Costa Maya CANCELLED from our March 2013 out of Galveston????

[matj2000]

I am still "On the Fence" over this cruise.

I really want to try Princess and I live in Houston so their is no real driving time.

The Itineray was "good" before the change, now it is just "OK".

The price for our 2 cabins is right under $4000 which is fairly costly.

Also, the NCL cruise 3 months prior is doing the same ports.

For a few hundred more I can do the Oasis, or for a few hundred less I can do the Epic(2 ships on my list).

The only downside is the 1200 mile drive to Fl.

[awhcruiser]

Caribbean Princess is sailing out of Galveston in 2014 with the same three ports.

[Cindy]

Mariner was kind of a no-brainer for us. The lowest priced suite on the Crown is $650 per person more than we paid for a suite on the Mariner. When I figure in a savings certificate I used plus an OBC for booking on-board, the total price difference for two of us is $1,500.00!:eek:

[05mak05]

You do realize that this makes no sense at all... :) the Crown Princess will most likely be sailing full from Galveston. Some folks will cancel because of the itinerary change, but most others won't care at all.

The ships may sail full, however, I predict price drops. The Mariner is freshly refurbished while Magic is only a few years old. Throw Disney into the mix and Galveston will be a highly competitive market. Has anyone started a thread asking "would you pay a fuel charge?" We certainly would if the itinerary offered 4 ports rather than 3.

[RickEk]

If you say so. They left Galveston before, I'm sure it was because of money. Now they are making the cruise less appealing than others leaving from the same port for less money. We'll see how it ends up.

 

Ship deployments change all the time. They didn't pull the Grand Princess out of Galveston last time because they were losing money. She was just needed elsewhere.

[05mak05]

Caribbean Princess is sailing out of Galveston in 2014 with the same three ports.

I can't find this info. Do you mind posting a link?

[Mapu]

Costa Maya is just a shopping mall unless you get yourself a mile or so away to the true fishing village of Majahual. You aren't missing much to miss Costa Maya as a port, IMO.

 

My feelings exactly. Even the village is optional there are sites an hour or two away though. I would rather be at sea!

[05mak05]

Mariner was kind of a no-brainer for us. The lowest priced suite on the Crown is $650 per person more than we paid for a suite on the Mariner. When I figure in a savings certificate I used plus an OBC for booking on-board, the total price difference for two of us is $1,500.00!:eek:

We're on the Dec. 22 itinerary. The price for 2 mini-suites category AC is $11529. In our family group, we have 2 seniors, 2 adults and 2 children. So, that's $1921 pp or a per diem of $274.50 per person a day. We're willing to pay the price because it's a holiday cruise, but only if the itinerary is fabulous.

[Cindy]

We're on the Dec. 22 itinerary. The price for 2 mini-suites category AC is $11529. In our family group, we have 2 seniors, 2 adults and 2 children. So, that's $1921 pp or a per diem of $274.50 per person a day. We're willing to pay the price because it's a holiday cruise, but only if the itinerary is fabulous.

 

When I look at the per diem, the difference in price is even more apparent. For our non-holiday sailing (just two of us), our daily rate is $210.57 for a GS on Mariner, and the per diem on the Crown for a VS would be $321.28. We enjoyed our Princess cruises, but I can't justify that kind of price difference.

[05mak05]

When I look at the per diem, the difference in price is even more apparent. For our non-holiday sailing (just two of us), our daily rate is $210.57 for a GS on Mariner, and the per diem on the Crown for a VS would be $321.28. We enjoyed our Princess cruises, but I can't justify that kind of price difference.

We've also booked the Mariner out of Galveston on Dec. 30th. We'll cancel one or the other. We much prefer to cruise with family over the Christmas holidays, however, the Mariner itinerary is Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. If it's windy and we can't tender in Grand Cayman, we're down to one good beach day and that's Nachi Cocum in Cozumel. So, we'll have to settle for New Year's (Roatan, Cozumel and Belize City.) Our total for the 6 of us in a D1 is $9580 (after our Diamond Plus discount). $1368.57 pp. Or $195 pp per diem.

[caribill]

Ship deployments change all the time. They didn't pull the Grand Princess out of Galveston last time because they were losing money. She was just needed elsewhere.

 

It may not have been losing money, but revenue was lower than it could be elsewhere.

 

a) Very competitive with multiple brand ships doing essentially the same itinerary.

 

b) Passengers on this itinerary were spending less on board on average than when the ship sails in other waters.

 

Above was from news articles at the time.

[caribill]

I can't find this info. Do you mind posting a link?

 

See Post #49 on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...1614326&page=2

[Cruzin-K]

Add me to the list of those who are disappointed in the loss of Costa Maya. Now the itinerary is no different than Royal Caribbean, so price alone is going to be the determining factor for me. I would think this will end up hurting Princess at least a little bit unless they can compete on price with the other lines. The big draw for me with Princess was that extra port. I sure hope the savings they have from fuel makes up for having so many unhappy customers.

 

I'm really disappointed with the new Royal Princess itinerary in the Caribbean as well. It's like the Ruby's current itinerary but with no Grand Turk. Boooorrrrinnnng!

 

Seems like they've cut one port from most of their formerly "good" itineraries. I'm sure I'll sail on something on Princess that season, but it will be a last minute decision after final payment date.

[beachseeker]

Seems like they've cut one port from most of their formerly "good" itineraries.

 

Princess was our first cruise and at one time our favorite but we aren't finding an itinerary that appeals or works with our work schedules. Dropping San Juan as a home port was a huge disappointment and 3 sea days on a 7 day cruise isn't an option for us. We are finding Princess prices much more expensive. We were looking closely at the Crown this summer in the Mediterranean but went with Azamara. Booked a suite for not much more than mini suite and a lot less than a suite on Princess. I emailed Princess and got the same email response that others posted here. In the end, money is the only way to speak so we booked with another cruise line for our New Years cruise which includes Costa Maya.

[kkorman]

After being to Costa Maya several times, I do not understand why everyone is upset.

[beachseeker]

After being to Costa Maya several times, I do not understand why everyone is upset.

 

We were looking forward to returning to Costa Maya for the Flyfishing at Mahahaul. The biggest frustration is dropping a port for a sea day. We cruise for the ports. If Costa Maya had been replaced with another port, we would have been disappointed but would not have cancelled. But paying more for the same itinerary as the Mariner and Magic is not an option for us. If we can find 4 ports then that is even better, which we were able to do.

[Boatdrill]

I seriously doubt the Princess rep was a lying when he told me that Princess canx'd Majuhal due to a high crime rate. Why would he make that up?

/quote]

 

Because it's a better response than "I don't know".

 

BTW, Holland America goes to Costa Maya on their 7 day round trips from Ft. Lauderdale.

[matj2000]

After being to Costa Maya several times, I do not understand why everyone is upset.

 

It really is not that great of a stop, but it is a stop to get out and walk around.

It also has an ok beach and a place that does an all inclusive package for cheap.

Another issue is that when you start with 3 ports, if something happens and you have to miss one, that only leaves 2(that happened to me before).

Carnival actually had one voyage that missed 2 out of 3 ports on a 7 day...

[bjkTX]

For those folks who just want to be on the ship and don't care if they never get off (not me) this won't make much difference - to others (like me) it will.

[beckntom]

For those folks who just want to be on the ship and don't care if they never get off (not me) this won't make much difference - to others (like me) it will.

 

 

For us, too, Brian. If there weren't already so many nice people on our Crown Roll Call, we might consider another line! :D I really, really dislike losing a port.

[Stevesan]

Princess reply to my e-mail:

Thank you for your email. Several of our customers have expressed that they would like additional information about the operational reasons behind the cancellation of Costa Maya on Crown Princess 7-day Western Caribbean sailings beginning December 22, 2012. We would first like to point out that we use the phrase “operational reasons” to cover a variety of factors that influence our business including port logistics, safety and security considerations, consumer feedback, and fuel availability and cost, among others.

 

These factors entered into our decision to make this itinerary change, with the greatest consideration being fuel cost on this 7-day cruise with 4 ports, which has been altered to 3 ports.

 

When we designed these itineraries over one year ago, it was difficult to predict that fuel prices would continue to rise to such high levels. As a result, the cost of fuel has been dramatically impacted because of the rich port content. After careful consideration of the situation and of all alternatives, our decision was to remove the furthest outlying port – in this case Costa Maya – that would result in the greatest reduction of fuel consumption. Our goal was to continue to deliver an excellent, port-rich itinerary while at the same time alleviating a detrimental commercial impact on our business.

 

This was not an easy decision, and we know many passengers may be disappointed with this change. We would like to also point out that the majority of our competitors in this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise market all offer a 3 port itinerary. Our just announced Fall 2013- Spring 2014 program does not include this port for the same reason.

 

Sincerely,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

 

My reply:

 

Galveston Four port option:

Playa Del Carmen is only 18 kilometers from Cozumel. Wouldn't it be more fuel efficient to replace the extra sea day with Playa del Carmen for eight or nine hours instead of sailing an extra day?

Rearrange the ports to Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Belize and Roatan.

 

Not just a minority, but all of Princess competitors offer a three port itinerary. Four ports made Princess unique and more attractive to customers. Now that Princess is following the pack, it makes sense to book with a competitor at lower fares. I presume you know that Princess charges more per capita for equivalent categories.

 

The four port incentive is gone now.

I'm a loyal Elite Princess customer, but I enjoyed Carnival's cruise from Galveston. Next time I'll try RCI.

 

Best Regards

Stephen C Johnson

[PescadoAmarillo]

Stevesan- great suggestion. As another poster mentioned what happens when weather causes missed ports. Belize is always questionable due to the long tender and Roatan due to the winds. This formerly four port cruise could turn into a one port cruise pretty easily. And even Playa is a tender port...there are other ports nearby with docks. There are a wealth of shore excursion opportunities in that area that would certainly make it a better day financially for Princess than spending a day at sea.

[bjkTX]

For us, too, Brian. If there weren't already so many nice people on our Crown Roll Call, we might consider another line! :D I really, really dislike losing a port.

 

Sue keeps asking me "And why aren't we cancelling this cruise?" For the same reason you gave :-)

[05mak05]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=33457504#post33457504

Here's a link to Costa Maya under the "port" section. I hope those of you who are also fans of Mahahual, Costa Maya will email Princess and also post under the above link.

[232271]

Thanks