HAL Survey-Re: Evening Attire, Mariner Society Rewards, Fly/Cruise

[luckycruzer]

95% of the same questions..only the names were changed to protect the innocent! I am Milestones with them, but all other classes got them as well..seems just a few from the boards. I will be on the Noordam in 3 wks..and it is my 1st, but have been given a Mariners preference # from CCL.I''ve already gotton $200 off cruise price, 3 wines, and 1 Champ, strawberrys au chocolate, and a $75 OBC. I thrilled about all of that as well, as is my cabin mate who has sailed HAL b4.

[bcd2010]

Sadly ... <sigh> ... this survey indicates to me that HAL is considering discontinuing Formal Nights. :(

 

I think you're right. Sometimes/Often surveys like this are a vehicle for floating information (not unlike government/political "leaks"), pre-advertisements, if you will, for what's coming. This format allows them to guage reaction without commitment - they can back off or reshape whatever they want to implement based on reaction. But the bottom line IS the bottom line, and business decisions are made based on that, not on my responses to a survey, IMO. I'm pretty certain a few "older"/established pax deciding to switch to another line in order to get a more traditional cruising experience is offset many times over by increased number of casual cruisers (incl. families) they may get.

[iancal]

I do not know what the demographics of Mariner club members. What would be interesting to know is what is the primary and the secondary demographic group that HAL has decided to target for the next 2-5 years. This should provide an indication of where HAL will go and what changes they will or will not make.

[maxout]

It seems that HAL is treading the waters of compromise :( how can they hold on to their repeat cruiser base while still appealing to new clientèle in order to increase market share. It will be interesting to see what they end up "tweaking" in response. My hope is that they will leave things more or less unchanged without resorting to the entropy of compromise. As in Aesop's tale, He who tries to please everybody ends up pleasing nobody.

[arzz]

The formal night question is both sticky and interesting. Personally, I do enjoy getting spiffed up -- DH not so much. I particularly enjoy how special the dining room can be on formal nights during a grand cruise with costumes, decorations, etc. It can be fun and certainly keeps things from getting monotonous.

 

That being said, however, with the airline charges on checked baggage getting larger (to say nothing of the recent threat to begin charging for carry on bags) -- discontinuing formal nights on the shorter cruises might be an idea whose time has come.

 

Last fall we spent 12 days on Oceania (yes, occasionally we are disloyal when the right itinerary and price pops up) -- it was 12 days with only one day at sea -- I have to admit I did not miss our formal nights on that cruise as we toured heavily every day and it was a relief not to have to do the formal night prep after a long day in port. However, on that cruise line there were no jeans (or worse) in the dining room -- though nights were not formal the folks on board did dress as if the dining room was an event -- and even though we were not formally garbed we could still feel special in the restaurant at dinner. It was not like eating at the neighborhood family restaurant.

 

When days at sea, however, are plentiful those formal nights can be a treat and a break from the mundane. I would be sad to lose them on the longer cruises.

[esther e]

We received it yesterday; filled it out and submitted it. We are 3-star but have 2 10+ day cruises booked. I wonder if that makes a difference.:confused:

[debshomespun]

I received mine yesterday too. We have 37 nights of cruising with HAL. I agree about the formal nights. On the shorter cruises (7 days) it could be skipped. But, on the longer cruises, I enjoy the formal nights and parties.

[RevNeal]

We received it yesterday; filled it out and submitted it. We are 3-star but have 2 10+ day cruises booked. I wonder if that makes a difference.:confused:

 

It apparently does not. I am a 4 Star Mariner with 257 days aboard ship and three cruises currently booked -- 22, 14, and 18 days. No survey. My guess is that HAL already knows my preferences and just doesent care. They think they will continue to have people like me no matter what ... they're wrong, but they may not find that out until after it's too late.

 

The average mass market passenger takes one 7-day cruise every 5 years and has no Line Loyalty. In order to replace the revenue lost from just my leaving HAL, the Line will have to attract at least 25 new mass-market passengers.

[Copper10-8]

Sleepless in Seattle, no doubt!:cool:

 

Btw, interesting survey, not? Sent mine in

[sail7seas]

If there are fewer than two formal nights in seven night cruise, we probably would stop bringing formal wear. I won't pack tuxedo, tux shirt, shoes and gown, purse, shoes etc for one night. It isn't worth the trouble IMO for one night in a week.

 

[pris993]

We did not get a survey.

 

We share the concerns of those that would regret the possible loss of formal nights in the future. So much so, we will continue to bring formal attire and create our own formal nights if we need to do so. We already dress in informal attire on many smart casual nights because we feel a cruise is something special even though we have been cruising for years. We always book second seating MDR and then dress up as much as we like.

[RuthC]

It seems that HAL is treading the waters of compromise :(

They already did compromise. A few years ago HAL eliminated the informal nights, and substituted smart casual for every one of them. There was no proportional increase in formal nights.

Notice on the dress question, there's no choice to increase formal nights---just keep the same, or decrease them. There's also no choice to reinstate informal nights.

Unless a poll covers all the possibilities, it's already skewed.

[maxout]

They already did compromise. A few years ago HAL eliminated the informal nights, and substituted smart casual for every one of them. There was no proportional increase in formal nights.

Notice on the dress question, there's no choice to increase formal nights---just keep the same, or decrease them. There's also no choice to reinstate informal nights.

Unless a poll covers all the possibilities, it's already skewed.

 

You are so right :( but it seems the slope may get steeper.

[DizzyDallasDi]

There is always the question, do they really want our info or do they want to advertise their perks to try to get us to book more cruises .... ?

 

My educated guess is...both.

[COLLEYBERRY]

We did not get a survey.

 

We share the concerns of those that would regret the possible loss of formal nights in the future. So much so, we will continue to bring formal attire and create our own formal nights if we need to do so. We already dress in informal attire on many smart casual nights because we feel a cruise is something special even though we have been cruising for years. We always book second seating MDR and then dress up as much as we like.

 

 

 

Absolutely agree with you..... we always "dress" for dinner when cruising.I really don't care which label they attach to the evening.

Short of a food fight ;) we very easily create our own atmosphere, totally independent of what others are doing or wearing.(which quite frankly is none of my business) Dining at a table for two helps.:)

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Absolutely agree with you..... we always "dress" for dinner when cruising.I really don't care which label they attach to the evening.

Short of a food fight ;) we very easily create our own atmosphere, totally independent of what others are doing or wearing.(which quite frankly is none of my business) Dining at a table for two helps.:)

 

 

 

 

Yes Ma'am!;)

[ncovert]

Just checked my email after reading through the posts and found a survey. I do agree that it seems like preemptive advertising push or an advertisement it self. For those who have not received a survey, I bet if you contacted customer service they would be willing to receive your feedback.

[RevNeal]

no need to sound like a snob.

 

1. I'm sorry you think I sounded like a snob. Had you read what I wrote in its context you probably wouldn't have thought this of me.

2. Yes, I am currently very blessed to serve a church that doesn't think I should be dirt poor. This hasn't always been the case, however; it's only been recent years that I've been able to afford to cruise as much as I do now.

3. We're all related to Jesus.

[Pokeynose]

1. I'm sorry you think I sounded like a snob. Had you read what I wrote in its context you probably wouldn't have thought this of me.

2. Yes, I am currently very blessed to serve a church that doesn't think I should be dirt poor. This hasn't always been the case, however; it's only been recent years that I've been able to afford to cruise as much as I do now.

3. We're all related to Jesus.

 

I didn't think you sounded like a snob, you were making a point and that point has been well taken. No one has the right to take you to task just because you are fortunate to beable to cruise. And yes, it's wonderful we are all related to Jesus or life wouldn't be the same without him.:)

[RevNeal]

I didn't think you sounded like a snob, you were making a point and that point has been well taken. No one has the right to take you to task just because you are fortunate to beable to cruise. And yes, it's wonderful we are all related to Jesus or life wouldn't be the same without him.:)

 

Thank you VERY much.

And, yes ... as I often say ... we're all human, so we're all related to Jesus! :D

[Cuizer2]

It apparently does not. I am a 4 Star Mariner with 257 days aboard ship and three cruises currently booked -- 22, 14, and 18 days. No survey. My guess is that HAL already knows my preferences and just doesent care. They think they will continue to have people like me no matter what ... they're wrong, but they may not find that out until after it's too late.

 

The average mass market passenger takes one 7-day cruise every 5 years and has no Line Loyalty. In order to replace the revenue lost from just my leaving HAL, the Line will have to attract at least 25 new mass-market passengers.

 

You seem to be taking this personally. There are a lot of assumptions in your post for which you provide little to no supporting data.

[iancal]

We cruise one or two times per year and are open to any line.

 

But, if we had a nickel for every piece of junk mail from cruise lines -especially from HAL in the past four months , we would probably be able to pay for a month at sea in a Verandah cabin. It hardly makes it past the front door these days,,,,it goes straight into the recycle bin without making in near our kitchen table. Most of the emails get directed into our junk mail folders. We just got tired of the special offers for 'selected guests' that were really not special and were not competitive.

[belle836]

The average mass market passenger

 

I would be interested to know the definition of "mass market passenger" as opposed to the type of passenger you find yourself to be. Just curious.

 

Thanks in advance for any comments.

[RevNeal]

I would be interested to know the definition of "mass market passenger" as opposed to the type of passenger you find yourself to be. Just curious.

 

The "average mass market passenger" would be the average of all the passengers that cruise on any of the "mass market" Cruise lines, including HAL. HAL is trying to attract a larger segment of this group in order to fill its ships, and hence it is adjusting its product to appeal to the broadest cross-section of this group (which tends to be far less traditional and less-loyal to any given brand) rather than the narrower segment of that group of which I am a part (which tends to be more traditional and more brand-loyal).

 

The average cruise passenger in the market today doesn't cruise 2 or 3 times a year for a total of 30+ days ... year after year after year ... neither exclusively on one line or even at all. The average passenger cruises a single 7 or 10 day cruise every few (3-5) years ... and this assumes that they even repeat-cruise, which a percentage of them don't (they take one cruise and that's it). The average Mass Market passenger simply don't cruise as much or as often as the frequent cruisers do; those who have objected to my observation know this to be true. To replace those who cruise frequently, HAL will have to draw many more passengers from that mass market pool than they lose. It is even worse for the Line when one factors in those who cruise as often, or more, than I do but in the upper-ranks (i.e., in suites). I'm a cave dweller, and hence I don't pay as much as those quartered higher up on the ship. Nevertheless, the Line has to replace cave dwellers, like me, too. In order to draw enough passengers to replace the frequent traditional cruiser, the passenger-pool will have to be sufficiently broad (far broader than it has been in the past). This means they have no choice but to alter their product to reflect the greatest common denominator among cruisers. Hence, those who prefer a more casual product will inevitably win.

 

I drew the term, and the statistical data to which it was attached, from an article I read in Cruise Industry News a year or two ago.

[JimVrhovac]

Remember there are cave dwellers that travel in the suites also....

 

Remember that old proberb " Never put a woman in a cabin you do not plan on purchasing the rest of your life." I did once and I am still paying for it.

 

Fortunately our kids pay for all of our vacations. OUT OF THEIR TRUST FUNDS

 

Ruth & Jim