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HAL Cruise Pricing; have they gone nuts !


RedneckBob
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Hi y'all, Redneck Bob hear.

 

Before I start my comments and the fact that my comments are mine only and may not speak for others, what the heck is going on.

 

I know HAL is in business to make money but their cruise pricing makes no sense. In the past two weeks I saw the price for VoV inside cabin for 8/2/17 selling between $170 to $260 per person per day for an inside cabin. This is crazy. $170 is too high. I know this is a popular cruise but almost $300 per day per person for inside cabin. I am not sailing on Oceania or Seabourne! In 2009 I paid $100 per day per person for inside on VoV.

 

Since I have sailed Oceania pass 4 years, once they set there prices on line, they never or rarely change. That's why if I sale HAL I only book last minute when prices have dropped like a rock. So unfair to high paying customers.

 

I'm Redneck Bob and see it like I tell it, I mean tell it like I see it !

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Yes. We only book HAL inside the final payment window, sometimes not even then. Just depends on the itinerary. But for certain, if we could book on a premium line for the same price as HAL or any other mass market line we would certainly do so.

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It all depends when you look at a particular cruise. I've watched a particular cruise go from a bargain to outrageous to reasonable and then all the way back to a bargain again. Travel metrics. You need to keep checking.

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Of course what would really be "nuts" would be for HAL to sell cabins on popular itineraries for any less than the maximum they could charge.

 

You always want to check prices- and, if they seem higher than you want to pay for a particular itinerary, just don't book the cruise. When (or, should I say "if") the price drops to a level you are willing to pay, then book it.

 

But, if it does not drop to a price you are willing to pay, you would have to acknowledge that maybe they were not "nuts".

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We had been watching Alaska cruise prices for more than a year on Princess and HAL and HAL was always less expensive and ultimately we went with them.

 

 

We booked within the final payment window which we usually do. When we booked the verandas on HAL were $400 less pp than they were on Princess for the same week.

 

Pricing is an interesting topic. What I may think is expensive someone else may think is a great deal.

 

I guess the question is what are we willing to pay? And what do we think is a fair price? I think the answers will be a broad range depending on who you ask.

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There are some wonderful values out there...it all depends on the ship and itinerary.

 

I think using the Voyage of the Vikings as a barometer is flawed...its an itinerary that HAL does just once a year and on a smaller ship. Demand fuels the pricing, so to see it cost upwards of $300 per night for an inside doesn't surprise me at all.

 

It's no different than if the best show on Broadway was playing once a year versus once a week. Of course the once-a-year ticket price will be high, for the number of seats is very limited.

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Don't forget on this VOV cruise the inside cabins can be premium because of the "midnight sun". A lot of people prefer these so it can actually get dark at night, instead of bright light streaming through the curtains at 3am.

 

We signed up for the VOV a year ago and I have not seen the original price change for our cabin. Reminder to self - pack clips to keep the cabin curtains closed as much as possible.

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Don't forget on this VOV cruise the inside cabins can be premium because of the "midnight sun". A lot of people prefer these so it can actually get dark at night, instead of bright light streaming through the curtains at 3am.

 

We signed up for the VOV a year ago and I have not seen the original price change for our cabin. Reminder to self - pack clips to keep the cabin curtains closed as much as possible.

 

Wow, never realized an inside cabin could be a premium cabin. Does it come with a Butler :)

 

I just don't like the way HAL prices change so much. On May 11, 2017, I got one of those private sells from HAL that dropped the price of interior and exterior cabin by $3,000 and suite dropped $4,000.

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Wow, never realized an inside cabin could be a premium cabin. Does it come with a Butler :)

 

I just don't like the way HAL prices change so much. On May 11, 2017, I got one of those private sells from HAL that dropped the price of interior and exterior cabin by $3,000 and suite dropped $4,000.

 

Club 21 members get some pretty extraordinary deals too. What exactly are you looking for?

 

"Midnight Sun" cruises on other cruise lines also show little price differential for the inside cabins compared to ocean view rooms. Makes sense to me - not having a window all the sudden becomes a desirable feature. No bulter with the ocean views either so not sure what the quibble is about. You are just bedding down with the animal spirits of capitalism in this case.

 

What is interesting is the reputation for the VOV always being sold out a year in advance, but only a few cabin classes are now sold out this late in the game for its upcoming August cruising. Must be those animal spirits at play again. Maybe the good fairy will land on your shoulder since all good things come to those who wait. Or not.

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Wow, never realized an inside cabin could be a premium cabin. Does it come with a Butler :)

 

I just don't like the way HAL prices change so much. On May 11, 2017, I got one of those private sells from HAL that dropped the price of interior and exterior cabin by $3,000 and suite dropped $4,000.

 

I'm not sure what is not to like about price cuts. It is simply a pro-active inventory management strategy. Knowing about it, as you seem to, positions you to take advantage of such cuts as do occur. Of course, it does expose people to "buyer's remorse" if they keep checking prices after purchase --- but would you really prefer a system where you had no opportunity to "play the market"?

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I was speaking with Annette (future cruise consultant) on Veendam a few weeks ago and asked her specifically about Voyage of the Vikings. Her comment was something along the line of, "the higher the demand the more consistently high the price will be." She told me that they never sail that itinerary at a loss. I really, really, really want to do that one, but I cannot justify the outrageous cost per day.

 

If you can imagine a retail flower shop that has only some many red roses to sell for Valentine's Day. Only so much room to store them in the store, cannot take any more. The phone keeps ringing; hey - let's raise the price a bit and see what happens. OK - let's raise the price some more. Ultimately all the roses will sell and the retailer can put a bit of extra in the pocket. Same thing with Voyage of the Vikings. It is on my bucket list, but there are so many other better-priced cruises to take instead.

 

Jim

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Or you can just use a couple of the clothes hangers with two metal clips.

 

Foolish suggestion only because you don't know how I pack for 38 day cruises, but that is an excellent back-up idea. Spare coat-hangers, impossible?

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I, too, would love to take the VoV, but pricing has been a bit steep as its a seller's market.

 

We tried to get on the Maasdam sailing from Australia to San Diego last fall, and we were quoted 5 figure amounts for inside cabins for a last minute booking. So we passed on that booking and booked a terrific land tour of S. China instead at a fraction of the price of the cruise.

 

On the flip side, we really want to sail on the Premier Cruise on the Nieuw Statendam, so I booked it today (inside cabin, aft, deck 10) for a little over $100 / day with lots of sea days which we like. For that cruise, I didn't want to wait and travel last minute and possibly miss it.

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RedneckBob! Whatever you decide, I'd be happy to read your trip report, always fun.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I appreciate your comments but don't plan to do VoV anytime soon. I could do a report from my 2012 sailing.

 

Also since I now frequent other cruise lines you may find trip reports on other cruise threads.

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We had been watching Alaska cruise prices for more than a year on Princess and HAL and HAL was always less expensive and ultimately we went with them.

 

 

We booked within the final payment window which we usually do. When we booked the verandas on HAL were $400 less pp than they were on Princess for the same week.

 

Pricing is an interesting topic. What I may think is expensive someone else may think is a great deal.

 

I guess the question is what are we willing to pay? And what do we think is a fair price? I think the answers will be a broad range depending on who you ask.

 

Could not agree more, styles27. Just this week though, we've discovered that sometimes dealing directly with HA is the way to go. We're 4 star, and the price break we were given for a Christmas itinerary was ridiculously low. The price isn't advertised, and for this cruise at least, the price on various websites, including HA's, is more than I would pay. So glad I called, since I feel we got a great deal. Someone else, though, may see it differently.

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I think that it does pay to call the cruise line for a price check when you are inside the final payment window. We did this with RCI and were very surprised to get a better price than was listed on their Australian site and much better than the price on their North American site.

 

I suspect that in some instances where sales are not as good as the cruise line would wish the agents are given some room to 'move over' callers who appear to be on the cusp.

 

Look at it from the cruise line's perspective. If the agent ends the call without a sale and you decide to book with a TA the cruise line will loose another 20 percent or so in TA paid commission that they would have otherwise kept if you booked directly in this non refundable window. Or they could loose you to another cruise line or to another vacation options. Once the ship sails, the cabin inventory looses all value.

 

We have noticed an increase, in some instances significant, in mass market cruise prices over the past two years. This includes where we typically shop...inside the final payment window. We are doing less cruising and more independent land travel and AI's.

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We recently booked a European cruise and one bother and wife paid $1,250 less than myself/wife and another brother/wife. It was a casino discount. And the interesting thing is they really don't gamble often or spend much money. So you may want to start gambling:D

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On our one experience with the cruise line agent I felt as though he was looking for excuses to lower the fare and get us to book. We had checked the on line booking price on the Australian web site. We are over 55- seniors. One month before sailing date.

 

I wanted to stay on the phone as long as possible. We would normally be entitled to a $200. discount for booking balcony because of our cruise line status. He agent said it would be $200. each. He asked us our age, even though he had our profile up on his screen. He offered us a 'special' seniors rate and said he had one balcony cabin left in that section. That was another $600. saving. The cabin was two doors down from the one he originally priced. Same category. He also threw in a $200. USD on board credit. I kept him talking as long as possible and then said yes.

 

While I was on the phone my spouse kept looking at me thinking that this was taking a long time to book. We saved about $1100. AUD over the AUD website and an Aus. TA quote. The price was substantially less than the price quoted on on RCI's North American website or with our usual US based on line TA.

 

Taught us a lesson to give the cruise line direct agents a final chance to sharpen their pencil. It onnly takes a quick phone call and we have nothing to loose. If the price is the same, we book with our TA in order to get the OBC's and other benefits.

Edited by iancal
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Foolish suggestion only because you don't know how I pack for 38 day cruises, but that is an excellent back-up idea. Spare coat-hangers, impossible?

I believe the reference to the coat hangers are the ones located in the stateroom, therefore no need to pack any clips.

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I believe the reference to the coat hangers are the ones located in the stateroom, therefore no need to pack any clips.

 

Not keen about hanging my skirts and pants from the curtains, so I think I will still pack some extra clips.

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I believe the reference to the coat hangers are the ones located in the stateroom, therefore no need to pack any clips.

 

And, on ships, I have heard they have these wonderful people called Stewards. You can call and ask for things like, say, extra clip hangers, and they will magically appear in your cabin.;)

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