What ship will eventually replace Majesty?

[mcatmcat]

I live in south florida and anyone that know about that ship tell me negative reviews. I was going to try it anyway but people say that is not worth it at all.

 

 

Yes. They had gotten off to a bad start and not seemed to recovered well since. They were supposed to run day cruises every day and have timed service to to the resort. Well, they started with day cruises, the resort wasn't ready, the day cruises didn't go well, now they are down to weekends. They had some night time puke and gamble type cruises but I don't think they do that either. I see that ship sitting most of the time.

 

Sort of a good idea but poor execution.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Paulette3028]

DH and I have cruised on Majesty quite a bit. Several years ago, on one of our cruises, after Monarch was sold to Pullmantr the topic came up at the C&A gathering about what was going to be the fate of Majesty and what might replace her.

 

Back then it was said, that Royal will not want to sacrifice passenger size since the Majesty cruises are always very full and the LA speculated that Navigator might replace Her Majesty.

 

So from my POV, until something more concrete is said.......I am HOPING it is Navigator. Often times the 'first rumor' may turn out to be the best.

[Topo Gigio]

Isn't the (refurbished) Voyager Class ship too much ship for the short Bahamas runs?

[CRUISEBOY305]

DH and I have cruised on Majesty quite a bit. Several years ago, on one of our cruises, after Monarch was sold to Pullmantr the topic came up at the C&A gathering about what was going to be the fate of Majesty and what might replace her.

 

Back then it was said, that Royal will not want to sacrifice passenger size since the Majesty cruises are always very full and the LA speculated that Navigator might replace Her Majesty.

 

So from my POV, until something more concrete is said.......I am HOPING it is Navigator. Often times the 'first rumor' may turn out to be the best.

 

Well, navigator will be in SofLa for the 2015/16 season. I believe it. I'm thinking an older voyager ship though, like adventure.

[Clarea]

Isn't the (refurbished) Voyager Class ship too much ship for the short Bahamas runs?

Not in my opinion. They already have Freedom stopping at Coco Cay, so there's no issue there with a Voyager class ship. Oasis and Allure are into Nassau regularly. Key West is the only question mark in my mind, that's why I'd move Enchantment to Miami and a Voyager class ship to PC.

[Paulette3028]

Isn't the (refurbished) Voyager Class ship too much ship for the short Bahamas runs?

 

What exactly does 'too much ship' mean?

[Ken at the beach]

Personally I think that with RCI deploying more of their ships in Asia and elsewhere you will see the Majesty remain in the fleet for another couple of years possibly until Both Oasis 4 and Quantum 3 are launched. I agree with others that a vision class would be too small but I also think a Voyager class would be too large.

[Paulette3028]

Well, navigator will be in SofLa for the 2015/16 season. I believe it. I'm thinking an older voyager ship though, like adventure.

 

For the 2015 calendar year, it seems that Navigator is being shared between Galveston and Fort Lauderdale; then in Jan-Mar 2016 Navigator shows its itinerary from Fort Lauderdale.

 

What is SofLa that you are referring to?

 

If the Majesty departure happens it could be April 2016 and sliding Navigator into that slot, could work. It surely will give them more passenger capacity.

 

Someone said in a thread I read that Navigator did stop in KW on one of its itineraries from Galveston, this past year.....perhaps as a test.

[Paulette3028]

Personally I think that with RCI deploying more of their ships in Asia and elsewhere you will see the Majesty remain in the fleet for another couple of years possibly until Both Oasis 4 and Quantum 3 are launched. I agree with others that a vision class would be too small but I also think a Voyager class would be too large.

 

It surely would not be 'too large for the cruisers to enjoy'.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I've been in Key West when Carnival Dream docked there. As far as I know that is the largest cruise ship to dock in Key West. I don't know how that class of ship (Carnival Breeze and Carnival Dream) compares to Voyager Class ships as to passenger capacity and ship size.

 

I have been in Key West on Jewel of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas, so I know those ships do fit.

 

The challenge Key West presents to shipping is the difficult channel. It seems that many of Key West's residents oppose deepening and widening the channel to accommodate today's largest cruise ships. They do not even want to spend the money needed just to study the possibility of enlarging the channel.

[Paulette3028]

given the current financial status of Pullmantur, Majesty won't be going anywhere anytime soon but if I had to venture a guess either Vision or Grandeur. I can see a voyager class ship doing the 3/4 night runs.

 

With Vision or Grandeur Royal will lose passenger capacity and financially that does not make sense.

 

At full capacity Majesty has 2744 passengers while Vision and Grandeur top out at 2416 and 2440 respectively. Lots of potential lost revenue or need to raise prices to keep same level of profits per run -- which is why a Voyager class ship, is enticing for those runs.....3114 to 3840 passenger count.

[LMaxwell]

Isn't the (refurbished) Voyager Class ship too much ship for the short Bahamas runs?

 

I could see Voyager class being "overwhelming" for a three or four day; but I still think they deliver the wow of Royal in a way that Vision class can not. I have not been aboard Radiance class but I really think Voyager and up is what shines.

[CRUISEBOY305]

For the 2015 calendar year, it seems that Navigator is being shared between Galveston and Fort Lauderdale; then in Jan-Mar 2016 Navigator shows its itinerary from Fort Lauderdale.

 

What is SofLa that you are referring to?

 

If the Majesty departure happens it could be April 2016 and sliding Navigator into that slot, could work. It surely will give them more passenger capacity.

 

Someone said in a thread I read that Navigator did stop in KW on one of its itineraries from Galveston, this past year.....perhaps as a test.

 

SoFla - South Florida

[Ken at the beach]

With Vision or Grandeur Royal will lose passenger capacity and financially that does not make sense.

 

At full capacity Majesty has 2744 passengers while Vision and Grandeur top out at 2416 and 2440 respectively. Lots of potential lost revenue or need to raise prices to keep same level of profits per run -- which is why a Voyager class ship, is enticing for those runs.....3114 to 3840 passenger count.

 

While I agree with you that a Voyager class ship would be a nice change for the 3-4 day runs out of Miami I don't agree with your revenue estimates.

 

Something that I have noticed over the past year since the Enchantment has taken over for the Monarch is that the prices do seem to be higher. When the Monarch was there the prices always seemed to drop dramatically after final payment just as they continue to do for the Majesty.

 

Yes the ships do always sail full but they are having to sell more cabins at a reduced rate in order to fill them. This still seems to be the case with the Majesty as you continue to see prices on her drop to the $200pp level or lower for many of her sailings. Putting a Voyager class ship in would IMO just cause RCI to have to drop the prices even more to ensure the ship was filled.

 

With the Majesty and somewhat with the Vision class ships there are also a lot less suites and balconies on those ships which means that RCI can still command a bit of a premium on those. For the most part people going on the 3/4 day cruises are looking for a cheap getaway and with the large number of suites and balconies on the Voyager class I'm not sure that RCI would be able to command as much of a premium on those cabins.

 

I still think that the Majesty will continue to sail under the RCI banner until 2018 when all of the new builds are complete.

[CRUISEBOY305]

While I agree with you that a Voyager class ship would be a nice change for the 3-4 day runs out of Miami I don't agree with your revenue estimates.

 

Something that I have noticed over the past year since the Enchantment has taken over for the Monarch is that the prices do seem to be higher. When the Monarch was there the prices always seemed to drop dramatically after final payment just as they continue to do for the Majesty.

 

Yes the ships do always sail full but they are having to sell more cabins at a reduced rate in order to fill them. This still seems to be the case with the Majesty as you continue to see prices on her drop to the $200pp level or lower for many of her sailings. Putting a Voyager class ship in would IMO just cause RCI to have to drop the prices even more to ensure the ship was filled.

 

With the Majesty and somewhat with the Vision class ships there are also a lot less suites and balconies on those ships which means that RCI can still command a bit of a premium on those. For the most part people going on the 3/4 day cruises are looking for a cheap getaway and with the large number of suites and balconies on the Voyager class I'm not sure that RCI would be able to command as much of a premium on those cabins.

 

I still think that the Majesty will continue to sail under the RCI banner until 2018 when all of the new builds are complete.

 

wouldn't surprise if Majesty stuck around till 2018. She's still has a few good years left in her.

[LMaxwell]

wouldn't surprise if Majesty stuck around till 2018. She's still has a few good years left in her.

 

 

I agree, the ship has good years left, as long as RCI can operate it at a profit I'd love to see her stick around. But sooner or later it's going to cost too much to bring the ship up to current specs. When is the next dry dock due?

[Aquahound]

We're still waiting for an answer of why RCI "tested" the port of Key West with the Mariner a couple years ago. Word on the street was Explorer was going to eventually replace Majesty, but who knows? It wouldn't surprise one bit if a Voyager Class ship fills the gap.

[Aquahound]

Someone said in a thread I read that Navigator did stop in KW on one of its itineraries from Galveston, this past year.....perhaps as a test.

 

It was the Mariner, back in Spring 2012. There were no passengers on board and the ship was enroute dry dock. Here's the thread I started when I learned about it. There are pics of the Mariner in the harbor.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1620531&page=3

[orville99]

With Vision or Grandeur Royal will lose passenger capacity and financially that does not make sense.

 

At full capacity Majesty has 2744 passengers while Vision and Grandeur top out at 2416 and 2440 respectively. Lots of potential lost revenue or need to raise prices to keep same level of profits per run -- which is why a Voyager class ship, is enticing for those runs.....3114 to 3840 passenger count.

 

Capacity alone is not a determining metric. Revenue is calculated on REVPAR (Revenue per available room) for the hotel component of a ship. Even though absolute capacity will be lost if Majesty is replaced by a Vision class ship, based on the ratio of interior, OV, balcony, and suites, a Vision class ship doing the same routes with 300 fewer passengers should generate 25-30% more REVPAR, because you are replacing a ship with 60% interior; 30% OV; and 10% suites (no balcony cabins) with a ship with 30% interior, 20% OV, 35% balcony, and 15% suites. IMO, Swapping out low priced rooms with higher priced rooms is how RCL will make their decision.

[Paulette3028]

I agree, the ship has good years left, as long as RCI can operate it at a profit I'd love to see her stick around. But sooner or later it's going to cost too much to bring the ship up to current specs. When is the next dry dock due?

 

It is more than just keeping it up to current specs; eventually it becomes 'what kind of cruise experience do your cruisers expect?' With all the WOW that is going into the promotions for the bigger ships with so much more available to do on them, Her Majesty, will eventually be less of a good 'promo' for Royal.....no matter how, many people do like her.

 

She would/doesn't have all that the other ships do, and that is what kind of hype Royal wants for its ships, and probably needs relative to her competitors.

 

There will come a time, that Her Majesty's time will be over.

[Paulette3028]

SoFla - South Florida

 

Written the way you did -- SoFla -- I would have known to be South Florida; previous poster wrote is at SofLA and that I could not decipher....what some capital letters can do placed where they should be.

 

Thanks

[Paulette3028]

I could see Voyager class being "overwhelming" for a three or four day; but I still think they deliver the wow of Royal in a way that Vision class can not. I have not been aboard Radiance class but I really think Voyager and up is what shines.

 

Radiance class ships are magnificent in their own way....we were on Jewel, from that class, and it has more glass on it than the other ships in the fleet. It offers its own WOW, in addition to great fun.

[Paulette3028]

And don't forget the old supply and demand. As you can see in PC with the enchantment they don't have as many of the larger last minute price drops.

 

I think that some of the local people who want to go on the Majesty just wait for the price drops knowing they will come. If their are less cabins then you will have a larger demand for them by the loyal RCCL people so they can keep the price higher. And as someone said above, what is it costing them to keep the Majesty up to standards.

 

Yes, there are some locals that may use it as an easy last minute short vacation and wait for last minute price drops. But many come down to escape the cold of the north, for a short vacation and from many places where they find good airfare.

[Hoopster95]

I think Majesty just might hang around for a few more years. Although there have been threads in the past months from cruisers hearing from the CL, or Capt, or friend of a friend who's buddy works on the ship (:rolleyes::p) that Majesty's current booking through to April 2016 is where it will end. We know how these assumptions work, even from reputable sources, by the way the deployment rolled out this past year with all the surprises that happened.

 

• Vision class replacement? Absolutely perfect class to replace Majesty imo for many reasons.
  
• Radiance Class? No way imo. RCL needs those ships on northern routes and in areas for pollution control (ie. Baltics, Alaska, Canada/New England). I'm actually super surprised RCL deployed Serenade to Caribbean 2015/16.
  
• Voyager Class? A great replacement, but 3 of the 5 ships are going to Asia (Mariner/Voyager/Explorer). RCL already has Liberty (and then Indy) doing the short runs to Cozumel if new cruisers want to check out the bigger ships so I'm guessing Navigator/Adventurer will do something else to make RCL money without needing to discount hundreds of cabins in order to fill them (and keep their employees on board working)
  

 

I don't see a renovated WOW ship (ie. Navigator) deployed for the short runs. but truly who knows?

[BillOh]

I could see Voyager class being "overwhelming" for a three or four day;.

 

If they did keep the same 3/4 day intinerary, I'll bet B2B sales would go up. I would probably do that.