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Why does Port Canaveral get the old ships?

Tm100

By Tm100,
in Royal Caribbean International

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fletch1027 Great Review Rare

fletch1027

Posted
Posted
If I remember correctly, Mariner was the last and only new ship that Royal Caribbean International sent to Port Canaveral. Freedom was several years old when they sent it to Canaveral. Now they upgraded to a seven year old Oasis and replaced Ecnhantment with the old Majesty.

 

Why not Harmony or Allure?

 

Our first cruise out of PC was on Monarch around 10 or so years ago. While many here on CC love Monarch, my DW & I had a terrible time. She dislikes an overabundance of movement and I have a short attention span and need to find things to keep busy. A sea day (aka missing Coco Cay) on Monarch was torturous to me. It may have been an anomaly on that one cruise but it almost turned us off to cruising. Until Freedom...

 

When Freedom moved to PC it was like winning the lottery to us, even if she was a few years old. Mid-ship hardly moves and it's big enough for me to wander around... :D

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kruzerci

kruzerci

Posted
Posted
It has everything to do with the fact that FLL is a superior Port for Royal's needs. PC is just difficult to get to and there isn't as much to do the night before your cruise. Along with the things others have mentioned.

 

I do think that people underestimate the number of people that Port Canaveral attracts from the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, etc. It's an easy six or seven hour drive from Atlanta and several major southern US cities, whereas Fort Lauderdale draws upon the proximity to the international airports nearby for international and American's who are only within flying distance of the port.

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DCT61

DCT61

Posted
Posted (edited)

PC is a WIN for us too. We've been waiting for one of the big ships to move a little closer to us in the mid-south. We can stay in just as nice a hotel in the Orlando area as in Ft Lauderdale. Sure, no view of the ocean...but we also aren't paying $300.00 bucks a night either. Heaven forbid our cruise leaves the week some event is going on...ka-ching! Besides, as "ancient" as OASIS is (to read some of the threads on CC), it wont be long before they tow her ass out to sea and sink her for a reef.

Edited by DCT61
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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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PC is a walk in the park compared to Galveston.:)

 

I will say I avoided PC because of "the pain". Now I have had two good cruises out of there. The only thing I don't like about PC is you get to Labadee a couple hours later and Royal doesn't like burning extra fuel these days. I think on Freedom our stay was 10-3.

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FLSteve11

FLSteve11

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Posted
Beg to differ with many of you. We are tired of driving to Ft. L and paying to stay in a hotel overnight to make certain we don't miss the ship. We can drive to PC in about 2+ hours and no overnight costs.

 

If coming from out of state or out of US would much rather fly into Orlando than Ft. L or Miami. Have you all forgotten about Disney and Universal and not to mention Kennedy Space Center. For those who enjoy shopping until you drop, Orlando offers superior shopping opportunities.

 

Lived in Miami for 26 years and in Orlando for 10 years so know both areas well. Don't know the economics of the deal for RCCL but for the consumer, I vote for PC.

 

Thankfully we have choices to suit our personal needs.

 

I don't know anyone who would rather fly into Orlando for a 7-night cruise, unless they were planning to extend their trip for a number of days before or after to go to the theme parks. I'm sure they're out there, but I would say most people prefer flying into FLL or MIA for a week cruise. They're much closer to the port, and you have more options to choose from in terms of flights (since you can fly into either airport for either port). For those who are just coming in to take a week off for a cruise (most cruisers) it's just easier to do MIA & FLL.

 

I don't think Orlando has better shopping opportunities either, considering the Aventura and Sawgrass Mills malls are the 2nd and 5th most visited malls in the country. Let alone the Miami Beach and Las Olas areas.

 

It IS more convenient for people in Northern Florida or southern states to drive to, which is why it's one of the "big 3" cruise ports (with Everglades and Miami). Throw in the theme parks, and it's own beach area (Cocoa Beach) it certainly gets a lot of cruise passengers, which it should. That haul, and expense, of traveling to/from Orlando though takes a bit of luster off of the "wow" of a new cruiser going on a new ship, which is why the newer ships might not be there.

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FLSteve11

FLSteve11

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Posted
I will say I avoided PC because of "the pain". Now I have had two good cruises out of there. The only thing I don't like about PC is you get to Labadee a couple hours later and Royal doesn't like burning extra fuel these days. I think on Freedom our stay was 10-3.

 

That sea distance will certainly be something in a cruise lines thinking of PC in general, though for new vs old it might not matter. Still, that's 200 or so miles they need to make up somewhere, each way, to get to the Caribbean over MIA/FLL ports. Both in time and fuel.

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

Posted
Posted
You're right, I cannot believe they sent rickety, tired, old Oasis down there.

 

Yeah, that rusted out old hulk!! Drats..and I already have two cruises booked

on her. :eek: ;)

 

But I do agree with OP...why can't we ever get the new ships here as a home base?

We also are behind Carnival, "the mouse", and NCL as to only having two home

based ships here. Would LOVE a ship that does longer than the usual 3/4 and 7

night cruises to the same areas.

 

I will always miss the Freedom, and especially the Enchantment. The switch

out was not my favorite choice either. :(

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

Posted
Posted (edited)
I do think that people underestimate the number of people that Port Canaveral attracts from the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, etc. It's an easy six or seven hour drive from Atlanta and several major southern US cities, whereas Fort Lauderdale draws upon the proximity to the international airports nearby for international and American's who are only within flying distance of the port.

 

Not to mention the traffic driving down as you near Ft. Lauderdale and Miami is horrendous!

Agree, PC is much more kind to the "drive to" passengers. :)

 

But Ft. Lauderdale is a breeze for "fly to" passengers. You can actually

see the airport from the ship's deck.

 

Nice to have choices for both types of passengers! :D

Edited by island lady
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DragonOfTheSeas "Live from...." Rare

DragonOfTheSeas

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I had to laugh about the "old" comment. I will trade you the Grandeur[from Baltimore] for any ship out of PC. [i know they can not all fit under the bridge--but just saying that is what old looks like ].

 

We have sailed from all 4 Florida ports. PC is 4th on my list. I have driven down from Virginia and taken a flight. FLL is my favorite.

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tgloersen

tgloersen

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I thought PC cruisers would be really excited to get Oasis! She is still beautiful and in new way should be considered 2nd class! It is like complaining about only getting a Cadillac instead of a Lexus.

 

Agreed, just got off Oasis in October, thought it was a pretty nice ship, they do need to work on the HVAC system tough, get rid of that mildew problem, other than that, its a nice ship.

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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Posted
I had to laugh about the "old" comment. I will trade you the Grandeur[from Baltimore] for any ship out of PC. [i know they can not all fit under the bridge--but just saying that is what old looks like ].

 

We have sailed from all 4 Florida ports. PC is 4th on my list. I have driven down from Virginia and taken a flight. FLL is my favorite.

 

Done!! I will trade you Majesty for Grandeur!! :D

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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I thought PC cruisers would be really excited to get Oasis! She is still beautiful and in new way should be considered 2nd class! It is like complaining about only getting a Cadillac instead of a Lexus.

 

Oasis can't go to Coco Cay OR Grand Cayman like Freedom did. They are

two of my favorite ports of call.

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

Posted
Posted (edited)
I am assuming that is why they will be building a pier at CocoCay.

 

I sure hope that is true as we will miss that cute little island...and there is actually another

possibility that Grand Cayman will be building a hard dock there...though many locals and the

ecologists are not in favor of it.

 

But for now....I am driving to Tampa for several cruises to be able to hit some

of my favorite ports. Much easier than driving to Ft. Lauderdale...for me anyway.

Edited by island lady
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