Cruises disappeared from Royal Caribbean website

[daveb714]

I was looking into a Royal Caribbean cruise next year leaving from Tokyo and ending in Singapore.  Before I had the opportunity to book the cruise most of the cruises on the ship (Spectrum of the Seas) disappeared from the web site.  I called Royal Caribbean and they could not explain what happened and they noted that there was now an 11 month gap for cruises on this ship.  He just recommended I keep checking back.  Can anyone give any insight on what might have happened to all those cruises?

 

In the event that they do reappear, I was interested in hearing from people who have done a cruise like that.  I believe the ship is permanently based in Asia and I'm wondering how different that experience will be.  Are the food choices and entertainment different than ships based outside of Asia?  Will I find it much different than cruises in other parts of the world?

[CruiserBruce]

The better place for your questions would be the RCI board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/51-royal-caribbean-international/

[Flatbush Flyer]

Could be a glitch OR we could start a rumor about the “for sale” sign being taken down.😉

[Hlitner]

Japan remains closed to most tourists and all western cruise lines.  There has been no indication when that country will again open up to ships.  Many cruise lines have already cancelled 2023 cruises that have Japanese ports while a few have yet to act.  One might assume that RCI is rethinking Asian cruises for 2023.

 

Hank

[Ashland]

I would love if RCI offered an itinerary I did a few years ago...Singapore to Shanghai. I'm actually not interested in Japan at all.

[Hlitner]

On 9/7/2022 at 6:15 PM, Ashland said:

I would love if RCI offered an itinerary I did a few years ago...Singapore to Shanghai. I'm actually not interested in Japan at all.

We really enjoy cruising those Asian waters with their fascinating ports.  But I suspect it will be some time before cruise ships return to China since their government does not hesitate to completely lock-down entire cities for only a few COVID cases.  Cruise lines need to have some degree of confidence that when they plan itineraries that it can happen.  Depending on China to be open to cruise ships would not be my idea of a good bet.    DW and I have cruised to Shanghai (a few times) and always enjoyed the port (although the air pollution can be horrendous).  We have also traveled inside China and enjoyed nearly every minute.  But we sure would not expect China to be open to tourism for several years.  This is a country run by a dictator who apparently has COVID phobia to the Nth degree.  Since COVID will likely be with us forever, folks might have to wait for the demise of Xi before they ever see the inside of that country.   There is some irony that the country that originated COVID seems to be the same country having the most trouble learning how to live with this nasty bug.

 

Hank

[Ashland]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

We really enjoy cruising those Asian waters with their fascinating ports.  But I suspect it will be some time before cruise ships return to China since their government does not hesitate to completely lock-down entire cities for only a few COVID cases.  Cruise lines need to have some degree of confidence that when they plan itineraries that it can happen.  Depending on China to be open to cruise ships would not be my idea of a good bet.    DW and I have cruised to Shanghai (a few times) and always enjoyed the port (although the air pollution can be horrendous).  We have also traveled inside China and enjoyed nearly every minute.  But we sure would not expect China to be open to tourism for several years.  This is a country run by a dictator who apparently has COVID phobia to the Nth degree.  Since COVID will likely be with us forever, folks might have to wait for the demise of Xi before they ever see the inside of that country.   There is some irony that the country that originated COVID seems to be the same country having the most trouble learning how to live with this nasty bug.

 

Hank

We've done one cruise to Shanghai (the one I mentioned above) but have done four land trips to China. It's one of our favorite countries to visit and looking forward to the time we can go again.

 

Thanks Hank for you information...much appreciated.

[MWarren3549]

On 9/7/2022 at 1:40 PM, daveb714 said:

I was looking into a Royal Caribbean cruise next year leaving from Tokyo and ending in Singapore.  Before I had the opportunity to book the cruise most of the cruises on the ship (Spectrum of the Seas) disappeared from the web site.  I called Royal Caribbean and they could not explain what happened and they noted that there was now an 11 month gap for cruises on this ship.  He just recommended I keep checking back.  Can anyone give any insight on what might have happened to all those cruises?

 

In the event that they do reappear, I was interested in hearing from people who have done a cruise like that.  I believe the ship is permanently based in Asia and I'm wondering how different that experience will be.  Are the food choices and entertainment different than ships based outside of Asia?  Will I find it much different than cruises in other parts of the world?

Maybe it was scheduled for dry dock - maintenance and upgrades.  

[CruiserBruce]

41 minutes ago, MWarren3549 said:

Maybe it was scheduled for dry dock - maintenance and upgrades.  

For an 11 month period? 

[Aquahound]

11 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

For an 11 month period? 

 

It's a big ship.  😉😁

[MWarren3549]

14 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

For an 11 month period? 

I don't know how long a ship goes in for overhaul.  It was just a suggestion.  

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, MWarren3549 said:

I don't know how long a ship goes in for overhaul.  It was just a suggestion.  

Usually 2 to 3 weeks, tops.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Sold?

[CruisingWalter]

2 hours ago, MWarren3549 said:

I don't know how long a ship goes in for overhaul.  It was just a suggestion.  

 

Generally about a month unless it's a major overhaul, then it can be 2-4 months. But 11 months is out of the question. Most likely as someone suggested, it's due to Japan not being open to cruise ships yet and Royal is rethinking the deployment of that ship.

 

When they do something like that, they can't simply 'flip itineraries around.' It takes months and months of planning and coordination to get the new itineraries set before they can be announced to the public. Only so many slots at so many piers around the world with over 300 cruise ships all using the same ports. Give it probably about 3 months or so and then Royal will probably have it figured out enough to at least release the first 4 months of sailing on that ship. 

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Sold?

 

It's a brand new Quantum Ultra Class ship. It won't be sold for another 20-30 years, or more likely, scrapped by that point. 🙂 

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, WheresWalter said:

 

Generally about a month unless it's a major overhaul, then it can be 2-4 months. But 11 months is out of the question. Most likely as someone suggested, it's due to Japan not being open to cruise ships yet and Royal is rethinking the deployment of that ship.

 

When they do something like that, they can't simply 'flip itineraries around.' It takes months and months of planning and coordination to get the new itineraries set before they can be announced to the public. Only so many slots at so many piers around the world with over 300 cruise ships all using the same ports. Give it probably about 3 months or so and then Royal will probably have it figured out enough to at least release the first 4 months of sailing on that ship. 

I can't think of any cruise ship that has been out of service for a month. Can you name one? Normally the drydocks for cruise ships are extremely well planned,  months and months in advance, all parts and supplies are ordered, and on hand when the ship is pulled from the water, and the shipyard goes 24/7 to get the job done as quickly as possible. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

 

It's a brand new Quantum Ultra Class ship. It won't be sold for another 20-30 years, or more likely, scrapped by that point. 🙂 

RCCL doesn’t always make sound decisions (e.g., selling the Azamara fleet for a mere $200 million). On the other hand, this newer floating amusement park was designed for the Asia Market. I wouldn’t put it past some Chinese outfit making an offer that could not be refused.
 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

 

It's a brand new Quantum Ultra Class ship. It won't be sold for another 20-30 years, or more likely, scrapped by that point. 🙂