HAL needs some new itineraries in the Caribbean

[Crazy Gramps]

There's a lot more HAL should change than just the ports but that would be a start.

 

It's one reason I won't be sailing with anybody

 

Gramps

[sansterre]

We love the selection of Carribean Cruises and usually choice two a year from Ft. L or Tampa. Occasionally there is a new port for us, if not there is always something new to see in a previouslly visited port.

I was sorry to hear that HAL is thinking of dropping one of our favorite ports - Tortola. I think it is because of the depth of the harbor, and the need to coordinate arrivals and departures with the tide.

Cuba, would provide some great stops, but not very likely in our lifetime. I suppose it might be: Visa's required for US Citizens

Personally, I'd like to visit more US ports - New Orleans, and Texas Coast.

Or a variety of Ports along the Atlantic - Jacksonville, Savannah, Charleston, etc.

[kazu]

There's a lot more HAL should change than just the ports but that would be a start.

 

It's one reason I won't be sailing with anybody

 

Gramps

 

Gramps you have said this before - not sailing with anybody. So, you are done cruising altogether?

 

Is there something that happened that I have missed (or do I dare ask in case I missed a thread) or do you just prefer land trips now?

 

Just wondering if it's not too nosy:eek:

[cmdchiefthom]

Part of my decision to try another cruise line, such as NCL, was their creative 9 day itineraries which left Miami on Friday, and returned on Sunday, then did a differenct five day itinerary and returned the following Friday, which offered either a 9 day cruise over two weekends, or a BTB for two weeks. I posted here some comments in that regard, and agree that HAL becomes boring. However, I do believe that in some ways, the ships become an attraction, and the itinerary becomes simply stops where you spend a couple of hours. Having just come off the NCL Epic, on an itinerary I had previously cruised at least four times, the ship itself, was, in no small part, the attraction.

 

I have just booked the Zuiderdam for the third time on the Southern itinerary, because I love cruising HAL, and love that itinerary. What I'm looking forward to, if HAL continues the itinerary, is the 30 day San Diego, Hawaii, French Polynesia, round trip for the next several years. My wife and I did a ten day Tahitian Princess cruise a few years back, and the cost of a suite on HAL for 30 days is just fantastic.

 

I guess itinerary means something for us, but so does the ship, as does the relaxation, or the simple fact that we're cruising.

 

My bottom line is I'm not going to stop cruising based on lame port decisions made by the bean counters at corporate, but based on my relaxation needs. I will make a decision first based on itinerary, but that being absent, on a comfortable ship in a great cabin, and just enjoy being at sea!

[Tamaracboy]

I'm sure that some of these cruises are new to people but so many of us are 2+ mariners and would like a few new ports. They are still offering cruises that we took 3 and 4 years ago with no variation or even a change of ships. Since HAL ships are of a more reasonable size I'm sure that there are ports that could take them. How about your thoughts?

 

Steve:

Yes, yes, yes, some here have said that itineraries are limited by what sells.

And, the same old 7 day RT's do limit the reach of possible islands.

YET, since all the other competing lines are also offering the exact same ports.

SO: IF HAL were to offer other possibilities, they would have no competition and would thus capture even more of the frequent cruiser market that is tired of the same old, same old.

I have been getting into the option of just staying on the ship since there is absolutely nothing I want to/need to see in St Thomas one more time, this goes for some other ports as well.

 

I love 7 day cruises and have been on many to the same ports over and over. I love sea days. I would love a cruise with 2 days at HMC and the rest at sea. It would be a good idea for saving on fuel for the cruise line also. There are many ports out there that I don't feel that safe at either.

 

Girl:

Now there is an itinerary I could go for.

Just to enjoy being on the ship for some sea days with a bit of HMC as icing on the cake, Yum YUM !

 

Now, before I get flamed with fuel costs and vibrations, etc.:

In the days of the Trans-Atlantic Liners the ships would all do 40+ Knots easily since they needed to.

Yet now all the purpose built cruise ships top out at 21 or 22 knots or even less for the new Mega Ships.

Recent years have seen very many newer & larger ships, so why has not one line thought of doing faster instead of bigger with one of their new-builds?

Just think of the islands they could reach out of Ft Lauderdale and/or Miami with a faster ship.

San Juan as an embarkation port has been about the only option for a far eastern itinerary in only 7 days because of the slower ships.

Mind you I just got off of a Bahama cruise out of Miami.

We could have rowed as fast as that ship was going because of the short distances. Yet we could have sailed at cruising speed and had so much more time in port, except the cruise lines do not want to pay the added port charges.

Imagine that, the port charges are more expensive than the fuel.

So to my thinking, yes a faster ship would use more fuel at top speed, yet there is a certain economy to sailing full because of an unique itinerary.

[sail7seas]

Even if a ship CAN do more speed, it sometimes CANNOT.

 

Off the coast of Cape Cod there are presently at least 50% of the world's population of right whales. Because of their presence and rarity, ships are being limited to something like 10 knots through that area. I imagine there might be some speed restrictions in the Caribbean for a number of reasons.

 

[Infi]

Steve:

YET, since all the other competing lines are also offering the exact same ports.

SO: IF HAL were to offer other possibilities, they would have no competition and would thus capture even more of the frequent cruiser market that is tired of the same old, same old.

 

Great point! We chose our first HAL cruise because they offered an itinerary (7 day Aruba/Curacao/HMC) that no one else had. I know many other cruisers are also itinerary driven, and if HAL offers something no one else does, they'll get their business. Diverse itineraries is important for both frequent cruisers and new-to-HAL cruisers.

 

When Cuba opens up, that will add at least 3 or 4 more itinerary possibilities, if not more. I'm really looking forward to that. But, you just have to get there within the first few years of opening, before Diamonds International and Margaritaville move in. :p

[CruiserBruce]

Tamarcboy:

 

I thin your speed solution is stretched a little. The fastest cruise ever was the United States, capable of up to 44 knots. Doesn't mean it could, or wanted to do that for extended periods. In fact, when it set the still world record for speed, it averaged 34 knots.

 

See http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/extreme-machines/4263478

 

Of course, oil wasn't $110/barrel. When I was on the Noordam on a mid range 10 day Med cruise last summer, it went thru $700k in fuel for just those 10 days. Imagine the cost of fuel for 35 knot runs.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There's a lot more HAL should change than just the ports but that would be a start.

 

It's one reason I won't be sailing with anybody

 

Gramps

 

please tell us what happened that you will no longer be sailing with "anybody" -- meaning no cruise line?

[JJPacer]

We are attracted to HAL for the interesting intineraries. However, it is nice to have new islands to visit. I would love to see a nice long port day at St. John USVI. Other favorits would be St. Vincent, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Any BVI islands. If they included St. John USVI I would do that cruise several times. There is so much to explore on the island and in the waters surrounding it. I was happy to see the Maasdam going to St. Croix.

 

Hopefully HAL is working on this. It would bring in new customers as well, I think. People are tired of the same o same o ports.

[cruiseapril]

Agree with those who suggest staying over in a port for a more intensive visit. This could be done in Curacao, Barbados, and perhaps Martinique. As I've mentioned before- we just visited Martinique and consider it a gem.

 

Also, I'm not sure all islands have docking ports- is that the case? For instance Saba and Stacia don't seem to and many of the islands of the Bahamas (most) don't seem to have docks for large ships. Anyone know?

[RuthC]

Attempting to reveal hidden post #61, posted by cruiseapril.

[mamaofami]

Cruiseapril, what did you like about Martinique? I never got off the ship there, and my husband said he was approached twice by people trying to sell him drugs.

[goodearth]

I'm not cruiseapril, but my husband and I walked into the farmer's market in Fort de France in 2010--way away from the waterfront. We saw no drugs or dealers or anything resembling that. No one spoke English so we looked and pointed and used sign language being we are not savvy with French. On the way back to the ship we saw fabric stores with gorgeous bolts of fancy fabrics......very French! Closer to the ship the tourist council had bi-lingual hosts that could help cruise guests with any questions and translate with merchants, questions, etc. They wore bright red vests that said "tourist assistance"-- or something to that effect. We used one host for ordering crepes--in part because the word for honey was difficult for us to understand. It worked out great! Also, there was a street artist who did painted pictures on glass with his fingers--very intricate and fun to watch. There is another artist (bilingual) who sells prints right off the dock and we spent quite a bit of time talking with him--as well as making a few purchases. We thought Martinique would be great to spend more time in. The one downside for us happened on the ship....it was the LONG and GRAPHIC description of the volcano's eruption and the death's (graphically described) when we were leaving Martinique. UGH!!

[Hlitner]

We have been to Martinique several times and really enjoy the town and island. We have never seen any drug issues there (we have seen a lot of drug activity on St Thomas) and we find it fun browsing the shops and eating off the ship in a town (and island) that does not cater to Americans. Make no mistake, this island considers itself very French, loves French tourists, and tolerates many Americans who do not even give them the courtesy of a friendly "Bonjour." We also will somtimes take one of boats across the harbor to a nearby beach. But beware, because on the beaches of this island you may find some folks topless (we know this is "shocking" to many of our fellow Americans).

 

Hank

[DFD1]

We are big fans of Martinique. We've never had any problems there and have really enjoyed the art work, markets, shopping and trips out of Fort de France into the countryside.

[DFD1]

We are ready to book a cruise and are searching for a Caribbean itinerary right now, one that makes ports of call in at least one or two places we have not visited. Hard to fined.

 

I know it is a big challenge for the cruise lines to find and open new ports. It is a very complicated and expensive undertaking where good port facilities do not already exist.

 

I agree that staying longer in some of the more interesting ports would be a great idea and would create a "new kind of cruising" that would draw lots of experienced cruisers. This is an idea that I hope HAL will explore, and offer on at least one itinerary.

[sail7seas]

Everyone wants low, low, low fares but we want cruise lines to invest millions to create infrastructure at new islands so we can cruise to new islands.

 

Who is going to pay for it? :confused:

 

I agree we'd love for new stops in different islands. We'd also enjoy overnighting in some ports. A few we know have fabulous restaurants and it would make special evening for us to dine ashore.

 

We have done to in Aruba, San Juan, Curacao and a few cities in Europe and it always made for a more special visit to those ports.

 

[edmusic]

Sail7seas wrote:

Everyone wants low, low, low fares but we want cruise lines to invest millions to create infrastructure at new islands so we can cruise to new islands. Who is going to pay for it?

I'll tell you who - the merchants and businesses of the islands who would benefit financially from thousands and thousands of tourists with money to spend who would be literally dropped off at their doorsteps almost everyday of the year. The cruise lines shouldn't shoulder the cost of new ports as they are the ones providing customers to the island. It would take a visionary from any island right now which does not cater to cruise lines to put together a business model and get funding from banks to turn their island into an attractive, safe, and fun place to be that cruise passengers would demand to visit. From my recent cruise, I would love to go back to Half Moon Cay and Grand Cayman but would skip Grand Turk altogether.

[CaliforniaAC]

I wrote a post last night, but they were working on the boards- oh well...

 

The basic thing I wanted to say is that when we are visiting islands closer together when the daylight is longer (ie: March & April) that it would be great if we were given one extra hour on our port times. Perhaps 9-10 hours when it doesn't get dark till 8 o'clock. I would probably do more shopping/eating in port if we didn't have to be back on the ship until six or seven. I know that when we are deciding on cruises longer port times is one of the things we take into consideration.

 

I would think the ports would be glad to negotiate one extra hour free in their port hours if it meant extra revenue for the businesses on their island. I think it would also make HAL cruises / cruises during the "soft" months more attractive.

 

That's just my thoughts.:)

[sail7seas]

Sail7seas wrote: I'll tell you who - the merchants and businesses of the islands who would benefit financially from thousands and thousands of tourists with money to spend who would be literally dropped off at their doorsteps almost everyday of the year. The cruise lines shouldn't shoulder the cost of new ports as they are the ones providing customers to the island. It would take a visionary from any island right now which does not cater to cruise lines to put together a business model and get funding from banks to turn their island into an attractive, safe, and fun place to be that cruise passengers would demand to visit. From my recent cruise, I would love to go back to Half Moon Cay and Grand Cayman but would skip Grand Turk altogether.

 

 

Have you walked down Main Street in St. Thomas lately?

You will have noticed how many of those storekeepers are out of business. Tropicana is gone. Longchamps is closed. Jewelry store after jewelry store has sales people leaning their heads on their elbows while they stare into space with empty stores..... who is buying gold jewelry these days??? :eek:

 

We were in Aruba last month and found Ferragamo gone and Louis Vuitton closed..... LV may have only been closed for the day as there were lights on but the door was locked. We were in Gandelman's for about 35 -45 minutes and not one other customer entered.

 

THEY will not be paying for cruise ship infrastructure. IMO

[Tamaracboy]

............

I know it is a big challenge for the cruise lines to find and open new ports. It is a very complicated and expensive undertaking where good port facilities do not already exist.............

 

True for what they have been doing, but:

Virtually every under-developed potential port is already on the coast, they may just be lacking port facilities.

However they certainly already have the capabilities for handling Tenders.

And yes, they do not have a Diamonds International, which is EXACTLY why we want to go there.

And as a bonus for HAL (or any line) Tender Ports either charge very little or no port fees, so this should be important to the "bean counters".

Just imagine if a line chooses to sail to a new & unique port and saves money while doing it.

To me that spells "Full Ship"

 

JMHO,

r.

[G&G]

Though my suggestion includes ports outside the Caribbean here is my two cents.

 

The Regent has a 11 day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale that goes to ports along the East Coast of the US, Bermuda and Nassau. What about 14 day cruises in October & April that departs Ft Lauderdale and stops at Savannah, Charleston, Bermuda and five ports in the Caribbean; Nassau, HMC, Grand Turks, San Juan & St Thomas.

[fann1sh]

Tamaracboy, while my heart thumps a little faster at the thought of a Caribbean port *without* a DI....there's a downside to tendering.

 

Anyone with mobility problems finds it very difficult. For those confined to a wheelchair, it can be impossible.

 

My unwelcome acquaintance with a wheelchair on a cruise 2 years ago has made me a lot more aware of this issue.

 

We loyalists know HAL's cruisers are not as elderly or frail :rolleyes: as newbies think. Still, I'm not sure an itinerary of all tender ports would spell "Full Ship" on HAL.

[peaches from georgia]

Tamaracboy, while my heart thumps a little faster at the thought of a Caribbean port *without* a DI....there's a downside to tendering.

 

Anyone with mobility problems finds it very difficult. For those confined to a wheelchair, it can be impossible.

 

My unwelcome acquaintance with a wheelchair on a cruise 2 years ago has made me a lot more aware of this issue.

 

We loyalists know HAL's cruisers are not as elderly or frail :rolleyes: as newbies think. Still, I'm not sure an itinerary of all tender ports would spell "Full Ship" on HAL.

Though not at all mobility challenged, I hate tendering and do consider the number of tender ports when making a cruise decision. Too often rough weather can cancel a tendering port and at the least make for a very uncomfortable situation.

 

That said, I do like G&G's itinerary suggestion a lot. Savannah, Charleston and Bermuda (2 days in Hamilton!) would be a terrific start to an 11/14 day cruise and would enhance the usual eastern Caribbean ports, which have become totally boring to us, into a cruise we would seriously consider.