Aussies respond on to Royal Caribbean’s winter cruising plans with a big “Yes!”

Cruise Passenger readers always have plenty to say about what’s going on in Australian cruise, and in the broader cruise community. This week, they sound off about winter cruising.

After fresh rumours emerged about Royal Caribbean potentially beginning year-round sailings in Australia, many Aussie cruisers were excited. However, that excitement comes with a catch.

If Royal Caribbean were to begin year-round sailings in Australia, it would be to commemorate the opening of their new private beach at Lelepa in Vanuatu. This new project will be the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and is an exciting development for Aussie cruise.

However, when cruisers excitement slightly wanes is in the idea that all sailings will now go directly to Lelepa, rather than visiting different places around Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Itineraries for Lelepa’s first season already suggest that this is the direction where Royal Caribbean is heading, with more than 60% of sailings visiting Lelepa, and most of the other cruises being shorter three-day cruises to nowhere.

Therefore, if Royal Caribbean were to go year-round and add winter sailings, it’s extremely likely that the vast majority of these would head to Lelepa, and while Aussies are desperate for more winter cruise options, they’re not thrilled on the idea of all the possible itineraries looking so similar to each other.

Australians are known to be loyal repeat-cruisers, who love returning to the same ship or cruise line to try out different destinations and sailings. This could become a problem for Aussie Royal Caribbean fans who may be faced with a situation where their favourite line is finally here year-round, but nearly every single sailing is the same.

Steve Simmons says he’d love a trip to Lelepa, but would like to see other destinations as well.

“Best time to go…”

“Winter cruising to the tropics? Definitely. Best time to go. Lelepa will be a nice change as once you have cruised the South Pacific a few times you have seen all the ports. 

“Desperately wish Royal would Cruise from Fremantle (Perth) and could sail one way to Bali wish stops at Exmouth and Broome etc. I would happily do that trip a couple of times a year.”

Susan Gavin said she’d visit Lelepa, but just once.

“We would definitely book Royal but if they don’t expand the destinations to include FNQ, Darwin, Singapore etc it would probably be a once only.”

Kim Mofitt added: “This would be fantastic as the tropics are a lot nicer in the winter, however I agree with others we need more itineraries and other places to visit.

“After four cruises around the pacific they need to go further into the pacific and visit other places rather than just Vanuatu and Noumea. Maybe bring back a smaller ship so you can go to smaller ports.”

Julie Ives said she’d love a winter cruise as its the perfect time to sail north.

Definitely…we need another cruise line beside Carnival for our winter cruises. Perfect time to visit Darwin and maybe our northern neighbours!”

John Gerken says he’d like winter sailings, but isn’t keen for the resort type experience that Lelepa seems set to offer.

“Love to chase the sun over winter but RCL ships are too big and if I just wanted to sit near a pool or a beach I’d have a week at Coffs Harbour. I want proper ports where ships can dock.”

Charlotte Schut added: “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.

“Better itineraries needed also. Would love to visit Samoa, Tonga, Rarotonga (cook islands).

“Cruises to Tasmania, Perth or even a round Australia trip from Brisbane.”

Lindsay Jane added: “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.”

We still don’t know how Aussies will respond to Lelepa. It could lead to a new wave of first-time cruisers, leaving Royal unbothered about maintaining all their repeat cruisers. However, it’s also potential that a mixed reaction could leave Royal having to re-think itineraries, whether that means looking into other regions as well, or expanding sailings deeper into the Pacific.

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