Sometimes I wish I lived in Florida!

[alwalaska]

I understand the convenience of having a local port. We live in Jacksonville, FL. I also understand the "been there, done that" part. The cruises out of Jax are very limited, and I don't want to go to Nassau again.

 

We're going to try Ft. Lauderdale this summer. I hate to drive, so I may stick to JAXPort after this cruse. :-)

 

RE: the cheaper fares comment. Do you mean the cruise fares are cheaper to FL residents? I have not experienced that at all.

 

As far as the cheaper fares go, I think they were referring to the fares on the cruises leaving from FL, verses the Explorer leaving from NJ. It is rare that the Explorer sails with interior cabins under $100/day. I have seen cruises out of FL for $399 for a 7 day cruise for an interior. The 5 day Explorer cruise usually starts at $799 for an interior.

[Tanker4]

Tanker....I never even thought about the Sunshine Skyway...true, very true. The trouble is we usually can't get away for more than a week...and that is usually pushing with our kids and their activities...and work. I have a feeling we'll be trying the Grandeur though as she seems to be the only ship out of Tampa these days with RC. Whats another Western route...right?

 

Yeah, we've about worn out the Western route also but hey, at least we're cruising right?:D

[SAAdds1]

I have seen cruises out of FL for $399 for a 7 day cruise for an interior.

 

 

I need to book you as my travel agent. I never see good rates like that!

[aqhacruiser]

Here's some prices for a few 5 night cruises out of Florida. Compare with a 5 night Bermuda cruise on the Explorer on the website which is our only 5 night itinerary we have and the Ex. is higher even if on a special an interior would run about 599.00 pp. Just to be able to do the 3 night cruises for quick get aways in Florida would be great! :)

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/RCI_Sales_Event/rci_sales_event.pdf

[karena1]

Love living in Florida. Doesn't bother me a bit that we take the same 3 nigher 5 times a year. At least we get to go on a cruise!! and no airfare. Our annual 7 nighter we switch up, sometimes we go out of Miami, other times out of San Juan. But we are lucky, as even out of Miami, we have a great choice of ships. So we will take all the 3 nighters on Monarch we can possible take and then enjoy our big weeklong cruise also every year. Living in Florida makes those little weekend getaways very possible

 

NOT TO MENTION THAT FACT THAT IT IS WARMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM HERE!!!:D:D:D

[firefly333]

To us who live elsewhere, you could easily drive to another point and take another ship out of another port in Florida. Its not like us with only one ship we can easily drive to.

 

I dont think folks who live in Florida actually seem to appreciate how lucky they are cruise wise, at least to us living further away it looks that way.

 

The only port I can easily drive to other than Galveston is New Orleans, which has no RCL ships, and I would have to get a hotel and drive down the day before to do that port and thats my only other choice. Anything else is far enough its about cheaper to fly.

[alwalaska]

I need to book you as my travel agent. I never see good rates like that!

 

They usually seem to pop up fairly close to last minute in September and October.

[crusinmama06]

To those questioning that cruises are cheaper out of Florida...NO DOUBT they are! When you have all of the major cruise lines all leaving out of the same ports in Florida, there is competition to keep the prices low.

 

I could get on Indy for $349 GTY inside rate. You find me Explorer for that cheap and I will book it. ;) For the same week I can get a GTY inside on Indy for $359...the insides on Explorer are $999.

 

If the prices for Liberty/Independence/Freedom are $989 for a balcony, just hop over to Explorer and you will see them for $1,399 - $1,899 or higher.

 

So if you think Explorer is cheaper, then you just don't pay attention to the rates. ;)

 

It's always cheaper for me to fly my entire fam to Florida then to hop on Explorer or ever Grandeur.

[alwalaska]

To us who live elsewhere, you could easily drive to another point and take another ship out of another port in Florida. Its not like us with only one ship we can easily drive to.

 

I dont think folks who live in Florida actually seem to appreciate how lucky they are cruise wise, at least to us living further away it looks that way.

 

The only port I can easily drive to other than Galveston is New Orleans, which has no RCL ships, and I would have to get a hotel and drive down the day before to do that port and thats my only other choice. Anything else is far enough its about cheaper to fly.

 

Although I am slightly better off than the poster in Iowa, our closest port is lake Erie and those boats are quite small. :D

 

We are driving to Bayonne, 10 hours, which for 4 of us, is stlil a lot cheaper than flying to FL or San Juan to catch the cruise.

[4merlurker]

Well it looks like no matter where we live, we are all in the same boat - (no pun intended LOL:rolleyes:). I 'm excited to learn that another ship iscoming to Bayonne! I don't want to wait untill 2010 though...I guess I'll book the explorer this next time and then look forward to a different ship for 2010!

 

~Connie

[SAAdds1]

They usually seem to pop up fairly close to last minute in September and October.

 

Good to know! Thanks for that info.

[firefly333]

Although I am slightly better off than the poster in Iowa, our closest port is lake Erie and those boats are quite small. :D

 

We are driving to Bayonne, 10 hours, which for 4 of us, is stlil a lot cheaper than flying to FL or San Juan to catch the cruise.

 

There are only 2 of us, that's why its often a toss up if its cheaper to drive or fly to Florida. Its about 24 hours of driving for us each way, by the time I stop and get gas and fast food on the way. We will fly next time.

 

If there were 4 of us, then you are right it would almost always be cheaper to drive.

 

We just want a year round ship back within one day's drive of north texas.

[mo&fran]

Our first cruise was in the early 90's. WE were living in Palm Beach county,fl. The was a ccruise ship, the Crown Monarch home ported at the Port of Palm Beach. A 20 minute cab ride and we were there. 7 day western Caribean. WE loved it but family and fortune prevented us for doing it again for some time.

WE no longer live in Fl but always thought that if we did, we might be able to get some good last minute sales as the cruise line tries to fill the ship.

[GeckoGirl]

To those questioning that cruises are cheaper out of Florida...NO DOUBT they are! When you have all of the major cruise lines all leaving out of the same ports in Florida, there is competition to keep the prices low.

 

I could get on Indy for $349 GTY inside rate. You find me Explorer for that cheap and I will book it. ;) For the same week I can get a GTY inside on Indy for $359...the insides on Explorer are $999.

 

If the prices for Liberty/Independence/Freedom are $989 for a balcony, just hop over to Explorer and you will see them for $1,399 - $1,899 or higher.

 

.

 

 

I agree. Florida has 5 ports - Jacksonville, Tampa, Port Canaveral, Ft Lauderdale and Miami. With all that competition, the different cruise lines are all trying to lure people to their ships and offering better rates. If Florida had only one port, the prices would be much different and more expensive.

 

We paid more for our 7 day cruise on the Empress to Bermuda (smallest ship in the fleet at the time) than we did on the Mariner 7 day Western Caribbean out of Port Canaveral. On the Mariner we had a bigger and better room also. But that is because the Empress was the only ship sailing out of Norfolk at the time and it was a wedding cruise (Bride and Groom lived near Norfolk).

 

And yes I do appreciate living in Florida and being so close to all the ports, now if the jobs here would just pay better so I could cruise more, LOL

[GeckoGirl]

Our first cruise was in the early 90's. WE were living in Palm Beach county,fl. The was a ccruise ship, the Crown Monarch home ported at the Port of Palm Beach. .

 

I remember that ship, I also remember when they had the Sea Escape 1 day cruises to the Bahamas. They would leave the Port of Palm Beach really early in the morning and go to Nassau or Freeport and then come back same day very late. My parents went on that and loved it. It was only like $69 a person back then. I don't think they sail anymore out of that port, but I'm not sure as I haven't lived in Palm Beach County since 1993.

[booklady26]

I also live in NJ and will not fly to Florida for a cruise. Air travel is too unreliable and cumbersome these days and would only fly to land vacation where I don't have to worry about late or cancelled flights and whether or not I'll make the cruise.

 

Except for 1 cruise out of Florida in 2005, I've only sailed out of NY area ports since 2003. There are a few choices, but obviously not as many as Florida. The ships sail pretty much full because there are not a lot of choices for NY area residents and they are therefore more expensive than the Florida cruises. To me it's worth the extra money not to fly. And I also love the extra sea days.

 

If departure city is important, you have to sacrifice brand loyalty.

 

NCL sails year round.

 

Carnival and Princess sail May-October to both the Caribbean and Canada. Don't knock the Canada/New England itineraries if you havent tried it. My husband & I love warm weather cruising too, but sailed north this past October and just loved it. It's a lot of history and sightseeing as opposed to sand, sun and sea, but it was a great experience. Actually, a few other cruise lines also do Canada in the fall.

 

Carnival's brand new Dream (still being built) will make her maiden North American voyage on 11/15/09 on a round trip out of NY to Orlando, Nassau & Freeport, and a second round trip sailing on 11/23/09 including Thanksgiving. She will then sail down to Port Canaveral which will be her new homeport.

 

In 2010, HAL's Veendam will be sailing to Bermuda from NYC. She's small enough to be able to dock at Hamilton & St George instead of being stuck out at the Dockyard for 3 1/2 days.

 

Celebrity will also be bringing in the Summit to do Bermuda in 2010.

 

QM2 stopped doing regular sailings out of NYC as did Holland America's Noordam. The official reason was the skyrocketing fuel costs earlier in the year. Now that costs have plummeted they may rethink their position.

 

Also, sailing in the winter out of NYC is not that bad. Sure, it's cold when you leave, but by the afternoon of the first sea day you're off the coast of SC/GA and the weather is much warmer. On the second sea day, it's just like sailing out of Florida. And the reverse is true coming back.

 

Some worry about rough seas, but that's only if you encounter a coastal storm. Otherwise it's as smooth as can be. I've had some pretty rough sailings out of Florida too.

[Philly Steve]

I would LOVE to see RCI return to Philly, even if it's only for the Bermuda run. :)

[karena1]

Trust me - I very much appreciate that I live in Florida and have such great access to cruising for reasonable prices. That is what allows us to take 5 little cruises and one 7 nighter a year. My family for the most part still lives in Wisconsin, and b/c of flying, it is much more expensive for them to join us on cruises (pretty much double for a 3 nighter when you add in airfare).

 

So yes, I count my lucky stars (and smarts to move here:p) when we did as cruising has become our total source of quick weekend getaways. Once we retire, we will take advantage of as many last minute "deals" as we can get!