Weird/Bad Itineraries out of Northeast?

[JulofDenial]

1 minute ago, mets123 said:

Here's a simple solution. Either don't cruise any more or find another cruise line. All of your points have been answered many times. Maybe cruising isn't for you?

Did you miss the places where I repeatedly said that the object of the post was not to complain, but that I was wondering why the itineraries were the way they were?

[LilBlackDress]

1 hour ago, JulofDenial said:

And this still doesn't answer my question which is why so many of those itineraries exist compared to the other ones. Do people actually like those cruises? Do they get kickbacks from those ports? Does it somehow save the ship money? What happened to the Western Caribbean cruises? And so forth.

 

I would say YES, people DO like these ports or they probably would not book the cruises.

If they were sailing at 25 to 50% capacity, Royal would drop the itinerary. But they are sailing at almost full or at capacity. 

 

We currently live in Northern IL and typically drive not fly. When we drove to Baltimore we were able to see family in Baltimore and in Port Canaveral. We actually picked that cruise for the FL ports more so than the Bahamas Ports. 

When I lived in So Cal, I could take a 3 to 5-night cruise to Catalina Island (which was a $20 ferry ride) Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan. Or heading North, San Fran or Seattle.  
Exciting itinerary? Nope
Able to drive there? Yep
Affordable? Yep
Been to those ports a handful of times... Yep
Would I go again? Absolutely!!

As far as the port fees, they really aren't that expensive to even talk about. If that is one of your main complaints. Maybe as others have said, cruising might not be for you

[Paulxyz2004]

2 hours ago, JulofDenial said:

Did you miss the places where I repeatedly said that the object of the post was not to complain, but that I was wondering why the itineraries were the way they were?

 

There is a pretty easy answer to this - because it´s profitable for the cruiseline to run them this way. If they can fill their ships and make a good profit from the sailings as they are, they will offer and continue to offer them. If they don´t they will change the offers.

[crookedhalo]

And, speaking as a person who likes to sail from Bayonne and Baltimore, sometimes it's just about getting away.  I've done virtually all the itineraries reviewed on this thread (except the Charleston/Norfolk stops) and enjoyed each trip for different reasons. Sometimes it's easier to get away for 7 days then 12 - that's a consideration each time we book. Some trips you go on just knowing it's for the down time not the ports.

 

Also, a lot of the RCCL ships will stop in Canaveral because it's a main restock port for them. Their contract suppliers use the stops to do a major restock of alcohol, non perishables etc. If you stop there and don't leave the ship (which we've done a few times now), watch all the trucks bringing anything you can imagine (we've seen everything from mattresses to furniture to pallets of canned goods).

 

Long and short of it - everyone has differents needs and wants. The trip will be what you make of it and no one else can change that. I hope you enjoy whatever you end up choosing.

[vacationlover_mn]

11 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Do know why anyone books an itinerary they don’t like?

We’ve done this, when we care more about the ship than the islands visited 🙂. We have done this with Harmony and Symphony.  Completely fun trips, and we find new ways to enjoy ports that we have already been to a lot...  our next cruise stops at Nassau, which I generally don’t care about visiting again- however I’ve been researching fun new places to visit there 🙂

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

We’ve done this, when we care more about the ship than the islands visited 🙂. We have done this with Harmony and Symphony.  Completely fun trips, and we find new ways to enjoy ports that we have already been to a lot...  our next cruise stops at Nassau, which I generally don’t care about visiting again- however I’ve been researching fun new places to visit there 🙂

 

We've done the same.  With kids and being limited to travelling a certain week and having been to the same ports numerous times it becomes more about the ship than the ports.

[abkl]

14 hours ago, Homosassa said:

If you stopped in Orlando, it was an unique cruise that will never be repeated.

 

Well, anything can be a port of call one time. Port Canaveral is what I meant for those following along at home.

[Homosassa]

16 minutes ago, abkl said:

 

Well, anything can be a port of call one time. Port Canaveral is what I meant for those following along at home.

 

You will be surprised about the number of people who do not realize that Orlando is landlocked in the middle of the state.

 

Instead of Baltimore, have you checked the cruises from Frederick, MD? 😉

[Wilda]

You want to go on a cruise out of a northeast port that doesn't stop in FL or SC.  I leave in two weeks on the Anthem out of NJ and our first stop is in Puerto Rico.  Not sure how you are searching but I think there are plenty of different options out there.  Perhaps you had other criteria that you didn't mention in your OP, such as final destination or days at sea?

[Crusin6]

18 hours ago, JulofDenial said:

I have only been on one cruise before which was a Wester Caribbean cruise on the Grandeur with my mother. We live in Southern Pennsylvania so cruising out of Baltimore saves us all the inconveniences and costs of flying. I was wanting to go on another cruise from Baltimore or New Jersey, but when browsing the itineraries I noticed that they were lacking. They almost all stop in Florida or South Carolina no matter where the cruises stated destination is. There are even cruises billed as being cruises to the Bahamas that have more ports in Florida than in The Bahamas. I honestly would rather be on a cruise that has one stop on an island and after meandering aimlessly out in the ocean for a few days than pay the port fees for a place I could drive in a day. On top of that I think most people from the Northeast have been to Florida more than once because it is inexpensive to fly there. What's the deal with this? Do people want these sorts of cruises or is there something else at work here?

The issue you are looking to answer is simple...geography

 

if you want a deep Carib itin out of NYC they absolutely exist. Mostly in winter and mostly 10 to 14 day itins

 

check out RCCl and NCL

 

you are not going to find a 7 day itin to the Carib out of NYC no matter how much you complain about it. Lol 

 

 

[katiel53]

I no longer cruise from the Northeast, but if I still did, I'd rather a stop in FL any time as opposed to going to the Bahamas.   I live Upstate NY and I can drive to NYC if I wanted to cruise from there, but much prefer to spring for the airfare and sail from FL so I can get to ports I really enjoy.

 

To me, going to Nassau and Freeport, as examples, are a waste of my time and money.  We all sail for different reasons, different ports, different cabins different everything.  The cruise lines know where the money is and they plan accordingly.  If I don't like what they are offering, I sail on another line or do some other kind of vacation.

[Merion_Mom]

I have spoken with RC officers quite a few times about the Bahamas.  These ports of call are VERY VERY popular.  Perhaps the OP doesn't like them.  But MOST new or newish cruisers CLAMOR for those ports.  And RC is all about getting new cruisers.  They tend to spend  more.  🙂

[Merion_Mom]

6 hours ago, crookedhalo said:

And, speaking as a person who likes to sail from Bayonne and Baltimore, sometimes it's just about getting away.  I've done virtually all the itineraries reviewed on this thread (except the Charleston/Norfolk stops) and enjoyed each trip for different reasons. Sometimes it's easier to get away for 7 days then 12 - that's a consideration each time we book. Some trips you go on just knowing it's for the down time not the ports.

 

Also, a lot of the RCCL ships will stop in Canaveral because it's a main restock port for them. Their contract suppliers use the stops to do a major restock of alcohol, non perishables etc. If you stop there and don't leave the ship (which we've done a few times now), watch all the trucks bringing anything you can imagine (we've seen everything from mattresses to furniture to pallets of canned goods).

 

Long and short of it - everyone has differents needs and wants. The trip will be what you make of it and no one else can change that. I hope you enjoy whatever you end up choosing.

 

I believe that the person who mentioned Charleston and Norfolk in the same sentence was talking about ports of embarkation.  Royal Caribbean sails out of neither of these, and only ports in Charleston.  (of the mass market lines, only Carnival goes out of Charleston.  RC once cruised out of Norfolk, but that ended years ago).  

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

12 hours ago, JulofDenial said:

I am getting my information from the Royal Caribbean sight and yes, I see that about the Bermuda cruises now. I was reading off of the search list on the RC page while scanning it so it gave the impression that they were only spending one night there.

I am citing itineraries, not individual cruises. I have not bothered to go and count how many times each individual itinerary sails for the 40 cruises that are sailing out of Bayonne and Baltimore. I have noted that yes, there are cruises that don't have the weird itineraries I am talking about. There just aren't many of them.

And this still doesn't answer my question which is why so many of those itineraries exist compared to the other ones. Do people actually like those cruises? Do they get kickbacks from those ports? Does it somehow save the ship money? What happened to the Western Caribbean cruises? And so forth.

 

 

Yes, people actually like these itineraries.

 

Yes, they are profitable for Royal Caribbean.

 

So you don't want to stop in South Carolina, Florida or the Bahamas.  But many other people  consider those wonderful places to visit.  Not everyone lives on the east coast.  Not everyone lives driving distance (YUCK!) to Charleston or Florida.  

 

Western Caribbean ports take longer to get there.  The last time RC had a Western Caribbean itinerary from the NE was January 2016 on the Anthem. (and we didn't make the itinerary due to bad winter weather)  When was your cruise on the Grandeur?  I have a hard time understanding how she could do 4 ports in 9 days, considering the travel time in and out of port.

[Tony O]

58 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

I have spoken with RC officers quite a few times about the Bahamas.  These ports of call are VERY VERY popular.  Perhaps the OP doesn't like them.  But MOST new or newish cruisers CLAMOR for those ports.  And RC is all about getting new cruisers.  They tend to spend  more.  🙂

I think the government of Bahamas have a different opinion

https://thewinglet.boardingarea.com/the-bahamas-ends-subsidies-for-cruise-lines/

[Merion_Mom]

5 minutes ago, Tony O said:

I think the government of Bahamas have a different opinion

https://thewinglet.boardingarea.com/the-bahamas-ends-subsidies-for-cruise-lines/

 

to which they are entitled.

 

 

[Desert Cruizers]

Being I am on the West Coast, other then a Coastal starting in San Pedro or a Mexican or R/T Hawaii cruise, I have to fly to every cruise I book. Daughter & I do have a b2b on the Freedom booked for March 1 & 8 of 2020 and that will probably end it for me on Caribbean cruises unless I book an Oasis class but that will be for the ship & not the ports. I like variety and  enjoy different places.  I find the Caribbean itineraries out of FL limited  so it seems whichever cruise line you choose your looking at the same ports so it comes down to the ship you want to be on. 

[kurtp13]

I picked the 'lame' 9 day itinerary because I wanted to do a getaway during the winter without a long drive and feel some warmer weather.  I could drive there but would pay more for food and lodging.  Cococay was on the itinerary but it was scrubbed.   Interested in what to do in Charleston.    

[bowler15547]

I always cruise out of Bayonne and Baltimore, Baltimore the most. Yes, I don't care for the Southeast Coast or the New England itineraries, but I don't book them. I always go for the Southern Caribbean, or the Bermuda ones. I'm not sure what type of itinerary you are looking for? From the Northeast, its going to take you two days to the Caribbean, so that automatically limits the options of where they go. 

 

People book these itineraries and they fill ships, so they keep them there. If the itineraries weren't going well, they would change them. 

[pjlee3333]

And to show how different people can be, I love the Canada new England cruise.  Despite the fact I've done it about 14 times there are places I want to spend more time at.

[jaygatsby27]

On 11/9/2018 at 3:41 PM, JulofDenial said:

I have only been on one cruise before which was a Wester Caribbean cruise on the Grandeur with my mother. We live in Southern Pennsylvania so cruising out of Baltimore saves us all the inconveniences and costs of flying. I was wanting to go on another cruise from Baltimore or New Jersey, but when browsing the itineraries I noticed that they were lacking. They almost all stop in Florida or South Carolina no matter where the cruises stated destination is. There are even cruises billed as being cruises to the Bahamas that have more ports in Florida than in The Bahamas. I honestly would rather be on a cruise that has one stop on an island and after meandering aimlessly out in the ocean for a few days than pay the port fees for a place I could drive in a day. On top of that I think most people from the Northeast have been to Florida more than once because it is inexpensive to fly there. What's the deal with this? Do people want these sorts of cruises or is there something else at work here?

 

I love to cruise out of Baltimore to Bermuda.  We have done this 6 times.  Its a 5 day ( they have a 7-day with Charleston, too) that is great.  

[schlimazel_traveler]

I'm disappointed in these itineraries, too.

We did an 11-night Caribbean cruise out of Baltimore in January '17 and loved the block of sea days in each direction. We would have been glad to do it again. Unfortunately, the first sailing of the year (which is the one that works with our schedule) was the Charleston/Florida/Florida/Bahamas route that doesn't really appeal.  We love sea days!

 

I was hoping that January '19 would be an opportunity for something more appealing but it was the same itinerary as last January...

 

I do wish the sailings from Baltimore didn't include these coastal stops but obviously some people like them.

[GaryR8876]

On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 9:24 AM, Homosassa said:

 

You will be surprised about the number of people who do not realize that Orlando is landlocked in the middle of the state.

 

Instead of Baltimore, have you checked the cruises from Frederick, MD? 😉

Please elaborate. cannot find a cruise from Frederick md.

[Homosassa]

25 minutes ago, GaryR8876 said:

Please elaborate. cannot find a cruise from Frederick md.

🙄 Did you read the entire thread? The person I was responding to claimed his cruise from Baltimore stopped in Orlando. I suggested he check the departures from Frederick, Maryland for different itineraries. 

 

Please check state maps for Florida and Maryland if you need help with the cruise port cities of Orlando and Frederick. 

[GaryR8876]

1 hour ago, Homosassa said:

🙄 Did you read the entire thread? The person I was responding to claimed his cruise from Baltimore stopped in Orlando. I suggested he check the departures from Frederick, Maryland for different itineraries. 

 

Please check state maps for Florida and Maryland if you need help with the cruise port cities of Orlando and Frederick. 

I did read the entire thread but your humor escaped me. Not a geography major but most willing to explore new options. Would even try a hovercraft cruise to find a new itinerary from the northeast!