America

[Miller Cruiser]

On board Explorer two. Looked at magazine in the cabin to find that in 2021 they will be home porting in Port Canaveral. Excited, to say the least.

[Vitalsign]

So when they sail down to the Caribbean there will be 2 sea days instead of the usual 1

☹️☹️

[nancyneptune]

Heard talk last week that they would be doing South America. 

[Vitalsign]

That would be great 😎👍😊

[Miller Cruiser]

No South America, according to the on board magazine, which have all been removed from cabins. I had asked when the American cruises would be on sale, pointing out that I had posted on Cruise Critic about them. Supposed to be hush, hush until official brochure launch. Oops.

[Colbrit]

Now announced in press today and my source told me that it has been announced via their staff intranet today too.

[nancyneptune]

5 hours ago, Miller Cruiser said:

No South America, according to the on board magazine, which have all been removed from cabins. I had asked when the American cruises would be on sale, pointing out that I had posted on Cruise Critic about them. Supposed to be hush, hush until official brochure launch. Oops.

 

South America perhaps wishful thinking by the captain on Discovery a couple of weeks ago.

[Colbrit]

1 hour ago, nancyneptune said:

 

South America perhaps wishful thinking by the captain on Discovery a couple of weeks ago.

For South America where would the ideal home port be should this be an option in the future? The fact of the matter is the Cruise segment is very important for Marella and they want to grow it - new destinations plus flexibility with cruise and stay will be what they’re looking for. They’ve just tied in their new USA cruises with Orlando stays.
 

South America isn’t featured within TUI main beach product unless they are looking to feature with standalone flying like the Far East and Gulf winter programme. 
 

We can continue to dream 😀 

 

 

[so,ton saint]

27 minutes ago, Colbrit said:

For South America where would the ideal home port be should this be an option in the future? The fact of the matter is the Cruise segment is very important for Marella and they want to grow it - new destinations plus flexibility with cruise and stay will be what they’re looking for. They’ve just tied in their new USA cruises with Orlando stays.
 

South America isn’t featured within TUI main beach product unless they are looking to feature with standalone flying like the Far East and Gulf winter programme. 
 

We can continue to dream 😀 

 

 

 

 

 Let,s Dream not to show my age worked as a Steward on R.M.S Andes in the sixties and done many cruise,s to Salvador and Rio de janerio , mostly from So,ton but stopped of  the Caribbean islands first.

[Tapi]

Press release is out. Majority of the ports visited will be in the United States (New York, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Charleston, Norfolk, Key West) plus a few stops in the Bahamas and Grand Turk. 
 

The press release indicates that they’ll be marketing these sailings to cruisers from the UK as well as the USA, but with those itineraries, I’m guessing Americans won’t be as interested. 
 

The big question for me is if other ships and itineraries will also become available m to Americans. In the past, it was impossible for Americans to book a cruise on Marella. I tried to book one out of Montego Bay and it couldn’t be done. 

[brian1]

10 hours ago, so,ton saint said:

 

 

 Let,s Dream not to show my age worked as a Steward on R.M.S Andes in the sixties and done many cruise,s to Salvador and Rio de janerio , mostly from So,ton but stopped of  the Caribbean islands first.

Those places and Panama canal are doable from Fort Laudadale.A full canal transit would open up all sorts of possibilities on the Pacific side also.

[nancyneptune]

8 hours ago, Tapi said:

Press release is out. Majority of the ports visited will be in the United States (New York, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Charleston, Norfolk, Key West) plus a few stops in the Bahamas and Grand Turk. 
 

The press release indicates that they’ll be marketing these sailings to cruisers from the UK as well as the USA, but with those itineraries, I’m guessing Americans won’t be as interested. 
 

The big question for me is if other ships and itineraries will also become available m to Americans. In the past, it was impossible for Americans to book a cruise on Marella. I tried to book one out of Montego Bay and it couldn’t be done. 

 

My American family and friends pick some really cheap cruise deals from the US. There are so many to choose from.  Doubt if they would get a better deal with Marella and they probably wouldn't like the ship. They go for the bigger, better, more modern bling ships. 

[Tapi]

7 minutes ago, nancyneptune said:

 

My American family and friends pick some really cheap cruise deals from the US. There are so many to choose from.  Doubt if they would get a better deal with Marella and they probably wouldn't like the ship. They go for the bigger, better, more modern bling ships. 

I had looked at Marella last year because they offer a 7 night sailing from Montego Bay that goes to Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica which fit perfectly with the kid’s spring break. I knew that the ship was older, but I was more interested in the destinations. Out of Florida ports, itineraries sailing to these destinations are usually 10+ days so they don’t mesh with the amount of days off we can take. I tried to book it using different outlets, but I could never find a way to do it from the USA. I hope that with the introduction of sailings from Port Canaveral, all Marella sailings become available to US residents as well.

Edited November 2, 2019 by Tapi

[Colbrit]

25 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I had looked at Marella last year because they offer a 7 night sailing from Montego Bay that goes to Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica which fit perfectly with the kid’s spring break. I knew that the ship was older, but I was more interested in the destinations. Out of Florida ports, itineraries sailing to these destinations are usually 10+ days so they don’t mesh with the amount of days off we can take. I tried to book it using different outlets, but I could never find a way to do it from the USA. I hope that with the introduction of sailings from Port Canaveral, all Marella sailings become available to US residents as well.

Have you tried looking on the Marella website? In cruise options there is the Cruise Only option and in the passenger information section you can select place of residence from the drop down menu and USA is there. By doing this it removes the restriction of having to put a U.K. address down - they also accept payment via PayPal now.

[Tapi]

9 minutes ago, Colbrit said:

Have you tried looking on the Marella website? In cruise options there is the Cruise Only option and in the passenger information section you can select place of residence from the drop down menu and USA is there. By doing this it removes the restriction of having to put a U.K. address down - they also accept payment via PayPal now.

This was a year ago, so hopefully things have changed since. I had gone on the Marella website, clicked on the cruise only option, but it wouldn’t accept payments from the USA. I haven’t tried it since. Thanks for the heads up about Pay Pal! 

[brian1]

PC being the closest port to Disney,it seems land and 7 day cruise combo is going to be another option aimed at Brits flying into Orlando.

[shipgeeks]

2 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

My American family and friends pick some really cheap cruise deals from the US. There are so many to choose from.  Doubt if they would get a better deal with Marella and they probably wouldn't like the ship. They go for the bigger, better, more modern bling ships. 

Not necessarily true!  We cruise a lot; do mainly Carib only because it's available, not because we like it so much.  We would enjoy sailing to more American ports, and we much prefer smaller ships, as well.  We will be following this.

[edinburgher]

For what it's worth..........

 

We have sailed a number of  "non-UK" cruiselines including HAL, Princess, X.

 

Many Americans like to go to the casino, either for the tables or the slots.  UK lines really don't do much in the way of casinos.  When they take over a new-to-them ship they usually remove almost all of the casino.

 

Entertainment would need to be heavily tweaked as many "non-'Brit"s wouldn't understand the jokes or references, nor the Trivia questions.

 

Food could be another issue. Whilst many "non-Brits" enjoy scones, cream, jam, fish and chips and "pub-type food" in general, they maybe wouldn't want to eat it all of the time at every meal. They would still expect to find dishes and brand names they are more familiar with, also branded alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks they are more familiar with. They may find the lack of choices in buffet and MDR disappointing.

 

Tui and Marella must also have looked at potential CDC inspections, the results of which are made public. These inspections are very thorough.

 

And of course, US Immigration at ports. Can take many hours to clear all pax and crew onboard.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2019 by edinburgher

[bishop84]

7 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

For what it's worth..........

 

We have sailed a number of  "non-UK" cruiselines including HAL, Princess, X.

 

Many Americans like to go to the casino, either for the tables or the slots.  UK lines really don't do much in the way of casinos.  When they take over a new-to-them ship they usually remove almost all of the casino.

 

Entertainment would need to be heavily tweaked as many "non-'Brit"s wouldn't understand the jokes or references, nor the Trivia questions.

 

Food could be another issue. Whilst many "non-Brits" enjoy scones, cream, jam, fish and chips and "pub-type food" in general, they maybe wouldn't want to eat it all of the time at every meal. They would still expect to find dishes and brand names they are more familiar with, also branded alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks they are more familiar with. They may find the lack of choices in buffet and MDR disappointing.

 

Tui and Marella must also have looked at potential CDC inspections, the results of which are made public. These inspections are very thorough.

 

And of course, US Immigration at ports. Can take many hours to clear all pax and crew onboard.

 

 

Coast Guard inspections as well! A number of times I've seen embarkation delayed as crew have had to spend several hours doing drills and tests instead of being able to get the ship ready. 

Hopefully the cruises will be counted as 'closed loop' by US Immigration so people will only have to do the immigration check when they disembark in Port Canaveral.  

[Colbrit]

https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/621296

 

Port Cape Canaveral is looking forward to the $$$ 😀

[nancyneptune]

6 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Not necessarily true!  We cruise a lot; do mainly Carib only because it's available, not because we like it so much.  We would enjoy sailing to more American ports, and we much prefer smaller ships, as well.  We will be following this.

 

Was referring only to my own American family and friends.  Can't speak for anyone else.

[shipgeeks]

2 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

Was referring only to my own American family and friends.  Can't speak for anyone else.

My mistake; I misinterpreted.  Thank you for your response.

 

[edinburgher]

Bishop84, I have looked at info on the the probable routings and Grand Turk features on many itineraries.  It is British, so these itineraries definitely won't be closed-loop.

 

Although Nassau is also listed on other itineraries and could in theory count as closed-loop, US citizens may find that Marella will insist on passports.  It is one of the decisions Marella will need to make. To be honest, I think those Americans travelling with only ID take a huge risk.  What if they missed the ship, or had to leave due to a Medivac or some family crisis? They cannot fly to anywhere in the US without a passport. Or even if the ship had to divert for mechanical or weather related issues?  Closest port or island may not belong to the US therefore a passport would be needed. I am sure Marella will take these potential scenarios into account when making a decision especially as they are planned for hurricane season.

 

The Florida Post has a good deal of info in a news item.  Sanford Airport will be used and apparently, transfers included.  I am always wary of copyright issues with links, so try searching eg British cruise line Marella to sail from Port Canaveral in 2021.

 

There is also itinerary info on this thread, post #18

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2704153-summer-2021-brochure/#comments

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by edinburgher

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, edinburgher said:

To be honest, I think those Americans travelling with only ID take a huge risk.  What if they missed the ship, or had to leave due to a Medivac or some family crisis? They cannot fly to anywhere in the US without a passport. Or even if the ship had to divert for mechanical or weather related issues?  Closest port or island may not belong to the US therefore a passport would be needed

To clarify, if for some reason an American cruising with just an ID and birth certificate / no passport found themselves needing to fly home from an international port, they can still do so, but it requires jumping through additional hoops of fire. The local (or nearest) US embassy needs to be contacted to issue emergency travel documents to fly them home. As far as I remember from the American cruise lines that I’ve sailed on, a local contact number for that day’s port of call is always printed on the ship’s daily program so that passengers have this information before going ashore for any unforeseen circumstances. 
 

If Marella will issue more stringent documentation rules than what the US GOVT requires remains to be seen, but telling Americans that they can’t sail on a close loop cruise without passport will undoubtedly mean eliminating a large percentage of potential American cruisers who don’t own a passport.
 

With that said, it still baffles me that so many Americans choose not to have a $100 passport citing that it’s cost prohibitive when they are going on a vacation that costs thousands of dollars, but that’s a discussion for another topic. 

[Tapi]

21 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Entertainment would need to be heavily tweaked as many "non-'Brit"s wouldn't understand the jokes or references, nor the Trivia questions...

I guess Marella has some time to think about what kind of product they’ll offer out of Port Canaveral, and that will be determined once they figure out how many Americans they will actually attract. 
 

When MSC started sailing from ports in the USA, it was a decidedly more European cruise line, but once they decided that they were going after American cruisers and that they were bringing more and larger ships to this side of the Atlantic, they decided to “Americanize” their product. I sailed on the MSC Divina out of Miami when they were going through that transformation and it was a bit painful at times. They just couldn’t make anybody happy from either side of the pond. Lots of very negative reviews at the time. But it seems like they have found their happy medium and the reviews have been getting better and their market share keeps growing. 
 

Personally, I’d prefer if Marella doesn’t Americanize their product out of Port Canaveral. We already have plenty of American cruise lines to choose from. 

Edited November 3, 2019 by Tapi