“The joy in traveling is meeting the LOCAL PEOPLE, going to local shops, seeing how people really live” – cruisers push back on Royal’s beach club

Cruise Passenger readers always have plenty to say about what’s going on in Australian cruise, and in the broader cruise community. In Your Say, Cruise Passenger looks at the issues our readers are writing to us about on our blogs, posts and newsletters. 

Royal Caribbean dropped a bombshell this week, announcing more details of their upcoming private destination at Lelepa in Vanuatu, as well as releasing the first-ever itineraries that will visit the new spot.

This marks a big change for Royal Caribbean, with now nearly all its itineraries set to visit Lelepa in the South Pacific, and the availability of domestic itineraries has been largely slashed.

While across the wider Royal Caribbean community there’s plenty of excitement, more seasoned Aussie cruisers have shown some initial pushback to the idea. Aussies have shared a range of thoughts, including that they’d rather visit local communities when they travel, that they’re worried about the weather and that they want more domestic cruises, rather than South Pacific ones.

Charlotte Schut said: “When I travel to another country its to experience their lifestyle and culture. I’m not interested in going to a Royal Caribbean-owned piece of land just to visit a private resort to sit by a pool and eat all day.

“I want to see the country and experience what it has to offer.

“Would love to visit Samoa, Tonga, Rarotonga (Cook Islands) or go on cruises to Tasmania, Perth or even a round Australia trip from Brisbane.”

Lindsay Jane said: “Royal have it wrong. People here want longer cruises with more variety and more ports. It’s not worth flying to Brisbane or Sydney for short cruises with only two port stops.”

Some appeared unexcited by the addition of Lelepa, simply viewing it as more South Pacific cruises.

Lisa Willard gave a more positive take: “It’s a beautiful-looking island! I went to Tranquillity Island, which is next door to it, yesterday. The Royal own part of it and the other end there is a small village of locals.

“The snorkeling next door was amazing. Here’s hoping they drop Noumea as a port & substitute Lelepa as a leaked itinerary I saw suggested.”

But Greg Madden said: “Disappointing cruise options out of Brisbane, there’s no New Zealand or Tasmania, just the same old Pacific Islands.

Scott Leonard added that the weather could be a concern: “Terrible situation. Lelepa (if it happens) will be another hit-and-miss tender stop, dependent on good weather that offers little more than beach chairs. 

“This will kill the Australian market for Royal.”

Todd Alistar was also concerned about the rain and would prefer different destinations “Let’s see what everyone thinks after December when it’s pouring rain.

“Let’s see more Tassie, Melbourne, Adelaide. Why not Brisbane to Sydney? Norfolk Island?”

Rodney Ormsby agrees: “Not happy with not having a Hobert sailing or other southern itineraries.”

Yvonne Gardner added: “Did they even ask any of us if we wanted a private fancy island?

“The joy in travelling is meeting the LOCAL PEOPLE, going into local shops, seeing how people really live etc.”

Dona Kennedy said: ” I have cruised annually with RC for years. I have no desire to go to an island or the South Pacific and no desire to do longer cruises so they have lost me as a customer.”

Victoria Tan feels there won’t be enough to do on Lelepa for kids.

“Terrible! I want to cruise to see places – there’s not enough to do on Lelepa to attract families like me with kids. If it were CoCo Cay, then it would be a completely different story, slides, lazy river, etc. None of the old Royal boats assigned to Australia has a slide!”

Other cruisers, like Matt Halloran, questioned the long-term sustainability of Lelepa.

“Lelepa will turn out to be a massive mistake. Royal will benefit from first-timers who will love the opportunity to visit the brand new shiny destination, but what then?

“When do those people want to do a second cruise? Third cruise? Will they want to visit the same spot again and again because that’s all that’s being offered? It will become stale within a few years.

“I give it maybe 5 years at the most. After that, it will largely become unsustainable for Royal’s current strategy.”

Sandy Beach said after visiting Royal Caribbean’s other private destinations in the Caribbean, she’s not too keen on the idea.

“After a stop at Labadee (Royal Caribbean’s private destination in Haiti) I for one won’t be interested in visiting Lelepa. I find these cruise line-owned private destinations so boring, fake and overpriced. 

“You get no feel for what the country you are visiting is really like, the locals are largely kept out & only a select few are let in.”

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