Reason's for HAL' deep discounts in Carribbean

[EDLOS]

Anyone want to venture why, the pricing, with many cruises much less than $100/day by HAL ???? and some of the deepest on the new K'Dam ??? Yes, I know, empty cabins but why ???

[G&G]

Too many cruise ships going to same ports each year

[DaveOKC]

Anyone want to venture why, the pricing, with many cruises much less than $100/day by HAL ???? and some of the deepest on the new K'Dam ??? Yes, I know, empty cabins but why ???

 

That plus the hurricanes that damaged some ports may be giving Caribbean cruisers second thoughts.

[thinfool]

En masse, this year, after the storms, and with all of the sensationalistic (and inaccurate) news coverage, cruise passengers have decided to go elsewhere or wait awhile before they book another cruise.

 

It's a good time to book guarantee rooms...and wind up several classes of cabins above what you booked.

[sail7seas]

Many people are reluctrant to sail C aribbdan after the awful huricanes trhis year.s Also, fierce competition in Caribbean with so many ships sailing itineraries there.

 

 

Sorry about the e's, I can't get rid of them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There are people who don't want to spend a lot of days at sea because of the storm damage on so many islands.

Agree they are cancelling and thinking about other types of vacations until more of the islands are somewhat back to normal.

And do agree about so many ships sailing the Caribbean.

[sail7seas]

Friends invited me to sail Koningsdam with them but I could not get interested in that ship so declined but I would like to sail Caribbean tthis winter so.... It is goinng to be a frigidly arctic cold this week in Boston. My DH and I often were on HAL ships for Chrismas and New Years. Lots of fun..

Edited December 26, 2017 by sail7seas

[G&G]

That plus the hurricanes that damaged some ports may be giving Caribbean cruisers second thoughts.

 

There have always been great deals in Caribbean even with no hurricane damage. We have sailed on Princess, Celebrity and HAL on incredible low rates year after year since the '80's.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

People are not sure the Caribbean is back up and running.

[Hlitner]

I will venture an answer, but will also admit it is total speculation (based on more than 1000 days on cruises). We have only ever booked 1 Caribbean cruise on HAL (back to back cruises on the Westerdam) and the experience was bad enough that we will likely never do another HAL cruise in the Caribbean (although we are 5 Star Mariners and continue to take HAL cruises all over the world). Why? Where do we start?

 

On our cruise HAL had awful port times..often being the last ship to arrive (in the morning) and the first ship to depart in the afternoon. In many ports we had 1,2,or 3 hours less than the other ships on similar itineraries, And much to our surprise (and we had hundreds of days on HAL at the time) the HAL cruise was similar to HAL cruises anywhere. Did we have a steel drum band? No....but we had the HAL Cats who did not play any music written after 1950! And then there was the late night comedy show! Ooops.. That does not happen on HAL! and then consider that HAL has the shortest Lido opening hours in the industry. Also consider that a large majority of HAL passengers seem to be in bed by 9:30! And finally there are the HAL vessels, many of which are older with few balconies and amenities that attract younger cruisers to the Caribbean. And the main HAL clientèle of the Nursing Home Crowd (I am also a senior) does not often want to be in the Caribbean since it has both sun and sand (thought of as complete poison by this crowd).

 

None of this fits with what many folks want in the Caribbean. So yes, you can get amazing deals on HAL. Although we cruise all over the world (often for more than 100 days a year) we still like to do 1 or 2 Caribbean cruises a year. But we do not even consider HAL ships....having been totally turned off by that Westerdam experience and our knowledge of HAL. Nobody does a better job than HAL when it comes to exotic and terrific itineraries. But in the Caribbean there is a lot of competition and HAL would not even make our top 5 lines in that market.

 

Hank

[ken4556]

If the reasons given in the previous posts are true, then how come deals are hard to find on Royal Caribbean? We went on the Oosterdam last year and it was cheaper than a 5 day Royal Caribbean cruise we originally were looking at. My parents are going on the Harmony of the Seas in May and they are paying much more than you would pay on HAL.

 

Maybe HAL cannot compete in the market place with their present product and create demand for higher pricing. HAL has upped their game with the excellent food we had on the last HAL cruise, but still no high-speed internet and sub-par entertainment.

 

I still believe HAL does not know what they want to be....

[Cruiser Bruiser]

As several folks have mentioned, the cruise market in the Caribbean is being negatively affected by the coverage of the hurricanes. I loved my recent Caribbean cruise on Eurodam. I don't agree that HAL is floundering; in fact their recent changes have pulled me away from NCL. Koningsdam is probably feeling a bit more pressure because it is sailing 10 and 11 night itineraries. It might have made more sense to allocate Koningsdam to 7-night cruises and Signature class to the longer cruises.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[JRG]

I will venture an answer, but will also admit it is total speculation (based on more than 1000 days on cruises). We have only ever booked 1 Caribbean cruise on HAL (back to back cruises on the Westerdam) and the experience was bad enough that we will likely never do another HAL cruise in the Caribbean (although we are 5 Star Mariners and continue to take HAL cruises all over the world). Why? Where do we start?

 

On our cruise HAL had awful port times..often being the last ship to arrive (in the morning) and the first ship to depart in the afternoon. In many ports we had 1,2,or 3 hours less than the other ships on similar itineraries, And much to our surprise (and we had hundreds of days on HAL at the time) the HAL cruise was similar to HAL cruises anywhere. Did we have a steel drum band? No....but we had the HAL Cats who did not play any music written after 1950! And then there was the late night comedy show! Ooops.. That does not happen on HAL! and then consider that HAL has the shortest Lido opening hours in the industry. Also consider that a large majority of HAL passengers seem to be in bed by 9:30! And finally there are the HAL vessels, many of which are older with few balconies and amenities that attract younger cruisers to the Caribbean. And the main HAL clientèle of the Nursing Home Crowd (I am also a senior) does not often want to be in the Caribbean since it has both sun and sand (thought of as complete poison by this crowd).

 

None of this fits with what many folks want in the Caribbean. So yes, you can get amazing deals on HAL. Although we cruise all over the world (often for more than 100 days a year) we still like to do 1 or 2 Caribbean cruises a year. But we do not even consider HAL ships....having been totally turned off by that Westerdam experience and our knowledge of HAL. Nobody does a better job than HAL when it comes to exotic and terrific itineraries. But in the Caribbean there is a lot of competition and HAL would not even make our top 5 lines in that market.

 

Hank

 

This is a very good explanation and I think you have hit a walk-off homer. People, please listen to his argument as he is experienced with cruising and is specifically detailing why he feels they don't do the Caribbean well. I agree.

[iancal]

Not enough demand for whatever reason. They need to get bums in the seats.

 

Hlitner's post above pretty well summarizes why HAL would not even get on our short list for a Caribbean cruise. Cannot speak for anyone else though. And we are old...in our mid sixties. We figure that we will be in an old age home soon enough so why rush it. Bingo doesn't do it for us.

Edited December 27, 2017 by iancal

[IRL_Joanie]

Anyone want to venture why, the pricing, with many cruises much less than $100/day by HAL ???? and some of the deepest on the new K'Dam ??? Yes, I know, empty cabins but why ???

 

I'll hazard a guess and say "Hurricane Damage." Major News" carried on Big Name News Media showing utter devastation....

Joanie

[FPJC03]

We are booked on the Kdam 10-day Caribbean cruise leaving Jan 14. From reviewing the available cabins, it looks like the ship will be almost full, which for a longer cruise in mid January is a great sign.

We also chose the Southern Caribbean because it was largely untouched by the two hurricanes. Even HMC and Grand turk were relatively unscathed.

Have been on Carnival, Celebrity, Royal and Regent 7 Seas before. Carnival might have the best entertainment, Celebrity some of the best food and Royal a blend of it all. But I am also a Senior Trip Advisor, having written hundreds of reviews on hotels and resorts before. It has taught me to throw out both the terrible reviews and the overly gushy ones as well. Some people are never satisfied. They pick at minor nuisances (poor internet, smoking in the Casino) and make it into a major issue. Having been a cancer survivor and heart bypass recipient, I enjoy every minute of every vacation. Life is too short to whine about little things.

Koningsdam is a lovely ship and we will definitely enjoy the food, service, entertainment and diverse ports.

[Aussie Jeep]

I booked an 11 night on the Koningsdam yesterday Was a great price $1,349- single in an inside room I see that there are many vacant cabins so I guess the price will fall further but I am happy with the price I paid and with luck the upgrade Fairy may call!!

[summer slope]

We had a 21 day Caribbean cruise planned for February and cancelled because of the horrific damage to the islands. Booked one for Alaska instead. Will return to the Caribbean next year. We are part of the "Nursing Home Crowd" and that is exactly why we book with HAL. I don't need race courses, slides, wave runners, and other things on a cruise. I can do those on land.

[NCTribeFan]

I did the 11-night K-dam on Nov 8. I had a solo inside and ended up in a verandah thanks to price drops (I upgraded myself). Had I been able to book last minute, I would've paid considerably less for the cabin than I paid for my inside.

 

Being close to Diamond on Carnival, I'd just like to say that no steel band on HAL was great, imho. I'd rather have piped-in music than bad live music. Easier to tune out.

 

And there were plenty of people at BB Kings every night. Sadly, most left when they finished (near midnight) and there were only a handful of us dancing to DJ Warren's music. But the upside of that was he would play anything we wanted. So, it was like a little private party every night! ;)

 

I typically have to request my PTO way before I actually want to take it or I'd love to take my chances next fall and do the same (or similar) cruise and hope for last-minute cheapo prices. Problem is getting the air last minute. Increased air would probably cancel out the cheap cruise fare.

[luv4cruises]

We love the Caribbean because we love to snorkel.

For the past several years Celebrity has been the only mainstream cruiseline to offer a 14 day cruise to the Southern Caribbean - with 8 ports of call, not a B2B. Unfortunately this unique itinerary is being discontinued as a regular offering. We love Celebrity- better all around experience- definitely better entertainment and dancing with much more to do day and night. Yet their are places to just relax and read or dream. Like HAL the guests are mature and sophisticated.

Their perks are much better, their

loyalty program puts HAL to shame.

 

However, if you want to visit Grand Turk or HMC on a cruise you will most likely have to book a Carnival owned cruise line. We love to snorkel so we will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam in March- with a decent promo.

 

Lately we have been disappointed in HAL- even the Koningsdam

There is no hub of activities like the Grand Foyee

on Celebrity or the Piazza on Princess, the music lacks variety, Blues or classical, with the removal of the disco and the true piano bar - dancing to a variety of music genres and singing have been eliminated, no adults only smoke -free pool like in the Solarium,

So we are cruising on HAL in March, somewhat reluctantly, but the promo and the opportunity to snorkel in Grand Turk, visit HMC, and walk the beautiful promenade, second to none, have lured us in this time. I know we will have a wonderful cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We are lucky to be able to cruise often.

Then back to Celebrity and Princess,

[LMaxwell]

Tons of capacity increase from competition and it is a race to the bottom to fill them up. It is a tough market for a premium product. Have to ride that fine line between pricing and offering some premium feel, otherwise people will go for the gravy and not the meat.

[cbr663]

There's several reasons why we have sworn off the Caribbean:

 

1. Been there - done that. We see the Caribbean as little more than milk runs with nothing new being offered.

 

2. Avoiding the States right now. With all the gun violence in the US, we have sworn off all US travel, including cruise ports. Many of our Canadian friends have made the same decision.

 

3. More land travels. This year we did 2 land based vacations and one cruise. So far we have one land based vacation planned for next year.

 

4. HAL offers an inferior product in the Caribbean. Lower prices in the Caribbean result in an inferior product. Our Norway cruise on the K earlier this year far surpassed any cruise that we had taken in the Caribbean. I believe, as did some of the folks that we talked to on board also, that European passengers demand a higher quality product. So we are looking at HAL European cruises.

[silvercruiser]

At the Mariners luncheon on the Rotterdam, Dec. 3-17, I was seated with a group who'd just received their bronze medallions and I'd just gotten my silver medallion, so we were all experienced HAL cruisers. The general agreement was that if this had been their very first cruise ever, they probably woudn't ever book another one. The whole experience was just 'watered down' in so many ways.

[iancal]

Our reasons are very similar to cbr663 above.

 

Besides, as DW points out why pay all that money when we could simply visit a old age home close to where we live and get our fill of Lawrence Welk music.

[RedneckBob]

Our reasons are very similar to cbr663 above.

 

Besides, as DW points out why pay all that money when we could simply visit a old age home close to where we live and get our fill of Lawrence Welk music.

 

The music at BB Kings is not quite like Lawrence Welk :D