With the Quantum calling in Sam Juan

[Ken at the beach]

Just to toss another 2 cents into the pot.

 

1. EOS sails full most of the time so RCCL does not need to bring a new ship to compete.

 

2. I live in Ontario and I would much rather cruise out of Florida than NJ or NY or Baltimore for the simple reason that if I'm paying for a 7 day Caribbean cruise I want all 7 days to be hot not 4 1/2 days.

 

3. I think RCCL would want the broader exposure to National and International customers that a Florida based port would bring as opposed to the more locally based exposure that a Northern port would bring.

 

In short Quantum to Florida and a Freedom class ship to head North.

[smoosh21]

You're all crazy and insane! Brand new cruise pier in San Francisco...I think so! :eek:

 

:p:p:p

 

 

Now that would be something. Its a bit far from everything else, but hey, I think it would be a beautiful sailaway

:)

[smoosh21]

Another NJ/NY cruiser sick and tired of traveling to Florida/San Juan for good itineraries. We booked the Breakaway too for later this year (Let's GO! ... Let's GO!), looking forward to the Quantum in Bayonne for late 2014 - come on RCL, would like to check out the deckplans and pick a cabin already!! :

 

I live in Atlanta. I am 7 hours from New Orleans or Tampa and 8 hours from Port Canaveral. I am pretty much flying anywhere that I want to take a cruise from.

[Dave85]

Just to toss another 2 cents into the pot.

 

1. EOS sails full most of the time so RCCL does not need to bring a new ship to compete.

 

While technically true in the past you're missing some valid points that have been consistently raised:

 

1) the Breakaway factor. NCL's Breakaway is about to make its splashy debut out of NYC next month. This RCI Diamond member without any prior NCL cruises has already booked the Breakaway. Look around at signatures of NYC area cruisers on the RCI boards and you'll notice that a lot of us have already booked the Breakaway. NCL's media blitz in the NYC market has been prolific and as another poster very eloquently stated, all of the cruising buzz in the NYC area right now is about the Breakaway.

 

Let's face it: EOS is not competitive with the Breakaway. I love RCI, and I have no problem saying it.

 

2) Carnival Splendor just arrived in NYC. Spendor isn't anything to write home about (I've sailed her), but she's larger and newer than the CCL ship she replaced (Miracle). She'll be a stronger player on the budget end of the NYC cruise market than CCL's previous offerings.

 

3) Redundancy. I've only sailed EOS twice, and that was enough for me, but again look around at the RCI cruises on CC within driving range of Bayonne and you'll see that some have sailed EOS 5-10 times, if not more. With other lines offering newer options, some of those reliable bookings will disappear as cruisers get bored and look for some variety.

 

Will EOS still sail full with Breakaway around? Probably, to my knowledge most cruise ships sail "full" most of the time... but EOS will not be able to command the higher prices she has in the past with stiffer competition. The result will be RCI not maximizing revenue in a lucrative market that's traditionally been a cash cow for the line. Remember, Oasis and Allure are already down in So. Fla. carrying up to 12K passengers per week commanding a premium, so it sure ain't broke down there...

 

Just MHO.