How is HAL to deal with?

[LizzGo]

We have our first HAL cruise booked for January 2023. (Previously Celebrity cruisers) I'm starting to get nervous about HAL as things have not gone smoothly so far. First, we had Have it All, according to our TA. I was even prompted to select our dining and shore excursion options. But decided to put that off; no hurry, I thought. When I went back to book - gone. Contacted TA. The first HAL rep said we had it, the second one said first made a mistake. Disappointing yes, but whatever.

 

So, rebooking to take advantage of a different perk. Was promised same room and they would transfer deposit. That was a few days ago. Now, they have to refund not credit the original deposit, so we'll have to pay full amount while waiting for refund.

 

Questions: Is HAL usually this flakey? Will we wait forever for refund? Can I count on getting the room we booked? What has your experience been? (Tell me something good!) 

[Mary229]

I have not had these issues.  Maybe your TA is not familiar with their systems.  The very best check is when you first book your TA should forward you a confirmation email.  Scrolling through the attached invoice it shows every single perk you booked.  

[OVgirl]

When we've changed a booking the PCC just transfers our deposit from the cancelled booking to the new one. It doesn't have to be that difficult.

And I agree that your booking confirmation should have all your extras listed.

[Hlitner]

My message to the OP is that when you post on this particular forum you are mostly going to get replies from long-time HAL fans/cheerleaders who refuse to admit that HAL can do any wrong :).  My answer is somewhat different in that we find HAL no better or worse than most cruise lines when it comes to the shore-based customer service.  It is one reason of many, while we have long found a big advantage to having a decent cruise agent who can deal with these kinds of issues.

 

Another sad reality is that customer service, throughout the entire travel sector, has badly deteriorated since COVID.  As frequent travelers we have learned to deal with some of the frustrations of bad customer service.  I emphasize the word "some" since there are some cases where you simply pull out some hair (assuming you have any left to pull) and move on.

 

Hank

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We were recently able to transfer our 17 night, Chile to Ft Lauderdale cruise, non-refundable, to a 14 night cruise a couple sailings forward.  Same deposit, same cabin, even our travel insurance transferred.  We paid for "Have It All" in the cruise portal after the switch, and at a slight discount.  We use 2 different Travel Agents, both seem to work well with HAL.

[Mary229]

@Hlitner  no one is cheerleading here.  We are just politely stating that perhaps the OP needs a better travel agent.  That seems to be where this issue lies. 
 

Further I think perhaps we should lobby for a 24 hour rule that the airlines have in the US, 24 hours to make any changes or cancellations penalty free

Edited October 12, 2022 by Mary229

[bluesplayer]

50 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

@Hlitner  no one is cheerleading here.  We are just politely stating that perhaps the OP needs a better travel agent.  That seems to be where this issue lies. 
 

Further I think perhaps we should lobby for a 24 hour rule that the airlines have in the US, 24 hours to make any changes or cancellations penalty free

Agree..  when I book a cruise through my travel agent they send an immediate confirmation email.  I request they stay on the line to go over the amenities on the reservation.  

[DaveOKC]

I use a HAL PCC and the service has been great.  One nice thing is that on simple requests/changes I can email her and quickly get things handled - no waiting on hold, etc.  Sometimes the process can take only 10 minutes.

Since I am a talker, that speeds things up even more - using email!

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by DaveOKC