Is this an upgrade or a cancellation?

[boulders]

I am booked on the July 6 Nieuw Amsterdam collector's cruise. This is a 24 night cruise. :eek: Currently, I'm booked in a large J cabin with my 3 kids. We've sailed frequently and have not had problems sharing a cabin before. However, more space is always a good thing, right?

 

There are still many many unsold cabins on this cruise. This includes the D category cabin directly across the hall from us. I called HAL to see about moving 2 of us to this cabin. The service rep told me that the change would incur a 50% cancellation fee for the third and fourth passengers in our room because they would be cancelled off the original reservation. This doesn't make sense to me as I am upgrading them to their own stateroom.

 

What do you think? Should I keep calling until I get the answer I want or is HAL right?

[hypercafe]

Since you are past final payment I believe HAL will stick to the rule.

[msmayor]

Once you are past final payment, the cancellation penalties apply.

 

If you think about it, your thoughts about it being an 'upgrade' don't really apply. Right now, HAL has all four of you in one stateroom, and that stateroom is generating the revenue for a third/fourth. They can still sell the 'empty' stateroom across the hall to someone else.

 

If they let you take it without a penalty, the extra revenue they get won't equal the full fare for two in that empty stateroom, its only the difference between what you have already paid on the third/fourth in your current room and the fare on the empty room.

 

Its not in HAL's best interest at this point to let you have that room without a penalty.

[sail7seas]

Yes, it would be a cancellation of for those two passengers.

Had you made the move prior to final payment, you could have avoided that.

[boulders]

Thank you both for your replies. I was thinking that at this date, it's unlikely that they'll sell that cabin at all, so they would want the additional revenue from having the cabin sold, rather than having the cabin empty. Guess not.

[innlady1]

Thank you both for your replies. I was thinking that at this date, it's unlikely that they'll sell that cabin at all, so they would want the additional revenue from having the cabin sold, rather than having the cabin empty. Guess not.

 

On our recent Veendam cruise, there were a lot of empty cabins about two weeks out. I contacted my TA to ask her to see if I could get an upsell on one. Just that next day, they were not on line any longer and my TA told me those cabins were being assigned to all the GTY's...I'd never even thought of that aspect!

So these could be GTY's waiting to be assigned.

[sail7seas]

Thank you both for your replies. I was thinking that at this date, it's unlikely that they'll sell that cabin at all, so they would want the additional revenue from having the cabin sold, rather than having the cabin empty. Guess not.

 

 

The chances are very high they will sell the cabin. It is rare for any cabins to be empty when the ships sail.

There is still plenty of time before your sailing date for them to sell it.

 

How wonderful you'll have a 24 night cruise. Enjoy it. :)

[jimbri]

What is a GTY?

[JJPacer]

A GTY is a guarantee cabin. HAL is very good at selling those cabins after final payment, and filling the ship. Usually, they drop the price of a guarantee, and a lot of people will book at that lower "sale" price. They don't assign the guaranteed cabins until a couple weeks before the sailing date and sometimes not until you check in at the dock for the cruise. There's no way for us to know how many guaranteed cabins have been sold. The ship could be booked much fuller than any of us knows.

[sail7seas]

When a person books a guarantee cabin, they pay a lower price for the category they select than if they were to select a specific cabin. They choose the category cabin but HAL chooses just which one you will be assigned and their only 'guaranty' to you is it has to be at least the category you selected but can be anything equal to or higher. The lower price charged gives them the flexibility to fiddle around with the assignments.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Very true -- HAL will work on assigning the guaranteed cabins.

Then there may be a "sale" for whatever cabins are left. Usually the sale is for an area that is near the cruise terminal.

For instance -- one time a number of years ago our cruise round trip out of San Diego was not selling well. So the people in CA had a "sale" just for their area since the majority of those people would just drive to the port.

[PathfinderEss]

I am booked on the July 6 Nieuw Amsterdam collector's cruise. This is a 24 night cruise. :eek: Currently, I'm booked in a large J cabin with my 3 kids. We've sailed frequently and have not had problems sharing a cabin before. However, more space is always a good thing, right?

 

There are still many many unsold cabins on this cruise. This includes the D category cabin directly across the hall from us. I called HAL to see about moving 2 of us to this cabin. The service rep told me that the change would incur a 50% cancellation fee for the third and fourth passengers in our room because they would be cancelled off the original reservation. This doesn't make sense to me as I am upgrading them to their own stateroom.

 

What do you think? Should I keep calling until I get the answer I want or is HAL right?

As OP have said you are past finally payment, any changes are considered a cancellation, so your out of luck. To bad you didn't think of this earlier and all these empty cabins you see are going to be use for the cabin guarantee's which have not been assigned yet.

[Randyk47]

When a person books a guarantee cabin, they pay a lower price for the category they select than if they were to select a specific cabin. They choose the category cabin but HAL chooses just which one you will be assigned and their only 'guaranty' to you is it has to be at least the category you selected but can be anything equal to or higher. The lower price charged gives them the flexibility to fiddle around with the assignments.

 

 

Interestingly I've never seen a guarantee for a lower price than booking a specific cabin in the same category. Supposedly it's happened and maybe I've just missed it. :) I've always thought, or at least been lead to believe, the "bargain" is if and only if you get upgraded to a higher cabin category and that guarantee bookings have a slightly higher chance of being upgraded than a specific cabin booking.

[kazu]

Interestingly I've never seen a guarantee for a lower price than booking a specific cabin in the same category. Supposedly it's happened and maybe I've just missed it. :) I've always thought, or at least been lead to believe, the "bargain" is if and only if you get upgraded to a higher cabin category and that guarantee bookings have a slightly higher chance of being upgraded than a specific cabin booking.

 

I've always understood guarantees to be the same price too;) all I know is that for our collectors' cruise only guarantees were available at the beginning and then my TA got me a cabin pulled out of inventory (now they are all showing). The price for the guarantee and my specific room were exactly the same;)

[sail7seas]

If that is the case, you are saying the only reason anyone would book a guarantee is in the hope of getting a better cabin than they paid for? That doesn't make sense to me. Why would anyone risk getting a poor location, a cabin they don't like or whatever in the small chance they might get an upgrade?

 

We have never booked a guarantee and wouldn't but I can't imagine many people would but for a lower price.

 

[Fawkes66]

We've opted for a gty two times now. I kind of find it fun not knowing where HAL will put us, the anticipation of it keeps me going right up to sail date! :D

 

Both times resulted in an upgrade: once from a VF to a SS, once from a FF to a D. We paid the "normal" price for a FF and for the VF of the point of sale. Not less. Indeed, the only perk of gty for me is the possible upgrade.

[Randyk47]

If that is the case, you are saying the only reason anyone would book a guarantee is in the hope of getting a better cabin than they paid for? That doesn't make sense to me. Why would anyone risk getting a poor location, a cabin they don't like or whatever in the small chance they might get an upgrade?

 

We have never booked a guarantee and wouldn't but I can't imagine many people would but for a lower price.

 

 

That's why my wife and I call it "cabin lotto" and never play but indeed the major, and almost only in my mind, incentive is the hope you'll get a higher category cabin. I can't say how many book guarantees by choice but seems to me there are actually quite a few. By the reports here some have done very well, some maybe not so well but most seem to think it's worth it.

[RuthC]

If that is the case, you are saying the only reason anyone would book a guarantee is in the hope of getting a better cabin than they paid for? That doesn't make sense to me. Why would anyone risk getting a poor location, a cabin they don't like or whatever in the small chance they might get an upgrade?

That's exactly what they're saying, and that's how it's worked for me the few times I've taken a guarantee. There have been a few more times I picked a specific cabin, but I could have asked for a guarantee in the same category---for the same price.

 

One other reason to book a guarantee, though, is because specific cabins in a given category are not offered, yet a guarantee in that category is.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Often the lowest price available for Inside, Ocean View and Balcony will be a Guarantee since the cabins in that specific category are taken but if you jumped on the sailing early you may have selected a cabin. For instances on the Vista Class there are only two SZ Superior Vernadah cabins. These categories will often not appear till there is a sale, once those cabins are assigned it becomes a guarantee so yes it is cheaper than buying an SY or SS where you can choose the specific cabin but many people are pleased to pay the lower amount and take the gamble on which cabin HAL will assign because they know it will be likely it will be a SY or SS all of which are actually pretty good locations.

[sail7seas]

Different strokes, I guess.

 

I'd never want someone else choosing my cabin AND not be saving any money in the process. I would think the biggest motivation to book a guarantee is to save money, not to get more cabin than was purchased. But that is clearly only my opinion and not shared by many.

 

At least if there was a saving, the risk of a cabin you didn't like would have 'value'.

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Different strokes, I guess.

 

I'd never want someone else choosing my cabin AND not be saving any money in the process. I would think the biggest motivation to book a guarantee is to save money, not to get more cabin than was purchased. But that is clearly only my opinion and not shared by many.

 

At least if there was a saving, the risk of a cabin you didn't like would have 'value'.

 

Sail, in most cases it is drastically a lower price for an example say coming up in a couple of weeks for the Oosterdam on June 24th People can currently purchase a VH Guarantee Verandah for $899.00 per person but if they do not want a guarantee there is one cabin remaining in category VF cabin 4020 which is not a great location and that would cost $1499.00 per person or then the next category to choose a cabin is VC with a small handfull remaining at $1799. The most available cabins with several to choose from is VB and VA those are running at $1849 PP and $1899 PP If someone wants to book last minute they will likely choose the $999 wouldn't you say? And guess what there is a darn good chance they will get one of the VB, or VA cabins since there are plenty still showing. HAL waits to the end to assign these cabins and most get a great location for a great price. Other cruise lines such as Princess assign the cabin almost immediately in most cases giving them the category they chose as a guarantee or maybe one up higher. If they are high up in Captain's Circle of Princess they might actually get a better category. HAL does look at Mariner status and 3 and 4 star Mariners are often handed out the higher categories when available.

[JJPacer]

On our April 2012...... 11 day So. Carib cruise a guarantee inside was $1099.00 prior to final payment. After final payment a guarantee inside was $799.00. The balcony cabins were sold out and not available after final payment. The OV guarantee price was lowered after final payment also, but I cannot remember the actual prices. I believe it was $300 - $400 less than before final payment. This may not be the case with every cruise. It depends on how it is selling. But I do know that prices drop after final payment on cruises that need to be filled. In fact 3 of our HAL cruises were overbooked, and then they intiated incentives to get people to change their cruise date to make room for everyone. I think they prefer feast to famine! :p

[Randyk47]

Different strokes, I guess.

 

I'd never want someone else choosing my cabin AND not be saving any money in the process. I would think the biggest motivation to book a guarantee is to save money, not to get more cabin than was purchased. But that is clearly only my opinion and not shared by many.

 

At least if there was a saving, the risk of a cabin you didn't like would have 'value'.

 

 

You and I are in the same boat, and actually same cabin preference, on this one. No way we're going to let whoever pick our cabin. The most interesting guarantee I've seen was a category S guarantee on a S class ship. That was a head scratcher as there was no cost reduction for the guarantee and the one and only cabin above S was apparently booked. So like just exactly was somebody getting for the guarantee???? I thought that one was strange and I can't say it's been repeated or was a mistake.

[KAKcruiser]

Were you getting deeply discounted fares for the third and fourth passengers? If so, the cancellation fee might not be that great. My other thought is that if you need more room, maybe you should try to upgrade all four of you to a larger cabin. HAL might be more agreeable to selling you a more expensive cabin if all the passengers stay in one room.

[boulders]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I booked this cruise just before final payment and added on my first born a couple of weeks later. At the time I thought of putting him in a different cabin of the same class, but none were available. It wasn't until last week I realized the oceanview across the hall was available. I did get the 3rd and 4th passengers at a very low rate, so the penalty would be "only" $1000. But that penalty puts the cost of the additional cabin over the value to me. The total cost of the cabin would be about $200/day, but it's a 24 day cruise! plus My oldest is the only one of my 3 kids who would do well in a separate cabin. I'll still end up with 2 cabinmates most of the time. So, unless HAL drops the prices further, I'll stick with what I've got.