Interesting promotion for Europe 2017

[sail7seas]

gIf I still had my DH, we well could hav e c oniddered hat but I won't do it alone

Edited May 20, 2016 by sail7seas

[mame42]

According to HAL, I should have received the promo, which unfortunately seems to have gone astray. I was told that if I called with a specific date that HAL would plug in the promo. Does anyone know if any Koningsdam September/October 2017 sailings are included in the promo? Thanks for any info.

[DaveOKC]

Now to further confuse the issue - I just received a mailing from HAL for Europe, but now for 2016 sailings.

 

I compared the 2016 and 2017 prices from the brochure I mentioned in my original post #1 and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

 

Typical example - 12 day Baltic adventure (Zuiderdam on both), published fares:

2016 then 2017:

Inside $1099 - $2999

Oceanview $1299 - $3399

Verandah $1499 - $3699

Suites $2699 - $5199

 

Of course the 2016 has no extra perks while 2017 has a bunch (see post #1), but still.....

[Janae22]

According to HAL, I should have received the promo, which unfortunately seems to have gone astray. I was told that if I called with a specific date that HAL would plug in the promo. Does anyone know if any Koningsdam September/October 2017 sailings are included in the promo? Thanks for any info.

 

Dear Mame,

 

You can go to Holland and put in your ship and month. There are 6 cruises for Sept 17 on the Koningsdam. Try this link but change the DOT to .

 

hollandamericaDOTcom/cruise/#/find-cruise-vacation/FindCruises?cfVer=4&destCode=E&regionCode=&dateCode=9_2017&__checkbox_flexibleMonths=true&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&durationCode=&embarkPort=&ship=KO

[Janae22]

gIf I still had my DH, we well could hav e c oniddered hat but I won't do it alone

 

Dear Sail,

 

Your DH will be there with you in spirit. He would want you to go with a friend. Enjoy :)

[Despegue]

Prices here in Europe for 2017 cruises are ridiculously expensive for a mainstream line, with, as usual, no benefits whatsowever.

 

We'll wait for prices to get lower or go on Safari instead.

I do love the Amazon explorer route on Prinsendam though...:)

[janmcn]

Oh, yeah...thanks for the heads up: here's what I found

 

Using MY ID and logging in with and without it, the June 22, 2017 24-day Fjords, Highlands, and Baltics Cruise in the Signature Suites (which we already have booked via a TA) were quoted as $8449 + 450 Tax, etc. (with and without my ID)

 

Then, I did a dummy booking using my son's ID (that happened to be on the brochure we got today) for the same cruise, same cabin and ...tada....$10,000 plus 450...

 

So....yes, they are playing us. My deal with my TA is less than what the internet shows with my ID.

 

No dice.

[lazey1]

My T.A. just left a message that she was able to get the promo attached to my mariner #. We will touch base tomorrow. I am interested in the Baltic/Viking Passage aboard the Zuiderdam.:)

[Janae22]

Oh, yeah...thanks for the heads up: here's what

 

So....yes, they are playing us. My deal with my TA is less than what the internet shows with my ID.

 

No dice.

 

We are now booked on 21 Day Northern Isles and Vikings Saga. The Big Promo was $3000 MORE!!! We already had $200 down for future cruise from a few years ago. I must have spent well over an hour with TA on phone. We decided that Mystery Air and prepaying the Drink Package was not worth it for us. We got 35000 points from TA and $200 OBC, plus our original $200. So even though we didn't do the promo, they still got us booked with a cruise I probably would not have booked until next year.

[DaveOKC]

Oh, yeah...thanks for the heads up: here's what I found

 

Using MY ID and logging in with and without it, the June 22, 2017 24-day Fjords, Highlands, and Baltics Cruise in the Signature Suites (which we already have booked via a TA) were quoted as $8449 + 450 Tax, etc. (with and without my ID)

 

Then, I did a dummy booking using my son's ID (that happened to be on the brochure we got today) for the same cruise, same cabin and ...tada....$10,000 plus 450...

 

So....yes, they are playing us. My deal with my TA is less than what the internet shows with my ID.

 

No dice.

 

I do not know if they are "playing us". If you received the promotion you have the choice of booking either way. For some the savings is better one way, for others it is the other way. Pick and chose - its up to you.

[lazey1]

I do not know if they are "playing us". If you received the promotion you have the choice of booking either way. For some the savings is better one way, for others it is the other way. Pick and chose - its up to you.

 

 

I still didn't receive the promotion and I can't see it online. Will have to rely on my T.A. to let me know what the best deal is. ( I did a dummy booking on the HAL website and considered the price quite reasonable.)

[just_cruising_along]

I think it depends upon the cruise and the duration. Your TA can tell you the price differences between the higher price cabins that are included in this deal and the lower-priced cabins without the deal.

 

For those who did not receive it, it is mailing brochure number: HAL15326US which states there is an Early Booking Bonus for European cruises in 2017. It states all cruises leaving Europe, except for the Grand Voyage.

 

Bonus:

Book any 2017 Europe cruise by June 30 and receive per stateroom:

• Free Signature Beverage Package
  
• Up to $400 OBC
  
• $1,600 air credit
  
• Free gratuities (hotel service charges)
  
• Suite Guests receive an additional 100 free Internet minutes and a Free Dine Around Package.
  

 

You cannot book your airfare until Dec 13 of this year. But if you are leaving from one port and going to another, HAL Flight Ease seems to offer good deals.

 

Plus if you do this now, you can always change your booking if you find a better deal prior to the final payment.

 

And yes, you can add extra days to the beginning or end off your cruise for airfare.

 

In the past, I have been able to pick the exact flight and SEATS i want, using HAL's Flight Ease. And when I price them myself, I have found it to be the same or less expensive.

[falling fruit]

We also received this VIP Early Booking Bonus offer from HAL offering :

 

Book any 2017 Europe cruise by 30 June 2016, and receive the following:

 

• FREE Signature Beverage Package*

 

• Up to US$400 Onboard Spending Money per stateroom*

 

• FREE gratuities (hotel service charges)*

 

• Receive $1,600 Air Credit per stateroom**

 

Book a suite and also receive: 100 FREE Internet Minutes per stateroom and a FREE Dine Around Package.*

 

We tried to book a particular cruise through our agent and again directly with HAL. The listed price on the HAL website for our cruise was A$6,188 but we were told that to get these "free" early booking bonus offers we would have to pay A$8,639 an increase of A$2,351 on the listed cabin price.

Redefining the concept of free in this way surely amounts to false and misleading advertising which is an offence under Australian law.

 

HAL representatives told both our agent and ourselves that the bonus offer was a particular promotion and subject to HAL's own pricing. This was not disclosed anywhere in the offer other than by a reference in the attached Terms and Conditions saying the " Early Booking Bonus is based on Promo PU " with no suggestion that this meant what was being offered for free had in fact to be paid for .

 

Under Australian law according to the ACCC "it makes no difference whether the business intended to mislead you or not. If the overall impression left by a business’s advertisement, promotion, quotation, statement or other representation creates a misleading impression in your mind—such as to the price, value or the quality of any goods and services—then the behaviour is likely to breach the law."

 

Why would HAL do this ? The speculation we have received from one person in the industry is that HAL hopes the true good to be true offer will suck people in and that there will be enough who will pay HAL's price without first checking the online price to make it worthwhile for HAL. Not sure if this qualifies as a scam but it has the whiff.

[Karennella]

We also received this VIP Early Booking Bonus offer from HAL offering :

 

Book any 2017 Europe cruise by 30 June 2016, and receive the following:

 

• FREE Signature Beverage Package*

 

• Up to US$400 Onboard Spending Money per stateroom*

 

• FREE gratuities (hotel service charges)*

 

• Receive $1,600 Air Credit per stateroom**

 

Book a suite and also receive: 100 FREE Internet Minutes per stateroom and a FREE Dine Around Package.*

 

We tried to book a particular cruise through our agent and again directly with HAL. The listed price on the HAL website for our cruise was A$6,188 but we were told that to get these "free" early booking bonus offers we would have to pay A$8,639 an increase of A$2,351 on the listed cabin price.

Redefining the concept of free in this way surely amounts to false and misleading advertising which is an offence under Australian law.

 

HAL representatives told both our agent and ourselves that the bonus offer was a particular promotion and subject to HAL's own pricing. This was not disclosed anywhere in the offer other than by a reference in the attached Terms and Conditions saying the " Early Booking Bonus is based on Promo PU " with no suggestion that this meant what was being offered for free had in fact to be paid for .

 

Under Australian law according to the ACCC "it makes no difference whether the business intended to mislead you or not. If the overall impression left by a business’s advertisement, promotion, quotation, statement or other representation creates a misleading impression in your mind—such as to the price, value or the quality of any goods and services—then the behaviour is likely to breach the law."

 

Why would HAL do this ? The speculation we have received from one person in the industry is that HAL hopes the true good to be true offer will suck people in and that there will be enough who will pay HAL's price without first checking the online price to make it worthwhile for HAL. Not sure if this qualifies as a scam but it has the whiff.

We received the same offer but as we have no intention of going to Europe next year we did not follow it up.

My daughter works with Fair Trading. I will have a chat with her about this offer. Would also be interesting to know what airfares they would come up with. We only look at one stop, minimal stop-over time yet Amsterdam to Sydney,(and we are only twenty minutes from the airport), was still 28 hours door to door.

[creativepart]

So, we're new cruisers and are booking our first trip - an April transatlantic cruise. They offered me:

• Free Signature Beverage Package (~$1300 for 2)
  
• $300 in OBC ($150 each)
  
• $1,600 air credit ($800 each)
  
• Free gratuities (hotel service charges) ($325 for 2)
  

 

All for for $3,089 per person.

 

But 3 TAs I checked with priced the cruise without the Anniversary deal and it came to $1,788 per person. A savings of $2,602!

 

Doesn't really strike me as much of a "free" thing. Not unless paying $2,600 extra still qualifies as free.

 

The bev package is over the top. But the OBC and Gratuities is good. I guess what makes it worthwhile would depend on whether you use the Air Credit or not.

[pollux]

I think the package is not a deal at all.

Trans Atlantic closer to sailing like 90 days depending on cabin start s low as 699 for inside p.p.

All cruise lines are using scams now.

Princess just send me a booklet for casino fare 35% off, $25 in Casino cash, plus free gratuities.

Well after booking the fall Trans Atlantic I got the 35% off and the casino cash.

But the free gratuities they said they never offer such a thing.

I was told several times there was no such a offer to send booklet to the head in charge of casino. I copied and put it in the mail.

Now 2 weeks later no answer.