Why are some cruises "Grand Voyages"?

[blue whale]

Good evening,

 

We all know that Grand Voyages come with additional amenities such as included tips, pillow gifts, port shuttles, luggage transfer, and even added staff. But why are some cruises designated GVs? We thought that length of cruise was a factor, for after all the world cruises, Asian/Pacific cruises, SA cruises are all longer cruises and are called Grand Voyages.

 

However, in January 2013, the Rotterdam is doing an 88-day voyage from Southampton to Singapore and returns back to Southampton in April. The itinerary is superb, and we booked it. But we wish that it was a Grand Voyage, even if that designation raised the price a bit.

 

Any thoughts?:p

 

Blue Whale

[CruiserBruce]

Because it is the goal all cruises aspire to?:D;)

[USN59-79]

Couple of thoughts. On Grand Voyages, tipping is not included. Altho the service may be better, it is still $11. per day. I believe luggage transfer service is only included in the high rent cabins, like suites. I believe only a very limited number of ships, like the Amsterdam and Prinsendam have staffed for Grand Voyages so it might not be practical to upgrade their training for a single Grand Voyage. Incidentally, we took last year GV on the Amsterdam and have booked it again this month. We obviously think they are worth it.

[blue whale]

Your point about staffing is well taken, USN. I know that HAL tends to place its best stewards on the world cruises and on the SA followed by Med on Prinsendam.

 

But we do wish on our 88 day Rotterdam cruise that we had some of the amenities we got when we did the Grand Voyages. The hassle with the luggage is difficult when one is traveling for a lengthy period and would like to take lots of things. We will just have to cut back.

Blue Whale

[Topsham]

Good evening,

 

We all know that Grand Voyages come with additional amenities such as included tips, pillow gifts, port shuttles, luggage transfer, and even added staff. But why are some cruises designated GVs? We thought that length of cruise was a factor, for after all the world cruises, Asian/Pacific cruises, SA cruises are all longer cruises and are called Grand Voyages.

 

However, in January 2013, the Rotterdam is doing an 88-day voyage from Southampton to Singapore and returns back to Southampton in April. The itinerary is superb, and we booked it. But we wish that it was a Grand Voyage, even if that designation raised the price a bit.

 

Any thoughts?:p

 

Blue Whale

 

 

Usually a Grand Voyage is any cruise over 30 days. Yours certainly qualifies! Even the segments are longer than 30 days. Why not just call HAL and ask what their explanation is?

 

Looks like it will be a great voyage.... but sure is a lot of ports with not too many sea days like you would find on a world cruise.

 

Stephen

[RuthC]

Usually a Grand Voyage is any cruise over 30 days.

Stephen, HAL hasn't called cruises over 30 days "Grand" in a long time. They are all over 60 days now.

It's too bad, too, as I was on a 34-day Grand Cruise back in '95, and it truly was "grand"! I've been on many cruises over 30 days since then, and none had the special extras that the South Pacific cruise had.

[Topsham]

Ruth,

 

Well I had no idea things had changed so much!

 

The last Grand Voyage I did was also that South Pacific cruise on the ROTTERDAM back in 1995. Must have seen you in the Ocean Bar at some point!!!!:)

 

Stephen

[parrotfeathers]

I cannot imagine being gone 88 days. I cannot even imagine being gone 30 days. I just booked a Noordam 11 or 12 day for Nov. 2012 and am already very nervous about being gone that long!!

[blue whale]

Yes, this voyage is 88-days! That's longer than the SA or the Asian/Pacific, which are Grand Voyages.

 

I emailed to HAL raising the question. I didn't get a reply, although I sent it directly to Stein's office.

 

Dorothy

 

PS to Parrot feathers: Long cruises are fantastic! The two main problems of taking one like this is having the mail held for that length of time and applying for an income tax extension.

[Topsham]

I cannot imagine being gone 88 days. I cannot even imagine being gone 30 days. I just booked a Noordam 11 or 12 day for Nov. 2012 and am already very nervous about being gone that long!!

 

 

88 days ain't long! 120 days is.... getting there.

 

Christmas Cruise, Panama Canal and then full World in 1995 .... 120 on the old ROTTERDAM followed later the same year with the Grand South Pacific for 35 days. It was all about being on the ROTTERDAM!

 

STEPHEN

[RuthC]

The last Grand Voyage I did was also that South Pacific cruise on the ROTTERDAM back in 1995. Must have seen you in the Ocean Bar at some point!!!!:)

Possibly not, but I'm sure you met my husband in there. He was in charge of opening that venue.

We went to the Queens Lounge for cocktail time, and I hung out in the Tropic Bar until closing.

[Sunshine91]

.....

 

I emailed to HAL raising the question. I didn't get a reply, although I sent it directly to Stein's office.

 

Dorothy

 

Don't forget, today is a legal holiday. :)

[Hlitner]

Do you think HA calls them Grand Voyages because it means they can charge more money per passenger day (and we pay it)?

 

Hank

[blue whale]

You are right that Grand Voyages have a higher per diem. That is why it seems strange that HAL did not put our 88-day voyage into that category.

 

The problem may be that with Grand Voyages passengers get luggage pick-up and delivery. In the past, that has been unlimited for verandah passengers and suite pax. But all these voyages start in the USA, which makes luggage transfer cheaper. The 88 day cruise is round trip from Southampton. You would think, though, that HAL could take all luggage to a central USA location and then take it to England on a charter flight.???

[surfsidemary]

Yes, this voyage is 88-days! That's longer than the SA or the Asian/Pacific, which are Grand Voyages.

 

I emailed to HAL raising the question. I didn't get a reply, although I sent it directly to Stein's office.

 

Dorothy

 

PS to Parrot feathers: Long cruises are fantastic! The two main problems of taking one like this is having the mail held for that length of time and applying for an income tax extension.[/quote

 

Agree long cruises are the greatest (all that preparation only once).

 

Re the mail: But the PO will forward my mail from my home address to my PO Box for at least 6 months. A friend goes through the PO Box contents periodically for anything that must be dealt with.

 

Since I live in hurricane country (or anyone could have a fire), I also pre-authorize one of those fire/water restoration companies to deal with my insurance company to handle any catastrophies to my home. Somebody has to do mitigation work even if I am on the other side of the world. And that's too much to ask a friend or neighbor to deal with. They just call the restoration company and they would take over.

[Hlitner]

You are right that Grand Voyages have a higher per diem. That is why it seems strange that HAL did not put our 88-day voyage into that category.

 

The problem may be that with Grand Voyages passengers get luggage pick-up and delivery. In the past, that has been unlimited for verandah passengers and suite pax. But all these voyages start in the USA, which makes luggage transfer cheaper. The 88 day cruise is round trip from Southampton. You would think, though, that HAL could take all luggage to a central USA location and then take it to England on a charter flight.???

 

This may or may not be the case depending on how you book. For example, on one particular Grand Cruise if we book through HA we would get pre-paid gratuities plus the free luggage transfer. However, booking through a specific TA would get us a several thousand dollar discount without the prepaid gratuities or luggage transfers. Pricing out the value of the gratuities + luggage it turns out the TA's price is a much better deal (by more then $1000. As we always suggest, it often pays to shop around between HA and several large reputable TAs.

 

Hank

[CruisinTexans]

The pre-paid gratuities and free shipping are dependent on the date you book, not on with whom you book. We've done 4 world cruises and never booked through HAL but always got the amenities (pre-paid gratuities, shipping, etc.), but we always book by the required date (usually May 31st of the year before the cruise).

 

We are also booked on the Rotterdam cruise with Blue Whale. Ours will be 90 days because we are going roundtrip from Rotterdam. I'm not so worried about going to the ship, because I think we can get enough in 4 large bags, but we are going to some wonderful shopping ports and I am worried about getting purchases home. I'm sure I will figure out something.

 

Leslie

[blue whale]

Yes, it is the luggage transfer that is our concern.

 

We still wonder why HAL hasn't set this 90/88 day cruise as a Grand Voyage.

 

It would be worth the added dollars to get the amenities.

 

Thanks, Leslie,

 

D

[Hlitner]

Yes, it is the luggage transfer that is our concern.

 

We still wonder why HAL hasn't set this 90/88 day cruise as a Grand Voyage.

 

It would be worth the added dollars to get the amenities.

 

Thanks, Leslie,

 

D

 

Perhaps not! If your concern is getting luggage to the ship, you can take your luggage to any UPS Store where they will package and ship it to your cruise ship. And we suspect the cost of this will be less then X builds into your price for that amenity.

 

Hank

[Himself]

Does it have anything to do with Exodic ports of call?

[blue whale]

The ports of call are exotic on this 88 day cruise: ports in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Jordan. You can't get much better! That's why it is a great trip.

 

D

[Paul123]

Yes I too wondered why this rather exotic 88-day cruise was not a Grand Voyage.

 

On reflection I wondered if it was because the voyage is primarily aimed at the European market with it's Rotterdam/Southampton start and stop ports.

 

Grand Voyages are normally aimed at the American market with USA ports used for embarkation/disembarkation. Perhaps HAL feels that the Europeans are not so used to the concept of the Grand Voyage and was not therefore worth promoting.

[blue whale]

Yesterday, I got a snail-mail response to my letter to Stein expressing our disappointment about the status of this cruise as well as about a couple of Mariner issues. The answer came from an assistant, but it just said—in essence—thanks for writing. There was no real reason for the categorization. We wish that HAL would make some arrangement for the luggage, even at an additional cost to us. To buy luggage transfer on one's own is very expensive. Most folks taking a long cruise are senior citizens, who have trouble handling luggage. It means no formal wear and a cut back in other garb. The meds alone for a long trip take up considerable space.

 

D

[Hlitner]

I find this thread very interesting. If HA were to make the OPs cruise a Grand Voyage that means they would increase the price by over 30% :)

 

Hank

[blue whale]

At 30% that would be a pretty big increase! I guess we are better to pay for porters to lug our luggage for us. That would cheaper.

 

The tips are no problem. They just get placed on the bill.

 

I do hope, however, that they have sufficient recreational staff.

 

D