HAL to Hawaii - Why So Expensive?

[Roz]

Hi Gang,

I've been doing some long term cruise planning, which includes a Hawaiian cruise in 2006. In checking out HAL's 2004 & 2005 fares, I've been blown away by how expensive they are.

Most of them are on the Statendam, which will be HAL's oldest ship once the Noordam retires at the end of this year. So you can't say it's because they're amortizing the cost of a new ship.

I've done a cost per day comparison with NCL, Celebrity, RCCL, etc. and HAL is by far the most expensive. I like HAL but can't honestly say I'm going to get thousands of added dollars of value compared to other lines.

Is there something special about sailing to Hawaii on HAL that I don't know about? Any explanation for the much higher fares?

Roz

[FlorenceItaly]

Roz - I was looking at some 2005 solo rates to Canada/New England, and they were MORE than DOUBLE what I paid last month, same route. I sure hope the good solo rates are not a thing of the past after this year.........

Marie

[Roz]

Marie,

I agree. I'm probably going to do a New England land tour with my walking club next year, and checked to see if maybe I could tack on a Canada/NE cruise. When I saw those fares, I said no way. You can cruise on HAL in Europe for far less.

Roz

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

We took advantage of what we considered a reasonable price, booked through our TA well in advance, a suite with balcony for our trip to Hawaii last February '04. Well worth every penny. This was our second HAL experience for a two week cruise. Plenty of time to relax getting there, going around the islands, and on the return trip.

In my humble opinion, the Statendam does not show its age, has been well maintained, we would do it again.

[Roz]

Raffin,

My first cruise in 2001 was on the Statendam, and I agree she doesn't show her age. That said, if you look at the pricing on other HAL cruises, such as the Carribean, the newer ships tend to have higher prices.

I just question if HAL delivers such a superior product in the Hawaii cruise market that it's worth thousands of extra dollars. Glad to hear you had a good experience.

Roz

[cruisinjudy]

We had the Statendam to Hawaii booked in 2003, but then cancelled it for B2B Hawaii on Celebrity due to a great price.We had watched to see if the price would go down but it never did. Last fall I noticed the Statendam Hawaii prices were $1000 less per person than they had been earlier. Now I see they are back up again! Try Celebrity or Princess. Take Hal to some other destinations that have reasonable prices.