Continued price drops after final payment date

[Kenito]

Okay, for anyone who thinks they are the only ones who have paid more for a cruise than they should have, let me share my first cruise booking experience.

 

Back in the day when brick and mortar TA's were the norm, we walked into our neighborhood agent, sat down and looked at the printed brochures. Picked a cruise and wrote a check. At full brochure prices. :o

 

We were so surprised when the TA sent us wine and flowers... :rolleyes:

 

So there are some who pay full pop... until they learn better!

 

To the OP, I don't think we can really get angry about how any business decides to turn a profit. I don't like it, but we all continue to buy cars that make a whole dealership of people well-paid and we think nothing of paying $8 for a drink that may cost the bar $1. And let's not get started on prices for water at a county fair.

I think we just need to learn how to protect ourselves... we do our job to conserve our money and they do their job to get as much of it as we allow. Neither should feel guilty or resentful, and I hope you don't. Ask for what you think is fair, based on the best research you can do.

 

What surprises me about this thread is that there doesn't seem to be a policy that we can grasp. Apparently some get OBC's? Some get an upgrade? What I feel is wrong is that HAL doesn't have a simple policy and they force us to adopt an "every man for himself" strategy. (No sexism intended.) They don't have to highlight it, but I think if we notice a reduction and ask for it, the policy should state exactly what we get, period. If there is a $400 price reduction, then I'd like a $400 OBC or an upgrade to a $400 better cabin. I'd like to have the choice... and if they want to incentivize it, fine with me.

 

But it should be a real policy, and one that doesn't take 4 pages of a CC thread to discuss and at the conclusion, we still don't have an answer.

[MishelleMcc]

Kenito, thank you!

[cruz chic]

I get what you are saying....no voodoo pricing. Just simple supply and demand. Cruiselines are in the business to make money. If they don't, we will see more cutbacks.

 

If people don't like the price, they are free to go elsewhere!

 

Exactly!

 

 

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Thx for clarifying that. Now let's get back to the important discussion about too many stickys:rolleyes:. Can Hal really afford to lose more pax? What next? Free cruise for the late bookers? They've turned the OP off of ever booking another Hal cruise. Is that a good thing?

Edited September 16, 2014 by cruz chic

[cruz chic]

Okay, for anyone who thinks they are the only ones who have paid more for a cruise than they should have, let me share my first cruise booking experience.

 

Back in the day when brick and mortar TA's were the norm, we walked into our neighborhood agent, sat down and looked at the printed brochures. Picked a cruise and wrote a check. At full brochure prices. :o

 

We were so surprised when the TA sent us wine and flowers... :rolleyes:

 

So there are some who pay full pop... until they learn better!

 

To the OP, I don't think we can really get angry about how any business decides to turn a profit. I don't like it, but we all continue to buy cars that make a whole dealership of people well-paid and we think nothing of paying $8 for a drink that may cost the bar $1. And let's not get started on prices for water at a county fair.

I think we just need to learn how to protect ourselves... we do our job to conserve our money and they do their job to get as much of it as we allow. Neither should feel guilty or resentful, and I hope you don't. Ask for what you think is fair, based on the best research you can do.

 

What surprises me about this thread is that there doesn't seem to be a policy that we can grasp. Apparently some get OBC's? Some get an upgrade? What I feel is wrong is that HAL doesn't have a simple policy and they force us to adopt an "every man for himself" strategy. (No sexism intended.) They don't have to highlight it, but I think if we notice a reduction and ask for it, the policy should state exactly what we get, period. If there is a $400 price reduction, then I'd like a $400 OBC or an upgrade to a $400 better cabin. I'd like to have the choice... and if they want to incentivize it, fine with me.

 

But it should be a real policy, and one that doesn't take 4 pages of a CC thread to discuss and at the conclusion, we still don't have an answer.

Agree.

[ICUQT]

 

What surprises me about this thread is that there doesn't seem to be a policy that we can grasp. Apparently some get OBC's? Some get an upgrade? What I feel is wrong is that HAL doesn't have a simple policy and they force us to adopt an "every man for himself" strategy. (No sexism intended.) They don't have to highlight it, but I think if we notice a reduction and ask for it, the policy should state exactly what we get, period. If there is a $400 price reduction, then I'd like a $400 OBC or an upgrade to a $400 better cabin. I'd like to have the choice... and if they want to incentivize it, fine with me.

[/b]

 

I agree and your post it is well articulated. But do you think that HA will give you or your TA a telephone/email informing them of a price reduction during the course of your booking? Highly doubtful. I have had more than a few cruises on HA and I can tell you not once have they ever called my TA with a price reduction. As I stated in earlier posts my TA watches price (as I) and the TA makes the call. HA is not required to do anything. You book it at whatever time and it is what it is (price) even if it is a year or more out. If there was a clear cut policy offered until final payments are due concerning price reductions that would be automatically applied by HAL to the booking it may encourage more early bookings. It would also eliminate the need for you or a TA to monitor price throughout the booking. HAL wants to sail ships full of pax I understand that. I understand supply & demand. You are correct when you say "neither should feel resentful" to ask what you feel should be fair. That's why I continue to monitor price.

 

bob

[mllewis48]

We'll put Bob and in my case it's our HAL PCC but we still monitor pricing.

 

 

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[serendipity1499]

I believe there are good number of us here who gladly pay additional bucks to choose our cabin. I am noise sensitive. Even if my cabin turns out to be noisy, if I have chosen it--it's OK. One time on HAL I got a great deal on a cabin...that was next to the embarkation desk on the original Noordam. We heard the constant beep! We have had many guarantees, until I decided I wanted to choose my cabin, no matter the cost. Unless there are no bad cabins in a certain category...which doesn't happen often. I assure you I am sane. I like saving money, but I prefer choosing my cabin.

 

I want what I want. I choose a ship, sailing date, cabin, and dining time/table size I want. If I can't get that, I don't book the cruise. If I can get it, I accept the price. Or not. If I do accept the price, I don't dwell on what might have been.

I assure you, I am sane.

 

 

We feel the same way! HAL is in business to make money & they are doing it.. As a stockholder it makes us happy too! And I too am sane!

 

One rule in Business is: If you have an over abundance of a product, put it on sale & keep reducing the prices until it sells!

 

Our next door neighbor offered the owner of our Condo the same price we paid for it.. The owner refused to accept their offer, but a year later accepted the same offer from us..

 

It's not crappy business practice, it's good business practice..

[DaveOKC]

While it certainly would be nice, I doubt you will ever see a program where the cruise line automatically lowers the prices for everyone already booked when there is a sale. It would cost them too much money to do so.

 

In fact, I hope they don't do this, as it would end up costing most of us money IMO. The cruise line would have to hold prices higher on "sales" and we would all lose out. The way it is, those folks who do their research and see the lower prices get something out of it, while those who do not want to do this end up paying more. Sounds fair to me,

 

DaveOKC

[ICUQT]

Should I read about a lower price on CC, or should my TA find the price has dropped, of course I take it! :D I'm not stupid, nor am I fully responsible for meeting HAL's bottom line.

 

Good advice Ruth!

 

bob

[summersigh]

DH and I have a kind of "bucket list" with a number of cruises still on it. We usually begin the year before monitoring prices for verandahs on the trips/times we're interested in.

 

Consequently - We booked our Nov partial transit trip for a good price - the same category is $300pp higher if one booked now.

 

Having your traveling - both the planning and execution - as a hobby is a good thing :D

[cbr663]

Cruise pricing is based on yield management that uses complex algorithms of which the supply available and the estimated demand are just 2 of the many inputs that are used. There are many other inputs that can be used, such as cabin size, cabin location, fuel costs, ports, passenger home address, perks, and even passenger loyalty, just to name a few. HAL can use whatever inputs it likes. We know HAL uses passenger loyalty at times as this forum has evidence of passengers with Mariner status being charged more than those passengers without Mariner status.

 

Yield management pricing is not without its criticisms, one of which is that is can be seen to penalize the very behaviour that you are trying to promote. Previous passengers who are charged more once they enter their mariner number often feel this way, and as the OP has pointed out, as do passengers who pay more for booking early.

Edited September 16, 2014 by cbr663

[POA1]

Cruise pricing is based on yield management that uses complex algorithms of which the supply available and the estimated demand are just 2 of the many inputs that are used. There are many other inputs that can be used, such as cabin size, cabin location, fuel costs, ports, passenger home address, perks, and even passenger loyalty, just to name a few. HAL can use whatever inputs it likes.

 

Exactly! I'm not sure about cost components going into the yield calculation, and the price is often displayed before the system knows where you live... But the rest is solid. Yield management is a system that should fill the ship or the plane or whatever and provide the maximum revenue.

[cruz chic]

We feel the same way! HAL is in business to make money & they are doing it.. As a stockholder it makes us happy too! And I too am sane!

 

One rule in Business is: If you have an over abundance of a product, put it on sale & keep reducing the prices until it sells!

 

Our next door neighbor offered the owner of our Condo the same price we paid for it.. The owner refused to accept their offer, but a year later accepted the same offer from us..

 

It's not crappy business practice, it's good business practice..

 

As a shareholder I think it is important to make passengers happy, not go away upset and never come back. I expect the same for myself. Is turning off pax with their pricing strategies a good thing?If you enjoy paying a high price, more power to you. Please, keep that up. Why not take it one step further and refuse any reduction in price? After all, I'm a shareholder and I'd like to see you do that:D.

Edited September 16, 2014 by cruz chic

[Lizzie68]

As a shareholder I think it is important to make passengers happy, not go away upset and never come back. I expect the same for myself. Is turning off pax with their pricing strategies a good thing?If you enjoy paying a high price, more power to you. Please, keep that up. Why not take it one step further and refuse any reduction in price? After all, I'm a shareholder and I'd like to see you do that:D.

 

Absolutely agree with you. HAL is driving away potential and long-standing customers, and the pricing "strategy" is one of several reasons.

[Vineyard View]

I guess bottom line is that some of you are fine no matter the cost as long as you get the cabin / itinerary you want. Others are totally loyal and believe that the lack of pricing policy within HAL is common and that all cruise lines play this extreme money game - which is not with all cruise lines, but that's okay. And then there are those of us who do feel that $3,000 on the table for the same exact balcony cabin is not okay - and we are free to go elsewhere if we choose - but for me, it has been a really bad experience with HAL. Whether anyone feels like it should leave that taste or not doesn't matter - JMO

[Linda&Vern]

I guess bottom line is that some of you are fine no matter the cost as long as you get the cabin / itinerary you want. Others are totally loyal and believe that the lack of pricing policy within HAL is common and that all cruise lines play this extreme money game - which is not with all cruise lines, but that's okay. And then there are those of us who do feel that $3,000 on the table for the same exact balcony cabin is not okay - and we are free to go elsewhere if we choose - but for me, it has been a really bad experience with HAL. Whether anyone feels like it should leave that taste or not doesn't matter - JMO

 

Now I'm confused. First you said you were upgraded from a guarantee to a higher cabin category with a confirmed cabin when there was a huge price drop, now you say you lost $3,000 on the deal. Is it both? I feel so bad this is your first HAL cruise and now your impressions will be tainted. Because you seem so upset over your cruise pricing it might help to know this does not happen all the time. I booked two cruises earlier this year for end of year. One cruise pricing has not moved in all that time. The other one has gone up over $500pp and is about sold out. I'm glad I didn't wait.

 

Years and years ago I asked a Realtor how much we could sell our first home for. Her reply "you can sell it for whatever someone else is willing to pay for it." I've applied that theory of purchase price to a lot of things over the years ... new homes, new cars, a pair of shoes AND the price of a cruise.

[cbr663]

@Linda&Vern, please go back and re-read the OP's statements. At no point did the OP state that he has been given an upgraded cabin. He stated that he went from a guarantee to a confirmed cabin.

[cbr663]

I guess bottom line is that some of you are fine no matter the cost as long as you get the cabin / itinerary you want. Others are totally loyal and believe that the lack of pricing policy within HAL is common and that all cruise lines play this extreme money game - which is not with all cruise lines, but that's okay. And then there are those of us who do feel that $3,000 on the table for the same exact balcony cabin is not okay - and we are free to go elsewhere if we choose - but for me, it has been a really bad experience with HAL. Whether anyone feels like it should leave that taste or not doesn't matter - JMO

 

That just about sums it up. It would leave a very bad taste in my mouth also. It would make me feel like I had been cheated by the cruise line, and I can tell you that that would be a huge feeling for the cruise line to overcome once I stepped foot on the ship.

[cruz chic]

Now I'm confused. First you said you were upgraded from a guarantee to a higher cabin category with a confirmed cabin when there was a huge price drop, now you say you lost $3,000 on the deal. Is it both? I feel so bad this is your first HAL cruise and now your impressions will be tainted. Because you seem so upset over your cruise pricing it might help to know this does not happen all the time. I booked two cruises earlier this year for end of year. One cruise pricing has not moved in all that time. The other one has gone up over $500pp and is about sold out. I'm glad I didn't wait.

 

Years and years ago I asked a Realtor how much we could sell our first home for. Her reply "you can sell it for whatever someone else is willing to pay for it." I've applied that theory of purchase price to a lot of things over the years ... new homes, new cars, a pair of shoes AND the price of a cruise.

 

I'm the other side of the coin. I think there has only been one cruise in my over 300+ days with HAL when the price hasn't gone down. If you are looking at bread and butter cruises you can pretty much count on them going down based on what category you book. If you book a neptune suite, it could be more unlikely. Anything balcony and below, way more likely. If it's an exotic cruise, not so much.

[Linda&Vern]

@Linda&Vern, please go back and re-read the OP's statements. At no point did the OP state that he has been given an upgraded cabin. He stated that he went from a guarantee to a confirmed cabin.

 

Sorry - but that's not how I read this from the OP ...

 

"On the first price drop post payment, she was able to help out with a guarantee to confirmed cabin in higher category of that classification of cabins. It was a huge drop in price." (post #27)

Edited September 16, 2014 by Linda&Vern

[mllewis48]

I agree Linda&Vern, sounds like and upgrade to me. The trade off for the price drop was the confirmed cabin in a higher cat of the cabin class. However when we book a guarantee we usually get upgraded in the same fashion with no change in price. In the past when there are Post Final Payment reductions we have been offered SBC or and upsell, pays to be a Mariner I guess.

 

 

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[summersigh]

I guess bottom line is that some of you are fine no matter the cost as long as you get the cabin / itinerary you want. Others are totally loyal and believe that the lack of pricing policy within HAL is common and that all cruise lines play this extreme money game - which is not with all cruise lines, but that's okay. And then there are those of us who do feel that $3,000 on the table for the same exact balcony cabin is not okay - and we are free to go elsewhere if we choose - but for me, it has been a really bad experience with HAL. Whether anyone feels like it should leave that taste or not doesn't matter - JMO

 

The topic of this thread is a hot topic on all the boards I've frequented here at CC - Hal, Cunard, RCCL and CCL. All of the discussions about cabin pricing are pretty much interchangeable regardless of the cruise line.:rolleyes:

[cbr663]

Sorry - but that's not how I read this from the OP ...

 

"On the first price drop post payment, she was able to help out with a guarantee to confirmed cabin in higher category of that classification of cabins. It was a huge drop in price." (post #27)

 

You're right. My apologies. Sorry, I had only read the recent posts in the forum.

[cruz chic]

I agree Linda&Vern, sounds like and upgrade to me. The trade off for the price drop was the confirmed cabin in a higher cat of the cabin class. However when we book a guarantee we usually get upgraded in the same fashion with no change in price. In the past when there are Post Final Payment reductions we have been offered SBC or and upsell, pays to be a Mariner I guess.

 

 

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I think it's likely to say most folks are mariners although I'm quite sure someone will dispute that in seconds. I've got 300+ days with HAL and at times I've gotten something for decreases after final but not every time. It certainly isn't policy but it sounds like you are saying it is.

[Linda&Vern]

You're right. My apologies. Sorry, I had only read the recent posts in the forum.

No problem. I just wish the OP's TA would at least call HAL after this additional price reduction. Even if the TA is not successful, I think the OP is at least owed a phone call to HAL asking for some OBC or a further upgrade. You know, that squeekie wheel thing.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Linda&Vern