Philadelphia Was Short Lived

Royal Caribbean has made it official today, after the Empress of the Seas completes its last sailing from Philadelphia in October, Royal Caribbean will no longer have any ships departing from Philadelphia.

We have been sailing with RCL for over 25 years (most times as a large extended family) and were thrilled when they began sailing from Philadelphia. We were excited to be able to add another cruise to our schedule each year since it was so close to home and loved sailing to Bermuda on a 7 day cruise. It was nice to be able to spend several days in one port instead of hopping from island to island and Bermuda is a great destination. Unfortunately, with RCL setting its focus entirely on the mega-ship market they will no longer have a ship small enough to get into Hamilton or St. George harbors. An additional factor in their decision surely was the fact that extended stays in Bermuda causes them to lose revenue due to the stores and casino being closed. While this makes sense to me as a stockholder and a CPA, running a cruise line is not all about the bottom line, what ever happened to treating guests well and giving them what they really want? If the guests are happy they will be back over and over and bring their friends with them, the bottom line will follow. After all doesn't the cruise industry thrive on repeat passengers?

Luckily Norwegian has not given up on Philadelphia and Bermuda. One last farewell on the Empress this October and next summer it looks like we will be trying the Norwegian Crown.

We're upset b/c we planned on the Empress for next year. We've also been thinking NCL for next year.

Yes, I can't understand why it has been so tough to get cruises established out of Philadelphia and Baltimore - I wonder what the population is that lives within 75 miles of one of these ports.

Might take a look at the Celebrity Bermuda cruises out of Bayonne as an alternative.

Being that they could just as easily do ANY number of nights out of Philly to ANY destination, I'm sure it's not about losing money while in port in Bermuda.

When it comes down to it, money IS the bottom line for any company, and often times that means appeasing the stockholders. While a cruise line's job is to allow passangers to have a great time, there are other things to consider.

It is a shame though...I though Philly would have been a very nice port. The city has put a lot of money into the cruise terminal. And the population...well, there's a huge portion of the population with a few hour drive of the city.

I wonder what the 'official' reason is (at least what they say publicly, that is!)

Unfortunately, the Crown is in its final year as well

http://www.norwegiancruiselines.com/news/pr/pr052506.htm

I'd stay away from NCL. We've sailed RCL and Princess,Celebrity. Then last yr tried NCL... it was really awful. They are considered a "budget"line and trust me it shows.

Especially you being in Philly where you can get and have decent food the food was awful. :mad: Trust me I"m a former LI,NY girl.

I would check other lines. Now we live Atlanta so FLorida isn't so bad for us but I like starting out South (nice and warm) and going further south.

CuriousCat

This is disappointing news for us since we are a 1hour car ride from Phila. We are on the Oct repo to SJ so we will have one last time to cruise down the Delaware.

Being that they could just as easily do ANY number of nights out of Philly to ANY destination, I'm sure it's not about losing money while in port in Bermuda.

 

My point about being in port was that while RCL will continue to sail to Bermuda from other East Coast ports they will no longer offer a 7 night cruise to Bermuda, only 5 days where the ship is only in port for a day and 1/2. We would gladly drive to Bayonne or Baltimore (and have for other cruises) if they offered a 7 night Bermuda cruise. While we enjoy island hopping, some times it is nice to stay awhile and enjoy one island. While the ship is in port it is basically a floating hotel. Ancillary revenue per passenger drops significantly since passengers are spending their money ashore instead of on the ship.

It is surprising that RCL doesn't do a better job marketing the Northeast ports considering they probably have the highest population within a 1/2 days drive out of any of the US ports. We have sailed out of Bayonne several times in the summer and they seem to be able to demand a premium price on top of the already increased prices charged during the summer vacation months. Princess and NCL run several ships out of New York all year round versus just the Explorer on a part time basis for RCL?

Here was their problem. They have Cape Liberty and Explorer (a better ship in my opinion) sailing to the same ports. And Cape Liberty is not THAT far from Phillie.

So when I had to decide between sailing Explorer out of Cape Liberty or Empress out of Phillie...and the price was the same. There was no comparison, I picked Explorer (although I live in PA, not NJ)

Unfortunatly I had a schedule conflict and had to cancel that trip...GRRRR. :(

And there is only one date leaving Phillie to the Eastern Carib, and that's in Oct. Not a big selection.

I'm sorry they are leaving Philly. IMHO, sitting on the balcony while sailing down the Delaware on a hot summer night is one of the highlights of my cruise memories. Never realized it would take 6-7 hours to reach the Atlantic. I highly recommend booking a Philly cruise before they are gone forever.

I'd stay away from NCL. We've sailed RCL and Princess,Celebrity. Then last yr tried NCL... it was really awful. They are considered a "budget"line and trust me it shows.

 

Especially you being in Philly where you can get and have decent food the food was awful. :mad: Trust me I"m a former LI,NY girl.

 

I would check other lines. Now we live Atlanta so FLorida isn't so bad for us but I like starting out South (nice and warm) and going further south.

 

CuriousCat

To each there own. I have tried of almost all of these and like NCL the best my least favorite is Celebrity...

Here was their problem. They have Cape Liberty and Explorer (a better ship in my opinion) sailing to the same ports. And Cape Liberty is not THAT far from Phillie.

 

So when I had to decide between sailing Explorer out of Cape Liberty or Empress out of Phillie...and the price was the same. There was no comparison, I picked Explorer (although I live in PA, not NJ)

 

Unfortunatly I had a schedule conflict and had to cancel that trip...GRRRR. :(

 

And there is only one date leaving Phillie to the Eastern Carib, and that's in Oct. Not a big selection.

Unfortunately the Explorer only stays in Bermuda over night (way out at King's Wharf) while the Empress remained in Bermuda for 3+ days in Hamilton and St. George's. I'd always choose the cruise with the extended stay in Bermuda regardless of the ship. Regretfully those days are now coming to an end.

I'd stay away from NCL. We've sailed RCL and Princess,Celebrity. Then last yr tried NCL... it was really awful. They are considered a "budget"line and trust me it shows.

 

Especially you being in Philly where you can get and have decent food the food was awful. :mad: Trust me I"m a former LI,NY girl.

 

I would check other lines. Now we live Atlanta so FLorida isn't so bad for us but I like starting out South (nice and warm) and going further south.

 

CuriousCat

I'd have to agree with this. Our cruise two years ago on the NCL Majesty was the worst cruise I've ever been on. We actually couldn't wait to get off the ship. It was so boring!:eek:

Unfortunately the Explorer only stays in Bermuda over night (way out at King's Wharf) while the Empress remained in Bermuda for 3+ days in Hamilton and St. George's. I'd always choose the cruise with the extended stay in Bermuda regardless of the ship. Regretfully those days are now coming to an end.

Ohhhh, I gotcha. Thanks! :D

Being that they could just as easily do ANY number of nights out of Philly to ANY destination, I'm sure it's not about losing money while in port in Bermuda.

 

My point about being in port was that while RCL will continue to sail to Bermuda from other East Coast ports they will no longer offer a 7 night cruise to Bermuda, only 5 days where the ship is only in port for a day and 1/2. We would gladly drive to Bayonne or Baltimore (and have for other cruises) if they offered a 7 night Bermuda cruise. While we enjoy island hopping, some times it is nice to stay awhile and enjoy one island. While the ship is in port it is basically a floating hotel. Ancillary revenue per passenger drops significantly since passengers are spending their money ashore instead of on the ship.

 

It is surprising that RCL doesn't do a better job marketing the Northeast ports considering they probably have the highest population within a 1/2 days drive out of any of the US ports. We have sailed out of Bayonne several times in the summer and they seem to be able to demand a premium price on top of the already increased prices charged during the summer vacation months. Princess and NCL run several ships out of New York all year round versus just the Explorer on a part time basis for RCL?

 

The Explorer will be year round this year and has cruises all winter long out of Bayonne for 2008. The Celebrity Jouney will be doing the 7 night Bermuda out of Bayonne starting this year but it will not remain in Bayonne year round only the Explorer will. :) The Explorer will not fit in Hamilton or St. George as it's too big so has to dock at Kings wharf. Bermuda is very strict on how long any ship can stay in port. No one has heard if RCCL will replace the Empress out of Philly as of yet, but Bayonne is close so they may not. I really do not see why they wouldn't keep a ship in Philly year round. I think it would do well:)

Yes, I can't understand why it has been so tough to get cruises established out of Philadelphia and Baltimore - I wonder what the population is that lives within 75 miles of one of these ports.

Might take a look at the Celebrity Bermuda cruises out of Bayonne as an alternative.

I remember when Carnival pulled out of Baltimore a couple of years ago, Carnival uses a very sophistacated computer program that tells them how many cabins to book of each category as far out as a year and a half and the program will tell Carnival how many people will cancel, upgrade, etc. on the average cruise. So, Carnival of course oversold the ship, relying on the program to tell them how many will cancel. Welllllll, People sailing out of Baltimore cancelled far less than people sailing out of Florida, for example. Carnival had a ton of very upset people that had their cruise cancelled , sometimes a few weeks before sailing, remember , most of these people had booked a year in advance. That and a old terminal was the reason that Carnival gave when the Legend as pulled from Baltimore.:cool:

I remember when Carnival pulled out of Baltimore a couple of years ago, Carnival uses a very sophistacated computer program that tells them how many cabins to book of each category as far out as a year and a half and the program will tell Carnival how many people will cancel, upgrade, etc. on the average cruise. So, Carnival of course oversold the ship, relying on the program to tell them how many will cancel. Welllllll, People sailing out of Baltimore cancelled far less than people sailing out of Florida, for example. Carnival had a ton of very upset people that had their cruise cancelled , sometimes a few weeks before sailing, remember , most of these people had booked a year in advance. That and a old terminal was the reason that Carnival gave when the Legend as pulled from Baltimore.:cool:

With the cruise lines being so fickle it is no wonder that the various port authoriteis are unwilling to cimmit to building new/modern? facilities. Just glad at this point that the folks in MD did not invest $20mil.(?)or more for a dedicated cruise ship terminal to only wind up with a white elephant.

Cruising from our home in Philly was such a no hastle experience, we promised to do it every year. Unfortunately, that turned out to be short lived. We'll cruise Empress one more time this fall (weather permitting) then look to NCL out of Philadelphia for an international vacation without airports. Hopefully, the Port of Philadelphia can convince Carnival or some other line to help fill the void. Philly has a modern and efficient cruise ship facility that makes guests feel welcome. Bon Voyage Empress and RCI. We'll miss you.

... So, Carnival of course oversold the ship, relying on the program to tell them how many will cancel. Welllllll, People sailing out of Baltimore cancelled far less than people sailing out of Florida, for example. Carnival had a ton of very upset people that had their cruise cancelled , sometimes a few weeks before sailing, remember , most of these people had booked a year in advance. That and a old terminal was the reason that Carnival gave when the Legend as pulled from Baltimore.:cool:

What!?!?!

"We're not smart enough to figure out how to properly manage capacity controls for a ship sailing out of Baltimore, so we're just going to abandon the port." :eek:

What a lame excuse... And now Baltimore has a great port facility!

Theron

Steve, I sea where NCL is leaving, too. It's up to the Port Authority to convince another cruise line to come to Philly. That'll be tough to do, after the other two left. I'm guessing the cruise lines want Philly people to go north to Bayonne or south to Baltimore (and how long will Baltimore last?), Norfolk is getting bigger. Maybe it has something to do with the Delaware River bridges, the high price of fuel, and the cruise lines building all the giant size ships. We are still anxiouslly waiting for our Oct. 6 Empress cruise.

I remember many, many years ago visiting the Philly docks on Delaware Avenue and seaing the QE2 tied up there for a cruise. Across from her was the Chandris Lines Amerikansis (at that time a well known cruise ship). Times continue to change.

Will Empress have a hoagie or steak and cheese special the first day? Or soft pretzels?

Have a nice Easter Sunday.

Rick (now living in Maryland, but originally from Lansdale)

Sailing out of Philly was really great!!! I do hope we can do it again!