grumpah1

We are planning to use trip insurance for the first time for a Panama Canal cruise.  We've heard so many horror stories about things not being covered, we wanted to make sure we use the right carrier.  Please share your experience if you've ever had to actually USE your insurance and what was your experience?  We will probably opt for "cancel for any reason".

Thanks BruceMuzz. That was the point I made back in post #3- summarized in the last line of the post- it just isn't profitable. But some people know better.

Yes thanks, BruceMuzz, for your thorough explanation. A lot of what doesn't make sense to the outside observer certainly is brought to light when you look behind the scenes. I know better now. :D

The ships are based in the Pacific Northwest to service Alaska cruises from late April until mid-Sept. The ships arrive via a repositioning cruise generally from the Caribbean, via the Panama to San Diego or LA, followed by another cruise from there to Vancouver. Current US law prohibits a foreign flagged vessel from making a one way sailing between two US ports unless there's a distant foreign port (Canada and Mexico don't count); so that's why they all end in Vancouver (potentially a one day Vancouver-Seattle is tacked on too). Reverse the process at the end of the Alaska cruise season.

 

The cruise lines apparently don't believe there's a significant market for continuous Vancouver-LA summer cruises

 

The reason the California cruise exist is not to service the coastal market, it's just to move the ships. The cruise lines also move boats between the Caribbean and the Mediterranean; which generates eastbound transatlantics in the spring and westbound in the late fall. These transatlantic cruises are just a way to fill a boat which has to move anyway

Thanks, Scott. Those appear to be more logical explanations. Too bad, though.

Amtrak on the Pacific Surfliner (San Diego to San Luis Obispo) or Coast Starlight (LA to Seattle) hit all the major coastal cities and some parts can only be seen by train.

Does the train wait for you while you explore each stop? I have never taken a train excursion, so I honestly don't know. The beauty of a ship cruise is that it serves as your hotel and restaurant as you explore each port.

So an employee in management of a cruise ship doesn't know what he is talking about??

 

As mentioned, the cruises you identified are part of repostioning routes.

I'm not saying that they are lying, I'm just saying that the reasoning doesn't make sense if it applies to only part of the year.

1. Fuel regulations along the West coast would apply Sept-May also, not just June, July and August.

2. Do cruisers sailing out of West coast ports spend less money in the summer months than in the Spring, Fall or Winter? I'd like to see those studies.

3. The cruise I was mentioning starts in Vancouver and ends in South LA.

It could very well be that there just isn't the interest in that itinerary and so the route is not profitable if they can't fill the ship, but I find it hard to believe that the time of year has anything to do with it.

Which ports do you want to see? Driving time between San Diego and San Francisco is only 8 hours. Santa Barbara is almost exactly in the middle.

That's the point. I don't want to spend my day in the car. I've actually never been to California, so I'd like to get a sampling of as much of it as I can in a week or so. Five years ago, we took a 7-day NCL cruise up the coast of Italy from Sicily to Nice, France, stopping at 4 ports along the way. That's the type of excursion we're looking for here.

This was just asked on another board, and a cruise line employee you often posts with great info stated 3 reasons. First, fuel regulations along the west coast requiring much more expensive and cleaner burning fuels.

 

Second, a long history of low spending by cruisers sailing out of west coast ports. Lastly, due to laws, a ship sailing from a US port has to end at a foreign port.

Sailing from a foreign port allows the cruise to end at a US port.

 

So, the combo of these makes it not profitable.

None of these reasons hold water by the very fact that these cruises DO exist during the months I mentioned -- just not in the summer.

We are finding many lovely lower California to Vancouver 7 night cruises for April, May, September or October, but nothing for summer! Why is this? :mad:

My wife teaches high school and is not available during those periods. We'd love to explore the California coast, much like we did in Italy. Can anyone point me to cruise lines or charters that might offer such a summer trip? :confused: