Finances of Cruiselines?

[LocoLoco1]

Wondering: I sail in 11/months. Are cruiselines cutting shipboard amenities lately, or not?? 

[Gretchendz]

14 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Wondering: I sail in 11/months. Are cruiselines cutting shipboard amenities lately, or not?? 

 

So, looking at the title and content of your question, I suspect your underlying question is will the cruise line go bankrupt or seriously cut service.

 

The finances of the cruise lines and the cutting of amenties are 2 different things, although I grant there can be some relationship. 

 

Cruiseline finances. While of course Covid has hit all the travel industry, Carnival Corp (CCL) which owns HAL, and other lines, is generally thought to be financially stable.  Stock prices are not nearly at ther previous peak, but they are also not near their previous lows.  There are other smaller cruiselines, usually privately owned, that are of more concern regarding their finanacial viability.

 

Amenities. In the last month or so both HAL and Princess annouced changes to their loyalty programs (for people who have cruised often with them previously). There are threads here and on the Princess forums that can tell you what the frequent cruisers thought!  If you are asking about the main cruise experience (I suspect you are) the main changes are due to health and safety. For example, a gloved cruise person will put your buffet food on your plate as you want. No more grabbing a piece of bread and putting it back!  Personally, I consider this an improvement.  There will be many little things like that.

 

If you are worried about the Cruise Line going bankrupt, that seems unlikely in HAL's case.  However, since travel insurance is always a good idea, you might want to look into third party coverage. The important thing is to make sure it covers "supplier bankruptcy or financial default."  A good travel agent can help you get quotes for such a policy.

 

Apologies if I read too much into your question!

Edited October 6, 2021 by Gretchendz

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, Gretchendz said:

If you are worried about the Cruise Line going bankrupt, 

 

As a long time investor in CCL and RCI, no, I don't think bankruptcy is going to happen.  For NCLH, I would not be so sure.   I have never cared for their balance sheet.  

 

Amenities, perks, etc. for any of the cruise companies, they can change as the seasons change.  It depends on the "suits" in corporate headquarters.  

[LocoLoco1]

My Concerns: The Service/Hospitality VP  bows to Mecca up in Accounting when interest payments are brutal.. no matter what industry. When times are flush is a better time to be a customer. So, as a HAL 4-star  I’ll squirm if I’d hear Napkins went from Cloth to paper, beer is self-serve and the dancing girls were cut. If so, Cabo here I come…

[kazu]

51 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

My Concerns: The Service/Hospitality VP  bows to Mecca up in Accounting when interest payments are brutal.. no matter what industry. When times are flush is a better time to be a customer. So, as a HAL 4-star  I’ll squirm if I’d hear Napkins went from Cloth to paper, beer is self-serve and the dancing girls were cut. If so, Cabo here I come…

 

Well, so far that hasn’t been the case.  They still have cloth napkins 😉   Why don’t you follow some of the LIVE reports and listen to the real reports of people on board?  Then you can judge for yourself.

 

There are lots for the initial Alaska cruises, a report from a passenger on the Eurodam and now Vict0rian in conjunction with people on board are doing a live report.

 

Lots of ways to see what the real life experiences are on board and go from there 👍 

[LocoLoco1]

I see Cruiselines are economizing by going to bigger ships. Wondering if I will notice changes on board the existing vessels. 

[rkacruiser]

5 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

I see Cruiselines are economizing by going to bigger ships. Wondering if I will notice changes on board the existing vessels. 

 

The changes on the existing vessels began well before Covid and the decisions, I think, to build bigger and "better" ships as some cruise lines have done.  Yes, HAL's recently built ships are larger than they once were.  Yet, HAL has been able to maintain a very good guest experience overall.  There have been mis-steps in the past (in my opinion), but, there have been some winning decisions as well.  The establishment of the New York Deli and Pizza on the Pinnacle Class ships is one example of that.  Like deli sandwiches?  Like pizza?  The Nieuw Statendam's venue did an excellent job of providing that.