Voyager Of The Seas Returns to Oz 25/26?

[springaussie]

It appears that Voyager of the Seas will return to Australia and be based in Brisbane 25/26 season.
Voyager of the Seas is booked into Darwin 7 December 2025 0730 to 1700 according to Darwin Ports. 
Voyager of the Seas appears to be taking over as the Brisbane Ship 16 December 2025 to 21 April 2026 according to Brisbane Ports. 
Normally Australia Royal Caribbean Deployment goes on sale around Easter each year. 

[MicCanberra]

I wonder if Lelepa Island will be taking visitors by then, it is scheduled to be ready.

[springaussie]

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I wonder if Lelepa Island will be taking visitors by then, it is scheduled to be ready.

Passengers were told today on Quantum at the Captain’s Corner it is delayed awaiting approval. The cruise previous they were told hopefully 2026 for the opening of Lelepa. 

[arxcards]

33 minutes ago, springaussie said:

It appears that Voyager of the Seas will return to Australia and be based in Brisbane 25/26 season.
Voyager of the Seas is booked into Darwin 7 December 2025 0730 to 1700 according to Darwin Ports. 
Voyager of the Seas appears to be taking over as the Brisbane Ship 16 December 2025 to 21 April 2026 according to Brisbane Ports. 
Normally Australia Royal Caribbean Deployment goes on sale around Easter each year. 

It will be a good fit for Brisbane, even if it will seem like a downgrade. Also nice to have a different ship class than Sydney for a bit of choice. 

[Sparky74]

11 minutes ago, arxcards said:

It will be a good fit for Brisbane, even if it will seem like a downgrade. Also nice to have a different ship class than Sydney for a bit of choice. 

I think I’d prefer Brillance OTS in Brisbane but I'll take Voyager. 😁

[fairywren]

13 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I think I’d prefer Brillance OTS in Brisbane but I'll take Voyager. 😁

Voyager’s a nice ship but we need some different itineraries too.

[yungyung]

I will be so glad to be rid of Quantam. Too big. Voyager is a great ship and so is Brilliance, or Serenade, which didnt get here!. We need a ship that stays all year round in Brisbane. 2 days and youre in the tropics. PNG and other northern places are good for a start. Our winter is great for ships to visit tropics. No cyclones for a start. Ships go  off to Caribbean for our winter (their summer) and can be hit by cyclone after cyclone. Too many ships there, as in Alaska. Ive seen 7 ships in Vancouver on same day, and not much better in Alaskan ports!!!! Australians will fill ships in winter, as at present everyone goes, except P&O aust, and Carnival stays  for a short while out of Sydney. Nothing else here, and not many leave on the round world Princess cruise. Winter sunshine, calm seas, great for Aussie cruising.

[yungyung]

1 minute ago, yungyung said:

I will be so glad to be rid of Quantam. Too big. Voyager is a great ship and so is Brilliance, or Serenade, which didnt get here!. We need a ship that stays all year round in Brisbane. 2 days and youre in the tropics. PNG and other northern places are good for a start. Our winter is great for ships to visit tropics. No cyclones for a start. Ships go  off to Caribbean for our winter (their summer) and can be hit by cyclone after cyclone. Too many ships there, as in Alaska. Ive seen 7 ships in Vancouver on same day, and not much better in Alaskan ports!!!! Australians will fill ships in winter, as at present everyone goes, except P&O aust, and Carnival stays  for a short while out of Sydney. Nothing else here, and not many leave on the round world Princess cruise. Winter sunshine, calm seas, great for Aussie cruising.

done over 200 cruises in past 50 years. Just came back from Norway and Iceland!!!

[arxcards]

38 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I think I’d prefer Brillance OTS in Brisbane but I'll take Voyager. 😁

+1

Radiance class would be perfect.

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, springaussie said:

Passengers were told today on Quantum at the Captain’s Corner it is delayed awaiting approval. The cruise previous they were told hopefully 2026 for the opening of Lelepa. 

I was talking to someone who went to Lelepa for a holiday just recently and was at a function with the elders.

He asked about Royal Caribbean and they threw their hands in the air and said we don’t know anything.

 

Voyager could be year round,I wonder what happens to Quantum.

[springaussie]

5 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I was talking to someone who went to Lelepa for a holiday just recently and was at a function with the elders.

He asked about Royal Caribbean and they threw their hands in the air and said we don’t know anything.

 

Voyager could be year round,I wonder what happens to Quantum.

Certainly a few things up in the air ATM.

I think see what happens on the West Coast USA first. 

[Chiliburn]

9 minutes ago, springaussie said:

Certainly a few things up in the air ATM.

I think see what happens on the West Coast USA first. 

If voyager does go to Brisbane and considering that email . They will be very repetitive Cruises . No long haul to New Zealand or Tasmania.

[springaussie]

17 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

If voyager does go to Brisbane and considering that email . They will be very repetitive Cruises . No long haul to New Zealand or Tasmania.

Voyager can dock in Cairns and be used on around Oz cruises.

 

 

 

[MMDown Under]

52 minutes ago, yungyung said:

I will be so glad to be rid of Quantam. Too big. Voyager is a great ship and so is Brilliance, or Serenade, which didnt get here!. We need a ship that stays all year round in Brisbane. 2 days and youre in the tropics. PNG and other northern places are good for a start. Our winter is great for ships to visit tropics. No cyclones for a start. Ships go  off to Caribbean for our winter (their summer) and can be hit by cyclone after cyclone. Too many ships there, as in Alaska. Ive seen 7 ships in Vancouver on same day, and not much better in Alaskan ports!!!! Australians will fill ships in winter, as at present everyone goes, except P&O aust, and Carnival stays  for a short while out of Sydney. Nothing else here, and not many leave on the round world Princess cruise. Winter sunshine, calm seas, great for Aussie cruising.

I got excited researching the Disney ship when I saw dates all through winter.  Then I realised those dates were for Alaska cruises! 

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, springaussie said:

Passengers were told today on Quantum at the Captain’s Corner it is delayed awaiting approval. The cruise previous they were told hopefully 2026 for the opening of Lelepa. 

Yes, that is why I am wondering if it will be ready in time.

[Sparky74]

2 hours ago, fairywren said:

Voyager’s a nice ship but we need some different itineraries too.

I wonder if a smaller ship like Brilliance OTS has more flexibility and is able to dock at places the behemoths cannot. 
I guess there’s only so many places a ship can sail to from Brisbane (and return) in a reasonable timeframe. I would think that there’s a limited market for longer cruises. 

[Sparky74]

2 hours ago, yungyung said:

I will be so glad to be rid of Quantam. Too big. Voyager is a great ship and so is Brilliance, or Serenade, which didnt get here!. We need a ship that stays all year round in Brisbane. 2 days and youre in the tropics. PNG and other northern places are good for a start. Our winter is great for ships to visit tropics. No cyclones for a start. Ships go  off to Caribbean for our winter (their summer) and can be hit by cyclone after cyclone. Too many ships there, as in Alaska. Ive seen 7 ships in Vancouver on same day, and not much better in Alaskan ports!!!! Australians will fill ships in winter, as at present everyone goes, except P&O aust, and Carnival stays  for a short while out of Sydney. Nothing else here, and not many leave on the round world Princess cruise. Winter sunshine, calm seas, great for Aussie cruising.

I agree that Winter is the best time to visit the tropics. However the American mindset is that vacations happen in the Summer. Also, they send ships here in the USA off-season. Why would a cruiseline pull a vessel off a profitable market and bring it down under? The reality is that we just don’t have the population to compete year round with the North American market. JMHO

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, yungyung said:

I will be so glad to be rid of Quantam. Too big. Voyager is a great ship and so is Brilliance, or Serenade, which didnt get here!. We need a ship that stays all year round in Brisbane. 2 days and youre in the tropics. PNG and other northern places are good for a start. Our winter is great for ships to visit tropics. No cyclones for a start. Ships go  off to Caribbean for our winter (their summer) and can be hit by cyclone after cyclone. Too many ships there, as in Alaska. Ive seen 7 ships in Vancouver on same day, and not much better in Alaskan ports!!!! Australians will fill ships in winter, as at present everyone goes, except P&O aust, and Carnival stays  for a short while out of Sydney. Nothing else here, and not many leave on the round world Princess cruise. Winter sunshine, calm seas, great for Aussie cruising.

Brisbane is struggling to fill Pacific Encounter at present, and Carnival have canned tentative plans to base a ship year round. Not that long ago (2020), they were going to have Spirit in Brisbane year round. I think it would be great to have at least a Radiance class year round from Brisbane, but they would be already be making plans and talking it up if it were about to happen. The media and public officials spent a couple of years scaring away the fringe cruisers.

[yungyung]

p&o don’t have a good reputation and as soon as other ships arrive, people don’t want to sail on them. You have to pay for everything...no free ice cream except for dessert in dining room. No free pizza. No Loyalty program to reward you for coming back to P&O. Not even a repeat passenger and most travelled award party these days. Pay for everything. RCI have all the activities, ice cream and pizza included. Good loyalty program. No wonder P&O is abandoned as soon as others arrive for season. (By the way I don’t eat pizza). Or ice cream. P&O even sell their duty free cigarettes at full Australian price whereas other lines sell at $10 a packet. I don’t smoke, but have observed this.

[MMDown Under]

11 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

I agree that Winter is the best time to visit the tropics. However the American mindset is that vacations happen in the Summer. Also, they send ships here in the USA off-season. Why would a cruiseline pull a vessel off a profitable market and bring it down under? The reality is that we just don’t have the population to compete year round with the North American market. JMHO

Many Americans travel in their summer (our winter) to escape the oppressive heat.  I vowed I'd never travel to the US in summer again after attending the US Open in NY in August.  

[arxcards]

10 hours ago, yungyung said:

p&o don’t have a good reputation and as soon as other ships arrive, people don’t want to sail on them. You have to pay for everything...no free ice cream except for dessert in dining room. No free pizza. No Loyalty program to reward you for coming back to P&O. Not even a repeat passenger and most travelled award party these days. Pay for everything. RCI have all the activities, ice cream and pizza included. Good loyalty program. No wonder P&O is abandoned as soon as others arrive for season. (By the way I don’t eat pizza). Or ice cream. P&O even sell their duty free cigarettes at full Australian price whereas other lines sell at $10 a packet. I don’t smoke, but have observed this.

That is very general. I am not a P&O fan and have put a line through them when they decided to add a $10 charge for eggs benny at breakfast this past year.

Whether I like it or not, people will still sail them, as not "everything" has an extra charge. They also have the goodwill of having the only ships sailing year-round from Brisbane.

 

P&O doesn't get deserted over the summer and Royal has enough trouble filling Quantum over those months, with several cruises discounted below their intended pricing. When they can make that profitable, they will consider extending the season.

 

I don't want to over-simplify it, but a short QLD pub test via some mates from Brisbane.

How much is it going to cost me per day? (Royal is dearer)

How much is a stubbie of XXXX going to cost me? (they won't cop paying over $10 per stubbie)

 

Only when Royal can win those questions, they are in the game for year-round out of Brisbane. Add in the sticking point for $US aboard, and that the majority of P&O passengers can survive without soft-serve & pizza.

[Sparky74]

11 minutes ago, arxcards said:

That is very general. I am not a P&O fan and have put a line through them when they decided to add a $10 charge for eggs benny at breakfast this past year.

Whether I like it or not, people will still sail them, as not "everything" has an extra charge. They also have the goodwill of having the only ships sailing year-round from Brisbane.

 

P&O doesn't get deserted over the summer and Royal has enough trouble filling Quantum over those months, with several cruises discounted below their intended pricing. When they can make that profitable, they will consider extending the season.

 

I don't want to over-simplify it, but a short QLD pub test via some mates from Brisbane.

How much is it going to cost me per day? (Royal is dearer)

How much is a stubbie of XXXX going to cost me? (they won't cop paying over $10 per stubbie)

 

Only when Royal can win those questions, they are in the game for year-round out of Brisbane. Add in the sticking point for $US aboard, and that the majority of P&O passengers can survive without soft-serve & pizza.

We used to be loyal to Royal but that ship sailed years ago. 
We sailed on Quantum OTS earlier this year and while we enjoyed our 4 complimentary drinks each day and the MDR was good, we felt the buffet had gone down hill.
What really annoyed me was that they reduced servicing staterooms to once a day which is not the product we’d bought. When we booked and paid for the cruise, rooms were serviced twice a day. Then they changed it just before our cruise. Do I NEED my room done twice a day? No. In fact previously if we’d found out our room steward was planning on going ashore we’d tell them to skip our room that day. But it really annoyed me that they’d done a "bait and switch" on me. Also less stewards servicing more rooms but no reduction in the prepaid gratuities. 🤷‍♂️
Anyway, in spite of the ridiculous $10 charge for eggs Benedict and no soft serve, we’re tending to sail P&O rather than RCI at the moment for the following reasons in no particular order. Some of them are minor points but they all add up. 
1. P&O works out cheaper for us, even factoring in the extras and the complimentary drinks. We’re teetotallers and DW enjoys the occasional soft drink while I mostly stick to water but 
2. P&O offers year round sailings out of Brisbane which suits us at the moment. 
3. We also enjoy sailing with Princess and P&O cruises edge us closer to Elite status. We’re already Diamond on RCI; DiamondPlus seems a long way off and I'm not sure I'll live long enough to achieve Pinnacle. 
4. No laundromats on RCI. 
5. RCI charges in US dollars on board. 
6. No need to bring power adapters on P&O

7. Service on RCI seems to have deteriorated over recent years whereas it seems to me to have improved on P&O

 

JMHO YMMV

[Chiliburn]

21 hours ago, springaussie said:

Voyager can dock in Cairns and be used on around Oz cruises.

 

 

 

I don’t think Voyager can dock in Cairns, I believe it’s a 300 metre limit. Celebrity Edge can’t and it’s 308 metres or something.

 

 I wonder if it’s a place holding for something else ?

Adventure of the is the only voyager class that hasn’t been to the Pacific.

[springaussie]

10 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I don’t think Voyager can dock in Cairns, I believe it’s a 300 metre limit. Celebrity Edge can’t and it’s 308 metres or something.

 

 I wonder if it’s a place holding for something else ?

Adventure of the is the only voyager class that hasn’t been to the Pacific.

Chilli I rang Cairns Port before Covid and they told me the size of the ship will increase to Voyager size hopefully. They will be increasing the ship size gradually over time on a trail basis. 
Royal  are good at changing the deployment  before it goes live. 
7 December we will know if Voyager is in the next Caribbean release.  

[cheznandy]

32 minutes ago, springaussie said:

Chilli I rang Cairns Port before Covid and they told me the size of the ship will increase to Voyager size hopefully. They will be increasing the ship size gradually over time on a trail basis. 
Royal  are good at changing the deployment  before it goes live. 
7 December we will know if Voyager is in the next Caribbean release.  

Be so great if we get Voyager, I cant see it anywhere else but the stop in Darwin and Brisbane spots.