Deployment Schedule 2016-2017. Let the guessing begin

[springaussie]

Any updates on Australia deployment. I am in the USA now.

[MADflyer]

Any updates on Australia deployment. I am in the USA now.

 

They just updated the schedule for the 'week of' deployments.

 

Dubai - April 13th (Vision)

Winter NE (Anthem/Grandeur) - April 20th

Australia/HI/Singapore - April 27th

Additional Australia - May 25th

China - Future Deployment

Edited April 9, 2015 by MADflyer

[svillager]

I just noticed that the schedules are up for Grandeur and Anthem on cruisecal.

[travelgoddess1]

They just updated the schedule for the 'week of' deployments.

 

Dubai - April 13th (Vision)

Winter NE (Anthem/Grandeur) - April 20th

Australia/HI/Singapore - April 27th

Additional Australia - May 25th

China - Future Deployment

 

That's really late -- I wonder what the hold up is, other than Explorer's changing itineraries. :rolleyes: :eek:

Edited April 9, 2015 by travelgoddess1

[TourDeCruise]

They just updated the schedule for the 'week of' deployments.

 

Dubai - April 13th (Vision)

Winter NE (Anthem/Grandeur) - April 20th

Australia/HI/Singapore - April 27th

Additional Australia - May 25th

China - Future Deployment

 

If this is true that it is delayed this long, we might as well book a Grandeur winter 2016/2017 cruise while we are on our Celebrity cruise late this month to get the shipboard credit.

 

Anyone know how much obc we get for an oceanview cabin a 9- or 10-night RCI cruise if we book onboard during our Celebrity cruise for a Royal Caribbean cruise? Should be same obc as if we were to book while on an RCI cruise.

[skiiergirl]

Just curious....how did Cruisecal have the JW / RH itineraries so wrong? Were they pulling it from a database RC had set up? Or pulling from the various ports? Just curious if RC truly had the JW and RH itineraries set as previously shown on Cruisecal and then RC changed them before release?

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Just curious....how did Cruisecal have the JW / RH itineraries so wrong? Were they pulling it from a database RC had set up? Or pulling from the various ports? Just curious if RC truly had the JW and RH itineraries set as previously shown on Cruisecal and then RC changed them before release?

 

Royal announced originally that Jewel was going to Venice and Rhapsody to Rome. I assume that the itineraries on CruiseCal were the original itineraries that Royal was planning.

[crisndeefromde]

Anyone have any idea what is up with Adventure of the seas from the end of Dec 2016 to the first week of April 2017? Still nothing showing up

[Guest012]

They just updated the schedule for the 'week of' deployments.

 

Dubai - April 13th (Vision)

Winter NE (Anthem/Grandeur) - April 20th

Australia/HI/Singapore - April 27th

Additional Australia - May 25th

China - Future Deployment

 

 

Thanks for that they sure are dragging the chain with the Australian schedules...........:eek::eek:

[SherriZ366]

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2016_2017/15043478_RH_2016_Europe_Deployment_Flyer.pdf

 

The full summer season for Rhapsody of the Seas.

Hope they add fall sailings so we will know when RH does its Transatlantic and gets to Port C.

[Clarea]

Hope they add fall sailings so we will know when RH does its Transatlantic and gets to Port C.

The TA back to Port Canaveral is already available on the website. Leaves Rome 27-Oct-2016 and arrives in PC 10-Nov-2016.

[MADflyer]

Hope they add fall sailings so we will know when RH does its Transatlantic and gets to Port C.

 

The Rhapsody Bahamas sailings had already been deployed.

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2016_2017/15043575_Rhapsody_Winter_Caribbean_Deployment_Flyer.pdf

[John&LaLa]

The TA back to Port Canaveral is already available on the website. Leaves Rome 27-Oct-2016 and arrives in PC 10-Nov-2016.

 

Combine that with 10 days Venice to Rome. Was going to do 21 days on Freedom in September, but 24 days on Rhapsody could be a better choice.

[geoff2802]

Any updates on Australia deployment. I am in the USA now.

 

 

The updated deployment flyer now lists two specific releases:

"Australia/HI/Singapore" on April 27 and "Additional Australia" May 25:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2016_2017/15042681_2016-2017_Deployment_Opening_Schedule.pdf

I take this to mean there is something over and above the already known deployment of Voyager, Explorer, Radiance and Legend for the Australian summer. Any thoughts?

 

 

 

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[Clarea]

Combine that with 10 days Venice to Rome. Was going to do 21 days on Freedom in September, but 24 days on Rhapsody could be a better choice.

I agree, that would be a great trip, but too pricey for us.

[marquisite]

The updated deployment flyer now lists two specific releases:

"Australia/HI/Singapore" on April 27 and "Additional Australia" May 25:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2016_2017/15042681_2016-2017_Deployment_Opening_Schedule.pdf

I take this to mean there is something over and above the already known deployment of Voyager, Explorer, Radiance and Legend for the Australian summer. Any thoughts?

 

I too thought this could be one reason for the now two-tiered release of the 2016-2017 Australian itineraries. Perhaps one of the Quantum-class will be paying a visit to Australia during the Aussie Summer? As I posted some time ago, the Port Otago (Dunedin/Pt Chalmers) was running simulations on whether a vessel the size of Quantum would be able to dock there, as reported by Otago Daily Times.

 

Interestingly, around Dec 2016/Jan 2017 there are three generic "Voyager class" entries in the Port Chalmers cruise schedule with strange dates, but at other times before & after Voyager and Explorer are specifically named! I see:

 

• 22 Dec (Explorer is docked at Sydney OPT that day, Voyager docks at OPT 2 days later on 24 Dec),
  
• 3 Jan (Explorer is again docked at the OPT on this day and Voyager docks 2 days later on 5 Jan),
  
• and 15 Jan (this one seems more plausible with Voyager docked at Sydney OPT on 19 Jan. Explorer turns around at the OPT 2 days earlier yet again, on 13 Jan)
  

By contrast, in comparing the dates of say Voyager of the Seas listed for 13 Nov, Voyager's Sydney OPT booking around this time is the 8 Nov and then 16 Nov, which sounds more realistic - a difference of two days between Dunedin and Sydney bookings only leaves a single sea day to cruise from one port to the other (or vice versa) ... not happening!

 

 

The other less awesome sounding possibility is merely releasing the first 6 months of Voyager/Explorer/Legend/Radiance sailings later this month, and then the remaining 6 month sailings later in May. Wasn't this two-stage style of release the case with some of the Caribbean itineraries?

Edited April 10, 2015 by marquisite

[geoff2802]

I too thought this could be one reason for the now two-tiered release of the 2016-2017 Australian itineraries. Perhaps one of the Quantum-class will be paying a visit to Australia during the Aussie Summer? As I posted some time ago, the Port Otago (Dunedin/Pt Chalmers) was running simulations on whether a vessel the size of Quantum would be able to dock there, as reported by Otago Daily Times.

 

Interestingly, around Dec 2016/Jan 2017 there are three generic "Voyager class" entries in the Port Chalmers cruise schedule with strange dates, but at other times before & after Voyager and Explorer are specifically named! I see:

 

• 22 Dec (Explorer is docked at Sydney OPT that day, Voyager docks at OPT 2 days later on 24 Dec),
  
• 3 Jan (Explorer is again docked at the OPT on this day and Voyager docks 2 days later on 5 Jan),
  
• and 15 Jan (this one seems more plausible with Voyager docked at Sydney OPT on 19 Jan. Explorer turns around at the OPT 2 days earlier yet again, on 13 Jan)
  

By contrast, in comparing the dates of say Voyager of the Seas listed for 13 Nov, Voyager's Sydney OPT booking around this time is the 8 Nov and then 16 Nov, which sounds more realistic - a difference of two days between Dunedin and Sydney bookings only leaves a single sea day to cruise from one port to the other (or vice versa) ... not happening!

 

 

The other less awesome sounding possibility is merely releasing the first 6 months of Voyager/Explorer/Legend/Radiance sailings later this month, and then the remaining 6 month sailings later in May. Wasn't this two-stage style of release the case with some of the Caribbean itineraries?

 

 

I hadn't noticed those generic "Voyager class" entries in Dunedin - thanks for posting. There are also a number of entries in the Sydney OPT schedule for Voyager otS, Explorer otS and Celebrity Solstice that look like a decoy for another ship or that Royal is simply attempting to monopolise the limited slots at Circular quay.

 

The two stage deployment release for the Caribbean was (imho) driven by the complexity of the market - number of ships, embarkation ports, ports of call and itineraries plus the fact that sailings are year-round from some Florida ports. Australia is a smaller, simpler cruise market and there is no real motivation for splitting the deployment release. Year round deployment from an Aussie port would be unlikely. So I remain optimistic for a visit from another ship in the summer of '16/'17. The obvious candidates are Quantum and Ovation [emoji4] .

 

 

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[marquisite]

Year round deployment from an Aussie port would be unlikely. So I remain optimistic for a visit from another ship in the summer of '16/'17. The obvious candidates are Quantum and Ovation

 

I agree, I think we'll be having seasonal Summer deployments for some time yet, other than the odd off-season visitor (e.g. Legend of the Seas is dropping by at Sydney in June.)

 

I just noticed an error with my post - what I meant by two-tier deployment was a split of the current half-year seasonal deployment into the first 3 months and then the next 3 months to complete the Summer season, and not 6 months and then another 6 months for year-round sailings. Whoops! :eek: :o

 

Another possibility might be the addition of some Melbourne homeported sailings? (competition for Golden Princess?) RCI is bringing down Legend to homeport in Brisbane which was announced separately so they are open to homeporting outside of Sydney.

 

Voyager of the Seas is booked for Melbourne on 13 Dec 2016, 18 Dec 2016, 11 Jan 2017 (source), however none of those dates are showing as a turnaround booking.

 

Voyager is double booked on 13 Dec with a listing at the OPT, too. The 11 Jan booking is also interesting as there is no Voyager booking at the OPT close to this state. The closest OPT dates are 5 Jan and then 18 Jan.

 

Anyway, fingers crossed the two-stage Australian deployment is indeed due to a special, awesome surprise of some kind :D.

Edited April 10, 2015 by marquisite

[John&LaLa]

I agree, that would be a great trip, but too pricey for us.

 

Really not that bad. Except for airfare to Venice, and hotel. No airfare home though. :D

[Clarea]

Really not that bad. Except for airfare to Venice, and hotel. No airfare home though. :D

I don't have a feel for the Venice part, but look at the difference in price (balcony and JS) between the Brilliance TA and the Rhapsody TA. Too much to justify leaving from Rome.

Edited April 10, 2015 by clarea

[MADflyer]

I don't have a feel for the Venice part, but look at the difference in price (balcony and JS) between the Brilliance TA and the Rhapsody TA. Too much to justify leaving from Rome.

 

There has certainly been some relationship between the staggered release of the 2016 TAs and pricing. Brilliance had really great early rates from March 20th to 25th and have actually went up a little now. Even Harmony pricing was great.

 

The current RH TA pricing is outside of the norm though and would have to come down.

[CVU]

The updated deployment flyer now lists two specific releases:

"Australia/HI/Singapore" on April 27 and "Additional Australia" May 25:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2016_2017/15042681_2016-2017_Deployment_Opening_Schedule.pdf

I take this to mean there is something over and above the already known deployment of Voyager, Explorer, Radiance and Legend for the Australian summer. Any thoughts?

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Explorer has been showing 2 cruises Sold Out for over a week now and the ship is due up in BC to do the Alaska Cruise Season in the Spring of 2016.

April 12&28 /16 are the sold out cruises. Old web pages used to show N/A and that was usually a change or cancelled cruise for us when it happened.

 

So, I am waiting to see what they are doing to get her up here?? in Apr/May as we are booked on both in Apr/16.

Edited April 10, 2015 by CVU

[pspercy]

The updated deployment flyer now lists two specific releases:

"Australia/HI/Singapore" on April 27 and "Additional Australia" May 25:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2016_2017/15042681_2016-2017_Deployment_Opening_Schedule.pdf

 

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Says nothing about Panama Canal / "Exotics" ??

[MADflyer]

The updated deployment flyer now lists two specific releases:

"Australia/HI/Singapore" on April 27 and "Additional Australia" May 25:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2016_2017/15042681_2016-2017_Deployment_Opening_Schedule.pdf

I take this to mean there is something over and above the already known deployment of Voyager, Explorer, Radiance and Legend for the Australian summer. Any thoughts?

 

 

 

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I think this just indicates that they will release Australian cruises in two waves, similar as they just did with the Northeast Caribbean sailings for Anthem and Grandeur or Jewel and Rhapsody in Europe.

 

Most likely the sailings that are 'Exotic' with calls in Australia and involve transit to/from HI and Singapore and maybe Sydney sailings could be in the first wave. Then, Brisbane or other home port could be in the second wave.

[MADflyer]

Says nothing about Panama Canal / "Exotics" ??

 

As deployment nears completion for 2016 it looks like no Panama Canal or South America sailings will be included.