Abandoned by HAL - Update

[pingsplace]

I have just received an e-mail from HAL regarding my dilemma.
Here's the link to what happened.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=117110&page=1&pp=25

They have offered to give me $621.14 as a refund for the unused HAL plane tickets. This is equivalent to $207.05 per person. There were three of us. They said the error was the airline and not theirs. I'm glad there's some compensation but I felt it should be a little bit more. Having read other posts of other CC's, they have received a credit of $200 just for a non flushing toilet.

In my situation, I had non working a/c, non flushing toilets, suitcase with missing wheels, etc... and never made an issue b/c I lowered my expectations. I feel they did not address the issue. Why and how did they forget about me?

Is the refund of $207.05 per person good enough?I would like your opinion. Thank you all for your honest feedback.:confused:

[CaptData]

I am not a lawyer so take this with a big grain of salt.

Do you have receipts of everything, including all letters and names of the airport people. The new printed itinrary that you could not go on. If so I would take this to a legal person. Do not cash that check because I think there is a clause that states if you cash the check then you accept it as the right thing or something. You had HAL tickets and they screwed up. What everhotel you stayed st do they have a list of the numbers you tried phoning including the 1-800 numbers and how long if so this will help you.Good luck.

[shipcafe]

I have just received an e-mail from HAL regarding my dilemma.
Here's the link to what happened.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=117110&page=1&pp=25

They have offered to give me $621.14 as a refund for the unused HAL plane tickets. This is equivalent to $207.05 per person. There were three of us. They said the error was the airline and not theirs. I'm glad there's some compensation but I felt it should be a little bit more. Having read other posts of other CC's, they have received a credit of $200 just for a non flushing toilet.

In my situation, I had non working a/c, non flushing toilets, suitcase with missing wheels, etc... and never made an issue b/c I lowered my expectations. I feel they did not address the issue. Why and how did they forget about me?

Is the refund of $207.05 per person good enough?I would like your opinion. Thank you all for your honest feedback.:confused:

I guess it depends. If it were truly the airline's fault then, yes, the compensation was fair as it was coming from HAL vs. the airline. If it was indeed the airline's fault then I would be pursuing action from THEM.

[localady]

The fact is you were travelling on HAL's bulk ticket and you purchased the airfare with them. I'd like to hear HAL's justification for it being "the airlines" fault. At the very least HAL could go to the airline on your behalf, the fact is you put your faith in HAL to get you to and from your cruise, IMHO.

Again, this isn't a legal opinion, just common sense, and as we all know the legal system is not based on common sense!:rolleyes:

[dst]

It seems to be common these days that HAL will not take responsibility for anything. Personally I would send the check back to them and get an attorney involved.

We work hard and making the decision to take a cruise and who to spend your money with should say something. If HAL keeps behaving like this I would think they would be out of business......there are a lot of cruise lines to choose from and I would assume you would not choose HAL again.

Bad for HAL

[ekerr19]

I have to agree with Localady.. if you purchased air through HAL as you previously indicated, it was their responsibility to ensure you had flights to get home without have to re-purchase them.

However, from our personal experience - the first time we used HAL's air, we missed our connection from FLL in St. Louis. HAL had booked us on ridiculous flights with very tight connections via TWA and TWA was not going to do anything to help us once we missed the connection home. The TWA rep was very rude and said our bulk ticket was virtually useless. We were forced to wait five hours in STL for the last flight to Denver and even then, we were standby.

We got on the plane, but arrived home about 2:00 am after disembarking the previous morning at 8:00 am. This is the main reason we prefer to book our own air. With HAL's air, you are rolling the dice, imo.

[JDee]

Pingsplace:

I certainly recall your prior postings and many of the related responses, which were pro and con. This posting will most likely result in mixed opions. Mine, I would accept the offer and move on for the following reasons:

1) HAL has denied their culpalbility in this mess.

2) The compensation is equal to what HAL considers their value of the unused tickets. That limitation is expressly shown in their liability limitations.

3) The other items such as non-working toilets, A/C, etc., are really not at issue here. Those items would be a separate issue if you choose to pursue it.

4) Do not believe hiring an attorney would be cost effective. Anyone can sue. Winning the case and collecting are another matter.

5) While the refund of $207.05 may not seem good enough, it would appear that HAL has concluded in the affirmative. From here on out, believe you will not gain anything more.

Sorry the offer did not meet your ecpections, but don't see anything more you can do about it.

Happy cruising....

[KAKcruiser]

I would take the offer and forget about it. You had a horrible experience. It was somebody's fault. But, you would only make yourself more miserable to keep the fight going. At least you got some compensation. I think you have taken this as far as you can without driving yourself crazy. Some things just aren't worth any more effort.

[dst]

Why is it that everyone seems to excuse HAL's poor decisions. I am not a person who says take it to court or go after them, but they treated these guest unfairly. I know a lot of attorneys who would at least draft a letter to HAL, at least this way you can have it known how you feel. I also would not send the letter to just anyone, I would send it to the top.

Unless someone pursues HAL's actiosn, they will continue to treat people this way. Personally I am ashamed at the way they handled this and others that I have read about.

[louiskam]

Since you live in Vancouver, B.C. (I live in Richmond), are you considering to drive a couple of hrs. down to HAL headquarter at 300 Elliott Ave. W., Seattle downtown personally with all your records (particularly your extra expense receipts) to meet a supervisor at the Customer Relation Dept?

[1cruiselvr]

Lawyers don't scare cruiselines. They get around the law by not being registered in the US. You won't get a dime if you sue, so just be glad HAL offered something and take it.

[Linda&Vern]

I have just received an e-mail from HAL regarding my dilemma.
Here's the link to what happened.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=117110&page=1&pp=25

They have offered to give me $621.14 as a refund for the unused HAL plane tickets. This is equivalent to $207.05 per person. There were three of us. They said the error was the airline and not theirs. I'm glad there's some compensation but I felt it should be a little bit more. Having read other posts of other CC's, they have received a credit of $200 just for a non flushing toilet.

In my situation, I had non working a/c, non flushing toilets, suitcase with missing wheels, etc... and never made an issue b/c I lowered my expectations. I feel they did not address the issue. Why and how did they forget about me?

Is the refund of $207.05 per person good enough?I would like your opinion. Thank you all for your honest feedback.:confused:
I'm confused - in your original posting in January you said you had a great time on the cruise and everything associated with the cruise went smooth. Your frustration seemed only to be with the airline situation. You never mentioned a/c or toilets, etc. We got on Maasdam when you got off (yes, very late)! (FYI - have friends who spent 3 days stranded in an airport/hotel traveling for the Holidays at the same time you were trying to get home. Seems that was a h*ll of a week for air travel.)

[dst]

I Live 15 minutes from HAL's office and if it hapepned to me I would go directly there. Sometimes the first answer is to just shut you up but if you go to someone higher up you can have better success. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, I know I will think twice before cruising with HAL

[Globaliser]

They have offered to give me $621.14 as a refund for the unused HAL plane tickets. This is equivalent to $207.05 per person. There were three of us. They said the error was the airline and not theirs.I think that the position that my comprehension got to in the other thread was the possibility that HAL had made a confirmed reservation on your replacement flight but had not issued tickets for it (and therefore not paid the airline).

I'd be interested to know what HAL had to say about that issue when they say that it was the airline's fault. Do HAL say that they did issue tickets? If so, they should be able to give you ticket numbers for all three tickets. And what other reasons did HAL give for saying that it was the airline's fault and not theirs? Without knowing what HAL said about those reasons, we can only guess at what they think the actual position was.

You ask for advice about whether this is an acceptable amount. Without knowing the full facts, I don't think that I'd want to offer any opinion on that issue. Although what you described was consistent with the possibility that HAL stuffed up, there were other things in your story which were a little odd. Not least of those is the question of why you didn't simply pay the airline for the reservation that HAL had made but omitted to ticket (if that is indeed what happened), which would have been a simple step that would have got you tickets for the flights that HAL had booked you on, at a cost it seems of a few hundred dollars.

And one thing that I do find odd in this new twist is that if indeed you are out of pocket by the amount you say you are (over $3000, IIRC), why are you even contemplating accepting this level of compensation? Did some things happen at the time that make you content to bear some of the loss? Or was it truly all HAL's fault, as you originally made out?