Is Princess planning to port a ship in Charleston, SC?

[petesweet]

OK: This just heard from a taxi driver in Charleston, so it must be true.:p

 

The taxi driver said there was talk about a Princess ship porting in Charleston. At present, only Carnival's Fantasy sails out of that port. Anybody know anything about this?

 

Kathy

[paul929207]

I would doubt it. Princess has been reducing it presence in the Caribean area.

[Toto2Kansas]

I haven't heard any rumors about this taking place at all. :confused:

[cloverdale11]

The Crown Princess will call there this October as part of her Canada/Colonial America cruise, but Charleston is not on the radar as a "home port" for Princess. I doubt that will ever happen.

[VioletHorse]

Just search the Carnival board for info on Carnival's battle with the Coastal Conservation League and Preservation Society of Charleston, which thinks that cruise ships are a blight on the visual landscape of Charleston, pollute the air and water, cause traffic jams in Charleston, and bespoil the streets of Charleston with cruise passengers who are perceived to be of a lower economic status.

 

Yikes.

[Steven_&_Daniel]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but any chance St. Louis could be a home port......for anyone? :rolleyes:

 

Those of us in the midwest hate spending as much to get to a cruise as it costs to go on a cruise. :(

[geoherb]

We'd love for Princess to sail from Charleston. It's driving distance from our home in Raleigh.

 

We sailed once out of Norfolk on a Holland America ship. Driving to and from the port was great, especially not having to worry about how much luggage we took. That's another port I'd love for Princess to consider.

[suzyed]

We'd love for Princess to sail from Charleston. It's driving distance from our home in Raleigh.

 

We sailed once out of Norfolk on a Holland America ship. Driving to and from the port was great, especially not having to worry about how much luggage we took. That's another port I'd love for Princess to consider.

We have always felt very lucky to have several ports to sail from in Florida! Port Canaveral is about 45 minutes from our home, and we have booked many last minute, "let's just get away for the weekend" cruises!

 

We will be sailing out of FLL next April, but alas, can't drive there, since we we end our cruise in Southhampton(London)...so we will still have the luggage weight issues.

[willysgrandma]

We've heard no mention of this at all.

[paul929207]

We took the Carnival cruise from Charleston two weeks ago and did not hear a word about anyone else basing a ship there. We have a son who lives there and he has not mentioned it.

[paul929207]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but any chance St. Louis could be a home port......for anyone? :rolleyes:

 

Those of us in the midwest hate spending as much to get to a cruise as it costs to go on a cruise. :(

Can a cruise ship get that far up the Mississippi?

[Essiesmom]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but any chance St. Louis could be a home port......for anyone? :rolleyes:

 

Those of us in the midwest hate spending as much to get to a cruise as it costs to go on a cruise. :(

 

American Cruise Lines is building a traditional sternwheeler, Queen of the Mississippi...expected to enter service August 2012. Maybe she will do a turnaround in St. Louis...EM

[Essiesmom]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=332AoWWgy-k&feature=player_embedded

 

Video of launching of the hull of the Queen of the Mississippi

[Steven_&_Daniel]

I've always felt that people who live within driving distance of a home cruise port are very lucky. I would cruise much more frequently if that were the case.

 

I hope all those people don't take it for granted and appreciate what they have. ;)

 

[newmexicoNita]

The Crown Princess will call there this October as part of her Canada/Colonial America cruise, but Charleston is not on the radar as a "home port" for Princess. I doubt that will ever happen.

 

I was about to say the same thing. At this time I don't ecpect Charleston to be added to the home ports. It is amazing what stories we all hear from time to time.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but any chance St. Louis could be a home port......for anyone? :rolleyes:

 

Those of us in the midwest hate spending as much to get to a cruise as it costs to go on a cruise. :(

 

Know what you mean; look at us here in AR..

 

Nita

[suzyed]

Can a cruise ship get that far up the Mississippi?

It can get to New Orleans!

[paul929207]

It can get to New Orleans!

I was responding to the poster who asked about St. Louis.

[robsaw]

I've always felt that people who live within driving distance of a home cruise port are very lucky. I would cruise much more frequently if that were the case.

 

I hope all those people don't take it for granted and appreciate what they have. ;)

 

 

Depends on where you want to cruise to!

 

I'm minutes away from the Vancouver cruise terminal but unfortunately I'm looking to go somewhere warm when it is cold here, not vice-versa.

[CPWhittingham]

Just search the Carnival board for info on Carnival's battle with the Coastal Conservation League and Preservation Society of Charleston, which thinks that cruise ships are a blight on the visual landscape of Charleston, pollute the air and water, cause traffic jams in Charleston, and bespoil the streets of Charleston with cruise passengers who are perceived to be of a lower economic status.

 

Yikes.

 

Whatever these two small groups feel, the powers-that-be in Charleston know that the city is a tourist attraction and relies on the money that tourists spend, including the "lower economic status" of cruisers. They are planning to move and expand the cruise ship terminal in Charleston, and have voted unanimously to do this.

 

http://charleston.thedigitel.com/real-estate/new-charleston-cruise-terminal-move-upstream-free--23522-0329

 

Lizabeth and I have visited Charleston many times and have always totally enjoyed our experience there. The local people LOVE tourists and I don't see them making an exception for anyone who is there for a visit before or after a cruise. It's not in their nature.

 

As we live 2 hrs away I would love for Princess to sail from there. It would provide a more central embarkation spot along the east coast. Currently I have to drive to Fort Lauderdale or New York - not the way to get into a mode of relaxation at the beginning of a vacation and an easy way to un-relax at the end.

 

Come on Princess - Charleston, SC is calling. Say YES!

 

Paul

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

American Cruise Lines is building a traditional sternwheeler, Queen of the Mississippi...expected to enter service August 2012. Maybe she will do a turnaround in St. Louis...EM

 

In the old days... when I worked for them... we did many a turnaround there ... the crew loved the McDonalds there... and then we'd head up to Minneapolis or down to Memphis and New Orleans.

[lovevacadays]

I've always felt that people who live within driving distance of a home cruise port are very lucky. I would cruise much more frequently if that were the case.

 

I hope all those people don't take it for granted and appreciate what they have. ;)

 

 

I live about 45 minutes from a cruise port in Southern California. I really do appreciate it and have taken many a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Many were unplanned and based on the fact that there was fabulous pricing on a particular sailing. How can you refuse when you don't have to pay airfare and can spend 7 days on a beautiful Princess ship plus I like the Mexican Riviera ports.:D

[KruzPrincess]

In the old days... when I worked for them... we did many a turnaround there ... the crew loved the McDonalds there... and then we'd head up to Minneapolis or down to Memphis and New Orleans.

 

I went down to see one of the boats when it was docked in St. Paul. I always thought it would fun to do that cruise.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

For an older passenger that can self amuse.... it was a great trip!

[Pam in CA]

I say it again and again, follow the money. That's the bottom line. If Princess can sail economically and command higher per diem pricing than they do now with a ship sailing from another port, it would be considered. But that's unlikely. What taxi drivers and even city planners either forget or don't realize is that when they submit a proposal as a cruise port, they are competing against other ports that usually generate higher profits for Princess. Some seem to think they can make a proposal and Princess will re-deploy a ship the next season; more likely, the Princess executives are looking at least three years down the road, if not longer. It takes a lot of planning, long-range economic forecasting and logistical planning to change a home port.

 

Just because a ship sails full doesn't necessarily mean it's profitable for Princess. All those re-fares down that we all love to see means Princess is going to re-think that itinerary or the number of ships in a region, whether Princess or another cruiseline. If the market is oversaturated with cabins, the ships will eventually leave. That's what happened in Alaska. A couple of years ago, you could get great deals. Each of the cruiselines repositioned at least one ship elsewhere and supply went down, fares went up.

 

For the above reasons, it's highly unlikely Princess will home port a ship in Charleston.