Book online or call HAL?

[Stpatsirish]

Anyone have experience calling and booking with HAL? I booked online last time but wondered if you can get extra perks by actually speaking with someone.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry I can't help you about perks.

We won't book with HAL as HAL will not allow us to get our $300 shipboard credit from American Express.

We use a TA and do get perks from her.

[RocketMan275]

There is a possibility by discussing your situation with a person may identify some discounts/promos that you might not consider.

 

You want better offers, you'll have to find an independent travel agent who discounts. Ten to twelve percent is common.

[Lizzie68]

Anyone have experience calling and booking with HAL? I booked online last time but wondered if you can get extra perks by actually speaking with someone.

 

A TA can usually give you all the same perks, plus some. Or you can simply book with HAL either online or by phone - same difference - and transfer your booking prior to final payment date to a TA who will give you additional OBC or similar. That is what I have done with my bookings.

[teamflames]

We booked our upcoming cruise with a TA in Australia. Before doing so I also rang Hal on several occasions, their reps were very friendly and helpful. I asked them outright if they had the best deals and they told me truthfully no, certain TAs would have better deals but they were not allowed to specify who these TAs were.

In our specific case, we had a good quote from TA better than HAL website but rung Hal to see if they could improve. Pure luck the explore4 package had just been released so the Hal rep quote was higher but considering we were going to purchase the spb anyway the quote was better. We rang our TA and told them we were going with the Hal deal and they called Hal and were furious they hadn't been informed. In the end the TA made Hal honour their quote but add the explore4 package and obc. So we ended up with lower cruise price, spb, pinnacle grill dinner, $300obc and a reduced deposit amount.

So it pays to shop around and spend the extra time getting quotes. My research also suggested best deals tend to be either 11 months or less than 2 months before cruise. Good luck!

 

 

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[Stpatsirish]

Thanks for all the help and opinions! I appreciate it.

[cruz chic]

You may get a better price from a ta. Just keep in mind if you do switch to a ta you will become a third party to your booking and you will need to contact your ta and not Hal for most matters.

[RocketMan275]

You may get a better price from a ta. Just keep in mind if you do switch to a ta you will become a third party to your booking and you will need to contact your ta and not Hal for most matters.

 

I'm not sure I would say you have to contact your TA for "most matters". You will have to contact the TA if your changes affect the price of the booking (price drops), the room booked or dining preferences. However, I am able to reserve specialty restaurants, book excursions, gifts and indulgences, etc.

[cruz chic]

I'm not sure I would say you have to contact your TA for "most matters". You will have to contact the TA if your changes affect the price of the booking (price drops), the room booked or dining preferences. However, I am able to reserve specialty restaurants, book excursions, gifts and indulgences, etc.

 

And that's why I said most matters. The things you listed are most of the things I would contract my PCC for. Booking restaurants and shorex aren't usually the problem areas. Lora of people come and complain on here their ta won't get back to them. That may be a problem that the op should know.

[Lizzie68]

I'm not sure I would say you have to contact your TA for "most matters". You will have to contact the TA if your changes affect the price of the booking (price drops), the room booked or dining preferences. However, I am able to reserve specialty restaurants, book excursions, gifts and indulgences, etc.

 

I actually find I get a much more immediate response from my TA than I ever do with my HAL PCC! On Thursday the TA took care of a price reduction for me in no time at all via emails, sorted more OBC etc. It was like zip zip zip. I have another cruise that is still with my PCC - sent her an email at the same time and got yet another automated "out of the office till next week" response. However, some prefer PCCs and some prefer TAs. Either or is OK.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Lizzie68

[RocketMan275]

Lora of people come and complain on here their ta won't get back to them. That may be a problem that the op should know.

 

And, just as many complain that PCC won't return calls too. See post #10.

[cruz chic]

And, just as many complain that PCC won't return calls too. See post #10.

 

Yes of course but you can deal with anyone at Hal then. If you can't get a hold of your agency you are hooped. I've seen people post that they love their ta yet complain constantly about PCC's but still use a PCC. Why use a PCC if you are so happy with your ta? I think people need to know the downfall of using a ta no matter how many people try to end the conversation. Both can have downfalls. I've seen way more posts complaining about TAs.

Edited February 7, 2016 by cruz chic

[Crew News]

Our HAL PCC for the last eight years has taken good care of us. The advance notice of sales, policy changes, immediate confirmation of requested dining, early bookings before TA's opportunities, processing CCL OBC, pre-authorized credit card reservations with our requested options, free/reduced-price pre-cruise hotel nights, and dinner with us every year on our way back from Alaska via Seattle makes us very pro-PCC.

 

HAL PCC's work on quotas and not on commission. Ours has far exceeded her quota each year with a loyal clientele. She puts the "personal" in PCC.

[KirkNC]

We always use a TA, get 7-8% in refundable OBC.

[Lizzie68]

And, just as many complain that PCC won't return calls too. See post #10.

 

6 of one, half a dozen of the other. But many people here are very defensive about which they use.

[Keith1010]

I would use a TA. In addition to providing amenities that the cruise line normally doesn't provide they can be your advocate should something go wrong.

 

Keith

[whogo]

The last two travel agencies I used have longer office hours than Holland America does. No problem getting hold of someone, but I am not one who cancels, changes cabins, changes cruises, or changes sailing date. I do not bother my travel agent about dress codes, weather, dining times, insurance, bar hours, gratuities, shore excursions, dining times, the kids' health, or how the baseball season is shaping up.

[cruz chic]

I would use a TA. In addition to providing amenities that the cruise line normally doesn't provide they can be your advocate should something go wrong.

 

Keith

 

Personally no one fights for my rights more than I do.

[iancal]

We would never call HAL or any other cruise line unless there were special circumstances.

 

We prefer to deal with a TA for two reasons.

 

First is price. TA's will provide OBC's-anywhere from 7-12 percent of the commissionable fare. That works out to a free cruise for every ten or twelve that we take. Why give this up? Certainly better than any Mariner benefits-which you will still get.

 

Secondly, a HAL agent, or any cruise line agent, will not give us a heads up about a more attractive offer on another comparable ship/cruise line.

 

This assumes that you have a good TA that you are happy with. We do...it would not make much sense to do repeat business with a TA or organization that you were not happy with. We do not really care how the person who books our cruise is paid or measured. We only care about our net price and the service level.

Edited February 8, 2016 by iancal

[NIATPAC29]

I can only say I do not give my money to a third party middleman. Know of one case and I'm sure there are more where they TA disappeared. All you need is a home office and some software to be called a travel agent

[iancal]

There is absolutely no danger in loosing your money IF you do two things"

 

 

1. always pay by credit card-never by cash or debit

 

2. ensure that the TA will have the cruise line process your credit card payment

 

It is THAT simple.

[RocketMan275]

I can only say I do not give my money to a third party middleman. Know of one case and I'm sure there are more where they TA disappeared. All you need is a home office and some software to be called a travel agent

 

There is simply no reason to do business with a TA who functions as a "third party middleman". It's not at all difficult to find a TA who does not charge your credit card. All my cruises booked through a TA are billed to my card by the cruise line.

[cruz chic]

We would never call HAL or any other cruise line unless there were special circumstances.

 

We prefer to deal with a TA for two reasons.

 

First is price. TA's will provide OBC's-anywhere from 7-12 percent of the commissionable fare. That works out to a free cruise for every ten or twelve that we take. Why give this up? Certainly better than any Mariner benefits-which you will still get.

 

Secondly, a HAL agent, or any cruise line agent, will not give us a heads up about a more attractive offer on another comparable ship/cruise line.

 

This assumes that you have a good TA that you are happy with. We do...it would not make much sense to do repeat business with a TA or organization that you were not happy with. We do not really care how the person who books our cruise is paid or measured. We only care about our net price and the service level.

 

And that's what it should come down to - service. I find those that use TAs will not stop pushing their agenda. If that works for you that's great. The TAs I have used have booked me the wrong cruise then lied about it and take forever to get back to me. That's not service. I can easily do research for myself on cruises. I don't need second party assistance to find deals. Let's not forget the subject of this thread is -should I book online or call Hal- not should I use a ta.

[RocketMan275]

 

Secondly, a HAL agent, or any cruise line agent, will not give us a heads up about a more attractive offer on another comparable ship/cruise line.

 

 

After my last cruise on Oasis, wife and I decided to cancel our cruises in March 16 (Royal) and Dec 16 (Celebrity). Both cruises were booked with the same TA. Simple call, cancelled both cruises and booked two replacement cruises on Holland and Princess. One phone call, one agent. Done in 10 minutes. Had new invoices in 30 minutes. If I had been dealing with PCC, I would have had to make four phone calls and do business with four different people. And, yes, my TA gave me at least a 10% discount on these cruises. And, no, there were no cancellation fees. And, yes, the charges on my credit card were made by the cruise lines, not the TA.

[RocketMan275]

The last two travel agencies I used have longer office hours than Holland America does. No problem getting hold of someone, but I am not one who cancels, changes cabins, changes cruises, or changes sailing date. I do not bother my travel agent about dress codes, weather, dining times, insurance, bar hours, gratuities, shore excursions, dining times, the kids' health, or how the baseball season is shaping up.

 

I'm not at all concerned with "maintaining control of my reservation". Exactly what can one do when dealing with a PCC that one cannot do dealing with a TA? Well, you can't change your dining preferences. You can't cancel a reservation. You can't change your room. You can't change your booking category. How often does one do that? It would seem that changes like that can easily wait until Monday morning.