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Sudden avail. cabins. Ideas for upsell?

dcsam

By dcsam,
in Holland America Line

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dcsam

dcsam

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We booked the May 4th, balcony cabin aboard the Volendam cruise to Alaska. A couple days ago, it looked fairly full, with lots of Neptune Suites still available. Today, there are oodles of available cabins available in most categories but the lanai. Do we have a good chance to 'upsell' to a Neptune suite? If so, how would you go about it? We booked through a large warehouse-type of agency.

Thanks so much.

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oaktreerb

oaktreerb

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We booked the May 4th, balcony cabin aboard the Volendam cruise to Alaska. A couple days ago, it looked fairly full, with lots of Neptune Suites still available. Today, there are oodles of available cabins available in most categories but the lanai. Do we have a good chance to 'upsell' to a Neptune suite? If so, how would you go about it? We booked through a large warehouse-type of agency.

Thanks so much.

 

Call the agency. If it is the one I use they will not contact you when up sells are offered but you can call them and they will contact HAL to see what is available and at what price If you are before final payment you can always request a different cabin at the published price. Did you indicate when you booked that you would accept an upgrade?

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DaveOKC

DaveOKC

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We booked the May 4th, balcony cabin aboard the Volendam cruise to Alaska. A couple days ago, it looked fairly full, with lots of Neptune Suites still available. Today, there are oodles of available cabins available in most categories but the lanai. Do we have a good chance to 'upsell' to a Neptune suite? If so, how would you go about it? We booked through a large warehouse-type of agency.

Thanks so much.

 

It is a bit early for upsells, which are normally 2-4 weeks prior to sailing, but it never hurts to ask your TA about it now. Since you booked through a TA, all communications have to go through the TA.

 

One nice thing about booking with HAL directly is that you get upsell emails sent directly to you - no middle man involved.

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GrammieK

GrammieK

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[/size]

It may not be usual for an early upsell, but I got one at 6 weeks. I let my PCC know I was interested, as well as contact HAL directly to have a note made in my booking.

 

When I booked, there were no SAs available so I booked an SC at a hugely discounted rate. I later realized it was too far from the lounge for me and had a smaller floor plan. When final payment passed, a number of SAs became available and Voila!

 

Be prepared to jump quickly and have an idea of whAt would be an agreeable charge. I was very lucky. Hal came back with an up charge 1/2 of what I offered!

 

Good luck!

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iancal

iancal

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I suspect that HAL does a balancing act between offering upgrades to booked customers and selling additional cabins by reducing their pricing matrix inside the final payment window.

 

Why not call and ask? The worst the can say is call back later. You will not know unless you ask now.

Edited by iancal
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sail7seas

sail7seas

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Seeing you did not book directly with HAL yourself, your warehouse TA must call for you. Be sure to tell them what cabin you want, how much you are wiling to spend and send an e-mail authorizing what they can accept on your behalf. If they have that information, it is your best chance to get an upsell. When those offers go out, they go to lots of people and whomever says yes first, gets the upsell.

 

Please let us know how it works out for you.

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AnnieBelle

AnnieBelle

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Yesterday we received an offer to move from an interior in the very front to a verandah with a private balcony that is mid-ship for a very small charge. HAL contacted my TA (a local agency). We leave in a little over two weeks. I hope you can snag a deal too!

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kevingastreich

kevingastreich

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We booked the May 4th, balcony cabin aboard the Volendam cruise to Alaska. A couple days ago, it looked fairly full, with lots of Neptune Suites still available. Today, there are oodles of available cabins available in most categories but the lanai. Do we have a good chance to 'upsell' to a Neptune suite? If so, how would you go about it? We booked through a large warehouse-type of agency.

Thanks so much.

 

This is what happened on our very first cruise with HAL (It cemented our relationship) We were booked on an Alaskan cruise OV. We got the usual email a few days ahead selling a suite, By the time I saw the email and called to book it..they were "all sold out". Disappointed but life goes on. Literally 18 hours before shove off, my DW calls Seattle and asks if any upgrades are available, the nice rep on the phone says "please hold for a minute and I'll check". Five minutes later she comes back on the line and offers us a Signature Suite for $150 more PP. We didn't know what it was but we took it anyway. Needless to say we we VERY happy. When we got in the cabin, someone else's luggage and stationery was still there, including a casino premium. Of course the cabin steward dealt with it all beautifully. It wasn't long before we got our own luggage and even our personalized stationery just like it was supposed to be. All I can figure is, when my DW called Seattle, they checked the roster and moved a high star mariner up to a nicer cabin and sold us the upgrade. Moral of the story is...it pays to ask. :D

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cruz chic

cruz chic

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This is what happened on our very first cruise with HAL (It cemented our relationship) We were booked on an Alaskan cruise OV. We got the usual email a few days ahead selling a suite, By the time I saw the email and called to book it..they were "all sold out". Disappointed but life goes on. Literally 18 hours before shove off, my DW calls Seattle and asks if any upgrades are available, the nice rep on the phone says "please hold for a minute and I'll check". Five minutes later she comes back on the line and offers us a Signature Suite for $150 more PP. We didn't know what it was but we took it anyway. Needless to say we we VERY happy. When we got in the cabin, someone else's luggage and stationery was still there, including a casino premium. Of course the cabin steward dealt with it all beautifully. It wasn't long before we got our own luggage and even our personalized stationery just like it was supposed to be. All I can figure is, when my DW called Seattle, they checked the roster and moved a high star mariner up to a nicer cabin and sold us the upgrade. Moral of the story is...it pays to ask. :D

 

As a high star mariner I can tell you that is rare from my perspective. The person likely took an upsell to a higher cabin.

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iancal

iancal

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They were advertising that cruise -verandahs and suites priced the same-yesterday on a well known last minute cruise site.

 

You might want to call and see what sort of offer HAL will extend to you.

Edited by iancal
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cruz chic

cruz chic

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They were advertising that cruise -verandahs and suites priced the same-yesterday on a well known last minute cruise site.

 

You might want to call and see what sort of offer HAL will extend to you.

 

That is because the balconies are considered suites on that class of ship.

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G&G

G&G

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We booked the May 4th, balcony cabin aboard the Volendam cruise to Alaska. A couple days ago, it looked fairly full, with lots of Neptune Suites still available. Today, there are oodles of available cabins available in most categories but the lanai. Do we have a good chance to 'upsell' to a Neptune suite? If so, how would you go about it? We booked through a large warehouse-type of agency.

Thanks so much.

 

Our last two cruises on HAL, Alaska in June15 and Caribbean Dec15, we got upsells to Neptune Suites, 6 & 2 days prior to sailing.

 

Starting 2 weeks prior to sailing check daily if suites are available. You should immediately let your TA what upsell price you will pay for the Neptune Suite.

 

If the suites are still available 7-10 days prior to sailing, upsells will be offered. I have called HAL twice a day to see if upsells are available before contacting my TA

 

On the Alaska cruise where we got the Neptune Suite 6 days prior to sailing; there were four suites unsold. When we booked the upsell all four suites were sold in 45 minutes.

 

You must do your homework and stay on top of this several times a day when you are less than 14 days to your sail date.

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dcsam

dcsam

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G&G,

No problem getting that info from HAL before contacting your TA? Typically, they don't want to talk to you if you booked elsewhere. Also curious what you paid for the upsells. Right now, the difference between a balcony and suite is $1,000pp.

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G&G

G&G

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G&G,

No problem getting that info from HAL before contacting your TA? Typically, they don't want to talk to you if you booked elsewhere. Also curious what you paid for the upsells. Right now, the difference between a balcony and suite is $1,000pp.

 

I have not had any problem talking with HAL about upsells. I tell them I only want to know if their are upsells available so I can notify my TA to contact you directly. If I rely on my TA to receive the upsell first from HAL it may be too late.

 

1. Alaska Cruise, 14 day, round trip Seattle on Statendam, upsell was from balcony; $999/person but what was important to us was we paid less than half the Neptune Suite rate and also had Explorer drink package.

 

2. Caribbean Cruise, 7 day from FLL on Westerdam, upsell from Signature Suite to Neptune Suite, $199/person; discount of 25% off rate.

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kevingastreich

kevingastreich

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As a high star mariner I can tell you that is rare from my perspective. The person likely took an upsell to a higher cabin.

 

Even if that person got bumped up for free, HAL still made a profit because they were able to sell us an upgrade. I think it worked out to everyone's advantage. If we hadn't called, then we would have been in an OV and the high star wouldn't have gotten a free (or VERY low cost) upgrade. Beautiful customer handling on HAL's part!

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cruz chic

cruz chic

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Even if that person got bumped up for free, HAL still made a profit because they were able to sell us an upgrade. I think it worked out to everyone's advantage. If we hadn't called, then we would have been in an OV and the high star wouldn't have gotten a free (or VERY low cost) upgrade. Beautiful customer handling on HAL's part!

 

Absolutely.

 

I'm hoping Hal will give me a nice cheap upsell or free upgrade on my next cruise.

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SLOTheta "Live from...." Rare

SLOTheta

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Dumb question but how do you determine what the availability left is? Thanks.

 

 

If you use your phone (I have an iPhone) I find that it's easier to go through a "mock booking" than when I use my laptop. When I go online, I have to enter in a bunch of information, but when I use my iPhone, I don't have to enter anything. I was able to see the open Signature and Neptune Suites on our boat. You just have to keep selecting different sections and decks. For my trip this summer, I am not going to hold my breathe for an upsell. There doesn't appear to be a ton of suites with verdandahs available. :(

 

Factor in that there are a few guarantees that aren't accounted for, but you'll get the general idea of how many suites are open.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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