Princess - Why Can't You Offer More RT Vancouver Itineraries?

[LEtue]

The Coral Princess is doing only one R/T sailing from Vancouver on May 6, 2015. This itinerary is absolutely perfect and I wish it was offered at least a few times a year! Anyone else agree?

 

05/06 Vancouver

(Depart 04:30 PM)

05/07 At Sea

05/08 Juneau

(01:00 PM - 10:00 PM)

05/09 Skagway

(06:00 AM - 08:15 PM)

05/10 Glacier Bay

(06:00 AM - 03:00 PM)

05/11 Ketchikan

(10:00 AM - 06:00 PM)

05/12 At Sea

05/13 Vancouver

(Arrive 07:30 AM)

[nukesubsailor]

The Coral Princess is doing only one R/T sailing from Vancouver on May 6, 2015. This itinerary is absolutely perfect and I wish it was offered at least a few times a year! Anyone else agree?

 

05/06 Vancouver

(Depart 04:30 PM)

05/07 At Sea

05/08 Juneau

(01:00 PM - 10:00 PM)

05/09 Skagway

(06:00 AM - 08:15 PM)

05/10 Glacier Bay

(06:00 AM - 03:00 PM)

05/11 Ketchikan

(10:00 AM - 06:00 PM)

05/12 At Sea

05/13 Vancouver

(Arrive 07:30 AM)

 

I would think the reason for there being just one such sailing would be to coordinate the ships sailings with the land tours. Also, the Alaskan ports limits on how many ships they can accommodate at one time may be a factor.

I have noticed that if you want to book a cruise during the transition period when ships are making seasonal repositioning cruises, you need to plan and book well in advance.

As long as winter gets uncomfortably cold in the north and there are summer hurricanes in the Caribbean, there will be repositioning occurring in the spring and fall.

[Ethel5]

The other factor is that it's more expensive to fly into Vancouver than Seatac.

[kruisey]

One can fly into Bellingham Washington Airport just over the border and catch 'Quick Shuttle' bus to Vancouver.Many Canadians use this route to travel because the flights are much cheaper than flying from Vancouver.:)

[sept10dsm]

Last year Princess offered many of the 7 day as a 14 day RT from Vancouver. This year they don't. It saved on port fees. For a 7 day the fees were just a bit under what we paid for the 14 day booked as 1 cruise. Our fee was 220 pp. I think it may have to do with that AK $50 fee per cruise, otherwise I have no clue. The RT was really nice.

Edited May 23, 2014 by sept10dsm

[sept10dsm]

Plus, since a 14 day a better military OBC. One 14 day is $250. Each 7 day $100 each.

[LEtue]

Sailing one ship from Vancouver is not an issue for HAL or Celebrity and I would much rather sail on Princess.

 

Airfare is not an issue for a lot of us since options between Vancouver and Seattle are reasonable and require very little extra time. You may not agree but that shouldn't prevent one of the leaders in Alaska from offering more options! Besides the Coral sails mid week so coordinating a port schedule can't be a major issue.....

[RickEk]

The Coral Princess is doing only one R/T sailing from Vancouver on May 6, 2015. This itinerary is absolutely perfect and I wish it was offered at least a few times a year! Anyone else agree?

 

05/06 Vancouver

(Depart 04:30 PM)

05/07 At Sea

05/08 Juneau

(01:00 PM - 10:00 PM)

05/09 Skagway

(06:00 AM - 08:15 PM)

05/10 Glacier Bay

(06:00 AM - 03:00 PM)

05/11 Ketchikan

(10:00 AM - 06:00 PM)

05/12 At Sea

05/13 Vancouver

(Arrive 07:30 AM)

 

Go this year... Pacific Princess is doing this itinerary all season long in 2014. :)

 

Last year Princess offered many of the 7 day as a 14 day RT from Vancouver. This year they don't. It saved on port fees. For a 7 day the fees were just a bit under what we paid for the 14 day booked as 1 cruise. Our fee was 220 pp. I think it may have to do with that AK $50 fee per cruise, otherwise I have no clue. The RT was really nice.

 

Wanna bet they'll start offering the 14-day soon?

[sept10dsm]

Go this year... Pacific Princess is doing this itinerary all season long in 2014. :)

 

 

 

Wanna bet they'll start offering the 14-day soon?

 

I know! We booked the very end of May last year for a mid July 14 day. I do not know if those 14 day (b2b) were offered before hand. I found it by accident when looking just for a RT Alaska. I couldn't believe the deals offered. We snatched up the 14 day guarantee for 629 pp and were upgraded to an obstructed OV. Couldn't beat the price.

[Tweedy]

The other factor is that it's more expensive to fly into Vancouver than Seatac.

 

 

If the cost of flying into Vancouver is one of the factors, then I would expect no 7-day roundtrips from Vancouver. However, the other lines like Celebrity and Holland America don't seem to have a problem.

 

For the OP, if you wish to sail this year on Princess roundtrip from Vancouver, hop on board the Pacific Princess. For this season it is doing the 7-day roundtrip. In 2015 it moves to the 7-day north and 7-day south itineraries.

[BruceMuzz]

And why are those 14 day Alaska cruises such a bargain?

 

They have to nearly give them away to fill the ship.

Giving them away to fill the ship means the company is losing money.

Should Princess offer more of these cruises so they can lose even more money?

 

For many years HAL tried the 14 day Alaska cruises. They were rarely able to fill the ship - even when they did nearly give them away. So they cancelled the idea.

 

Then this year, they decided to try it again. Guess what. They cannot fill the ship, and are losing a bundle on this latest attempt.

I'm quite sure that Princess doesn't want to join in that sort of fun.

[sept10dsm]

And why are those 14 day Alaska cruises such a bargain?

 

They have to nearly give them away to fill the ship.

Giving them away to fill the ship means the company is losing money.

Should Princess offer more of these cruises so they can lose even more money?

 

For many years HAL tried the 14 day Alaska cruises. They were rarely able to fill the ship - even when they did nearly give them away. So they cancelled the idea.

 

Then this year, they decided to try it again. Guess what. They cannot fill the ship, and are losing a bundle on this latest attempt.

I'm quite sure that Princess doesn't want to join in that sort of fun.

 

The 14 day Princess cruise that was offered last year was just a b2b really. The saving was partly due to reduced port costs for us rather than booked 2 7 day and the increased military. I couldn't understand why Princess had so many ships there last year. Another reason probably why they couldn't fill them all. I really wish they offered the 14 day that went to Kodiak Island that they did a few years ago.

[AKman2495]

I think another big reason is that by landing in Whittier, they have access to all of the Princess lodges that they have built over the years. R/T Vancouver eliminates any possibility of land tours...

[likeadisguise]

Airfare is not an issue for a lot of us since options between Vancouver and Seattle are reasonable and require very little extra time. You may not agree but that shouldn't prevent one of the leaders in Alaska from offering more options! Besides the Coral sails mid week so coordinating a port schedule can't be a major issue.....

 

But they'd have to take a ship from somewhere else to do it, either Seattle or San Francisco. Presumably, they've determined there's just more demand for RT voyages from those ports than there is from Vancouver.

 

They can't please everyone!

[sherryf]

I think another big reason is that by landing in Whittier, they have access to all of the Princess lodges that they have built over the years. R/T Vancouver eliminates any possibility of land tours...

 

The RT Seattle cruises have the same issue, no land tours, but that doesn't stop Princess from having 2 ships doing RT Seattle cruises every year.

[tiggerrr]

The RT Seattle cruises have the same issue, no land tours, but that doesn't stop Princess from having 2 ships doing RT Seattle cruises every year.

 

Yes, but cruises out of Seattle must be RT's - no one ways allowed. So, sailing out of Vancouver is how they drive their land tour business. Princess has simply divided their offerings by port. If you want a RT, you sail out of Seattle. If you want a one-way or a land tour, you sail out of Vancouver.

[cubfan63]

One can fly into Bellingham Washington Airport just over the border and catch 'Quick Shuttle' bus to Vancouver.Many Canadians use this route to travel because the flights are much cheaper than flying from Vancouver.:)

 

 

 

A question about using the Bellingham airport--where are these Canadians going on these cheaper flights? A look at the airlines and destinations from this airport, according to Wikipedia, the airline is primarily Allegiant and there are no destinations east of Denver.

 

The Bellingham airport does not seem to work for more than half the United States without some sort of connection. It maybe cheaper for an Allegiant city like Mesa or Las Vegas, but probably not Chicago, Boston, or New York City.

 

Given that Seattle has an many non-stops from Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines, this really seems is more of an option than Bellingham, if you flying into Washington State?

 

Regarding why too many 7-day roundtrips for Princess from Vancouver, my take is they really are trying to sell cruise/land combinations, first. Hence the Vancouver to Whittier (and vice versa) options.

[mr green]

Plus, since a 14 day a better military OBC. One 14 day is $250. Each 7 day $100 each.

 

For myself as an Elite it makes little difference. True for two 7 day cruises I loose $50.00 on my MOBC, BUT, I do get my mini bar restocked on the second leg.

 

john

[Cruise Junky]

A question about using the Bellingham airport--where are these Canadians going on these cheaper flights? A look at the airlines and destinations from this airport, according to Wikipedia, the airline is primarily Allegiant and there are no destinations east of Denver.

 

The Bellingham airport does not seem to work for more than half the United States without some sort of connection. It maybe cheaper for an Allegiant city like Mesa or Las Vegas, but probably not Chicago, Boston, or New York City.

 

Given that Seattle has an many non-stops from Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines, this really seems is more of an option than Bellingham, if you flying into Washington State?

 

Regarding why too many 7-day roundtrips for Princess from Vancouver, my take is they really are trying to sell cruise/land combinations, first. Hence the Vancouver to Whittier (and vice versa) options.

 

 

Alaska is big out of Bellingham but really only direct from Hawaii or Vegas. From most places in the USA you 'd connect through Seattle

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LEtue]

I will just continue to monitor the 2 R/T sailings out of Vancouver on HAL. I can't handle the solo price or I would book one now.

 

I booked the Ruby because port times are important to me and most sailings out of SEA don't offer a full day in Ketchikan and I need that for my Anan Creek bear fly in.

 

I haven't done the Tracy Arm Glacier Discovery add-on before so I'm really looking forward to that too :D