worst cutback - RCI is cutting one port day off of most Caribbean itineraries

[allisons]

I noted a refund of $26+ on my April Voyager cruise after Progresso was dropped. It did not say specifically.. but I assumed this was a refund for port charges. My daughter's invoice showed the same.

 

I wonder why we didn't get this. My husband was pretty annoyed about this.

[Tucker in Texas]

I am on the 14 day TA on NOS for 4/08 we were to have 6 days at sea(which is enough time to get acoss to Europe) we now have 7. They cut 1 of the Canary Islands. When I called up & questioned it I was told at the time it was due to the cost of OIL! The ship can sail at a slower speed therefore saving oil. When I asked if we were getting a refund or OBC for the lost port due to less port charges. I was told NO! Because I was told that they use a formula & factor in a lost of a port so therefore it costs you the same. I often wondered how do they calculate the port charges? The reason we booked this cruise was the Canary Islands(never been there) oh well at least we are still getting to visit one of them.

 

Duchess:

 

I'll be on the ship with you. When we originally got interested in this cruise we had a 2007/2008 brochure. In that one, it had a stop in Bermuda in addition to the original two ports in the Canary Islands. Bermuda was dropped when the 2008/2009 brochures came out and well before we booked. The second Canary Island stop came in 2008, again before we booked. We'd been to that port two or three times so it was not a deal breaker. We've, also, been to Bermuda.

 

Back in 2005, I booked ourselves and our extended family for an Alaskan cruise while on another cruise to get us OBC. It was October. In February of 2006 our TA was notified they had dropped Tracey Arms cruising due to "port congestion." Huh? What port? As a substitute and wanting us to see a glacier, they would give us a free bus ride to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. Don't think so. I managed to move us to Princess but we lost our OBC and it cost us more money as prices had gone up because the sailing date was prime summer time which was selling well.

 

Now I have heard that they have changed their partial Panama Canal cruise in that they won't be going into the lake and turning around. Instead they will just be docking at Cristopol or wherever it is. I have no doubt they will have an excursion for sale and it won't be cheap. We did a similar cruise which did not include a partial transit and took an optional excursion. It was very pricey--Over $100 each. You rode a bus to Gatun Lake and then came back to the port. It was on a vessel that was crowded, not exactly the newest thing afloat, and, of course, it was very warm outside. The only air conditioning available was in a small area and you couldn't see anything if you were in there because people would be standing in front of you at the rail outside. The included lunch was pimento cheese sandwiches or dry ham and cheese. While we didn't regret doing the excursion and it was a different perspective being "down low" going through the locks, it was a far cry from being on a nice ship and having it included in our fare. This is a major change from a cruise advertising a "partial transit." Some people on Cruise Critic had not even heard about the change so I can imagine there will be some unhappy people when they board. This is saving RCI major bucks because the Canal is very expensive for ships to transverse either the whole way or half way. There is, also, a nice profit from the optional excursion. I wonder if those people will get a refund of what they are saving not going into the Canal (lol)

 

On our full-transit Panama Canal cruise, RCI changed the itinerary so many times we didn't know where we were going. We really didn't care that much because our main objective was the Canal transit and they had to get the ship from the Pacific to the Caribbean. Of course, they could have done it at midnight, I suppose (lol). The last change we found out about at embarkation--a dropped port. Their all purpose excuse "port congestion" which they used when we tendered at ports that we were suppose to dock at. A couple of the changes were made before final payment but when they were announced, prices had really shot up from when we had booked and availability was severly limited. One of the changes was embarkation from Ensenada rather than San Diego and they wanted $70 each to transport us down there. We would have never booked a the cruise from Ensenada when there are plenty leaving from the US. Mercifully, they backed off of that and we did end up leaving from San Diego but it required a check in at the Civic Center and a late departure.

 

Just keep your fingers crossed we won't have any more changes on the TA in April.

 

Tucker in Texas

[icruiz2]

These are great examples showing that RCI has a trend of removing ports from some itineraries. I myself enjoy port days over sea days. I would think that for people who prefer staying on the ship and like sea days would actually want a cruise with more ports days because those who stay onboard get the benefits of a much emptier ship! Suddenly, those chairs around the pool are available, less people in the buffet, the spa has port-day specials, etc. So even if you are a "sea day" person, you benefit from a cruise that has many port days!

 

Bottom line for me: RCI is my first choice to cruise, but I do try other lines which can offer me a better itinerary - and better itinerary to me means more port days and more varied ports.

 

We are sea day people, as well. There were several times where we haven't even gotten off the ship when it was in port. But besides the scenic value of sea days, when you are at port, there are many things that are closed; the shops, casino, less onboard activities, etc. So, it is nice that it is less crowded, but there is also less to do.

[jst4fun715]

Tucker in Texas, may I ask when you did the full Panama Canal transit? We did it last Oct/Nov and never had any changes made to our itinerary...and my favorite cruise so far. Ours left out of San Diego also and ended in San Juan. Just curious if your trip was before our or after.

 

I have also seen a post that Tortola has been dropped from the Southern route on some cruises. We are doing B2B southern in Nov/Dec and I just checked today. So far, the itinerary remains unchanged. Just wondering how RCI makes these decisions.:confused:

[cruzincurt]

We look for the cruise with the least number of port days, our destination is the ship. We don't need to be entertained by the CD staff during the port or sea days; but that's just us.

 

Probably the best way to visit and explore a port is to fly and stay there for more than a couple of hours.

[MEGADAN]

We only cruise in the summer and we have done Western Caribbean so many times that I would be thrilled if they removed one port, like Jamaica from my LOS in Aug 09. I am always hoping that RCCL would do something like Carnival and offer us a summer cruise to someplace other than the same Western or Eastern ports.

I vote for them to go ahead and take one of the ports out. It would save me money and the guilt of staying on the ship without visiting the port. I have always, always gotten off the ship at port.

[crazy4themouse]

Give me a 7 night cruise with all sea days and I would be happy.

 

 

That describes me perfectly. :) And from the replies to this thread, there are a whole lot of us! Maybe one of the reasons they are dropping ports is because there are so many people who prefer days at sea and not so many stops?

[TXMary]

Progreso isn't on any of it's itineraries this season any more. Now you'll have to fight the crowds an extra day :)

 

Yes, that's the only bad thing about dropping it. We would be glad to see everybody else get off! ;):)

 

BTW, I don't think I have ever thanked you for the info you provide here, but it is very much appreciated! :)

[kyriecat]

On my last cruise they didn't cancel any ports but they didn't maintain the scheduled arrival and departure times. For half the ports we arrived later than scheduled and a couple of times we left earlier than scheduled. You really had to check the Compass and the signs for when to be back onboard that trip. If you went by the original departure times, you could miss the ship.

 

I saw a thread earlier this week about RC making changes to Adventure's S. Caribbean schedule to reduce a couple of port times. Maybe they are cutting back on port times to give them more time to get to the next port??

[HighlandCruzer]

Example #3:

RCI Voyager of the Seas 1/11/09 Western Caribbean 7-night:

when booked: 4 port days (Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya, Progresso/Yucatan), 2 sea days

several months before sailing: 3 port days (Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya), 3 sea days

They have now cut Progresso/Yucatan from this itinerary, leaving 3 port days and 3 sea days.

This itinerary was changed between booking and final payment.

 

We were on the Voyager last January out of Galveston and were scheduled 3 ports but that changed when Costa Maya's port was closed due to I believe Hurricane damage. So we had a 3 port/3 sea day cruise with Progresso filling in for Costa Maya. Frankly, Progresso in my opinion was a disappointment and I know that sentiment was shared by many who I talked to on that cruise. It is quite possible that they might be eliminating this stop all together due to poor customer feedback.

 

I'm not one to second guess the line here as I am not privy to all the information that goes into making such a decision. You've mentioned just a small number of changes- that hardly constitutes a systematic change in policy.

[sailinglisa]

Give me more sea days!!!!! I cruise for the experience of being on the ocean.....not for going to an over-developed port with thousands of other people from who knows how many cruise ships (think Cozumel and St. Thomas here). Sea days rule!

[Wilda]

Perfect cruise- a 7-nighter with 5 days at sea and two days in Labadee on a Freedom class ship. Heaven;););)

[Ocean Boy]

Perfect cruise- a 7-nighter with 5 days at sea and two days in Labadee on a Freedom class ship. Heaven;););)

 

Heaven for you. Two days in Labadee is two days too many for me.;)

[1stCruiser2008]

well as for me, I LOVE the days at sea.

 

Me, too! I could use 3 instead of 2! Someone mentioned 3 ports and 3 sea days -- that would be nice!

 

Donna

[pathfinder1]

Hi all,

We were all very excited to take our 9th cruise on RCCL this coming March. Booked this 4 night cruise with a total of 5 couples, all celebrating our 50th birthdays in '09, last April. We picked the cruise because it stopped in Key West and Cozumel. Primarily we were all interested in the Key West port. When someone in our party went to pay the final installment of the cruise a few weeks ago he noticed that the Key West stop was changed to an "at sea" day. How disappointing. I know it's all there between the fine lines they have the right to change. Anyhow, the friend was quite upset, as we all were. When he questioned the RCCL travel agent he said the port was cancelled due to construction at the port (Key West). Well, my friend called the Port Authority at Key West and got a totally different story. According to the person at the Port Authority there was no on-going construction at the port at the time of our cruise so why then would RCCL basically lie? Finally my friend continued to call RCCL and eventually got to the top of the food chain and this person explained that due to the high cost of oil the cruise line just decided to drop the port to save money. Because of the port drop (drum roll please) each passenger would be credited $11.00, the cost of the docking fee in Key West, since we would no longer be docking there.

 

My point, why not just be honest RCCL to your loyal customers? We're still taking the cruise regardless of our disappointment because too many plans have been made to cancel now. I will be honest here, after 9 RCCL cruises, I think it's time for a change.:mad:

[bchalker]

Hi all,

We were all very excited to take our 9th cruise on RCCL this coming March. Booked this 4 night cruise with a total of 5 couples, all celebrating our 50th birthdays in '09, last April. We picked the cruise because it stopped in Key West and Cozumel. Primarily we were all interested in the Key West port. When someone in our party went to pay the final installment of the cruise a few weeks ago he noticed that the Key West stop was changed to an "at sea" day. How disappointing. I know it's all there between the fine lines they have the right to change. Anyhow, the friend was quite upset, as we all were. When he questioned the RCCL travel agent he said the port was cancelled due to construction at the port (Key West). Well, my friend called the Port Authority at Key West and got a totally different story. According to the person at the Port Authority there was no on-going construction at the port at the time of our cruise so why then would RCCL basically lie? Finally my friend continued to call RCCL and eventually got to the top of the food chain and this person explained that due to the high cost of oil the cruise line just decided to drop the port to save money. Because of the port drop (drum roll please) each passenger would be credited $11.00, the cost of the docking fee in Key West, since we would no longer be docking there.

 

My point, why not just be honest RCCL to your loyal customers? We're still taking the cruise regardless of our disappointment because too many plans have been made to cancel now. I will be honest here, after 9 RCCL cruises, I think it's time for a change.:mad:

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! 1 post? Shhhesh

[8Cruisers]

Now that really is interesting.I suspected dropping Tortola was a cost-cutting exercise but they seemed to have an excuse (i.e. not ready). However, I can't see any reason why they would cut San Juan so it seems likely that it is just to have another sea day. It will be interesting to hear what the Royal "Champions" make of that one.

 

Since we've been to San Juan I think you got the better deal, although you may prefer your itinerary ;)- either way I feel we've been shortchanged here and would prefer RCCL to be honest about what they're doing.

 

The government fees issue is an interesting one - I'll get onto my TA about that one - thanks - and have a wonderful cruise, it's still a great itinerary :)

 

It would be interesting to hear what they have to say.

 

I wasn't informed of our port drop. I was a little disappointed that nobody told me about it. I suppose that is what the travel agent is supposed to do (???) but they didn't. I happened to be online checking for price drops and noticed a port was dropped. Luckily, my travel agent does handle price drops including changes in government fees. I've heard some don't.

 

I am still very happy with our itinerary. We have been to San Juan as well and not Tortola so I do prefer our itinerary. If they told me to choose a port to drop, San Juan would have been the one from our itinerary so I am lucky as far as that goes that this was the one that got dropped. I just hope they end up keeping Tortola. I have heard it is being dropped quite a bit.

 

Thanks so much for the well wishes. I hope you have a wonderful cruise too! Keep me posted if you hear any other reasons as to why the ports were dropped.

[8Cruisers]

We also will be on the Explorer (in March). When booked, Tortola was on the sched, got our papers and it was gone. We've been there three time in the past three years, on different lines, and was tendered all three times, so as far a the docks aren't finished or whatever that case may be........I agree with the poster "more time on ship, spend more money". Yes, I probably would have cancelled, but friends are going for their first cruise trip with us. Three days back....I suspect we'll be "treading water" on the way back.

 

I hope you and your friends have a great cruise!

 

I wouldn't cancel considering I still have 7 ports. It would be interesting to know why ports are cancelled. Also interesting would be to know why they are cancelled at the times they are. I booked my upcoming April cruise last May and I didn't notice the port was removed until December. So, I wonder why the itinerary has a port listed for several months and then drops several months in advance of the cruise.

 

It does seem like communication on dropped ports could be better. I found out on my own too.

 

I was wondering about the "treading water" too. We have 3 sea days down and 2 1/2 coming back (we leave our last port at 1 pm and then have 2 more full sea days). I suspect they would keep you in the warmer temps going slower and then try to go faster through the colder temps but I have no idea.

[Reijo]

It also is a lot COOLER on sea days. You get the nice sea breeze while on deck.

[cruiserbryce]

I havent really been watching the trends much, but all but one of our 7 day trips have had only 3 ports. I dont think its something new just maybe recently noticed by OP

[cruiselife8]

Like many posters on here, I LOVE sea days. :)

[allisons]

I havent really been watching the trends much, but all but one of our 7 day trips have had only 3 ports. I dont think its something new just maybe recently noticed by OP

 

No, these are actual changes. Not just something that was always like this but I only recently noticed. There are actual itineraries that used to have 5 ports and 2 sea days that have had one port dropped and now are 4 ports and 3 sea days, and others that used to have 4 ports and 3 sea days that have had one port dropped and now are 3 ports and 3 sea days. Here are a few examples.

 

Example #1:

RCI Legend of the Seas 1/6/08 Southern Caribbean 7-night:

5 port days (St. Maarten, Dominica, Grenada, Margarita Island, Aruba), 1 sea day

They have now cut Grenada from this itinerary, leaving 4 port days and 2 sea days.

This itinerary still sails out of the same departure port (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).

 

Example #2:

RCI Legend of the Seas 1/13/08 Southern Caribbean 7-night:

5 ports (St. Kitts, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia), 1 sea day

They have now cut St. Kitts from this itinerary, leaving 4 port days and 2 sea days.

This itinerary still sails out of the same departure port (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).

 

Example #3:

RCI Voyager of the Seas 1/11/09 Western Caribbean 7-night:

when booked: 4 port days (Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya, Progresso/Yucatan), 2 sea days

several months before sailing: 3 port days (Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya), 3 sea days

They have now cut Progresso/Yucatan from this itinerary, leaving 3 port days and 3 sea days.

This itinerary was changed between booking and final payment.

[seadog129]

allisons...Your first two examples were for the Legend of the Seas, these itineraires have been replaced by the Vision on the Seas which is a slower ship. We did not reach St Kitts till mid-day, with the Vision, a timely arrival is not possible, that is why there was a port cut from each itinerary.

[Ocean Boy]

allisons...Your first two examples were for the Legend of the Seas, these itineraires have been replaced by the Vision on the Seas which is a slower ship. We did not reach St Kitts till mid-day, with the Vision, a timely arrival is not possible, that is why there was a port cut from each itinerary.

 

RCI lists Legend's cruising speed as 24 kts. They list Vision's cruising speed as 22 kts. It has been my expereince that the ships don't cruise anywhere near close to those speeds. So I would imagine that both ships could easily travel at the same rate.

[allisons]

allisons...Your first two examples were for the Legend of the Seas, these itineraires have been replaced by the Vision on the Seas which is a slower ship. We did not reach St Kitts till mid-day, with the Vision, a timely arrival is not possible, that is why there was a port cut from each itinerary.

 

Oh, I guess that could be why. Huh!