Pure Guess Work

[TEXASMUNK]

Notice how the Med season is being pushed earlier and later?

 

Just wondering if the change is perminent or if RCI is looking to see how "weather tolerant" folks will be the the cool spring or cool fall cruise in the Med.

 

Guess I am hoping they find those early and late departures are not overly popular and RCI will return ships to the Caribbean earlier in November and hold them until into May.

 

Hope springs eternal.

[lady_cruiser]

I'm hoping the same thing. I thought that The Voyager was going to be based in Galveston year round, that was why they had the long horns on the front of the ship. What happened?

[Ocean Boy]

I agree with keeping the ships in the Caribbean longer but for those people who are not used to cruising the Caribbean they may actually prefer cruising the med. during the shoulder seasons. Those cruises are very port intensive and involve seeing cities as opposed to being beach oriented. And touring Europe is much more comfortable in cooler weather than in the blistering heat of summer.

[fllchick]

Probably the reason for stretching the Med season is the increasing popularity of those cruises. The cruise lines will go where the money is!

 

Personally, the last place I would want to be in the summer is Europe. We just book a Med cruise for November next year just for the cooler weather and fewer crowds.....

[Mines]

RCL are not reducing the number of passengers to the Caribbean. The are able to place more of the smaller ships (and a few large ones) in Europe because of the new mega-ships Freedom, Liberty, Oasis etc. that sail all year round in the Caribbean.

 

Some friends of ours wanted to cruise in Europe last year in the Easter holiday. The only cruise line we found for them was MSC, the Italian company. RCL are now finally responding to demand, being able to do so with the launching of the new ships.

[Ocean Boy]

You are correct. However, no one said the number of berths in the Caribbean was being reduced. They said the number of ships was. That translates into less options for ships, itineraries, and ports of departure.

 

Obviously, RCI is responding to demand and money. That is why the OP made mention of demand in his original post.

[Onessa]

We love the November Med cruises -- did Splendour out of Venice last T.giving, doing Voyageur out of Barcelona this T.Giving. We were very seriously looking at the NCL Med Christmas cruise.

 

I love the more moderate temps, love the unconjested ports, and love the relaxed atmosphere on the ships. The more non-Caribbean itineraries, the better I say!

[buckanear]

Notice how the Med season is being pushed earlier and later?

 

Just wondering if the change is perminent or if RCI is looking to see how "weather tolerant" folks will be the the cool spring or cool fall cruise in the Med.

 

Guess I am hoping they find those early and late departures are not overly popular and RCI will return ships to the Caribbean earlier in November and hold them until into May.

 

Hope springs eternal.

 

I see you're on the first sailing out of Galveston! YAY!

 

They did push the arrival of the Voyager to Texas and it's departure to England back two weeks from what it was this season. I'm unsure as to why though. It's kind of bad for our agents (ARE YOU LISTENING RCI?! :) ) because finals week starts the day after the first sailing, and the first sailing is always rough and we're there for a long time. And it never fails that I get an 8am Monday final. Blech.