RC out of NY

[RCVoyager]

This is just my opinion, and I  know there are risks, as unlikely as they may be, and I'm a huge proponent of Royal Caribbean.  But, I think RC needs to figure out what's going on with the Anthem out of New York.  There may be 20,000,000 people within easy driving distance of that port, and it makes it easy to fill up the ship every week.  This is twice this year that the Anthem has steamed right into a big storm.  Something needs to change, or they will get some people hurt or killed out there.  

[Matt]

No route is without its risks (Caribbean this time of year is ripe with them), but I do believe the media makes this seem like a MUCH bigger problem than it is.  I definitely do think Atlantic storms are a concern and should not be ignored, but there is no route that will always be sunny skies and calm seas.

[RCVoyager]

I agree with you about the fact there is risk everywhere.  The Mid Atlantic gets both Hurricane Season and Winter Storms.  To me the big thing is the fact there is only one direction the ship can go, especially in Winter, out of the Mid Atlantic.  You have to go South, sure you can deviate from directly South to Southeast and then South, but on a one week cruise you are going South in all but a few situations.  If you go out of Florida, New Orleans, or even Galveston you have choices of direction and can change the itinerary to account for weather.  I had some friends on the Carnival Dream out of New Orleans during the past storm.  They were scheduled to go to Key West and the Bahamas.  They ended up at Cozumel and Central America and had no problems with weather.  You can't do that out of New York.

[Matt]

Cruises out of NY can go south to Caribbean, southeast to Bermuda or north to Canada.  Obviously some of those destinations are not feasible year-round.

 

Historically, NYC was a summer port but in recent years, cruise ships have sailed more often from there because storms that could completely block a cruise are fairly rare (despite what the media wants you to believe) and ships post-2000 are significantly more adept at navigating rough waters than every before.

 

I don't agree about your assessment of where ships can go in all ports.  Many hurricanes can easily block the path for cruise ships.  For example, if a storm sits around Florida Keys/Cuba, that effectively blocks eastern Florida from the Gulf.  Ships will not use up extra fuel to go all the way around the storm to the extreme south.  Like NYC, it's rare for this to happen and because storms typically move quickly, there is usually some wiggle room for staying in one port for a day or two to let it pass. 

 

I guess what I'm saying is that you cannot say RC should not sail from NYC because there could be a big storm in the area but at the same time ignore the hurricane risk in the Caribbean.  I would need scientific data to back this up, but I would wager there are more significant storms in the Caribbean over the course of a year than NYC/North Atlantic.

[CruiseLifeRick]

Put me on the Anthem any time of the year.  I absolutely love the ship and I am elated that we get her year-round.  Any cruise is a dice roll...heck we had a hurricane form in January this year.  

 

Well debated, Hoch!  

[KLA]

Put me on the Anthem any time of the year.  I absolutely love the ship and I am elated that we get her year-round.  Any cruise is a dice roll...heck we had a hurricane form in January this year.  

 

Well debated, Hoch!  

 

I can't wait to try Anthem next year! 

[RCVoyager]

I'm not disagreeing with any of you.  If I had the opportunity to sign up the the Anthem in the heart of hurricane season or the dead of winter, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  If I was paying and making the decisions, I'd choose a different departure port. Both of these storms were coming from the South, which is usual in both the fall and winter.  Both times the ship was scheduled to go South.  Once they didn't change the itinerary and went through the storm.  Once they did change the itinerary, and still went through the storm.  Several years ago, my brother and sister-in-law went through the eye of a hurricane near Halifax when the port closed ahead of their arrival and the cruise line (Seabourne) had no choice but turn and face it.

 

But, when you are in New York, given the path of most of these storms, and the general direction of travel (I don't think they would change an itinerary to Nova Scotia in January), it's a matter of time until there is a problem.  As mentioned previously, my friends sailed out of New Orleans the week Hermine hit.  They were scheduled to go to Key West and the Bahamas.  That would have been trouble.  They went to Cozumel and Central America and other than plans made for ports, their trip was flawless.  You're ability to do that out of New York is clearly diminished, and as they've shown twice in the past year, problems do arise.  Not only do problems arise, but how will the public react the first time RCCL cancels a cruise out of caution?

 

That's my only point.  They have probably 20,000,000 people within driving distance of that port...maybe more.  It's probably not hard to sell that ship out every week without having to discount much at all.  In my opinion, they will continue to have dust ups and could eventually have to deal with a real situation.  Again, it's all my opinion.

 

I guess the other side of the coin is that when my family went through the hurricane (Hortense (spelling?)) nobody died, there were no major injuries, and they received a free cruise out of it.  In the end, my family did ok.  I guess RCCL will do the same when/if something like that happens.

[CruiseLifeRick]

I can't wait to try Anthem next year! 

 

You and Nicci are going to have a great time.  I'm pumped for you.