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My question is what line besides HAL has a ship that would fit into St. George's, and would be likely to offer sailings from the US East Coast to Bermuda? I can't imagine any of the more premium lines (Azamara, Oceania, Regent or even the smaller Princess ships) being interested in weekly service for the summer. So could you see Costa with one of their smaller ships (Romantica, Classica, Allegra, Europa, Azzura)? Could the any of the smaller MSC four-some of ships fit in (Lirica, Opera, Armonia, Sifonia)? Can anyone think of another ship / line?
I'll take it, these are nice ships, I like MSC and I like Bermuda.
quote:Originally posted by jetwet1:I don't see MSC heading that way, my thought's would be Celebrity with some of the older tonnage.
(2008-2009 are the only years in Celebrity's history with no Bermuda cruises, they were operated from 1990-2007 and will be again from 2010.)
MSC is operating its first New York-based cruises in autumn 2010 (a series of Canada/New England cruises with MSC MAGNIFICA). MSC has made a lot of noise in the past about being interested in New York and it is selling this short deployment of MSC MAGNIFICA as a prelude to something more.
Add to that that it is specifically St. George's that has been mentioned here, and MSC has some of the few ships that will fit there but not in Hamilton, and I think it is fair to say that MSC is the company being referenced.
quote:Originally posted by jetwet1:I will bow to your greater knowledge on this one, but I don't see this as an MSC type port if you get what I mean.
The demographic of the passengers.
MSC with their pricing seems to be aiming for a more mass market type cruise, I just don't see there being a mass market for 5 days on Bermuda. Yes MSC has the smaller ships that can dock at the ports, but I am not sure that they could fill the ship to start with.
Hence my feeling with Celebrity. To me Bermuda is a more "upscale, older" destination, HAL fits tis perfectly.
quote:Originally posted by jetwet1:Hence my feeling with Celebrity. To me Bermuda is a more "upscale, older" destination, HAL fits tis perfectly.
But NCL is as mass market as it gets and has been consistently on the NYC-Bermuda run for, it must be close to 20 years now.
I actually think MSC would have a chance to pick up the people who used to go to Bermuda on Celebrity (some of whom used to go Home Lines before that) ... except that Celebrity is back.
Well I guess that blows my theory out of the water lol
quote:Originally posted by jetwet1:You know what, while I was typing that last night, I had a nagging thought that a mass market line went there, but I couldn't remember it and didn't have time to do a search.Well I guess that blows my theory out of the water lol
2010 will be a year with a lot of competition on this run, 7-night cruises on NORWEGIAN DAWN, SUMMIT and VEENDAM and 5-night cruises (but not every week) on EXPLORER OF THE SEAS. VEENDAM is the only one on the "traditional" run to Hamilton and St. George's, the others having to berth at King's Wharf because of their size, but I do expect Celebrity to do well given the very, very loyal following it built up on the NYC-Bermuda market. I would think a lot of people are happy to have Celebrity back here.
This is really the toughest competition we have had in this market for a long time. If 2011 looks like 2010 it would be perhaps the worst time ever for MSC to try to crack this market, with more capacity than there has ever been before.
Anyway, all this interest in Bermuda does make me happy. I was thrilled to hear about VEENDAM though I am less so now seeing what has been done to her in her recent refit. (Ugh.) For me it will never quite be the same as when we had many ships leaving every week from Manhattan to Hamilton (none of this Bayonne to King's Wharf nonsense!), but it is a hell of a lot better than 2008-2009 with just EXPLORER OF THE SEAS (intermittently) and NORWEGIAN DAWN.
Now, if only Celebrity had stuck it out with AZAMARA JOURNEY, that would have been ideal. I suspect they would actually do better in Bermuda (but under the Celebrity banner, please - nobody knows or cares what Azamara is) than they are in Europe (which is to say, very poorly). And the ships are perfect for this run. Just the right size, not overloaded with kids, the flexible dining scheme is perfect for this itinerary with many overnights in port....
Of course if we could tempt Princess back with one of its "R" ships that would please me too, though IMO not doing flexible dining on these is just silly (they were designed for it, after all - how odd to be the only ships in the fleet that don't have it!) and would be even more so on that itinerary.
With the entry into service of all the new tonnage for Celebrity and the clear upgrade that it is, it does kind of leave Azamara hanging out there in the wind. Now with all the new tonnage coming on line, could the Azamara ships be folded back into Celebrity and be used for the smaller ports that these new big ships can't get into.
I am thinking Bermuda and the Amazon.
I always hoped that Celebrity would give the Horizon class (designed for Bermuda) a major overhaul and keep them on the run.
R Class ships are a great size. I don't think Pricess' return to Bermuda with one of theirs is that far-fetched as bigger ships are deployed in Europe and the South Pacific.
Wonder if Costa Classica or Romantica would fit into Hamilton since they are a similar size to Veendam?
I even remember when I 1st started doing the NYC to Bermuda run....Royal Viking LIne, Royal Viking Sea I beleive would leave on weekly cruises along with RCI's Nordic Prince and then Song of America. Such great memories.
But it is an exciting time for Bermuda and the NYC run again. I too think that Azamara would be a great addition I remember she did fairly well during the startup year from nyc/bayonne.
What really would be good is if RCI swaps the Explorer with the Liberty (or some other Freedom class ship) and Princess come to Bermuda with one of their "R" ships so they can call at the small ports. NCL should have the Jewel or Pearl take over the Dawn's Bermuda run and have the Dawn do Caribbean cruises from NYC in the summer. These lines need to spice it up a bit!
[ 06-26-2009: Message edited by: Trish ]
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