Sunday, March 12, 2017

SAILING FROM BEIJING TO SHANGHAI


DAY 51 — February 24, 2017 — Sailing the Yellow Sea    


Holland America President Orlando Ashford joined the cruise for a week in Seoul, Korea with his family and other HAL executives.  He has been getting an earful from veteran World Cruisers about what they like and don’t like. Tonight, he hosted a Mariner Appreciation night which means everyone gets complimentary drinks at the cocktail party and wine with dinner.  This tends to make even the grouchiest passenger happier.


We spoke with Stephanie Ashford at the cocktail party.  We learned she went to college at Purdue where she met Orlando and, no, she is not from Indiana.  She is from Plainwell, Michigan!  Another small world moment for Ron.





The evening's Gala/Formal event was also the cruise’s Red Lantern Night with all the dining areas lit up to celebrate our visit to China.


DAY 52 — February 25, 2017 — Sailing the East China Sea

This morning, I took another floral class. I’m not sure I am learning anything because the florists are pretty much “hands on” in making certain that your design is perfect before you walk out of the class with it.  But it is a great way to get stunning flowers in your cabin at a very low cost.


This afternoon featured a Q & A session with Orlando Ashford, President, Holland America Lines.  What we learned:


2016 was HAL’s best financial performance in 8 years. 
Ninety percent of Holland America’s business is done with passengers on cruises of 21 days or less.  All planning is done with this fact in mind.

Repeat Grand Voyagers are considered “residents” and, as such, have different needs and concerns.    They are still important but, as a very small part of HAL’s business, they figure into planning to a much lesser degree.

HAL is putting a $300 million cash infusion into making current ships better.

There are no plans to replace the 800 passenger Prinsendam with another small ship. 

The next new ship will be the (New?) Statendam in 2018, a Pinnacle Class ship, with another to follow in 2021.

The latest Pinnacle Class ship, the Koningsdam, was built in 2015 without a library but that was done “in error” and it will be retrofitted with one.  HAL wants us to know it is not giving up its libraries.

Holland America Lines is partnering with America’s Test Kitchens and O Magazine.  Oprah will be on board for the July 15, 2017 Alaska Cruise.

Grand Voyagers will no longer compete for Grand Dollars (and the merchandise they buy) after 2017.

Questions from the “passenger/resident” audience:

Q:  You promised us six dance hosts and there are only four.  And, they aren’t very good.  What are you going to do about that?   A:  Don’t know.
Q:  Can you put more support bars in the public area toiletsA:  Probably.
Q:  What can you do about the air quality on the ship?  We have too many damn “dam colds and coughs.”   A:  New air filters will be installed after Shanghai but air quality isn’t the reason everyone on board gets the common cold.
Q:  We want better entertainmentA:  The line offers Lincoln Center, Billboard on Board, BB King, and BBC Earth on its ships that do shorter cruises.  It is tough to offer these on the Grand Voyages ships because of lack of room for the venues.
Q:  Why can’t you better regulate the ship’s temperatures on this voyage?   This ship so cold in some places and so warm in others.  A:  Well, it is hard go from the hot climates of the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Guam to the cold climates of Japan, China, and Korea and then back to the hot climates again.  Seattle regulates shipboard temperatures. 

Afterwards I heard most passengers say the Q & A wasn’t all that enlightening for them but they did speak with pride about their “resident” label because that is exactly how they see themselves.  They move in, the Amsterdam welcomes them home after every port stop, and they are as comfortable here (maybe more so) as they are at their own homes, except for not enough “grab bars” to help them sit down and stand up in certain places.  Some have been on the Amsterdam so many times, they say the “own” the ship.  I did not hear many say anything about how HAL only spends 10% of their resources on travelers like them.   You hear what you want to hear, I guess.

The biggest criticism I have heard the most on this voyage is the lack of unlimited Internet for a reasonable price.  The cheapest package at 25 cents/minute is still pricey given how much we all use social media these days.  No one asked the President about that even though we know other cruise lines have started offering special deals like free Facebook and Twitter access or a limited number of free minutes.

I give Ashford credit for making himself available to passengers throughout the entire week he was on board.   He heard a lot of good comments along with the criticisms and he made sure everyone knew he was here to listen to them.  But, he is a money guy with a goal of continuing the financial successes under his tenure so far.  Grand Voyages will still be available but the focus of HAL will be on the shorter, more profitable cruises.  Cutbacks on the Grands will continue.  The dam/grand dollar program is an easy and very popular program on these cruises.  Cutting that out seems dumb.  Pillow gifts are getting fewer and less impressive.  The progress toward unlimited Internet in going to be a long slog.  Gone, I believe, are the days when the Grands were truly special.






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