CruiseCal is now a pay site

[YOW]

Went onto CruiseCal.com this morning, only to find that it is no longer accessible without a paid subscription. :eek:

 

Found a thread about this on the Carnival board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=747808

 

Thoughts?

[chessbriar]

For as little as I use their site, it's not worth it. I guess I'll take it off my bookmark page

[berwyn]

Try this site.

http://www.cruisereport.com/Default.aspx

[raymac46]

Or this one:

*****

[lvz2cruz]

If you read Carnival thread, you can now join for $3 a month. Pay $3, check on your upcoming cruise, and be done. Not a bad deal at all.

[judyfssw]

What I liked was checking on the ships in a particular port or if they were at sea.

[excitedofharpenden]

I noticed this the other day too. I've always thought that was a very useful site and enjoy looking at it. They are doing a deal whereby applying before 1st May 2008 you get two years for the price of one. I think I'll probably do it.

 

As for charging now, if I were the site owner and were aware of its popularity (and I can only guess at the number of "hits" it gets, but it's more than likely a lot), I'd charge for it too.

 

Phil

[Sky Sweet]

I've never used cruisecal, so I can't comment about whether or not I would be willing to pay for that particular site.

 

However, I do pay to use certain other websites that have information that could not be easily obtained elsewhere and that I feel are worth it.

 

When I first used AOL everyone had to pay by the minute and if you used it a lot it was very expensive. At that time AOL had some of the best message boards, on almost every topic, that I have ever seen on the net.

 

Then when AOL offered its flat monthly fee option, most of its message boards went downhill very quickly. They went from a great group of people sharing helpful information on many different topics to boards filled with the typical flamers and munchausen syndrome posters that are destroying the net.

 

In light of the above, I think it is easier to have a good website when people have to pay to use it than when it is available to anyone who has access to a computer.

[raymac46]

I also pay for certain sites I use a lot - like Delphi Forums. I could do Delphi for free but I am there a lot and I don't have to look at ads when I'm a paying member.

Probably I'd pay for Cruise Critic if I needed to - this is a great community with lots of useful info, especially on Roll Calls.

But CruiseCal - Nah.

[Cruisegolfer]

For $2 per month is a steal for this infomation.

[SharkieRools]

Maybe if the data on the site were updated and checked for accuracy more often it MIGHT be worth it. For me, it's just as easy to go to each port authority's website and pull the info off of there. :D

[excitedofharpenden]

Just went to register and it seems the two years for the price of one if you register before 1st May has disappeared. Seems the owner is getting the punters. Bummer:(

 

Phil

[Schplinky]

I like cruise cal but the same person (who really has done a ton of work, I suspect) owns cruisedailes and seems to have abandoned adding new ones to that so it's a little sad. I loved seeing a typical schedule when I was checking out a ship but he hasn't added anything there in a while.

[Host Joe]

I used to use cruisecal occassionaly before a cruise, but I will not pay $24.95 a year for that information. A few minutes on the internet checking the port schedules individually gives you the same information.

 

The $3 a month option is fine, but if you note that once you sign up it is "automatically renewed" charge unless you take the proper steps to terminate your membership! So, you would have to go through signing up, paying the $3 and then once you have your information you have to remember to cancel your membership to avoid the recurring charge of $3 monthly.

 

I understand there are costs involved, but most successful sights can draw in enough traffic to make the advertising pay for it. In this case there are ads all over and you are expected to pay a membership fee.

 

I wish them the best of luck.

[kcb]

Went onto CruiseCal.com this morning, only to find that it is no longer accessible without a paid subscription.

 

Thoughts?

 

Boo!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

[SharkieRools]

On a related note since the Alaska cruise season is just about upon us...

 

For Alaskan port info, including docking assignments, go to the following page:

 

http://www.claalaska.com/schedules.html

 

The page has just been updated within the past few days.

 

If you have problems deciphering the berth codes listed on each schedule, there's a file on the bottom of the page that decodes them for you. :cool:

[crazybus]

I used cruisecal often. I liked looking at the ship and port web cams and checking on the cruise dailies. I will not pay 25.00 a year for it though.:mad: I emailed them saying how disappointed I was. Who knows maybe they won't get a great number of people enrolling and it will go back to being free!

[librarycin]

Just went to register and it seems the two years for the price of one if you register before 1st May has disappeared.

 

That's because he has lowered the yearly price to $24.95, from $49-something, if I remember correctly. I believe initially, it was $24.95 each year for the first two years (equaling 2 years for the price of one), if you sign up before May, but now it's simply $24.95 per year. (If that made any sense! ;) I know what I mean!)

[Susan-M]

It's a great site which can be quite helpful when planning shore excursions .... esp. in ports such as Santorini. Now that he's adjusted the pricing to include the $3./month option, I will subscribe when I want to use it. It's a fair price and if I cruised more often, I would probably opt for the annual rate of $25.

[excitedofharpenden]

That's because he has lowered the yearly price to $24.95, from $49-something, if I remember correctly. I believe initially, it was $24.95 each year for the first two years (equaling 2 years for the price of one), if you sign up before May, but now it's simply $24.95 per year. (If that made any sense! ;) I know what I mean!)

It's disappeared off the site now of course, but I am certain it said $24.95 for a year and then went on to say that there was a special offer available if you register before 1st May that gave you two years for this price. Still, I'll probably give it a go for a year.

 

Phil

[Schplinky]

I know a lot of people here might b disappointed that something that was once free is now for pay but I hope people realise what a lot of work this must be for Brian. Not only did he have the port schedules for all the lines, he had the deviations as soon as they were announced. Also, he is a reader here so I hope folks will continue to be kind as they post.

 

For my part, I likely won't subscribe on an annual basis but I'm sure that I will occasionally subscribe for a month to see who we're sharing our vacations with.

[Shipyard Cruiser]

Maybe if the data on the site were updated and checked for accuracy more often it MIGHT be worth it. For me, it's just as easy to go to each port authority's website and pull the info off of there. :D

 

Boy are you right about that.

 

Any info I see out here I could get for free somewhere else or from my TA.

 

As for CruiseCal I wonder if ad supported might be a better way to go.

[BobBeaSea]

I used cruisecal infrequently. Count me in with those not willing to pay for it, no matter what the price is.

[librarycin]

It's disappeared off the site now of course, but I am certain it said $24.95 for a year and then went on to say that there was a special offer available if you register before 1st May that gave you two years for this price. Still, I'll probably give it a go for a year.

 

Phil

 

Good for you, Phil! I can understand why the owner of the site wanted to start charging for it, but unfortunately, for me, it's just not worth it. At some point, I may decide to go for a month, though. I am glad that short term option was added. We'll see.

[Schplinky]

If the site owner only gets a few people logging in for a month at a time, he'll still be way ahead for the same amount of work as when he was doing it for free (and paying for whatever his hosting costs were). I can't count the number of times folks here have recommended that site.