Would loyal hal fans sail on rci if price was right?

[ViolaSwamp]

We have cruised both lines and enjoyed all three of our cruises to-date.

 

We absolutely would sail RCCL again. We absolutely would sail HAL again (and I, along with my mom/sister, have already booked another HAL cruise).

 

Our choice of cruise line is dependent on

1. Timing: is it during a week when we can be away from home/work/school?
   
2. Price: can we afford it (including airfare, if needed)?
   
3. Itinerary: does it go somewhere we want to visit?
   

If the answer to all three questions is yes, then we'll take the cruise, regardless of RCCL or HAL (or any other line!).

 

For instance, I just booked a 10/2010 sailing on HAL Veendam over my other option, RCCL Oasis of the Seas, because of the convenience factor of the Veendam sailing out of NYC, we won't have to fly which saves time and money. And - none of us have done Bermuda before, so a new place to visit.

 

Issues such as ship size and incidentals (food, decor, entertainment, etc.) are less important to me/us - our main reason to cruise is to get away from home, enjoy nice weather and spend time together exploring new places. The vessel we use to do this is less important than the journey itself. :)

[Pettifogger]

I would only stray from HAL if made an "offer I couldn't refuse" and no other line is likely to do that even in this economy. I just happen to be a customer interested in premium basics rather than activities.

Before I discovered HAL, I remember posting on a mass market board a question asking why there wasn't a cruise line with characteristics I later found in HAL. I didn't like the mass market lines because I just didn't find that sailing on their ships provided a gracious cruise experience.

I am not attracted to the luxury lines because I anticipate they will provide a 50% better cruise experience at three times the price. I haven't sailed a luxury line, but back when I had an expense account, I sometimes had occasion to stay in famous hotels and and thought they were 50% better at three times the price, fortunately of my employer's money.

I was surprised that HAL's fares are not that much more than the mass market cruise lines, but then everyone would not like HAL. If one wants unlimited activities or butlers, they wouldn't care much for the same things I and others like me treasure.

But if the Deutschland ever has a "giveaway" sale, I'll take it, even if I have to buy my wife two new gowns and myself a new tuxedo (my wife gave the old one to a charity years ago.)

[VaTraveler]

We're about to sail with HAL for the first time. We've sailed many times with RCI, Celebrity, and Princess. We've been scared off of HAL because of what we've heard about the age of the passengers. We are 62, and we're still apprehensive. Some of the comments on this thread about not cruising with a line because of plastic chairs at the pool or lack of teak chairs are enough to scare us off if age didn't.:D Hopefully all will be well, and I'm sure not all HAL passengers have a similar attitude. That being said, yes, we would definitely sail with RCI again. Our favorite cruises were on the Radiance class ships. The entertainment was wonderful, appealing to all ages, and there was a great mix on all the cruises we took. Of course, I don't hate children, either, as some people on this thread have indicated. We also loved Celebrity. We have only taken one with Princess, and as someone else stated, you can always get a lemon. That was our lemon. We choose cruises based on itinerary first and entertainment second. That is the reason we booked with Princess, and that is the reason we have booked with HAL this time. The question for us is not whether we would sail RCI but if we will sail HAL again. We'll know in a month.

[Spender Nui]

After reading this thread I went back and researched our cruises (can't be sure I got them all) and was surprised that we had cruised more often than I recalled. I thought it was 50 something but I could actually account for 83. Surprised me.

 

These cruises were done on 10 different cruise lines. Breakdown is:

 

HAL 21

Celebrity 33

Princess 20

Others 9

 

In the past 2 years in addition to HAL, Celebrity and Princess we sailed with RCCL for the first (and second) time. We tried RCCL because of the perks we were entitled to (reciprocity) due to our many Celebrity cruises. We enjoyed a lot they offered in addition to the perks. The LOYALTY REWARDS (not a complete or detailed list) we get from these lines are:

 

HAL

Medallion and a lunch for many participants

 

Celebrity

No medallion and little else

 

Princess

Substantial bar setup

complimentary laundry & dry cleaning

Complimentary internet

Special lunch hosted by the captain and senior officers for the 40 most traveled

passengers (no guarantee you'll be invited but it's a high point)

 

RCCL

Complimentary cocktail hour (3 hours actually)

Concierge Lounge (we only get this on HAL when we take a deluxe suite)

Various gifts (additional drinks, photos, hats, etc.)

 

To be perfectly honest I don't see huge differences between HAL, Celebrity, Princess or RCCL. Do some offer more incentives. Yes, by far and I certainly understand cruisers having preferences ... food, accommodations, entertainment, etc. But owing LOYALTY?

 

I just don't know why anyone feels they OWE LOYALTY to any particular line.

[Spanky My]

I check Itenarary first. Then Price. In april will be our FIRST HAL cruise. We have been on many other cruise lines previously. Would not hesitate to go elsewhere if some line has the route we would like to take for a lower price.

 

My loyalty is to my wallet, itenarary and last the cruise company.

[Sunshine91]

My folks have taken 2 cruises on RCCL's Jewel OTS & 1 on HAL's Volendam. For several reasons they prefer the Jewel, but on both of those trips they also cruised w/friends. I think if we ever want to cruise w/them, it'll be on RCCL.

 

John's family is well, to say enamored of that little mouse in central Florida is putting it mildly. If it doesn't exist in Orlando, it simply doesn't exist in this world. If his family ever decides to do a special group cruise, it'll be on one of those Disney boats. :p

 

For us, more than price factors into the equation. And I'm not interested in those floating behemoths like Freedom or Oasis. Not gonna do it. But if the timing were right & we could get a 5-day to Bermuda from a mid-Atlantic port on RCCL, then yeah, we'd certainly consider it. Right now, taking 2 weeks each year is all we can do. But I'm working on him. ;):D

[BlackJack2]

When HAL sails out of Galveston, TX, then I will say never again on RCI. Until then, it is way too easy to drive to the port. When we fly to a port, the it is HAL all the way!!!