New class being possibly revealed “very soon”

[PhillyFan33579]

12 minutes ago, Tatra603 said:

Why are some people assuming this new class of ship will replace the Radiance class rather than the Voyager class?

If it's likely to be a similar size to Voyager and the Voyager class ships are older than the Radiance class, then surely it makes sense to move on the older vessels, especially as they are so similar in design to the Freedom's.

Radiance class is my favourite. 

Just a guess, but if/when RCI announces a new “smaller” class of ship, it will likely be significantly larger than what a lot of people are expecting size wise. 

[RobInMN]

43 minutes ago, Tatra603 said:

Why are some people assuming this new class of ship will replace the Radiance class rather than the Voyager class?

If it's likely to be a similar size to Voyager and the Voyager class ships are older than the Radiance class, then surely it makes sense to move on the older vessels, especially as they are so similar in design to the Freedom's.

Radiance class is my favourite. 

It's based on comments made by Michael Bayley as well as various captains. But note that when we talk about replacing Radiance, we are talking about replacing it in use, not size. I think everyone is expecting it to be somewhere around the size of Voyager. Currently, the Voyager class is not designed to go to "exotic" ports or go through the Panama Canal. Radiance was designed as a Panamax, and has self-contained tendering abilities.

 

I personally believe that it will be new Panamax (Neopanamax), LNG, and likely have self-contained tendering abilities. Height will be limited by bridges that get them to certain ports as well as Bridge of the Americas. But overall, Voyager sized. I also think that there's a possibility that it will have fewer passengers than Voyager since cruise ship passenger counts is starting to become a limiting factor to populate destinations, and that will likely spread. This could easily result in it being a more expensive option than Oasis/Icon.

 

[alfaeric]

1 minute ago, RobInMN said:

It's based on comments made by Michael Bayley as well as various captains. But note that when we talk about replacing Radiance, we are talking about replacing it in use, not size. I think everyone is expecting it to be somewhere around the size of Voyager. Currently, the Voyager class is not designed to go to "exotic" ports or go through the Panama Canal. Radiance was designed as a Panamax, and has self-contained tendering abilities.

 

I personally believe that it will be new Panamax (Neopanamax), LNG, and likely have self-contained tendering abilities. Height will be limited by bridges that get them to certain ports as well as Bridge of the Americas. But overall, Voyager sized. I also think that there's a possibility that it will have fewer passengers than Voyager since cruise ship passenger counts is starting to become a limiting factor to populate destinations, and that will likely spread. This could easily result in it being a more expensive option than Oasis/Icon.

 

Again, the ships this is being most touted on are vision and radiance class ships out of ports that can’t handle voyager ships. 
 

That’s where the confusion is coming from. Especially for Baltimore cruisers who really want to keep a ship at that port. So much so that the vision won ship of the year. 

[RobInMN]

3 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Again, the ships this is being most touted on are vision and radiance class ships out of ports that can’t handle voyager ships. 
 

That’s where the confusion is coming from. Especially for Baltimore cruisers who really want to keep a ship at that port. So much so that the vision won ship of the year. 

I believe that the issue with Baltimore is the bridge heights more than anything else. So, if they decide that they want to continue to service Baltimore, then they will limit the height and use retractable stacks to make sure they can continue to use that port with newer ships. Vison and Radiance class ships aren't going to be in their fleet forever. Either they will be replaced by something that they can get under the bridges, or they will abandon Baltimore.

 

[Vibe]

5 hours ago, AC Stew said:

If a "Discovery Class" ship is added, I would hope that it would live up to its title. That is ... a ship small enough to "discover" new ports without disgorging thousands of passengers into smaller, less-traveled destinations. 

 

More intimate travel adventures with RCI would be welcomed by a great many of us. IMHO, the absence of floating theme park/carnival rides would not necessarily discourage families. I know a heckuva lot of people who would love to introduce their kids to new cultures, archaeological sites, and nature conservancies. Maybe a nice beach experience without 5000 of your new best friends? I for one, would welcome a diversity of passengers on a "discovery" sailing. Kids included. 

 

And if this proposed ship class simply means a replacement for Radiance or Vision Class, then I'll be satisfied with that. The floating behemoths are not for us! (No offense to those who like them.)

 

In any event, all the speculation is entertaining, but speculation is all it is.

Celebrity would be a good option, your Crown and Anchor status would be matched with their Captain’s Club.

 

 

 

Edited May 3 by Vibe

[Merion_Mom]

It is the VISION class that will be replaced by this new class.  (and yes, I believe that RC will be building them).  Grandeur, Enchantment, Rhapsody, and Vision are not being properly maintained by RC, and are definitely the next to leave the fleet.  Radiance class ships are good for many more years.  Making new ships with retractable stacks is an excellent idea - it's how Oasis has been able to sail out of Cape Liberty.

[Tolkmit]

4 hours ago, Tatra603 said:

Why are some people assuming this new class of ship will replace the Radiance class rather than the Voyager class?

If it's likely to be a similar size to Voyager and the Voyager class ships are older than the Radiance class, then surely it makes sense to move on the older vessels, especially as they are so similar in design to the Freedom's.

Radiance class is my favourite. 

 

I think most are lumping Vision and Radiance class ships together. And because neither of those classes was ever slated to receive the Amplification stuff. Royal investing a lot into Voyager class and not into Radiance class suggests they expect to keep Voyager class around longer.

 

I also think people talking about replacing Radiance class it doesn't necessarily mean Royal getting rid of Radiance class. Instead of 2 Quantum 2 Radiance class for Alaska season, it could be 2 Quantum 2 Discovery; with Radiance class moved to just being out of Tampa & Baltimore while Vision class gets sold.

[Southern Dan]

Royal is going to have a lot of ships to replace if they stick to their "30 years of service" format before selling the old ships off.

 

Grandeur will hit the 30 year mark in December 2026, Rhapsody in May 2027, Enchantment in July 2027 and Vision in May 2028.

 

Voyager and Radiance Class aren't that far behind those but I can see them keeping the former in the fleet longer due to the fact they have invested in them with amplifications and other upgrades.

 

I think we'll be seeing a good number of Discovery Class ships entering the fleet, perhaps two a year beginning late 2028.

Edited May 4 by Southern Dan

[blt23]

6 hours ago, Tatra603 said:

Why are some people assuming this new class of ship will replace the Radiance class rather than the Voyager class?

If it's likely to be a similar size to Voyager and the Voyager class ships are older than the Radiance class, then surely it makes sense to move on the older vessels, especially as they are so similar in design to the Freedom's.

Radiance class is my favourite. 

Why not both?

 

Seems logical for Discovery to replace both Radiance class in Alaska and Voyager Class in Europe.

[Iamcruzin]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:28 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Possibly, but you still have the 7th Oasis class ship coming plus Star and the 3rd Icon class ship. Just my two cents opinion, and probably not worth that much, but I think the majority of RCI cruisers won’t get excited about a new, smaller class ship (if/when it happens). 

I hate those monstrosity of the sea ships. Would be very excited for a smaller class ship that can fit into smaller ports.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, Southern Dan said:

I think we'll be seeing a good number of Discovery Class ships entering the fleet, perhaps two a year beginning late 2028.

I would be very surprised if RCI built more than 3-4 smaller ships if/when they build a new smaller ship class. One thing I have consistently heard at luncheons with officers is the ROI is significantly higher with larger ships. Initially I was surprised when RCI announced they were building a seventh Oasis class ship, but it is definitely in line with what I have heard from countless senior officers on RCI ships. It seems every time I hear Michael Bayley speak, he talks about RCi’s focus on families. To me that means RCI’s main focus in the future is going to be on larger ships, not smaller ones. 

[gumshoe958]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I would be very surprised if RCI built more than 3-4 smaller ships if/when they build a new smaller ship class. One thing I have consistently heard at luncheons with officers is the ROI is significantly higher with larger ships. Initially I was surprised when RCI announced they were building a seventh Oasis class ship, but it is definitely in line with what I have heard from countless senior officers on RCI ships. It seems every time I hear Michael Bayley speak, he talks about RCi’s focus on families. To me that means RCI’s main focus in the future is going to be on larger ships, not smaller ones. 

I agree. The primary reason Royal is contemplating a new class of smaller ship is to serve home ports that can’t handle Quantum, Oasis or Icon class. It’s not so they can offer ‘interesting’ ports of call or longer or more diverse itineraries. That’s Celebrity’s job.

[Tolkmit]

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

The primary reason Royal is contemplating a new class of smaller ship is to serve home ports that can’t handle Quantum, Oasis or Icon class.

 

This is not something that has been stated by Royal. It could end up being true, of course. But what actually gets said in Q&A's with Captains, etc. is that Royal takes stuff like bridge heights under consideration when deciding on ship size.

 

What we know is that it will be smaller than Oasis class. And that they will build the ship(s) to be able to fit the places they are prioritizing taking her. That could mean a 100,000GT ship able to go to Tampa, or it could mean a 200,000GT ship able to go through Panama. We don't know either way. The definitive statements being made are just people hearing what they want to hear then passing it off as fact.

[Southern Dan]

I agree that Royal's main focus is currently on families and larger ships and let's be honest, they have a formula that is wildly successful.  There are only so many Oasis/Icon size ships you can have running though before the market is oversaturated as the potential customer base isn't infinite...

When Star of the Seas makes her debut in 2026 you are going to have 3 Icon/Oasis ships out of Miami, 2 Oasis out of FLL, 1 of each out of Port Canaveral and 1 in Galveston.  These are ships that are going to all the same destinations which by my count is 15 different Caribbean ports during the winter that can support them.  Two years later you are going to have Icon 3 and Oasis 7 in the mix and it gets more complicated.  One might go to Asia year round, who knows?

 

Let's look at the other side with the rumored new "smaller" ships taking bridge heights and environmental regulations that are coming into play.  You need one for Northern Europe in the summer, you would need one or two for Alaska at the same time, if you want to keep Baltimore and Tampa running year round you would need two there.  Isn't Australia cracking down on environmental regulations too?  That makes me think 6 is the magic number with all those things considered.  Or they could completely abandon the Baltimore and Tampa markets but that seems unlikely as there is money to be made.  The "just cruise Celebrity" line doesn't make sense from a business standpoint as they want to keep the parent brand as profitable as possible and both lines offer different things and can coexist.

 

All speculation and we can debate here and elsewhere until something is announced but I like wasting time on the internet and am excited to get some official word on the whole thing.

[smokeybandit]

10 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

Grandeur, Enchantment, Rhapsody, and Vision are not being properly maintained by RC

This isn't true at all

[captainannoyed!]

7 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I hate those monstrosity of the sea ships. Would be very excited for a smaller class ship that can fit into smaller ports.

With you 100%.  My vast preference is Radiance class, though Freedom and Voyager are okay.  But I’ll never sail Oasis or bigger.  No interest whatsoever.  Great for kids and families, and they should stay there.

[captainannoyed!]

32 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

This isn't true at all

I would agree that Royal isn’t going to let proper maintenance slip.  And while I haven’t sailed Vision class in many years, when I see YouTube videos of these ships they do seem to be letting decor become dated.  Perhaps that is what they were referring to.  I would say that Royal doesn’t put the same emphasis or effort into the shows on the older ships.  I see people here posting about shows on the newer ships, and that seems to be a fair observation.

[Iamcruzin]

35 minutes ago, captainannoyed! said:

With you 100%.  My vast preference is Radiance class, though Freedom and Voyager are okay.  But I’ll never sail Oasis or bigger.  No interest whatsoever.  Great for kids and families, and they should stay there.

I'm from NY. If I wanted to go to Central Park it was there. Now that I live in Florida I'm 2 hours from the big theme parks. I won't go on anything bigger than a Quantum Class ship. The bigger the ship the longer it takes to get from one end to the other and it's just more pay for venues and shops. We don't even shop at the malls on land anymore. A perfect day a Coco Cay is great if you are traveling with a family but as empty nesters we need more adventure than a pool day in an over priced Cabana 

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Southern Dan said:

I agree that Royal's main focus is currently on families and larger ships and let's be honest, they have a formula that is wildly successful.  There are only so many Oasis/Icon size ships you can have running though before the market is oversaturated as the potential customer base isn't infinite...

When Star of the Seas makes her debut in 2026 you are going to have 3 Icon/Oasis ships out of Miami, 2 Oasis out of FLL, 1 of each out of Port Canaveral and 1 in Galveston.  These are ships that are going to all the same destinations which by my count is 15 different Caribbean ports during the winter that can support them.  Two years later you are going to have Icon 3 and Oasis 7 in the mix and it gets more complicated.  One might go to Asia year round, who knows?

 

Let's look at the other side with the rumored new "smaller" ships taking bridge heights and environmental regulations that are coming into play.  You need one for Northern Europe in the summer, you would need one or two for Alaska at the same time, if you want to keep Baltimore and Tampa running year round you would need two there.  Isn't Australia cracking down on environmental regulations too?  That makes me think 6 is the magic number with all those things considered.  Or they could completely abandon the Baltimore and Tampa markets but that seems unlikely as there is money to be made.  The "just cruise Celebrity" line doesn't make sense from a business standpoint as they want to keep the parent brand as profitable as possible and both lines offer different things and can coexist.

 

All speculation and we can debate here and elsewhere until something is announced but I like wasting time on the internet and am excited to get some official word on the whole thing.

This is a very logical and well thought out statement. The smaller ships won't be around forever and they are needed to service particular markets.

[captainannoyed!]

8 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I'm from NY. If I wanted to go to Central Park it was there. Now that I live in Florida I'm 2 hours from the big theme parks. I won't go on anything bigger than a Quantum Class ship. The bigger the ship the longer it takes to get from one end to the other and it's just more pay for venues and shops. We don't even shop at the malls on land anymore. A perfect day a Coco Cay is great if you are traveling with a family but as empty nesters we need more adventure than a pool day in an over priced Cabana 

I just look at those deck plans on Oasis and above, and it is more than I want to walk.  I can treadmill at the gym.  Why would I want this on a vacation?  Plus, most of the stuff they add is for kids and families - no me.  And as far as the Coco cabanas, I think they have a problem with the web site adding an extra zero on the end!  No way im interested in paying more than the cruise for a few hours in a cabana, unless Jennifer Love Hewitt is there.  Then they can charge whatever they want, lol!

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, Southern Dan said:

I agree that Royal's main focus is currently on families and larger ships and let's be honest, they have a formula that is wildly successful.  There are only so many Oasis/Icon size ships you can have running though before the market is oversaturated as the potential customer base isn't infinite...

When Star of the Seas makes her debut in 2026 you are going to have 3 Icon/Oasis ships out of Miami, 2 Oasis out of FLL, 1 of each out of Port Canaveral and 1 in Galveston.  These are ships that are going to all the same destinations which by my count is 15 different Caribbean ports during the winter that can support them.  Two years later you are going to have Icon 3 and Oasis 7 in the mix and it gets more complicated.  One might go to Asia year round, who knows?

 

Let's look at the other side with the rumored new "smaller" ships taking bridge heights and environmental regulations that are coming into play.  You need one for Northern Europe in the summer, you would need one or two for Alaska at the same time, if you want to keep Baltimore and Tampa running year round you would need two there.  Isn't Australia cracking down on environmental regulations too?  That makes me think 6 is the magic number with all those things considered.  Or they could completely abandon the Baltimore and Tampa markets but that seems unlikely as there is money to be made.  The "just cruise Celebrity" line doesn't make sense from a business standpoint as they want to keep the parent brand as profitable as possible and both lines offer different things and can coexist.

 

All speculation and we can debate here and elsewhere until something is announced but I like wasting time on the internet and am excited to get some official word on the whole thing.

Lots of good points in your comment. The one thing I don’t understand is your “keep the parent brand as profitable as possible”. RCI and Celebrity are sister cruise lines. I think both cruise lines are focused on generating as much revenue as possible. The parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, is obviously focused on the success of both cruse lines and likely has a wider strategic vision for both cruise lines, but the individual cruise lines (RCI and Celebrity) are likely not too concerned with what is going on at another cruise line, even if it is a sister cruise line.

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

I'm from NY. If I wanted to go to Central Park it was there. Now that I live in Florida I'm 2 hours from the big theme parks. I won't go on anything bigger than a Quantum Class ship. The bigger the ship the longer it takes to get from one end to the other and it's just more pay for venues and shops. We don't even shop at the malls on land anymore. A perfect day a Coco Cay is great if you are traveling with a family but as empty nesters we need more adventure than a pool day in an over priced Cabana 

I agree, and not the size element, but the fact that on a Vision class ship, I can see the sea and sky from almost anywhere on the ship, but on a ship with a Royal Promenade, I would feel like I was in a mall/city/theme park.  I can do that at home; I don't need to do it on a ship.

[alfaeric]

Another thing I find amusing is how people extrapolate their opinions of icon and oasis to everyone. Even though the large ships are getting premium fares and are selling full but the small ships are the lowest fares and don’t always sail full. 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

Another thing I find amusing is how people extrapolate their opinions of icon and oasis to everyone. Even though the large ships are getting premium fares and are selling full but the small ships are the lowest fares and don’t always sail full. 

Excellent point. Of course, that's easy for me to say since I've enjoyed everything from the dearly departed Sovereign class to the Oasis class. But even those who are adamantly against the "floating theme parks" can't argue with the numbers. The megaships are selling like crazy, for top dollar.

 

Personally, I haven't tried the Icon because I focus on bang for the buck, and consequently I never sail on the latest & greatest. Which also means I probably won't sail on this new class until they're a few years old. But there are things I love about every class of ship I've tried, and I expect that to continue as I eventually explore the new ones. 🙂 

[alfaeric]

1 hour ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

Excellent point. Of course, that's easy for me to say since I've enjoyed everything from the dearly departed Sovereign class to the Oasis class. But even those who are adamantly against the "floating theme parks" can't argue with the numbers. The megaships are selling like crazy, for top dollar.

 

Personally, I haven't tried the Icon because I focus on bang for the buck, and consequently I never sail on the latest & greatest. Which also means I probably won't sail on this new class until they're a few years old. But there are things I love about every class of ship I've tried, and I expect that to continue as I eventually explore the new ones. 🙂 

Right- our only issue with the Icon is the price.  So hopefully Star will relieve some pressure to even out the demand.  

 

But we love all the ships- all of them have their space in our cruising.  I *hope* that they can continue to cruise out of Baltimore, but if not, so be it.