Flash Sale After Final Payment

[MrBill64]

Looks like HAL is offering a flash sale on a 10 day cruise we are taking in March on the Zuiderdam. Right now we are booked and paid in full for a VD category with a assigned cabin. The flash sale is offering a SZ guarantee for about $100 more per person than what we paid for our VD cabin. So here are my questions.

 

1. Would HAL allow us to book the SZ category guarantee for the difference in price?

 

2. If we initiate the upgrade to an SZ do we now qualify for double mariner points?

 

3. We are also traveling with another couple and right now we have 2 cabins side by side. I realize a guarantee makes it impossible to guarantee both of us getting cabins side by side but does HAL try to assign cabins of 2 linked reservations close together?

 

4. And lastly, would $100/person be worth the upgrade to an SZ?

 

As always thanks in advance for any info.

 

Bill

[cruz chic]

They should allow you to upgrade. I think the $100 is super cheap but I know for some folks even $10 is too much. I believe they will "try" to keep you close to each other.

[Jalex63]

Cannot ansswer your question regarding the specifics of whether you could upgrade based upon this flash sale, but I can tell you that when I have been offered an "up-sell" in the recent past it specifically states that you would not receive double mariner points based upon the reduced cabin rate of the up-sell.

[sail7seas]

You can certainly try.... nothing to lose.

 

 

Jalex is correct that when getting free upgrades or low cost upsells you do not get double bonus Mariner points unless you were being upgraded from a category cabin that already qualified for double points. For example, if you go from an "SS" to a "SB" you would get the double points as "SS" qualifies.

 

 

[djhsolara]

If you don't ask the answer is definitely no. Never hurts to ask and you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Please let us know the outcome. Good luck!!

 

 

Douglas...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sapper1]

Cannot ansswer your question regarding the specifics of whether you could upgrade based upon this flash sale, but I can tell you that when I have been offered an "up-sell" in the recent past it specifically states that you would not receive double mariner points based upon the reduced cabin rate of the up-sell.

 

The exception to that would be if you were already booked in a double points category and took an upsell. We moved from SS to SA for our Alaska cruise and received our double points.

 

Edited to say I just noticed I am being redundant as Sail already posted this.

[vicocala]

I was allowed to buy up to an sz gty and they further upgraded me to an SA, not saying they will allow that for you but I did it on the Westerdam in December. I did it thru a good TA, not HAL itself.

 

They did not give me double mariner points, but they did use the extra $300 we spent to move up to give us an extra point for spending the $300.

 

Good luck and I hope this helps.

[MrBill64]

If you don't ask the answer is definitely no. Never hurts to ask and you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Please let us know the outcome. Good luck!!

 

 

Douglas...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Well I sent an email to my TA and she said the SZ guarantee is only $100 more per person but it is a promo for new bookings only. She also said she would contact HAL tomorrow to see what they can do.

 

Has anyone had any luck with HAL giving a new booking promo to someone that is already booked? I am hoping since we are upgrading our cabin category that HAL will allow us to pay for this upgrade.

 

Bill

[mollyanne]

We booked an SZ GTY for a 7-day December cruise on the Westerdam. We were upgraded to an SS. We then were upsold to an SA. Came away with a 17 day credit - double for the SA plus 3 for the amount we spent on board. Nice!:)

[cruz chic]

Well I sent an email to my TA and she said the SZ guarantee is only $100 more per person but it is a promo for new bookings only. She also said she would contact HAL tomorrow to see what they can do.

 

Has anyone had any luck with HAL giving a new booking promo to someone that is already booked? I am hoping since we are upgrading our cabin category that HAL will allow us to pay for this upgrade.

 

Bill

Yes I've heard that before. In my case I was paying $660 more. Hal wouldn't bite. I was not happy and both I and my TA complained. They said because I'm a 4 star they decided they would take my money:rolleyes:. I really don't understand why HAL doesn't want to take money. Sure leaves a bad taste about booking early. Good luck.

[VT Hokie Cruiser]

Mr. Bill, sounds like you may be on the March 8 Zuiderdam cruise, as is my family. I was planning to contact my TA on Monday after noticing the fare changes for new bookings today that you mentioned. I have a similar situation with what we paid for our VC cabin in August. We have a triple room and I'm interested in getting more space.

 

One thing about the March 8 cruise is that it appears to be a buyer's market. I'm not sure this cruise is selling very well. In mid-July I wrote down all of the cabin inventory for a number of categories for both double and triple rooms. Most/many of those cabins still show as available, more than six months later. Some of HAL's promotional material for this route bases the pricing on the March 8 sail date, which often means it is the lowest price available for the route within a range of promotional dates shown.

 

The superior suite price has dropped $400 per person and the verandah price is down $200 -- for new bookings. And the third person in the room sails free under the current promotion, whereas we paid a token amount for the third person when we booked.

 

I suspect HAL will be offering upsells wthin a few weeks. I'm wondering how open they would be NOW to an upsell offer.

 

I mean, I could try to make a case for some credit on the third person's current "free" rate, but all I really want is a deal on moving up to an SY. They list all SY as having a couch bed for third person, but the triple rates for superior suites don't offer anything below an SS. They show SY and SZ available for doubles -- why aren't they available for triples if indeed every SY and SZ has a couch bed available for triples? I'll give them more $ for a reasonable upsell (and will be open to a further upsell later).

 

If this cruise isn't selling well, maybe they will be more inclined to consider offers. Good luck with yours. Interested in knowing the outcome. Thanks.

[sparkopotamus]

Looks like HAL is offering a flash sale on a 10 day cruise we are taking in March on the Zuiderdam. Right now we are booked and paid in full for a VD category with a assigned cabin. The flash sale is offering a SZ guarantee for about $100 more per person than what we paid for our VD cabin. So here are my questions.

 

1. Would HAL allow us to book the SZ category guarantee for the difference in price?

 

As always thanks in advance for any info.

 

Bill

 

Hi, Bill,

 

We encountered a situation much like yours last year. We booked a 7-day Med cruise about 10 mos in advance, SS guarantee. Naturally right after we made the final payment the flash rates appeared and an SC was offered for about $100 LESS than our SS. I asked my TA (AmEx Travel) if we could cancel and re-book the flash rate for the SC (we had never had Neptune access and thought this would be a great opp to do so). The reply was that the cancellation fee penalty would be just about equal to the cost of our SS(!):eek:, therefore negating any savings or benefit from getting the SC. Additionally AmEx does not extend any of our perks if we purchase a cabin at the flash rate. We are AmEx Platinum cardholders so an SZ and above on HAL scores us $300 shipboard credit, two bottles of sparkling wine in our cabin, and free dinner at the Pinnacle on the first night, which adds up to a little over $350. Figuring that into the math, even without having to pay an astronomical cancellation fee penalty for re-booking at the flash rate, we knew it was much better financial sense to just stay with the SS.

 

The plot thickens:cool:...twice prior to our Med trip embarkation date we were offered an upsell from SS to SC: the first for $600 per person then for $400 per person. We declined; as much as we really wanted to try the Neptune level suites (SC and above) we just couldn't justify paying that much more. But the story has a happy ending...:)...when we arrived at Civitavecchia they told us our cabin had been changed from SS7080 to SB8173! YIPPEE! We got upgraded to the Deluxe Veranda Suite gratis! It was all I could do to not reach across the desk and kiss the port attendant who told us about our amazing upgrade!

 

So that is our first-hand experience with flash rates. I'm anxious to hear what happens with your situation. Best of luck to you!!

[MrBill64]

An update, sort of. Looks like we may never know if HAL would have let us change our reservation as we decided to just keep our original cabins. I contacted our TA and told her not to bother calling HAL as we were happy with our side by side balcony cabins. After discussing the situation with the other couple we are traveling with, we came to the conclusion that it was more important to have cabins next door to each other than having upgraded cabins that could be far apart.

 

Thanks again for those that contributed their stories and experiences.

[cruz chic]

An update, sort of. Looks like we may never know if HAL would have let us change our reservation as we decided to just keep our original cabins. I contacted our TA and told her not to bother calling HAL as we were happy with our side by side balcony cabins. After discussing the situation with the other couple we are traveling with, we came to the conclusion that it was more important to have cabins next door to each other than having upgraded cabins that could be far apart.

 

Thanks again for those that contributed their stories and experiences.

Thanks for the update. Enjoy your cruise:).

[MrBill64]

An unexpected update. My TA emailed me today and said that if I wanted to upgrade to a SZ guarantee from my VD cabin it would be $100/person. She must of called HAL anyway and figured she would let me know in case I changed my mind. Personally I would jump on this but the other couple we are sailing with really wants to keep our existing adjoining cabins. Oh well we are still happy with our booked cabins and will enjoy our cruise.

 

Bill

[cruz chic]

An unexpected update. My TA emailed me today and said that if I wanted to upgrade to a SZ guarantee from my VD cabin it would be $100/person. She must of called HAL anyway and figured she would let me know in case I changed my mind. Personally I would jump on this but the other couple we are sailing with really wants to keep our existing adjoining cabins. Oh well we are still happy with our booked cabins and will enjoy our cruise.

 

Bill

I say dump them;):D. It nice that you've decided to stay where you are because you friends want that.

[KAKcruiser]

You could both upgrade and have the reservations linked with a note that you would like to be next to each other. It is taking a chance but the SZ is so much bigger.

[alwaysfrantic]

Would the other couple spend the additional $200 to upgrade as well? Maybe they could assign 2 adjacent cabins in the new category.

[MrBill64]

You could both upgrade and have the reservations linked with a note that you would like to be next to each other. It is taking a chance but the SZ is so much bigger.

 

Would the other couple spend the additional $200 to upgrade as well? Maybe they could assign 2 adjacent cabins in the new category.

 

The main concern would be getting 2 cabins assigned that not only wouldn't be adjacent but also could even be on different floors. I am under the impression that you are at the mercy of the cruise line when booking a guarantee and you really haven't much say in where your cabin is assigned or whether you can keep two linked bookings close by.

 

The real problem is we have sailed with this couple a few times and it is really convenient to have the balcony doors between the cabins opened up as well as having them right next door. I should also mention that we have the 2 VD cabins with the extra large balconies, 4164 and 4166, so that is also factoring into the decision not to upgrade.

 

I would be interested to hear of anyone's experience with how HAL handled 2 linked guarantee bookings and whether both cabins were assigned at least close by.

[BJzink]

Looks like HAL is offering a flash sale on a 10 day cruise we are taking in March on the Zuiderdam. Right now we are booked and paid in full for a VD category with a assigned cabin. The flash sale is offering a SZ guarantee for about $100 more per person than what we paid for our VD cabin. So here are my questions.

 

1. Would HAL allow us to book the SZ category guarantee for the difference in price?

 

2. If we initiate the upgrade to an SZ do we now qualify for double mariner points?

 

3. We are also traveling with another couple and right now we have 2 cabins side by side. I realize a guarantee makes it impossible to guarantee both of us getting cabins side by side but does HAL try to assign cabins of 2 linked reservations close together?

 

4. And lastly, would $100/person be worth the upgrade to an SZ?

 

As always thanks in advance for any info.

 

Bill

Don't know some of the terminology in these posts............what exactly is a "flash sale", is it an offer that is emailed to booked passengers, or travel agents, or how do you know about it? We have quit using travel agents, have been burned by 2 different ones with lack of communication - but if this is something that they know about, but no one else, we might try again. Thanks for enlightening us.

[MrBill64]

Don't know some of the terminology in these posts............what exactly is a "flash sale", is it an offer that is emailed to booked passengers, or travel agents, or how do you know about it? We have quit using travel agents, have been burned by 2 different ones with lack of communication - but if this is something that they know about, but no one else, we might try again. Thanks for enlightening us.

 

A flash sale is offered by HAL usually after final payment is due. I find out just by pricing cruises on the HAL web site or through Travelocity. These are readily available to the general public. A large discount is usually a good indication a cruise is not selling well.