No More Hal

[LKYGSR]

"Not directed at any one person"

 

If you buy a car from a dealer and you are unhappy, do you buy another car from them? NO!

 

So, if you are unhappy with your cruise line, find another, there are plenty out there.

 

If HAL keeps this up, pretty soon the only business they will have is Charters and I suspect that's not enough business to keep the "afloat". As well, their current, unchartered ships will be running half full, they might start paying attention to the rest of the cruisers then! I have to believe that charters do not make up the majority of HAL's profits.

 

Get em where it hurts, don't do business with them! Just say NO.

 

"Let the buyer beware"

[twinkletoes4445]

If HAL keeps this up, pretty soon the only business they will have is Charters and I suspect that's not enough business to keep the "afloat".

 

I know what they are doing is covered in their contract, but this is the first of heard of such a thing (when Shonuf had problems). I do know that this is something that I will take into consideration when planning our next vacation.

 

As crazy as if sounds, I can see them filling almost every ship with charters. At least the ones in the Caribbean.

 

I'm sorry for those that have had issues with HAL (and other cruise lines), but it's nice that things like that can be discussed here, so we can all know what might happen. I suppose it's buyer beware.

[MBeamTX]

As timely proof that abandoning HAL won't immunize you from charter-induced disruptions ...

 

Last-Minute RCI Charter Boots Passengers

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1879

 

And this one is less than 7 months out.

[bepsf]

""

If HAL keeps this up, pretty soon the only business they will have is Charters and I suspect that's not enough business to keep the "afloat". As well, their current, unchartered ships will be running half full, they might start paying attention to the rest of the cruisers then! I have to believe that charters do not make up the majority of HAL's profits.

 

Get em where it hurts, don't do business with them! Just say NO.

 

Get a grip:* If HAL has 30 Full-Ship charters a year, they're awfully lucky.

Spread across a fleet of 13 ships and somewhere around 500 departures/year - that's a mere 6% of their business, and affects a smaller percentage of their clients since the charters are generally accepted so far in advance.

 

You have a better chance of discovering that your Burrito is lacking the Guacamole you ordered - but nobody's boycotting Chevy's...*

:cool:

[RevNeal]

Get a grip:* If HAL has 30 Full-Ship charters a year, they're awfully lucky.

Spread across a fleet of 13 ships and somewhere around 500 departures/year - that's a mere 6% of their business, and affects a smaller percentage of their clients since the charters are generally accepted so far in advance.

 

Now now, Brian ... you know better than to talk sense! This is about bashing HAL!

[JohnR49er]

I just have to say thanks to the charter, blue ribbon and 5000+ members for leaving me with such a chuckle every night.:D :D

Its like a car wreck, you have to slow down and take a look........:eek:

[deweydjb]

HAL has also cancelled (or chartered) the cruise on the Westerdam on Nov. 11. Luckily my TA DID contact me and tell me of the cancellation and HAL is offering 100$ per person shipboard credit to change to another HAL cruise.

 

The only downside is that the reason I picked this particulare cruise is that it was the ONLY one that goes to Aruba and Curacao and I really wanted to go to Aruba. So, to keep my itinerary, I will have to cancel the cruise and go with another cruiseline. (I am not sure why HAL only offered one cruise to these places, I would think they would be popular.)

 

I am thinking of changing over to the Veendam, taking the credit and hitting Belize as I have never been there before. But it does change plans and is dissapointing that I won't see Aruba. I would hate to learn that I was bumped because someone else offered to pay more, after I had given a deposit.

[arzz]

Cruise lines are not the only vacations that can disappoint.

 

About 15 years ago we had planned to travel with another couple and our kids to Cat Island in the Bahamas. We had rented a large condominium on a beach -- the island itself is remote, very few tourist accomodations on the island at that time, and the beach that we had booked had only a few properties on it. We had booked the largest property on the beach (we were a party of six). The pictures were definitely of an island paradise. We booked and deposited over six months in advance -- we purchased air (which at that time meant several flights, the last on a seven passenger Cessna). After holding our money for months, two weeks out from our vacation, the property manager called us to inform us that the owner of the condo had pulled it from the rental pool. The best they could offer us (since there were so few properties there) was, I believe, a one bedroom accomodation for our party of six! She was all apologies, gladly sent our monies back to us, but there we were two weeks out with no place to stay and holding six airline tickets to this remote location. There was no other resort on that island that could accomodate all of us on such short notice. We ended up eating our airline penalties and going to a different out island.

 

I do understand the anger and disappointment. But ... At least the poster here has 11 months to figure out what to do as well as a cruise line who might be pressed into covering airline penalties if there are any.

[aussie wonder]

Hi,

I didn't see anywhere in the posts (could easily have overlooked it ~ there are SO many) suggesting that you check into the charter sponsor and see what the event is.

Many target specific genre and are open to the public for booking through the sponsor or a travel agency.

I too ran into this situation and the group department at HAL gladly gave my contact information to the sponsor's charter coordinator who called me 4 days later, and after a little bit of negotiation on the price, transferred the deposit I had already made to HAL before the ship was chartered AND I got $50 PP onboard credit, 2 bottles of wine and a free dinner in the Pinnacle Grill!

I also got to enjoy wonderful Jazz music all the way from San Diego to Mexico and back as it was a Jazz Charter! The sponsor's travel agency who was coordinating this particular charter with HAL, told me she co-ordinates Poker, Bridge, Scrapbooking, Fishing, Sports, Lifestyle and Corporate charters as well ~ corporate charters aren't usually an option if you don't work for or belong to the sponsor company but the others are if you can find out who to contact.

If the charter theme might be something you enjoy or can, at the very least, live with, you & your family can still take your trip, have a good time and meet some interesting people.

 

[Boatdrill]

We don't seem to have issues like this when we rent a condo or a hotel room for the week. Never have we been booted.

 

You may not have been "booted" from a hotel, but your room assignment has been changed more often than you know due to conventions and large groups booking space after you made your reservation.

 

And other people have been booted from hotels when conventions and large groups have reserved space....only the hotels call it being "overbooked".

 

It happens in hotels, just like it does on cruiseships.

[kryos]

She was all apologies, gladly sent our monies back to us, but there we were two weeks out with no place to stay and holding six airline tickets to this remote location. There was no other resort on that island that could accomodate all of us on such short notice. We ended up eating our airline penalties and going to a different out island.

She could be all apologies, but she should definitely have been willing to "dicker" re the airline penalties. That truly sucks and I would have been calling every travel magazine, consumer advocate, etc. ... to spread bad press about her. You shouldn't have had to lose one dollar out of pocket for that cancellation, in my opinion.

 

LOL ... a seven-passenger Cessna? I've jumped out of planes bigger than that! :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

I had noticed that HAL ships are prime for charter due to their size. Its easier to fill a 2000 passenger ship than a 3000+ passenger ship.

And that is precisely why the saavy HAL cruiser tries to stay away from seven-day itineraries ... because it is those specific sailings that are prime for charter. Most charter companies stay away from longer cruises because it is very difficult to fill a ship for a 12 to 15-day sailing. Lots of people simply don't have the vacation time ... not to mention the added cash ... for those longer sailings, and the charter company will be left holding the bag on a less than full ship.

 

Of course, I realize that everyone does not enjoy the luxury of taking longer than a seven-day cruise, but I personally would rather take a lower level of accommodations on a longer itinerary and know that I have a reasonably good chance that my reservation is not going to be ripped out from under me by a full-ship charter.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[S.S.Oceanlover]

And that is precisely why the saavy HAL cruiser tries to stay away from seven-day itineraries ... because it is those specific sailings that are prime for charter. Most charter companies stay away from longer cruises because it is very difficult to fill a ship for a 12 to 15-day sailing. Lots of people simply don't have the vacation time ... not to mention the added cash ... for those longer sailings, and the charter company will be left holding the bag on a less than full ship.

 

Of course, I realize that everyone does not enjoy the luxury of taking longer than a seven-day cruise, but I personally would rather take a lower level of accommodations on a longer itinerary and know that I have a reasonably good chance that my reservation is not going to be ripped out from under me by a full-ship charter.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

So you are not a saavy HAL cruiser if you book a 7 day cruise with them??

 

What are the actual percentages of HAL 7 day cruises being chartered per year?

 

What are the percentages compared to other cruise lines that offer 7 day sailings?

 

I'd imagine they are probably both very low. To read your statement you make it sound like you have a 50/50 chance of your ship being chartered if you book a 7 day cruise on HAL.

 

Bill

[michmike]

I didn't really take Rita's comment re 7 days that way. She simply observed that IF you are concerned about the possibility of your plans being impacted by a charter (or even a large group short of a charter) that the chances are much less of that happening on a 10 day itinerary as opposed to a 7 day. I think that's a valid point.

 

An added bonus of a 10 day itinerary is fewer kids (if that is a concern).

 

Not to mention the wonderful feeling you get on day 7 of a 10 day, knowing that you still have 3 days left to be waited on and overfed. *S*

[kryos]

So you are not a saavy HAL cruiser if you book a 7 day cruise with them??

Not necessarily ... not if you have no choice but to book seven-day cruises because that is the nature of your available vacation time or vacation schedule right now.

 

Very few cruises of any type are chartered. I think someone else on this thread said something like 6%? However, of the ones that do get chartered, I believe the vast majority of them will be seven-day and shorter cruises. Obviously, since HAL runs very few shorter than seven-day cruises, it will be the seven-dayers with them. I would imagine more HAL seven-dayers have the potential of being chartered simply because their ships are generally not "mega ships." Common sense says that it is much more difficult to fill a 3,500 passenger ship than a 2,000 passenger one.

 

So, of course, if seven-dayers are all you can do right now, for one reason or another, then the only thing I can suggest is try to book them off peak times ... and hope for the best. All I am saying is that the savvy cruiser who has the time and the resources to book longer cruises stays away from the seven-dayers and opts for those longer cruises that the charter companies (and even the large affinity groups) generally stay away from.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

An added bonus of a 10 day itinerary is fewer kids (if that is a concern).

 

Not to mention the wonderful feeling you get on day 7 of a 10 day, knowing that you still have 3 days left to be waited on and overfed. *S*

Ahhhhh, yes ... the lack of children is also a blessing ... at least in my case. :)

 

If you think having three days left is a good feeling, imagine what the feeling you get after seven days on a 30-day voyage is like! :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Not necessarily ... not if you have no choice but to book seven-day cruises because that is the nature of your available vacation time or vacation schedule right now.

 

Very few cruises of any type are chartered. I think someone else on this thread said something like 6%? However, of the ones that do get chartered, I believe the vast majority of them will be seven-day and shorter cruises. Obviously, since HAL runs very few shorter than seven-day cruises, it will be the seven-dayers with them. I would imagine more HAL seven-dayers have the potential of being chartered simply because their ships are generally not "mega ships." Common sense says that it is much more difficult to fill a 3,500 passenger ship than a 2,000 passenger one.

 

So, of course, if seven-dayers are all you can do right now, for one reason or another, then the only thing I can suggest is try to book them off peak times ... and hope for the best. All I am saying is that the savvy cruiser who has the time and the resources to book longer cruises stays away from the seven-dayers and opts for those longer cruises that the charter companies (and even the large affinity groups) generally stay away from.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Thank you for explaining your point of view. You make some very valid points.

 

Now grab yourself a cheesesteak and send me the bill.:)

 

Bill

[kryos]

Thank you for explaining your point of view. You make some very valid points.

 

Now grab yourself a cheesesteak and send me the bill.:)

 

Bill

Actually, I just had a very tasty cheesesteak last night ... dripping with grease ... yeah, a real heart bypass special. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Hlitner]

There are worse things than finding out nearly a year in advance a particular cruise is not available. How about going on a 2600 passenger ship for a week and discovering that about 1500 passengers are from a very conservative Christian group (we are speaking about "holy rollers") who have even brought their own entertainment. These folks basically took over much of the ship, harassed passengers on-deck who where wearing swim suits they deemed too revealing, totally took over the mail sitting etc etc, Who did this? RCI! It happened on the Sovereign of the Seas back when she was doing 7 day cruises. We would have preferred if that group had chartered the entire vessel.

 

Hank

[airlink diva]

There are worse things than finding out nearly a year in advance a particular cruise is not available. How about going on a 2600 passenger ship for a week and discovering that about 1500 passengers are from a very conservative Christian group (we are speaking about "holy rollers") who have even brought their own entertainment. These folks basically took over much of the ship, harassed passengers on-deck who where wearing swim suits they deemed too revealing, totally took over the mail sitting etc etc, Who did this? RCI! It happened on the Sovereign of the Seas back when she was doing 7 day cruises. We would have preferred if that group had chartered the entire vessel.

 

Hank

That sounds just like a cruise a girlfriend of mine went on. Her and hubby were so happy that they were going on a cruise (esp listening to me and others go on and on how great they are). When they got on the ship, it was a large group on board. This group just took over the ship and if you were not part of them, you were treated like dirt. My girlfriend stated that their dinner time was changed because the group wanted a certain time. Parts of the ship was closed off because the group needed the space. She recalled one night they left a bar because of the rude looks and comments by people from this group. Now, you can't pay her to take a cruise. I explained that this is far from norm on most cruises. But sailing with a large group like they did left a bad taste with them concerning cruises

[airlink diva]

There are worse things than finding out nearly a year in advance a particular cruise is not available. How about going on a 2600 passenger ship for a week and discovering that about 1500 passengers are from a very conservative Christian group (we are speaking about "holy rollers") who have even brought their own entertainment. These folks basically took over much of the ship, harassed passengers on-deck who where wearing swim suits they deemed too revealing, totally took over the mail sitting etc etc, Who did this? RCI! It happened on the Sovereign of the Seas back when she was doing 7 day cruises. We would have preferred if that group had chartered the entire vessel.

 

Hank

That sounds just like a cruise a girlfriend of mine went on. Her and hubby were so happy that they were going on a cruise (esp listening to me and others go on and on how great they are). When they got on the ship, it was a large group on board. This group just took over the ship and if you were not part of them, you were treated like dirt. My girlfriend stated that their dinner time was changed because the group wanted a certain time. Parts of the ship was closed off because the group needed the space. She recalled one night they left a bar because of the rude looks and comments by people from this group. Now, you can't pay her to take a cruise. I explained that this is far from norm on most cruises. But sailing with a large group like they did left a bad taste with them concerning cruises

[airlink diva]

There are worse things than finding out nearly a year in advance a particular cruise is not available. How about going on a 2600 passenger ship for a week and discovering that about 1500 passengers are from a very conservative Christian group (we are speaking about "holy rollers") who have even brought their own entertainment. These folks basically took over much of the ship, harassed passengers on-deck who where wearing swim suits they deemed too revealing, totally took over the mail sitting etc etc, Who did this? RCI! It happened on the Sovereign of the Seas back when she was doing 7 day cruises. We would have preferred if that group had chartered the entire vessel.

 

Hank

That sounds just like a cruise a girlfriend of mine went on. Her and hubby were so happy that they were going on a cruise (esp listening to me and others go on and on how great they are). When they got on the ship, it was a large group on board. This group just took over the ship and if you were not part of them, you were treated like dirt. My girlfriend stated that their dinner time was changed because the group wanted a certain time. Parts of the ship was closed off because the group needed the space. She recalled one night they left a bar because of the rude looks and comments by people from this group. Now, you can't pay her to take a cruise. I explained that this is far from norm on most cruises. But sailing with a large group like they did left a bad taste with them concerning cruises

[JLC@SD]

My wife & I had booked a grand suite on Westerdam to sail on 11/04/2007,

HAL never let us or our TA know the ship had been charterd for this date.

This trip was to have been a treet for our daughter.

We found out through HAL'S website when the cruise for that week and the folowing had disapered.

This was a huge disapointment and HAL ofered no help at all.

We had sailed on the old Westerdam & Zyderdam several times but I do not think there will be another.

No More Hal ......so......how much longer will you have a HAL ship as your avatar..;)

[kryos]

How about going on a 2600 passenger ship for a week and discovering that about 1500 passengers are from a very conservative Christian group (we are speaking about "holy rollers") who have even brought their own entertainment.

That must be the cruise I heard about ... every night the show was Christian or gospel music. I remember being very surprised a cruise line would allow this unless the group chartered the ship. It doesn't seem fair to require everyone onboard to bend to the tastes of the group when that group is also sharing the boat with a general passenger population. If the group wants to bring entertainers and have some private concerts or praise and worship services perhaps in the show lounge during the day, that's fine. But the nightly entertainment should be the normal entertainment provided by the cruise line on any cruise. The group should only be allowed to go so far in customizing the cruise experience for their members when they are sailing on a regularly sold voyage.

 

I remember my first cruise ... a writer's conference on the Rotterdam. I think we had a goodly number of people ... maybe about 500. Some of the participants began putting posts out on the conference bulletin board asking the cruise organizers if we could have formal nights eliminated on our cruise. The organizers told this group of people that yes, if we were chartering the ship and it would be only our people onboard, then ... yes ... this would certainly be possible if the majority wanted it ... but since we were a part of a regular HAL sailing, formal nights were a ship requirement and if we wanted to eat in the main dining room on those nights, we would have to comply. Same should hold for special entertainment. Have it privately in off-hours for the group, but keep the general entertainment for the regular nightly shows.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[michmike]

Oh the possibilities with that large holy roller group.. might have been fun to buy a live chicken in one of the ports and then manage to smuggle it aboard and stage some sort of Santaria sacrifice rite in the middle of the lido

 

spose we could have staged that scene with one of our rubber chickens but the impact just wouldn't be the same.. *S* *cue the jungle drums*