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Do you agree with HAL charging $10 for an additional entree?

cruzin4us

By cruzin4us,
in Holland America Line

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iancal

iancal

Posted
Posted

I think the challenge on asking this board is that many are old timers (as am I)  and HAL loyalists (I am not) and they never want to see any change.  Does not matter if it is ship, entertainment, dress, price or whatever....they do not want change. 

 

They claim they are willing to pay more but it seems to me that they still stick with HAL instead of paying more and moving from this mass market line.   They want what they had in 1990 but they want to pay the same but in 2018 dollars!  Go figure.  

 

They are not even willing to pay, in inflation adjusted dollars, what they paid 20 years ago.  Instead, they expect HAL to swallow the expenses and include it in their Mariner benefits.  Life is not like that.  You need to pay for what you get.  I am not a HAL or any other cruise line booster but I do know my way around a P&L and we do travel about four months a year.   Either the price increases or the product offering decreases.

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slidergirl

slidergirl

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

LOL. Nice try, but the OP edited the initial post within a minute of posting it last Sunday, and you didn't cast your first (!) vote until four hours later. :classic_ohmy:

 

Some people have waaaay too much time on their hands.  

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avian777

avian777

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, iancal said:

I think the challenge on asking this board is that many are old timers (as am I)  and HAL loyalists (I am not) and they never want to see any change.  Does not matter if it is ship, entertainment, dress, price or whatever....they do not want change. 

 

They claim they are willing to pay more but it seems to me that they still stick with HAL instead of paying more and moving from this mass market line.   They want what they had in 1990 but they want to pay the same but in 2018 dollars!  Go figure.  

 

They are not even willing to pay, in inflation adjusted dollars, what they paid 20 years ago.  Instead, they expect HAL to swallow the expenses and include it in their Mariner benefits.  Life is not like that.  You need to pay for what you get.  I am not a HAL or any other cruise line booster but I do know my way around a P&L and we do travel about four months a year.   Either the price increases or the product offering decreases.

 

👍👍👍 Thanks for this very perceptive Post.  For the record, I admit to being a HAL loyalist who is especially grateful to CCL for providing a very good value for the money.  And given a choice of having service cut-backs or price increases, I'll take price increases every day because, after adjusting for inflation, my cruises cost less today than they did when we started cruising over 25 years ago.  As a CCL shareholder, I expect HAL to do what is necessary to make a profit, so I wholeheartedly support HAL charging for 2nd entrees.

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cruzin4us "Live from...." Rare

cruzin4us

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OP here.....I'm gone for a day and I wasn't here to defend myself.

 

First of all, I thought I was starting a poll, but for some reason posted in the thread section....I've never started a poll and apparently I screwed it up.   I tried to "EDIT" the post to be an actual poll but it wouldn't let me.....thus you see my edit.

 

Secondly, I realize this is not a Nationwide Poll regulated by some government agency.   I just saw the other thread that had something like 1,000 (don't quote me on the exact figure) posts and I was just trying to figure out how to find out in a ONE WORD answer the feel of people.   Obviously, I needed to add a bunch more instructions regarding this.   A lot of you have ADD apparently :classic_blink:  

 

Any questions????

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cruisemom42 Great Review Rare

cruisemom42

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, iancal said:

I really see no difference in signing for an additional meal and signing for a bottle of wine or a drink.  I do not see any impact on the MDR experience....such as it is

 

 

You may not feel it will impact the MDR experience, and you're entitled to that opinion. But others are also entitled to their opinions that it will make a change. IMO all the many little changes together continue to degrade the MDR experience, including fewer courses offered, lowered ratio of servers to customer, lower quality ingredients used, lack of enforcement of the minimal dress code, etc.  I prefer dining in the MDR to anywhere else aboard ship, and so yes, I am of the opinion that it will have an impact, and I would greatly prefer that it not be implemented. Am I willing to die on my sword over this? No, I've never said that. But I'd prefer that they do not implement the change...

 

12 hours ago, iancal said:

I think the challenge on asking this board is that many are old timers (as am I)  and HAL loyalists (I am not) and they never want to see any change.  Does not matter if it is ship, entertainment, dress, price or whatever....they do not want change. 

 

They claim they are willing to pay more but it seems to me that they still stick with HAL instead of paying more and moving from this mass market line.   They want what they had in 1990 but they want to pay the same but in 2018 dollars!  Go figure.  

 

They are not even willing to pay, in inflation adjusted dollars, what they paid 20 years ago.  Instead, they expect HAL to swallow the expenses and include it in their Mariner benefits.  Life is not like that.  You need to pay for what you get.  I am not a HAL or any other cruise line booster but I do know my way around a P&L and we do travel about four months a year.   Either the price increases or the product offering decreases.

 

I cruise with a variety of lines, some more upscale than HAL and others that are about the same. I am no HAL cheerleader or loyalist who will stick with HAL no matter what. And I've voiced many times my willingness to pay a higher fare overall to prevent these "deaths by a thousand cuts".  

 

The problem for me is that, when it comes down to it, HAL is often the line I am interested in due to their very good itineraries. Human nature being what it is, I'd like to continue cruising HAL for that reason, but also would like to enjoy my time onboard ship. I'm not opposed to change: some of the recent changes HAL has made (in offering additional music venues) have made the ships more attractive to me. And I'm all for a less formal dress code (but would still like to see it enforced. Shorts and graphic tees in the MDR for dinner is a bit much for me).  But for a cruise line whose marketing tagline has been "Savor the journey", I feel they need to step up the game where it comes to the MDR experience.

 

 

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Aquahound

Aquahound

Posted
Posted
On 4/6/2019 at 1:34 AM, cruzin4us said:

First of all, I thought I was starting a poll, but for some reason posted in the thread section....I've never started a poll and apparently I screwed it up.   I tried to "EDIT" the post to be an actual poll but it wouldn't let me.....thus you see my edit.

 

I don't recall seeing any polls since this website changed.  Is it even possible anymore?

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Copper10-8 "Live from...." Rare

Copper10-8

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Brooklyn Bridget said:

Where is the poll?  How can I see the result? 

 

There is no official poll with results attached to this thread. For current results, it is a matter of using one's Mark 1 eyeball in conjunction with one's cerebrum inside one's cranium with or without a parchment. Poster catl331 accomplished this feat in her post #148

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