What do we want in itineraries?

[Pettifogger]

I've long wished I could chose the cruise itineraries for Holland America. I really thought that, given the chance, I could increase bookings considerably.

 

Fortunately, I never told anyone, because the September 16, 2013 Prinsendam cruise is almost exactly what I would have chosen; including among other Mediterranean ports, Sete, Toulon, LaSpezia, Igoumenitsa, Argostoli, Iraklion, and Hydra, all new ports for many of us, and yet Holland America seems to be having difficulty filling the cabins.

 

Of course, transatlantic air fares are a deterrent, but, as far as I can tell, the Prinsendam cruises before and after the one on September 16 are filling up properly. I can only suppose that either many of us just want to go to the same old places over and over or the passenger population is turning over so fast that all the old ports are new ports to them.

 

I would have thought that this cruise was ideal for those who like small ships in the Mediterranean, which I assumed was a lot of us. If I had been involved in the decision to offer it, today I'd be banging my head against the wall and saying, "What more can they want; what more could we possibly do for them?"

[Krazy Kruizers]

We can no longer travel to Europe due to health issues.

But for the last several years HAL has offered the same Caribbean cruises on the same ships -- nothing has changed.

They have gotten boring.

HAL has dropped so many wonderful itineraries.

We used to love to do the Pan American itineraries round trip out of San Diego.

[OlsSalt]

More small ships going into small ports, and avoiding all the behemoths and canned tourist stops.

[Jade13]

We would like to see a shorter Amazon itinerary because we can not do a 26 night cruise. HAL does not sell half of the Prinsendam Amazon itinerary, I assume because they are not having troubling filling the 24-26 night cruise.

[kazu]

don't assume this cruise is not selling well. I found a lot of people on this ship tend to book guarantees (no idea why, but they do). Case in point - our last cruise looked like there were tons of cabins - and then voila! it was sold out and they started the upsells and the upgrades and the assignments. I suspect they just need to get a few cabins sold - but I could be wrong.

 

It is a nice itinerary. I like next year's better;)

[Pettifogger]

I wasn't counting the empty cabins; I was watching the price reductions.

[OlsSalt]

We are on that exact same Prinsendam cruise and looking forward to its unique collection of small port stops.

 

The only airfare problem we found was there was only one midday flight out of Athens to get us out on the same day via Munich on Lufthansa. All the rest were too early in the morning before the ship arrived which required an additional overnight stay.

 

Maybe that little glitch discouraged some people?

[Sunriseatsea]

We no longer care to fly, so our ideal itineraries originate and end someplace in the continental USA. I agree that after awhile the same old Carib. and Medit. ports have lost their appeal. Look forward to Cuba someday perhaps in conjunction with an Amazon route.