western carribean itinerary changes

[MisterD21]

Has anyone else noticed the changes to the western carribean itineraries for the 2010 season ?? If so what do you think? I was looking to book again on RCCL this spring/summer and noticed that the itineraries had changed. I noticed most of all the addition of the "private" island additions and the deletion of belize, and other cenrtal american ports this year.

I first looked at the 3-5 day cruises and the itinerary choices are pitiful. so i thought ok, the 6-9 day has got to be better than these... nope, in lieu of adding ports of call RCCL seems to have simply added more "at sea" days..

does anyone else understand this?? i mean it doesn't make me want to sail with RCCL if i'm not going to get to see my favorite ports of call... or new ports of call. I mean are their "islands" really that much of a draw that people actually choose their cruise because they are going to the cruiseline's island or resort port??? it just doesn't make sense to me...maybe i'm a little slooow...

 

[Mbandy]

Royal Caribbean hasn't had quite as many ships in Belize with the exception of Enchantment of the Seas on the short cruise including Key West and Cozumel. That's a great short itinerary but it doesn't appear that they're doing it next year. I have a theory why Royal Caribbean hasn't taken more of an interest in Belize (one of my favorite ports). It can't be the size of the ships because it is a tender port.

The Oasis itinerary doesn't excite me. While I like Labadee, Cozumel and Costa Maya, three sea days is too many for me because I came to snorkel.

All that said, here's a thought. Three sea days and one day at their own beach keeps those 6400 passengers on Oasis as a "captive revenue source" for Royal Caribbean for four out of the seven days. That sure will generate a lot more revenue for Royal Caribbean than if they skipped Labadee and stopped in Belize and Roatan or Grand Cayman instead. Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing them of that but is is an interesting thought. On the other hand, the Oasis itsself will be a destination. It will probably take three sea days to get the full experience.

Freedom and Liberty have good 4 port itineraries with Labadee included. So the same thought applies. Why go to Belize when you can keep those 4370 passengers buying fruity drinks on Labadee?

To answer your other question, yes, we enjoy the private islands alot but I agree, a little diversity is a good thing.

 

[Cruizer]

There is no way the Oasis or Allure can go to a tender port such as Belize or Grand Cayman. Tendering on the Freedom of the Seas was not fun. Tendering on the Oasis or Allure would be a nightmare. The Oasis and Allure can only go to port where it can dock. And to be honest, I would same the same for the three Freedom class ships also.

The Oasis and Allure were going to go to spend a day at sea, Labadee, Falmouth, day at sea, Cozumel and day at sea. However, Falmount will not be ready until December 2010. So the ship is going to Costa Maya instead. Thus the itinerary is day at sea, Labadee, day at sea, Costa Maya, Cozumel and day at sea.

 

[BruinSteve]

We're booked on the Allure for January 2, 2011. We originally booked the Oasis for July, but switched after they subbed Costa Maya for Falmouth...but not really for that reason...really more that it spurred me to thinking about relative cost...We were going to do a quasi-back-to-back with the Celebrity Summit in Canada/New England...but then started thinking that the relative cost of that combo, we might as well just cruise Europe instead...

So, we're doing the Allure in January 2011...but the attraction isn't the itinerary...We've been to these places multiple times (except Falmouth, but we've been to Montego Bay and I don't know that this is really different)...

So, I guess it really comes down to WHY you cruise...
For us, we USUALLY cruise for the itinerary...for the ports...the history...the culture...the sights... ...which is another big reason we didn't want to waste our annual "BIG" vacation on this one...

But a lot of people cruise just to get some sun in the winter (We don't...we live in SoCal and it's usually warm here in January)...sometimes though, we cruise just for the cruise experience itself...just to be on the ship, to be pampered and fed, to be entertained, etc.

I think the thinking here is that the ship itself is the attraction...People are booking these cruises to enjoy the ship...and there is a lot of ship to take in...

If we really want to enjoy ports, we don't go to this part of the world anymore anyway...been there, done that...there are better regions to cruise for the ports...

 

[MisterD21]

Yeah... i can see that. I'm actually considering a cruise on the Dream since it is a new ship, and it offers something close to the itinerary i am looking for.

you know a great 7-9 day western cruise would be like this:

day1 at sea
day2 Key West
day3 Cozumel
day4 At sea
day5 Roatan
day6 castillo de san marco/or Limon
day7 belize city
day8 at sea
day9 at sea/leave ship

something like that , a good mix of port days and sea days.... sadly there isn't an itinerary like this yet....

 

[PH8]

IMHO--you can keep Limon and Belize.......not exactly any ports I care to go back to.

 

[BruinSteve]

Yeah...I'm actually considering a cruise on the Dream since it is a new ship, and it offers something close to the itinerary i am looking for...

Ahhhh...I won't do Carnival anymore...It doesn't matter what the itinerary...They just cut too many corners...the service is poor, the ships are overcrowded...It's just not a very good product IMHO...If you can't find your itinerary on Royal Caribbean, look to Celebrity, HAL, Azamara, Oceania...I wasn't even too thrilled with Princess my last go-around with them...

Maybe I'm just getting difficult to please, but I figure a cruise is a lot more than the itinerary. If the ship is overcrowded or the service is poor, it tends to hamper the experience...not that it's not possible to have a good cruise on any line, just that if I'm spending the money, I have certain expectations...

 

[Cruizer]

IMHO--you can keep Limon and Belize.......not exactly any ports I care to go back to.

Would you consider going forward to these two ports? How about sideways?

 

[PH8]

Would you consider going forward to these two ports? How about sideways?

:banana::banana: Sound like a Dr Seuss Book..........no,I would not go back to there,no I would not go forward to there,no I would not go sideways to there..:banana::banana: