Collectors Cruises - Can't Figure it Out

[sail7seas]

We have done many back-to-back cruises through the years and love them. We always got two confirmation numbers just in case we had to cancel one segment but were able to go on the other. By booking separately we had the option to still go on 'half' the cruise.

 

HAL has now instituted Collectors Cruises for many consequtive dates and we now get one confirmation number and it is booked as one cruise, whether we like it or not.

 

Why?

 

What is the advantage to HAL by combining so many sailings that are apt to attract back-to-backers. They really don't offer much to the cruiser in the way of benefit. There's a small discount but not significant in our experience.

 

What is the benefit to them for creating this new method of combining cruises?

[bcd2010]

I don't know what other benefit there is to HAL except that maybe people book longer cruises that way, perhaps drawn by the discount. For my PC cruise next year, I'm saving $200 pp ($400 total) by booking it as a Collectors cruise rather than 2 separate ones - although the decision was based on factors other than the discount. The discount was just a bonus! To tell the truth, it never occurred to me to book it as 2 cruises.

[sail7seas]

We used to get a small back-to-back discount, so the Collectors cruise price isn't very different.

 

[CowPrincess]

The pax get a slightly higher OBC if they are Carnival shareholders (e.g. 14 day cruise vs 2 x 7 days). If you use an FCD to book I think you get slightly more OBC, too. Not certain what the benefit is to HAL, except possibly less "paperwork" (?)

 

Did you ask for it to be booked as 2 separate cruises and were refused?

[Orionjoel]

You can still book the two individually, however maybe they will not offer any sort of back to back discount.

 

I would imagine that it is more so HAL seeing that the market wanted the longer option (due to numbers booking back to back cruises) and are just providing what the market has been buying in a single option. This I would imagine could give them a number of benifits.

 

- Better ability to allocate staterooms.

- Paperwork for one booking instead of two.

- Less chance of someone cancelling half the cruise, and cancelling all of it instead.

 

To me it seems smart that if a lot of people like to book back to back cruises why not offer it as a specific product. If you look you will still find them individually so i suppose you could still book it this way if you want.

[Krazy Kruizers]

we never got any kind of a discount when we booked back-to-back cruises

but now that hal is offering those same cruises a collector's cruises -- we do get a little bit of a discount

also we do get more carnival shipboard credit

[sail7seas]

we never got any kind of a discount when we booked back-to-back cruises

 

but now that hal is offering those same cruises a collector's cruises -- we do get a little bit of a discount

 

also we do get more carnival shipboard credit

 

 

 

Promo Code "ZC" used to provide small discount for back-to-back. Didn't your TA know about it?

We used it a number of times.

[bcd2010]

If you use an FCD to book I think you get slightly more OBC, too.

 

We used FCDs to book the PC Collectors cruise and did not get extra OBC, just what was designated when we made the deposits. DS will join us for the second leg and got the designated FCD OBC.

[CruiserBruce]

Are you sure you can't book the two cruises individually? We did for our two weeks on N. Amsterdam in December. Then later, changed it to a Collectors cruise, for the various reasons mentioned in the previous posts.

 

Have to explain when we booked our cruise- on board Noordam about a month after the cruise schedule came out- our particular dates weren't being offered as a Collectors.

[sail7seas]

One of our back-to-backs converted to a Collectors same as mentioned by CruiserBruce. When we booked initially, it was not a Collectors.

 

For other Collectors, I was told there were a certain number of cabins in each category that qualified. IF I understand correctly, if the one we wanted was designated collectors, that is the only way to have that same cabin for both segments.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Promo Code "ZC" used to provide small discount for back-to-back. Didn't your TA know about it?

We used it a number of times.

 

our ta would ask hal about it -- but hal responded that we were already getting a good deal

and when i would check hal's site -- our booking prices were lower than what was being advertized

[Krazy Kruizers]

Are you sure you can't book the two cruises individually? We did for our two weeks on N. Amsterdam in December. Then later, changed it to a Collectors cruise, for the various reasons mentioned in the previous posts.

 

Have to explain when we booked our cruise- on board Noordam about a month after the cruise schedule came out- our particular dates weren't being offered as a Collectors.

 

same here - we originally had the nieuw amsterdam booked as 2 separate cruises for nov/dec -- then it was offered as a collector's cruise -- out ta get them changed into 1 cruise and we saved a few bucks

[BumperII]

The last collectors cruise we were on we got the $100.00 pp discount and about $350.00 in OBCs. I have no idea what that was all about. The collectors cruise before that, we got chocolate coverd strawberries. I have no idea how it works, but we had a great cruise on both occasions.

 

HAL is doing a great job of marketing these collectors cruises and more and more people are taking advantage of them. The itinerariess vary, and you save an airfare. We enjoy them, and have given up seven and ten day cruises.

[CowPrincess]

We used FCDs to book the PC Collectors cruise and did not get extra OBC, just what was designated when we made the deposits. DS will join us for the second leg and got the designated FCD OBC.

 

I meant that I think the amt of OBC for using an FCD for a 14 day cruise is a bit higher than if you book only a 7 day day cruise using the FCD. I might be wrong.

[sail7seas]

The difference is you would get the OBC for each segment if booked separately but would have to put down a FCD for each segment. For two people to put deposit on usual back-to-back requires four FCD's. For two people to put deposit for Collector's Cruise requires only two FCD's.

 

 

 

[LordSpain]

While on the Noordam last month we booked a 21 day collectors cruise on the Maasdam for March 2012. For an S category the collector’s price was (and still is) $799pp less than purchasing the two cruises b2b, and we received the $100pp OBC. For us that is a significant amount of savings that we’ll undoubtedly use elsewhere during our cruise.

 

Bruce

[CruiserBruce]

I meant that I think the amt of OBC for using an FCD for a 14 day cruise is a bit higher than if you book only a 7 day day cruise using the FCD. I might be wrong.

 

The math we did was that we gained $50 total in OBCs, plus the ability to use the unused 2 FCCs on a future cruise. This considers being in a suite, a greater than 12 day cruise, and the stockholders OBC, as well as the FCC OBC being granted.

 

Then add that the insurance went down $132, plus the cruise fare went down a little over $100pp. So, for this cruise, for changing to a Collectors cruise was just under $400 saved.

[Jemima]

We've watched prices on several cruises that can be booked as a collectors cruise or as individual cruises. Price drops for the collectors (combined) cruise were higher than the total of the drops for the two legs. Our Panama Canal cruise last fall had a much lower per day cost for the 28 day than the per day cost for either of the 14 day legs. I was tempted to switch to the full 28 days, but didn't. The same was true of a 14 day Alaska in 2008. Our per day cost on the 14 day was much lower than either of the two 7 day legs. (Note: the Alaskan cruise was back when the 14 day also had passengers just doing a 7 day.)

I've noticed this with other collectors or combined cruises as final payment gets closer.

The collectors are also an advantage for guarantee cabin bookers. We get the same cabin assignment for the whole cruise. Also the same dining assignment.

[traveler111]

What is a HAL collectors' cruise? When on Princess heard of collectors' cruise for passengers who had purchased a lot of "art". :confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

What is a HAL collectors' cruise? When on Princess heard of collectors' cruise for passengers who had purchased a lot of "art". :confused:

 

has nothing to do with art

this is the name that hal has given to certain back-to-back cruises that years ago you had to book separately -- but now you can book those 2 cruises as 1 cruise

[GmaPajama]

One of our back-to-backs converted to a Collectors same as mentioned by CruiserBruce. When we booked initially, it was not a Collectors.

 

For other Collectors, I was told there were a certain number of cabins in each category that qualified. IF I understand correctly, if the one we wanted was designated collectors, that is the only way to have that same cabin for both segments.

 

I've been confused by this too, Sail. On one sailing, we were able to get HAL to move our preferred cabin from one inventory to another in order to book it for the Collectors Cruise. It had been available for each of the segments, but not for the Collectors. We did get a slight savings by booking it as one cruise - and a special cocktail party for Collector Guests - but what we were most interested in was that one particular cabin.

 

An attempt to do the same thing on a subsequent cruise was unsuccessful.

[sail7seas]

I've been confused by this too, Sail. On one sailing, we were able to get HAL to move our preferred cabin from one inventory to another in order to book it for the Collectors Cruise. It had been available for each of the segments, but not for the Collectors. We did get a slight savings by booking it as one cruise - and a special cocktail party for Collector Guests - but what we were most interested in was that one particular cabin.

 

An attempt to do the same thing on a subsequent cruise was unsuccessful.

 

 

Thank you, Donna. I'm so happy it isn't just me. :o

I have been confused repeatedly with these Collectors.

Like you, we've been told it wasn't a Collectors. And then told they'd make it a Collector.

 

We've booked back-to-back and they later changed after it. Seems these bookings can be 'fluid'.

[DutchByAssociation]

We have done many back-to-back cruises through the years and love them. We always got two confirmation numbers just in case we had to cancel one segment but were able to go on the other. By booking separately we had the option to still go on 'half' the cruise.

 

HAL has now instituted Collectors Cruises for many consequtive dates and we now get one confirmation number and it is booked as one cruise, whether we like it or not.

 

Why?

 

What is the advantage to HAL by combining so many sailings that are apt to attract back-to-backers. They really don't offer much to the cruiser in the way of benefit. There's a small discount but not significant in our experience.

 

What is the benefit to them for creating this new method of combining cruises?

 

Collector voyages have a few extra perks and since they are rolled together, there's also usually a little better price...

 

Here's a sample from the top of my head and not a set rule.

 

Say you're looking at a 10 day for 999/pp. Next week is a 10 day for 999/pp.

 

Book the 20 day as a collector (1 booking number and a separate voyage number in our system) and it might be like 1799/pp or 1899/pp

 

It's usually not a massive change unless there's a special promo... but a couple hundred is a couple hundred... whether it's used for shore ex, onboard purchases or the water bill when you get back home :)

[DutchByAssociation]

we never got any kind of a discount when we booked back-to-back cruises

 

but now that hal is offering those same cruises a collector's cruises -- we do get a little bit of a discount

 

also we do get more carnival shipboard credit

 

 

When you book a back to back, since 2006 at least when I joined the company, it is 100% automatic. Just because it wasn't announced (for instance, the res agent or your TA specifically mentioning that it is now $X vs $Y) doesn't mean you didn't receive it.

[sunny54]

When you book a back to back, since 2006 at least when I joined the company, it is 100% automatic. Just because it wasn't announced (for instance, the res agent or your TA specifically mentioning that it is now $X vs $Y) doesn't mean you didn't receive it.

Hi, saw a poster mention there was a collector's cocktail party....we'll be on the Eurodam beginning May 5 through 22 which is billed as a Collector's Cruise and wonder if we might have another party to go to!! :)