Why is Holland America so much less expensive?

[bUU]

My mother is jonesing to on a cruise with my wife and I, specifically for Caribbean cruises out of New York in late January or early February. She's cruised Royal Caribbean and Celebrity quite a bit, and we have cruised Royal Caribbean twice, so our initial instinct was to check there. We also checked NCL, but found Holland American substantially more affordable.

 

So I'm wondering if someone can quickly bottom-line it for me, since I rather need to make a decision tonight or tomorrow morning:

Why is there such a difference in price? What would we be giving up? :confused:

[Roz]

I can't think of anything you would be giving up. All the lines you mentioned are different, with pluses and minuses, but HAL is top notch in several respects. Maybe someone who knows more about pricing can provide an explanation.

 

BTW, what does "My mother is jonesing to on a cruise" mean? I get the idea that your mother is either going on a cruise or wants to go on a cruise, but I'm not familiar with "jonesing".

 

Roz

[bUU]

Sorry... urban vernacular: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jonesing

 

"to have a strong need, desire, or craving for something."

 

It is hard to reconcile the difference in price with what I thought I knew -- that basically the service level, cuisine, ports, etc., offered are pretty comparable between the three cruise lines.

[Roz]

Thanks for the explanation. This goes to show you how out of touch I am! :D

 

Roz

[Mr_Cruise]

I'm an Agent.

 

Pricing is largely influenced by the basic principles of supply and demand. More space open to book = more aggressive pricing promotions offered by the cruise line.

 

Other determining factors include, but are not limited to: cruise duration, number of ports, type of accommodations, round trip or one way itinerary, whether the agency you are working with has any exclusive offers for the voyage, etc.

 

Early in the calendar year is low season for virtually all travel and is therefore priced accordingly. If you make your consumer decisions solely based on price perception of quality then feel free to pay more $ for a more typical onboard experience and forego the premium experience HAL provides if that's what floats your boat.

[bUU]

Thanks for that summary; we're definitely looking for the best value, though interested having a great time even if we have to pay more for it.

 

Cruise duration, number of ports, type of itinerary, and even the specific ports were pretty much identical between the cruises I looked at. And I checked a bunch of places for each cruise and found similar pricing, and pricing differences. That doesn't leave much left on your list for reasons for the differences I found. :)

[Mr_Cruise]

I could go into further micro-detail as to potentially/hypothetically why one cruise might be considerably lower than the other, but in this particular case if everything seems similar in terms of the cruise (excluding the ship/line) then... why ask why?

 

Book it and look forward to the cruise before the pricing advantages disappear.

[bUU]

That's what my wife is saying to me at this moment. I still need to clear the dates with my boss, tomorrow, so I'll still be thinking it through until then.

[jtl513]

You didn't mention what HAL ship(s) you are looking at, but if one of the "cheap" ones is the Noordam out of NYC, many posters here have mentioned bargain prices being offered on 2008 cruises since HAL's announcement of discontinuing sailing from NYC. If it is the Noordam, I say take it - it is a beautiful ship, and my favorite so far.

[Tinknock50]

You didn't mention what HAL ship(s) you are looking at, but if one of the "cheap" ones is the Noordam out of NYC, many posters here have mentioned bargain prices being offered on 2008 cruises since HAL's announcement of discontinuing sailing from NYC. If it is the Noordam, I say take it - it is a beautiful ship, and my favorite so far.

 

I agree...the Noordam is a stunningly beautiful ship and if there is great pricing, what's the downside? Go for it.

[u4ea]

Sorry... urban vernacular: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jonesing

 

"to have a strong need, desire, or craving for something."

 

Oh, that's a drug related vernacular too, let me see your eyes:eek:;):D (although you didn't say it was a "vicious jones"):cool:

 

I've been on the Noordam IV twice for cheap.......It was great and want to go again. Have a great cruise.:cool:

Mark....

[Charliesmom]

We had never been on Holland America until three years ago when they offered an inordinately inexpensive trip in a suite on the Westerdam. We had such a fantastic time on that cruise that we booked it (at a higher price) for the next year. We will be going on our fourth HAL cruise this fall.

 

Up until that time we had been dyed in the wool Princess fans. We still travel on Princess, but now we travel on Holland America, too.

 

If they are offering a good deal, take it. You will have a wonderful time.

 

Roberta

[Jade13]

I'm an Agent.

 

Pricing is largely influenced by the basic principles of supply and demand. More space open to book = more aggressive pricing promotions offered by the cruise line.

 

Other determining factors include, but are not limited to: cruise duration, number of ports, type of accommodations, round trip or one way itinerary, whether the agency you are working with has any exclusive offers for the voyage, etc.

 

Early in the calendar year is low season for virtually all travel and is therefore priced accordingly. If you make your consumer decisions solely based on price perception of quality then feel free to pay more $ for a more typical onboard experience and forego the premium experience HAL provides if that's what floats your boat.

 

Mr. Cruise,

 

Any explanation why Princess is soo expensive for 3rd and 4th pax in a mini-suite (10 Day Panama) at $899 each. We are thinking of taking daughter and her friend as Hal does not have the date we would need. This is just a rollaway twin and twin pull out couch. I could book them into their own cabin (friend is 16) but interior starts at $1,500pp and concerned the friend could back out (Princess insurance policy has free coverage for pax 3 & 4 in same stateroom). Hal def had better deals for pax 3/4.

[Jade13]

You didn't mention what HAL ship(s) you are looking at, but if one of the "cheap" ones is the Noordam out of NYC, many posters here have mentioned bargain prices being offered on 2008 cruises since HAL's announcement of discontinuing sailing from NYC. If it is the Noordam, I say take it - it is a beautiful ship, and my favorite so far.

 

Hal will no longer sail from NY? Don't they have a lot of clients here?

[ittibit]

We have previously sailed on other cruise lines, I am trying to find out the exact size of certain cabins, so I can decide between a few. On other lines you can do this. Can you do this on HAL?:confused: We will be sailing on Noordam 2/6/08.:D

[barante]

Bicker -- My wife and I took our first HAL cruise out of New York in March. It was the best overall cruise experience we have had on six cruises that included Celebrity four times and Norwegian once. The ship is terrific, food was wonderful.

Two weeks ago I saw on this board that HAL was heavily discounting its remaining Noordam cruises out of New York. We booked exactly the same 11-day cruise (which went all the way to Barbados). The price for a VF balcony cabin, including taxes/fees and insurance, came to $1,310 per passanger!

I cannot tell you what it was about the Noordam experience that made it so relaxing. One factor surely was the fabulous library. Another was that there was no mad rush of long lines at disembarkation; we could wait for our turn in our cabins.

Please join us on the March 8 sailing. Our rollcall will tell you who we and our fellow passengers are.

When a good deal is offered, don't argue about it. Grab it.

[romancing_the_sea]

In my cruising experience, I've concluded that you can often get some great deals on HAL's Caribbean cruises. That's because they really make their money in Alaska - that is their specialty. They're known more for Alaska than the Caribbean. Therefore, they cut their prices in the Caribbean (and charge more in Alaska). So if you find that to be true - a HAL Caribbean cruise is a great deal - go for it! Enjoy!

[jtl513]

We have previously sailed on other cruise lines, I am trying to find out the exact size of certain cabins, so I can decide between a few. On other lines you can do this. Can you do this on HAL?:confused: We will be sailing on Noordam 2/6/08.:D

This link will give you diagrams, pictures, and sizes for Noordam cabins. On the right side of the page, note the other useful links for Virtual Tours, etc.

 

Hal will no longer sail from NY?

You must have missed this thread. :)

[sail7seas]

In my cruising experience, I've concluded that you can often get some great deals on HAL's Caribbean cruises. That's because they really make their money in Alaska - that is their specialty. They're known more for Alaska than the Caribbean. Therefore, they cut their prices in the Caribbean (and charge more in Alaska). So if you find that to be true - a HAL Caribbean cruise is a great deal - go for it! Enjoy!

 

Don't forget their fabulous 100+ day World Cruise every year and the lengthy Asian Rim Cruises....not to mention Europe and Australia. They sail the world.

[ittibit]

This link will give you diagrams, pictures, and sizes for Noordam cabins. On the right side of the page, note the other useful links for Virtual Tours, etc.

 

 

You must have missed this thread. :)

 

Thank you for the reply, but on NCL you could actually see if a specific cabin was a foot larger or smaller than the one next to it. Is there any link like this on HAL?

[jtl513]

Thank you for the reply, but on NCL you could actually see if a specific cabin was a foot larger or smaller than the one next to it. Is there any link like this on HAL?

Not to my knowledge, but with a few exceptions all SA/SB/SC are the same size, all SS/SY/SZ are the same size, all VA to VF are the same size, etc. The variations occur in the HC cabins, "at the bends", at the stern, and so on. If you're considering any of these, ask by cabin number and someone will likely come up with an answer or comment.

[bUU]

We have previously sailed on other cruise lines, I am trying to find out the exact size of certain cabins, so I can decide between a few. On other lines you can do this. Can you do this on HAL?:confused: We will be sailing on Noordam 2/6/08.:D

The cruise line web sites do provide some information about square footage. HAL's seems to list a total including balcony area while Royal Caribbean's lists the size of the balcony area separately. Going with the total, Noordam seems to have about 30 extra square feet over the Royal Caribbean balcony room we had a few years ago. FWIW.

[TnTom]

I have a couple of friends that I cruise with, and we all like to have our own cabins. Last year, we got a great deal on "single" cabins on the Oosterdam in January (that is what hooked me on HAL!).

 

We have been looking at taking a warm weather cruise right after the first of the year, and my TA told me HAL offers the best deals on single cabins. If you were looking at such an arrangement, that might explain some of the price difference.

[Lionelski]

?????

While we just booked the 5/8/08 Med Romance voyage on the Zuiderdam, the price was $1,000 -$2,000 higher than sumilar cruises on Royal C and Celebrity and about $800 more than Princess.

 

We booked Holland America as it seemed to have the best itenerary (several ports we've not been to, and the chance to spend several days in our favorite place; Venice), a different ship to explore, fewest sea days, and a new cruiseship line for us to try out.

 

HAL gave us a discount as we've previously cruised on Princess and Celebrity - a nice suprise!

[barbels]

I sailed on the Noordam last January and on the NCL Dawn the year before. I paid about the same amount of money ($2500 for 11 days on the Noordam and $2600 for 10 days on the Dawn) for a minsuite on the Dawn and a balcony cabin on the Noordam. In my opinion they were comparable cabins although the Noordam's was laid out much better and its beds were far superior.

 

When I first started pricing the Noordam the cabin was quoted at more than $4000. More than I wanted to pay so I didn't book it. I finally found a TA who had the cabin for $3200 and I booked it during the summer of 2006. After that the price came down substantially and I asked my TA for a reduction which I got. I initially booked a balcony cabin on the Dawn for $2800 in the fall of 2005. There too the price came down and I got reductions and the last time got an upgrade to a minisuite instead of a further redcution in price.

 

My point in reciting these experiences is that prices quoted now are not necessarily the ones that will be asked closer to the sailing date if the ship does not fill up. Sometimes the lines are overly optimistic about what they can sell cabins for.

 

I just booked the Jan 5 cruise on the Noordam for less than $2500 a balcony cabin. I consider this a great bargain. We loved this cruise last year and were less than thrilled with our Dawn cruise the year before. My advice is to book the Noordam and put your savings away for another cruise.