C'mon Princess/ No sailings from East Coast Summer 2012???

[cat-tav]

I'm not interested in the Caribbean (I get enough hot humid weather at home in Houston!), but I sure would like to take a Canada/New England cruise. As a teacher, I can only cruise in the summer. I know Princess sailed that itinerary this summer and had planned to book for next summer. Unfortunately, no such cruise exists in 2012. And not just on Princess. I have not been able to find a summer 2012 Canada/New England cruise on any line at all. :(

[Pam in CA]

Yes, my email would be for summer 2013... It is certainly worth a shot, there had to be some profit for Princess to keep their ship in NY the last few years so I am not really buying into that reason.... But we will wait and see what happens....

It's not that they didn't make a profit but they can make a BIGGER profit sailing elsewhere. It all comes down to "show me the money."

 

That's one of the things many ports and passengers don't understand when they see ships sailing full and think, "Gee, the ship is full so they must be doing well, so why is the ship going elsewhere/leaving the port?" It's because cruiselines can charge a lot more per diem in Europe and elsewhere. It's not just Princess.

 

Good luck!

[habitoiyam]

I'm not interested in the Caribbean (I get enough hot humid weather at home in Houston!), but I sure would like to take a Canada/New England cruise. As a teacher, I can only cruise in the summer. I know Princess sailed that itinerary this summer and had planned to book for next summer. Unfortunately, no such cruise exists in 2012. And not just on Princess. I have not been able to find a summer 2012 Canada/New England cruise on any line at all. :(

 

Hi -

There are some New England/Canada cruises scheduled at various times during the summer months of 2012 out of Boston, but they are on HAL (7-day Boston to Quebec City and the reverse if you want a 14-day cruise) and Carnival (basically 4 and 5-day cruises from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia and back - there may be one 7-day cruise in June as well).

I know many of the cruise lines schedule New England/Canada cruises for fall ("Leaf-peeper Season"), but as a native New Englander, I think the summer months are much nicer for being on and in the water, sightseeing, sports, recreation, golf, historical and cultural activities, festivals, great seasonal food, and many of the unique and wonderful other things that our region offers. The weather is typically nice and the days are longer. Canada is also very beautiful in the summer months.

Since we live on the South Shore of Massachusetts, we love the convenience and ease of cruising out of Boston - no flying! We've thought about doing the New England /Canada cruise on HAL. Maybe someday! But I agree with you - the Caribbean would be too hot in the summer for me.

I'm also a teacher and can totally relate to the school schedule/summer vacation travel limitations - always the most crowded and expensive times, whether you fly, cruise or drive! (My retired friends marvel at how many great travel deals are available after school starts!) Well, we'll be back at it soon enough. I hope you're fully "recharged" from the summer break and have a wonderful school year!

[Pam in CA]

If you like Princess, you'll probably like HAL. Like the above poster, I "get it" about teachers and the school year as my daughter was a teacher in NH for 10 years and we had to plan vacations around her school year. When I lived in the Boston area, there weren't any Princess cruises out of there although looking back, I should have considered HAL. Living on the North Shore, I hated the idea of leaving during the short summer so I didn't.

[BruceMuzz]

A major cruise line will not suffer too much if a few hundred - or a few thousand - Cruise Critics decide to choose another cruise line for their discount summer cruise.

 

A few hundred - or a few thousand - Cruise Critics will not suffer too much if they are forced to use another cruise line for their discount summer cruise.

[Coral]

It's not that they didn't make a profit but they can make a BIGGER profit sailing elsewhere. It all comes down to "show me the money."

 

While this summer seems to be selling out well (maybe because of the NE cruises), previous summers sold at very low prices. I doubt they made much money.

[RickEk]

And possibly other reasons to avoid the Caribbean in the summer is the potential for bad weather... witness our current cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Because of the formation of Emily, we've had to change our itinerary and now it looks like we'll miss our last two ports... we'll see...

[paul929207]

Also, Princess is short one ship this summer. The Royal Princess has been transferred to P&O and the new Royal Princess will not debut until May 2013

[Maraprince]

As per the latest info from RCL as part of the decline in their stock prices, the Med has not proved to be as lucurative as they originally thought. US passengers find the trans Atlantic airfares too high, there are the safety issues with several countries in the region, plus the cab drivers blocking access to the port in Athens and other Greek ports, etc. If it is affecting RCL, it is impacting all the lines who moved ships to this region seeking higher profits per sailings. Already the cabin prices are rediculous low indicating that sales aren't what they expected. Empty cabins do not bring in revenue. Too many ships all in the same area.

 

So, if the Euro situation does not improve and unrest continues in the Med/Europe regions, expect to ships coming back to this side of the Atlantic.

 

Princess can offer sailings to NE/Canada as they did this year out of NY as well anywhere else they choose to send their ships. Perhaps, they will even come up with some new ports. As it has been said time and time again, ships can be moved around.

 

MARAPRINCE

[Loonbeam]

And as noted its not just the fares. Princess also looks at ancilliary revenue such as their share of port excursions, alcohol sales, casino take, onboard gift spend, etc. Those are all part of the equation.

 

While this summer seems to be selling out well (maybe because of the NE cruises), previous summers sold at very low prices. I doubt they made much money.

[DaisyRose]

Although I understand that cruise lines want to sail where they make the biggest profit, and their main responsibility is to their stockholders, I still think that some consideration should be given to passenger needs and loyalty. For teachers and families with children, summer is generally the only time they can cruise, and with air fares so high, many families just can't afford to fly. I also think that by deploying their ships to various locations, they minimize their risk of unexpected issues that impact cruising.

 

I don't understand why Princess does not try a few "East Coast" cruises. A few years ago when H1N1 impacted cruises to Mexico, Princess temporarily pulled out of the area and changed the itineraries to West Coast cruises. Many cruisers loved them, and more have been added. I hear they sell very well, and I have one booked for 2013. A cruise with most stops along the East Coast, as well as a "foreign port" stop such as Bermuda or Canada, might be very successful.

 

Many things impact the success of cruises worldwide: Political unrest, volcanic ash, weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, high air fares, etc. If ships are spread around more, when there is an unexpected problem, only a few ships are impacted. I've been to Alaska twice, and loved it, but the last time I went there were so many ships in port in Juneau, that you could barely walk the streets. So after our shore excursion, instead of exploring the town, we went back to the ship. It just isn't so enjoyable when ports are so overcrowded.

 

A while back, on another thread, someone wrote that while they were onboard, they spoke to the Future Cruise Consultant about the fact that there were no summer 2012 cruises out of NY. She responded that they would return in 2013. Of coarse, we can't be sure that information is accurate, as we have heard of cruisers getting erroneous information, but it is certainly something to hope for. I am disliking flying more and more, not just because of the price but because of the hassles of security, safety concerns, and worries about delays and cancellations that can result in missing your cruise. Once someone tries another cruise line, they may find that they like it as much as Princess, and then Princess may loose a customer for many future cruises. That is what happened to me; I tried Celebrity, and find it very similar to Princess, and now I consider both equally when choosing cruises. I now decide based on price, itinerary, and ease of getting to the embarkation port.

[TracieABD]

Here's to hoping that some ships come back to the East Coast soon...:)

[Iamcruzin]

A summer day in the Caribbean is better than a summer day where I live...

 

At least on Long Island we can enjoy the beach during the summer. Granted the water isn't as nice but the sand is better than some of the beaches that I've been to in Florida or in parts of the Caribbean where it's like dirt or rocks. With that said I would like to sail on a longer itinerary and not have to worry about all of airline B.S. The only time of year to do this from the northeast is during the late spring or summer when the weather is warmer. I finally made platinum status on Princess so I hate to have to go on another line before I even sail once as platinum. In the long run Royal Caribbean or Celebrity out of Cape Liberty may work out better for us than having to fly to Ft Lauderdale during peak spring break time just so we can sail on Princess. Who knows maybe we will like them better.

[Iamcruzin]

Although I understand that cruise lines want to sail where they make the biggest profit, and their main responsibility is to their stockholders, I still think that some consideration should be given to passenger needs and loyalty. For teachers and families with children, summer is generally the only time they can cruise, and with air fares so high, many families just can't afford to fly. I also think that by deploying their ships to various locations, they minimize their risk of unexpected issues that impact cruising.

 

I don't understand why Princess does not try a few "East Coast" cruises. A few years ago when H1N1 impacted cruises to Mexico, Princess temporarily pulled out of the area and changed the itineraries to West Coast cruises. Many cruisers loved them, and more have been added. I hear they sell very well, and I have one booked for 2013. A cruise with most stops along the East Coast, as well as a "foreign port" stop such as Bermuda or Canada, might be very successful.

 

Many things impact the success of cruises worldwide: Political unrest, volcanic ash, weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, high air fares, etc. If ships are spread around more, when there is an unexpected problem, only a few ships are impacted. I've been to Alaska twice, and loved it, but the last time I went there were so many ships in port in Juneau, that you could barely walk the streets. So after our shore excursion, instead of exploring the town, we went back to the ship. It just isn't so enjoyable when ports are so overcrowded.

 

A while back, on another thread, someone wrote that while they were onboard, they spoke to the Future Cruise Consultant about the fact that there were no summer 2012 cruises out of NY. She responded that they would return in 2013. Of coarse, we can't be sure that information is accurate, as we have heard of cruisers getting erroneous information, but it is certainly something to hope for. I am disliking flying more and more, not just because of the price but because of the hassles of security, safety concerns, and worries about delays and cancellations that can result in missing your cruise. Once someone tries another cruise line, they may find that they like it as much as Princess, and then Princess may loose a customer for many future cruises. That is what happened to me; I tried Celebrity, and find it very similar to Princess, and now I consider both equally when choosing cruises. I now decide based on price, itinerary, and ease of getting to the embarkation port.

I have to agree with all that you said plus I am able to afford a longer itinerary and more onboard spending with the money I save on airfare.

[Iamcruzin]

A major cruise line will not suffer too much if a few hundred - or a few thousand - Cruise Critics decide to choose another cruise line for their discount summer cruise.

I agree but I am sure that there are others who are not CC members who feel the same way as we do but are not being accounted for.

A few hundred - or a few thousand - Cruise Critics will not suffer too much if they are forced to use another cruise line for their discount summer cruise.

I also agree but I am wondering where the discount comes into play. I have received many discounted advertisements from TA's and Crusise lines for Europe, Mexico, Alaska and off season Caribbean. I have never once received anything from anybody for discounted summer cruises leaving from the northeast.

[RAIDERMOM]

Daisy Rose,

 

You made excellent points and took the words right out of my mouth!

[DeepWaterMariner]

In this economy, it is all about the bottom line.

 

No matter what the state of the economy, it is all about the bottom line. Cruise lines have stock holders and they all want the biggest return on their investment.

[cruisemom42]

Although I understand that cruise lines want to sail where they make the biggest profit, and their main responsibility is to their stockholders, I still think that some consideration should be given to passenger needs and loyalty.

 

In all honesty, cruising is a business despite what we'd all like to think about our favorite cruiseline "being there" for us. The fact is, most cruisers on mass market cruise lines are less like the few die-hard cruisers who can be found on Cruise Critic. They are not all that brand loyal. Shopping for a cruise is all about the price, discounts, best fare. Cruise lines have to figure out a way to still be profitable in this kind of environment. (Think Costco, not Neiman Marcus). Their shareholders demand it of them. And there is more competition for passengers than ever with all the huge new ships that have been built.

 

Think of it this way. Imagine you invested a good chunk of your money into a friend's new restaurant venture. A year goes by, and your investment is not exactly making money for you. You ask your friend if he can't do something to increase profits -- maybe raise the prices, maybe relocated to an area of town where people are willing to pay more to eat there..... Your friend says "No, I can't do that, I want to meet my customer needs and retain their loyalty."

 

While you might admire such an attitude, you likely wouldn't invest more money, and your business advisor wouldn't be very happy with you either.

[DaisyRose]

Thanks for the kind words from those of you who agreed with me.

 

I believe that the cruise lines are all making money. Just look at the profits that many have reported, and all the new builds that are on order. I guess I am different than most. I have always had a hard time understanding why so many businesses are not happy to simply make decent profits. I never understood the philosophy of constantly wanting bigger and bigger profits, irregardless of who is hurt by it. Yes, cruise lines might make a little more money somewhere else, but in the long run, they may loose some loyal passengers that will book many more trips elsewhere. I think customer loyalty is a very important aspect of business, especially in tough times. Some businesses have discovered that.

[BruceMuzz]

Thanks for the kind words from those of you who agreed with me.

 

I believe that the cruise lines are all making money. Just look at the profits that many have reported, and all the new builds that are on order. I guess I am different than most. I have always had a hard time understanding why so many businesses are not happy to simply make decent profits. I never understood the philosophy of constantly wanting bigger and bigger profits, irregardless of who is hurt by it. Yes, cruise lines might make a little more money somewhere else, but in the long run, they may loose some loyal passengers that will book many more trips elsewhere. I think customer loyalty is a very important aspect of business, especially in tough times. Some businesses have discovered that.

 

For SOME businesses, customer loyalty if wonderful. For the mass market cruise industry today, it is terrible. Cruise lines do not make any profit selling cruises. We make profit by selling things to you once we get you onboard.

 

On your first cruise you buy the photos, all the souvenir drinks and glasses, the expensive tours, the logo clothing, lose money in the casino, play bingo, buy more souvenir drinks and glasses.................

 

By the second or third cruise you smuggle all your alcohol, book independent tours, buy a few refrigerator magnets for the grandkids, and lose $20 playing penny slot machines.

Cruise lines make profits on new cruisers - not repeaters.

 

There are millions of people out there who want to book their first cruise in your stateroom. The cruise lines are looking and marketing to them.

 

By the way, cruise lines do NOT make a little more money somewhere else.

We make ENORMOUSLY MORE money sailing somewhere else.

[Iamcruzin]

For SOME businesses, customer loyalty if wonderful. For the mass market cruise industry today, it is terrible. Cruise lines do not make any profit selling cruises. We make profit by selling things to you once we get you onboard.

 

On your first cruise you buy the photos, all the souvenir drinks and glasses, the expensive tours, the logo clothing, lose money in the casino, play bingo, buy more souvenir drinks and glasses.................

 

By the second or third cruise you smuggle all your alcohol, book independent tours, buy a few refrigerator magnets for the grandkids, and lose $20 playing penny slot machines.

Cruise lines make profits on new cruisers - not repeaters.

 

There are millions of people out there who want to book their first cruise in your stateroom. The cruise lines are looking and marketing to them.

 

By the way, cruise lines do NOT make a little more money somewhere else.

We make ENORMOUSLY MORE money sailing somewhere else.

 

I once again I agree with you because you just described my family. There was a 15yr span between my first Princess cruise (honeymoon) and my second when we took our children. I spent $600 on pictures, my wife spent money on her hair and nails, I have service of 8 of the daily shot glass, and I have the soda travel mugs you get from buying the soda package and the light up cocktail glasses. Now I just get the ultimate package and an internet package and maybe an excursion or two if I am on an island I haven’t been to before. My question is if the cruise lines aren’t making money on past passengers why do they all have a loyalty program and a past passenger discount?

[Carolyn R]

I would love to see Princess back to sailing out of NY in 2013, maybe even out of Boston. It doesn't have to be just Canada and the Caribbean. They could add in a cruise with an overnight in Bermuda. Maybe they are testing interest in Bermuda with the 4-day Bermuda Sampler next fall?

[DaisyRose]

Well, just my honest opinion that loyalty counts. My guess is that cruiselines want to attract new, first time cruisers, but I think they also want to retain past passengers as well. As Iamcruzin wrote, why would they have loyalty programs and past passenger discounts if they didn't want repeat passengers?

 

I am platinum with Princess and still book a Princess shore excursion from almost every port I visit. I also still buy a picture or two on every cruise, which is what I have done from my first cruise. DH and I enjoy a cocktail every night, the same as we did on our first cruise. We also tip above the suggested gratuities.

 

Anyway, for myself and many others, I guess we will just have to book on whichever line offers the cruises that we want. And we can all keep hoping that the Future Cruise Consultant was right when she said that Princess would be returning to NY in 2013. Something for us in the Northeast to look forward to.

[Loonbeam]

Past passengers represent a significant revenue stream just not as significant a profit stream.

 

To use the very good restaurant example earlier. Most restaurants have frequent customers. These steady customers provide a consistent source of revenue at a fairy low acquisition cost and usually cover the overhead costs of operating the restaurant. The less frequent diners produce the profits.

 

So its to the line's advantage to keep a pool of frequent cruisers for predictable revenue. They also are a marketing tool and usually a fertile field to sell last minute undersold cruises. But that will only go so far...

 

 

I once again I agree with you because you just described my family. There was a 15yr span between my first Princess cruise (honeymoon) and my second when we took our children. I spent $600 on pictures, my wife spent money on her hair and nails, I have service of 8 of the daily shot glass, and I have the soda travel mugs you get from buying the soda package and the light up cocktail glasses. Now I just get the ultimate package and an internet package and maybe an excursion or two if I am on an island I haven’t been to before. My question is if the cruise lines aren’t making money on past passengers why do they all have a loyalty program and a past passenger discount?

[icat2000]

For SOME businesses, customer loyalty if wonderful. For the mass market cruise industry today, it is terrible. Cruise lines do not make any profit selling cruises. We make profit by selling things to you once we get you onboard.

 

On your first cruise you buy the photos, all the souvenir drinks and glasses, the expensive tours, the logo clothing, lose money in the casino, play bingo, buy more souvenir drinks and glasses.................

 

By the second or third cruise you smuggle all your alcohol, book independent tours, buy a few refrigerator magnets for the grandkids, and lose $20 playing penny slot machines.

Cruise lines make profits on new cruisers - not repeaters.

 

There are millions of people out there who want to book their first cruise in your stateroom. The cruise lines are looking and marketing to them.

 

By the way, cruise lines do NOT make a little more money somewhere else.

We make ENORMOUSLY MORE money sailing somewhere else.

Example being the number of cruise lines headed to be based for a time downunder in near future. Even to the extend of being refitted for the Australian/NZ market (though not sure what the means). Maybe cruiselines finally figured out that Australian get four weeks annual leave and and New Zealanders get three weeks annual leave a year. Plenty time to take a cruise or two or three a year. Or maybe a long one.