NEWS FLASH: HAL to favor Triples and Quads

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

Going forward, I think HAL is going to find it harder and harder to compete for families with other lines that have new ships with all kinds of family and kid friendly bells and whistles.

I couldn't agree more. When DW and I cruise, we book HAL, or Celebrity on occasion, but if we are booking with the kids and grandkids, it's always Royal Caribbean. We recently returned from an 8-night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Symphony of the Seas, and the kids and grandkids spent a huge amount of their time with the water slides, wall climbing, skating and other activities that are non-existent on HAL ships. 

 

DW and I are very open to having kids around, and would have no objection to having more families aboard HAL ship, but I agree @Roz, there's little to attract them with the current fleet. 

[ChinaShrek]

On 3/23/2024 at 5:55 AM, kazu said:

 

I have.  I was on Koningsdam over Christmas and New Year’s in 2022-2023.  At sail away the CD announced the number on board and it was MORE than what is listed as the K’s capacity. Koningsdam’s passenger capacity is listed as 2650.  There were 2900 on board on one segment and IIRC 2800 on the next segment.  I guess the ship made up for it with fewer crew.  Instead of 1025 crew, there were 795

 

 

I was on this same Christmas cruise as you and you keep bringing up how crowded it was, It was not that bad. There were a ton of kids on the ship but it was easy to hide from them. I had a wonderful cruise!

[kazu]

26 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

I was on this same Christmas cruise as you and you keep bringing up how crowded it was, It was not that bad. There were a ton of kids on the ship but it was easy to hide from them. I had a wonderful cruise!

 

Everyone’s experience is different and subjective.  the places I like to be and usually are not busy were packed.

I’m glad you had a wonderful cruise - I enjoyed mine despite the medical disembarkation but I guess I’m not used to those lines that snake around Club Orange to get into the dining room and fighting my way to get to CO through the crowd.  

 

I had a fabulous time on the Rotterdam later so it’s not the Pinnacle Class.

IMO that ship did not have enough crew to handle the passengers onboard let alone the children.  

 

the ship was short on crew and full on passengers - check my numbers which I got at sail away.  In any case, it’s not a situation I would do again without very careful planning on a much longer cruise.  YMMV.

 

edited to say - I think the biggest problem is that HAL has nothing to keep children busy and occupied/entertained.  Club HAL only holds 45 what do the other 555 do?
 

[TheMichael]

4 hours ago, kazu said:

edited to say - I think the biggest problem is that HAL has nothing to keep children busy and occupied/entertained.  Club HAL only holds 45 what do the other 555 do?

 

They're in the hot tubs. (Seriously, our Sept. Alaska cruise on the Westerdam, almost every hot tub was full of kids, and there were only a handful of kids.)

 

I think that many kids is a completely unanticipated issue on a HAL ship. I'm sure the staff are asking themselves, "do these parents even know which cruise line they're booking?"

 

With the unprecedented number of people booking cruises and cruise lines going all out with TV campaigns and discount offers, including HAL, my guess is that a lot of those people only see the bargain and don't think about much else.

 

Also on our Alaska cruise, the trip up the Vancouver Island coast was so rough that even seasoned cruisers we talked to called it the roughest they'd ever felt, with just pounding rain, but one cruiser posted a review upset that the pickleball court was closed, because "my kids were so excited to play pickleball!"

[Windsailer]

I have 4 cruises booked - two over Christmas. Three of the 4 cruises I used Club Orange to upgrade to VA cabins. All these cabins are marked as triples or quads. I am most concerned about this year's Christmas cruise so I asked my TA - who is terrific - to find me a new VA cabin that isn't a triple or quad. She did a search for a single passenger and came up with 8 cabins. All are either triple or quad! So if their policy is to limit solos or couples to double cabins it isn't working. I really, really hope I don't get bumped. 

[TRLD]

16 minutes ago, Windsailer said:

I have 4 cruises booked - two over Christmas. Three of the 4 cruises I used Club Orange to upgrade to VA cabins. All these cabins are marked as triples or quads. I am most concerned about this year's Christmas cruise so I asked my TA - who is terrific - to find me a new VA cabin that isn't a triple or quad. She did a search for a single passenger and came up with 8 cabins. All are either triple or quad! So if their policy is to limit solos or couples to double cabins it isn't working. I really, really hope I don't get bumped. 

Their policy is not necessarily to limit couples to double cabins. It is more to give advance notice that if solo or couple book a 3/4 cabin  and if there are 2 cabins in the same class or higher there is some chance, however small, that they might get bumped. 

 

If all cabins are 3/4 no way to bump you to a 2 if there are none for a given class or higher. If some are 3 and some are 4 probably better of to book a 3.

Edited March 25 by TRLD

[Windsailer]

6 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Their policy is not necessarily to limit couples to double cabins. It is more to give advance notice that if solo or couple book a 3/4 cabin  and if there are 2 cabins in the same class or higher there is some chance, however small, that they might get bumped. 

 

If all cabins are 3/4 no way to bump you to a 2 if there are none for a given class or higher. If some are 3 and some are 4 probably better of to book a 3.

Well, there wasn't any advance notice when I booked any of these cruises. 

[crystalspin]

21 minutes ago, Windsailer said:

So if their policy is to limit solos or couples to double cabins it isn't working. I really, really hope I don't get bumped. 

I think you are probably safe, between Club Orange, booking before the policy was started, not being warned, and the strict limitation NOT being in effect (although at least two of us did get the idea from our PCC, that that was the end goal).

 

Club Orange may in fact be the way around being bumped...

[Windsailer]

4 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I think you are probably safe, between Club Orange, booking before the policy was started, not being warned, and the strict limitation NOT being in effect (although at least two of us did get the idea from our PCC, that that was the end goal).

 

Club Orange may in fact be the way around being bumped...

I hope so!  I am a bit more encouraged now. 

[cbr663]

45 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I think you are probably safe, between Club Orange, booking before the policy was started, not being warned, and the strict limitation NOT being in effect (although at least two of us did get the idea from our PCC, that that was the end goal).

 

Club Orange may in fact be the way around being bumped...

 

Club Orange is another targeted bundled amenities package to get passengers to spend more on their cruises.  Getting passengers to spend more is why these policies and programs exist.  So yes, I think you are right that CO may be a way around being bumped.  It makes sense to me, but then again, I don't count beans for a living.  🤣

[YourWorldWithBill]

4 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Club Orange may in fact be the way around being bumped...

That certainly makes sense. My PCC told me that getting bumped is not that likely, but if it happens they would either upgrade you or give you a similar cabin. That wording means nothing, of course, as my definition of "similar" is surely not HAL's.

[dockman]

so if you have your room marked do not upgrade because u picked the room you wanted in the location you wanted and booked way in advance do some people still end up in a different room?  I would not like that even a little bit.

[TRLD]

54 minutes ago, dockman said:

so if you have your room marked do not upgrade because u picked the room you wanted in the location you wanted and booked way in advance do some people still end up in a different room?  I would not like that even a little bit.

Yep. do not upgrade does not apply to preventing cabin changes for operational reasons including they need you 3/4 cabin and move you to a 2 cabin

 

 

 

[dockman]

Just now, TRLD said:

Yep. do not upgrade does not apply to preventing cabin changes for operational reasons including they need you 3/4 cabin and move you to a 2 cabin

 

 

 

so if u have picked a cabin for 2 then u are safe from moves?

[TRLD]

Just now, dockman said:

so if u have picked a cabin for 2 then u are safe from moves?

Safe from moves related to this new policy

[dockman]

6 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Safe from moves related to this new policy

I always make sure to pick a room for two as i hate those bunk beds hanging down to bang my head on....

[dchip]

When we booked a couple of months ago there were no OV cabins to choose on the Zaandam for a November cruise.  So for the first time in 47 cruises, we took an FF guarantee. No other category was offered. 
 

I just checked the deck plans. There are only 6 FF cabins. 2 are handicap accessible, the other 4 are triples. Exactly where does that leave us? 🤪

[FlaMariner]

I would think exactly where you booked....You will enjoy a FF cabin or something HAL defines as an upgrade.

[dchip]

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

I would think exactly where you booked....You will enjoy a FF cabin or something HAL defines as an upgrade.

Thanks! We love aft cabins and being close to the water line, so I am hoping we stay there. 

[MayW]

15 hours ago, dockman said:

I always make sure to pick a room for two as i hate those bunk beds hanging down to bang my head on....

We booked a quad for 2 people on Nieuw Statendam not really knowing the nuances. Does the upper bed hang down? Can it be retracted so it wouldn't be in the way? Thanks!

[dockman]

15 minutes ago, MayW said:

We booked a quad for 2 people on Nieuw Statendam not really knowing the nuances. Does the upper bed hang down? Can it be retracted so it wouldn't be in the way? Thanks!

the ones i had once were hung from wall above the bed but even in that position i kept banging my head on it...i hated that and have since been very careful to avoid any room with the fold down bunks especially as i am usually a single...not sure if all rooms are same or not... 

[Sea42]

26 minutes ago, MayW said:

We booked a quad for 2 people on Nieuw Statendam not really knowing the nuances. Does the upper bed hang down? Can it be retracted so it wouldn't be in the way? Thanks!

I have had cabins with a bed over the main bed. It was flush with the ceiling.

[0106]

@MayWThere are pictures on this site: https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/category-detail.php?c=2632

The beds fold up into the ceiling when not in use.

[MayW]

duckman, sea42, 0106, thank you all. It makes sense that the extra bed is out of way when not in use.

[dmwnc1959]

So, first time back on Holland-America in a good number of years, booked the April 2026 Noordam ‘Great Bear Rainforest’. It’s off-season (2 weeks after Easter), very early ‘Alaska’ season, and mostly all British Columbia, Canada ports and scenic cruising. It only has one stop actually in Alaska. 
 

I cruise solo and snagged an inside Deck 1 large interior that’s a quad. I’m also looking at booking the following cruise as a B2B and want to grab the same cabin. 
 

Hoping that they’ll leave me alone and keep the cabin without booting me out last minute. There are most likely going to be several newer and bigger HAL ships that families may book other than Noordam?