Interesting ??**ahem** quotes

[CJcruzer]

Called HAL regarding one of their top 10 sailings specials...

 

We are 4 star : the top 10 sales promotion price per person was $749, my mariner pricing was $883 :eek:

 

My son and family sailed with us one time to Bermuda so he is 1* : his mariner pricing is $701 :confused:

 

However, the only advantage to my 4 star mariner pricing is that a 3rd or 4th goes for taxes only.... ( we are looking at 3 children, so one would be travelling in our cabin )

 

I have done all the maths and combos to see about placement, even splitting up couples, so one cabin gets 1* pricing and one cabin gets 4 star pricing.

 

However, barring the extra 3rd's and 4th's - just looking at 1st and 2nd in a room - my son's pricing as a 1* beats the top 10 special, and my mariner 4* pricing.

 

That was an eye opener... I know I have read of these instances where a lower mariner status or no status at all gets a better rate - but come on...my mariner pricing is that much different.

 

And the difference in a higher level cabin was even greater : close to $300 a person! yikes, maybe I should sell my 4 * status on ebay! :D

 

I guess HAL figures the benefits of higher mariner status will come into play once you are onboard, with reductions in wine packages, specialty dining, etc.

[RMLincoln]

Interesting and discouraging. From whom did these quotes come> You say you called HAL.... so was this a HAL PCC? or HAL direct, not their website booking I assume.

 

I think I'd look at a big box TA which I think would undercut all of them. Thanks for posting so others know they may not always be getting the best prices from HAL. m--

[3rdGenCunarder]

I've seen special rates for new past passengers on Cunard. A friend's daughter got a mailing for QM2 with a fantastic rate. She had been on only one Cunard cruise. My friend checked out that cruise, and at the Platinum World Club level, she was "not eligible."

 

I think the cruise lines figure they'e already got those of us with lots of past cruises, and they're trying hard to hook the new passengers.

[cbr663]

OP, I am guessing you realize that those marnier perks are not real perks after all when you pay a higher fare just to board the ship.

 

Contrary to what I am sure many will argue, loyalty is actually rarely rewarded today.

 

Thank-you for sharing your experience. It will change how I book and research future cruises.

[kazu]

I have seen this as well. (A good TA that discounts or gives OBC may help with the issue).

 

But, as of late, I have experienced a significant price difference when I logged in to view certain cruises. Huge differences. Now I don't know if a 1* would get a better rate or not, nor do I know if they are based on region, but there was definitely $1,000's of dollars difference in the pricing on the website versus when I logged in.

 

So, it seems to go both ways and with no rhyme or reason or, at least no rhyme or reason that I can comprehend. It does appear that possibly HAL has brought back the EBS (early bookin savings) at least in the cruises I have looked at.

[BBT]

I wonder if cruise lines are taking pages from the cell phone companies where the new customers are given better phone/plans than long time existing customers.

 

You've sailed 10 times with us so you're likely coming back. Always trying to get future cruisers.

[mame42]

When my TA makes a booking for me, she NEVER gives my Mariner number until after the booking is confirmed, she then dares HAL to raise the price.

[CJcruzer]

I was just doing some investigative groundwork, without bothering my TA yet with the different combos of 2 children one room, one child another, etc etc.

 

my TA is good and will always ask for all possible promos, sell off pricing or mariner pricing. Often a sale promotion comes in better than mariner pricing, most times the group pricing through TA comes in better than mariner pricing, and I do get some "perks" - OBC dinner etc,

 

I was just so surprised and taken aback that the 1* mariner price was better than the last minute selloff(top 10 selloffs good for a few more days) - usually those hit the rock bottom price, but as a 1* my son could do even better? Wowsers.

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Have to do more price referencing then.

[take us away]

Called HAL regarding one of their top 10 sailings specials...

 

We are 4 star : the top 10 sales promotion price per person was $749, my mariner pricing was $883 :eek:

 

My son and family sailed with us one time to Bermuda so he is 1* : his mariner pricing is $701 :confused:

 

However, the only advantage to my 4 star mariner pricing is that a 3rd or 4th goes for taxes only.... ( we are looking at 3 children, so one would be travelling in our cabin )

 

I have done all the maths and combos to see about placement, even splitting up couples, so one cabin gets 1* pricing and one cabin gets 4 star pricing.

 

However, barring the extra 3rd's and 4th's - just looking at 1st and 2nd in a room - my son's pricing as a 1* beats the top 10 special, and my mariner 4* pricing.

 

That was an eye opener... I know I have read of these instances where a lower mariner status or no status at all gets a better rate - but come on...my mariner pricing is that much different.

 

And the difference in a higher level cabin was even greater : close to $300 a person! yikes, maybe I should sell my 4 * status on ebay! :D

 

I guess HAL figures the benefits of higher mariner status will come into play once you are onboard, with reductions in wine packages, specialty dining, etc.

 

Have you considered emailing this information to the Mariner Society and asking for an explanation as I find this appalling, especially as a 5-star mariner??? Then have your TA follow up with HAL. Worst that can happen is nothing, best is you get better rates and best-est is they stop this sort of nonsense. Maybe they think we are a bit dim and would not take the time to do the math.

[kazu]

Have you considered emailing this information to the Mariner Society and asking for an explanation as I find this appalling, especially as a 5-star mariner??? Then have your TA follow up with HAL. Worst that can happen is nothing, best is you get better rates and best-est is they stop this sort of nonsense. Maybe they think we are a bit dim and would not take the time to do the math.

 

A great suggestion. We should all do this when this happens to us.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for sharing your pricing experience with HAL.

 

 

I have read here where this has happened to other people as well.

 

 

Are you going to call back and talk to a different person to see what they quote you?

[CJcruzer]

Thank you for sharing your pricing experience with HAL.

 

 

I have read here where this has happened to other people as well.

 

 

Are you going to call back and talk to a different person to see what they quote you?

 

depending on my son and family's ability to get off last minute and find flights - I may pursue quotes. i was actually "fishing" to see what I could come up with.

[kazu]

HAL performed a confidential internal survey a few years ago, comparing onboard spending habits to Mariner Stars.

 

Bear in mind that mass market cruise lines only make profit from onboard spending, so this is a very important issue for them.

 

Not surprisingly, they discovered that the average onboard spending numbers are inversely proportional to the number of Mariner Stars a passenger has.

To put it more simply, the more stars a passenger has, the less money they spend on a HAL ship.

 

Also bear in mind that the numbers they came up with were averages for many, many thousands of passengers - not YOUR own personal spending habits.

 

The report was a bit of a surprise for everyone. On many HAL cruises, the company budgets ( and hopes ) that the average passenger will spend around $60 per day on the ship. That does tend to be the case for many first time cruisers.

But for 4 star Mariners, the daily spend was something like $7.50 per person per day.

That makes quite a difference to the bottom line - especially on ships that carry a high number of repeaters.

 

HAL likes to claim the highest number of repeaters of any cruise line. It's probably true.

But that high repeater number also guarantees that HAL is the least profitable company in the Carnival Corp Group.

This may have something to do with Mariner cruise pricing.

 

"You can pay me now or you can pay me later".

 

I have heard this before although I was unaware the figure was $7.50 per day and wonder how valid it really is.

 

Was the survey done on one ship and a 7 day Caribbean itinerary?

 

How long ago was it done? Before the new wine policy was implemented?

 

I'm not doubting you but how valid the survey is.

 

The reason I question it is on the longer cruises we have been on many were 3*, 4* and 5* mariners on our roll calls.

 

They were the ones we saw in the Pinnacle Grill, at the wine tastings, at the Master Chef's Table, the Cellar Master Dinners.

 

I know we average more than $60 per day on our cruises. Personally, we don't do many HAL shore excursions, but we participate in a LOT of surcharge events, order HAL's wine and drinks, etc. But I do know a number of 3, 4 or 5* that only do HAL tours, so I am at a loss how it would only be $7.50 per day, at least on the cruises we have been on.

[kazu]

The survey was about 4 or 5 years ago. I was told it was fleetwide, covering a wide range of itineraries, over a sustained time period.

 

Note that this was an average of many thousands of cruisers. Your own personal habits - and those of your friends -would doubtless have very little effect on those averages.

 

I will contact my friends at HAL to see if they can give me more detailed information.

Thanks :)

 

If it was that long ago, it was before the wine policy changed. Back then people could bring all the wine they wanted onboard and sadly, some people "cheated".

 

With the new wine policy alone, I would suspect that the average daily spending is up.

 

The demographics may have changed as well since 4 or 5 years ago, some current Mariners would not have had the * status they do now.

 

While I agree that my personal habits may not reflect the average, I would think that the roll call should be somewhat representative of those on the cruise itself. Our roll calls on those cruises were quite large.

[jhannah]

When my TA makes a booking for me, she NEVER gives my Mariner number until after the booking is confirmed...

That's a great idea! Thanks.

 

It's always ruffled my feathers a bit when I see phone companies, cable companies, and whatever give new customers better pricing than those of us who have paid them for years. Loyalty, schmoalty.

[mame42]

Thanks :)

 

If it was that long ago, it was before the wine policy changed. Back then people could bring all the wine they wanted onboard and sadly, some people "cheated".

 

With the new wine policy alone, I would suspect that the average daily spending is up.

 

The demographics may have changed as well since 4 or 5 years ago, some current Mariners would not have had the * status they do now.

 

While I agree that my personal habits may not reflect the average, I would think that the roll call should be somewhat representative of those on the cruise itself. Our roll calls on those cruises were quite large.

 

I have vivid memories of a Black Sea cruise on the Westerdam (with a high percentage of 4 &5 stars aboard) of the Cellar Master telling us at a wine tasting that 1900 pax were aboard, and we were consuming 2100 bottles of wine DAILY, not counting those used in cooking.

[3rdGenCunarder]

HAL performed a confidential internal survey a few years ago, comparing onboard spending habits to Mariner Stars.

 

Bear in mind that mass market cruise lines only make profit from onboard spending, so this is a very important issue for them.

 

Not surprisingly, they discovered that the average onboard spending numbers are inversely proportional to the number of Mariner Stars a passenger has.

To put it more simply, the more stars a passenger has, the less money they spend on a HAL ship.

 

Also bear in mind that the numbers they came up with were averages for many, many thousands of passengers - not YOUR own personal spending habits.

 

The report was a bit of a surprise for everyone. On many HAL cruises, the company budgets ( and hopes ) that the average passenger will spend around $60 per day on the ship. That does tend to be the case for many first time cruisers.

But for 4 star Mariners, the daily spend was something like $7.50 per person per day.

That makes quite a difference to the bottom line - especially on ships that carry a high number of repeaters.

 

HAL likes to claim the highest number of repeaters of any cruise line. It's probably true.

But that high repeater number also guarantees that HAL is the least profitable company in the Carnival Corp Group.

This may have something to do with Mariner cruise pricing.

 

"You can pay me now or you can pay me later".

 

I wonder if that survey was strictly ON BOARD spending. We are long-time cruisers. Our family isn't into souvenirs any more. We don't need more t-shirts, and we have lots of photos of ourselves. We do book a lot of HAL tours, but I do that in advance in case they sell out. So while I'm spending a fair amount of money above my fare, I'm doing most of it in advance, not on board.

[Tinknock50]

What I an seeing a lot of is "deals" that aren't really deals at all. If you really dig with a TA to get the best rates possible, you generally pay for the perks you think you are getting for free. Now, I know people who have figured the dollar value of their perks and saw that they equal what they would have spent on those anyway. I just don't don't think people are researching the best rates as much as they should and are dazzled by the promotions.

 

Afterall, you see less and less well advertised low fares now....just things like on board credits, etc.to lure you to book.

[kazu]

I wonder if that survey was strictly ON BOARD spending. We are long-time cruisers. Our family isn't into souvenirs any more. We don't need more t-shirts, and we have lots of photos of ourselves. We do book a lot of HAL tours, but I do that in advance in case they sell out. So while I'm spending a fair amount of money above my fare, I'm doing most of it in advance, not on board.

 

That's an interesting point. We pre-purchase anything we can to reserve our spots and to help with the foreign exchange and sticker shock at the end of the cruise ;)

[Hlitner]

Over the years there have been numerous posts (with examples) of HAL giving the best prices (and even upsells/upgrades) to new cruisers or 1 Star folks. One of our favorite cruise agents has also told us that her agency has found this very true. There are times when 4 and 5 Star Mariners actually get the worst deals. When we price-out a HAL cruise we always check the price by logging-in as a "Guest" with no Mariner's number...and then trying to same cruise/category after logging in with our Mariners number. Sometimes (not always) there are significant differences with the "Guest/no Mariners number" getting the best rate. Whether this is simply a software/programming error or intentional...is open to debate. But for those of us who do their own pricing research....it can often pay (with lots of dollars) to check pricing with and without Mariners numbers.

 

If you do book without using your Mariner's Number, it is a relatively simple matter to later add it to the reservation (which will not change the price).

 

Hank