Booking with HALdirect in UK

[solent]

I have just booked Oosterdam 9/4 direct with HAL in UK. I booked online as when I called to book an AFT cabin the assistant told me she had never heard of anyone wanting to book a cabin at the back before! We have four cabins booked, two inside one oceanview and the AFT.
On our last cruise with HAL we booked via a US Agent but was told that they are unable to book UK passengers anymore, we were offered an upgrade and I just wondered if we will still be offered that from HAL UK if available, has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with booking direct with HAL in UK.

[barriedavis]

Hi. I'm in Torbay and have booked half of my 8 HAL cruises direct. Just booked Oost for 24 June. I never expect to receive an upgrade and have never been offered one when using US agents. But then I am always happy with an inside cabin for various reasons other than cost. I find that, being outside is always difficult when the weather is bad (foghorns lashing waves, etc) and am very sensitive to light coming in in the morning. Deciding factor this time was the considerable saving offered by HAL compared to US agents due to the value of the pound against the dollar. Works for me.

[English muffin]

I have just booked Oosterdam 9/4 direct with HAL in UK. I booked online as when I called to book an AFT cabin the assistant told me she had never heard of anyone wanting to book a cabin at the back before! We have four cabins booked, two inside one oceanview and the AFT.
On our last cruise with HAL we booked via a US Agent but was told that they are unable to book UK passengers anymore, we were offered an upgrade and I just wondered if we will still be offered that from HAL UK if available, has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with booking direct with HAL in UK.
Hi

Why cant you book through a US agent, although saying this I would not recommend booking through a US TA, until the de-value of the £ against the dollar I have always booked through a US agent.
Unless HAL are giving you some extra benefits you will find it cheaper to book through a TA in England. Shop around.. You were just lucky wilth your last upgrade. When ever I have got a quote from HAL UK I have always got a cheaper deal. But times are different now and maybe you may have the best deal. Go onto a couple of UK travel sites and do a comparison. If I can help in anyway let me know I can give you my e-mail.. Where are you going on your cruise and is it 9 April or 4 September?
Aft cabins usually have a lot of movement thats why they do not get booked and usually are given to guarantee cabins if any are available.

[serendipity1499]

[quote=solent;18053177]I have just booked Oosterdam 9/4 direct with HAL in UK. I booked online as when I called to book an AFT cabin the assistant told me she had never heard of anyone wanting to book a cabin at the back before! We have four cabins booked, two inside one oceanview and the AFT. quote]

I'm not in the UK, but your post confuses me..:confused:

What type of AFT cabin have you booked? AFT only means toward the rear of the ship..There are many different categories of AFT cabins..

There are oceanView (outside) AFT cabins, Inside AFT cabins, Verandah AFT cabins & Suites of which some are AFT..Normally only Verandah & Suite passengers request AFT cabins...

We had an OceanView (outside) AFT cabin only because we attempted to book three weeks before departure on a full ship..That was our only choice of departure, since it was our Friends Anniversary cruise & they really wanted us to go along with them...

The ship was full but we remained on the waitlist... Ten days before departure we were offered an Outside AFT which we accepted..We would not normally book an Outside AFT only because they are on the lower decks & quite noisy.. They are the last cabins to go on most Ships.. Outside AFT cabins are usually assigned to Inside or Outside guarantees..However, we're not opposed to a Verandah AFT or Suite AFT cabin..:)

Betty

P.S. Even though it was noisy, we had a wonderful time with our Friends..

[solent]

Thanks for replies, I will try to answer all the questions.

I was told by three US Agents that HAL has stopped them from booking UK passengers.

I did check the price with several UK cruise agencies and booking direct was cheaper by about £ 100 per person.

My first post was not very clear about AFT, it is a VA 4174 which we wanted for the balcony, especially after an RCCL cruise where we spent the morning sunbathing and when we went for lunch found the decks empty as it was very windy which we had not even noticed! Also as there are 7 of us travelling so more space for our pre-dinner drinks.

I used the term upgrade before when I meant upsell, we were offered a balcony for an additional US $ 200pp, which we happily accepted and I wondered if HAL offers these to US passengers first.

[huskypup]

For those interested we still use an American TA to book our HAL cruises, the trick is to stay loyal to one TA and one agent in particular and not shop around, HAL do not like American TA booking for UK clients book but there are ways around it, if caught the TA will lose there commission but you will not lose your booking.

Our TA offers the same to us as booking with the future cruise consultant if we book within three weeks of coming back plus any price drops on their own website and any extra's that are available, though with the pound against the dollar at the moment we haven't booked anything yet, have two more weeks to decide (just got off the Noordam) whether the pound will rise enough before final payment to take the risk.

[barriedavis]

Regarding the above discussion, I have looked at HAL cruises booked through UK agents and found that they are considerably more expensive than doing it yourself. That's because they have to arrange flights to include all the ABTA cover etc. I am getting my cruise from HAL and my flights from Easyjet and saving about £700 for two.