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MS Europa 2 Schedule beyond Spring 2018.


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The itineraries, and prices, up to 09/04/2019 are available on the German language website.

 

http://www.hl-cruises.de/reise-finden#template=teaser&sorting=departureDate&filter:ships=9&page=0&scrollToList=1

 

 

Solo occupancy on the Norway cruise in which I was interested has already sold out, so I wait with interest to see if my pre-registration has been successful.

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The itineraries, and prices, up to 09/04/2019 are available on the German language website.

 

http://www.hl-cruises.de/reise-finden#template=teaser&sorting=departureDate&filter:ships=9&page=0&scrollToList=1

 

 

Solo occupancy on the Norway cruise in which I was interested has already sold out, so I wait with interest to see if my pre-registration has been successful.

 

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I've been checking every few days waiting for the prices to come up. The family apartments sell out pretty fast, too. Too bad HL insists on a two-year minimum age.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quite disappointed by HL right now. We had to cancel our 6th cruise with them and they told us we could re-book and apply the non-refundable part of the price to that cruise as a discount. Did that but had to cancel due to a somewhat unexpected pregnancy :p. They told us we could just apply it to the next cruise. Wanted to book the next cruise the day the new schedule came out, only to be told that they wouldn't honor the offer and only give us 5% discount instead of 25%. So I asked whether we could at least get a club offer (miles for a discount) only to be told, yes, but for nearly half what they normally offer. Am I being a total DYKWIA for being annoyed and thinking that must be the worst customer service ever?

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i am afraid hapag lloyd is rather strict ...

also with the 3 % on board discount

my last cruise was in september last year - no previews available

if i did a cruise a month later - they were ...

HL should create a repeaters discount equal to 3 % as well

however Europa 2 is always sold out - maybe only for crossings or Suez canal without a port .

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It is appearing to be ever more likely that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' restrictive policy towards solo passengers, in conjunction with their practice of favouring their German speaking home market, will mean that I have taken my last cruise with them.

 

Last December, as soon as the Preview Brochure was published on the Company's German language website, I registered an interest in a cruise departing in July 2018.

 

Despite the fact that the itinerary, and prices, have been published for some time on their German language website, and that the entry shows that the allocation for solo occupancy in Categories 1-4 has been sold out, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Head Office has informed my TA that they hope to publish in English prices, and information, for my cruise by the 26th of this month.

 

It is quite ridiculous that one is faced with a schedule running until April 2019 in which the majority of cruises have no availability for a solo passenger in Categories 1-4.

 

Those cruises that do have availability appear to be positioning cruises with little or no appeal.

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if you took an option you will receive a confirmation with a fare and if the fare or the cabin (suite ) is not suitable for you can cancel

the brochure is out since 2 nd March so i hope you will receive the fare in £ as soon as possible

first i do book my HL cruises and then i 'll see if there is time and €€€ left for something else. :D

i did not have problems with a "soso" cruise on Mein Schiff in view of the fare i paid ( was not expecting luxury at all ) but i had problems on Queen Victoria in QG especially with the very high prices for wines and drinks and quite some "soso" food aspects.

lucky that particular cruise was heavily discounted.

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vistaman,

 

I did take out an option.

 

My dissatisfaction is that the fare in Sterling for my cruise is shown on the German language website, which also shows that the allocation for solo occupancy in my Category is sold out, and yet my TA is being told by HL that they hope to inform me re my option by the 26th of this month.

 

Since things look far from hopeful with HL, I have booked a cruise for 2018 with Viking Ocean Cruises.

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i did receive the same date 26 th March to confirm 'yes or no '

as i am not a belgian tycoon :) i must calculate the flights capetown - mauritius ( not so evident ex brussels - never take the flights with HL ) as well

around 20 th March i could get "some idea " what that itinerary ( the flights )will cost eventually - partly in a reward system

and it seems BA is extremely expensive on that itinerary - as is Swiss - emirates seems to be the cheapest

i refuse to pay double : so no Viking for me !

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i refuse to pay double : so no Viking for me !

 

In principle a 100% single supplement is also for me onerous.

 

However, as I found in my discussions with Viking direct, that supplement appears to be a starting point.

 

A further discount, which amounted to 15%, was readily offered over and above Viking's current promotion of £500pp discount, free gratuities, and a free upgrade to the Silver Spirits Drinks Package worth $323.

 

So, all in all the 22 day Viking cruise is working out about £2500 cheaper than the 19 day HL cruise I had in mind.

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By requesting in advance as you did, EV and Vistaman, I was granted a solo price (50 % above) in the cheapest tier veranda on the MS Europa, same as on the website, I had requested for the Ocean Sun festival classical music cruise in late May 2018 -June, so I am pleased with that, and also got a double booking for a German friend and me for a garden cruise to Britain August 2018 on Europa, on my bucket list, same price as on the website.

 

But I also wanted to book on the E2 out of Dublin for an Ireland cruise a few days after the garden tour ended , solo, after visiting another friend in Hamburg, and there was no space open for solos,Category I-IV. They said it is a very popular cruise in September 2018 and German non-solos booked most of it up. I could have gotten Category V and paid double the price for just me, but declined as the price was ridiculous for what I need and would get, so am waitlisted for a solo suite, though the list is long. Thus I am looking into other options to expand my vacation and to make my difficult trip over the Atlantic worthwhile, as I need to structure my time away in advance and am not ready to retire to be available for last minute deals.

 

 

Unfortunately the popularity of HL and our English country situation is working against us, though I hang out on the German website trying not to miss anything, cannot really rely on the TA. They need an Europa 3 and an Europa 4, more full small ships, not just more expedition ships. A pity. I looked into the lower tier Mein Schiff but I like a fridge in my room and also do not want to battle for a place to sit amongst young couples and families as an older solo, or fight for a place in a theatre. I am not good with lines.

 

 

DH is hoping our upcoming SB trip will convince me to do more English language ships so he can also come with me, and talk to more people in English. We will also try Oceania on a short Alaska trip this summer for a taste, as a Scotsman we met on SB said the food is excellent.

 

 

When I am on E2 this fall I will look to see if any other options are open to help get desired bookings.

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catlover,

if you are going to an Oceania ship : take the big "beverage " package otherwise : the wines and drinks are simply "usury" on Oceania

despite mineral water , and soda's are free

cheapest bottle of champagne is 102 $ + 18 % service ( for your convenience;p)

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By requesting in advance as you did, EV and Vistaman, I was granted a solo price (50 % above) in the cheapest tier veranda on the MS Europa, same as on the website, I had requested for the Ocean Sun festival classical music cruise in late May 2018 -June, so I am pleased with that, and also got a double booking for a German friend and me for a garden cruise to Britain August 2018 on Europa, on my bucket list, same price as on the website.

 

The garden cruise is amazing. We went in 2013 and did the garden visits in every port except Dublin where we visited a friend. Many wonderful memories of that cruise. Which makes me even sadder that I have decided not to cruise HL anymore. :(

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The garden cruise is amazing. We went in 2013 and did the garden visits in every port except Dublin where we visited a friend. Many wonderful memories of that cruise. Which makes me even sadder that I have decided not to cruise HL anymore. :(

 

I presume your decision is because of the response from HL outlined in your earlier post.

 

Did you escalate an appeal to management level?

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I presume your decision is because of the response from HL outlined in your earlier post.

 

Did you escalate an appeal to management level?

 

Yes. No, didn't even think of that. I guess I'm not the type to complain. Wouldn't even now how to go about contacting management.

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cathaana,

 

The International Sales Director is Michael Steffl who I met last year at the London Cruise Show, and found very pleasant to talk with.

 

I am not certain if his e-mail address is now

 

Michael.Steffl@hl-cruises.de

 

 

I would advise contacting your TA to confirm that they have no objection to you writing direct to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

 

Having set out in your e-mail the responses from HL, I would state that, apart from being disappointing, they appear to be designed to be a disincentive to you taking further cruises with HL.

 

Good luck with the appeal.

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You sort of have to wonder why the E2 even bothers advertising to the English market anymore, as they can easily fill their ships with Germans well in advance, and prioritize them. My guess is they will regroup.

 

Perhaps they started marketing to English speakers because they were not sure when they rolled out the ship that they would be able to forfeit the English market, and then were overwhelmed with happy Germans, so now might be having second thoughts. Or, they may be hedging their bets keeping the English market on back-up in case the German luxury cruising market declines due to German domestic economic troubles, what with all the recent struggles there have been.

 

Four of my next six cruises are with HL, and it would have been 5/7 if they did not have advance sell-out, ( excluding me), from the E2 Ireland trip September 2018.

 

If it becomes too agonizing to get on a HL ship, as I cannot yet afford to pay double plus to travel alone (maybe in a couple years), I might have to look at other options. I would prefer not to, but I may only have a few cruising years left and have to plan.

I heard from my TA this week that SS, which I liked a few years ago before its F&B deteriorated, has removed most of their upper level execs and is reorganizing in response to all the relatively bad pax reviews, and they had been pretty solo friendly both in pricing and in atmosphere. SB and Regent are very solo-hostile (almost always pay double, even though F&B are included and you eat/drink less) as is Oceania. It might even be worth looking at the cheaper ships like Holland America which is upper mainstream but with special areas and paying double to get into one of the higher level cabins, where you get extra service, priority boarding and booking, etc., though you would still be struggling with the bigger ship overall atmosphere. I did a group event cruise a couple years ago on HL in a Neptune suite and it was pretty nice (though you cannot compare the food with HL)

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)

The garden cruise is amazing. We went in 2013 and did the garden visits in every port except Dublin where we visited a friend. Many wonderful memories of that cruise. Which makes me even sadder that I have decided not to cruise HL anymore. :(

 

The family suites on HL are very cute, but hard to get into. Last year I had tried booking a family suite for an Asian cruise for myself and a childhood friend who snores, so we would be able to have separate sleeping rooms but still travel together with good rest ( I would take the kids' lower bunk in the second room and would not care about having stuffed animals around:) ) but even though space was wide open as it was not during kids' holiday time, they refused to sell it to me because there was no child. This is odd, because us adults would likely have downed more for-pay premium wine and beverages than 5 or 10 year olds.

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cathaana,

 

The International Sales Director is Michael Steffl who I met last year at the London Cruise Show, and found very pleasant to talk with.

 

I am not certain if his e-mail address is now

 

Michael.Steffl@hl-cruises.de

 

 

I would advise contacting your TA to confirm that they have no objection to you writing direct to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

 

Having set out in your e-mail the responses from HL, I would state that, apart from being disappointing, they appear to be designed to be a disincentive to you taking further cruises with HL.

 

Good luck with the appeal.

 

Thanks, English Voyager. I have been dealing with the German HL sales team directly (my family is originally from Germany so I found it easier to go through the German team than an international TA). And it was a 'Team Leader' who made the decision to not grant the discount anymore.

 

I probably should write that letter. At least I will be able to get some of that frustration and disappointment of my chest.

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You sort of have to wonder why the E2 even bothers advertising to the English market anymore, as they can easily fill their ships with Germans well in advance, and prioritize them. My guess is they will regroup.

 

Perhaps they started marketing to English speakers because they were not sure when they rolled out the ship that they would be able to forfeit the English market, and then were overwhelmed with happy Germans, so now might be having second thoughts. Or, they may be hedging their bets keeping the English market on back-up in case the German luxury cruising market declines due to German domestic economic troubles, what with all the recent struggles there have been.

 

In a recent interview with Michael Steffl he stated the following:

 

'WHAT IS THE TARGET MARKET OF YOUR COMPANY?

A: In addition to our core markets – Germany, Austria and Switzerland – we focus now more strongly on North America, UK, Benelux and Australia.

 

HOW MUCH GROWTH ARE YOU TARGETING FROM UK AND IRELAND CUSTOMERS EACH YEAR?

A: At this point, we have a fleet-wide 7% international passenger share. HLC is looking to grow this number to a two-digit share within the next two to three years.'

 

http://www.cruisetradenews.com/qa-with-michael-steffl/

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Thanks, English Voyager. I have been dealing with the German HL sales team directly (my family is originally from Germany so I found it easier to go through the German team than an international TA). And it was a 'Team Leader' who made the decision to not grant the discount anymore.

 

I probably should write that letter. At least I will be able to get some of that frustration and disappointment of my chest.

 

Well worth the effort.

 

The worst that can happen is that Michael Steffl confirms the Team Leader's decision.

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Agree re the letter.

And you earlier referenced the DYKWIA issue a bit tongue in cheek but if you can deftly weave in your (hopefully not really former) love for the line as expressed here under your posting name, Mr. Steffl can see for himself how the loss of a product champion (given the very limited number of us here) is not likely worth the monetary cost of providing you the previously promised discount.

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concerning the "target market"

... Benelux

despite all the efforts most of the TA overhere do not recommend Hapag Lloyd at all to potential clients - 2 years ago some friends of mine ( husband and wife ) wanted a very special cruise in a far better upscale suite

the first TA immediately was trying to sell a PH on SB with lots of attention drawn to "the all inclusive " from early morning...:rolleyes:

they called me , i sent them to another TA and they were very happy on the Europa 2. , despite warnings about the German origin of HL.

Even for people with the money , HL is still synonym for "German and too expensive" and so far more difficult to sell with travel agents defending -especially - SB, Crystal and SS .

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