Adventure of the Seas out of PR?

[PR Cruisers]

I have just read that the AOS is going to be "repo" to Barcelona by May 2010.

 

Anyone knows if Royal is planning to place another ship departing from San Juan?

[highseasredneck]

I have just read that the AOS is going to be "repo" to Barcelona by May 2010.

 

Anyone knows if Royal is planning to place another ship departing from San Juan?

 

Apparently we are supposed to be getting Serenade of the Seas (Radiance Class) down there. I hate to see AOS leave :(

[caribbeanboy]

And looks like she will stay in Europe year round!

[cruiseawaits]

Apparently we are supposed to be getting Serenade of the Seas (Radiance Class) down there. I hate to see AOS leave :(

 

Serenade of the Seas is already sailing out of San Juan!

[PR Cruisers]

Serenade of the Seas is already sailing out of San Juan!

 

But is only for the winter months. After that, no RCL cruises departing from San Juan until the next winter.

[highseasredneck]

Serenade of the Seas is already sailing out of San Juan!

 

I understand that. Thats why I said "apprently". The complete 2010 schedules for San Juan have not been released yet. Serenade is what I've been hearing. From it already released on RCCL's site it will be running back and forth doing San Juan departures and about 3 Panama Canals trips to go back over on the west coast and do Alaska trips as well. Hopefull they will put it in San Juan full time but we won't know until its released on the site. RCCL has made some odd moves. Moving I think 8 ships to Europe next year. I think they are expecting Oasis to meet a good % of everyones need for Caribbean iteneraries. Personally I don't like the idea of 5,400 passengers or whatever it carries, but thats just my opinion.

Thanks

[Schplinky]

A part of the reason given was that the airlines have pared back their schedules so much that they cannot fill the both ships on a weekly basis. There might be some truth to this. When we went in September, we had a lot fewer flight choices than in previous years.

 

I think RCL is also moving ships to other non-Florida ports year-round. For instance, the Enchantment is going to homeport in Baltimore year-round and there is still chatter of a new chip for the NYC area.

[highseasredneck]

A part of the reason given was that the airlines have pared back their schedules so much that they cannot fill the both ships on a weekly basis. There might be some truth to this. When we went in September, we had a lot fewer flight choices than in previous years.

 

I think RCL is also moving ships to other non-Florida ports year-round. For instance, the Enchantment is going to homeport in Baltimore year-round and there is still chatter of a new chip for the NYC area.

 

Yeah, that is an excellent point that you make. When we tried to get our flight down there in Oct it was pretty much crap flight iteneraries. We always fly in on the day of the cruise and we have to fly from Raleigh, NC to JFK in NY and then down to SJU arriving at 4:15pm. Good thing the ship doesn't leave until 8:30pm. They always advertise a 5:30pm boarding time but we all know you can get on a tremendous amount of time earlier around noon or so. Good point on the flights though. At least prices have come down. 2 yrs ago the same cruise on AOS in may was about $700 more than the same cruise we are taking on her this Oct.

[PR Cruisers]

I understand that. Thats why I said "apprently". The complete 2010 schedules for San Juan have not been released yet. Serenade is what I've been hearing. From it already released on RCCL's site it will be running back and forth doing San Juan departures and about 3 Panama Canals trips to go back over on the west coast and do Alaska trips as well. Hopefull they will put it in San Juan full time but we won't know until its released on the site. RCCL has made some odd moves. Moving I think 8 ships to Europe next year. I think they are expecting Oasis to meet a good % of everyones need for Caribbean iteneraries. Personally I don't like the idea of 5,400 passengers or whatever it carries, but thats just my opinion.

Thanks

 

Dont you know when the San Juan schedules for 2010 are going to be released?

[Ocean Boy]

I, personally don't like the move. Serenade is a great ship but we prefer the Voyager class ships. At least with the way things have been folks had a choice of two classes of ships. Even with Oasis coming on line there is no way she will be able to do the excellent Southern Caribbean itineraries on a 7 night cruise. I am hoping that another Voyager or Freedom class ship goes down to San Juan.

 

I understand the point being brought up about the flight cutbacks but if you think about it having one ship leave on one day of the week is going to make it even harder to get flights scheduled. At least the way things are now passengers are leaving and arriving for two different sailings on two different days. That actually helps reduce the demand for any particular flight.

[wrp96]

I understand that. Thats why I said "apprently". The complete 2010 schedules for San Juan have not been released yet. Serenade is what I've been hearing. From it already released on RCCL's site it will be running back and forth doing San Juan departures and about 3 Panama Canals trips to go back over on the west coast and do Alaska trips as well.

 

Serenade isn't going to Alaska in 2010 so there won't be any Panama Canal or West coast sailings on her. All signs are that she will be the ship sailing full time from San Juan.

[highseasredneck]

Serenade isn't going to Alaska in 2010 so there won't be any Panama Canal or West coast sailings on her. All signs are that she will be the ship sailing full time from San Juan.

 

You are correct. I typed that in response to an earlier post advising that she is already down in San Juan. From what I've seen on the site she'll be finishing out 2009 (which I neglected to mention) with the trips back and forth. Maybe I was incorrect in some of that. I just searched a couple different "destinations" on the RCCL site for this year and next and thats what I came up with. Kinda hard to track where a ships gonna be just off their site so I may have had some errors. I indicated in my original post answering the OP's question that is "apparently" its going to be Serenade. Hate to see the AOS leave. Can't wait for the Serenade, as we've never had an opportunity for a Radiance class. I digress.........:confused:

[printingchick]

Flights have been eliminated to ALL locations. We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in January and Delta eliminated the flight we had booked. We were moved to a different flight at a less convenient time, but made it nonetheless. It's not just getting more difficult to find flights to San Juan. It's difficult to find flights to almost any location. Cruisers have an even more difficult time with flights because timing is critical. Unless we're planning an overnight stay on one end or the other, we need an early morning flight - preferably non-stop - pre-cruise and a mid-day flight post-cruise. (Too early and we can't get to the airport in time; too late and we're stuck dragging suit cases around all day.)

 

I agree with my fellow New Englander, Ocean Boy, that I will sincerely miss having a Voyager Class option in the southern Caribbean. With few exceptions, Eastern and Western itineraries all offer basically the same ports of call. There are so many more options in the southern Caribbean. We've sailed out of San Juan twice and will sail there again on the Serenade in early 2010. Even after three cruises in the south, there are lots of new islands we'll still be anxious to see on future cruises. We've never visited Tortolla or Grenada, just to name a couple.

 

The baseless rumor is that a Freedom Class is expected to move to San Juan - perhaps Liberty, which was previously rumored to be headed for New Jersey? I find it difficult to believe that RCL will commit SO MUCH capacity to running around in the eastern and western Caribbean, loading up Freedom, Oasis, Liberty, Explorer and Enchantment. How many times can a person visit Cozumel and Grand Cayman?

 

I guess we'll know more by the end of this month. I believe some itineraries are releasing tomorrow, is that correct?

[DGNY]

I guess we'll know more by the end of this month. I believe some itineraries are releasing tomorrow, is that correct?

 

Caribbean (Year-round/Summer) 4/9 & 4/16/09

 

Not sure what is tomorrow vs. what will be released next week. Any thoughts?

[printingchick]

DGNY: I was hoping you were going to tell me!! :)

[Ocean Boy]

Flights have been eliminated to ALL locations. We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in January and Delta eliminated the flight we had booked. We were moved to a different flight at a less convenient time, but made it nonetheless. It's not just getting more difficult to find flights to San Juan. It's difficult to find flights to almost any location. Cruisers have an even more difficult time with flights because timing is critical. Unless we're planning an overnight stay on one end or the other, we need an early morning flight - preferably non-stop - pre-cruise and a mid-day flight post-cruise. (Too early and we can't get to the airport in time; too late and we're stuck dragging suit cases around all day.)

 

I agree with my fellow New Englander, Ocean Boy, that I will sincerely miss having a Voyager Class option in the southern Caribbean. With few exceptions, Eastern and Western itineraries all offer basically the same ports of call. There are so many more options in the southern Caribbean. We've sailed out of San Juan twice and will sail there again on the Serenade in early 2010. Even after three cruises in the south, there are lots of new islands we'll still be anxious to see on future cruises. We've never visited Tortolla or Grenada, just to name a couple.

 

The baseless rumor is that a Freedom Class is expected to move to San Juan - perhaps Liberty, which was previously rumored to be headed for New Jersey? I find it difficult to believe that RCL will commit SO MUCH capacity to running around in the eastern and western Caribbean, loading up Freedom, Oasis, Liberty, Explorer and Enchantment. How many times can a person visit Cozumel and Grand Cayman?

 

I guess we'll know more by the end of this month. I believe some itineraries are releasing tomorrow, is that correct?

We did a western itinerary on Explorer. It was our first Voyager class ship and I loved it. It was Labadee, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We also did an eastern on Mariner. It was Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Again, we had a great time. Then I got the bright idea to try the southern routes. The first was Serenade and then Adventure (three times!). Now I can't get myself to book an eastern or western itinerary again. I love the southern routes and I love Adventure. As much as we enjoyed Serenade I prefer the Voyager class.

 

So, if they don't put a Voyager or Freedom class ship down there I really don't know what I am going to do for next year's cruise. Maybe get one more in on Adventure before she leaves. But I am really hoping that RCI doesn't leave me hanging!

[printingchick]

Ocean Boy: Agree 100%. We went back and forth for a long time before booking Serenade for 2010 because we so love the Adventure. For our next cruise, we wanted to revisit our two favorite ports to date: St. John (via St. Thomas) and Dominica. The Adventure itinerary which included those ports also included Aruba (been there, not as impressed as most people seem to be) and Curacao (lovely island, but have been there very recently). Serenade included St. Croix and St. Kitts, both new to us. It also included Barbados, which we like and haven't visited for a few years. And we decided we should try another class, even though we fully expect to sorely miss the Royal Promenade and Ice Shows.

 

I honestly don't know what I'll do in 2011 either, if it's just the Serenade doing the southern Caribbean. I'll either try to find an Eastern itinerary I like or...dare I say it...look at other cruise lines. I will have just sailed on Serenade in 2010. I'll want to do something different in 2011.

 

I'd be okay with a Freedom class in San Juan. I don't see where they'd grab a replacement Voyager class for Adventure. I'd really PREFER a Voyager class, however. Having just sailed on Freedom, I have to say I found it a little too big. I had a great time and loved the ship, but found the major events to be over-crowded and the elevators frustratingly slow and crowded. (We book in the basement, so we use the elevators when going up to the Windjammer. Otherwise, we took the stairs.)

 

I guess we'll know more by the end of this month. If you hear before I do, post it!!!

[Cruisingjer]

We too have sailed the Southern itinery the last 4 years, twice on AOS, once on Serenade and once on Crown Princess.

 

I love the Southern route the best and really prefer the Voyager class the best even though out Serenade cruise was one of my best cruises. I wish AOS would sail to some new ports next year and I would sail it again.

 

I hope they move a Freedom class ship to replace AOS, if not I am not sure what I will do.

[caribbeanboy]

Someone here was posting yesterday (don't remember which post it was)that he spoke to a RCCL representative and she said s.t(vaguely) about Voyager going to San Juan.

[printingchick]

Voyager replacing Adventure? That would be my vote!!!

 

See what you can do to make that so, Caribbean Boy! Do you know anyone who knows anyone who has some pull? :D

[wrp96]

Someone here was posting yesterday (don't remember which post it was)that he spoke to a RCCL representative and she said s.t(vaguely) about Voyager going to San Juan.

 

 

I doubt that one, since Voyager's transatlantic cruise is to Galveston and they are already selling her European itineraries for next summer.

[DGNY]

Voyager replacing Adventure? That would be my vote!!!

 

See what you can do to make that so, Caribbean Boy! Do you know anyone who knows anyone who has some pull? :D

 

I can't imagine they'd replace one Voyager class ship with another Voyager class ship. Would they?

[caribbeanboy]

I can't imagine they'd replace one Voyager class ship with another Voyager class ship. Would they?

 

I was thinking the same. But if airlift is the problem then they might put one Voyager (class) ship in PR and move Serenade to somehwere else. Btw the day before yesterday someone was mentioning that Navigator would go to PR......so guess we will have to wait afew more days/hours

[Texas Teen]

Someone here was posting yesterday (don't remember which post it was)that he spoke to a RCCL representative and she said s.t(vaguely) about Voyager going to San Juan.

 

That better not be true! :eek: :mad: :mad: Why does RCCL hate Galveston???

[printingchick]

Texas: I think you're safe. If they pull Voyager out of Galveston, you've got basically nothing. I can't see that happening. Sorry...wishful thinking on my part.