West Coast Cruisers I have great New (Mariner of the Seas coming March 2009)

I was just researching a cruise for someone for march 2009 from port Canaveral on the Mariner and noticed that she is not going to be in Port Canaveral any longer. She will be relocating to Los Angeles with her first sailing in March 2009. She is scheduled to do a 7 night mexican Baja cruise through August 2009. So it looks like RCCL has listened to all west coast cruisers who wanted a Voyager class ship.

I was just researching a cruise for someone for march 2009 from port Canaveral on the Mariner and noticed that she is not going to be in Port Canaveral any longer. She will be relocating to Los Angeles with her first sailing in March 2009. She is scheduled to do a 7 night mexican Baja cruise through August 2009. So it looks like RCCL has listened to all west coast cruisers who wanted a Voyager class ship.

I sure hope this is true for all my west coast friends but I will wait for further info...

They do need to make room in Florida for another Freedom class and a Genesis class as well in 2009.

I was just researching a cruise for someone for march 2009 from port Canaveral on the Mariner and noticed that she is not going to be in Port Canaveral any longer. She will be relocating to Los Angeles with her first sailing in March 2009. She is scheduled to do a 7 night mexican Baja cruise through August 2009. So it looks like RCCL has listened to all west coast cruisers who wanted a Voyager class ship.

Strange, because the RCI website shows only the Monarch doing such cruises in March, 2009. :rolleyes: For the sake of all those people anxiously awaiting the arrival of a Voyager class ship on the west coast, I hope you are right, but find it a bit unusual that RCI would not make a public announcement of such a major change. This is contrary to the public announcements made by RCI execs as late as this month. Where did you do this research and how reliable do you believe your source to be?

wow! this will be great for those on the west coast! congrats to you-

i also saw a rhapsody sailing mar 08 or 09 from new orleans- may be a rci site glitch? would be neat if it happens...:)

I really hope that this is true, have wanted to take a Mex Riveara cruise, but have been waiting for a Voyager Class ship to do so!

Oh no! Say it isn't so! I love the Mariner and Port Canaveral is so convenient. :)

Oh no! Say it isn't so! I love the Mariner and Port Canaveral is so convenient. :)

I wouldn't panic yet. 2009 is still two years away and all that we have so far is one unconfirmed report that seems to contradict the official position taken by RCI in just the past month. People on the West Coast have been lobbying for the positioning of a Voyager class ship for quite some time now, but most understand that there are a number of logistical problems which must be resolved before that can happen. I also doubt that RCI will totally abandon Port Canaveral, so if Mariner should be moved there will be another large ship taking her place.:)

The research came from Royal Caribbean's travel agent booking website where they load itineraries first before they make them available to the general public. The itinerary is already listed for all of these sailings as well through August 2009. Sure, Royal Caribbean can change their mind and I have seen this happen before but when I checked a week ago for these clients the mariner was not listed beyond December 2008 so they were just recently loaded into the booking database. They are not available for sale as of yet and until they go on sale I will not know when they will open for the general public to book but this is what I saw as of today. Also, the vision will be leaving LA on January 4, 2009 via a 14 day repositioning cruise for a winter schedule from Santo Domingo doing 7 night S. Carribbean cruises which is replacing the legend which will going to Asia.

Thanks for the info Joe, but when I log onto cruisingpower.com and try to find that information, I get a message that says there are no available itineraries for that criteria (Mariner, March, 2009, any destination and cruise length, or Mariner, March, 2009, seven days). Perhaps they have pulled that information off and are working on it, but at the moment, I can't confirm what the Mariner will be doing in March of 2009. Will continue checking though.:)

Strange, because the RCI website shows only the Monarch doing such cruises in March, 2009. :rolleyes: For the sake of all those people anxiously awaiting the arrival of a Voyager class ship on the west coast, I hope you are right, but find it a bit unusual that RCI would not make a public announcement of such a major change. This is contrary to the public announcements made by RCI execs as late as this month. Where did you do this research and how reliable do you believe your source to be?

I asked the captain on the Mariner,which I got off yesterday, about the west coast. He didn't say definitely, but a good probability, of the Mariner going in 2009 if they can work out the drydock facilities.

Joe1690 did this web site by any chance show what was replacing the Mariner at Port Canaveral??

I asked the captain on the Mariner,which I got off yesterday, about the west coast. He didn't say definitely, but a good probability, of the Mariner going in 2009 if they can work out the drydock facilities.

That's what I've always been told, that it is the drydock issue that is keeping them away.

Anyone up on drydock facilities on the West Coast and if there are any big ones under construction right now?

There was an article in the local paper today (Florida Today) and they talked at length about Carnival moving Elation from Port Canaveral, but there was no discussion of RCCI removing any ships from PC.

In the past there have been suggestions that Freedom of the Seas was going to move to PC. Some have said that PC is going to dredge the port so they can handle a larger ship.

The article in the paper said that the Caribbean cruises are "soft" - ~ they aren't as popular as they used to be. Given that Carnival is moving a ship to the left coast, RCCI would be wise to do the same.

All of that said, I really, really, really hope that they keep a decent sized RCCI or X ship, and a 7-day itinerary coming out of PC. It's convenient for us, and our local economy needs the cruisers!!!

This is great news for the WC! :)

Are drydock facilities owned by the cruise lines separately or are they independent and used by all cruise lines? I'm not familiar with this at all but I sure understand the need for a DD facility close by that can handle these size of ships.

Please don't tease me! That would be mean! ;) I do hope it is true and I would be one of the first to book. I said I would never sail the Mexican Riviera again during the summer unless I had a ship as a destination.

With that said - I will wait until it is confirmed, because we already had been lead to believe that Navigator would be out here by now (based on Captain's comments) and our hopes were dashed when itineraries were announced.

But I will be up at 5am the day bookings open if that is the case.

If true.......it will have to go around Cape Horn........I want to be on that repo cruise..........:)

If true.......it will have to go around Cape Horn........I want to be on that repo cruise..........:)

I know alot of people on this board would love to do the full or segment of this. Keeping my fingers crossed... I really am.

I would book that repo cruise in a minute!! But I'll believe it when I see it........:)

I would book that repo cruise in a minute!! But I'll believe it when I see it........:)

I hear ya!

I also find it hard to believe that she would only be here for a few months. That is a major reposition and I imagine it would need to be for at least a year. However, if it were true - I would book for any old week during the summer and then transfer to a later winter sailing if she ended up staying. We like to cruise at Christmas. But since we have heard this so many times before, I will just do my research on cabins, hope for the best and have a backup plan for 2009. :p

Please don't tease me! That would be mean! ;) I do hope it is true and I would be one of the first to book. I said I would never sail the Mexican Riviera again during the summer unless I had a ship as a destination.

 

With that said - I will wait until it is confirmed, because we already had been lead to believe that Navigator would be out here by now (based on Captain's comments) and our hopes were dashed when itineraries were announced.

 

But I will be up at 5am the day bookings open if that is the case.

Tina ~ I thought of you right away when I read this post especially afte our discussion in the Cafe Promenade on Liberty... will follow this one closely.

I mentioned this in a post a few month ago, that the Mariner was going to the West Coast, and the Independance was coming to Port Canaveral to take her place. No one believed me, but my source is a good inside one.

Tina ~ I thought of you right away when I read this post especially afte our discussion in the Cafe Promenade on Liberty... will follow this one closely.

Oh Emmy - I really do hope it is true! No doubt I will do my fair share of keeping everyone updated. If it IS true, I may even sponsor a CC group cruise! THAT is how excited I would be! :D

I just found the following information regarding drydock facilities in SF. Looks like Princess Cruises will be funding modifications to the Pier 70 facility so that it can handle post panamax ships. Looks like this may solve the drydock problem on the west coast!

http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/uploadedfiles/Item9aBAENegotiations.pdf

I mentioned this in a post a few month ago, that the Mariner was going to the West Coast, and the Independance was coming to Port Canaveral to take her place. No one believed me, but my source is a good inside one.

I don't think it is a case of no one believing you, personally. It is just that we have had these rumors for years... We had people ready to book Navigator's repositioner - only to have it yanked from us when the real itineraries came out. It isn't personal - we just are at the point where we need to see it to believe it.

As everyone knows this would be long overdue to expand the Western ports. Would love to see San Diego also made to accomodate larger ships.

Living in Az which I know quite a few posters do could not think of anything better.

Would love to be on the first cruise for the Mariner in 09 out of LA.

I don't know much about the Mexican Riv. Are their ports large enough to accomodate the Mariner? Would they tender?

Will just have to wait and see what happens.