Price declines today, now that Explore4 is over

On Friday I searched for a Panama Canal cruise next year and noted the prices. I used either a Vista or Signature Suite cabin, so my results may vary.

All of the sailings I was looking at had Explore4, which expired Friday night.

So, I rechecked these sailings today and noticed a price drop in most of them. The prices generally were $40 per day, per person lower! Totally this came to $600-800 per person for my cruises.

If you are looking to book soon, you might want to review the new prices on SOME of HAL's cruises. Keep in mind that HAL is supposed to be coming out with a Cyber Sale (they had one last year), in a week or less. My HAL PCC (personal cruise consultant) already has this available, so it is coming.

My cruise for 2018 went down 20 pp per day. So, not much change for me on my ocean view category. This is on a 14 day Alaska cruise. Right now it’s worth it to me to keep the drinks package.

Our Alaskan cruise has gone up.

Our Alaskan cruise has gone up.

Did your cruise have Explore4? Those are the ones that dropped in price.

Our VOV has gone down but is still $300/pp more than we paid. If it comes up as available for the Cyber Sale, we'll rebook because saving the gratuities would be more than worth it.

Our price on all segments (B2B and collectors) has dropped but not significantly. Certainly not worth losing either the early Prinsendam booking deal or even Explore 4 from what I can see.

Now, I didn't look at all categories but a few and it seems to apply.

Very strange as the last time Explore4 came off there was a big drop and it made a difference.

I am wondering if the ship is selling better than it looks with a lot of guarantees. I guess time will tell.

Dave, do you have the scoop on the cyber sale out of curiosity?

Our PC cruise on Zuiderdam went down $400/pp when Explore4 expired. Given the OBC (including CLIA OBC) and SBP we got when we booked, we're still ahead.

Our price on all segments (B2B and collectors) has dropped but not significantly. Certainly not worth losing either the early Prinsendam booking deal or even Explore 4 from what I can see.

 

Now, I didn't look at all categories but a few and it seems to apply.

 

Very strange as the last time Explore4 came off there was a big drop and it made a difference.

 

Dave, do you have the scoop on the cyber sale out of curiosity?

My PCC mentioned free grats, and I think $200 in OBC and a $25 beverage card (I was looking at a 7 day in a Vista suite). Not 100% certain though as I was really not looking to book - she just mentioned it for my March cruise.

Did your cruise have Explore4? Those are the ones that dropped in price.

Yes it does. No price drop. It increased about $200 pp. It probably has more to do with demand than the promotion being offered. Although I will check again during the cyber sale.

Ours went down, but it is still $50 pp more than we paid. I'll have to watch for the cyber sale.

We booked a verandah on a transatlantic two days before the Explore4 expired. Glad we did the drop in price of $680 (for two) did not come near to the drink package perk much less the other perks.

This isn't a before/after E4 story but just a reminder. Today I was looking at 2019 on the HAL site just to see what they are offering thus far and I found a fabulous cruise that I would really like to be on. Sent an email to my mother with the price. We'll see what she says. Just now I logged in to my Mariner account for another purpose and then for fantasizing purposes did another trial booking of the same fabulous cruise with my Mariner number this time. Price of the cruise is $300 HIGHER using my Mariner number. So it's one thing to have a price, but make sure you know what that price includes. Is your deposit refundable or not? What perks are offered for $X price? Are those perks worthwhile to you? What is the price without those perks? Get the all the info before you make a decision based strictly on the price the HAL website spits out at you.

I usually use a computer at work (public computer, library) for looking at prices without putting in my Mariner number and use my log in on my home computer. That way I get a price quote without bias. There no cookies on the library computer. Most times there is a slight advantage with my Mariner number but not always.

I bought with E4 one time. It made financial sense and was a good deal. It included the daily service charge, which is no longer the case. The higher cost was almost exactly what the service charge was going to be. Since I'd pay that anyway, I took E4 and got the other perks with no additional out-of-pocket.

We booked a verandah on a transatlantic two days before the Explore4 expired. Glad we did the drop in price of $680 (for two) did not come near to the drink package perk much less the other perks.

Wait for the Cyber Sale and see what perks it offers, then compare the two deals.

So, I booked last month with Explore4. My TA had a price that was $300 less but it could not be combined with Explore4, so I booked the higher price. This weekend, they have free tips and a $50 beverage credit (per cabin, I assume) and it CAN be booked with the lower price. Since it's a 14 night cruise, the tips are worth $364 (assumes $13/day, which I think is correct). So a little under $1k in savings + $50 drink credit. I'd lose the beverage packages and Pinnacle dinner, and a total of $225 in OBC from my TA (there is $75 OBC for being part of a group which does not combine with this offer and I got $150 for booking within 30 days of my last cruise which I'd lose because she would need to rebook it, she said she'd try to get it added back but no guarantee). I'd also lose the coupon book that was being offered, but I understand that's pretty useless anyway.

We don't drink that much (especially when we do not have the drink package), although the $20 per person per day was around what I was willing to pay. But given that the cruise is going to Norway, there won't be any hot days sitting by the pool so maybe I overvalued it. I'm probably going to rebook without Explore4 but just need to put the numbers in a spreadsheet to make sure I have everything correct.

So, I booked last month with Explore4. My TA had a price that was $300 less but it could not be combined with Explore4, so I booked the higher price. This weekend, they have free tips and a $50 beverage credit (per cabin, I assume) and it CAN be booked with the lower price. Since it's a 14 night cruise, the tips are worth $364 (assumes $13/day, which I think is correct). So a little under $1k in savings + $50 drink credit. I'd lose the beverage packages and Pinnacle dinner, and a total of $225 in OBC from my TA (there is $75 OBC for being part of a group which does not combine with this offer and I got $150 for booking within 30 days of my last cruise which I'd lose because she would need to rebook it, she said she'd try to get it added back but no guarantee). I'd also lose the coupon book that was being offered, but I understand that's pretty useless anyway.

 

We don't drink that much (especially when we do not have the drink package), although the $20 per person per day was around what I was willing to pay. But given that the cruise is going to Norway, there won't be any hot days sitting by the pool so maybe I overvalued it. I'm probably going to rebook without Explore4 but just need to put the numbers in a spreadsheet to make sure I have everything correct.

The going rate for grats these days is $13.50 pp/pd or $15 pp/pd for suite pax. The beverage card is $25pp up to $50 per cabin, so if there's two of you, you both get a $25 beverage card. If you're within 60 days of your previous HAL cruise, there is an OBC available (forget the promo code, ZPM or something like that), amount varies by type of cabin you select. But if that OBC you refer to is something through your TA with different rules, then yeah, you might lose that. With any promotion, look at the perks offered and evaluate how much they mean *to you*. Look at the cruise fare, whether or not the deposit is refundable, and how much value YOU will get from the perks offered. Then make your decision. Whatever you decide, enjoy your cruise!

So, I booked last month with Explore4. My TA had a price that was $300 less but it could not be combined with Explore4, so I booked the higher price. This weekend, they have free tips and a $50 beverage credit (per cabin, I assume) and it CAN be booked with the lower price. Since it's a 14 night cruise, the tips are worth $364 (assumes $13/day, which I think is correct). So a little under $1k in savings + $50 drink credit. I'd lose the beverage packages and Pinnacle dinner, and a total of $225 in OBC from my TA (there is $75 OBC for being part of a group which does not combine with this offer and I got $150 for booking within 30 days of my last cruise which I'd lose because she would need to rebook it, she said she'd try to get it added back but no guarantee). I'd also lose the coupon book that was being offered, but I understand that's pretty useless anyway.

 

We don't drink that much (especially when we do not have the drink package), although the $20 per person per day was around what I was willing to pay. But given that the cruise is going to Norway, there won't be any hot days sitting by the pool so maybe I overvalued it. I'm probably going to rebook without Explore4 but just need to put the numbers in a spreadsheet to make sure I have everything correct.

Good luck with the comparison and trying to get the $150 credit (HAL might just give in on this one). I assume the $150 is from promotion ZPM, which doubles your OBC for booking within 60 days of your last cruise. Perhaps your TA's problem is that HAL just changed the promo code to VPM, so have yout TA try that code.

Good luck with the comparison and trying to get the $150 credit (HAL might just give in on this one). I assume the $150 is from promotion ZPM, which doubles your OBC for booking within 60 days of your last cruise. Perhaps your TA's problem is that HAL just changed the promo code to VPM, so have yout TA try that code.

Actually, it's from the travel agent themselves (a company that sells franchises to individual operators). My TA said she'd ask corporate if they would add it to the new reservation, but no guarantees.

Actually, it's from the travel agent themselves (a company that sells franchises to individual operators). My TA said she'd ask corporate if they would add it to the new reservation, but no guarantees.

They could be getting it from HAL though and telling you that they are giving it to you (interesting that both have the exactly the same 60 day limit). You still might want to pass my information on to your TA, just in case.

The going rate for grats these days is $13.50 pp/pd or $15 pp/pd for suite pax. The beverage card is $25pp up to $50 per cabin, so if there's two of you, you both get a $25 beverage card.

 

With any promotion, look at the perks offered and evaluate how much they mean *to you*. Look at the cruise fare, whether or not the deposit is refundable, and how much value YOU will get from the perks offered. Then make your decision. Whatever you decide, enjoy your cruise!

OK, so the tips are worth $378 (not in a suite). On our last cruise on Celebrity, we had the drink package and got good use of it. But I don't NEED a drink with dinner, iced tea is fine. HAL's coffee drink prices seem to be cheaper than Celebrity, so paying by the drink won't be that bad. And I'll still have $250 shareholder OBC to pay for specialty dining and drinks above the $50 since I won't need to spend it on tips, and we'll enjoy the food more than we would the drinks.

They could be getting it from HAL though and telling you that they are giving it to you (interesting that both have the exactly the same 60 day limit). You still might want to pass my information on to your TA, just in case.

Actually my TA's offer was within 30 days and it was for any cruise, not line specific.

Now, if ZPM can be added without actually having been on HAL within the last 60 days, that would be useful. I last sailed them in March.

Actually my TA's offer was within 30 days and it was for any cruise, not line specific.

 

Now, if ZPM can be added without actually having been on HAL within the last 60 days, that would be useful. I last sailed them in March.

I have not been successful in getting the ZPM/VPM promotion once I pass 60 days (or so) from last sailing.