Carnival Liberty cancels Europe 2009

[Jade13]

and tells clients they will be receiving options shortly from sister companies HAL and Princess.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=866131

I thought this was interesting because I thought HAL was spending more time in Europe to attract more European clients, but I guess since then that market has collapsed too, so I wonder what HAL will be doing, perhaps just waiting to see what happens with the market.

[Krazy Kruizers]

That is interesting.

So many people are watching their dollars and Europe is very expensive.

I wonder if HAL ships will be full?? I know on another site where people reported on a couple of cruises that HAL ships were only half full this past summer.

[RuthC]

So, does this sound like Carnival is going to share the booking information with HAL and Princess, so that those companies can reach out to the canceled passengers?
I wonder how that would impact the HAL demographic on the cruises? And if those who choose to book HAL instead will do so understanding it might be more sedate?

[Roz]

Ruth,

My understanding is that a different demographic was cruising Carnival in Europe. In fact, I was looking at their European itineraries for 2009 before they starting pulling them back.

I think Europe is more about the ports than the ship experience (plus being more expensive), which is why it's a different group of passengers.

On my 12-day Hawaiian cruise on Carnival, the passenger mix mirrored HAL's.

Roz

[hammybee]

It makes no sense, in this economy, for CCL brands to compete amongst themselves.

I think many would be surprised to see how similar the demographics are, Carnival versus HAL, in Europe.

[hammybee]

On my 12-day Hawaiian cruise on Carnival, the passenger mix mirrored HAL's. Roz

Carnival's repuatation as a young party ship is, for the most part, history, with the exception of the short runs. The longer the cruise, the more likely passengers will be similar to HAL's demographics with similar intineraries.

[AZjohn]

Wow, this is the second Carnival ship to cancer Europe 2009:eek:
We booked Carnival Freedom this past January for a Med cruise the summer of 2009. About 3 months later I hear on Cruise Critic that the Freedom was being pulled from Europe 2009 and heading to the Caribbean (I think that is where it went).
Lucky for us HAL had their 2009 Med itineraries out by then and happily switched over to the Oosterdam, but no OBC was offered by Carnival (in fact Carnival made no official announcement about the cancellation until about a month later).
I just pray HAL doesn’t follow the trend and cancel our Oosterdam cruise next August:cool: .
John

[madra2112]

Hi folks,

I'm one of those affected by the Liberty cancellation. HAL have made replacement offers through our travel agent, one for Eurodam, the other for Rotterdam.

Now, I understand that HAL's demographic is different to that of Carnival's, and the only experience our teens (16 and 15 at time of sailing) is RCI's Navigator OTS, so HAL will be different.

My initial research suggests that if we decide to go with HAL, Eurodam would be a better option for a family.

Any comments would be welcome.

[Atomica]

That is interesting.

So many people are watching their dollars and Europe is very expensive.

I wonder if HAL ships will be full?? I know on another site where people reported on a couple of cruises that HAL ships were only half full this past summer.

Judging by the amount of special offers I've received from HAL in the past few weeks, they're probably having issues getting as many as they'd like to book: $2,500pp for a balcony cabin on the Oosterdam's 12 day R/T Venice itinerary in mid-July seems pretty rock-bottom to me.

I also noticed recently that both Eurodam and Rotterdam are now offering shorter 4 and 6 day cruises in mid June and July now. I assume there's probably demand, at least for European residents, for shorter cruise options. The only downside to that is the 6-day voyages are really a 12-day voyage cut in two, so for those doing the full 12-days, you'll return to your embarkation port again before your voyage ends.

[kryos]

It makes no sense, in this economy, for CCL brands to compete amongst themselves.

I think many would be surprised to see how similar the demographics are, Carnival versus HAL, in Europe.
I agree with you 100%. The longer the cruise, the more similar the demographics, regardless of the cruise line. You're not gonna get the "party hardy" crowd on an extended Carnival cruise, just as you won't get them on HAL. But take a seven-day Caribbean itinerary, even on HAL, and you'll get more of the "rowdy" types ... the families ... the occasionally unruly teenager ... the loud, squealing kids ... just as you do on Carnival.

No reason the CCL brands shouldn't share booking info and in a case like this where Carnival has cancelled a Europe season, shift those passengers to other ships in the corporate family.

I don't doubt many of those displaced Carnival passengers would make the switch over to HAL for their European cruise.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[sammiedawg]

I'll bet HAL Europe bookings are off as I am getting tons of cheapo email offers for next year . Some from Princess as well.
After 9/11 my friend was booked on princess, they cancelled at least one ship, consolidating their bookings for the following year.

[mek]

quote=RuthC So, does this sound like Carnival is going to share the booking information with HAL and Princess, so that those companies can reach out to the canceled passengers?
I wonder how that would impact the HAL demographic on the cruises? And if those who choose to book HAL instead will do so understanding it might be more sedate?



I just returned from a Freedom 12 night Med cruise two weeks ago. Having done Europe on RCCL, Princess, and a few lines that no longer exist, it was my experience that the demographic was no different on Carnival in the Med than any of my other experiences. With a port intensive itinerary such as the one we were on, there was little time or energy for late night partying. The people to whom I spoke sailed on the Freedom primarily for the itinerary, which was outstanding. IMHO, Carnival gets a bum wrap for being a wild party line.

[kenish]

Until August or so, the notion seemed to be that Europeans would take advantage of the strong Euro and get inexpensive cruises that are dollar-based. But then, the financial crisis hit Europe, arguably harder than the US. Foreign currencies have really dropped against the dollar in the past month. Also, many Europeans are finding their paychecks suddenly short...EU regulations limit government defecits and as an example the Irish government increased income tax withholdings to make up for a big drop in real estate transfer taxes. (Someone in Ireland can correct me if what I heard isn't right).

Also as others have said, there are some "buy low" opportunities right now, some of them probably once-in-a-lifetime. People may be investing their discretionary income and deferring cruises.