Westerdam Carnival Itinerary What Are They Think!

[fridayeyes]

If she's only doing them for a few weeks - Nov/Dec right? - then it's probably a long repositioning segment between other parts of her itinerary, just like the coastals. Where else does she cruise?

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[mechcc]

RCI and, yes, Carnival have had 3 and 4-day cruises out of L.A. (and now Long Beach) for years. It's a quick getaway and/or a long weekend and gets a lot of folks started and hooked on cruising (it did just that for us in 1991 on the old Viking Serenade). I'd say go for it HAL and bring one of those beauties to the west coast to compete in the short market with RCI and Carnival.

 

 

I disagree with you - they need a HAL ship sailing from Galveston for any length of time!!!;) ;) ;)

[Bramcruiser]

3 or 4 day cruises are not necessarily the mark of Carnival. Heck even the QM2 has managed a few short cruises into its schedule this year.

 

The short getaways are perfect for people with money but no time. Others, it may be a case of just offering a sample for those who haven't ventured into cruising yet with the hopes they will get hooked and go for something longer and more expensive later on. Hell, that describes me. I did a 4 day jaunt to the Bahamas the very first time and did HAL's 4 day repositioning on the west coast last year and finally have upgraded myself to a full one week cruise for the first time in 2006.

 

Why should a test run or a lack of time be the dominion of Carnival?

[Copper10-8]

I disagree with you - they need a HAL ship sailing from Galveston for any length of time!!!;) ;) ;)

 

Want to arm wrestle or something else for it;) ??

[ocngypz]

Oh for pete's sake. They are to even out the schedules. East Coast, west coast same thing..... and it is a great inducement for folks who have never tried cruising before and feraful they may not like it, to give it a try without having to sail a mass market line like Carnival or Royal Caribbean.

 

And it works!

 

I booked 23 cabins on short NW cruises last fall. 42% of those, rebooked longer cruises!! They were hooked!

 

For fall/winter 06 Celebrity will be running the recently revcamped Century on the 4 and 5 night sailings, with their oldest ship, Zenith, doing the longer 10 nighters.

[Copper10-8]

The cost for the 5 day cruise is just under $500 for an inside, plus train to SD and airfare home.

 

Taking the train to the ship!! What a novel idea:) and perfect for San Diego since the train station is so close to the port! Have a great ride in the train and on the Veendam!

[fridayeyes]

Yup, and I am nose-to-window on that train every time since you can see the ship several minutes before hitting the station. :) It's a gorgeous train ride too, coastal for much of the trip.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[kryos]

RCI and, yes, Carnival have had 3 and 4-day cruises out of L.A. (and now Long Beach) for years. It's a quick getaway and/or a long weekend and gets a lot of folks started and hooked on cruising (it did just that for us in 1991 on the old Viking Serenade). I'd say go for it HAL and bring one of those beauties to the west coast to compete in the short market with RCI and Carnival.

I could only see one of these cruises as a "short getaway" if it was being offered from my home port. Sure, if all I had to do was take a taxi over to the Port of Philadelphia to board the ship, then maybe a "shortie" cruise would be worth it. But it wouldn't be a cheap, weekend getaway if I had to put out money, let alone invest the added time, to fly to the pier. In that case, I want a longer itinerary to make it worth my while.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[SueSea]

Also Celebrity shorter cruises are on the older ships (Century).

 

And

 

I understand it is only a couple of sailings but my point was why use a new ship for a sailing like this.

Paul

 

Apparently you read my post that Celebrity offers shorter cruises, but it seems you didn't read the whole post! ;) I offered one possible reason for HAL using a new ship--to draw those passengers wanting a shorter cruise who prefer a premium line and were previously limited to Celebrity. Throwing a new ship full of features up against an older, more limited ship makes sense.

 

To expand on that thought, in addition to drawing market share from Celebrity, HAL is trying to attract new clients who just can't do a full week cruise. It makes sense that they put their 'best face forward.'

 

Cruise lines typically price their older ships lower than their newer ships. Leaving their older ships on 7 day cruises means more folks can afford a full week cruise.

[Maryandi]

What a yawn it's getting to be - HAL and HAL cruisers are so 'refined ' that anyone who does not agree with the status quo is a Carnival person.

 

Yes, it's your opinion but IMO it's not nice. Of course, not everyone thinks this way - but we like both lines.

[gizmo]

Why the big deal ? Hal does this all the time. Very often there are cruises less than 7 days around the holidays.

 

If you look into it you will also find holiday cruises with not the usual number of days.

 

This has been going on for years, now it is big debate as to why ?

[patval]

Good Morning!

 

I think my point is lost in the mist of all the talk about my OP. My point was why is Hal using a new ship to do 3 and 4 day sailing because I found it odd.

 

Also I did not read anyones post about the 3 and 4 days Celebrity is doing. How I know is when I read that the Century was going through a multi million dollar remolding I wanted to look into sailings for Dec 06 and saw that they were doing short runs.

 

I feel this type of 3 and 4 days to the Bahamas is good to get people into trying Hal if they live near the port or have the expendable cash to fly to the port for a cruises of shorter time.

 

I again apologize for my opinion but it is my own and not anyone elses!:eek:

[tortugas]

We live in south florida so this is great news for us!!! thanks for sharing!!

[herb]

 

I thought companies like Carnival do cruises like this not Holland and also why a new ship.

 

 

You actually were inquiring about 2 things...

 

why HAL is doing 3-4 night cruises, which is "so Carnival"

why a new ship

 

Most responses were about your first statement.

[pbcbbc]

I think it is great that HAL is doing this. Too bad they dont dedicate a ship to it. The Celebrity short sailings seem to be doing very well. And just because it is short, doesnt make it a booze cruise! I have been on a few of the Carnival and RCI short cruises and most were quiet cruises. (Off season.)

 

As far as using a new ship for it, consider this: From reading this board you would think that the new ships are not the best in the HAL fleet. Thus, is HAL really putting thier best foot forward? Transversly, many Celebrity fans consider the "C" (Century Class) to be the best Celebrity ships. Could they be putting thier best foot forward? Personally I dont think it matters whether or not they use a new or old ship for it as long as it is well maintained.

 

Myself, I would do a short cruise again, no question. It isnt for everyone, but there definately is a market for them.

[AirGorilla]

This isn't a new thing for HAL. We were on the Zaandaam in April 2003 for a four night cruise to the Bahamas, out of Port Canaveral.

 

That cruise had all four nights casual -- not even one formal or informal night. We were on RCCL's Empress of the Seas for a four night cruise last September. There was one formal night. So which line appears more "upscale", based upon the dress code?

[SueSea]

As far as using a new ship for it, consider this: From reading this board you would think that the new ships are not the best in the HAL fleet. Thus, is HAL really putting thier best foot forward? Transversly, many Celebrity fans consider the "C" (Century Class) to be the best Celebrity ships. Could they be putting thier best foot forward? Personally I dont think it matters whether or not they use a new or old ship for it as long as it is well maintained.

 

I was expecting some debate about which ships were best--newer versus older. Obviously, everyone has their own opinion about which ships are better. But personal opinions aside, the old, traditional ships just don't have the market that newer, flashier ships have or cruise lines wouldn't have to discount the rates on their older ships as frequently as they do. (That's why I could afford my first HAL cruise. The Westerdam--that is, the old Westerdam--was priced considerably lower than HAL's newer ships.) And cruise lines would be ordering more traditional ships rather than replacing traditional ships like the Westerdam with modern ships. So if newer ships are more attractive to passengers (as indicated by higher demand), and if HAL is trying to get more new cruisers with its short cruises, it seems that using a modern ship versus a traditional ship is putting their best foot forward.

[NoNoNanette]

What a yawn it's getting to be - HAL and HAL cruisers are so 'refined ' that anyone who does not agree with the status quo is a Carnival person.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. :rolleyes:

 

That being said, you'd never catch me on one of those short cruises. Maybe a few nights in Destin, but a cruise? No thanks. :)

[Maryandi]

Hi NoNo, I agree. It's not worth the getting to the port, the packing, the coming home, etc. It's hardly worth it for the 7 days.

 

But I'm much too 'refined' to say so :p

[shipcafe]

... and there is a total of four cruises in all of 2007 that are 3/4 day Bahamas. (?) :confused:

 

If I were to never have sailed HAL before then this might be an inviting option to experience the product and see what the ships are like . . . .

[kingclick]

Ok. My 2 cents. I had never cruised before in my life and the 3-4 day cruises were not a draw to me. I barely can get time off from work but when I can, I am not gonna waste my time getting to port and back for only a 3 or 4 day cruise. Now I can see how a VERY BUSY family might just want to do the 3 or 4 day cruise or even someone that is hesitant about being at sea.

 

But really longer cruises aren't only for the "well weathered cruiser" but even for the newbies like me. If I could afford to take 2 weeks off I would for sure be looking into the 14 day cruises. The affordability of the cruise vacation is amazing.

[Oceanwench]

Since I can drive to Port Everglades, I am all for it!!!

It makes a nice, quick getaway without taking a week off from work. And as far as the Bahamas, who has to get off the ship? Sometimes it's better to stay on it and let the others disembark at the ports. Sounds like a great mini-vacation for those of us lucky enough to live close to port Everglades!!!

[AirGorilla]

I agree that it would be a lot of hassle to do all the packing and traveling involved in flying to port for a short three or four day cruise.

 

However, if one is already at or close to a port city on a business trip --those weekend short 3 or 4 night cruises become convenient, as well as a great mini-vacation.

[airlink diva]

Like the majority of the people that's responding, the 3 & 4 day trips are a great way to introduce people to cruising and also for a nice weekend getaway.

Since I enjoy to cruise, I have quite a few co-workers that ask me to plan a group cruise. The majority want to only cruise for 4 days.

Since I love HAL and had the pleasure of sailing on the Westerdam, I'm going to look up the dates to see when are the sailings.

My only hope is they stop at Half Moon Cay!!

[Bramcruiser]

I agree that it would be a lot of hassle to do all the packing and traveling involved in flying to port for a short three or four day cruise.

 

However, if one is already at or close to a port city on a business trip --those weekend short 3 or 4 night cruises become convenient, as well as a great mini-vacation.

 

 

Here Here! Business or any other type of trip for that matter!

 

My last 4 day repositioning cruise on HAL (and not CARNIVAL as some snobs seem to be thinking at this point - length of cruise has NOTHING to do with cruise company!!!) was tied into a west coast vacation that we ended up calling The North America Free Trade Tour. We started by visiting relatives in BC for three days before catching the Oosterdam for its repositioning to San Diego. In San Diego we spent a few days vacationing there and even went in Mexico. Thus we made it a combi land/cruise vacation.

 

We had a fabulous time and we went in style because it was HAL and because we wanted to. Why shouldn't HAL offer a product to people whose situations may not necessarily tie into having long exotic cruises as the only option.

 

If HAL offers a wide range of cruise styles it does not automatically translate to "they are lowering the standards"! HAL offered a classy vacation option for me and now I am hooked. I've already been looked down upon by the Cunard group - been called an average cruiser who doesn't belong on Cunard - just last week so I truly hope HAL's crowd isn't doing the same.

 

Overall, variety is the spice of life and HAL can offer anything from 3 to 100 days and it will always be HAL.