Using HAL air and transfers

[Marebear]

We will be on the Westerdam later this month and are using HAL air for the first time along with their transfers. When we arrive in Rome, will there be someone to greet us with out name on a sign or will we have to look for them? Is there usually a long wait for the transfer to the hotel? Thank you.

[Acrusa]

We will be on the Westerdam later this month and are using HAL air for the first time along with their transfers. When we arrive in Rome, will there be someone to greet us with out name on a sign or will we have to look for them? Is there usually a long wait for the transfer to the hotel? Thank you.

When you use HAL Air ,May I suggest you contact HAL or your TA to route the way you want to travel.I mean by this,Hal will fly you the most indirect way,But for $50.00 PP That HAL charges. You can go on line to Travelocity or Expidia and find your most direct route from your city, And they will accomidate you.And make the booking for you.

Yes there is a person with a sign in the luggae area with HALs name and your cruise ship,I found that if they are allowed in the luggae area they will also help you collect your luggae.

The best part of booking with HAL is they will allows wait for you and make sure you dont miss the cruise.

[doone]

When we sailed the Baltics, we used HAL's air and transfers for when we reached England. We did have a HAL rep that did meet us in England and yes, there were buses. We waited for a bus to load up to take us to the ship, once the bus is full, your on your way. If its not full, they may wait for another plane to come in if its not too long a wait, just not sure. We waited possibly, 1/2 hour to 45 minutes before our bus was loaded with passengers and their luggage, then off we went. Hope this helps.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sometimes the representatives are there to meet you at the plane and other times they are waiting for you in the luggage area. It depends on how many they are expecting.

When we do have to use HAL air, we indicate at the time of booking that we will be doing an air deviation and we tell HAL what flights and airlines we wish to use.

The air deviation for any place out of this country is $100 per person - that is what HAL charged us for our flight from Montreal to Pittsburgh this past May.

[cactuslady]

We used HAL air and transfers, along with HAL overnight hotel stays before and after our recent Mediterranean cruise. There is really nothing better than arriving in a strange country after a long, long, set of flights and being greeted by a friendly native-English speaking HAL rep who called to us by name. We were the only ones arriving in Lisbon on our particular flight, so the HAL rep had arranged a private taxi for us. Same thing on our trip to the airport from the hotel in Athens. Quick and smooth.

 

HAL also provides a rep at a help desk in the hotels they use. That rep can also book optional sightseeing tours.

 

HAL's bus transfers between hotel and ship included sightseeing tours. We did not know this in advance, and had booked a private guide for our arrival in Athens. (Had we known, we might have gone on the bus instead.) We were worried about getting everything coordinated, especially with luggage, as we were taking the taxi tour with another couple who had not booked the HAL transfer and needed their luggage to go in the taxi. Although it took a couple of inquiries, HAL smoothly arranged getting our luggage to the hotel on the truck and gave us "A" priority disembarkation numbers so we could meet our guide much earlier than the bus transfer was scheduled to leave. The hotel and airport transfer information, which was passed out on the bus, was waiting at the hotel for us, along with our luggage. It was a relief to have it work out so well.

 

Yes, apparently you can get cheaper flights and hotels in some cases if you book on your own. For our situation, with open-jaw flights from our small-time airport, we couldn't find cheaper flights. The hotels seemed expensive, but were both top-notch, and the transfers, tours, baggage handling, and personal service really added value, in our opinion.

 

We were also booked to come home on Delta, which has been threatening bankruptcy. Had there been a problem, or delays getting to Athens, or whatnot, it would have been HAL's job to get us home through alternate means.

[reinsl]

Our experience with the OOsterdam re transfers was not too pleasant. This was our first experience with HAL. There was no one to meet us at the airport in Rome and after a couple of hours (becoming very anxious) we noticed people coming to the airport from the OOsterdam so we got a hold of the HAL rep and she sorted it out. On leaving the Oosterdam in Lisbon we were to have their bus take us to the hotel. The colour code that we were given was for a bus to another hotel (in the suburbs). When we explained this to the rep. it was too late as the right bus was now not available. So we took the original bus and had to take a taxi from there to our downtown Lisbon hotel at our expense. (writing to HAL did not accomplish anything)

 

However, on a more positive note we are again taking HAL this month (Westerdam as well) leaving from Rome so we are hoping that every thing works out with the transfers. ( we are taking the transfers from a hotel in Rome this time)

[allen.crawford]

We have booked our flights along with our cruise through HAL on both occasions we have cruised with HAL.

 

Yes, the airfare was slightly higher than we could have booked elsewhere, but for us, it was worth it. With the first cruise, routing took us to Chicago to transfer planes. On the second cruise, routing took us through Pittsburgh on the way down and Philidelphia on the way back (on a different airline).

 

On both occasions, we were greeted at the luggage area by a HAL representative. Yes, we had to wait for the bus. On neither occasion, the buses were full. It seems they waited until the flights with close arrival times had arrived.

 

The reason we booked through HAL was because HAL takes responsibility for getting us on the ship no matter what potential problems we may encounter during air travel (both trips were during the winter months from Canada). This peace of mind was well worth the extra cost.

[Marebear]

Thank you! We are booked for a three day pre-cruise stay in Rome and we're gald that there will be someone at the hotel to arrange tours. We've been to Rome several times but always on our own either by car or train.

[jhannah]

With so many airlines facing bankruptcy these days, it tends to give more weight to deciding to take the cruise line's air arrangements. Yes, it's more expensive ... but as pointed out if there is an airline problem it's the ship's problem and not your own. I'll have to decide soon what to do with regard to our August 2005 cruise sailing out of Amsterdam.

[TedC]

We have always booked our own flights so we could use our United FF miles to upgrade.

 

But for our upcoming Westerdam crossing from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale we opted for HAL flights. On United and its Star Alliance partners it would have been like buying an expensive one-way ticket to Barcelona and then another one-way from FLL to home.

 

HAL's air price, which includes transfers, was much cheaper in this situation.

 

Also, keep in mind that in addition to the deviation fee if you want HAL to get you specific routing, airline, etc, you also have to pay any additional costs HAL may incur in getting route, airline you want.

[Marebear]

We did use the deviation and, as a result, will have a direct flight from Denver to Frankfurt, a 1 1/2 hour layover and a flight to Rome. On the way home we have a flight from Barcelona, an overnight stop at the Frankfurt airport and a direct flight from Frankfurt to Denver.

[Acrusa]

We did use the deviation and, as a result, will have a direct flight from Denver to Frankfurt, a 1 1/2 hour layover and a flight to Rome. On the way home we have a flight from Barcelona, an overnight stop at the Frankfurt airport and a direct flight from Frankfurt to Denver.

 

Smart move to use the air deviation. Most passingers never realise that it saves them from being shuttled half way around the world.

When they could fly the most dierct route.

[dakrewser]

We did use the deviation and, as a result, will have a direct flight from Denver to Frankfurt, a 1 1/2 hour layover and a flight to Rome. On the way home we have a flight from Barcelona, an overnight stop at the Frankfurt airport and a direct flight from Frankfurt to Denver.

Sounds like Lufthansa, eh? Good luck!

 

On our 2000 cruise in the eastern Med (leaving from Rome) about two dozen pax had to sail without their luggage. All had flown Lufthansa (2 different flights, though). Luggage showed up in each port for days! One poor guy never did have his luggage catch up (he was the one wearing shorts & a T-shirt on formal night :) ). No other airline lost anyone's bags as far as we could tell.

[ger_77]

1 1/2 hour layover in Frankfurt? Best of luck having your luggage reach Rome when you do! We used HAL's air for our Med. cruise in June and had 45 minutes between flights in Frankfurt - we made it by literally running on the people mover, but our luggage didn't find us until Istanbul ... 3 days later. We were told that many flights with less than 3 hours layover have "delayed luggage". :( Next time we'd pay for deviation fee to ensure a longer layover.

 

We missed the first formal evening and felt awful having to wear the same clothes 3 days running. Fortunately, one of the other passengers told us about being able to get the ship's laundry service on an emergency basis - gave them to our cabin steward when we retired and were handed them back by 7 the next morning. Slight glitch - on the third morning they lost my husband's only pair of socks ... went to the front office and the Chief Officer lent him a pair of his own.

 

Remember to pack a change of clothing for each of you in your carry-on luggage, that way you'll have something to wear in the event your checked luggage doesn't arrive at your destination when you do.

 

Having said all this, it was still less expensive to use HAL's air than book it ourselves - we live in the frozen tundra;) and flights are expensive to anywhere, let alone Europe!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Acrusa]

A 1 1/2 hour lay over in Franfort is plenty of time.Thats about what most layovers are in Europe.If you had not deviated ,your flite you would have would be only 45 min.,cause thats what hal books.

[Guest]

I will go Denver ,Cincinnati,Rome

Home Barcelona,London, Denver

[kryos]

We will be on the Westerdam later this month and are using HAL air for the first time along with their transfers. When we arrive in Rome, will there be someone to greet us with out name on a sign or will we have to look for them? Is there usually a long wait for the transfer to the hotel? Thank you.

Suggestion? HAL transfers might work, but book your own air. At least in my case, HAL booked me on flights that couldn't have possibly been more inconvenient. Why they had me arriving in Miami (not Fort Lauderdale which was the embarkation point) at 8:30 a.m. is beyond me. And, I wasn't the only one. There were several other people that the HAL rep was meeting at the airport.

 

Then he gathers all of our luggage onto portable carts, and in a line we troop to the HAL courtesy desk in the airport. After being assured that our luggage would be safe (someone would be there at all times to keep an eye on it), we were informed that we now had about three hours to kill since HAL wouldn't begin transferring us to Port Everglades until after 12:00 noon!

 

Now why in the hell did they make me take a 6:00 a.m. flight out of Philadelphia only to sit around the Miami Airport for three hours!

 

Then ... to add insult to injury ... is the trip home at the end of the cruise. They booked me on a flight that didn't leave Miami until almost 4:00 p.m. We were off the ship by about 8:00 a.m. since there weren't that many passengers to debark this shortened cruise (I was on a back to back from the previous week). Even considering that we waited in the parking lot for an hour, so that everyone could make the one bus they were running to the Miami Airport, we were still there by about 11:00 a.m., and I was faced with about a five hour wait for my flight back to Philadelphia. When I asked if I could possibly take an earlier flight, I was informed that there were no earlier flights on this particular airline.

 

In the future, I will book my own flight arrangements. True, I could pay HAL the extra $50 to book according to my specs ... but, why bother when I could get a much cheaper deal by booking direct through an online vendor.

 

But, yes ... if you have HAL transfers, they do have someone waiting for you at the airport. The "greeter" will have a Holland America sign in his hand so you can't miss 'em. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita