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Time To Take The Plunge?


hensghan

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I once read something to the effect that saving up and paying for the Presidential Suite at a Motel 6 only means that you are still staying at a Motel 6. Is cruising coming to this? Is paying for a Deluxe Suite on a ship that is apparently not always being properly maintained the rough equivalence of the Motel 6 analogy? Is it now starting to make sense to consider paying for a lesser cabin on a more upscale cruise line than opting for high end accommodations on a perhaps declining line? Me, I haven't yet taken the plunge to try out a standard cabin on a luxury or semi-luxury line, but I'm wondering it it might now make sense to consider doing so. Any opinions or experiences?

 

PS -- This question is not a jab at HAL. It just seems that economic realities are forcing most cruise lines into somewhat of a quality decline. Many cabins are being almost given away just so as to fill them.

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I once read something to the effect that saving up and paying for the Presidential Suite at a Motel 6 only means that you are still staying at a Motel 6. Is cruising coming to this? Is paying for a Deluxe Suite on a ship that is apparently not always being properly maintained the rough equivalence of the Motel 6 analogy? Is it now starting to make sense to consider paying for a lesser cabin on a more upscale cruise line than opting for high end accommodations on a perhaps declining line? Me, I haven't yet taken the plunge to try out a standard cabin on a luxury or semi-luxury line, but I'm wondering it it might now make sense to consider doing so. Any opinions or experiences?

 

PS -- This question is not a jab at HAL. It just seems that economic realities are forcing most cruise lines into somewhat of a quality decline. Many cabins are being almost given away just so as to fill them.

 

I think it is well worth it to pay more for a luxury line Caribbean cruise. Regent's standard cabins are 300 sq.ft. And, everything is nicer than on HAL. I disagree that HAL is comparable to Motel 6, though.

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I don't know where HAL "officially" stands in the hierarchy of upscale cruiselines - but, for me, HAL is the perfect fit and I'll not be wandering off to try anything else. I love everything about the line - the ships, the service, the crew, the itineraries, absolutely everything. My first cruise was on one of the lesser lines, and I nearly didn't cruise again. I'm forever grateful to have discovered HAL and the amazing world her ships have opened up to me.

 

Sure, the economy is having an effect on almost everyone. Corporations and people alike. We all compromise a bit, just to get by. But MY compromise would be to a lesser cabin, not to a lesser line - nor to any other line, for any reason.

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What Donna said!!

 

Seriously, we love HAL. I find it difficult to imagine that we could be more pampered anywhere else. Regardless of the cabin type we stay in we are always treated as if we were VIP's.

 

We love the elegant ships, the amazingly eager to please crew and staff. The itineraries take us where we want to go and allow us to see what we wanted to see. Mostly we just love the feeling of coming home we experience evertime we board a HAL ship.

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I once read something to the effect that saving up and paying for the Presidential Suite at a Motel 6 only means that you are still staying at a Motel 6. Is cruising coming to this? Is paying for a Deluxe Suite on a ship that is apparently not always being properly maintained the rough equivalence of the Motel 6 analogy? Is it now starting to make sense to consider paying for a lesser cabin on a more upscale cruise line than opting for high end accommodations on a perhaps declining line? Me, I haven't yet taken the plunge to try out a standard cabin on a luxury or semi-luxury line, but I'm wondering it it might now make sense to consider doing so. Any opinions or experiences?

 

PS -- This question is not a jab at HAL. It just seems that economic realities are forcing most cruise lines into somewhat of a quality decline. Many cabins are being almost given away just so as to fill them.

 

Well, funny as I have been following a Regent blog and some current passengers are complaining about quality. It's not just the mass market lines that are cutting back. I wouldn't call HAL a motel6 - I'm sorry. I actually disagree with the original poster who makes this statement. We are all entitled to our own opinion.

 

We happen to like the larger rooms (especially on a long cruise) and, on the Prinsendam, it is really worth it. There are a number of nice things attached to it that you don't see on the other ships.

 

I haven't seen a luxury line that offers the itinerary we are doing on the prinsendam next year nor one like we did on it last year. So, I haven't yet been tempted by the other luxury lines. And yes, we can stay in smaller, cheaper cabins and may well do so down the road when dh retires - but for now while we can only cruise once a year (most times), we'll splurge and honestly, if we thought we were in a motel 6 we wouldn't be staying there:rolleyes:

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We always used to believe that the best value for money was to be on a good ship from a good line and take any cheap cabin, as opposed to a "better" cabin on a "lesser" ship. It certainly was true on QE2. We had excellent service, even when traveling "steerage."

 

But in recent years, I've noticed that service is not what it used to be. I don't like to blame the cabin stewards and waiters, because it's clear they work more cabins and tables than they used to. And I suspect they aren't as well trained and supervised as they used to be. But there also seems to be less pride in doing a good job. I have to say that Cunard may be slipping less. On our recent QM2 cruise, we were in one of the less expensive cabins. The cabin stewardess was one of the best we've had. Our MDR waiters, not so much.

 

Based on our experiences and those of friends who've cruised a lot, our old rule is out the porthole. It doesn't seem to matter what ship you're on (this is the combined experience of several people sailing HAL, X, RCCL), the more expensive the cabin, the better the service. If you want good cabin stewards, a good table in the MDR at the time you want, you can get it if you book a top-level suite. In my experience on HAL, service varies for pax in the cheaper cabins. Suite service is excellent.

 

As the song from "The Fantasticks" says, It depends on what you pay.

 

To the OP, the answer to your question depends on the line. On some lines (not HAL), the suite pax live in their own little world. The rest of the ship may be a Motel 6, but the suite area is, maybe not the Ritz-Carlton, but much better than Motel 6.

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I once read something to the effect that saving up and paying for the Presidential Suite at a Motel 6 only means that you are still staying at a Motel 6. Is cruising coming to this? Is paying for a Deluxe Suite on a ship that is apparently not always being properly maintained the rough equivalence of the Motel 6 analogy? Is it now starting to make sense to consider paying for a lesser cabin on a more upscale cruise line than opting for high end accommodations on a perhaps declining line? Me, I haven't yet taken the plunge to try out a standard cabin on a luxury or semi-luxury line, but I'm wondering it it might now make sense to consider doing so. Any opinions or experiences?

 

PS -- This question is not a jab at HAL. It just seems that economic realities are forcing most cruise lines into somewhat of a quality decline. Many cabins are being almost given away just so as to fill them.

 

Our TA told us that if you compared the ships to the hotels it would be:

Carnival- Quality Inn/Best Western

HAL - Sheridan-Four Seasons

 

She explained some of the more expensive cruise lines were more like Hilton. I think we are just seeing just like the economny that the forced cutbacks are everywhere. This will be our first HAL cruise coming up end of May to Alaska. I have sailed on the Big Red Boat, NCL and Carnival. Should be interesting to see how HAL compares. From what I have read and what the TA told us I think that we will have one of our best cruises.

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Our TA told us that if you compared the ships to the hotels it would be:

Carnival- Quality Inn/Best Western

HAL - Sheridan-Four Seasons

These kind of comparisons aren't all that helpful since you are comparing a corporate product (a cruise line) to a franchise product (hotels). While there are standards that franchisees are expected to maintain, it's not the same as having one owner, with one set of rules and expectations.

 

Think, for example, of how different the Best Western brand is in Europe vs. the United States. Opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

To the OP's original question, I lean toward the highest quality line/ship vs. the cabin itself, because I spend so little time there. The execption to that, however, is the verandah. When I have one I spend a lot of time there and relatively little on the public decks.

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These kind of comparisons aren't all that helpful since you are comparing a corporate product (a cruise line) to a franchise product (hotels). While there are standards that franchisees are expected to maintain, it's not the same as having one owner, with one set of rules and expectations.

 

Think, for example, of how different the Best Western brand is in Europe vs. the United States. Opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

To the OP's original question, I lean toward the highest quality line/ship vs. the cabin itself, because I spend so little time there. The execption to that, however, is the verandah. When I have one I spend a lot of time there and relatively little on the public decks.

 

That used to be our rule, as I have said. But now I'd only gamble on a non-balcony cabin on HAL or Cunard, because I can trust them to have decent public spaces. But on some other lines, we've had to use our balcony as a refuge from crowded, noisy outdoor decks and public spaces.

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We are presently checking on Celebrity -- too late for a fall cruise for the type of cabin we want.

Reason being as we are seeing too many different rulings on different ships -- no consistancy. I have read too many times here how people on Collector's Cruises get free dinners, extra cocktail parties, etc. So far out of several Collector's Cruises we have gotten only a cocktail party, NO free dinners, one Indonesian lunch which we were told was to be for only Intransit guests -- wasn't -- it was open for everyone, the last Indonesian lunch was just for Inreansit guests -- but we all noticed that some of the foods were not what we had in the past.

At the Mariner's brunches we have sat only twice in the past 5 years at a hosted table. And others here constantly say they are always at a hosted table. As a result we haven't gone to several brunches.

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I once read something to the effect that saving up and paying for the Presidential Suite at a Motel 6 only means that you are still staying at a Motel 6. Is cruising coming to this? Is paying for a Deluxe Suite on a ship that is apparently not always being properly maintained the rough equivalence of the Motel 6 analogy? Is it now starting to make sense to consider paying for a lesser cabin on a more upscale cruise line than opting for high end accommodations on a perhaps declining line? Me, I haven't yet taken the plunge to try out a standard cabin on a luxury or semi-luxury line, but I'm wondering it it might now make sense to consider doing so. Any opinions or experiences?

 

PS -- This question is not a jab at HAL. It just seems that economic realities are forcing most cruise lines into somewhat of a quality decline. Many cabins are being almost given away just so as to fill them.

You know we have always said that we fit Hal and they fit us. We have tried other cruise lines but we keep coming back to Hal. You have a point but isn't this going on with all cruise lines right now? So wouldn't I just be changing one 'Motel 6' for another. I read other boards and hear them talking about the same things, seems to me I'm happy with where I am at.

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We are presently checking on Celebrity -- too late for a fall cruise for the type of cabin we want.

 

Reason being as we are seeing too many different rulings on different ships -- no consistancy. I have read too many times here how people on Collector's Cruises get free dinners, extra cocktail parties, etc. So far out of several Collector's Cruises we have gotten only a cocktail party, NO free dinners, one Indonesian lunch which we were told was to be for only Intransit guests -- wasn't -- it was open for everyone, the last Indonesian lunch was just for Inreansit guests -- but we all noticed that some of the foods were not what we had in the past.

 

At the Mariner's brunches we have sat only twice in the past 5 years at a hosted table. And others here constantly say they are always at a hosted table. As a result we haven't gone to several brunches.

 

 

We've only done one collectors cruise, and we didn't get any collectors perks. (I didn't know that there might be any, so we weren't disappointed.) We were in a deluxe suite, and were surprised to get a second bottle of wine and a second invitation to the neptune suite party. But that was about the suite, not the fact that it was a collector's cruise. I don't recall anything special for our intransit day. It didn't matter to us, as we were off the ship all day.

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You know we have always said that we fit Hal and they fit us. We have tried other cruise lines but we keep coming back to Hal. You have a point but isn't this going on with all cruise lines right now? So wouldn't I just be changing one 'Motel 6' for another. I read other boards and hear them talking about the same things, seems to me I'm happy with where I am at.

 

I think you're on to something there. I often wonder how people can say "this is the right cruise line for me" when they haven't even tried anyone else. I am definitely on in the camp of any cabin on the best ship I can afford.

 

Having just recently disembarked a new cruise line (and in something close to a suite) I can honestly say I had a wonderful time, I learned a lot, but that included learning I'm unlikely to ever want to sail that line again. I'll also never again look at one of their ships and say "gee, maybe I should be on that ship". Any cruise should be much too pleasant to regret an occasional learning experience.

 

Roy

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I was not comparing Holland to Motel6 My point is that there is a point fo diminishing returns that you receive from trying to be luxury where it can not exist.

Holland some say gives then a wonderful sence of being a VIP and can not imigine being treated any better. I am happy for you.

But having sailed a lot on true luxury ships and Holland, I can make the statement: The highest possible service, food, facilities provided by Holland are vastly below even the basic suites/cabins on a Luxury ship.

 

Too, I find it less expensive overall to take the luxury cruise than to take a Holland America Cruise , because on a Luxury ship... everything from tip to Liquor/wine/ meals, shore ex, etc is all included. Top name hollywood pesonalities for entertainment, 1/2 the passengers, enrichment talks .like Astronuats, Ambassadors, World news makers, scientists... I had a 2 week talk on oceans with Costeaus son and went diving with him !!! No port shopping lectures on daimonds !!!,

 

All passengers on Luxury ships are treated as one class out of the cabin the service is so professional and low key, not stuffy. that you have to experience it.

On Holland all passengers are treated too equaly, so getting a " top cabin" on Holland is not going ot buy you any real tangible experience. They guy in the $65 a day cabins gete the same service at the $400 a day passenger. Pays the same for a dring and the same for tips, meals etc.

 

I sail Holland for variety because anything to excess reduces its value, Regent one cruise , Holland the next..

 

So, decide what you want a nice cruise or a luxury cruise.

 

Because no matter how much money you spend on your car its never ever going to drive and handle like a Ferrari or Lamborgini... If you want quality start with quality. You can not get value from spending more money on a lesser product. That is reality and my point I used with motel 6..

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I was not comparing Holland to Motel6 My point is that there is a point fo diminishing returns that you receive from trying to be luxury where it can not exist.

Holland some say gives then a wonderful sence of being a VIP and can not imigine being treated any better. I am happy for you.

But having sailed a lot on true luxury ships and Holland, I can make the statement: The highest possible service, food, facilities provided by Holland are vastly below even the basic suites/cabins on a Luxury ship.

 

Too, I find it less expensive overall to take the luxury cruise than to take a Holland America Cruise , because on a Luxury ship... everything from tip to Liquor/wine/ meals, shore ex, etc is all included. Top name hollywood pesonalities for entertainment, 1/2 the passengers, enrichment talks .like Astronuats, Ambassadors, World news makers, scientists... I had a 2 week talk on oceans with Costeaus son and went diving with him !!! No port shopping lectures on daimonds !!!,

 

All passengers on Luxury ships are treated as one class out of the cabin the service is so professional and low key, not stuffy. that you have to experience it.

On Holland all passengers are treated too equaly, so getting a " top cabin" on Holland is not going ot buy you any real tangible experience. They guy in the $65 a day cabins gete the same service at the $400 a day passenger. Pays the same for a dring and the same for tips, meals etc.

 

I sail Holland for variety because anything to excess reduces its value, Regent one cruise , Holland the next..

 

So, decide what you want a nice cruise or a luxury cruise.

 

Because no matter how much money you spend on your car its never ever going to drive and handle like a Ferrari or Lamborgini... If you want quality start with quality. You can not get value from spending more money on a lesser product. That is reality and my point I used with motel 6..

 

Once again you are dealing in generalities - that's fine - but not pertinent to everyone. For example - you can't say 1/2 the passengers if you are comparing to the Prinsendam (and I know you like the ship). The new 'luxury' cruise lines ships are larger than the Prinsendam btw.

 

I have priced the 'all inclusive' versus what I can do on HAL. So far, I can do it better myself on HAL and actually prefer the prinsendam's itineraries to anything offered by the luxury lines. Once I lose my FF miles, that might change, but so far it hasn't. But the bottom line is, these luxury lines that can go to different ports don't seem to. I haven't seen an interesting itinerary to pique my interest - I do see them on HAL and in particular, on the Prinsendam:) It took nothing to talk my dh into our 31 day cruise because of the ITINERARY and the SHIP.

 

I don't want to go all on all inclusive shore exursion with 40 other people so I would book private anyways - or do my own thing - so there is no savings there. There is only a savings if you will use ALL of the things offered and even then you have to compare apples to apples.

 

Prinsendam steps things up a notch so if HAL is generally a mass/premium cruise line - I'm not sure where this ship sits. But she sits fine with us - we love her and will gladly sail on her again:D When the luxury lines come up with an itinerary close to hers, we'll look - but right now - we are very happy campers:D Each to their own:)

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I think you're on to something there. I often wonder how people can say "this is the right cruise line for me" when they haven't even tried anyone else. I am definitely on in the camp of any cabin on the best ship I can afford.

 

Having just recently disembarked a new cruise line (and in something close to a suite) I can honestly say I had a wonderful time, I learned a lot, but that included learning I'm unlikely to ever want to sail that line again. I'll also never again look at one of their ships and say "gee, maybe I should be on that ship". Any cruise should be much too pleasant to regret an occasional learning experience.

 

Roy

 

So true Roy - We've tried several and every cruise is a good one, but some are always better than others. Let's be honest. It's interesting to see you made the same opinion on the cruise line as I did;)

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We've only done one collectors cruise, and we didn't get any collectors perks. (I didn't know that there might be any, so we weren't disappointed.) We were in a deluxe suite, and were surprised to get a second bottle of wine and a second invitation to the neptune suite party. But that was about the suite, not the fact that it was a collector's cruise. I don't recall anything special for our intransit day. It didn't matter to us, as we were off the ship all day.

 

On one ship we didn't even get the second bottle of the cheap champagne. And on that ship wee were not allowed to trade it in for something better and pay the difference. We had to choose from the cheap Sanata Carolina red or white wine. We just left the bottle behind. SA suite.

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IMHO, Prinsendam is a great value. It has the feel of the luxury lines (I can only compare with Regent) and isn't that far off. The least expensive OV cabins are extremely comfortable, with a window that you can see out of without standing on the bed! We have not been impressed with the rest of the HAL fleet. I can fully understand what the OP is saying. Having the best suite on any other HAL ship isn't going to make the experience even remotely similar to Regent. You can only understand what it's like after experiencing it.

 

I agree that Prinsendam does have wonderful itineraries. We will continue to sail her in Europe, because the Regent prices are very, very expensive there. They do include shore excursions, but we like to wander on our own much of the time, and space out the long tour days so we don't exhaust ourselves! We wouldn't get the bang for our buck there.

 

I think the OP was comparing the rest of the HAL fleet, which unfortunately is pretty spot on. It may be a better idea to spend a little more for a truly satisfying experience, reminicent of the old days of cruising! But, to each his own. We all are looking for something different---that's why there are so many different cruiselines and ships.

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When I reflect on my experience on Crystal a couple of years ago, I don't really feel like I was treated all that much better than I was treated during my cruise in my inside "practically steerage" cabin on HAL. That is why I am returning to HAL.

 

On Crystal I did go to a couple of free cocktail parties, and we did have dinner at one of the specialty restaurants with the cruise director and very handsome assistant cruise director, where they paid for the wine. But that isn't important to me, and certainly not worth the incredibly higher fare.

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HALs standard cabins seem like a suite when compared to Carnival or some of the other low end lines.

 

LOL ain't it the truth! I was in an inside on the Rotterdam and I swear I had as much space as I did on the "mini suite" I had on a Princess ship. I forget the name...it was the one that had the fire a few years ago.

 

I met someone who was in a balcony cabin on that ship. I saw his cabin - I thought it was tiny! He was very impressed by my bed linens in the mini suite. I asked "What do you have? Some scratchy old wool blankets?" It turned out he did!

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I don't know where HAL "officially" stands in the hierarchy of upscale cruiselines - but, for me, HAL is the perfect fit and I'll not be wandering off to try anything else. I love everything about the line - the ships, the service, the crew, the itineraries, absolutely everything. My first cruise was on one of the lesser lines, and I nearly didn't cruise again. I'm forever grateful to have discovered HAL and the amazing world her ships have opened up to m

 

Sure, the economy is having an effect on almost everyone. Corporations and people alike. We all compromise a bit, just to get by. But MY compromise would be to a lesser cabin, not to a lesser line - nor to any other line, for any reason.

 

I agree completely!

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What really confuses me is when people say how well they are treated on HAL. No one has ever treated me like royalty or anything other than one of 800-1200 passengers. Actually, the service at dinner (anytime dining) is just OK. We've been on most of the cruiselines and it's the same on all of them. Regent treated us better, even though the tips were included and the drinks were already paid for.

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HALs standard cabins seem like a suite when compared to Carnival or some of the other low end lines.

 

I've seen no difference in the standard balconies between these two lines on the Spirit Class ships. They carry more people mostly because of the one level of SA cabins on HAL. While HAL's insides do seem to be larger.

The oceanviews all look the same to me for the most part.

 

HAL calls that same cabin a 'suite' on the S & R class of ship. What's up with that?

 

Hugh in Dallas.

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I once read something to the effect that saving up and paying for the Presidential Suite at a Motel 6 only means that you are still staying at a Motel 6. Is cruising coming to this? Is paying for a Deluxe Suite on a ship that is apparently not always being properly maintained the rough equivalence of the Motel 6 analogy? Is it now starting to make sense to consider paying for a lesser cabin on a more upscale cruise line than opting for high end accommodations on a perhaps declining line? Me, I haven't yet taken the plunge to try out a standard cabin on a luxury or semi-luxury line, but I'm wondering it it might now make sense to consider doing so. Any opinions or experiences?

 

PS -- This question is not a jab at HAL. It just seems that economic realities are forcing most cruise lines into somewhat of a quality decline. Many cabins are being almost given away just so as to fill them.

 

We have now done two Crystal Cruises and enjoy the higher-end decor and finishings and a little more formality in dining service than HAL. But beyond that, HAL wins in cabin size, layout, bathrooms, service, breakfasts, breads, buffet choices, cheese plates, enrichment lectures, port excursions, libraries, quiet nooks, outdoor spaces, tea time, and passenger mix. It is all how you want to spend your money and time. Both ships get you there. I think the HAL Neptune suites and amenities make the best package for the price between the two.

 

We too are glad we discovered HAL after starting out with Crystal - see above, so did not feel it was much of a step down. If you are in the lower price range cabins on a Crystal ship, you might as well be a "step down" too for the overall value and compromises at this cabin level with Crystal. But yes, they are darn pretty ships inside.

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