11 CCL ships out of FL - 3 in CA???

[Kurbanfan]

I talked to my PVP today and none of those people can figure out this move because she said that the Elation always sails as a full ship, the only thing they can figure is that Charelston gave Carnival an option to use the port that they could not turn down. The PVP said that Carnival has more ships leaving out of Florida that are not full then they do out of California, which I believe her on.

 

They are not selling out like they did a year or two ago........all the ships here on the West Coast are still showing that you can book 2 weeks out.....and that is at a reduced price........

That was unheard of a year ago.........they are not selling at a profit.........

My TA told me she wished more people would book it because of the itinerary........but she said they are not......

[Chacooe]

Agreed!!!!!!!! Lack of choices equals lack of interest equals Carnival slowly pulling out!!!!!!

 

But Carnival could change that by changing their ports. Their are other Mexican ports that they can go to on a regular basis, like Manzanillo, Acapulco and Ixtapa to name a few.

[Cuizer2]

I think though some of the lack of interest was that the itineraries got old after awhile. You can only do the Catalina/Ensenada route so many times (this is the biggest complaint from people on the West Coast). It would be nice if Carnival could offer a PNW cruise just to give us more choices. Or even a 5 day Mexican Riviera (besides Cabo and Ensenada). It really just comes down to lack of choices that's all.

 

For some (cold) reason, the Pacific Northwest is not very popular between November and March.

 

It takes a full day to get to Cabo. A day in Cabo and a full day back. That is four nights. Where else are you going to go? PV, Mazatlan, La Paz and Manzanillo are all two days away. That means you are up to six nights for two ports or five nights for one port.

 

The problem with California is there is nowhere to go.

[Chacooe]

Cabo was too far.....how would they be able to pull off a 5 dayer farther:confused:

 

Cabo is not that far, it is only 700 miles from the U S border.

[Kurbanfan]

For some (cold) reason, the Pacific Northwest is not very popular between November and March.

 

It takes a full day to get to Cabo. A day in Cabo and a full day back. That is four nights. Where else are you going to go? PV, Mazatlan, La Paz and Manzanillo are all two days away. That means you are up to six nights for two ports or five nights for one port.

 

The problem with California is there is nowhere to go.

 

I actually would love a 6 night to Cabo and La Paz........I even put that on my comment card the last 2 times I sailed on the Elation:D

[Cuizer2]

I even read on here that more Californians fly to Florida to cruise then vise versa......

 

What a surprise. More people from a state with a population of over 36,000,000 have more people flying to Florida than a state with a population of half that many has flying to California.

[Chacooe]

Out of Florida, ships can do Bahamas cruises, Eastern Carib., Western Carib., Southern Carib., and Canal partials. Maybe 50 different ports are possible.

Out or Ca. you get Mexico or Mexico, or Mexico. If they put in another half dozen ships they could do,,,,,,,,,,,Mexico!!:rolleyes::D

 

There are Alaska cruises and Hawaii cruises out of California as well, not just Mexico.

[Cuizer2]

But Carnival could change that by changing their ports. Their are other Mexican ports that they can go to on a regular basis, like Manzanillo, Acapulco and Ixtapa to name a few.

The Spirit does go to those ports. And the Spirit sails out of San Diego. What more do you want?

[Cuizer2]

The prices to sail on Carnival are not that much cheaoer maybe by $20.00, but that is besides the point. The East Coast has over 18 ships and the West Coast has 3, 2 of them going to the same ports in Mexico. Why didn't they move one out of Florida that has multiple ships instead of San Diego that only had ONE SHIP.

San Diego had two ships. The Spirit is still there.

[Chacooe]

Seems like if you reduce the prices enough, you can sail full even in this economy. Im sure its more than that. When RCL pulled Rhapsody out of Galveston, which always sailed full, we heard that Texans didnt spend as much on their sign and sail cards (I guess they smuggle more because they live close?). It wasnt that ships didnt sail full, it was how much spending onboard was.

 

Im sure there are other metrics they measure how profitable cruises are, but I know booze is a big one.

 

That is so true. Last year when I was getting on the Carnival Pride (which I loved) they caught a man bringing on 4 bottles of liquor in one suitcase and 2 bottles in another suitcase. What happened is one of the bottles broke and was leaking out of the suitcase so they opened it up and bingo he got caught. He flat out told them that he could not afford their high prices for drinks and that he always brought his own liquor to save money. It is a known fact that the ships do not make their money on the cabins but what people spend on board the ship.

[Cuizer2]

Cabo is not that far, it is only 700 miles from the U S border.

Cabo requires a full day to get to. One day there and another day back. That is four nights. All the other ports require two days. Thus either you sail for four days and get one port, or you go for six nights by sailing for three days and spending two days in port.

 

On top of which, a four night cruise to Cabo requires 1400 miles of fuel. A four night cruise to Cozumel from Miami only requires 1000 miles of fuel. That is a huge increase in fuel use going to Cabo vs. Cozumel. So even if each sells for the same price, the one in Florida makes more money.

 

There is a reason that Miami is the cruise capitol.

[yogi2929]

It depends on the itinerary........if I had the time and the money I could do a short cruise to Cabo monthly and never be bored.....

But I will never sail on the short cruise to Ensenada again and I have never had a desire to take a cruise ship to Catalina Island when we can just take a ferry across:p:D That one I never understood....

 

Mom and Sis were on a 4/day Paradise cruise a few weeks ago. It was cheaper to take Carnival to Catalina than it would have been for the Catalina Express and 1 night's hotel.

 

Years ago RCCL had a great 4/day itin - From LA to Catalina, Ensenada and San Diego.

[yogi2929]

San Diego had two ships. The Spirit is still there.

 

She is only here half the year. She is in Alaska during the summer.

[tootsiescurly]

I never said they shouldn't pull out if they were not making profit......

I live about 2 hours from San Diego.......the only way I found out about the Elation coming to San Diego to do the Cabo run was from being on cc.......I do know they had big billboards in San Diego right next to the port:rolleyes: That is the extent of their several marketing strategies that I am aware of........

But we all know there is much more to it then marketing.......

They have big billboards all over LA for the Splendor. We also are inundated with commercials on local TV for the Splendor.Apparently, they are not completely booked on most cruises.

 

They will keep the Spirit in San Diego because to cruise Alaska a ship must be a certain size. The newer ships are too big.

[Chacooe]

That sounds good. What itinerary would you suggest besides Mexico ports for a second ship out of San Diego?

 

Like I said there are other ports that they could go to, besides Cabo, PV or Matalan. They could go to Acapulco, Mananaillo or Ixtapa and others. They could also start a PNW cruise. They could stop in San Fransisco, Coo'sBay Oregon, Astoria Oregon, Portland Oregon, Vancouver Washington, Seattle Washington and other ports along the west coast.

[futaba951]

Kanye wanted me to tell you all that Caribbean cruises are better than cruises from CA. :p

[Cuizer2]

There are Alaska cruises and Hawaii cruises out of California as well, not just Mexico.

Very few cruises go to Alaska between November and March.

 

A round trip cruise to Hawaii requires 14 to 15 nights. Not to many people interested in that kind of time and money commitment. Which is why these cruises are offered by HAL and Princess. Both HAL and Princess are owned by Carnival, which means that if Carnival offers a round trip cruise to Hawaii, it is competing with itself.

 

Carnival does offer a couple of one way cruises to Hawaii, but they have to leave from or return to a foreign port. Plus there is the issue of one way airfare to deal with.

[Cuizer2]

They have big billboards all over LA for the Splendor. We also are inundated with commercials on local TV for the Splendor.Apparently, they are not completely booked on most cruises.

 

They will keep the Spirit in San Diego because to cruise Alaska a ship must be a certain size. The newer ships are too big.

Princess sends ships to Alaska that are bigger than the Splendor.

[Chacooe]

The Spirit does go to those ports. And the Spirit sails out of San Diego. What more do you want?

 

Yes they do, but only 3 or 4 times a year, not on a regular basis.

[Kurbanfan]

Mom and Sis were on a 4/day Paradise cruise a few weeks ago. It was cheaper to take Carnival to Catalina than it would have been for the Catalina Express and 1 night's hotel.

 

Years ago RCCL had a great 4/day itin - From LA to Catalina, Ensenada and San Diego.

 

 

Yes I can believe that! I have never seen those prices that low.... But I can't see getting on a cruise ship just to putt around and do circle

eights:p

When I can spend 3 compt days in Las Vegas for the same price basically.....I will still gamble at both venues, beer will be free in Vegas so that would compensate for the free food on the cruise ship........

As a matter of fact we used to do ski races from Newport to Catalina in when we were younger:p

[Cuizer2]

Like I said there are other ports that they could go to, besides Cabo, PV or Matalan. They could go to Acapulco, Mananaillo or Ixtapa and others. They could also start a PNW cruise. They could stop in San Fransisco, Coo'sBay Oregon, Astoria Oregon, Portland Oregon, Vancouver Washington, Seattle Washington and other ports along the west coast.

 

The Spirit goes to Acapulco, Ixtapa and Manzanillo from San Diego, so that one is already covered.

 

As to the Pacific Northwest, there would be very little interest in such an itinerary between October and April. Also, the ship would have to make at least one stop in Canada. So the ship could leave from San Francisco, hit up Astoria, Seattle, Vancouver and/or Victoria. But the only interest in such a cruise would be around June, July and August.

[Kurbanfan]

What a surprise. More people from a state with a population of over 36,000,000 have more people flying to Florida than a state with a population of half that many has flying to California.

 

I said I read on here....smart alec:rolleyes: I read on here all the time......I can't afford to fly to Calif........if only I had the money I would cruise out of California......etc......

[Cuizer2]

Yes they do, but only 3 or 4 times a year, not on a regular basis.

The Spirit makes a regular trip to the Mexican Riviera from October through April. So it is making this run over 20 times per year, not three or four.

[Kurbanfan]

There are Alaska cruises and Hawaii cruises out of California as well, not just Mexico.

 

Carnival has a cruise to Alaska out of California:confused:

[Cuizer2]

Carnival has a cruise to Alaska out of California:confused:

Big Carnival does - not little Carnival. More specifically Princess sails from San Francisco to Alaska.