2 stops at Coco Cay???

[Tanner]

I see they have discontinued the sailings that stop at Perfect Day twice within the same sailing (winter 2022/2023).  It's likely safe to say when cruises resume they will call on Perfect Day a bunch so ships probably can't go there twice otherwise it would be overloaded.  With that said if Covid weren't a thing was there any indiction that those sailings were received well?  I can appreciate some liking that idea and some thinking it's a horrible idea but for somebody who has to fly for every cruise getting a chance to check out Perfect Day twice while only booking one flight would have been really nice.  

Looking for any feedback from those that did that sailing or especially feedback from anyone who might have some insight regarding the decision not to continue/possibly do it again in the future.

[twangster]

I'm not sure anyone who participates here or on any cruise forum will know why a cruise lines makes the choices they do.  

One can speculate that when a ship visits twice there may have been a tendency to purchase an excursion or activity for one visit but then purchase nothing for the other visit and enjoy a free beach day.  I don't know if that is the case but I could see some people taking this approach.

Perfect Day at CocoCay has been immensely popular so it could be as simple as maximizing the number of itineraries that include Perfect Day at CocoCay which will increase cruise bookings overall compared to having a handful of cruises that stopped twice.  

Royal appears to be increasing the availability of cruises that are 4 and 5 night duration from Florida. All three Freedom class ships will be Florida next winter.  They may be trying to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay from Galveston or Tampa more frequently.  Between all the changes it could be they are consuming more time slots for Perfect Day at CocoCay so there isn't availability to accommodate itineraries with double stops.  

 

 

[dr martini]

I've been thinking about this a lot as well.  Speculation is certainly one thing, but there are some hard data points and things we can reasonably observe and I always appreciate your well informed takes on the cruise industry.  The short cruise trend really jumps out to me as combination of the Nav/Mariner experience from the past few years combined with the lessons of COVID/the singapore cruises to nowhere, you have to think if RC had a leased, controlled space like CoCo near that route they would take advantage as a way to lengthen cruises and generate more revenue/brand loyalty/etc, all good things for the bottom line and their shareholders. 

RC has these upgraded ships and the pricing/occupancy percentages from the past few years out of FL shows that demand is very high among southeastern US residents (people who have low travel to costs, people who like the sea and the beach vibe, people who have second homes down south or family friends nearby etc etc).  We can tell by their moves that they would rather run these full ships with days at sea, to their island and to the bahamas with who they have a close (and getting closer) relationship instead of putting more assets into week long/other runs out of San Juan or Galveston or wherever else, who knows how long virus restrictions and breakouts will continue to be a very real concern for any island nation.

FL easier to resupply/maintain the ships, easier to train and exchange crew, easier to come back home if there is an issue relating to basically anything, COVID or not.  And thus, the older, not amped voyager class ships will be last to be put back into full service while brilliance has tampa and the barbados gamble is, well, a gamble.  They learn from it and we'll all pay close attention to how that goes and how they progress there.

In a way it's almost a reboot of the cruise industry, where several of the older smaller ships that were just divested/sold/scrapped were initially for the short cruise 'try it out' and 'treat yourself' market.  That's pretty clearly the RC bet on the near term future of what their return to business model looks like.

[Dad2Cue]

I don't know about two stops at CocoCay since I haven't been there even once yet.  I have booked a future 5-day cruise on Mariner that has only two stops ---  Labadee and CocoCay.  I like that idea and that's why I booked the cruise.  I could see doing a 7-day cruise that included Labadee and CocoCay and maybe any other port that will accept the ship.  I don't mind sea days so it would be fine with me.  I have been to Labadee three times and I like it there. 

I like cruises that stay overnight for two days too. I think Royal did some overnights at CocoCay at one time which didn't sound too bad.  Maybe the water park one day and chill the next. That might be an option while ships are being slowly phased in.

[gabeb848]

I have an Oasis cruise planned in June, do you think that if they don't allow Cape Liberty cruises, then they will move it to Florida, and take a stop at Labadee?

[JasonOasis]

20 hours ago, gabeb848 said:

I have an Oasis cruise planned in June, do you think that if they don't allow Cape Liberty cruises, then they will move it to Florida, and take a stop at Labadee?

If cruising has resumed in the U.S. by June and if the Oasis is fully crewed and ready to resume cruising is there a reason why you believe Cape Liberty could remain closed? 

[gabeb848]

22 minutes ago, JasonOasis said:

If cruising has resumed in the U.S. by June and if the Oasis is fully crewed and ready to resume cruising is there a reason why you believe Cape Liberty could remain closed? 

Yeah, its right next to NY, and they'll probably be the last state to open up, but ig Cape Liberty is technically in NJ.