HAL Pricing- I guess we will switch

[geocruiser]

11 minutes ago, iancal said:

We have had 20 plus balcony cabins on HAL, Princess, Carnival, RCI, Celebrity, and NCL.  Many were gtys.  

 

We have yet to have one that did not have two chairs on the balcony.  Some had two chairs and two footstools.    

 

If we ever did have only one chair it would be quickly resolved by asked our room attendant for a second chair.

 

you have not sailed in a reg balcony the passed three years then.

[geocruiser]

20 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

you have not sailed in a reg balcony the passed three years then.

Here is one of the links about one chair being in inside, out side and regular balcony cabins.  The second chair has been removed.  You can beg for one, but may not get one.  Princess's home office called me after I wrote a letter to Ms. Jan S. about this.  I was told to sit on the bed!!  They also told me that I can ask for one, but may not get one!  Not so easy to get a second chair for the cabin.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2704757-balcony-rooms-with-no-where-to-sit/

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by geocruiser

[cccole]

chisoxfan,  I think you made a great choice, especially since Greenland and Iceland were not on your bucket list.  An aft balcony?  My idea of heaven.  If you decide you want to visit Greenland and Iceland you can use your savings to fly and really experience the islands.  Have great cruises!!!  Cherie

[iancal]

30 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

you have not sailed in a reg balcony the passed three years then.

Yes.  Once on Princess, one on RCI.

Edited June 6, 2021 by iancal

[iancal]

16 hours ago, iancal said:

Yes.  Once on Princess, one on RCI.

Princess was a gty so it could well have been a deluxe.  RCI was also gty one week prior to sailing.

[TriumphGuy]

17 hours ago, iancal said:

We have had 20 plus balcony cabins on HAL, Princess, Carnival, RCI, Celebrity, and NCL.  Many were gtys.  

 

We have yet to have one that did not have two chairs on the balcony.  Some had two chairs and two footstools.    

 

If we ever did have only one chair it would be quickly resolved by asked our room attendant for a second chair.

 

Princess removed the second chair IN THE CABIN, not on the balcony. This was done for regular balcony and below categories. It was done under the guise of "safety", but the real reason was to get people out of their cabins and spending money.
This is the main reason we dumped Princess.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, TriumphGuy said:

Princess removed the second chair IN THE CABIN, not on the balcony. This was done for regular balcony and below categories. It was done under the guise of "safety", but the real reason was to get people out of their cabins and spending money.
This is the main reason we dumped Princess.

The law of unintended consequences---they did such a good job of getting you out of your cabin to spend more money that you never booked their cabin and spent nothing with them.

 

A real win for the bean counters who have no understanding of why people go on a cruise.😒

[iancal]

Seems to me that we have always had a sofa bed and one desk chair in our balcony cabins on every cruise so far.  Perhaps an extra chair in the Princess mini suite.

 

We do not really care about the seating inside the cabin as long as there is at least a sofa bed.  Most of our in cabin time is either spent sleeping or sitting on the balcony watching the world go by with a good book and nice bottle of Malbec.

[blizzardboy]

On 6/2/2021 at 1:50 PM, lstrong said:

I don’t blame you!  HALs pricing is not good at all right now.

They're selling out cruises. The previous poster is correct, the free market rules. Market forces, like most things in life and nature, work both ways. When demand drops, so will prices.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, iancal said:

Seems to me that we have always had a sofa bed and one desk chair in our balcony cabins on every cruise so far.  Perhaps an extra chair in the Princess mini suite.

 

We do not really care about the seating inside the cabin as long as there is at least a sofa bed.  Most of our in cabin time is either spent sleeping or sitting on the balcony watching the world go by with a good book and nice bottle of Malbec.

 

Just to be crystal clear -- Princess cabins below the level of mini-suite do not have a sofa, nor do they have a comfortable (club) chair any longer. The only place to sit inside the cabin is on a (not too comfortable) desk chair or on your bed.

 

[geocruiser]

47 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Just to be crystal clear -- Princess cabins below the level of mini-suite do not have a sofa, nor do they have a comfortable (club) chair any longer. The only place to sit inside the cabin is on a (not too comfortable) desk chair or on your bed.

 

Don't forget we can sit on the floor too!! On regal and Royal the deluxe balcony had a love seat and one chair.  Regular balconies and below only one chair.  They also removed the small round table too.  Great to try to have room service breakfast with only one chair and no table!! And two people.  Oh, sorry to so far off topic.  

But I have gone back to HAL now because of this, unless a deluxe balcony is priced good on Princess.

 

HAL has some nice cabins.

[chisoxfan]

15 hours ago, geocruiser said:

Don't forget we can sit on the floor too!! On regal and Royal the deluxe balcony had a love seat and one chair.  Regular balconies and below only one chair.  They also removed the small round table too.  Great to try to have room service breakfast with only one chair and no table!! And two people.  Oh, sorry to so far off topic.  

But I have gone back to HAL now because of this, unless a deluxe balcony is priced good on Princess.

 

HAL has some nice cabins.

We do have a Deluxe balcony with sofa. I can appreciate the concern with not having an interior

'comfortable' chair or sofa..... some of the modern cruise design concepts baffle me.

 

So just to get back to my OP,  we were OK with both the HAL and Princess cruises. They balanced out fairly evenly for us but the pricing made it a no brainer (we will pay for specialty dining, excursions, etc.) and still have money left for another very nice cruise.

 

I am expecting, hoping that once the year (s) of credits work out of the system and cruising returns to post Covid levels that pricing will return to 'normal'.  Since I will be retired next year my flexibility on cruise choices will be greater and we will continue to allow value (value not price) to be a major criteria in our selections.

[iancal]

It has always been a case of selecting vs. switching for us.  We have never limited ourselves to one cruise.  So many great ships and cruise lines to choose from.

[geocruiser]

On 6/7/2021 at 2:41 PM, iancal said:

Seems to me that we have always had a sofa bed and one desk chair in our balcony cabins on every cruise so far.  Perhaps an extra chair in the Princess mini suite.

 

We do not really care about the seating inside the cabin as long as there is at least a sofa bed.  Most of our in cabin time is either spent sleeping or sitting on the balcony watching the world go by with a good book and nice bottle of Malbec.

I just read your reply again As long as you have a sofa bed in you cabin you don't care about the seating inside.  For me that would be fine too.  At least two people can then sit at the same time.

[tuolumne couple]

still love HAL

 

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by tuolumne couple