Deployment Schedule 2016-2017. Let the guessing begin

[marquisite]

Of the ships scheduled to call on Australia & NZ ports, the closest to Ovation I can find is the Queen Mary 2. She is almost as long as Ovation, is deeper (30'?) but not as beamy.

QM2 calls at Sydney, Brisbane, Yorkeys (for Cairns - tendered?), Auckland, Wellington, Bay of Islands (scenic cruising only?). Add Fremantle, Melbourne, Hobart, Darwin, the NZ sounds, Otago (?), Noumea (?), isle of Pines (tendered), Lautoka and Suva to these for a starting list of ports of call for Ovation. Will Ovation have her own tenders?

I guess the five itineraries from Sydney could be something like:

- 2 night sampler.

- NZ North and South Island.

- Australian east coast.

- Fiji and NZ North Island.

- Round Australia (split into two cruises) if she does fit into Fremantle.

I'll have a look through the port schedules for hints later.

 

 

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Don't forget Adelaide (Outer Harbour) ;). Queen Mary 2 has docked here for a few seasons now!

 

What I find odd in the port schedule is a listing for 12 December 2016 for Voyager of the Seas booked in to anchor, rather than dock. I am wondering if this is a disguised Ovation, as Voyager always docks and there's no other ship booked in on the same day.

 

If Ovation is coming in through Fremantle it makes sense why there's a one-time Adelaide booking around this time for anchoring.

Edited April 15, 2015 by marquisite

[geoff2802]

Don't forget Adelaide (Outer Harbour) ;). Queen Mary 2 has docked here for a few seasons now!

 

What I find odd in the port schedule is a listing for 12 December 2016 for Voyager of the Seas booked in to anchor, rather than dock. I am wondering if this is a disguised Ovation, as Voyager always docks and there's no other ship booked in on the same day.

 

If Ovation is coming in through Fremantle it makes sense why there's a one-time Adelaide booking around this time for anchoring.

 

 

Yes, of course. That Dec 12 entry coud be an indicator.

I would have thought the repo from Singapore would be down the East coast though, because (I believe) the charterer could pull in higher fares on this route compared to West coast. But maybe there are other reasons to come in via Fremantle.

Six Sydney port entries for Royal ships have very late (23:59 hrs) departure times. They are Dec 20 and 28th and Jan 6th, 9th, 20th and 23rd. These may indicate Ovation turnarounds, or not.

 

 

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[cheznandy]

Yes, of course. That Dec 12 entry coud be an indicator.

I would have thought the repo from Singapore would be down the East coast though, because (I believe) the charterer could pull in higher fares on this route compared to West coast. But maybe there are other reasons to come in via Fremantle.

Six Sydney port entries for Royal ships have very late (23:59 hrs) departure times. They are Dec 20 and 28th and Jan 6th, 9th, 20th and 23rd. These may indicate Ovation turnarounds, or not.

 

 

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Geoff, Gavin Smith said today on Sunrise that Ovation would be arriving from Asia via Fremantle and likely returning to Asia via Brisbane. There is a booking at Darwin for Voyager on the 31st January, so if the 23rd January in Sydney is correct, 8 days to get to Darwin sounds likely.

From the way he was speaking, I think they want to get Ovation in to all our capital cities for "advertising" future cruises. Freemantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane Darwin, Ovation is likely to visit them all.

 

Chez

[geoff2802]

Geoff, Gavin Smith said today on Sunrise that Ovation would be arriving from Asia via Fremantle and likely returning to Asia via Brisbane. There is a booking at Darwin for Voyager on the 31st January, so if the 23rd January in Sydney is correct, 8 days to get to Darwin sounds likely.

 

From the way he was speaking, I think they want to get Ovation in to all our capital cities for "advertising" future cruises. Freemantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane Darwin, Ovation is likely to visit them all.

 

 

 

Chez

 

 

The promotional value of visiting every capital city would be huge for Royal, so this makes sense. They give Cruiseco the job of filling the inward repo to Perth.

 

If she calls at Adelaide on Dec 12, she would have left Perth Dec 8 and would arrive in Melbourne on Dec 14, Hobart on Dec 16 and Sydney on Dec 20. There is a couple of spare days in this (guessed) itinerary.

The two late Dec dates for Sydney make sense as they would want to maximise revenue over Christmas and NY.

I'm hoping the season is longer than early Dec to late Jan though. [emoji3]

My credit card is ready for the damage. [emoji12]

 

 

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[Hoopster95]

Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie! Oy Oy Oy!

I am supremely jealous that you're getting Ovation. Congrats to all of you. I am a massive fan of the Quantum Class so I hope you love her. She is so totally different than any other ship RCL has, so don't expect to feel at home at all when you first get on board her... embrace the change. You will love it :D

 

Regarding Explorer, any new findings regarding her repo to North America next April/May? MadFlyer? SpringAussie? Anyone??? Any citings on various port schedules?

[CVU]

Also, awaiting on word of Explorer and when or where she is arriving up the West Coast.

 

Thanks!!!

[oleprof2308]

I was told while on a RCCL cruise in January that the late 2016 Panama Canal cruises would be posted by mid April. Nothing has posted yet. I called RCCL yesterday and no one seemed to know anything about a Panama Canal Cruise in late 2016. I'm very surprised by this since they have had at least 1 cruise late in the year through the canal for quite a while.

Has anyone had any word about this or is RCCL giving up on the Canal next year when it should be an important year with the new Canal opening? I booked a cruise on Celebrity just to be safe but thought I might switch if RCCL had a better itinerary.

[TheHappyWanderers]

Also, awaiting on word of Explorer and when or where she is arriving up the West Coast.

 

Thanks!!!

Me too! I try to check everyday. We are booked on the first Alaska run (4/27/16). I am hoping to link them up, if I can.

[CVU]

Me too! I try to check everyday. We are booked on the first Alaska run (4/27/16). I am hoping to link them up, if I can.

 

Hi Gigi!

Well, knowing RCL and past RCL cancelled cruises we had booked, it takes time.....we waited about a month for their phone call after it was N/A on their web site.

I kept calling and calling then but it is in inventory or whatever excuse, we knew it was cancelled.

So, for any new itinerary they will have to deal with us too, as we have the ship booked.

Dayle

[TheHappyWanderers]

Hi Gigi!

Well, knowing RCL and past RCL cancelled cruises we had booked, it takes time.....we waited about a month for their phone call after it was N/A on their web site.

I kept calling and calling then but it is in inventory or whatever excuse, we knew it was cancelled.

So, for any new itinerary they will have to deal with us too, as we have the ship booked.

Dayle

Dayle, I couldn't have a better "look out" person, on the perch, with me. :)

[travelgoddess1]

Dayle, I couldn't have a better "look out" person, on the perch, with me. :)

 

I hope Jewel has a good Internet connection!:p

[CVU]

I hope Jewel has a good Internet connection!:p

 

They have until Sept to get it going......:D

[geoff2802]

Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie! Oy Oy Oy!

 

I am supremely jealous that you're getting Ovation. Congrats to all of you. I am a massive fan of the Quantum Class so I hope you love her. She is so totally different than any other ship RCL has, so don't expect to feel at home at all when you first get on board her... embrace the change. You will love it :D

 

 

 

Regarding Explorer, any new findings regarding her repo to North America next April/May? MadFlyer? SpringAussie? Anyone??? Any citings on various port schedules?

 

 

Thank you and I hope the deployment gods also send a Quantum class vessel your way some time soon. [emoji3]. We would love to share Ovation with Alaska/BC [emoji4] , but the Chinese have tied it up I think.

 

Regarding Explorer, we know that the first part of the repo is Sydney to Hawaii, which you are no doubt already aware of. I think there is some weight to the argument that she will go via Ensenada, but to my knowledge no port entries have been found to confirm or refute this. Opinion here seems to be that the logistics of debarking and transporting 3000+ passengers at Victoria is not workable, but I don't know if that's right. Ensenada has few if any friends as a turnaround port. I haven't heard of any other PVSA-compliant options.

 

 

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[Phamer55]

 

Regarding Explorer, we know that the first part of the repo is Sydney to Hawaii, which you are no doubt already aware of. I think there is some weight to the argument that she will go via Ensenada, but to my knowledge no port entries have been found to confirm or refute this. Opinion here seems to be that the logistics of debarking and transporting 3000+ passengers at Victoria is not workable, but I don't know if that's right. Ensenada has few if any friends as a turnaround port. I haven't heard of any other PVSA-compliant options.

 

 

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It's always an option that go directly Sydney to Seattle though Hawaii and make it a long cruise. They don't have to break it up into separate cruises if the logistics don't work out. I don't think Ensenada to Seattle as a coastal cruise will sell well; the Solstice tried that once, not sure it was very successful.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Personally, I think it would have been a much better idea to have Explorer switch between Australia and Asia, and then have Ovation do Australia and Alaska. Or am i missing something? I guess we can hope for summer 2017, if Royal doesn't completely gear Ovation to the Chinese. With her switching between Australia, does that mean she won't be changed that much to cater to the Chinese? Not sure how that works?

[geoff2802]

It's always an option that go directly Sydney to Seattle though Hawaii and make it a long cruise. They don't have to break it up into separate cruises if the logistics don't work out. I don't think Ensenada to Seattle as a coastal cruise will sell well; the Solstice tried that once, not sure it was very successful.

 

 

You're right, a single long cruise of about 28 days is an option. It would be unusual for Royal to run such a single cruise of this length. They could shorten it a bit by skipping French Polynesia, but that is arguably the best part.

I agree that Ensenada to Seattle would sell cheaply.

Hawaii to Ensenada would probably not sell strongly either. Legend is doing this in reverse (we're on it) and the prices are pretty reasonable. Of course EX is much larger.

I guess this is why the Royal execs are paid the big bucks; to make the big decisions. [emoji16]

 

 

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[AtlantaCruiser72]

It's always an option that go directly Sydney to Seattle though Hawaii and make it a long cruise. They don't have to break it up into separate cruises if the logistics don't work out. I don't think Ensenada to Seattle as a coastal cruise will sell well; the Solstice tried that once, not sure it was very successful.

 

While that certainly is an option, the planners at RCCL really don't like cruises that are over 18-21 days max. The more they can break the Transpacific into segments the better their chances of filling the ships. Depending on the length of the sailings from SYD-HNL and HNL-Ensenada they could foreseeably do a 10-14 night Ensenada to Seattle Pacific Coast and Alaska cruise which would most likely sell much better than a 4-7 night Ensenada-SEA coastal would.

[geoff2802]

Personally, I think it would have been a much better idea to have Explorer switch between Australia and Asia, and then have Ovation do Australia and Alaska. Or am i missing something? I guess we can hope for summer 2017, if Royal doesn't completely gear Ovation to the Chinese. With her switching between Australia, does that mean she won't be changed that much to cater to the Chinese? Not sure how that works?

 

 

Better for whom? Royal thinks China is going to be a massive market for them and they're deploying accordingly. I'm not at all sure their expectations will be met.

It will be geared to the Chinese And I can't see a short season in Australia changing that. A larger casino, dual language signage and probably different retail choices. If there are less bars there will certainly be crowding while she's in Australian waters! The menus can be changed back and forth easily. Australians eat a lot of Asian food in any case (mostly Thai, Malay, Indian and Japanese rather than Chinese though).

 

 

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[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Better for whom? Royal thinks China is going to be a massive market for them and they're deploying accordingly. I'm not at all sure their expectations will be met.

It will be geared to the Chinese And I can't see a short season in Australia changing that. A larger casino, dual language signage and probably different retail choices. If there are less bars there will certainly be crowding while she's in Australian waters! The menus can be changed back and forth easily. Australians eat a lot of Asian food in any case (mostly Thai, Malay, Indian and Japanese rather than Chinese though).

 

 

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I was mostly referring to the deployment of Explorer to Alaska, which IMO was foolish, but that's just me. She doesn't even have a covered Solarium. My point was more about the ships themselves and that I think it would have been a better idea to have Explorer do Australia and Asia, instead of Alaska, and Ovation switch between Australia and Alaska, as she is built more for cold weather. I was just making a point, and more pointing out that Explorer in Alaska doesn't make sense and that Ovation would have been better suited there.

 

I know, I know, Royal is targeting the Chinese market, but I was just throwing my $.02 out there! :D

[geoff2802]

I was mostly referring to the deployment of Explorer to Alaska, which IMO was foolish, but that's just me. She doesn't even have a covered Solarium. My point was more about the ships themselves and that I think it would have been a better idea to have Explorer do Australia and Asia, instead of Alaska, and Ovation switch between Australia and Alaska, as she is built more for cold weather. I was just making a point, and more pointing out that Explorer in Alaska doesn't make sense and that Ovation would have been better suited there.

 

 

 

I know, I know, Royal is targeting the Chinese market, but I was just throwing my $.02 out there! :D

 

 

You're absolutely right about the deployment, on the basis of suitability of the ships. Royal must be loving the high revenue for the transpacific and Hawaii cruises and maybe this was a factor as well.

We have both ships in Australia, so it's all good (sorry, still gloating). [emoji41]

 

 

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[AtlantaCruiser72]

I was mostly referring to the deployment of Explorer to Alaska, which IMO was foolish, but that's just me. She doesn't even have a covered Solarium. My point was more about the ships themselves and that I think it would have been a better idea to have Explorer do Australia and Asia, instead of Alaska, and Ovation switch between Australia and Alaska, as she is built more for cold weather. I was just making a point, and more pointing out that Explorer in Alaska doesn't make sense and that Ovation would have been better suited there.

 

I know, I know, Royal is targeting the Chinese market, but I was just throwing my $.02 out there! :D

 

Princess sails the Crown and Ruby in Alaska, and in 2017 they will be joined by the Emerald - none of those ships have covered pools either. also Princess sailed the Sun, Dawn, Sea and Ocean there for many years before the Grand Class were redployed to Alaska, again w/o covered pools. NCL sails ships in Alaska w/o covered pools. So for RCCL to deploy a ship w/ an open Solarium to Alaska is not something none of their direct competitors do. I have taken several Alaskan cruises on ships w/ covered pools and they have been very sparsely used. I'd venture to guess very few passengers travelling to Alaska do so for pools.

 

RCCL feel that Explorer represents the right capacity bump for Alaska in 2016, which then allows them to deploy more assets into the Mediterranean that will be able to comply w/ the Venice port restrictions.

[geoff2802]

Princess sails the Crown and Ruby in Alaska, and in 2017 they will be joined by the Emerald

 

 

Is there firm evidence that Emerald will cruise Alaska in 2017?

That would be great; another choice for the Pacific crossing and some more competition as well. Just wondering, because we are planning to cruise Alaska that year.

 

 

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[travelgoddess1]

They have until Sept to get it going......:D

 

Not for us, I need a good connection next week :rolleyes:

 

Regarding Ensenada/Hawaii or Hawaii/Ensenada -- in the past, these itineraries have not sold well, resulting in price drops after final payment. We sailed on them many times, from 1999-2004 (Rhapsody, Vision, Legend, Radiance), because we are on the West Coast and love Hawaii, but getting to and from Ensenada from San Diego is not a good way to start or end the cruise.

Edited April 17, 2015 by travelgoddess1

[scgolfr]

Oasis is going to Port Canaveral From Nov2016 to April 2017

[juiceman]

They now have a 10 night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Adventure open for booking for March 29, 2017. However, there are still no cruises for Jan, Feb, or early March, 2017.