what happened to the 7day southern out of San Juan?

[giadav]

I have religiously cruised for years and my favorite itinery is out of San Juan. The last few years we have done Island destinations. Getting anxious for a cruise I was surprised to see how much the itineries have changed. Why?? Especially with all the ships now. Doesn't seem much of a variety for the itinery now. :(

[OPSnorkeler]

We defintely agree! San Juan was our favorite port of embarkation because it allowed for a port intensive itinerary and usually a guarantee of warm weather.

 

We asked about this when we recently put down our Future Cruise Deposit, while on the 10-day Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess.

 

The future Cruise Consultant said that San Juan is out. It seems that the high airfare was a deterrent to people. It also sounded like there were other financial considerations. We are very disappointed in the southern itineraries out of Florida, just as you are.

 

We also found out that they are now going out of Galveston for the Western Caribbean. We checked to see how the flights are and it does not look easy at all. That was a big disappointment.

 

Maybe we are the only two who preferred San Juan, but somehow I doubt it.

[giadav]

I'm so disappointed! San Juan is easy for us to get to, we are from Boston, and it is always nice to stay there 2 days post cruise/pre cruise. We have been on RCCL many times and like both lines for different reasons.

 

We are beach people and love the island packed itinery. I don't love the sea days on the ship because they are so crowded and the pool starts to look very cloudy with all those people in it. It really grosses my out.

[Tak8]

I'm disappointed also. I've been doing Christmas cruises the past few and leaving from Ft. Lauderdale is a cool start for a cruise. Also port times tend to be shorter for some islands.

I'm giving Royal a chance again this December, so I can leave from San Juan and get more island time.

[zacc]

You can add a third to the list who preferred San Juan. It will make selecting hard.

[paul929207]

Princess makes more money elsewhere. They frequently had to drop prices for locals to fill the ships.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

Princess makes more money elsewhere. They frequently had to drop prices for locals to fill the ships.

 

In fact, I've read posts on this board in the past from passengers complaining of Princess filling the ships from San Juan with locals at reduced fares just to try to fill the ships. While there are many who will miss the southern route, Princess is a business and cannot continue to run itineraries that do not make financial sense.

[Cruzin-K]

I too like the Southern Caribbean (as you can see from my signature). I am looking forward to sailing on the Brilliance of the Seas next season. I've sailed on the Serenade and that is a lovely class of ship. Guadeloupe will be a new port for me as well, so that is a plus. I'm not overly attached to any one cruise line, so as long as I can get a good deal on RCI, I'm happy.

 

I'm also happy that Princess is coming to Galveston, and offers one more port of call than the Royal Caribbean cruises sailing from there. Sailing on the Crown will be the first time I've been able to drive to the port since my very first cruise in 1997.

 

:)

[Loucat]

This could be rumor, who knows? We were on CB in February and were told there is an issue with the unions that would increase port fees so CB would sail out of Fort Lauderdale.

One thing was not appealing on this sailing is that we always seemed to dock in remote areas. We had to take transportation to main areas when X, RCC and Carnival were docked in the town ports.

[giadav]

In fact, I've read posts on this board in the past from passengers complaining of Princess filling the ships from San Juan with locals at reduced fares just to try to fill the ships. While there are many who will miss the southern route, Princess is a business and cannot continue to run itineraries that do not make financial sense.

 

RCCL does the same thing on the Adventure and has done it for years. They continue to sail out of SJU.

 

With that all being said, I believe Florida Residents get the same benefits on cruises sailing out of Florida ports and the SJU residents do.

[JimmyVWine]

With that all being said, I believe Florida Residents get the same benefits on cruises sailing out of Florida ports and the SJU residents do.

 

I have no first-hand knowledge as to whether Puerto Rico residents and Florida residents get identical rate reductions. But if it is done on a percentage basis, (such as, 30% off), then Princess would take in more money from a FL resident, as the base rate from which they take the discount is higher sailing out of FL. And irrespective of whether the benefits are the same per person, if Princess has to give those benefits to 400 people in PR to fill the ship, but only 100 people in FL, then the difference becomes stark.

[VOR]

Its been discussed here before.

 

Basically it appears Princess had to deep discount to get people onto the ship. Also airfair was much higher than to FLL or Houston.

 

If it costs people 200 bucks more to get to San Juan than Galveston, Princess can change 150 bucks more for the room, pocket than money and still get a 50 buck total price advantage

[xyankee]

Anyone considering the salings out of Galveston should check flights into Hobby Airport in Houston. Way closer to Galveston that the main airport and Southwest flights are usually the cheapest airfares.

[roe2ship]

I also love the Southern Caribbean itinerary from San Juan!

In fact, I've read posts on this board in the past from passengers complaining of Princess filling the ships from San Juan with locals at reduced fares just to try to fill the ships. While there are many who will miss the southern route, Princess is a business and cannot continue to run itineraries that do not make financial sense.

And how exactly would these passengers that complain know for a fact that the locals were receiving reduced fares? There may be a larger number of locals on any cruise that departs from certain ports however, that does not automatically mean they ALL received reduced fares. IMO, the ones that "complain" about this issue are sought of translating their dislike against the people of San Juan.

[Worn out mailman]

I'm disappointed also. I've been doing Christmas cruises the past few and leaving from Ft. Lauderdale is a cool start for a cruise. Also port times tend to be shorter for some islands.

I'm giving Royal a chance again this December, so I can leave from San Juan and get more island time.

 

Amen to everything you all have said. Note that Serenade of the Seas rated high in the Cruise Critic poll that they posted in their newsletter this week. We've been on her twice and she is lovely. Similar to Princess' Grand Class, just smaller. Of course, Serenade is leaving San Juan. Her sister Brilliance will replace her. I'm sure she's nice as well.

 

It is annoying that the new itinerarys have only 3 port stops. It's a trend that has become too prevalent. For us, even 4 stops is iffy. On our last cruise with 4 stops, a tender port was cancelled due to rough seas, and one of the port stops was entirely rainy. A third was only partly sunny, so we only had one ideal day. With 5 island stops, you have a better chance of totally enjoying yourself. Hopefully, Celebrity Summit, Adventure, and one of the Radiance Class RCCL ships stay in SJ forever. :)

[A Sixth?]

Celebrity will still sail out of San Juan... if I'm not cruising Princess I'm on a Celebrity ship.

 

They have an even better clean air policy tan the new one on Princess too.:)