RCCL Leaving LA - Mexico Market - Does Anyone Care?

[SelectSys]

In looking for a summer cruise for 2011, I noticed that no RCCL ships are scheduled to depart from LA to Mexico once Mariner leaves. After a bit of web searching it seems clear that they are leaving the market. It seems surprising that they don't have a single ship available to serve the market. This is too bad from my perspective as it takes away an easy vacation alternative for those living in Southern California.

[momzcruzing]

I've done both Vision of the Seas and Mariner out of LA. While the ports are not my favorites, it is so nice having a "local" cruise ship for a much needed get away.

 

I will miss RCCL's presence in Southern Calif. :( Hoping they reconsider soon!

[SelectSys]

I've done both Vision of the Seas and Mariner out of LA. While the ports are not my favorites, it is so nice having a "local" cruise ship for a much needed get away.

 

I will miss RCCL's presence in Southern Calif. :( Hoping they reconsider soon!

 

Agreed! Mariner was such a nice upgrade over Vision that I am really sad that it is going.

[momzcruzing]

I love the Vision Class ships too, Radiance is even better! I'll take ANYTHING, just Please bring a ship back to LA!

[rubrrick]

Interesting that not just Royal Caribbean is pulling out. So is Carnival, for the most part, leaving only one old ship to command the 3/4 night sailings out of Long Beach.

 

Also Princess will be gone, and the new player on the West Coast field is Disney, bringing a ship to Los Angeles next spring.

 

The reason stated for Royal Caribbean pulling out is twofold. The first is that RCCL has stated that they are not making enough "onboard revenue". The second is the fact that the ports in California have raised the port fees, further eroding the profits.

 

It will be interesting to see what Disney charges, my bet is it will be quite a bit more than either Princess or RCCL is presently charging.

 

Don't look for either RCCL or Princess to return very soon in the near future.

 

That is very unfortunate for us that live close enough that we can drive to the port within a day.:confused:

 

Rick

[Basman]

I don't believe that money is the main reason. On these boards the Mariner is one of the most talked about ships in the RCI fleet, only the Oasis and the Freedom of the Seas are mentioned in the titles more frequently. Because of this, I don't the the left coast cruisers are a bunch of tight wads not spending enough money.

 

When we took our trip down there last year we spent a lot on the Mariner, close to the price of the cruise on excursions, drinks, photos, souvenirs, bingo, tips, dry cleaning, etc.

 

I think the real reason so many are pulling out of the Mexican market is all the drug violence. I have a friend in the military that was telling me they are not allowed to travel to Mexico. Didn't say why, but I believe it is due to all the unrest. I hope this comes to an end soon.

[Ashland]

Have sailed many times on Viking Serenade and Vision and would have sailed on Mariner..sad to see RCI leaving the west coast...Hope RCI will see it was a mistake....:rolleyes:

[bonnie&clydecruzers]

In looking for a summer cruise for 2011, I noticed that no RCCL ships are scheduled to depart from LA to Mexico once Mariner leaves. After a bit of web searching it seems clear that they are leaving the market. It seems surprising that they don't have a single ship available to serve the market. This is too bad from my perspective as it takes away an easy vacation alternative for those living in Southern California.

 

Yes we care and we are sad about the decision. Nothing we can do about it now though. The thread below talks about alot of the things we were thinking when it was first announced.

 

Mariner leaving :( West Coast is sad

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1187346&highlight=

[Jumbiecruiser]

I just read this week an article that stated Princess was cutting back on the number of cruises from the west coast. No reason was given. NCL also cut back and pulled the Star out and moved it to the east coast. Carnival also moved the Elation out but still has more ships than anyone else but many just will not cruise with Carnival.

[uksimonusa]

 

When we took our trip down there last year we spent a lot on the Mariner, close to the price of the cruise on excursions, drinks, photos, souvenirs, bingo, tips, dry cleaning, etc.

 

 

And with RCI having to reduce prices drastically the fill the ship, spending nearly the cost of the cruise onboard is not a high amount

[NavarreCruiser]

Interesting that not just Royal Caribbean is pulling out. So is Carnival, for the most part, leaving only one old ship to command the 3/4 night sailings out of Long Beach.

 

Also Princess will be gone, and the new player on the West Coast field is Disney, bringing a ship to Los Angeles next spring.

 

The reason stated for Royal Caribbean pulling out is twofold. The first is that RCCL has stated that they are not making enough "onboard revenue". The second is the fact that the ports in California have raised the port fees, further eroding the profits.

 

It will be interesting to see what Disney charges, my bet is it will be quite a bit more than either Princess or RCCL is presently charging.

 

Don't look for either RCCL or Princess to return very soon in the near future.

 

That is very unfortunate for us that live close enough that we can drive to the port within a day.:confused:

 

Rick

Carnival has the Splendor out of Long Beach that is doing 7 day cruises. It is not an old ship and the Paradise, which is older, doing the shorter cruises. Lynda

[rubrrick]

Carnival has the Splendor out of Long Beach that is doing 7 day cruises. It is not an old ship and the Paradise, which is older, doing the shorter cruises. Lynda

 

 

Lynda, how long is the Splendor staying?? I believe that Carnival will only have one ship on the West Coast next year, but may be wrong.

 

If any company will come back first, I feel that it will be Carnival. They have a way of domineering certain areas.

 

Let us see how well all of the RCCL ships do over in the Med next summer. I think that there will be 11 of them. The economy over there is hurting as well.

 

And to the person that mentioned violence in Mexico, I have been going down there for some time, and have not experienced any type of violence in any of the Mexican Riviera ports that we continually go to.

 

Rick

[FLACRUISER99]

I though I read somewhere about the CA requirement of using high price fuel instead of bunker.

[BillOh]

I have no experience cruising out of the west coast, but would consider it so, I've been following threads like this. With other cruise lines making similar moves, is there a common thread? (pun intended) Has California raised any fees that make it less profitable for the industry?

[FLACRUISER99]

read this http://www.arb.ca.gov/ports/marinevess/documents/marinenote2009_4.doc

[mommabean]

Those Mexican ports ARE our favorite which is why we are fitting in one more cruise from CA before Mariner leaves. I'd prefer San Diego since I consider that the perfect port with the airport right there. I'd definitely prefer the flight to

San Diego than the drive to Miami.

 

We have gone ahead and booked a Carnival cruise for 9 nights on

Carnival Spirit next Spring. They expanded their cruise lengths after Radiance pulled out of San Diego even making a 2 day stop in Cabo. :) We would have booked an RCI ship if they had kept one in San Diego - even if it had cost more.

 

It's a shame - the Mexican Riviera is beautiful.

 

Gina

[mommabean]

I have no experience cruising out of the west coast, but would consider it so, I've been following threads like this. With other cruise lines making similar moves, is there a common thread? (pun intended) Has California raised any fees that make it less profitable for the industry?

 

I don't know. But San Diego is expanding and improving their cruise port right now. If you've never been there, you're missing a real treat. We could easily walk to the airport from the cruise port if we didn't bring so much luggage. You can walk to a Padres game. It's cheaper for us to fly there rather than buy gas and pay for parking at a S. FL cruise port....if we weren't so inclined to book a hotel and stay a while which is what we do.

 

The ships pull right up to the sidewalk going around the bay. You can sit there and watch people walk on and off the ship - guests and crew alike. What a great port!

 

Gina

[rileha2]

I imagine there are many factors that drove this decision but I too do believe the drug violence and unrest might have been one of them.

 

Actually, I don't believe it is the violence and unrest itself that is the problem since these problems are confined to only a few areas but rather the growing perception that Mexico is unsafe due to media reports.

 

And I say this because when my wife and told our family we were going to go on the Mariner to the Mexican Riviera, some family members pleaded with us not to go because they had read/saw in the news that Mexico is dangerous.

 

Of course, we went anyways. But Royal Caribbean might have been worried that a growing perception that "Mexico is unsafe and dangerous" could have started causing them problems down the road.

[hobo1937]

While Princess will be decreasing the number of Mex Riv cruises in 2011-12 they have added some great new cruises. Several Coastals RT from LA in fall/spring, a 28 day RT South Pacific from LA and more RT Hawaii cruises from LA.

[Cdn Trekkie]

I have been loyal to Royal since we (the family & friends) have started our cruising career and will sadly miss the fact that the West Coast is loosing so many of the cruises/ships that are close to our neck of the woods.

 

I was already planning a Mexican Riviera for our family for spring/summer of 2011 as a grad present for my DD and hate the fact that there will be nothing offered. We have already sailed on the Vision twice to the MR and the ship and it's crew were one of the best we have sailed with.

 

:(Please Reconsider RCCL!!!!!!!!:(

[Ashland]

And with RCI having to reduce prices drastically the fill the ship, spending nearly the cost of the cruise onboard is not a high amount

Since we have cruised to the Mexican Riviera MANY times with RCI..It was surprising last year when our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean 8 nights on the INDY was actually LESS than the prices for 7 nights on the Mariner at the same time..so here on the west coast we didn't see any BIG price reduction the Mariner was offering.....:rolleyes:

[spencercoop]

Lynda, how long is the Splendor staying?? I believe that Carnival will only have one ship on the West Coast next year, but may be wrong.

 

If any company will come back first, I feel that it will be Carnival. They have a way of domineering certain areas.

 

Let us see how well all of the RCCL ships do over in the Med next summer. I think that there will be 11 of them. The economy over there is hurting as well.

 

And to the person that mentioned violence in Mexico, I have been going down there for some time, and have not experienced any type of violence in any of the Mexican Riviera ports that we continually go to.

 

Rick

 

Carnival still has (and will have) 2 1/2 ships on the West Coast.

 

They have the Splendor and Paradise out of Long Beach, year round.

The Spirit out of San Diego, seasonally.

[ccruisequeen]

Disney is charging an arm & a leg for the 7 night cruises (I checked on their website to see what would be possible). It would be nice if they did some of the ports they hit last summer, during the "swine flu" Mexican epidemic (up to Vancouver & Seattle), for a change. A friend did that cruise on Mariner & said it was great.

[spencercoop]

Disney is charging an arm & a leg for the 7 night cruises (I checked on their website to see what would be possible). It would be nice if they did some of the ports they hit last summer, during the "swine flu" Mexican epidemic (up to Vancouver & Seattle), for a change. A friend did that cruise on Mariner & said it was great.

 

That would be great is one of the cruise lines did an itinerary like that.

[critterchick]

I don't believe that money is the main reason. On these boards the Mariner is one of the most talked about ships in the RCI fleet, only the Oasis and the Freedom of the Seas are mentioned in the titles more frequently. Because of this, I don't the the left coast cruisers are a bunch of tight wads not spending enough money.

 

When we took our trip down there last year we spent a lot on the Mariner, close to the price of the cruise on excursions, drinks, photos, souvenirs, bingo, tips, dry cleaning, etc.

 

I think the real reason so many are pulling out of the Mexican market is all the drug violence. I have a friend in the military that was telling me they are not allowed to travel to Mexico. Didn't say why, but I believe it is due to all the unrest. I hope this comes to an end soon.

 

I'm sure that money is the reason - not only are they not filling the berths but people aren't spending money onboard. I don't think the price of the cabin is as important as the onboard spending in terms of making the ship profitable.

 

There have been up to 6 ships sailing essentially the same 7-night itinerary for a few years - Vision/Mariner, Diamond/Sapphire Princesses, NCL Star, Carnival Pride/Paradise, HAL Oosterdam (out of SD) and Radiance on longer itineraries. What's that - 15,000 berths to fill every week?

 

There just aren't enough people interested in sailing the MR right now - first it was swine flu (and the brilliant decision to abandon ports with no reported cases in favor of other ports that had them:confused::rolleyes:), then the drug wars, none of which have significantly impacted the tourist ports (other than Acapulco on the longer itineraries). And of course the overall horrid economy in Californa & other western states that send the most cruisers.

 

We care that RCI has abandoned the West Coast market. We'll manage with Princess, the occasional Paradise weekend jaunt and maybe even HAL. Not to mention going to some places on land that we kept putting off in favor of cruising. I was just thinking yesterday how much I miss my second home, Monarch.:(