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Updates on Sovereign and Monarch (merged)

eroller

By eroller,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

Posted
Posted
To be honest I would not be surprised to hear that RCI has changed their mind and they are now sending the Monarch to Europe as well. I say this because everytime I talk to someone at RCI about the Monarch they tell me something different. From what I gather they have had various meetings and keep on changing their minds about the Monarch.

 

One day I would not be surprised that we only have the large class ships here. We in the US tend to want newer, bigger and better all the time. I see RCI's point of view in sending the smaller ships over. Plus you have to keep in mind some of the ports in Europe need a smaller ship to navigate the waters.

 

Now where will this leave us here in USA. Hopefully still with the short cruises.

 

Just some thought for food.

 

Big ships can do a short cruise, as the Navigator is doing.

 

Big ships can go to Europe, such as the Voyager and I believe the Independence will begin its career in Europe also.

 

The Sovereign is 19 years old. RCI is adding one ship per year from 2006 through 2010. That is five very large ships. The two Genesis ships will hold as many people as four Sovereign class ships. RCI needs to have demand be just a bit more than supply, or the price drop will hit the bottom line (as NCL found out in Hawaii). Naturally the oldest ships will be the first to go.

 

Do corporations change their minds? Yes. I worked for a big one that did exactly that. It was kind of embarrassing for the home office folks to be called on it, but about eighteen months after making a big change, the company undid it.

 

Speaking of undoing changes, remember the big one? Do the terms "Old Coke" and "New Coke" bring back any memories?

 

Don't be surprised if all three Sovereign class ships get sent to Spain.

 

So what does all this mean? I have no idea, but it looks good, so I'm not going to delete it.

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SherriZ366

SherriZ366

Posted
Posted

Do corporations change their minds? Yes. I worked for a big one that did exactly that. It was kind of embarrassing for the home office folks to be called on it, but about eighteen months after making a big change, the company undid it.

 

.

Saw RCI change its mind about positioning Enchantment out of Tampa for this fall/winter/spring season but they then repositioned her to continue to sail out of Fort Lauderdale. These would have been 4 and 5 night cruises. I have heard that this change was due to the ship's lengthening but don't knwo whether the ship is unable to get under the Sunshine Skyway bridge or is too big to turn around in the turning basin.

 

Cruise companies have the flexibility to quickly pull tonnage from a market. After 9/11, RCI and other companies positioned ships at home ports that were convenient to folks who wanted to drive due to fear of flying.

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Jsme

Jsme

Posted
Posted
Just some thought for food.

 

Big ships can do a short cruise, as the Navigator is doing.

 

Big ships can go to Europe, such as the Voyager and I believe the Independence will begin its career in Europe also.

 

The Sovereign is 19 years old. RCI is adding one ship per year from 2006 through 2010. That is five very large ships. The two Genesis ships will hold as many people as four Sovereign class ships. RCI needs to have demand be just a bit more than supply, or the price drop will hit the bottom line (as NCL found out in Hawaii). Naturally the oldest ships will be the first to go.

 

Do corporations change their minds? Yes. I worked for a big one that did exactly that. It was kind of embarrassing for the home office folks to be called on it, but about eighteen months after making a big change, the company undid it.

 

Speaking of undoing changes, remember the big one? Do the terms "Old Coke" and "New Coke" bring back any memories?

 

Don't be surprised if all three Sovereign class ships get sent to Spain.

 

So what does all this mean? I have no idea, but it looks good, so I'm not going to delete it.

 

:D Well now that is great food for thought.

 

I agree with you about the Sovereign class ships. I do believe they will go to Europe/Spain.

 

You are correct about big ships and the small ships. I really think they will move all the smaller ships but I hope this does not mean they will do away with the shorter sailings.

 

As RCI keeps on getting the larger and larger ships I think they will replace the smaller ships with them in various ports.

 

I think we all need to realize it is about profit with them. Now imagine that? lol Like we do not realize this already, right? Of course they are going to move ships to new areas to offer more options to a broader range of people. Which of course means more profit. Kind of like them offering Asia ports now. More ports are what repeat cruises are wanting and constantly requesting. They want to see new places and with the new offerings this is satifiying more clients. Once again equalling more profile.

 

In the meantime, I hope that RCI does not forget us little people who just enjoying cruising no matter how long the cruise. Will they do this? They might try, but I think they would see a difference in revenue. I think there is still a profit in short cruising.

 

I truly am enjoying this thread. It is fun to read opinions and personal emotions. Kudos to everyone for keeping the thread nice and not naughty. ;)

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

Posted
Posted

I also am holding out hope for a Vision Class ship to do the Mexican Riviera. I love cruising and I find it so much more relaxing than a land vacation. It's the only way I can get DH to stop working & put down that cell phone, LOL! However I have a feeling that, for now, RCI is hoping that they will have a better chance of filling the Mariner consistently by having that as our only option. However, for us, there are two problems with that!

 

1) DH only has so much vacation time every year. Since I DO NOT want to go to the Mexican Riviera all the time for my one big vacation a year I will not be going on the Mariner all the time. However, for a weekend get away between our big vacations, the Monarch was a great solution!

 

2) There is a lot of competition for Mexican Riviera sailings. I recently booked a MR cruise for my mother & myself on the Golden Princess. While I have always been 'Loyal to Royal' I could not ignore a difference of $500 pp for the equivilent cabin category on a much newer ship! Besides the Vision & the Golden I could have also sailed on Carnival, the Dawn or the Oosterdam. Of all my choices the Vision was the most expensive. That will be a big factor in how easily they can fill a ship the size of the Mariner all the time. I booked that cruise just 4 months out. Now, if I had booked when itineraries were released, as I usually do, then the prices would have probably been more competitive.

 

I do hope our 3/4 day cruises are returned. In the meantime, my short cruises will be on land!:)

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logan1_2000

logan1_2000

Posted
Posted

Speaking of undoing changes, remember the big one? Do the terms "Old Coke" and "New Coke" bring back any memories?

 

Hey, watch it now, don't make me tell my fellow Atlantans you're trash talking the folks over on North Avenue! :D

 

Honestly, my favorite Coke memory that summer ('85) was at Phil Rizzuto Day in Yankee Stadium, they retired the Scooter's number and gave him all these gifts, and a full stadium boo'd when they introduced some Marketing Sr. Vp or something to bestow some gifts, including "A year's supply of Coke" and everyone yelled, "Which One?" Then Tom Seaver went to the mound against the Yankees and won his 300th career game. So have a Coke (Classic) and a smile and thanks for making me think of a happy time when I was young.

 

I like the Sovereign, sailed on her twice this year. I just hope we'll get a replacement in Port Canaveral for Bahamian cruises, maybe a Vision class--Enchantment would be nice when those Panamanian cruises are done, but that has no basis so don't go quoting it, just pure wishful thinking. Port Canaveral very easily drivable from metro Atlanta.

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emilygrace

emilygrace

Posted
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Another aspect of the Mariner being the only game in town for RCL is that its itinerary is the Mex. Riv. and not Baja, like the Monarch. I like Catalina and San Diego and want to be able to go to those places. I want to try the Mariner also, but it will not be going to these ports. I refuse to sail on Carnival (I'm sorry, just being honest), plus the Carnival itinerary doesn't include San Diego. I thought the 4 day Monarch itinerary was ideal, especially for DH, who doesn't like sea days. A lot of ports packed into a little cruise!

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mohavemommy

mohavemommy

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RCI maybe looking at short-term revenue, but for those of us who travel with children they are not looking at the long-term effects. My daughter loves to cruise and she is witnessing the lack of concern by this company to provide a ship here for the short cruises. Her cruising friends are trying to convince her that Carnival is the way to go now since they have two ships that provide short cruises from California. I believe that RCI started the Youth C&A program to get those future cruisers hooked on their company, but they weren't thinking of that when the decided to pull Monarch. They need to announce some sort of replacement... and do it quick!

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

Posted
Posted
RCI maybe looking at short-term revenue, but for those of us who travel with children they are not looking at the long-term effects. My daughter loves to cruise and she is witnessing the lack of concern by this company to provide a ship here for the short cruises. Her cruising friends are trying to convince her that Carnival is the way to go now since they have two ships that provide short cruises from California. I believe that RCI started the Youth C&A program to get those future cruisers hooked on their company, but they weren't thinking of that when the decided to pull Monarch. They need to announce some sort of replacement... and do it quick!

 

But if they get 150 children per cruise in San Pedro and 165 children per cruise in PC, RCI is still coming out ahead (I just made the numbers up for this example). Of course pulling a ship out of any market is going to have a negative effect on that market. The hope is that it will be more than offset by the positive effect it will have on the new market.

 

Los Angeles is gaining a ship from PC. It seems only fair that PC should gain a ship from Los Angeles. Otherwise, PC goes from two ships to zero.

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mohavemommy

mohavemommy

Posted
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Ah... but don't forget that just a mere 230 miles away from PC is Miami that does offer the same 3-4 cruise on the Majesty (virtually the same ship)... and now we left coast cruisers are left with only 3-4 day RCI options that we have to fly to... unless we want to drive 2500 miles.

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KidsBgon

KidsBgon

Posted
Posted

I just got of Enchantment of the seas we had over 250 kids on board! I had no idea I never saw them! It is amazing! Also we went to the loyalty ambassadors lounge to book our next cruise. Yes Sov. of the seas is leaving and Monarch is coming back to FL in Nov 2008 (yeepy) I loved her in 2002! He said it was b/c of their numbers with all the new ones being built they have to get rid of some! Not sure why?

We love SOS and will be sad to see her go. I love the smaller ships for the shorter cruises. WELCOME BACK MONARCH! Sorry for all of you out there who will miss her I did for 5 yrs.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Ah... but don't forget that just a mere 230 miles away from PC is Miami that does offer the same 3-4 cruise on the Majesty (virtually the same ship)... and now we left coast cruisers are left with only 3-4 day RCI options that we have to fly to... unless we want to drive 2500 miles.

 

2500 miles! Good grief, where did you get that from? I checked my atlas, it is only 14 inches. :)

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Jsme

Jsme

Posted
Posted
With both the Monarch & Majesty on the east coast, it'll be easier for them to be sent to Spain... Maybe we'll eventually see the Enchantment and Vision take over the Bahamas cruises.

 

I would love to do the Enchantment again. It is just not in the schedule right now since we can drive to PC or go on Carnival's JAX ship, JZX is even closer, but we are trying to get our cruise benefit level higher. It is a great ship!! It would be just wonderful if they would move her to PC.

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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Ah... but don't forget that just a mere 230 miles away from PC is Miami that does offer the same 3-4 cruise on the Majesty (virtually the same ship)... and now we left coast cruisers are left with only 3-4 day RCI options that we have to fly to... unless we want to drive 2500 miles.

 

Debbie, I don't have a dog in this fight (I'm in Philadelphia and would have to fly to Florida *or* L.A. to take the Monarch regardless), but as several other posters have stated: Miami may be a "mere" 230 miles farther south from Port Canaveral, but you lose a HUGE driving market from the southeastern U.S. when you add those four hours in the car.

 

My opinion (which is TOTALLY and UTTERLY useless until RC hires me as their Director of Ship Distribution :)) is that they will move a Vision class ship into the California market within 18 months. (probably on the short side of that timeline)

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Posted
Debbie, I don't have a dog in this fight (I'm in Philadelphia and would have to fly to Florida *or* L.A. to take the Monarch regardless), but as several other posters have stated: Miami may be a "mere" 230 miles farther south from Port Canaveral, but you lose a HUGE driving market from the southeastern U.S. when you add those four hours in the car.

 

My opinion (which is TOTALLY and UTTERLY useless until RC hires me as their Director of Ship Distribution :)) is that they will move a Vision class ship into the California market within 18 months. (probably on the short side of that timeline)

Four hours? :confused: Here in California we could make that drive in two hours! :rolleyes:
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