HAL Pricing- I guess we will switch

[iancal]

We suspect that we will not find pricing particularly attractive until the deadline for using FCCs, discounted gift cards etc. has passed.

 

Cruise lines do not give anything away.  There will be some people who have been winners on the FCC game but IMHO this is a game designed by the cruise lines.  Their rules.  And it was not designed for them to loose money.  It was designed to create demand at start up and designed for a higher list price/selling price model in order to suck up those FCC's.

[rucrazy]

14 minutes ago, iancal said:

to create demand at start up and designed for a higher list price/selling price model in order to suck up those FCC's.

That makes sense! Don't know if it's true.. But it does seem logical.👍🏼

 

[AKJonesy]

I only booked through HAL once because I got an incredible deal on an upgrade that would've cost me far more had I booked the higher stateroom category originally.  Right now, I'm almost 4 star so I've cruised quite a bit.  In all that time I've found other agencies significantly less expensive than HAL.  IDK if that disqualifies me for a HAL upgrade, but I don't allow upgrades once I final book.  Plus many of the other agencies often offer incentives beyond HAL.  I did get the 25% bump for my cancelled cruise which I did book direct through HAL, so between that OBC and the discount for my upcoming AK cruise, I feel like I've done well.  But, I will admit, I am a loyal HAL customer and have not cruised on any other operator in 25 years!  However, if I found something SIGNIFICANTLY different in price between cruise lines, then sorry HAL...price wins out considering everything else is equal.  

[chisoxfan]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

When we chat with other frequent cruisers (on any line) we get an "education" about how some folks are really into this "loyalty" thing for various reasons.  If you just read through the HAL blogs here on CC you will find many very loyal HAL cruisers (who will not consider other lines) and plenty who only use their PCC even though that means they are paying 5-10% more for every cruise (many of the pro PCC folks do not believe us when we talk about how high volume cruise agencies can save you 5-10% and more on every booking).   

 

So now we get to the pricing of future cruises and in my 45+ years as a frequent cruiser I have never seen such a complex mess (across all cruise lines) with pricing.  What has happened is that most cruise lines gave out hundreds of millions of dollars of future cruise credits (because of COVID cancelations) and are now trying to devalue a lot of those FCCs by simply increasing their prices on some popular cruises.  Folks who got FCCs equal to 125% of their previous booking are finding they are lucky if they can book a comparable cruise for 125% of their original cruise cost.

 

We have booked 4 cruises in the past month and it has been a shopping challenge to find decent deals.  The situation has actually driven us to book with higher end lines (i.e. Seabourn, Oceania, etc) because they offer a better value.  All this might change tomorrow, but that is the way it is now.  I smiled at the OP's post because we recently booked a 20 day Enchanted Princess cruise because it offered a terrific value when compared to HAL and some other lines.  There are still some reasonable deals out there in the cruise world but folks may need to expand their horizons to find the best values.

 

Hank

Totally agree with your comments. There are millions of $$$ out there in credits waiting to be used and it would seem to  be in the cruise line' s favor to inflate prices and then adjust if needed.

We also saw some 'premium' lines that seemed competitive to mainstream cruises.

So maybe more than ever it is important to evaluate 2022 cruises carefully between all lines including premium. I will be happy when the market returns to 'normal'.

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, iancal said:

We suspect that we will not find pricing particularly attractive until the deadline for using FCCs, discounted gift cards etc. has passed.

 

Cruise lines do not give anything away.  There will be some people who have been winners on the FCC game but IMHO this is a game designed by the cruise lines.  Their rules.  And it was not designed for them to loose money.  It was designed to create demand at start up and designed for a higher list price/selling price model in order to suck up those FCC's.

It was also designed for them not to have to refund money at a time that they were losing lots and lots of money.

[chisoxfan]

Thanks everyone. Looks like an aft deluxe balcony opened up so we will spend more of our savings..

Diff is now 15,300 Princess vs. 19,200 HAL.

This cruise is a long way off but the HAL ship was pretty sold out.  Out of curiosity we will keep an eye on pricing but think we will likely stay the course with Princess for this one.

[Mary229]

Just adding, it is not only the cruise lines.  I started tracking prices for hotels.  Have you looked?   My first cruise is out of Fort Lauderdale and prices are just rising incredibly.  HAL actually had a hotel that when comparing was a good deal.  Thinking it was too early to book I ignored it only to find that they removed the hotel a few days later.  
 

That said my Netherlands hotels for next spring are low.  
 

I think many people are going to opt for travel closer to home and it reminds us of the power of the American consumer.  

[iancal]

I have never understood the big panic about pricing.   

 

It seems very straightforward to me.  

 

If you think the price is too high either select another ship/ another cruise line or don't book at all.

 

 All the wailing and knashing of teeth will not help.  What will help is to reduce demand on that particular ship or cruise line by refusing to book at inflated prices.

 

No different than any other buy.

Edited June 4, 2021 by iancal

[albingirl]

Generally, I book pretty far in advance and let the prices sort out.  Many times they have a significant drop by the time I sail, so I just go with the flow until then. Then, when they do drop, I get back in touch with my PCC and generally receive satisfaction.

[Oakman58]

I booked a 2022, 14 Day South American cruise with HAL back in September.  I thought it was a good deal and I think the promotion was Have it All or something like that.  Today, booking that same Veranda cabin with the perks HAL is offering would cost $551 per person more.  Yikes, I'm glad we booked when we did.

 

We also took advantage of the HAL promotion of making an additional payment of $500 on our cruise and getting a $250 onboard credit.  SWEET!!

 

The Roll Call for that cruise is pretty dead.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Oakman58

[janmcn]

I don’t consider this anywhere near the same itinerary…having done pretty much the same cruise, the Iceland and Greenland stops, not to mention cruising Prins Crisiand Sund were amazing! Lots more ports equals more expense, plus two extra days. IMO there IS a difference that warrants the cost.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, janmcn said:

I don’t consider this anywhere near the same itinerary…having done pretty much the same cruise, the Iceland and Greenland stops, not to mention cruising Prins Crisiand Sund were amazing! Lots more ports equals more expense, plus two extra days. IMO there IS a difference that warrants the cost.

As they say, different strokes for different folks. To you the HAL cruise is worth the difference in cost while to the OP it is not. Neither of you is wrong.

[geocruiser]

On 6/3/2021 at 6:27 PM, chisoxfan said:

Thanks everyone. Looks like an aft deluxe balcony opened up so we will spend more of our savings..

Diff is now 15,300 Princess vs. 19,200 HAL.

This cruise is a long way off but the HAL ship was pretty sold out.  Out of curiosity we will keep an eye on pricing but think we will likely stay the course with Princess for this one.

It is a good idea to have a Deluxe Balcony.  A reg. balcony cabin has only one chair (at least on royal and Regal), so it can get old fast only having a chair for one person to sit at a time.

[LocoLoco1]

I’m ‘loyal’ to HAL because I have $9,000/USD in FCC’s due to a Covid cancellation. Ha!!

[cruisemom42]

16 hours ago, ontheweb said:

As they say, different strokes for different folks. To you the HAL cruise is worth the difference in cost while to the OP it is not. Neither of you is wrong.

 

Of course your assessment is correct. What a few of us were objecting to was the categorization by the OP that the two cruises had a "very similar" (OP's words) itinerary. I don't think you can really say that.  It's an apples-to-oranges comparison. Same fruit basket but different fruit.

 

[echoshipmate]

The HAL and Princess cheerleaders/apologists are driving me crazy. We have 4 cruises booked currently, 2 on HAL and 2 on Princess, we are 4* on HAL and Elite on Princess, so not exactly newbees. My advice, don't be so limited in your view about any cruise line. Explore options, it's like drinking wine, all are good, some appeal to your tastes better than others, but all are pretty good. Btw, the Princess board is full of Princess loyalists, just as this is for HAL. JMO.

Doug

[Mary229]

18 minutes ago, echoshipmate said:

The HAL and Princess cheerleaders/apologists are driving me crazy. We have 4 cruises booked currently, 2 on HAL and 2 on Princess, we are 4* on HAL and Elite on Princess, so not exactly newbees. My advice, don't be so limited in your view about any cruise line. Explore options, it's like drinking wine, all are good, some appeal to your tastes better than others, but all are pretty good. Btw, the Princess board is full of Princess loyalists, just as this is for HAL. JMO.

Doug

You must be reading a different thread than me. I have seen nothing but compare, compare, compare and an economic assessment of how cruises are priced.  Bottom line is buy what is important to you. 

[iancal]

We have zero time for cruise line cheerleaders/apologists no matter cruise line they are touting.

 

Not certain why this is.   We have always assumed that it was because they are insecure and need to constantly justify their choice.   

 

The reality is there are lots of great cruise products out there across all cruise lines.   Each of them have their own pros and cons, and are targeted at different demographics.

Edited June 5, 2021 by iancal

[Storylady]

Chrisoxfan, I believe you are comparing a transatlantic cruise with very popular itinerary that includes Iceland and Greenland. The Iceland Greenland route has always been priced higher, even on Princess. What you are taking is an ordinary TA route which is naturally less expensive.  If you are are only interested in getting home, then naturally, you have a great deal. But if you were interested in seeing Iceland and Greenland, then you need to compare the Coral Princess (July 9th) and the HAL itinerary. HAL is still slightly more expensive due to being a much small ship. 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Storylady

[chisoxfan]

17 hours ago, Storylady said:

Chrisoxfan, I believe you are comparing a transatlantic cruise with very popular itinerary that includes Iceland and Greenland. The Iceland Greenland route has always been priced higher, even on Princess. What you are taking is an ordinary TA route which is naturally less expensive.  If you are are only interested in getting home, then naturally, you have a great deal. But if you were interested in seeing Iceland and Greenland, then you need to compare the Coral Princess (July 9th) and the HAL itinerary. HAL is still slightly more expensive due to being a much small ship. 

First of all appreciate everyone's comments. We are well aware (as stated before) that there isn't (well maybe on a Caribbean Itinerary) an apples to apples cruise comparison.  We are not dismissing the HAL itinerary but I think to label our Princess cruise as a standard TA route is perhaps a bit unfair.

Again, we started our search looking for an extended cruise (over 20 days) that visited St. Petersburg. Initially we had no interest in cruising back to US but that was kind of what presented itself. The NS cruise sited was clearly viewed positively (since we booked it) but we had only mild interest in spending time in Iceland and Greenland.  At19,200 for a standard balcony I felt (as many of us I have been away from cruising for two years) that we were paying towards the '"high end" ie at 5000k a week even with some benes not the deal of the century. I get the pent up demand based on millions of cruise credits looking for a home.

Coming across the Princess Cruise at over 6k less for a balcony we felt this was a much better value. Please understand we hope to cruise to Europe every year and my gut feeling is that fares will rebalance a bit in the future years.

For us personally the comparison was balcony price a brand new larger ship- Enchanted Princess, we get the different ports but are not opposed to Ireland, Azores, and do like spending a night in Boston and ending in New York.  We are looking at this as a desirable vacation not a once in a lifetime cruise.

Just trying to present our value judgement...... I am sure we could have everyone extoll virtues of inside cabins and owners suites

Believe me HAL will stay on our list of lines to look at (and I hope Princess returns to ours).

 

 

 

[ontheweb]

43 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

First of all appreciate everyone's comments. We are well aware (as stated before) that there isn't (well maybe on a Caribbean Itinerary) an apples to apples cruise comparison.  We are not dismissing the HAL itinerary but I think to label our Princess cruise as a standard TA route is perhaps a bit unfair.

Again, we started our search looking for an extended cruise (over 20 days) that visited St. Petersburg. Initially we had no interest in cruising back to US but that was kind of what presented itself. The NS cruise sited was clearly viewed positively (since we booked it) but we had only mild interest in spending time in Iceland and Greenland.  At19,200 for a standard balcony I felt (as many of us I have been away from cruising for two years) that we were paying towards the '"high end" ie at 5000k a week even with some benes not the deal of the century. I get the pent up demand based on millions of cruise credits looking for a home.

Coming across the Princess Cruise at over 6k less for a balcony we felt this was a much better value. Please understand we hope to cruise to Europe every year and my gut feeling is that fares will rebalance a bit in the future years.

For us personally the comparison was balcony price a brand new larger ship- Enchanted Princess, we get the different ports but are not opposed to Ireland, Azores, and do like spending a night in Boston and ending in New York.  We are looking at this as a desirable vacation not a once in a lifetime cruise.

Just trying to present our value judgement...... I am sure we could have everyone extoll virtues of inside cabins and owners suites

Believe me HAL will stay on our list of lines to look at (and I hope Princess returns to ours).

 

 

 

As I posted earlier, different strokes for different folks. You really do not have to defend your choice. It is rational. And for those who thought the other choice was worth the extra $6000, they too were right given their preferences in ports.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Storylady]

22 hours ago, Storylady said:

Chrisoxfan, I believe you are comparing a transatlantic cruise with very popular itinerary that includes Iceland and Greenland. The Iceland Greenland route has always been priced higher, even on Princess. What you are taking is an ordinary TA route which is naturally less expensive.  If you are are only interested in getting home, then naturally, you have a great deal. But if you were interested in seeing Iceland and Greenland, then you need to compare the Coral Princess (July 9th) and the HAL itinerary. HAL is still slightly more expensive due to being a much small ship. 

I wasn’t criticizing OP’s decision to switch to Princess. I was trying to explain why the HAL itinerary going to Iceland and Greenland was more expensive. I also didn’t mention that the size of the ship also has a lot to do with pricing. The Nieuw Statendam (2650-3214) although fairly new is a smaller ship compared to the Enchanted Princess (3660-4272).
 

The itinerary he chose is a B2B. I didn’t clarify that when I said standard TA. I was personally referring to the 15 day portion of his cruise which has some nice stops, but lots of sea days which is standard for a TA crossing on most of the major cruise lines. They are always priced cheaper unless you are crossing by way of Iceland and Greenland. The first 11 days are his Baltic Cruise which is priced higher.

 

Personally, I prefer a much smaller ship than the cruises mentioned. If the OP is happy with his choice and feels that the price is right. He made a good decision. That is why there are cruise lines of all different sizes as everyone has different reasons for choosing the cruise line, ship or itinerary that they did.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Storylady

[OVgirl]

On 6/4/2021 at 6:59 PM, geocruiser said:

It is a good idea to have a Deluxe Balcony.  A reg. balcony cabin has only one chair (at least on royal and Regal), so it can get old fast only having a chair for one person to sit at a time.

All balcony staterooms on Holland America ships, regardless of category, have 2 chairs. So no worries which one you book.

Edited June 6, 2021 by OVgirl

[iancal]

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.

 

[geocruiser]

1 hour ago, OVgirl said:

All balcony staterooms on Holland America ships, regardless of category, have 2 chairs. So no worries which one you book.

That is great.  I should have said on Princess's Royal and Regal ship their balcony cabins only have one chair.