Price of HAL Hotels

[Florida_gal_50]

9 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

I agree that transportation could be unreliable and I would certainly not suggest doing that adventure on your own. That is why we chose to go with a “reliable” tour agency that promised to get us back to the ship no matter what.  Even if the plane was late and we did not make it to the port, there was a plan B.  They were with us from the moment we left the ship in Lima until we reboarded in Guayaquil.  

I just wanted to stress the point that one does not have to pay the exorbitant prices that the cruise lines charge to have a similar, if not better experience.  One just needs to be a bit creative and do one’s homework.  On that particular cruise there were many who went with the ship, and many, like us, who did it on their own.  We all had a fabulous time.  Some chose to spend their money a bit more wisely for the experience.

Terri

For you, you are spending your money more “wisely”.  I would be a nervous wreck so that wouldn’t be wisely for me.  It depends on your risk tolerance.  I don’t know how someone can make a promise to get you back no matter what.  People love to talk.

[zgscl]

15 hours ago, iceman93 said:

Things went south right from the airport, when we had to wait two hours after landing for enough passengers to arrive to fill up the mini-bus they had booked. 

Years ago we booked a HAL transfer in San Diego from the ship to the airport. We ended up being the first on the bus and waiting almost an hour before the bus filled and they took us to the airport. Because of this we usually don't rely on the cruise line for transport unless we book one of the post cruise tours and are taking a late flight. Am trying the pre-cruise next month so I will see how it goes. The airport to hotel shuttle is provided by the hotel courtesy shuttle so I am reasonably optimistic. 

[zgscl]

8 minutes ago, zgscl said:

I booked my first one for San Diego next month which is a solo cruise. Price is fairly comprable to what I could get elsewhere. What I did not realize is they charge double for 2 people. Was looking at a future cruise where I am traveling with someone - two people in one room is double the cost. Sort of the opposite of a single supplement. 

Interesting update to this, if you book under transfers which is the default it will charge double. If you go under City Stays & Pre-post overlands there are double occupancy rates which are more in line (roughly $50-70 per person for the second guest). 

[atexsix]

This has always been the case with HAL and the reason why we never book any pre/post cruise through them.  The only reason we did it this time was so we could be in the first boarding group due to Dear Dad's mobility issues.  In the end it was a joke, the room overlooked a rooftop with giant air conditioning units blocking what little view we had, the buses were late and we still had to handle our own luggage contrary to what we'd been told.  It would have been easier for us to take a taxi or limo.  

Sadly we cancelled an upper floor room with the Hyatt Regency for it.  

 

With that being said, I might be willing to make an exception overseas where I'm less familiar with hotels and transportation. 

[Florida_gal_50]

13 minutes ago, zgscl said:

Years ago we booked a HAL transfer in San Diego from the ship to the airport. We ended up being the first on the bus and waiting almost an hour before the bus filled and they took us to the airport. Because of this we usually don't rely on the cruise line for transport unless we book one of the post cruise tours and are taking a late flight. Am trying the pre-cruise next month so I will see how it goes. The airport to hotel shuttle is provided by the hotel courtesy shuttle so I am reasonably optimistic. 

This seems to be the usual for HAL.  It takes forever to fill the bus.  In San Diego and Fort Lauderdale I feel it's better to take a taxi or uber.  

[zgscl]

Just now, Florida_gal_50 said:

This seems to be the usual for HAL.  It takes forever to fill the bus.  In San Diego and Fort Lauderdale I feel it's better to take a taxi or uber.  

On my next cruise I have to make an 11 AM flight out and will definitely be going with a taxi! 

[zgscl]

5 minutes ago, atexsix said:

With that being said, I might be willing to make an exception overseas where I'm less familiar with hotels and transportation. 

I think this is where it would have the best value particularly in areas where English may not be as widely spoken or where transportation may be more difficult. 

 

Sorry to hear about your pre-cruise experience! Were you ultimately able to get on the ship earlier or did it not seem to make much of a difference? 

[iancal]

I cannot imagine actually paying to take a cruise line bus in FLL or indeed one of those shuttles from hotel to port where everyone is squished in.

 

Seems to me it is faster, and usually less expensive, to DIY and grab a taxi.  The distances are short, the fares are low.   You pay for the trip, not per person.

 

The last thing we want to do after getting off a plane or cruise ship  is wait in some clapped out, retired from route service Greyhound bus to fill out before leaving the airport or the port.

[idiebabe]

9 minutes ago, atexsix said:

This has always been the case with HAL and the reason why we never book any pre/post cruise through them.  The only reason we did it this time was so we could be in the first boarding group due to Dear Dad's mobility issues.  In the end it was a joke, the room overlooked a rooftop with giant air conditioning units blocking what little view we had, the buses were late and we still had to handle our own luggage contrary to what we'd been told.  It would have been easier for us to take a taxi or limo.  

Sadly we cancelled an upper floor room with the Hyatt Regency for it.  

 

With that being said, I might be willing to make an exception overseas where I'm less familiar with hotels and transportation. 

Bruno, what Hotel did you book through HAL?  We had booked the Hilton Conference Center by the Airport.  This was a first for us but since it was the first Cruise since Pause we just felt more comfortable doing this with the uncertainties of Embark, etc. since there was no feedback from prior Cruises.  

 

There was a letter stating what time to go down to the HAL Desk the morning of the Cruise to "check-in" for the Transfer.  The Letter also stated have our luggage ready and placed inside our Room by the Door to be picked up between 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. and no need to be in the Room at the time.  A few minutes after my Husband's visit to the "Hal Desk" our luggage was picked up.  We met at 10:45 a.m. in the area by the Desk and were loaded onto the bus shortly after.  We were able to check-in at the Pier right away.   It was easy-peasy!

 

Although it went very well I don't think we'll book Hotel again through HAL because of it being pricier but have to say it was a very smooth, relaxing experience.

 

I

 

 

[cruisemom42]

6 minutes ago, zgscl said:

I think this is where it would have the best value particularly in areas where English may not be as widely spoken or where transportation may be more difficult. 

 

Truthfully there is little difficulty with either getting transportation or booking a hotel just about anywhere that a cruise ship is likely to have a turnaround. English has become the lingua franca (irony intended) throughout much of the world and cruise ships tend to embark passengers in ports with a large, well-supplied city nearby.

 

I am a woman who travels solo and have not booked a cruise line transfer or hotel in any of my cruises whether departing US or somewhere more exotic (Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Barcelona, Singapore, Bangkok, etc.). There is so much good information online that it's fairly easy to research to the degree where I feel comfortable with whatever option I've chosen.

 

The only place I can think of where I may have considered it would be for the cruise I took that departed from Alexandria -- but that was already included by the cruise line anyway.

 

[atexsix]

6 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

Bruno, what Hotel did you book through HAL?  We had booked the Hilton Conference Center by the Airport.  This was a first for us but since it was the first Cruise since Pause we just felt more comfortable doing this with the uncertainties of Embark, etc. since there was no feedback from prior Cruises.  

 

There was a letter stating what time to go down to the HAL Desk the morning of the Cruise to "check-in" for the Transfer.  The Letter also stated have our luggage ready and placed inside our Room by the Door to be picked up between 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. and no need to be in the Room at the time.  A few minutes after my Husband's visit to the "Hal Desk" our luggage was picked up.  We met at 10:45 a.m. in the area by the Desk and were loaded onto the bus shortly after.  We were able to check-in at the Pier right away.   It was easy-peasy!

 

Although it went very well I don't think we'll book Hotel again through HAL because of it being pricier but have to say it was a very smooth, relaxing experience.

 

I

 

 

The little desk where the HAL liaison was worked out okay, along with the letter, but there was nothing about having our luggage being picked up that I know of, we had to drag it down to the checkout desk, and then into the lounge where we were gathering, and then back across the lobby and onto the bus, it was very hard for us because this was not a small hotel and they did not have seating in their lobby, anywhere!  I don't know what happened because when I was a kid, my grandma used to take me into fancy hotels in Chicago and there were always places to sit and admire the grandeur.  

 

The other issue, and I knew this going in, is that the Sheraton is a convention hotel and it was packed because there was in fact a convention next door, some type of sci-fi thing, lots of people walking around in costumes, translation: crowded desks, crowded lounges/restaurants, crowded elevators.  I should have gone with my first choice and stayed at the Olympic.  

[iancal]

11 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Truthfully there is little difficulty with either getting transportation or booking a hotel just about anywhere that a cruise ship is likely to have a turnaround. English has become the lingua franca (irony intended) throughout much of the world and cruise ships tend to embark passengers in ports with a large, well-supplied city nearby.

 

I am a woman who travels solo and have not booked a cruise line transfer or hotel in any of my cruises whether departing US or somewhere more exotic (Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Barcelona, Singapore, Bangkok, etc.). There is so much good information online that it's fairly easy to research to the degree where I feel comfortable with whatever option I've chosen.

 

The only place I can think of where I may have considered it would be for the cruise I took that departed from Alexandria -- but that was already included by the cruise line anyway.

 

Agree.  Moreover we have traveled to many foreign countries.  It is very unusual to find someone who cannot speak a little English, or in our case a little French as well.

 

The only place we have had a slight language problem in many years of international travel was a small B&B in a southern Chile town.  Even then...the language  was not an issue.  We knew what our host wanted, she knew what we wanted.  

 

 I believe that the the cruise lines and some TA's play on this 'foreign language' and 'foreign country' business in order to increase sales of pre and post packages.

Edited October 17, 2021 by iancal

[atexsix]

15 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Truthfully there is little difficulty with either getting transportation or booking a hotel just about anywhere that a cruise ship is likely to have a turnaround. English has become the lingua franca (irony intended) throughout much of the world and cruise ships tend to embark passengers in ports with a large, well-supplied city nearby.

 

I am a woman who travels solo and have not booked a cruise line transfer or hotel in any of my cruises whether departing US or somewhere more exotic (Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Barcelona, Singapore, Bangkok, etc.). There is so much good information online that it's fairly easy to research to the degree where I feel comfortable with whatever option I've chosen.

 

The only place I can think of where I may have considered it would be for the cruise I took that departed from Alexandria -- but that was already included by the cruise line anyway.

 

Very good points.  When I was last in Europe, booking travel via the internet was pretty new, I'm sure the resources available now are quite extensive, back then I was limited to Rick Steve's and Frommer's.  

 

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by atexsix

[kazu]

30 minutes ago, atexsix said:

 With that being said, I might be willing to make an exception overseas where I'm less familiar with hotels and transportation. 

 

Europe is one of our favourite places and where we travel to the most.  We always book our own hotels.  They are much more professional there than some in North America 😉   There are cabs everywhere and the hotels will happily help.  

 

10 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Truthfully there is little difficulty with either getting transportation or booking a hotel just about anywhere that a cruise ship is likely to have a turnaround. English has become the lingua franca (irony intended) throughout much of the world and cruise ships tend to embark passengers in ports with a large, well-supplied city nearby.

 

I am a woman who travels solo and have not booked a cruise line transfer or hotel in any of my cruises whether departing US or somewhere more exotic (Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Barcelona, Singapore, Bangkok, etc.). There is so much good information online that it's fairly easy to research to the degree where I feel comfortable with whatever option I've chosen.

 

The only place I can think of where I may have considered it would be for the cruise I took that departed from Alexandria -- but that was already included by the cruise line anyway.

 

 

I completely agree.  We (ok I 😉 ) always book our hotels.  Researching is part of the fun and I’m a tad fussy 😂 

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, atexsix said:

The little desk where the HAL liaison was worked out okay, along with the letter, but there was nothing about having our luggage being picked up that I know of, we had to drag it down to the checkout desk, and then into the lounge where we were gathering, and then back across the lobby and onto the bus, it was very hard for us because this was not a small hotel and they did not have seating in their lobby, anywhere!  I don't know what happened because when I was a kid, my grandma used to take me into fancy hotels in Chicago and there were always places to sit and admire the grandeur.  

 

The other issue, and I knew this going in, is that the Sheraton is a convention hotel and it was packed because there was in fact a convention next door, some type of sci-fi thing, lots of people walking around in costumes, translation: crowded desks, crowded lounges/restaurants, crowded elevators.  I should have gone with my first choice and stayed at the Olympic.  

That is odd.  I’ve stayed at a number of hal hotels and they always took the luggage from the room. That said,  this was pre pandemic.

[atexsix]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Europe is one of our favourite places and where we travel to the most.  We always book our own hotels.  They are much more professional there than some in North America 😉   There are cabs everywhere and the hotels will happily help.  

 

 

I completely agree.  We (ok I 😉 ) always book our hotels.  Researching is part of the fun and I’m a tad fussy 😂 

I found it depends on the country.  I had no problem in Holland.  Paris so so.  But in rural France I had trouble finding cabs, even at train stations.

[atexsix]

1 minute ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

That is odd.  I’ve stayed at a number of hal hotels and they always took the luggage from the room. That said,  this was pre pandemic.

@LAFFNVEGAS Lisa can confirm it, she was at the same hotel.  Lisa, did I/we miss something?  I remember the buses were running late, but nothing else out of the ordinary.  

[Florida_gal_50]

16 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Truthfully there is little difficulty with either getting transportation or booking a hotel just about anywhere that a cruise ship is likely to have a turnaround. English has become the lingua franca (irony intended) throughout much of the world and cruise ships tend to embark passengers in ports with a large, well-supplied city nearby.

 

I am a woman who travels solo and have not booked a cruise line transfer or hotel in any of my cruises whether departing US or somewhere more exotic (Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Barcelona, Singapore, Bangkok, etc.). There is so much good information online that it's fairly easy to research to the degree where I feel comfortable with whatever option I've chosen.

 

The only place I can think of where I may have considered it would be for the cruise I took that departed from Alexandria -- but that was already included by the cruise line anyway.

 

It’s all about comfort level.  It wouldn’t matter how much research I’d do, I would not feel comfortable on my own in a strange place.  I would never suggest to anyone that my comfort level should be the comfort level of everyone.  You do you, I’ll do me.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, atexsix said:

@LAFFNVEGAS Lisa can confirm it, she was at the same hotel.  Lisa, did I/we miss something?  I remember the buses were running late, but nothing else out of the ordinary.  

No, I trust what you say 100 percent.  I didn’t mean to come across as doubting you. 

[atexsix]

Just now, Florida_gal_50 said:

No, I trust what you say 100 percent.  I didn’t mean to come across as doubting you. 

No worries, I didn't take it that way at all. 

 

I really want Lisa to chime in here because she stayed at the Sheraton twice during the Alaska season and would know for sure if it was the hotel or that particular cruise that something was different.

[idiebabe]

33 minutes ago, atexsix said:

The little desk where the HAL liaison was worked out okay, along with the letter, but there was nothing about having our luggage being picked up that I know of, we had to drag it down to the checkout desk, and then into the lounge where we were gathering, and then back across the lobby and onto the bus, it was very hard for us because this was not a small hotel and they did not have seating in their lobby, anywhere! 

I'm sorry that happened to you and your Dad and the Sheraton handled it differently than the Hilton Conference Center. We had two buses going from the Hotel and they had a Budget Rent A Truck take all the luggage from the Hotel to the Pier.  

[dfish]

28 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

That is odd.  I’ve stayed at a number of hal hotels and they always took the luggage from the room. That said,  this was pre pandemic.

We stayed at the Sheraton and they did not collect bags from outside the room.  I asked the rep about it and she said at the beginning of the Alaska season they didn't have the staff to collect bags.  They did when we were there but HAL didn't want to redo the contract.

[atexsix]

24 minutes ago, dfish said:

We stayed at the Sheraton and they did not collect bags from outside the room.  I asked the rep about it and she said at the beginning of the Alaska season they didn't have the staff to collect bags.  They did when we were there but HAL didn't want to redo the contract.

Bummer, it was the biggest selling point for us, justifying the higher cost of a HAL hotel, and there would have been no way of knowing this prior.  

[Florida_gal_50]

That is terrible that they didn't collect the bags.  That should have been known before so a person could make an informed decision.

[iancal]

I do not see an issue with price.   People make a choice.  Buy the cruise line package or DYI.  

 

If the cruise lines can enhance their bottom lines by offering products that are are attractive to some at prices some  are willing to pay then I say good luck to them.   It is just good business.