Getting "bumped"? Does this happen?

[Vacay Lover]

I am scheduled to cruise from Athens aboard HAL's Euro Capitals cruise this Saturday. My TA just informed me that the cruise is overbooked and I should be sure to be at the pier no later than 1pm to avoid being bumped. We plan to be at the pier by 11am...If God forbid we were later than that, could we be bumped? Does that happen? How does HAL determine who to bump?

 

Curious first-time cruiser

[Cruising-along]

I am scheduled to cruise from Athens aboard HAL's Euro Capitals cruise this Saturday. My TA just informed me that the cruise is overbooked and I should be sure to be at the pier no later than 1pm to avoid being bumped. We plan to be at the pier by 11am...If God forbid we were later than that, could we be bumped? Does that happen? How does HAL determine who to bump?

 

Curious first-time cruiser

 

Erica, I'm really surprised your TA said this! Just recently there was a similar question posted and I'm pretty sure the consensus of the seasoned cruisers here said that getting bumped off the ship just doesn't happen.

 

We were just given a free upgrade on the same cruise, so they're getting those cabins without pushing people out :)

[Mary Ellen]

This is the thread mentioned above - Bumped? I've NEVER heard of anyone being involuntarily bumped from an overbooked cruise. Have a GREAT time!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

As a rule when HAL knows that a cruise is overbooked, they begin to call people at least a week in advance and try to make some deals.

 

On our 7 day March Veendam cruise it was overbooked and one of our Roll Call people was given an offer to cruise another date along with some shipboard credit. Others were given a % off for another sailing.

 

I have yet to hear of anyone getting bumped off the ship at the pier.

[Vacay Lover]

I feel a little bit better now. I thought it odd that HAL would do such a thing at the last minute. I have had a number of issues with my TA on this trip, and while she is a very nice person, I don't think she knows much about cruising at all. I think we will be doing the next one with a new TA.

 

Thanks again!

 

e

[tomc]

Sounds as if some village is missing its idiot and your TA may be it.

[kryos]

I feel a little bit better now. I thought it odd that HAL would do such a thing at the last minute.

I will say that if you think you might want to be bumped; i.e., get to take advantage of what could be a really good deal that HAL may be offering, you'd better let the TA know so that she can negotiate on your behalf. These offers don't stay on the table too longer, and you want to make sure your TA can either negotiate for you, or get in touch with you really quickly.

 

I'll give you an idea of just how desperate HAL could get when they overbook.

 

For a 30-day Hawaii/South Pacific cruise ... 85+ days of the World Cruise, all segments except the very last one from Rome back to Fort Lauderdale ... same price as 30-day cruise, same level of accommodations, plus a small air change fee allowance since I would have had to fly into another city instead of the one I originally booked my tickets for.

 

Or, a couple of cruises back ... the couple I shared a limo to New York with. This was a 13-day Panama Canal cruise. They had originally been booked for another one, two additional days in length. HAL gave them some nice OBC amount like $500 plus upgraded them from a balcony cabin to a full-blown luxury suite to get them to move to our cruise. They also got a few other "concessions," but I can't remember what they were.

 

On that same cruise, a couple we ate with in the dining room got a nice deal as well. They too moved to this underbooked cruise from another overbooked one. But they already were booked into a suite. HAL gave them some OBC (she didn't disclose how much, but said it covered all of her spa treatments plus most of the cost of the beautiful necklace her husband bought for her onboard). Her husband, needless to say, was very pleased. He said between all the "free booze" events they were invited to as a result of being in the suite, plus the OBC, his onboard bill was going to be next to nothing at the end of the cruise. I think they even got their gratuities picked up as well.

 

So, there are nice deals, and believe me, there are plenty of people with flexible travel plans who can jump right on them, and will. By the day of sailing, HAL won't need to bump anyone involuntarily. They will have all the staterooms they need.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[localady]

Sounds as if some village is missing its idiot and your TA may be it.

 

LOL Tom !!! I have to agree......;)

I think it's appalling that a TA would let someone fly all the way to Athens and "mention" they may get bumped from the cruise!! :eek: :rolleyes:

I have never heard of this happening, not to say it hasn't in a rare occasion. I don't believe it's HAL practice to lure their pax all the way to Europe to bump them from the cruise, so please relax and have fun, and don't let your TA ruin the beginning of your vacation!! ;) :D

[vbmom87]

I am scheduled to cruise from Athens aboard HAL's Euro Capitals cruise this Saturday. My TA just informed me that the cruise is overbooked and I should be sure to be at the pier no later than 1pm to avoid being bumped. We plan to be at the pier by 11am...If God forbid we were later than that, could we be bumped? Does that happen? How does HAL determine who to bump?

 

Curious first-time cruiser

 

Don't know how they would "bump" people, but I spoke with my TA today about some info she needed and we got to talking. She mentioned she has several people that HAL keeps trying to get to rebook on a different cruise because the cruise is overbooked. Her clients are unable to rearrange their plans and my TA is quite upset about it.

 

I have a hard time believing that they would really 'bump" someone at the pier. If it did come to that though, I would think it would be those with guarentees. If you have a cabin assignment, I would think you would be okay.

[RedmondCruiser]

Can't believe that they would turn away someone at the pier. They do overbook but that has to be resolved long before the ship sails. Cruise lines make some very good offers when they need a cabin.

I agree with Tom on this one.

[hammybee]

LOL Tom !!! I have to agree......;)

 

I think it's appalling that a TA would let someone fly all the way to Athens and "mention" they may get bumped from the cruise!! :eek: :rolleyes:

 

 

Overbooking is done from time to time by all cruise lines. When it happens, the cruise line continues to sweeten the deal until a sufficient number of passengers/cabins take advantage of the best offer.

 

We all have our price.:o

 

It sounds to me like this may be the first time this TA encountered this situation and so she assumed......

[Tricia724]

The cruiselines aren't like the airlines. They don't let you get all the way to the docks with your baggage and then deny you boarding. They know full well how many cabins they need well before the ship sails, and they obtain those cabins by playing "Let's make a deal" with flexible passengers. Some people have managed to get wonderful offers by being in the right place at the right time when the cruiselines needed their cabin.

 

Don't worry.....you will have a cabin when you arrive, even if it's close to sail time. You've paid for it, and you'll get it. This is not a "first come, first served" operation.

[Taxguy77]

I feel a little bit better now. I thought it odd that HAL would do such a thing at the last minute. I have had a number of issues with my TA on this trip, and while she is a very nice person, I don't think she knows much about cruising at all. I think we will be doing the next one with a new TA.

 

Thanks again!

 

e

Good idea! We bookled through a TA my wife knew and had a few delays in her office (at her requested times). I triple checked everything 48 hours before time to leave and discovered the time to be at the airport was at an airport 350 miles away!!! And her office was less than a mile from our home! After my wife informed her that she WOULD get us there on time or our lawyer would see that we would get her house and business, we left a day early and stayed in a motel with a shuttle to the airport the next AM.:eek:

 

Guess why we do our own booking now:confused: .

[gizmo]

This is the thread mentioned above - Bumped? I've NEVER heard of anyone being involuntarily bumped from an overbooked cruise. Have a GREAT time!!!

 

Never say Never !

 

It happened on a Carnival ship leaving from Baltimore in 2004. The ship was way overbooked and many people got bumped. The formula used to determine the average number of people that would cancel backfired. No one got turned away at the pier. Those that got bumped were notified ahead of time.

 

Vacay Lover,

 

Don't worry. The above incident was a one time thing. As others said over booking does happen but the cruise lines make great offers to people to switch cruises ahead of time. There is NO WAY you could go to the pier and get bumped. Your TA is clueless.