$49.94 a day for a HAL cruise

[Esri]

Maybe I don't understand but it seems to me when they sell cabins for $49.99 /day, we cannot expect they can keep any sort of standard aboard the ships that many of us still seek.

 

Of course, staffing has to be down.

Menus have to be down graded.

Everything has to reflect economizing when that is the revenue they are bring in. That hardly pays for the upkeep, salaries and fuel let alone anything else.

 

If that is what we pay, that is what we should expect to get.

 

JMO....... of course.

 

 

I agree completely. We cannot complain about Motel 8 service if we pay Motel 8 prices.... Cruise companies simply cannot sustain these prices in the long run.

[English_in_Spain]

I agree completely. We cannot complain about Motel 8 service if we pay Motel 8 prices.... Cruise companies simply cannot sustain these prices in the long run.

 

I think you are missing the point. They are not 'sustaining these prices in the long run'.

 

These are low priced, re-positioning TA cruises where HAL need to move ships from USA to Europe (or vice versa). They have to move the ship anyway, if they can get passengers onboard for the crossing that is a bonus.

 

I think there is a lot of snobbery going on here. Do you really think that just because your cruise, because it is a high-priced, popular cruise, is better than the lower priced, more difficult to sell cruises.

 

Those of you who believe the TA cruises are an inferior product, have any of you ever done a TA cruise on which to base your comments?

 

[Caribbean Chris]

What kind of cruise experience can they provide when they charge prices like that? It won't be anything we will wish to purchase.

 

Repositioning cruises provide the same quality experience in my experience and they have always been at a bargain price. Crystal Cruises is offering one now for a 2014 sailing for $1995 per person for 10 days...includes tips, wines, liquor.

 

We plan ahead and use our American Airlines frequent flyer miles for air (30,000 per person one way transatlantic for coach). Then we spend several weeks touring European destinations by car.

 

It is quite a lovely and relaxing way to travel, returning home by ship after a busy trip driving through Tuscany, for example. Sipping Tuscan wines on your verandah before dinner ... very civilized.

[cruz chic]

I think there is a lot of snobbery going on here. Do you really think that just because your cruise, because it is a high-priced, popular cruise, is better than the lower priced, more difficult to sell cruises.

 

Those of you who believe the TA cruises are an inferior product, have any of you ever done a TA cruise on which to base your comments?

 

Snobbery??? Huh? I haven't done a TA cruise but I can tell you about one cruise of a few cruises where I've seen the above situation happen. I took a 10 day cruise and a 4 day reposition a couple of years ago. The 10 day cruise was fine. There was a large group on board for the 4 days under one certain travel agent. This group had very cheap prices. The food was very different from the 10 day part of the cruise.

 

I find several of the remarks made here not too nice.

[English_in_Spain]

Snobbery??? Huh? I haven't done a TA cruise but I can tell you about one cruise of a few cruises where I've seen the above situation happen. I took a 10 day cruise and a 4 day reposition a couple of years ago. The 10 day cruise was fine. There was a large group on board for the 4 days under one certain travel agent. This group had very cheap prices. The food was very different from the 10 day part of the cruise.

 

I find several of the remarks made here not too nice.

 

What I am saying is that TA cruises are a different situation to other 'cut price' cruises.

 

As you say, you have not done a TA cruise. I have, and I can assure you there is no reduction in quality of service, food etc. In fact it is better than some of the Caribbean cruises I have been on as the ship tends to be less than 100% full. HAL also makes sure there are plenty of activities (such as interesting lectures) to keep people entertained if they want it.

 

I also am not keen on some of the comments here. I feel it is a case of I don't like it because I have never tried it - it is cheaper so it has to be inferior.

 

[sail7seas]

I see it only as a profit and loss situation.

The more cabins that sell really low price on more cruises bring in less money and certainly impact profit and loss of the company. Ideally, all cruises should reap a profit but that cannot be happening on a number of cruises that we hear are sold for very low per diems.

 

The lower the total revenue for the cruise line, the lower the experience on all the ship and ultimately has to filter to all cruises.

 

I'm no accountant and don't pretend to be but if the company pulls in less money, they have to spend less in order to show a profit.

 

The days they stop showing a profit, they go the way of any company that becomes unprofitable.

 

I am sure there is an accountant out there who can make numbers say anything they want them to say. Can't we all 'jiggle' numbers to prove our point?

 

My only point is each time I hear of any cabin on any cruise selling for a ridiculous $49.94 it is not good news for the cruise product we all will be provided.

[jaguarstyper]

There were $349 fares being offered on the Westerdam Western Caribbean cruise that departed on 12/16. So, $49 per night cruises are not only being offered on TAs or repos. I agree, if they have to sell them at that price consistently, then something has to give. I doubt they are reducing prices to this level very frequently. For each cruise that is tough to fill, there is probably another sold out cruise that never had flash sales.

[BruceMuzz]

Another cost-saving aspect of repositioning cruises is having fewer port stops eliminates all those expensive port fees.

 

Sadly, the logic doesn't work well in this case.

Port fees are never nearly as much as the cost of fuel for a full day at sea.

Also, passengers eat 50% more food on a sea day than on a port day.

Just the cost of the extra food consumed on a sea day wipes out any savings on port fees.

 

Since Transatlantic repositioning cruises tend to attract many people who cannot really afford to take a cruise, onboard spending on sea days across the Atlantic amounts to very little money or profit.

[geoherb]

We were lucky enough to take advantage of last-minute pricing on the Dec. 16 Westerdam cruise--although in a verandah cabin instead of an inside. I can't wait until we retire and can take longer cruises. As it is now, I look for bargains. The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is one that usually has some.

[YKA99]

You will also notice that the Nieuw Amsterdam is departing on a 15-day transatlantic for $749 (49 per night as well) on April 30th that is also arriving in Barcelona. Whether or not they will be offering an inferior product for this price, I don't mind taking full advantage of it.

 

I booked return flights from Rome to Toronto for $319 per person. The only reason I booked the cruise was because of the low low price, and I thought it would be an interesting way to get across the Atlantic rather then flying.. Getting the 15 day cruise vacation out of it doesn't hurt either.

 

My wife and I are also traveling for 3 weeks from Barcelona to Rome, so we are doing a European vacation as well (the original purpose of the trip).

[SwissMyst]

Sadly, the logic doesn't work well in this case.

Port fees are never nearly as much as the cost of fuel for a full day at sea.

Also, passengers eat 50% more food on a sea day than on a port day.

Just the cost of the extra food consumed on a sea day wipes out any savings on port fees.

Since Transatlantic repositioning cruises tend to attract many people who cannot really afford to take a cruise, onboard spending on sea days across the Atlantic amounts to very little money or profit.

 

That is interesting, since lunch is really the only extra meal served on sea days compared to most port days where passengers are still consuming breakfast and dinner.

 

However breaking even is good, so not sure profit-making needs to be essential for this required repositioning which has to take place anyway. I'm happy repositioning cruises offer some price advantages because we have been on some terrific ones and they more than made up for being in off-season weather. That is the "sacrifice" the passengers makes when cruising at these shoulder times of the year, where most resorts also offer discounts over their regular season rates.

[sunviking90]

Snobbery??? Huh? I haven't done a TA cruise but I can tell you about one cruise of a few cruises where I've seen the above situation happen. I took a 10 day cruise and a 4 day reposition a couple of years ago. The 10 day cruise was fine. There was a large group on board for the 4 days under one certain travel agent. This group had very cheap prices. The food was very different from the 10 day part of the cruise.

 

I find several of the remarks made here not too nice.

 

I don't think this is usually the case and I have never seen this on HAL. We have done a lot of thes shorter repos (too tempting when you love in Vancouver), and as I said before the food, service, has been exactly the same a longer cruises. Usually more than half of the passengers are remaining inboard after cruising the longer repo through the Panama Canal, or the last Alaska cruise. For those of us who love sea days these cruises are great. I am looking forward to our first transatlantic for our 25th next year.

[BruceMuzz]

Does this mean that you will not sail on Holland America because they offer sailings at $49.99 per day, or are you saying that an H category cabin is not good enough for you?

 

Surely you do not think that HAL cuts back on staffing and food purchases on cruises that have bargain prices. Do you think that they increase staff and upgrade the food offerings on sailings you take?

 

On the 27 cruise ships I have managed for 11 different cruise line companies, we rarely reduce the staffing on a discounted repo cruise.That is only because the air fares to fly crew home are far more costly than just paying them to stay onboard. Many of the crew would prefer to be at home during these discounted cruises. Many repo passengers cannot afford to take the cruise and tip as well. So they cruise and remove the tips. The crew's earnings typically drop substantially on these trips.

 

But we all definitely reduce the menus on these voyages. You pay less - we give you less. Sometimes the menu reductions are so small as to be unnoticeable. Other times, the reductions are drastic. It really depends on the ship, the itinerary, the pricing, and the expected demographics. On most of these cruises, we have long term historical data that tells us what to plan for.

 

Does HAL do this? You need to ask somebody at HAL.

But the rest of us do it.

[sunviking90]

 

Since Transatlantic repositioning cruises tend to attract many people who cannot really afford to take a cruise, onboard spending on sea days across the Atlantic amounts to very little money or profit.

 

I doubt that Transatlantic cruises are really attracting too many people who "can't really afford to take a cruise". What does that mean anyway? A transatlantic cruise means at least 2 weeks off work, for those not retired, a pricy return airfare, and I know I would not just turn around and go home. I would stay in Europe for at least a few days adding to the cost. I don't think too many budget travellers pick a cruise to Europe. The cheap cost of the cruise I'd a small portion of the over all cost.

I also know personally, our on board spending is higher on a cruise with a lot of ea days, than it is on port intensive cruises.

[English_in_Spain]

Sadly, the logic doesn't work well in this case.

Port fees are never nearly as much as the cost of fuel for a full day at sea.

Also, passengers eat 50% more food on a sea day than on a port day.

Just the cost of the extra food consumed on a sea day wipes out any savings on port fees.

 

Since Transatlantic repositioning cruises tend to attract many people who cannot really afford to take a cruise, onboard spending on sea days across the Atlantic amounts to very little money or profit.

 

 

I object to this comment

 

FYI, our last TA cruise consisted of

 

1. Air fare from Alicante to Miami

 

2. A B2B Caribbean cruise

 

3, A TA from Ft Lauderdale back home to Alicante

 

The total cost of this 35 day cruise was more than people spend on their 7 day Caribbean or Alaska cruises.

 

[sail7seas]

 

I object to this comment

 

FYI, our last TA cruise consisted of

 

1. Air fare from Alicante to Miami

 

2. A B2B Caribbean cruise

 

3, A TA from Ft Lauderdale back home to Alicante

 

The total cost of this 35 day cruise was more than people spend on their 7 day Caribbean or Alaska cruises.

 

 

When speaking in generalities and about a group of around 2,000 people, most of us understand there are some exceptions.

 

There certainly are exceptions to the $49.99 per diem for some guests vs those in "SA" and "PS" paying very much more. They, too, are exceptions to the 'cheap' rate generality.

 

I have never priced the per diem for "SA" on one of those repo cruises but am about to. I am interested to compare what we usually pay with what we would pay on a repo cruise.

 

 

 

The total cost of this 35 day cruise was more than people spend on their 7 day Caribbean or Alaska cruises.

 

 

I would certainly think you would pay more for 35 day cruise vs ANY 7 day cruise. :)

 

 

 

 

[English_in_Spain]

Our last TA cruise was in an SY cabin but before that we were always in Deluxe Suite category. We do not, however, make a big point of our cabin level in all my posts :rolleyes:

 

[sail7seas]

My point was about your comment that you paid more for your 35 day cruise than people pay for 7 day Caribbean and Alaska cruises. Yes, of course, it was higher in ANY cabin. You were aboard 5 Times as long.

 

I must not be getting YOur point as it seems obvious you certainly would expect to pay more for Five times as long aboard for ANY cruise.

 

 

[kazu]

On the 27 cruise ships I have managed for 11 different cruise line companies, we rarely reduce the staffing on a discounted repo cruise.That is only because the air fares to fly crew home are far more costly than just paying them to stay onboard. Many of the crew would prefer to be at home during these discounted cruises. Many repo passengers cannot afford to take the cruise and tip as well. So they cruise and remove the tips. The crew's earnings typically drop substantially on these trips.

 

But we all definitely reduce the menus on these voyages. You pay less - we give you less. Sometimes the menu reductions are so small as to be unnoticeable. Other times, the reductions are drastic. It really depends on the ship, the itinerary, the pricing, and the expected demographics. On most of these cruises, we have long term historical data that tells us what to plan for.

 

Does HAL do this? You need to ask somebody at HAL.

But the rest of us do it.

 

Bruce I will not dispute you but I will say that we have done a number of Transatlantics combined with Med or other cruises. Most have been on HAL and my one NCL would not be a fair comparison as it was back in 2000.

 

Last year on the Prinsendam, there were absolutely NO cutbacks in the food - in fact the salads were larger than any I have seen on any HAL cruise. Food was delicious:) Now, I realize this varies from ship to ship - but on my TA's with HAL, I haven't noticed anyone cutting back on their tips. The majority of people (travelling to and from Europe) have seemed to be well travelled and many certainly had envelopes on the last night to give extra:) Perhaps I have been lucky, not sure - but TA's are preferred by us as they are relaxing. We tack on another cruise so that we have plenty of ports and the relaxation:D

[CowPrincess]

>SNIP< Since Transatlantic repositioning cruises tend to attract many people who cannot really afford to take a cruise, onboard spending on sea days across the Atlantic amounts to very little money or profit.

 

This seems to be a theme of yours -- and I for one find it offensive. You seem quite happy to make these kinds of accusations and in truth you know nothing about whether or not anyone can afford to cruise. (Unless of course it is some family member of yours and they hit you up for a loan to cover the cruise and/or onboard cost, THEN you can be fairly certain that particular person can not afford to cruise. Other than that, you are simply assuming something when you are not in possession of all the facts.)

[English_in_Spain]

My point was about your comment that you paid more for your 35 day cruise than people pay for 7 day Caribbean and Alaska cruises. Yes, of course, it was higher in ANY cabin. You were aboard 5 Times as long.

 

I must not be getting YOur point as it seems obvious you certainly would expect to pay more for Five times as long aboard for ANY cruise.

 

 

 

My point was in response to the comment "Transatlantic repositioning cruises tend to attract many people who cannot really afford to take a cruise" by BruceMuzz.

 

I was pointing out that we choose TA cruises because they suit us not because we cannot afford anything else.

 

Unfortunately now, do to medical problems, we are not able to cruise at all so it is all rather academic.

 

 

[kazu]

 

I have never priced the per diem for "SA" on one of those repo cruises but am about to. I am interested to compare what we usually pay with what we would pay on a repo cruise.

 

 

 

 

I 'snipped' your quote Judy - hope that is ok.

 

From my experience there is a small savings on the TA portion in that category (or S). The savings is not huge though and really does vary by the ship and it's size, and the sailing;) Some TA's still have some very nice ports included (ie Prinsendam) rather than the standard two stops:) JMVHO though

[cruz chic]

<snip>

I also am not keen on some of the comments here. I feel it is a case of I don't like it because I have never tried it - it is cheaper so it has to be inferior.

 

Who said that?

[whogo]

I have never priced the per diem for "SA" on one of those repo cruises but am about to. I am interested to compare what we usually pay with what we would pay on a repo cruise.

 

An online agency quotes $7189.52 with tax included for 2, or $225 per person per day for the cruise in question. Their advertised price is $3399 or $213 per day.

 

The same agency advertises $799 for category H, but quotes $897 plus $97.76 tax, bringing the price up to $62 per person per day. The hotel service charge adds another 17% to the cruise price.

 

I noticed no cutbacks in food or service on our fall Prinsendam transatlantic that offered bargain fares. Our stewards were the best ever and lobster, lamb, and prime rib were on the menu, meatloaf was not.

[sail7seas]

My point was in response to the comment "Transatlantic repositioning cruises tend to attract many people who cannot really afford to take a cruise" by BruceMuzz.

 

I was pointing out that we choose TA cruises because they suit us not because we cannot afford anything else.

 

Unfortunately now, do to medical problems, we are not able to cruise at all so it is all rather academic.

 

 

 

 

Thanks.

Seeing your post followed mine with no quote, it wasn't clear to what you were responding. :)

 

Sorry to hear of health problems and sincerely hope you receive good treatment and achieve a good outcome. My very best wishes.