Unfair to Solo Cruisers on Holland America

I will be going on my first cruise with Holland America in September. I was charged double the "double occupancy" rate for my inside cabin. A single supplement of 100%. The current promotion of $100 per cabin OBC was cut in half because I am a solo. I'm only getting $50 instead of $100. Since I am literally paying for two people I feel I should get the entire OBC. I think Holland America is being cheap and unfairly discriminating against solo cruisers. Am I wrong?

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That's how cabins are priced...."based on DOUBLE" occupancy. They are charging your for the cabin...yes, you are wrong.

That's how cabins are priced...."based on DOUBLE" occupancy. They are charging your for the cabin...yes, you are wrong.

I'm not talking about the single supplement of 100%. I understand and except that. I'm talking about the onboard credit that is "per cabin" except if you are solo and then HA feels they can cut it in half even though Solos are paying full price for the cabin.

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I understand the frustration but from HALs point of view you are likely to only spend half the amount onboard so reducing the OBC would make sense.

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If the OBC is truly offered "PER CABIN" call your TA or HAL back. In a couple of instances I was able to receive the full OBC because it was PER CABIN. Other times, I have gotten the "per passenger" amount because it was offered as "per PASSENGER". IF the offer is per cabin, and you get told you can't have it all, request that it be escalated to a supervisor or manager.

I will be going on my first cruise with Holland America in September. I was charged double the "double occupancy" rate for my inside cabin. A single supplement of 100%. The current promotion of $100 per cabin OBC was cut in half because I am a solo. I'm only getting $50 instead of $100. Since I am literally paying for two people I feel I should get the entire OBC. I think Holland America is being cheap and unfairly discriminating against solo cruisers. Am I wrong?

 

 

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I think you might be off to a bad start for your upcoming vacation.

Since I am literally paying for two people I feel I should get the entire OBC. I think Holland America is being cheap and unfairly discriminating against solo cruisers. Am I wrong?

I don't disagree with you. However, as a solo living in a Noah's Ark world, I have gotten used to being treated unfairly on many fronts.

Venn has made an excellent point, though. If the OBC is truly "per cabin", then you should get the full cabin allotment. Double check the promo, though. I have found that charges are "per cabin" and credits are "per person". Even when I had Explore 4, I only got one 15-drinks per day allowance. ;p

I will be going on my first cruise with Holland America in September. I was charged double the "double occupancy" rate for my inside cabin. A single supplement of 100%. The current promotion of $100 per cabin OBC was cut in half because I am a solo. I'm only getting $50 instead of $100. Since I am literally paying for two people I feel I should get the entire OBC. I think Holland America is being cheap and unfairly discriminating against solo cruisers. Am I wrong?

 

 

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You are wrong and here is why.

Cruiselines get about 70% of their income from fares and 30% from on board spend. So when you look at a cabin when two passengers book and the fare is X, the anticipated total revenue is (2X fares + 2(.42X) on board spend) = 2.84X. Now with a solo fare in the cabin you get X fare + X (single supplement) +.42X =

2.42X. So on average the cruise lines loses 42% of a fare in potential income for the solo cabin.

So even with the 100% solo supplement, and the reduced OBC the cruise line still loses out compared to if they sold the same cabin to 2 people.

Of course this varies by cruise line and the fare to on board spend varies to some degree between cruise lines, but the impact on cruise line income by solo cruisers is pretty consistent across the main stream lines (the lowest ratio on onboard spend I have seen reported in public files lately is around 24%, the highest 34%).

Have you talked to your travel agent or someone at HAL to find out whether getting the extra OBC is an option? If you have no success, then your situation "is what it is." You can choose to be happy to cruise with the OBC you're getting, or be crabby and resentful about what you feel you deserve but aren't getting. If you wanted to campaign to have HAL change their OBC policy for singles, I recommend communicating with the cruiseline. Obviously, if you want to gather public support towards an effort to get HAL to change their policies, CC is a good place to recruit allies.

OBC is a way for a cruise line to entice a guest to spend. Two people spend more than one person. Buy a glass of wine for one vs buying a bottle to share as an example.

OBC is a way for a cruise line to entice a guest to spend. Two people spend more than one person. Buy a glass of wine for one vs buying a bottle to share as an example.

OBC is to provide a value to the customer that costs the cruise line less then a discount in fare. For every OBC dollar granted the actual cost to the cruise line is less than and often substantially less than 60 cents. If spent in a specialty restaurant or for alcohol the cost to the cruise lines is more like 10 cents per dollar of OBC.

So is your HSC per person or per cabin?

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I think you should get the full OBC since you are paying for the cabin and that's what they say each cabin should get. Does not seem fair that you only get $50.

Does not matter what anyone else thinks. It is what it is.

You have a choice. Book with HAL, accept their price/terms, or select an alternative cruise or travel offering.

Even when I had Explore 4, I only got one 15-drinks per day allowance. ;p

Is your cruise booked using the 'Ready Set Sail' promo and how long is your cruise? If your cruise is between 6 and 13 days, an inside room gets $50 per person....

I copied and pasted the terms and conditions from HAL's website:-

Onboard spending money is offered in the following amounts: cruises 6-13 days: interior and ocean-view staterooms receive US$50 per person (US$100 per stateroom); lanai and verandah staterooms receive US$100 per person (US$200 per stateroom), and suites receive US$150 per person (US$300 per stateroom); cruises 14 plus days: interior and ocean-view staterooms receive US$100 per person (US$200 per stateroom); lanai and verandah staterooms receive US$200 per person (US$400 per stateroom), and suites receive US$250 per person (US$500 per stateroom.)

You are wrong and here is why.

 

Cruiselines get about 70% of their income from fares and 30% from on board spend. So when you look at a cabin when two passengers book and the fare is X, the anticipated total revenue is (2X fares + 2(.42X) on board spend) = 2.84X. Now with a solo fare in the cabin you get X fare + X (single supplement) +.42X =

2.42X. So on average the cruise lines loses 42% of a fare in potential income for the solo cabin.

 

So even with the 100% solo supplement, and the reduced OBC the cruise line still loses out compared to if they sold the same cabin to 2 people.

 

Of course this varies by cruise line and the fare to on board spend varies to some degree between cruise lines, but the impact on cruise line income by solo cruisers is pretty consistent across the main stream lines (the lowest ratio on onboard spend I have seen reported in public files lately is around 24%, the highest 34%).

You missed one important point with your fancy calculations. Spending. When I'm cruising with my wife (who does not drink) I hardly drink much at all. Our bar bill is very small. When I cruise solo my bar bill is three or four times as much. When my wife and I cruise together we don't do any excursions because of her disability. When I cruise solo I go on at least one excursion. The cruise line makes more money when I cruise solo. Also, as another poster pointed out, the onboard credit costs the cruise line a fraction of its face value so it doesn't make sense for Holland America to shortchange its passengers. I have cruised solo on Carnival and NCL and received full on board credit for the room and appreciated it. I don't appreciate Holland America very much so far but will not let that ruin my cruise experience.

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It is usually 50. per person with 100. per stateroom and up. They cannot know what you will spend in advance. I hope it doesn't ruin your cruise. Life is too short.

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You missed one important point with your fancy calculations. Spending. When I'm cruising with my wife (who does not drink) I hardly drink much at all. Our bar bill is very small. When I cruise solo my bar bill is three or four times as much. When my wife and I cruise together we don't do any excursions because of her disability. When I cruise solo I go on at least one excursion. The cruise line makes more money when I cruise solo. Also, as another poster pointed out, the onboard credit costs the cruise line a fraction of its face value so it doesn't make sense for Holland America to shortchange its passengers. I have cruised solo on Carnival and NCL and received full on board credit for the room and appreciated it. I don't appreciate Holland America very much so far but will not let that ruin my cruise experience.

 

First, cruise lines cannot adjust their policies per individual. They look at the average spending and I'm sure they have a very good handle on those figures for solos versus couples versus families, etc.

Second, promos for OBC or anything else are subject to the stated terms and conditions. Most offers from HAL that I see are per person, not per cabin. (Although some may be limited to XX per cabin if there are more than 2 people in the room -- so I guess you could say in that respect that HAL also discriminates against families... :confused:)

As a solo traveler, I look at any perks or OBC as a plus.

You missed one important point with your fancy calculations. Spending. When I'm cruising with my wife (who does not drink) I hardly drink much at all. Our bar bill is very small. When I cruise solo my bar bill is three or four times as much. When my wife and I cruise together we don't do any excursions because of her disability. When I cruise solo I go on at least one excursion. The cruise line makes more money when I cruise solo. Also, as another poster pointed out, the onboard credit costs the cruise line a fraction of its face value so it doesn't make sense for Holland America to shortchange its passengers. I have cruised solo on Carnival and NCL and received full on board credit for the room and appreciated it. I don't appreciate Holland America very much so far but will not let that ruin my cruise experience.

 

 

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You apparently ignored where I said on average and that there are exceptions.

I said on average. That is how pricing models work. There are exceptions, but the cruise line cannot price based upon each individuals past history (I actually think they would violate several laws if they tried it. As such they set prices based upon what all of their sails information says. That is that their revenue split depends heavily upon on board sales. That even with a 100% single supplement they still lose revenue compared to two people per cabin. Actually be happy that they cannot price based upon an individuals history, otherwise those of use that spend less than the average on board would find our fares going up. After all our fares are also set based upon the assumption that we will spend the average.

All of the main stream lines have pretty much the same policy. You have a few exceptions where there some lines have single cabins or where they do sales with a lower single supplement. The more an all inclusive a line is the more their pricing policy works on fares alone.

Almost all of the costs on a cruise line are. fixed for a given route (ship capital costs, fuel costs, personnel costs, etc). You have a few variable costs such as food where reducing passenger load might save costs. But even there the cruise line has pretty standard orders placed in advance so savings is minimal if at all. Food costs are a very small percentage of cruise costs. Most variable costs such as alcohol sales and excursions are money makers. That means that a cruise line must maximize revenue per cabin because they have fixed passenger capacity, and sailing with a lower number of passengers does not reduce their costs for that cruise.

Main stream cruise lines average at least 104% of 2 passenger per cabin capacity (you can get the info by looking at the SEC 10Q and 10K filing for each companys. Any cabin with only one person means another that needs 3 and those fares for 3 or 4 persons are generally lower to attract the additional passengers.

Fifty dollars????????????

RDC1 he's very good at numbercrunching and makes intelligent and a precise evaluation of the cost benefit ratio of Solo cruisers versus couples and families. I agree with with you. I look at this in terms of customer service and goodwill. The $50 additional onboard credit would cost HA about $10. And refusing it cost them very much more in Goodwill.

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OBC is to provide a value to the customer that costs the cruise line less then a discount in fare. For every OBC dollar granted the actual cost to the cruise line is less than and often substantially less than 60 cents. If spent in a specialty restaurant or for alcohol the cost to the cruise lines is more like 10 cents per dollar of OBC.

I perfectly concur.

As a solo cruiser, I feel your pain 42CruiseCrazy. I also agree with your assertion that if I am paying double (person) rate for the cabin I absolutely should be entitled to either the per cabin OBC or 2X p/p OBC - either way makes no difference to me. ;p (RDC1's number crunching aside).

While I understand RDC1's crunching, IMHO, it equates to Bean Counter's BS and for the exact reason he states it is based on "AVERAGE" spending.

All that aside 42 as others have said check to see if the OBC is p/p or p/c. AND, either way complain (in writing if time permits), but ensure that you get a response from supervisory or management level and in writing.

A couple of personal items:

1) As a solo, I always look for single supplement "deals". On my upcoming (next week :D) Panama Canal (HAL) cruise, between a single supplement and Mariner status (supplement) I ended up paying about 165% of the p/p rate. (No incentives though).

2) On my last 3 solo cruises on Celebrity the OBC I received was always a per cabin credit. I sailed with my brother and his then fiance', their OBC was given as a cabin, but each received $150. I received the full $300.

RDC1 he's very good at numbercrunching and makes intelligent and a precise evaluation of the cost benefit ratio of Solo cruisers versus couples and families. I agree with with you. I look at this in terms of customer service and goodwill. The $50 additional onboard credit would cost HA about $10. And refusing it cost them very much more in Goodwill.

 

 

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Considering that HAL has mostly smaller ships, that are already less economically efficient then those sailed by the competing lines such as Celebrity, Princess, NCL, not surprising that they might be a little tighter.

One thing when it comes to goodwill. Are you in the passenger group they want to maintain or the passenger group they don't? One never really knows. I think that you can pretty much count on that cruise lines do legally have to sell solo fares and that there are cases where families might have multiple cabins, where one is a solo cabin where the overall economics is a bit different, but from a business marketing and strategy point of view they are more to be tolerated, not desired.

As they have gone to larger more efficient ships some of the cruise lines have slightly relaxed some of the solo passenger economics. I think that Princess changed on some of the deal type OBC and allowed the solo passenger to get the two passenger amount of some special offers.