HAL not adjusting prices after payment in full

[yh]

I was just unpleasantly surprised to find out, through my TA, that HAL has a policy of not matching the cruise price after the price drop if the cruise is paid in full (usually anytime you book within 90 days of sailing). This not what my experience had been with other cruise lines (RCCL, Celebrity, Princess).

Has anyone experienced the same with HAL? Did you have specific situation where you did get price reduced after paying in full?

Help/info is very much appreciated.

Lena

[lvtotrvl1]

I had clients on HAL and after FP I noticed that the price had gone done. I called and the res agent wouldn't do anything, but when I spoke to a supervisor, she upgraded y clients to a better category.

[lougee1043]

yh
this has been their policy for the last couple of years -- a good hal revenue producing ta might be able to get you a shipboard credit if he/she really tries but it wont equal the deduction of the price---sorry

[KAKcruiser]

Up until about 5 years ago, they would adjust the price after final payment but not anymore. My experience in recent years is that if the price goes down, it is for new booking only anyway.

[twinkletoes4445]

Honestly, I don't understand why any of the cruise lines would discount after the final payment is made. Once that time arrives, then they try and "unload" the leftover cabins. I look at it as an end-of-the-season sale. If you buy early, you get exactly what you want. If you wait for the sale, you may not get the color or size you need, but you'll probably get a better price than I did when I bought before they were on sale. That's the chance you take waiting until the end to purchase. I buy early...and get what I want. If the price goes down, so be it. I know I have exactly what I want.

I can see them bumping someone up to a better cabin, and it wouldn't hurt to ask. :)

[RevNeal]

The price drop has to be greater than 10% of the cruise price for HAL to even consider it. And, then, they often offer one an upgrade instead. It's sometimes a good deal, even. I once booked an inside J, the price dropped about 20%, I called and was offered an outside C, same deck and across the hall. That was a VERY nice upgrade for nothing extra.

[tomc]

I dunno ... after you've made the final payment, you've left the store. I had the impression that's always been HAL's policy, although a good TA can't hurt any.

[michmike]

Had an outside E booked on Zaandam about 3 yrs ago and price dropped substantially after FP to the point where they were offering verandahs for roughly what we had paid for the E.

I wrote Seattle as well as protested to our TA in writing, arguing that all their "as a mariner, you're important to us" and "book early for best pricing and selection" stuff was so much rubbish if that is how we were treated.

TA was a big producer for HAL and so in the end he got the 4 of us (2 couples, 2 cabins) upgraded to a verandah.

So it certainly doesn't hurt to try.

Had a similar deal over a shipboard credit a couple trips back and when the online agent we used, couldn't get HAL to budge, I called Seattle and ended up talking w/ a supervisor and got the credit. Believe it was $100 a person, so my investment of an hour or so on the phone paid off nicely.

[EbayCruiser]

I just recently found out that Disney Cruise Line will give you a refund if the price drops on your cruise if you have booked directly with them but if it's with a travel agency then it's up to the travel agency on whether they will refund. There was a thread about this recently on the www.disboards.com (http://www.disboards.com) . Some passengers received BIG refunds $800 - $1,000+.

I keep checking mine each day to see if the price has dropped but no such luck yet. But ... they sometimes do drop the price during the last couple of weeks. You do have to call Disney and ask for the refund.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Haven't had a price drop in about 2 years. But a couple of years ago, a couple of our cruises did drop in price after final payment. Our TA called HAL and we were given the credit back on our credit card - wasn't a problem then.

[zaandam_2]

I booked my 1st HAL cruise directly with HAL. The price dropped just a bit more than 10% after FP. I called them (a few times, actually) and they wouldn't adjust anything. no upgrades. It was still a wonderful cruise.

[ocngypz]

Depends what the advertised fare code is. If it is restricted to new bookings only, no, you will not get a reduction in fare.

[RevNeal]

It will also depend upon what's actually available and on sale on the cruise. If there are no cabins available above your category, there's nothing they can upgrade you to. Onboard credit is a possibility, but that can be axed if the price you actually paid for the cruise was already significantly discounted. The line is trying to sell it's left-over cabins in flash-sales, and that can mean a few people (who can book late and pay all at once) can get a great deal. But they also get only those cabins that are available (sometimes NOT the best cabins). Sometimes the sales in a particular category are actually just guarantee prices ... not for a cabin that you have specifically chosen.

[doodbug]

Is it true that the best cabins are sometimes not being kept till the very end? I booked my cruise pretty early and I couldn't seem to find good available cabins for any of the Balcony and Oceanview cabins that I was interested in. In fact, after I booked, better cabins (ie more mid ship cabins) within the same category were progressively being released. I suppose I could keep checking but it is a tiring process.....and I find it strange that since HAL doens't adjust prices after final payment, I hope they do release the best rooms to people who pay more and commit early. Just some thoughts.

Am looking forward to the cruise nonetheless! Oosterdam here I come!

[ladymacwilly]

Remember I guy not so long ago on this board. He was almost crucified admitting that he obtained a discount as a pilot in the travel industry yet the price dropped and he was not given the difference. When do you ever recall calling the airline saying; "My seat mate paid $200 and I had to pay $400! for the same flight?" many responded, (quite unsympathetically, I might add) My suggestion; book later as opposed to earlier...

[Scrumpy]

Is it true that the best cabins are sometimes not being kept till the very end? I booked my cruise pretty early and I couldn't seem to find good available cabins for any of the Balcony and Oceanview cabins that I was interested in. In fact, after I booked, better cabins (ie more mid ship cabins) within the same category were progressively being released. I suppose I could keep checking but it is a tiring process.....and I find it strange that since HAL doens't adjust prices after final payment, I hope they do release the best rooms to people who pay more and commit early. Just some thoughts.

Am looking forward to the cruise nonetheless! Oosterdam here I come!

I definitely think that some of the better cabins become available late, even after FP. We booked our 5/27 Oosterdam cruise on April 6th. The availability fluctuated like crazy for 2 weeks - categories were available, then they weren't. Had VA or S, but no SY, etc. then had only SY, then SY or V-something, but only guarantees. Insane... The day we booked, all the VA aft balcony cabins on that deck suddenly became available (by cabin number) and we snatched one. Literally, within minutes of choosing our cabin, I had checked here and seen that a couple of the cabins were about a foot wider. I'd picked a smaller one. Tried to change cabins, they called HAL and they said at that point the cruise was over-sold and they could not switch the cabin number for me. So - someone must have had that whole block of aft cabins... That probably doesn't happen often, but it does happen. A TA will be holding a block of rooms for whatever reason and they will become available late in the game... We were just happy to get that aft balcony. Originally thought about SX(whatever) like we had on Zui (which was perfect) or even an S-suite if that's all they had, but an aft VA is gonna rock - and the price was sure better than the full suite which meant that floatplanes, helicopters/dog sledding, etc. were definitely booked!:D

[hgatsawgrs]

If the price goes up, would you be willing to pay more?

[twinkletoes4445]

If the price goes up, would you be willing to pay more?

Our New Year's cruise did go up about $400 per person.

[doodbug]

So I wonder....when is the best time to book to get the best selection of cabins? What a game.....

[Randyk47]

We book early and get the cabin we want. Yes, from cruise to cruise there's always a chance that the price will drop or a better cabin will become available but I don't count on it. So far I've not seen the price drop after FP for our cruises. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen or it hasn't happened, it's just not happened to us. Not sure what I'd do if the price dropped......probably call our TA and see if we could get the new price but wouldn't go out and eat worms and broken glass if we couldn't. :rolleyes: Right now our category for Veendam has gone up and then back down and then up again but not below or as low as when we booked it in early March so I'm still smiling.

As for cabins being held back....maybe. I think HAL holds some off their web site because they want to create some demand and if one were to see a couple dozen cabins in a category you'd logically think there wasn't much demand so why be in a hurry to book. Secondly, TA's block or hold cabins under their agreement/contract with HAL and if they can't sell them they return them to HAL and either other TA's pick them up and advertise them or HAL puts them on their web site.

[yh]

Thank you all for your input and comments.

The cruise I booked (in early May for early June departure) was not any special code or promotion and the price dropped about 10% 4 days after my booking and paying in full.

I took some of your advice and contacted my TA. Yes, HAL does not refund the difference, but they agreed to move my booking from NN to HH (guaranteed inside to guaranteed outside).

So, I consider this a good deal - I guess it is worth watching the prices.

Cheers and happy sailings to all!

[sail7seas]

?Very pertient and of interest.

When you say 'about 10%".........it really makes a difference. Was it less than ten percent, exactly ten percent or more than?

In the past, they guaranteed that if the price dropped MORE than 10% they would credit the difference in what you paid..... 10.01% and we could get the additional discount. ..... 9.99% and we could not.

I'm REALLY interested if they still do that.

[yh]

Well...The price dropped 9.1% on the price paid (before taxes and port charges). When my TA asked HAL - they said "no rebates after final payment". They did not stipulate any specific conditions related to the % of price drop.

Hope this helps.

[gillianrose]

If the price goes up, would you be willing to pay more?


No, not after final payment, though I might choose to book and pay for a cruise at a higher price than when it was first offered if it was something I wanted. I wouldn't be happy with a fuel surcharge added after payment, either.

However, I choose to shop at stores that offer "lowest price guarantees" and returns of merchandise for varying lengths of time after purchase. Fortunately, that includes most stores, whether Nordstrom's or a hardware store.

[sail7seas]

Well...The price dropped 9.1% on the price paid (before taxes and port charges). When my TA asked HAL - they said "no rebates after final payment". They did not stipulate any specific conditions related to the % of price drop.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, YH.......

I've been trying to get an answer to that question for a while.

[travlin4fun]

We booked 9 months in advance through AAA and chose the cabin number. A week later the HAL website posted coupons that would have saved us a few hundred dollars. I printed them and took them to the Ta, but she called HAL and they wouldn't accept them since we had already made the down payment. We got no break on price, and no cabin upgrade was available. there were problems with the docs, and in addition we booked with AmEx, so (in theory) we are supposed to get a $150 p/p shpboard credit. Nothng in our docs indicate we'll get it, though.

If we do, we'll be happy to overlook a lot of the prebooking hassles we had due to the computer changeover, and their refusal to accept their own coupons. If we don't get it, well, the onboard experience better make up for it if they want us back.

And all they have to do to make us happy is to reasonably live up to the promises they made in the brochure. After all, we did decide to book based on the listed prices.

I can't see how they can miss...well, if the boat sinks when I get on it, I won't be happy...

[refman]

a few cruises ago HAL had a sale on the cruise we were going on, we had already paid in full and the savings were substantial so we called HAL and talked to a supervisor, she completely understood and sent us a credit and also a shipboard credit as well. very good customer service.

[Casshew]

The way I look at it, once the fare is paid in full the price is guaranteed, I don't expect to pay more if the price goes up, or less if it goes down.

Also, I don't think it is reasonable to book early and hold your preferred cabin for months and month and then expect a sell off the same as someone who waited and booked at the last minute.

[dreampets2]

Thanks a million for this thread as we had the problem of sighting heavily discounted deals some 3 weeks prior our cruise departure.

Tried instructing our travel agent to request an upgrade as compensation on the 2 oceanview cabins which we by then had paid for in full.

TA reported their representation on our behalf met a "completely inflexible & some what rude" response, which dissapointed us but an outcome we were prepared to accept.

After subsequently reading this thread it gave us new heart to make a further direct appeal to HAL Seattle by phone wherin we outlined the significant premium we had paid versus the last minute offer being made through our favorite on line cruise broker.

Guess what!

We have been upgraded to 2 balcony mini suites which considering we started out with a guaranteed G category outside stateroom is pretty darn generous.

Bottom line is if you have similar circumstances of substantial price variance it seems a direct appeal can be rewarding.

Who knows..the upgrade fairy may visit you too!

Thanks again for cruisecritic as without this thread we would have given up.

[Navy_Chief]

Now here's a question. HAL tells you final payment is due on say August 1st. Now let's say on July 1st, there is a price drop of say 9%. Now say you paid in full June 15th. Right up to July31st in this fictional example, you can cancel and get back 100% from HAL. You don't think HAL would give up the 9% drop? What's stopping you from cancelling and rebooking on the spot? I'll bet HAL would give you that price break no problem. Now once you pass by that 100% refund window, then all bets are off and your back to that 10% rule.