Splendour Of The Seas sold to TUI, last sailing for RCCL april 4th 2016

As written in this press release: http://www.rclinvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=103045&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2021308

TUI will lease the ship to Thompson Cruises.

Thank you for the update.

Then I do get a chance to say goodbuy - just booked the 7 NIGHT GREEK ISLES & TURKEY CRUISE November 7, 2015

I can't say I saw that one coming.

Legend & Splendour are their own little class that never really worked for RCI... so I guess it makes sense to have them go.

No surprise as RCCL own 50% of TUI Cruises

I have a soft spot for Splendour as she was our first RC ship. At least she's not being sold to China as a casino ship and, since she'll be with Thompsons, we'll probably bump into her in the Med occasionally :)

Bookings had been lower for her for a while, so makes sense.

Yes I have a soft spot for Splendour too. We had a wonderful cruise on her a couple of years ago around the Med.

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Can the annoucement about the Legend be far behind? 2016+ itineraries will start coming out next week so some more ship moves are bound to be announced this week.

Prices for Med cruises on Splendour were incredibly high last year. We sailed on her twice when she was new and sparkling but simply wouldn't pay such inflated prices for what is quite an old ship. No wonder bookings were down.

Thanks for the info. That makes it two ships leaving the fleet (Spendour and Majesty) next year.

What a shame, I love the smaller ships, Oasis and the like are just too big for me, we've already been thinking about sailing more on other lines and I guess this will just help our decision.

At least we still get to sail on Splendour again in 7 weeks for what will now be her last Transatlantic.

Julie

I do not like where this is heading

We have had some wonderful trips on Splendour, and actually prefer her to some of the bigger ships. However, as others have said, the prices were getting ridiculous. We sailed in a GS last time and wouldn't pay that amount again for a suite on a small ship.

Legend & Splendour are their own little class that never really worked for RCI... so I guess it makes sense to have them go.

I really enjoy Vision Class, but I can't say I'm a huge fan of Splendour and Legend. For one, they're goofy looking ships. But like you said, they don't really fit in anymore. It doesn't really surprise me to see RCI 86ing their smallest ships.

Since she wasn't showing up on any ports, I thought that she was going to replace Majesty. I think all other Vision class are showing up at some ports. So the question is what will replace the Majesty.

Can the annoucement about the Legend be far behind? 2016+ itineraries will start coming out next week so some more ship moves are bound to be announced this week.

I'm currently booked on the last available Legend itinerary which positions from Brisbane Australia to Hong Kong starting 20 April 2016 ending 8 May (at the end of RCI's first Brisbane AU homeport season Nov-Apr). There was some hesitation booking this cruise with Legend being a small ship but Rhapsody was just fine (but not identical to LG) and the itinerary is great (it will be the first time embarking on a ship at Brisbane and first time visiting Hong Kong ever).

Anyway, back to the topic of Legend:

Currently, Legend shows up for a similar Australian 2017 season if Australian port schedules are to be believed. For example, she's listed at docking at Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia on 31 Oct 2016, then Cairns, Queensland, Australia on 1 Nov 2016 (see bottom of page 1 of this PDF). One of these dates is incorrect though, because it takes more than one night to sail from Darwin to Cairns!

I can only assume, then, that Legend will do an S.E. Asian season from May 2016-Oct 2016 during the Australian winter.

Cairns is a popular Queensland destination and if I'm not mistaken Rhapsody holds the title for largest ship to dock at Cairns. Bigger ships (even Radiance) have to tender ashore at Yorkey's Knob which is less appealing (a 15-20 minute drive away from Cairns).

But even Rhapsody is too long to dock at Brisbane proper (Portside at Hamilton) so has to (along with the rest of RCI's fleet) dock out at a remote container port. So Legend is a pretty good fit considering these contraints. Whether there is a demand for a Brisbane-based ship after two summer seasons though, who knows? Local cruise line P&O Australia (Carnival) frequently base one of their ships in Brisbane.

I do not like where this is heading

Not really a surprise though. 20 years so far seems to be about how long Royal has been keeping their ships.

I would expect the rest of the Vision class to follow this trend and then perhaps this timeline to be extended once they start getting into the Radiance and Voyager class.

I DO LIKE where this is heading...

Smaller and older ships going away...makes plenty of business sense and puts RCI in a smart strategic position for the future.

Operational costs on the older ships keep mounting, and their ROI keeps shrinking. Smart move.

Since she wasn't showing up on any ports, I thought that she was going to replace Majesty. I think all other Vision class are showing up at some ports. So the question is what will replace the Majesty.

has Adventure been showing up anywhere?

Not really a surprise though. 20 years so far seems to be about how long Royal has been keeping their ships.

 

I would expect the rest of the Vision class to follow this trend and then perhaps this timeline to be extended once they start getting into the Radiance and Voyager class.

yes but Legend is a year older than Splendor. Why Splendor first??????

yes but Legend is a year older than Splendor. Why Splendor first??????

I'm sure the Legend is right behind her.

yes but Legend is a year older than Splendor. Why Splendor first??????

More money spent recently on Legend for refurbishment than on Splendour. Probably need to amortize some more of those costs to make Legend as attractive for buyers. That's one of many reasons I could think of, but the first to pop on my mind.

I do not like where this is heading

I assume that's because of the loss of the smaller ships, yes?

But unless they really have a big change in policy- they have to have some small ships- otherwise they can't sail to Alaska- I don't see the larger ships to be capable of getting into the small places that see the glaciers.

Which means they have ships to cover Norway, too. As well as the smaller Med islands. But those itineraries can be left, as they are less core to RCI's history.

Alaska, well, even with just two ships that cover it- that would be a HUGE thing to walk away from.

Possible, sure. But I would be stunned if they dropped all of the small ships.

But unless they really have a big change in policy- they have to have some small ships- otherwise they can't sail to Alaska- I don't see the larger ships to be capable of getting into the small places that see the glaciers.

 

Possible, sure. But I would be stunned if they dropped all of the small ships.

Agree...they won't get rid of all smaller ships because they have several locations that require them...Alaska being just one.

But any aging vessels and some of the excess smaller ones are likely going to shrink in number. Now with Majesty and Splendour moving away...there could be others on the "roadmap" to also be moved.

What's a "Double Double" strategy mean? The only thing that comes to mind is doubling capacity, and doubling the revenue/ship