Wait til after final payment date to book?

Considering booking a solo cabin on the Amsterdam 2016 World cruise. Final payment is just over a month away & there seems to be quite a lot of availability in most categories. at the moment I think I would book an HH. What do you think the chances are of the single supplement being dropped? it is currently 25%. Either there are many folks who have booked guarantees or this cruise is not selling well, or so it looks to me. Any opinions are appreciated!

As someone who pretty much always pays the single supplement, I say that a 25% supplement on an outside cabin for a World Cruise is fantastic!

If I wanted to take this cruise, I wouldn't be holding out for a lower supplement; I would book it while I still can. As you said, you don't know how many guarantees are waiting to be assigned. There might not be as much availability as it looks.

I cannot advise you whether or not to wait. I would check what discounts or onboard credits the travel agents are offering, if I wanted to save money, although $25,000 cruise fare for a solo HH for 115 days is a bargain. I think that Holland America world cruises have not been sell outs in recent years, perhaps a segment has or will. An HH cabin is the least appealing to me with a fully obstructed view of a steel bulkhead across the promenade deck, I would rather have an interior cabin. There are very few HH cabins, upgrades seem likely if you book a guarantee cabin.

As another solo on the 2016 WC - loved the 25% single supplement. You may not see that again for a while so would recommend you book. I booked early as like a specific cabin, paid early to get the discount and then the single supplement dropped so HAL issued a refund. Also, have not ever seen much of a price drop for the whole cruise but like someone mentioned, you can shop TA's to get the best deal for 'perks'.

>SNIP< An HH cabin is the least appealing to me with a fully obstructed view of a steel bulkhead across the promenade deck, I would rather have an interior cabin. There are very few HH cabins, upgrades seem likely if you book a guarantee cabin.

Personally I think the HHs on the S and R are great cabins. You can in fact see some view when you look to the left or right of the steel part. I like the ones that are under the dining room, as they are quiet.

OP -- I have never ever seen a 25% single supplement, though I only take short cruises so that may affect my experience. As others have mentioned that seems to be very reasonable.

My question would be whether the pricing on the WC would decrease after final payment. That 25% single supplement is fantastic!

I think this is like gambeling in Vegas.

It is 50/50!

As you know HAL is known to drop prices closer to sail date!

Again it is a possibility they won't!

You said there is a lot of cabins available so I myself would think they want to fill the cabins quickly and a drop might be in order!

As Ruth has said a 25% supplement is awesome!

You are holding the deck of cards right now and it is your move!

This would be hard for me to decide!

Have a excellent WC!

Denise:)

No advice, but just want to wish you a wonderful world cruise! A 25% supplement seems awfully good so go and enjoy!

No advice, but just want to wish you a wonderful world cruise! A 25% supplement seems awfully good so go and enjoy!

Totally agree about the supp. If they started making it lower some couples might decide to book separate rooms:D.

A 25% single supplement -- for a world cruise -- I would go for it. That is a rarity.

I wouldn't gamble and wait. This way you may be able to get the cabin you want.

Thanks for the responses! the 25% supplement is what drew me to this cruise, so I agree with all that it IS a great deal! I think my hesitation here is due to the final payment date being so close & the numerous available cabins. I sort of don't believe that there are so many guarantees booked on such a long cruise. I hesitate to book a guarantee since I believe the location of the cabin would be a major factor for me. I'm still leaning toward the HH either 3380 or 3383. any experience with either? I have checked some large online agencies & the average is about a 6% savings over booking direct but with no other perks such as obc etc. What to do, what to do! thanks again!

Considering booking a solo cabin on the Amsterdam 2016 World cruise. Final payment is just over a month away & there seems to be quite a lot of availability in most categories. at the moment I think I would book an HH. What do you think the chances are of the single supplement being dropped? it is currently 25%. Either there are many folks who have booked guarantees or this cruise is not selling well, or so it looks to me. Any opinions are appreciated!

there might be a lot of guarantees. One never knows. One P'dam cruise we were on showed a ton of cabins. So, everyone thought there would be price drops. The cruise was sold out about 1 day after final payment. Turns out there were a lot of guarantees.

So, waiting you could get a nice deal and it could turn out that it is sold out.

I sort of don't believe that there are so many guarantees booked on such a long cruise.

Remember there are a lot of segment cruisers on a World Cruise, and they have to book guarantee. The selection of cabins is reserved for those booking the full cruise, and the other cabins are left open until the guarantees are assigned.

Let us know what you decide. As someone who recently booked a cruise solo for the first time, let me tell you how envious I am that you can get one for 25 percent!

>SNIP<

 

I'm still leaning toward the HH either 3380 or 3383. any experience with either? I have checked some large online agencies & the average is about a 6% savings over booking direct but with no other perks such as obc etc. What to do, what to do! thanks again!

Look at the deck above those two cabins -- there is white space, which could possibly/likely be galley space. A friend had an HH below a galley and found it noisy. What do you think of being further aft, starting at about 3420, 3422, 3424 (impeded by staircase) or 3419, 3423, 3427 (impeded by staircase) ? Just my 2 cents ;)

whootie,

3380 and 3383 are definitely below the galley. Do you want 100+ days of noise coming from above your cabin?

All of the outside cabins on the Lower Promendade Deck are smaller in size than the outside cabins on the Main Deck and Dolphin Deck. The outside deck on Lower Promenade detracts from the space in Deck 3 cabins as compared to Decks 1 and 2 cabins. I have visited friends who had a Deck 3 D cabin.

Deck 2 outside cabins have the disadvantage of being under that Deck 3 deck and one can hear footsteps above your cabin. I know; I had a Deck 2 DA once. I received this DA as a small upgrade on the 2007's final segment. For 17 days, the noise was tolerable. For 100+ days, I would not be pleased.

The best location for an outside cabin is on Dolphin Deck, as close to mid-ship as you can get.

The way I read the reduction of the solo fare is that the cruise is not booking well. Expecting further price reductions is a gamble, as others have said.

Do not overlook the extra perks, if they are still available, for booking, i.e. OBC, pre-paid gratuities, luggage shipping. Gratuities on a world cruise are a significant expense.

Agree with other posters: 3380 and 3383 are not the ones to book.

Not only the kitchen above but way too close to the engine room stacks, which cause a lot of noise and vibration.

Aft HHs would work for me!

whootie,

 

3380 and 3383 are definitely below the galley. Do you want 100+ days of noise coming from above your cabin?

 

All of the outside cabins on the Lower Promendade Deck are smaller in size than the outside cabins on the Main Deck and Dolphin Deck. The outside deck on Lower Promenade detracts from the space in Deck 3 cabins as compared to Decks 1 and 2 cabins. I have visited friends who had a Deck 3 D cabin.

 

Deck 2 outside cabins have the disadvantage of being under that Deck 3 deck and one can hear footsteps above your cabin. I know; I had a Deck 2 DA once. I received this DA as a small upgrade on the 2007's final segment. For 17 days, the noise was tolerable. For 100+ days, I would not be pleased.

 

The best location for an outside cabin is on Dolphin Deck, as close to mid-ship as you can get.

 

The way I read the reduction of the solo fare is that the cruise is not booking well. Expecting further price reductions is a gamble, as others have said.

 

Do not overlook the extra perks, if they are still available, for booking, i.e. OBC, pre-paid gratuities, luggage shipping. Gratuities on a world cruise are a significant expense.

I've been in an HH and found the space more than enough for a solo cruiser, including shoes ;)

You raise a good point if there are perqs offered for booking a higher category than an HH, but there is a significant difference in price. The OP would have to do a cost/benefit analysis to see if any perqs offered have more value than the extra cost (if in fact there are perqs being offered).

When I travel solo I often go for the aft HHs :D One trip, I even stored a folding wheelchair in my HH and still had enough room for me and my shoes :D

Thanks for the responses! the 25% supplement is what drew me to this cruise, so I agree with all that it IS a great deal! I think my hesitation here is due to the final payment date being so close & the numerous available cabins. I sort of don't believe that there are so many guarantees booked on such a long cruise. I hesitate to book a guarantee since I believe the location of the cabin would be a major factor for me. I'm still leaning toward the HH either 3380 or 3383. any experience with either? I have checked some large online agencies & the average is about a 6% savings over booking direct but with no other perks such as obc etc. What to do, what to do! thanks again!

Do know many people book guarantees and hope for upgrades - which are frequent on the WC.

Also, this cruise is not selling that well as a very similar itinerary to the 2015 WC so a lot of the 'regulars' are not on this cruise.hence the 25% supplement. Have been on past WC's that also did not sell well and there was no significant price drop for the full cruise.

Have a good friend who always books the aft HH cabins - and loves them.

Cow Princess,

I am also a solo cruiser, usually. Thanks for your view about Deck 3 cabins. This is just another example of "different strokes for different folks". While I don't have a large shoe wardrobe, I found during long voyages, as well as shorter ones in those outside cabins, splitting the Queen bed into 2 Twins provided me with much more room, and compared to my friends' Deck 3 outside where the bed was kept as a Queen, lots more room than they had.

From what I have read on blogs the last couple of years, the WC is usually not full. However, even not full, there is always the chance the category you want might be sold out. Looking at the booking site, there is a significant difference between the HH and the other ocean view categories. A 25% solo supplement is amazing, especially for a WC. I guess it really comes down to how upset you will be if you can't get the category you want.

BTW, have you seen the photos of the views from the obstructed cabins? If not, google "amsterdam lower promenade cabin obstructed views" and then choose the result that mentions "rafinmd" who took the photos.

Considering booking a solo cabin on the Amsterdam 2016 World cruise. Final payment is just over a month away & there seems to be quite a lot of availability in most categories. at the moment I think I would book an HH. What do you think the chances are of the single supplement being dropped? it is currently 25%. Either there are many folks who have booked guarantees or this cruise is not selling well, or so it looks to me. Any opinions are appreciated!

I have been tracking pricing and booking solo for about ten years and there are any number of scenarios when it comes to pricing "after final" for a solo.

I have never looked at a World Cruise, however on some of the longer, more "exotic" cruises, I have found that while there is a price drop after final, what was a single supplement of 50% shoots up to the full 100%, actually making the cruise more expensive than it was before final payment for a solo.

(I don't understand why HAL does this if they are trying to fill the ship, but it happens.)

There is no way of knowing if there will be a price drop or what may happen with the single supplement. I think my biggest concern would be cabin availability, as many have mentioned above. If there is price drop after final, there may be a lot of people who book only one or two segments leading to limited availability on certain segments.

Personally (just me), if I really wanted to do it, I would be thrilled with the 25% single supplement, get the cabin I wanted now and then not look back.

Whatever you decide, best of luck. I hope this works out well for you and you have a great experience.

Kate

Thanks everyone for all your input, you have given me a great deal to think about. I never knew you had to book a guarantee on a "segment". Since I've never done one. I will definitely rethink my cabin selection! I don't want to be below the galley on such a long cruise. I still think the HH is a good buy for me & will look closer at the aft cabins. I also never even considered that the single supplement may increase if the prices drop. Yikes! I am going to sleep on this & do a little more research on cabins. there really aren't any perks out there at the moment. The "specialist" agency that has the most perks only offer those for category "f" & above & the difference in price to go that route makes no sense to me. Again thanks to all who took the time to help me out with this! you are truly a great source of info & I'm so glad I asked the question. hopefully I'll be depositing by the end of the week!

As a general rule, I'd say that if a particular cruise is important to you, go ahead and book it and don't look back. If, however, you are bargain hunting, then wait until after final payment date and see if it is a good enough bargain for you to bite on.

Book it and choose the room you want and after further deliberations you can cancel before final payment if you decide not to go. This locks in price and room choice. [emoji4]