Why only 3 port stops on Eastern Carib. itinerary? Earns RCL more money?

[mikeerdas]

I'm booked for a 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral. Looking forward to it--1st time on the Mariner of the Seas and 1st time with RCL--but I don't care much for sea days; and this one has more sea days than port days.

 

Why are there only 3 port stops for a 7 night cruise? Are the distances really that great, or is it a way for the company to make more money (e.g. captive "audience" = people will spend more on the ship)?

 

I know some people enjoy sea days more than port days, and I will take advantage of exploring the ship and all it has to offer. Part of the problem, and it's my problem of course--I booked the cruise--is that I never thought I'd like cruising.

 

Then I took a port intensive cruise to Hawaii with Norwegian. Loved it because I rented a car each day (avoiding expensive excursions) and drove out to what I wanted to see. Each day was a real adventure. My background was all independent travel before my first cruise, and I never thought I'd ever hear myself extolling the virtues of cruising to others. But the port intensive Hawaii cruise sold me.

 

I especially loved the overnights in Maui and Kauai. Thinking it's a shame there's no overnight in St. Thomas on the cruise I'm booked for. Probably a "never again" thing for me--I want more time at real destinations to go hiking, etc. Subtract the Coco Cay stop, and there are only 2 "real" port stops.

 

 

Anyway, why is it only 3 port stops? Because it caters to people who prefer sea days (nothing wrong with that), distance, or something more nefarious (keep people on the ships buying alcohol, food, and gambling in the casino)?

 

Would love to do a eastern Mediterranean cruise next--most are very port intensive. The real problem is that flights from North Carolina to Italy (where most of the eastern Med cruises depart from) cost about as much per person, or more, than the cruise per person! Strange, but I checked flights to Italy with certain flights to *Asia*, and the flights to Asia were only USD $100 more expensive than flights to Europe--which made no sense with fuel costs, etc.

 

Thanks.

 

Mike

[Cruising89143]

There is a big difference between Hawaii and the Caribbean. NCL leaves from one of the Hawaiian islands and and due to their short distance from the home port they can easily cruise between them due to their short distance.

 

It is a much longer distance down to the eastern Caribbean islands from Florida. Yes they could and have visited four islands in the past but the cruise lines are now reducing speed to conserve fuel. Most of the western itineraries still have four ports of call.

[cruisePRN]

RCL has been "tweaking" itinerarys to save fuel, eliminating ports so yes, it's to save money for them. It's been reported on several threads already how they are dropping ports.

[ILoveScotland]

Choosing any cruise, as you're learning, is a matter of finding the right balance between ports and sea days for your own tastes given the basic region of the world you want to travel.

 

DH and I cancelled a Serenade of the Seas cruise scheduled for last winter and booked HAL's Westerdam instead specifically (well mostly) because we only had 3 port days and had more days at sea which are what I love, especially in the winter when these NC mountains are cold and dreary.

[uksimonusa]

The eastern from PC, has, for a long while, had 1 less port than the easterns from Miami,probably to do with the extra time spent cruising down 1/2 of Florida, having said that, RCI are dropping some ports and slowing the ships down to save money

[WhiteSoxFan]

Bottom line is it is just that far away.

[Murphy]

Personally, I love sea days and don't even always get off the ship when we are in port! But I feel your pain... our first few cruises were very port intensive and if you are going for the sights, obviously more ports are better.

 

You are a captive audience on a sea day though, so more drink/gambling/shopping revenue for RCCL on a sea day... and $$$ is king! :)

[TEXASMUNK]

Until you start to see Oil prices drop, you can expect this to become the norm.

 

It might a factor is choosing a different vacation option, or departing from a different port...we use Galveston...700 miles from the first and last ports, so we are used to limited ports of call.

You have to sail the length of Florida before you even get close....

Try Miami or San Juan or Santo Domingo....that might alter your port options

[masonpips]

Now that we've done the Carribean a lot, I'm ok w/less ports per trip. As I see it:

 

Pro's to port stops:

- New places to see

- Things to do (excursions)

- Once you've btdt, you can stay on the ship and feel like you have your own yacht!

 

Con's to port stops:

- Go, go, go, until you collapse

- $$$ if you do excursions everywhere

 

We now look at WHICH ports we'l be going to and trying to choose something we know we love (St. Thomas and Martin on this cruise) and, if we can, something new (CocoCay this time).

 

Next year we're hoping for AOS to see some new Southern Carribean ports

[FLACRUISER99]

RCL has been "tweaking" itinerarys to save fuel, eliminating ports so yes, it's to save money for them. It's been reported on several threads already how they are dropping ports.

Except the itinerary for the Mariner of the Seas was the same before the rapid run up in fuel prices.

[Gracie115]

Yes we did this itinerary 2 years ago...picked it for the wonderful sea days...this has NOTHING to do with gas prices!!!

[leoandhugh]

Nothing to do with fuel prices; it is a matter of distance. From Canaveral or even Miami, a 7day cruise cannot go as far as St Thomas without spending 2 sea days going and 2 coming back, leaving 3 for port calls. To do more on a 7day cruise you need to consider flying to San Juan and starting there.

[mckinna]

Try the ships out of San Juan. We're going next Sunday on Adventure, and are doing 5 ports- St. Thomas, St. Martin, St. Lucia, Antigua, and Barbados. I actually really like sea days, so this is the most port intense cruise we've done.

[GXmanDC]

I agree with the posters that cite distance as the reason, it has nothing to do with the price of fuel. In January I cruised Liberty from Miami to Grand Turk, St Thomas and Labadee. I'm not sure if they could have made a fourth stop. As it was, we were going 20 knots for much of the trip to get to all three ports.

[t34babe]

I agree, try the San Juan route. They are port-intensive and that's what you're looking for. We debated between AOS and the Mariner, and ended up on the Mariner because we wanted to really enjoy that beautiful ship and the sea days were more relaxing for us.:D

[katiel53]

Nothing to do with fuel prices; it is a matter of distance. From Canaveral or even Miami, a 7day cruise cannot go as far as St Thomas without spending 2 sea days going and 2 coming back, leaving 3 for port calls. To do more on a 7day cruise you need to consider flying to San Juan and starting there.

 

I totally agree. We have been on Mariner Eastern cruises 3 times and they have all been the same, except last year we couldn't go to Coco Cay for some reason, so we went to San Juan instead.

 

We will miss Mariner and I guess we will think about going on cruises from San Juan again, at least for a while. We love sailing to Aruba and unfortuntely, there aren't any cruises from Pt Canaveral that will go there.

 

Enjoy.

[land lover]

OP pick where you want to go don't let cost be the deciding factor on your trip.

 

I am a Port person and book the cruise line that provides me with the most ports and often it is not RCI..........

 

Since my first cruise in 1983 I have always viewed the ship as my transportation not destination things have changed through out the years....ships are now floating resorts so many cruise because of the sea days.........Sea days are a waste to me, just as repeating ports....each to his own.......

 

Cost always comes into play when planning but I always find it interesting on these boards that many would rather repeat an itinerary because they are getting a great deal than venture out and see the world for a few 100 dollars more...just MHO

[GXmanDC]

As someone pointed out over on the Celebrity board, the cruise line also makes a lot of money on shore excursions. I doubt they make more on sea days, I don't see a lot passengers lining up for art work or gold by the yard. Most of the ship activites and venues are included in the cruise cost.

[mckinna]

OP pick where you want to go don't let cost be the deciding factor on your trip.

 

I am a Port person and book the cruise line that provides me with the most ports and often it is not RCI..........

 

Since my first cruise in 1983 I have always viewed the ship as my transportation not destination things have changed through out the years....ships are now floating resorts so many cruise because of the sea days.........Sea days are a waste to me, just as repeating ports....each to his own.......

 

Cost always comes into play when planning but I always find it interesting on these boards that many would rather repeat an itinerary because they are getting a great deal than venture out and see the world for a few 100 dollars more...just MHO

 

One big reason to go to the same destination more than once is that there is much more to see than one could possibly do during an 8 hour stay. Take Cozumel, for instance- we've been there many times, and haven't done the same thing twice- Mayan ruins, 4x4 tour, beaches, Chankanaab Park, etc. It's not always about money.

 

Sea days- I love them. It is nice to intersperse activity-laden port stops with relaxing sea days.

 

But as you said, to each his own.:D

[Gracie115]

I think if I weren't working 6 day weeks and lots of hours that I probably would not care for sea days as much as I do. But the complete relaxation that those days give me is WONDERFUL! I love seeing new places and enjoy the ports and as someone else said just because you've been in a place before does NOT mean you've seen everything by any means! We've never done the same thing either! But the number of sea days is ALSO very important to me. But again, my opinion only.

[jmom5]

we are getting ready to do our second cruise on liberty to the eastern caribbean from miami and we only have 3 ports. it has been the same itinerary since the ship starting sailing, before the big fuel crisis. i think that it is just an option they offer. we chose this itinerary because we love sea days.

[land lover]

[quote=mckinna;15957926]One big reason to go to the same destination more than once is that there is much more to see than one could possibly do during an 8 hour stay. Take Cozumel, for instance- we've been there many times, and haven't done the same thing twice- Mayan ruins, 4x4 tour, beaches, Chankanaab Park, etc. It's not always about money.

:D

 

You are certainly right, that is what LAND vacations are for:D

 

Maybe it is not always about money for you and I, but I do believe a majority of the threads have cost as a central theme, just as this OP did.

 

I just think it is unfortunate when one says they are waiting for prices to go down or retirement before taking a cruise or vacation to their dream destination, I say if you have the time go, go for it now.......

[birdie16]

We prefer more sea days too, although our next cruise on the AOS will be more port intensive. I enjoyed our Hawaiian cruise but I could not wait for the three nights following in a hotel just to rest and relax on the beach. It is a good thing the cruise lines offer options.

[mikeerdas]

Thanks for all the replies. I knowingly chose the Eastern Carib for my wife--she wanted to experience a larger ship and more sea days.

 

But we're both jazzed about doing a port-intensive Eastern Mediterranean cruise for our next one. But I'll definitely consider cruising out of San Juan, PR if I want to do a port-intensive Caribbean cruise (would love to see Dominica for the hiking, etc).

 

I already knew cruises out of San Juan, PR were more port intensive, but I looked into airfare and that jacked up the total price of the cruise considerably. The ability to drive to Port Canaveral or Tampa in a day makes cruising a lot more affordable for us. Been learning a lot more about cruising and airfare on some other CC threads, so I'll have to consider San Juan in the future.

 

Anyway, thanks for all the help. I've learned a lot.

[collegecruiser346]

It does not have more sea days than port days. It has 3 days in port, and 3 entire sea days. I've done that route twice now. Once on RCCL and once on Princess and I like the combination of port and sea days. Port days are so full and busy (if you want to explore all day) and then your sea days are relaxing. And I'm not entirely sure that it makes RCCL more money if they stay at sea longer. Something not a lot of people know is that port cities actually PAY cruise lines to dock there. Yes, you read that right. They pay cruise lines to stop there. A place like St. Thomas or St. Maarten relies on cruise traffic to survive. Cruise lines can bring as many as 10-12 thousand people into a port each and every day. That really bolsters their economy.