Will Carnival ever return to San Juan?

[CruzerDeb]

So, I’ve missed sailing out of San Juan on Carnival twice! I booked my first cruise on the Valor out of SJ in 2009, and the itinerary changed. Booked again for 2020 and let a couple that we wanted to sail with talk me into changing to Celebrity. And we didn’t sail because of Covid. I’m planning to sail out of SJ in 2025 and I’m so disappointed that neither Carnival or Princess depart from there. Do we know why? 

[vwrestler171]

Carnival was pulling out of San Juan prior to COVID.  I've heard a bunch of different rumors.  I've heard that San Juan wanted more money from Carnival.  I've heard Carnival wanted the port upgraded.  I've heard that the ship wasn't filling as much as Carnival liked and they blamed it on the higher airfare to get to San Juan vs Miami or other US ports.  I don't think you'll ever get the straight reason.  

[CruzerDeb]

57 minutes ago, vwrestler171 said:

Carnival was pulling out of San Juan prior to COVID.  I've heard a bunch of different rumors.  I've heard that San Juan wanted more money from Carnival.  I've heard Carnival wanted the port upgraded.  I've heard that the ship wasn't filling as much as Carnival liked and they blamed it on the higher airfare to get to San Juan vs Miami or other US ports.  I don't think you'll ever get the straight reason.  

Thanks for the info. Guess I’ll have to go on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. 

[Honolulu Blue]

8 hours ago, CruzerDeb said:

So, I’ve missed sailing out of San Juan on Carnival twice! I booked my first cruise on the Valor out of SJ in 2009, and the itinerary changed. Booked again for 2020 and let a couple that we wanted to sail with talk me into changing to Celebrity. And we didn’t sail because of Covid. I’m planning to sail out of SJ in 2025 and I’m so disappointed that neither Carnival or Princess depart from there. Do we know why? 

 

I also miss the San Juan sailings, and there are a few others around here that do too.  You're definitely not alone.

 

As for the question in your title, I'm not optimistic.  I think there's too much competition there now (see below for details).

 

7 hours ago, vwrestler171 said:

Carnival was pulling out of San Juan prior to COVID.  I've heard a bunch of different rumors.  I've heard that San Juan wanted more money from Carnival.  I've heard Carnival wanted the port upgraded.  I've heard that the ship wasn't filling as much as Carnival liked and they blamed it on the higher airfare to get to San Juan vs Miami or other US ports.  I don't think you'll ever get the straight reason.  

 

I think it's mostly the lower cabin rates out of SJ that chased them from there.  Airfare could have been a factor in that.  Too bad, because I like the Eastern Caribbean stops better than the ones in the West.

 

6 hours ago, CruzerDeb said:

Thanks for the info. Guess I’ll have to go on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. 

 

You don't have to settle for those cruise lines.  NCL has a nice, new ship called the Viva doing the SJ route for now, and Virgin Voyages also is trying to make money on the route.  There may be others.

Edited October 31, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Joebucks]

Never say never. Just don't expect it anytime soon.

[rodndonna]

14 hours ago, CruzerDeb said:

Thanks for the info. Guess I’ll have to go on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. 

 

Celebrity is dropping San Juan as well (at least for 2025). We had booked with them our of San Juan in 2025, but all the 2025 San Juan itineraries were pulled to Florida embarkations. If you want to do Celebrity - get it in for 2024.

 

NCL is doing San Juan and we have that one booked for January 2024 (7 day cruise with no sea days!).

 

Options from San Juan are becoming more limited, I am guessing it is a result of flight costs 😐

Celebrity said they wanted to make it easier for families and more cruises with the RCL private island when the made the change to Florida.

[BossyKat]

Right now Carnival doesn't have enough ships go go around.  

[jsglow]

Not to be cynical but one of the issues with San Juan is the lack of dedicated Carnival Corp ports they'll sail to. Take the brand new Celebration Key where CCL captures all of your money as an example. When you sail from San Juan, you necessarily go south. More interesting from an island exploration standpoint but way less company control over the dollars passengers spend on CCL attractions.

 

Carnival, for the most part, is a vacation focused brand, not an 'exploration' brand. The corporation has other lines that certainly do that better. What I will say is that Carnival is now doing a much better job understanding and capitalizing on its European market and has certainly enhanced its repo/drydock cruising opportunities. As veterans, we've learned how to maximize that aspect of the product offering. They also do a good job with their Journeys.

[Indiansbaseball]

We did this cruise 4 years in a row and would do it again in a heartbeat. For us, flying to San Juan was always cheaper than Miami. Flying to Miami is a pain in the rear and expensive ! 

[drvmywifecrzy]

Based on Carnival's future cruise schedule the answer is no

[CruzerDeb]

4 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

Celebrity is dropping San Juan as well (at least for 2025). We had booked with them our of San Juan in 2025, but all the 2025 San Juan itineraries were pulled to Florida embarkations. If you want to do Celebrity - get it in for 2024.

 

NCL is doing San Juan and we have that one booked for January 2024 (7 day cruise with no sea days!).

 

Options from San Juan are becoming more limited, I am guessing it is a result of flight costs 😐

Celebrity said they wanted to make it easier for families and more cruises with the RCL private island when the made the change to Florida.

Yikes! I’m really sorry to hear this about Celebrity dropping San Juan. I can’t make it happen in 2024 - my DH is already regretting the 3 we have booked. 

[VentureMan_2000]

I hope not only because of the cost to fly there.

 

[CruzerDeb]

9 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I hope not only because of the cost to fly there.

 

No one would make you choose that route, so you wouldn’t have to fly there if you didn’t want to.

[jsglow]

10 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I hope not only because of the cost to fly there.

 

So don't go. Problem solved for you.

[rodndonna]

13 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I hope not only because of the cost to fly there.

 

 

Although I don't expect them to return to San Juan (at least not in the foreseeable future), even if they did, it would still just be "1"  ship and itinerary, NO chance of them pulling out of the plethora of other options from Florida, California and other US ports, so no need to worry if they return.

 

[Stick93]

They seem like they never going back to SJ and they are pulling out of NY again year round - The other options are prob better anyways - pay a bit more but get a bit of better product.