Updates on Sovereign and Monarch (merged)

[marilynbn]

Here's info I received today. Marilyn

 

 

MIAMI -- October 12, 2007 -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced today that Royal Caribbean

International’s® Sovereign of the Seas® will be reassigned to the company’s Pullmantur fleet, and the Los

Angeles-based Monarch of the Sea® will assume Sovereign of the Seas®’ sailings out of Port Canaveral. These

changes will take place in October and November 2008.

“We are fortunate that our mix of brands allows us the flexibility and opportunity to expand in key strategic

markets and to diversify in existing ones,” said Royal Caribbean International® President and CEO Adam

Goldstein. “We thank our partners at the ports of Los Angeles, Ensenada, Catalina and San Diego for our

outstanding and ongoing relationship. We look forward to providing our Monarch of the Seas® guests with

exceptional vacations as we visit those locations through next fall.”

Sovereign of the Seas’® last scheduled sailing for Royal Caribbean International® will be on October 31, 2008.

Two subsequent cruises, scheduled for November 3 and 7, will be canceled, and guests booked on those

cruises will receive a full refund and an onboard credit for rebooking an earlier Sovereign of the Seas®

sailing during 2008 (excluding holidays). All rebookings must be made by December 31, 2007. All guests

currently booked on Sovereign of the Seas® on or after November 10, 2008, will be re-accommodated

onboard Monarch of the Seas®.

Monarch of the Seas® will make its last regularly scheduled sailing out of Los Angeles on October 13, 2008.

All guests currently booked on a subsequent sailing will receive a full refund and an onboard credit for

rebooking a three, four or five-night Caribbean sailing, or a seven-night Mexican Riviera sailing, onboard

Royal Caribbean International® in 2008 (excluding holidays). All rebookings must be made by December 31, 2007.

On October 17, 2008, Monarch of the Seas® will reposition to the East Coast when it departs Los Angeles on

a 16-night Panama Canal cruise to Miami. The ship will then undergo a scheduled, weeklong dry-dock before

welcoming its first Port Canaveral guests for three and four-night Bahamas sailings starting November 10, 2008.

Royal Caribbean International has established a special help desk to assist its guests and travel agents

impacted by these changes. The toll free phone number is 1-888-281-9344.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL® SHIP TO PULLMANTUR;

[crazy 4 cruising]

Just because they did not announce a replacement for the Monarch yet, doesn't mean they won't replace her with another ship... After all it's been no secret that SOS was leaving Port Canaveral for some time now, causing much speculation about 3 and 4 day cruises out of there... and today we have the answer to the Port Canaveral question.

 

I doubt they are going to leave the west coast short cruise market to Carnival alone...

 

rccl sure is leaving ALOT of time for carnival in galveston. we who sail out of galveston feel y'all's pain about having less to pick from. we are still waiting to see what will happen. we went from 2-a full time 7 day and part time (4 and 5 day) ships to only a part time 7day ship. no clue as to what rccl is thinking

[critterchick]

that 10 day gap is just right for the Panama Canal sailing from west coast to FLA.

 

Rhapsody will be done in Alaska next year. We were hoping to get her back perminantly in Galveston, who knows, she might become a resident of the Left Coast

 

I think PH was talking about a Sovereign cruise, not Monarch. And Monarch's repo will be 16 nights, per the press release.

 

Rhapsody is supposed to do Australia/New Zealand after Alaska next year. But we would welcome her (or any other ship, for that matter) with open arms on the 3-4 night runs!

[PH8]

I was indeed talking about the SS,Jean...:)

[lawsoncd3]

Wow... I took my hubby on a surprise cruise on the Monarch in May of '07 for his birthday. I'm sad to see her go, but I do hope RCI will replace Monarch for 3-4 night cruises with another ship of another class. MOS was a fun ship! I have many fond memories of that cruise!! I'm hopeful that RCI will place another ship (another class ship) in San Pedro that will offer us on the west coast another cruising experience and give us the opportunity to have memories of a different nature.

 

D :)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I would love a Vision Class ship out in LA. I hope they bring one. We would have more balcony options other than the JS. Let's just hope!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I am also very upset by this turn of events. I can squeeze in a long weekend cruise occasionally, but not a 7 night! I really hope the Monarch is replaced with a Vision Class ship. Otherwise, my long weekends will be spent at Rocky Point (Mex) or in the mountains for now on! I have only been on the Monarch twice, but was already in love with her. I just about had my SIL talked into joining me on CPRN's annual girl's cruise in Dec. '08, too!:(

[cruzr4vr]

We just booked the 10/13/2008 FINAL (oh nooooo) MOS cruise in Los Angeles. When she docks in San Pedro for the last time on 10/17/2008 she will take on passengers for a 16 night Panama Canal cruise. I know Vision is leaving for the Caribbean after its 2008 season and I know when Mariner arrives in LA..maybe they'll bring a Radiance class over to LA. They are bigger then the Soverign Class (Monarch is in this class), somewhat newer..but the one thing that I will miss from the Monarch is the crew which is the best, friendliest crew I have found and they keep on coming back to the Monarch to work.

[dagadget]

I just got the press release also. Glad to see that RCI is keeping a 3/4 day ship in Port C. Hope this an indication for support of the port overall. I have been pretty vocal on Cruise Critic on the inmportance of the port -- I have also sent some correspondence to RCI. Seems like there is pretty short gap here -- SOS's last sailing is October 31, 2008 and the Monarch's first sailing is November 10.

 

The support for PC is going to be there. I just read something about a new lounge for Crown and Anchor cruisers going in at PC. With the quick call and timing on Sovereign being replaced with Monarch that point is obvious. The timing on a Mariner replacement is still up in the air while RCI awaits the new builds to be completed and sea trials done before announcing anything on a Mariner replacement. This brings back memories on our sorrow on losing Mariner. I think the Left coasters are now feeling a little of the right coasters sorrows. Mariner was always full out of PC and Monarch was almost always full out west. Keeping a full ship does not always ensure a stable home port........

[janabelle61]

We're booked for this Jan, I wonder if I can talk my DH into squeezing One more cruise on our ol' friend before she leaves in Oct. Maybe we can book for September. That's 8 months apart...........that's do-able!!! :p

 

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm sailing Monarch for the first time on the 1/25 sailing and have been seriously thinking about booking another weekend on her next September because of the rave reviews for the ship and crew on this board. Now I think it's going to be essential!

[TravlGrl]

Looking for some feedback since RCCL is now closed. Of course I will call them in the morning for clarification, but anyway...

 

I am one of the cruisers impacted by the Monarch move. My Dec 2008 sailing has been canceled. I called the Re-Deployment department and spent a good 20 minutes on the phone with the rep (name is Greg; super nice and helpful!). Anyway, he gave me two options for re-booking:

 

Option 1

Follow the Monarch to Orlando on my sail dates (New Years Eve), and sail from there instead, same cabin category, same price as I had paid. Of course the cost of air to Orlando is significantly higher, and we're not interested in flying across the country for only a 4-night cruise; we have spent way too much time doing the Disney thing in the past, so to add a land vacation to the trip to justify the long flight makes no sense for us.

 

Option 2

Sail on Vision out of L.A. to the Mexican Riviera on a 7-night instead -- again same cabin category, same price as I paid, and the New Years Eve sailing. To me, this is a no brainer! 7 nights vs 4 nights for the same price?

 

Additionally, we are being given a $100 OBC.

 

We chose Option 2. Greg (the VPC) said that the other 5 people traveling with us will have the same options we will have, but that our other friends (we literally have about 10 other people who just didn't book yet) will not get the same price guarantee we got. I totally understand that, and it's unfortunate that they didn't book sooner.

 

When i received my revised email confirmation, it showed that my cruise fare is the expensive going rate and that I have a gazillion dollars left owing, not the few dollars I should have left owing. It is showing me as being charged for the current going rate.

 

RCCL offices are closed now, and I will call them tomorrow, but do you think my VPC made a bad mistake and really can't honor the price? When I read the press release, it appears my VPC made a mistake. However, he was adamant and positive that he gets to honor my old pricing.

 

What would you do? How would you handle if you were making the phone call tomorrow?

[tx121]

I wouldnt worry about it, it probably is a technical procedure that has to be done before the real price of the cruise shows. I would give it a couple of days to process and then check on the balance. This happened to me once and it just took a short time to adjust the pricing. I'm sure there's a note put on the reservation about the change in cruise. If not, contact the office--couldnt hurt.

[shipknotshore]

DH & I were just talking about booking another Monarch cruise tonight - before I read this thread - I guess we will do it now for sure. We really will miss the Monarch. I can't imagine that RCI would discontinue the 3/4 night sailings - they are so popular. I hope that they at least bring in the Vision as Monarchs replacement...although a Radiance class ship would be my 1st choice....one can dream.:rolleyes:

[rclcruzer]

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm sailing Monarch for the first time on the 1/25 sailing and have been seriously thinking about booking another weekend on her next September because of the rave reviews for the ship and crew on this board. Now I think it's going to be essential!

Well janabelle61, I think we are booking for August 08. I was at dinner tonight with our best friend that we cruise the Monarch with and they want an "excuse" for one more, and they want us to come along with them for their anniversary cruise. I say YES!! How nice of them!! :D

[TravlGrl]

I wouldnt worry about it, it probably is a technical procedure that has to be done before the real price of the cruise shows. I would give it a couple of days to process and then check on the balance. This happened to me once and it just took a short time to adjust the pricing. I'm sure there's a note put on the reservation about the change in cruise. If not, contact the office--couldnt hurt.

 

I am really hoping you're right! :) I am having visions (ha, no pun!) of my friends calling to make the switch from our canceled sailing to the Vision sailing and being told it's not $484 (our original Monarch pricing), but it's $939 instead. None of them will pay that...and it would be likely that we would cancel the whole thing completely and not sail at all over NYE 2008 if we couldn't do it from the West Coast like planned. Ack! I need to stop that visual and just believe that when I call tomorrow they will give the same pricing like the VPC said. I really would like to talk to him direct, but I don't think he works on Saturday; I may get someone else. :(

[TravlGrl]

double post :(

[cruisePRN]

snce you're talking about a cruise that's over a year away i don't you'll get price protection. When we were in a similar situation booked on the Rhapsody they gave us $200 OBC to switch to the Voyager for the rate the voyager was charging. I think you were offered $100 because it's a four nighter and not a full week.

[cruisePRN]

I would love a Vision Class ship out in LA. I hope they bring one. We would have more balcony options other than the JS. Let's just hope!

 

I agree, and the cabin sizes are way better on Vision. Ginny, Next years girls cruise will hopefully be on a new ship :D

[TravlGrl]

snce you're talking about a cruise that's over a year away i don't you'll get price protection. When we were in a similar situation booked on the Rhapsody they gave us $200 OBC to switch to the Voyager for the rate the voyager was charging. I think you were offered $100 because it's a four nighter and not a full week.

 

Not sure I totally understand what you're saying...but it could just be that I've been staring at my computer screen too long. :confused:

 

We were offered price protection on two cruises -- follow the Monarch to Orlando or switch to the Vision -- both at the same price in the same cabin categories. We picked one of those two options. The RCCL rep re-booked it for us. When we got the new confirmation though, it wasn't at the price he told us it would be, and now it's too late to call back.

 

I'll know the real answer tomorrow when I call, but I'm really saddened that there is NO OTHER West Coast New Year's option for this canceled itinerary! :(

[cruisePRN]

what I'm saying is that i think you'll have to pay the higher price, sorry. Let us know how it turns out. Unfortunatly the RCL phone reps aren't as knowlegable as they could be and I think he made a boo boo. I think you're new confirmation was correct with the new price, but i hope not for your sake. This identical scenario happened to me with the Rhapsody which was redeployed to Asia from Galveston TX.

[TravlGrl]

what I'm saying is that i think you'll have to pay the higher price, sorry. Let us know how it turns out. Unfortunatly the RCL phone reps aren't as knowlegable as they could be and I think he made a boo boo. I think you're new confirmation was correct with the new price, but i hope not for your sake. This identical scenario happened to me with the Rhapsody which was redeployed to Asia from Galveston TX.

 

Ack! Ok. I hope not. If that's the case and he did mess up, that means our entire sailing's only re-booking option is to follow the Monarch to Orlando for the 4-nighter over New Year's. That's just not an option for us to fly across the country for such a short cruise. We will be really bummed since there are 7 of us, and we had another 10+ who were planning book together. Everyone on our trip is a newbie but us, and I hope this doesn't scare them away from cruising. This kind of stuff happens, I guess, but I'm just disappointed with the lack of options as a result.

 

Will report back tomorrow for sure!

[Cuizer2]

I am curious as to what, if anything, will replace the Monarch. She almost always sails full.:confused:

 

That is because it has been highly discounted. I just booked a cabin on the Monarch for $250 less than a similar cabin on the Paradise, for the same day and itinerary.

[Cuizer2]

We just booked the 10/13/2008 FINAL (oh nooooo) MOS cruise in Los Angeles. When she docks in San Pedro for the last time on 10/17/2008 she will take on passengers for a 16 night Panama Canal cruise. I know Vision is leaving for the Caribbean after its 2008 season and I know when Mariner arrives in LA..maybe they'll bring a Radiance class over to LA. They are bigger then the Soverign Class (Monarch is in this class), somewhat newer..but the one thing that I will miss from the Monarch is the crew which is the best, friendliest crew I have found and they keep on coming back to the Monarch to work.

 

I am sure that RCI is not going to replace the Monarch with a Radiance class ship. Most likely a Vision class ship will come over - if anything does.

[Cuizer2]

The Monarch pretty much sails full. This may just be a gap period while RCI decides what second ship to send out here.

 

That is because it is highly discounted. I just booked a cabin on the Monarch for $250 less than a similar cabin on the Paradise for the same day and itinerary.

[critterchick]

IME the JS & up cabins always seem to sell out early without discounting, so perhaps RCI figures they can make more money on a ship with more balcony cabins. Hope springs eternal.