Holland America's Explorations Central Will Feature Travel Guides, Discovery Tables a

[visagrunt]

Popular doesn't mean money making. HAL earns vastly more money per square metre on activities than it does on alcohol, and more of that makes it to the bottom line. The more that space can be monetized, the more that fares can be held to attractive levels. Bigger ships are cheaper to operate, offer more activities that can be sold to guests, and can turn a profit at lower capacity on short itineraries. The profit going forward is not going to be found in libraries--they won't disappear altogether, but they're going to look a lot more like Kongingsdam and a lot less like Rotterdam.

 

And yes, shrinking. Cruising is growing--but HAL's traditional market is aging and it needs to be diversified into younger cohorts. If Celebrity gets the largest share of the 40-49 market, then it's going to be more likely to keep them for the next three decades. Look at those brands you list (and you forgot Aida). The only brands that continue to market to an older demographic are Cunard and Seabourn (which is really in a different market segment anyway). And I, for one, am okay with that. A multiplicity of lines gives me a multiplicity of choices, and if HAL no longer suits my tastes, I can move to a line that does.

 

Complaints will certainly have an impact on some changes--slowing some, reversing a few. But the overall brand strategy? That ship has sailed (pun intended). Look for the Nieuw Statendam to further cement that.

[Tampa Girl]

You are right that the bottom line is profit. But you ignore the possibility that this latest "improvement" may not be the moneymaker that HAL hopes. And if it is not popular and drives away business, the Crows Nest might return. The Exc is not generating much enthusiasm, perhaps because most people intensely dislike constant sales pitches. And that is how this is appearing.

[3rdGenCunarder]

You are right that the bottom line is profit. But you ignore the possibility that this latest "improvement" may not be the moneymaker that HAL hopes. And if it is not popular and drives away business, the Crows Nest might return. The Exc is not generating much enthusiasm, perhaps because most people intensely dislike constant sales pitches. And that is how this is appearing.

 

The "improvements" seem designed to get you excited about ports and make you want to buy shore excursions. I check out ship excursions and research the possibilities for independent touring well before I get on the ship, so I doubt I will get much out of this. I think most posters here are unlikely to buy more excursions because of the Exc.

 

However, a surprising number of people don't give a thought to excursions until they board, and then they go to the shorex desk to ask "what tour should I take?" The big question about profit is will this super-duper source of information get these passengers to buy more excursions?

[rkacruiser]

If the "Destination Specialists" turn out to be a new title for "Shore Excursion sales people" and are not really specialists in the sailing region for that cruise, then something has been lost about this concept that sounded promising.

[veryseasonedtraveler]

It looks worse than I envisioned. Where is the library? Where is the bar? Where are the pleasant lounges to just sit and watch the ocean roll by? Nowhere! I simply do not see the attraction of being inundated with "destination" info that I had already studied before stepping foot on the ship. But, that is just my feeling, but one that will determine what cruise line we will sail in the future.

 

 

We cruise to explore the world while communing with the sea. Want to "see the sea" not an excursion desk.

 

Activities like duplicate bridge have disappeared. Most of the activities now offered center on revenue and selling product.

[Tampa Girl]

Does anyone know if any other cruise line has something similar to this projected Explorations project? And, if so, how well is it doing?

[Floridiana]

 

Activities like duplicate bridge have disappeared.

 

Wow! On all HAL ships? On cruises with many sea days?

[veryseasonedtraveler]

Wow! On all HAL ships? On cruises with many sea days?

 

 

The new policy from Seattle is that a cruise must be 31 days in length before they offer a sanctioned director. We were on a transatlantic last fall and a 15 day Hawaii trip this Spring. We had games only because volunteer directors ran the games.

 

We had 11 sea days with three ACBL directors running our 15 table games and the ACBL refused to award points.

 

It is all about the $$$$$.