HAL Pricing Higher Than Princess Apples to Apples

[mcrcruiser]

In checking ,we booked a 7 night HAL  Nov 12 ,2022  cruise in a VH  balcony   handicap state room  for the   7night Mexican riviera cruise  . We also booked B2B  Dec3  & Dec 10  ,2022  both in a high deck handicap state room   Mexican Riviera cruises  on Princess new Discovery  (entering service in 2021)   .The   HAL stateroom is the lowest semi blocked  by the small life boats ,where the Princess Discovery handicap state room   has unblocked views because  the state room is on higher decks  

 

 We could only compare the Dec 10 ,2022 Princess  pricing  to the HAL Nov pricing because  the Dec 3rd Princess prices had future cruise credits applied  .

 

  What we found is that HAL's cruise price was $213  higher on Koningsdam (2016  built ) to the Princess discovery  (built in 2021)  ,Additionally , we have been able to do 7 night Mexican Riviera cruises pre pandemic for  in most cases  $300 to $400  less than current price points  in a balcony cabin  on HAL  

 

 We no longer fly  & if we can't drive to our home port of San Diego or to San Pedro Calif we won't cruise . Having done close to 90 cruises we have been to most of the world ,so we are not missing any thing   .We now cruise  not for the ports but for the ambiances  ,service & food that the ships offer  .We rarely get  off the ship except maybe Mazatlan where I buy   iron wood carved animals & sea creatures  from with in the port area   ,to add to my extensive collection . They are pieces of art  & display nicely in our home  here in  North Coastal San  Diego county ( best weather any where )

[dchip]

Not quite apples to apples. The Koningsdam sails with 2,650 passengers. Princess Discovery has 3,660 passengers. This makes a difference the pricing. 
Cheers, Denise

[SilvertoGold]

See this in my research all the time. I have noted that the Zuiderdam is sometimes lower that the Koningsdam for Mexico.

 

Also see RCL and sometimes NCL is pricing lower, especially far out. There are some very good deals on those lines.  Different approaches in marketing being used by the cruise lines.

[NavyCruiser]

Cruises pricing can never be apples to apples, since there's many many diff factors that goes into pricing.

There's marked diff prices in just different ships, age, size, dates, cabin category & location, etc... & even your status level on each line.

So there's millions of different combinations that'll affect pricing....

[mcrcruiser]

9 minutes ago, dchip said:

Not quite apples to apples. The Koningsdam sails with 2,650 passengers. Princess Discovery has 3,660 passengers. This makes a difference the pricing. 
Cheers, Denise

The  price  point has nothing to d with    the pax load especially in a pan demic when it is highly unlikely they sail full  . 

 We have done this itinerary more than any other itinerary &  the pre pandemic prices  were several hundreds lower . Also the cabin location on the  Discovery  Princess was a higher location with out life boats  for the HAL  location  .That too makes a difference in pricing alone  .Thus ,If we were to go to a higher deck on HaL  for a handicap cabin  the price differences would have been even greater than the $213 

 

 Check out what I saying  

 

 

[caviargal]

Princess is far more generous to their elite level passengers than HAL. I wish I liked their product, but I do not.

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

Cruises pricing can never be apples to apples, since there's many many diff factors that goes into pricing.

There's marked diff prices in just different ships, age, size, dates, cabin category & location, etc... & even your status level on each line.

So there's millions of different combinations that'll affect pricing....

If you were to look at a handicap cabin  in upper decks the price difference between HAL & Princess would have been even much larger  .  Thus ,we are finding HAL more pricier in comparable sailings &  their tip structure is also higher than either Princess or Carnival  sailing s  from the West coat ports   .I once said that perhaps we should check into the all inclusive luxury ships  & may get a better deal when all differences are  calculated 

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, caviargal said:

Princess is far more generous to their elite level passengers than HAL. I wish I liked their product, but I do not.

We are only Ruby level with Princess & a higher level of 3 star Mariner with HAL . where we do excel is Celebrity  at Elite + & Royal Diamond . Since we no longer fly ,Celebrity  rarely sales from the west coast ports & Royal Caribbean recently placed  Navigator of the Seas out of San Pedro port to service the Mexican Riviera 7  night cruise & 4 night Catalina / Ensenada    cruise   .Years back RCCL had the Mariner of the Seas in that port but pulled her pot because pricing got too low to fill the ship .RCCL sent her to the Europe market  back then 

[mcrcruiser]

We think that HAL with 11 ships in their fleet  is more like Celebrity & Princess in more like Royal Caribbean  due to the number of ships 

[iancal]

We have learned over many years of cruising that cruise prices are only relevant to a specific point in time.  They change-sometimes over a week, over a day, and once in a while in the middle of a day.  Not to mention cabin category pricing differences.  An ocean view may be the least expensive on one line but their verandah cabin offering may be the most expensive of three similar cruise lines.

 

Supply, demand, and the revenue maximizing algorithm that each cruise line uses for each cabin category play a part in the pricing decision.

 

So price comparisons can be very difficult, even without subjective comparisons between cruise lines.

 

When we started looking at Med pricing a few years ago the balcony prices when we booked two of them were Celebrity, then Princess at plus 20 percent highter, then HAL at 30 percent highter.  Two weeks later  all three were in the same ball park.  Same for our SA cruise. When we booked Princess was the best offer, Celebrity the most expensive of the three.

Edited August 18, 2021 by iancal

[mcrcruiser]

13 minutes ago, iancal said:

We have learned over many years of cruising that cruise prices are only relevant to a specific point in time.  They change-sometimes over a week, over a day, and once in a while in the middle of a day.  Not to mention cabin category pricing differences.  An ocean view may be the least expensive on one line but their verandah cabin offering may be the most expensive of three similar cruise lines.

 

Supply, demand, and the revenue maximizing algorithm that each cruise line uses for each cabin category play a part in the pricing decision.

 

So price comparisons can be very difficult, even without subjective comparisons between cruise lines.

 

When we started looking at Med pricing a few years ago the balcony prices when we booked two of them were Celebrity, then Princess at plus 20 percent highter, then HAL at 30 percent highter.  Two weeks later  all three were in the same ball park.  Same for our SA cruise. When we booked Princess was the best offer, Celebrity the most expensive of the three.

The real factors for the increases in prices so dramatically  has to do with the huge debt load that  CCL ,RCL & NCLH   Corporations   are  trying to  lower . not only that but Carnival corp  floated more shares & diluted what was already in the market place   .Reason is that ore pandemic the Mexican  Riviera prices for a balcony unobstructed ranged   in price from lows of $1400 to as much as $1700  bow they range   $1900 to the $2100 price point   ,A substantial price difference  .Just hope that there were no cut backs along the way ;because ,if the cruise lines cut back as well as these price increases we will stop cruising all together  & use our monies for USA /Canada land trips  using our own car 

[iancal]

We believe one of the current factors is the FCC's and discounted gift cards that need to be absorbed.

 

I have little doubt that restrictive FCC's were offered by some cruise lines on the basis of a 'you can pay me now or you can pay me later' pricing strategy.

 

Once the FCC's have been used or expired, demand and pricing may revert to  more traditional  levels.

 

The challenge that some debt laden cruise lines will have is that there are some smaller startups, luxury and otherwise, who have purchased fire sale assets, updated them to standard, and as a result are no saddled with unusually high debt ratios.  The firms may impact pricing in certain markets like the Med.

Edited August 18, 2021 by iancal

[DaveOKC]

You missed the fact that the weeks are not comparable.  I checked the HAL fare for a verandah on the Nov 12 versus the Dec 3 and 10th sailings and $100 pp higher on Nov 12.  Early Dec sailings are normally among the least expensive of the year.  Compare Apples to Apples please.

[trixiee]

I'm glad you are happy with the other cruiseline.  We tried Princess, and were not satisfied with the dining room food quality and service.  Adding the Sterling Steakhouse cost to the weekly tab would just about make it equal in cost.  (And this is what I need to factor in)

[iancal]

It all comes down to the market and to choice.  There is no rule that say HAL has to be the least expensive, the same, or more expensive. Same with  any other cruise line notwithstanding one's opinion of the merits of competing cruise options.

 

We are routinely willing to pay a premium for certain hotels, cruise lines, and even airlines depending on the routing.

 

The price lists are there.  Weigh up your preferences with those prices.

 

Then make a buy.  It is really that straightforward.  Why the fuss???

Edited August 18, 2021 by iancal

[Mary229]

I have always found the difference in same tier cruise lines is dollars per square feet.  It is not gauged by an individual room to individual room but the average size stateroom square feet per passenger.  That information is available, I think the Wiki carries that information.   HAL's staterooms tend to be slightly larger than Princess staterooms overall. 

 

The other significant cost is crew per passenger.  I don't recall those numbers but I think HAL edges out Princess, just slightly, in that metric also.  

 

Personally I don't care that much about much of that. For me it is itinerary, itinerary, itinerary followed distantly by ship size and date.  Once I have the runner ups price is looked at.

[jabcruiser]

I have tried pricing out Princess vs HAL several times and Princess always significantly higher.  We do unobstructed veranda on HAL.  However, no sofa in Princess veranda(at least that is my understanding from my research) so must upgrade to mini-suite which always comes at much higher price.  Yes, sofa for comfort is a necessity for us. Finally tried Celebrity in Nov. 19 just before the dreaded COVID put a halt to our cruising.  Great price with drinks included so decided to go for it.  Unimpressed by service and lido food.  Main DR food was good, but we usually eat buffet lunch and few dinners.  Food just not good and the desserts huge disappointment.  They looked beautiful but tried several and no taste at all except plain sugar.  Yuck. So funny their "taco" bar never, ever had a bit of salsa, jalapenos, or anything at all for some spice.  Yuck.  Everyone touching all of serving utensils always has grossed me out, even pre covid. Trying to get a drink involved waiting in line, generally in full sun for at least 10-15 minutes.  Definitely not up to HAL standards.  

Post covid we do want to sail on some other lines so may get to do Princess at some point.  We have friends who only sail them.

Jane

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, caviargal said:

Princess is far more generous to their elite level passengers than HAL. I wish I liked their product, but I do not.

Is that still true?  I don't think it ever was personally and yes I'm elite on princess and 5 star on Hal.  Princess has recently pared down the perks on elite.

[Evilmuffin]

My biggest draw to HAL is that average age of the cruiser is significantly higher than other cruiselines.   I have only sailed on MSC and HAL.    I prefer the smaller ships, and if it has a waterslide or anything similar, I avoid it.   Watersides = children.   I find less children sail on HAL.   Not sure about the newer ships with HAL.   MSC was great if you were in the Yacht Club suites at first, but now with their kids sail free, more and more kids are in the Yacht Club area.    I also don’t want to be on a party boat.   Too old for that kinda thing.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

But there is one big difference the CREW....

We have don 19 Princess cruises before moving to Holland America ..

Edited August 18, 2021 by Gail & Marty sailing away

[Caribbean Chris]

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

You missed the fact that the weeks are not comparable.  I checked the HAL fare for a verandah on the Nov 12 versus the Dec 3 and 10th sailings and $100 pp higher on Nov 12.  Early Dec sailings are normally among the least expensive of the year.  Compare Apples to Apples please.

I worked in cruise line sales and agree. The toughest weeks of the year to sell in the seven-day market were always just before Christmas/New Years. Many potential travelers prefer to stay home preparing for family holidays, attending parties, wrapping up year-end work, etc. and fewer groups are traveling. 

[Heartgrove]

4 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

I once said that perhaps we should check into the all inclusive luxury ships  & may get a better deal when all differences are  calculated 

 

I probably will upset some but we tried Viking on an Iceland cruise. The fare was discounted below what I have seen them charge for comparable cruises so why not give it a try.

 

The ship and crew was excellent although we found less activities onboard available to pass the time. Food, etc. was very nice but not without fault. The Italian "Manfredi's" no-extra-charge restaurant served an over-seasoned Rib Eye steak. The availability of choice in their World Cafe ( their Ledo Buffet) is small due to less passengers being onboard. No stress from "sales" selling art, jewelry, or photos.  Included excursions are a mostly walking tours for 1-1/2 hours.

 

Overall it did not impress for a second cruise.

 

 

[nocl]

4 hours ago, jabcruiser said:

I have tried pricing out Princess vs HAL several times and Princess always significantly higher.  We do unobstructed veranda on HAL.  However, no sofa in Princess veranda(at least that is my understanding from my research) so must upgrade to mini-suite which always comes at much higher price.  Yes, sofa for comfort is a necessity for us. Finally tried Celebrity in Nov. 19 just before the dreaded COVID put a halt to our cruising.  Great price with drinks included so decided to go for it.  Unimpressed by service and lido food.  Main DR food was good, but we usually eat buffet lunch and few dinners.  Food just not good and the desserts huge disappointment.  They looked beautiful but tried several and no taste at all except plain sugar.  Yuck. So funny their "taco" bar never, ever had a bit of salsa, jalapenos, or anything at all for some spice.  Yuck.  Everyone touching all of serving utensils always has grossed me out, even pre covid. Trying to get a drink involved waiting in line, generally in full sun for at least 10-15 minutes.  Definitely not up to HAL standards.  

Post covid we do want to sail on some other lines so may get to do Princess at some point.  We have friends who only sail them.

Jane

Thats interesting,  pre-covid Princess was usually less expensive than HAL on a person per cruise day basis.  I have over 40 cruises on Princess and around 10 on HAL and have compared both frequently in the past. Usually went with Princess due to price advantage.

[mcrcruiser]

7 hours ago, iancal said:

We believe one of the current factors is the FCC's and discounted gift cards that need to be absorbed.

 

I have little doubt that restrictive FCC's were offered by some cruise lines on the basis of a 'you can pay me now or you can pay me later' pricing strategy.

 

Once the FCC's have been used or expired, demand and pricing may revert to  more traditional  levels.

 

The challenge that some debt laden cruise lines will have is that there are some smaller startups, luxury and otherwise, who have purchased fire sale assets, updated them to standard, and as a result are no saddled with unusually high debt ratios.  The firms may impact pricing in certain markets like the Med.

When prices rise like a raise in salaries  ,they don't come down   . We can see price increases of 5 to 6% based on  current inflation  but certainly not to their extent that HAL raised their prices  on the nov 12 ,3022 Mexican Riviera cruise   . November  is a better month than December ;however pre pandemic this cruise would be $1700  vs the S2100 now  & in the past when we did not need a handicap for mu scooter  ,we did a VF or VE balcony cat not a VH ;which is at lower cost that the VF or VE  balcony  .so in effect we are getting less & paying more  

 

 We are going to try this cruise  nov 12 ,2022 & may be we will be  happily surprised    .We have previously sailed Koningsdam  twice .she is a lovely ship  .  On the other hand we will be able to compare  service ,food quality ,ambiance ,shows , ie against the  new Princess  Discovery less than one month apart as we are doing B2B Dec 3 & 10 ,2022 ,same 3 port itinerary   .That will be illuminating to us  . We also have a higher up the ship unobstructed  handicap balcony at lower cost each cruse price 

[Hlitner]

Comparing HAL to Princess is difficult because each line (and even ships within the line's) have their pros and cons.  Personally we are very happy to cruise on either line (Elite with Princess and 5* Mariners with HAL).  I would not get too hung up on price differences since we think it is more about value.   When we are trying to decide between HAL and Princess (we also cruise many other lines) it will usually come down to the itinerary.  

 

Hank