HAL Reservation Transfer to Agency ~ "subject to price/offer match" policy

[Dogstar]

Following HAL's sale of the Maasdam, effectively canceling our 13-Feb-2021 19-Day "Papua New Guinea & Philippines Adventurer" voyage , Mrs. Dogstar & I rebooked ourselves on the Koningsdam's 10-Apr-2022 "18-Day Circle Hawaii" voyage (out of our homeport of Vancouver, BC, Canada).  Not our ideal, preferred exotic cruise vessel/destination combination but eliminates the unknown burden of air travel come 2022.

 

We normally book directly with the Cruise Line via our assigned Personal Cruise Consultant, primarily due to comfort & ease, with (naive) expectation of better service, benefits, etc. for our loyalty.  I've generally been unimpressed when cross-checking advertised prices elsewhere, fearing any potential "hassles" or "lack of help" was not worth the potential savings.  After re-reading your positive posts about booking with an Agency instead (including transferring a reservation booked with HAL), receiving sizable 10%+ savings/credits, additional benefits, etc. I decided to "test the water" by seeking competitive quotations from various sources.

 

Fast forward ... we compared multiple offers, validated Agencies, asked follow-up questions, etc. ... for a 11% net savings from HAL's best offer !!! We submit to HAL the necessary 'Reservation Transfer Request Form' to have our HAL direct (PCC) booking, which was made within the past 60 days stipulation, moved over to the selected Agency.

 

Surprise ... our HAL PCC responds "Since you are wishing to transfer based on a difference in price/offer, our policy is that before we can transfer, I need to submit the agency’s offer to my supervisor to see if we can simply just do a price/offer match. Can you please provide in writing what the agency’s offer is? I will find out if we can simply just match the offer. If not, we will complete the transfer from there."

 

What the ?!?!?! Is this a new policy?  It’s not noted on the Form, nor mentioned in other posts that I can see, etc. It was my understanding, perhaps erroneously, that HAL is unable to price match/beat Agency discounts directly hence our election to validate the market’s offerings. I even verified HAL's "best offer" with our PCC beforehand. I'm now awaiting further clarification/response from our HAL PCC.

 

Thoughts?

 

Cheers.  Dogstar.

 

*** 

Be kind. Be calm. Be safe. 
- Dr. Bonnie HENRY, Provincial Health Officer, Government of British Columbia

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Dogstar
typos correction

[TiogaCruiser]

Interesting. One wonders if it is a way to collect price policies for other agencies. Or to confirm compliance with theirs.

[Hlitner]

WOW  that is something that is not only new, but it would also be a huge change in philosophy.  Until now, the major cruise lines have followed a quiet policy of not competing with cruise/travel agencies when it comes to price/amenities.  As was explained to me by a senior Princess employee (and confirmed by a HAL onboard future cruise person) the cruise lines depend on cruise/travel agents for up to 80% of all their bookings.  The cruise lines need the agencies and the agencies need the cruise lines :).  Traditionally, those of us that know how to deal with cruise agencies expect to save 7-10% (or more) on every booking!  

 

If the OP's post is an indication of a change in policy it would likely cause some major ripples in the entire travel industry.   Personally we love dealing with cruise agencies (we currently use 3) since we not only save a lot of money (on each booking) but we get terrific service.  We cruise on many different cruise lines (16 to date) and our favored cruise agencies can handle bookings on any of those lines.  I do not need to spend time "on hold" or explain our preferences to our agents when we book a cruise.  They know what we like and they take good care of us whether it be with a HAL booking, Seabourn, MSC, Oceania, etc.   But take away the price advantage (when using agencies) and many would likely fail.  The high volume agencies that survive would likely steer their clients to the cruise lines that are more supportive of their own agency industry.

 

I would add that once upon a time there was a cruise line called Renaissance that thought they could do fine without dealing with any agencies or paying commissions.  They only accepted direct booking (phone or online).  They were a terrific line with 8 ships, no smoking, and no kids.  They went bankrupt shortly after 9-11 for multiple reasons.  Not having the support of agencies in that down market (which happened after 9-11) was one more nail in their coffin.

 

Hank

[AlanF65]

I made a reservation while back (<60 days) and transferred it to Hot Dog Big Box TA on Wednesday night, it was complete Thursday morning and for the first time on a recorded line they (the TA) read me about 3-5 minutes of terms and conditions including FCC reducing shop cards. At the end I asked about FCC and got another legal spiel. Final I agreed to all the terms and then asked I have a FCC from a cruise that was with BB TA and was canceled due to covid. She said we will protect your FCC and shop card for the full amount when you apply the FCC. But it was recorded and scripted.

 

In the past I have always called and they confirm their offer before they do the transfer but it was about 30 seconds, now they are reading from a script.

 

I didn't use a PCC so no one to call me to price match. The cruise with the benefits I wanted weren't on the TA site so I booked direct. I wanted to move because I didn't want HAL auto applying my FCC to the cruise and well I wanted the 7-8% shop card.

 

 

A-

[Cruising-along]

A friend has recently had and accepted this offer for a couple cruises.  He'll probably see this and chime in.  🙂  

[DaveOKC]

My PCC hinted at this type of thing - let them know if you find a better offer and they will try to meet it.

 

[richwmn]

29 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

A friend has recently had and accepted this offer for a couple cruises.  He'll probably see this and chime in.  🙂  

Back in March when I tried to transfer the (then) April Inaugural to a TA my PCC asked that I send a copy of the offer. HAL came back and matched it with the provision that it couldn't be transferred later and I couldn't change the price or other terms. I accepted that. I now have two additional cruises booked under the same terms.

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, richwmn said:

Back in March when I tried to transfer the (then) April Inaugural to a TA my PCC asked that I send a copy of the offer. HAL came back and matched it with the provision that it couldn't be transferred later and I couldn't change the price or other terms. I accepted that. I now have two additional cruises booked under the same terms.

The problem with that kind of deal is if the price (or perks) significantly change at a later date.  With my cruise agent I simply send a quick e-mail asking her to please "reprice my cruise" and I will often save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  The cruise lines (especially HAL) has been trying for a few years to get folks to book with terms that prohibit them from later taking advantage of better deals.  This came to a head when HAL started pushing lower cost "non refundable/non changeable" deals.  You would save some money (up front) but give up the ability to later "reprice" if the price dropped of if there were significant perks (like a drink package) added to the mix.   A couple of years ago I told my wife that deciding how to book a cruise was worse then just betting a few thousand dollars at the craps table.  The payoff for making the right decision was to save "real money" which became more true on the longer cruises that we generally book with HAL.  I will tell you that we have never seen a deal from our PCC (or anyone on HAL) that even came close to what we can get through our favorite cruise agencies (we do not use big box stores).   When friends/fellow cruisers tell me that they really like their PCC I used to ask them if they liked that PCC enough to give him/her several thousand dollars as a gift.   When our own PCC called us and tried to get our booking for one VOV cruise I asked if HAL would match the deal we could get from a certain cruise agency.  The PCC told me "no" but still tried to talk me into booking with the PCC and then transferring the booking to the cruise agency.  My reaction to that tactic was, "why?"

 

Hank

[richwmn]

4 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

The problem with that kind of deal is if the price (or perks) significantly change at a later date.  With my cruise agent I simply send a quick e-mail asking her to please "reprice my cruise" and I will often save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Particularly as a solo cruiser my experience is that price changes seldom change to benefit me, and on these cruises I have a price I am happy with. So I made the decision for myself to take the offer from HAL to keep the booking with them.

On other cruises in the past I have saved some money and gotten great OBC by transferring, but no more that what I am getting for these cruises.

I agree that on "longer" cruises you can save "real money", but the cruises involved do not fall into that category. If / when I book a longer cruise again, the situation will be different.

 

[TiogaCruiser]

4 hours ago, richwmn said:

Back in March when I tried to transfer the (then) April Inaugural to a TA my PCC asked that I send a copy of the offer. HAL came back and matched it with the provision that it couldn't be transferred later and I couldn't change the price or other terms. I accepted that. I now have two additional cruises booked under the same terms.

So if HAL came back with a match, but you would not agree to their no further changes stipulation, or if you just wanted to transfer to a TA I wonder if they would have transferred it or held it.

[Dogstar]

 

5 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

One wonders if it is a way to collect price policies for other agencies. Or to confirm compliance with theirs.

 

Crossed my mind too, @TiogaCruiser.

 

 

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Until now, the major cruise lines have followed a quiet policy of not competing with cruise/travel agencies when it comes to price/amenities ... Traditionally, those of us that know how to deal with cruise agencies expect to save 7-10% (or more) on every booking!  

 

Thanks to your's & other's supportive posts, @Hlitner, I was pleased to discover for myself that the significant savings with Agencies, notwithstanding the Big Box TA's, are very real. It will be interesting to see HAL's follow-up response &/or counter-offer ... I'll share once received.

 

 

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

My PCC hinted at this type of thing - let them know if you find a better offer and they will try to meet it.

 

 

Odd that my HAL PCC verbally reconfirmed that they were unable to offer any better pricing/amenities than HAL's "public price" (which our direct booking was fared as) when I queried about other Agency offerings *until* HAL received the Reservation Transfer Form. I wonder, @DaveOKC, if HAL is now using this tactic to save money by reducing Agency commission liabilities?

 

 

4 hours ago, richwmn said:

HAL came back and matched it with the provision that it couldn't be transferred later and I couldn't change the price or other terms.

 

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

The problem with that kind of deal is if the price (or perks) significantly change at a later date.  With my cruise agent I simply send a quick e-mail asking her to please "reprice my cruise" and I will often save hundreds or even thousands of dollars. 

 

Totally agree with you @Hlitner.  Given pricing/amenities/promotions fluidity I'm not interested in any restrictive "no refare, no transfer, no nada" clauses

 

Curious @richwmn, are your bookings for near-term voyages or later in 2021/beyond?

[richwmn]

53 minutes ago, Dogstar said:

Curious @richwmn, are your bookings for near-term voyages or later in 2021/beyond?

Bookings are for late April and the Rotterdam Premier which is now August.

I must emphasize again that my bookings are for solo outside cabins for relatively short cruises. As a solo booking, the prices really don't vary that much and since they were booked early, for the most part the prices of cruises I have taken has only gone up. As an example, I was on the Voyage of the Vikings in 2018. I got a substantial OBC for transferring the cruise to a TA. Some friends were also on the cruise. Several months after we booked, there was a promotion that added Gratuities, but the price went up slightly. My friends were able to take advantage due to getting two sets of gratuities, while it would have cost me to have the cruise refared so I didn't do it.

While those booking the higher priced cabins, longer cruises, or both can save a substantial amount by transferring to a TA, those booking an inside or oceanview cabin, particularly on a short cruise don't really save enough to justify booking or transferring a cruise to a TA.

 

[DeeDee Groff]

My savings as a solo cruiser in an inside cabin for HAL cruises that are 30 days or longer range between 10 and 13 percent using two TA's in different brick and mortar agencies neither one of which is a big box.  Hank's posts echo my sentiments almost exactly.  I am actually happy that this topic has come up because I sit and read the posts on the HAL forum day after day, and I marvel at the posters who seem to be glad to handover thousands of dollars because they "like" their PCC!

 

I live fewer than five miles from a large cruise travel agency who promises that by booking with them, the cruiser will benefit from "hundreds of dollars of OBC because of our buying power," but they refuse to put this promise in writing.  This is an example of "let the buyer beware" because I met a woman aboard a month long HAL cruise in 2015 who was aghast when I showed her my invoice for the same category cabin, it was $1300. less than she paid, and she received not a penny in OBC from this much touted agency!

 

My other topic of wonderment is that so many cruisers do not seem to understand THEY are paying for all the "goodies" included in the price they are quoted either by a HAL PCC or a travel agency.  I certainly am not the brightest light on the block, but I do use a calculator, I ask questions, and then I am able to decide the true value of the quote I receive.

[DaveOKC]

11 hours ago, Dogstar said:

I was pleased to discover for myself that the significant savings with Agencies, notwithstanding the Big Box TA's, are very real. It will be interesting to see HAL's follow-up response &/or counter-offer ... I'll share once received.

 

Odd that my HAL PCC verbally reconfirmed that they were unable to offer any better pricing/amenities than HAL's "public price" (which our direct booking was fared as) when I queried about other Agency offerings *until* HAL received the Reservation Transfer Form. I wonder, @DaveOKC, if HAL is now using this tactic to save money by reducing Agency commission liabilities?

I did not pursue this as we have been getting some nicely discounted fares from HAL using the Casino Rate and Casino Offers.  I will follow up in the future when on a normal fare.

 

[Dogstar]

On 8/21/2020 at 11:01 AM, Dogstar said:

I'm now awaiting further clarification/response from our HAL PCC.

UPDATE. Follow-ups from HAL PCC ...

 

“This is something that my department specifically (Personal Cruise Consultants) are allowed to request ... I just need to verify that everything else is EXACTLY the same ... I will see what I can do about the $xxx per person discount!“

“My supervisor has asked if you would be interested in an upgrade equal to the amount of the discount per person ... Comp Upgrade to VS with $ 25 per person Onboard Credit ... Or ... Comp Upgrade to V with $ 75 per person Onboard Credit ... We can upgrade you with either of those offers, keeping your same rate paid.”

 

So it’s true, HAL is (now) making “offers” to retain their direct bookings instead of transferring them to travel agents/agencies.

 

FWIW, our current reservation is a 'VF' stateroom, 'Have it All' promotion, refundable, etc. Albeit possibly “equal” between the stateroom fare costs *today* HAL’s offer (of VF —> V/VS upgrade/OBC) is just “so so”.  By comparison the Agency’s 11% base fare savings goes straight to my bottom line (aka my wallet) vs. a slightly better Verandah location.  I just don’t see the value/benefit for us to pay HAL more in this instance. 

 

Note: our HAL PCC didn’t suggest any restrictive small-print stipulations (ie. no future transfer, no future refares, etc.) are tied to their offer.  Nor have I confirmed my decision, yet.

 

So how would you proceed ... Accept HAL’s offer? Counter-offer for a comp Signature Suite etc. etc. etc.? Direct HAL to complete the reservation transfer to Agency?

Definitely adds a wrinkle to the once-straightforward ‘Reservation Transfer Request’ process. 
 

Dogstar. 

 

[eamondzhang]

I know this might not necessarily belong to HAL forum but does anyone know if the same can be said for Princess? I had a cruise cancelled by them and is thinking of using my colleague's travel agency for future bookings. Of course we have FCDs so I need to make sure I can utilise my FCDs with them!

 

Appreciate any insight you might have.

 

Cheers,

Michael 

[Hlitner]

WOW  the plot thickens :).  Regarding Dogstar's post I would be hesitant to take the deal if HAL precluded any further "deals" if the price were to later drop.  In the past few years we have noticed HAL (and some other cruise lines) doing their best to lock folks into non-refundable deals that cannot be modified in the event there are later price drops or other enhancements.

 

As to the question about Princess (we cruise a lot on Princess) we are not aware of them matching cruise/travel agency deals.  In fact, we have previously been told by a Princess rep and a reservation agent supervisor that Princess will not match cruise/travel agency offers.  That being said, I have no clue if Princess has recently changed this old policy..  I am now wondering if a lot of policy changes are going to happen post COVID.

 

Hank

[Ken the cruiser]

On 8/21/2020 at 6:04 PM, Hlitner said:

When our own PCC called us and tried to get our booking for one VOV cruise I asked if HAL would match the deal we could get from a certain cruise agency.  The PCC told me "no" but still tried to talk me into booking with the PCC and then transferring the booking to the cruise agency.  My reaction to that tactic was, "why?"

 

Hank

Our HAL PCC told us if we transferred a cruise to our TA that we first booked through him, he would still get credit for the booking, but would lose the commission he would have otherwise received if we kept the booking with HAL. So, that's what we now do because we really liked out HAL PCC, but really like our TA's perks. It was a win-win for everyone.

[AlanF65]

On 8/21/2020 at 11:01 AM, Dogstar said:

Following HAL's sale of the Maasdam, effectively canceling our 13-Feb-2021 19-Day "Papua New Guinea & Philippines Adventurer" voyage , Mrs. Dogstar & I rebooked ourselves on the Koningsdam's 10-Apr-2022 "18-Day Circle Hawaii" voyage (out of our homeport of Vancouver, BC, Canada).  Not our ideal, preferred exotic cruise vessel/destination combination but eliminates the unknown burden of air travel come 2022.

 

We normally book directly with the Cruise Line via our assigned Personal Cruise Consultant, primarily due to comfort & ease, with (naive) expectation of better service, benefits, etc. for our loyalty.  I've generally been unimpressed when cross-checking advertised prices elsewhere, fearing any potential "hassles" or "lack of help" was not worth the potential savings.  After re-reading your positive posts about booking with an Agency instead (including transferring a reservation booked with HAL), receiving sizable 10%+ savings/credits, additional benefits, etc. I decided to "test the water" by seeking competitive quotations from various sources.

 

Fast forward ... we compared multiple offers, validated Agencies, asked follow-up questions, etc. ... for a 11% net savings from HAL's best offer !!! We submit to HAL the necessary 'Reservation Transfer Request Form' to have our HAL direct (PCC) booking, which was made within the past 60 days stipulation, moved over to the selected Agency.

 

Surprise ... our HAL PCC responds "Since you are wishing to transfer based on a difference in price/offer, our policy is that before we can transfer, I need to submit the agency’s offer to my supervisor to see if we can simply just do a price/offer match. Can you please provide in writing what the agency’s offer is? I will find out if we can simply just match the offer. If not, we will complete the transfer from there."

 

What the ?!?!?! Is this a new policy?  It’s not noted on the Form, nor mentioned in other posts that I can see, etc. It was my understanding, perhaps erroneously, that HAL is unable to price match/beat Agency discounts directly hence our election to validate the market’s offerings. I even verified HAL's "best offer" with our PCC beforehand. I'm now awaiting further clarification/response from our HAL PCC.

 

Thoughts?

 

Cheers.  Dogstar.

 

*** 

Be kind. Be calm. Be safe. 
- Dr. Bonnie HENRY, Provincial Health Officer, Government of British Columbia

 

So I just reread this message. When you filled out the transfer form did you put cost for reason for transfer?

I just always put prefer using the TA.

 

 

I wonder if you did put cost there if that is what  triggers the price match call.

 

A-

Edited August 26, 2020 by AlanF65

[Hlitner]

46 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Our HAL PCC told us if we transferred a cruise to our TA that we first booked through him, he would still get credit for the booking, but would lose the commission he would have otherwise received if we kept the booking with HAL. So, that's what we now do because we really liked out HAL PCC, but really like our TA's perks. It was a win-win for everyone.

I wonder if you have ever considered paying the full sticker price for a new car so that the salesperson can get a bigger commission?  It is kind of the same thing with PCCs.  As a few of us have pointed out over the years, cruisers can usually save 7-10% (and sometimes more) by shopping around among reputable discount cruise agencies.  With HAL it is interesting how many folks say they don't mind paying more (we are talking thousands of dollars on many bookings) because they "like" their PCC.  I have asked a few if they have ever met their PCC and the answer has always been no.  But they still like them.  I guess it is kind of like some folks like Hollywood celebrities who they have never met.  

 

Hank

[Ken the cruiser]

28 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I wonder if you have ever considered paying the full sticker price for a new car so that the salesperson can get a bigger commission?  It is kind of the same thing with PCCs.  As a few of us have pointed out over the years, cruisers can usually save 7-10% (and sometimes more) by shopping around among reputable discount cruise agencies.  With HAL it is interesting how many folks say they don't mind paying more (we are talking thousands of dollars on many bookings) because they "like" their PCC.  I have asked a few if they have ever met their PCC and the answer has always been no.  But they still like them.  I guess it is kind of like some folks like Hollywood celebrities who they have never met.  

 

Hank

In our case we had booked 5 cruises through our HAL PCC and had developed a good relationship with him before we found a TA that would give us 10% in perks to transfer our cruise to them, regardless of whether we directly booked the cruise with the TA or transferred the booking from HAL to them. Hence the win-win. We were able to take advantage of his inside knowledge when booking our cabin, he got credit for the booking and we subsequently were able to capitalize on getting the 10% in perks when we transferred the booking to the TA.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Ken the cruiser

[Dogstar]

UPDATE. To conclude the saga ...

 

To retain the reservation our HAL PCC (through Supervisor) initially offered stateroom upgrade equivalent to the price difference offered by the Travel Agency, then alternatively a combination of reduced pricing with OBC, then alternatively a Price Match. If (& very likely) prices went down prior to Final Payment then HAL would adjust the rate again to HAL's "best rate" only.  HAL would possibly match other verified Travel Agency offers but the "60-day" Reservation Transfer option would have expired, necessitating canceling etc. etc. etc. The Agency, however, keeps the discount intact when applying to any future re-fare pricing adjustments.

 

We elected to proceed with the Reservation Transfer to the Agency instead of keeping the reservation directly with HAL. The end result is we received a substantial base fare discount plus a bonus HAL Signature Dining Package credit ... equates to 14% approx. savings in our pocket ... from the original booked rate with our HAL PCC.

 

Definitely worth shopping around!

 

Cheers.  Dogstar.

[Hlitner]

51 minutes ago, Dogstar said:

UPDATE. To conclude the saga ...

 

To retain the reservation our HAL PCC (through Supervisor) initially offered stateroom upgrade equivalent to the price difference offered by the Travel Agency, then alternatively a combination of reduced pricing with OBC, then alternatively a Price Match. If (& very likely) prices went down prior to Final Payment then HAL would adjust the rate again to HAL's "best rate" only.  HAL would possibly match other verified Travel Agency offers but the "60-day" Reservation Transfer option would have expired, necessitating canceling etc. etc. etc. The Agency, however, keeps the discount intact when applying to any future re-fare pricing adjustments.

 

We elected to proceed with the Reservation Transfer to the Agency instead of keeping the reservation directly with HAL. The end result is we received a substantial base fare discount plus a bonus HAL Signature Dining Package credit ... equates to 14% approx. savings in our pocket ... from the original booked rate with our HAL PCC.

 

Definitely worth shopping around!

 

Cheers.  Dogstar.

Thanks for posting your update.  I find it very interesting that HAL actually made an attempt to compete with the agency.  This is all made stranger when you figure that HAL holds most of the cards in that they are the one's giving cruise/travel agencies various incentives (overrides, bonuses, etc) to offer the good deals.  14% Savings are a good deal and similar to some we have snagged with past HAL cruises.   Since DW and I cruise on many different lines we are curious if we will see a similar trend with some other lines where they actively try to compete with agencies.  

 

Hank