factor. That would be a good round trip itinerary from FL -- they used to offer it and other lines do -- a very large, feature-laden ship could be a selling point.

 

Friends of mine, just recently did a cruise, like the one you are suggesting, on another cruise line. They did not want to California and cruise completely through the Panama Canal and then fly out of Fort Lauderdale. It would be a great offering for RCCL cruisers. It doesn't have to be as long a cruise as a full Panama Canal trip yet give people the canal.

[ssb]

Yesterday Port of Galveston approved the new

5 year agreement with RCCL including a larger ship than Voyager Class.

And the terminal # 2 RCCL will double in size

And improvements will be completed

spring 2015 which dovetails in with Navigator

repositioning in spring 2015.

Edited January 28, 2014 by ssb

[shipfriend_max]

Yesterday Port of Galveston approved the new

5 year agreement with RCCL including a larger ship than Voyager Class.

And the terminal # 2 RCCL will double in size

And improvements will be completed

spring 2015 which dovetails in with Navigator

repositioning in spring 2015.

 

Than it is more or less official that INDEPENDENCE might offer the Galveston cruises.

Than I expect FREEDOM to stay in Port Canaveral.

Just a question regadring LIBERTY: is it just a rumor that ALLURE might be in Europe for a whole season doing the 7-night-med cruise out of Barcelona or is it fact?

I think if ALLURE just came to Europe for the classification, than LIBERTY should also do the Barcelona route in 2015.

If not, what could she do?? :confused::confused:

[ssb]

Than it is more or less official that INDEPENDENCE might offer the Galveston cruises.

Than I expect FREEDOM to stay in Port Canaveral.

Just a question regadring LIBERTY: is it just a rumor that ALLURE might be in Europe for a whole season doing the 7-night-med cruise out of Barcelona or is it fact?

I think if ALLURE just came to Europe for the classification, than LIBERTY should also do the Barcelona route in 2015.

If not, what could she do?? :confused::confused:

 

I agree it is more or less official about Independence.

But the agreement includes a larger ship and if others logic and research is accurate then it probably will be the Independence.

 

All I know at this point is what the Captain has been saying openly

that a Freedom Class is coming to Galveston. And the post from staff saying same on the RCL ship reported earlier.

And the agreement includes a larger ship.

[shipfriend_max]

And which other class of ship could it be than the Freedom-class??

 

OASIS seems to stay in Ft Lauderdale, ALLURE as well or she moves to Europe for the summer period.

So INDEPENDENCE would be the most likely ship for Galveston - FREEDOM surely keeps on sailing from Port Canaveral, and LIBERTY maybe sails the 7-night-Med cruise from Barcelona again...

[ssb]

And which other class of ship could it be than the Freedom-class??

 

OASIS seems to stay in Ft Lauderdale, ALLURE as well or she moves to Europe for the summer period.

So INDEPENDENCE would be the most likely ship for Galveston - FREEDOM surely keeps on sailing from Port Canaveral, and LIBERTY maybe sails the 7-night-Med cruise from Barcelona again...

 

We Galveston shall welcome Freedom Class!!!!:)

 

The only Classes available then can be Freedom, Quantum or Oasis.

Presently there are 3 new Quantum ships being built

and a 4th option for an Oasis Class ship in addition to other 3.

There is an option to build fifth Oasis Class ship

that expires four days prior to one year anniversary of ordering fourth Oasis Class ship..

 

RCCL did not excercise the option that was available for a fourth Quantum Class recently.

 

So some day we may see a Quantum or Oasis out of Galveston.

I was actually told that those two were options

for Galveston on our TA Navigator in November 2013.

 

One step at a time though!!!

Edited January 28, 2014 by ssb

[jonbgd]

We Galveston shall welcome Freedom Class!!!!:)

 

The only Classes available then can be Freedom, Quantum or Oasis.

Presently there are 3 new Quantum ships being built

and a 4th option for an Oasis Class ship in addition to other 3.

There is an option to build fifth Oasis Class ship

that expires four days prior to one year anniversary of ordering fourth Oasis Class ship..

 

RCCL did not excercise the option that was available for a fourth Quantum Class recently.

 

So some day we may see a Quantum or Oasis out of Galveston.

I was actually told that those two were options

for Galveston on our TA Navigator in November 2013.

 

One step at a time though!!!

 

Bring on the Oasis