what does HAL do if the price goes down on your cruise

[nbevins]

Do they adjust the price or do any upgrades--just wonderig --thinking of booking early instead of waiting for rpice reductions--if they come thanks nan

[catl331]

Just read a news bulletin in USA TODAY that Roy. Carib will adjust your price when and if prices go down. Carnival says it already does that but I think it is Carnival cruise lines and not Carnival International which HAL belongs to. So maybe this will be the trend. We always get an upgrade unless we pick a certain room. Hal is generous with their upgrade policy but it is not the rule tho.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Some people have gotten upgrades.

Others have gotten the price reduction -- but your TA has to ask for it -- HAL doesn't do it automatically -- and depending on when the price drops. I have read where some people only got shipboard credit as it happened adter final payment. Others were told that the lower price was for new bookings only and if you wanted to take advantage of it, you had to cancel your original booking and start all over.

HAL doesn't a set policy.

[patseacruiser]

HAL doesn't do it automatically. You have to find the price drop. They have given upgrades or price reduction if your TA asks for that instead. After final payment they don't give anything but have given some small obc if the TA fights for it.

[Randyk47]

Originally Posted by nbevins

Do they adjust the price or do any upgrades--just wonderig --thinking of booking early instead of waiting for rpice reductions--if they come thanks nan

While our TA supposedly watches for price reductions we take the major responsibility on ourselves and monitor prices. Some cruises have had price reductions, some not. Generally, since we book pretty early as a rule, we see prices actually go up. In fact, I don't remember the last time we actually had a cabin we booked go down but lots have gone up. The other consideration is the what, where, when, and how kind of approach to cabin selection. We always pick a specific cabin. We have a pretty good idea of where we want to be on the ship and don't play the "guaranteed cabin" roulette game, hoping to get an upgrade. Our other consideration is that we both work and we're forced to plan out our vacation time, sometimes as much as a year out. That kind of forces us not to wait and run the risk of missing out on a cruise because it sells out or our preferred cabin category or cabin location is not available. Bottom line is that I recommend you book early and monitor for potential price drops.

[momofmeg]

Well we booked a guarantee-I assume if prices dropped-we would be upgraded-but maybe not? We would have booked a cabin number-in the VF category-but we could only book a cabin on deck 4. The agency we used differentiates between the 2 decks-and if we wanted to book deck 5- we were told we would have to book a guarantee-but we have a guarantee of at least deck 5.

We have stayed in a VB before-when we found out the VF was not a lot different-except for the railings on deck 4 and the lifeboats on deck 5- we felt we would be happy with a VF. I actually would have loved deck 5 since they are mid ship-and would be pleased if we got one of them. More onboard credit would be nice-but I don't expect it.

[K&RCurt]

Originally Posted by momofmeg

Well we booked a guarantee-I assume if prices dropped-we would be upgraded-but maybe not? We would have booked a cabin number-in the VF category-but we could only book a cabin on deck 4. The agency we used differentiates between the 2 decks-and if we wanted to book deck 5- we were told we would have to book a guarantee-but we have a guarantee of at least deck 5.

We have stayed in a VB before-when we found out the VF was not a lot different-except for the railings on deck 4 and the lifeboats on deck 5- we felt we would be happy with a VF. I actually would have loved deck 5 since they are mid ship-and would be pleased if we got one of them. More onboard credit would be nice-but I don't expect it.

I don't see why you could not book a Veranda Deck VF cabin. Your TA told you that you couldn't book one of these cabins and could on;y book a guarantee or a VF on Deck 4? We have a deck 5 VF booked for our cruise in October and had no issue choosing that cabin.

De aware though, The VFs on the Veranda Deck have balconies that are about 1/2 as deep as the VFs on deck 4, they also have the life boats just below.

[momofmeg]

Originally Posted by K&RCurt

I don't see why you could not book a Veranda Deck VF cabin. Your TA told you that you couldn't book one of these cabins and could on;y book a guarantee or a VF on Deck 4? We have a deck 5 VF booked for our cruise in October and had no issue choosing that cabin.

De aware though, The VFs on the Veranda Deck have balconies that are about 1/2 as deep as the VFs on deck 4, they also have the life boats just below.

You do notice I have almost 10,000 posts here-LOL! That means I have been here a lot and so, yes, I know the cabins are narrower and have lifeboats under them. For what I use the balcony for-it is no big deal-as long as I can stand and look at the ocean and can sit out there a bit for fresh air-it does not matter to me.


Let's see if I can explain better-since I did lousy with the last post. Most of the cabins were already booked-there was only one left on deck 5-but for some reason we had to book it as an guarantee-the agency would not release it to be booked-maybe because that was the only cabin they had left to sell in that category? Perhaps a TA knows? If only one cabin is left in a category-and that is booked-would that mean they could not offer a guarantee in that category? Does is help to entice sales-since a VF is a little less? (My guess)

Anyway, we could have paid more and booked a cabin in the NEXT category-but we decided to go with the guarantee-we don't mind if we end up with a VF.

[catl331]

Originally Posted by momofmeg

Let's see if I can explain better-since I did lousy with the last post. Most of the cabins were already booked-there was only one left on deck 5-but for some reason we had to book it as an guarantee-the agency would not release it to be booked-maybe because that was the only cabin they had left to sell in that category? Perhaps a TA knows? If only one cabin is left in a category-and that is booked-would that mean they could not offer a guarantee in that category? Does is help to entice sales-since a VF is a little less? (My guess)

It sounds to me like the TA is playing some kind of a game here, independent of a HAL guarantee, since HAL won't guarantee a specific deck.

[LovesBeagles]

About 3 hours ago, I noticed a price drop on a cruise we have booked for 5/10. I called HAL (we booked online direct with HAL) and they dropped us to the new rate. Of course, final payment is still a way off.

[KikiShops]

@ LovesBeagles, may I ask which cruise you are taking 5/10? I am looking @ HAL that month, not sure which cruise to take!

[momofmeg]

Originally Posted by catl331

It sounds to me like the TA is playing some kind of a game here, independent of a HAL guarantee, since HAL won't guarantee a specific deck.

Travel agencies reserves blocks of rooms-so they can do this however they want. I have talked to others who said their travel agency also differentiates between deck 4 and deck 5. I do not think it is a "game," I think it is because cruisers prefer one stateroom over the other in that catagory-and so they are accommodating their customers.

This is a reputable agency that we have booked around 10 cruises with-the first we booked was in 2000. We have booked with other agencies a time or two, but we have been always dissatisfied with something or another, and so, we always return to this agency. The last 4 cruises, we did not even consider another agency.

[INSIDERS CABIN]

we book with a personal cruise consultant at hal and before final payment charge goes thru, he checks to see if price has dropped in which case he gives us the lower price.

[Randyk47]

For our next cruise we went back to our brick and mortar travel agent after years of Internet shopping. I just happen to talk to her yesterday about an aspect of our cruise and I brought up the reduction in fare issue. According to her HAL typically honors reductions up to final payment. She said the difficult time is when they drop prices close to a cruise date, typically after final payment, because that cruise is not selling well. She said while she'd gotten reductions or on board credits for clients some times but not always. HAL pretty much has you hooked after final payment so there's not much leverage to get a better deal. She did add that she doubted we'd see a reduction as she was able to get us a two category upgrade as it was and that we'd booked under a special promo code HAL had for that cruise. It's also not a high density itinerary, meaning not a lot of competition for HAL from other cruise lines.

[LovesBeagles]

We have book a 12 day med cruise from Venice to Barcelona.

[seacruise9]

I recently made the final payment for my Zuiderdam cruise this December. Prior to making the payment, I checked the price for my cabin on the HAL Web site. I notified my travel agent that the price had been lowered. She called HAL and they lowered my cruise price.

Chuck

[Janewass]

Originally Posted by nbevins

Do they adjust the price or do any upgrades--just wonderig --thinking of booking early instead of waiting for rpice reductions--if they come thanks nan

That happened to us last January on the Statendam.Our travel agent could do nothing so I wrote to Presidedent of HAL and complained. They upgraded our cabin froman inside to a window.

[alpal1993]

How often do you recommend checking the price.Is any day better then another.I don't want to be obsessively checking.
In the past fellow CCers on Roll Call have alerted me to price drops and even changes in intineraries.

[bellebaby]

We have a cruise booked for May of 2010. Noticed a price drop on one of the online agencies that I looked at when pricing the cruise originally. Called my TA. She checked with HAL and we (and the other couple we are traveling with that are using the same TA) received the same fare reduction.

HAL will honor price drops prior to final payment, but you have to ask. They are not automatic.

I usually check pricing at least weekly.

B

[mrsltg]

I only have experience with two HAL cruises. The first I was given a price reduction prior to final payment when prices dropped. For my upcoming cruise I was booked in a VC (specific cabin.) About one month ago they were selling SZ guarantee's for less than the rate I paid. I was upgraded AND given an OBC for the difference. I am pleased with this service.