Are Onboard Cruise Purchases a Good Deal?

[LolaLemon]

I know there are usually incentives for putting a deposit down on your next cruise while onboard your current cruise. What are the restrictions? Is it a good idea to do this?

 

What are the benefits?

 

Thanks!:confused:

[kryos]

I know there are usually incentives for putting a deposit down on your next cruise while onboard your current cruise. What are the restrictions? Is it a good idea to do this?

 

What are the benefits?

 

Thanks!:confused:

It's only a good idea if you are sure you want to sail that cruise line again. Those $100 cruise deposits are good for four years, and while you can move them around between cruises if your plans change, the $100 is not refundable.

 

But if you know you are going to cruise HAL again within four years, then ... yes, they are a very good idea. You're not tying up a lot of money on a future cruise reservation, and you also get about half of that $100 deposit amount (sometimes all of it) in onboard credit when you take the cruise. (the amount of the OBC will depend on your stateroom class.)

 

And if you're worried about leaving your travel agent out of the action when you make an onboard booking, don't be concerned. She gets full credit, and HAL will FAX your onboard booking information to her so that she can take care of servicing it for you.

 

So, yeah, I think the booking onboard deal is a good one ... for both us and the cruise line.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[LolaLemon]

It's only a good idea if you are sure you want to sail that cruise line again. Those $100 cruise deposits are good for four years, and while you can move them around between cruises if your plans change, the $100 is not refundable.

 

But if you know you are going to cruise HAL again within four years, then ... yes, they are a very good idea. You're not tying up a lot of money on a future cruise reservation, and you also get about half of that $100 deposit amount (sometimes all of it) in onboard credit when you take the cruise. (the amount of the OBC will depend on your stateroom class.)

 

And if you're worried about leaving your travel agent out of the action when you make an onboard booking, don't be concerned. She gets full credit, and HAL will FAX your onboard booking information to her so that she can take care of servicing it for you.

 

So, yeah, I think the booking onboard deal is a good one ... for both us and the cruise line.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Thanks Rita!

Do you get a deal on pricing or just the OBC?

 

Sadly, I don't care whether or not my TA gets any credit for the booking, as I am not going to use them anymore in the future. I will either book directly or find a new TA.

 

Ah, I am just looking forward to my cruise this Sunday! :)

 

Have a great day!

Laura

[pms4104]

Thanks Rita!

Do you get a deal on pricing or just the OBC?

 

Sadly, I don't care whether or not my TA gets any credit for the booking, as I am not going to use them anymore in the future. I will either book directly or find a new TA.

 

Ah, I am just looking forward to my cruise this Sunday! :)

 

Have a great day!

Laura

Should you decide to purchase a future cruise credit or book a definite future cruise while onboard ... make it very, very clear to the onboard consultant that you want to leave it with HAL and not have your booking assigned to your current agent. You will be able to transfer the booking from HAL to your chosen new agent if/when you desire.

[LolaLemon]

Should you decide to purchase a future cruise credit or book a definite future cruise while onboard ... make it very, very clear to the onboard consultant that you want to leave it with HAL and not have your booking assigned to your current agent. You will be able to transfer the booking from HAL to your chosen new agent if/when you desire.

 

Thanks for the tip.

[jhannah]

Yes, it's a good deal for the reasons already mentioned.

 

The OBC amount is based on cabin category AND length of cruise you take.

 

I was under the impression that the deposit was refundable if you asked for it before the 4-year mark. Seems I remember very well being told that. Has that changed? Has my memory failed? ;)

[pms4104]

Yes, it's a good deal for the reasons already mentioned.

 

The OBC amount is based on cabin category AND length of cruise you take.

 

I was under the impression that the deposit was refundable if you asked for it before the 4-year mark. Seems I remember very well being told that. Has that changed? Has my memory failed? ;)

I do not think it has changed ... perhaps you initially were mis-informed. When we were on the Westerdam December 2005, the onboard consultant was very clear with us about the non-refundable nature and the 4-year timespan of the deposit. At that time, we simply booked a defiinite cruise and made full deposit, so she was very happy with us!

[mjlace]

If you book while onboard what do you do about travel insurance? We usually get insurance independent of the cruise line and want to buy it soon after booking so we don't have to worry about pre-existing conditions. Does anyone know if this can be done?

[pms4104]

If you book while onboard what do you do about travel insurance? We usually get insurance independent of the cruise line and want to buy it soon after booking so we don't have to worry about pre-existing conditions. Does anyone know if this can be done?

We have booked onboard and purchased independent insurance pretty much as soon as we got home. If you are on a longer sailing and concerned you might miss that 14-day window for the pre-existing condition waiver, book near the end of your voyage so the 14-day window doesn't expire. As for purchasing a future cruise credit while onboard ... I posed the question about the 14-day window and the pre-existing condition issue to our travel insurance provider ... and was told that they consider that deposit for a to-be-determined sailing as an option on a cruise, and the 14-day countdown would start when we apply that deposit to a specific sailing.

[Nancyquilts]

Yes, it's a good deal for the reasons already mentioned.

 

The OBC amount is based on cabin category AND length of cruise you take.

 

I was under the impression that the deposit was refundable if you asked for it before the 4-year mark. Seems I remember very well being told that. Has that changed? Has my memory failed? ;)

I was under that impression too. Maybe it was on Princess, but they are both Carnival, and I would think they would have the same rules on this:confused:>

[jcrandle]

Should you decide to purchase a future cruise credit or book a definite future cruise while onboard ... make it very, very clear to the onboard consultant that you want to leave it with HAL and not have your booking assigned to your current agent. You will be able to transfer the booking from HAL to your chosen new agent if/when you desire.

 

When I did this, after an unpleasant experience with the agent that had booked me on that cruise, I made the future booking assigned to HAL. The future cruise consultant had me sign a form that stated I did not want the booking assigned to the current agent. This is done in case the current agent raises issues with HAL.

 

After I returned from the cruise, I found a new agent that I was happy with, and had the booking transfered to her. The new agent was a little hesitant at first, because she didn't want to be accused of stealing the booking from the previous agent, but when she realized it was assigned to HAL, she was happy to pick it up. It worked very smoothly.

[serendipity1499]

I was under that impression too. Maybe it was on Princess, but they are both Carnival, and I would think they would have the same rules on this:confused:>

 

I'm not sure that both Princess & HAL would necessarily have the same policy just because they are owned by Carnival Corp....Both Princess, & HAL are autonomous.. Each one has it's own CEO, Pres., Board of Directors, etc. who dictate policy..

On HAL the $100 per person deposit is non-refundable...

We put down $100 pp while we were on our Alaska cruise & didn't specify a date, ship or Travel Agent..We used a Tour Operator in Alaska for both our land portion & our cruise.. When we paid the $200 deposit we had HAL hold it until we had decided on the Ship & Agent...

The reason we do this is:

A) When booking air, hotels & land in conjunction with a cruise, we sometimes book an all inclusive tour (air, hotels, transfers, sightseeing tours) with a Tour Operator such as our Alaska trip & also if the cruise is out of Europe or South America..

B) For our cruises boarding & disembarking in the lower 48 states we handle our own Air, hotels & transfers, if required.. In that case we book only our cruise with our regular Travel Agent..

Once we book a cruise we then purchase our insurance within a specified time in order to have Pre-Existing conditions protected..

When we made our last deposit, with HAL we actually decided on our Statendam 28 day cruise in Nov. 2009, within three weeks of returning home..Our Travel Agent took the HAL Deposit Confirmation Number for the deposit..TA's are required to accept it!

The advantages to us were: Hal only had $100 per person deposit for 15 months as opposed to a $300 pp deposit..

By putting that deposit down on our Alaska cruise, we'll also receive a $50 per person OBC, for our outside cabin on the 28 day cruise...

HAL OBC's vary according to the Cruise length & type of cabin:

Cruise Length: 7-11 days Inside $25 pp Outside $25 pp Verandah $35 pp Suite $50 pp

Length: 12 plus days: Inside $ 50 pp Outside $50 pp Verandah $75 pp Suite $100 pp..

That's a good deal, especially when booking a suite for more than 12 days..You will get your entire deposit back as an OBC..

Only 9 months & 8 days to go till our next cruise..:):)

Betty