Smoke & Mirrors?

[Oceanwench]

DH has been online and on the phone all day, trying to book a May 2005 cruise on the Zui.
We were lured into booking by the View & Verandah sale, but it appears to be an elusive marketing tool ...
Each time he asks about it, he is told "Oh, that upgrade is built into the price."
???
HAL is calling it an "up to a 7 category upgrade."
Prices for a verandah room (VA) we're getting quoted are in the $1,200 range.
This is a deal?

Our last 2 cruises on HAL were much more reasonable for that same type room. Maybe because we went in November - when it is still hurricane season? Is that the least expensive time to cruise?

We've always booked online. Am I better off finding a TA?

We are taking the kids & their boyfriends with us, so will be booking 3 rooms altogether.

[scluvsrain]

email me at scluvsrain@sbcglobal.net and I'll give you the name of my ta, who was referred to me by another cc'er. she's fabulous and can get you the promo deal plus another good discount, some shipboard credit, etc.

[seattlecruiser]

I also checked into the sale for a Mexico cruise. I assumed I could pay for an outside as priced on their website and get a seven category upgrade to a veranda. Wrong! The HAL agent said that wasn't the way it worked...he said there we up to twenty different pricing schedules for that cruise and the veranda "sale" would still save me about $100 off of their website quoted price for a veranda (not the $400 I had assumed). Their "sale" price was about $270 more than I can get thru an online agent...what a deal! Guess who I will be booking with! I agree...a lot of smoke and mirrors!

[jhannah]

It's just one more reason why I like to use a brick-and-mortar agency. It's more assuring for me to have someone who's trained in all this to open the window, fan out all the smoke, and get to the heart of the issue. Also, when you deal with someone you know (and who knows you and the dollars you spend with them) then they tend to service you well knowing that to not do so would cost them revenue dollars.

[Aussie Gal]

We had a similar situation when we went to book our Transatlantic on the Maasdam for July. We booked it on board the Prinsendam and it was supposed to be a 2 categorary upgrade but it never eventuated. It was obviously built into the price. We chose the cabin we wanted but I thought we would have been paying less.

Jennie

[dakrewser]

X categories upgrade is always based on rack rate, book rate, face value, etc. - never on a discounted rate. So, based on rack rate you are getting a "7 category upgrade" with a VA for $1200

[shipcafe]

Cruise volume has increased significantly for 2005 compared to the last couple of years as you will be able to view on almost any cruise industry news web site. Rates, therefore, would be reflective of than in comparison to the same cruise in the last year, two, plus.

Whenever there is an upgrade promotion, the "upgrade" is indeed built into the price. In fact, for the View & Verandah promotion for example, if you price it out online - you'll see that the lead-in inside prices are the same as those for the outside - indicating that the upgrade from an inside is built into that entry cost.

Steve