Downsell? Neiuw Amsterdam Alaska 25th June

[Karen13]

We booked on the above cruise in a veranda cabin a year ago. It is our first time to Alaska, and with HAL. It is also the first time we have paid the extra for a balcony as I have read Alaska is one destination where the expense is worth it.

We got a telephone call today to tell us that all the veranda cabins had been overbooked, so HAL were offering transfers to other cruises/dates, or a move to an obstructed ocean view cabin, with a refund of £2,600 per cabin, which is effectively the entire cost of the cruise.

We have refused this generous offer as we are unlikely to cruise Alaska again, as we live in England, and having the veranda cabin of our choice is more important to us than the money.

My question is, is this usual? I had never heard of it before. I assume the alternative cabins must be poor given the generous compensation offered.

We were assured there will be many who take up the offer. We may have done if it was a cruise we had done before and had not spent a lot on the trip as a whole so did not want to potentially spoil the final segment of it.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Karen13

[Boytjie]

I can't recall too many people posting on Cruise Critic. about downgrade offers like this.

 

Having done an Alaska cruise in a fully obstructed view cabin (on the Amsterdam) and still having had a fabulous cruise, I would have jumped on the downgrade! I don't consider a balcony to be a must-have for Alaska since you get much better views by roaming the open decks rather that the limited view from a balcony. (I had the same opinion on a 7-day NCL cruise around the islands of Hawaii).

 

The refund of the cruise fare can pay for a lot of super excursions, like landing on a glacier by helicopter.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Boytjie

[Lady Arwen]

Balconies are very expensive, although small, pieces of real estate. In this case I would have given up the balcony for that kind of money. There are many places on the ship with wonderful and panoramic views. We did not use our balcony as much as we thought when we were in Alaska last year. Use the money for another cruise!

[SilvertoGold]

I think this happens once in a while. This season seems to be selling extremely well, so this was bound to happen. It has in the past on some 7 day cruises.

 

Personally, I would take up the offer so fast it would make you head spin!

 

Have a nice cruise! I hope your weather is perfect so you can really enjoy the balcony!!

[mef_57]

I would have taken the downsell as well because I didn't miss a veranda on my Alaska cruise, but that is just me.

Ships like airlines sometimes oversell - so they offer up incentives to see whether folks will change their minds. As on planes, some say no and other say 'where's the money?'.

[G&G]

This occurs frequently on Oceania; down sell from suites or Conceirge to balcony.

 

The only thing I have seen on HAL was four years ago; cancel 30 day South Pacific cruise out of San Diego to a 50 day Med Cruise out of Ft Lauderdale, roundtrp, with over $1,000 cabin credit. Apparently HAL had oversold the South Pacific cruise.

[iancal]

I would take the downgrade and grab the cash. Balcony is nice but certainly not essential for Alaska. Besides, you are also at risk of the weather.

 

Princess dis the same to us last year. We ended up with a full refund of our cruise fare plus a free cruise in an upgraded cabin on any same number of days itinerary of our choosing. Took us all of two seconds to say yes.

Edited June 9, 2016 by iancal

[DaveOKC]

I have never experienced such a deal, but have heard of HAL giving generous offers to rebook due to a variety of reasons.

 

While I agree that having a balcony in AK is nice, for basically a free cabin I would have taken the offer. Except for days where you are in Glacier Bay (or something similar), you do not miss that much scenery (IMO). Plus, these Alaska cruises are generally port intensive and you will not miss much while in port.

 

There are so many great viewing areas on the ship (Crows Nest, aft pool, etc) that you can see pretty much what you want and since you can move around you are not restricted to only seeing one side of the ship (like in your cabin).

[Cruiserbillyboo]

You are basically being offered a free cruise!!!

Two comments:

1. Are you sure this is legitimate? Seems almost too good to be true.

2. Take it! I've done Alaska twice. The real scenery is from the decks, not your cabin. If indeed legitimate, this is an awesome offer.

[blizzardboy]

We booked on the above cruise in a veranda cabin a year ago. It is our first time to Alaska, and with HAL. It is also the first time we have paid the extra for a balcony as I have read Alaska is one destination where the expense is worth it.

We got a telephone call today to tell us that all the veranda cabins had been overbooked, so HAL were offering transfers to other cruises/dates, or a move to an obstructed ocean view cabin, with a refund of £2,600 per cabin, which is effectively the entire cost of the cruise.

We have refused this generous offer as we are unlikely to cruise Alaska again, as we live in England, and having the veranda cabin of our choice is more important to us than the money.

My question is, is this usual? I had never heard of it before. I assume the alternative cabins must be poor given the generous compensation offered.

We were assured there will be many who take up the offer. We may have done if it was a cruise we had done before and had not spent a lot on the trip as a whole so did not want to potentially spoil the final segment of it.

For a "free" cruise, I'd consider site-seeing from the Eagles Nest or the Seaview pool railing!

[POA1]

Friends of ours took a downsell from a balcony to an outside room a few years ago. They wound up with a free cruise, since their fares and port expenses were refunded back to them. Because they were sailing with friends who had a balcony, (us) they didn't really miss out on much.

 

I'd take the free cruise. You can always do your viewing on an outside deck.

Edited June 9, 2016 by POA1

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been on cruises that were overbooked. We didn't get any calls about down grading. But certainly heard about people getting offers to different dates and/or cruises.

[Heartgrove]

The offer extended would be very tempting. Especially if it is equivalent to being essentially "free." The activities and specialty restaurants are very good too to help compensate.

 

Having a balcony is useful in Alaska as it allows you to step in and out for the views at your convenience. Considering that the Sun rises early (0400) and sets late (2230) "approximately" makes for some spectacular views that would be missed if you needed to go out on deck. The approach to Skagway is memorable and begins very early.

 

But the temperature may be too cool and wet to enjoy it as well. When cruising near the glaciers, the decks (3, 5, 6, and 7) on the bow are open to enjoy so there isn't a lack of space outside. There are some obstructed view cabins, for example like the ones between the lifeboats on Upper Promenade Deck 4, that do have somewhat decent views.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Heartgrove

[OHCruiser]

We took such a downgrade on Princess for an Antarctic cruise a few years back. We got an inside room, paid the equivalent of 1 cruise fare, and got the difference in the room costs as OBC where any unspent would be refunded to us.

 

When all was said and done, it was a super deal and I'd do it again. We got over $500 as a refund when we got home and cruised for half price. We did, however, meet a couple that cruised in an inside room for free because they were more "patient" when it came to responding to the downgrade offer..........

 

On a side note, we often book obstructed OV rooms and we've never been disappointed. They're usually a nice sized room in a good location and you get some natural sunlight for a reasonable price. And, on HAL, where people can still smoke on balconies, there's no chance of feeling that you wasted a lot of money because you don't want to sit where it smells like a dirty ashtray!

[Aegis1984]

I wouldn't take the downsell myself, mind you, I've been on the same itinerary with an inside cabin so I know what that was like. I have full intentions to do plenty of photography between having a GoPro running constantly, to having my 2 DSLRs ready to go with a wide angle and telephoto zoom.

 

I made a point of specifically booking SY7080 on the NADM, and I know for a fact that the signature suites are sold out as of right now for the August 27th voyage. The only way they're getting me out of that room is by free upgrade AND a significant chunk of OBC.

[grsnovi]

Our very first booking with HAL was for an early season Alaska cruise. They also overbooked and contacted us to see if we could sail on a later cruise (since we live close and would drive to Seattle). It worked out that later was better for us. We were upgraded on the later cruise and comped quite nicely as I recall.

[SetAnOpenCourse]

On my one Alaska cruise, they opened the deck at the bow on the key glacier-viewing days. That, along with the option of the nice promenade deck on HAL, would prompt me to accept the downsell. But since it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip for the OP, sticking with the balcony cabin isn't a bad idea. It's special when your first look in the morning, in a place heavy with natural splendor, is in the peace of your own cabin when you open the door.

[xlxo]

I too would have taken the downgrade for a free cruise.

 

I did the balcony the first time, but found it poor value in the wind and cold. Oceanview for followup trips where it felt like a climate controlled balcony. Outside public decks give a full 360 experience.... not just one side of the ship.

[jtl513]

We've done AK in non-balcony cabins twice, and would have jumped on the downgrade offer. In AK we think it's better to spend most of our time aboard someplace where we can see both sides, and spend the money on excursions.

[lazey1]

The only time that we were offered a transfer to another sailing date at a huge discount we were not offered a "down-grade" cabin. It was a choice of accepting one of the other dates for sailing OR cancel the cruise and get all of our money back including the cost of insurance.

 

I would recommend that you get it in writing that you are refusing the choices given and that you will still be able to do this specific cruise in the veranda.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

This happens a bit more often for Alaska. I had the same thing happen to us on the Volendam to Alaska last year. We were in a Vista Suite,I declined the first offer but I think it was the third offer that they came up with getting us a Lanai cabin and a very nice refund so I took that. The offers can get quite generous ;)

[OBX-Cruisers]

Wow, what an offer......wish I had that opportunity.........For the most scenic parts of an Alaska cruise (e.g., Tracy Arm Fjord, Glacier Bay, etc.) you are up on deck because the Verandah view is insufficient for a panorama of the scene.

This offer would have been an automatic reject if they offered an inside cabin but an obstructed view is often only partially obstructed for other viewing.

[Karen13]

Thanks everyone for your responses. It is interesting to hear your views. In fairness, the HAL rep told my husband it was a 'first come first served' offer, so even if we had said yes she could not guarantee we would get it. From your responses I think we would have missed out!

However we have made our choice and are content with it. It is our first and probably only trip to Canade/Alaska from the UK to celebrate a special occasion (40 years married!) so we have planned each segment carefully and are really looking forward to it.

If it had been the Caribbean or Europe, where we have cruised many times before, we would have jumped at it too.

[BumperII]

Methinks you made the right choice for you! Like you we would have declined the offer. You are flying a long way, and have considerble time, effort and money expended just for the travel arrangements. The time left to make all these adjustments is too tight, it can be done, but it would be stressful.

 

You will never get another chance to celebrate your 40th anniversary in style. This is a once in a lifetime celebration. Enjoy your cruise, confident that you made the best choice.

 

Welcome aboard, and Bon Voyage!

[VennDiagram]

Thanks everyone for your responses. It is interesting to hear your views. In fairness, the HAL rep told my husband it was a 'first come first served' offer, so even if we had said yes she could not guarantee we would get it. From your responses I think we would have missed out!

However we have made our choice and are content with it. It is our first and probably only trip to Canade/Alaska from the UK to celebrate a special occasion (40 years married!) so we have planned each segment carefully and are really looking forward to it.

If it had been the Caribbean or Europe, where we have cruised many times before, we would have jumped at it too.

 

I think you made the right choice for you and your DH. I congratulate you on knowing what you want, and sticking to it.

 

And to answer your original question, which seemed to have been mostly ignored, I have heard reports of others getting similar offers to downgrade or change sailing date.

 

Have a wonderful trip!