Luna Stella Posted August 25, 2015 #701 Share Posted August 25, 2015 We are on the Nieuw Amsterdam leaving Sept 1. Venice to Barcelona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeko Posted August 25, 2015 #702 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Hi Tango That was interesting to hear. We would love to fit in another cruise and hearing your experience makes us a bit bolder to try the O/V. Its not being snobbish to wonder about no balcony. Just a matter of the "rapport qualite prix" as the French say. Thanks again for your help. deeko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangocherie Posted August 25, 2015 #703 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I consider an Ocean View to be most advantageous when a cruise is port intensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeko Posted August 25, 2015 #704 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Once again you have said something very important. The cruise we are thinking of is as you say port intensive. I can see your logic perfectly well. The logic continues........if not much time to be spent in cabin then there is no point in paying more than necessary. Its dark anyway in Europe from around 8pm and we'd be elsewhere!!! Thanks again deeko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avalon35 Posted August 27, 2015 #705 Share Posted August 27, 2015 We are new to HAL. Some questions on our recent booking. We have a guarantee for Neptune suite on NA cruise in Jan 2016 - when can we expect cabin assignment? We got explore 4 but where do I find the benefits - bev package and OBC in the reservation? How long do I have to transfer to a TA? Is there military OBC and if do can I automatically transfer from Princess or do we need to resubmit? Just some early questions and I am sure I will have more. Looking forward to our first HAL cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie68 Posted August 27, 2015 #706 Share Posted August 27, 2015 We are new to HAL. Some questions on our recent booking. We have a guarantee for Neptune suite on NA cruise in Jan 2016 - when can we expect cabin assignment? We got explore 4 but where do I find the benefits - bev package and OBC in the reservation? How long do I have to transfer to a TA? Is there military OBC and if do can I automatically transfer from Princess or do we need to resubmit? Just some early questions and I am sure I will have more. Looking forward to our first HAL cruise. I will do my best here from what I know myself.... You can transfer your booking at any time, I believe up until final payment. Assignments usually happen in the couple of weeks prior to sailing, sometimes as much as month before, sometimes right up until sail date. I have the Explore4 on my next cruise - the Signature Beverage package is 15 drinks a day pp to a value of $8/drink (just been increased) I believe. That includes coffee, water etc. Plus a Pinnacle Grill dinner and a Canaletto dinner. If you print your booking confirmation, the perks show under Value-Added Items on the 2nd page. HAL does not do military OBC as far as I am aware. Hope that helps! Others will chime in, I am sure.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsuzi Posted August 27, 2015 #707 Share Posted August 27, 2015 What are the hours in the Fitness Center on the Westerdam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare chefestelle Posted August 27, 2015 #708 Share Posted August 27, 2015 What is the benefit to transferring to a TA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted August 27, 2015 #709 Share Posted August 27, 2015 What is the benefit to transferring to a TA? It's possible to find a TA who is selling the same cruise at a lower price; perhaps the agency has group space, so the price per cabin is lower. They could also be giving on board credits, sometimes in substantial amounts (depending on the length of the cruise, of course), or rebate a portion of their commission, effectively lowering your bottom line. As in airfares, not everyone pays the same price for the same category cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joepakenham Posted August 27, 2015 #710 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Hello! This is my first CC post. I'd really appreciate an understanding of what would be going on each day/night for the Nieuw Amsterdam departing Venice on 25 September thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare chefestelle Posted August 27, 2015 #711 Share Posted August 27, 2015 It's possible to find a TA who is selling the same cruise at a lower price; perhaps the agency has group space, so the price per cabin is lower. They could also be giving on board credits, sometimes in substantial amounts (depending on the length of the cruise, of course), or rebate a portion of their commission, effectively lowering your bottom line. As in airfares, not everyone pays the same price for the same category cabin. Ah. I haven't heard of mass travel agencies besides the obvious that can't be named and I can't imagine you can transfer to them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted August 27, 2015 #712 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Hello! This is my first CC post. I'd really appreciate an understanding of what would be going on each day/night for the Nieuw Amsterdam departing Venice on 25 September thanks. Are you on the Venice round-trip or the longer Venice-to-Barcelona? The HAL web site's "Know Before You Go" document can fill in quite a bit of on-board life. How experienced a cruiser/traveler are you? Are you looking for specifics of THAT cruise, general "life aboard" info or are there specific areas you want to know about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie68 Posted August 27, 2015 #713 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Ah. I haven't heard of mass travel agencies besides the obvious that can't be named and I can't imagine you can transfer to them! I don't know what a mass travel agent is, but I do know you can transfer to any travel agent prior to final payment - I did it for my last cruise. The TA gave me a very generous OBC, and HAL was very helpful in transferring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare chefestelle Posted August 27, 2015 #714 Share Posted August 27, 2015 I don't know what a mass travel agent is, but I do know you can transfer to any travel agent prior to final payment - I did it for my last cruise. The TA gave me a very generous OBC, and HAL was very helpful in transferring. I use a TA in a small agency so I can't imagine they would be able to offer OBC etc. but I'm going to check! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Crew News Posted August 28, 2015 #715 Share Posted August 28, 2015 What are the hours in the Fitness Center on the Westerdam? My On Locations for the Westerdam show 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsuzi Posted August 28, 2015 #716 Share Posted August 28, 2015 My On Locations for the Westerdam show 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM Thank YOU so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinte Girl Posted September 1, 2015 #717 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Hello: We are new to HAL but not new to cruising. I have taken advantage of price reductions before on Azamara and RCI. My question is, we are booked on a cruise tour with HAL July 2016 but I can't seem to find a way to price this out on my own without making a rebooking each time. Also, would HAL honour other companies (such as Expedia,Travelocity, etc) who offer a cheaper price? I would appreciate any help with this. Cheers, QG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseyaxn Posted September 1, 2015 #718 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Hello: We are new to HAL but not new to cruising. I have taken advantage of price reductions before on Azamara and RCI. My question is, we are booked on a cruise tour with HAL July 2016 but I can't seem to find a way to price this out on my own without making a rebooking each time. Also, would HAL honour other companies (such as Expedia,Travelocity, etc) who offer a cheaper price?I would appreciate any help with this. Cheers, QG you have to watch expedia and travelocity they dont quote you prices with taxes and fees until the very end they are usually higher than a TA and the cruise lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted September 1, 2015 #719 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Hello: We are new to HAL but not new to cruising. I have taken advantage of price reductions before on Azamara and RCI. My question is, we are booked on a cruise tour with HAL July 2016 but I can't seem to find a way to price this out on my own without making a rebooking each time. Also, would HAL honour other companies (such as Expedia,Travelocity, etc) who offer a cheaper price?I would appreciate any help with this. Cheers, QG Do you have a Travel Agent (and if not, why not? They can save you a bunch). HAL will allow you to transfer the booking to a TA who can then watch prices for you. HAL won't meet anyone's price, but a TA could help you with that. The major internet booking sites rarely, if ever, have better prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseyaxn Posted September 1, 2015 #720 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Always have a TA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinte Girl Posted September 1, 2015 #721 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Hi: I do have a TA. In the past, I have been the who has found the discounted price for our cruise, on 2 occasions (2 different travel agents). I actually found out about the second one (a Baltic cruise on RCI last June) via cruise critic Roll Call! I just wondered if there was a special trick to following for price reductions for HAL. Thank you for your replies. QG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie68 Posted September 1, 2015 #722 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Hi:I do have a TA. In the past, I have been the who has found the discounted price for our cruise, on 2 occasions (2 different travel agents). I actually found out about the second one (a Baltic cruise on RCI last June) via cruise critic Roll Call! I just wondered if there was a special trick to following for price reductions for HAL. Thank you for your replies. QG Just doing a dummy booking is the only way I know, also have used that system for RCI cruises. I check every now and then to keep track of pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoneJohnson Posted September 1, 2015 #723 Share Posted September 1, 2015 (edited) The past two years I have had and used a Travel Agent and bought my travel insurance policy from said Travel Agent. This year I called HAL about room availability and long story short ended up with a suite for about the same price as a good but plain balcony room the travel agent quoted. Travel agent also made it sound like there were only two handicapped rooms left. This might be true or according to the info at hand... but when I called HAL they had several options. This year the travel agents price for trip an insurance would have been a lot more. I don't get any special pricing. Just how it happened. Edited September 1, 2015 by GoneJohnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseyaxn Posted September 2, 2015 #724 Share Posted September 2, 2015 You need a new TA .a TA should never be higher than the cruise line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoneJohnson Posted September 2, 2015 #725 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) Hi:I do have a TA. In the past, I have been the who has found the discounted price for our cruise, on 2 occasions (2 different travel agents). I actually found out about the second one (a Baltic cruise on RCI last June) via cruise critic Roll Call! I just wondered if there was a special trick to following for price reductions for HAL. Thank you for your replies. QG There is a page or link here at cruise critic I thought but do not see it. It was a tool you put info like cruise ship and trip date and it listed price drops. It's also possible it was else where. Hopefully a more veteran cruiser knows where it is. I have wondered myself... then do I physically have to look each day? I bought from HAL so need to know when HAL drops a price. My cruise is next March 2016 a 21 day Panama Canal. I'm getting excited. Edited September 2, 2015 by GoneJohnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now