richwmn

This was GREAT info. Just bought 100 shares in my husband's IRA. My question for HAL is: my husband and I are taking our minor children aboard. We had to buy two separate staterooms, one in my husband's name and one in mine. According to the shareholder benefit.pdf, it states: "only one onboard credit per shareholder-occupied stateroom." Am I also stockholder or just my husband? What if I buy 100 shares for my minor daughter in her UTMA account and she is in my room? Does SHE get the $100 OBC? I will call them and get an answer. Will post when I get one.

 

As an aside: One of my pet peeves is when a big corporation, that should have plenty of editors, publishes articles like the Shareholder Benefit.pdf and it has usage errors. It states "6 days or less." Should be "fewer."

To the first question, it depends on the account. If the statement shows both names, then either could get the credit - however it is only one credit per stateroom, doesn't matter how many shareholders occupy the cabin.

To the second question, I believe that if your minor daughter is named as the account holder she would get the credit, but again, only one credit per stateroom. It may depend on how the account is named and what a UTMA account is.

edit: I just looked up UTMA. When I was a kid it was UGTM and the title of the account was adult name as custodian for minor name. Mine continued to be listed that way until I was way past the age of 21. The way it is titled it may allow either to claim the credit. I would talk to World Cruise Reservations at Holland to be sure.

Plus the earlier flights have less risk of running late; since they normally aren't waiting for an incoming plane.

 

We have a 5:59AM flight tomorrow heading to SEA for a cruise.

In December when I flew from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, a route that has Delta flights every hour, the flight just before mine had to wait for equipment to fly in and ended up with a 45 minute delay. My flight, which had the plane on the ground overnight, left on schedule.

I have probably gotten at least $1000 worth of OBC since buying 100 +shares of CCL several years ago. Not only that but the stock has doubled since my original purchases as well as paying a dividend. Oh that all my investments had paid off like CCL.

 

My last cruise I was surprised that a lot of the long time Holland cruisers i met were not even aware of the OBC stock deal.

 

Funny but I don't recall seeing this promoted by HAL on their web site or on board etc. I would think that the CCL marketing gurus would promote this wonderful perk extensively. Maybe they do but for some reason I don't ever see it.

 

 

Wonder why?

On one of my recent cruises, I think Prinsendam Christmas, the cruise director mentioned it during one of his presentations.

As far as it being a marketing perk, in truth it should not be the reason for buying the stock and promoting it may be against SEC regulations. If the stock meets your investment needs, then the OBC is a nice addition.

How far in advance is it due? I'm on a 7 night cruise if that makes any difference.

Your TA should have given you this information. However, things don't always get done properly.

In the past HAL had a small section on the web site about final payments. This was the only thing I could find right now:

A deposit is required at the time of booking and final payment is due no later than 75 days prior to departure for Alaska, Caribbean, Canada & New England, Europe (excluding ms Maasdam, ms Prinsendam and ms Veendam), Mexico, Panama Canal, and 17- to 18-day Hawaii voyages. Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure for all other voyages.

Sorry for resurrecting an oldish thread, but this was the only one I could find in a search for advance purchase of casino chips. I am logged into my mariner account but it doesn't appear I can purchase them in advance. I do see a package called "Lucky Night Out" but it only gives you $50 in chips and a bottle of Veuve for $162.59. Not quite what I was looking for. lol

HERE is a link to a pdf which shows what can be purchased. Under 'variety' item number 1969 is Casino Chips in $10 increments. I can't find a way to purchase online so you might have to call ships services to purchase this.

Could the USPH guidelines have been tightened? When I worked for the government I was used to the regulations changing all the time.

It could also be one person's (maybe a new inspector) "interpretation" of the regulation which is not in line with the previous inspectors.

If you time it correctly, you can also send mail and packages to the crew member in care of the Port Agent at the turnaround point (Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, Boston etc).

Yea, I am still trying to get my mind around the concept of helpful bureaucrats :D:cool:

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'

Ronald Reagan

40th president of US (1911 - 2004)

I opened up my CC transaction page today, I noticed a small ($40) credit hit that account. Have no idea the reason for the credit. We sailed HAL back in March, and will sail HAL late this year. Has anyone received a small, unexpected credit like this?

TIA.

Since everyone else is mostly talking about things that happen on board, I will add what happened to me.

About 3 weeks ago I was checking my statement online and it was out of balance. Checking item by item I found a credit - more substantial than yours, that wasn't tied to a vendor. I had to call the card company to find out who issued it. Like you I have a recent cruise and one coming soon. Turned out the credit was from HAL. I called HAL and found it was tied to an upcoming cruise which hasn't reached final payment yet. HAL said I had to call the TA, who said that they didn't know why the credit appeared but I would have to repay the amount at final.

A letter was sent to HAL and to the TA inquiring as to the reason for the credit, but I have had no response yet.

Well, they have no choice on Prinsendam,so I'll forgive them for that. I'm really looking forward to trying HAL's smallest ship, especially since we're trying the largest in January.

Dining is one of the "quirks" of the Prinsendam. I like it, as long as I am in the most forward dining room. I know some don't care for it, but it's our favourite spot.

 

You will be going from Night and Day between the two ships. What a great experience.

 

I know a CC member that did the same thing and loved both ships, but I think he will sail the P'dam again in a heart beat ;)

I think Kazu was talking about me here. I did the Christmas cruise for 18 days on the Prinsendam and then a week on Koningsdam in February. If I found an itinerary on the Prinsendam I liked I would, in fact, jump on it. It is a very different experience compared to the other HAL ships.

I live about 90 minutes from Atlanta Airport (worlds busiest). Even with that, I am generally in Atlanta the night before. You never can tell when something will go wrong and you risk missing your flight, like maybe a bridge collapsing on a major interstate!

You know what was interesting about those documents?

 

They never asked for them when we checked in. All they wanted to see were our passports and the credit card we were putting all the charges on.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

If you are 4* or above or in a Suite you also need the boarding pass to get in the Suite line

No wonder cruise fares are going up! You use the resources of the cruise line to get your vacation all arranged and then at a select time you transfer it to a TA who gets 10% from the cruise line , then gives you a small perk and pockets the rest of the commission for doing absolutely nothing in relation to the booking. I'm surprised the cruise lines allow these transfers as they are paying two people to do a single booking.

Over the time before I transfer the cruise, I might use 30 minutes of my PCCs time. I really don't think that is going to make any huge dent in the profits of Holland America or Carnival Corporation. As Iancal mentioned, I have all the details already worked out prior to the call and other calls are just for payments or fare adjustments, neither of which takes much time.

It is unclear to me why booking a cruise is such a big deal for experienced cruisers. We generally know what we want, when we want it, and where in the ship we want. No guesswork involved. What is there to control once you have your cruise line reservation number other than to monitor prices prior to final payment (and perhaps after as well).

 

No different than buying a bag of flour or a gallon/litre of gasoline. Get the right price, make the deal. End of.

 

Is there something that we are missing? This formula has worked for us for years.

You are, of course, correct. The initial booking, whether you use a PCC or TA, is an easy process for most of us. My PCC knows what type of cabin I like and has been good about taking care of me. I keep her in the loop until just before final payment and then transfer it, if warranted, to an agency. I don't have to worry about emails being in a spam folder at some agency until final payment and I talk to the same person for most of the life of the booking. For those of you who do the original booking with a TA, what is the harm in making that booking with a PCC that you build up a relationship with, followed by using the transfer to "leverage" 3 to 5 agencies to give the best deal?

You the customer should always be your own advocate.:)

Again, you are right. However, you need to talk to someone in order to book your cruise and make any changes you might want / need. Not everything goes perfectly. Do you talk to a PCC - the same one every time, a known agent at an agency that you use regularly, or a random agent at whatever agency gave you the best deal today?

Call me naive, but:

 

Would the practice of booking with a PCC then transferring the booking to a TA benefit both? The PCC would get a tic mark on her quota/get credit for booking someone, then the TA would get whatever kickback/perk/etc he would get from taking over the booking? A TA does get something, right? If not, what ROI would the TA have for doing this? A possibility of future business?

 

I'm genuinely curious to know. I have used both, but now that I travel lowest possible cabin class and travel solo, the OBC and other perks are usually nonexistent or not enough to go through the machinations of transfer.

This is exactly what I have been saying for years whenever certain people post their feelings that the discount TAs are the only way to go. I do book outside cabins, but as a solo, the net result is the same. I am generally not offered enough to go somewhere other than my PCC unless the cruise is more than 12 days or so.

That being said, I do place the initial booking with my PCC so she gets the credit she needs and then, with her blessing, transfer to a TA if it makes sense.

Does HAL offer an onboard app? I am thinking of one like Disney has. One of the things it allows you to do is see all the menus for the cruise.

I believe most HAL ships now have Navigator. It is not an "APP", but a local web page that can be accessed by any device that has a browser. The only menu that is available is for the current day. On Prinsendam in December it was posted around noon each day.

Sorry for responding.

I suspect the comment you were replying to was about the tone of the responses not their content.

I don't think calteacher should be "sorry for responding", no matter what the content or tone of a post responding to her. This forum is for all views.

Why does that scheme take away leverage. It's a booking. I've booked on board and then 'shopped' that booking with multiple agents. Why can't you do the same with a booking through a PCC?

I have booked most of my cruises with a PCC and with her blessing transferred them to a Travel Agent. In doing so, I have contacted several agencies, picking the agency that gave me the best overall deal. I don't think I have lost any "leverage" I might have by doing the initial booking with the agency

your roll call is at http://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/maasdam-july-15-2017/

Sorry for responding.

You shouldn't be sorry for responding. You, most likely, have been using a full service TA that you don't seem to need. If you are not getting value from the TA you are using, either in money or services, than you need to try something else like one of the big box stores.

Part of the reason for this thread is that I seem to be getting more and more solicitations from organizations I belong to that now have travel benefits. I am sure that these are not "in house" employees but rather that the organization has a relationship with one of the bigger TAs. Checking around, I found several that I talked to had similar deals including amount of OBC included.

We are looking at a cruise that ends with an overnight in Lisbon. In looking at the airline schedules, we've discovered that the return flights all leave at either 5:00am or 5:45am in order to make a connection at another European airport. This means we would need to disembark during the night. Is this possible even if we manage our own bags? Has anyone else run into this situation?

I do not have personal experience with this, however it has been reported here that if your cruise overnights at the desembark port you can leave any time after the ship docks. So the answer is most likely yes.

You've just validated my point: why would you transfer a cruise to a "newly minted agent" (or to an agency [web-based or otherwise] where there is some "gatekeeper" position limited to taking orders?

You are good at selective reading. I said in another post that what I was being offered in OBC was not enough to cause me to transfer from my PCC. New agents need to have a chance to find out what is going on, and I felt that since this was someone I had met and a friend of a good friend of mine, I chose to give her the commission. My example was to show that some agents might not realize that emails need to be forwarded.

"You get what you pay for" (in this case, the "pay" is doing the research and whatever other effort it may reasonably take to identify/employ a first class/full service agent).

 

 

When you finally do that month long $25k transpacific cruise, the approx $2k+ in combined perks (above what any PVP could ever do) will have been worth your 2 hours of homework and "al dente" demeanor in working with the right TA.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I do shop around to see what is available.

But this thread was not started as to get hints on "how to find a travel agent" which I agree there are many threads about, instead it was started to solicit opinions about what we as consumers should expect from the travel agents we employ.

Your first post on this thread, and to some degree the others, was a good guide on how to pick a travel agent.

...and that is the root of your problem. Of course, you have a way of knowing- do the research essential to finding a good TA: Minimally, to be a "knowledgeable cruise consumer":

---snip----

I don't believe I ever said that I had a problem. I did say that I have a PCC that gives me great service and I will continue to use her. Also, as I mentioned, two different people might get vastly different service from the same TA.

My intent in starting this thread was to get discussion about what a TA should do, particularly those in the "order taker" status. I feel that even if the TA is only booking the cruise, they should forward all emails concerning the cruise from the line to the customer. Many times there have been threads about poor customer service from HAL which are traced to an error on the part of the TA. An example of this is one of the cruises I transferred to a newly minted agent. About a month before the cruise I got an email from her. It was a forward from HAL and her message was that she didn't know why she got it but thought I might want to see it. It was about a cabin upgrade which I didn't want anyway.

What a great thread you have started.

 

I agree with your assessment. I think it applies to PCC's and TA's alike.

 

I do not expect a TA to monitor prices for me. Between websites that notify you and this board (and the HAL site), it's not hard for any of us to keep on top of a price drop and notify.

 

I do expect to be notified of upsell offers, to have someone knowledgeable enough that can advise if I have a question.

 

And, I like to feel that my business is appreciated ;)

 

Now, here's a stupid question - why transfer from your PCC if there is no incentive from the TA you are transferring to? (Ie., no OBC or discounted price?)

Not a stupid question, but a good one. I have done this twice. Once was the mother of a friend who told me she would take good care of me. Long story short, she didn't. The second was more recently. A friend told me that a local person had just been hired as a TA. I was told that this new TA had taken very good care of my friends and for that matter the TA was someone I had met. Same result. In both cases the OBC that I had been offered was not enough to otherwise transfer the cruise

Over the years we have had many discussions, as allowed by Cruise Critics rules, about the differences between the various means of booking a cruise. The ways normally discussed are small travel agencies, big box travel agencies, general 800 number for the cruise line, and Personal Cruise Consultants.

In a current post on the new Cuba cruises, a user states: "I have asked my TA if they received the email from HAL and failed to notify me." She then states that she owes someone at HAL an apology if that was the case.

This brings up a question of what we should expect of the various agencies that we can use to book a cruise.

For the most part I have booked my cruises with a PCC at HAL. I receive excellent and courteous service. Many of my cruises have been transferred to various Travel Agents. From these TAs I have received anywhere from no service to reasonable service, but none matched my PCC. From some I received OBC, from a couple nothing.

From my experience, and reading posts on Cruise Critics, I come to the conclusion that travel agents fall into several broad categories, sometimes within the same agencies.

1. Order takers - There are many agents out there that are only interested in booking the cruise and getting the commission. I don't know if it still exists, but at one time there was a group you could join that gave you a website and allowed you to receive commissions. I had several friends join that group, and ask me to transfer bookings to them so they could get the money. They had no interest in providing any service.

2. Some service - Other agents try to give some service. However, since they have never been on a cruise, or at least the line they are booking, they are really not much help. These agents will at least make a call to try and get answers.

3. Full service - Then we have the agents that have been on multiple cruises on several lines. They have also visited many of the destinations and can give information that is helpful to the new visitor to that port.

Over the years I have had dealings with each type. Some cruises I transferred I received nothing - no OBC, no upgrades, no gifts. Other cruises I got OBC and service and some just OBC.

We have no way of knowing what kind of TA we will be dealing with when we book or transfer a cruise. Even a TA that gives great service to one client may act differently to someone else.

This brings up questions - what is the minimum we should expect of a travel agency, even if we get most of their commission as an OBC? How much should we expect of a travel agent that doesn't give us anything? Should all agents monitor price changes for us?