Anthem of the Seas

[Clarea]

So, maybe: summer from Southampton, and winter Port Canaveral? Could well be... :)

 

Anthem will replace Independence? So we have Adventure and Anthem from Southampton... hopefully one of the two ships will also sail to the Northern regions in July and August!!

 

What could happen to Independence? Year-round in FL, or new itineraries in Eruope?

With Majesty leaving the fleet within a couple of years, and Navigator staying in Texas year round, there's going to be some major shuffling of ships all around.

[G85 SS]

With Majesty leaving the fleet within a couple of years, and Navigator staying in Texas year round, there's going to be some major shuffling of ships all around.

 

With the addition of all the new ships, I wonder how long it will be before they start sending ships from the Vision Class off after Majesty leaves.

[Clarea]

With the addition of all the new ships, I wonder how long it will be before they start sending ships from the Vision Class off after Majesty leaves.

I'd be surprised if they send off Vision class ships soon after Majesty leaves. They have just spent several hundred million dollars upgrading those ships, except for Vision which gets upgraded in October. I'd love to hear some of the ship experts on the board comment on this.

[G85 SS]

I'd be surprised if they send off Vision class ships soon after Majesty leaves. They have just spent several hundred million dollars upgrading those ships, except for Vision which gets upgraded in October. I'd love to hear some of the ship experts on the board comment on this.

 

Ditto.

 

Just to counter that, didn't they spend millions on Sovereign and Majesty just before sending them to the sister company? I just don't know how long after the refurb's the ships were disbanded from RCCL.

 

I would think think that the money spend on refurbs is just part of normal operating and maintenance costs.

[Clarea]

Ditto.

 

Just to counter that, didn't they spend millions on Sovereign and Majesty just before sending them to the sister company? I just don't know how long after the refurb's the ships were disbanded from RCCL.

 

I would think think that the money spend on refurbs is just part of normal operating and maintenance costs.

I don't know about Sovereign, but Monarch did go through a dry dock a couple of years before she left the fleet. We had talked with the facilities manager a few months before the dry dock and there were supposed to be many improvements, like a new pool deck and specialty restaurant. Evidently they changed their mind because none of those improvements came to be. It was more like a routine 5 year dry dock.

Edited August 2, 2013 by clarea

[G85 SS]

I don't know about Sovereign, but Monarch did go through a dry dock a couple of years before she left the fleet. We had talked with the facilities manager a few months before the dry dock and there were supposed to be many improvements, like a new pool deck and specialty restaurant. Evidently they changed their mind because none of those improvements came to be. It was more like a routine 5 year dry dock.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure how long Sovereign had been out of it's refurbishment before she was sent to Pullmantur but I know Sovereign went through a refurb prior to. I remember watching the show on it in my stateroom and them trying to figure out how to get that giant clock to work.... That never came to life...

 

Speaking of, I wonder if it still doesn't work? haha

[Irene7]

Hopefully Southampton, as has been rumoured. Sick of the US getting all the new ships.

 

 

I'm from the US, but I can understand your pain. I would feel the same way, if the situation were reversed.:)

[Irene7]

We'd consider Anthem in 2015, assuming the home port and itineraries are improved over Quantum.

 

The idea of paying alot of $$$ to cruise for days just to get to the Caribbean from NJ seems a waste. To visit any decent ports means you have to look at a 9 day or longer cruise on Quantum.

 

If it's based out of someplace further south...we'll likely give it a try.

 

 

I see your point, but more sea days on the Quantum would not bother me since the ship is a destination in itself.:D

[Irene7]

Prediction

 

Oasis 3 and Allure - PC

Oasis - Asia

Oasis 4 - Barcelona

Quantum - Bayonne

Anthem - Southampton

Quantum 3 - Alaska

Quantum 4 - Not 100% sure on this one, if a Quantum 4 does indeed get built, my gut feeling is it might join Anthem in Southampton, but offering North Sea cruises, or perhaps Harwich/Liverpool/Copenhagen.

 

Independence, Liberty and perhaps Adventure may be sent to new locations.

 

I like your prediction, except one thing. I can't see them leaving Ft. Lauderdale all together for the Oasis class since RCI put so much money into that port to handle the size of that class. It would be a waste of money. I will be happy if just one (hopefully Oasis 3) home ports in PC.:)

[Irene7]

Agreed. It's about a 2 hour flight for me to get to the Garden State, only about 30min longer to get to FL. With that little difference in flight time, I'd rather stick with FL ports and get to the islands sooner!!:D

 

Even so, I keep going over Quantum's deck plans and rooms, thinking "well....maybe it's doable". I'm just fascinated by this new ship class! :o

 

 

Unless you ever plan on going to Bermuda though, you would have to leave from the NE. :D

[UNV-IT!!!]

I like your prediction, except one thing. I can't see them leaving Ft. Lauderdale all together for the Oasis class since RCI put so much money into that port to handle the size of that class. It would be a waste of money. I will be happy if just one (hopefully Oasis 3) home ports in PC.:)

 

Ft lauderdale have an exclusive contract for oasis and allure. If one left it would have to be replaced by a sister ship. That was part of the deal for building the new terminal for oasis class ships only. Ft lauderdale will have 2 oasis class Ships for years to come

[Irene7]

now i do (:

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

 

That's ok, blame it one be overly excited to get news on where the ports are. :D

[Irene7]

I think it's unlikely. Alaskan ports are not equipped to handle a ship of that size.

 

Already, there have been problems because Celebrity Solstice has had to tender passengers into Juneau because of her size. This has been a prolonged process, resulting in passengers' on-shore time being reduced. It would be even worse with the number of passengers Anthem would carry.

 

Good point. I didn't know that about the Solstice.

[Irene7]

I think such a large ship wouldn't sail any Alaska itinerary...;)

Solstice had to TENDER in Alaska??? :eek: :eek:

 

I think she will be based at Southampton during the summer period and maybe she sails from Fort Lauderdale in winter...:)

 

I assume the following:

Oasis and Allure - FL

Anthem - Southampton

Quantum - Cape Liberty

Independence - Southampton or FL year-round

Liberty - Barcelona

Freedom - PC

Adventure - San Juan year-round or Southampton (mainly Baltic and Norway/Iceland) - or maybe Harwich...

 

But with Anthem being a cold weather ship, there would be no reason to move her to FL for the Winter. I can see her ported in SH all year.:)

[Irene7]

With everyone throwing their 2 cents we are up to $1.26 so I'll add 2 cents and make it $1.28.

 

Quantum and Anthem have been designed for cold weather sailing hence the large amounts of money RCCL has put into the indoor venues and not as much space allocated for enjoying the great outdoors. I think that this would rule out ay of these ships being based year round from a warm weather port. You might see one based out of Florida for the winter Caribbean season but I would not think for the entire year.

 

On the other hand the Oasis class ships are designed for warm weather sailing so it would not surprise me to see the next one based from Florida as well.

 

But, lets not forget about Hong Kong who has been rumoured to get an Oasis class ship, which does seem possible as it has been reported that RCCL sees the same projected growth in cruising in Asia in the next 20 years that it has seen in America in the last 20 years.

 

I never sailed the winter caribbean, do you know the average temp.?

[smoosh21]

does anyone have any predictions to where Anthem will homeport as im curious to see if they put a Quantum Class ship in Alaska

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Baltimore

That is why they named it Anthem, to tie in with the Star Spangled Banner. :D

 

I am guessing Southampton. I think they will leave her over in Europe. It makes a lot more sense to put the 'all weather' ship in a place that needs it

[Eng23]

Your comment: " Baltimore

That is why they named it Anthem, to tie in with the Star Spangled Banner. :D"

 

It does make some sense.:cool: Although we both know that's not gonna happen. :rolleyes:

[shipfriend_max]

But with Anthem being a cold weather ship, there would be no reason to move her to FL for the Winter. I can see her ported in SH all year.:)

 

Good point. :)

 

Hopefully there are enough people who'd book winter cruises from Southampton.

Sadly RCI stopped the winter cruises on Independence in 2011 or 2012...

 

But let's hope...:) would be great to see her in Europe!

[DEIx15x8]

A couple important details to remember about the next few years. The Port Everglades contract requires that Royal Caribbean pass a certain number of passengers through that port each year (as well as an overall number) for the entire 10 year duration of that contract. That locks not only 2 Oasis class ships but several others (Royal Caribbean owned, which includes Celebrity) in order to avoid the hefty penalties.

The other thing is that the New Panama Canal will be ready for Anthem. It is currently scheduled to open in April 2015. Having said that though it was originally scheduled to open in October 2014. It would not surprise me though if it were to be delayed again, and in the first 6 months a project of that magnitude is likely to have some issues to work out and may not be the most reliable system in the first 6 months. For that reason I would be surprised if anyone scheduled cruises prior to Summer 2016, perfect timing for Quantum 3.

 

Everyone seems to be focusing on the cold weather factor, but Quantum was originally announced as having been designed with 3 things in mind.

1. Cold weather
   
2. Long itineraries
   
3. Scenic destinations
   

Based on that list any of the usual Florida routes (that premiered Freedom/Liberty/Oasis/Allure, and many more) would not make any sense.

 

IMO we'll see:

• Quantum of the Seas year round from Cape Liberty for the current future (hopefully eventually swapped with another Quantum class to avoid the Explorer stagnating issue again)
  
• Anthem of the Seas year round from Southampton. Summers to northern europe and winters to the mediteranean. (New factor will get winter sales while the different itineraries will support summer)
  
• Independence of the Seas from Southampton in the summer to the Mediteranean, winter from FL. (The popularity of the route will balance out the old ship factor allowing them to boost profitability of both ships)
  
• Oasis 3 from Miami doing usual alternating 7 night itineraries opposite Allure.
  
• Oasis from FL with new 7 night itineraries that include some new ports such as San Juan and St. Kitts. In 2017/2019 (not sure how the contract was written to end the period) the itineraries will move to Allure and Oasis will go to PC with longer itineraries.
  
• Quantum 3 will sail Alaska in the summer and make a return to the panama canal with a mix of one way and round trip itineraries from California and Florida in the winter.
  
• Quantum 4 will head to Asia year round to test the validity of the customer base in the future.
  
• No Oasis 4, Ultra Oasis in 2019 based in Florida in place of an existing Oasis class ship that will relocate to Barcelona. (Royal Caribbean has always blown everyone out of the water with new ships every decade, I don't see them stopping now. In 1999 the Voyager of the Seas would never be beat and could never sail outside of Florida, By 2009 when Oasis came out that had all changed. A decade is a long time)
  
• At some point Royal Caribbean will be sending some ship (possible even Anthem for a few week period) to Yalta. They are currently making a $250 million investment in that port. The main limiter is the Bosphorus Strait which has 2 bridges with a 64 meter clearance. Freedom class ships were reported to be 63.7 meters tall. Not sure about Quantum, but Royal may play with retractable funnels again to make the port viable. It seems like currently only small ships sail the area, so Royal is trying to get a jump on the competition for what they believe will become a hot spot.
  

[shipfriend_max]

Good points - but I think it is not necessary to plan and speculate until 2019! :D

 

2015 might be:

-Anthem: Southampton - Med and Northen Europe year-round

-Quantum: Cape Liberty -Bermuda, Canada/NE, Caribbean

-Independence: new itineraries (year-round caribbean) or Southampton

-Liberty: Barcelona - Western Med (winter caribbean)

-Freedom: Port Canaveral - Caribbean

-Adventure: Southampton - Med an Northern Europe (winter Caribbean) or NE from Harwich

-Brilliance: NE from Harwich or Copenhagen and Hamburg? (winter caribbean)

[swim13]

A couple important details to remember about the next few years. The Port Everglades contract requires that Royal Caribbean pass a certain number of passengers through that port each year (as well as an overall number) for the entire 10 year duration of that contract. That locks not only 2 Oasis class ships but several others (Royal Caribbean owned, which includes Celebrity) in order to avoid the hefty penalties.

The other thing is that the New Panama Canal will be ready for Anthem. It is currently scheduled to open in April 2015. Having said that though it was originally scheduled to open in October 2014. It would not surprise me though if it were to be delayed again, and in the first 6 months a project of that magnitude is likely to have some issues to work out and may not be the most reliable system in the first 6 months. For that reason I would be surprised if anyone scheduled cruises prior to Summer 2016, perfect timing for Quantum 3.

 

Everyone seems to be focusing on the cold weather factor, but Quantum was originally announced as having been designed with 3 things in mind.

1. Cold weather
   
2. Long itineraries
   
3. Scenic destinations
   

Based on that list any of the usual Florida routes (that premiered Freedom/Liberty/Oasis/Allure, and many more) would not make any sense.

 

IMO we'll see:

• Quantum of the Seas year round from Cape Liberty for the current future (hopefully eventually swapped with another Quantum class to avoid the Explorer stagnating issue again)
  
• Anthem of the Seas year round from Southampton. Summers to northern europe and winters to the mediteranean. (New factor will get winter sales while the different itineraries will support summer)
  
• Independence of the Seas from Southampton in the summer to the Mediteranean, winter from FL. (The popularity of the route will balance out the old ship factor allowing them to boost profitability of both ships)
  
• Oasis 3 from Miami doing usual alternating 7 night itineraries opposite Allure.
  
• Oasis from FL with new 7 night itineraries that include some new ports such as San Juan and St. Kitts. In 2017/2019 (not sure how the contract was written to end the period) the itineraries will move to Allure and Oasis will go to PC with longer itineraries.
  
• Quantum 3 will sail Alaska in the summer and make a return to the panama canal with a mix of one way and round trip itineraries from California and Florida in the winter.
  
• Quantum 4 will head to Asia year round to test the validity of the customer base in the future.
  
• No Oasis 4, Ultra Oasis in 2019 based in Florida in place of an existing Oasis class ship that will relocate to Barcelona. (Royal Caribbean has always blown everyone out of the water with new ships every decade, I don't see them stopping now. In 1999 the Voyager of the Seas would never be beat and could never sail outside of Florida, By 2009 when Oasis came out that had all changed. A decade is a long time)
  
• At some point Royal Caribbean will be sending some ship (possible even Anthem for a few week period) to Yalta. They are currently making a $250 million investment in that port. The main limiter is the Bosphorus Strait which has 2 bridges with a 64 meter clearance. Freedom class ships were reported to be 63.7 meters tall. Not sure about Quantum, but Royal may play with retractable funnels again to make the port viable. It seems like currently only small ships sail the area, so Royal is trying to get a jump on the competition for what they believe will become a hot spot.
  

 

LOVE it! :D

[Tall-Cruiser]

Derek- interesting perspective. Has it been confirmed yet that they will build a Quantum 4? Who is further along with new terminal development, Miami or PC? With recent news about a new 6000 passenger terminal at PC one would expect to see an Oasis Class home port there first. Unless Miami is further along than we know and have kept it under wraps. Sometimes I do think with a names like Anthem, RCI could have her sail out of their own backyard next to their Head Quarters maybe even part of the year. Just a thought.

[TheDyesolKid]

Just as RCI thought out side of the box with the design of Quantum class, I am sure they will be thinking about the bigger picture with these ships.

 

After all the action is in Asia folks, and even Bloomberg and CNBC say that . Reason ?? There are more real middle class in Asia already :rolleyes: , than the whole population of the USA and Canada.

 

And from previous posts here , QOS goes North when AOS comes into service and takes over the QOS timetable . Thats a Fact ;)

 

.

[TheDyesolKid]

And lets not forget the Panama Canal expansion project

Wiki Panama_Canal_expansion_project

 

And someone can work out from this if Oasis Class or Quantum Class will fit through the Updated Canal .

 

Post / New Panamax Container Ships are going to be huge

Wiki/Panamax#Post-Panamax_ships

.

[smoosh21]

And lets not forget the Panama Canal expansion project

Wiki Panama_Canal_expansion_project

 

And someone can work out from this if Oasis Class or Quantum Class will fit through the Updated Canal .

 

Post / New Panamax Container Ships are going to be huge

Wiki/Panamax#Post-Panamax_ships

.

 

Nope, Oasis is way too tall. The canal is getting wider, but the bridges over it are not getting taller. The great belt bridge is 65 meters and she barely fit, Bridge the the Americas is only 61.3 meters.