dan1618

Things that others probably know, but I didn't...until this year!

 

You can order from the child's menu in the dining room, even if you aren't a child!

 

If you get a bottle of champagne as a gift you can exchange it for the non alcoholic kind OR for cans of soda instead!

That bottle of champagne will get you a whopping 4 cans of soda! 48 whole ounces divided into 4 shiny portable cylindrical containers! Try not to drown on it all! :D

The reality is that, just like TSA procedures, hand sanitizer is as much for show as it is for actual prevention. When you enter the MDR, how much are you actually touching things that other passengers are going to touch without those items being washed first? You are walking straight to your table, your steward is likely pulling out your chair for you, you are sitting at a table with a tablecloth, silverware, plates, etc, that will all be washed before the next person uses them. There are minimal things in the MDR that you are going to transmit anything to with your hands.

What about the hand sanitizer protecting you from getting sick? Hand sanitizers offer protection to the person using them for two minutes.

Hand sanitizer in the MDR is for show. However, in the Lido, it makes a bigger difference because there, you are touching things that others will touch (and vice versa) -- but if you really want protection, better do it more than once.

You are fortunate enough to go on longer voyages ie (not cruises)

Longer voyages and world cruises have a different passenger than the $299 a week Caribbean cruise or the $299 a week Alaskan cruise.

 

The discussion in my opinion is the service is suffering on these short runs,with people paying $299-$399 How can it not.

 

You are exempt from this and great for you. Have a great cruise.

 

I don't know more than you,and I certainly don't know more than Brucemuzz knows. Who would be brash enough to think they knew better than a guy that's down in the trenches working for the cruise ships daily?

Please tell me where to routinely find the $299/week Alaskan cruise. I will be glad to sign up for a few of those.

Last minute discounts meant to fill cabins aren't quite the same as an entire ship of $299 cabins. And how do those last minute cabins open up? From people who have been upsold, frequently. HAL believes -- and I suspect with evidence -- that they make more money filling those cabins -- even at $299 (a fare I haven't personally seen as a rule), than by leaving them unfilled. HAL knows exactly how much extra spending they get from each guest -- including last minute fare discount passengers. Everyone here is just guessing.

No matter what your opinion on on-board spending, human decency and respect should still prevail.

We should all care about how much money our fellow cruisers are spending onboard. This directly affects the financial health and future profitability of the company - and decides how user friendly - or not - the cruise line will be.

 

Currently the business model being used by all the Mass Market lines requires selling nearly all staterooms at cost - or below. This was not my idea, and I don't agree with it, but that's what we are dealing with today. And once it gets started, it is nearly impossible to change. Most of today's cruisers cannot even afford a passport. When choosing a cruise, they shop three things; 1. Price, 2. Price, and 3. Price. If one cruise line tries to return to selling cruises at a profit, those prices will be higher than the other lines, and bankruptcy is on the horizon.

So now all the lines are trying to make a profit only from onboard spending

 

Guess who spends less onboard than anyone else?

 

Older frequent cruisers.

 

Guess which cruise line is famous for having more older frequent cruisers than any other?

 

It's not Carnival - who is by the way the most financially successful cruise line in the long history of cruising.

 

Cruise lines are publicly held companies with shareholders who have this crazy idea that they should get some sort of return for their investments. Cruise Line Executives who want to keep their jobs need to deliver profits. They must do it either by increasing revenues and profits - or by reducing costs.

If your favourite cruise line is cutting back and you are unhappy about it, you might want to have a look at your fellow cruisers. The combination of a goofy corporate financial model, and cruisers with no money could be the cause for your unhappiness. Unfortunately you cannot do very much about either issue.

It's no one's business what a fellow cruiser is spending. My job as a cruiser is not to make the company profitable. That's the CEO's job, the CFO's job, and every employee's job. There are multiple ways to profitability. Getting customers to spend more is one. Keeping them coming back is another. But it's not my job to police what others are spending or whine about it. No matter what they spend, it's not their fault if I don't have the experience I want.

If you want to get into hypotheticals about economics, sure, it affects it. However, the answer isn't to raise prices automatically or require minimum spending. There is this other concept of "what the market can bear". At some point, regardless of what kind of "premium" experience HAL was offering, apparently there was downward pressure on prices. So corporate decided to lower prices. That's their prerogative. It's my prerogative to buy at those lower prices if I want to. It's also my prerogative to offer to pay extra if I want -- but I'm betting you can't find too many people foolhardy enough to ask to pay more than the asking price. It's my prerogative to buy as many ...or as few...shore excursions as I want...or to book them privately if I so choose. If I book privately, then perhaps the cruise line isn't offering what I want, or perhaps they are inflating rates -- but it's their job to adjust, not my job to buy something I don't want at a price I don't want. For the record, I book excursions through HAL, and I book excursion privately. It's my vacation. I'm going to do what I enjoy most. If HAL offers it, great. If I can do better on my own, so be it. Either way, it's my business, not anyone else's.

Let's deal with reality here. This isn't about economics on this thread. Some of the main posters here want prices to go up because they want HAL to price themselves out of the range of the "undesirables" in their mind.

There really seem to be two issues here. The dress code is one. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about the dress code.

The other issue -- and the one that is rubbing some people the wrong way -- are the rants by a select few who seem to have a serious case of superiority complex. Listening to Rotterdam's ramblings, you can help but sense his frustration with the fact that HAL no longer prices itself so that only those he deems of sufficiently high estate can ever afford to cruise. For him, and a select few others, there seems to be a significant ego boost that comes from having what other people can't have -- and it annoys them when "commoners" are able to share in some of the amenities that used to make them feel exclusive.

A truly dignified person doesn't have to make others feel inferior to enjoy themselves. Decent people enjoy it when others get to experience amazing things -- rather than needing the exclusivity so that they feel important.

I sincerely hope they take their fragile egos to another cruise line. I would rather cruise with nice people -- of any social class -- that boorish people -- of any social class.

I am not sure if you are referring to me...was I condescending? I really don't know??

Oh my, no! I was definitely NOT referring to you! I was agreeing with you. :) I was referring to the same people who mistook arrogant for "classy". Those are the condescending ones, not you.

Unless of course, we want to be condescending toward those who are condescending. :D

The arrogance and insults are definitely not what I consider "classy".

I find it somewhat ironic that the same person who cringes at track suits likes the idea of men in Speedos. Let's see -- someone in the MDR in a track suit -- or a 60 year old in a Speedo -- which is gonna kill more appetites???!!! :eek:

It really has nothing to do with anyone else. Some folks have to have others to look down on or they shrivel up into nothing. I have no horse in this race. I dress formally for formal nights, and dress "business casual" all the rest of the time. That said, I would far rather be seated with some of Rotterdam's "trailer trash" that might actually have a heart and be decent people underneath it all, than be seated with a bunch of impeccably dressed, yet classless people, who have nothing better to do than look down on those who aren't like them. For my dollar, I hope they do give up on HAL. I'd rather have nice people who aren't used to dressing formally than "refined" people with a superiority complex. Likeable people make for a much better cruise atmosphere than well dressed boars.

ALL people deserve to be treated with respect. I also find it ironic that someone who has been on the receiving end of undeserved disrespect and condescension is condescending to others.

the so called good old days....I was young & my family took cruises often since the 1960's out of NYC. WE could choose from many lines - some great some not so...our favorites were the Italian & Home Lines and Holland America.

 

Back then the food & service was 4 star and passengers rose to the occasion in every way. It was an elegant experience - start to finish. We never brought on liquor - we had cockatils, wine w/ dinner and danced & drank in the nite clubs almost every evening - we were not such great partiers but the entertainment was that great. One nite on the Rotterdam V Shirley Bassey had the place going crazy -singing , dancing...the sun was coming up when we headed back to our staterooms still in gowns & black tie.

 

Through the 1980's we continued to sail w/ HAL even after Carnivire took over. From the start the crew & officers were not happy. And it wasn't just HAL = Cunard w/ the beloved QE2 was being short changed left & right. Not only was service levels cut & food offerings comprimised but maintainence was not kept up to the levels the ships necessitated. New ships just don't magically appear in no time & costs must be met.....interesting enough CCL has recently announced a multi million dollar program dedicated to ships maintainence & yet are backing away from the Costa Concordia Captain saying CCL is not responsible for their captains actions!

 

Some people say w/o CCL $$$ some of these lines would not be in existance today...well I say I would of rather seen them go w/ some dignity than have CCL take control.

 

The last time I was on a HAL ship was 3 years ago on the NYC - Bermuda run on the Veendam. I can't count the # of times I've done this trip over the years,,,docking in FRont St is wonderful...Bermuda is a gem. The ship was so disappointing....worn soft goods, bad entertainment, the aft pool removed so additional cabins could be put in, the diningroom ceiling had netting placed over it because the nurano glass fixtures were falling.....maintainance!!!!!! We tend to ead ashore a great deal to experience local food - but we were so disappointed in the quallity of the food onboard we avoided it at any cost. Staff use to be 1 for every 2 passengers - w/ CCL reductions the staff neeed roller blades to keep up.

 

The year before I took a Transatlantic on the Prinsendam - a wonderful engineering design...tehn too the shortage of staff & lack of quality in food onboard was a disappointment.

 

So we do not sail as often as we did before - yes the rates are ridiculouly low - you get what you pay for...we are taking more land vacations now & avoid CCL lines & ships at all costs.....

 

so those of you that do enjoy what you are experiencing onboard CCL ships - fine - but please know you have no idea what people like myself are talking about and why CCL is not a good thing in our books.

Nicely said, Thurston H. III