MrB

I would agree with this. New(ish) to cruising, only used RCI to date, great experiences. Due to timing, itinerary, and maybe wanting to see what's out there, we booked a cruise on Princess. The website experience there is muuucchh better. We can plan all our activities, extras (food, drink, others), and excursions from one step-by-step page after booking. The room details, invoicing, and payments page is clear and available.
Princess had to change ships - new one not finished yet, due to "things" in the last year or so. They rebooked us just fine, but our cruisin' buddies were relocated pretty far away. Telephone service was great, rebooked everything in one call. Note: RCI telephone service has always been great when we have had to use it. I would call that about even.
Still love RCI, especially as they are big in our home port of Port Canaveral. Princess is Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale), which is further away.

American has a flight in and out of Charlotte, which is their Southeastern US regional hub.

Finally, I still  favor Celebrity's Millennium class ships for a number of reasons. They still feel smallish and intimate. They still look like nautical, sea-going vessels on the outside and retain an intimate feel on the inside. For a while, Celebrity maintained the specialty dinning option that was born on the Century class ships: Replicas of the dinning rooms featured on SS France, United States and Normandy. Those are long gone, again, sadly.
 

I'm sure that being on the ship will be fantastic, but I'm not in love with any of the Quantum / Ultra ships.
The Odyssey of the Seas new extremely large name livery on the starboard side screams billboard, rather than "I'm so classy, you known who I am." More than other classes, these ships look like a low barge with a sideways high-rise hotel on the top. Yes, this is the trend and there are some very good reasons why this is the case, but there is a proportions problem with the boat part and the hotel part. Some other cruise lines have this problem and make it worse by painting the lower boat section a different color than the hotel section. For reference, take a look at Carnival Mardi Gras. So I will concede that the RC all-white livery does help  it in this regard. Always has. The back end looks kind of weird and boxy in a bad way. Sort of looks like the back of a container ship.  I'm sure that some folks love, love, love, the design of these ships as the cutting edge and the future of cruising. I get that. Right now, I might like sailing on it, but I'm not loving looking at it.

The US has had a precipitous drop in February from the crazy January. But.. those numbers have leveled off, and actually look like there might be one more spike before the vaccine numbers start to take over. That leveling off started about 10 to 14 days ago. I'm hoping we can avoid that spike, but it's looking like that's gonna happen. 
Yes, there is some optimism to be had here, but we need to be watchful  and accept that there will be setbacks, both major and minor.
I process the county-by-county numbers in the US everyday (I'm a data nerd) and have since  I found my good CSV source in April 2020. It looks better now than it has since the summer of 2020. My issue presently is that in the counties that I pay particular attention to, including the county in which I reside, there has not been as drastic a reduction in cases in comparison to, say, Los Angeles or even other local surrounding counties. This recovery is not as wide-spread as the cumulative numbers suggest. That leaves some room for a resurgence.
 
 

The US has had a precipitous drop in February from the crazy January. But.. those numbers have leveled off, and actually look like there might be one more spike before the vaccine numbers start to take over. That leveling off started about 10 to 14 days ago. I'm hoping we can avoid that spike, but it's looking like that's gonna happen. 
Yes, there is some optimism to be had here, but we need to be watchful  and accept that there will be setbacks, both major and minor.
I process the county-by-county numbers in the US everyday (I'm a data nerd) and have since  I found my good CSV source in April 2020. It looks better now than it has since the summer of 2020. My issue presently is that in the counties that I pay particular attention to, including the county in which I reside, there has not been as drastic a reduction in cases in comparison to, say, Los Angeles or even other local surrounding counties. This recovery is not as wide-spread as the cumulative numbers suggest. That leaves some room for a resurgence.
 
 

Not sure airplanes are a good comparison since planes have to be aerodynamic, but I digress.
There are absolutely a few ugly ships out there, NCL Epic as an example. But I disagree there's any reason to believe today's ships will not age well.  Like I said earlier, I think we just get used to it.

I did the first t/a when "EPIC" was brand new even though she is "UGHH-LEE!" But their suite program was ahead of it's time and we had one of the best cruises of our lives in one of their forward-facing "owner's suites." 
 
Still loyal though with over 80% of my cruises being with Royal ?

I'm with you. My old favorite just left the fleet - Majesty of the Seas.

I understand the perspective - but Odyssey isn't nearly as "boxy" as some of the MSC or even the new Virgin Scarlet Lady when viewed from an aft aspect.   Scarlet Lady has a pretty rectangular derrière.  That's a hotel on a barge.
 

I've thought this as well. I've been on the Anthem and have trips scheduled on the Ovation & Odyssey but still prefer the Oasis Class and Freedom/Voyager class. I think the Freedom/Voyager class ships are most aesthetically pleasing in the fleet.

I'm sure that being on the ship will be fantastic, but I'm not in love with any of the Quantum / Ultra ships.
The Odyssey of the Seas new extremely large name livery on the starboard side screams billboard, rather than "I'm so classy, you known who I am." More than other classes, these ships look like a low barge with a sideways high-rise hotel on the top. Yes, this is the trend and there are some very good reasons why this is the case, but there is a proportions problem with the boat part and the hotel part. Some other cruise lines have this problem and make it worse by painting the lower boat section a different color than the hotel section. For reference, take a look at Carnival Mardi Gras. So I will concede that the RC all-white livery does help  it in this regard. Always has. The back end looks kind of weird and boxy in a bad way. Sort of looks like the back of a container ship.  I'm sure that some folks love, love, love, the design of these ships as the cutting edge and the future of cruising. I get that. Right now, I might like sailing on it, but I'm not loving looking at it.

I would say it is a bit scary to go on these ships. I personally like to have all the amenities that a modern ship can offer but at the same time, I tend to like ships with a human size, meaning a place where I don't feel overwhelmed. I understand that RCL build its ships based on their demographics but at least they have ships with reasonable sizes for us to enjoy.

I'm sure that being on the ship will be fantastic, but I'm not in love with any of the Quantum / Ultra ships.
The Odyssey of the Seas new extremely large name livery on the starboard side screams billboard, rather than "I'm so classy, you known who I am." More than other classes, these ships look like a low barge with a sideways high-rise hotel on the top. Yes, this is the trend and there are some very good reasons why this is the case, but there is a proportions problem with the boat part and the hotel part. Some other cruise lines have this problem and make it worse by painting the lower boat section a different color than the hotel section. For reference, take a look at Carnival Mardi Gras. So I will concede that the RC all-white livery does help  it in this regard. Always has. The back end looks kind of weird and boxy in a bad way. Sort of looks like the back of a container ship.  I'm sure that some folks love, love, love, the design of these ships as the cutting edge and the future of cruising. I get that. Right now, I might like sailing on it, but I'm not loving looking at it.

For us.. we have to buy a ship magnet.. I know its dumb.. but we have to litter the Fridge with them lol 
 

Michael Bayley just announced the retirement of Empress of the Seas and Majesty of the seas will be leaving the fleet.  I wonder if Vision of the Seas is next?

Yeah, this is a dream itinerary for us. We live 40 minutes away by car, and our cruising buddy is even closer - 15 minutes away from the port. We were thinking pre-pandemic about leaving out of Baltimore or Cape Liberty, but we aren't even considering any cruising that entails flying. Not until everything is figured out. Luckily for us, Port Canaveral, Tampa, and Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale) are easy morning-of-cruise drives. Miami is juuuust that much farther that we normally don't consider it.
This is not a short cruise. RCI's other Bermuda itineraries are 5 and 6 day.
There are several (<10) Port Canaveral - Bermuda cruises listed now. 

Yeah, this is a dream itinerary for us. We live 40 minutes away by car, and our cruising buddy is even closer - 15 minutes away from the port. We were thinking pre-pandemic about leaving out of Baltimore or Cape Liberty, but we aren't even considering any cruising that entails flying. Not until everything is figured out. Luckily for us, Port Canaveral, Tampa, and Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale) are easy morning-of-cruise drives. Miami is juuuust that much farther that we normally don't consider it.
This is not a short cruise. RCI's other Bermuda itineraries are 5 and 6 day.
There are several (<10) Port Canaveral - Bermuda cruises listed now. 

Took a quick look at these to see what ships are in play, saw that Mariner has a surprising option -- an 8-night Bermuda & Perfect Day sailing, from Orlando, sailing on just one date. I don't think I've ever seen an option to go to Bermuda from Florida before, always had to leave from NJ. And it's not an open-jaw or repositioning cruise, it's round-trip.

6 positves out of a very small ship of 100ish total people. That's pretty bad. Anyone thinking about getting on a boat with 2500 passengers (50% capacity of a big boat) and 1300 or so crew is pretty much taking a huge risk. Even with testing. 
What we need now is complete capitulation until a) this Northern hemisphere winter wave recedes AND b) a vaccine is in place and distributed to enough people to start knocking down the infection rate, not just protecting those that have the vaccine. Both of those things look like it would take until at least 3rd quarter of next year, possibly longer. 
If cruising at scale is started up too early, it will be forced to be stopped again, this time until everything is completely worked out. So patience and capitulation is the key.

We live quite near Port Canaveral (Orlando) and have gone on four Royal Caribbean cruises so far. Not the most experienced cruisers in the world, for sure. 
Royal  Caribbean has been a fantastic introduction to cruising. We loved leaving the house, driving less than 45 minutes total door to door, parking the car in the port garage overlooking the boat, and getting on the boat in about an hour from leaving. Shockingly good experiences all the way around. We are smaller boat fans (Majesty and Enchantment) because we look for simpler, calmer trips. Basically an hotel room that moves around on beautiful water. I can't tell you how well RC does this.
Here comes the "but...". Everything out of Port Canaveral ends up in Coco Cay and Nassau. We are getting to be not fans. As we are local to Florida, and not coming from a colder climate, we don't neccessarily need to bake in the sub-tropical sun, as we can literally do that in our backyard. We actually have to wear lots of protection against the sun on a daily basis1.This is not a knock at all on Coco Cay. It is great and fulfills its purpose very well. Nassau is, well, Nassau.
I know that RCG really needs to pay off Coca Cay and that it works unbelievably well at an Orlando adjacent port. Absolutely understand why they can't chase our particular needs. Just very sorry to see RCG go for now. It was an amazing introduction to cruising. Thank you.
We looked at a Carnival itinerary out of Canaveral, going to the Amber Cove (DR) and Grand Caicos. But then we saw a detailed ship tour video of the selected ship, the Carnival Elation. Oh my gosh, it was a horror show. Bad Vegas meets Scary Clown. So glad I caught that before booking. There is a big difference in style - not in good way for Carnival - between RCI and Carnival. Very coarse decorations, not sleek, and bars everywhere.
Ended up on  a Princess Cruise on a yet-to-be-delivered boat  (Discovery Princess) that is an out-and-back from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Caicos with a full cruising day on each side. Looking at Princess boat tours online, it's crazy to think that there is any connection whatsoever to Carnival. So now we have to drive almost 3 hours  (oh, the horror ! I know, I know) to get anything that makes sense for us now.
We always check for new itineraries out of Port Canaveral, but everything is private Island and Nassau on shorter trips, which is where we are until full retirement.
 
1 - Addage I heard from my doctor about living in Florida when looking for lesions on my nose: "If there's water, it's got alligators. If there's a bump on your nose, it's skin cancer". Right on both accounts at our house.

We live quite near Port Canaveral (Orlando) and have gone on four Royal Caribbean cruises so far. Not the most experienced cruisers in the world, for sure. 
Royal  Caribbean has been a fantastic introduction to cruising. We loved leaving the house, driving less than 45 minutes total door to door, parking the car in the port garage overlooking the boat, and getting on the boat in about an hour from leaving. Shockingly good experiences all the way around. We are smaller boat fans (Majesty and Enchantment) because we look for simpler, calmer trips. Basically an hotel room that moves around on beautiful water. I can't tell you how well RC does this.
Here comes the "but...". Everything out of Port Canaveral ends up in Coco Cay and Nassau. We are getting to be not fans. As we are local to Florida, and not coming from a colder climate, we don't neccessarily need to bake in the sub-tropical sun, as we can literally do that in our backyard. We actually have to wear lots of protection against the sun on a daily basis1.This is not a knock at all on Coco Cay. It is great and fulfills its purpose very well. Nassau is, well, Nassau.
I know that RCG really needs to pay off Coca Cay and that it works unbelievably well at an Orlando adjacent port. Absolutely understand why they can't chase our particular needs. Just very sorry to see RCG go for now. It was an amazing introduction to cruising. Thank you.
We looked at a Carnival itinerary out of Canaveral, going to the Amber Cove (DR) and Grand Caicos. But then we saw a detailed ship tour video of the selected ship, the Carnival Elation. Oh my gosh, it was a horror show. Bad Vegas meets Scary Clown. So glad I caught that before booking. There is a big difference in style - not in good way for Carnival - between RCI and Carnival. Very coarse decorations, not sleek, and bars everywhere.
Ended up on  a Princess Cruise on a yet-to-be-delivered boat  (Discovery Princess) that is an out-and-back from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Caicos with a full cruising day on each side. Looking at Princess boat tours online, it's crazy to think that there is any connection whatsoever to Carnival. So now we have to drive almost 3 hours  (oh, the horror ! I know, I know) to get anything that makes sense for us now.
We always check for new itineraries out of Port Canaveral, but everything is private Island and Nassau on shorter trips, which is where we are until full retirement.
 
1 - Addage I heard from my doctor about living in Florida when looking for lesions on my nose: "If there's water, it's got alligators. If there's a bump on your nose, it's skin cancer". Right on both accounts at our house.

We live quite near Port Canaveral (Orlando) and have gone on four Royal Caribbean cruises so far. Not the most experienced cruisers in the world, for sure. 
Royal  Caribbean has been a fantastic introduction to cruising. We loved leaving the house, driving less than 45 minutes total door to door, parking the car in the port garage overlooking the boat, and getting on the boat in about an hour from leaving. Shockingly good experiences all the way around. We are smaller boat fans (Majesty and Enchantment) because we look for simpler, calmer trips. Basically an hotel room that moves around on beautiful water. I can't tell you how well RC does this.
Here comes the "but...". Everything out of Port Canaveral ends up in Coco Cay and Nassau. We are getting to be not fans. As we are local to Florida, and not coming from a colder climate, we don't neccessarily need to bake in the sub-tropical sun, as we can literally do that in our backyard. We actually have to wear lots of protection against the sun on a daily basis1.This is not a knock at all on Coco Cay. It is great and fulfills its purpose very well. Nassau is, well, Nassau.
I know that RCG really needs to pay off Coca Cay and that it works unbelievably well at an Orlando adjacent port. Absolutely understand why they can't chase our particular needs. Just very sorry to see RCG go for now. It was an amazing introduction to cruising. Thank you.
We looked at a Carnival itinerary out of Canaveral, going to the Amber Cove (DR) and Grand Caicos. But then we saw a detailed ship tour video of the selected ship, the Carnival Elation. Oh my gosh, it was a horror show. Bad Vegas meets Scary Clown. So glad I caught that before booking. There is a big difference in style - not in good way for Carnival - between RCI and Carnival. Very coarse decorations, not sleek, and bars everywhere.
Ended up on  a Princess Cruise on a yet-to-be-delivered boat  (Discovery Princess) that is an out-and-back from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Caicos with a full cruising day on each side. Looking at Princess boat tours online, it's crazy to think that there is any connection whatsoever to Carnival. So now we have to drive almost 3 hours  (oh, the horror ! I know, I know) to get anything that makes sense for us now.
We always check for new itineraries out of Port Canaveral, but everything is private Island and Nassau on shorter trips, which is where we are until full retirement.
 
1 - Addage I heard from my doctor about living in Florida when looking for lesions on my nose: "If there's water, it's got alligators. If there's a bump on your nose, it's skin cancer". Right on both accounts at our house.

GOT IT, GET IT, GOOD! Don't want the hassle of shopping and getting ready for a at home Thanksgiving day,,,,,,likely safer on a ship than family and friends coming over. 

The Cuban government contracted a 3rd party to expand the port capabilities before the travel ban imposed by the US.
Global Ports Holding had plans to increase the Havana port to six berths by 2024.  
https://www.globalportsholding.com/ports/17/la-habana-cruise-port
Global Ports Holding has also contracted with the Bahamas to upgrade the Nassau port facilities.  They are also involved with Antigua's port expansion.   
Given Cuba's history with both foreign and domestic land owners it wouldn't make sense for anyone to build their using their own money.