Is it better to call HAL or wait for them?

[dateacher]

I have been following many posts about a GTY cabin. We are still waiting for our assignment for Dec. 22. Based on personal experiences, will it hurt our chances for an upgrade or a reasonable upsell if we seem anxious and call them? Are we better off just waiting for them to contact us?

[cruz chic]

I called regarding my November collectors cruise and the possibility of an upsell as I knew the one week people saw them. It got me nowhere. Then I called my PCC and that seemed to do the trick. It was still somewhat pricy but acceptable. I can tell you it will not help to call them about your guarantee. They will just tell you it will be assigned between now and the pier. To find it as soon as it is assigned pretend to print your luggage tags. It will appear there the minute it's assigned. It takes about a day later to appear under the reservation. Good luck!

[Krazy Kruizers]

On another thread here that I just finished reading a few minutes ago, they called about an upsell for their Jan 4 cruise and got one.

Never hurts to call.

[taxmantoo]

On another thread here that I just finished reading a few minutes ago, they called about an upsell for their Jan 4 cruise and got one.

Never hurts to call.

 

You can upsell at ANYTIME as long as cabins are still available and you are willing to pay the price they ask for ;)

[arzz]

Dateacher

 

What ship are you on? We are sailing Dec 22 and got our cabin assignment a few days ago. We got a nice cabin -- on the other hand, sometimes no news is good news.

[CruiserBruce]

Do you want an upsell, or your assignment? I am little confused.

 

I assume you have been monitoring your reservation at the HAL site. Check the Print your bag tag option, that is frequently where you see the cabin assignment first.

 

If you call for an upsell, be prepared to be offered rack rate.

[arzz]

If you click your itinerary you can also see your cabin assignment long before it is published on your reservation and before HAL send out the reservation change email.

[agabbymama]

You can call, and sometimes they will give you your cabin number, BUT BE PREPARED, it can still change before you get to the pier. That's what happened to us. We were assigned a cabin approximately two weeks before our cruise, then when we got to the pier for check-in, we were assigned a totally different cabin. Our luggage had the wrong cabin number on it, but they did manage to get our luggage to our correct cabin.

[dateacher]

We are sailing on Dec. 22 also but booked our trip just about 3 weeks ago. Maybe they are doing the assignments in order of booking.

 

I have been checking a few times a day and looking at my luggage tags.

 

We are not really interested in an upsell unless it's amazing. This last minute trip was more about using up airline credits that were expiring so we didn't want to spend too much money in order not to waste a credit.

 

I was concerned that calling for our cabin number would make them put us at the bottom of the list for annoying them. :)

[CruiserBruce]

We are sailing on Dec. 22 also but booked our trip just about 3 weeks ago. Maybe they are doing the assignments in order of booking.

 

I have been checking a few times a day and looking at my luggage tags.

 

We are not really interested in an upsell unless it's amazing. This last minute trip was more about using up airline credits that were expiring so we didn't want to spend too much money in order not to waste a credit.

 

I was concerned that calling for our cabin number would make them put us at the bottom of the list for annoying them. :)

 

Then there is really no reason to call. You have a cabin. You may not find out until dockside.

[Karieem]

Hi there! We are sailing on Rotterdam on 22nd December and got our Cabin assignment yesterday. We are where we would have chosen to be so are happy. Maybe you will have yours by now.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Karieem

[newcruise55]

We are leaving on the Zuiderdam on the 19th. We got a few offers for upsells which we did not take, and got our cabin assignment two days ago. I was very anxious about this as it was our first time doing a guarantee and it was definitely worth it. We went from a VH to a midship VA. Try to stay calm and you will get your assignment soon.

[dateacher]

We are leaving on the Zuiderdam on the 19th. We got a few offers for upsells which we did not take, and got our cabin assignment two days ago. I was very anxious about this as it was our first time doing a guarantee and it was definitely worth it. We went from a VH to a midship VA. Try to stay calm and you will get your assignment soon.

 

That's what I'm hoping for. I know I may not find out until we board but it's all part of the excitement of the cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hoping you find out soon and get a nice cabin.

[cruz chic]

We are sailing on Dec. 22 also but booked our trip just about 3 weeks ago. Maybe they are doing the assignments in order of booking.

 

 

No, I can say with 100% certainty it doesn't work that way.

[Friend100]

Call them. I book the Dec21 Eurodam sailing this past Sunday (Dec7) and we got cabin assignment on Tuesday. I called them directly last night and paid a bit more to switch to Verandah VH GUAR. and they assigned us a VB right away on the phone.

[dateacher]

I think I will give them a call when I get out of work. Can't hurt.

[cruz chic]

I think I will give them a call when I get out of work. Can't hurt.

 

No, if you have time to burn you might as well:D. My guess is that you'll get the standard line that it can be assigned any time.

[PathfinderEss]

I think I will give them a call when I get out of work. Can't hurt.

 

You are absolutely right, it never hurts to ask. Good luck, hope you get something good.

[dateacher]

Well, I did contact them and they wouldn't tell me my cabin but said there were upgrades available but that my TA would have to contact them. Good luck with that. He seems to have disappeared. Yes, I knew what I was getting into but the price I got from that competitive online TA was $500 less than what my regular TA could do for the same cabin. She told me to go with him, no hard feelings.

 

I know I'm getting what I paid for and worse case, I will find out where I am resting my head on Dec. 22.

[cruz chic]

Well, I did contact them and they wouldn't tell me my cabin but said there were upgrades available but that my TA would have to contact them. Good luck with that. He seems to have disappeared. Yes, I knew what I was getting into but the price I got from that competitive online TA was $500 less than what my regular TA could do for the same cabin. She told me to go with him, no hard feelings.

 

I know I'm getting what I paid for and worse case, I will find out where I am resting my head on Dec. 22.

 

Hey, didn't I tell you:D;)? Well according to a poster on another thread you can call hal yourself, no problem. Of course this is completely incorrect. I don't blame you for wanting to save the cash but this is exactly why I book with a PCC. It drives me nuts trying to find the middleman. When I used a ta she was never around and getting someone else to help was beyond difficult. I love being able to make one call. I hope your wait won't be a long one to find your cabin number. Good luck!

[KAKcruiser]

If you can't reach your travel agent, ask to speak to someone else at the agency. There should be someone who can help. Don't give up.

[dateacher]

If you can't reach your travel agent, ask to speak to someone else at the agency. There should be someone who can help. Don't give up.

 

I should have done that but I guess I didn't want the upsell badly enough. I did sent a less than pleasant second email to the TA and within an hour got a response that he would look into it. By the time he did, they were sold out.

 

I didn't want to make waves before the trip but will afterwards. His delay in getting back to me cost me an opportunity.

[sail7seas]

I should have done that but I guess I didn't want the upsell badly enough. I did sent a less than pleasant second email to the TA and within an hour got a response that he would look into it. By the time he did, they were sold out.

 

I didn't want to make waves before the trip but will afterwards. His delay in getting back to me cost me an opportunity.

 

MAYBE there was an opportunity.

They send out offers and whomever responds first, gets it. You don't know

in what order you would have gotten an offer or even if you would have.

Those who got offers may have had guarantees in different categories for which HAL was willing to make offers. Maybe your category wasn't eligible?

 

You might wish to go back to your other TA to see if when you pay a little more

you are getting better service from them?

 

In any case, have a great cruise. :)

[iancal]

We have done numerous gty selections on several cruise lines including HAL.

 

We have only been disappointed once and even then, after asking to be placed back in the gty 'pool', we were subsequently assigned to a great location.