Constellation "Revolution"

[rachiem]

I noticed a few days ago that they have reverted back to the old deck plan for our Sept cruise. 

I have already written the cruise off, which is a shame as I've had to do so much DIY planning around it, to add in Verona and Venice. 

[deliver42]

There won't be any Revolutions at X or Amps at RCCL for quite some time. Nor will there be any new builds for the companies, except for those already being built. My guess, and I'm probably being optimistic, is about 2 years before any new work will be started.

[Captain Rob]

1 hour ago, deliver42 said:

There won't be any Revolutions at X or Amps at RCCL for quite some time. Nor will there be any new builds for the companies, except for those already being built. My guess, and I'm probably being optimistic, is about 2 years before any new work will be started.

Will they sell of the smaller ships as they are not so profitable.

 

"According to Jason Liberty, CFO and senior vice president, the newer ships only need a 30 percent load factor to break even on an EBITDA level, compared to 50 percent for the older ships. He also noted that newbuild programs industry-wide will slow down with yards and suppliers also being impacted by COVID-19, which, he said, will weigh in on capacity growth in the foreseeable future."

 

Quote from https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22977-royal-caribbean-healthy-return-to-service.html

 

[Gracie115]

9 hours ago, hcat said:

Received an e mail from Cruise Critic with a link  to  Article about how Royal C may   gradually start up again... Among many interesting points, one that caught my attention was that it is easier to fill portions of newer ships  and  break even, than  by using older ships...and that older ships might be let go...but not right away.  Made  me think of Constellation...esp as she will not be refurbished anytime soon.

 

 

Article was worth reading...here's the link

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5359/

 

I have been saying this for a few months now.  Not only Royal, Celebrity but I believe all lines may put their older, unrenovated ships on either a long term dry dock, or "cold storage"   until they can find a buyer or until business gets better.  I think all of us know that cruising is going to take a while, perhaps a VERY long while to build back to what it was before (if it ever does).  Best way I know to deal with that scenario is to take the best they have, ie, new(er) ships vs. older ships, and hope that they get busy enough at some point to bring back some of those older ones or just abandon them entirely and build new ones.

 

The other scenario, I think, is to make those older ships "party ships" not unlike Carnival does with theirs.  Do only 2-4 night cruises and generate $$.  I think most people would "risk" a short cruise like that even now just to get out on the water.  Could put a lot of money in those empty coffers......just saying.

[Wine-O]

2 hours ago, rachiem said:

I noticed a few days ago that they have reverted back to the old deck plan for our Sept cruise. 

I have already written the cruise off, which is a shame as I've had to do so much DIY planning around it, to add in Verona and Venice. 

They are still showing the revolutionized deck plans as well as the added staterooms on Deck 10  on cruising power.  🍷

Edited May 21, 2020 by Wine-O

[hcat]

We are booked on Connie for Jan 2021, out of Tampa.. and  are.hoping to use up our  future cruise credit ( says we must sail by  Dec 31 2021) , and some BOA cruise points,.

 

In view of that article and other factors, do folks  think this cruise will happen or should we loook for a back up later in 2021?

 

Not much out there that works for our dates in Nov or Dec..Millenium short cruises, APEX or Reflection?? We have cruise line fatigue at this point but do not want to lose our FCC

 

[yorky]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

We are booked on Connie for Jan 2021, out of Tampa.. and  are.hoping to use up our  future cruise credit ( says we must sail by  Dec 31 2021) , and some BOA cruise points,.

 

In view of that article and other factors, do folks  think this cruise will happen or should we loook for a back up later in 2021?

 

Not much out there that works for our dates in Nov or Dec..Millenium short cruises, APEX or Reflection?? We have cruise line fatigue at this point but do not want to lose our FCC

 

Personally I think cruising will be up and running for the start of next year ( probably one or two cruises this year). 

[hcat]

3 minutes ago, yorky said:

Personally I think cruising will be up and running for the start of next year ( probably one or two cruises this year). 

I agree, but am wondering if they will pull Connie from Tampa which was very popular when it was announced. Guess we'll see what hapoens with her Europe and transatlantic cruises as things unfold

[d9704011]

6 minutes ago, hcat said:

We are booked on Connie for Jan 2021, out of Tampa.. and  are.hoping to use up our  future cruise credit ( says we must sail by  Dec 31 2021) , and some BOA cruise points,.

 

In view of that article and other factors, do folks  think this cruise will happen or should we loook for a back up later in 2021?

 

Not much out there that works for our dates in Nov or Dec..Millenium short cruises, APEX or Reflection?? We have cruise line fatigue at this point but do not want to lose our FCC

 

We cancelled our January Touch Canal cruise and took most of our deposit back as a FCC.  We are planning on using it on a cruise we already had booked for January, 2022.  We do not plan on booking any other cruises in between and, in fact, have cancelled or set aside any travel plans outside of Canada for the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021.  I have seen the December, 2021 date bandied about as the use-it-or-lose-it date for FCC.  Fair enough, but my understanding is that it must be applied to a new or exiating booking prior to that date for a voyage that begins before end April, , 2022.Safari - May 11, 2020 at 17:43.pdf

 

[wrk2cruise]

9 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Summit Caribbean for 2022 was there when I looked just now.

 

Wow, wonder when it showed up.   I was checking regularly.  I had asked the Zenith desk to let me know when they heard anything.   I had a hold on the Oct repo from Boston to San Juan before they pulled things back.  I was onboard and dealing with a long time future cruise person who had no idea what had happened.

 

Of course the reservation I had on hold expired for an aft C1.   Interesting that the particular cabin is the only C1 booked at the moment and the 2 perk price is $700 more than the 1 perk price I had at the time!

 

I can't seem to get the 10% loyalty to show up but I think I've moved on to something else in that timeframe anyway.

[yorky]

28 minutes ago, hcat said:

I agree, but am wondering if they will pull Connie from Tampa which was very popular when it was announced. Guess we'll see what hapoens with her Europe and transatlantic cruises as things unfold

I guess at this point the moving, or removing of ships is still up in the air. We are on the Milly in February and I don’t see that changing as she has been revolutionised. As each week passes I become more confident that the cruise lines will put in place what’s needed and we will return to cruising.

[wrk2cruise]

9 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Summit Caribbean for 2022 was there when I looked just now.

 

Wow, wonder when it showed up.   I was checking regularly.  I had asked the Zenith desk to let me know when they heard anything.   I had a hold on the Oct repo from Boston to San Juan before they pulled things back.  I was onboard and dealing with a long time future cruise person who had no idea what had happened.

 

Of course the reservation I had on hold expired for an aft C1.   Interesting that the particular cabin is the only C1 booked at the moment and the 2 perk price is $700 more than the 1 perk price I had at the time!

 

I can't seem to get the 10% loyalty to show up but I think I've moved on to something else in that timeframe anyway.

[wrk2cruise]

Delete Duplicate

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by wrk2cruise

[Ride-The-Waves]

3 hours ago, Captain Rob said:

Will they sell of the smaller ships as they are not so profitable.

 

"According to Jason Liberty, CFO and senior vice president, the newer ships only need a 30 percent load factor to break even on an EBITDA level, compared to 50 percent for the older ships. He also noted that newbuild programs industry-wide will slow down with yards and suppliers also being impacted by COVID-19, which, he said, will weigh in on capacity growth in the foreseeable future."

 

Quote from https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22977-royal-caribbean-healthy-return-to-service.html

 

One of the best, most accurate, statements I have read from anyone associated with cruise lines.

 

"Cruising" will be different than it was pre-COVID-19.  Social distancing, available ports, numbers of board (both passengers and hotel/food crew) will all require adjusting, as will "events" on board to include those in the theater.

 

The newer ships are behemoths compared to Millie and she sisters.  We are booked on Connie in February out of Tampa and will be on board whether she is "revolutionized" of not - if available and safe.  That said, our TA has already opined that Connie will likely not be sailing as scheduled in February.  

 

While the newer ships are more "open" to outdoor activities, they are also more of a challenge to fill and more expensive cooperate per mile traveled than the smaller "older" ships.  A 30 percent fill of a newer ship (Reflection at 3,500) is comparable to a 50 percent fill of an older smaller ship (Connie at 2,000).  The complicating factor is the investment cruise lines have in their newer ships.  As I have suggested in numerous posts, cruising will be different, be more expensive, be more adult, and visit fewer ports once it gets back on line.  "Party" ships will have the more difficult time adjusting to new rules to include "social distancing" etc.  The first ships back "for real" might be those under 1,000 passengers for the simple reason of being more acceptable to ports of call and easier to manage for health.  Lastly, getting hotel and food service crews back (and new ones trained) will be a challenge - with the added complexity of balancing crew to expected passenger loads.

[retired dude]

we were scheduled to sail on the connie in dec. 2020 and just used the lift/shift program to move it back to nov. 2021..I doubt that the connie will even be sailing then, but we were just not comfortable sailing this dec on any ship...NO vaccine, no sail for us right now...wish it was different, but we will just have to settle on going to clearwater beach and dream about what might have been...life is good, be safe

[LXA350]

4 hours ago, yorky said:

Personally I think cruising will be up and running for the start of next year ( probably one or two cruises this year). 

 

We might get a very soft start as of August 1 ship in Europe (Apex) and after Apex and Edge out of the US with ships added globaly given the situation will allow it. We all need to be aware that a 2nd wave could come in autumn / next winter and the cruiselines will take this also into consideration. It will be logistically and signiicantly cheaper to have a sudden stop in operations with only a few ships in the fleet operating that when going full throtle.

[marieps]

We are supposed to be on Connie in February 2021.  We sailed her just after she was Solticized and loved her.  I'd be happy to sail her again even without the new staterooms.   I'll be sad to see her go, but clearly from what's been said by Fain and Liberty she is a candidate for cold lay up.

[canderson]

4 hours ago, Wine-O said:

They are still showing the revolutionized deck plans as well as the added staterooms on Deck 10  on cruising power.  🍷

Guess they're a little behind the power curve.  So many changes over recent months, probably hard to keep up the web page.

[VitaminSea53]

So if they are going to Cold Storage Connie, what will happen to the cruises that are currently booking up? 

[begood2me]

11 minutes ago, canderson said:

Guess they're a little behind the power curve.  So many changes over recent months, probably hard to keep up the web page.

Cruising power is the travel agent site to booking RCL brand cruises.  Sadly, they update that site after they update the public facing site.  

[Luv2Crus40]

Being a Pollyanna type, I'm staying positive and will not cancel our 12/13/20 Connie cruise unless Celebrity does so.  I certainly like the "M" class ships unrevolutionized so that doesn't matter to me.  Unfortunately, it seems this cruise still has many, many cabins open.  Hopefully, cabins will fill up (maybe with some super sales offers) and the cruise will go forward in December.   I know we need to be cautious, but hopefully Celebrity can come up with ways to keep infections at a minimum.  However, if another bad virus wave erupts this fall, all bets are off!

[retired dude]

celebrity  is not going to abandon the tampa bay port. It is way too popular and there are only a very  few if any other,  ships in their fleet that will fit under the skyway bridge....The tampa market has been so popular with with cruisers that prefer the rccl brand and the brilliance and rhapsody sail full most of the time and are nice $money makers for rccl....If for no other reason, i see celebrity keeping a ship in tampa for part of the year and the connie sure fits the bill as a very popular ship among florida residents....We "mature" floridians don't always need the frills of a 200 thousand  ton ship and these ships provide us with what we need in the way of good service, food, fair entertainment, and the fact that we do not have to fly to make the sailings...I pray that the connie comes to tampa and stays for along time, alot of our cruisin buddies will sail on her if she does.....be safe.

[calicakes]

18 minutes ago, Luv2Crus40 said:

Being a Pollyanna type, I'm staying positive and will not cancel our 12/13/20 Connie cruise unless Celebrity does so.  I certainly like the "M" class ships unrevolutionized so that doesn't matter to me.  Unfortunately, it seems this cruise still has many, many cabins open.  Hopefully, cabins will fill up (maybe with some super sales offers) and the cruise will go forward in December.   I know we need to be cautious, but hopefully Celebrity can come up with ways to keep infections at a minimum.  However, if another bad virus wave erupts this fall, all bets are off!

We're on the sailing right after you( 12-23).  I will not cancel until X cancels as not to lose any deposit, etc.  We're in a suite, so I'm not worried about NO buffet( I can't imagine a buffet going until there is a vaccine). 

[Luv2Crus40]

We're not big fans of the buffet either, especially with the new pots, but we like to go there so we can get our food and sit out back by the Sunset Bar. Hope that's still doable. 

[marieps]

We are also in a suite in February and have no plans to cancel.  Anxious to try Luminae for the first time.  Tampa's an easy drive for us.