Mary229

4 hours ago, Joebucks said:

We've done it a few times, and it was overall enjoyable. Most of the time, we don't travel in a group. When we do, there's a few things I stand by:

 

- Do not stay in the same room, when possible. I absolutely loathe cramming a bunch of people in one room. For any of its perceived benefits, it's overall less enjoyable. 

 

- Not having to commit to the same plans. We'll do a few things together. However, this is what we're doing. You can come if you want. You can do something else if you want. Plan the important stuff in advance and communicate early.

Oh no.  I would never stay in the same room. We do family cruises and try to find a sailing that suits all budgets.  When we travel with friends we would only ask people who travel in the same budget class we generally do.  We sail and stay mid premium and would not ask a dedicated luxury devotee nor  a super budget conscious person to travel with us.  Many people are flexible including us but some do like their luxuries and some like their savings   My level is never more than 2 in a room

@VMax1700  thanks for another top notch cruise log.  

1 hour ago, Real NHDOC said:

This is a misrepresentation of their policy.  Their policy is to ban people who file disputes that aren't valid disputes.  That's a lot different than banning people for using the dispute process to resolve a real dispute.

 

I have had to resort to disputes a couple of times with HAL, mostly after Covid cancellations.  My disputes were deemed to be justified and I continue to sail on HAL. 

Others have not been so fortunate 

33 minutes ago, NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope said:

I'm confident if I put together a spreadsheet with what they have and what it should be, it will be cleared up. Either they see the error of their ways or they can point out mine. Disheartening to hear that guest relations is good for robo-response but no follow up. We shall see.

I have had trouble deciphering my account on the ship and that is exactly what I did.  You also need to check for any credits to those gift cards.  It is a mess and no two ships credit the same way.  Some do an in-house transaction, some credit everything to the card on file and some credit back to the gift card.  A true mess!

My disputed amount was found on a gift card🤷‍♀️

34 minutes ago, NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope said:

Did not use a HAL PCC and, unfortunately, I had refundable OBC and a few gift cards on my account so credit card dispute won't apply. I do appreciate your input, though.

CCL (the corporation) has a policy of banning anyone who does a credit card dispute.  Sometimes the onboard statement is rather confusing .  Perhaps you need to have another pair of eyes look it over. 

28 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Wow, that seems expensive for a 14 day, OV, with no inclusions.

Our 22 day, South America w/Antarctica (2025) is that price, all in. It is for a veranda cabin and includes gratuities, WiFi, drinks and 3 specialty dinners. We also were able to choose our cabin.

What itinerary is this?

It looks like a mistake at least the HIA is wrong.  HIA is $55 or $1210 per person for 22 days.  I did notice some of the cruises going to Iceland went up tremendously over the weekend as the demand to see two eruptions is incredible and people are trying any means possible to get there 

On 4/15/2024 at 7:21 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

We travel both ways and they are equally enjoyable to us. We have cruised with several couples at once as well as well as with one or two couples together.  But we have one couple that we cruise with rather frequently (in fact we met them on a cruise a number of years ago and became good friends on land as well). When we occasionally have different interests in port they do their thing and we do ours.  But we always get together for dinner and our evening activities. The rest of the time we cruise by ourselves. We have four cruises planned (three booked) between now and October '25, two with them and two alone.

Same here.  We also travel on land journeys with couples. For land journeys which do require close daily quarters we add the rule “every person gets one day to complain, once you register any complaint that is your one and only day - so choose wisely”. Remarkably there are hardly any complaints 😉

I am sorry that happened but it does sound like an honest mistake.   I hope you enjoy the cruise 

1 hour ago, shippmates said:

I am not sure how many are confused how agents make their commission.  They are paid a percentage on the cruise fare and travel insurance if purchased through the cruise line.  They do not make commission on port charges, taxes, shore excursions, drink packages or any added charges.  So if your cruise has an all inclusive price of $2500, it is possible the cruise fare is only $2000.  It is possible the agent would make $200 before the agency they work for takes there share.  An agency could end up with $150.00 for that one booking.  

I agree 10 days is too long to get your booking confirmation, as they are received with in an hour of booking.

Agreed.  People are thinking their agents are making a fortune.  It really isn’t that much.  I always tackle it from perks.  It costs the cruise line nothing to give you a dinner at the Pinnacle Grill but it costs money to get discounts.  

Not all agencies provide the HAL confirmation letter.  They simply provide their invoice 

22 minutes ago, Wehwalt said:

I would think HAL would go where the greater amount of revenue is, given the amount of debt they owe.

Any business needs to always be mindful of irritating loyal customers.   If the crow’s nest was truly commandeered for the length of the cruise that would be called irritating the loyal base.  Sure HAL could do this on a 7 day mass market cruise, it may not create any new loyal customers but their dedicated base maybe wouldn’t be there.  Hal is a mass market cruise on the 7 day voyage to many locales and they will do everything that CCL, RCCL and NCL do

Also remember you can pay with AARP gift cards for a 10% discount. 

1 minute ago, Iamthesea said:

 

Can complaints be made on the app from home before taking a cruise?

No nor after, only while on voyage.  You can also give commendations and kudos.  Currently the crew is eager to receive a special mention through the app 

2 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

Lastly, we were loyal to La Quinta for about a decade, starting around 2010, before the Wyndham acquisition

I so agree.  Being in the southwest we used them often buy

tWyndham let them run down to the point where they are a hard pass for us.  

1 minute ago, SeaMatesNYC said:

No, they’ve wanted it, but sometimes credits have dropped off.  Not sure why and they have to call to get things reapplied that “fell off”. Additional bonus type things beyond the onboard booking bonus that were tied to Mariner number. Should go seamlessly, but I’ve found sometimes don’t, perhaps due to input error onboard?

My last onboard booking had to be redone but I caught the errors while still on ship and was able to make the corrections.  I agree keep a careful eye on things especially when an error can lose a significant OBC

1 minute ago, SeaMatesNYC said:

And find someone who can cope with taking in an onboard booking and ensure everything’s transferred correctly. And still gives you a discount (especially then since you and the Future Cruise Consultant did the heavy lifting!).

There should be an automatic transfer unless you the customer spectates you don’t want it transferred.  Have you had an agent not want the onboard booking.?

Did you ever talk to La Quinta?  You do get a second bite at the apple, so if you can work it out with them you still have a chance to overturn the charge. 
 

If Barclays treated you badly stay away from all of their credit cards.  HAL doesn’t administer the card ,the bank does.

I had a similar problem with another bank, I closed the account once it was straightened out and never used that bank again. 

As to discounts there truly are no discounts.  Learning a cruise lines in and outs is the best way to get a good deal.  Know your Mariner benefits.  Be keen to snap up an early booking bonus, many only agencies snap those up and offer them later to clients giving the appearance that they are giving you a big OBC. You could have had that same OBC if you had booked early.  Always get a refundable deposit so you can refare if prices drop.  Your agent should have access to software that tracks changes and that software is more robust than what consumers have available.

so my advice is find someone who is attentive and you like and who likes you and let the prices fall in place.  Make sure that person has good cruise experience and that they regularly keep up their training.  Don’t focus on price 

44 minutes ago, TRLD said:

So where have I defended Park West?

I will let you reread your own responses as I just did. 

14 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Too funny

 

Please quote anything I said in defense of Park West and that indicates that they are a good bisiness. What I said was 

1. That they do these special cruises

2. What is happening on HAL happens on their competition

3.Same thing happens with other groups holding special events in various venues.

 

If you actually ready posts I have been quite critical of Park West and there pretty bogus product.

 

What I have been presenting is what is going on is not unusual. In this case it is a special cruise where they have negotiated space for private events. The same as other groups have.

 

 

 

I have sailed HaL for years and I have never seen any special group use the crow’s nest for more than 2 hours - ONCE, or twice during a very long sailing.  It is not a daily occurrence.  The Crow’s Nest has gone to any iterations but it has always been probably the most popular venue on HAL.  The original post has been called into question as to the complete facts, that I accept is a greater possibility than HAL using the Crow’s Nest as a reserved venue for special groups.    
 

1 minute ago, Essiesmom said:

It is interesting that MSC does not have art auctions.  Could it be because their mostly European clientele are too art savvy to fall for such drivel?  I wonder if Costa, Mein Schiff, AIDA, Marella, Fred Olsen have Park West or similar?  
   If you want real art from the artist, visit an arts festival…many are held around the country during spring and summer.  EM

HAL went quite a few years without auctions, it is disheartening to see their reappearance.  They had instead an untyped art gallery. 
 

you make a good point however one could get quite an art education on the ship just by downloading their art guide and walking around the ship and see the many incredible works of art which adorn the walls of the ship

5 hours ago, Archipelago said:

A question for Mary ...when you mentioned that the Santiago hotel served breakfast and had the room ready the day of arrival was that a HAL hotel or any hotel in Santiago ? It's a long way away so not sure if I will book HAL hotel or my own ...have been doing my own on my latest travels. Thank You 

Yes, that is right.  I have stayed with HaL a number of times in various locations.  A little known part of booking with them is early checkin even extremely early plus breakfast and transfers are included. Transfers are from airport and to cruise ship.  If you arrive early enough for breakfast on the first day that is included too.  If the hotel has quit serving breakfast then of course there would not be breakfast. 

7 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Rather amazing how some here on cruise critic rather then talking about facts or the details of situations start throwing out labels or names when people post things counter to their view.

Well truth be told I have never met anyone on Cruise Critic defend Park West so fervently.   You do them a great service. Now back to why you think it is ok for a contractor to commandeer a popular space for the entire length of a cruise.  I don’t think anyone would complain about a single evening but not for the entire cruise.  
 

PS 30+ day cruises are fairly normal for HAL

2 hours ago, TRLD said:

Where?

 

HAL ships do not have the best layout when it comes to multi use venues. Most are used for nightly entertainment and as such used after 4.

 

The Crows Nest is mostly used during the day for its ocean views with some activities.

On my35 day voyage they were set up on the first floor for several events, their studio was next to photography on the 3 and one special event for one evening in the Rock room

6 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

I often research cruises online and get emails about sakes from several.  I've noticed lately that the pricing, format, etc. are exactly the same for several of these sites.  I mean, word for word, graphics, anything.  So I think you are right.  It's not that easy to find a really good TA who isn't bound to some big travel agency.  

 

I will say that I have mostly had very good service from the agents I do use--I have a couple of favorites, and they do work for big agencies.

All of the cruise lines ALL, regardless how big or small provide any agency with marketing materials. This includes mailings, website “brochures” , etc…. Each agency then decides who they want to work with and that will be based more on who their customer base is than on other variables