Princess West Coast Dominance - Good or Bad?

[Yosef42]

Really LA traffic, TSA and airline luggage restrictions.....just sounds like a lot of excuses to me.....it's all part of traveling....we fly all over the world to catch Princess ships....cannot figure out how a 50 minute flight to LAX is an imposing obstacle to increasing your options for cruises and being on different Princess ships...:confused::confused::confused:

 

 

I don't recall saying anything of the sort. But the topic of this thread is the effect of Princess's dominance of the West Coast, and in support of that I pointed out the objective fact that there's only one ship that does round trips from SF.

 

I then pointed out some reasons that one might prefer to sail from one's home port. I never said I wouldn't sail from somewhere else (I have certainly done so, and expect to do so again in the future). Your repeating that these factors aren't a big deal (to you) doesn't counter my point that they are factors, though. All other things being equal, I'd prefer not to fly to get to my ship, but all other things are rarely equal, so c'est la vie.

[Skai]

Sample 12-day sailing:

 

Los Angeles

SEA DAY

Cabo San Lucas

SEA DAY

Zihuatenejo

Huatulco

Acapulco

Manzanillo

Puerto Vallarta(2-day)

SEA DAY

SEA DAY

Los Angeles

 

 

Build it(during the winter months) and I will book it. Princess or any other line.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Why don't any cruise lines sail out of Milwaukee or Duluth? I would love to not have to pay as much for airfare as I pay for a cruise. I don't feel to bad for those who live with in driving distance of a cruise port.

Ah, but those of us in the middle of the country are the lucky ones! We have to fly to all cruises, and are therefore completely free to to consider any and all itineraries. Plus, we have an easier time flying to either coast when last minute deals come up.

 

Then there's the whole 'four seasons' thing. I know some people (not me) think that's really important. Nope, we are the chosen people! ;)

[Cruise Raider]

It is good for me to have at least one West Coast option with Princess. But it is bad for me since there are no alternate options with competitive pricing. However, a little birdie (my TA) told me it is likely that Celebrity will be basing a ship in San Diego/San Francisco in a year or two. I hope that is true.

 

 

Oh my goodness .... I hope that little birdie speaks the truth. San Francisco would be my first choice but San Diego comes in second .... well over Los Angeles.

We do like Princess but don't much care for the Grand Princess, although Celebrity, RCCL, etc have seemed to abandoned us here in SF. I love Celebrity, even their older ships so I would welcome it if they home ported one out here in California.

 

I heard a rumor (and maybe that is all it was) that Princess helped pay for the construction of Pier 27. That sure is a nice pier but would even go back to Pier 35 if it meant having another option or two out this way.

[Nancyquilts]

It's only in recent years that Princess has done year-round cruises out of SF and back. Those of us who live close are grateful.

Occasionally there is a cruise with another company but they are few and far between. We have one booked on Crystal next year to Hawaii, and had one booked on Celebrity a year ago to Alaska, but they decided to use the ship for a hotel for a convention instead. Celebrity was going to go to Sitka, our favorite Alaska port, and Princess from SF just hits the usual three as a rule. So we'll hit the usual three in August with the Grand.