Riviera TA Missed Ports-- Odd Situation

[Baandb]

I’m intrigued by the assumption that missed ports are driven by a desire to reduce costs - by eliminating port fees.

 

I would have thought that missing ports would end up costing the cruise line extra costs.  eg:

* The cost of fuel

* No doubt most ports charge the shipping fee a no-show/cancellation fee

* Loss of deposits for onshore excursion companies

* Loss of revenue from excursions

* Increased back office admin costs associated with the change of plans

* Increaded food costs - with more passengers aboard for lunch.                                                    

[ABoatNerd]

Flatbush Flyer, you are calling some posters on this thread amateurs.

 

Please advise us of your credentials so everyone can determine if you have the authority to label members amateurs on this topic.

[Shawnino]

10 hours ago, Baandb said:

I’m intrigued by the assumption that missed ports are driven by a desire to reduce costs - by eliminating port fees.

 

I would have thought that missing ports would end up costing the cruise line extra costs.  eg:

* The cost of fuel

* No doubt most ports charge the shipping fee a no-show/cancellation fee

* Loss of deposits for onshore excursion companies

* Loss of revenue from excursions

* Increased back office admin costs associated with the change of plans

* Increaded food costs - with more passengers aboard for lunch.                                                    

 

This is an interesting question, and I know part of the answer (which means all I really know is that it is complicated).

 

There are two separate issues.

 

First is, which way is the money flowing on the port call?"

Some ports, the ships have to pay to dock there. (Livorno)

Other ports, they pay the ship. (Barcelona)

Sometimes, it varies by season/date which way the money flows. (Rio)

Many ports will offer ships a LOT of money if they will 'homeport' one ship there and use others to call there. Cruisers are often not great tourists on port calls (eat little, spend zip on accommodations, etc.) but if the cruise starts there it adds hotel nights, restaurants the day before etc. (In recent years, my town, Halifax, has been trying to attract this business. So far, the only taker is Hurtigruten.)

 

Second is money lost vs money gained by having folks aboard all day.

Lost: extra cost of lunch, lost excursions, as you point out

Gains: More people in the Casino, at Bingo, drinking etc.

Not sure how that adds up, may vary by line.

Edited December 12, 2018 by Shawnino
clarification

[Shawnino]

18 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We are also on that cruise and agree 100% with you!

 

Odd--you said the opposite aboard at the Privée dinner.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, ABoatNerd said:

Flatbush Flyer, you are calling some posters on this thread amateurs.

 

Please advise us of your credentials so everyone can determine if you have the authority to label members amateurs on this topic.

I'm not the one second-guessing the ship's master. 

 

[ORV]

12 hours ago, Baandb said:

I’m intrigued by the assumption that missed ports are driven by a desire to reduce costs - by eliminating port fees.

 

I would have thought that missing ports would end up costing the cruise line extra costs.  eg:

* The cost of fuel

* No doubt most ports charge the shipping fee a no-show/cancellation fee

* Loss of deposits for onshore excursion companies

* Loss of revenue from excursions

* Increased back office admin costs associated with the change of plans

* Increaded food costs - with more passengers aboard for lunch.                                                    

There you go again, making sense. 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Shawnino said:

 

Odd--you said the opposite aboard at the Privée dinner.

Funny, I don't remember it that way. When my DW and I went to the Privée dinner, all I remember is complaining to Dominique, the GM, about the very poor internet service and he agreed. He couldn't understand either why O would give EVERYONE unlimited internet service and then wait until the next dry dock in 2019 to upgrade the hardware/software capabilities to handle it. 

 

However, since we had been on the cruise since Oct 14th, where as this particular TA leg we're talking about here started Nov 13th, I may have asked the GM how the patient was that triggered the medical emergency that occurred 3 hours after leaving port on our way towards Rhodes that caused us to turn around. Because of the subsequent 6 hour turnaround delay, which was entirely understandable, and an impending storm was getting ready to pour in Rhodes that afternoon, the Rhodes visit turned into a day at sea before going on to Crete.

 

We also missed Malta on one of the legs, another cool port, due to high winds which for some folks was quite upsetting as it was one of the highlights on that particular leg. However, if you've ever been to Malta you know that the entrance can be quite treacherous during high winds. In that case O coordinated with the port authority to stay an extra day in Messina instead of roaming around at sea for a day before heading to the next port.

 

As far as missing the Canary Island ports, we really didn't care as we had just been there on a Celebrity cruise in Oct 2017. In fact we saved about $800 in O excursions by missing those 2 CI ports. However, we were impressed when the Captain (per a guest's request) put on channel 8(?) the weather chart of the massive low in the north Atlantic we were now circumnavigating, updated twice daily for 2 days, until we had gone far enough south and then west to avoid the massive 35+' swells we would have encountered if we instead had gone straight west after spending 2 days in the Canary Islands.

 

Now I will say Rhodes, Malta and the Canary Islands are pretty cool ports and it was a shame to miss them. It's also understandable folks might be depressed by missing any of them. However, stuff happens and we're glad the Captain in coordination with HQ made those decisions as we did have an overall great time on the 4 legs we cruised on the Riviera. Sure, it wasn't perfect and we did choose to cruise in the Oct-Nov timeframe when weather can be a little iffy in the Med, but that's the way it goes.