World Cruise for 2025

[Tampa Girl]

It is difficult to try to compare two different ships with different cruises, albeit both are HAL cruises.  Prices vary by ship, by date of cruise, and by type of cruise.  However, you will probably find that the cabins on the smaller ships, i.e. Zaandam may be higher because they carry fewer passengers.  For instance, I strongly suspect that the fares on '25 WC, if it should be on the Zaandam, will be considerably higher than they are for the '24 WC because the latter is on the Zuiderdam.  Frankly, I dread looking at the prices when the '25 is finally announced.

[Tampa Girl]

5 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

My reference was more about HAL sailing out of Florida during the summer.....That's very unusual for HAL....one poster referenced HAL did that back in the beginning of this century.

 

And as a native Floridian,  I love all of the free state of Florida all the time........even South Florida LOL!

 

(My apology if I came off slamming my homeland....not my intent at all...just referencing something unusual for Florida....a HAL ship in June....somewhat similar to seeing a snowbird in June...rare sighting)

 

Apology not necessary!  What is even rarer these days is seeing a HAL ship in the Port of Tampa.  Actually, non-existent is the word.

[FlaMariner]

3 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

What is even rarer these days is seeing a HAL ship in the Port of Tampa.  Actually, non-existent is the word.

 

Same for Port Canaveral......Our first HAL sailing was the Zaandam out of Port Canaveral in 2003.

[Tampa Girl]

7 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Same for Port Canaveral......Our first HAL sailing was the Zaandam out of Port Canaveral in 2003.

 

Memories, memories.......  

[trixiee]

If my lottery ticket pays off, I'm going!  Otherwise, I continue to live vicariously through our faithful bloggers!

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

Your comment makes no sense to me.  So, it is called a Verandah Suites.  Would you feel better if were called simply, a "balcony?"  Because it is not actually a suite; it is a cabin with a balcony.  And because it has  a balcony, it cost more than a cabin without one.   And, BTW, the Zaandam's balconies are a little larger than the balcony cabins on the newer ships.  The Zaandam is the best sized ship that HAL has for world cruises because it can get into many ports that the larger ships cannot.  I am relieved that HAL may be using the Zaandam on the '25 WC.  The Zuiderdam was not the ship most favored for world cruises.

What are you having trouble with? Hal calls it a suite and you get double points. I read the world cruise blogs, not all but fairly often.  I’ve yet to hear any of them say I wish this was on the zaandam so what are you getting your theory that it’s preferred by world cruisers? I’m happy if they use the zaandam though, so the newer ships are open for shorter itineraries.

[mwj]

On 1/29/2023 at 4:22 PM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Zaandam

What leads you to guess Zaandam?

what do you guess Hal does with Zuiderdam?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

3 minutes ago, mwj said:

What leads you to guess Zaandam?

what do you guess Hal does with Zuiderdam?

The Zaandam is popular with world cruisers because of the larger ocean view staterooms on Deck 1.  The cabins tend to have more storage space in all categories.    The Wajang theatre is popular as a place for showing movies.    The seats can be removed from the theatre to create a dancing floor for the balls.

 

The Zaandam was going to replace the Amsterdam on the 2022 WC before they cancelled 2022.  The Volendam would work as well.   I think the world cruise demand will determine the ship size

 

Zuideram will continue doing other things..

[tuolumne couple]

As for ships, and the places they go. We have sailed the Rotterdam, and the Veendam both twice, some people found faults with the design changes bestowed upon them. And now retrospectively we who have sailed them (in our younger days) wish to sail the remanding sister (or like) ships. So off we go to make up to date memories on the Zaandam, and Volendam, long my they sail with HAL.

[CurlerRob]

7 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

I find their pricing seems to be closer to the suite pricing rather than balcony pricing on the larger ships.  Case in point, 7 day Alaska, close itinerary, both into glacier bay. Koningsdam is $500 pp cheaper for a balcony than Zaandam.  Over a world cruise, it’s a pretty big price difference.  

 

It was ever thus - pricing for a similar cabin is always less on a larger ship than on a smaller one. The reason is straightforward - the fixed costs of running a vessel make up a large percentage of its overall expenses. On a bigger ship, there are more people to spread those fixed costs over - resulting in lower per person fares.

 

That's why the 6000 pax behemoths are even less expensive than K-dam, and why small expedition ships are massively more.

 

In your example, a balcony cabin on Zaandam is about 35% more expensive than on K-dam, while K-dam carries 85% more pax - that ratio constantly works in K-dam's favour. 🍺🥌

[Cruise Junky]

8 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

It was ever thus - pricing for a similar cabin is always less on a larger ship than on a smaller one. The reason is straightforward - the fixed costs of running a vessel make up a large percentage of its overall expenses. On a bigger ship, there are more people to spread those fixed costs over - resulting in lower per person fares.

 

That's why the 6000 pax behemoths are even less expensive than K-dam, and why small expedition ships are massively more.

 

In your example, a balcony cabin on Zaandam is about 35% more expensive than on K-dam, while K-dam carries 85% more pax - that ratio constantly works in K-dam's favour. 🍺🥌

Yes, I was not questioning why. I was stating why I prefer a different ship for a world cruise. They’re expensive enough. You’ll pay a higher premium for a balcony on a ship such as Zaandam.  

[Infi]

Is Zaandam confirmed for WC 2025? If the Poles option materializes, they'll have to use an R class because there's an Amazon component. However, there are conspicuous holes in the Zuiderdam's calendar and it can do all 3 other itinerary options. Hmm...

[RBB]

10 minutes ago, Infi said:

Is Zaandam confirmed for WC 2025? If the Poles option materializes, they'll have to use an R class because there's an Amazon component. However, there are conspicuous holes in the Zuiderdam's calendar and it can do all 3 other itinerary options. Hmm...

   Actually, Zuiderdam is scheduled to go up the Amazon to Manaus on the 2024 World Cruise.  I guess we will see how that goes, but obviously the Amazon is not considered by HAL to be a barrier to assigning such an itinerary to Zuiderdam.

[Cruise Junky]

18 minutes ago, RBB said:

   Actually, Zuiderdam is scheduled to go up the Amazon to Manaus on the 2024 World Cruise.  I guess we will see how that goes, but obviously the Amazon is not considered by HAL to be a barrier to assigning such an itinerary to Zuiderdam.

She’s also on Sydney Australia’s calendar  in March 2025 so that fits with the other itineraries.   We’ll see. 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Cruise Junky

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

If you do the math the Zuiderdam would bring in the most booking dollars because of the selection of state rooms it has compared to the Zaandam. Based on 1500 guests. 

[sandiego1]

I don’t think HAL will switch back to Zaandam. There were a lot of unhappy people when the WC ship switched to the Zuiderdam and people couldn’t get their favorite cabin. I doubt HAL wants to go through the hassle of moving everyone around again.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, sandiego1 said:

I don’t think HAL will switch back to Zaandam. There were a lot of unhappy people when the WC ship switched to the Zuiderdam and people couldn’t get their favorite cabin. I doubt HAL wants to go through the hassle of moving everyone around again.

This is for 2025 - the ship for the 2025 WC cruise has not been announced.   No one has cabins for 2025 yet.

 

 

[Hflors]

Here is my guess.  HAL is testing the waters to get a feed back on the pole to pole cruise for 2025, but not as a World cruise, but as a grand voyage.  I think one of the other choices will be the world cruise.  I think Zuiderdam will do the pole to pole and the Zaandam will do the world.  (I would prefer the K-dam but only because of the single cabins)  My choice for the world cruise in 25 is A.  I am keeping my fingers crossed!

[mwj]

Just as we have a WC in ‘24 and the Grand AU in ‘24, I think HAL will do the same in ‘25. WC A or C  on Zuiderdam, and Grand pole to pole on Zaandam.

[Tampa Girl]

15 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

What are you having trouble with? Hal calls it a suite and you get double points. I read the world cruise blogs, not all but fairly often.  I’ve yet to hear any of them say I wish this was on the zaandam so what are you getting your theory that it’s preferred by world cruisers? I’m happy if they use the zaandam though, so the newer ships are open for shorter itineraries.

 

HAL naming a narrow, one-room cabin a "suite" does not a suite make.

[Bostonjetset]

15 hours ago, mwj said:

 

what do you guess Hal does with Zuiderdam?

Hopefully sends her to dry dock for a “reimagining” of her tired decor. 
 

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

HAL naming a narrow, one-room cabin a "suite" does not a suite make.

True. However “technically” Signatures and Neptunes aren't truly suites either as they only consist of one room. A real “suite” has multiple rooms. In that sense, a Vista is just as much a suite. I stayed in a Vista on Rotterdam and it’s definitely bigger than a verandah cabin even if only marginally. 

[Hflors]

9 hours ago, mwj said:

Just as we have a WC in ‘24 and the Grand AU in ‘24, I think HAL will do the same in ‘25. WC A or C  on Zuiderdam, and Grand pole to pole on Zaandam.

Why zuiderdam for 25 WC?  I see bora bora on A and C.  Isn't Zuiderdam too large for Bora Bora?  

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

13 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

This is for 2025 - the ship for the 2025 WC cruise has not been announced.   No one has cabins for 2025 yet.

 

 

You are correct. The ship has not been announced yet. But hundreds of booked guests on the 2024 W.C. have done a Future Cruise Request for 2025 W.C. already. To lock in getting first dibs on the same cabin they have on 2024 W.C. including us. 

[Infi]

21 hours ago, RBB said:

   Actually, Zuiderdam is scheduled to go up the Amazon to Manaus on the 2024 World Cruise.  I guess we will see how that goes, but obviously the Amazon is not considered by HAL to be a barrier to assigning such an itinerary to Zuiderdam.

 

Interesting, perhaps it isn't. I'm more remembering a few years back (2019) when the Volendam had issues with the Amazon river depth, and it was said at the time the R class was the largest that could do the Amazon. We shall see!

[Infi]

19 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

If you do the math the Zuiderdam would bring in the most booking dollars because of the selection of state rooms it has compared to the Zaandam. Based on 1500 guests. 

 

I thought the WC rarely sailed at capacity, so would the ship size really matter? With the notable exceptions of 2020 and this year, obviously.