Business Must Really Be Bad?

[debsjc]

I think if any cruise line has an empty cabin last minute, it's better for them to fill it even at cost price.

The reason I say that is the high profits made on bar bills, casino spending and shore excursions.

[Jade13]

I received an email this morning for cruises with prices I've never seen before.

 

7 dys on Eurodam for $399

 

10 day Panama Canal for $599

 

The Maasdam is offering FREE 3rd & 4th passenger fares for Christmas?

Christmas was always a premium fare????

 

Yesterday I got emails from Celebrity offering the second passenger 1/2 off on some saiings.

 

I realize times are tough, but don't know how these low fares can allow the cruise ships to turn a profit?

 

Are these all from Florida and mostly Caribbean? There is so much competition, especially from FLL and MIA. Celebrity and RCCL have built so many new ships. We just booked a Celebrity min-cruise with the second passenger half price. Even the airfares are lower than I have seen in a long time.

[Jade13]

not surprising to me they have having trouble filling the ships. they have alienated 20+ % of their potential customers (smokers). i toss all the fancy brochures without even opening them now.

 

Just curious. Which cruise line do you now go on that have a smoking policy that you can enjoy? Sorry, but I must have missed your posts. Are you still cruising?

[Susie51]

We booked our Sept. 2010 Canada/New England cruise 16 months in advance for an inside handicap cabin which we need for my mom. The price never went down and actually went up then it dropped, but never went as low as what we paid.

[DougandEric]

I booked the 11/26 Statendam Panama Canal cruise - San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale in May. A week before final I check prices and it dropped $300 pp. We decided to upgrade to an FF (from an HH guarantee) and still saved $100 pp. Can't beat that!

[soldham]

not surprising to me they have having trouble filling the ships. they have alienated 20+ % of their potential customers (smokers). i toss all the fancy brochures without even opening them now.

 

Would that be whining? :cool: I would have thought with your avatar......;)

[KirkNC]

not surprising to me they have having trouble filling the ships. they have alienated 20+ % of their potential customers (smokers). i toss all the fancy brochures without even opening them now.

 

Thats OK, the other 80% are happier ;)

 

Kirk

[eroller]

$399 for a 7-day Caribbean cruise on one of HAL's newest ships is pretty insane. I mean it's cheaper than Carnival. It's can't be good for a so-called "premium" line like HAL to have to undercut the mass-market prices just to fill ships. Perhaps it's good they have no ships on order right now, as clearly a period of stagnant growth may be a good thing for HAL right now.

 

I'm booked on one of these "price-leader" HAL cruises in November on NIEUW AMSTERDAM, and it will be interesting to see if the clientele is a typical HAL demographic, or something more like what you would expect on Carnival?

 

I guess I will find out soon enough.

 

Ernie

[photomikey]

We just booked 7 days in the Mexican Riviera in a Verandah for $699/pp, and I have never seen prices so low.

not surprising to me they have having trouble filling the ships. they have alienated 20+ % of their potential customers (smokers). i toss all the fancy brochures without even opening them now.

If you don't like HAL and don't cruise HAL... what are you doing on the HAL board? Honest question.

[GOLDENBONNY]

I'd like to see something in Canada like that....but I never do. My next cruise is costing me $2000 for an oceanview room for 14 days and that probably the cheapest cruise I've had in many years. Maybe you guys are getting smokin' deals but it doesn't translate to everyone.

 

HA??? I never book in Canada,always on US web sites,no problem to get same discount:)

[DrTee]

Thats OK, the other 80% are happier ;)

 

Kirk

 

And we'll live longer and take more cruises.

[NordicPrince]

not surprising to me they have having trouble filling the ships. they have alienated 20+ % of their potential customers (smokers). i toss all the fancy brochures without even opening them now.

 

Sorry, it's time to put your soapbox away. It's clear in 99.9% of your posts that in your mind anything that's wrong with cruising has to do with the smoking policy and nothing is good anymore because of it.

 

To associate the idea that cruise bookings may be down because of an assumed anti-smokers vendetta and not the overall poor economic times, an oversupply of available berths and an astronomical increase in the cost of airfare to reach your port of embarkation is truly incredulous.

[cruisinjudy]

I just found my tickets for a 2001 Princess cruise on Grand Princess. We had a balcony cabin. $2200 a piece for my husband and I and $1800 for my daughter in the same cabin. That was for a seven day Caribbean.

[CaliforniaAC]

Plus, The ships have to order and pay for everything about three months ahead. If they have ordered enough to fill a certain amount of cabins, it's best to fill them. They will count on you tipping the waitstaff, and doing stuff that costs money on board. The great price you paid will cover what you will eat, and some things may not be as fancy as other cruises, but you'll still have fun! So what if you have to ask for a third lambchop at dinner. They will bring it.

 

Generally on these fares you won't get to pick your room. If that's okay, go for it!:)

[sail7seas]

One thing that is also into the equation is that not everyone is paying these extremely low prices. Yes, of course, we all make the choice whether to pay a certain price or not to but ..........

 

 

I worry what quality cruise we are going to get if the prices for so many of the cabins are so low. Buy less costly food items? Lesser quality? Serve less fresh and more processed food? Chefs do less cooking and more 'heating'? Inexpensive menu items? Just wondering...........

[sail7seas]

I worry at the deeply reduced pricing we see being available.

How can they provide a quality product when the revenue is so reduced? Sure, I get it about shore excursion, casino, bar etc revenue but if people are cruising in OV cabins for ten days for $599 pp and that is happening......

 

Will we be seeing lower priced food, (cheaper groceries in a word) with less fresh and more processed, less cooking by the Chefs and more 'heating up', will we see all frozen pre-prepared uninspired lower qualilty food? When they have to load piles of sauces and gravies on top of the dish, are they hiding what's beneath the sauce?

 

I know this is not a popular sort of discussion but it concerns me.

I eat mostly fish. I can't stand when it has to be coated in piles of bread crumbs, coated with butter to hide the fish. If the fish is good, it shouldn't have to be hidden beneath a pile of sauce, breading and butter. If it's watery and mushy, why?

 

I know I am paying more for groceries and particularly fish and fresh produce. If all our grocery markets are charging more, the large wholesale suppliers are too but the cruise prices are dropping.

Something has to give.

 

Will we still get the outstanding meals in Pinnacle or will that have to lower standards if the prices there stay the same. A high quality steak has not gone down in price but Pinnacle prices are very low IMO Four star Mariners paying $10 for a fine steak dinner in Pinnacle is silly. Three Star Mariners pay $15 and there are many people in these categories. They have to lose money on that. Just the breakage of crystal glasses and Bulgari service plates cost that.

 

I love our HAL cruises and really don't want to lose them.

Would you rather save up longer, pay a little more and get a great cruise or rather go as cheaply as possible and take what you get?

[CtheW0rld]

echo echo echo echo echo

 

is this the same topic as this other thread? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1273470

[foodsvcmgr]

I don't see across the board price slashing, just selected dates and itineraries, particularly autumn sailings to the Caribbean prior to

the Holidays that have traditionally been very light (and therefore

greatly reduced) for years.

 

Also HAL is cutting fares for sailings within the next four months,

those further out are still fairly high. Take Mexican Riviera for

March and April for example, they are still listing at $1049 p.p.

for Veranda, the same fare they have been for 6+ months. Last

year they ultimately dropped to $699 p.p. closer in. They may again

this year as well, but HAL is certainly not jumping any guns here IMO.

 

To answer your question though, no one likes a bargain more than I do - but yes, I would rather pay a bit more and not lose food quality,

good service, and also not see the type of fellow passengers we

are comfortable with replaced by a rowdy, low end clientele.

[Sage]

Sail, I'm sorry to say that some of those things are already happening. The quality of the food on our last cruise was not what we had expected from HAL. I see more changes ahead. I have always said that I was willing to pay more to get quality, but I'm afraid that I'm in the minority.

[Randyk47]

I worry what quality cruise we are going to get if the prices for so many of the cabins are so low. Buy less costly food items? Lesser quality? Serve less fresh and more processed food? Chefs do less cooking and more 'heating'? Inexpensive menu items? Just wondering...........

 

You've been cruising longer and more often than I have but seems to me I've already seen some of that in the 17 years I've been cruising. I don't think that food or service is anything at all what it was back in the early 90's which is the start of my cruising. I think I noticed it more after cruising a number of times between 1993 and 1998 and then taking a break and not cruising again until 2004. Obviously things like food quality differ from ship to ship, cruise to cruise but our last cruise on the Veendam barely rose above the level of a chain restaurant like Applebee's. :( I too wonder what the latest round of cost cutting will bring? Might add that I unfortunately, and I'm typically not a gloom and doom guy, think we're going to see another whole round of downturn or at least not robust recovery in the next year or so. If that happens I'd predict even more pressure on cruise lines to control costs to keep fares down and attract cruisers.

[bcd2010]

The idea that lower quality food might be the result of low fares was put forth in another thread and there's at least one thing about it that makes me think it's unlikely: HAL has always got "high marks" from pax & critics about the food and needs/wants to serve up meals that make people want to come back to cruise with them again. "Cheapening" the foods or menus puts their reputation and the awards and accolades they receive (and are proud of) at risk. These things aren't left to chance - the accountants are certain to let the powers that be know what the lowest cost can be to cover expenses at a "HAL standard" level. JMO

 

Edited to note that I was posting this in another thread - don't know how it got here?!

Edited again - are they moving or merging the other thread?

[IRL_Joanie]

The idea that lower quality food might be the result of low fares was put forth in another thread and there's at least one thing about it that makes me think it's unlikely: HAL has always got "high marks" from pax & critics about the food and needs/wants to serve up meals that make people want to come back to cruise with them again. "Cheapening" the foods or menus puts their reputation and the awards and accolades they receive (and are proud of) at risk. These things aren't left to chance - the accountants are certain to let the powers that be know what the lowest cost can be to cover expenses at a "HAL standard" level. JMO

 

Edited to note that I was posting this in another thread - don't know how it got here?!

Edited again - are they moving or merging the other thread?

 

That thread was moved here since they cover the same thing. Makes it easier, in my opinion, to discuss when everything on thi ssubject is in one thread.

 

Joanie

[Randyk47]

Might add that while we're kind of focused on food there have been other changes supposedly due to cost cutting. One example that sticks out to us is the loss of the live band in the Crow's Nest. Our first couple of cruises there was always a delightful crew band. That gave way to contracted groups for a couple of cruises. OK preferred the crew band but any live band was better than no band but last cruise it a piano player before dinner and then a "DJ" playing CD's after. Over that period I've seen the Crow's Nest go from a pretty busy place until late to more recently my wife and I being almost the only ones there after 10 PM. :(

[slotl]

For what it worth I found the bill from our travel agent for our honeymoon cruise. 7 days inside passage on the Noordam in 1989. We sailed in an inside cabin for 7 days.

 

Our first cruise was on the HAL Rotterdam V in 1969. We had minimum rate inside room (bunk beds and a shower hose over the "throne"). We paid $195 each for 7 days to Nassau, Freeport, and Bermuda round trip NYC (we lived in the greater NY area, so there was no additional airfare charges). The dining room had "French Service" where the waiters wore white gloves and served your empty plates from their silver service platters. We had flambees made by the dining room stewards at each dinner service. Of course, the Baked Alaska parade had "real" flames.

 

Ahhhh, the memories.

[Jade13]

Sail, I'm sorry to say that some of those things are already happening. The quality of the food on our last cruise was not what we had expected from HAL. I see more changes ahead. I have always said that I was willing to pay more to get quality, but I'm afraid that I'm in the minority.

 

Which Ship? The overall quality of the food on Maasdam was down from what we have experianced in the past.