Western Canadian travel advisors will be happy to learn that Royal Caribbean will base a second ship -- Ovation of the Seas -- in Los Angeles in 2025. RCI will also join other cruise lines in an RFP to develop new cruise terminals at the port.
The news was announced during a press briefing aboard Utopia of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International’s 28th ship. The Quantum-class Ovation will debut in California May 28 next year, offering three, five and six-night cruises.
Currently, the 4,000-passenger Navigator of the Seas is the only RCI ship sailing from LA. Built in 2002, it was brought up to date with a US$115 million ‘amplification’ in 2019. Ovation is a bigger and newer ship, with capacity for 4,905 passengers. Navigator made Los Angeles its home in 2022, and company officials say it has performed so well that a second ship made business sense.
Previous plans had Ovation sailing from Tianjin, China, beginning in May, 2025.
Currently on the Alaska run, Ovation will cruise to Australia and offer voyages from Sydney through April of next year, before heading to California.
RCI President and CEO Michael Bayley. (Photo Credit: Gordon Searle)
Royal Caribbean President/CEO Michael Bayley and SVP Sales Vicki Freed announced the news during a 'Common Ground' session for travel partners on Utopia, which held its naming ceremony the previous day.
West coast travel advisors cheered at the announcement. “You better sell the hell out of this ship,” Bayley told the audience. “And if you do well with that, we'll send you an Icon,” Bayley said to more cheers.
Bayley also confirmed that Royal Caribbean Group would participate in an RFP to the Port of Los Angeles for the construction and operation of a new Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal and redevelopment of the World Cruise Center.
“We are working with other cruise companies in the process of responding with that,” Bayley said.
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