Voyager Class to Test Key West

[sredish]

 

I knew it!

[Cruzaholic41]

Key West is only a 3 hour drive for me, but I would much rather use a cruise ship for transportation. There are 5 Voyager Class ships. I think this is great news and I would love to see Key West on an east coast (Florida) itinerary other than Majesty.

[lady_cruiser]

Up until now, Radiance Class was the largest RCI ship to visit Key West due to a narrow portion of the channel. But Carnival Magic began porting here, which motivated RCI to aim bigger. Mariner of the Seas, which is sailing empty right now on its way to drydock, will pull in to Key West, turn around, and leave. If they don't see any problems with the width of the channel and turning basin, you can expect to see Key West added to Voyager Class itineraries.

 

Thanks Aquahound. We were there (Key West) this past March. We arrived there on The Magic only because Carnival is the only cruiseline that sails there from New Orleans or Galveston.

 

It is nice to know that my favorite cruiseline "might" be offering this itinerary in the future.

[dmwnc1959]

I was in Key West a couple of years back on Celebrity Mercury and even then the streets seemed a little on the crowded side. I can only imagine what it is like on Carnival Magic or on a Voyager-class. :eek:

[Shekim]

I hope they keep her in the Gulf for the summer. Galveston needs a year round RCI ship! We're booked March '13 and we're still doing Jamaica, GC and CZ.

When March? we're booked 3/17/13...

[JMG]

I was in Key West a couple of years back on Celebrity Mercury and even then the streets seemed a little on the crowded side. I can only imagine what it is like on Carnival Magic or on a Voyager-class. :eek:

 

It is not necessarily cruise ship passengers that fill the streets in KW. We were there for a week Valentines week and after the ships were long gone, the streets were still full of people that drive in for the day or are staying in the KW area. It is a fun town and it surprises us how clean it tends to me. Yes, trash cans fill up to the top but there is not trash all over the streets. And unlike FLL where there can be quite a few police hovering around the Elbow Room, we seldon see a high presence of police in KW.

[Aquahound]

I was in Key West a couple of years back on Celebrity Mercury and even then the streets seemed a little on the crowded side. I can only imagine what it is like on Carnival Magic or on a Voyager-class. :eek:

 

That is probably the biggest debate over larger cruise ships in Key West. As it is now, when there are 3 ships in port, the lower end of Duval St gets very congested. Make one of those ships the Magic or Voyager Class and it only gets that much more crowded. And of course, this means that many more brain-dead tourons walking against red lights, wandering out in to traffic, and so on.

[dmwnc1959]

It is not necessarily cruise ship passengers that fill the streets in KW.

 

Forgot about the resorts and hotels they have down there. Of course you are right.

 

That is probably the biggest debate over larger cruise ships in Key West. As it is now, when there are 3 ships in port, the lower end of Duval St gets very congested.

 

I had to go back and look at my pictures and we had two cruise ships in port that day; Celebrity Mercury and the Carnival Fantasy. Still, it seemed like it was a busy day for a Wednesday in the middle of December.

[sredish]

When March? we're booked 3/17/13...

 

We're 3/3/13. Darn! Our Roll Call is so lonely...only me and one other lady.

[Sky616]

I was in Key West a couple of years back on Celebrity Mercury and even then the streets seemed a little on the crowded side. I can only imagine what it is like on Carnival Magic or on a Voyager-class. :eek:

Might take a little longer for that drink at Sloppy Joe's.:(

[BillOh]

Thanks for the pics. I can breath again. She DIDN'T get stuck!!! Yipeee! Off to dry dock now. Miami here we come. :D

 

Will you be attending the Crown and Anchor Welcome back? Perhaps you can ask about how this "test" went and get us some details. Or we can create our own rumors.

[BillOh]

That is probably the biggest debate over larger cruise ships in Key West. As it is now, when there are 3 ships in port, the lower end of Duval St gets very congested. Make one of those ships the Magic or Voyager Class and it only gets that much more crowded. And of course, this means that many more brain-dead tourons walking against red lights, wandering out in to traffic, and so on.

 

Do the locals spend that much time in the Duval St area? I've read they don't like the one train/tram company that goes way out into the non-tourist area.

[austinlw]

We were in Key West off of Rhapsody out of Galveston in Dec 2006. Still one of our favorite cruises (Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel). Stopped in Key West for the afternoon, stayed through the evening, and didn't leave until midnight with a nice pool-side buffet and sail-away party. Good times. I do remember a local walking behind us in the evening on Duval St grumbling about the crowds making it almost impossible just to walk down the street. Maybe, but we drove there and spent a night just this past Thanksgiving weekend before our Princess cruise out of FLL, and it seemed just as crowded on Duval St that evening even with no cruise ship in port. I doubt the business owners near the port are crying much about the large crowds. It's a fun place to spend an evening.

[Aquahound]

Do the locals spend that much time in the Duval St area? I've read they don't like the one train/tram company that goes way out into the non-tourist area.

 

No, not really. But business usually takes us down or across Duval St for one reason or another. I frequently have to cross Duval St to get to Truman Annex or any of the other waterfront businesses.

 

The biggest local complaint about the Conch Train is the part of the tour that goes through the residential neighborhoods. Those people hate the train and I don't blame them. But there's more to the story, and I'm happy to provide a recent piece of KW history. The owner of the Conch Train, Ed Swift, filed an injunction against the MTV show The Real World. They were set up in the house right next door to Swift. I believe it was 2005. The basis for his complaint was noise, which really rubbed the locals the wrong way because his Conch Trains were the center of noise complaints by locals. There has been somewhat of a local boycot on the Conch Train and the Old Town Trolly (also owned by Swift) ever since.

 

dmwnc1959 - December is the height of our tourism. The hotels sell out, snowbirds are in town, and more cruise ships visit. It really dies down during the summer months.

[Sequim88]

Will you be attending the Crown and Anchor Welcome back?

 

Yes. If they take questions I will ask. Othewise if there is a Captain's Q&A I will ask there. I will be trying to do a real-time (one day delay) review of the cruise so stay tuned for the Roamin' Mariners daily report as we head to Rome. I will try to include post Dry Dock details.

[Cruising89143]

I had to go back and look at my pictures and we had two cruise ships in port that day; Celebrity Mercury and the Carnival Fantasy. Still, it seemed like it was a busy day for a Wednesday in the middle of December.

 

We are there in early June for the week. I noticed that on two days we have two ships in port one being the Conquest. The other two days it's just one. I expect it to be kind of crazy on those two days. :)

[TEXASMUNK]

Those walking against the lights, etc? That is often called "thinning the Herd"