So Few 10 day cruises.......

[Hoyaheel]

Every survey or comment card HAL gives me, I tell them I want 10-15 day cruises. My husband and I both work full-time but we want to cruise longer than 7 days (for the same reasons many have already posted). We simply will not take a 7 day cruise. If HAL doesn't have what we want, we'll look to another cruise line or do a different kind of vacation. Vote with our wallet/feet, so to speak;)

[Sage]

We have noticed that HAL is also promoting more 20 day and longer cruises, 10 day b2b in some cases. I also think that the type of people that you get on 7 day cruises tend to be more first time cruisers or those with families. We prefer the longer cruises.

[Richard in Panama]

HAL's 10 day Southern Caribbean on ZUIDERDAM this year is a great 10 day itinerary with the Canal, Costa Rica, Half Moon Cay and Dutch West Indies. I did it on VOLENDAM and it's a great itinerary!

 

Regards, Richard

[cf_chuck]

HAL's 10 day Southern Caribbean on ZUIDERDAM this year is a great 10 day itinerary with the Canal, Costa Rica, Half Moon Cay and Dutch West Indies. I did it on VOLENDAM and it's a great itinerary!

 

Regards, Richard

 

I very much enjoyed this cruise in Feb. this year on the Volendam. My first time to the canal which I found fascinating. It was a retirement present I gave to myself.

[photomikey]

I'd love a nice 10-day cruise, but in the USA where most people start with 2 weeks vacation, a 10-day cruise eats up all the vacation for an entire year. Hope you weren't planning to see the family over Christmas!

 

The 7-day cruises typically begin and end on a weekend, leaving people with a day on either side to get home and recoup.

[hammybee]

Every survey or comment card HAL gives me, I tell them I want 10-15 day cruises. My husband and I both work full-time but we want to cruise longer than 7 days (for the same reasons many have already posted). We simply will not take a 7 day cruise. If HAL doesn't have what we want, we'll look to another cruise line or do a different kind of vacation. Vote with our wallet/feet, so to speak;)

 

Me too. I wonder what those other 1 million + passengers are telling HAL. :)

[sail7seas]

We've done the round trip FLL to Panama Canal cruise about 5 times. We've loved it but had enough of it for now. We're booked for Maasdam 14 days in December and will hunt around for another cruise of 10 -14 days.

 

[Modern_Viking]

It seems like the number of 10 day cruises by HAL in the US really dropped when they did away with the local homeport idea (NYC, Norfolk, Port Canaveral) and decided to focus on Pt. Everglades (at least for cruises to the South).

 

While some might really enjoy combining a 10 day cruise with a few hotel days to make 14, I would guess that (in the USA at least) most people would rather spend 14 days on the ship or 7 (and be more "efficient" with their vacation time).

 

No for trips to Europe, it seems like 10-12 day trips are more popular based perhaps on the longer flights and the greater desire to spend some time ashore before and after the cruise.

 

While there seem to be fewer options, it seems like bigger ships are being used for the 10 day trips. Noordam took over the Maasdam 10 day trips and the Zuiderdam took over for the R-class ships that previously provided the Panama Canal trips r/t from Port Everglades.

 

And now the Eurodam is taking over the 10 day New England/Canada trips (despite not being able to reach Montreal, which seems like a loss to me).

 

Then there is also the Ryndam out of San Diego to Mexico. That seems like the only choice of that length out west.

 

Anyway, I probably haven't said anything Sail doesn't already know, but I felt like commenting anyway.

 

I agree that 7 day trips just don't feel the same onboard as 14 day trips. More variety would be great.

[sail7seas]

And now the Eurodam is taking over the 10 day New England/Canada trips (despite not being able to reach Montreal, which seems like a loss to me).

 

Then there is also the Ryndam out of San Diego to Mexico. That seems like the only choice of that length out west.

 

Anyway, I probably haven't said anything Sail doesn't already know, but I felt like commenting anyway.

 

I agree that 7 day trips just don't feel the same onboard as 14 day trips. More variety would be great.

 

 

One little thing.........

 

Eurodam is joining Maasdam in doing Canada/New England cruises but is not replacing her. I don't recall Maasdam doing more than a rare ten day Canada itinerary (and repositioning cruise each spring/fall). We have sailed the seven day cruises on her for years.

 

We leave very soon for August back-to-backs on Maasdam and have already booked three cruises on Maasdam for summer of 2009 Canada/New England. We have two in June and one in August.

 

Maasdam will continue to go to Montreal via Quebec. As you say, Eurodam cannot fit under the bridge.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I remember when the Maasdam did 10 day round trips out of New York a number of years ago -- we did one of them!!!

[sail7seas]

I wouldn't travel to New York to sail to Boston and Canada/New England. We live in Boston. :D No airports. No planes!!! Of course, seeing as you have to travel to get to either.......

 

I remember a number of things HAL used to do years ago. :)

In many respects, what they do is even better today than then. In others, perhaps not.

 

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sail I just had a chance to read your thread and what is funny is in my searching for cruises close to us for later 2009 and early 2010 the only options I will have will be 10 days :o I would love to be able to take another 10 day but it would have to work out just perfect around Thanksgiving when the car dealership I work at is closed. It worked out perfect in 2006 because Thanksgiving was early and not on the 28th because I would need to get back before the end of the month. I do not for see this happening again for a long time. So I must take a 7 day and HAL has taken those away from us West Coasters:(

 

Sadly in all honesty I do not see us continuing very many HAL cruises after our September 2009 cruise on the Zuiderdam. As much as we are looking forward to sailing the Eurodam in December we are so dreading the long flight across country and along with it the hassle of flying. With HAL not offering 7 day cruises (with the exception of Holiday cruises that we would never do) they have totally eliminated options for West Coasters, so sadly we will be looking to cruise on another line:( Oh how I do not want to do that but they really have given us no choice. We will probably continue taking HAL cruises to Alaska in the early Spring or late Fall but doubtful we will make any big plans after the Eurodam to do a East Coast cruise.:o

[sail7seas]

I feel bad about that, Lisa. I know how you feel about the cross country flights. I hate those long flights and that is the only reason we didn't do the Mexican Riviera cruise. We would happily have taken at least one but didn't want the hassle of getting there...especially for 7 days.

 

We have FLL choices and thankfully can do back-to-backs to make the seven days into a 14 but for me, ten days is the perfect length for Caribbean. I don't always want to be aboard 14 days in the Caribbean seeing how many times we have been there.

 

Before we lost our little dog a few months ago, it was a real struggle for me to be away 17 or 18 days. I hated leaving her that long. DH can only be out of his office that long....outside limit.

 

We're booked for 14 days in December on Maasdam and 14 on Eurodam in March but I wish the March cruise was ten days.

 

It's hard to say if HAL will reconsider about 7 day cruises on West Coast. No sign of it yet.

 

[Djptcp]

DH and I will be taking our first 10-day cruise on the Noordam leaving on Thanksgiving Day. We usually do 7-day cruises with 4-5 day cruises mixed in because we live an hour from Jacksonville and it's convenient to take the shorter cruises several times a year. I originally had a 7-day cruise on Carnival booked for the week of Christmas (same one we took last Christmas), but I received an email from HAL a few months ago and found the 10-day S. Caribbean cruise for only $100 more than our 7-day cruise at Christmas. Both balcony cabins with similar accommodations. So, I cancelled the Carnival cruise and booked HAL. In terms of vacation, I'm using only two more days on the Noordam. We are booked on a 10-day Panama Canal cruise on Princess for Thanksgiving 2009. I would have booked HAL, but the dates didn't work for us and we would have had to use more vacation than what we are using for the 10-day Princess cruise. I'm afraid DH and I will be hooked on the 10-day cruises and won't be satisfied with 7-day ones anymore. Oh well, we have a 4-day and a 5-day booked on the Carnival Fascination out of Jacksonville for January and May and they will just have to tide us over until the Panama Canal cruise in Nov. :cool:

[localady]

Sail I just had a chance to read your thread and what is funny is in my searching for cruises close to us for later 2009 and early 2010 the only options I will have will be 10 days :o I would love to be able to take another 10 day but it would have to work out just perfect around Thanksgiving when the car dealership I work at is closed. It worked out perfect in 2006 because Thanksgiving was early and not on the 28th because I would need to get back before the end of the month. I do not for see this happening again for a long time. So I must take a 7 day and HAL has taken those away from us West Coasters:(

 

Sadly in all honesty I do not see us continuing very many HAL cruises after our September 2009 cruise on the Zuiderdam. As much as we are looking forward to sailing the Eurodam in December we are so dreading the long flight across country and along with it the hassle of flying. With HAL not offering 7 day cruises (with the exception of Holiday cruises that we would never do) they have totally eliminated options for West Coasters, so sadly we will be looking to cruise on another line:( Oh how I do not want to do that but they really have given us no choice. We will probably continue taking HAL cruises to Alaska in the early Spring or late Fall but doubtful we will make any big plans after the Eurodam to do a East Coast cruise.:o

 

I have to echo your comments Lisa. The thought of flying East and incurring the cost and hassle makes a 7 day cruise from FFL totally out of the question.

Sail, although we'd love to have you come out for the Yummers cruise, I would feel the same way as you do.

The 14 day back to backs spend too many days travelling to and from port, as you have 3 days in the middle of the cruise that the ship returns to Ft. Lauderdale, which IMHO really cuts into the cruise and has no appeal to me.:o

Hopefully 2010's schedule will have more workable options! (especially for us Left Coaster's)

[Modern_Viking]

One little thing.........

 

Eurodam is joining Maasdam in doing Canada/New England cruises but is not replacing her. I don't recall Maasdam doing more than a rare ten day Canada itinerary (and repositioning cruise each spring/fall). We have sailed the seven day cruises on her for years.

 

We leave very soon for August back-to-backs on Maasdam and have already booked three cruises on Maasdam for summer of 2009 Canada/New England. We have two in June and one in August.

 

Maasdam will continue to go to Montreal via Quebec. As you say, Eurodam cannot fit under the bridge.

 

Sail,

 

What you point out here is quite correct; Eurodam is not replacing the Maasdam. I should have been more clear that Eurodam is taking over the 10+ day New England and Canada cruises out of NYC that Veendam sailed in 2007 and Amsterdam sailed in 2006. I'm not sure which dam ships (if any) sailed that itinerary before then, although I did see a travel channel show about the Rotterdam VI sailing a similar route maybe five or more years ago.

 

As you say, there is little logic to flying south just to cruise north past your home! At least with Amsterdam and Veendam, however, they could reach Montreal.

 

Anyway, as long as you allow me to carry out my plans to spend 14 days on your wonderful Maasdam this December (just after you disembark), I will be happy! :) I promise to give her back at the end of the trip. Well, you can have her back after the completion of the drydock after I disembark, that is. This actually will be the second time I send a dam ship into drydock just after sailing on board...

[sail7seas]

Sounds like a good plan to me, Viking. I'm counting on you to 'tuck her safely in' for her drydock. :D She's such a special lady.

 

I'll make sure she's shipshape and ready and waiting for you when we disembark in December. ;)