Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A simple request: more West Coast/Pacific Northwest Cruises ... please?


Dear Carnival/Celebrity/HAL/Norwegian/Princess/Royal Caribbean:

I am sending you all this simple plea although I realize I have more chance of my cat reading it.

Could you please, please, please introduce more West Coast/Pacific Northwest cruises? There are a handful at the beginning and end of the Alaska season and I usually try to go on at least one a season. But there just aren’t enough! Some of you don’t even offer them. Why? I promise you - there's a clientele for them.

They are a great little getaway. If the timing is right you can sneak away on a Friday afternoon and then sneak back in, maybe a little late and a little worse for wear, on a Monday morning, a fantastic little cruise sandwiched in between.

Instead of dragging my lifeless body out of bed early in the morning - exhausted because I've been so afraid of sleeping through the alarm I haven't slept at all - getting to the airport and all the hellfire and brimstone that entails, flying for several hours sustained by chips because there's nothing open in the airport at 5 in the morning, I can sleep in. Maybe enjoy a cup of coffee while I’m reading the paper and then just call a cab when I’m ready to go to the port. Worst case I might have to take a coach or Amtrak to Seattle, just a couple of hours away.

I know these cruises must work for you on a ka-ching basis. I’ve been on them and they always seem sold out with lots of groups and an overall passenger mix whose common goal is to squeeze in as much fun as possible during the cruise. You can dance the night away in the disco and you're not the only ones in the room. You're lucky if you can even find a spot on the dance floor. Most of the people are locals and have been to the ports so the ship IS the destination.

You're creating a future clientele since many of these passengers are first-timers, often referred to or dragged on by former first-timers. These people will in turn spread the love and quite possibly book another cruise.

So please, please, PLEASE - can you bring on more of these cruises? I love the Mexican and Caribbean cruises for their ports and the chance to simply relax and soak up some sun. But I love these ones for the sheer fun of them. I promise you, I will be there with a boatload of friends.

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