HAL offering longer cruises from US

[BermudaBound2014]

50 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

The only big difference I have seen is the massive deployment to Alaska and Canada this year.  That season is going to end soon and it will be interesting to see what is in store.  HAL, IMHO, is just not that competitive in the Caribbean.  I would like to see something more interesting happen there .  Many of you don’t likely know that Princess made a recent entry into the Texas market leaving from Galveston - that is different and signal a change.  The longer cruises mentioned above are not new or are updated versions in the plans before this current trend

 

Yes, Alaska had a record season in terms of the number of ships sailing. Seems most lines put a lot of eggs in the Alaska basket, likely due to the uncertainty with covid and Russia. HAL and Princess both sent 6 ships. NCL sent 5, RCL 4, Celebrity and Carnival both sent 3. 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27141-alaska-set-for-record-cruise-ship-season-this-summer.html

 

 

 

Unfortunately, in the end, most of them sailed at much lower capacity. It doesn't seem that deploying elsewhere would have made much of a difference. The cruise lines are in such a precarious position. It's sad. 

 

 

https://news.yahoo.com/revelry-unease-alaska-cruises-return-182941148.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

2 minutes ago, ldtr said:

The grand voyages usually sell out well in advance and command a premium price  per day compared to shorter cruises. I would consider that to be heavily booked.

I’ve heard that about the prinsendam when it was in service for hal.  I know of a couple people that got great deals a couple of months before sailing.  I’m not saying grand voyages per say.  That said I can’t see the koningsdam or the other pinnacle ships being 100 percent booked  for grand voyages or world cruises.  I would think ports would be a problem as well.

[Guest ldtr]

5 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I’ve heard that about the prinsendam when it was in service for hal.  I know of a couple people that got great deals a couple of months before sailing.  I’m not saying grand voyages per say.  That said I can’t see the koningsdam or the other pinnacle ships being 100 percent booked  for grand voyages or world cruises.  I would think ports would be a problem as well.

Considering that they go to several smaller ports the larger ships would probably not even work without some if the more unique ports having to be canceled. Some that the Prinsendam used to go to cannot be accessed even the smaller ships still being used. larger ships would be loss of even more unique stops on some routes. Or in some cases means docking away from, instead of in downtown area of some ports.

Edited August 27, 2022 by ldtr

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Considering that they go to several smaller ports the larger ships would probably not even work without some if the more unique ports having to be canceled. Some that the Prinsendam used to go to cannot be accessed even the smaller ships still being used. larger ships would be loss of even more unique stops on some routes. Or in some cases means docking away from, instead of in downtown area of some ports.

Yes, exactly my point.  It makes more sense to use smaller older ships for these unique itineraries. I imagine at least some people that take the 7 day cruises would look for more amenities.  I know I do.  If hal is trying to attract a younger crowd I would think it would be easier to do that with the pinnacle class rather than the volendam or zaandam. 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

The only big difference I have seen is the massive deployment to Alaska and Canada this year.  That season is going to end soon and it will be interesting to see what is in store.  HAL, IMHO, is just not that competitive in the Caribbean.  I would like to see something more interesting happen there .  Many of you don’t likely know that Princess made a recent entry into the Texas market leaving from Galveston - that is different and signal a change.  The longer cruises mentioned above are not new or are updated versions in the plans before this current trend

Actually I do know that because I’m interested in those cruises.  You do know that those cruise are. mostly going to the Caribbean though with maybe a canal cruise here and there. I was thinking about booking one of these but with a recent job change I don’t think it will work.  I would love to see hal do this because it’s actually easier for me to get to Houston than San Diego.  It rare that I can get a non stop to San Diego and they usually get canceled.  That said getting to the port in Galveston is a bit of a challenge as it’s not sure close to Houston and prone to fog at certain times of year.

[BermudaBound2014]

15 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

  If hal is trying to attract a younger crowd.....

 

I'm not sure how committed HAL is to the younger crowd. If anything they appear conflicted. Sure they would love a younger crowd, but this new promotion seems to be marketed to attract those older since the majority of cruisers who can do longer sailings tend to be in the older demographics. 

[PACD_JG]

26 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes, exactly my point.  It makes more sense to use smaller older ships for these unique itineraries. I imagine at least some people that take the 7 day cruises would look for more amenities.  I know I do.  If hal is trying to attract a younger crowd I would think it would be easier to do that with the pinnacle class rather than the volendam or zaandam. 

As a "younger" person (at least for HAL), I agree (for once) with the Florida_gal.  😛

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I'm curious as to why you say that.  During the Canal transit, and especially when going through the locks, one should experience things from all over the ship  -- high, low, fore, aft, midships -- and not be sitting on one's balcony.  But if you do want to hang out for awhile on the balcony, a good time to do that is when the ship is crossing Gatun Lake; at that point, there is two-way traffic, with ships (including big container ships) passing each other on their port sides.    I haven't yet gone through the Canal from south to north, so perhaps I'm missing something in your recommendation. Could you please explain?  Thanks!

There are many reasons someone would rather be on their own balcony than roaming the ship: Mobility restrictions, avoidance of crowds, realization that while in an elevator or stairwell they are not seeing anything of the Canal, and the fact that they paid for the Verandah -- come to mind. I prefaced my recommendation with the condition that the reader WANTED to see the route from their balcony. 

 

My recommendation is based solely on the sun direction and temperature. I booked our first balcony on a FLL-LAX Panama trip without looking at a map!!! In my head, I figured Atlantic to Pacific -- starboard would be to the north! We did see the failed French attempt and the fellow in the rowboat, but the south-west sun drove us inside in the afternoon for a nap! (Another time you do not see anything!)

[Florida_gal_50]

30 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

There are many reasons someone would rather be on their own balcony than roaming the ship: Mobility restrictions, avoidance of crowds, realization that while in an elevator or stairwell they are not seeing anything of the Canal, and the fact that they paid for the Verandah -- come to mind. I prefaced my recommendation with the condition that the reader WANTED to see the route from their balcony. 

 

My recommendation is based solely on the sun direction and temperature. I booked our first balcony on a FLL-LAX Panama trip without looking at a map!!! In my head, I figured Atlantic to Pacific -- starboard would be to the north! We did see the failed French attempt and the fellow in the rowboat, but the south-west sun drove us inside in the afternoon for a nap! (Another time you do not see anything!)

I’m so with you on this.  I’ve been through the canal around 10 times and I’d do another 10.  First time around I was in my early 40’s I think and pretty agile.  I spent a lot of time on the bow.  So many people.  Now it’s excruciating for me to stand in one spot for more than 5 minutes.  It’s easier to be moving.  I’ve spent the last several transits in my cabana or on the balcony and I don’t feel I’ve lost anything through that.  To each their own I guess.  I just don’t want to be around a ton of people.

[NCTribeFan]

I've done 2 partial canal sailings, both times in interior cabins.  The first time, I did the excursion on the small boat that went all the way through because I wanted to be sure I made that transit.

 

Last time was this past November on Eurodam.  Approaching Gatun locks, I went up to the deck above the open bow area.  It's standing only, but not nearly so many people.  Most of the rest of the day was spent on the Promenade Deck (I do love it there).  I could sit and read, then get up and stand at the rail for a while, then go back and sit and read.  We only had about 500 pax on that sailing (the first after she returned to the states; it was reduced from 10 to 8 days).

 

So, there are place to sit and still get good views.  It was pretty bizarre when I went to breakfast in the MDR, sat at a table facing a side window, and suddenly it got quite dark.  Realized it was the wall of the lock we were in.

 

Still hoping to do a full transit.  It's one of the reasons I'll look at Oosterdam 11/15/24.  That's FLL to Chile.  Wish I could do more of that (around the horn), but it's too pricey for me.  I need to see some more parts of the world.  Yeah, I love the Caribbean and I love TAs, but at my age I just can't put off getting out there and seeing more while I can.

[iceman93]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes, exactly my point.  It makes more sense to use smaller older ships for these unique itineraries. I imagine at least some people that take the 7 day cruises would look for more amenities.

This is exactly the approach Disney uses.  They put their newest ships with all the new amenities and features on the short (3-7 day) Caribbean and Bahamas cruises, which frees up the older, smaller vessels to do more interesting, longer itineraries.  Plus their two original ships, the Magic and the Wonder, feel so familiar as a HAL cruiser because they were built by Fincantieri.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

My recommendation is based solely on the sun direction and temperature.

 

Thanks for your explanation (as I was wondering whether it had something to do with the Canal itself).  

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

There was a recent thread where it was said the grand South American would be retired

And replaced with??? 

[cruisequeen4ever]

This is a great niche for HAL!

[HappyInVan]

I read the article linked by the OP. Short of specifics about future plans. Nice sound-bite though.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-from/the-united-states.html?ICID=HECIZ0726221937

 

Lets look at the facts. People not familiar with HAL might not realize that HAL is a specialist in longer cruises.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise.html

 

Out of 576 itineraries currently listed (to April 2024), 415 (72%) are >9 days. 199 (35%) are more >16 days. Most are RT. In fact, you can B4B as many times as you like until you disembark at your preferred port.

 

For example, the Koningsdam starts and ends the Alaska season with a voyage to Hawaii. Fire and ice over 23/25/32 days, RT from Vancouver. Your choice.

 

Veteran HAL pax have long crafted their long-haul travel plans around HAL's itineraries on the seven seas.

 

It may be that some vacationers want a longer or shorter version of the current itineraries. However, this means that the the entire season has to be rescheduled. Ports to be re-booked.

 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

On 8/26/2022 at 9:18 AM, NCTribeFan said:

I was looking at the Volendam Amazon sailing that's RT from FLL this fall (which I can't take because I'm on a B2B2B on Carnival Med/Med/TA that's been postponed twice).

 

Unfortunately, I don't see anything comparable for fall 2023.  I would almost certainly book that.  Think I'm just missing something or that they haven't posted an itinerary for that yet?

 

 

On 8/26/2022 at 9:33 AM, zelker said:

Assuming you're talking about the Grand Africa voyage, it's being offered in 2023 but will be on Zuiderdam (embarks FLL 10-10-23).

 

On 8/26/2022 at 10:05 AM, WriterOnDeck said:

I think she means in South America. There is a Grand South America/Antarctica voyage in the fall of 2023. I've booked it!

 

That would be the Amazon Explorer, a 28 day round trip out of Fort Lauderdale. We took that in 2017 or 2018 and just loved it!

[Mary229]

4 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

And replaced with??? 

I don’t recall.  The thread was about 6 weeks ago. It may have actually been in my roll call thread - January 2023 Grand South America 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Mary229

[Mary229]

7 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Actually I do know that because I’m interested in those cruises.  You do know that those cruise are. mostly going to the Caribbean though with maybe a canal cruise here and there. I was thinking about booking one of these but with a recent job change I don’t think it will work.  I would love to see hal do this because it’s actually easier for me to get to Houston than San Diego.  It rare that I can get a non stop to San Diego and they usually get canceled.  That said getting to the port in Galveston is a bit of a challenge as it’s not sure close to Houston and prone to fog at certain times of year.

There are easy and regular shuttles from the Houston airports to Galveston.  Not much fog, the Texas coast tends to be much too windy for fog. It should be called the wind coast.  This is the inaugural season for Princess, I look forward to see what develops. 

[Mary229]

7 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I'm not sure how committed HAL is to the younger crowd. If anything they appear conflicted. Sure they would love a younger crowd, but this new promotion seems to be marketed to attract those older since the majority of cruisers who can do longer sailings tend to be in the older demographics. 

I don’t think HAL is trying to broaden its demographic in line with trying to cater to travelers instead of vacationers.  I don’t think they want to be an entertainment hub/resort style line.   That is already a very competitive niche and from what I hear and my single experience handled very well by RCCL’s brands. 

[Florida_gal_50]

25 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

There are easy and regular shuttles from the Houston airports to Galveston.  Not much fog, the Texas coast tends to be much too windy for fog. It should be called the wind coast.  This is the inaugural season for Princess, I look forward to see what develops. 

No, Princess was there before and I’m pretty sure they pulled out because of the issues with fog, or it might have been partly to blame.  I’m pretty sure I saw threads about it on the Princess board.  I want to say it was on the emerald Princess but that might not be correct. This was at least 5 years ago.  Can you tell me the name of these shuttles?  Where would you catch them.  I know I can google but it would be nice to hear it from someone that knows about them.

Edited August 28, 2022 by Florida_gal_50

[Mary229]

8 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

No, Princess was there before and I’m pretty sure they pulled out because of the issues with fog

That’s weird.  RCCL and Carnival have been down there for many years.  I do get shows down there in winter and have never had fog, maybe it is offshore fog.  

I drive when I go so I can’t speak from experience 

Look at the Galveston embarkation forum.  There have been quite a few discussions about shuttle services.  We drive so don’t use the shuttle.  The Hobby airport would be much closer. I think they cost about $75 RT.   The Port of Galveston has lots of good information https://www.portofgalveston.com/81/Getting-Here

Edited August 28, 2022 by Mary229

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

That’s weird.  RCCL and Carnival have been down there for many years.  I do get shows down there in winter and have never had fog, maybe it is offshore fog.  
 

Look at the Galveston embarkation forum.  There have been quite a few discussions about shuttle services.  We drive so don’t use the shuttle.  The Hobby airport would be much closer. I think they cost about $75 RT.   The Port of Galveston has lots of good information https://www.portofgalveston.com/81/Getting-Here

Thanks for the information.  I would definitely fly out of George bush airport as I can probably get a non stop flight.  I doubt that would be the case out of hobby.  I think the Princess shuttle would be cheaper.

[sofietucker]

On 8/26/2022 at 6:17 PM, TwoBadKnees said:

 

Sorry, but I couldn't remember Transatlantic round trip voyages, other than the World Cruises, being offered.  Going round trip from the US east coast to Europe is of interest to me.

Us too: we (precovid) used to fly to Europe a couple times of year for cruises in the Med, Baltic, along the French/Portuguese coast, etc. Got one coming up starting in Istanbul. Always fly in a couple days early to overcome both jet lag and flight glitches. (Went to Spain for 3 weeks in April--land trip--and OMG the drama, testing, paperwork, etc. Let the cruise line manage all that instead.)

 

Only other option* has been a transatlantic--and those are only offered only during shoulder seasons because they're moving the ships and then since they are one way, coming home on another ship, if something is available, and likely into a different port. That's a bunch of trouble. So we'd hop on a US-port RT to Europe in a heartbeat.

*Okay the Greenland one is an option, but itinerary not of any interest to us.

[sofietucker]

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

No, Princess was there before and I’m pretty sure they pulled out because of the issues with fog, or it might have been partly to blame.  I’m pretty sure I saw threads about it on the Princess board.  I want to say it was on the emerald Princess but that might not be correct. This was at least 5 years ago.  Can you tell me the name of these shuttles?  Where would you catch them.  I know I can google but it would be nice to hear it from someone that knows about them.

Agree re: weather in the Gulf. Have only done one cruise across the Gulf, a holiday cruise out of New Orleans to Western Caribbean. Have been all thru the Western Caribbean many times in winter, but out of Fla or San Juan, and never north of Cancun.. It rained constantly until we got to Cozumel, perfect weather otherwise--until we got north of the Yucatan on the way back, when it rained the whole way. 

 

I know, foolish to base an opinion on a single experience. BUT: Those we talked to on the ship who often cruise that itinerary, including crew--and other folks after we got back--said it ALWAYS is like that in the Gulf in the winter out of Galveston too.  No plans to cross the Gulf again.

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

No, Princess was there before and I’m pretty sure they pulled out because of the issues with fog, or it might have been partly to blame.  I’m pretty sure I saw threads about it on the Princess board.  I want to say it was on the emerald Princess but that might not be correct. This was at least 5 years ago.  Can you tell me the name of these shuttles?  Where would you catch them.  I know I can google but it would be nice to hear it from someone that knows about them.

Princess was only was in Houston while they were being subsidized to be there. As soon as the port stopped paying they pulled out. Galveston has some fog and weather problems. Houston was far worse with multiple cruises being delayed returning to Port. At least one was 24 hours late.  Reason why Houston cruise port is now a car shipper storage area.