Who is HAL's new breed of customers?

[ExpatBride]

I describe them okay, satisfying, occasionally innovative, also occasionally awkward but enough variety that one can pick and choose.

 

Not if you're a vegetarian. HAL is pretty good in this regard, but for some reason it doesn't extend to hors d'oeurves.

[navybankerteacher]

With all the self-proclaimed gourmets putting down MDR offerings on this and other lines' threads, I have to wonder just who it is who keeps Olive Garden, Applebees, Cheesecake Factory, Outback, Chili's, P.F. Chang's, Carrabba's, Longhorn, etc. in business. And this isn't digging down to Red Robin, Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Wendy's, McDonalds or Burger King.

[iancal]

I am not putting down the MDR's offerings. MDR is mediocre banquet style food tarted up a little to make the plates look better. Not saying that it is bad, just that it is hardly gourmet. And more often than not lately hot MDR food is served lukeworm.

 

I actually put it in the same category as some of the chains mentioned above. Mass produced, focus on cost of ingredients, and prepared in a way to satisfy but non wow a wide variety of tastes. In a more attractive dining environment with better place settings but the product itself is nothing special. The ambiance would have a much higher rating than the food itself.

 

Not really putting it down, just not prepared to 'gild the lilly' or exercise a high degree of poetic license. So to me mediocre does not mean poor. It means very run of the mill. Nothing special. And especially not on so called formal or gala evenings.

[bay guy]

The unfortunate reality is that anyone who expects gourmet quality meals in the MDR of any of the mass market cruise lines is going to be disappointed. Now if you're on a Crystal or Silverseas ship, I would expect nothing less than gourmet because you sure paying those types of prices.

My DW and I have been cruising since 1979 when we were on RCI's Song of Norway. Service then was excellent with basically 3 service staff taking care of 4 or 5 tables and almost everything could essentially be cooked to order and there were only a few hundred passengers on the ship.

Also, when you look at the price of a cruise in 1979 and what it is now, prices have essentially remained stagnant because there are so many more berths to fill now. As a result, the lines have to cut back somewhere and, unfortunately, food is going to be one of those areas.

When you look at a comparison of what it would cost to travel to the same islands/countries and add hotels, food and entertainment costs, the cruise still wins hands down for value.

My DW and I are taking a trip in the US this week and between flights, car rental and hotel costs, we are already spending more than a week on a HAL or RCI ship would cost and that doesn't include any food or entertainment. Plus, we're staying at Hampton Inns, not the Ritz or other higher end hotels.

Unfortunately some people like to only look at what they consider to be the "bad" part of a cruise and forget all the good things that were made available to them.

[OlsSalt]

Serving thousands of passengers thousands of meal three-plus times a day, from very limited on-board facilities remains a wonderment to me HAL or any ship does as well as they do. Even on Crystal we quickly learned they add more frou frou than culinary substance to their own limited range of offerings.

 

Expect good banquet quality food served in this limited setting and you will be very satisfied. To demand more for the price, sniff at this built-in reality, or complain it was "better in the past" serves nothing other than proof one has the beginnings of failed memory syndrome.

[sail7seas]

Not if you're a vegetarian. HAL is pretty good in this regard, but for some reason it doesn't extend to hors d'oeurves.

 

Ask for a plate of cudite. You may or may not get one but surely as aa vegetarian, you are aware they are sometimes available. how about a plate of oliives?

[iancal]

We appreciate the value of cruising. That does not mean that we have to wax poetic about all of our experiences on board.

 

We are now very selective when it comes to cruising. We absolutely do not feel that cruising is for us, from a cost perspective, the best way to travel.

 

It can be depending on the cruise and the destination. We can, and we often do, spend time travelling independently in the Europe (Greek Islands, Sicily, Turkey) and in SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malyasia) at a per diem cost, including local transportation that is far less than what we would pay on a cruise. Plus we get to see and experience far more.

 

In the Caribbean or Alaska we see absolutely see more value, especially since the prices in Europe and Asia have increased. We also see more value in OZ/NZ cruises.

[cruisemom42]

With all the self-proclaimed gourmets putting down MDR offerings on this and other lines' threads, I have to wonder just who it is who keeps Olive Garden, Applebees, Cheesecake Factory, Outback, Chili's, P.F. Chang's, Carrabba's, Longhorn, etc. in business. And this isn't digging down to Red Robin, Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Wendy's, McDonalds or Burger King.

 

Honestly, I don't eat at any of these places except very rarely.

 

Where I live we are lucky to have good, inexpensive, authentic restaurants, so we rarely go to chains. I'd choose 10 out of 10 times to go to my local taqueria, neapolitan pizzeria or vietnamese 'dive' than any of them. (Steak houses are never a big draw for me.)

 

I do understand the difficulties of cooking and serving hundreds if not thousands of meals daily and I scale my expectations accordingly. But it's one of the reasons I like to eat on shore on occasion.

 

(Sometime in the past year I went through the drive-through at McDonalds because I remembered how good their cheeseburgers used to be, a long time ago. Suffice to say they taste nothing like I remember... :loudcry:.)

[slidergirl]

With all the self-proclaimed gourmets putting down MDR offerings on this and other lines' threads, I have to wonder just who it is who keeps Olive Garden, Applebees, Cheesecake Factory, Outback, Chili's, P.F. Chang's, Carrabba's, Longhorn, etc. in business. And this isn't digging down to Red Robin, Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Wendy's, McDonalds or Burger King.

 

Sorry, but this self-proclaimed foodie does not eat at those establishments. Only ate at OG and Chili's when it was a work lunch with co-workers, and that was back in the early 2000s. I eat local when possible. I will confess to dropping into Wendy's for a Apple Pecan salad once in awhile when I have to grab something to take to work for dinner. The pomegranate dressing is actually nice. And, you can't do much wrong to lettuce, candied pecans and apple slices.

 

The dining experience in the MDR is, to me, the equivalent of "putting lipstick on a pig." Put out banquet-quality food, put it on china, have it served by a uniformed server to your white tablecloth-clad table. Some will wax poetic about it, call it "5 star cuisine." Put that exact same food on a porcelain plate in a banquet hall where you are seated at a long table for 20, and it will be called "rubber chicken"...

 

Appetizers/hors d'oeuvres: another place where vegetarians are given the short end of the food stick. Why does everyone else get served and we must ask if there is anything for us? Crudites and olives? Seriously? Do the unused crudités come back to me as those steamed-beyone-recognition veggies? What's wrong with spinach and ricotta puff pockets? cherry tomatoes stuffed with chived sour cream? tomato soup shooters? arancini?

 

The attack on people who may eat at those establishments was a little snarky and read like someone's nose was a tad too high in the air ;)

 

so, to try to keep up with the thread: the next gen of HAL cruisers want hyped up entertainment, more fun, food that they are used to eating at the above-named chains, they are liberals and comfortable with Oprah. :rolleyes:

[iancal]

The bottom line for us is that cruising is just one of many travel options.

 

We under under no illusions as to the product or it's attributes. We are not loyal to any cruise line and we do not live in past 'glory' days of cruising.

 

We expect what we pay for. We don't gloss over challenges nor do we excuse failure to deliver on cruise line set expectations or even the basics as 'ship happens' This is a commercial enterprise, not some old family uncle. Just as we do any other purchase-travel or otherwise. We leave our rose colored glasses at hope and view in the harsh light of day.

 

We are happy to take advantage of a good cruise opportunity and we are equally happy to take advantage of a good AI or do an independent trip. Lately most of our travel has been a combination of land and cruise.

 

We travel frequently-often 5 months a year. Not certain if we are this so called new breed of cruise customer of not. We have only been cruising for 20 plus years. Been doing AI's and independent travel for much longer than that.

[OlsSalt]

We appreciate the value of cruising. That does not mean that we have to wax poetic about all of our experiences on board.

 

We are now very selective when it comes to cruising. We absolutely do not feel that cruising is for us, from a cost perspective, the best way to travel.

 

It can be depending on the cruise and the destination. We can, and we often do, spend time travelling independently in the Europe (Greek Islands, Sicily, Turkey) and in SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malyasia) at a per diem cost, including local transportation that is far less than what we would pay on a cruise. Plus we get to see and experience far more.

 

In the Caribbean or Alaska we see absolutely see more value, especially since the prices in Europe and Asia have increased. We also see more value in OZ/NZ cruises.

 

The issue is comparing cruise ship travel to cruise ship travel; not to land travel. Of course there are different options and outcomes when choosing land travel. Nature of the beast.

[iancal]

We see very little difference between HAL, Princess, and Celebrity. I believe we feel this way because we do not have or feel any loyalty to a cruise line let alone any other commercial organization.

 

It comes down to ship, itinerary, and price for us. We have never selected a cruise based on what cruise line flag was on the mast or what colour the hull happened to be.

 

We are also very cognizant of changes in the industry and within the cruise lines themselves. This has reinforced our selection criteria.

[navybankerteacher]

 

...

 

The attack on people who may eat at those establishments was a little snarky and read like someone's nose was a tad too high in the air ;)

 

so, to try to keep up with the thread: the next gen of HAL cruisers want hyped up entertainment, more fun, food that they are used to eating at the above-named chains, they are liberals and comfortable with Oprah. :rolleyes:

 

I do not believe there was any attack on customers of those chains - rather, simply, a question about relative quality of the overall meal experience -- while certainly not gourmet, I have always found selections on HAL which are perfectly adequately prepared - and served in much more attractive surroundings than those in the chain restaurants: which seem to fulfill the expectations of much of the population - excepting, of course, self proclaimed foodies.

[OlsSalt]

We see very little difference between HAL, Princess, and Celebrity. I believe we feel this way because we do not have or feel any loyalty to a cruise line let alone any other commercial organization.

 

It comes down to ship, itinerary, and price for us. We have never selected a cruise based on what cruise line flag happen to fly on the mast or what colour the hull happened to be.

 

Just a quick scan, but wondering why you only spend time on the HAL brand websites and not the Celebrity and Princess when you claim no brand loyalties.

[navybankerteacher]

Honestly, I don't eat at any of these places except very rarely.

 

Where I live we are lucky to have good, inexpensive, authentic restaurants, so we rarely go to chains. I'd choose 10 out of 10 times to go to my local taqueria, neapolitan pizzeria or vietnamese 'dive' than any of them. (Steak houses are never a big draw for me.)

 

I do understand the difficulties of cooking and serving hundreds if not thousands of meals daily and I scale my expectations accordingly. But it's one of the reasons I like to eat on shore on occasion.

 

(Sometime in the past year I went through the drive-through at McDonalds because I remembered how good their cheeseburgers used to be, a long time ago. Suffice to say they taste nothing like I remember... :loudcry:.)

.

 

I agree on all points - somehow McDonalds' fries remain in my memory as more than passing fine - but I have been off fries for years. I do have to wonder who it is out there who has been eating my share of the "billions and billions" of burgers served.

[navybankerteacher]

[quote name=iancal;5302464

 

...

 

We are now very selective when it comes to cruising. We absolutely do not feel that cruising is for us' date=' from a cost perspective, the best way to travel.

 

...

 

/quote]

 

Agreed generally - with exceptions : coming back to the east coast after a trip to Europe a

repositioning or a QM2 crossing is, from a cost perspective, far superior to a business

class flight - and with ample time on our hands they do make sense.

[iancal]

Agreed. I think that TA's are a great way to go. We get a little cabin fever though.

 

We have looked at three cruises in the past year. The first was an Asian cruise. An add on to our land vacation. When we took a long hard look at it we passed for three reasons. Per diem prices very high compared to our land costs, and it did not go, or go near, the places we wanted to go. Finally, we really do not fancy any of the ships on offer.

 

We looked at South American cruise. Pricing was reasonable compared to other land based options, and it went where we wanted to go. We bought it and combined it with a much longer land trip. Took less than an hour to decide and book. Booked outside the final payment window which is unusual for us.

 

Third was a Europe cruise. Decided against. Per diem was too high compared to what we could no on our own plus we wanted a different experience what we would call a standard hotel experience on a ship.

 

Might do a very last minute Alaska this summer if the price and the weather f'cst is favourable.

 

I do post on others. In fact I posted a criticism of our Crown Princess trip this past Feb. on the Princess board. It was not a patch on our Sun Princess experience. Again, inconsistency appears to be the norm across the mass market offerings. It was still a great trip and we do not regret doing it.

[EDLOS]

A common management exercise in planning years ago was to identify for your company, who is your target customer base and why ?

What are customers willing to pay for or not pay for, and is that your customer or someone else's i.e. Carnival or Crystal, Norwegian or Costa.

What did HAL's customer really value 5 years ago and what do they value today. Is it the same or different ?

[slidergirl]

.

 

I agree on all points - somehow McDonalds' fries remain in my memory as more than passing fine - but I have been off fries for years. I do have to wonder who it is out there who has been eating my share of the "billions and billions" of burgers served.

 

It was the beef fat (or beef broth) that they added to the fryers for the fries.

[Cruise Junky]

We appreciate the value of cruising. That does not mean that we have to wax poetic about all of our experiences on board.

 

We are now very selective when it comes to cruising. We absolutely do not feel that cruising is for us, from a cost perspective, the best way to travel.

 

It can be depending on the cruise and the destination. We can, and we often do, spend time travelling independently in the Europe (Greek Islands, Sicily, Turkey) and in SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malyasia) at a per diem cost, including local transportation that is far less than what we would pay on a cruise. Plus we get to see and experience far more.

 

In the Caribbean or Alaska we see absolutely see more value, especially since the prices in Europe and Asia have increased. We also see more value in OZ/NZ cruises.

 

Posting this from my amazing hotel room in Crete with both a hot tub and plunge pool and beer that is .88 cents at the corner store and free wifi I agree with you. This was about 1/2 the cost of a cruise. Food is very cheap and exceptionally good.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Cruise Junky

[MMDown Under]

Posting this from my amazing hotel room in Crete with both a hot tub and plunge pool and beer that is .88 cents at the corner store and free wifi I agree with you. This was about 1/2 the cost of a cruise. Food is very cheap and exceptionally good.

 

As a solo cruiser, I now find land travel, such as your trip to Crete, better value, with much better food and better interaction with locals than a cruise, with single supplement.

 

However, Cruise ships have the advantage when it comes to cruising islands and difficult to reach locations. Which is why I am attracted to the itineraries of some HAL cruises. However, HAL middle size ships seem to share a common lack of maintenance problem. I have no desire to pay good money to cruise on a ship with leaks, plumbing problems, and on going noisy repairs, paint fumes, etc.

 

This month my daughters are flying to NY and Canada, for three weeks, eating out, visiting museums and art galleries, attending theatres, and hiring a car for independent travel. They have absolutely no interest in cruising (except for Antarctica), so won't be amongst the new breed of cruise customers.

[bUU]

Beings able to drive to the port rather than flying to a destination makes a big difference.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[greenfroggie]

I have not sailed with HAL before but my wife has. She's done 4-5 HAL cruises but is only a first tier member on their rewards. We may be part of the not loyal to one line as we've both been on many (me about 10, her about 30) cruises on various lines. I am excited to see what HAL is all about this summer, but for ideas like "they just don't make them like they used to", well you're right its the market, it's always changing. I don't think anyone is forced to take one cruise over the other, and from the scan of the mariner club 'rewards' its not really that fulfilling.

 

I do see this type of post happen often on different cruise line boards.

 

For us its simple. We like the general concept of the cruise. And it still works for us as our lives has changed. We won't do it every vacation but maybe once a year a cruise is a lot of fun and still very different from a land vacation. (I hate sitting around in one place).

[clueless2]

It was the beef fat (or beef broth) that they added to the fryers for the fries.

McDonald's used to fry their fries in beef tallow. They switched to something healthier (vegetable oil?) years ago.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Forums mobile app

[kira5]

Agreed. I think that TA's are a great way to go. We get a little cabin fever though.

 

We have looked at three cruises in the past year. The first was an Asian cruise. An add on to our land vacation. When we took a long hard look at it we passed for three reasons. Per diem prices very high compared to our land costs, and it did not go, or go near, the places we wanted to go. Finally, we really do not fancy any of the ships on offer.

 

We looked at South American cruise. Pricing was reasonable compared to other land based options, and it went where we wanted to go. We bought it and combined it with a much longer land trip. Took less than an hour to decide and book. Booked outside the final payment window which is unusual for us.

 

Third was a Europe cruise. Decided against. Per diem was too high compared to what we could no on our own plus we wanted a different experience what we would call a standard hotel experience on a ship.

 

Might do a very last minute Alaska this summer if the price and the weather f'cst is favourable.

 

I do post on others. In fact I posted a criticism of our Crown Princess trip this past Feb. on the Princess board. It was not a patch on our Sun Princess experience. Again, inconsistency appears to be the norm across the mass market offerings. It was still a great trip and we do not regret doing it.

 

 

Because I don't feel confident about what our experience will be, I'm not prepared to pay top dollar for the uncertainty and risk of having a toilet that doesn't work, a/c that doesn't cool, food that is mediocre or cancelled ports that I had been counting on going to (I realize the latter is not controllable) but I would be able to go on a land tour. I look for a 'good deal'/last minute type of situation.