"Sunshine" or Quantum of the Seas from Cape Liberty,Starting Decembe 2014 ???

[cruisingrightalong]

Yep see number 3 Oasis going to Port Canaveral.

Lou

[goouchjac]

Yep see number 3 Oasis going to Port Canaveral.

Lou

 

Sure hope you are correct,,we live about 2hrs. from Pt.C.and such a easy drive..:D

[JAMESCC]

Bingo. Your Mariner example is a good one.

 

A New Jersey home base simply would simply be a very poor business decision for trying to fill a very large ship that has issues sailing some of the year because of weather. When airports and roads get shut down for weather for example, no one gets to the ship - period. This happens in the Northeast corridor all the time during winter.

 

I fly to Philly a dozen times a year and have done so for more than a decade. Flights get severely delayed or canceled plenty there. That's not that far from the rumored NJ port. The airports in that area seem to have major problems if 1 snowflake shows up within 100 miles of that airspace.

 

The point is....there's no doubt there's a population market, but logistics of a NJ port don't bode well for a full large ship departing potentially having issues during at least 1/3 of the year. Seems that's a big financial risk problem waiting to happen.

 

The other consideration is that when they have 2 Sunshine ships...would they both depart from the same port like they have done with the Oasis ships? If so...that would double the risk with a NJ departure port.

 

That also raises the question - where will the 3rd Oasis class ship base port?

 

You also add 2 cruise days to get to the warm belt of the Caribbean by launching that far north, limiting availability to some of the better destination ports or requiring additional cruise length times (at a higher price) to make it happen. All additional bad decisions.

 

One last theory/rumor...the NJ port will be used for perhaps a short time until a new/upgraded terminal in another location is ready and becomes the permanent home in a warmer climate.

Explorer has been sailing from here with no issues for over a decade. Why is everyone so negative when it comes to NJ getting one of these ships? Does Florida have to get every single new ship build? Also NCL has the VERY large Breakaway sailing from here, they will have no issues either.

If RCCL wants to compete with the Breakaway they will need a new, and larger ship up here, otherwise QUIT and I will sail on The Breakaway exclusively. Fine by me.

[eel]

Bingo. Your Mariner example is a good one.

 

A New Jersey home base simply would simply be a very poor business decision for trying to fill a very large ship that has issues sailing some of the year because of weather. When airports and roads get shut down for weather for example, no one gets to the ship - period. This happens in the Northeast corridor all the time during winter.

 

I fly to Philly a dozen times a year and have done so for more than a decade. Flights get severely delayed or canceled plenty there. That's not that far from the rumored NJ port. The airports in that area seem to have major problems if 1 snowflake shows up within 100 miles of that airspace.

 

The point is....there's no doubt there's a population market, but logistics of a NJ port don't bode well for a full large ship departing potentially having issues during at least 1/3 of the year. Seems that's a big financial risk problem waiting to happen.

 

The other consideration is that when they have 2 Sunshine ships...would they both depart from the same port like they have done with the Oasis ships? If so...that would double the risk with a NJ departure port.

 

That also raises the question - where will the 3rd Oasis class ship base port?

 

You also add 2 cruise days to get to the warm belt of the Caribbean by launching that far north, limiting availability to some of the better destination ports or requiring additional cruise length times (at a higher price) to make it happen. All additional bad decisions.

 

One last theory/rumor...the NJ port will be used for perhaps a short time until a new/upgraded terminal in another location is ready and becomes the permanent home in a warmer climate.

 

Look at the prices they charge on Explorer and compare them to any other Voyager class ship. They are already commanding a premium sailing from NJ which would only get bigger with a shiny new ship. This offsets the weather risk.

 

The Mariner experiment failed because of a poor spend rate by the passengers and the low prices they had to charge to fill the ship. The violence in Mexico and the Swine Flu did not help. Weather was not an issue! I am quite sure the passenger spend rate on Explorer is really good - maybe the best of any Voyager Class ship.

 

I agree that there is no way that they would put BOTH of the Sunshine ships in NJ. I expect the other one to homeport in Europe, probably Southampton but maybe even Rotterdam.

[gelo7]

Looking forward to the Quantum of the Seas.

[FIRELT5]

Explorer has been sailing from here with no issues for over a decade. Why is everyone so negative when it comes to NJ getting one of these ships? Does Florida have to get every single new ship build? Also NCL has the VERY large Breakaway sailing from here, they will have no issues either.

If RCCL wants to compete with the Breakaway they will need a new, and larger ship up here, otherwise QUIT and I will sail on The Breakaway exclusively. Fine by me.

 

NCL is spending a considerable amount of $$ money here in the NYC Market with advertising

On TV & Radio.

[3dog]

Look at the prices they charge on Explorer and compare them to any other Voyager class ship. They are already commanding a premium sailing from NJ which would only get bigger with a shiny new ship. This offsets the weather risk.

 

Just looked, and Explorer has the lowest per day price of all Voyager class ships for December sailings, especially for holiday sailings (and it's 10 night is only slightly more than a 7 night on Navigator). In the summer, it's 9 night is slightly more than some 7 nights, and a lot more than other 7 nights, so about in the middle.

 

With the bigger and shiny new ship, it must compete with Oasis/Allure pricing, to which Explorer has never been close. And though you may not think it is fair, a Grand Suite on Explorer for a Christmas or New Year's sailing on Explorer is about the same price as a standard balcony on Allure. As a "shiny new ship", this should be significantly more. So the question is: can this market take a $5000-$6000 per balcony room where it currently gets only $2800?

 

The Mariner experiment failed because of a poor spend rate by the passengers and the low prices they had to charge to fill the ship. The violence in Mexico and the Swine Flu did not help. Weather was not an issue! I am quite sure the passenger spend rate on Explorer is really good - maybe the best of any Voyager Class ship.

 

Spend and cabin rates eventually were pretty much the same as when Monarch was there, but was higher when she first arrived. There did seem to be the belief that Mariner could sustain a higher rate, or even generate higher interest because she is Mariner. It eventually became just a larger Monarch, so it wasn't a "failure" per se, just a realization that she could make more money elsewhere. It would not be very good for business if Quantum showed the same pattern in NJ (high initial premiums, but then drops off to what Explorer would get), or even worse (could barely get more than Explorer when it first arrives).

[roe2ship]

Explorer commands a high price. We live 45 minutes away and often find it cheaper to fly to Florida to sail. This is how we got to sail on Mariner out of LA. It was quite a bit cheaper for us to fly from NJ to LA and do a week on Mariner (for a family of 4 in 2 cabins) then it was to do a week on Explorer! I did sail once on her, but the prices have kept me away.

 

While it would be nice to have Quantum here, I am very concerned about the pricing.

I, too priced an Explorer cruise a few years ago and it was cheaper to fly to Florida with a family of five then to take the Explorer near home. I also have concerns if Quantum was here how insane the prices will be.

 

Bingo. Your Mariner example is a good one.

 

A New Jersey home base simply would simply be a very poor business decision for trying to fill a very large ship that has issues sailing some of the year because of weather. When airports and roads get shut down for weather for example, no one gets to the ship - period. This happens in the Northeast corridor all the time during winter.

 

I fly to Philly a dozen times a year and have done so for more than a decade. Flights get severely delayed or canceled plenty there. That's not that far from the rumored NJ port. The airports in that area seem to have major problems if 1 snowflake shows up within 100 miles of that airspace.

 

The point is....there's no doubt there's a population market, but logistics of a NJ port don't bode well for a full large ship departing potentially having issues during at least 1/3 of the year. Seems that's a big financial risk problem waiting to happen.

 

The other consideration is that when they have 2 Sunshine ships...would they both depart from the same port like they have done with the Oasis ships? If so...that would double the risk with a NJ departure port.

 

That also raises the question - where will the 3rd Oasis class ship base port?

 

You also add 2 cruise days to get to the warm belt of the Caribbean by launching that far north, limiting availability to some of the better destination ports or requiring additional cruise length times (at a higher price) to make it happen. All additional bad decisions.

 

One last theory/rumor...the NJ port will be used for perhaps a short time until a new/upgraded terminal in another location is ready and becomes the permanent home in a warmer climate.

The Mariner example is not a good comparison. While Explorer’s itinerary may not be that great, the Mexican Riviera is worst. I believe the Mariner only lasted in LA for two or maybe three years at the most. Royal brought Voyager over to NJ way back in 2003 or 2004, then replaced it with Explorer and it soon became year round cruises from Bayonne. If that was a poor business decision, it would have ended years ago.

 

While you make some valid points regarding weather shutting down airports and roads, it most definitely does not happen ALL the time…..it takes a blizzard to disrupt travel plans and that happened once here in the last three winter seasons. It appears that you believe that poor weather conditions are the main focus on where the cruise lines homeport their ships well then you can ask yourself why do they continue to have ships depart from Florida / San Juan doing Caribbean itineraries mid August – Septemeber….that is prime hurricane season just as risky.

[smoosh21]

Can you tell me what airports are close to the port. I may have to take the plu ge and fly to a port.

 

Newark is the closest. It is also a pricy cab ride from EWR to the pier.

[FIRELT5]

Newark is the closest. It is also a pricy cab ride from EWR to the pier.

 

Just as expensive as a cab ride to MIA or FLL from the nearest Cruise Port in Florida.

[FIRELT5]

Bingo. Your Mariner example is a good one.

 

A New Jersey home base simply would simply be a very poor business decision for trying to fill a very large ship that has issues sailing some of the year because of weather. When airports and roads get shut down for weather for example, no one gets to the ship - period. This happens in the Northeast corridor all the time during winter.

 

I fly to Philly a dozen times a year and have done so for more than a decade. Flights get severely delayed or canceled plenty there. That's not that far from the rumored NJ port. The airports in that area seem to have major problems if 1 snowflake shows up within 100 miles of that airspace.

 

The point is....there's no doubt there's a population market, but logistics of a NJ port don't bode well for a full large ship departing potentially having issues during at least 1/3 of the year. Seems that's a big financial risk problem waiting to happen.

 

 

 

 

 

The other consideration is that when they have 2 Sunshine ships...would they both depart from the same port like they have done with the Oasis ships? If so...that would double the risk with a NJ departure port

 

That also raises the question - where will the 3rd Oasis class ship base port?

 

You also add 2 cruise days to get to the warm belt of the Caribbean by launching that far north, limiting availability to some of the better destination ports or requiring additional cruise length times (at a higher price) to make it happen. All additional bad decisions.

 

One last theory/rumor...the NJ port will be used for perhaps a short time until a new/upgraded terminal in another location is ready and becomes the permanent home in a warmer climate.

 

It happens all the time during Winter ????. Please provide facts !!!!!!

[akcruz]

Regardless of whether someone is flying from NY to FL or from FL to NY, if the airport is closed due to a snowstorm, they aren't getting to the port.

 

Yes, if the ship was sailing out of NY a larger percentage of the cruisers would be impacted as they would all need to be coming to the same place, but it still could happen to a large percentage going the other way. Also, there are many more passengers that can drive to the NY area than there are that drive to Florida, so that reduces the overall number that has to fly.

 

As for prices over the past few years, yes Explorer has been going down, but that can be attributed to Allure/Oasis as well as the fact that many in the area have already sailed on Explorer and are looking for something new. My bet is if the Quantum is home ported in NJ/NY it will sell out consistently and for a premium price for many years.

 

Come on guys, let us have a turn :D.

[FIRELT5]

Regardless of whether someone is flying from NY to FL or from FL to NY, if the airport is closed due to a snowstorm, they aren't getting to the port.

 

Yes, if the ship was sailing out of NY a larger percentage of the cruisers would be impacted as they would all need to be coming to the same place, but it still could happen to a large percentage going the other way. Also, there are many more passengers that can drive to the NY area than there are that drive to Florida, so that reduces the overall number that has to fly.

 

As for prices over the past few years, yes Explorer has been going down, but that can be attributed to Allure/Oasis as well as the fact that many in the area have already sailed on Explorer and are looking for something new. My bet is if the Quantum is home ported in NJ/NY it will sell out consistently and for a premium price for many years.

 

Come on guys, let us have a turn :D.

 

Actually the prices for the 9nt Bermuda/Caribbean sailing have gone up for the past 5yrs during the Summer because of the demand. We usually book the. D-1 or JS.

[Pomperaugrr]

Ok kids. who says only the Northeast deserves it more, who says the Southeast does?!?!?!

 

I am in awe of the emotions this is topic is evoking! What difference does it make where the home port is. We can all cross our fingers and hold our breath, but Royal Caribbean will position the ships where they deem they will be most profitable and garner the most publicity.

 

I'll cruise on the Quantum or the Anthem in due time, no matter where she sails from. In the mean time, I'll just sit back and enjoy the show that is unfolding in this thread.

 

WOW (and not the kind of WOW RCI is looking for :rolleyes:)

 

Eric

[Host Kewlguy]

Folk's, let's be respectful to each other and cease from bickering over silly things such as where this new ship will be home ported. In case I have to remind anyone, arguing is against the Community Guidelines of this website. Thanks for your cooperation.

[cruisingrightalong]

Thanks HOST for stepping in! It was getting a bit hot out here! I appreciate you guys monitoring this website.

Lou

[3dog]

The Mariner example is not a good comparison. While Explorer’s itinerary may not be that great, the Mexican Riviera is worst. I believe the Mariner only lasted in LA for two or maybe three years at the most. Royal brought Voyager over to NJ way back in 2003 or 2004, then replaced it with Explorer and it soon became year round cruises from Bayonne. If that was a poor business decision, it would have ended years ago.

 

I disagree, Mariner is a good example for a number of reasons. And while it is true that the itineraries on the west coast are very limited for a Voyager ship (or any ship), they previously had lots of data on what people spend on a cruise vacation to Mexico (had two ships doing the 7 day and 3/4 day cruises for even longer). What they discovered is the demand didn't rise because of a more popular ship. And that the only way to get Mariner off the west coast, is to go around South America, or cross the Pacific to the far east, further limits itineraries and profitability (though, as the big ship count grows, we might see a Voyager class do the winter in the South Pacific, and Summer on the west coast).

 

There is lots of information that indicates you can fill ships with a good price in NJ, but again: can they be filled at more than Oasis prices? (keeping in mind that Breakaway is coming to the area, and their published prices for Dec 2014 are at Explorer prices.)

 

There were plenty of other reasons Mariner was moved off the west coast, not only surrounding problems with big ships, but was also complicated by serious decline in the destination demands; most of which don't apply to east coast ports; but the "if you build it..." mantra doesn't work in some ports, itineraries and/or price expectations.

 

While you make some valid points regarding weather shutting down airports and roads, it most definitely does not happen ALL the time…..it takes a blizzard to disrupt travel plans and that happened once here in the last three winter seasons. It appears that you believe that poor weather conditions are the main focus on where the cruise lines homeport their ships well then you can ask yourself why do they continue to have ships depart from Florida / San Juan doing Caribbean itineraries mid August – Septemeber….that is prime hurricane season just as risky.

 

The point I was making on winter weather is based on the current plan to have Quantum do it's maiden voyage in winter, and not during hurricane season (I would probably argue similarly if it was going to FL in August or September). If Quantum is a flashy new RCI ship with lots of interest, it might be better to have her do as I previously suggested, and do a Maiden Tour, and not arrive in Bayonne till spring.

[ahecht]

A cab from FLL to the port is $15. EWR to the cruise port would be twice that.

[JAMESCC]

NCL is spending a considerable amount of $$ money here in the NYC Market with advertising

On TV & Radio.

 

Oh they are doing a TON of advertising, I see commercials on TV everyday. If RCCL finds it too difficult to deal with the weather, or they don't like the stupid port here then just quit, run away with their tail between their legs. I have ZERO issue sailing on NCL's Breakaway.

[FIRELT5]

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/make-way-oasis-cma-cgm-touts-cruises-on-worlds-largest-container-ship.html

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Explorer has been sailing from here with no issues for over a decade. Why is everyone so negative when it comes to NJ getting one of these ships? Does Florida have to get every single new ship build? Also NCL has the VERY large Breakaway sailing from here, they will have no issues either.

If RCCL wants to compete with the Breakaway they will need a new, and larger ship up here, otherwise QUIT and I will sail on The Breakaway exclusively. Fine by me.

Ask the next 100 people on the street in almost any city other than one in the NorthEast if they'd welcome a NJ home port or one further South. 99% of them would not pick NJ.

 

The cost to get there, stay there a day in advance, weather.....there are 3 reasons right off the bat.

[mjldvlks]

. . . 99% of them would not pick NJ. . .

 

The cost to get there, stay there a day in advance, weather.....there are 3 reasons right off the bat.

And 98% probably wouldn't understand the question.

[vickila]

At an EX captain talk this February 2013, it was stated by him that a Quantum ship would only come to NJ if the terminal was fixed -- it is rented right now and as all east coasters know, a TENT, a small check-in building, and then a mandatory 2 minute bus ride. This has to be corrected to get a new ship up here. The EX has a great staff -- as expected and required for "fussy" NY area. Here's hoping a Quantum ship will take over but be as accommodating to the area. Vicki:)

[JAMESCC]

Ask the next 100 people on the street in almost any city other than one in the NorthEast if they'd welcome a NJ home port or one further South. 99% of them would not pick NJ.

 

The cost to get there, stay there a day in advance, weather.....there are 3 reasons right off the bat.

 

Ridiculous on all counts. Gee somehow in this awful place, with this awful port, with this awful cruise terminal Explorer is always full. You are acting like a snob that hates the area or NJ in particular. No one is forced to come here just people who want to sail on Explorer and most of those people like her because its local, no travel.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Ridiculous on all counts. Gee somehow in this awful place, with this awful port, with this awful cruise terminal Explorer is always full. You are acting like a snob that hates the area or NJ in particular. No one is forced to come here just people who want to sail on Explorer and most of those people like her because its local, no travel.

Reality on all counts.

 

There is an abundance of snobs in NJ already...so making it personal just supports that perception.

 

We're talking ships and business, not people.

 

I've been to NJ plenty, and have good friends there as well. It's not hard for some of us to separate looking at what makes sense from what doesn't. Porting large ships from a location with part of the year significantly affected by bad winter weather, along with much higher costs for tourists....makes no business sense in the cruise industry.