mcrcruiser

We just received a e-mail from HAL saying today only a $1 deposit5 secures a cruise . Imo ,as a marketing person all my life I perceive that as a type of desperation attempt to sell those high priced cruises ;which most people can read through . Today is far different with many consumers living pay check to pay check in the US .As higher & higher prices come rolling along & incomes can not match with 5% raises the extra costs of living today high is 9 % + inflation ,then how is it wise to put out ads that don't make any sense . I see this ad as a feeble attempt to get some well healed people to bite Going forward with higher fuel costs ,food costs ie & lower incomes for the pax how does selling high end cabins make any sense . If the economy of scale is for the main stream cruise lines to fill cabins then they need to be more realistic in pricing .JMHO

LOL U got that right

I respect your thoughts here however ;some time ago we sailed Carnival's Spirit to a round trip Acapulco with other Mexican ports in between Like Zwatineho /Xtapa Mazanillo ie .Those are 3 ports down the Mexican Riviera that cruise ships do not do . So then they don't need to go as far as the Panama Canal ;but ,It is difficult here to comprehend why there are partial panama canal transits from Ft Lauderdale yet nothing here .what makes that difference ? Even if it were not cost feasable to do a west coast partial Canal transit the ships occasionally could do the other Mexican Riviera ports , So what is the difference between a long Hawaii cruise vs a long Mexican Riviera cruise in days . Actually , there would be less sea days & more port stops going down the Mexican Riviera . Just seems to me that we not only sailed the Spirit as far a Acapulco but ,we also did deeper Mexican ports further south on Celebrity Mercury years back .There is quire a bit difference in the Mexican Riviera when the ships went further south .There are more ships on the West Coast of California now & less variety in the port stops for the Mexican Riviera . Princess ,Carnival , Holland ,Celebrity & Royal Caribbean all have ships now doing the regular Mexican Riviera cruises .so how does that help Holland America fill the ships ,especially now with a constricting economy ? Another thing is doesn't HaL rely on us older folks who have more cash & more time to take longer cruises ?

We have our own electric scooter & my DW needs it because she will be having knee replacement . I also bring my deluxe walker .We can park the 2 items near the front entrance to any of the ships restaurants then a short walk to the table .We also have a cain

You got to do it in todays world . Also ,like the OP said check your bill before you leave the restaurant for correctness

We live here in San Diego county .imo ,HAL could do a partial transit from San diego like they do from Port Everglades Ft Laiderdale Florida .There are many more ports in Mexico south of Puerto Vallarta yjru could stop like Acapulco where the Cliff divers are located . another cruise which imo would be also packed is a round trip Alaska ;which would eliminate flying .These are just the tip of that ice berg doe examples When you think that the Pacific Ocean is twice the size of the Atlantic ,we have a lot to offer cruisers here in the California ports HAL imo needs to differentiate itself from RCL ,Carnival ,Celebrity Mexico cruises alone or just be one of the bunch ?

Heck ,there are enough well traveled folks on these boards that could give HAL lists of unique & interesting itineraries that would help then sell cabins . My question is why don.t they make it a prize for the mist interesting & doable itineraries like a free cruise & or free tips ,drink pkg & wifi ,ie ,Seems to me that would stir some excitement & more bookings 😆

Just got off the phone with a lovely HAL lady representative . Apparently Koningsdam will still service the San Diego market but nor until some time in November .I have no idea where she will be between October to November 2023 ,unless in Dry dock Gave her a couple of Unique itineraries they could add from San Diego .Certainly a West Coast partial transit i of the Panama Canal is doable . with stiops on Alcapulco (a beautiful city ) Xtapa ( the west coast version of Cancun) Hultaco along with a new port of Manzanillo the PortoVallarta & Cabo San Lucas to Ensenata to SD Another unique cruise would be a Round Trilp Alaska including ports like San Francisco , Astoria Oregon ,a fabulous city on the Columbia river , then on to alaska including Glacier Bay & ports of call before heading bacjk with stops in Victoria Canada on Vancouver Island ,Monterey ,Ca , Santa Barbara to SD

The ships water is distilled from sea water to clear beautiful drinking & bathing water .Hope this helps & bring your drinking device to fill & refill & A no cost😄

HAL has 5 ships ending the Alaska Season in September 2023 yet no ships showing in October 2023 for San Diego . We think that is strange .In fact nothing in San Diego for HAL Sept or October 2023 * here we are already October 11 ,2022 as I write this . Perhaps there will not be HAL ships here for all we know right now . BTW the Koningsdam is not one of the 5 ships What do you think now besides HAL has not let out those itineraries or is there some other more important reason ?

Yes that is true . I need to check how many ships HAL has in the Alaska market first & then see where they deploy to

After April 3 ,2023 is the last cruise by Zandam ,then nothing . What do you think or know for itineraries from San Diego ?

Got it .15% off for the special restaurants .Not a biggie but some thing

It has been awhile since we sailed Celebrity but we are back , We are Elite Plus level ,Are there discounts for restaurants like the tuscan Grill ?

The foreign port would or could be Victoria Vancouver Island , This is imo far better than the city of Vancouver BC .I can see SD to SF to Astoria Oregon then to Ketchican , Juneau , Shagway , Juneau & Sitka with Glacier Bay . then to Victoria to SantaBarbara to Catalina to San Diego .A very nice cruise with a great mix of ports

There is no doubt in my mind that Celebrity is a far better choice that any Princess ship . Personally , there are only 2 lines that I like to sail one is this line & the other is Holland America & especially for Alaska . Holland America brings in board a specialist in Alaska to explain every thing

In todays world & at ages 83 ,we want to be a comfortable as we can with out standing out like a saw thumb . I wear nice slacks a nice shirt & a sweater .no jackets as they no longer fit LOL & ties don't have the latest designs & mot buying those pricy ones that will be out of style in a year .Further got to consider the luggage weight these days or pay through the nose at the airport

Go with the flow is my motto

The only thing that is still holding up so far is housing prices yet we are now seeing cracks in lowering prices in some areas of the country .forget new start up housing with mortgage money now over 6% . This &the other factors above have adverse effects on how cruises are selling now & in the future . We can only hope for the best & that HAL survives this CCL high debt mess

Or CCL may have to moth ball some of their ships . Being the stock market is struggling with a deepening world wide recession that in addition to inflation is making the wealth factor for many people disappear . Thus ,cruising is part of the wealth factor This is why when we book any cruise we add in protection against Cruise line going BK

San Diego cruise port & the World Cruise Center in San Pedro are as far as we want to travel from our home here in coastal north County San Diego .We did our flying years back .The only one cruise that we might consider in rthe future with a one way air is a 3rd Panama Canal cruise I gave HAL some great options from San Diego . Here are some : .continue with Hawaii ,Mexican Riviera & Coastal California cruises .Add a round trip SD to south America .Add a partial Panama Canal cruise with Mexican port stops like Lapaz, & Alcapulco .Add a round trip SD to Alaska

In truth the problem for cruising today is not as much the cabin cost but much higher airfare s ,hotels & meals outside of the ship ro get to a cruise port .There are those people who can & would drive to the port & that can work for several states ;but ,if a person is in the mud west ,Canada or europe ,the cost of taking any cruise can be very expensive today & what about costs tomorrow when inflation is worse . Even those who can drive to a ship with gas prices rising again ,it has to impact the cruise business like other luxuries

Wow Costa to California .Who wants to sail costa ?

We are doing a B3B this December . What can we expect to pay for a bag of laundry ? We are 3 Star Mariners so are there any discounts for 3 Star Mariners ? TIA for your replies

We get Casino offers from Celebrity & they are really juicy deals .now I need to focus on getting HAL casino offers on our Dec B2B cruises .This can be achieved by making friends with the Casino host or hostess .We can bring a lot of business into the casino .I personally onlp play craps & Texas holdem .Those slots are real bandits ;but ,every so often the bandits pay off .got to know when yo play the bandits