Reason's for HAL' deep discounts in Carribbean

[MisterBill99]

They are out there. Oceania having tough time selling cabins. Cruise two months out to Caribbean is only 60% sold. Just got email today from Internet TA discounting cabins on this cruise by 40%.

That must explain why I get their brochures in the mail multiple times a week!

 

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[RedneckBob]

How likely are you to be able to get a reservation in Polo every night, though?

When everyone on board is entitled to one reservation, and some passengers two reservations, there aren't a lot of seats left for every night.

I believe you can get it in their equivalent of the Lido, though.

 

Correct RuthC.

 

If we don't eat in the Specialty Restaurants we eat in their Lido. Though I will have their Florida lobster tails one nite I prefer the jumbo grilled shrimp and crab legs or claws the other nites. If you are flexible you can get into the Specialty Restaurants almost every nite.

 

I guess back to the OP topic; there are deep discounts out there on most cruise lines every year and I believe due to so many ships sailing to same ports each year. I heard Carnival built the ports at Turks, Amber Cove and Roatan; to add new destinations.

[RedneckBob]

And just to be clear - I thought your were talking about the Grill where it is offered nightly.

 

As to Polo, don't even get me started - it was the WORST meal we have had on any ship anywhere. Just our experience - I know we were unlucky.

 

I do recommend Jacques though.

 

I guess I have lower standards when it comes to lobster. The only time I have it is on cruise ships and the Florida tails are fine with me. I agree with you on Jacques. Excellent. I just dined first time at Sel de Mer on the Eurodam. It was not good. The Dover sole served at Jacques was excellent; SdM was terrible.

[sammiedawg]

It is not difficult to get extra specialty reservations on Oceania. Regulars take all the great food in stride and if busy with ports they are not interested in sit down, multi course meals. If you are in a PH cabin or higher you can have specialty food served en suite.

Right now daydreaming and counting down the days until we go again. Terrific product.

[iancal]

When it comes to advertising sales that are not we rank Oceania right up there with the best of the best.

 

We are constantly getting emails (don't know why) proclaiming free air fare, forty or fifty percent off on selected Oceania sailings.

 

The two or three times we have actually done a bottom line net number the sale is either non existant or greatly exagerated. No different than the nonsense we get from HAL. Celebrity, Princess.

 

We do not care about percentage discounts, free whatever. We only focus on what really counts...the bottom line net pice to us. guess this is attributable to my finance background or to common sense.

[RedneckBob]

When it comes to advertising sales that are not we rank Oceania right up there with the best of the best.

 

We are constantly getting emails (don't know why) proclaiming free air fare, forty or fifty percent off on selected Oceania sailings.

 

The two or three times we have actually done a bottom line net number the sale is either non existant or greatly exagerated. No different than the nonsense we get from HAL. Celebrity, Princess.

 

We do not care about percentage discounts, free whatever. We only focus on what really counts...the bottom line net pice to us. guess this is attributable to my finance background or to common sense.

 

I understand your point but the HUGE discounts we get from Oceania are 40/50% off there already discounted fares. If you are very famaliar with Oceania pricing this is what we got which included everything except airfare and hard drinks. 2017, 10 day Caribbean, balcony, $1,349 per person plus $1,000 cabin credit. Same cruise 2018, $1,999 per person with $800 cabin credit. Now these are HUGE !

[Hlitner]

We are in complete agreement with Lancal about finding the best "bottom line" deals. For us, like Lancal, it is a relatively simple calculation which we turn into a "cost per passenger day." But the key is that word "cost" which we base on the actual bottom line which includes the entire cost of the cruise (cruise price, fees, taxes, tips,) netted out with any promos or gimmes such as OBCs, paid meals in alternative restaurants, pre paid gratuities, booze packages, etc. But the key is that we price out each amenity based on its real worth to us...not the price label used by the cruise line. So, for example, say that HAL has pricing that includes the beverage package and HAL says the package is worth $60 per passenger day! Our own cruise experience has taught us that a decent beverage package (one that includes nearly all drinks) is actually worth (to us) $35 per passenger day which is the real cost based on our own drink habits. So when we calculate that "bottom line" we only use $35 per passenger day for netting out the drink package. This became an interesting calculation on a 36 day Oosterdam cruise when we saved $11,000 by rebooking at a rate that no longer included the beverage package. That $11,000 equated to about $152 per passenger day....which was what we would have paid to get that "free" beverage package.

 

Once you start to value promotions at their real worth instead of the phony value used by the cruise line (and this is for any cruise line) you have an easy way to compare different deals, cruises, and lines.

 

Oceania is an interesting exercise because we are not going to pay much extra to be on one of their older R-Class vessels. In many cases Oceania will cost you about $300 per passenger day for a basic R Class balcony cabin....which is more than 50% more then we normally pay for balcony cabins on other lines. I once asked an Oceania rep (who was trying to sell me a cruise on the phone) why I should pay $300 a day for a smallish balcony cabin. His only answer was that Oceania had better food. But I pointed out to him that I could take a similar cruise on a nicer Celebrity ship in a larger balcony cabin for $150 a passenger day...and I did not think that Oceania's food was worth another $150 per day...when compared to Celebrity. (and yes, we did book the Celebrity cruise and kissed off Oceania).

 

Hank

[RedneckBob]

Hiltner (Hank)

 

I agree with your analysis. Oceania is not worth nor would I pay +$300 per day per person when compared to Celebrity for half the price that includes drinks; for a basic balcony.

 

For past 6 years have sailed on Oceania for average of $150 per day per person. Now that is worth it for me! Especially since it includes tips, free wifi, $800-$1000 cabin credit or free shore excursions, specialty restaurants (as many times you wish to dine), all drinks except containing booze, etc. Be patience and the super deals will come, not from Oceania but via on line TA's.

[kazu]

It is not difficult to get extra specialty reservations on Oceania. Regulars take all the great food in stride and if busy with ports they are not interested in sit down, multi course meals. If you are in a PH cabin or higher you can have specialty food served en suite.

Right now daydreaming and counting down the days until we go again. Terrific product.

 

Interesting sammie. We were unable to get any extra specialty reservations on our O cruise. I tried both with our butler and in the atrium. We were in a PH. Obviously, we were very unlucky ;)

[RuthC]

Interesting sammie. We were unable to get any extra specialty reservations on our O cruise. I tried both with our butler and in the atrium. We were in a PH. Obviously, we were very unlucky ;)

Jacqui, I got the distinct impression on Oceania that first-timers were not going to get the same level of service, or the same treatment, as those who sailed the line before. Especially regulars seemed to do a lot better than this first-timer and her first-timer friends.

That was one of the ways we became last-timers on the same cruise.

[Cruzaholic41]

I’ve cruised O a few times. Only once did I pay full price. Never again. The other times, I only cruised them because I got great prices through my old profession (travel agency). The food is good, but not that much better. If you think HAL has the worst entertainment at sea, try O. They make HAL look like Broadway.

 

I think Celebrity is a much better all-around cruise experience and at only a fraction of the cost.

[RuthC]

The food is good, but not that much better. If you think HAL has the worst entertainment at sea, try O. They make HAL look like Broadway.

Agree, pretty much. I thought the food no better than HAL. There was nothing to do at night after dinner. Totally boring.

Service was awful. It was hard enough to get a first cocktail, and impossible to get a steward so I could order a second.

[RedneckBob]

I’ve cruised O a few times. Only once did I pay full price. Never again. The other times, I only cruised them because I got great prices through my old profession (travel agency). The food is good, but not that much better. If you think HAL has the worst entertainment at sea, try O. They make HAL look like Broadway.

 

I think Celebrity is a much better all-around cruise experience and at only a fraction of the cost.

 

Agree that Celebrity is better. I can not comment on Oceania's entertainment since the only show starts at either 9:30 or 9:45 pm. I'm asleep :')

 

Actually I did make it too one show; a male singer who was an impersonator. There were approximately 600 people at the show. It turned into a comedy hour. After every song people would leave the showroom until at the end there were less than 100 of us left. Someone gave him a standing ovation.

[silvercruiser]

The only Oceana cruise I've taken was the one-time-a-year Bermuda cruise that was r.t. trom Miami, the only Bermuda cruise on any line that left from and returned to Florida. I thought it was expensive and by the end of the cruise there was quite a bit of talk among first-time Oceana cruisers that no one thought it was any better than Holland America.

[iancal]

We get sale notices from Oceana on a regular basis. 50 percent off.....free air fare frequently.

 

When we do the math -there is no free lunch. We focus on the bottom line, not the discounts or freebies. We have yet to find a significant difference in the bottom line number on any if these so called sales or specials.

 

Same or HAL, Celebrity, etc. We have become immune to them.

[Cruzin Terri]

Interesting sammie. We were unable to get any extra specialty reservations on our O cruise. I tried both with our butler and in the atrium. We were in a PH. Obviously, we were very unlucky ;)

That is interesting Jacqui because we had just the opposite experience on both O cruises we took. We ate in a specialty restaurant almost every night. On the nights we didn’t we either ate in the Terrace Grill or had room service from a specialty restaurant.

We were quite happy with the food on O except, as you mentioned, the Polo Grill.

Terri

[sammiedawg]

Oceania pricing is anything but straight forward but we are used to it. Then you must decide whether you want o life with air, o life with no air or cruise only pricing.

We run the numbers each and every time and we’ve booked multiple ways.

We are way beyond the point where the cheapest cruise line will do. We find the overall package on Oceania to be the best of the eight lines we have sailed.

Oceania has lucrative tiered returnee benefits that kick in at five, ten, fifteen and twenty credits. These are real benefits with a monetary value as opposed to getting discounts on onboard spending.

I think Redneck Bob is getting Florida resident pricing. I cannot get that pricing. We got a good deal fall 2017 on a ten day New England booked eight weeks out, C1OV for $2100, cruise only. Zuiderdam departure that same day was ten days OV $584 and verandah $700 and change. Insignia and Zuiderdam were next to each other at the west wide highway pier.

We’ve met Oceania cruisers who enjoy Celebrity and go back and forth. Celebrity solstice class is an excellent value.

[iancal]

We are the same. It comes down to per diem price. We place our own value on any freebee and discount meaningless ones down to zero. It is a very straightforward process and brings our two or three shortlisted cruises down to a common price comparison. Then we decide based on price and ship.

[sail7seas]

I get a lot of snail mail advertising from Oceania. It doesn't inerest me so I hardly ever even read itl.

[iancal]

We typically have a 'target price' for our cruises, almost all of which are booked inside the final payment window.

 

When that price hits, we book. We do the same for all other travel products. The last travel offer we took advantage of disappeared in fifteen minutes after we first viewed/purchased it. It is one reason why we prefer to deal with an on line TA for booking cruises. They keep great business hours.

[kentuckycruiser]

We did HAL on the NA last year for spring break and I thought the entire experience was not as great as a previous HAL cruise. I got off thinking I never needed to go to the Caribbean again. But this year we were pricing a summer trip - and the HAL Baltic 10 day cruise was much cheaper than the 7 day Alaskan cruises. In addition, the HAL for 4 of us in a balcony (I'm already bracing myself for it) was 1/2 the price of a Celebrity Baltic cruise. The other strange thing was I am a higher Mariner than my husband and using me as the primary person was $1,000 more than using his number. It was a miracle I ran it both ways. I am hoping that a European cruise which is very port heavy will be a better experience than the Caribbean.

[JRG]

We typically have a 'target price' for our cruises, almost all of which are booked inside the final payment window.

 

When that price hits, we book. We do the same for all other travel products. The last travel offer we took advantage of disappeared in fifteen minutes after we first viewed/purchased it. It is one reason why we prefer to deal with an on line TA for booking cruises. They keep great business hours.

 

That sounds so awesome to be able to do that. I can't wait until we retire and do the same. We have great strategies for booking the best bang for the buck but need to manage PTO time right now, that makes it really hard to book after final payment.

[Hlitner]

Contrary to what some folks think, its not uncommon for cruise lines to offer better deals to a cruise newbie than a cruiser who has cruised many times with the line. We will usually price out a cruise without using our number (we are Elite Plus) and then price it out again after logging in. Of course, in the end we will always book with one of our favored cruise agencies since they always can save us 7-10% over the price we would get by booking direct with the cruise line. This is not just for HAL, but its the same with nearly all the mass market lines.

 

One of our favorite cruise agents explains that cruise lines really covet new cruisers and want to make them "loyal." But those that have already cruised many times are more set in their ways and there is little need to add extra inducements.

 

Hank

Edited January 1, 2018 by Hlitner
changed mind

[JRG]

Real students of the game will suggest that everything changed when online TA's became major players. Before that, people treated TA's like insurance agents and always assumed they were getting the best price. Some still do because they like the familiarity. I'd bet newbies are getting fleeced as we speak.

 

If we didn't have timeshares in Hawaii and Ventura that we use every year, we'd probably be elite or medallion somewhere.

Edited January 1, 2018 by JRG
type o

[kazu]

Contrary to what some folks think, its not uncommon for cruise lines to offer better deals to a cruise newbie than a cruiser who has cruised many times with the line. We will usually price out a cruise without using our number (we are Elite Plus) and then price it out again after logging in. Of course, in the end we will always book with one of our favored cruise agencies since they always can save us 7-10% over the price we would get by booking direct with the cruise line. This is not just for HAL, but its the same with nearly all the mass market lines.

 

One of our favorite cruise agents explains that cruise lines really covet new cruisers and want to make them "loyal." But those that have already cruised many times are more set in their ways and there is little need to add extra inducements.

 

Hank

 

I've heard this several times and yet, I am at a loss to understand this.

 

Not on the savings - yes we do that too, but on the treatment of past cruisers.

 

We have had upsell offers on nearly every sailing we have done (if it's sold out there is nothing to go to). And, we are 5*. We have even negotiated a couple of upsells.

 

Maybe your favourite TA just doesn't want the hassle or to be bothered? Upsells do exist for long time cruisers.

 

And if I may be so bold as to say, you are always wise to price with your loyalty number. You probably don't do the casino but if you do, there can be VERY significant savings on a cruise. Best to price it both ways IMO :)