Radiance of the Seas for Sale

[John&LaLa]

40 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

At least now I know what you're talking about. 

We live in Sebring and Tampa for us is the easiest port to get to in Florida. Port Canaveral is OK but we have to drive halfway through Orlando to get there and most of the time I-4 can be a pain. I see you live in Ocala so PC is probably easier for you.

Tampa can't be all that bad as Celebrity and MSC will start sailing from there. HAL has also decided to keep sailing from TB after thinking about pulling out.

 

To bad they don't have Celebrity. 

 

For the umpteenth time I never said Tampa was bad, it's just redundant. Now if you want me to say why it's bad, I can probably come up with a few reasons😉

 

MSC is bringing two of their ships to PC next year, god willing. Personally, I wish they'd scale back. I prefer it a little more quiet

 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by John&LaLa

[John&LaLa]

39 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

The point of Tampa isn’t so much were the ships depart from, but where they go. You can only have so many ships in the Bahamas   

 

Mariner spends her time in the Bahamas, but that's because she only does 3 and 4 day trips.

 

Harmony does full Western and Eastern runs, so you can make a nice 14 day B2B. That would be a challenge out of Tampa, at least on a regular basis. 

 

And the cool thing about that B2B is you only have to pay for 7 ( well 8 ) days of covered parking 😁

[kochleffel]

Except for the newest ships, almost every cruise ship is actually or potentially for sale all the time, but that doesn't mean that anyone is going to buy a cruise ship. Holland America had the Prinsendam for sale for about seven years before eventually selling it, and the market is much worse now.

 

In addition to Tampa, large ships can't conveniently use the Port of Vancouver. A ship like the Ovation can make it under the bridge there, but only at the very lowest tide. If a ship misses the 20- or 30-minute window it means waiting until the next low tide, so cruise lines only bring large ships into Vancouver for the start or end of a relocation cruise. In next year's schedule the Radiance is down for one-way cruises between Vancouver and Seward, and a significantly bigger ship would encounter too many scheduling problems at the Vancouver end. That affects all cruise lines that have one-way Alaska itineraries.

 

Don't bother to argue that there is no valid reason for a ship to miss that 20- or 30-minute window. Other traffic in the port or a another ship askew in the harbor can delay docking or sailing even if the captain and harbor pilot are ready. A couple of years ago on another cruise line I experienced a multi-hour delay in docking at the Manhattan cruise terminal because there was too much traffic in the Hudson River.

 

I do think that all the major cruise lines will cut back on the numbers of ships and itineraries. I don't think that RC will choose to abandon every port that can't accommodate Oasis-class ships.

 

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Except for the newest ships, almost every cruise ship is actually or potentially for sale all the time, but that doesn't mean that anyone is going to buy a cruise ship. Holland America had the Prinsendam for sale for about seven years before eventually selling it, and the market is much worse now.

 

In addition to Tampa, large ships can't conveniently use the Port of Vancouver. A ship like the Ovation can make it under the bridge there, but only at the very lowest tide. If a ship misses the 20- or 30-minute window it means waiting until the next low tide, so cruise lines only bring large ships into Vancouver for the start or end of a relocation cruise. In next year's schedule the Radiance is down for one-way cruises between Vancouver and Seward, and a significantly bigger ship would encounter too many scheduling problems at the Vancouver end. That affects all cruise lines that have one-way Alaska itineraries.

 

Don't bother to argue that there is no valid reason for a ship to miss that 20- or 30-minute window. Other traffic in the port or a another ship askew in the harbor can delay docking or sailing even if the captain and harbor pilot are ready. A couple of years ago on another cruise line I experienced a multi-hour delay in docking at the Manhattan cruise terminal because there was too much traffic in the Hudson River.

 

I do think that all the major cruise lines will cut back on the numbers of ships and itineraries. I don't think that RC will choose to abandon every port that can't accommodate Oasis-class ships.

 

 

No one has come close to saying Oasis Class only.🤔

 

But I think you are correct on cutting back.

Fleet breakdown by max occupancy (rounded a little, please forgive any slightly off figures)

 

The big family ships

Icon - one under construction with maybe 6,000 berths

Oasis - 4 ships, 26,000 berths + one under construction with another 6,000+

Quantum - 4 ships, 20,000 berths + one under construction with another 5,000+

Freedom - 3 ships, 14,000 berths

Voyager - 5 ships, 19,000 berths

 

The smaller ships

Radiance - 4 ships, 10,000 berths (but I seriously doubt this class sails at max occupancy like the family ships do)

Vision - 4 ships, 11,000 berths

MJ & NE - 2 ships, 4,000 berths

 

In the past 4 years, they've added almost 23,000 berths which about equals the berths of the entire small ship category😱

And they have 17,000 more berths in the next couple years coming online in a down market.

Looks like time to cut bait to me

 

Personally, I think Radiance will stick around a while.

 

Only Royal knows, and there is a good chance the bean counters are at the helm of RCI, Post Covid

 

[pcur]

15 hours ago, zekekelso said:

The point of Tampa isn’t so much were the ships depart from, but where they go. You can only have so many ships in the Bahamas   

Agree.  If you want a Western Caribbean, and a shorter flight from western states, Tampa is your port. 

 

Personally, I'm more interested in a more varied itinerary, like the Vision's 10 and 11 day cruises from FLL.  We have a b2b booked on the Vision:  3 weeks and no repeat ports except on turnaround day.

Edited July 10, 2020 by pcur

[KmomChicago]

20 hours ago, zekekelso said:

Let’s buy it. I’ll chip in $5. How bout the rest of you? How much you think we’ll need. Including tax. I assume there’s tax on cruise ships; anyone know?

 

Make sure it's out in international waters when you buy it. That should remove all taxes.

[Computer Nerd]

21 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Definitely a long way if youre walking😉

 

Less than two hours by car.😁

 

I didn't realize Royal went to Progresso that often🤔

 

Besides, the point is what to do if Royal divests themselves of the smaller ships. I'm not advocating that they abandon Tampa, its just a possibility that wouldn't be a really big deal

 

BTW, if you live in Ocala or The Villages, PC is only about 30 minutes further away that Tampa

Tampa and PC are more than 2 hours apart unless you're driving at 0300. Have you driven on I-4? 😵

 

And that's the point. Royal could do a week long cruise to Progresso, Galveston, and New Orleans out of Tampa which could not be done out of PC. Or Cancun and Progresso on a 5 night. Royal should expand it's cruising venues.

No, I'm not old enough to live in The Villages (minimum age around 75??).

 

What may be not a big deal to you could mean the difference of cruising or not cruising with Royal to someone else. I, personally love the smaller ships and I don't care for the crowds, amenities, and higher costs of the big ships.

[Computer Nerd]

20 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

At least I now know what you're talking about. Living in Sebring we like Tampa as a departure port, easy for us to get to, Port Canaveral is not bad but for us we have to drive halfway through Orlando and I-4 can be a pain in the neck more often than not. I see you live in Ocala so Port Canaveral might be easier to for you than Tampa. A couple more cruise lines decided to use Tampa if and when it's safe to cruise, Celebrity and MSC will now be sailing out of there plus HAL decided to keep sailing out of Tampa, at one point they were going to pull out.

Took an MSC cruise back in Feb just before everything shut down. While MSC was okay as a cruise line, I think they have the best private island (Ocean Cay) out there. Happy to hear they are coming to PC and looking forward to sailing back to Ocean Cay sometime in the near future.

[Computer Nerd]

20 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

127 miles from Port of Tampa to Port Canaveral. My GPS says 1 hr 55 minutes. I say give it 2.5 hours. 
 

M8

Depending on I-4 traffic that could turn into 4 hours. 😉

[Milwaukee Eight]

4 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

Depending on I-4 traffic that could turn into 4 hours. 😉

Same thing going South on I-95 down to FLL or MIA. 

[CSHS1979]

39 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

Depending on I-4 traffic that could turn into 4 hours. 😉

 

I guess it depends how close you live to Tampa vs Orlando

[MISTER 67]

1 hour ago, Computer Nerd said:

Took an MSC cruise back in Feb just before everything shut down. While MSC was okay as a cruise line, I think they have the best private island (Ocean Cay) out there. Happy to hear they are coming to PC and looking forward to sailing back to Ocean Cay sometime in the near future.

IIRC the MSC Meriviglia will be sailing out of PC and the much smaller Armonia out of Tampa. We have sailed with MSC 5 times but hate the drive to Miami, I-95 south of Fort Lauderdale is insane, the last 2 times we took the Florida Turnpike which is a much better but if and when we sail on MSC again it will probably be out of PC.

[Tee & Chilli]

I hope Key West is a stop more often from Tampa or PC. 

[Computer Nerd]

3 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

 

I guess it depends how close you live to Tampa vs Orlando

Orlando's not a port. 😉

[Computer Nerd]

3 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

IIRC the MSC Meriviglia will be sailing out of PC and the much smaller Armonia out of Tampa. We have sailed with MSC 5 times but hate the drive to Miami, I-95 south of Fort Lauderdale is insane, the last 2 times we took the Florida Turnpike which is a much better but if and when we sail on MSC again it will probably be out of PC.

From what I read, the Seaside and then the Divina will be sailing out of PC.

[MISTER 67]

18 hours ago, Computer Nerd said:

From what I read, the Seaside and then the Divina will be sailing out of PC.

 

18 hours ago, Computer Nerd said:

From what I read, the Seaside and then the Divina will be sailing out of PC.

Love the Divina, don't care much for Seaside, too much glass and mirrors plus loud bad music.

[Cruising89143]

22 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

IIRC the MSC Meriviglia will be sailing out of PC and the much smaller Armonia out of Tampa. We have sailed with MSC 5 times but hate the drive to Miami, I-95 south of Fort Lauderdale is insane, the last 2 times we took the Florida Turnpike which is a much better but if and when we sail on MSC again it will probably be out of PC.

The Divina and Seaside are moving to Port Canaveral. Mira is staying in Miami to handle seven night cruises. Armonia is staying in Miami to handle shorter cruises. No Tampa. I found Tampa to be one of the worst ports in Florida. Limited itineraries. We cruised on the Jewel out of Tampa. Just an okay cruise. I remember more of the drunk C&A group in the concierge lounge every night more than anything. It actually provided night entertainment. 😉
 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/msc-cruises-branches-out-port-canaveral-amid-host-deployment-changes

[MISTER 67]

1 hour ago, cruisingator2 said:

The Divina and Seaside are moving to Port Canaveral. Mira is staying in Miami to handle seven night cruises. Armonia is staying in Miami to handle shorter cruises. No Tampa. I found Tampa to be one of the worst ports in Florida. Limited itineraries. We cruised on the Jewel out of Tampa. Just an okay cruise. I remember more of the drunk C&A group in the concierge lounge every night more than anything. It actually provided night entertainment. 😉
 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/msc-cruises-branches-out-port-canaveral-amid-host-deployment-changes

We are in the stage of our life as far as cruising goes that we don't care what the itinerary is as we sail only in the Catibbean. For us, the ship is the destination as we hardly ever get off the vessel. When we book a cruise it's with the line that gives us the best deal from HAL, Celebrity, Princess or Royal Caribbean. 

[zekekelso]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

we don't care what the itinerary is as we sail only in the Catibbean.

Arrrr. One of me favorite movies is Pirates of the Catibbean 🙂

Edited July 11, 2020 by zekekelso

[Seville2Cabo]

3 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

We are in the stage of our life as far as cruising goes that we don't care what the itinerary is as we sail only in the Catibbean. For us, the ship is the destination as we hardly ever get off the vessel. When we book a cruise it's with the line that gives us the best deal from HAL, Celebrity, Princess or Royal Caribbean. 

We are the opposite. Almost never cruise the Caribbean. We cruise for the itinerary, not the ship. Not really interested in beach or pool, as we have that at home. 

[hloakes]

Where we sail from is important because my wife is a teacher. We have a cruise scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving. We live in the Atlanta area so for that one we are sailing out of Tampa. Itis a shorter drive for us and with only a week to drive there and back, it is an easier drive. 

 

For next summer we are going out of Miami which is, obviously, a longer drive, but it is for a Southern itinerary which we have been wanting to make for a while. Being summer, we have more time so the longer drive is not an issue. Last year we took a15 night B2B on MSC out of Miami so the drive was less of a issue. 

 

Personally I like having the choice of various ports. Tampa is an interesting city and it would be a shame to loose the option, but will not stop ou from cruising if we couldn't go back.

[Marylandteachergirl]

Radiance is one of the better ships for Alaska, because of all the glass and it's easier to get into the Hubbard Glacier area.  I have it booked again for August, 2021.  I guess RC will figure it out, then let me know what they've decided.

[CSHS1979]

On 7/10/2020 at 8:13 PM, Computer Nerd said:

Orlando's not a port. 😉

 

You actually live in downtown Tampa? That's pretty neat

[Computer Nerd]

On 7/12/2020 at 9:33 PM, CSHS1979 said:

 

You actually live in downtown Tampa? That's pretty neat

I did at one time when I was stationed at MacDill AFB.