Would You Like To See Princess add more ships to the Caribbean?

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Im dreaming and stretching it here, but id love to see Bermuda sailings from Boston. NCL does it a lot during the summer, but im not an NCL fan, especially the older ship they have sailing out of Boston right now. I would be on the first ship out, thats for sure!

[chasetf]

......Do you think they really need 8 ships in Alaska and 8 in Europe during July and August?....

Doesn't really matter what we think... It is what Princess thinks. They think they can make the most money with them in Europe / Alaska than the Caribbean, that is where they will be. :)

[Sandytoes]

Have you cruised on Carnival or RCI? Of course, everyone has their opinion and every ship and every cruise is different. I did not care for my RCI cruise at all. But, one of these days I'll probably try them again. The reason I say that is, the worst cruise I ever had was on a Carnival ship, the Destiny. I swore I'd never step foot on a Carnival ship again.

I'm not loyal to any cruiseline. I pick out the ports I want to go to, then find a cruise ship that will take me there. :) If I didn't do that, I'd be missing out on alot of places. I just always like to go the caribbean route and Carnival has so many choices. So, my vote goes to putting more Princess ships in the caribbean.

I have sailed on RC.

Like what you said - didn't care for it much.

Do prefer Princess.

But, willing to sail on RC again just to visit different ports.

[pungo3]

Im dreaming and stretching it here, but id love to see Bermuda sailings from Boston. NCL does it a lot during the summer, but im not an NCL fan, especially the older ship they have sailing out of Boston right now. I would be on the first ship out, thats for sure!

That's a great idea. I'd be there with you, for sure.

[jhannah]

Bermuda sailings would be great. But so far, Bermuda continues to severely restrict the number of cruise ship visits. They don't want their island to become like St. Thomas, Grand Cayman, and other Caribbean neighbors that are often overrun with visitors.

[Sandytoes]

Doesn't really matter what we think... It is what Princess thinks. They think they can make the most money with them in Europe / Alaska than the Caribbean, that is where they will be. :)

I beg to differ.

I personally feel Princess cares and listens to what their passengers want.

Princess at the moment is probably making a profit but times are changing.

 

Just look at the the way the price of gas is creeping higher every day.

Overseas flights are extremely expensive now, plus with the added charges just to fly. And don't forget that you have factored at least one night in a hotel into the travel budget to arrive at embarkation port a day ahead of sailing.

More and more cruisers are willing to forego the airways and rather drive to the port of embarkation. Saving on the cost of airfare, baggage charges, and extra hotel charges. People like the fact that they can get into their car, drive to the port, park their car, get on a ship and go on vacation.

That is why the new trend is Cruising from a Homeland port.

In time, Princess will add ships all across the North America with new itineraries to keep up with competitive market.

[potchak]

I would love more cruises out of closer locations- Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, or even one out of NC. I live in Durham, so this is where I prefer to cruise out of. Otherwise we have to fly. Right not the only choices for a really close cruise are the Norwegian Majesty out of Charleston... uh, no thanks!There are some options out of Baltimore and Norfolk, but very limited options.

[hubofhockey]

I wouldn't mind seeing them go a couple weeks longer to the Caribbean. I think I am on the last Crown Caribbean cruise next Spring. But I can't go much earlier because of my job. But I understand they need to maximize profits from their ships. There are other choices in cruiselines available in late Spring and I won't cruise the Caribbean during hurrican season in any case.

[cacy6893076]

Princess never had a embarkment port in Barbados nor Jamaica.

They did have a Southern cruise from sailing out of San Juan a few years back, which was great. With ports of call - Barbados, St Lucia, Antiguqa, St Thomas and St Maarten

they indeed sail rt barbados on the sea princess two alternating itineraries november 2008-april 2009. the rt montego bay is controlled by uk princess, but does exist,, must be booked throughthe uk office. it is also on the sea and occurrs as a variation of the rt barbados in the middle ofthe 14 day version rt barbados.

[SeaTeach]

How about adding more Caribbean ports in general. And also more varied choices. HAL, RCCL, and Carnival all offer more variety than Princess in the Caribbean.

I'd also like to have more ships sailing to different ports in the Caribbean. I am tired of the same overexposed ports.:( :( :(

[nattie]

A lot of people a mentioning that with so many things to see in the world, why travel Caribbean? Well, I personally would love to go to all of those exotic places, BUT my dream itinerary was just scraped - Tahitian Princess roundtrip Papeete - and the ship moved to Alaska and Europe. I have no desire to go to Alaska (hate the cold) and being from Europe, I have traveled there extensively, so why cruise there? Especially with Euro being so high...

Also, I agree with the costs issue - I absolutely HAD to go on Polynesian cruise, so we went last year, but I had to pull some purse strings to do that. My next big one will be Australia (not till 2011, have to save up!), BUT while we are saving for this one I can still go on Caribbean cruise for less than a week in FL or even Ocean City, MD. There is also a time issue - I can surely do 7 or 10 day cruise, 14 is stretching it and anything more is quite impossible. Most of the exotics are longer then 14 days...

Overall, there is a limited amount of ships stretched over unlimited ports :) But if I have to wish upon a star, my vote is for a 10 - 14 day out of Baltimore/Norfolk/NC with Bermuda and St Maarten stops as a must!

[Sanibel*Gal]

Due to our work schedules we sail in the fall - September or October, we can also drive to the ports so our cruises are from FL. We have done the east/west Caribbean many times so we would like them to change ports of call. Doing a 10 Day Southern this year and next year looking at trying HAL in October just for a change in itinerary.;)

[ssbeagle]

In Mobile, Carnival is replacing the Holiday with the Fantasy which is newer and larger. Why can't Princess put a ship on the Gulf Coast like that? Even a smaller ship would be fine. Fewer lines are using New Orleans and only Carnival and RCL are using Galveston right now. Maybe Princess will come back when they finish the new cruiseport in Houston. But I would still like to see one closer to the Florida panhandle.

[LARGIN]

Would love more cruises out of San Francisco..

[Sandytoes]

Comparing the consistency of responses

I'm sorry that I didn't say, in the poll,

who would like more departure ports

offering more sailings closer to home?

 

It seems that would definitely win hands down.

[ChrissyBTX]

In Mobile, Carnival is replacing the Holiday with the Fantasy which is newer and larger. Why can't Princess put a ship on the Gulf Coast like that? Even a smaller ship would be fine. Fewer lines are using New Orleans and only Carnival and RCL are using Galveston right now. Maybe Princess will come back when they finish the new cruiseport in Houston. But I would still like to see one closer to the Florida panhandle.

 

Here is the latest on the brand new Houston port. It's 3 months old, but I don't think things have changed. Very interesting article which mentions the talks they've had with all of the cruise lines and why none have committed. Talk about a waste of millions of dollars. It also mentioned why some of the cruiselines are positioning their ships in the European market. What a shame. I hope things turn around.

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5784424.html

[kendon]

I would like to see a ship out of Baltimore or Norfolk or Philadelphia (home port cruising for me). Probably wouldn't happen though, since carnival just put a ship in Baltimore year round...

Sailing out of NY or NJ is just not for me (tried both) so I am not interested in more ships there, I would rather fly to Fl and spend a day or two there.

 

To one of previous posters - why do you need to fly to Barbados or Jamaica if most Caribbean cruises leave from FL? I am obviously missing something here.

 

Pardon me if your question was already answered....poster was referring to repositioning cruises.

[trikeman]

No matter how much people might wish it to be so, summer is not the ideal season for the Caribbean. I don't think it's out of line for Princess to only have one ship operating there during low season; imagine the outcry if they devoted even one, much less two or more, ships to Europe in the wintertime, for example. Having said that, it would be nice if they mixed up the summertime itineraries a little more: maybe one Eastern and one Western. And, I'll say it for the millionth time: puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze bring back the week-long sailings to Bermuda. Or even --daring to dream here -- a 10-day which also included stops in Charleston or Savannah. . .

I'm with you on this one.

[chasetf]

I beg to differ.

I personally feel Princess cares and listens to what their passengers want.

Princess at the moment is probably making a profit but times are changing..

I'll beg too. Princess and all the other cruise lines listen to what we spend.... not wish. Local US routes to Mexico, Hawaii, Caribbean are the least profitable to the lines. They will saturate the foreign (non-US) itineraries because they are more profitable. Just look at the rates of those cruises.

Just look at the the way the price of gas is creeping higher every day.

Overseas flights are extremely expensive now, plus with the added charges just to fly. And don't forget that you have factored at least one night in a hotel into the travel budget to arrive at embarkation port a day ahead of sailing. .

If someone cannot afford the total cost... flights, extra stays, etc......then those are the penny pinching cruisers the lines do not care about loosing. ;)

More and more cruisers are willing to forego the airways and rather drive to the port of embarkation. Saving on the cost of airfare, baggage charges, and extra hotel charges. People like the fact that they can get into their car, drive to the port, park their car, get on a ship and go on vacation.

Cruise lines won't be making big profits on these folks. They will be the booze smugglers, self tourists, who don't spend their money for the big ticket extras.

That is why the new trend is Cruising from a Homeland port. In time, Princess will add ships all across the North America with new itineraries to keep up with competitive market.

What new trend in cruising. :confused: Why do you think the North Americans are the "future" for the cruise lines. :rolleyes: The Europeans, Asians, Aussies, etc are becoming the big spenders the lines will be courting.

 

Besides... the US markets are already saturated. Many folks will tire quickly of Mexico / Caribbean / Hawaii.... and besides....cruising up and down the east or west coast is boring.

[Ephraim]

Agreed.

 

It's not just profit but if a cruise ship stops in a port, the cruiseline must create an infrastructure in the port to accommodate the ship and provide a good shore experience. This is a huge expense even taking into consideration that the local goverment has a docking facility capable of handling a huge ship and 3,000+ passengers. Many smaller countries/ports don't want the ships even if you want to go there nor do they want to spend the money to build a dock and terminal. Just look at the expense and investment Carnival Corp. has made in Grand Turk. Wishful thinking is great but it takes a heck of a lot more than passenger suggestions to make a port a reality.

 

I seem to remember that the Sea Princess did or does have embarkation in Barbados, avoiding embarkation in the U.S. for their U.K. passengers. Or was it the Bahamas?

 

Actually, the economics of building a port and/or visiting a port is a lot more complicated than that. The cruise lines build the ports because they are profitable, often getting kick backs from the government or being able to keep the port fees that they charge you as if they are really government fees.

 

The choice of port can also be quite political with ports stopped and started simply based on taxes. When Jamaica threatened to increase the port taxes, all ships stopped as a pressure tactic. There are plenty of ports in the Caribbean that just aren't getting much or any traffic, like Martinique and St. Croix. There are plenty of ports that can handle the mid size ships. Roatan and Belize pay out enormous amounts to get the ships to dock there. And before you think that it's worth it, statistics don't bear that out. People are spending less and less money at ports on outside services not provided by the cruise line.

 

There are at least two cruise ships that provide trips in the Caribbean the skip all US ports. The reasoning is simply, US CBP just takes too long and is too invasive. To clear a ship in St Thomas can take so long that it just isn't worth getting off the ship. I think they had a ship that still wasn't fully cleared by 1PM once.... and they were leaving at 4PM. It's easier to fly in and out of other ports, since the flight is often a charter. There are also more people on 14 day vacations from Europe, since they get more vacation than their US counterparts. Besides, wouldn't you want to take two weeks if you have to pay airfare from Europe? And these are more profitable for the cruiselines in any case because Europeans pay more per day than cruises leaving out of the US.

[kendon]

Would love more cruises out of San Francisco..

 

What would your ideal itinerary out of San Francisco be?

[PescadoAmarillo]

In time, Princess will add ships all across the North America with new itineraries to keep up with competitive market.

I'd be surprised if that happened. As others have mentioned, a good percentage people who will not/can not spend the money to fly to a port to board the ship are less likely to be big spenders while on the ship. And yes, they will be the ones rolling on board coolers of beer, sodas and water to save money.

 

I think cruise lines see the writing on the wall about the US economy woes that we'll be enduring for years to come. Some, like RC, are home porting ships outside the US.

[Sandytoes]

I'll beg too. Princess and all the other cruise lines listen to what we spend.... not wish. Local US routes to Mexico, Hawaii, Caribbean are the least profitable to the lines. They will saturate the foreign (non-US) itineraries because they are more profitable. Just look at the rates of those cruises.

Yes, I have looked at the fares.

Way out of my league.

:rolleyes:

 

If someone cannot afford the total cost... flights, extra stays, etc......then those are the penny pinching cruisers the lines do not care about loosing.

Cruise lines won't be making big profits on these folks. They will be the booze smugglers, self tourists, who don't spend their money for the big ticket extras.

 

They just increase price of drinks, tours, spa treatments, tack on extra costs for speciality items

Ice Cream, brewed coffee, photos, use of the Sanctuary, and so on for those who are willing to buy, No loss!

 

What new trend in cruising. Why do you think the North Americans are the "future" for the cruise lines. The Europeans, Asians, Aussies, etc are becoming the big spenders the lines will be courting.

 

 

:confused:

 

http://www.cruising.org/CruiseNews/news.cfm?NID=364

 

For the member companies of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), cruising is all about choice, flexibility and value. While spectacular new ships tend to grab the headlines and symbolize the remarkable growth and diversity of the industry, a quieter and very timely trend is the growth of domestic ports of embarkation to more than 30, from Anchorage to St. Augustine, Boston to New Orleans. In fact, virtually the entire population of the United States is within driving distance of a cruise.

 

 

Besides... the US markets are already saturated. Many folks will tire quickly of Mexico / Caribbean / Hawaii.... and besides....cruising up and down the east or west coast is boring.

 

I am not saying stop European cruises.

 

What I and others want are

more cruise ships sailing closer to home.

Good Ol' USA!!!!

Increasing US economy.

 

 

 

 

Caribbean is still top destination to cruise

 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/06/17/cruises.ap/index.html

 

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080626/cruise_destination.html?.v=1

 

Many cruisers are watching their spending, says Brown, cutting back on onboard spending, planning independent short excursions and choosing a cruise near a home port to avoid having to fly to meet the ship.That means the Caribbean is rebounding and the Mediterranean is losing out, says Brown. So much that Carnival is pulling Carnival Freedom from its previously announced 2009 summer itineraries in the Mediterranean and positioning it year-round in the Caribbean, she says.

[caribill]

a good percentage people who will not/can not spend the money to fly to a port to board the ship are less likely to be big spenders while on the ship.

 

Many posters have lately said they refuse to fly to a port for a cruise because of the hassles of flying, not the cost.

 

When driving to a nearby port:

a) Not treated as a criminal in order to board transportation

b) Do not have to worry about weight or number of suitcases

c) No flight to be cancelled by the airline

d) No weather caused delays by weather elsewhere in the country

e) No limits on liquids and gels you have with you (toothpaste, lens cleaner, mouthwash, etc.)

f) Do not have to arrive a day earlier to avoid potential airline problems

etc.

 

Has no relationship to spending on ships.

[caribill]

Here is the latest on the brand new Houston port. It's 3 months old, but I don't think things have changed. Very interesting article which mentions the talks they've had with all of the cruise lines and why none have committed. Talk about a waste of millions of dollars. It also mentioned why some of the cruiselines are positioning their ships in the European market. What a shame. I hope things turn around.

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5784424.html

 

When Princess left Galveston, newspaper reports attributed it to several factors (do not know how many of these are the true reasons):

a) High port fees

b) Low prices required to fill up the ship -- Even more limited places to go from Galveston on a seven day cruise than out of south Florida. With three cruise lines sailing from Galveston to the same places, price was often the determining factor on which cruise line one sailed on.

c) Little repeat business -- Just how many times does one want to go to Cozumel?