Will HAL be next?

[iancal]

We are not loyal to any one cruise line.  Not married to any logo.

 

We see very little difference between HAL, Princess, and Celebrity.  We have had wonderful service and experiences on all three.

 

We  do see differences in ships within and between the cruise lines.  Much more so than any other differentiators.  Same with itineraries.   These two are at the top of our decision tree.

 

HAL's marketing direction was certainly indecipherable to us over the past ten years.  They appear to have focused on stealth marketing.

 

I have no insight as to what any of these cruise lines will look like by the close of fiscal 2022.  I do believe that there will be change and I believe that there will be a shift in the cruise market.  We will have to wait to see what transpires.

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by iancal

[breakiron]

Princess has announce to sale of the Pacific Princess, buyer not identified.  Pacific Princess is a "R" class ship same as the Azamara ships.  This is just speculation but Sycamore Partners is probably the purchaser.  If Carnival Corp. gets desperate enough I could see them reducing dramatically the HAL and Princess fleet and merging the two lines into one.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, breakiron said:

Princess has announce to sale of the Pacific Princess, buyer not identified.  Pacific Princess is a "R" class ship same as the Azamara ships.  This is just speculation but Sycamore Partners is probably the purchaser.  If Carnival Corp. gets desperate enough I could see them reducing dramatically the HAL and Princess fleet and merging the two lines into one.

 

It was only a matter of time for this remaining R-class ship in Princess's fleet. I don't think it signals any merger of Princess and HAL. Both ships still have MANY larger ships on the books in each line.

 

Edited to add:  I also doubt whether Sycamore is the purchaser. If they are, why wouldn't they announce it in the same way as for the Azamara acquisition?  Seems likely to me that it is another (different) purchaser.

Edited January 21, 2021 by cruisemom42

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, Hlitner said:

HAL needs a consistent product and a better marketing plan. 

 

Absolutely!  Particularly to the consistency of the cruise product offered to a guest.  If there is one thing that has irritated me the most--and which I think I have most referred to on this message board--is the inconsistency of the product as the fleet has grown.  

 

Captain A combined with Hotel Director A produces a cruise product that meets my expectations and exceeds them at times.  A different team--and I don't know who to "blame" the most--produces a product that can be most disappointing.

 

Who is to ultimately blame for such?  It is whomever(s) are sitting in a Seattle HQ office that have poor control over product quality that guests experience.

 

Prior to Covid, I am pleased to say that I was seeing improvement in this area during my cruises starting in 2018.  

 

I commented to the Westerdam's Dining Room Manager about the improvements I noticed in the menu selection, the preparations and presentations of the cuisine, and the service during my Alaska cruise.  He confirmed to me that the arrival of a  new Executive V-P for Food and Service had made a difference.  

[Farts]

On 1/21/2021 at 10:57 AM, iancal said:

HAL's marketing direction was certainly indecipherable to us over the past ten years.  They appear to have focused on stealth marketing.

 

To me, Oprah isn't exactly stealth

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Farts said:

Oprah

 

The "suits" in Seattle, in my opinion, thought marketing some of the cruises with Oprah was a good business decision that would drive patronage because of the "brand" and HAL's identity with the "brand".

 

Probably the same kind of thinking that causes companies to choose to spend the money that causes their shareholders to help pay from their corporation's income for the branding of things like the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

[Farts]

2 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The "suits" in Seattle, in my opinion, thought marketing some of the cruises with Oprah was a good business decision that would drive patronage because of the "brand" and HAL's identity with the "brand".

 

Probably the same kind of thinking that causes companies to choose to spend the money that causes their shareholders to help pay from their corporation's income for the branding of things like the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

I can't comment on whether it was a wise decision to get Oprah for marketing. 

 

But having a big name celebrity endorse your brand isn't stealth in my book. 

[rkacruiser]

28 minutes ago, Farts said:

I can't comment on whether it was a wise decision to get Oprah for marketing. 

 

But having a big name celebrity endorse your brand isn't stealth in my book. 

 

Agree, no stealth.  But, I stand by my comments regarding marketing.  HAL trying to appeal to her considerable number of fans.  No problem with that; she is an interesting a personality and I had the pleasure of being on the Nieuw Statendam when she gave a brief presentation in the Theater.  

 

My opinion:  without any financial data that I have, the "suits" made a zero sum final bet on what whatever was paid by HAL for the affiliation with the Oprah brand.  

 

 

[Aquahound]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The "suits" in Seattle, in my opinion, thought marketing some of the cruises with Oprah was a good business decision that would drive patronage because of the "brand" and HAL's identity with the "brand".

 

 

This is just my opinion, but I think HAL went too far with their brand partnering.  It's not just Oprah.  It's BB King, Rolling Stones, Lincoln Center Stage, Billboard, BBC....I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.  Everywhere you look on board now, it's some sort of brand partner.  I wish they would take a step back and focus more on their own brand.  1 or 2 are ok, but 4, 5, 6, or more is just getting ridiculous.  Probably why so many people can't quite figure out what HAL is nowadays.  

[mcrcruiser]

We like the new HAL marketing which can only improve with  the new Group President  Jam from Princess  .  We will not sail on the older ships any longer because they just do not have the amenities ,special restaurants  that the  Koningsdam class now has   . Our 2nd choice is Princess ships & the newer the better  . Since we no longer fly ,if we cannot  get to the ports vis car or local train /bus we don't cruise

[iancal]

If anything Oprah was a disincentive for us to book a HAL cruise.   Itinerary, ship, price, etc are are the top of our list.

 

  A 'free' embarkation day lunch, priority this or that, and Oprah are at the very bottom of our list.   We would view expanding the hours of service in the buffet as a much bigger plus to any of these.

Edited January 25, 2021 by iancal

[nocl]

On 1/19/2021 at 10:52 AM, sppunk said:

This is bad news for Azamara. A private equity firm's entire premise is to buy and strip down to bare minimum. This one in particular has a pretty storied history of it.

 

I can't see Carnival Corp spinning off Seabourn. Of all Carnival brands, Cunard and P&O are likely the most at risk of being sold off for for equity scrap. 

Not necessarily.  Apollo did quite well buying, expanding Oceania before profiting greatly with the NCLH going back public.

[LocoLoco1]

Today’s, Jan 26th announcement that Pres. Biden fully supports The Jones Act re: US Cruises need a foreign port stop, tells me ALASKA & New England cruises are toast for 2021. With that said, HAL and the CCL suits may indeed go into Def-Con 4 survival mode and consolidate the whole fleet into something drastically different than it was Pre-Covid. Look at the US Steel industry, auto, coal and textile industries etc. for what CRISIS MODE looks like.