Non Refundable Deposit is now the default pricing

[Andi Land]

Finally found a description online for these fares. They are calling them Snap Fares.

 

Snap Fares Terms & Conditions

 

*Fares are based on Promo(s) RA. Featured fares and are per person based on double occupancy, cruise or Land+Sea Journeys only. Fares are in U.S. dollars.

Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses are additional and range from $90 - $1,580.

Subject to availability. 50% reduced deposits are non-refundable and available on select sailings outside of final payment. For full terms and conditions applicable to your cruise, please refer to hollandamerica.com or the appropriate Holland America brochure. Offers are capacity controlled, and may be modified or withdrawn without prior notice. Other restrictions may apply.

Online offer ends July 27, 2017. Ships' Registry: The Netherlands.

[Scrapnana]

So will the non-refundable deposit end (at least until the next promo is over) on July 27 when the snap fares do ?

[DaveOKC]

So will the non-refundable deposit end (at least until the next promo is over) on July 27 when the snap fares do ?

 

You never know for certain what HAL will do on fares. I know that you can request a fare without the current promotion (like Explore4) and normally it is less. I often find these fares on a large travel website.

[Tampa Girl]

My understanding is that current bookings are fine?

 

It's only if you change or book now with the prices you see on the website that you are affected.

 

At least that is my understanding from my conversation,but you had best double check. I don't believe HAL can change your booking conditions that you have in place, but who knows?

 

Interesting. I just checked the website for the 2018 Grand Asia and, sure enough, it contained:

The deposit on this cruise is fully non-refundable. Fares shown are in US$, per person, based on double occupancy. Fares reflect best fare available for a stateroom in each category, on one date that this itinerary is available from a snapshot taken in the last 24 hour

 

But then I checked the printout from the HAL website for the 82-Day Grand Asia & Pacific voyage at the time that we booked the cruise, and it did not contain the non-refundable provision. Needless to say, I have an e-mail in to my TA.

 

It seems incredible that HAL is placing non-refundable deposits on these Grand Voyages, the deposits of which are $5,000 - $7,000. I wonder if "fully non-refundable" means that the CCP plan will not reimburse any part of the initial deposit.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Royal Caribbean Recently Launched a non-refundable deposit promo - ALL suites regardless of other promos, now have a non-refundable deposit And to get their best price on a room will now require a non-refundable deposit. Carnival has had this in place for some time with their Early Saver Fares. Princess and HAL have offered non-refundable deposit fares that were lower for some time now, however they were previously not the default fare advertised nor were they available on every sailing. That is the big shift here.

 

I have a strong feeling that 2-3 years from now ALL cruise deposits will become non-refundable. Cruise lines can better control yield, occupancy and attrition from not having so many "speculative" bookings outstanding that will cancel around final payment time w/o a penalty.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

It seems incredible that HAL is placing non-refundable deposits on these Grand Voyages, the deposits of which are $5,000 - $7,000. I wonder if "fully non-refundable" means that the CCP plan will not reimburse any part of the initial deposit.

 

I think the bigger question, that is unanswered, is if you have a booking with a non-refundable deposit and your plans change, will HAL allow the full deposit to transfer to another ship/sailing and if so will they charge an "administrative fee" like Carnival does with their Early Saver fares ($50pp) and RCCL are doing with their new Non-Refundable deposit program ($100pp). There's more unanswered than answered by the terms and conditions of many travel suppliers these days.

[CJcruzer]

So how far in advance/close to sailing should pne consider the "non refundable" deposit for a sailing.

 

We are booked for a cruise in February 2018, I have booked my hotel (prepaid as it was at a phenomenal rate of 35% off) and booked my airfare

 

Have my private tours lined up, all my sucks in a row.

 

I originally booked this with a promo that included prepaid gratuities and some OBC, but my actual private fare (I guess Mariner pricing) came in quite a bit lower and I saved a substantial amount, more savings than the gratutities and OBC are worth,

 

So now, as I feel I have a good price (barebones) I am wondering if I should look into the non refundable fare, and possibly switch to that, if the savings are even greater! Travel insurance would cover any cancellation costs, as the only reason I would cancel is for extreme medical/family/emergency situation.

 

Thoughts!

[bUU]

Carnival recently changed they're online booking so that it defaulted to early savers and was somewhat difficult to switch to a different offering.

 

This message may have been entered via voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[DaveOKC]

So how far in advance/close to sailing should pne consider the "non refundable" deposit for a sailing.

 

We are booked for a cruise in February 2018, I have booked my hotel (prepaid as it was at a phenomenal rate of 35% off) and booked my airfare

 

Have my private tours lined up, all my sucks in a row.

 

I originally booked this with a promo that included prepaid gratuities and some OBC, but my actual private fare (I guess Mariner pricing) came in quite a bit lower and I saved a substantial amount, more savings than the gratutities and OBC are worth,

 

So now, as I feel I have a good price (barebones) I am wondering if I should look into the non refundable fare, and possibly switch to that, if the savings are even greater! Travel insurance would cover any cancellation costs, as the only reason I would cancel is for extreme medical/family/emergency situation.

 

Thoughts!

 

My Mariner fare was lower than the non-refundable fare on the cruise I am considering. And it is refundable. So, do not assume anything with HAL.

[kira5]

My understanding (I may be wrong) is that the reasons for booking one or two years out is to get a particular cabin or to avoid a cruise selling out. I can't imagine we would be certain of our situation two years out; so many things could happen. Health problems can develop or family issues. We may decide to do something different or need the money for a daughter's wedding to someone she hasn't even met.

 

I've been watching a Hawaii cruise and saw today that not only has the fare gone down $200 but the Canadian dollar has recently strengthened. I guess I face a risk that the cruise may suddenly be sold out but when I check the HAL website no category is sold out for the Oct. 1 cruise. Also, this cruise has a lot of sea days which some people don't like. Last summer we decided two weeks before departure to accompany our son and his family on an Alaskan cruise. It showed sold out but when I called HAL to go on a wait list, an obstructed view cabin for $20 more than the inside we wanted was suddenly available. Probably we paid full price though.

 

If all else fails, I've seen a similar Princess, back and forth from Vancouver, departing within a week so we would go with that. I'm curious to see what transpires, it seems like a bit of a game, but since I haven't paid anything I feel I have the upper hand.

[mame42]

I hope the non-refundables do not apply to the Grand Voyages! I did not notice any such footnote on the 2018 Grand Asia, and my TA did put in writing that even if fully paid by the penalty date, it would be refundable. Think I will check the website again. Not that I'm worried, of course . . .

 

 

PLEASE, post what you find out, as the deposit for this cruise was a hefty bit of cash even fir a solo.

[VacationCharlene]

I consider myself a bargain hunter and do ALOT of research whenever planning our cruises, hotels, transportation, airfare etc. ALOT of hours go into everything we do and see.

 

I was literally the first person to book with HAL for their May 21, 2018 sailing for the two week Alaska sailing as we have done this before and LOVED it. Next year will be on the Zaandam.

 

So when I first booked in December 2016 I knew it was the highest price more than likely, and offered no perks. That's OK I had used our FCC for the deposit. Wait for price reductions and maybe able to grab a promotion.

 

Some months later I saw that the price at the big box store for that exact cruise was $400 less per person than HAL and offered a $330 OBC. I decided, at that time, to change over to them, even though my original intent was to hang on to the reservation myself up until close to final payment. I decided to change over to big box and lower price and kept everything else the same. No promotions were applied or applicable.

 

I happened to look yesterday day on the big box website and saw that their price was now $480 cheaper!! OMG....I am freaking out and call them. YES the price is lower and YES you can change to that price but now my obc was $285 (for every $200 up or down they either add or subtract $25 as atypical) That's OK...I am still ahead $435 which means a lot to us. Turns out in order to keep this HAL was requiring us to now be with the non-refundable deposit (which in our case technically was a $200 FCC) AND this price was it with NO MORE price reductions. I knew NOTHING about this non-refundable "new" thing when I called to check on the much lower price. Still don't know a whole lot but hoping for the best.

 

We took the price reduction, because we liked the price. I had been waiting for the Explorer4 promo to come out and now am sure hoping it will cost a lot more than the benefit...which is typical of HAL's promotions ALOT. Was not thrilled about the non-refundable deposit BUT hoping all works out OK. We will NOT be able to take advantage or a cheaper fare or any further promotions.

 

I AM surprised, somewhat, that we changed to this but we really ARE happy with the pricing.

 

Another person's perspective........

[CJcruzer]

I did a dummy booking on HAL site, and the cost is $234 more per person than I am currently booked. However, I did not catch if this was a regular fare, or non refundable fare - where is it noted, or stated, whether your deposit is non refundable?

[Andi Land]

I consider myself a bargain hunter and do ALOT of research whenever planning our cruises, hotels, transportation, airfare etc. ALOT of hours go into everything we do and see.

 

I was literally the first person to book with HAL for their May 21, 2018 sailing for the two week Alaska sailing as we have done this before and LOVED it. Next year will be on the Zaandam.

 

So when I first booked in December 2016 I knew it was the highest price more than likely, and offered no perks. That's OK I had used our FCC for the deposit. Wait for price reductions and maybe able to grab a promotion.

 

Some months later I saw that the price at the big box store for that exact cruise was $400 less per person than HAL and offered a $330 OBC. I decided, at that time, to change over to them, even though my original intent was to hang on to the reservation myself up until close to final payment. I decided to change over to big box and lower price and kept everything else the same. No promotions were applied or applicable.

 

I happened to look yesterday day on the big box website and saw that their price was now $480 cheaper!! OMG....I am freaking out and call them. YES the price is lower and YES you can change to that price but now my obc was $285 (for every $200 up or down they either add or subtract $25 as atypical) That's OK...I am still ahead $435 which means a lot to us. Turns out in order to keep this HAL was requiring us to now be with the non-refundable deposit (which in our case technically was a $200 FCC) AND this price was it with NO MORE price reductions. I knew NOTHING about this non-refundable "new" thing when I called to check on the much lower price. Still don't know a whole lot but hoping for the best.

 

We took the price reduction, because we liked the price. I had been waiting for the Explorer4 promo to come out and now am sure hoping it will cost a lot more than the benefit...which is typical of HAL's promotions ALOT. Was not thrilled about the non-refundable deposit BUT hoping all works out OK. We will NOT be able to take advantage or a cheaper fare or any further promotions.

 

I AM surprised, somewhat, that we changed to this but we really ARE happy with the pricing.

 

Another person's perspective........

 

I find myself in the same predicament. I'm also booked on a 2 week Alaska for 2018. If I go with the non refundable pricing I save $500 per person. That's quite a bit of money. So, do I switch and save the $$$ or wait and see what the next promo is? Decisions, decisions. 😳😳

[InTheWASide]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. The lack of transparency regarding this very important change is very troubling. Such a change requires more than a note in a footnote, imo.

 

There's not a lack of transparency... they show it. What you mean is that YOU would do it differently.

[mame42]

Interesting. I just checked the website for the 2018 Grand Asia and, sure enough, it contained:

The deposit on this cruise is fully non-refundable. Fares shown are in US$, per person, based on double occupancy. Fares reflect best fare available for a stateroom in each category, on one date that this itinerary is available from a snapshot taken in the last 24 hour

 

But then I checked the printout from the HAL website for the 82-Day Grand Asia & Pacific voyage at the time that we booked the cruise, and it did not contain the non-refundable provision. Needless to say, I have an e-mail in to my TA.

 

It seems incredible that HAL is placing non-refundable deposits on these Grand Voyages, the deposits of which are $5,000 - $7,000. I wonder if "fully non-refundable" means that the CCP plan will not reimburse any part of the initial deposit.

 

I also emailed my TA. Incidentally, the pricing is the exact same as it was before the institution of non-refundable fares.

[bluegiraffe]

My understanding (I may be wrong) is that the reasons for booking one or two years out is to get a particular cabin or to avoid a cruise selling out. I can't imagine we would be certain of our situation two years out; so many things could happen. Health problems can develop or family issues. We may decide to do something different or need the money for a daughter's wedding to someone she hasn't even met.

 

I've been watching a Hawaii cruise and saw today that not only has the fare gone down $200 but the Canadian dollar has recently strengthened. I guess I face a risk that the cruise may suddenly be sold out but when I check the HAL website no category is sold out for the Oct. 1 cruise. Also, this cruise has a lot of sea days which some people don't like. Last summer we decided two weeks before departure to accompany our son and his family on an Alaskan cruise. It showed sold out but when I called HAL to go on a wait list, an obstructed view cabin for $20 more than the inside we wanted was suddenly available. Probably we paid full price though.

 

If all else fails, I've seen a similar Princess, back and forth from Vancouver, departing within a week so we would go with that. I'm curious to see what transpires, it seems like a bit of a game, but since I haven't paid anything I feel I have the upper hand.

 

Ditto. We've booked 12 months early before so that we could get the specific cabin we wanted, but a non-refundable deposit on a booking made that far out simply doesn't work for us. Too many things can happen in that time and a 50% deposit is something I'm not willing to lose. I guess I'll go back to looking at cruises 2 months out and if I find an itinerary I like, seeing if it also has a cabin I like. I understand why HAL wants to do this - it works for them - but it doesn't work for us. And the lack of transparency bothers me; "Non-Refundable" needs to be very, very clear to the buyer.

[Lady Arwen]

I did a dummy booking on HAL site, and the cost is $234 more per person than I am currently booked. However, I did not catch if this was a regular fare, or non refundable fare - where is it noted, or stated, whether your deposit is non refundable?

At the very bottom of each cruise individual page in very small print.

[Cruise Junky]

There's not a lack of transparency... they show it. What you mean is that YOU would do it differently.

 

I disagree. When I look at a cruise on a big TA site it gives me two options one clearly says non refundable deposit. When I click on e.g. that I get a pop up warning that I picked a non refundable deposit. That is transparency.

 

 

Booking on HAL is not transparency. It's only when you get to the final

Page of booking that there is a link to the cancellation policy. That is the only indication that you're booking a non refundable fare. Completely hidden and complete BS. I think there will be a lot of people caught off guard with this.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I too saw the "snap" non-refundable deposit fare on the 14 day Alaskan Explorer cruise for 2018 - it would save us about $800 total for two vs our current pricing. However, losing the ability to take Advantage of Explore4 would be a deal breaker, when and if it became available, so I have decided to sit tight and hope if it comes out in August as predicted and that the price WITH Explore4 is not much higher than or equal to our current rate. If we do not get the Signature Beverage Package as a booking perk we would buy it, even on a 14 day cruise, as both mom and I would consume enough daily between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to make a straightforward purchase worthwhile. The current price drop is equivalent to about 1 beverage package, so we will wait :cool:

[SilvertoGold]

My understanding (I may be wrong) is that the reasons for booking one or two years out is to get a particular cabin or to avoid a cruise selling out. I can't imagine we would be certain of our situation two years out; so many things could happen. Health problems can develop or family issues. We may decide to do something different or need the money for a daughter's wedding to someone she hasn't even met.

 

I've been watching a Hawaii cruise and saw today that not only has the fare gone down $200 but the Canadian dollar has recently strengthened. I guess I face a risk that the cruise may suddenly be sold out but when I check the HAL website no category is sold out for the Oct. 1 cruise. Also, this cruise has a lot of sea days which some people don't like. Last summer we decided two weeks before departure to accompany our son and his family on an Alaskan cruise. It showed sold out but when I called HAL to go on a wait list, an obstructed view cabin for $20 more than the inside we wanted was suddenly available. Probably we paid full price though.

 

If all else fails, I've seen a similar Princess, back and forth from Vancouver, departing within a week so we would go with that. I'm curious to see what transpires, it seems like a bit of a game, but since I haven't paid anything I feel I have the upper hand.

 

I agree with your sentiments. I have been watching that Eurodam cruise, too. It is still hundreds more pp than a similar Hawaii HAL cruise this past April (18 days).

 

This is the first Hawaii R/T on a Signature class out of Vancouver, so there is more interest than usual, I suppose. This cruise starts in Seattle (17 days) and has been selling for less that out of Vancouver.

[InTheWASide]

I disagree. When I look at a cruise on a big TA site it gives me two options one clearly says non refundable deposit. When I click on e.g. that I get a pop up warning that I picked a non refundable deposit. That is transparency.

 

 

Booking on HAL is not transparency. It's only when you get to the final

Page of booking that there is a link to the cancellation policy. That is the only indication that you're booking a non refundable fare. Completely hidden and complete BS. I think there will be a lot of people caught off guard with this.

 

But what you're saying is it is hidden because before you pay anything they let you know.

 

They are letting you know so it isn't hidden.

 

They are not taking money and then advising, or flat not telling them at all.

 

Each and every one of us is responsible for reading anything that pertains to what we book. If we do not, then that is that particular individual's fault.

 

Example:

I go to a car website and see "$19,999" for a car I want.

It has me add all the options I want. Let's say I add $5000 worth of additional options on the car

That brings the car to $24,999 but it's then going to show title, delivery and ALL this other stuff on the very last page that you had never seen any mention of, at all.

 

HAL tells you the terms, even if at the end (hence my point of "you would do it differently"), and not one person here said "this is just like every car ad ever" which leads me to believe you don't feel the same way about other things.

 

Hidden means concealed or unseen. It's seen. You have to read it. And you aren't past the tipping point before you're made aware. The side trip on this thread is much ado about nothing. It's good to know the default pricing shown is not only the lowest, but that the lowest shown happens to be the non-refundable deposit promotion. Other than that... read your terms and conditions when you book. Problem solved.

[Cruise Junky]

But what you're saying is it is hidden because before you pay anything they let you know.

 

They are letting you know so it isn't hidden.

 

They are not taking money and then advising, or flat not telling them at all.

 

Each and every one of us is responsible for reading anything that pertains to what we book. If we do not, then that is that particular individual's fault.

 

Example:

I go to a car website and see "$19,999" for a car I want.

It has me add all the options I want. Let's say I add $5000 worth of additional options on the car

That brings the car to $24,999 but it's then going to show title, delivery and ALL this other stuff on the very last page that you had never seen any mention of, at all.

 

HAL tells you the terms, even if at the end (hence my point of "you would do it differently"), and not one person here said "this is just like every car ad ever" which leads me to believe you don't feel the same way about other things.

 

Hidden means concealed or unseen. It's seen. You have to read it. And you aren't past the tipping point before you're made aware. The side trip on this thread is much ado about nothing. It's good to know the default pricing shown is not only the lowest, but that the lowest shown happens to be the non-refundable deposit promotion. Other than that... read your terms and conditions when you book. Problem solved.

 

You and I have very different understandings of the word "concealed" burying it in a link is concealed. The tiny print that was referred to earlier does not show on the mobile site

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I disagree. When I look at a cruise on a big TA site it gives me two options one clearly says non refundable deposit. When I click on e.g. that I get a pop up warning that I picked a non refundable deposit. That is transparency.

 

 

Booking on HAL is not transparency. It's only when you get to the final

Page of booking that there is a link to the cancellation policy. That is the only indication that you're booking a non refundable fare. Completely hidden and complete BS. I think there will be a lot of people caught off guard with this.

 

I just did a mock booking on the HAL website and agree on the lack of transparency in deposit refundability - the ONLY place I could find that info was to click on the "SNAP FARE" logo, even under the T&C/cancel penalty it did not address the non-refundability. It did state on the payment page that I was booking fare code RA1, but no further info as to what that means. As an agent I know form experience that ANY HAL fare code beginning in RA is a non-refundable deposit, but the average consumer would not. Very poor communication on HAL's part.

[kazu]

There's not a lack of transparency... they show it. What you mean is that YOU would do it differently.

 

Sorry, but I STRONGLY disagree.

 

The footnote is so small that you nearly need a magnifying glass (and yes, I have 20/20 vision).

 

HAL has totally changed their way of doing business with no heads up. I can't recall the last time there were specials on HAL with a non refundable deposit (unless you were inside the final payment window).

 

Sorry, I disagree. It's not transparent and makes it hard to see the real price without it. I am NOT impressed. And some people think I am a cheerleader ;)

 

This is as bad as when they brought out the no wine policy without notice. Yes, they changed that after they got enough protests.

 

this, to me is misleading. Regular HAL cruisers could miss this and it was NOT there two days ago when my cruise price dropped. That is misleading. OK, HAL has crappy IT, I know, but this is not something you play with.

 

But what do I know? I just believe in honest, good business practices. This is a complete switch from what HAL has done in the past. If they can email me about shore excursions and all the other stuff, why not email everyone who has a booking and give them a heads up and save a lot of agents a lot of work?

 

Why don't they get their website fixed and give us the option to see the alternate pricing? So now, to get the "real price" I have to call? Seriously???

 

Not a happy camper, and I do think it's misleading, sorry.