Why You Might Drive To Your Next Cruise
The fear of flying (combined
with a reluctance to spend money in a weakened economy) is keeping
travelers off airplanes as well as cruise ships. In an effort to
make cruising more appealing and accessible to those afraid to get
on an airplane, most cruise lines are pulling ships from Europe and
other parts of the world and repositioning them in places closer to
home such as Caribbean and North American destinations.
Drive and Cruise
The cruise industry is about
to begin a marketing campaign touting cruises as safe, easy, and a
good way to see the world without getting on an airplane. Cruise
lines are increasing the number of shorter cruises leaving from
ports that are within a half-day's drive of U.S. households. The
move is clearly a strategic one, as closer-to-home itineraries with
round-trips from U.S. ports will decrease the need for and expense
of air travel.
Itinerary Changes
So, where
might you drive to your next cruise? The 2002 changes (as of October
25, 2001) are listed below.
Carnival Cruises
- MS Holiday: Instead of sailing the Caribbean from San
Juan, PR, she will move to her new homeport of New Orleans and
sail the Western Caribbean year-round.
Celebrity Cruise
Lines
- Constellation: Celebrity's newest vessel, to be
delivered in April 2002, will have several itinerary changes.
Originally scheduled to sail from Rome and Barcelona on eastern
Mediterranean cruises in May, she will now sail on several western
Mediterranean cruises departing from Barcelona only. In June and
August, she will reposition to Dover for Baltic sailings. From
mid-September through mid-October, she will return to Barcelona
for more western Mediterranean cruises. In mid-October, she will
head for her homeport of San Juan, PR, for Caribbean
sailings.
- Mercury: Previously scheduled to sail Baltic and
Mediterranean cruises from Copenhagen and Barcelona, the ship will
now sail a South American itinerary. In April, she will sail two
Panama Canal cruises between San Diego and Miami. Then, in late
May, she will head to Vancouver for summertime Alaska
cruising.
- Millennium: Previously scheduled to sail between
Barcelona and Istanbul on eastern Mediterranean cruises, she will
now remain in Ft. Lauderdale and cruise the
Caribbean.
Costa Cruises
- mv CostaVictoria: Instead of sailing her Caribbean
itinerary planned for mid-November, the ship will operate western
Mediterranean and Canary Islands sailings.
- mv CostaTropicale: Instead of sailing from Venice in
the spring and summer of 2002, Costa's newest ship will sail
western Mediterranean cruises.
Cunard Line
- Caronia: Itineraries for March and April, which were
originally scheduled for the Suez Canal, have been changed to the
Panama Canal. In late April, she will sail a transatlantic cruise
from Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton.
Holland America
Line
- ms Amsterdam: The 100-day Grand World Voyage has
been re-routed to South Africa and South America from the Middle
East, Holy Land, and Mediterranean. Instead of cruising her
previously scheduled European itinerary, she will cruise the
Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale.
- ms Noordam: She will now sail the western Mediterranean
instead of her planned eastern Mediterranean itineraries.
- ms Prinsendam: Instead of her scheduled Mediterranean
itineraries, the ship will offer a new West Africa cruise from
Lisbon to Cape Town, followed by a new cruise from Cape Town to
Mumbai. From Mumbai, the ship will resume her originally scheduled
southeast Asia and Australia/New Zealand itineraries.
- ms Rotterdam: Instead of her 10 spring Panama Canal
itineraries between Ft. Lauderdale and Puerto Caldera, this ship
will sail on two Panama Canal cruises and eight new Caribbean
cruises departing Ft. Lauderdale. In the fall, the ship will offer
cruises from New York to Ft. Lauderdale. In November and December,
she will sail round-trip Caribbean itineraries from Ft.
Lauderdale.
- ms Ryndam: In the fall, the ship will offer new
seven-day Sea of Cortez and Mexican Riviera cruises instead of her
scheduled South America cruises.
- ms Zaandam: Instead of cruising the southern Caribbean
from Ft. Lauderdale in the fall, she will sail from her new
homeport of Port Canaveral on an eastern Caribbean
itinerary.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
- S/S Norway: Originally scheduled to leave NCL in
November to join parent company Star Cruises' fleet, she will now
remain with NCL for another year and will sail year-round from
Miami on an eastern Caribbean itinerary.
- Norwegian Sky: Instead of only sailing an eastern
Caribbean itinerary from January through March, she will alternate
between eastern and western Caribbean.
- Norwegian Sun: Originally scheduled to sail in the
Mediterranean from May through October, she will cruise the
Caribbean instead.
Orient Line
- Crown Odyssey: Instead of sailing slated itineraries in
the Mediterranean and Suez Canal, the ship will operate grand
voyages in Africa and the East to altered ports. The ship will
sail from Barcelona to Singapore, by way of Mombasa, Cape Town,
and other ports-of-call in the region.
- Ocean Voyager: Orient Line's newest vessel was
scheduled to join the fleet in May 2002; however, she will not be
delivered until Spring 2003.
Princess
Cruises
- Pacific Princess: Originally scheduled to sail Africa
and Holy Land cruises, Princess' oldest ship will be withdrawn
from service from November 2001 through May 2002 when she will
resume sailings to Bermuda. Pacific Princess will leave the
fleet as scheduled in October 2002 when she is delivered to her
new owners.
- Royal Princess: Instead of a world cruise and
Mediterranean sailings, she will sail Panama Canal cruises from
Ft. Lauderdale.
- Sea Princess: Originally scheduled to sail the southern
Caribbean in the summer, she will sail the Mexican
Riviera.
- Sun Princess: The vessel will sail on a series of
Mexican Riviera cruises between September 27, 2002, and January
15, 2003, and again from March 26, 2003, to April 25, 2003. She
will also offer two round-trip voyages from Los Angeles to Hawaii
on January 25, 2002 and March 11, 2002, and will sail on two
Panama Canal voyages between Los Angeles and Ft. Lauderdale on
February 9 and 24, 2002.
- Regal Princess: Originally scheduled to sail Europe,
she will sail round-trips to Alaska from May through September.
After her Alaska season, Regal Princess will sail a series
of Asia/South Pacific/Australia cruises. She will sail throughout
the Pacific through April 2003, instead of her previously
scheduled Canada/New England, Panama Canal, and Amazon River
sailings. In mid-April 2003, she will offer two Asia sailings from
San Francisco.
- Golden Princess: This ship's popular "Grand
Mediterranean" itinerary has been revised for summer 2002. The
ship will now travel between Barcelona and Venice and will include
several new ports-of-call.
Radisson Seven Seas
Cruises
- Seven Seas Navigator: The vessel's world cruise from
Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale has been modified. Instead of
sailing around the Middle East, the ship will now sail from India
to the Seychelles and Madagascar, also making calls in South
Africa, Namibia, and St. Helena before crossing the Atlantic to
Rio de Janeiro and other South American and Caribbean
ports.
- Song of Flower: Originally scheduled to cruise the
Middle East and Asia, she will be taken out of service until May
2, when she begins her European season.
Royal
Caribbean
- Legend of the Seas: The ship's November 3, seven-night
sailing has been modified. Originally scheduled to sail from
Barcelona to Athens, she will instead sail round-trip from
Barcelona with stops in other western Mediterranean ports-of-call.
The ship's November 10 sailing, departing from Athens for Dubai,
has been cancelled. The ship's November 24 sailing departing from
Dubai to Singapore, has also been cancelled. Legend of the
Seas will resume her normal sailing schedule on December 7,
when she departs Singapore for Sydney.
- Brilliance of the Seas: Originally scheduled to sail in
the Mediterranean, Royal Caribbean's newest ship (which enters
service in July 2002) will sail cruises to Scandinavia and Russia
and to the British Isles and Norwegian Fjords. She will then
reposition in Boston for New England and Canada cruises in
September and October 2002.
- Grandeur of the Seas: The ship, originally scheduled to
sail seven-night Eastern and Western Mediterranean cruises from
Barcelona and Rome, will instead sail seven-night Mexican Riviera
cruises from May through September 2002. In October, she will then
reposition in New Orleans to begin her planned seven-night Western
Caribbean sailings.
- Rhapsody of the Seas: Originally scheduled to sail in
Northern Europe, the Baltic, the British Isles, Canada, and New
England, she will now finish her originally scheduled seven-night
western Caribbean sailings from New Orleans in March 2002 before
repositioning in Galveston for seven-night Western Caribbean
cruises.
- Splendour of the Seas: Originally scheduled to sail
from Southampton to European itineraries, and from Venice to the
Greek Isles, she will sail from Barcelona on seven-night western
Mediterranean cruises from late-April through October
2002.
Royal Olympic Cruises
- Olympia Voyager: The vessel will call Houston her
homeport in 2002 to sail the Caribbean and Central America year
round.
Seabourn Cruise Line
- Seabourn Sun: The vessel's farewell world cruise,
departing from San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale on January 9, has
canceled her sailings through the Red Sea, Suez Canal, and
Mediterranean Sea. Instead, the ship will sail from Mumbai across
the Indian Ocean, visiting Seychelles and Mauritius.
- Seabourn Spirit: The ship will reposition from her
winter itineraries in southeast Asia to Alaska via China, Japan,
and Korea. Following the Alaska season, the ship will return to
Asia by the reverse route.
Silverseas
Cruises
- Silver Wind: Now in scheduled dry dock, the vessel will
be removed from service throughout 2002.
- Silver Cloud: Originally, the ship was scheduled to
sail the Far East and South Pacific in 2002. Instead, she will
take over the Silver Wind's Europe, South Africa, and
Americas itineraries.
Windstar Cruises
- Wind Surf: After more than a decade abroad, Windstar
Cruises returns to the U.S. The cruise line has bumped up the
launch of her Florida Keys and Bahamas cruises by two months to
begin Ft. Lauderdale round-trip sailings on January 13, 2002. The
Wind Surf's Bahamian season has been extended to 12
seven-day round-trip voyages until the end of
March.
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