Discovery CA Coastal itinerary question

[RSF Cruiser]

We are booked on the Oct 19 CA Coastal cruise on the Discovery. Originally the itinerary included San Francisco, I think it was Monterey, San Diego, and Ensenada. The schedule changed and Monterey was changed to Catalina. When I check excursions, none are listed for Catalina, yet there are excursions for the other ports. 
 

This same itinerary is on Oct 5 and April 12, but again, no excursions for Catalina. For the November 2 and March 29 sailings, the Discovery is staying two days in San Francisco - no Catalina. 
 

Does anyone have any “insider” information about the October CA Coastal cruises? Are there plans to drop Catalina and they just haven’t told us?

[robbinsca]

57 minutes ago, RSF Cruiser said:

We are booked on the Oct 19 CA Coastal cruise on the Discovery. Originally the itinerary included San Francisco, I think it was Monterey, San Diego, and Ensenada. The schedule changed and Monterey was changed to Catalina. When I check excursions, none are listed for Catalina, yet there are excursions for the other ports. 
 

This same itinerary is on Oct 5 and April 12, but again, no excursions for Catalina. For the November 2 and March 29 sailings, the Discovery is staying two days in San Francisco - no Catalina. 
 

Does anyone have any “insider” information about the October CA Coastal cruises? Are there plans to drop Catalina and they just haven’t told us?

Monterey must have been dropped due to their concerns about too many cruise ships visiting. Catalina is really not a port that you need ship excursions for. It is a tiny town with just a few touristy things to do. There are a couple of glass bottom boats/ semi-submersibles type things. You can rent (cash only) a golf cart to toddle around in, you can visit the shops or hang out in the beach.

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

It's such a shame (I understand both sides) that Monterey was dropped.  That would have been an acceptable reason for me to get on a Royal Class ship.  Not meant to be.  But then there is the Grand....out of LA....maybe, maybe, maybe.

[telecheck]

2 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

It's such a shame (I understand both sides) that Monterey was dropped.  That would have been an acceptable reason for me to get on a Royal Class ship.  Not meant to be.  But then there is the Grand....out of LA....maybe, maybe, maybe.

 

With Monterey being dropped, I would prefer to see it replaced with Santa Barbara or an extra day in San Francisco. I believe most people would prefer these options over replacing it with Catalina Island. The itinerary seems less appealing now. It just feels like a getaway cruise from Long Beach that Carnival regularly offers every week. However, of course, any cruise is better than no cruise.

[arizonaperson]

@RSF CruiserNo insider information. Catalina Island shore excursions are probably not available to book yet because I believe October 2024 is the first time this season that Princess will call upon Catalina.
Are you wishing to book shore  excursions in Catalina? Or just curiosity on your part? You could always contact www.lovecatalina.com or www.visitcatalinaisland.com & see what’s available through them. It would probably be way cheaper than booking through the cruise line. Perhaps the cruise line already has taken all the available spots? It’s seems like you could just check the tour calendar on the island and see if that’s the case. There are bikes to rent ,golf carts to rent, Eco tours, etc.
Living in San Diego -have you not been to Catalina Island before? Agree with other posters,not a lot to do there, but I love Catalina Island. Been there many many times as I grew up in Southern California. Depending on your mobility -walking around, looking in the shops ,or going to the beach, is all very nice, but if that’s not your style then yes they will definitely have some sort of tours for the cruise ship passengers. Just remember this is a tender port ,so it takes a little time to get to and from the dock.

And I don’t know why other posters are telling you that they would prefer a different city to port in. I know that was not your question and obviously I’m sure you know that , if you didn’t like this itinerary, you could cancel .

So hopefully others will stick to the subject ,but …..

Edited April 29 by arizonaperson

[Arizona Wildcat]

Agree with the last poster.  Santa Barbara has restricted port calls and Monterrey banned them for larger ships.

In Catalina simply use Google and search companies offering excursions.  There are at least 4.

West Coast cruising has become very different and not nearly as much fun.

[RSF Cruiser]

I should have been more clear - I am not interested in taking an excursion in Catalina - I’m concerned we are not going to go there and spend two days in San Francisco, which I do not want to do. Princess has not said anything about dropping Catalina, and of course, Princess customer service didn’t know if Catalina would be dropped or not. I had hoped some of the travel agents who participate in cruise critic would know more of the details of the Discovery October 19 cruise. That said, thanks for taking the time to respond. 

Edited April 29 by RSF Cruiser

[karatemom2]

Catalina is a tender port and can really only comfortably accommodate one ship - it is very small. So maybe there is a delay to see how the schedule shakes out? Other lines regularly stop in Catalina including Carnival which has a regular rotation there.

 

If you do end up going, be sure to check out the inland Hummer tour that takes you to the more remote parts of the island and up to the Airport in the Sky. It's an amazing (albeit a bit bumpy tour). Great way to see parts of the island that those who stick just to Avalon don't experience and also catch sight of some of the wild roaming bison.

[RSF Cruiser]

5 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

Catalina is a tender port and can really only comfortably accommodate one ship - it is very small. So maybe there is a delay to see how the schedule shakes out? Other lines regularly stop in Catalina including Carnival which has a regular rotation there.

 

If you do end up going, be sure to check out the inland Hummer tour that takes you to the more remote parts of the island and up to the Airport in the Sky. It's an amazing (albeit a bit bumpy tour). Great way to see parts of the island that those who stick just to Avalon don't experience and also catch sight of some of the wild roaming bison.

Thanks - I was in Catalina last week and hiked up Hermits Gulch and then down the Sea to Sky trail into the botanical garden - the hike was incredible! Lots of wild flowers and great views. In October we are planning on doing the interior jeep tour with the Catalina Conservancy. I’m afraid Princess is going to cancel Catalina, and that’s why there are no tours listed. 

Edited April 29 by RSF Cruiser

[arizonaperson]

@RSF Cruiser got it on the itinerary…. Well hopefully before you have to make final payment, you will know if Catalina is a for sure or not since you don’t want to spend two days in San Francisco. Hopefully that’ll give you enough time to cancel your cruise? Agree, why does Princess have to be so secretive about the itinerary? I know when you sign up for a cruise, the itinerary can change at Cruiseline discretion or the captains discretion, etc. But at this point, I would think they would know if they’re stopping in Catalina or San Francisco longer, but obviously time will tell.

 

How about looking at www.sfport.com, cruise schedule should be there for your particular cruise that you are booked for. Maybe that will be the insider information?

Edited April 29 by arizonaperson

[arizonaperson]

@RSF Cruiser when you look at your shore excursions for San Francisco does it give you an option to book for day two in the morning any shore excursions? That might be a telltale sign as well. I know you’re not scheduled according to Princess for being in San Francisco two days in a row ,but maybe the shore excursions give you an option to book for day one and two and that very well could be the itinerary change. If not??

Edited April 29 by arizonaperson

[RSF Cruiser]

Right now San Francisco is listed for only one day on the

ship itinerary. There are excursions listed for San Francisco, San Diego, and Ensenada. That’s why I’m concerned Catalina will be cancelled since it’s the only port with no excursions. I checked the port schedules and the Discovery is listed on the Catalina site per the cruise itinerary, and the sfport.com schedule lists the Discovery for SF for two days. As for excursions, dates are not given for the SF excursions other than the cruise itinerary which says we’ll be in port one day. Guess I’ll have to wait and see if we get any official clarification. Thanks for your help!

[telecheck]

15 minutes ago, RSF Cruiser said:

Right now San Francisco is listed for only one day on the

ship itinerary. There are excursions listed for San Francisco, San Diego, and Ensenada. That’s why I’m concerned Catalina will be cancelled since it’s the only port with no excursions. I checked the port schedules and the Discovery is listed on the Catalina site per the cruise itinerary, and the sfport.com schedule lists the Discovery for SF for two days. As for excursions, dates are not given for the SF excursions other than the cruise itinerary which says we’ll be in port one day. Guess I’ll have to wait and see if we get any official clarification. Thanks for your help!

 

If you are seeking insider information, you can send a private message to "sfpd3000" (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/profile/5895-sfpd3000/). This member is an SFPD officer who is regularly assigned to the SF piers, so he may have insider knowledge. He is an active member in the roll call forum and often leaves welcome messages on threads for upcoming cruises docking in SF.

[cr8tiv1]

6 minutes ago, telecheck said:

 

If you are seeking insider information, you can send a private message to "sfpd3000" (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/profile/5895-sfpd3000/). This member is an SFPD officer who is regularly assigned to the SF piers, so he may have insider knowledge. He is an active member in the roll call forum and often leaves welcome messages on threads for upcoming cruises docking in SF.

 

Good suggestion, but Cruise Critic disabled Direct Messages to other members.

 

You can try @sfpd3000 and hope Alan responds

[RSF Cruiser]

11 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Good suggestion, but Cruise Critic disabled Direct Messages to other members.

 

You can try @sfpd3000 and hope Alan responds

The link for messaging has been disabled - I tried various ways, and all of them gave me a message that the function is not available.

[Mark_K]

39 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Yes if sailing in Europe you could get Euros on board.  But the 3% exchange fee charged by some DEBIT cards is far less than getting then on board, at home from your bank or using a credit card and a cash advance.

Just use a BANK ATM using a debit card when you arrive overseas. 

Which doesn’t work so well if your cruise leaves from Southampton and you need euros. It’s somewhat of a conundrum for me, we leave Southampton, have a stop in Portland, and then a tour directly from the ship in Ireland.

[negn]

I did this cruise last year.  Monterey has barred cruise ships since last year.   They substituted Catalina for us but we were the only ship in that port. We did tender  Loved Catalina. Really did not need an excursion.  Island was small enough to do on your own. Hope you get to go

[sfpd3000]

I'm here.

I believe the question is: Will Discovery stay overnight in San Francisco?  We now have Discovery scheduled to arrive on Monday (10/21) and staying overnight before departing on Tuesday (10/22).  The port schedule was just updated last week.  The original schedule had Discovery here in San Francisco for only one day (Monday 10/21).  So my guess is Princess already knew about this particular sailing skipping Catalina and had informed the Port of SF.

[sfpd3000]

If you look at the Princess page for your particular cruise, the map illustration shows you departing Los Angeles, going to San Francisco, and then Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Ensenada before returning home.

[sfpd3000]

Doing a little more research here.

 

My cousin did this cruise last year (doing the itinerary from Post #19).  But they only spent the day in San Francisco.  So I'm guessing since you're staying overnight in San Francisco, you'll miss Catalina and Santa Barbara too?

[RSF Cruiser]

 

7 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

Doing a little more research here.

 

My cousin did this cruise last year (doing the itinerary from Post #19).  But they only spent the day in San Francisco.  So I'm guessing since you're staying overnight in San Francisco, you'll miss Catalina and Santa Barbara too?

We just did this cruise last week and will be doing it again in October. Perhaps when the schedule first came out, the itinerary included Santa Barbara, and then it got changed to Monterey, and then Catalina. I got suspicious about Catalina for October when no excursions were listed. The Catalina port schedule still has the Discovery listed, but my bet is the schedule hasn’t been updated, especially if the SF port schedule just got changed last week. Thanks for confirming my suspicions!

[sfpd3000]

4 minutes ago, RSF Cruiser said:

 

We just did this cruise last week and will be doing it again in October. Perhaps when the schedule first came out, the itinerary included Santa Barbara, and then it got changed to Monterey, and then Catalina. I got suspicious about Catalina for October when no excursions were listed. The Catalina port schedule still has the Discovery listed, but my bet is the schedule hasn’t been updated, especially if the SF port schedule just got changed last week. Thanks for confirming my suspicions!

We probably sailed past each other twice.  I was on the Crown last week on the way south while you were on the Discovery going up north and then vice versa.

[RSF Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

We probably sailed past each other twice.  I was on the Crown last week on the way south while you were on the Discovery going up north and then vice versa.

Ha! Had I known I’d have waved to you!

[sfpd3000]

4 minutes ago, RSF Cruiser said:

Ha! Had I known I’d have waved to you!

If you had waited one more week... I'm working the Discovery tomorrow.

[RSF Cruiser]

1 minute ago, sfpd3000 said:

If you had waited one more week... I'm working the Discovery tomorrow.

Maybe you’ll be there in October, then.