RCI Reducing Norfolk Sailings

[LuvBNatC]

The Richmond paper today mentioned that RCI will be reducing sailings in 2009 from the beautiful new cruise terminal in Norfolk from 13 to 7 with Grandeur of the Seas. The reason given was that not enough families with children were sailing! :eek:

 

I know Norfolk isn't in the most convenient place for traveling north or south, but I was hoping to see MORE and longer sailings, not fewer. I've sailed from Norfolk twice, and it's a delight not to have to spend two days in airports. Norfolk really has its act together as far as embarkation, even though most of the parking isn't nearby.

 

Does anybody know if any other lines have plans to sail from Norfolk and to go anywhere else but "nowhere" or Bermuda?

[pmfan]

Sorry to hear that.

[cruzeluver]

That stinks! I would book a 7 nighter to Bermuda from Norfolk in a heartbeat (regardless of the cruise line).

 

Looks like we'll be flying next year if we decide to do Bermuda. :mad:

[jerin]

I'm sorry to hear that too. We'll be sailing out of Norfolk in June. But with 4 children under 10, we prefer cabins that sleep 6 (adjoining doesn't work out well for us), so the kiddies are staying back with grandparents, since Grandeur's were booked. If they sailed ships out of Norfolk that had more accomodations for families with children (more than 2), we'd probably sail out of there with the whole family. I grew up in Norfolk/Va Beach as much as anywhere else (graduated from high school there), and still have lots of friends in the area.

[Aprille]

I feel your pain as I live near the 3rd busiest US cruise port with no more year-round RCCL ship. Sucks, don't it?! :p ;)

 

I guess all we can do is hope the Asia, South America and Australia itineraries don't do well so RCCL can redistribute the ships back to where they belong! :cool:

[cyscopup]

That's too bad we have family in Norfolk and were looking forward to combining a "reunion" with a nice long Bermuda cruise, or a Carib cruise. Oh well we just have to keep looking.

[Fionna]

I feel your pain as I live near the 3rd busiest US cruise port with no more year-round RCCL ship. Sucks, don't it?! :p ;)

 

I guess all we can do is hope the Asia, South America and Australia itineraries don't do well so RCCL can redistribute the ships back to where they belong! :cool:

 

I didn't realize that there were no more year round RCCL ships out of Galveston??? When did that happen. I'd noticed they didn't have any more short (3-4day) cruises there any more...

 

I think they're making a mistake, as I'd love to cruise more, and when my brother lives only 7 miles north of the terminal, we get curb to curb service with attended parking (hehehe).

[Albert Ross]

The Richmond paper today mentioned that RCI will be reducing sailings in 2009 from the beautiful new cruise terminal in Norfolk from 13 to 7 with Grandeur of the Seas. The reason given was that not enough families with children were sailing! :eek:

 

I know Norfolk isn't in the most convenient place for traveling north or south, but I was hoping to see MORE and longer sailings, not fewer. I've sailed from Norfolk twice, and it's a delight not to have to spend two days in airports. Norfolk really has its act together as far as embarkation, even though most of the parking isn't nearby.

 

Does anybody know if any other lines have plans to sail from Norfolk and to go anywhere else but "nowhere" or Bermuda?

 

Grandeur of the Seas will offer alternating five-night Bermuda and nine-night Eastern Caribbean round-trip itineraries from Norfolk. The five-night itinerary also features an overnight call at Kings Wharf, and the nine-night sailing makes a call at Labadee, Haiti, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination. In June, Grandeur repositions to Baltimore, also to offer similar and alternating itineraries through November.

First sailing May 2 and last sailing Jun 13 from Norfolk.

[wahokie]

I wonder if RCI has a clue that schools do not let out in most places in Va until after June 15? There is a law in Va that schools must start after Labor Day unless you get special permission. This means that a large number of families cannot cruise from Va until after that date. When I sailed from Norfolk on Celebrity Horizon in June of 2005 it was full of kids as I left on June 25. I am going again as I want to cruise out of Norfolk and I want to support the cruise line here, but I want to go to Bermuda for more than a 5 day trip and it seems to me they could have better ports on our 9 day--even Key West would tempt me. Hearing that the Freedom is coming to Port Canaveral sounds drivable to me. I don't think Norfolk is any further than Bayonne and we could certainly handle an Explorer size ship. Norfolk has a great port with lots to do in the area.

[Aprille]

I didn't realize that there were no more year round RCCL ships out of Galveston??? When did that happen. I'd noticed they didn't have any more short (3-4day) cruises there any more...

Splendour and Rhapsody both pulled out late last summer. Splendour is doing South America and Rhapsody is doing Asia now, then Alaska, then Austrailia. Galveston has Voyager late Dec thru April when she'll head over to Europe for her Mediterranean sailings. Then come back to Galveston late this Dec thru next April. That's as much as we know until the new 2009-10 itineraries are released within the next month. Doesn't look too promising to have an RCCL ship here next summer either.

 

My theory is RCCL is testing new markets and there aren't enough ships to go around. I think they got so much flack when they pulled out of Galveston that they're trying a new excuse for pulling out of Norfolk. Doesn't seem to be going over any better. :p ;)

[Maraprince]

With the cruise lines focusing on Europe now as the "hot" spot, ships have been moved around from the US to across the pond.

 

Cruise lines go where the revenue is. Whatever they are basing their information on, leads them to believe Norfolk is not profitable enough to have as many ships as originally scheduled. Here is a case of a city spending a lot of money building a new cruise terminal to accommodate the larger ships and the cruise lines pulling up and going elsewhere. Very sad.

 

Working in midtown NY all I see and hear are European visitors shopping here because the dollar rate vs. the Euro is so much more favorable. They find our prices cheap and the selection of merchandise far superior to what they have in Europe. Just yesterday alone within 15 minutes 3 tourists came into the shop I was shopping in on 42nd Street between 5th Avenue and Madison to ask how to get to: Macy's (2 different groups) and the Mid Mahattan Mall. Irish visitors come to NYC just for the weekend because of the low pricing. So I ask why do the cruise lines want to send us to Europe where our money is almost worthless and further hurt the US economy?

 

NCY loves the foreign tourists who come because they spend money while the locals cannot afford to shop in a lot of the higher end Madison Avenue shops, Lord & Taylor, Saks, Coach, etc.

 

MARAPRINCE