Iceland and Greenland on Insignia

The 2 lines are drastically different 4000 and 90000 thnthe 650 pax Oceania ships, in style ambiance, civility and convenience

 

I am interested in seeing what costs you added to put Holland america. Air fare? specialty restaurants, sodas, tips, shore ex, Limited choices for variety of cuisine, coffees ,juice, water, etc.

 

Id be very interested to see howyou arrived at that, what you added/considered to be "the cost" Its not just the cabin,, gratitirs and port/tax...

I ran cruise to cruise O to Hal.. pricing at a level of equal accommodations apples to apples not a veranda on O to an inside on HAL, and the difference was Hal was thousands more $3850 to be exact..

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I wont touch RCCL a tennement of the seas with close to 9000 on her with crew..... Thats not a cruise to me... Price reductions come at long lasting price to passengers...

HawaiiDan If you read my statement carefully you will see that I said "for me" the value for my dollar was high on this cruise. That means by my standards. This was cruise #29 for us. We have done all kinds of cruises including 25 passenger Amazon riverboat, 40 passenger sailboat in Galapagas Islands, 70 passenger sea going yacht in New Zealand plus all major cruise lines under the luxury level (No Seabourn/Regent) except Norwegian. We define very well what we want for EACH cruise. Each cruise is consistent in that we want good food, interesting itinerary, nice friendly service and other travelers who enjoy the world. We are not particularly interested in size of cabin or location, could care less about Butler, and only buy a balcony when it will get much enjoyment (Tahiti yes ; Iceland NO!). We don't drink or gamble so that means our cruises are cheaper than most. Laundry is often our largest on-board expense! (I can't wait to get laundry perk but doubtful in that we like many different lines for different reasons). So yes, I know how to account for what a cruise costs us (and DH who loves to keep memory books and journals has the exact cost of every cruise/vacation day since 1969!:eek::rolleyes:) and know what items cost us. Sometimes the value is not so much in the $ but in the thrill of discovering someplace new and the beauty of a lovely flower by the side of a road.

Don't always be overbearing that your decisions and your values and how you spend your money is the ultimate definition of "value". We each get to make our own choices and those can vary greatly. Be respectful of those. Our last cruise had 1003 passengers according to the Captain's log. Not much different than some O ships.

Sodas and gratuities were part of promotion. We had no desire to skip a wonderful meal in the MDR to pay extra for the specialty restaurant. Even on O we usually choose to eat in MDR --more choices and less time to eat dinner. And the cabin -- 2nd door down from the middle staircase one floor +/- (Hal below O above) main deck with doors to outside deck) -- my favorite spot on the deck plan. Food was equal in most ways to O. I'm not a "foodie" but I do know good food and have the waistline to prove it! My air was taken care of by points and allowed 2 weeks car trip in France. Sorry but I do not believe that HAL in anyway cost $3000 more! NOPE. As for included flights. I NEVER use air from the cruise line. Nor do I use their insurance. Nope not doing it. I have always found I could beat the actual dollar price or on rare occasions when not I got the time or route that I desired. It takes work and research but I have always done so. I also can not use cruise air because we most times spend time before and after in the city that the cruise starts or ends from. I could not deal with paying a "deviation" fee for taking whatever flight the cruiseline decides to give me. The CC board cruise air has taught me so much about finding air that satisfies me.

Best of all -- what works for me does not work always for you thus we can both go after our cruise in our own way.

Alexandra cruiser, I do understand how you feel. I approach life differently. If the amount I am going to outlay makes no difference to my future well being, I am prepared to take the risk. However, having said that, I only use companies that come recommended on Trip Advisor or Cruise Critic. The private tours are so much better than ship excursions with BIG buses, long lunches and free time to shop. We have never had a problem getting back to the ship on time as I always plan to be back at least an hour before the all on board time.

 

In Reykjavik, the very best tour is the Golden Circle. On two occasions I have used Iceland Horizon info@icelandhorizon.is. That company is payment on the day.

 

I am not a TA - just s fellow cruiser who enjoys life.

and good idea about that company, will look them up.I tend to only take the cruise tours that avoid long bus trips,shopping time,etc. We go on physical ones ,,not TOO, like kayaking,hiking,etc. They tend to attrack less people and need to use my 9 free exc.as my TA provides OBC,gratuities,etc.