Azamara Journey

[tromvest]

Where will the Journey go after it does its Bermuda season? This is the last Bermuda season for Celebrity. I hope it will do some exotic Caribbean cruises in the summer.

[Dolphins]

Where will the Journey go after it does its Bermuda season? This is the last Bermuda season for Celebrity. I hope it will do some exotic Caribbean cruises in the summer.

 

Do many people want to sail to the Caribbean in the summer? I would think Bermuda, Canada/New England, Alaska and Europe would be more popular summer destinations?

[Albert Ross]

Journey after Bermuda does South America (Brazil and Chilean Fjords) Nov07 till Mar08 - no dates after then until her World Tour starts sometime in 09 allegedly

[Sky Sweet]

Do many people want to sail to the Caribbean in the summer? I would think Bermuda, Canada/New England, Alaska and Europe would be more popular summer destinations?

 

Hi Dolphins :)

 

I also would have thought there is little demand for a Caribbean Cruise during the summer. So when a few people we know wanted to Cruise on RCCL's "Freedom of the Seas" during July, I thought it was a horrible time to cruise but at least its prices for that time of year would be low. To my surprise, the prices for that particular cruise, which we decided not to take, were significantly higher than they were for other times of the year.

[Andy]

Journey after Bermuda does South America (Brazil and Chilean Fjords) Nov07 till Mar08 - no dates after then until her World Tour starts sometime in 09 allegedly

 

Hi Albert !

 

From what I read, the World Cruises will not start until 2010, but that may be subject to change as they get everything organized. Stay Tuned !

[Andy]

Hi Dolphins :)

 

I also would have thought there is little demand for a Caribbean Cruise during the summer. So when a few people we know wanted to Cruise on RCCL's "Freedom of the Seas" during July, I thought it was a horrible time to cruise but at least its prices for that time of year would be low. To my surprise, the prices for that particular cruise, which we decided not to take, were significantly higher than they were for other times of the year.

 

Hi Sky !

 

I am glad you found us over here :).

 

I agree about your comments about Summer in the Caribbean. I know many feel Summer in the Caribbean its a very bad idea.... it may not be so crazy though. As there are not many ships sailing the Caribbean in the Summer, prices are VERY high. IMHO, I have feeling that the ships that remain in the Caribbean do surprisingly well.

 

I used to sail on Century virtually every Summer, before she was deployed to Europe in the Summer months. The ship was usually very full, and at pretty high prices. I know Europe is hot right now.... but I am not so sure that Century is doing much better (price-wise) in Europe this Summer, as it did when it was in the Caribbean. I noticed she is on happy hour quite a bit so far.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I wouldn't bet on a return to Bermuda in 2008.

 

The thing is, they only have two ships... And Europe is very hot. I really think they will want to have both ships in Europe if they can as this is probably where they can make the most money. Look at the deployments for Oceania and for the luxury lines... In the summer it is Europe, Europe, Europe (with a few having a small Alaska presence). Even in the mass market segment Europe is very strong, but in the deluxe/luxury segment it is even stronger.

 

Of course if they stay in Bermuda they will have a virtual monopoly as by far the best ship to Bermuda, but when it comes down to Bermuda vs. Europe I think they will choose Europe. At least that is what I would do if I were running the company, and I love Bermuda as much as anyone. With four or five ships I would seriously consider putting one in Bermuda, but two? I don't think so.

 

That said, the Bermuda sailings this summer have been more successful than I'd imagined they'd be - with higher fare levels - but that may also have to do with the amount of capacity that was already taken up by existing ZENITH bookings (at lower fares), enabling them to ask higher fares for the remaining capacity.

 

Also, the language of the Azamara web site and press releases seems to subtly suggest that Bermuda is not in the cards past 2007.

 

All this is very unfortunate, for with the departure of NORWEGIAN CROWN and EMPRESS OF THE SEAS it will make NORWEGIAN MAJESTY the only ship doing a "traditional" 7-night Bermuda run and anyway, who knows how long she will stay with NCL... Not to mention that she is not a ship that appeals to me in the least (far too many people for the size of the ship).

 

One thing that I would not expect to see is Azamara in the Caribbean in the summer. I do not doubt Sky Sweet's FREEDOM OF THE SEAS story - the mega-ships do indeed do very well down in the Caribbean in the summer - but the thing to remember here is that FREEDOM is aimed at an entirely different market. Royal Caribbean and Carnival's summer Caribbean cruises are popular because of the family market. Azamara is not at all marketed to families. Even the more mass-market (than Azamara) Celebrity and HAL have dropped their summer Caribbean itineraries... The most upscale cruise line you will see in the Caribbean in the summer these days is Princess and that is not saying much ;) .

[emilysmimi]

I called Captain's Club yesterday after the announcement and the lady I spoke with said that Journey will be doing the Bermuda run beginning in April through October 2008. I even made a point of verifying that we were talking about 2008. She said that the cruises will be available to book onboard the Journey. Hopefully, she is correct....I could tell by the way she spoke that she was getting the info from the computer screen. We will see........

Christina

[ocngypz]

Keep in mind that world cruises are conducted between January and April.

 

Doug: The Norwegian Dawn is sailing out of NYC to Bermuda in 08. The NCL Dream will be sailing to Bermuda out of Boston in 08.

 

Journey is presently scheduled for Bermuda 2008. I see it in the reservation system, although the bookings are not open for sale yet. First, the sailings are loaded, then IT loads the rates from revenue.

 

The Caribbean is a very soft market. Even Princess has dropped the 7 night Caribbean for summer 08. They will only have one ship, the Caribbean Princess out of Red Hook doing 9 night itineraries during the summer of 08.

 

All the cruiselines are learning that the growth market is NOT the Caribbean and most certainly not the North American market either. As well as RCL's Brilliance 10 and 11 night Carib/Canal sailings have sold during the winter, she will be remaining in Europe year round.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Doug: The Norwegian Dawn is sailing out of NYC to Bermuda in 08. The NCL Dream will be sailing to Bermuda out of Boston in 08.

By "traditional" I mean the Hamilton/St. George's run... i.e. no big ships (DAWN) :) .

 

I didn't realize they were replacing MAJESTY with DREAM though. Looks like MAJESTY is moving to Baltimore. All this actually adds up to a big capacity increase for NCL in Bermuda.

 

So in reality, if JOURNEY stays, we are looking at three "traditional" Bermuda ships vs. four in 2007. Not too bad then. But what happens when MAJESTY and DREAM go... That will be interesting.

[tromvest]

Both the Journey and Quest will be in Europe in 2008.

[Andy]

All the cruiselines are learning that the growth market is NOT the Caribbean and most certainly not the North American market either. As well as RCL's Brilliance 10 and 11 night Carib/Canal sailings have sold during the winter, she will be remaining in Europe year round.

 

Hi Ocngypz !

 

Brilliance will be doing 10/11 night Carib/Canal itinerary for the 2007/2008 Winter season, then Jewel will be doing this itinerary in place of Brilliance in Winter 2008/2009.

 

I have a question. Has Brilliance "officially" been moved to year round Europe itineraries in 2008/2009 ? I know we are assuming this as a done deal, but there is nothing on the RCI website for Brilliance sailings past November of 2008.