EXC Price Guarantee

Just logged on to my Zaandam Antarctica cruise, and noticed a link for the best price quarantee on HAL tours. If you find the identical tour on a third party site(cheaper), submit the info, and get back 110% of the difference in a nonrefundable on board credit. Just have to fill out a form with info and will hear back in 2 business days. We will see how it works.

Interesting. Thank you for the information.

I noticed that when I signed in as well. It is interesting that they are offering it.

Interesting.

I can't imagine that HAL will give you back 110% of the money you paid for a HAL excursion just so that you can book a private tour.

The catch is -- if you can find an IDENTICAL tour.

I assume that if there is even a slight difference, you will not get anything back if you don't cancel at least 5 days before the ship sails.

I'm so curious to see how this pans out. Keep us in the loop!

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Carnival has had this policy for years, and yes they actually do pay off. It's rarer than some people like, but more common than other people think.

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Just logged on to my Zaandam Antarctica cruise, and noticed a link for the best price quarantee on HAL tours. If you find the identical tour on a third party site(cheaper), submit the info, and get back 110% of the difference in a nonrefundable on board credit. Just have to fill out a form with info and will hear back in 2 business days. We will see how it works.

This is tricky, 110% of the DIFFERENCE is probably not that much. It also keeps EXC informed of the competition's offerings and pricing.

Just logged on to my Zaandam Antarctica cruise, and noticed a link for the best price quarantee on HAL tours. If you find the identical tour on a third party site(cheaper), submit the info, and get back 110% of the difference in a nonrefundable on board credit. Just have to fill out a form with info and will hear back in 2 business days. We will see how it works.

And that sounds like as big a con as buying a glycee at an art auction and think you are getting a valuable piece of art. The key to what you say is the word "identical." It is simple enough to design any tour to make it unique...such as stopping at an overpriced gift shop owned by the tour company.....that nobody else on earth would visit. Enough said.

And yes, I can sell you a nice bridge in Brooklyn for a bargain price. Just meet me near the port at Red Hook, and the plastic model will be yours for only $10,000. What a deal.

Hank

This is tricky, 110% of the DIFFERENCE is probably not that much. It also keeps EXC informed of the competition's offerings and pricing.

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Defining 'identical' is the key, have to read the fine prints. If the savings is say $50, you get $55 back.

They might be generous with the identical part, or it has to be 100% cloned tour.

Frank & Annette using CC Forums mobile app

This is tricky, 110% of the DIFFERENCE is probably not that much.

This is tricky, 110% of the DIFFERENCE is probably not that much.

I would hope such a guarantee would stop this kind of profiteering.

It is well understood that cruise fares often serve the role of loss leaders in the pricing model. That's why we pay $10 for a cocktail. And it is also well understood that you don't survive long in business if there is no growth, and true success means growth in terms of breadth and depth. Once every aspect of the on board experience has been exploited in the interest of revenue growth, the only option is to look to related services, and chief among them (in my cruise budget) is excursions. As much as it upsets Dionisio D'Aguilar, the cruise lines have a hard-and-fast vested interest in directing their cruise ships to ports-of-call within which they can begin to stretch out their influence and control over the excursion options that are available.

The first step was the private islands and resorts - Half Moon Cay, CocoCay, Labadee, Great Stirrup Cay, Castaway Cay, Princess Cays, Harvest Caye, Amber Cove, Catalina Island, Ocean Cay. No private excursions means that the cruise line has full control. That allows them to set the price, and in a way it doesn't hurt passengers as much as it sounds because it also lets the cruise line have assurance of a very high level of patronage. With more control, they can charge less and make it up on volume. If they were competing with competitors, that would not work.

The second step must necessarily be excursions at ports-of-call the cruise line does not control. I have seen private excursions that will pick you up at hotels, but not anywhere else (i.e., not at the port). I have even seen private excursions that say clearly that if you are a cruise ship passenger you can only book their excursion through your cruise line. Especially when there are a small number of clear leaders in the offering of private excursions at a port, it is to their benefit and to the benefit of the cruise line to engage in these kinds of agreements, since the cruise line gets pricing support and the provider gets a guaranteed income.

In the end, what you're referring to as "profiteering" is the core of the very next logical step in providing revenue growth required by the shareholders. Unlike profiteering, these practices are legal, and pretty much becoming standard practice more generally. While there was a good portion of the 20th Century when such efforts would gain attention as possible anti-trust violations, the pendulum has swung back a bit as it pertains to discretionary purchases/leisure offerings when there are competitors for the core service.

This has already happened with regard to the cost of cable television, and so cable television can serve for us as an indicator of what is to come with regard to cruising:

Cable television used to be very heavily regulated because of the perception that cable companies were monopolistic. Then, through the 1990s that enforcement began to be rolled back, as the FCC began issuing "effective competition" certifications, allowing individual cable systems to set their own pricing as long as most customers were in an area served by satellite services. In June 2015, we saw the beginning of the end for the entire infrastructure of regulated cable, as the FCC, later confirmed by the US Court of Appeals, declared that there was effective competition nationwide.

The relevance of this is this: Some consumers would want to view their cable company as a monopoly for their access to, let's say, NFL Network, and therefore expect some protection from the cable company charging what they wish. However, because there are alternatives for obtaining sports entertainment, no protection is forthcoming (anymore). Note the nuance there: Even if you cannot get NFL Network any other way, the fact that you can watch soccar in Spanish or Pashto now constitutes competition for NFL Network, and so there is no anti-trust violation: The commodity is video sports entertainment, not NFL Network (anymore).

Project that reality into cruise ships: Let's say they can get control over all fishing excursions in Sitka. Is that a violation of anti-trust? No. Because you can choose a different cruise line going to a different port that offers some other fishing excursion.

Are we doomed? No. While it seems clear that cruise lines will seek and gain more and more control over what we are able to do at ports-of-call, their pricing is still going to be affected by our willingness to pay. While we won't benefit from the advantage of micro-level competition on prices, they will still need to maintain their cruising offering - itself, and overall - competitive with other ways you can spend your vacation.

Just to clarify a common misconception on ships' tours.

Just because you book a ship's excursion does not mean that you have the extra assurance that the ship will not leave without you.

While the ship will try to wait for it's shore excursions, this is not always possible due to tides, timing or waves. It's happened in Alaska, Ponta Delgada & Monaco to name just a few examples.

They will help you get to the next port though if you miss the ship and are on one of their excursions

I did file a form yesterday for a tour in the Falkland islands. HAL price was 359.95, and what I found to be identical was 249.00. That's a 122 dollar pp obc. Will let you know. Response is supposed to be in 2 business days. The caveat is that the tour for 249.00 included and additional small tour.I did put that in the notes. Will let you know what the response is. If it works, I would rather book with HAL if I find the identical tour and get the credit for the on board spend.

It does work.

Our Oct. 28 itinerary on the Nieuw Amsterdam has been changing...and changing...and changing. So when Punta Cana was added a week or so ago, I started researching what to do.

In a dozen cruises we have only booked ship excursions a couple of times so I looked for private tours. I did find one, but when I emailed for information was told that I MUST book through the cruise. Since this is a tender port and the cruise is so close I just gave up and booked the HAL excursion that seemed the same.

I saw the 110% guarantee on the HAL website and submitted a claim. In less than 24 hours, I got a reply that it had been approved. The price difference isn't much, but we will be getting the refund in the form of OBC.

I'm pretty sure the tour operator is the same one that I initially emailed so I am getting the best of both worlds...the tour I wanted and NOW at a (very slightly) cheaper price!

It's not supposed to be a windfall, just a "price-match-plus" guarantee. There was someone on this forum in the last couple of days talking about train tickets being marked up 250% by HAL after they bought up the inventory.

That is not an identical tour, though. When booked through HAL, there is a stop that includes a snack, and a shopping opportunity.

The train ride purchased through the railroad doesn't include the snack.

Just to clarify a common misconception ... They will help you get to the next port though if you miss the ship and are on one of their excursions

In the interest of accuracy, it should be pointed out that HAL will do more than "help you get to the next port" - HAL actually gets you there, making all arrangements and paying all costs of getting you to the next port if you are on a HAL excursion and miss the ship.

And that sounds like as big a con as buying a glycee at an art auction and think you are getting a valuable piece of art. The key to what you say is the word "identical." It is simple enough to design any tour to make it unique...such as stopping at an overpriced gift shop owned by the tour company.....that nobody else on earth would visit. Enough said...

Hank

It does work.

 

Our Oct. 28 itinerary on the Nieuw Amsterdam has been changing...and changing...and changing. So when Punta Cana was added a week or so ago, I started researching what to do.

 

In a dozen cruises we have only booked ship excursions a couple of times so I looked for private tours. I did find one, but when I emailed for information was told that I MUST book through the cruise. Since this is a tender port and the cruise is so close I just gave up and booked the HAL excursion that seemed the same.

 

I saw the 110% guarantee on the HAL website and submitted a claim. In less than 24 hours, I got a reply that it had been approved. The price difference isn't much, but we will be getting the refund in the form of OBC.

 

I'm pretty sure the tour operator is the same one that I initially emailed so I am getting the best of both worlds...the tour I wanted and NOW at a (very slightly) cheaper price!

AryMay, sorry to see that you were victimized by this latest HAL "con game"! Seriously, thanks for posting your experience - it is nice to see someone step up to the cynicism that has become so common nowadays.

Smooth sailing (y) (y) (y)

In the interest of accuracy, it should be pointed out that HAL will do more than "help you get to the next port" - HAL actually gets you there, making all arrangements and paying all costs of getting you to the next port if you are on a HAL excursion and miss the ship.

With all the money we have saved by avoiding ship's tours we could probably buy the next port :).

Hank

Just to clarify a common misconception on ships' tours.

 

Just because you book a ship's excursion does not mean that you have the extra assurance that the ship will not leave without you.

 

 

While the ship will try to wait for it's shore excursions, this is not always possible due to tides, timing or waves. It's happened in Alaska, Ponta Delgada & Monaco to name just a few examples.

 

 

They will help you get to the next port though if you miss the ship and are on one of their excursions

And there is no guarantee that you will get to the next port, given weather, transportation availabilty and other possible issues that can arise. The cruise line can only make the arrangements they can make, and trust that the (airline,railway,bus) will get you where you need to be.

As you know, any good tour operator will do the same thing, make the arrangements to get you to the next port.

With all the money we have saved by avoiding ship's tours we could probably buy the next port :).

 

Hank

Good for you, Hank! I'd hate to think that HAL pulled another "con" on you ... :rolleyes:

... any good tour operator will ... make the arrangements to get you to the next port.

HAL does more than just "make arrangements to get you to the next port"; it also pays all costs of getting you there. And therein lies one of the critical differences between HAL excursions and those offered by third party operators. You are free to use and recommend whomever you please, but please be accurate in describing what HAL offers/provides.

We've taken both HAL and private excursions depending upon our needs. The private is most often very cost effective with the added bonus of having a small group. [emoji4]

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HAL does more than just "make arrangements to get you to the next port"; it also pays all costs of getting you there. And therein lies one of the critical differences between HAL excursions and those offered by third party operators. You are free to use and recommend whomever you please, but please be accurate in describing what HAL offers/provides.

Your ignorance* about this is understandable, since you only use and only advocate for HAL shorex. Reputable private tour operators also pay the costs associated with getting pax to the next port, if needed.

So to quote you again " You are free to use and recommend whomever you please, but please be accurate"

*Ignorance :lack of knowledge, education, or awareness

From Merriam-Webster online