No year-round out of Houston?

[CarolSW]

Hi folks-

 

I'm a recent convert to NCL (previously cruised on RCCL and Princess) based on my wonderful vacation aboard the now-departed Norwegian Sea. We loved that cruise so much we were ready to book onboard for next summer for the Dream, as we were aware she was taking over the NCL Texaribbean itinerary out of the Port of Houston. Alas, the Dream will only be sailing from that port from October to April, at which time she'll be repositioned to England for summer sailings. :( Being from Houston, and since my dh and I are both teachers, we can only book for the summer, so we were disappointed that the Dream will not be here year-round. When my dh asked the future cruise representative onboard the Sea why no NCL ship would be sailing from a local port next summer, he was told that "...the Caribbean was closed". Not sure what that means. Does anyone have any insight?

 

I do take some solace in learning that NCL is not abandoning the Port of Houston. I noticed that after the Dream spends the summer of 2006 in Europe she'll come back to Houston again in October '06. It still won't help my family with vacation plans though.

 

Thoughts?

[Carolyn1950]

We have been wondering the same thing.. Will there be no ship out of Houston during the summer? It certainly looks that way.. We asked the captain on the Sea that question and he had no insight.. I am hoping once the shuffling of ships is finished, the Dream will be in Houston full time.. But I guess for now, no one knows..

[Don Haynes]

NCL has made the decision to base 5 of its 12 ships year long in its leading markets, New York City(2) and Hawaii(3). Leaving NCL only 7 ships to move about to meet different cruise peak seasons elsewhere. The Alaskan market during the summer provides twice the revenues of the Caribbean market during the summer, therefore NCL commits 3 ships to Alaska next year, taking a ship from Los Angeles, New Orleans, and one from Hawaii. The European market during the summer provides twice the revenues of the Caribbean market, therefore NCL commits 2 ships to Europe, one from Houston and one from Miami... If NCL doesn't commit a cruise ship during the summer from Miami, do you expect one to be based in Houston?

Which leaves two ships left to do the Bermuda market during the summer from Boston and New York City. A Bermuda cruise provides more revenue during the summer than a Caribbean cruise..... However, all of these ships return to the Caribbean and Mexican riveria during the winter months, its too cold to cruise during the winter to Bermuda, Europe, and Alaska. Its cruise line economics. Of the 2 ships which cruise Bermuda during the summer, one goes to cruise the Caribbean and one goes to cruise South America Cape Horn during our winter....

 

However, Carnival and Royal Caribbean do cruise out of Galveston yearly, with some of their older ships without a balcony. They are able to do so as they have a fleet of up to 25 ships. Princess, Holland American, and Norwegian, and Celebrity of similar fleet size have to move their ships around to maximize profits.

 

When the day arrives when summer cruises to the Caribbean merit the same revenues as a cruise to Alaska, we'll see more ships in the Houston market.... Frankly, more of us leave the cold US to get to the warm Caribbean during the winter, there are less of us willing to leave the hot US to get to an even hotter Caribbean.....

 

When NCL moved into New York City year long, many in the industry and the cruising public thought it would be a disaster, cruising out of New York during the Winter to the Bahamas and Florida. However, its been a huge success, with NCL earning more revenue than sailing out of Miami. Its cheaper for the cruising public living near New York to cruise the distance all the way instead of flying to Miami and catching a cruise. The other cruise lines have noticed and are appearing to also base ships out of New York yearly too.

 

When NCL bought out the assets of the bankrupted Hawaii American lines, the same experts said NCL would fail in Hawaii too. However, NCL despite having to pay much more for the crew has been able to it seems to have made Hawaii a success too..... Its still to early to know for sure about Hawaii, but NCL has committed 3 ships.....a very large investment indeed.... It appears NCL is selling out their ships in Hawaii with higher revenues than a Caribbean cruise....

 

Frankly, NCL has found a niche in the market, leaving year long operations in Miami to Carnival and Royal Caribbean....

[Velvet Teddy Bear]

Hi all, it would sure help the summer season if there were some different routes and stop made....its nice to see different places....just a thought..

[Don Haynes]

And what do you consider Bermuda, Europe, and

Alaska is during our summer.... NCL is going to different places, just not to the Caribbean unless you are using the port of New York....

[newmexicoNita]

The truely sad thing about this is, most lines are cutting back on the Caribbean summer itineraries. For us, it really isn't a biggy as we have seen the Caribbean about as much as we want to, but so often, first and second time cruisers want that area. I guess we are at the mercy of the cruise company Gods and have to live with it. NMNita

[electricron]

I suggest you book your week long Texa-caribbean cruise during spring break week.

 

Even a teacher should be able to cruise during spring break.

[CarolSW]

Don said:

>>>>If NCL doesn't commit a cruise ship during the summer from Miami, do you expect one to be based in Houston?<<<<<

 

DON - thanks for the cold hard facts that it is financially more viable for NCL to move their ships where the passengers are. I can grasp that concept, and the truth that RCCL and Carnival both have larger fleets and can afford to put ships in Texas year-round. What I don't understand is that from what I've seen, ALL the cruise ships out of Texas seem to always be full. Are you saying that a full ship out of Texas (or Florida) does not generate as much revenue as a full ship out of a European port? Are passengers willing to pay more for the same cabin when it sails from Dover, England rather than Houston? Is THAT how it computes to more revenue? I guess I need to be grateful for having ANY ship in Texas at ANY time if that is the case. :(

 

electricron said:

>>>I suggest you book your week long Texa-caribbean cruise during spring break week. Even a teacher should be able to cruise during spring break.<<<

 

electricron - easier said than done. We teach at different places. Not all schools have the same spring breaks - could be anywhere from late February to April. In our 27 year marriage, my dh and I have only had the same spring break twice. But thanks for the thought.

[Don Haynes]

To be honest I wished NCL kept a ship year round eveywhere. It would make it much easier to plan a vacation. But look at the prices of an Alaskan cruise and then check the prices of a Houston cruise, both 7 day cruises, and you have your answer. The ships do move about for more revenue. After all, its a business. Celebrity and Princess don't keep their one ship based in Galveston year round either.

[abbylynn]

Living in South Florida, my DH and I have become quite spoiled by having NCL ships here year-round. We really love the Freestyle concept and are very disappointed that they've moved so many ships to NY because it just doesn't make sense for us to fly from FL to NY and then take a cruise that stops in FL! We're cruising next month on RCCL after 4 (DH 3) consecutive NCL cruises. However, we're in the middle of planning a Jewel cruise for next March during our son's spring break.

[Don Haynes]

You'll notice that this week Holland American announced that they were positioning one ship in New York City for the whole year. The other cruise lines have noticed NCL's success in New York City, and/or thinking about moving into New York City with yearly initiaries. NCL has been getting another couple of hundred dollars per person from its New York based ships cruising a 7-11 day initiary than if they cruised out of Miami with the same ships. NCL makes more money, the northeast area of America save on the air fares, resulting in a cheaper overall vacation.

 

When NCL moved into New York City for the whole year, a lot of experts didn't think it would work, including the other cruise lines. It appears all of them are now thinking differently.....