Deployment 2024-25 booking season begins

[little britain]

40 minutes ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

Doubt it will be a revenue sailing - that would need 4 or more weeks - they do not have time for that!

When is first scheduled Singapore sailing? 

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, little britain said:

Friend on Anthem today asked same… told going on sale in October. No further details.

 

Kerping my calendar 📅 clear!! 

 

Waiting and watching like a hawk. 

[VersaliusPrimus]

10 hours ago, little britain said:

Friend on Anthem today asked same… told going on sale in October. No further details.

 

Kerping my calendar 📅 clear!! 

Do you mean Singapore sailings for 2024-2025 will go on sale in October?  They were listed on the release schedule document as the week of July 23rd, but that line has since disappeared.  Does the switch from the Spectrum OTS necessitate a review of itineraries for 3 months, even though the replacement ship is likely the same class?  

 

I don't really expect anyone here to have these answers, just wondering "out loud" as it were.

[springaussie]

11 minutes ago, VersaliusPrimus said:

Do you mean Singapore sailings for 2024-2025 will go on sale in October?  They were listed on the release schedule document as the week of July 23rd, but that line has since disappeared.  Does the switch from the Spectrum OTS necessitate a review of itineraries for 3 months, even though the replacement ship is likely the same class?  

 

I don't really expect anyone here to have these answers, just wondering "out loud" as it were.

I am starting to think Spectrum cruises could have a target on them for sales and charters in China. 
If the target isn’t meet plan B for Anthem and Spectrum happens. 

[VersaliusPrimus]

2 hours ago, springaussie said:

I am starting to think Spectrum cruises could have a target on them for sales and charters in China. 
If the target isn’t meet plan B for Anthem and Spectrum happens. 

This would explain the multi-month delay in releasing the Singapore sailings.  If demand for Spectrum sailings exceeds supply, supplement that supply with Anthem sailings.  Otherwise, Anthem maintains separate itineraries out of Singapore while Spectrum serves Hong Kong and/or Shanghai.  

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, VersaliusPrimus said:

This would explain the multi-month delay in releasing the Singapore sailings. 

It is normal for sailings in Asia to be released much later than the rest of the world - sometimes as little as 6 months out.

[Ethanol95]

21 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

It is normal for sailings in Asia to be released much later than the rest of the world - sometimes as little as 6 months out.

Yes, Asia is usually one of the last, with the shortest lead time to book generally. 

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, springaussie said:

I am starting to think Spectrum cruises could have a target on them for sales and charters in China. 
If the target isn’t meet plan B for Anthem and Spectrum happens. 

I bet my last Diamond drink that Spectrum won’t be doing very well in Shanghai.

The economy there is in free fall .
Anyone with money has one foot on an airplane and the other on a banana skin.

[little britain]

8 hours ago, VersaliusPrimus said:

Do you mean Singapore sailings for 2024-2025 will go on sale in October?  They were listed on the release schedule document as the week of July 23rd, but that line has since disappeared.  Does the switch from the Spectrum OTS necessitate a review of itineraries for 3 months, even though the replacement ship is likely the same class?  

 

I don't really expect anyone here to have these answers, just wondering "out loud" as it were.

No; it is the one off Anthem repo from Southampton to Singapore in October 2024 that is meant to be going on sale in October 2023

Edited July 18, 2023 by little britain

[geoff2802]

4 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I bet my last Diamond drink that Spectrum won’t be doing very well in Shanghai.

The economy there is in free fall .
Anyone with money has one foot on an airplane and the other on a banana skin.

Yeah, the biggest issue is that their property bubble has burst, leaving a huge inventory of unsold properties together with insolvent property developers and banks.  The problem has been growing for years.  

[twangster]

8 hours ago, VersaliusPrimus said:

This would explain the multi-month delay in releasing the Singapore sailings.  If demand for Spectrum sailings exceeds supply, supplement that supply with Anthem sailings.  Otherwise, Anthem maintains separate itineraries out of Singapore while Spectrum serves Hong Kong and/or Shanghai.  

 

Celebrity has offered that 77% of short term cruises are booked < 6 months from sail date.

 

Singapore is mostly a short cruise market.  While not all Singapore cruises are 3/4/5 nights, the majority are.  Short cruise markets typically book on shorter notice compared to the traditional cruise market.  Consequently there is no hurry to release them this far in advance.

 

[cruisin from florida]

12 hours ago, Biker19 said:

It is normal for sailings in Asia to be released much later than the rest of the world - sometimes as little as 6 months out.

I booked our spring 2025 Japan cruise on Celebrity in February. Looking forward to more interesting Royal itineraries opening up.

[Chiliburn]

6 hours ago, geoff2802 said:

Yeah, the biggest issue is that their property bubble has burst, leaving a huge inventory of unsold properties together with insolvent property developers and banks.  The problem has been growing for years.  

Royal Caribbean has probably been reading there governments economic forecasts.

Actually ,  Royal’s sales department and the ccp have a lot in common.
They both make you scratch your head trying to make sense out of it and nothing adds up.

[Biker19]

14 minutes ago, cruisin from florida said:

Looking forward to more interesting Royal itineraries opening up.

I wouldn't expect anything too exciting on Spectrum from Shanghai/Hong Kong (same as they had pre-COVID). And assume Anthem will be doing the same itineraries Spectrum did from Singapore.

[firefly333]

On 7/12/2023 at 8:03 PM, Tree_skier said:

 

I can't imagine booking any further out than this!!!  I've had this booked for 5 months so at one time it said 750 days!  

I've got april 2025 booked. I booked a month or so ago.  Southern ABC islands.  Price has gone up since I booked. I think that's why booking so strong, people are afraid to wait. Insides start over $1100 pp now, was below $1000 only a month ago.  

[StanleyandGus]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I've got april 2025 booked

Is that the 10 day Enchantment cruise? We have also booked this. 

[Dakotastar]

New ships...

 

Why if the ships are being built in Europe are there no trans Atlantic sailings to the US? I remember that the Freedom class ships had them.

[firefly333]

15 minutes ago, StanleyandGus said:

Is that the 10 day Enchantment cruise? We have also booked this. 

No it's the 8 day adventure  abc southern. Seems very popular. I havent seen B, so booked it. Bonaire. 

[StanleyandGus]

30 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

No it's the 8 day adventure  abc southern. Seems very popular. I havent seen B, so booked it. Bonaire. 

Oh well, I was hoping to meet you- maybe at some time.

[Jumping Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Dakotastar said:

New ships...

 

Why if the ships are being built in Europe are there no trans Atlantic sailings to the US? I remember that the Freedom class ships had them.

 

Quite often ships aren’t fully ready when they leave the shipyard. It is common for Royal employees to board and act as test passengers while the final finishing touches are made on the journey across the pond.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Jumping Cruiser

[Another_Critic]

31 minutes ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

 

Quite often ships aren’t fully ready when they leave the shipyard. It is common for Royal employees to board and act as test passengers while the final finishing touches are made on the journey across the pond.

Quantum wasn't fully ready, but they did an 8 day non-stop* TA as the maiden voyage. 

 

Issues with Two70 tech, Bionic bar mishaps, Northstar elevator used as a storage closet, deck 15 men's room used as a storage closet, workers running cables, etc.

 

I still enjoyed the cruise.

 

* Actually had a med evac stop at Ponta Delgada.

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Another_Critic

[VersaliusPrimus]

12 hours ago, little britain said:

No; it is the one off Anthem repo from Southampton to Singapore in October 2024 that is meant to be going on sale in October 2023

Thanks for the clarification!  So the Singapore season itself could open up at a different time, although it is still unclear when since they removed it from the opening schedule.

 

8 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Celebrity has offered that 77% of short term cruises are booked < 6 months from sail date.

 

Singapore is mostly a short cruise market.  While not all Singapore cruises are 3/4/5 nights, the majority are.  Short cruise markets typically book on shorter notice compared to the traditional cruise market.  Consequently there is no hurry to release them this far in advance.

 

I do remember reading that vacations longer than 5 days are uncommon in Singapore, so it makes sense for the associated sailings to be about that length.  Combined with the statistic from Celebrity, it makes sense from the business side to wait, watch the market and make any adjustments to maximize revenue.  As a consumer who likes to plan out vacations years in advance, though, the wait to even know the dates for certain sailings (assuming itineraries will be identical to the Spectrum) is a little disappointing. 

We're booked on cruises for 2024 and 2025, and have watched the cruise fares continue to rise.  We wonder what the base cruise fare will be another 3 months from now?  Add on top of that the rising airfare and vacations to Asia from North America are getting very pricey.  😞    

[twangster]

2 hours ago, VersaliusPrimus said:

We're booked on cruises for 2024 and 2025, and have watched the cruise fares continue to rise.  We wonder what the base cruise fare will be another 3 months from now?  Add on top of that the rising airfare and vacations to Asia from North America are getting very pricey.  😞 

 

Perhaps that is why they wait.  Opening new bookings too early may lead to price differences later on.  Waiting allows them to set opening rates based on current market factors.

[FionaMG]

There's an Anthem sailing showing up from Singapore for December 2024. Maybe a test load, indicating release some time next week???

 

[mugtech]

6 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

There's an Anthem sailing showing up from Singapore for December 2024. Maybe a test load, indicating release some time next week???

 

Starting overpriced same start for Spectrum.