Radiance 2009/10 South America Cruises Canceled; How Do You Cruise in Tough Times?

[Dan Askin]

Is Royal Caribbean pulling its ships back home to the United States? Two days after Carnival announced that they were yanking Carnival Liberty from Europe -- they cited the economy for the move -- RCI has said they're cancelling Radiance of the Seas' 2009-2010 South America cruises.

The South America season was originally scheduled to run from November 21, 2009 through March 7, 2010. Instead, Radiance will homeport in San Diego during that period (actually a slightly longer period: September 2009 through May 2010) and offer a bunch of Mexican Riviera cruises (24 4- to 12-night cruises).

If you're booked on one of Radiance's previously scheduled South America cruises, you'll be given the chance to rebook an earlier South America cruise on the same ship from November 23, 2008 through February 1, 2009 and February 28, 2009 through April 26, 2009 (subject to availability and at the prevailing rate). The line is also throwing in onboard credits of $200 per standard stateroom and $400 per suite for those who rebook.

The 2,112-passenger, 90,090-ton Radiance of the Seas is one of Royal's more "average" size offerings -- and yet, was it still too large to fill a more "exotic" South American cruise? Were the costly flights to Valparaiso or Buenos Aires simply too much? Royal has publicly stated that with the lagging economy, the overall number of new bookings has fallen dramatically.

Just as with Carnival, the tough economy may be forcing Royal Caribbean to change the way they operate -- i.e. staying close to home. How about the way you book your cruise?

Take our poll and add your two cents about cruising in a deteriorating economy.

[KeywestK]

Everything in life, including how we vacation, is choices--and personal, depending on our finances and what our priorities are. My husband I are fortunate enough to be able to take one "big" (although that definition will certainly vary from person to person) vacation a year, plus one or two smaller ones thrown into the mix. For me, the vacation of choice is always a cruise. My DH, fortunately for me, will usually go along with this. So, during tougher economic times we look for cruises that are less expensive, especially since we usually have to factor in airfare, hotels, pre- and/or post-cruise add on time, those kinds of things. For '09 we're combining a 4-nt Bahamas cruise with some time in Florida. In '10, we're flying out to CA for a 7-nt MexRiv cruise with some added on time in San Diego. Hey, I still dream of going back to Europe and doing a Mediterranean cruise, but with the cost of overseas airfare plus the decline of the dollar against the Euro, well that's just not going to happen anytime soon. So, the long and the short of it is we adapt and make the appropriate choices. I am not willing to give up my love of cruising. But I am willing to alter how I might be making those cruise choices.

 

Karen

[Cuizer2]

Your pole is too focused on cruising. If I want to do something really expensive, then I just save for it. So the economy has not influenced my vacation habits. I put away some money every paycheck in a special account that I tap when the need arrises, including paying for cruises. I have been doing this for years, and have enough saved up to support my vacation needs. And even as I tap into this account to pay for one vacation, I am still saving for the next one.

[terri23]

I would have said "keep on cruisin' - I won't change a thing" but I was booked on one of the cancelled Radiance South America cruises. So I have to change whether I want to or not. :mad: Their "offer" was unusable by those of us who booked - and still wanted - a holiday cruise for December '09.

[nanfromatlanta]

Luckily, had been able to take at least one cruise and one All Inclusive vacation each year. This year, due to the economy, we are only taking our holiday cruise. I watched the airfares daily for at least 4 months, waiting for a bargain. As soon as the airfare dropped, I booked the flight and the cruise. I had hoped at that time that we would get some sort of price drop for the cruise. Never did I think that I would be able to take advantage of four price drops within a two month period. Those price drops gave me over $1,000.00 back to my credit card. :D

 

I am using hotel points for our pre-cruise stay, and thus far, we have only booked one shore excursion.

 

We have really tightened our belts due to the economy, and have not yet given any serious thought to booking a vacation after this one. :(

 

I am waiting to see how the economy affects our pocketbook next year, and what type of vacation we can comfortably afford.

[Dan Askin]

I would have said "keep on cruisin' - I won't change a thing" but I was booked on one of the cancelled Radiance South America cruises. So I have to change whether I want to or not. :mad: Their "offer" was unusable by those of us who booked - and still wanted - a holiday cruise for December '09.

 

As in rebooking for this upcoming season of South America cruises? What are your plans now terri? Another line? Land-based vacation?

[Lynnees]

I had wanted to do a South American cruise however air was the real issue not the cost of the cruise.

[terri23]

Dan - we booked the same holiday dates on the reverse itin (Valparaiso - BA whereas Radiance was BA - Valparaiso) on Celebrity Infinity. RC refused any OBC or price protection as was offered to those who could cruise SA this season (cruise air is $800 more on Infinity :eek: and the cruise fare is considerably higher as well). The cruise air increase really gets me...they should have honored our original price since the cancellation was their idea, not ours! We're trying to look at this, our first cruise on X, as an adventure. But unfortunately, in addition to the wallet damage, we'll miss the perks of RC diamond cruising and the beauty of the Radiance class ships. So we still aren't 100% committed to Infinity. Plenty of time to change our minds....

[carlabob]

It had been our plan to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary with some type of European cruise in 2009. We identified a particular 15 day repo cruise w/HAL out of New York as quite appealing; however....the one way air back to the States was and is outrageously priced. The cruise is within the budget we set for ourselves, however, the air just can't be justified. We also looked at R/T air and several cruises departing from the continent as well as land based vacations w/R/T air, but in the end, opted for a 14 day Southern Caribbean for at least half the cost of the European cruise & flight w/air. The deal we received offered so much more value for the money, that we couldn't justify the expense of either the cruise or the land based vacation. (....could be that my 401K is suddenly worth a fraction of it's former value & that scared some sense into me....).

 

Are we disappointed....no, not really. Even though Europe was the preferred destination for our anniversary cruise, we simply could not justify the cost. Do we have the funds to do it...yes...but, that's not the point. I'm sure we're not alone, so I'm not surprised that cruiselines are eliminating cruises that are not selling to their expectations. As more people come to the realization that their investments have dwindled and the future of economic recovery is uncertain, my prediction is that we'll see some further decline in cruise pricing, strategic itinerary changes and less inclination by the consuming public to spend as easily as they have over the past several years.

 

We're still cruising, but not with total abandon when it comes to cost.

[mek]

quote=Cuizer2 Your pole is too focused on cruising.

 

 

Well, this is Cruise Critic.

[nkd_jimbo]

The economy is not effecting me because I'm not loosing any cashflow because my job is steady. And I am in a field not effected by the slower economy, I'm fortunate that way. With gas going down I have a little more money. I always budget for a vacation so I'm going to look for deals. Maby I can get a second vacation with a last minute deal. We're going to Europe next year, and with the Euro inching closer to the dollar we may want to stay a couple of extra days.

JJ

[suziehmkr]

We did change some plans recently.... we were booked on a Southern itinerary out of San Juan on the Serenade. But the uncertainty of the way airfare would look at that time (late 2009) caused us to rethink our plans and are now traveling from Florida. We will get there someday - just not this time. :)

[Cuizer2]

quote=Cuizer2 Your pole is too focused on cruising.

 

 

Well, this is Cruise Critic.

 

Yes, but there are other ways cruisers can cut back besides cruise related expenses, and the pole did not allow for that.

[FL_Cruiser64]

Everything in life, including how we vacation, is choices--and personal, depending on our finances and what our priorities are. My husband I are fortunate enough to be able to take one "big" (although that definition will certainly vary from person to person) vacation a year, plus one or two smaller ones thrown into the mix. For me, the vacation of choice is always a cruise. My DH, fortunately for me, will usually go along with this. So, during tougher economic times we look for cruises that are less expensive, especially since we usually have to factor in airfare, hotels, pre- and/or post-cruise add on time, those kinds of things. For '09 we're combining a 4-nt Bahamas cruise with some time in Florida. In '10, we're flying out to CA for a 7-nt MexRiv cruise with some added on time in San Diego. Hey, I still dream of going back to Europe and doing a Mediterranean cruise, but with the cost of overseas airfare plus the decline of the dollar against the Euro, well that's just not going to happen anytime soon. So, the long and the short of it is we adapt and make the appropriate choices. I am not willing to give up my love of cruising. But I am willing to alter how I might be making those cruise choices.

 

Karen

 

Just like every other thing, patience and shopping. I locked up airfare to Europe for 09 at $660 pp roundtrip which is not bad at all. I pay more going from Florida to Alaska.

 

The Dollar also gained against the Euro in the last 6 months.

 

I would not cancel European plans, you may regret it one day. ;)

[romnan]

I think we all need to realize and admit that the times we are living in is something very few of use have encountered. Isn't ironic that we are discussing making choices about an activity that most people cannot relate to.:eek:

 

I feel very fortunate that I have paid for my 02/09 cruise on the Freedom and I am under deposit for the Oasis. Yeah I guess I am really toughing it out:D

[skandls]

We are planning on doing one 'big trip' per year. And for our other travel we will watch for 'bargain' cruises. One of the perks of being retired (nonemployed) is we are much more flexible with our travel plans. So the number of cruises we take will be determined by cruise price and transportation costs to the embarkation/debarkation ports.

 

Our 'big' trip for 2010 was going to be the Radiance Mardi Gras cruise to Rio and Buenos Aires. So we need to plan something else.

[celle]

Is Royal Caribbean pulling its ships back home to the United States? Two days after Carnival announced that they were yanking Carnival Liberty from Europe -- they cited the economy for the move -- RCI has said they're cancelling Radiance of the Seas' 2009-2010 South America cruises.

 

The South America season was originally scheduled to run from November 21, 2009 through March 7, 2010. Instead, Radiance will homeport in San Diego during that period (actually a slightly longer period: September 2009 through May 2010) and offer a bunch of Mexican Riviera cruises (24 4- to 12-night cruises).

 

If you're booked on one of Radiance's previously scheduled South America cruises, you'll be given the chance to rebook an earlier South America cruise on the same ship from November 23, 2008 through February 1, 2009 and February 28, 2009 through April 26, 2009 (subject to availability and at the prevailing rate). The line is also throwing in onboard credits of $200 per standard stateroom and $400 per suite for those who rebook.

 

The 2,112-passenger, 90,090-ton Radiance of the Seas is one of Royal's more "average" size offerings -- and yet, was it still too large to fill a more "exotic" South American cruise? Were the costly flights to Valparaiso or Buenos Aires simply too much? Royal has publicly stated that with the lagging economy, the overall number of new bookings has fallen dramatically.

 

Just as with Carnival, the tough economy may be forcing Royal Caribbean to change the way they operate -- i.e. staying close to home. How about the way you book your cruise?

 

Take our poll and add your two cents about cruising in a deteriorating economy.

 

We were booked on Radiance's repo cruise of 21 Nov 2009 (San Diego to Santiago) and on the following cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires.

 

We were notified 3 weeks ago that RC was cancelling these cruises, and offered the chance to re-book on the 2008-2009 South America cruises, at their current rate. We could not do this because: a) None of the offered dates were compatible with our current plans (clashed with another RC cruise we are taking) b) The itineraries were not the same as we had booked c) The prices offered were higher than the prices for the cruises we originally booked d) There was no longer a cruise tour to Iguassu Falls, which we had booked. In other words, RC did not offer us a true choice and any alternative cruise we did take would have cost us more.

 

We have asked to have our deposits credited towards the RC cruise we are still taking, and to have the on board credits transferred to this cruise also. Three weeks and counting - so far, we have not heard one further word from RC. No refund of our deposit, no response whatsoever.

 

The first S. America cruise has been removed from our bookings on the RC web site (RC removed it before contacting us to say it was cancelled), but the second cruise is still listed there.

 

I think RC has dropped the ball here, and are at sixes and sevens about what they are doing. We are committed to the next cruise, but will definitely not be booking cruises beyond that until the cruise lines themselves get out of panic mode.

[NantahalaCruiser]

Dan - we booked the same holiday dates on the reverse itin (Valparaiso - BA whereas Radiance was BA - Valparaiso) on Celebrity Infinity. RC refused any OBC or price protection as was offered to those who could cruise SA this season (cruise air is $800 more on Infinity :eek: and the cruise fare is considerably higher as well). The cruise air increase really gets me...they should have honored our original price since the cancellation was their idea, not ours! We're trying to look at this, our first cruise on X, as an adventure. But unfortunately, in addition to the wallet damage, we'll miss the perks of RC diamond cruising and the beauty of the Radiance class ships. So we still aren't 100% committed to Infinity. Plenty of time to change our minds....

 

Best of Luck - at least Celebrity will honor your RC diamond level on Celebrity

[albertiger]

It's POLL people, POLL!:D (unless you're a stripper!;) )

[Minoushka]

I feel the crunch twice ..Our poor Canadian dollar getting hit again when it was supposed to be at par or over as "experts "predicted by DEc 08 ..YEAH RIGHT!!!I'm glad I did not believe it and bought US$$ when the rate was good

I just got my Visa bill for Jan cruise -BINGO 400$ more then expected with plunge of $$$.

Thank God I got a price reduction just before ..however my other ones on Carnival due in DEC.are going to HURT!!!!

The problem now is airfare ..RIDICULOUS ...For my Jan cruise Jetblue has changed my flights 4 times ...they call and leave a recorded message but so far changes are still OK in my schedule .

I bought that one in May ...prices were good ..now they are OUTRAGEOUS over 800$ to FLORIDA from Montreal .NUTSO!!!

So we have to drive 2.5 hours to BURLINGTON Vermont but now their prices too are going up up up

I wanted to do a TRansat.-Ncl Rci etc but AIR was TWICE the cruise -especially 1 way

That is outrageous .PLus the EURO makes visiting sites WAY too expensive ..50 Euros for a cab to hotel from airport is 100$..how are we supposed to visit anything at these prices and who wants to scrimp and calculate every penny on vacation....NO FUN ...

 

CRUISE LINES NEED TO PURCHASE AIR AND MAKE CRUISING AIR INCLUSIVE AT A MUCH CHEAPER RATE OR SHIPS WILL REMAIN EMPTY

 

As far as South America is concerned some of the visa prices are OUTRAGEOUS .Is it true Brazil visa is over 200$ pp? My brother who has been there told me it is VERY dangerous and advised me to only go with ship excursions ..and we all know how pricey they are!!!!

I was really tempted by one around the horn for this winter ..Airfare was

1500$ pp WOW ! plus I needed at least 1 day prior to cruise so hotel and food and other expenses needed factoring in .Also the fact some places were not safe kinda discouraged me...

 

Unfortunately travelling will soon only be for the very rich ...as it was in the past ...something has too give...Perhaps cruise lines will make all inclusive cruises that would include cruisefare,air and a selection of excursions at a relatively reasonable price ...now that would work

 

Perhaps a fixed price and a selection of shore excursions included .I;m positive that would work....like a European bus tour "all inclusive"except its from a cruise ship... I would definitely be tempted by that . Of courses a variety of shore excursions would have to be available to accommodate all passengers but I am sure this is feasable as there are loads of tour operators in Europe who would love the business

 

I've even suggested to a Carnival VP to take a ship to Hawaii for the summer -lots of families,teachers and other people with school type vacations could do these 2 week cruises out of LA INSTEAD of Carib or Europe

WE loved ours plus it was all in $$$ so no conversion.WE did ours on Princess but no other ship replaced Regal which was sold to Australia .We would do this cruise again...

 

I really believe cruise lines need to sit down and replan their options or they are going to have a lot of EMPTY megaships to sail.I would suggest they do so quickly to counteract this downward spiral .No passengers means no on board revenue and that is not a sound business option .How will RCI fill up Oasis once the novelry of that ship wears out ????I predict that will take less then 12 months ....then what???Will these ships sail half empty???

Companies cannot fill up regular ships now What will happen to megaships ????

 

LAtely on a regular basis lately I am offered Holiday cruises -Xmas and New Years at ridiculous prices ..I could not take advantage of as I am already committed but have passed on to other family members .It upsets I bought my cruise 1 year ago ...won't do that again!!!! This time I will wait

My ship is not full for Jan so I am hoping for Upgrade and OBC.

 

Well that's my opinion ...I hope someone with the cruise companies reads this and acts upon it

Until Then

Happy sailing to all

 

Michele

[ellbon]

I am lucky enough i can cruise at least twice a year. it is not the cruise price but the airfare i look at plus the hotel to stay in.

 

So i save money for cruises, use miles for airfare and still try to stay in the hotel i want to stay in.

 

To me it is all about saving your money like cruizer2 and enjoying your life now..

[barbie5401]

what will happen with the passport requirement. Does anyone know if you won't need a passport if you leave from Florida and return to florida. Issues in obtaining the passport have prevented us from getting it - not because we don't want to spend the $$:( We cruise about 4x a year, even with the eco. you can always find a deal somewhere.:rolleyes:

[Maraprince]

Unfortunately for everyone no one expected the economy to tank. The cruise lines kept building bigger and bigger ships and kept raising their base prices.

 

Air lines have always been in direct competition with cruise lines so don't expect them to lower prices unless they suffer from a drop in passengers. They learned something that the cruise lines have yet to learn. Airlines are making sure their flights go out full. They have cut service and switched to smaller planes to ensure full flights.

 

Passengers have responded by not flying if they can avoid it to save on the high cost. You also have to consider the hotel price along with food and sightseeing costs for coming in a day earlier added to the air fare. Most times, this is more than the cruise fare!

 

Homeports will become more important than ever. Cruise lines can no longer count on foreign passengers to fill up their ships since both the Euro and the pound have declined vs. the US dollar. This affects the way passengers spend their money and where they travel. If you go to SA or Europe, you also need to take shore excursions since most of the time you are 2-3 hours out of the main cities. This is not the case going down to the Caribbean or up to Canada which passengers are able to do on their own. Shore excursion pricing is high and if you have to pay for 3-4 people, you will not be taking many of them.

 

It is not just the cruise fare but everything that comes along with it. Passengers will go where the best prices are. So unless the cruise lines want empty ships, they need to reassess the base pricing and how much it will cost to get to the port and offer more incentives for passengers to book with them.

 

Cruise lines have already seen the change in passenger spending by the decrease in bookings for the more exotic destinations. It would not surprise me to see a return to the smaller ships that can fit without tendering in any port and are easier to fill.

 

MARAPRINCE

[seacruiserml]

We just got back from a 7 night MED cruise on Splendour of the Seas. Was very surprised by the # of Americans on the ship. We booked our airfare way before the economy went south and got a fairly good deal. We chose to only book 2 shore excursions and use the Rick Steves books as our tour guides (which worked out well). Luckily I am able to take advantage of the concierge club so we have most of our cocktails there for free. Also, by booking onboard you get a shipboard credit and we used it wisely. We also received a ship board credit from our TA which helped. Since I am diamond plus, I chose the bottle of wine as my complimentary ammenity. Fortunately for us by the end of the trip the dollar grew stronger against the Euro so it didn't hurt quite so much.

[Neefy]

With all the major cruise lines withdrawing to the other side of the pond, we Brits. are to be faced with the excessive air fares plus overnight add ons and for what? One boring Caribbean Island after another!