Halguy

My story is basically the same as yours. We live up north and look to go to Florida for at least 8 weeks. Staying at a hotel or going on a cruise probably works out to be fairly close in overall cost. We generally book about 3 cruises. HAL has become somewhat boring with entertainment that is repetitive and poor quality. Main Stage performances are probably the worst of all major cruise lines. Service remains excellent as well as food quality. Since we are 5 Star the perks bring us back. We get off the ship in most ports with the exception of Jamaica and maybe one or two other. Nothing to see in the Caribbean, especially if you have been there dozens of times before. It’s all about the Caribbean weather. The HAL entertainment issues has persisted for many, many years. This year booked 2 of our 3 cruises on HAL. We have a nice time, however, we’ve been going to the movies by the pool for many evenings, would have hoped for a more exciting way to spend our evenings abroad a cruise ship.

I completely agree with you, HAL is not a budget cruise line. HAL has declined in recent years along with most other mass market cruise lines, however, their food and service remain at the top of their competition. Perhaps there are some people who say such things (budget, low expectations), because it’s an opportunity for them to let everyone know that they sail on these premium, more boutique cruise ships, which are nicer, however, at a cost. I really enjoy a fine steakhouse, however, I will nevertheless go to Outback and eat there having very low expectations regarding my food. That sounds just as ridiculous as sailing HAL and not having expectations of an enjoyable experience.

Wow, what a wonderful idea, “pick up a book “. May I expand on that suggestion? Turn all the show venues into libraries, instead of the music walk we can call it the “music read”, no more Rolling Stones, now it’s the Reading Stories. In all seriousness, I do enjoy reading onboard, however, in the evening I would like to be able to attend a live performance. Most other cruise lines do provide that. I am very loyal to HAL , however, there is no reason to make excuses for them in areas where they are lacking. Cruise lines do make changes based upon customer feedback, HAL has been made aware of their substandard entertainment offerings and has turned a deaf ear to improving that issue. Smooth sailing to all.

Rotterdam 2022 or 2021 ?

You are correct that Carnival is ordering new vessels. The other cruise lines such as Pand O had a new ship the Arvia launch in 2022, Aida launched the Cosma in 2022, and Costa launched the Toscana also in 2022. These are still quite new. Princess will launch the Star Princess in 2025.

RCL and Celebrity are owned by RCCL. Every cruise line is cutting back to varying degrees. The problem with HAL is that their parent company CCL is not investing any future money into HAL, however, they are investing future money into the other lines they own. Some people have written that as other CCL cruise lines get their new ships they will give HAL their smaller older ships. Who wants older hand me down ships? That will never happen. HAL may be taken over by Princess or perhaps allowed to just sail away forever.

I honestly don’t have any hard data on what nationalities are opting out of the tips . In speaking to several European guests on several cruises they expressed to me that they feel tipping is “not called for “ or “ not routine “ for them. I didn’t think it appropriate to ask them anything more specific. Americans and perhaps North Americans are eager to show their appreciation for excellent service that was provided. As far as bribery, my very close Canadian friends informed me that it was a way of life for them when they lived in Europe. They had to get accustomed to eliminating it when they moved to Toronto.

I am just wondering why mid size LNG ships are not being built. The profit in mega ships may be greater, however, there is definitely a market for smaller ships as well. Just like fuel efficient cars come in all sizes and price points.

You accurately describe some of HALs shortcomings. Yes, I do believe that they have not yet reached rock bottom. I too miss what HAL once was and my hope for HAL to return to its glory days are sinking. With no plans for any new ships for the next decade, or perhaps forever, CCL is just trying to use what HAL currently has and run it to the ground. Thankfully, there are many options out there to take HALs place.

I do agree with you regarding crew members. Our most recent sailings on HAL had some less experienced crew. Also don’t like the nickel and dime tactics introduced by HAL. As far as pooling MY tips amongst HALs 11 ships is ridiculous. When I had a confidential conversation with a HAL employee, he informed me that the ships in the Caribbean and Alaska bring in the majority of the tips because they have the largest amount of Americans onboard. Tipping is not a part of many other cultures. I personally think that it’s a lot of BS , however, I’m tired of subsidizing the others who go out of their way to opt out of the tips. I guess opting out is part and their culture. Anyway, there are so many pricing options, many of them include paid gratuities, basically pre paying your tips at a discounted rate. Shorter contracts would also make for happier staff, although I have never heard of any HAL employee complaining or showing a lack of enthusiasm for their work. The positive aspect of having a huge staff from the Philippines is they all speak the same language which garners a camaraderie. BTW, HAL has expanded their hiring to several other countries due to a shortage of staff post pandemic.

I believe that you are making a wise decision. I too am looking at other options besides HAL. We are trying Oceania . Here it’s under $100 per day pp. more. It however includes internet , some alcohol, and $300 pp in shore excursions . So really not much of a difference. Also we wanted their newest ship. I’m hopeful it will be great

I don’t believe HAL is a “ budget “ cruise line, it certainly doesn’t market itself as such. When speaking with fellow cruisers they look at HAL as attracting an older, more well traveled crowd. All our friends believe the food and especially the staff on HAL superior to Carnival, Princess, RC, MSC, Costa, and Celebrity. Prices are comparable to those other cruise lines and in most cases slightly higher. Your idea of booking a “budget “ cruise line like HAL with “low expectations “ is quite frankly absurd. Why bother going away? Would people eat in “budget “ restaurants with “low expectations” ?

Yes, you are a perfect fit for HAL. They do offer more exotic, longer , and varied itineraries. What you should continue doing is sail on other cruise lines as well, this helps to keep things fresh and exciting. We have begun to do that, we found ourselves not as excited about cruising because we were on the same HAL ships over and over again. The time has come to mix it up a bit. Smooth Sailing

I am sure CCL was in huge debt because of Covid, as was the entire cruise industry. The are doing well now and spending their money selectively, very selectively, and HAL is not part of it.

New ships are either soon to be released, under construction, or in the planning stages for almost all the major cruise lines. These include cruise lines under the CCL umbrella , under the RCCL umbrella, MSC, Norwegian, etc. It had absolutely nothing to do with cruise fares. Don’t get me wrong, I want HAL to succeed, our fondest memories are aboard HAL ships, however, there is a reason of which I don’t know, why HAL is not in the future plans of CCL.

There are sites which show new ships coming out this year, next year, and cruise line orders for new ships going out about 10 years. Almost all cruise lines are mentioned, mass market cruise lines, more boutique cruise lines, and some relatively new cruise lines such as Explora which is owned by MSC, all expanding their fleets. The new builds have mid sized ships that may wind up eating HALs lunch. A glaring omission was HAL. I know for certain that HAL is not going to inform anyone that they plan no new ships for the next decade. That would be equivalent to admitting we are just going to run our current fleet until each ship gets too old and undesirable. Corporate suicide. Realistically, is HAL so unique that it can’t be duplicated? It can not only be duplicated it can be significantly improved. The Ford and Chevy were great until we tried the Toyota and Honda. Enjoy what we have now, great HAL food and service, however, don’t ever say that you didn’t see the end of HAL coming. Smooth Sailing

Almost all cruise lines have ships of varying sizes and offerings. As newer class ships are introduced they must add new venues, different things to do, and some sort of enticement to get you aboard. The newest ships generally, not always, charge a premium to sample their cutting edge experience. I don’t think HALs problem is the various size ships. IMO, HAL tends to keep their older ships too long, most recent example the Rotterdam, which was often referred to as the Rottendam.

First of all your points are all valid. When you say the people who don’t like the prices are not onboard. That being the case , those onboard are not as price conscious simply because it really doesn’t matter that much to them. Comparing HAL to Carnival one has to be blind not to see the difference. Older, more established guests tend to indicate more financially secure. Your reference to “God’s waiting room “ is quite depressing, however , not completely inaccurate. Competing in markets such as Alaska, and the Caribbean, in general itineraries cannot be that unique even with mid sized ships. Those 2 markets bring in huge profits for HAL simply because they have several ships in each region and the guests are a high percentage of Americans ( Americans tend not to opt out of tipping ). There aren’t enough potential passengers that are looking for 30+ day itineraries to more exotic destinations. Those type of passengers are cultivated by starting with 7 day cookie cutter cruises. Unfortunately, without new ships every few years, cutting back on the smaller niceties that made HAL somewhat special, the future is at best uncertain and I believe CCL has a DNR order for HAL.

We are going on Vista, their newest ship, not sure if that makes any difference

Thanks for the heads up. Just doing a Caribbean cruise with a good number of ports. The Caribbean ports offer us nothing since we’ve been to them dozens of times. It’s a good day in port if you don’t get pickpocketed. I heard some positive comments about the food and service. My wife and I are easy to please, we don’t look for negatives, just to get away from the cold winters up north.

As a 5 star Mariner, and having sailed many other cruise lines, it appears to me that the bottom cruise lines are coming up where the top ( mass market ) cruise lines are going down, especially with small cutbacks. I’ve never sailed MSC, although their ships look beautiful. I am trying Oceania for the first time this December. As for Celebrity, probably most on par with HAL. I have numerous sailings on Celebrity, however, it goes back quite a few years. We were on ships like the Millennium, Summit, etc. I hope HAL can truly find its way, and CCL does not write them off down the road. My children and I have very fond memories aboard the DAM ships.

All the ships are going out at 100% capacity. If HAL still can’t make it profitable then there has to be some changes with upper management.

Mid size is a relative term, however, the problem is that HAL has no new ships planned for the foreseeable future. Regardless of the size of the ship almost everyone enjoys new. Old ships are especially not enticing for younger cruisers, which without exception, every cruise line needs. The younger cruisers then become the more seasoned cruisers and hopefully for the cruise line develop brand loyalty. I sincerely hope CCL makes the correct decisions to preserve the niche that HAL has filled for so many years. It is not a big deal in the whole scheme of things, however, I would personally miss the HAL experience.

We started sailing HAL around that time in our lives as well. Calm, peacefulness, and serenity, are wonderful, many of us lead busy, somewhat hectic lives and not fighting over lounge chairs is very much appreciated. I still sail HAL, however, it bothers me how every change is cost cutting and not cruise enhancing. Almost all the cutbacks really do not matter much, however, cruising is a lot of seemingly trivial events that at the end of the voyage leave us with a lasting impression. For example , don’t need chocolates every night, I never eat them. I did notice that they are put on our pillows only on gala nights. Turn down service is something I want twice a day, now on some ships you must request it. Many cruise lines offer the same general experience, it’s the little things that set them apart. Smooth sailing to all.

You must be a long time cruiser with HAL. The fresh squeezed orange juice brings back fond memories when I was sailing with my in laws. That is however a great point, some little things do really make a big difference. My wife and I will be trying Oceania cruises shortly, looking forward to a new experience.