DCL has tentative bookings at Honolulu Harbor in 2012!

[Andrew DEREK UK]

If these are just repositioning cruises on either end of the Alaska season, they will likely be very popular and pricey - just as the Panama Canal cruises were in 2005 and 2008. I don't think I'll be lining up for this itinerary.

Due to commitments to LA port, I think out of LA, they have a contract with minimum no of calls there. IE on 7 night cruises circa 50% of year, so Hawaii will be 12/14 nights, depends if round trip, so LA based,

Maybe one out, another back and you can book B2B.

Via Mexico and sea days to Hawaii then port intensive. and vis versa.

 

[Hygiene99]

If these are just repositioning cruises on either end of the Alaska season, they will likely be very popular and pricey - just as the Panama Canal cruises were in 2005 and 2008. I don't think I'll be lining up for this itinerary.

Our 14 day cruise May Repo 2005 Cost $2100.00
Think 2k with ship board credit not pricey at all!
they learned from 05 to 08 and jacked up prices!
Best deal we ever got.... and Best cruise we have been on!


Peter

 

[NancyIL]

Due to commitments to LA port, I think out of LA, they have a contract with minimum no of calls there. IE on 7 night cruises circa 50% of year, so Hawaii will be 12/14 nights, depends if round trip, so LA based,

Maybe one out, another back and you can book B2B.

Via Mexico and sea days to Hawaii then port intensive. and vis versa.

Or - LA to Hawaii via Ensenada, Mexico. Then Hawaii to Vancouver at the start of the Alaska cruise season. Reverse at the end of the Alaska cruise season.

 

[NancyIL]

Our 14 day cruise May Repo 2005 Cost $2100.00
Think 2k with ship board credit not pricey at all!
they learned from 05 to 08 and jacked up prices!
Best deal we ever got.... and Best cruise we have been on!


Peter

If you were fortunate to get first tier pricing, you got a good deal. I recall the prices on the Panama Canal repo cruises going up hourly. I booked the 2008 WB cruise at first-tier pricing (and eventually cancelled it) - but most people paid a lot more.

Was your price $2100 per person or total? What category cabin? If it's per person for an inside cabin, then I don't think that's a good price.

 

[clten]

Boy that would be an out of the way stop from LA to Vancouver. They would really be burning a lot of fuel just to get from point A to point B.
Unless they are planning other Hawaiian stops, seems like they would be running the engines at full power for many extra days.

I am wondering if there is more to this story

I think the "more to the story" will be the other port calls on the itinerary. (But may not find out anytime soon, DCL doesn't like working with ports that leak their plans).

If you look at other cruiselines that reposition ships to Alaska, this is a fairly common repositioning cruise. The dates work with it being one cruise to get the Wonder up to Vancouver and one back. Repositioning cruises are not popular in general (airfare is usually higher to fly into one city and out of another, more sea days - which are a plus for some, negative for others). So cruiselines try to make the itineraries as special as possible to attract cruisers.

 

[NancyIL]

I think the "more to the story" will be the other port calls on the itinerary. (But may not find out anytime soon, DCL doesn't like working with ports that leak their plans).

If you look at other cruiselines that reposition ships to Alaska, this is a fairly common repositioning cruise. The dates work with it being one cruise to get the Wonder up to Vancouver and one back. Repositioning cruises are not popular in general (airfare is usually higher to fly into one city and out of another, more sea days - which are a plus for some, negative for others). So cruiselines try to make the itineraries as special as possible to attract cruisers.

LA to Vancouver is common. LA to Vancouver via Hawaii would need to be two cruises.

 

[TDC Nala]

Best deal we ever got.... and Best cruise we have been on!

Me, too.

Mine was somewhere around that much for a Cat. 7 navigators verandah.

 

[NancyIL]

I checked to see how Princess does their Hawaii cruises. The Royal Princess will do one 10-night repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu on Sept. 14, 2010 after the summer in Alaska: http://www.princess.com/find/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=1022&trade=H

The Golden Princess does 14-night roundtrips from Los Angeles with a stop in Ensenada, Mexico: http://www.princess.com/find/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=5034&trade=H

 

[clten]

LA to Vancouver is common. LA to Vancouver via Hawaii would need to be two cruises.

Doesn't need to be 2 cruises, just a 2 week cruise -- not unusual for DCL repositioning cruises. Here is one of HAL's repo for this fall:

02 Oct 2010 Vancouver, B.C., CA 03:00 PM
03 Oct 2010 At Sea
04 Oct 2010 At Sea
05 Oct 2010 At Sea
06 Oct 2010 At Sea
07 Oct 2010 Hilo, Hawaii, US Noon 11:00 PM
08 Oct 2010 Lahaina, Hawaii, US TR 08:00 AM 11:00 PM
09 Oct 2010 Honolulu, Hawaii, US 08:00 AM 11:00 PM
10 Oct 2010 Nawiliwili Kauai, Hawaii, US 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
11 Oct 2010 Kona, Hawaii, US TR 08:00 AM 04:00 PM
12 Oct 2010 At Sea
13 Oct 2010 At Sea
14 Oct 2010 At Sea
15 Oct 2010 At Sea
16 Oct 2010 At Sea
17 Oct 2010 San Diego, California, US 07:00 AM

 

[gaylean93]

If you were fortunate to get first tier pricing, you got a good deal. I recall the prices on the Panama Canal repo cruises going up hourly. I booked the 2008 WB cruise at first-tier pricing (and eventually cancelled it) - but most people paid a lot more.

Was your price $2100 per person or total? What category cabin? If it's per person for an inside cabin, then I don't think that's a good price.

We went in 2008 on the EB and it was 4000.00 for an inside cabin for four of us. I think it is less than $70 a day per person. It seemed reasonable to me. I know the new ones are more though.

 

[mermster]

I am hoping for something that works with the kiddos school schedule because I really want on a disney Hawaii cruise.

Me too! Anyone have thoughts on time of year Disney would do the Hawaii cruise?

 

[NancyIL]

wrong button!

 

[NancyIL]

Doesn't need to be 2 cruises, just a 2 week cruise -- not unusual for DCL repositioning cruises. Here is one of HAL's repo for this fall:

02 Oct 2010 Vancouver, B.C., CA 03:00 PM
03 Oct 2010 At Sea
04 Oct 2010 At Sea
05 Oct 2010 At Sea
06 Oct 2010 At Sea
07 Oct 2010 Hilo, Hawaii, US Noon 11:00 PM
08 Oct 2010 Lahaina, Hawaii, US TR 08:00 AM 11:00 PM
09 Oct 2010 Honolulu, Hawaii, US 08:00 AM 11:00 PM
10 Oct 2010 Nawiliwili Kauai, Hawaii, US 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
11 Oct 2010 Kona, Hawaii, US TR 08:00 AM 04:00 PM
12 Oct 2010 At Sea
13 Oct 2010 At Sea
14 Oct 2010 At Sea
15 Oct 2010 At Sea
16 Oct 2010 At Sea
17 Oct 2010 San Diego, California, US 07:00 AM

True, but DCL would make more money by turning it into two cruises! I was looking for the port stop in Mexico, but it doesn't need it to go from Canada to US. It's also a LOT of sea days.

 

[NancyIL]

Me too! Anyone have thoughts on time of year Disney would do the Hawaii cruise?

If it's a repo cruise before and after Alaska, it will be in May and September - as the article said.

 

[smeecanada]

here is the quick quote from the honolulu star advertiser article.

although a disney spokesman wouldn't comment on any of the company's cruise itineraries beyond 2011, the state department of transportation confirmed that disney has tentative bookings at pier 2 in honolulu harbor in may and september of 2012.

Aloha!

 

[smeecanada]

Med ports have been booked for some time now for 2010, 2011, 2012, but with a revamp in 2011 and sales falling a bit, I think, they will consider alternatives.

Would be nice of them to do an alternate itinerary in the MED to enable a
B2B. It's just so far and expensive for us to consider going for a 7 night cruise.

 

[NancyIL]

Would be nice of them to do an alternate itinerary in the MED to enable a
B2B. It's just so far and expensive for us to consider going for a 7 night cruise.

True - although a 7-night cruise gives you time to see more of Europe on land pre and/or post-cruise.

 

[morgan98]

I think NancyIL is headed in the right direction with this one. Although it is possible to do a two week marathon cruise with 8 or 9 sea days, I think it is a more realistic to divide it into two cruies. One from LA with a stop in Mexico and then sail onto Hawaii and make several stops around the islands...probably 11 nights or so.

Then the next cruise would be like the repositioning cruise I did back in 2003 on the Vision of the Seas (RCCL). We did two pre-cruise days in Oahu. It was an 11 night cruise. The itinerary was as follows:

Day 1: Honolulu (Oahu)
Day 2: Lahaina (Maui) Overnight
Day 3: Lahaina (Maui)
Day 4: (Kauai)
Day 5: Hilo (Hawaii)
Day 6: Kona (Hawaii)
Day 7: At Sea
Day 8: At Sea
Day 9: At Sea
Day 10:At Sea
Day 11:At Sea
Day 12; Vancouver, BC

Fabulous experience. However, the 5 days at sea in the middle of the Pacific Ocean were a little spooky....

 

[NancyIL]

I think NancyIL is headed in the right direction with this one. Although it is possible to do a two week marathon cruise with 8 or 9 sea days, I think it is a more realistic to divide it into two cruies. One from LA with a stop in Mexico and then sail onto Hawaii and make several stops around the islands...probably 11 nights or so.

Then the next cruise would be like the repositioning cruise I did back in 2003 on the Vision of the Seas (RCCL). We did two pre-cruise days in Oahu. It was an 11 night cruise....

Disney will have a RESORT in Hawaii, and they will want people to spend time there before or after their cruise! It would be stupid from a business standpoint to have two long repositioning cruises between Vancouver and Los Angeles without a stop in the middle for those who want to stay at their resort.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

True, but DCL would make more money by turning it into two cruises! I was looking for the port stop in Mexico, but it doesn't need it to go from Canada to US. It's also a LOT of sea days.

There's a reason why no cruise lines offer cruises that begin in Los Angeles and end in Honolulu (even with a brief stop in Ensenada, Mexico).

It's illegal under US law.

Foreign-flagged ships are not allowed to carry passengers on one-way voyages between two US ports, unless the ship stops at a "distant foreign port," as defined be the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) of 1886.

Ensenada is not a "distant foreign port."

Hawaii cruises on foreign-flagged ships usually follow one of two models:

1. Roundtrips from California with a stop in Ensenada. (If the cruise begins and ends at the same US port, it has to go to a foreign port, but not to a "distant foreign port.") Such cruises take around two weeks.
2. One-way cruises (in either direction) between California and Vancouver, via Hawaii. Typically, this serves the purpose of repositioning a ship, while providing a more compelling itinerary than a simple cruise along the Pacific coast. Such cruises also take around two weeks.

One-way cruises between Florida and California are legal because they stop at a "distant foreign port."