How long must we wait for the Anthem to leave New JERSEY.

[Thetrail]

Well if the anthem is going to stay and YES I know it's a new ship why can't there be reasonable pricing as were on the explorer?. Or yes bring one of those ships back for a $10.000 grand suite on this ship or a $4.000 on the explorer BRING IT BACK. How long will royal keep this up be for people go some were else. All I want to do is cruise at a reasonable price. We have invested a lot of money to get where we are and would love to keep on going to pinnacle some day.

 

 

P.S You can't even get a JS on the anthem for under $6000.00 on a good day now I was told once on the explorer once a bigger ship comes in the price will be lower....

JS ON Anthem......4899.00 sailing March 7th.....:):):)

[Thetrail]

Still trying to figure out what situation you think Royal Caribbean has

No sense in trying to talk sense to this poster, no facts, figures or common sense to the posts, all you will here is Blah, Blah, Blah........enjoy your cruises and can't wait till next Monday.....K.O....:)

[Thetrail]

I feel the same way

I get it guys, there are many other ships in the fleet that sail, many choices. I personally enjoy the smallest to the largest in RCL's fleet, with Oasis class still my favorite.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Was on the Anthem for the infamous 2/6 cruise; leaving in March on Grandeur - which I love; then 3 more on Anthem. Trying to stay loyal to Royal but not so sure if Anthem will be my home ship. I do not like paying for amenities that I will not use.

I get it guys, there are many other ships in the fleet that sail, many choices. I personally enjoy the smallest to the largest in RCL's fleet, with Oasis class still my favorite.

I feel the same way

Glad to see these highly experienced cruisers posting on this topic for their input.

Edited February 29, 2016 by CRUISEFAN0001

[caribbean sailor]

I have sailed Disney and had first class cruises, however, I do not want to sail the huge ships several times a year. Much preferred the mid sized ships. Was on the Anthem for the infamous 2/6 cruise; leaving in March on Grandeur - which I love; then 3 more on Anthem. Trying to stay loyal to Royal but not so sure if Anthem will be my home ship. I do not like paying for amenities that I will not use.

 

Wow we could not have said it better.Have a great next cruise.Maybe the next cruise will be at the old Explorer prices.:mad: :)

[CRUISEFAN0001]

I was on the January 3rd sailing this year. That is winter. There was no debacle or bad publicity. :rolleyes:

Glad to hear your cruise went well.

 

Unfortunately 2 of the most recent ones didn't.

 

What is clear is that those struggling to see the big picture about Bayonne being a risk port in winter seem to mostly be from that area. I can understand it likely feels like this is about "taking something away from them". That's not at all the case.

 

I'm sure nearly everyone wants all their fellow cruisers to have a great time on their cruises, regardless of the port, ship, or destinations.

 

That said, it's time to wake up and smell the roses that Bayonne has become a real problem, and it would be no surprise if RCI was re-assessing its scheduling for that port. There's no reason to imagine this is just a one-year thing either.

 

Clearly a good deal of investment went into making that location/port nice, and everyone should enjoy it. Unfortunately, the odds that Mother Nature won't cooperate are high in the Dec-Mar timeframe, and it's costing real money losses and negative news.

 

Maybe RCI will ride out this season and rethink 2017-2018. Time will tell.

[cruisinfanatic]

Glad to hear your cruise went well.

 

Unfortunately 2 of the most recent ones didn't.

 

What is clear is that those struggling to see the big picture about Bayonne being a risk port in winter seem to mostly be from that area. I can understand it likely feels like this is about "taking something away from them". That's not at all the case.

 

I'm sure nearly everyone wants all their fellow cruisers to have a great time on their cruises, regardless of the port, ship, or destinations.

 

That said, it's time to wake up and smell the roses that Bayonne has become a real problem, and it would be no surprise if RCI was re-assessing its scheduling for that port. There's no reason to imagine this is just a one-year thing either.

 

Clearly a good deal of investment went into making that location/port nice, and everyone should enjoy it. Unfortunately, the odds that Mother Nature won't cooperate are high in the Dec-Mar timeframe, and it's costing real money losses and negative news.

 

Maybe RCI will ride out this season and rethink 2017-2018. Time will tell.

Extremely unlikely. Actually more than extremely unlikely.

Why would anything change? It's a high demand port year round since 2004. Nothing has changed except for change of ships from time to time. I'm 110% sure that all the cruise lines that sail out of Bayonne, New York, and Baltimore year round will change absolutely nothing.

I'm sure those lines are grateful that you are worrying about them though, LOL

[Turtles06]

Glad to hear your cruise went well.

 

Unfortunately 2 of the most recent ones didn't.

 

What is clear is that those struggling to see the big picture about Bayonne being a risk port in winter seem to mostly be from that area. I can understand it likely feels like this is about "taking something away from them". That's not at all the case.

 

I'm sure nearly everyone wants all their fellow cruisers to have a great time on their cruises, regardless of the port, ship, or destinations.

 

That said, it's time to wake up and smell the roses that Bayonne has become a real problem, and it would be no surprise if RCI was re-assessing its scheduling for that port. There's no reason to imagine this is just a one-year thing either.

 

Clearly a good deal of investment went into making that location/port nice, and everyone should enjoy it. Unfortunately, the odds that Mother Nature won't cooperate are high in the Dec-Mar timeframe, and it's costing real money losses and negative news.

 

Maybe RCI will ride out this season and rethink 2017-2018. Time will tell.

 

You say this as though sailing out of NY Harbor in the winter is something new. But it's not. NCL has been sailing out of NY for years in the winter. The Gem is there, and NCL added one of its biggest ships, the Breakaway. Clearly there is a demand from people in the NE who'd like to get away in the winter without flying to a cruise port.

 

Also, flying in the winter from the NE has its own set of challenges.

 

Yes, it's a shame that Anthem has had some bad luck the past few sailings, but that hardly means "Bayonne has become a real problem."

[CRUISEFAN0001]

You say this as though sailing out of NY Harbor in the winter is something new. But it's not. NCL has been sailing out of NY for years in the winter. The Gem is there, and NCL added one of its biggest ships, the Breakaway. Clearly there is a demand from people in the NE who'd like to get away in the winter without flying to a cruise port.

 

Also, flying in the winter from the NE has its own set of challenges.

 

Yes, it's a shame that Anthem has had some bad luck the past few sailings, but that hardly means "Bayonne has become a real problem."

You're correct - it's not new. Nor are the problems there new...

 

...which makes one wonder why expanding service (or larger ships) makes any sense at all. So far...that strategy has been met with miserable results.

[cruisinfanatic]

You're correct - it's not new. Nor are the problems there new...

 

...which makes one wonder why expanding service (or larger ships) makes any sense at all. So far...that strategy has been met with miserable results.

Still waiting for you to explain your comments.

larger ship no sense at all? What does the size of ship have to do with anything?

 

Miserable results? Like what?

[nelblu]

I feel the same way

 

What are you talking about. All ships have amenities that certain % of the cruising paying population will not use.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Still waiting for you to explain your comments.

larger ship no sense at all? What does the size of ship have to do with anything?

 

Miserable results? Like what?

First you respond in Post #57...but now say you don't understand. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Sorry you didn't really understand things the first time.

Edited February 29, 2016 by CRUISEFAN0001

[cruisinfanatic]

First you respond in Post #57...but now say you don't understand. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Sorry you didn't really understand things the first time.

Like I said, still waiting

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Like I said, still waiting

OK. Enjoy.

[alfaeric]

Is it *that* hard to fly to Florida? Most of the ship does.

 

I'm sorry, but I have zero sympathy for people who don't like the ship that is a short drive from home. Some of us fly to every cruise. You can do the same, which makes the ship you don't like irrelevant.

 

Heck, you can even drive for a few hours and be on the Grandeur.

 

It's not as if you have no option but to JUST sail on the Anthem in bad weather.

[Toddcan]

Cruisefan0001, I have no skin in the game here. I could care less if NJ has a cruise ship - but that's just me.

 

However, when I read your comments, it appears to me that you feel that Royal's presence in NJ is a disaster, and they need to pull their ships, or at least Anthem out of NJ because of it.

 

But, as many others have pointed out, cruises have been sailing out of this port for over 10 years now - with relatively few problems. Sure, there have been problem cruises - but those are the exception, not the rule. Of the hundreds and hundreds (thousands?) of cruises - how many have been a failure? How many have caused people to never book a cruise again, or have caused ships to sail less than full in the long term? I suspect VERY FEW - relatively speaking.

 

Here is a pictorial that may (or may not) help. Life has many examples of the 2% situations (on both ends of the curve) - luckily (or unluckily), the VAST majority of our lives fall into the "normal" center region of the curve.

 

[Paulxyz2004]

Then again...this experiment to have some of the larger ships port in Bayonne during the worst weather time of year might just be one more aborted disaster away from changing the strategy at RCI...some of us thought it was a bad idea to start with...

 

I´ve just quoted this post of yours, as I can´t Quote all of them, but I´ve read all of them.

 

I kinda fail to understand your Point.

 

Are you advocating RCI should Abandon Bayonne entirely? Or just in the winter time? Or like the OP hoping for a different ship?

 

I fail to see how this would not have happened with a different ship.

 

Oh yeah and who is us?

[Tapi]

 

I'm sorry, but I have zero sympathy for people who don't like the ship that is a short drive from home. Some of us fly to every cruise. You can do the same, which makes the ship you don't like irrelevant.

 

 

Guess what my closest ship and port of embarkation are? Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile! Yes, the ship is small, old and outdated, and the itinerary is as mediocre as it gets, but hey! I can leave my house at 8am and be at the port by noon! I better not complain about the ship or the itinerary!

 

Like you said, people have choices. If convenience trumps everything else, then they shouldn't complain about the other things that they were willing to overlook in order to enjoy that convenience.

 

But with all of that said, I'd be THRILLED if my closest "drive to" ships were like the ones that sail from NYC. I can't even imagine Anthem, Breakaway, QM2, and Regal Princess (among others) sailing from Mobile! [emoji23]

Edited February 29, 2016 by Tapi

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Cruisefan0001, I have no skin in the game here. I could care less if NJ has a cruise ship - but that's just me.

 

However, when I read your comments, it appears to me that you feel that Royal's presence in NJ is a disaster, and they need to pull their ships, or at least Anthem out of NJ because of it.

 

But, as many others have pointed out, cruises have been sailing out of this port for over 10 years now - with relatively few problems. Sure, there have been problem cruises - but those are the exception, not the rule. Of the hundreds and hundreds (thousands?) of cruises - how many have been a failure? How many have caused people to never book a cruise again, or have caused ships to sail less than full in the long term? I suspect VERY FEW - relatively speaking.

Thank you for your post, especially since it was done with an opposing view but also posting respect. A few others could learn from your example. People can disagree without insults or demeaning others. I do sincerely mean thank you.

 

As requested, let me respond to your multiple points:

 

1) I do believe that having Bayonne as a Caribbean destination port from Dec - Mar is indeed a mistake...and for more than 1 reason. Wasting nearly 3 days just to get to & from the Caribbean area - because of the farther starting point - seems foolish. Even more questionable is the need to pack (clothing) for both winter and summer weather on any cruise. Then there's the known travel nightmares and winter storms in that area. Finally, there's the higher costs of air travel, hotels, and cruise itself.

2) By placing a newer/larger ship in the Bayonne home port, the financial and publicity risks tied to a 5,100 passenger newer/more expensive ship just gets amplified. If existing ships were doing the job, expansion is suspect, especially given the points above in #1.

3) It doesn't take 10+ incidents to be considered a disaster. Having two of these in just the past month alone could already be costing RCI plenty...and that doesn't even count the class action lawsuit filed by a couple of passengers for the first case.

 

Having traveled to the NJ/Philly area for more than 20 years - I'm quite aware of the weather issues in that region during winter months. These are not fluke conditions.

 

So...just last week...after a meeting was done on a totally unrelated topic...about 15 people who live there...began a conversation based on "Did you hear about that cruise ship damaged from the storm?" I just listened.

 

Some of their comments (none mine) included:

 

"That cruise line must be nuts to have any cruises leave from this area in the winter - it's always a travel pain just to move around in this area in winter - what were they thinking".

"Yeah...stupid planning for sure"

"I feel bad for the passengers, but also for the captain and crew that had to deal with those conditions and all those angry passengers".

"You have to wonder who dropped the ball to let them leave in the first place."

"I hear the lawyers are already involved...so it's probably gonna end up costing them a chunk of money".

"Yet another reason not to cruise".

 

Those were just a few samples. Since I had been taking meeting notes anyway...it took little effort to jot down those comments - remembering that they were from people who live in the area and within an hour or so of Bayonne.

 

There are already plenty of posts in various threads discussing plans to cancel Bayonne port winter cruises. So it's not my own views (although I happened to be thinking the very same things that others just said out loud).

 

Of course there will always be 2 different "sides" to this topic. In that regard, it is refreshing to be able to have an adult "conversation" without getting insulted or demeaned - so I appreciated your post specifically.

 

In the end, RCI's view - the only one that will matter in the long run - will drive what does or doesn't happen in the future.

[Baron Barracuda]

My memory is a little fuzzy, but I believe Royal agreed to permanently place a Q class ship in Bayonne as a condition for obtaining municipal funding for the Port Liberty upgrade. So I don't think she's going anywhere.

 

Also, with regard to sailing from NJ in the winter, if Royal cared about passenger comfort why did they sail Explorer from NJ all these winters when I don't believe she even has an enclosed pool. Over the years they had plenty of opportunities to swap her out of NJ for another Voyager class ship like Mariner that definitely has one. Moot point now.

[villauk]

Well it looks like she's staying in NJ as the UK site that's listing the European deployment for next year is also showing Anthem's itineraries ;). I wanted a New England cruise on a similar August date to this year, unfortunately it's listing a Bermuda & Caribbean itinerary instead :(. So she's not going anywhere soon.

Edited February 29, 2016 by villauk

[JMG]

Many years ago we had booked a cruise out of Florida and Hurricane Wilma really ripped the crap out of southern Florida. We were booked on the Enchantment. The Enchantment cruise was cancelled and the ship was deployed to Cozumel Mexico to offer medical care and transportation to Americans that were stranded in Cozumel as well as some supplies for the locals. (Carnival also sent a ship to Cozumel)

 

We rearranged our flights and flew to Tampa prior to hearing that the cruise was cancelled. We were given compensation and offered a cruise on Majesty...needless to say, many cruisers could not get to FLL/Miami at that time. We had a great time. Post cruise our hotel in FLL was closed and we had to go to Orlando for our post cruise vacation.

 

A few weeks ago ships did not stop at Labadee because of protests by the locals...the protests ended and the ships returned to Labadee.

 

So....stuff happens EVERYWHERE!

 

We have cruised on Celebrity and RCI many times out of Bayonne during the winter months and the Atlantic has been as smooth as glass. People actually fly from Florida to NY/NJ to cruise out of Bayonne!

 

It is unfortunate that 2 cruises within a few weeks of each other have had problems but I really do not see RCI moving out of Bayonne.

[nelblu]

Thank you for your post, especially since it was done with an opposing view but also posting respect. A few others could learn from your example. People can disagree without insults or demeaning others. I do sincerely mean thank you.

 

As requested, let me respond to your multiple points:

 

1) I do believe that having Bayonne as a Caribbean destination port from Dec - Mar is indeed a mistake...and for more than 1 reason. Wasting nearly 3 days just to get to & from the Caribbean area - because of the farther starting point - seems foolish. Even more questionable is the need to pack (clothing) for both winter and summer weather on any cruise. Then there's the known travel nightmares and winter storms in that area. Finally, there's the higher costs of air travel, hotels, and cruise itself.

2) By placing a newer/larger ship in the Bayonne home port, the financial and publicity risks tied to a 5,100 passenger newer/more expensive ship just gets amplified. If existing ships were doing the job, expansion is suspect, especially given the points above in #1.

3) It doesn't take 10+ incidents to be considered a disaster. Having two of these in just the past month alone could already be costing RCI plenty...and that doesn't even count the class action lawsuit filed by a couple of passengers for the first case.

 

Having traveled to the NJ/Philly area for more than 20 years - I'm quite aware of the weather issues in that region during winter months. These are not fluke conditions.

 

So...just last week...after a meeting was done on a totally unrelated topic...about 15 people who live there...began a conversation based on "Did you hear about that cruise ship damaged from the storm?" I just listened.

 

Some of their comments (none mine) included:

 

"That cruise line must be nuts to have any cruises leave from this area in the winter - it's always a travel pain just to move around in this area in winter - what were they thinking".

"Yeah...stupid planning for sure"

"I feel bad for the passengers, but also for the captain and crew that had to deal with those conditions and all those angry passengers".

"You have to wonder who dropped the ball to let them leave in the first place."

"I hear the lawyers are already involved...so it's probably gonna end up costing them a chunk of money".

"Yet another reason not to cruise".

 

Those were just a few samples. Since I had been taking meeting notes anyway...it took little effort to jot down those comments - remembering that they were from people who live in the area and within an hour or so of Bayonne.

 

There are already plenty of posts in various threads discussing plans to cancel Bayonne port winter cruises. So it's not my own views (although I happened to be thinking the very same things that others just said out loud).

 

Of course there will always be 2 different "sides" to this topic. In that regard, it is refreshing to be able to have an adult "conversation" without getting insulted or demeaned - so I appreciated your post specifically.

 

In the end, RCI's view - the only one that will matter in the long run - will drive what does or doesn't happen in the future.

 

So, your conclusion from this board is that no cruise ships, whether RCL, Carnival or NCL. should be cruising from the NYC/Baltimore area to the Carib. in the winter months (knock out Aug-Oct. because of hurricanes). So how do you explain the last 20+ years. There were complaints about Explorer OTS on this board, but no-one suggested that RCL should abandon NJ for the winter.

 

I took my 1st cruise out of Bayonne, which is just 25 minutes from my house, because of the new ship "Quantum". Took a 12 niter cruise on the Quantum last Feb. Yeah, it was cold when we left and when we arrived. However, I got 7 beautiful sunny and warm nights for the same price as a 7 niter out of FL or San Juan.

 

FYI, sailed Oasis on Feb. 6, '16 and FLL was a bit chilly and Nassau, the next day, was rainy, damp & cold and many paxs were wearing winter coats and heavy sweaters/sweat shirts. My favorite port to cruise is San Juan, as when you land it's 80+ and some will worry about too many latinos on ships.

[cruisinfanatic]

So, your conclusion from this board is that no cruise ships, whether RCL, Carnival or NCL. should be cruising from the NYC/Baltimore area to the Carib. in the winter months (knock out Aug-Oct. because of hurricanes). So how do you explain the last 20+ years. There were complaints about Explorer OTS on this board, but no-one suggested that RCL should abandon NJ for the winter.

 

I took my 1st cruise out of Bayonne, which is just 25 minutes from my house, because of the new ship "Quantum". Took a 12 niter cruise on the Quantum last Feb. Yeah, it was cold when we left and when we arrived. However, I got 7 beautiful sunny and warm nights for the same price as a 7 niter out of FL or San Juan.

 

FYI, sailed Oasis on Feb. 6, '16 and FLL was a bit chilly and Nassau, the next day, was rainy, damp & cold and many paxs were wearing winter coats and heavy sweaters/sweat shirts. My favorite port to cruise is San Juan, as when you land it's 80+ and some will worry about too many latinos on ships.

sounds like cruisefan thinks there should be no ships leaving from any ports that might have bad weather. There goes Florida from June through November because of hurricane season. And no more Balt, NJ, and NY from November though at least April because... it's cold? That leaves May for all of us to cruise. Can't wait

[Toddcan]

Cruisefan0001, I think you missed my point.

 

I was suggesting that these things you are pointing out:

• 2 recent cruises affected by weather
  
• overhead conversations from people on the street
  
• lawsuits
  
• etc
  

 

Are all part of the left hand side of my graph - ie, not representative of the overall picture.

 

But... we could likely argue back and forth all day with opinions and conjecture. So, let's look at the FACTS- which can be summarized by TWO questions:

1. How many cruises in the past 10+ years out of the NJ area sail less than full?
   
2. How many cruises in the next 10+ years out of the NJ area will sail less than full?
   

 

If the ships continue to sail full - then there is your answer. It's not a mistake.

If the ships do not sail full - and the cruiselines are forced to pull out of NJ - then that also is an answer.

 

I have an idea of which one is the case.