Mr Veendam06 Posted September 28, 2007 #201 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Soory i ment i live over in NJ . Mr Veendam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 28, 2007 #202 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Sail We did a similar 14 day cruise on the old Noordam out of Tampa - but instead of going to Tortola we went to St Thomas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevNeal Posted September 28, 2007 #203 Share Posted September 28, 2007 FLL At Sea At Sea San Juan St. Thomas St. Kitts Dominica Barbados St. Lucia Guadaloupe St. Maarten Tortola HMC FLL The nice thing about this itinerary is that several of these ports are ports that I probably wouldn't even bother getting off the ship at for anything serious. I would prefer a 14-day cruise with at least one more sea-day, particularly toward the end, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevNeal Posted September 28, 2007 #204 Share Posted September 28, 2007 We did a similar 14 day cruise on the old Noordam out of Tampa - but instead of going to Tortola we went to St Thomas. And it didn't have a stop in HMC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 28, 2007 #205 Share Posted September 28, 2007 That's right!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 28, 2007 #206 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Come to think of it - the ports were a little different Tampa - San Juan - St Thomas - Guadeloupe - Barados - St Lucia - Isla Margarita -- Bonaire - Aruba - Grand Cayman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUU Posted September 28, 2007 #207 Share Posted September 28, 2007 I know, innlady, but at what prices? Evidently from everything known by posters who check cruise fares, HAL had to heavily discount from NY and don't have to do this as much when sailing from FL.I can attest to this. If Holland America was not substantially less expensive, we'd be sailing on NCL from NYC or Royal Caribbean from Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevNeal Posted September 28, 2007 #208 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Come to think of it - the ports were a little different Tampa - San Juan - St Thomas - Guadeloupe - Barados - St Lucia - Isla Margarita -- Bonaire - Aruba - Grand Cayman I think that's right. But it's the same basic idea ... a "grand tour" of the Caribbean. One of the things I like about these 14-day itineraries is that you really get a bang for the buck on them ... the difference in price between them and the 10-day itineraries is very minimal, but the extra time on ship is substantial. And, it's as long as a b2b but without the negatives of the b2bs being two independent cruises. The feel of the cruise is significantly different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frick_&_Frack Posted September 28, 2007 #209 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Though, I do miss the "old" B2B cruising from time-to-time - East/West Carib, etc. They were interesting (but, it was sad at the end of one leg to say goodbye to the friends you make and have to get ready to meet all new people). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekerr19 Posted September 28, 2007 #210 Share Posted September 28, 2007 I can attest to this. If Holland America was not substantially less expensive, we'd be sailing on NCL from NYC or Royal Caribbean from Miami. Wow, I always found both lines to be substantially "less"... I've been on RCCL once (recently) and it was a far cry from HAL. Both in price and quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 28, 2007 #211 Share Posted September 28, 2007 I had looked up my itinerary -- and it was a great one on a smaller ship. Really got to know everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 28, 2007 #212 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Quite a few years ago we did one RCI cruise = a four day one - really didn't think it was that cheap for just 4 days. JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekerr19 Posted September 28, 2007 #213 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Quite a few years ago we did one RCI cruise = a four day one - really didn't think it was that cheap for just 4 days. JMO KK- Did you think it was better than HAL? We did a 5-day and didn't think it was anything to write home about, though I did like the atrium and shops area... the cabin was smaller than anything we'd even been in and the food was just barely "so-so". I did feel the staff was pretty decent though, especially the barstaff. Lifeboat drill was a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 28, 2007 #214 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Nope - that is why we have never sailed on RCI again - that cruise was back in 1993. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherInFlorida Posted September 28, 2007 #215 Share Posted September 28, 2007 I wouldn't be interested in cruising again on NCL and RCI doesn't interest us at all. We did book RCI earlier this year because of price, but cancelled the more we thought about it. However, their cruises were considerably less than HAL ... not the other way around. We absolutely love 14-day cruises and will never cruise less than 10 again. But the beauty of the time at sea is what draws us so I'd have no interest in such a port intensive cruise as the one shown above. Like Greg, I could stay onboard but that's not the same as being on the sea. I'm always looking for the most sea days I can find. This is harder and harder because many of the newer cruisers particularly want to be in a new port every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted September 28, 2007 #216 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Sail We did a similar 14 day cruise on the old Noordam out of Tampa - but instead of going to Tortola we went to St Thomas. We did that cruise on Ryndam out of Tampa in April 2006. Great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frick_&_Frack Posted September 28, 2007 #217 Share Posted September 28, 2007 We absolutely love 14-day cruises and will never cruise less than 10 again. But the beauty of the time at sea is what draws us so I'd have no interest in such a port intensive cruise as the one shown above. Like Greg, I could stay onboard but that's not the same as being on the sea. I'm always looking for the most sea days I can find. This is harder and harder because many of the newer cruisers particularly want to be in a new port every day. Heather - I couldn't agree more - I'm all about sea days now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILLP1 Posted September 28, 2007 #218 Share Posted September 28, 2007 We are still waiting to hear from HAL regarding the change. they seem very confused. At least we leave on maybe our last cruise out of New York in a few weeks on Celebrity Constellation to Canada - New England. They seem to fill up the ships and make money and provide a good product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaofami Posted September 28, 2007 #219 Share Posted September 28, 2007 I also love the days at sea. I guess that's why I like the two days down and back out of NY on the Noordam.:) Sea days with nothing to do are very relaxing. i can read, watch the ocean go by, sit in the Crow's Nest and look out or sit outside in the shade(and sometimes the sun). What could be better?:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUU Posted September 28, 2007 #220 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Wow, I always found both lines to be substantially "less"... It actually blew me away and showed me that Holland America is not the premium-priced cruise line I had thought it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariner Posted September 28, 2007 #221 Share Posted September 28, 2007 A few comments: NCL 1 HAL 0 in NYC. Forget the fuel. NOORDAM bunkered in St Maarten and received a substaintial discount due to its Dutch flag. Think there are several factors that hurt HAL in NYC market. 1) It couldn't provide the same product while discounting to compete with NCL, which recently sold a one-price cruise. All cabins same price. First-come could get the suites. 2) The dress codes. 3) The dining times. 4) Perceived as not being kid-friendly. 5) The sea days. 6) Lack of onboard spending. And for the previous poster who said her dh would never sail in the North Atlantic in winter, I would advise him to examine a chart on the cruise you're booked. You'll spend most of your time in THE NORTH ATLANTIC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevNeal Posted September 28, 2007 #222 Share Posted September 28, 2007 It actually blew me away and showed me that Holland America is not the premium-priced cruise line I had thought it was. Don't generalize based upon only one market. Compare the Hawaii offerings. HAL tends to be more expensive. For instance (and this is just at a glance comparing lowest Inside Cabin price quoted from an online discounter): HAL - $2252 pp -- 15 days round trip out of San Diego Celebrity - $1699 pp -- 15 days San Diego to Ensenada (or reverse) Princess - $1347 pp -- 14 days LA to Ensenada (or reverse) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherInFlorida Posted September 28, 2007 #223 Share Posted September 28, 2007 We are still waiting to hear from HAL regarding the change. they seem very confused. At least we leave on maybe our last cruise out of New York in a few weeks on Celebrity Constellation to Canada - New England. They seem to fill up the ships and make money and provide a good product. And if HAL is confused, it's not wonder everyone else is!!!!:D Love to know how you like your Constellation cruise to Canada. We're doing that cruise out of Bayonne next October and are really excited about it. I agree that Celebrity delivers a wonderful product ... that's where I'll be hanging my hat from now on. Hope you'll post a report of your cruise on the Celebrity board? Or come back here and do a comparison to HAL (if you dare;) )? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 28, 2007 #224 Share Posted September 28, 2007 If you all want a cruise with lots of sea days -- round trip from San Diego to Hawaii -- 5 days over to Hawaii and 5 days back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammybee Posted September 29, 2007 #225 Share Posted September 29, 2007 I just took a look at current pricing for all sails departing from the NYC area in January-February. Here is the per diem range, across both months, for an inside cabin: Cunard $110-130 NCL $100-109* RCL $89-109 HAL $91-105 In the latter part of February, NCL switches to 7 day sails to the Bahamas. On all but one sailing HAL is the low cost provider and has been all along, with the exception of the limited time sale NCL held awhile ago. None of the ships have sold out as to be expected given they are 3-4 months into the future. All prices are less than they were for 2006 sailings. Reported spending habits of passengers, fuel costs and probable higher than average docking/ground costs along with the fares probably do not combine for a sufficiently profitable run. The combination of 10-11 day intineraries, cold weather coming and going and the undesirability of flying into NYC in the winter/overnight hotel costs probably cause these sails to be unattractive to groups/charters and many potential cruisers who need to fly to a port. Pulling out of the NYC market in the winter is almost a no brainer. I am glad they took this action instead of reducing the crew/ service and diminishing the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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