?? HALs CONVERSION from DOUBLE to SINGLE RATE??

[ellieanne]

On my first cruise with HAL my cabin mate had to cancel his portion of the cruise. He had already paid most of the cruise off, though we were still before final payment date. If I wanted to go on the cruise, I was offered no option other than paying the single supplement, though his payments went toward any additional monies I would have to pay. I ended up paying about $400 extra, when his payments were applied.

On another cruise, my traveling companion had to cancel her cruise a week before final payment date. My travel agent called HAL and arranged it so that I could share a cabin with my brother who was already paying the single supplement rate for his cabin. His deposit transferred to the new cabin, while my traveling lost her deposit and had to pay a cancellation penalty.

The fare rules are spelled out in the cruise documents you get on booking. I'm sorry, but other than being sneaky about it at check it, I really do not think there is any way you are going to get out of paying the single supplement or a cancellation penalty.

[Taxguy77]

[quote name='Topsham']No way! All they loose is $11/day Hotel Charge. The big revenue from excursions, drinks etc etc is a myth. Follow the other thread about passengers that leave the ship with ZERO balance.

Stephen[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Black"]Last night I watched all of the CNBC show on cruiseships (i had only seen a part before). The Senior VP of NCL gave a lot of insight, as did several on board managers, of cruiseship economics. You should really watch the program to correct your idea.[/COLOR]

[vbmom87]

[quote name='Taxguy77'][COLOR=black]Last night I watched all of the CNBC show on cruiseships (i had only seen a part before). The Senior VP of NCL gave a lot of insight, as did several on board managers, of cruiseship economics. You should really watch the program to correct your idea.[/COLOR][/quote]

Do you care to share the highlights of what you learned?

[vbmom87]

[quote name='Honeybearhollow']What if you took a friend with you in place of the husband? What would be involved with that?[/quote]

Changing names on bookings often results in fees. Not sure how much though.

[agabbymama]

The amount of $2800 for the cabin is really a moot point. That amount was for double occupancy at the time the cabin was booked.

If you cancel one person, in essence you are cancelling the booking. You will be rebooked & refared at the current rate + the single supplement (which more than likely will be more than what you paid for the first booking).

And it doesn't have to be a total cancellation either. If you make a change to your cabin, they will most times cancel your booking, so they can rebook & refare a "new booking".

At least this is what my sister-in-law was told when she had a cruise to Alaska booked on HAL, and the friend had to cancel the week before the cruise. The friend was getting her money back from the insurance. My sister-in-law ended up cancelling her cruise too, as she couldn't justify paying the higher rate. Both were reimbursed through the insurance. And HAL kept their monies paid, and had the cabin to re-sell if they could.

May not be fair, but it's the way it is. The cruiselines have their own rules, and you either abide by them or don't cruise.

Kind of like the cruiselines "can change the itinerary for weather, mechanical reasons OR FOR ANY REASON whatsoever". I don't like that wording, therefore I don't cruise a lot. In essence, they are selling you a cabin on a ship (no guarantee you will go where the itinerary says you are going).

Happy travels to all!

[vbmom87]

[quote name='agabbymama']
At least this is what my sister-in-law was told when she had a cruise to Alaska booked on HAL, and the friend had to cancel the week before the cruise. The friend was getting her money back from the insurance. My sister-in-law ended up cancelling her cruise too, as she couldn't justify paying the higher rate. Both were reimbursed through the insurance. And HAL kept their monies paid, and had the cabin to re-sell if they could.
[/quote]

As I understand it, some insurances would have paid the extra supplement your sister would have been charged for her friend cancelling. Of course, every insurance plan is differen.

[TiogaCruiser]

[quote name='Taxguy77'][COLOR="Black"]Last night I watched all of the CNBC show on cruiseships (i had only seen a part before). The Senior VP of NCL gave a lot of insight, as did several on board managers, of cruiseship economics. You should really watch the program to correct your idea.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Taxguy- or anyone- what was the show and is it available online? I'd love to watch it. My google search found nada.

[richwmn]

[quote name='TiogaCruiser']Taxguy- or anyone- what was the show and is it available online? I'd love to watch it. My google search found nada.[/quote]

the name of the show is Cruise, Inc
it can be found -

[url]http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1139954767[/url]

Rich

[koko1]

[quote name='Pete Jackson']Might be something to do with whether each is using their own credit card for expenses, or whether they are sharing a single credit card.??[/QUOTE]

I think this may be the case. I traveled with a friend on the Noordam last year & I checked in earlier as she had to work later. Nobody questions me @ check in. We were using seperate credit cards. With regard to the single supplement the 200% is only on the base fare. You do not have to pay double for the port & taxes. I don't know about HAL but I had a situation where a friend cxl @ the last minute. She did not get anything back as she had no insurance but I did not have to pay more. This was on RCCL. I have never heard of a cruiseline charging a $500 cxl penalty above & beyond the regular double occupany rate. That is outrageous!

[Jade13]

[quote name='RevNeal']


A single fare with the single supplement is NOT going to be MORE than two double-occupency fares. What may cause a cruise for one to be more expensive than what was originally paid for two is if they were to CANCEL the whole booking and re-book at the then-current rate for one with single supplement. That might cause the base cruise fare to be much higher, resulting in the total for one with single supplement being more than the original total for two. So, don't let 'em cancel.[/quote]

That is what I thought was the issue, that the fare had gone up, hence the single occupancy actually being more than the double once one person cancels and the cruise is re-fared.

[agabbymama]

[quote name='Jade13']That is what I thought was the issue, that the fare had gone up, hence the single occupancy actually being more than the double once one person cancels and the cruise is re-fared.[/quote]

I agree, I think when they canceled the husband, HAL actually considers it a new booking, thus the higher base rate + single supplement. As Rev Neal stated, they should not have canceled, but then to get the insurance to pay, the cruise has to be canceled. Kind of a catch 22.

OP hasn't come back to discuss anymore, so it's all supposition.

[MadManOfBethesda]

[quote name='vbmom87'] The more stories I read about cruise line insurance, the more I am convinced I do not want it.[/quote]

[quote name='MadManOfBethesda']Well, now with some credit cards offering free trip cancellation coverage (and other travel-related issues as well such as trip-delay and lost baggage coverage) if you pay using their card, you can have your cake and eat it too![/quote]

As a follow-up to my post yesterday, here is some further information from the T&C's I received from Chase when the coverage was announced in March:


[I]"In the event of the Insured Person's Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption, we will pay up to the Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Benefit Amount of $3,000. Payment will not exceed either: 1) the actual Non-Refundable amount paid by the Insured Person for a Common Carrier passenger fare(s); or 2) $3,000. The Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption of the Insured Person must be caused by or result from: 1) death, accidental injury, disease or physical illness of the Insured Person or an Immediate Family Member of the Insured Person; or 2) default of the Common Carrier resulting from Financial Insolvency. The death, accidental injury, disease or physical illness must be verified by a Physician and must prevent the Insured Person from traveling on a Covered Trip."[/I]


Other travel-related coverages include [I]Trip Delay Reimbursement[/I] (up to a maximum of $300 per trip if you are delayed by more than 12 hours by a covered hazard); [I]Baggage Delay Benefit[/I] ($100/day for a maximum of five days); and, [I]Lost Luggage Reimbursement[/I] (maximum reimbursement of $3,000, of which no more than $200 can be for all jewelry and fur). There's also the usual car rental collision damage waiver.


Because of the $3k limit on cancellation coverage, it really doesn't help for long cruises, but it could obviate the need to purchase separate travel insurance for shorter/cheaper cruises, especially if you have medical insurance that covers you outside the U.S.

[lovevacadays]

[quote name='richwmn']I had a similar situation a couple of years ago on the Westerdam. I pretty much knew that the other person in my cabin would not make it.

I had several conversations with my PCC, and the best answer she had was to NOT change to a single cabin, just show up and tell the person at check in that the other person was traveling separately. They will ask if the other person is going to show up -- you don't know.

Just before sailing I got a call in my cabin asking if I knew the status of the other person -- told them I didn't.

After the end of the cruise I received a small refund (some port charges and taxes I believe)

Hope this helps.

Rich[/quote]

that's the best thing to do. I had a niece who couldn't go with me on a cruise once and I just checked in and when they called my cabin to see if she had arrived I told them she had to cancel at the last minute. No problems what so ever

[HoneyGV]

[quote name='1cruiselvr']This is a very interesting subject to me. I never gave it thought prior to this posting. I recall in the past, when checking in, being told that we both had to be present to do it. I remember this because my husband is a fan of dropping off luggage and then checking in later. One time he wanted to drop me off too and check himself in later and we were told, no, both husband and wife have to check in together. ??? But another poster said they checked in without the other person without a problem, just a short story about them checking in later. So does that mean a husband/wife situation is treated differently at check in vs. 2 unrelated people traveling together in the same cabin?[/quote]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=4][COLOR=navy][B][I]Strange. I always sail with my partner. My partner checks in many times while I'm parking the car and then I check in with no problem. I just meet her onboard.[/I][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]