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HAL Cancelling Noordam Cruises from NYC November 2008 (Merger of Several Threads)

kristmay

By kristmay,
in Holland America Line

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RevNeal

RevNeal

Posted
Posted

FLL

At Sea

At Sea

San Juan

St. Thomas

St. Kitts

Dominica

Barbados

St. Lucia

Guadaloupe

St. Maarten

Tortola

HMC

FLL

 

The nice thing about this itinerary is that several of these ports are ports that I probably wouldn't even bother getting off the ship at for anything serious.

 

I would prefer a 14-day cruise with at least one more sea-day, particularly toward the end, however.

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bUU

bUU

Posted
Posted
I know, innlady, but at what prices? Evidently from everything known by posters who check cruise fares, HAL had to heavily discount from NY and don't have to do this as much when sailing from FL.
I can attest to this. If Holland America was not substantially less expensive, we'd be sailing on NCL from NYC or Royal Caribbean from Miami.
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RevNeal

RevNeal

Posted
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Come to think of it - the ports were a little different

 

Tampa - San Juan - St Thomas - Guadeloupe - Barados - St Lucia - Isla Margarita -- Bonaire - Aruba - Grand Cayman

 

I think that's right. But it's the same basic idea ... a "grand tour" of the Caribbean.

 

One of the things I like about these 14-day itineraries is that you really get a bang for the buck on them ... the difference in price between them and the 10-day itineraries is very minimal, but the extra time on ship is substantial. And, it's as long as a b2b but without the negatives of the b2bs being two independent cruises. The feel of the cruise is significantly different.

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ekerr19

ekerr19

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I can attest to this. If Holland America was not substantially less expensive, we'd be sailing on NCL from NYC or Royal Caribbean from Miami.

 

Wow, I always found both lines to be substantially "less"...

 

I've been on RCCL once (recently) and it was a far cry from HAL. Both in price and quality.

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ekerr19

ekerr19

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Quite a few years ago we did one RCI cruise = a four day one - really didn't think it was that cheap for just 4 days. JMO

 

KK-

 

Did you think it was better than HAL? We did a 5-day and didn't think it was anything to write home about, though I did like the atrium and shops area... the cabin was smaller than anything we'd even been in and the food was just barely "so-so". I did feel the staff was pretty decent though, especially the barstaff. Lifeboat drill was a mess.

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

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I wouldn't be interested in cruising again on NCL and RCI doesn't interest us at all. We did book RCI earlier this year because of price, but cancelled the more we thought about it. However, their cruises were considerably less than HAL ... not the other way around.

 

We absolutely love 14-day cruises and will never cruise less than 10 again. But the beauty of the time at sea is what draws us so I'd have no interest in such a port intensive cruise as the one shown above. Like Greg, I could stay onboard but that's not the same as being on the sea.

 

I'm always looking for the most sea days I can find. This is harder and harder because many of the newer cruisers particularly want to be in a new port every day.

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Frick_&_Frack

Frick_&_Frack

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We absolutely love 14-day cruises and will never cruise less than 10 again. But the beauty of the time at sea is what draws us so I'd have no interest in such a port intensive cruise as the one shown above. Like Greg, I could stay onboard but that's not the same as being on the sea.

 

I'm always looking for the most sea days I can find. This is harder and harder because many of the newer cruisers particularly want to be in a new port every day.

 

Heather - I couldn't agree more - I'm all about sea days now....

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BILLP1

BILLP1

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We are still waiting to hear from HAL regarding the change. they seem very confused.

 

At least we leave on maybe our last cruise out of New York in a few weeks on Celebrity Constellation to Canada - New England.

 

They seem to fill up the ships and make money and provide a good product.

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mamaofami

mamaofami

Posted
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I also love the days at sea. I guess that's why I like the two days down and back out of NY on the Noordam.:) Sea days with nothing to do are very relaxing. i can read, watch the ocean go by, sit in the Crow's Nest and look out or sit outside in the shade(and sometimes the sun). What could be better?:D

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mariner

mariner

Posted
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A few comments:

 

NCL 1 HAL 0 in NYC.

Forget the fuel. NOORDAM bunkered in St Maarten and received a substaintial discount due to its Dutch flag.

 

Think there are several factors that hurt HAL in NYC market.

 

1) It couldn't provide the same product while discounting to compete with NCL, which recently sold a one-price cruise. All cabins same price. First-come could get the suites.

 

2) The dress codes.

 

3) The dining times.

 

4) Perceived as not being kid-friendly.

 

5) The sea days.

 

6) Lack of onboard spending.

 

And for the previous poster who said her dh would never sail in the North Atlantic in winter, I would advise him to examine a chart on the cruise you're booked. You'll spend most of your time in THE NORTH ATLANTIC.

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RevNeal

RevNeal

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It actually blew me away and showed me that Holland America is not the premium-priced cruise line I had thought it was.

 

Don't generalize based upon only one market.

Compare the Hawaii offerings. HAL tends to be more expensive. For instance (and this is just at a glance comparing lowest Inside Cabin price quoted from an online discounter):

 

HAL - $2252 pp -- 15 days round trip out of San Diego

Celebrity - $1699 pp -- 15 days San Diego to Ensenada (or reverse)

Princess - $1347 pp -- 14 days LA to Ensenada (or reverse)

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

Posted
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We are still waiting to hear from HAL regarding the change. they seem very confused.

 

At least we leave on maybe our last cruise out of New York in a few weeks on Celebrity Constellation to Canada - New England.

 

They seem to fill up the ships and make money and provide a good product.

 

And if HAL is confused, it's not wonder everyone else is!!!!:D

 

Love to know how you like your Constellation cruise to Canada. We're doing that cruise out of Bayonne next October and are really excited about it. I agree that Celebrity delivers a wonderful product ... that's where I'll be hanging my hat from now on.

 

Hope you'll post a report of your cruise on the Celebrity board? Or come back here and do a comparison to HAL (if you dare;) )?

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hammybee

hammybee

Posted
Posted

I just took a look at current pricing for all sails departing from the NYC area in January-February. Here is the per diem range, across both months, for an inside cabin:

 

Cunard $110-130

 

NCL $100-109*

 

RCL $89-109

 

HAL $91-105

 

In the latter part of February, NCL switches to 7 day sails to the Bahamas.

 

On all but one sailing HAL is the low cost provider and has been all along, with the exception of the limited time sale NCL held awhile ago. None of the ships have sold out as to be expected given they are 3-4 months into the future. All prices are less than they were for 2006 sailings.

 

Reported spending habits of passengers, fuel costs and probable higher than average docking/ground costs along with the fares probably do not combine for a sufficiently profitable run.

 

The combination of 10-11 day intineraries, cold weather coming and going and the undesirability of flying into NYC in the winter/overnight hotel costs probably cause these sails to be unattractive to groups/charters and many potential cruisers who need to fly to a port.

 

Pulling out of the NYC market in the winter is almost a no brainer. I am glad they took this action instead of reducing the crew/ service and diminishing the experience.

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