Why Does Celebrity & RCCL Avoid the West Coast

[mcrcruiser]

Other than Alaska ,Australia & the occasional Panama Canal Crossings we here on the West Coast feel like we live on another planet ,when it comes to both Celebrity & RCCL ships .:o

 

We hope that both Celebrity & or RCCL gets the message otherwise we are forced to sail Princess & or HAL that do do West coast cruises .We prefer not to fly ;)

[steveweese]

We travel to east coast every year to a time share and a one week cruise. That's gonna end and we are going to rent our timeshare and stay on the west coast. I am tired of paying the airlines for continually providing NO service.

[Orator]

Other than Alaska ,Australia & the occasional Panama Canal Crossings we here on the West Coast feel like we live on another planet ,when it comes to both Celebrity & RCCL ships .:o

 

We hope that both Celebrity & or RCCL gets the message otherwise we are forced to sail Princess & or HAL that do do West coast cruises .We prefer not to fly ;)

 

Guess the bean counters just feel based on their analysis of the data that they make a greater profit if their ships are deployed elsewhere.

[JanineM]

As Orator intimated - it's economics. There's a greater pool of passengers on the east coast. Plus, there are WAY more choices, especially in the winter. I know I can be guaranteed several days of warm, tropical weather at different ports if I sail from south Florida.

Edited September 6, 2014 by JanineM

[Orator]

Remember, Celebrity and RCCL seem to be moving more resources to Australia and Asia. The joint venture that resulted from the sale of Century to CTRIP only reenforces the emergence off China and the Asian market for growth. Only positive for the Westcoasters is that they are a lot closer to the new routes than folks in Florida.

[CRUZBUDS]

We are most likely going to be looking to Princess next year. We are tired of the hassle and expense of flying. It will mean giving up the great perks we earned on Celebrity. :(

[HubbieO]

While there may be several reasons, the principal reason is because there is a Federal law which prohibits foreign flagged ships from coastwise trade between U.S. ports. Only a U.S. flagged ship can do that. The thought at one time was that such a law would promote U.S. shipping by providing preferential treatment of US vessels over "foreign" vessels.

 

The law in question is the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. This is a U.S. Federal statute which regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. Section 27, known as the Jones Act, deals with the concept of "cabotage" (coastal shipping). The law requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens.

 

This is why you don't see a cruise ship sailing from San Diego to San Francisco and letting off passengers (for example). I believe they have to go to a foreign port en route. So, in this example, the ship would have to go some port in Mexico first. The reality today of course is that virtually all cruise ships are foreign flagged in order to avoid US taxes and occupational laws.

[boogs]

Other than Alaska ,Australia & the occasional Panama Canal Crossings we here on the West Coast feel like we live on another planet ,when it comes to both Celebrity & RCCL ships .:o

 

We hope that both Celebrity & or RCCL gets the message otherwise we are forced to sail Princess & or HAL that do do West coast cruises .We prefer not to fly ;)

 

I live on the west coast and I can honestly say that there just isn't the destination options here as on the east coast. Personally,even if they did station a ship here, I probably wouldn't book on it. I prefer more diverse cruises than what can be done here.

[rdhnd]

HubbieO is correct for part of the reason not much sails the west coast. Another problem was the narco/bandit situation on the Mexican Riviera ports

Princess has a Hawaiian cruise that only stops in Ensenada from 8PM to 11PM

I met a cruiser on RCCL who had done the Mex. Riv. over 100 times... he mainly used the trip as an inexpensive retirement home and stay with his children 1 week a month.

[elena7seas]

I live on the west coast and I can honestly say that there just isn't the destination options here as on the east coast. Personally,even if they did station a ship here, I probably wouldn't book on it. I prefer more diverse cruises than what can be done here.

 

There are some really great ports on the west coast. I would be happy to book my family on a Celebrity cruise that goes to Seattle, Astoria (for Cannon Beach as well), San Francisco, Monterey, Los Angeles, San Diego, Catalina Island, not to mention Victoria and Vancouver. You can even have some very interesting excursions out of the tiny port of Nanaimo.

 

Unfortunately, there is usually only one or two options for Pacific Coastals in the spring and (sometimes) one option in the fall as Celebrity ships reposition to/from Alaska in May and September (that do not include Alaska). As one of my daughters is a teacher, there is no possibility for a family trip at those times.

 

I have been on many of the Celebrity September Pacific Coastals since 2007 and they have all been fantastic cruises (on Mercury, Millennium, Century, Solstice). They were every bit as interesting as a Caribbean cruise, and often moreso.

 

Princess and HAL seem to find a way to make Pacific Coastals work.

[cruisestitch]

HubbieO brings up the federal laws, although the one that deals with Passengers is not the Jones Act, but the PVSA. Same principle, though. And in the example cited there, a trip from San Diego to San Francisco would require a DISTANT foreign port, and no port in Mexico qualifies. A round trip from San Diego would only require ANY foreign port, but a one way between two US cities has the distant foreign port requirement, and there simply isn't one anywhere practical.

 

There are a lot of other reasons for avoiding the west coast these days. Some of them are:

 

1. historically rough waters in the Pacific

2. increasing anxiety about Mexican port stops

3. so many sea days between west coast and Hawaii, times 2, because you have to do a round trip voyage.

4. Celebrity only has ten ships, soon to be fewer, and has to put its inventory where the greatest sources of profit are

[maggie.1008]

I would be glad of anything on the west coast. Going on Princess this Oct. as they still do Pacific Coastal and Mexico cruises.

[fortinweb]

I used to own a sailboat and sailed up and down the west coast for years, from Oregon to below Mexico. A problem this area has is that during the summer the coast is often foggy. Many popular destinations are clouded over for much of the day, San Francisco included. We often visit family in the SF Bay Area and see tourists freezing while visiting Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf in shorts and T-shirts, not aware that the days can often stay in the 60s F for much of the time. Other popular destinations up and down the coast are similarly cloaked in fog or low clouds for much of the day. And if the fog does lift, it is usually still hovering a few miles off the coast, making most sea days cold and gloomy. Typically, fall in the best time to visit most places on the west coast, not the summer. And winter is getting too cold for most people, who typically see a cruise as a warm weather activity.

Edited September 6, 2014 by fortinweb

[richard1s]

Other than Alaska ,Australia & the occasional Panama Canal Crossings we here on the West Coast feel like we live on another planet ,when it comes to both Celebrity & RCCL ships .:o

 

We hope that both Celebrity & or RCCL gets the message otherwise we are forced to sail Princess & or HAL that do do West coast cruises .We prefer not to fly ;)

 

LOL - now I wonder if I am really flying into San Diego for a west coast cruise next year on the Jewel?

[mcrcruiser]

LOL - now I wonder if I am really flying into San Diego for a west coast cruise next year on the Jewel?

 

Apparently the Jewel is or has done a Panama Canal Transit ;but is not doing regular west coast cruises except perhaps Alaska;)

[grandgeezer]

They don't make much money on the west coast. HAL used to have at least two ships that did 7 day Mexican Riveria wevery week from the end of December until April. They were the small ships, only 1250 passengers.We did it eight times, because of deals. We once got an oceanview for $350 p.p. total. We were also on one of the cruises, and they slid a paper under I door saying we could stay on and make a B2B dor only $250 p.p.

[swedish weave]

I haven't seen any mention of the clean fuel requirements or the California requirement that ships must equip for shore power and shut down their engines while in port. This conversion requires substantial investment by the cruise companies that some are not willing to do.

[Lyndonn]

Apparently the Jewel is or has done a Panama Canal Transit ;but is not doing regular west coast cruises except perhaps Alaska;)

RCI's Jewel will be doing a Pacific Coastal departing Los Angeles to Vancouver in May 2015, then cruising the Alaska waters and returning to Los Angeles in Sep 2015. Then the Jewel will be doing a few roundtrip sailings from Los Angeles.

 

I guess RCI is testing the waters again and giving Princess something to worry about.

[3dog]

For the most part, HubbieO has described why lines have limited west coast service (though it is the PVSA). As nearly all cruise ships are not US flagged, for the most part this means that itineraries leaving from any US port on the west coast must visit Canada or Mexico and then return to the same port, or begin/end their cruise in Canada/Mexico, otherwise be in violation of the PVSA (nor can pax leave their cruise in a US port without being in violation). This significantly limits the available itineraries.

 

For Mexico destinations leaving out of Southern California, a 7 day trip can realistically only get to Puerto Vallarta, with only Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and/or La Paz as nearby ports to visit. 3/4 day cruises can only get to Ensenada. Longer trips can get to Acapulco or other points south, but none (including Ensenada) don't make very good endpoints (mostly why the Hawaiian itineraries from Ensenada to HI never did well).

 

The Canadian destinations have Vancouver or Victoria. The port at Victoria isn't large, so it is best as a port of call for the smaller ships instead of an endpoint. But Vancouver is a very good endpoint port that only limits ships by the Lions Gate bridge (to enter/leave the port, a ship needs to pass under this bridge, this is a concern for Solstice class ships, as well as a number of other mega ships). The advantage of starting in Vancouver, is that a passenger can leave at will at any Alaska port without any violation of the PVSA (though there could be a constraint to taking a passenger on in an Alaskan port). Longer round-trip itineraries can leave out of San Francisco if they stop in Vancouver or Victoria, and one-way destinations are feasible from Los Angeles (which is common for the repositioning of ships for the summer Alaskan cruises).

 

Hawaii cruises are feasible if they start/end in Vancouver, or are round trips out of L.A. or S.D, and visit Ensenada, but these are long cruises with many sea days (the ones we are seeing these days are winter in Austrailia/New Zealand, summer in Alaska repositioning that stop in Hawaii on their trans-pacific journey).

 

 

Seems like these destinations are at least somewhat interesting, but...

 

Alaskan destinations are very popular, but only available for at best half the year. And due to potentially problematic winter weather in the Pacific Northwest, permanently deploying a ship there is just not practical. But they are very profitable (both in revenues and margins), which is why the lines are nearly saturating the destination.

 

And though some of the Mexican destinations are nice and popular (Cabo continues to be very popular by tourists), others are either tired or problematic (Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta have had a rash of incidents making them less desirable destinations, and there isn't a lot of activities in Ensenada). And though summer in Alaska and Winter in Mexico seems like a decent choice, due to the less desirable nature of the Mexican ports, lines typically need to significantly discount the cruises to get passengers onboard.

 

What some lines have done, though, is to introduce a short Mexican Riviera or Pacific Coastal season on the shoulder of the Alaskan cruises following a Panama Canal cruise. These have become popular, and I suspect as time goes on, we will see a longer "season" (could even mean that lines might have a set of interesting itineraries have offer longer mid-winter Mexico offerings, more Pacific Coastal offerings on the shoulder, and then off to Alaska for the summer).

[SoBe2010]

We travel to east coast every year to a time share and a one week cruise. That's gonna end and we are going to rent our timeshare and stay on the west coast. I am tired of paying the airlines for continually providing NO service.

 

They get you and your lugguage safe from A to B. That is the service. Free drinks included, not too bad.

[BillB48]

This is why you don't see a cruise ship sailing from San Diego to San Francisco and letting off passengers (for example). I believe they have to go to a foreign port en route. So, in this example, the ship would have to go some port in Mexico first. The reality today of course is that virtually all cruise ships are foreign flagged in order to avoid US taxes and occupational laws.

 

Everything is pretty much as you described, actually the law even adds another layer of difficulty. In order to transport passengers from San D to San F... the ship has to go to a "distant" foreign port before the final destination. The only "distant" foreign ports in the Western Hemisphere are in South America... sorta makes a 2 day cruise a 2 week cruise:)!

[Sam.Seattle]

I haven't seen any mention of the clean fuel requirements or the California requirement that ships must equip for shore power and shut down their engines while in port. This conversion requires substantial investment by the cruise companies that some are not willing to do.

Does not seem to stop any of the ships who call on Seattle and use shore power while in Port.

[DavidYYC]

...because the Caribbean is on the East side?

 

I live closer to the West coast (one hour flying time to Vancouver) but choose to make the journey to Miami or Ft Lauderdale become part of the vacation. We fly business class when possible and stay at a good hotel for a few nights.

 

I choose to make my own experiences, and don't expect cruise companies to cater just to me.

[cruzeluver]

Royal had Mariner of The Seas doing Mexican Riviera sailings, and they were having to so deeply discount fares to fill cabins it was not economically feasible.

[fortinweb]

Royal had Mariner of The Seas doing Mexican Riviera sailings, and they were having to so deeply discount fares to fill cabins it was not economically feasible.

 

I think the main reason for the deep discounts is that these cruises were popular with the "booze cruise" crowd who typically are pretty frugal when it comes to spending money on anything other than drinks.