Why only 1 ship in the Caribbean?

[TTU cruiser]

Title says it all, Why does Norwegian only keep 1 ship in the Caribbean during the summer months?  It makes it really hard to book a NCL Cruise when he only ship is switching East and West itineraries that I have been on several times.

[SeaShark]

This is an ongoing practice with NCL. They make decisions and then they continually forget to come here to explain "why" to us.

 

Who do they think they are anyway?

[tef43]

11 minutes ago, TTU cruiser said:

Title says it all, Why does Norwegian only keep 1 ship in the Caribbean during the summer months?  It makes it really hard to book a NCL Cruise when he only ship is switching East and West itineraries that I have been on several times.

 

Supply and demand.   Other itineraries may be more lucrative, and then there's that whole "hurricane season" thing.

 

Shame on them for not asking you first.

[deliver42]

I can't answer that. Only NCL can, but they are giving the Caribbean to Royal, Carnival, MSC, and Celebrity. Princess does the same as NCL, and HAL leaves the Caribbean empty.

[JimR24]

I would think it has to do with the weather.  I live is Florida and the weather in the summer is unpredictable.  I'm sure they did their research and made the best decision possible for them as a company.  

[cliffd64]

Norwegian has always avoided having ships in the Caribbean during the summer months historically.  Most are seen relocating to either the Alaska market and Mediterranean market, as well as Bermuda during this time frame.  Carnival has many more ships so they have more of a presence in the Caribbean during these off peak times.

[FLAHAM]

When it's 20 degrees F here in Ohio, a Caribbbean cruise looks great.  When it's 80 degrees here, not so much. 

[jingle5616]

1 hour ago, SeaShark said:

This is an ongoing practice with NCL. They make decisions and then they continually forget to come here to explain "why" to us.

 

Who do they think they are anyway?

Well bless your little heart!

[Capitan Obvious]

1 hour ago, TTU cruiser said:

Why does Norwegian only keep 1 ship in the Caribbean during the summer months?  It makes it really hard to book a NCL Cruise when he only ship is switching East and West itineraries that I have been on several times.

 

Wouldn't the fact that there is only 1 ship make it easier to book an NCL Cruise? If there were multiple ships, sailing from multiple ports, doing multiple itineraries, on different days it seems that it would actually make the decision making process more difficult.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

It is probably the same answer as to why they have zero ships sailing Alaska in the winter.

[TTU cruiser]

23 minutes ago, Capitan Obvious said:

Wouldn't the fact that there is only 1 ship make it easier to book an NCL Cruise? If there were multiple ships, sailing from multiple ports, doing multiple itineraries, on different days it seems that it would actually make the decision making process more difficult.

 

I meant that it makes it hard for me to justify cruising with Norwegian to go to destinations I have already been to.  I like variety in my vacations.  

[TTU cruiser]

20 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

It is probably the same answer as to why they have zero ships sailing Alaska in the winter.

 

Because it's dark and frozen during that time?  Because it isn't a popular vacation destination during that time frame? 

 

hmmm....I don't think so

Edited December 19, 2019 by TTU cruiser

[RedwingHockeyFan]

8 minutes ago, TTU cruiser said:

 

Because it's dark and frozen during that time?  Because it isn't a popular vacation destination during that time frame? 

 

hmmm....I don't think so

 

"Because it isn't a popular vacation destination during that time frame" is correct.  Though it has a different reason than "Because it's dark and frozen during that time".

[Paul Bogle]

I'll throw in my guess; NCL deploys their ships where they think they can garner the greatest return.

Edited December 19, 2019 by Paul Bogle

[Love my butler]

For the first time in history, NCL will have 4 ships in Alaska next summer.  More revenue to be had there.  In the summer,  many people aren't looking to 'escape' to the warm and sunny Caribbean.  They have that at home.

[havanadaydreaming]

i had no idea NCL has only one ship in the Caribbean in the summer.  Seems light to me, too. 

 

that said, I've been through hurricane seasons in florida and it can wreck havoc with the best laid plans.  I know cruisers can, at times, be fickle and not terribly understanding of weather events changing ports and embarkation/debarkation dates.  I'm not totally insensitive to that emotion but I'm sure cruise lines would rather not deal with storm season if at all possible. 

 

 

[sverigecruiser]

6 hours ago, TTU cruiser said:

Title says it all, Why does Norwegian only keep 1 ship in the Caribbean during the summer months?  It makes it really hard to book a NCL Cruise when he only ship is switching East and West itineraries that I have been on several times.

 

My opinion is that it's because it's low-season for cruises from Florida. I have been told here on cruisecritic that I'm wrong and I can accept that people have different opinions about.

 

It's still a fact that I know lots of people who like to go to Florida during the winter but not during the summer. For me that means that summer is low-season!

[Greek Boss]

4 hours ago, TTU cruiser said:

 

I meant that it makes it hard for me to justify cruising with Norwegian to go to destinations I have already been to.  I like variety in my vacations.  

I agree with you. One of my biggest complaints being from the Northeast is that NCL always has the same weeklong Bahamas/Florida Itinerary from New York whereas Carnival and Royal at least change it up. The last several cruises on NCL have been out of Miami for us and while we have grown to love cruising from there, we are beginning to get the same feeling from their itineraries down there too. It was a legit complaint I had and discussed with many within corporate while we were on the 2 Day Encore Inaugural in NYC last month.

[droundtheworld]

Alaska and European cruises are high season during this time.  They can get a higher yield on those cruises.  

[TTU cruiser]

35 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

For me that means that summer is low-season!

It's a shame that NCL prices don't reflect that way of thinking

[david_sobe]

One thing to remember is that RCCL really has moved into NCL's turf. RCCL could never fit their monster ships in Miami before.  They just built this HUGE new terminal in Miami and currently sailing the LARGEST cruise ships in the world from Miami to the Caribbean (Oasis of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas).  With these monsters from Miami, NCL probably sees it wise to just keep one mega ship in Miami.

Edited December 19, 2019 by david_sobe

[FLAHAM]

RCCL moved them all the way from Port Everglades.  Big deal. 

[AL3XCruise]

A few quick thoughts:

 

NCL has made no secret that revenue maximization is a key part of their strategy and a higher priority than even cost reduction.  While many of us have seen this in terms of policies and pricing onboard, it also applies to deployment.  If the fleet has the flexibility to be moved to destinations commanding higher prices, it makes sense that they would do so.

 

RCI has a much larger fleet (even more so when comparing RCCL to NCLH), and the Oasis class in particular is likely to command premium pricing even during slower seasons.  More ships and a competitive advantage equals more berths staying in that market.

 

Carnival also has a larger fleet, including a number of smaller ships sailing from smaller ports.  In general, they seem to be willing to accept lower margins in favor of maximum volume, but I haven't read anything specific from CCL leadership on that (merely my thoughts after glancing at financials in the annual report and ongoing marketing).  

 

In short, NCL moving ships seems to fit better with their strategy at the moment.  Assuming older vessels remain in service, it will be interesting to see if this changes once the Leonardo vessels show up.

[sverigecruiser]

6 hours ago, TTU cruiser said:

It's a shame that NCL prices don't reflect that way of thinking

 

I think it does because if they have only one ship there the prices should be even higher if it was high-season. 

[david_sobe]

11 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

RCCL moved them all the way from Port Everglades.  Big deal. 

Nope.  Still sailing from Port Everglades.  They have more ships sailing the Caribbean than ever.  Only the Oasis used to sail there but moved to Miami.  When you increase the ports you sail to the Caribbean it does hurt your competitor.  Odyssey of the Seas home port is Port Everglades.  They now have the largest new ships sailing out of both Miami and Ft Lauderdale.  It would be like if NCL brought Joy and Bliss to Port Everglades and kept Encore in Miami.

Nice try though 🙂

Edited December 20, 2019 by david_sobe