If Royal builds a third Oasis-class ship, where should it sail?

[north29]

I picked Hawaii, but in truth, running up and down the West Coast would be good combined with Hawaii. It would give the folks out that way an RCI ship again. Plus, she could easily home port in LA or San Diego for 14-15 night loops to Hawaii.

 

I have never been on a Oasis class ship, but from what everyone says, they are super, well for most/many cruisers. With the lack of a RC ship in LA, and wow what a potential for multiple length cruises to many areas, in a ship that would attract attention in a large market area.

I want to be on the repositioning cruise, if they do take a Oasis class ship to the West coast.

I would hope they make it a all weather ship like the Sunshine class ships are supposed to be.

[millae]

Yes! True. We also just read the news about Singapore's new cruise port and terminal capable of handling Oasis class ships. Also have heard that Hong Kong is headed in the same direction. C'mon! All these ships being based in FL and going the same places is not fun.:)

[SkiUMah]

Hopefully they at least move one of the Freedom class ships out of the Caribbean. I would love to see one of those move to the west coast and do Hawaii and Alaska itineraries year round.

[ahecht]

I have never been on a Oasis class ship, but from what everyone says, they are super, well for most/many cruisers. With the lack of a RC ship in LA, and wow what a potential for multiple length cruises to many areas, in a ship that would attract attention in a large market area.

I want to be on the repositioning cruise, if they do take a Oasis class ship to the West coast.

I would hope they make it a all weather ship like the Sunshine class ships are supposed to be.

 

The Los Angeles cruise market couldn't even support a Voyager-class ship. How could they be profitable with an Oasis-class?

[Onessa]

Keep the megaships in the caribbean.

 

The small island county's economies can use the periodic massive influx of pax -- and they can charge people outrageous prices for watered down rum drinks, zip line rides, and hair braiding.

 

If they sail out of a US port, then that will help the economy of FL or TX too.

 

If they were to visit Med, or Baltic, or Australian or Alaskan ports -- the number of tourists would just be too large and none of them would really be able to enjoy themselves. (I've been to Santorini when the Voyager and a largish MCS ship were in port together -- too many people at one time. Cannot imagine an Oasis or Allure sized crowd!)

[EJKorvette]

Unless they make a lot of changes to the third ship, I don't see how she could sail anywhere where the weather gets colder and less sunny than in the Caribbean.

 

Also I don't think any other market other than eastern Florida could fill enough staterooms every sailing to make it worthwhile.

 

I have never sailed out of Port Canaveral so I have no idea if that could ever handle an Oasis-class ship, but porting the third ship there makes the most sense to me.

[Ander026]

Add me to the camp that sees the new ship in FLL, and the Oasis moved to Port Canaveral...

 

BUT...

 

What islands would it visit??

 

Freedom does the pre-oasis traditional western route with Grand Cayman included.

 

It's the big difference between the Oasis class and this route.

 

If Oasis leaves out of Port Canaveral, would it just do the reverse route of the Allure/New ship on the same route?

 

With that in mind, I consider San Juan a runner up. Or maybe something weird like Galveston or New Orleans with stops in Coz, Costa Maya, and Belize?

 

Just a thought.

 

 

 

with all the recent work in pc I am guessing one of the mega ships will end up there. if so would that mean a new home for the freedom?

 

I agree with the above with Port Canaveral probably become the new home for Oasis in the future. Plenty of time to upgrade Terminal 10.

 

As far as the ports go if Grand Cayman can get a dock the Oasis Class can dock there.

 

Also Oasis can become the 3rd RCCL at Port Canaveral. Since Carnival has moved the Dream to the new dock that leaves Terminal 10 empty on Saturday's. A RCCL could come and homeport at Port Canaveral for 7 day sailings on Saturday or any combination that has the 3rd ship there on Sat, Tue, Wed, Thur.

[Eng23]

Wow. Lots of speculation on this topic. As tight lipped as RCI has been about the Project Sunshine ships features and where they will be based I don't see RCI letting out a lot of info about a projected 3rd Oasis Class ship with an in service date of 2016. With a 4 year lead time many ports throughout the world could be prepared to accept a ship this size either as a homeport or a port of call.

 

I think we will see many changes in the future with some ships being retired/transferred to other lines and the new builds due in 2014 and 2015.

RCI's upcoming focus is going to be the Project Sunshine ships the closer we get to the first ship going into service. RCI will not want to have folks focused on a 3rd Oasis ship as the Sunshine ships enter service.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like the Oasis Class ships and would be more than happy to see a 3rd one as they are engineering marvels. So I guess I might as well throw in my speculation now too.

A 3rd Oasis Class will be best suited for the Caribbean as the class is very successful there and makes alot of revenue for RCI. There are lots of changes taking place in Port Canaveral right now. Channel is being dredged deeper and wider, and it would not be a stretch for RCI to redo Terminal 10 to handle a larger ship. The current new terminal just opened was backed by Carnival and I envision that terminal to be for their use so as not to have to share with RCI. So I'm in the crowd that sees Caribbean itineraries out of Port Canaveral and quite a few ship relocations and/or retirements.

[jvalastro]

I like the idea of Europe or more specifically the Mediterranean. Even though they are more port-intensive cruises they could easily put a second sea day in by taking out Nice from the LOS itinerary, since even the LOS has to tender. So they could have an itinerary like this:

 

Barcelona

Toulon

Day at Sea

Florence

Rome

Naples

Day at Sea

Barcelona

 

The Epic has a very similar itinerary that hits all these ports, so I bet they could hold an Oasis-class ship as well.

[UATLB]

HAWAII !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

my suggestions are

 

sail outta cali and sail to hawaii and do all islands and an over-nite or 2 like ncl does.

 

or

 

do an 8 day all around hawaii and stop at fanning island

 

or

 

sail around hawaii and end in bora bora

[tx121]

I think it would be a mistake if Royal builds a 3rd Oasis class ship. It is very limited to where these huge ships can port. If they put 3 Oasis class ships in the Caribbean, they will over over saturate the area and will be competing against the other cruiselines and also themselves. Think about how many ships come back from Europe to the Caribbean in the winter. If there are 3 Oasis ships, that's 18,000 passengers in 1 week!! Then you will need to fill your other "smaller" ships in the area as well. I just don't think it is necessary for them to build another one. But if it would happen, yes I think Port Canaveral would be in line for one. Usually rccl deploys 2 ships alternating eastern and western caribbean itineraries, that leave on a Saturday and one on a Sunday from formerly Miami and now Ft lauderdale. Then after they move from these ports and the third ship comes in, they move one of them to port canaveral so the 3rd ship in the class can take over. Plus they would never do long itinearies because the price of fuel would sky rocket. What I think would be a great itinerary as others have said is to have the ship depart from Puerto Rico and do the southern caribbean...but I don't think this would work because I feel those islands wouldn't have the infrastructure to support the Oasis class. Again, I feel like it will be a mistake to build another one....Royal should just focus on there sunshine project which one will depart from Cape Liberty and the other South Hampton, =)

[I Church]

I agree with the above with Port Canaveral probably become the new home for Oasis in the future. Plenty of time to upgrade Terminal 10.

 

As far as the ports go if Grand Cayman can get a dock the Oasis Class can dock there.

 

Also Oasis can become the 3rd RCCL at Port Canaveral. Since Carnival has moved the Dream to the new dock that leaves Terminal 10 empty on Saturday's. A RCCL could come and homeport at Port Canaveral for 7 day sailings on Saturday or any combination that has the 3rd ship there on Sat, Tue, Wed, Thur.

 

I would like to sail to the Bermuda on an Oasis class ship out of Port Canaveral. I also would like to visit Disney World and Universal Studio's and also take a cruise... that would be nice. Grand Cayman would also be nice to dock at. How about Belize as a stop?

 

Take care...

Irene & Miles

[Eng23]

I would like to sail to the Bermuda on an Oasis class ship out of Port Canaveral. I also would like to visit Disney World and Universal Studio's and also take a cruise... that would be nice. Grand Cayman would also be nice to dock at. How about Belize as a stop?

 

Take care...

Irene & Miles

Grand Cayman would be nice but the current Oasis Class ships do not stop there as it is a tender port. These ships are too large to effectively tender.

[ALSEAU]

I think it would be a mistake if Royal builds a 3rd Oasis class ship. It is very limited to where these huge ships can port. If they put 3 Oasis class ships in the Caribbean, they will over over saturate the area and will be competing against the other cruiselines and also themselves. Think about how many ships come back from Europe to the Caribbean in the winter. If there are 3 Oasis ships, that's 18,000 passengers in 1 week!! Then you will need to fill your other "smaller" ships in the area as well. I just don't think it is necessary for them to build another one. But if it would happen, yes I think Port Canaveral would be in line for one. Usually rccl deploys 2 ships alternating eastern and western caribbean itineraries, that leave on a Saturday and one on a Sunday from formerly Miami and now Ft lauderdale. Then after they move from these ports and the third ship comes in, they move one of them to port canaveral so the 3rd ship in the class can take over. Plus they would never do long itinearies because the price of fuel would sky rocket. What I think would be a great itinerary as others have said is to have the ship depart from Puerto Rico and do the southern caribbean...but I don't think this would work because I feel those islands wouldn't have the infrastructure to support the Oasis class. Again, I feel like it will be a mistake to build another one....Royal should just focus on there sunshine project which one will depart from Cape Liberty and the other South Hampton, =)

 

Something tells me you were or would have been in the corner of the many that said RCI was making a mistake building the Oasis size ship. That it would be their downfall and they should stick to the smaller ships.

 

I am not going to second guess their management. If they think they have a market and a product that will sell I believe them.

[Aquahound]

I think my DW said it best on our last Oasis cruise. She said RCI gave the other cruise lines a big "Screw You....try to beat this" when they built Oasis. No need for a third ship. The point has already been made.

[Cuizer2]

Royal Caribbean confirmed it is negotiating for a third Oasis-class ship. With Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas already in the Caribbean, we're curious where you think this third ship should sail.

Australia

Asia

Alaska

Transatlantic

Hawaii

South America

Mediterranean

Canary Islands

Somewhere else

 

You didn't list my choice - the ocean.

[I Church]

Grand Cayman would be nice but the current Oasis Class ships do not stop there as it is a tender port. These ships are too large to effectively tender.

 

But they have time to build docks at these places. They built the Labadee dock in record time. If the water is deep enough the Oasis class can dock if a dock is built. We need new places to go on one of these big ships. But then sometimes the ship is the destination..

 

Irene & Miles

Loyal to Royal

[wah20]

I'm not too sure that time is what's needed for Grand Cayman. I heard that that area is protected. I believe it has to do with the turtles in that area. Either way, its an environmental issue. :D

[Sequim88]

I picked transatlantic mainly for the fact that it would not be stopping at a port every day or so. These ships are destinations unto themselves and most of the logistical issues come about from stopping at ports, the dock size and the flood of people getting off and back on. I like the thought of a permanent "cruise to nowhere" route where the Captain is free to seek out the sunshine without being constrained to going somewhere in particular. Just find a big blue hole somewhere and cruise in circles so everyone tans evenly - like a mega-rotiserie. ;)

 

Not many, if any, Australian ports could handle a ship this size. Both in terms of ship size and passenger numbers. Many European ports would also struggle.

 

Oh boy! Park one of these at Villefranche and toss out a gangway at each end - people headed for Nice please use the forward gangway - Monaco use the aft. :D

[BillOh]

But they have time to build docks at these places. They built the Labadee dock in record time. If the water is deep enough the Oasis class can dock if a dock is built. We need new places to go on one of these big ships. But then sometimes the ship is the destination..

 

Irene & Miles

Loyal to Royal

 

 

Well said, On Allure they have a Q&A session with the Captain, Hotel Services, Engineering, and the CD. I was planning on asking about the possability of any new ports opening up for this class of ship. But it looks like you will be there before me so feel free to ask and report back.

[butterfly2]

Longer cruises out of Port Canaveral to the southern Caribbean! :D

 

 

I second this! It would be awesome!

[Eng23]

But they have time to build docks at these places. They built the Labadee dock in record time. If the water is deep enough the Oasis class can dock if a dock is built. We need new places to go on one of these big ships. But then sometimes the ship is the destination..

 

Irene & Miles

Loyal to Royal

In Labadee Royal Caribbean owns all of that property thereby making it easy to build the pier and it was easy to get the approval of the Haitian government. As another poster indicated much of the area around the port in Grand Cayman has a protected status for the sea life there. Ships are only permitted to anchor in the small designated area off shore. To build a pier that goes that far out in the water for cruise ships would be very expensive and that's if the government would allow it.

[printingchick]

I respect your right to LOVE the Mega-ships and to view your cruise ship as your destination. I'm a port/itinerary cruise chooser, but that's not the issue.

 

I just can't see how RCL can possibly fill a THIRD Mega-ship, visiting the SAME destinations (because no other ports can handle a ship so large). The novelty is going to eventually wear off.

 

I think launching a third Oasis class ship is a HUGE mistake!

[hazeleyez3]

I say longer cruises around the Caribbean.

 

As for the Med...

 

If they were able to enlarge European docks, and if they are targeting Europeans than yes, having her sail the Med might be a good idea. The cities might be ones that Europeans are able to visit frequently, especially since traveling via train is so popular. Seeing Rome, for instance, might not mean "lets rush around the city to see the Vatican, Colloseum, and Pantheon."

 

Americans who travel to the Med do so because of the cities. The itineraries are so port intensive, and the excursions so tiring, I don't think it would make a lot of sense to put it in Europe...people wouldn't be able to "truly" enjoy the ship. European cruises are expensive. They will sky rocket if you add in the cost of an Oasis class ship. Plus, Americans would need to buy airfare. A couple could be looking at a $10,000 trip before they even step foot on the ship, book excursions, and book hotel rooms.

[BillOh]

In Labadee Royal Caribbean owns all of that property thereby making it easy to build the pier an.

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Royal doesn't own any land there. If Haiti had a strong desire they could have the cruise line out of there tomorrow. Its not in there interest to do so and it was in their interest to allow the pier. Grand Caymen has more of an economy and other options.