Seems there are a number of HAL CC'ers who are looking elsewhere.......

[sail7seas]

I admit I have not particularly noticed specific names but it seems to me I've read a number of posts of people who are saying they are looking at more deluxe cruise lines. There seems to be a large enough number of people saying it that it has caught my attention.

 

If, indeed, my observation is accurate, HAL CC'ers really are putting their money where their mouth is. Many have said for several years now they would rather pay more and get more than continue to accept the many cuts we've seen.

 

Anyone else notice lots of comments of this sort?

[MrOZ]

I was one of them; our next cruise is on Oceania. I'm not exactly one of the regulars here, so perhaps it is part of a bigger trend.

[Hflors]

I don't know about anyone else, but (we aren't looking for luxury line) but booked our next cruise with Princess. The rate was just so much better. And after our last HAL cruise on zuiderdam. DH and I both agreed that we needed to look elsewhere.

 

Where we really noticed cut backs was in the food. There were honestly some nights that DH (who never complains about eating) couldn't find any in the dining room that was good! And thats saying a lot.

[TiogaCruiser]

We'll, this board has slowed down tremendously, probably about 6 months ago and some more about 2 months ago. At least it seems so to me.

[cruz chic]

I haven't really noticed much of that at all, certainly not with posters I'm familiar with. It's good to try other lines.

[POA1]

We'll, this board has slowed down tremendously, probably about 6 months ago and some more about 2 months ago. At least it seems so to me.

 

There's a definite ebb & flow, but it looks to correspond more with Caribbean high season than anything else. It looks to be occurring across almost all of the boards. The lines with a younger clientele seem to drop off less, but that's probably because they're busy during summer vacations.

[taxmantoo]

Not going "more deluxe" but definitely "going elsewhere" ... just check signature. But we will be back!

Edited July 3, 2014 by taxmantoo

[navybankerteacher]

I think a lot of "regulars" are thinking of other options. While I prefer HAL for a number of reasons! I am more and more inclined to look elsewhere - itinerary and pricing have always been considerations; but more recently some of HAL's cuts in quality, and their reluctance to apply stricter smoking rules have eroded my strong preference: the more they "evolve", the more their customer base my similarly "evolve".

[arzz]

As for a slow down on posting on these boards ... Could HAL's facebook presence be making a difference here?

 

As to going to other lines -- in the past few years we tried one Oceania cruise - and one Seabourn. And yes, I have noticed several posters claiming to go elsewhere. I, too, would be willing to pay a little more to get a little more - but then I do when we sail a Grand cruise. The ships, the staff, and the atmosphere on a Grand cruise is different but even on the Grands there have been cutbacks.

 

We still are cruising HAL.

 

Oceania was an experience I would be willing to repeat but 1) we do not care for the old R ships so if we did repeat we would prefer one of the newer ships and 2) we found Oceania's food inconsistent and the dining room service was also inconsistent (at least on the one cruise we were on) - not a big enough difference to justify the added expense.

 

Seabourn was not a terrible experience but we did not feel comfortable on board. We found, for instance, the dining room pretentious -- servers who take your arm to escort you in, all soups served "deconstructed" -- the food, however, was usually exceptional - when I nicely questioned an item I was served one morning I was told I was wrong (yes - I was told that) (I had requested ham and I was served corned beef or some other garlic flavored meat - they insisted that was their breakfast ham) and when I did wish to make a special request one night at dinner I was ignored. For the record these were the only two times I wasn't all smiles and happy in the dining room so it was not like they were responding to a difficult passenger. Other crew on board were just super -- my discomfort was in the dining room.

 

We prefer to go one way or - better - round trip U.S. -- no one really does that besides HAL. We hate long flights across the ocean - DH has a history of a pulmonary embolism so we really need to go business or better on long flights - either a lot of airline miles or a lot of cash needed - versus several comfortable days on a ship. Give me a transoceanic voyage on a ship any day!

 

All things considered - yes there have been cut backs and changes - but HAL still has a wonderful product. Maybe we have been fortunate to never have had a bad cruise. We feel like we are coming home when we board and unpack on an HAL ship.

 

Last December we tried a seven day Caribbean on the Eurodam. - it was the only ship that fit our schedules - I was very skeptical due to its size - yet we had a superb experience (still too large a ship for my taste) and it was quite a surprise.

 

As you can see from my signature we are still with HAL.

Edited July 3, 2014 by arzz

[kazu]

We are doing it because HAL changed ships and itinerary

 

So, it made us look

 

When you cross the Atlantic the ship becomes the focal point at that stage.

 

Prinsendam yes, Ryndam farewell yes - but a vista ship? Not.

 

Especially with the itinerary change

 

Just what felt right.

 

It's just a cruise. :)

[PathfinderEss]

I admit I have not particularly noticed specific names but it seems to me I've read a number of posts of people who are saying they are looking at more deluxe cruise lines. There seems to be a large enough number of people saying it that it has caught my attention.

 

If, indeed, my observation is accurate, HAL CC'ers really are putting their money where their mouth is. Many have said for several years now they would rather pay more and get more than continue to accept the many cuts we've seen.

 

Anyone else notice lots of comments of this sort?

You all need to go read other boards for awhile. Their all complaining about cut backs. We went out and then came back!:)

[cruisetrail]

I admit I have not particularly noticed specific names but it seems to me I've read a number of posts of people who are saying they are looking at more deluxe cruise lines. There seems to be a large enough number of people saying it that it has caught my attention.

 

If, indeed, my observation is accurate, HAL CC'ers really are putting their money where their mouth is. Many have said for several years now they would rather pay more and get more than continue to accept the many cuts we've seen.

 

Anyone else notice lots of comments of this sort?

 

I can speak for myself (and my party).

What is luxury at sea - for me it's not a question anymore.

But we cannot cruise on these two ships all the time.

We cruise on all cruise lines - not looking for luxury.

It happens for various reasons: geography, prices, vacation time...

[cruz chic]

As for a slow down on posting on these boards ... Could HAL's facebook presence be making a difference here?

 

As to going to other lines -- in the past few years we tried one Oceania cruise - and one Seabourn. And yes, I have noticed several posters claiming to go elsewhere. I, too, would be willing to pay a little more to get a little more - but then I do when we sail a Grand cruise. The ships, the staff, and the atmosphere on a Grand cruise is different but even on the Grands there have been cutbacks.

 

We still are cruising HAL.

 

Oceania was an experience I would be willing to repeat but 1) we do not care for the old R ships so if we did repeat we would prefer one of the newer ships and 2) we found Oceania's food inconsistent and the dining room service was also inconsistent (at least on the one cruise we were on) - not a big enough difference to justify the added expense.

 

Seabourn was not a terrible experience but we did not feel comfortable on board. We found, for instance, the dining room pretentious -- servers who take your arm to escort you in, all soups served "deconstructed" -- the food, however, was usually exceptional - when I nicely questioned an item I was served one morning I was told I was wrong (yes - I was told that) (I had requested ham and I was served corned beef or some other garlic flavored meat - they insisted that was their breakfast ham) and when I did wish to make a special request one night at dinner I was ignored. For the record these were the only two times I wasn't all smiles and happy in the dining room so it was not like they were responding to a difficult passenger. Other crew on board were just super -- my discomfort was in the dining room.

 

We prefer to go one way or - better - round trip U.S. -- no one really does that besides HAL. We hate long flights across the ocean - DH has a history of a pulmonary embolism so we really need to go business or better on long flights - either a lot of airline miles or a lot of cash needed - versus several comfortable days on a ship. Give me a transoceanic voyage on a ship any day!

 

All things considered - yes there have been cut backs and changes - but HAL still has a wonderful product. Maybe we have been fortunate to never have had a bad cruise. We feel like we are coming home when we board and unpack on an HAL ship.

 

Last December we tried a seven day Caribbean on the Eurodam. - it was the only ship that fit our schedules - I was very skeptical due to its size - yet we had a superb experience (still too large a ship for my taste) and it was quite a surprise.

 

As you can see from my signature we are still with HAL.

 

Interesting reading. Thx for your comments. I dont think id like seabourn at all.

[Stakeout]

sure, we noticed the cutbacks over the years ... but we are sticking with HAL and still sailing on the smaller ships--especially on the Maasdam that we'll be going on again this October for 42 days to Europe--our 4th year in a row on that same cruise... we just did a couple of 14 day cruises on her in March to the Caribbean and in May to New England/Canada

 

sad to see the Statendam leaving the fleet ..hopefully will get to sail on her one more time next winter back thru the Canal and on to Hawaii-Tahiti if our plans work out.. it was a great cruise that we did on her early last year to the South Pacific--56 days

[innlady1]

An interesting read. If HAL is doing badly, I don't see it with our TA cruise this fall.

 

Last year on our Nieuw Amsterdam 21 day cruise in the Med and then westbound TA, the prices dropped considerably.

 

Shockingly, today I received an increase alert from **********...our VB on the stern ...on our Noordam TA in October....went up $320! Tells me the cruise is selling really really well.

 

Received a similar increase alert for the NA Med/TA cruise I was watching, as well.

[Hlitner]

An interesting read. If HAL is doing badly, I don't see it with our TA cruise this fall.

 

Last year on our Nieuw Amsterdam 21 day cruise in the Med and then westbound TA, the prices dropped considerably.

 

Shockingly, today I received an increase alert from **********...our VB on the stern ...on our Noordam TA in October....went up $320! Tells me the cruise is selling really really well.

 

Received a similar increase alert for the NA Med/TA cruise I was watching, as well.

 

Interesting. We recently made our final payment for an upcoming Oosterdam cruise for which we are paying less then $12,000 (after adjusting for OBCs). We first booked this cruise about 7 months ago for about $23,000 and have had 3 major price reductions, the most recent coming a couple of weeks before final payment. Over the years we have seen many price cuts from multiple cruise lines (we have cruised on 14 lines) but never anything quite like this cruise. HAL is certainly not doing that kind of cut because business is good.

 

Hank

[POA1]

Our cabins for later this year are up around $600 per person for DW & me, and $400 for DFIL ($200 increase x 2.) The cruise is between Thanksgiving & Christmas which is usually pretty slow.

[Vineyard View]

We are sailing the Ryndam 21 days this October - we are sailing the new Ciking Star next May - higher pricing for sure but all inclusive, and priced lower than other all inclusive lines -touting 5 star - we experienced a river cruise with Viking last year and loved it. Will be interesting to experience the two......

[sail7seas]

Very interesting comments.

I'm glad I asked. :)

 

[AlohaPride]

For our family, we are very excited to do our next 14 day on HAL. I've always wanted to go on the flagship, and know we will have a wonderful time. The price for our next cruise has not budged, and has gone up quite a bit, since we booked last August.

 

We tend to cruise every 3 years. It's been 5 since our last cruise simply because we were waiting for the girls to get out of diapers. LOL That said, our girls will not be old enough for their own room by our next cruise (they will only be 9, 8 and 6). So, we have to book with a line that has cabins for 5. That is the main reason we will be sailing Disney next. We also know that the girls will be interested in Disney around that time, and figured we'd get at least 1 cruise on that line. I doubt we'll return after that 1 because I'm not a huge fan of Disney, I don't care for many of their itineraries, and my DH and I are pretty low key people. The size of their ships also makes me nervous.

 

From then on out, we'll probably check with HAL to see what they have to offer, but we are no longer the HAL Loyalists we were. I didn't even LOOK at other lines when researching Alaska. Since then I've come to realize that there are a lot of fish in this sea. Now we are willing to go with whichever company has the best itinerary, are family friendly, and most cost effective.

[Loreto]

Our upcoming Incan Empires cruise round trip from San Diego was too good to pass up....no airfare.....yea! Three of the ports we have visited before, and are excited to be going back to South America.

 

We are happy with HAL....I guess we are easy to please.:D

 

Karen

[sppunk]

For us it has little to do with HAL itself. Our first HAL cruise was in 2008, since then we have 60+ days onboard.

 

We are looking at Crystal and Oceania because we will be cruising less frequently and seeking more refined onboard experiences. Another reason is HAL suites are quite expensive and offer few perks in our opinion. We can sail a more luxurious line for less actually, and since room size doesn't make a huge deal for us it makes sense.

 

I always think it's good to try other experiences. We used to sail all lines (except NCL) but have fallen out of favor with them all for differing reasons.

 

Cruising also is just not something we care to do for most trips now. Alaska and Antarctica will be the only cruises we'll take probably after our Norway trip this September.

[Linda&Vern]

I admit I have not particularly noticed specific names but it seems to me I've read a number of posts of people who are saying they are looking at more deluxe cruise lines. There seems to be a large enough number of people saying it that it has caught my attention.

 

If, indeed, my observation is accurate, HAL CC'ers really are putting their money where their mouth is. Many have said for several years now they would rather pay more and get more than continue to accept the many cuts we've seen.

 

Anyone else notice lots of comments of this sort?

Sail - I think you are correct. I too have noticed many more people recently saying they are looking to go more "upscale." I have to say though, I've also read of several saying they were going to try Princess or Celebrity for a cruising change. So far, we are still happy with HAL and have no reason to look further. I've committed to spending 17 days on the Veendam in October. :rolleyes:I'm really hoping I'm still a happy HAL camper after that trip.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

As much as we loved HAL at one time both Tom and I no longer feel HAL is best suited for us. I blame HAL for the changes they have made in many areas and not having a Vista Class ship on the West Coast for Fall and Winters sailings, this caused us to start looking else where. My last cruise was NCL where there was not one thing we did not like and my next cruise will be NCL again same ship just different embarkation/debarkation port. We are planning to do an Alaska cruise on the Volendam next May but that is more in being able to see a good friend on board than returning to HAL. Suite Life on NCL and the Free Style cruising just fits more into what we are looking for in a vacation. We actually love their food and the carious restaurant choices and the entertainment far exceeds HAL. The NCL Jewel which was our last NCL ship and the next cruise will start to home port in Late September 2015 in Los Angeles and will be there for at least 2 to 3 seasons doing Mexico 7 night cruises. We have joked that she is our new Oosterdam and our aft Suite 10666 is our old Corner aft 5191. When the time comes that HAL decides to place Vista Class ships in areas where I want to cruise or vary the itnerary in the Caribbean we may return but for now NCL is our cruise line of choice :o

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I don't know about anyone else, but (we aren't looking for luxury line) but booked our next cruise with Princess. The rate was just so much better. And after our last HAL cruise on zuiderdam. DH and I both agreed that we needed to look elsewhere.

 

Where we really noticed cut backs was in the food. There were honestly some nights that DH (who never complains about eating) couldn't find any in the dining room that was good! And thats saying a lot.

 

They are saying the same thing about food cutbacks on Princess, too.

 

I am also trying Princess for the first time this fall. I would have preferred HAL, but Princess offered a better fit of schedule and itinerary for me. I plan to return to HAL one day though, with the understanding that cutbacks have been made.

 

I have no plans to move to the luxury lines at this point. I would rather travel more often on a mainstream line, unless they all move to "monster" ships. At that point, I would have to reconsider.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Ryndam2002