Will Royal do another world cruise?

[orville99]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

A couple in a balcony or below would get 274 points.  To reach Pinnacle they would have to start with 426+ points. 

 

A couple in a suite would get 548 points.  To reach Pinnacle they would have to start with 152+ points.

But a single in a suite could start from scratch and become pinnacle during the last leg. (274x3=822)

[notscb]

3 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

RCL divided the entire cruise into 17 segments and sold those individually.

IMO- they should have done this in the first place while also offering a full cruise option for those who wanted it.

[Warnslmk]

I agree a shorter cruise would be better.  Say 3 months.  Maybe 6 months.   

[coaster]

I believe they will. Only one now without scheduling future ones is prudent to see if the logistics are working out and evaluating feedback on the current sailing. Little has been spent for any meaningful upgrades to the Vision and Radiance class for the past 10 years or so. Rhapsody for one has posters in cabin corridors that are faded from years of being exposed to lighting and it would not take much of an investment to refresh them. Posters are ghostly images in their current state. Cabins are pretty rough around the edges on the older ships also. 

 

Carnival has made more upgrades to their older remaining Fantasy class ships with added food venues. Royal is getting good per diems on the current world cruise. Same time they are not investing much in upgrades on the older ladies they have. Have to think their older ships will be used for future world cruises. Little investment without the desire to keep them looking fresh, but a higher return in their older years if they are to be the one to do a world cruise.

Edited January 11 by coaster

[downundermatt]

CEO Michael Bayley has stated there will another Royal World Cruise per the Royal Blog.

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/07/12/royal-caribbean-will-do-another-world-cruise?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0aHid0t7GM97f6Rbgj8FKQHBj3ytnJJCdnbZ_2X1EqGKENDxdsvvTAuPk_aem_IrYsG_Vic8wsMO6QnYynTg

[island lady]

I seriously doubt it.  From what I hear and read....RCI lost money on this cruise.  

 

It is still suffering from stupid snafus.   

 

Like when we were rejoining the cruise in Barcelona last week for fourth quarter.  The usual check in process at the terminal went well, we get up to the "ding in" on the life boat deck and they told us we could not check in without our sea pass card.  Whaaatt????  Told the security woman that we don't get the card until we board the ship.  She said corporate orders no one on without sea pass card.  

 

Waiting in the hot Barcelona sun on deck for over half hour while they finally realized stupid was not working. 😣 They had to check us in manually, since our printed out set sail pass did not work.  By then there were two long lines waiting to ding in.  

 

We also had major snafus upon checking in for first quarter in Miami.  I for one, will never do a Royal WC again!!!! 

[orville99]

On 7/14/2024 at 12:56 AM, downundermatt said:

CEO Michael Bayley has stated there will another Royal World Cruise per the Royal Blog.

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/07/12/royal-caribbean-will-do-another-world-cruise?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0aHid0t7GM97f6Rbgj8FKQHBj3ytnJJCdnbZ_2X1EqGKENDxdsvvTAuPk_aem_IrYsG_Vic8wsMO6QnYynTg

Two takeaways from the blog:

1) RCL doesn’t have any ships capable of doing a WC profitably, and

2) They are in the planning stages for a new small class of ship that would be capable.

 

Aside from that, the other major takeaway is that Liberty is clueless about other mainstream cruise lines doing WC currently, since HAL, Cunard, Princess all do WC’s on a routine basis.

Maybe he should talk to the Silversea folks down the hall from his office before he blogs again.

[orville99]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

We also had major snafus upon checking in for first quarter in Miami.  I for one, will never do a Royal WC again!!!! 

You and Bucky are welcome to join us on Silversea’s next WC😇

[RobInMN]

RCB had a recent article about the UWC and what Michael Bayley had to say about it.

Link is is this thread:

(Not posting the link here again, as it will make the post need approval, which can take hours)

Anyway, even though:

"My team thinks it sucks," Michael Bayley joked, "because it's been extremely complicated and massively expensive."

He said it will happen, just a question of when and what ship class (hinting at Project Discovery as the option):

Mr. Bayley said the management team had to debate the idea of another one. However, despite initial hesitation, Royal Caribbean will do another Ultimate World Cruise.

"The question is when?" Mr. Bayley continued. "We don't know when that is."

Another challenge the World Cruise has presented is that the cruise needs to take place on a different ship, Mr. Bayley says.

"The ship that we picked is a great ship, but we need a ship with more outside staterooms."

Edited July 15 by RobInMN

[lovesthebeach2]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

You and Bucky are welcome to join us on Silversea’s next WC😇

We met a couple on our two WC segments that are doing 2 WCs on Silversea. I can’t get DH to do that many nights. ☹️

 

I would love to do a WC on royal that was no more than 2 months, not even sure he would go for that though.

[sjb317]

Based on what we experienced when we did the LA to Australia segment, I wouldn’t expect another WC for quite awhile, if ever. 
 

What I’ve always believed to be some of the best revenue generators for Royal were never or rarely busy.  Half of the casino table games were closed most evenings and those that were open had just a few with players.  Dealers were standing around looking quite bored.  Slot machines were never very busy.

 

Specialty restaurants were dead. We went to Chops one night and Giovanni’s another.  There was a solo diner when we walked into Chops, he finished as we were getting started and we closed the restaurant down.  Giovanni’s was similar, there was one other table with four people when we went to our table. They left before us but a group of officers came in before we left.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen waiters just standing around as we did those nights.  Izumi was a busier with 5 tables full.  MDR was the same, lots of empty tables and bored waiters, but great service!  It was nice going to the WJ and not having to deal with a crowd.

 

Schooner, Vintages and Viking Lounge were usually packed in the evenings, at least until about 8 or 9. SolariumBar was closed for the entire 28 day cruise.  Waiters in the pool areas were rarely busy. 
 

I have read the summer segments are pretty packed which maybe will help Royal recoup money.  We are joining the last segment from Amsterdam and I am not looking forward to it as it is supposedly a full house and, I think, it will be a huge shock to the world cruisers who have been used to fewer passengers.🤣

 

 

Sherri🙂

 

[orville99]

3 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We met a couple on our two WC segments that are doing 2 WCs on Silversea. I can’t get DH to do that many nights. ☹️

 

I would love to do a WC on royal that was no more than 2 months, not even sure he would go for that though.

The shortest one we have seen is 105 days on Regent Seven Seas. HAL had one about the same length. Cunard’s was about 130 days, and Silversea’s was ~140.

[gumshoe958]

On 7/14/2024 at 5:56 AM, downundermatt said:

CEO Michael Bayley has stated there will another Royal World Cruise per the Royal Blog.

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/07/12/royal-caribbean-will-do-another-world-cruise?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0aHid0t7GM97f6Rbgj8FKQHBj3ytnJJCdnbZ_2X1EqGKENDxdsvvTAuPk_aem_IrYsG_Vic8wsMO6QnYynTg

The same Michael Bayley who said this two years ago:

 

"I promise you will bring Icon of the seas into Southampton. The UK will be the first country and market that we will bring this incredible ship into [when it launches] in ’23."

 

The reality? Southampton’s been downgraded to Independence then Liberty.

 

So I’m afraid I don’t believe anything the man says. He’ll say anything to get some PR, knowing full well it means nothing.

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d be amazed if there’s ever another world cruise. This one was nowhere near full, reportedly made a loss and is completely and utterly at odds with Royal’s current strategy.

[lovesthebeach2]

3 hours ago, sjb317 said:

Based on what we experienced when we did the LA to Australia segment, I wouldn’t expect another WC for quite awhile, if ever. 
 

What I’ve always believed to be some of the best revenue generators for Royal were never or rarely busy.  Half of the casino table games were closed most evenings and those that were open had just a few with players.  Dealers were standing around looking quite bored.  Slot machines were never very busy.

 

Specialty restaurants were dead. We went to Chops one night and Giovanni’s another.  There was a solo diner when we walked into Chops, he finished as we were getting started and we closed the restaurant down.  Giovanni’s was similar, there was one other table with four people when we went to our table. They left before us but a group of officers came in before we left.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen waiters just standing around as we did those nights.  Izumi was a busier with 5 tables full.  MDR was the same, lots of empty tables and bored waiters, but great service!  It was nice going to the WJ and not having to deal with a crowd.

 

Schooner, Vintages and Viking Lounge were usually packed in the evenings, at least until about 8 or 9. SolariumBar was closed for the entire 28 day cruise.  Waiters in the pool areas were rarely busy. 
 

I have read the summer segments are pretty packed which maybe will help Royal recoup money.  We are joining the last segment from Amsterdam and I am not looking forward to it as it is supposedly a full house and, I think, it will be a huge shock to the world cruisers who have been used to fewer passengers.🤣

 

 

Sherri🙂

 

We did the 2 segments from Ravenna to Barcelona and the Solarium bar was open at least in the day when we were in the pool area for those 20 nights. We noticed many eating in Chops and Giovanni’s, more than I see on some other cruises on radiance ships. 
we were told that there were over 2,000 on each segment, but there were many families which included children.

 

we don’t gamble so I don’t know how the casino made out, BUT we did walk through once to get to the theatre and noticed it didn’t stink from cigarettes as much as normal. That was a pleasant surprise.

 

we would love to be on another world cruise, but DH could only tolerate 2 months. 

[island lady]

7 hours ago, orville99 said:

You and Bucky are welcome to join us on Silversea’s next WC😇

 

Now that sounds like a deal!!  When is that?

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, sjb317 said:

Based on what we experienced when we did the LA to Australia segment, I wouldn’t expect another WC for quite awhile, if ever. 
 

What I’ve always believed to be some of the best revenue generators for Royal were never or rarely busy.  Half of the casino table games were closed most evenings and those that were open had just a few with players.  Dealers were standing around looking quite bored.  Slot machines were never very busy.

 

Specialty restaurants were dead. We went to Chops one night and Giovanni’s another.  There was a solo diner when we walked into Chops, he finished as we were getting started and we closed the restaurant down.  Giovanni’s was similar, there was one other table with four people when we went to our table. They left before us but a group of officers came in before we left.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen waiters just standing around as we did those nights.  Izumi was a busier with 5 tables full.  MDR was the same, lots of empty tables and bored waiters, but great service!  It was nice going to the WJ and not having to deal with a crowd.

 

Schooner, Vintages and Viking Lounge were usually packed in the evenings, at least until about 8 or 9. SolariumBar was closed for the entire 28 day cruise.  Waiters in the pool areas were rarely busy. 
 

I have read the summer segments are pretty packed which maybe will help Royal recoup money.  We are joining the last segment from Amsterdam and I am not looking forward to it as it is supposedly a full house and, I think, it will be a huge shock to the world cruisers who have been used to fewer passengers.🤣

 

 

Sherri🙂

 

On the longer 10-16niters I've done on Radiance Class typically 1750-2000 passengers at most, more SOLO travelers like me, few Families and even fewer Kids(10-25). This when Royal typically now runs average 120% Capacity now, enjoy the 80-90% on my Cruises. For me this is perfect size Ship and with few passengers. Get your point and thanks for sharing your experiences on your segment. Would Loved to done the whole World Cruise, but just Built new House with my Daughter and her Family. Its one the new Multi Generation Family Homes where have my own part/wing but connected to theirs.

[sjb317]

9 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

On the longer 10-16niters I've done on Radiance Class typically 1750-2000 passengers at most, more SOLO travelers like me, few Families and even fewer Kids(10-25). This when Royal typically now runs average 120% Capacity now, enjoy the 80-90% on my Cruises. For me this is perfect size Ship and with few passengers. Get your point and thanks for sharing your experiences on your segment. Would Loved to done the whole World Cruise, but just Built new House with my Daughter and her Family. Its one the new Multi Generation Family Homes where have my own part/wing but connected to theirs.

We’ve cruised Radiance ships many, many  times and I have never seen the casino and specialty restaurants this empty.  Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen that on any cruise😂. I think we were about 1700-1800 passengers on our segment.  One of the officers said the passenger count was expected to drop to less than 1000 when they left Dubai.

 

Enjoy your new home!

 

Sherri🙂

[Another_Critic]

If RCI is fully transitioning to a family focused cruise line, I don't see them doing another world cruise.

 

But, can they actually be a 100% family focused cruise line?  Would they be able to fill the ships outside of summer, breaks, and holidays?

[ONECRUISER]

54 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

We’ve cruised Radiance ships many, many  times and I have never seen the casino and specialty restaurants this empty.  Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen that on any cruise😂. I think we were about 1700-1800 passengers on our segment.  One of the officers said the passenger count was expected to drop to less than 1000 when they left Dubai.

 

Enjoy your new home!

 

Sherri🙂

2+ years ago right after restart was on couple only had about 1350 and 1450, sure beats a full ship of 2400

Edited July 15 by ONECRUISER

[neverbeenhere]

31 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

2+ years ago right after restart was on couple only had about 1350 and 1450, sure beats a full ship of 2400

I'm with you, we were on a number that had less than 1,000. Tossed a football with a couple staff on the Navigator interior Promenade. And we didn't break anything.

 

We thought we might join the next world cruise, but after thinking about it, one "60 day" portion would be enough.

[island lady]

13 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

I'm with you, we were on a number that had less than 1,000. Tossed a football with a couple staff on the Navigator interior Promenade. And we didn't break anything.

 

We thought we might join the next world cruise, but after thinking about it, one "60 day" portion would be enough.

 

What works for us is the split up.  First quarter, 63 nights.  Hop off in LA, rejoin in Barcelona for the last quarter, 62 nights.  

[orville99]

18 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Now that sounds like a deal!!  When is that?

We are looking at winter 2026-Spring 2027. They usually leave around the end of December/ beginning of January, but their itineraries haven’t been released yet.

[orville99]

17 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

2+ years ago right after restart was on couple only had about 1350 and 1450, sure beats a full ship of 2400

We were on Allure right after the restart, and the staff outnumbered the passengers - the ship felt dead - there was no vibe at all.

[lovesthebeach2]

28 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We were on Allure right after the restart, and the staff outnumbered the passengers - the ship felt dead - there was no vibe at all.

We were also on Allure right after the start and I liked the vibe…..it kind of felt like our private chartered ship. We royaled up to a GS for pennies and had a great week!

[smokeybandit]

My complete guess is that the next time they do this, they'll focus more on marketing individual legs than booking the entire cruise.