ChinaShrek

1 minute ago, Hogladyrider said:

Excellent points and let me share my current situation with HAL and gift cards.

 

We had 4 cruises booked and we decided to cancel one.  It was a 14 day Mexican holiday cruise that I had paid $3500 on CC and $3500 on HAL gift cards on.  I only owed $1600 before final payment.

We contacted our TA to  request the cancel and transfer of funds to the other 3 cruises we have booked for 2025.

HAL would only transfer the funds to ONE cruise and refund the balance.  Problem for me arises as the cruise they transferred the funds to  only had a balance due of $2900.  That leaves me a $4k credit.

HAL had no problems making the transfer but here it is a week later and I still have not received any of my credits due.

It just does not make sense to me even from an accounting standpoint because all I am going to do is call my TA and have the HAL gift card credits applied to the other 3 cruises booked with HAL.  In the mean time it is MY responsibility to track all this.....stressful to  say the least.

I will be second thinking gift cards in the future for sure.

And now you have to keep checking for gift cards. They might be emailed to you. Some people have also reported physical gift cards being sent to them. 

On 4/28/2024 at 10:04 PM, jimbo5544 said:

 

 

I get your point.  That said, cruising is not the evil axis, they had made errors (not even close to other industries, when it comes to ecology.  If Norway, Bar Harbor and Alaska want to drastically limit cruising and label it green, as I said before, that is their decision.  Those towns and cities will suffer and suffer big.  Telling the cruise industry they “have to change” and not even tell them what they need to change or whether it is realistic is nothing more than a red herring.  I know it and you know it.  I will restate my original post, and I mean it.  That is a shame.  We, the cruising community are worse off from their decisions.  

Bar Harbor did a major impact study of cruise passengers and found out that very few cruisers spend any actual money in the town. Most passengers book a tour and buy a t-shirt. Drive to Bar Harbor, stay a week in a cottage, and eat out every night. Now you are helping the local economy. It is about keeping life in Bar Harbor they way it was 50 years ago. Nothing wrong with that.

On 4/28/2024 at 6:42 AM, jimbo5544 said:

Obviously they can do whatever they want.  If they do not want tourists or tourist dollars, then so be it.  It seems their higher standard (if that is the notifier they are trying to send) is to not have ships cruise. Alaska does similar.  Norway is not going to change the cruise industry, that is just silly. If anybody really thinks that maybe 10 cruises makes a difference in anything in our world then that is really head scratching material.   Restate my original post.  That is a shame. 

Lots of ports are saying no to cruise ships. Norway is a wealthy country and does not cruise money. In fact, the economic benefit of cruise ships on the local is often exaggerated. Bar Harbor is also limiting cruise ships to 1000 passengers per day in total. It is not about changing the cruising industry. It is about how cruising destroys certain communities in the summer. The locals not want this. Venice has also limited cruise ships. If you really want to travel to Norway, people can fly there. Same with Bar Harbor.

1 hour ago, pghflyer said:

Perhaps this was a joke (hard to tell online sometimes) but I actually kind of agree with this. I get 4-5% back on Travel category purchases on my credit card....and with 5% interest rates right now for my free cash.....tying that free cash up in Gift Cards that takes a little effort to redeem (I use a travel agent) and keep track of (in case of cancellations)....does start making me scratch my head on the effort for an extra 3% discount.  Plus there is the whole thing of how much I trust my travel credit card to honor my travel insurance when I make partial payment with a gift card (I have not seen anyone that has actually needed to use their credit card travel insurance in this circumstance yet with multiple payment methods).

I actually wasn't joking. I think if it goes to only a 5% discount then I will not bother to buy them. I keep track of the gift cards and how I use them in case I need a refund on anything. That takes effort. Emailing my TA with gift card numbers takes effort. What if I cancel a Carnival Cruise but have no plans for another Carnival cruise for years to come? Now I have thousands of dollars tied up in gift cards. 

10 hours ago, a.madruga said:

BTW just noticed down to 8% discount

It's almost not worth buying now.

4 hours ago, Archipelago said:

Can Club Orange be booked online after booking the voyage ? 

Not online. You have to call or have your TA call. 

53 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

So you're the reason everyone else has to wait half an hour.🙃

I actually thought you were supposed to just show up and not make reservations with Anytime Dining. Why would I want to make reservations ahead of time? I have no idea when I am hungry.

I am not seeing any standby cruises in Europe. I would consider one of those because I could book flights with miles and easily cancel for a refund if I needed to.

Sigh. I miss the UK being part of the EU. Oh well.

Club Orange gives your priority tendering in tender ports. I don't know if that means you go ahead of HAL tour people, after them, or with them but i think you should be fine.

4 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Strange that after all this time they would reduce the amount to 8%!

Such is life. Such is cruising. Such is CCL, I guess.

It's also interesting that the other cruise lines are still 10% off including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity. 

I thought I was the only one with invoice issues with my TA! I often book HAL and Carnival cruises on the website and then transfer to my TA for either OBC or a reduction in price. The percentage I receive seems to vary based on a number of unknown factors. Recently, I booked a $2200 Carnival cruise and received $200 off the price. Cool. Then I booked a HAL cruise for $2180 and he said he could only give me $150 in OBC. These are both 2025 cruises. Okay, fine. Now I am not complaining about the incentive but I reserved these cruises weeks ago and I have only received one of the invoices, I will have to chase down the other invoice by email, which I am prepared to do. It seems that my TA has his assistant do this work and she does them in batches. So, I wait. What's my point? I guess I have two. The cash back percentage seems to vary and TAs seem in no rush to get invoices out. 

42 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

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

It sounds like his TA would take at least a week to apply them! 😂

If this is a special art cruise then there are people (maybe hundreds?) who have paid to enjoy the Park West art talks on the cruise. While some people are inconvenienced, others are happy.  I have a friend that loves going to Park West talks and feels that it is a good way to learn business practices or marketing.

2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

This is true. To HAL it's all just inventory. But for those of us who have our own criteria for cabin choice, we're paying to make that choice. If we can be moved around at will, then we've basically got guarantees. 

Not if you're a family of 4. They can't move you to a smaller cabin.

My first thought is this. I can absolutely see what HAL is doing. They are using groups to subsidize their cruises and make a profit. Do we want cruise fares to increase significantly or should HAL book group events on their cruises in lieu of increasing fares?

38 minutes ago, LJanet said:

Booking agent made the change so we assumed we used our club orange to receive the upgrade.  Please advise how to go through the ship inventory dept for upgrade. We were not aware of CO process to receive an upgrade.

 

Did you pay the Club Orange fee? It is $25 pp/pd for cruises up to 13 days and $15 pp/pd for cruises 14 days or longer.

10 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

You must have noticed that each of HAL's initiatives alienates some of their old customers. CO gets the priority that senior Mariners used to own exclusively. The $1 deposit supersedes the old $100 Future Cruise Deposit. And, so it goes on. 

But these initiatives attract younger customers who do not want to sail for years to have elite status and like the idea of putting $1.00 down on a couple of cruises for 2026. As many of the old customers migrate to other lines (for whatever reason) new customers will replace them. Why do I sail HAL? Cool itineraries, good food, great staff, and low casino pricing. No other line comes close.

15 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

@LHARTWICK, if you do book the cruise and have a stop in Victoria maybe look at other options than "The Butchart Gardens". While they are indeed lovely, they are a long way from the cruise port (as anyone who has been there will know). Also keep in mind the time of the year when this cruise happens, not really peak blossom time. I would suggest doing some research and look into some almost secret gems much closer to the port. Check out Government house, the grounds are nice, the gardens are tended by volunteers and it is free. Craigdarroch Castle is also a great place to spend some time. Maybe take a little harbour ferry, it's a great little boat ride around the inner harbour, and can save part of the long walk from the port into downtown. Anyone who chooses this cruise enjoy the experience and remember there is way more to Victoria than the Butchart Gardens, which is a 45 minute drive each way from the port.

I noticed HAL has a microbrewery tour for Victoria. Is Victoria known for its beer? I might take that tour if you guys have good beer.

22 hours ago, SeaMatesNYC said:

Or if you are being offered a “private fare” thru HAL (not a casino or free inside offer) and the add on of HIA post booking is financially advantageous. 

How much is HIA now if you add it on after booking?

This is great to know and I don't see why people would book cruise only non-refundable.

On 4/11/2024 at 3:34 PM, Menocchio said:

That title is going to confuse and annoy a lot of millennial and gen y passengers. 

 

Also raise a few eyebrows, given what we now know was going on in the TV studios of the 90's and 2000's. 

Does Dan Schneider work for HAL? 

I hope everyone who complained about missing the Production Shows attends them and does not complain about them on here. When HAL tried something different, many people weren't happy. So now HAL is responding. I do not cruise for the entertainment. I cruise for the itinerary. I just want "something" to watch or listen to at night.

I guess I do not understand the purpose of playing and listening to classical music. Yes, I understand if they are performing in a concert hall or auditorium or closed off room on a ship then the audience should be silent. However, if they are just performing on a deck somewhere or at dinner then people should be allowed to talk. I see classical music as background music and prefer it that way. 

On 3/31/2024 at 9:39 AM, klfrodo said:

Sounds like DEI works when it comes to running a cruise line. The passengers are diverse, all treated equally, and everyone, from bankers to bikers are included and made to feel welcome on Carnival.

Maybe those cruise lines who market their ship within a ship programs (Yacht Club, Haven, etc) need to step back and re-evaluate the goals of open class distinction.

I think a lot of people who avoid Carnival really want to avoid children.