How do You Perceive Cruise Value on HAL Ships

[terrydtx]

40 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We are at this point in our lives where we will cruise only on 3 lines, HAL, Celebrity and Oceania. Our criteria's are first an itinerary that we want to do and then who has the better deal at the class of cabin and ship we want. We love having a bigger cabin on Celebrity so we book only in Sky Suites specially on their new E Class ships so that we get a traditional open air balcony. All the amenities of booking Celebrity suites and their Retreat product can not be matched by HAL.  IMO HAL's suites do not offer anything much more than a bigger cabin. If booking standard veranda cabins HAL is our choice over Celebrity in cost and value over booking Celebrity in a non-suite. Even a HAL Vista or Signature suite is a better value than Celebrity's non suites. This why we have two upcoming cruises on HAL they won out over Celebrity and Oceania. 

I failed to add our criteria for choosing Oceania over HAL and Celebrity. Again first we look at itinerary and then cabin, and ship choices. Our cruise next year of South American we looked at all 3 cruise lines. Celebrity and Oceania had the better and similar itinerary but a Sky Suite on Celebrity was so ridiculously priced for 14 nights compared to 18 nights on the Oceania Marina which on a cost per day was a lot less than Celebrity. 

 

For our NE/Canada cruise next year we never really considered Celebrity, the itinerary was 11 days but only a RT from Boston.  The HAL Volendam and the Oceania Insignia had similar 11 days cruises from Boston to Montreal. The Insignia is one of the oldest and smallest ships in the O fleet with smaller cramped cabins. We were able to book a Vista Suite on the Volendam for about 50% less than a cabin on Oceania and the Volendam actually had two more port stops. We figured we could eat in the specialty Volendam restaurants every night and still be ahead of the cost for O. We also got the early booking premium drinks. Wi-Fi, gratuities HIA promo which made the Volendam value even better.

 

Summing it up each cruise line has a good perceived value and are worth considering if the itinerary is right, the ship is right and the cabin class is right. We no longer cruise just to be on a ship and after our June cruise to the Caribbean we are done with those kind of cruises. We only booked that cruise because our 12-year-old granddaughter wanted to go on one with us and our only choice for a summer cruise was the Celebrity Equinox.

 

Perceived value is only in the eyes of the beholder. We also could care less about loyalty status with any cruise line, as when we book a cruise we book with most of the added benefits that a loyalty program may provide. We are Elite with Celebrity, and 3 Star, almost 4 star with HAL but that add so very little.

Edited March 5, 2023 by terrydtx

[sj-cruiser]

We are not tied to any particular cruise line but have cruised most on HAL.  Most of our cruise decisions have been based on where we wanted to go and which ship offered the best itinerary and least days at sea.

 

We started cruising back in the early 90's and had our first HAL trip (our 2nd cruise) 2003 when we went to Alaska.  We loved that cruise and thought everything was amazing.  With each subsequent HAL trip the cruise line has been slipping.  However HAL still offered a reasonable price to experience ratio for our most recent trip but that might be our last HAL trip.

 

The things that got me the most on our most recent cruise was the lack of quality and interesting meals in the main dining room.  We're also bothered that there is no longer a lobster night and that steak in the main dining room costs extra.  There were a few wonderful dishes and appetizers during the cruise but they were definitely few and far apart.

 

The one area where HAL has not gone downhill in my eyes is the quality of their lowest level employees.  They were all very professional, upbeat or at least pleasant and very welcoming and helpful.  Whoever is running that portion of their ships is doing a great job as far as I'm concerned.

[Hlitner]

On 3/3/2023 at 3:23 PM, cbr663 said:

 

We are also taking the same approach.  We are not booking anything else until after our Alaska cruise in May.  There is a lot riding on this cruise.  We are finally at a point in our life when we are free to start checking off our cruise bucket list.  This cruise will be the deciding factor on whether we move forward with HAL or check out another line.

That is exactly our own position.  We have an upcoming 42 days on the Westy (booked long before COVID and rolled over due to cancelations) and have not booked any other future HAL cruises.  We do have plenty of future cruises with Princess, Seabourn, Explora Journeys and MSC (Yacht Club).  At this time we are giving a lot of consideration to booking Viking Ocean and Oceania...but even though we are 5* Mariners we will not book any more HAL until we see how things are on the Westy.  For us, "checking out another line" is not a biggie since we have long been cruisers on many lines.  Variety (with cruise lines and ships) keeps everything fresh and interesting.  Our "loyalty" is only as good as the last cruise.  

 

Hank

[BetsyS.]

SJ- cruiser-  I agree with you about the HAL crew. I think they are the best at

sea. In my experience, they go above and beyond. 

[AKJonesy]

I book a lot of last minute cruises and most of the time have really done well over the years.  I will compare the total all in cruise price including fees and add ons such as upscale dining to let's say an airbnb all in vacation.  I recently compared staying in FLL area, on the beach requirement plus car plus food, etc to a cruise out of FLL and found them comparable.  My lowest stateroom category is Oceanview.  I now require port heavy cruises over many sea day cruises.  On a previous cruise we had 4 medical emergencies and missed two ports.  It was already a bit sea day heavy so now I hedge my bets.  I like the HAL crews even though I barely interact with them other than our cabin stewards, who I've always enjoyed talking to.  But, I am also confident in the experience of the HAL crew.  Mariner status isn't worth much anymore so that's not really a consideration for me.  Since opting for some upscale dining on board, I don't have issues with the food and think you can usually find something good to eat.  I'm not hard to please so as long as I have comfort, some nice amenities, decent food and some good places to explore that's good for me.  I've seen a lot of the world so I'm more into relaxing and getting away to put it into perspective and not having to do much planning.  Cruising for the most part checks off that box for me.  

[trout62]

On 3/2/2023 at 7:56 PM, Catlover54 said:

One cost-cutting measure I did not care for was the absence of even a single real enrichment speaker on my recent cruise, on a cruise with 2500 pax. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could not agree more.

Trout

[terrydtx]

On 3/2/2023 at 7:56 PM, Catlover54 said:

One cost-cutting measure I did not care for was the absence of even a single real enrichment speaker on my recent cruise, on a cruise with 2500 pax. I suspect there are plenty of retired professors and/or scientists/naturalists who are cruising or traveling anyway and who would be more than happy to give enrichment talks here and there at minimal cost, perhaps as little as the cost of a slight discount on their cruisefare and/or free laundry.

that is really sad, as this has been one of the things that set HAL apart from the other mainstream cruise lines.

[trout62]

On 3/2/2023 at 6:21 PM, mcrcruiser said:

With cruise prices rising ,what makes you feel that you are getting fair value for your cabin purchases?  Or do you feel that there is some things lacking ?

Well, this is timely.

As I mentioned in another post, Mrs. Trout and I were in corner aft on NS in December.  We have done probably 16 cruises total, half and the most recent 4, were on HAL, rest were NCL, RCL and CCL, all in suites except CCL. (We personally would prefer to cruise less often but stay in suites).

After our last cruise, we both looked at each other and said "I think it's time to try something else."  Nothing was horrible, and had it been our first trip on HAL we would have been blown away.  But it wasn't our first, and it wasn't as good as we remembered other trips being for so many of the reasons folks have posted here and elsewhere.

And so, our next cruise will be in a Sky Suite on Celebrity Ascent.

But because I am a nerd, I did the attached evaluation (it's a working document so be gentle)

Keep in mind, I have never been on X so the info is based on Cruise Critic and YouTube...feel free to correct my perceptions.  Also, what is important to me may not be important to you.

In summary, X is going to be 1K more, but I think (hope?) the value is there.  I'll report back in a year or so.

Trout

HAL vs X.xlsx

[Colorado Klutch]

3 hours ago, AKJonesy said:

I book a lot of last minute cruises and most of the time have really done well over the years.  

 

I wonder if this is changing. After telling my brother about the HAL Alaska cruise I booked, he took a look at the same cruise. He decided Alaska wasn't for him and his wife. They really have no appreciation for the Alaska scenery or the excursions. They like beaches, sun and warm weather. So my brother booked a last minute Caribbean cruise with HAL. I told him that would be cheaper than an Alaska cruise, but it wasn't. A Veranda cabin room on that Caribbean cruise was almost exactly the same price for a Veranda cabin on my Alaska cruise; both seven nights. I think they soaked my brother for booking at the last minute. Then he learned all excursions and signature dining was booked solid. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Colorado Klutch

[Lindancer]

On 3/3/2023 at 3:45 PM, DesertRat46 said:

We had 3 good HAL cruises last year. The food on the Zaandam, Zuierdam and Noordam was OK, but not great. Service was mostly good. Getting drinks in the MDR was a hassle every time, but otherwise we were pleased.

We have another cruise book for January of next year and hope that the experience will be just as good. 

We usually sail with HAL or Celebrity, and what I'm reading on CruiseCritic suggests that, so far, HAL has not made some of the more drastic cost-cutting steps that Celebrity has taken.

Guess we'll find out in January.

Ha, we were on the Eurodam's first cruise after Covid, out of Athens.  It was IMPOSSIBLE to get a drink in the MDR.  So we started stopping at the bar outside the Pinnacle and just getting a drink to carry in to dinner.