Say goodbye to the older ships.

[rafinmd]

9 hours ago, pspercy said:

 

Or a Ryan Air of the sea...........................😱

Didn't we already try that with EasyCruise?

 

Roy

[Copper10-8]

10 hours ago, pspercy said:

 

Or a Ryan Air of the sea...........................😱

 

Already been tried with EasyCruise in the UK; didn't work out too well 😟

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 6/25/2020 at 8:41 AM, Copper10-8 said:

 

Already been tried with EasyCruise in the UK; didn't work out too well 😟

 

And it has been tried with Grand Celebration in Florida; and did well.

 

 

Even Carnival started with humble beginnings, buying one 12 year old ship.

 

 

As did Seabourn with a 15 year old ship.

 

 

 

Toys "R" Us failed primarily due to a leveraged buyout, the interest on that debt ate up all their profit.  The mounting debt of existing cruise industry, upwards of 12% interest rates, is a game changer.  Once pandemic fears subside, there may be no better time to enter the market, at minimal expense.

 

There is a high failure rate with any new business, but some will succeed.

[BJzink]

On 6/20/2020 at 5:20 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

I thought when the zodiac concept was introduced to the Maasdam, while I was hopeful it would work, it just didn't fit the HAL business model.  

 

One more example, in my opinion, of inadequate thinking in Seattle.  

This past December/January I was on a cruise in Australia/NZ .  Seemed like the zodiacs were out every day that there was a dive/snorkel tour.  3 of the EXC naturalists were the drivers.

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, BJzink said:

This past December/January I was on a cruise in Australia/NZ .  Seemed like the zodiacs were out every day that there was a dive/snorkel tour.  3 of the EXC naturalists were the drivers.

 

Thanks for posting your experience.  From what I have read about others experiences on other cruises, their experiences were different.  I stand by what I originally posted:  HAL's business model has not been suitable for such guest experiences.  Given the current situation we are experiencing, who knows what will develop?

[BJzink]

14 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Thanks for posting your experience.  From what I have read about others experiences on other cruises, their experiences were different.  I stand by what I originally posted:  HAL's business model has not been suitable for such guest experiences.  Given the current situation we are experiencing, who knows what will develop?

 

[BJzink]

I have to admit that the EXC cruise concept has not stayed to the level of its first cruise in Fall 2018.  That one sailed thru the Panama Canal, visited Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Easter Island, and the Tuomotu/Society Islands.  The guest lecturers onboard were fabulous, and there were 3 guest chefs from the different areas who gave lots of cultural food lectures & preparation.  Had 3 special 5-course dinner in Pinnacle featuring their menus.

Cultural Ambassadors from each area,  The Zodiacs were onboard but not functional.  

My cruise to Australia & So. Pacific islands had the Zodiacs busy,  busy.  However there was very little education re. the Islands.  Lectures re. sea life, ocean currents, etc. but nothing about the history and culture of this area. Only one food demo, one cultural ambassador, but could have been so rich in information re. the Aborigines, and their contributions.  I gave a page of feedback about my disappointment in this cruise vs. the original one 2 years ago.  Didn't get a response.  I don't know whether the cruises between these 2 were memorable - I have booked a 14 day Alaska for Sept. 2021, and there are several Zodiac tours available at this time.

[bcummin]

Our Maasdam EXC voyage from Sydney to Perth to Singapore, to Male and back to Singapore was indeed memorable.  We had Aboriginal "ambassadors" from Sydney to Perth and many expert lecturers aboard from December 2018 to February 2019.  Unfortunately some of the best Australians left in the first Singapore stop.

This evolving experiment depended so much on the current experiences.

Barbara 

[Infi]

Appreciate those who have shared their experiences with EXC. It seems that the EXC concept is heavily dependent on the enrichment staff onboard, both in terms of quality (for lectures, activities, etc.) and quantity (who's going to drive all those zodiacs?)

 

On our Antarctica cruise in December 2017, we spoke with Peter Carey, who was the head of the onboard "Expedition Team" of 3 lecturers who spoke about the geology, biology, and the culture of the region. He had been tapped to head up the EXC concept for the Maasdam, and was very excited to spearhead the new program. When complimented on his Antarctica lectures, he was gracious and always told those to mention it in their surveys, so HAL would see how important destination-based lectures are to HAL passengers. Based on his lectures and the program he ran for us in Antarctica, I know that any ship with him aboard would have been quite lucky and had the EXC concept live up to brochure promises. However, there are only so many Peter Careys (and other fine lecturers/naturalists/etc.) to go around, and I can't help wondering if HAL didn't fully think the personnel piece through, given the uneven execution of this concept. Staffing the Maasdam year-round and across a wide variety of specialized destinations can't be easy and requires quite a bit of forethought and planning. It's too bad, this concept could have been a real winner.

[bcummin]

I was so disappointed that Peter Carey was not on our Maasdam EXC voyage.

It was still memorable, thanks to the wonderful combination of people onboard.

Barbara

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Infi said:

there are only so many Peter Careys

 

And, there is the fallacy of HAL's business plan for EXC cruises.  

 

When the EXC staff are experts in their business, the EXC cruise would be worth the money spent.  

[relo]

15 hours ago, BJzink said:

- I have booked a 14 day Alaska for Sept. 2021, and there are several Zodiac tours available at this time.

That’s interesting. We were booked this June and had booked several zodiac tours on the scenic cruising days. One of the reasons to book the Maasdam. Due the cancellations we have moved it to June 2021. Until now there is not one zodiac tour scheduled on the scenic cruising Days. Only one excursion in Haines what looks like a HAL zodiac instead of a local operator.  Is there one for you for the Inian Island scenic cruising for example?

[BJzink]

The only Zodiac tour on this cruise is on 9/8/20 out of Ketchikan, 2/1-2 hrs, 199$.  When I was booked this year there were at least 4.

[trident]

 We were on the MAASDAM FOR 27 DAYS from JAN 20 to FEB 15 ,2020.There was  only 1  zodiac tour in 27 days . We were told  3 of the zodiacs were unusable due to dry rot.We  have only one EXC lecturer . That was it.It was quite a boring shipboard experience.Prior  to this cruise we were on the jan 2019 INDIAN OCEAN EXC CRUISE which was quite interesting. It seems  SEATTLE  cuts good new programs  even after  a little sucess. 

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, trident said:

 We were on the MAASDAM FOR 27 DAYS from JAN 20 to FEB 15 ,2020.There was  only 1  zodiac tour in 27 days . We were told  3 of the zodiacs were unusable due to dry rot.We  have only one EXC lecturer . That was it.It was quite a boring shipboard experience.Prior  to this cruise we were on the jan 2019 INDIAN OCEAN EXC CRUISE which was quite interesting. It seems  SEATTLE  cuts good new programs  even after  a little sucess. 

Dry Rot on Zodiacs?  That would be news to the Zodiac manufacturer.  We wonder if HAL used the same maintenance standards on their Zodiacs that they use on the ship where many problems are "deferred."  Go on a line like Seabourn and you will lots of Zodiacs that always seem to function quite fine.  We wondered if the EXC program would be a good fit/work on HAL given its passenger demographics.  When the program was first announced we booked a long Maasdam cruise but later cancelled due to several reasons including the reviews (mostly here on CC).   

 

Hank

[KirkNC]

I don’t buy the dry rot excuse, the zodiacs are top of the line(even though seldom used on our 80 days aboard).

[bcummin]

The 2019 Indian Ocean EXC voyage was indeed interesting with fascinating & thought-provoking lecturers, but I am remembering only one zodiac excursion - Utheemu in the Maldives.  More had been planned, but Sri Lanka decided not to allow any zodiac excursions from ms Maasdam.

Barbara  

[trident]

That is correct. So we have been on the maasdam 47 days with 2 zodiacs  excursions . That was a lot of hype by ASHFORD  for nothing.

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, trident said:

That is correct. So we have been on the maasdam 47 days with 2 zodiacs  excursions . That was a lot of hype by ASHFORD  for nothing.

 

Sorry to hear such reports of underuse of what was supposed to be an EXC feature on the Maasdam, but, truthfully, not surprised.

 

Sorry sail7seas if you are still accessing CC, but, can one say, good-bye Maasdam?  

 

I enjoyed my 2010 cruise on Maasdam, a Montreal-Fort Lauderdale re-positioning cruise.  HAL needs to reduce the size of their fleet and both Maasdam and Veendam ought to be at the top of the list.

Edited June 29, 2020 by rkacruiser

[DFD1]

16 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Sorry to hear such reports of underuse of what was supposed to be an EXC feature on the Maasdam, but, truthfully, not surprised.

 

Sorry sail7seas if you are still accessing CC, but, can one say, good-bye Maasdam?  

 

I enjoyed my 2010 cruise on Maasdam, a Montreal-Fort Lauderdale re-positioning cruise.  HAL needs to reduce the size of their fleet and both Maasdam and Veendam ought to be at the top of the list.

 

No.

[rkacruiser]

6 minutes ago, DFD1 said:

 

No.

 

We will see.  I like the Maasdam.  I liked the Veendam before the "butchering" that took place.  Why the Veendam was not ditched while the Statendam was is still, in my opinion, an error coming from the Seattle suites.  

[YXU AC*SE]

1 minute ago, rkacruiser said:

Why the Veendam was not ditched while the Statendam was is still, in my opinion, an error coming from the Seattle suites.  

 

Pretty sure it would be operating costs on a per available lower berth day ...   more lower berths (as inelegant as they might be) the more to average your operating costs down.    As it was, the exiled former Statendam lasted only three years as P&O Australia's Pacific Eden before being removed from the Carnival brand umbrella.  Ryndam as Pacific Aria departs in 2021.   And if you have 120$M USD in free cash laying about, Maasdam too?   Scott.