HAL Did the Right Thing

Thank you HAL, and kudos to my tireless TA. When HAL cancelled the Med portion of my previously booked B2B2B on the King, they offered me the same category or the equivalent on a Westerdam Med itinerary for the same price I had paid for the King. However, HAL would not let me book the cruise until I had obtained permission to leave the King a day early in order to link up with the Westie.

As we waited a week to book in order to obtain that permission, the prices on the Westie rose substantially above that I had paid for the King. Also, comparing the King to the Westie was like apples to oranges, an entirely different method of categorizing cabins and no equivalent to the VH mid ship veranda cabin I had booked. So... conundrum... do I accept a lower category or will HAL offer an upgrade.

After two weeks of multiple daily phone calls to HAL and many patient explanations by my TA of the differences between the King and the Westie, HAL did indeed graciously offer me a gratefully accepted upgrade.

Good for you! Enjoy!

A positive comment!

Unfortunately, most ship/line related commenters post negative things.

Congratulations! And, Thank you very much!

KenNMB

Volendam: NYC to Bermuda (1978)

Nieuw Amsterdam Seattle to Alaska (2007)

Noordam: Port Everglades TA to Rome (2014)

Zuiderdam: to Panama (partial) (2015)

Veendam: Port Everglades to Montreal (Spring 2016)

Zuiderdam: Quebec City to Port Everglades (Fall 2016)

AWESOME!!! So glad it worked out for you :)

Very happy for you. HAL did the right thing!

Happy to hear that HAL came through for you.

Glad to hear your TA worked so hard for you and that HAL made it right! Our cruise next year was redeployed and I am unhappy with the offer of ship credits. Perhaps there is still hope!

Congratulations! Well done to your TA and Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! for HAL.

Glad to hear your TA worked so hard for you and that HAL made it right! Our cruise next year was redeployed and I am unhappy with the offer of ship credits. Perhaps there is still hope!

I know that many travelers prefer to use the big box TAs for their credits and perks, and others extol the virtues of DIY, but, honestly, I could not have done this on my own. It was not that HAL was reluctant to do the right thing; it was more a matter of, given the newness of the King and the suddenness of the drastic itinerary change, no one knew what the right thing was. My TA devoted two weeks to slowly, politely working her way up the chain of command, spending hours on hold, and often educating those she spoke to at HAL along the way. I would not have had the time or the patience.

Glad it worked out for you. Hope you have a great cruise.

HAL just changed our itinerary, too, drastically. No more Black Sea at all, we're going Adriatic! I am happy about it, we won't be changing.

Thank you HAL, and kudos to my tireless TA. When HAL cancelled the Med portion of my previously booked B2B2B on the King, they offered me the same category or the equivalent on a Westerdam Med itinerary for the same price I had paid for the King. However, HAL would not let me book the cruise until I had obtained permission to leave the King a day early in order to link up with the Westie.

 

As we waited a week to book in order to obtain that permission, the prices on the Westie rose substantially above that I had paid for the King. Also, comparing the King to the Westie was like apples to oranges, an entirely different method of categorizing cabins and no equivalent to the VH mid ship veranda cabin I had booked. So... conundrum... do I accept a lower category or will HAL offer an upgrade.

 

After two weeks of multiple daily phone calls to HAL and many patient explanations by my TA of the differences between the King and the Westie, HAL did indeed graciously offer me a gratefully accepted upgrade.

Glad that they finally did the right thing. However, why should it have taken 2 weeks of multiple daily phone calls from you and your TA for them to do it. They should have done it much more quickly.

DON

I know that many travelers prefer to use the big box TAs for their credits and perks, and others extol the virtues of DIY, but, honestly, I could not have done this on my own. It was not that HAL was reluctant to do the right thing; it was more a matter of, given the newness of the King and the suddenness of the drastic itinerary change, no one knew what the right thing was. My TA devoted two weeks to slowly, politely working her way up the chain of command, spending hours on hold, and often educating those she spoke to at HAL along the way. I would not have had the time or the patience.

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