Royal Caribbean sending a 2nd ship to Los Angeles in lieu of China, taking part in port RFP

The Quantum-class Ovation will debut May 28 next year on three-, five and six-night cruises from Los Angeles.

Ovation, a bigger, newer ship, will join Navigator of the Seas, which has operated from LA since summer 2022. After wrapping up its current Alaska season, Ovation will head to Australia for a season of Sydney-based cruises until April 2025 before redeploying to California. 

Instead of China

The ship had been announced to sail from Tianjin, China starting in May next year. 

Royal Caribbean said it's pleased with the performance of Spectrum of the Seas in Shanghai and remains committed to the China market. But Navigator of the Seas' 'overperformance' in Los Angeles drove the change in plans. 

'Los Angeles is a key growth market for us,' a company spokesperson said, 'and demand continues to increase there as new infrastructure at key ports is allowing us to bring newer hardware to the region and offer compelling West Coast itineraries.'

Built in 2016, Ovation has capacity for 4,905 passengers. The 4,000-passenger Navigator is a Voyager-class ship built in 2002 that underwent a $115m 'amplification' in 2019.

Announced on Utopia of the Seas

Royal Caribbean President/CEO Michael Bayley and SVP Sales Vicki Freed broke the news Tuesday during a 'Common Ground' session for travel partners on the newly inaugurated Utopia of the Seas.

'You better sell the hell out of this ship,' Bayley told travel advisors, who cheered at the news. 'And if you do well with that, we'll send you an Icon,' he added.

Amy Madson, a Dream Vacations franchisee based in Orlando, Florida, told Seatrade Cruise News her California clients will be 'jumping for joy to have a new ship out there.'

Port of Los Angeles RFP

Separately, Bayley confirmed to Seatrade that Royal Caribbean Group would be participating with other cruise companies in a proposal to the Port of Los Angeles for the construction and operation of a new Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal and redevelopment and operation of the World Cruise Center.

'We are working with other cruise companies in the process of responding with that,' Bayley said, adding: 'Around the world we cooperate with other cruise companies on many other projects — Carnival, NCL, MSC — if it benefits the industry and it benefits us. It's not unusual [to do that] in key ports like Los Angeles.'