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Some 4 day cruises not selling?

Posaune

By Posaune,
in Princess Cruises

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runnerodb83

runnerodb83

Posted
Posted
Most short cruises don't leave out of SF or I would probably book them. We are taking one out of SF in May but it doesn't come back - which is a pain. I'd love to be able to cruise to Vancouver and back again with a b2b but the only return is to LA which is illegal.

 

The short cruises out of California almost all go out of LA and it's just too much hassle to get there and back home again. Short cruises out of SF would work great for a lot of people but maybe they don't work financially for Princess. Too bad for me.

 

There is no way I want to fly from CA to FL for a 4 day cruise...

 

The ships have to visit a foreign port when sailing RT from a US port. For SF, the closest port is Ensenada which would probably be at least a 4 day cruise with only a few hours in Ensenada. Maybe a stop in Catalina or SB could be included and make it a 5 day, but the coastal currents of central and northern california can really fight ships heading north, not so much in this segment, but it can affect them and cause delays returning to SF.

 

The 3/4 day itineraries are low fuel users with predictable weather. Good weather for drinking beer and mixed drinks which = $$$.

 

HAL has experimented with a few NW cruises from Seattle or Vancouver going to victoria and or nanaimo, i think these would be winners for those of us int he northwest in the shoulder seasons.

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pablo222

pablo222

Posted
Posted
They are now selling inside cabins for $149! What a steal! Jan 9th' date=' I'm on it![/quote']

 

But a few weeks ago, these were essentially free. Pay some fare, and get the entire fare back as a future credit. Based on that, $149 is pretty high. And, one port (Princess Cays) on a 4-day cruise? Not much of an itinerary.

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iceleven

iceleven

Posted
Posted
Most short cruises don't leave out of SF or I would probably book them. We are taking one out of SF in May but it doesn't come back - which is a pain. I'd love to be able to cruise to Vancouver and back again with a b2b but the only return is to LA which is illegal.

 

The short cruises out of California almost all go out of LA and it's just too much hassle to get there and back home again. Short cruises out of SF would work great for a lot of people but maybe they don't work financially for Princess. Too bad for me.

 

There is no way I want to fly from CA to FL for a 4 day cruise...

 

I'm in total agreement with you here. I'd love it if there were cruises north out of SF other than just the "new" 11-day Alaska cruises. They were 10 day cruises before. I'd love to go to Vancouver, Naniamo or Port Angeles and that coastal town in Oregon. I have no idea what the economics would be for Princess but am curious.

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Thrak

Thrak

Posted
Posted
The ships have to visit a foreign port when sailing RT from a US port. For SF, the closest port is Ensenada which would probably be at least a 4 day cruise with only a few hours in Ensenada. Maybe a stop in Catalina or SB could be included and make it a 5 day, but the coastal currents of central and northern california can really fight ships heading north, not so much in this segment, but it can affect them and cause delays returning to SF.

 

The 3/4 day itineraries are low fuel users with predictable weather. Good weather for drinking beer and mixed drinks which = $$$.

 

HAL has experimented with a few NW cruises from Seattle or Vancouver going to victoria and or nanaimo, i think these would be winners for those of us int he northwest in the shoulder seasons.

 

Actually it's pretty quick from SF to Ensenada. Returning from Hawaii we hit Ensenada for 4 hours and then left after dark and were in SF the next morning.

 

Princess has a 4-day SF to Vancouver but no way to get back. We're doing that one in May but will be taking the train back home as there is no return cruise that doesn't violate the PVSA.

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critterchick

critterchick

Posted
Posted
Only time will tell what this change may bring. Long time Princess cruisers would hate to see significant changes to the model that has made Princess so successful. Hopefully the short cruises are a test and since they are not proving to be very profitable, Princess will return to its previous itinerary models.

 

We don't know that they aren't profitable. It's not the cost of the cabin but the onboard spending that drives profitability (or so I've been told by people in the know). Given the long lines we saw for shore excursions and the party atmosphere that pervaded Golden on our cruises (all of which were sold out), I'd say that they are making some money out here. But I'm just speculating, not being privy to the books.

 

The Left Coast has been starved for a quality product in the 3/4 night market since Monarch departed in 2008. We sailed a bunch on Carnival, but abandoned them like a used Kleenex when Golden came to town.

 

Most short cruises don't leave out of SF or I would probably book them. We are taking one out of SF in May but it doesn't come back - which is a pain. I'd love to be able to cruise to Vancouver and back again with a b2b but the only return is to LA which is illegal.

 

The short cruises out of California almost all go out of LA and it's just too much hassle to get there and back home again. Short cruises out of SF would work great for a lot of people but maybe they don't work financially for Princess. Too bad for me.

 

There is no way I want to fly from CA to FL for a 4 day cruise...

 

There are probably 30 million potential passengers within a 6-hour drive of the Port of Los Angeles (many people drive that far to get to Vegas for a weekend), and tapping them for their first cruise as a short one may well make them cruising fans who will book a longer cruise for their next vacation. Princess just may have deep enough pockets to make the short cruises loss leaders if that actually happens.

 

We're certainly hoping that they continue to offer the Getaways on the Left Coast!

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NewPennCruiser

NewPennCruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)

I live in PA and checked. They quote $229 like yourself. However we get emails from an online website that offers cruise discounts and we actually got an email today that quoted $149. I believe the discount agency is based in Florida. It seems odd that you're not getting the rate if others are. Dave

Edited by NewPennCruiser
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vacation fool

vacation fool

Posted
Posted
Would a Florida resident please check a single stateroom 1/9 Ruby? I'm still getting $458.

Why dont you just call Princess? the other thing is that there is a $75 port and tax fee on top of that $149. I believe even though only one in the cabin you only pay it once. so the fee for the cabin should be more like $373 if i am calculating correctly. For the 2 of us our total was $448

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iceleven

iceleven

Posted
Posted
Actually it's pretty quick from SF to Ensenada. Returning from Hawaii we hit Ensenada for 4 hours and then left after dark and were in SF the next morning.

 

 

 

No, not exactly. There is a full sea day between Ensenada and SF. I did it twice this year.

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Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
Posted (edited)
Would a Florida resident please check a single stateroom 1/9 Ruby? I'm still getting $458.

 

 

I'm a Florida resident and just checked. Inside is showing @149 for January 9th. But you also must be a former Princess passenger. Are you?

 

Also being offered are OV obstructed at $199.

Edited by Pia1913
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GottaLuvCruising

GottaLuvCruising

Posted
Posted
Florida resident here too.

Insides 149

OV 249 (Pia got a better deal!) :)

Balcony 299

 

Call Princess. They will most likely offer you those prices if you mention it.

Good luck!

 

I'm wondering if my profile isn't coded properly so it doesn't recognize me as a Florida resident. Or if I'm not getting the offer because I booked the 100% FCC promo. I don't want to pay the single supplement, but will call them at 9am to make sure there isn't a problem with my profile. Thanks to everyone for helping!

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Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
Posted
I'm wondering if my profile isn't coded properly so it doesn't recognize me as a Florida resident. Or if I'm not getting the offer because I booked the 100% FCC promo. I don't want to pay the single supplement, but will call them at 9am to make sure there isn't a problem with my profile. Thanks to everyone for helping!

 

Can't be the promo, because we're booked on it for 1/13 and 1/18. Let us know what they tell you when you speak to them.

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Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
Posted (edited)
Florida resident here too.

Insides 149

OV 249 (Pia got a better deal!) :)

Balcony 299

 

Call Princess. They will most likely offer you those prices if you mention it.

Good luck!

 

 

Wendy, I didn't. You have to click on the outside offer and then the obstructed cabins pop up for less money. Whenever you see OV price it's usually just for the regular outside.

Edited by Pia1913
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rubrrick

rubrrick

Posted
Posted
We don't know that they aren't profitable. It's not the cost of the cabin but the onboard spending that drives profitability (or so I've been told by people in the know). Given the long lines we saw for shore excursions and the party atmosphere that pervaded Golden on our cruises (all of which were sold out), I'd say that they are making some money out here. But I'm just speculating, not being privy to the books.

 

The Left Coast has been starved for a quality product in the 3/4 night market since Monarch departed in 2008. We sailed a bunch on Carnival, but abandoned them like a used Kleenex when Golden came to town.

 

 

 

There are probably 30 million potential passengers within a 6-hour drive of the Port of Los Angeles (many people drive that far to get to Vegas for a weekend), and tapping them for their first cruise as a short one may well make them cruising fans who will book a longer cruise for their next vacation. Princess just may have deep enough pockets to make the short cruises loss leaders if that actually happens.

 

We're certainly hoping that they continue to offer the Getaways on the Left Coast!

 

Jean, bummer that you are not able to take your promos this year. We were able to book 4, using part of each promo we did last fall, including the one with you.

 

I have heard that Princess may do the promo's again this coming fall, and we will once again take advantage of them. We will do a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises, but are looking forward to doing at least 2 to 4 more Princess cruises, not including the promos, if we can fit them in.

 

Like you, I don't get why Princess does not do a 3 night weekend, and 4 night weekday cruise. The weekenders were a gravy train for Royal Caribbean, and they admitted that. It would be a win win, if Princess fell into that routine, I believe.

 

Rick

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

Posted
Posted
I'm a Florida resident and just checked. Inside is showing @149 for January 9th. But you also must be a former Princess passenger. Are you?

 

Also being offered are OV obstructed at $199.

 

It isn't just a FL rate as I am getting it for $149 also.

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