Genesis Class in Port Canaveral???

[negc]

Hopefully they willl eventually put one of the freedom class ships on the west coast...I am a bit leery of Genesis...we will be on Liberty in May an are on the fence about a ship with that many people...Genesis is significantly bigger than that. I love RCCL but how big can you possibly go and still offer good service and enough public space

 

Well, the latest date I have heard for completion of the larger locks in the Panama Canal is 2015, so that "eventually" is still a long way off. :(

RCI may be pushing the envelope, but I think that they are well aware of the problems associated with designing bigger and bigger ships. So far I haven't read anything about Genesis, that wasn't said before Voyager and Freedom were introduced. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until I see the finished product and then decide for myself. Actually, in terms of overall length, Genesis is only 49 feet longer than the Queen Mary 2 and 69 feet longer than Freedom. Many ports may already be in a position to handle a ship this size and apparently other ports are planning infrastructure changes that will allow them to do so as well.:)

[Cuizer2]

Hopefully they willl eventually put one of the freedom class ships on the west coast...I am a bit leery of Genesis...we will be on Liberty in May an are on the fence about a ship with that many people...Genesis is significantly bigger than that. I love RCCL but how big can you possibly go and still offer good service and enough public space

 

The three Freedom ship will stay on the east coast. The west coast will be lucky to get a Voyager class ship. The first rumor was the Navigator. The current rumor is the Adventure. Supposedly the Independence was going to replace the Adventure in San Juan, and the Adventure was going to sail around South American and come to Los Angeles. However, it seems the Independence is headed to Ft. Lauderdale, which leaves the Adventure in San Juan and the Vision in Los Angeles. The only other option I see is the Voyager, which seems to have lost a home port after the summer of 2008, might come to Los Angeles. However, in less than two months we will know more about Voyager's schedule after the summer season in Europe.

 

So, until you see a dry dock on the west coast that can handle a Voyager class ship, don't count on seeing a Voyager class ship in Los Angeles.

[Cruising89143]

Here is a good article that was posted on Seatrader from the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention last week in Miami about ships the size of Genesis and the issues with dealing with a vessel that size. One nice note was to see that the island of St. Maarten plans to build another mega pier and a third tender pier.

 

You have to register to read this but this is the best site IMHO for up to date cruise news.

 

http://www.cruise-community.com/ShowStory.asp?ID=11443

[SherriZ366]

You mean like the Carnival Glory and Disney Magic on Saturday and the RCI Mariner and Disney Wonder on Sunday?

 

No I meant a RCCL ship on both Saturday and Sunday alternating itineraries like eastern and western.

[dachshunddoglover]

I'm greedy! I'd love to see BOTH Mariner and Independence at Port Canaveral alternating Sat and Sunday departures. Isn't Port Canaveral the largest port in the United States as far as how many passengers debark from there yearly? I know it is by far our favorite port. E-Beth

[cruisinisforme]

Well I dont care if they put either of the ships in port canaveral, but I truly hate to see the mariner leave that port. The mariner is my favorite ship and I love pt. canaveral. I have been on the freedom and enjoyed it but as many here have already stated the genesis class is too big for me too.

 

We were told on our last cruise that the Genesis class ship will have more sea days than port days (mostly due to its size) and it will offer an area for children 2 an under...which will be big to families with children who cant go in the pool.

 

Why cant they leave the mariner there and bring the independence in? Now that would make me happy

[Cuizer2]

No I meant a RCCL ship on both Saturday and Sunday alternating itineraries like eastern and western.

 

I don't think Carnival is going to give up its slot, and I don't think there is another dock that can handle a super sized cruise ship in PC (see photo below) ...

 

[Cuizer2]

I'm greedy! I'd love to see BOTH Mariner and Independence at Port Canaveral alternating Sat and Sunday departures. Isn't Port Canaveral the largest port in the United States as far as how many passengers debark from there yearly? I know it is by far our favorite port. E-Beth

 

1) Unless PC builds another dock, I don't think there is room for another ship on Saturday, and I don't see Carnival giving up its slot.

 

2) Miami has far more passengers yearly than PC.

[Cuizer2]

Why cant they leave the mariner there and bring the independence in? Now that would make me happy

 

Unless PC builds another dock, I don't think there is room for another ship on Saturday. I don't see Carnival giving up its slot.

[tstobb]

Just off the Freedom and will NEVER sail on a ship that size (or bigger) again. It took over 35 minutes in line to reboard on the dock in Cozumel and don't even get me started on the line to tender to Labadee (or back!).

 

PC has plans to add another dock but, from what I've seen in their quarterly magazine, not big enough to handle a "Genesis" class ship.

[Cruising89143]

Just off the Freedom and will NEVER sail on a ship that size (or bigger) again. It took over 35 minutes in line to reboard on the dock in Cozumel and don't even get me started on the line to tender to Labadee (or back!).

 

PC has plans to add another dock but, from what I've seen in their quarterly magazine, not big enough to handle a "Genesis" class ship.

 

 

I had this same problem with cruising on the Carnival Glory back in 04. It is a smaller ship. It took forever to get back on the ship again as they only had one line to reboard. Sounds like they need to open up additional lines.

[Reijo]

I have sailed on Mariner twice with a third cruise scheduled for later this year. I would HATE to see this ship moved.

 

Port Canaveral is so easy to get in and out of. I sailed out of Tampa probably 13 years ago and it wasn't bad and have also sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale but I would NEVER sail out of Miami. Just don't care for that area at all.

 

As far as a large ship, I don't believe they would interest me. Mariner (or any ship of that size) is PLENTY big enough. I believe that bigger ships are just asking for problems. Also don't care for the increase in rates just to be on a larger ship.

 

One good thing about all of this...........as the rates go up and up for the larger ships, perhaps they will go down for Mariner.:p

[Cuizer2]

One good thing about all of this...........as the rates go up and up for the larger ships, perhaps they will go down for Mariner.:p

 

The Mariner is currently the third largest cruise ship on the ocean. When the Genesis comes out, it will be the fourth largest. If rates go up for the "larger" ships, the Mariner, which is a "larger" ship, will also see its rates go up.

[English Jane]

With the Genesis, you will be able to board at Pt. Canaveral and Port Everglades simultaneously!

Jane

x

[David4]

To the people that like PC, do you drive to the port for the most part? I have to fly in form Indiana and I find that Miami works the best for us. As far as the big ships go I like to use the time to talk to the people in the lines getting off and on the ship. We have made some good friends that way. A cruise is what you make of it. If you like the smaller ships, then go for it. I like them all because each one is a different experience. I even like to watch the grumpy people. I guess that I am just a nut, LOL.

[SherriZ366]

To the people that like PC, do you drive to the port for the most part? I have to fly in form Indiana and I find that Miami works the best for us. As far as the big ships go I like to use the time to talk to the people in the lines getting off and on the ship. We have made some good friends that way. A cruise is what you make of it. If you like the smaller ships, then go for it. I like them all because each one is a different experience. I even like to watch the grumpy people. I guess that I am just a nut, LOL.

PC is only 4 1/2 hours from our home. We have driven to Fort Lauderdale and will again and will drive to Miami for our Freedom cruise in 2008.

 

When we flew to cruises from DC, we really liked Fort Lauderdale as you can actually see the ships from the airport. I guess the bottom line is that if you want to cruise on a particular ship, you need to get to the port it leaves from. That's why I would like RCCL to have a Saturday and a Sunday 7 day ship from PC.

[logan1_2000]

The Mariner is currently the third largest cruise ship on the ocean. When the Genesis comes out, it will be the fourth largest. If rates go up for the "larger" ships, the Mariner, which is a "larger" ship, will also see its rates go up.

 

I'm not so sure I can agree--twice in 2006, including during the Thanksgiving holiday week when many other cruise ships were sold out at high prices, I found very attractive rates on the Radiance--so low that I called my TA and asked if there was something I didn't know about, like a war or malaria at the ports of call or a recent terrorist attack on the Radiance--her response was simply that Radiance was not the biggest, and was not the newest, so that was not where the greatest demand was. Which made sense to me. As the Freedom class fills out, and the Genesis comes on line, Mariner slides back away from the "shiny and new and biggest" category and relative to the larger and newer may well have lower fares at various times.