Jumping Cruiser

It’s possible that a couple of Jewel itineraries will call here, specifically in May and August.

Odyssey has a call in Ponta Delgada, Azores for March 2026, with the destination set as Malaga. This will likely be a TA to Barcelona, after which she will go to dry-dock.

Quantum and Anthem are the 2 QC ships in Alaska in 2025, while it was Ovation that had a TP for sale, so this has led to the cancellation. I presume that Ovation will be going to Asia?

Apologies if I missed it, but has there still not been any update regarding the Red Sea & Suez Canal transit? MSC have cancelled 3 repositioning cruises today, all of which were scheduled for March/April time. These 3 ships will now sail to Europe around the west coast of Africa, with no passengers or ports of call on the way, as there was apparently ‘no viable alternate itinerary’. It’s definitely looking like Royal are going to have to make some challenging decisions on how to best manage this with the WC.

I’m going with the fact that Royal haven’t updated their website. We all know how there IT department work! 🙄 It was a Cruise Critic news article that quoted RCI’s Chief Innovation Officer, Jay Schneider, during a press trip yesterday. I would think that this is pretty reliable.

A key point made in a news article today, Cloud 17 and The Hideaway have switched purposes. The Hideaway is now adults only, while Cloud 17 is open to everyone. RCI say that some of the reasons were: - The naming of ‘Hideaway Beach’ at PDCC - keeping ‘Hideaway’ branding consistent. - It no longer made sense to have prime real estate closed off to families, especially as Icon offers the ‘Ultimate Family Vacation’. (This confuses me, as it sure made sense over the past few years 🤔). In my eyes, they can better promote ‘The Hideaway’ as a beach club vibe, if it’s adults-only. Also, paid-for loungers and daybeds may appeal more towards those that would usually buy a cabana, but looking for adults only. As always though, many will be disappointed with the change. Just to add, it wouldn’t surprise me if ‘The Hideaway’ as a whole became an added-cost eventually, you know…. To keep it consistent. 😂

The leadership conference is underway! I would love to know all about them ‘secret, super cool’ plans!

We have chosen select 6pm on Apex for our cruise in June. Is this now disregarded and all freedom dining?

I imagine that this will be to reclaim the title of ‘Longest Slide at Sea’ from MSC. Their Venom Drop slide on World Europa beat the ‘old’ abyss for this title.

Oops… I might have missed one! 🙊 Yes, it should be red. Port bookings in Key West indicate she will be based in Port Everglades up to now.

Here is the current schedule for Summer 2025. Anything in red is based on speculation and port bookings but still to be confirmed by Royal. Summer 2025: Adventure - 6/8 Night Caribbean (Port Canaveral, Florida) Allure - 7 Night Western Mediterranean (Barcelona, Spain & Civitavecchia, Italy) Anthem - 7 Night Alaska (Seattle, Washington) Brilliance - 7 Night Greece, Cyprus & Turkey (Athens, Greece) Enchantment - TBD Explorer - 7 Night Greece & Adriatic (Ravenna, Italy) Freedom - Short Caribbean (TBD) Grandeur - 7 Night Caribbean & Bahamas (Tampa, Florida) Harmony - 6/7/8 Night Caribbean (Galveston, Texas) Icon - 7 Night Caribbean (Miami, Florida) Independence - Northern & Western Europe (Southampton, England) Jewel - Caribbean (TBD) Liberty - Bermuda, Canada & Caribbean (Cape Liberty, NJ) Mariner - Short Caribbean (TBD) Navigator - Catalina, Ensenada & Mexico (Los Angeles, California) Oasis - 5/6/7/8 Night Caribbean (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Odyssey - 7/9/10/12 Night Greece, Italy & Turkey (Civitavecchia, Italy) Ovation - Asia (TBD) Quantum - 7 Night Alaska (Seattle, Washington) Radiance - 7 Night Alaska (Seward, Alaska & Vancouver, Canada) Rhapsody - 7/8 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan, Puerto Rico) Serenade - 7 Night Alaska Inside Passage (Vancouver, Canada) Spectrum - Asia (TBD) Star - 7 Night Caribbean (Port Canaveral, Florida) Symphony - 7 Night Bahamas (Cape Liberty, NJ) Utopia - Short Caribbean (TBD) Vision - Bahamas, Canada & Bermuda (Baltimore, Maryland) Voyager - Western & Eastern Mediterranean (Barcelona, Spain & Ravenna, Italy & Rome, Italy & Athens, Greece) Wonder - Short Caribbean (TBD)

I know this is profitable for them, especially on the newer ships, but how I wish we got newer Oasis and Icon class on 'attractive' itineraries, especially in EUROPE! Pardon the pun... but I think they've missed the boat with launching Star at PC. In my opinion, she should have done a short Med season before crossing the pond, giving European customers the option to experience the product. I would tend to say that I'd be very shocked if we don't see a European season when Icon 3 launches, but..... nothing surprises me with Royal anymore. 😔

Captain Rob on Wonder briefly spoke about Project Discovery at a recent Captains Corner. He said he doesn’t know much information other than they are planning to construct in the future. However, he did say that Royal are having a big senior leadership conference on Icon in January, which will last for 5 days, and would be expecting various announcements to come out of that event, one of which will likely be Discovery.

They are two different slides, both of which only actually go down one deck. One is on the pool deck, next to Lime and Coconut, which goes from deck 16 to 15. The other is in Surfside, which goes from deck 8 to 7.

It hasn’t worked for me on Safari (Apple Browser) for around a month now. I find that it works on Google/Chrome app though. Again, I reported the issue, but nothing has changed.

How much??!! 😳 I mean, I expected a charge, but thought a max of $35… NOT $90! 😬

According to bookings, I believe the plan was to homeport Voyager in Piraeus, Athens over the Winter, or at least till January. Similar to what Celebrity are offering on Infinity. However, Haifa (Israel) also looked to be a regular port of call as part of these itineraries. i think that in light of recent events, they have changed their mind and will send her to Asia/Aus, as it’s a safer option than staying in Europe.

I don’t believe so, No. I think she will go straight from Copenhagen to Cadiz, Spain.

I know it’s one of their money makers, but… YAWN! 🥱😴 Please send her to the Med or at least somewhere different, rather than to the same ports as Icon. Give other people a chance to sail Icon Class! I live in hope… BUT something tells me I will be waiting a while. 😂

She is expected to do Short Caribbean sailings, but not yet known which port.

Maintenance Drydock

Phew! 😮‍💨 Thanks for confirming.

We were on Anthem in June and requested evening service. Our room steward advised that the sofa bed would be left out all day, as standard. We weren’t happy with this as it takes up quite a bit of space in the cabin, making it difficult to use in the day. When we told him our concern, he offered to come in the morning and put it away and then back out as part of our full service. In reality, he would come in the morning and literally just fold over the covers so that they only cover the single side of the sofa and put the ‘extra part’ back beneath the sofa, without doing any other part of the service. The covers were never removed during the day, but this didn’t cause a problem and was actually quite nice for an afternoon nap! 😅 He would then come back while we were at dinner and perform a full service, including the sofa bed setup, towels, ice, etc.

Check out this link and you will find them all here. They are under the heading 2025-2026, beneath the map. https://loyaltoyoualways.com/deployment/