New HAL Website?

[Sequim88]

Did Holland America just change their web site? Would make sense with the relatively new month to be a 9/1 roll out. Up until now when I clicked on "On Board" I got a list of ships and option to view deck plans. Not it goes to a screen full of pretty picture links to topics (Dining, Entertainment, Our Midsize Ships, etc...) and when I click on ships another page of pictures for each ship. Looks nice but the navigation is a few clicks more to get to deck plans. Also on the Dining page clicking on a venue does not produce a page for it (with list of ships that have it). Maybe the site is a work in progress.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Yes, this is brand new. When you click on one of the top line of categories, the page you go to is new (except for plan, that looks the same). I don't care for the size of the label over each picture. Makes the layout look clunky to me. If you click on one of the labels, the next pages seem to be as they were before.

[blizzardboy]

Did Holland America just change their web site? Would make sense with the relatively new month to be a 9/1 roll out. Up until now when I clicked on "On Board" I got a list of ships and option to view deck plans. Not it goes to a screen full of pretty picture links to topics (Dining, Entertainment, Our Midsize Ships, etc...) and when I click on ships another page of pictures for each ship. Looks nice but the navigation is a few clicks more to get to deck plans. Also on the Dining page clicking on a venue does not produce a page for it (with list of ships that have it). Maybe the site is a work in progress.

Yes they changed it. I agree that the old site was more efficient in your example, but IT has to justify their existence. Some changes are for the better, but I'm having problems with pages not filling when using Chrome that never occurred before they started changing things. When I asked one of the HAL IT people about this, he said the site was "maximized for Internet Explorer". Approx ten times more people are now using Chrome than IE, over 70% vs 6 or 7%, so why would an IT dept do something that stupid?

Edited September 2, 2016 by blizzardboy

[3rdGenCunarder]

Yes they changed it. I agree that the old site was more efficient in your example, but IT has to justify their existence. Some changes are for the better, but I'm having problems with pages not filling when using Chrome that never occurred before they started changing things. When I asked one of the HAL IT people about this, he said the site was "maximized for Internet Explorer". Approx ten times more people are now using Chrome than IE, over 70% vs 6 or 7%, so why would an IT dept do something that stupid?

 

Maybe IE is what Mr. Ashford uses? :D

[Sequim88]

but IT has to justify their existence.

After 42 years in IT I've never had to justify the existence of IT services. The case is pretty self-evident in the millions of dollars on the bottom line from projects that reduced errors or increased sales.

 

Marketing on the other hand has a little more to prove (and a harder time of it). Having done the development of many web sites I've gotten to work with a lot of marketing people and sometimes they made changes just for the sake of change to "keep things fresh" and "the old site looks tired and dated".

 

As far as a HAL Internet Explorer bias... just what you would expect in Microsoft's backyard. :rolleyes: Way too many ex-MS developers around Seattle.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Sequim88

[RetiredNow]

Good response, Sequim88. In my work experience, IT never had to justify anything, never had enough budget, and never had enough people. That is the one department over the last 40 years that has pushed/pulled most companies forward! So thank you. I may be one of the 7%, but I still prefer Internet Explorer over Chrome.

[blizzardboy]

After 42 years in IT I've never had to justify the existence of IT services. The case is pretty self-evident in the millions of dollars on the bottom line from projects that reduced errors or increased sales.

 

As far as a HAL Internet Explorer bias... just what you would expect in Microsoft's backyard. :rolleyes: Way too many ex-MS developers around Seattle.

I knew what I said would get under someone's skin. Our auto dealership was an ADP flagship store. They brought in their latest and greatest software packages for us to use and help them de-bug. Too many times I saw change for change sake, hence my "IT justifying their existence" remark. There were multiple occasions when I had to have them "dumb" things down as they had added unnecessary bells and whistles making things too cumbersome for our employees to use. I was trained as an engineer, and though never a programmer, I can put together a mean flow chart. Leaner is meaner once in a while.

It was as though you read my mind on your MS developers in Seattle remark.

Edited September 2, 2016 by blizzardboy

[alwaysfrantic]

It is the same as before for me.

[dakrewser]

I knew what I said would get under someone's skin. Our auto dealership was an ADP flagship store. They brought in their latest and greatest software packages for us to use and help them de-bug. Too many times I saw change for change sake, hence my "IT justifying their existence" remark. There were multiple occasions when I had to have them "dumb" things down as they had added unnecessary bells and whistles making things too cumbersome for our employees to use. I was trained as an engineer, and though never a programmer, I can put together a mean flow chart. Leaner is meaner once in a while.

It was as though you read my mind on your MS developers in Seattle remark.

 

 

And, as someone else pointed out, IT doesn't design these things - they're presented with a spec and have to produce it, whether or not they think it's a good idea.

[fann1sh]

Good response, Sequim88. In my work experience, IT never had to justify anything, never had enough budget, and never had enough people. That is the one department over the last 40 years that has pushed/pulled most companies forward! So thank you. I may be one of the 7%, but I still prefer Internet Explorer over Chrome.

 

....and I'm still a Firefox loyalist. :cool:

 

Had no issues with the new site....yet. The month is young.

[Davitur]

...Marketing on the other hand has a little more to prove (and a harder time of it). Having done the development of many web sites I've gotten to work with a lot of marketing people and sometimes they made changes just for the sake of change to "keep things fresh" and "the old site looks tired and dated".

 

As far as a HAL Internet Explorer bias... just what you would expect in Microsoft's backyard. :rolleyes: Way too many ex-MS developers around Seattle.

 

There are multiple reasons why they might be biased towards MS products & platforms, but even Microsoft has discontinued IE and is moving towards Edge. As the site matures, you will see more compatibility with other mainstream browsers...especially if they are truly going to a mobile presence (see below).

 

I think more are what we are witnessing is the blending of a "mobile" and "desktop" website experience. [Think Microsoft "Metro" tiled interface launched (and failed) with Windows 8.0] Marketing is telling headquarters that everything needs to be mobile now - that Millennials do more with their phones than with regular computers. If you want to capture that segment, you have to "be mobile". (They have been beating this drum at my employer for the last 5 years)

 

HAL is trying to redefine itself (e.g. Pinnacle Class 1 & 2), as well as trying to skew younger in its overall demographic (but still keep its refined roots). Millennials are always connected and want Internet everywhere. Thats why Seattle experimented with a new internet provider service for the World Cruise (unfortunately that failed miserably). They want those 30 something successful people who live on their phone, but want something better quality than a "fun-ship" cruise.

 

People who have a good experience with HAL typically come back. If you can hook a 30 something on cruising your line - you can have a customer for the next 40+ years (it may not be an "exclusive" relationship, but hey they are Millennials).

 

Anyways, just my $0.02...

 

Dave

[3rdGenCunarder]

There are multiple reasons why they might be biased towards MS products & platforms, but even Microsoft has discontinued IE and is moving towards Edge. As the site matures, you will see more compatibility with other mainstream browsers...especially if they are truly going to a mobile presence (see below).

 

I think more are what we are witnessing is the blending of a "mobile" and "desktop" website experience. [Think Microsoft "Metro" tiled interface launched (and failed) with Windows 8.0] Marketing is telling headquarters that everything needs to be mobile now - that Millennials do more with their phones than with regular computers. If you want to capture that segment, you have to "be mobile". (They have been beating this drum at my employer for the last 5 years)

 

HAL is trying to redefine itself (e.g. Pinnacle Class 1 & 2), as well as trying to skew younger in its overall demographic (but still keep its refined roots). Millennials are always connected and want Internet everywhere. Thats why Seattle experimented with a new internet provider service for the World Cruise (unfortunately that failed miserably). They want those 30 something successful people who live on their phone, but want something better quality than a "fun-ship" cruise.

 

People who have a good experience with HAL typically come back. If you can hook a 30 something on cruising your line - you can have a customer for the next 40+ years (it may not be an "exclusive" relationship, but hey they are Millennials).

 

Anyways, just my $0.02...

 

Dave

 

I used IE forever, but my new Win10 computer has Edge, which I don't like (slow!). I've been using Firefox.

 

Interesting thoughts on making sites work on mobile devices. I'll have to try the new site on my laptop, which has a touch screen. Maybe those big pictures with the oversized labels are touch points?

[take us away]

They just loaded the excursions for an upcoming cruise and it is different with big pictures (do I really care about a captain's cap for the car rental - NO). It started with 'recommended' excursions and unless you notice a small line to click to load ALL excursions, you will miss additional options. The excursions were also separated into sections, which did make sense, but the rental vehicles were up front so you had to scroll thru lots of these at each port to see what was available.

 

Cannot see how the new design will help with mobile devices as it does seem to slow down my main computer a bit so cannot imagine what happens with a phone......

[take us away]

So thank you. I may be one of the 7%, but I still prefer Internet Explorer over Chrome.

 

Me too and I still use it most frequently!

[blizzardboy]

And, as someone else pointed out, IT doesn't design these things - they're presented with a spec and have to produce it, whether or not they think it's a good idea.

 

It's producing something that doesn't work properly that miffs me. Hometown Seattle loyalties aside, ignoring browser usage stats when you choose to "maximize" your site for IE seems pretty stupid to me.

[3rdGenCunarder]

They just loaded the excursions for an upcoming cruise and it is different with big pictures (do I really care about a captain's cap for the car rental - NO). It started with 'recommended' excursions and unless you notice a small line to click to load ALL excursions, you will miss additional options. The excursions were also separated into sections, which did make sense, but the rental vehicles were up front so you had to scroll thru lots of these at each port to see what was available.

 

Cannot see how the new design will help with mobile devices as it does seem to slow down my main computer a bit so cannot imagine what happens with a phone......

 

(bold is mine) That's been going on for a while now. I want to see all the options, not just the ones they seem to think I'll like. It's part of their desire to customize the "web experience." You can select categories that appeal to you--like do you prefer art or history or active excursions--and it will tell you which tours you want. Or which tours the algorithm thinks you want. It's more of the "it's all about YOU" approach to marketing.

 

And yes, the stock photos do look odd when other tours have specific photos.

[OlsSalt]

New shore excursion format:

 

I finally found a link on the upper left hand side that says something ike "a custom file for your cruise" (???) which has all of the shore excursions for each port in a single easier to read format -a link to a "file" which is a lot easier to scan than this new, highly cumbersome way of presenting this same information.

[kazu]

They just loaded the excursions for an upcoming cruise and it is different with big pictures (do I really care about a captain's cap for the car rental - NO). It started with 'recommended' excursions and unless you notice a small line to click to load ALL excursions, you will miss additional options. The excursions were also separated into sections, which did make sense, but the rental vehicles were up front so you had to scroll thru lots of these at each port to see what was available.

 

Cannot see how the new design will help with mobile devices as it does seem to slow down my main computer a bit so cannot imagine what happens with a phone......

 

If you have ibooks, you have the option to load it and it appears in the standard, easy to read format :)

[BlancaPan]

If you have ibooks, you have the option to load it and it appears in the standard, easy to read format :)

 

Agreed. If you don't have iBooks you can also save it as a PDF if you have a PDF reader app on you mobile device or as a PDF on your computer desktop. It is a much better way to read and compare the excursion options.

[take us away]

Agreed. If you don't have iBooks you can also save it as a PDF if you have a PDF reader app on you mobile device or as a PDF on your computer desktop. It is a much better way to read and compare the excursion options.

 

Agree as like the PDF's but have had issues getting this to open. It is a long cruise with lots of ports and even HAL is also having issues getting the Shore Ex booklet to open in their systems. They are graciously emailing me PDF's when they finally can get their system to open this.

[Krazy Kruizers]

My laptop is an old one with Windows 7 on it. No problems with HAL's site using IE.

Desk top computer has Windows 10 -- have to use Chrome.

iPad -- Apple -- has Safari -- haven't checked out HAL's site on it yet.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Maybe they are still working on it?

[marti2282]

Deleted

Edited September 4, 2016 by marti2282

[mame42]

Ever since I upgraded to Windows 10, I could not access HAL website on Windows Edge, but had no problems with Chrome. This morning I get blank pages on Chrome and gobbledygook on Edge. Where do I go now???

[boards]

When I call up for price of a particular cabin and price it comes in a language I don't understand.

Edited September 4, 2016 by boards