Future cruise

[susaner]

People discuss making payments for future cruises while on board - what are the advantages to doing this? Thanks for any help - we are on the Zuiderdam in February 2011 and are thinking about doing the 30 day Hawaii/Tahiti in January 2012. Should we book this while on our cruise?

[RuthC]

There's two major advantages of booking while on board, vs booking back home. One is that there is a $100 per person deposit for most cruises. The cruise you are considering comes under the $100 deposit rule.
The second major advantage is that there is an on-board credit issued for the booked cruise. The amount varies based on the type of cabin, and length of cruise.

If you do book on board, you can assign the booking to any TA you wish, so your TA gets full credit (as in "commission") for the booking. You can also assign it to HAL, and transfer later. Those transfers can get you an even better price, as well as additional perqs.

The only disadvantage is that if you don't use the deposit to book a cruise within four years, you lose the money.

[susaner]

Thanks RuthC for your clear answer - I don't think that there is any chance of us not taking a HAL cruise in 4 years!

[kazu]

We normally buy the Future Cruise Credit from the FCC ($100) and then use it to book our cruise later from our TA. Normally we can get a better price of more OBC that way. You still get the OBC from HAL and the future cruise credit is your deposit. Great system:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We also put down deposits for future cruises when we cruise and then decide later what we want to book. We love the extra shipboard credit.

Shipboard Credit:

7 - 10 days:
Inside - $25 per person
Outside - $25 per person
Verandah (VA/A - VF/BC) - $35 per person
Suite (PS - S/SY) - $50 per person

11+ days:
Inside - $50 per person
Outside - $50 per person
Verandah (VA/A - VF/BC) - $75 per person
Suite (PS - S/SY) - $100 per person

Please Note:
Deposit of $100 per person -- good for 4 years -- no refund of deposit.
This offer applies to the first two passengers in stateroom only, and is not applicable to upper berth passengers. Passengers with single occupancy will receive a single person portion. Ship board credit may only be used on a single voyage and expires at the end of that voyage. This offer or any unused portion is not redeemable for cash and is available to new bookings only.
This offer is not combinable with the World Cruise, Grand Voyages or segments thereof.

[GmaPajama]

Thanks for posting those exact guidelines, KK. I can never find them when I want them, so printed out your post and will have the information handy from now on.

[BumperII]

The only disadvantage is that the $100 pp deposit is non refundable. Our on line travel agent makes sure we get any and all other perks that develop including OBC and better prices, and encourages us to take advantage of the on board advance booking. Then the TA throws in their own OBC to sweeten the deal.

The risk of losing a deposit is really quite minimal, especially if you are a frequent cruiser. Having done this a couple of times, we are already ahead of the game. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done it quite a few times over the last few years since HAL started this program.

Little chance of our losing any deposits.

[nho9504]

Does HAL allow Open Booking on the Future Cruise Booking?

I cannot find any info on HAL website, not even the amount of OBC available per different length of cruise. Princess on the other hand has very clear and specific information on its website.

We always purchase FCC when we sail Princess. This past April when we first sailed HAL (Eurodam transatlantic) we enquired the FCC and did not like what we were told (the low amount and I believe she told us we MUST book a specific cruise onboard) so we did not purchase it.

[schoolinmy3]

Does HAL allow Open Booking on the Future Cruise Booking?

I cannot find any info on HAL website, not even the amount of OBC available per different length of cruise. Princess on the other hand has very clear and specific information on its website.

We always purchase FCC when we sail Princess. This past April when we first sailed HAL (Eurodam transatlantic) we enquired the FCC and did not like what we were told (the low amount and I believe she told us we MUST book a specific cruise onboard) so we did not purchase it.

On both HAL cruises we have taken so far, we have purchased the FCC without choosing a specific cruise. WE even purchased a FCC for a friend who had never cruised before. We are cruising with them on their first cruise to Bermuda in June. Had no problem in selecting an open booking and we were not pushed into selecting a specific cruise in any way. The last cruise we purchased our FCC was on the Eurodam in May. We were able to transfer our HAL booking for our Mediterranean cruise on the Noordam to our TA and the OBC transferred as well as the deposit and an additional OBC from our TA. Then we booked the cruise to Bermuda directly with our TA and received the OBC as well.
diane

[nho9504]

Thanks. Sounds like we have been told the wrong info onboard. Or the FCC consultant was too eager to push the selected sailings. So we left some money on the table as we are now without FCC for our about to be booked Transatlantic in April. :mad:

I have to say though, the Princess FCC is a lot more generous than HAL's. Also HAL does not offer free internet for its elite passengers. To me, the free internet is the real money I can truly appreciate versus the useless 10% / 15% discount on purchases made HAL's logo items.

[bob brown]

For some folks, the deal does not apply, if you book under special rates, such as Interline rate. But for most, it is a good deal. Check the fine print before you decide.

[stag]

As Canadians, we can pay the cruise either in Canadian dollars or in US dollars. We can buy the future cruise in US$ or Canadian$. However, HAL future cruise is very rigid. If we buy the future cruise in Canadian$, it must be applied to the Canadian dollar booking and vise versa. When the Canadian dollar fluctuates, the cruise fee also fluctuates that often exceed $50 per cruise. We happened to choose the "wrong currency" on future cruise a few years ago. We found it is not so easy to apply the future cruise credit.

BTW, we like the Princess Future Cruise. The dollar can be interchanged. The on board credit is more liberal. And you can request a full refund anytime.