Anyone else mad at RCCL pulled out of New Orleans?

[Biff98]

Hi all,

 

We were so sad to hear that RCCL pulled out of New Orleans after Katrina. :( DH emailed them and the rep that got back to him told us that they were trying to decide whether or not to go back to N.O.

 

So, if you too are bummed about not being able to cruise RCCL out of New Orleans, go to their "contact us" form at https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/contactUsOnline.do;jsessionid=0000fHOUPxmi7_Rkp-3FjAWEuGE:10ktmerri and let them know!! Hopefully if enough of us write them, they'll come back!!!

 

Thanks!!! Happy Cruising!!! :D

[alcheme]

It's understandable that they pulled out. For several months it was not even possible for them to cruise out of New Orleans, but even now, the city is not really back up to speed. I do hope they'll be back eventually, though. It was a very convenient port for us.

[Hondu]

Too many murders has force Carnival not to bring back a BIG ship for 7 day cruises. The murder rate has gone up 147% from just a year ago.

[emdia43]

What a shame- it would be so nice to have RRCL at a port I could drive to,instead of always having to fly to FLA.

[skclang314]

murders? in the city of new orleans itself? how would that affect people on a cruise? it's not like there are never murders in fla or galveston or any other ports. that scares me as i am going out of new orleans on aug 20th. im too young to be murdered.

[alcheme]

murders? in the city of new orleans itself? how would that affect people on a cruise? it's not like there are never murders in fla or galveston or any other ports. that scares me as i am going out of new orleans on aug 20th. im too young to be murdered.

 

I don't think anyone claimed that other cities were immune from violent crime, but few have as high a crime rate a New Orleans. Not that I would feel unsafe going to New Orleans to board a cruise ship, but then I've seen people shout about not getting off the ship in Jamaica, because of the crime rate. These things do affect peoples willingness to go to a particular port, even if it is just for embarkation.

[Biff98]

My in-laws live in N.O and we have been there many times. I have never felt unsafe there! The people there are some of the nicest you will meet. It is a fabulous city.

[TNT1827]

Maybe if local government ever gets their act together and puts a plan forward to rebuild that city the commerce will return. I spent a lot of fun times in New Orleans and it is a shame what has happened to it since Katrina.:(

[alcheme]

My in-laws live in N.O and we have been there many times. I have never felt unsafe there! The people there are some of the nicest you will meet. It is a fabulous city.

 

I've been there many times, too, and never felt unsafe, either, but there is a high crime rate, so I'm not sure that all of the people there are some of the nicest you will meet. I was just making the point that, yes, the crime rate of a city might have an effect on how many people are willing to travel there. I would have no qualms about cruising out of N.O., though.

[Murphy]

It was a convenient port for my MIL to sail out of because she could take Amtrak there from her home town. But for me, since I have to fly to get to the ship anyways, NOLA is not my first choice of ports, although we did sail out of there this year. I feel badly for the area and thought it was great that ships were sailing out of there, but apparently they were not selling full. Last Jan and Feb you could get a one week cruise on the Grandeur for $299 p/p and they still weren't filling the ships.

[Mysticks1]

I too would like to see a RCI ship back in New Orleans full time doing 7 day cruises as it is only a 1.5 hour drive for me. I sailed from New Orleans in November on Carnival Fantasy and loved the new cruise terminal. It was very organized and only about 35 minutes from locking to car to stepping on the ship. The parking area is secured and I didn't think twice about leaving my vehicle for 5 days.

I think New Orleans is no different from any larger city. You have to know where it is safe to be. I take day trips and overnight trips there every year.

The French Quarter is IMHO back in business just as it was before Katrina. (The parts that I enjoy are anyway.) There have been RCI sailings from New Orleans as on my last overnight trip there the end of March I was at the Riverwalk and watched a RCI ship as it was loaded with people, luggage and supplies.

[firefly333]

It was a convenient port for my MIL to sail out of because she could take Amtrak there from her home town. But for me, since I have to fly to get to the ship anyways, NOLA is not my first choice of ports, although we did sail out of there this year. I feel badly for the area and thought it was great that ships were sailing out of there, but apparently they were not selling full. Last Jan and Feb you could get a one week cruise on the Grandeur for $299 p/p and they still weren't filling the ships.

 

I saw a happy hour special this past april out of New Orleans for $309. I would have gone if I was not booked the same week on Rhapsody.

 

Obviously the cruises were not selling up to what they wanted?

 

Im in Texas so either N.O. or Galveston would be fine with me, anything is better if I can drive rather than fly. There are no full time ships out of Galveston either.

[40+guy]

I just got off a RCCL cruise and spoke with a staff member who had been sailing out of NO on the Grandeur prior to their two months leave. They said that bookings were a problem but the bigger problem dealt with reprovisioning. Apparently RCCL regularly experienced problems with late or partial shipments which caused headaches and additional costs as RCCL scrambled to fill the void.

 

I was in NO last summer, things in the FQ were close to the old days, but the surrounding portions of NO and adjacent communities were still suffering.

 

I hope that things turn around in NO soon, it would be a convenient place for my family to sale out of and we have always liked the Grandeur.

[jsemonik]

I love New Orleans an think that it would be a great place to cruise out of. Plenty of things to do in the French Quarter a day before the cruise and a day after!!! I was in N.O. just after Katrina when most of the city was still shut down. I have been back 3 times since and it is sad to say, it is not coming back to it's former life. Over half the population of the city has moved on and they suffer from a lack of leadership at both the local and state level.

Drive from the airport to the Quarter and you wonder why they still haven't cleaned up some areas almost two years later. Trash along the roadways.... not a pretty sight. I hope it comes back in some form but unless something changes I don't see RCCL back in the Big Easy any tome soon.

[Tucker in Texas]

Well, cry for us in Galveston, too. No year around RCI ship here either after the Voyager leaves following it's winter season. They have told us that the revenue is better on the European itineraries for their ship. Best we can hope for is cheap re-positioning in and out from Europe and the winter season. In other words, "we be cheap" here (lol). We buy lots of beer but not booze and we don't gamble much. NO isn't that much of a drive for us but if we want to do Carnival, we can do a shorter drive to Galveston.

 

Tucker in Texas (who is bringing her back from Barcelona in December)

[Pumbaamd]

We disembarked in NOLA on Grandeur after her repo from Baltimore last fall. What a cluster f***. Customs and Immigration were very close to non-existant. You gave your customs card to a guy, he took it, and you went on your way. No questions asked. We could have had six cases of booze, a bomb, and drugs, and no one was looking. OK, to give them some credit, maybe they did have a very indiscreet dog search, but we never saw that dog. As we were leaving Grandeur, others were in the SAME room, lining up to board, just inches from us. Not cool.

If the city of NO was at the top of their game, they would have scheduled Grandeur's return to NOLA as a number one priority. If we noticed all the minus's here, don't you think RCL did?

Oh, one more thing. We had booked accommodations in the FQ for two days and needed a cab for transport. After we disembarked, and saw the line for cabs (estimated at an hour wait), we schlepted our bags to the Convention Center and hailed a cab. We expressed our concerns to the cabbie, and she said, "Oh, there is a cruise ship in town?" Enuf said.

We love NOLA, (the breakfast at Brennan's with friends was outstanding) and will visit again, but not likely on a cruise ship.

Rick and Deirdra

[jerin]

Hopefully, it's just relatively temporary, but I do know that supply chain issues are huge there, so the provisioning makes sense. Many of my family members work in various hospitals in the area, and I know they're faced with supply issues from time to time right now. My aunt also talks about going up to my cousin's house in Baton Rouge just for groceries and Wal-Mart because the stores sometimes have problems getting stock in. She lives on the West Bank, in an area where they usually flood, but didn't in Katrina (go figure).

 

Things are gradually getting better, and hopefully as they do, things will be easier for the cruise lines to come back. I agree that the terminal is beautiful. My grandmother transferred from the train/bus station to the cruise terminal (Traveler's Aid) shortly before she retired.

[SheriNtexas]

murders? in the city of new orleans itself? how would that affect people on a cruise? it's not like there are never murders in fla or galveston or any other ports. that scares me as i am going out of new orleans on aug 20th. im too young to be murdered.

 

 

Well, I'm 43 and I think I'M too young to be murdered too!:D :D ;)

[alcheme]

Customs and Immigration were very close to non-existant. You gave your customs card to a guy, he took it, and you went on your way. No questions asked. We could have had six cases of booze, a bomb, and drugs, and no one was looking.

 

Actually, we cruised on the Grandeur out of N.O. about a year before Katrina, and customs wasn't much different then. We actually had above out duty-free limit on liquor, and had declared it on the form, but they just took the form and sent us on, without really even looking at it.

 

 

BTW - To LeighNTexas, I was apparently compared to you by one of the high-post-count folks here. I hope that was a compliment. ;) :D

[SheriNtexas]

BTW - To LeighNTexas, I was apparently compared to you by one of the high-post-count folks here. I hope that was a compliment. ;) :D

 

 

WHAT??? Someone compared you to me? how?? Let's see: I'm a good person, i love little kids, don't kick my dog, love my country. If someone compared you to me, I HOPE it was for something good!!:D For your sake AND mine, lol!!:D

[alcheme]

WHAT??? Someone compared you to me? how?? Let's see: I'm a good person, i love little kids, don't kick my dog, love my country. If someone compared you to me, I HOPE it was for something good!!:D For your sake AND mine, lol!!:D

 

Hmm. I don't even see the message now, but it was on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=589613&page=4 I had just called someone on being a little quick to judgement of another poster and it eventually ended with me being called by your nickname. :cool:

[Rancher Dave]

murders? in the city of new orleans itself? how would that affect people on a cruise? it's not like there are never murders in fla or galveston or any other ports. that scares me as i am going out of new orleans on aug 20th. im too young to be murdered.

 

Murder in Galveston? Not many in Galveston proper, of course Houston has its share.

 

The cruise ships in NO are not too far from some of the highly dangerous areas historically. Of course now from what I hear from folks who travel there often the geo lines that signified safe from not safe areas before are no longer valid and the entire area has become very dangerous. That said nobody I know has run into any troubly in NO because they practice safe traveler activities and stay away from situations or areas that look to be likely trouble.

 

I'd think RCI might consider Mobile before considering NO again or both to gain more ports along the Gulf Coast opening up cruising to more folks for whom when adding on air the cost was more than they would consider in the past. Of course Galveston, NO, Mobile all suffer from the extra distance from the Cruise destination ports of call that cruising passengers want to see.

 

Personally as someone who has worked in the oil field before I look forward to the first night out of Galveston to see just how busy the oil field looks at night these days.

[SheriNtexas]

Hmm. I don't even see the message now, but it was on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=589613&page=4 I had just called someone on being a little quick to judgement of another poster and it eventually ended with me being called by your nickname. :cool:

 

 

Uh OH, i have NO idea what that is about! :o :eek: :D

[Cruise_Lady]

We were on the Grandeur repo from Baltimore to NOLA last November. I agree that the disembarkation process was a mess. That could be due to the decrease in population post Katrina, but I would think that for something important such as Customs and Immigration that RCL and the city would want to ensure that the rules were followed more closely.

 

We felt safe at all times staying in the French Quarter for the 2 days post cruise. Restaurants staff, hotel staff, store owners and clerks were all friendly, accommodating and appreciative of our visit in their lovely city. We noticed a strong police presence at night (as in EVERY street corner), and enjoyed walking along Bourbon Street as we returned to our hotel.

 

Given the right itinerary, yes, we would visit for a pre-cruise and sail out of NOLA. :)

[Biff98]

We just got back from a cruise that left and returned to Venice Italy and customs were even MORE nonexistant there than in NO.

 

We are all entitled to our opinions. I was just trying to help people that WERE upset that RCCL moved out of NO have a way to contact them. :)