Why are HAL cruise prices so low right now?

[VTcruisenut]

Just searching for upcoming cruises out of Fort Lauderdale- why are the Holland America cruises priced so low compared to all the other Cruise lines?   Anyone have any inside info on this?  most are around $400 for 7 days and less than $500 overall.................

[CruiserBruce]

And somebody else will post and say they are incredibly high, compared to everyone else. Without more details, hard to comment....are you talking the balance of this Winter/Spring season? If so, probably because we are inside final payment, and they are trying to fill the ships.

[canadianbear]

If our Canadian dollar was better I’d hop on some of those deals!

[nursemommy7578]

The price was incredible for this canuck. We got a 3 week cruise for less than what we have paid for an 8 day on other lines. 

[SilvertoGold]

When do these cruises ship, as this makes a big difference.

 

I am seeing high pricing for every last cruise I am looking at, April thru October.  Depressing!

 

[sail7seas]

To gauge ones opinion of pricing, telling num ber of days is not nearly enough.  what type cabin/ how high a deck?    What month?  April (Easter) prices likely are higher  than mid January.

 

 

 

sail.noordam@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

[iancal]

It is straightforward.  There is an excess of supply over demand so the cruise drops the price in order to sail full.

[sail7seas]

Yes, of course

 

 

BUt my interest in asking  what category/ deck they had priced  is  because if Suites  are priced low,er I might 'have' to book another cruise.

 

 

 

sail,noordam@gmail.com

[sail7seas]

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

When do these cruises ship, as this makes a big difference.

 

I am seeing high pricing for every last cruise I am looking at, April thru October.  Depressing!

 

Europe?

Alaska?

 

South Pacific?

 

Where are you hoping to cruise?

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

When do these cruises ship, as this makes a big difference.

 

I am seeing high pricing for every last cruise I am looking at, April thru October.  Depressing!

 

 

I hear you - the interesting itineraries are pricer.

HAL did have a nice Canadian Thanksgiving sale and I am every so grateful that we were able to score on it.  Made a huge difference in our pricing!

[Mary229]

January is historically a sale month for all sorts of travel.  I am seeing deals everywhere.  I looked at Carnival last night (taking the kiddos) and there were some pretty good deals. 

[Jammu2]

My humble opinion: Hollands niche is not that coveted in the Caribbean hence lower prices. Kids? Fun? Carnival or Royal. Entertainment? Royal or MSC. Every near-luxury line has ships there in the winter. Want a "premium economy" type experience? There's Celebrity. Holland has itinerary and service. Not that important in the Caribbean where the ship likely is the destination for most ppl.

[jimmy2x]

Certainly not true for the Feb 12 sailing of the Koningsdam. Pricing more than double what I paid for a Cat V. 

[tv24]

There are a lot of ships sailing out of Florida, so lots of competition.  Note that one pays for a lot of extras on HAL, drinks, gratuities, coffee, excursions, etc., so it all adds up.   

[Sue from Canada]

8 hours ago, canadianbear said:

If our Canadian dollar was better I’d hop on some of those deals!

So would I.  Have you seen the prices lately for Air Canada and Westjet to Florida?  Terrible.  And the price to choose your seat!

[Sue from Canada]

6 hours ago, iancal said:

It is straightforward.  There is an excess of supply over demand so the cruise drops the price in order to sail full.

They should solo passengers a break for once.

[Sue from Canada]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I hear you - the interesting itineraries are pricer.

HAL did have a nice Canadian Thanksgiving sale and I am every so grateful that we were able to score on it.  Made a huge difference in our pricing!

I also scored a nice deal for a 14 day Alaska cruise this May and solo😄

[canadianbear]

15 minutes ago, Sue from Canada said:

I also scored a nice deal for a 14 day Alaska cruise this May and solo😄

Wow-you’re lucky!  I do wish they’d sell off solo at discounted prices.  

[crystalspin]

HAL is being very guarded about offering (for example) the Signature Beverage Package. Instead giving a $50 beverage card -- worth one day of the SBP. Or they advertise "Free Gratuities" but it's only true if you sail in a suite. Meanwhile Princess (a sister company!) is running the Best.Sale.Ever with BP, grats, &wifi as a package, for quite a bit less than the cost of their beverage package by itself.

 

I think it works out in the end. Low prices, buy your drinks separately. Higher prices, sail inclusive. HAL is driving me to do the latter.

Edited January 7, 2020 by crystalspin

[Lido deck main]

I am looking at world cruise 2021 and Cunard is $8,000.00 less per person than HAL and hot dog place is offering free gratuities and of course OBC for the Cunard cruise.

[MrChocoholic]

11 hours ago, Jammu2 said:

My humble opinion: Hollands niche is not that coveted in the Caribbean hence lower prices. Kids? Fun? Carnival or Royal. Entertainment? Royal or MSC. Every near-luxury line has ships there in the winter. Want a "premium economy" type experience? There's Celebrity. Holland has itinerary and service. Not that important in the Caribbean where the ship likely is the destination for most ppl.

You got that right. I'm a Miami-based bargain-hunter and your assessment of the Caribbean market is faultless. Fluctuations are common during Wave Season, indeed HAL's recent prices have dipped. 

[DaveOKC]

Also seeing some low fares to Mexico from San Diego for this SPring.

[iancal]

The same fare/pricing characteristics have been present on Alaskan cruises from Vancouver for the past several years.

 

Over the years we have done far better by cherry picking among our favourite ships/cruise lines and booking inside the final payment windows than we have by being loyal to one cruise line.   This includes popular holiday/vacation time frames.

Edited January 7, 2020 by iancal

[bennybear]

WE have found the opposite on some of the longer Asian itineraries.  Prices just went up and up for cherry blossom time.  So as always it depends,  and we have been fortunate to be able to refare for ones that dropped.  

 

But have to say say the Princess best sale ever is very enticing.  They allow you to combine with existing bookings and keep the perks you have.  Net cost 30 US for adding grants and beverage package!  Hope HAL follows suit.  

[VTcruisenut]

I searched for Eastern Caribbean from now until the end of April all 7 days and the price were all over the place!  However, Holland America were the lowest.  Is it because the ships don't have all the water slides, bells & whistles etc. that the RC and Norwegian or other lines have?  We aren't interested in any of that, and don't do the Beverage packages, so it's hard to compare apples to apples when the other lines include all the freebies.   Just wondered if Holland is suffering a down turn in passengers and so selling their cruises cheap!