Renting a prior HAL ship...

[REOVA]

Would be curious on the condition of the ships.

 

https://cruiseradio.net/former-holland-america-ships-to-operate-as-floating-residences/

[mrspeck]

I found it interesting that they kept HALs naming structure for staterooms, ie: Pinnacle Suite, Neptune Suites, etc.

[Torquer]

Very interesting new concept in traveling.  Although for a trip that long, I can't imagine staying in anything smaller than a Neptune Suite....I would feel claustrophobic.  It will be interesting to see how many people they find to go on the trips.

[Colorado Klutch]

$6,399 a month? Boy am I out of touch. Wondering what kind of tax savings might be involved beyond eliminating property tax. 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Colorado Klutch

[OlsSalt]

Not sure what the value added is, over taking a regular cruise for a month - in  small cabin.

[sunviking90]

Assisted living at sea?
From their website:

This cruise ship is all-inclusive, so basically, you don't have to spend any money at all. You have access to various restaurants with the best chefs in the world, fine bars, lively entertainment, internet, and medical support at no extra cost. Of course, there are options that you could use at an additional cost, like massages, activities, spirits, or – of course - the casino. This depends on your spending pattern.

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, Colorado Klutch said:

$6,399 a month? Boy am I out of touch. Wondering what kind of tax savings might be involved beyond eliminating property tax. 

For an inside about 8,000 for 2 people, so about the same as spending a month on board a HAL cruise ship.  Though a number of things are included.  So really not bad.

 

More a matter of not having to maintain another residence if you live on board.

[Guest ldtr]

4 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Assisted living at sea?
From their website:

This cruise ship is all-inclusive, so basically, you don't have to spend any money at all. You have access to various restaurants with the best chefs in the world, fine bars, lively entertainment, internet, and medical support at no extra cost. Of course, there are options that you could use at an additional cost, like massages, activities, spirits, or – of course - the casino. This depends on your spending pattern.

Not quite they do list medical costs as one of the not included items.  So medical support is there, but if you need an exam or treatment there is a cost associated with it.

[foodsvcmgr]

With bare minimum renovations these ships would seem better suited for short moderately priced cruises in the Med than round the world services.

Not sure how much demand exists for this sort of operation, hopefully Victoria has researched it before just jumping in.

The old Emerald Seas was pressed into service like this in her final years without much success.

[Guest ldtr]

19 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

With bare minimum renovations these ships would seem better suited for short moderately priced cruises in the Med than round the world services.

Not sure how much demand exists for this sort of operation, hopefully Victoria has researched it before just jumping in.

The old Emerald Seas was pressed into service like this in her final years without much success.

Keep in mind that HAL was doing their world cruises on similar sized or even smaller ships.

[foodsvcmgr]

My concern isn’t the size but that it may be challenging to market long cruises on ships pulled from three years cold layup with little or no cosmetic or capital investment.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, foodsvcmgr said:

My concern isn’t the size but that it may be challenging to market long cruises on ships pulled from three years cold layup with little or no cosmetic or capital investment.

They have been had some work done in Cyprus.  About the same as was done on other ships when they were reactivated during the restart.

[Colorado Klutch]

I know there are residential ships which continuously circle the globe. But those are targeted at very wealthy people looking for the lifestyle and the tax savings. 

[Tampa Girl]

15 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Not sure what the value added is, over taking a regular cruise for a month - in  small cabin.

For us, the value would be  in the lengthy stays in many of the ports, which provides the opportunity to more fully explore the area.

[FlaMariner]

On 2/17/2023 at 7:26 PM, ldtr said:

Though a number of things are included.  So really not bad.

 

Agree.  And tips are included....And I think so was self service laundry.

 

Besides medical care, what other "bills" would you have?  Thinking cell phone, wine expense, haircut money and I'm good to go?

 

At $8,000 a month / 30 days = $267 a day for two people. 

 

[Heartgrove]

Read closer to the cost of the stateroom. It is based on a six month minimum. So an inside would be $6,399 x 6 = $38,394. The other categories would be progressively more.

[Tampa Girl]

28 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Agree.  And tips are included....And I think so was self service laundry.

 

Besides medical care, what other "bills" would you have?  Thinking cell phone, wine expense, haircut money and I'm good to go?

 

At $8,000 a month / 30 days = $267 a day for two people. 

 

 

That sounds very reasonable to me.  What would be the cost of a HAL 30-day cruise in an inside?  We were going to pay $1,000 a day for a 35-day VOV cruise in a Signature Suite, with nowhere near the amenities described above.  

[Guest ldtr]

26 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

Read closer to the cost of the stateroom. It is based on a six month minimum. So an inside would be $6,399 x 6 = $38,394. The other categories would be progressively more.

That is the solo Raye in an inside, the double occupancy rate is 7999 for 2.  Roughly $130 per person per day. About the same as normal cruise fare. A bit less when you consider what is included.

 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by ldtr

[FlaMariner]

 

PRICE/MONTH (2 PERSON): $7,999

 

For an inside cabin...from the website

[FlaMariner]

8 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

What would be the cost of a HAL 30-day cruise in an inside?

 

HAL world cruise 2024:  Inside = $23,599 / 128 days = $184 per person per day (not including tips).

Victoria Inside = $7,999 for two people / 30 days = $133 per person per day (including tips).

 

Victoria has a much better price point that HAL and all the HAL folks that love the smaller, older ships could still sail on them!

 

What am I missing?

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by FlaMariner

[SeaCapt]

And note that it does include beer and wine. Perhaps not every brand, but at least some...

[SeaCapt]

What we wont know until it has sailed for while, is what level of service there will be, what the quality of food will be, things like that. I'm interested, but not willing to be the first to jump aboard.

 

If you like it, though, with their loyalty program and a 37 month+ lease, you would get a 40% discount on monthly rate, bringing the cost down as low as $79 per day.

[FlaMariner]

16 minutes ago, SeaCapt said:

If you like it, though, with their loyalty program and a 37 month+ lease, you would get a 40% discount on monthly rate, bringing the cost down as low as $79 per day.

 

I'm liking this much better than the independent living community.........Cruising into my sunset works for us.....not there yet but fast approaching so hope all this works out and more ships are used this way....I could easily see Her Majesty and I doing this later.

[FlaMariner]

23 minutes ago, SeaCapt said:

and wine.

 

So just dropped my wine budget off this list.....another good thing.  

[Heartgrove]

37 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

HAL world cruise 2024:  Inside = $23,599 / 128 days = $184 per person per day (not including tips).

Victoria Inside = $7,999 for two people / 30 days = $133 per person per day (including tips).

 

Victoria has a much better price point that HAL and all the HAL folks that love the smaller, older ships could still sail on them!

 

What am I missing?

 

 

You are missing that the reservation commitment is for a minimum of six months or 180 days. So the prices will actually range from $47,994 for an Inside Stateroom to $209,994 for the Pinnacle Suite. Plus - there is the deposit required that is $30,000 to $80,000 depending on stateroom category with $10,000 upfront and the remainder due upon checkin before sailing. Yes, an Inside would be $133.00 per person though.

 

https://victoria.cruises/pdf/price-table.pdf

 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Heartgrove