Promotions

[CJcruzer]

what (and when) do you think the next HAL promotion/sale will be? When does the current Explore4 expire?

 

I am speaking more of actual $ savings rather than package/amenities offerings.

[freestyling]

Explore 4 ends in December but you can always have your TA or HAL price any cruise with and without this promotion. As far as the next one...who knows but I suspect another promotion will be launched in the near future.

[Tinknock50]

Explore 4 ends in December but you can always have your TA or HAL price any cruise with and without this promotion. As far as the next one...who knows but I suspect another promotion will be launched in the near future.

Yes, be sure and price it with and without the Explore4. Some people have saved a lot of money without it.

[CJcruzer]

yes, I have my eye on a cruise, and have had my TA price it without explore4 - looking for some price reduction promos versus perks ( fingers crossed!):o

[Tinknock50]

yes, I have my eye on a cruise, and have had my TA price it without explore4 - looking for some price reduction promos versus perks ( fingers crossed!):o

 

Good luck!

[Groningen]

yes, I have my eye on a cruise, and have had my TA price it without explore4 - looking for some price reduction promos versus perks ( fingers crossed!):o

 

The price of our cruise for an inside room is about $9000 incl. explore4, and about $6000 without the "promotion"! :eek:

[Tinknock50]

The price of our cruise for an inside room is about $9000 incl. explore4, and about $6000 without the "promotion"! :eek:

 

Yikes! I hope you are a non-stop drinker.:D

[Groningen]

Yikes! I hope you are a non-stop drinker.:D

 

Guess which option we chose :confused:

[DaveOKC]

Explore 4 ends in December but you can always have your TA or HAL price any cruise with and without this promotion. As far as the next one...who knows but I suspect another promotion will be launched in the near future.

 

Explore4 offers end November 18, 2016. (from HAL website).

[iancal]

The issue will be not when they will announce another promotion but whether that promotion actually represents true savings.

 

We are at the point where we seldom look at promotions from HAL or the others. Most of them are simply re-arranging the deck chairs so to speak.

 

Too often we quickly work our way to the bottom line only to find that there really is no cheese at the end.

[Tinknock50]

Guess which option we chose :confused:

 

You sound like a sensible person, so I can easily guess. :)

[Tinknock50]

The issue will be not when they will announce another promotion but whether that promotion actually represents true savings.

 

We are at the point where we seldom look at promotions from HAL or the others. Most of them are simply re-arranging the deck chairs so to speak.

 

Too often we quickly work our way to the bottom line only to find that there really is no cheese at the end.

I wish they would all go back to offering low fares at times and let me choose the extras I want.

[iancal]

Same with us. We are only interested in the bottom line pricing without the add ons, half price this or that, or those so called discount coupons.

 

We have often looked at those highly promoted special pricing offers only to find that the price was special only for the cruise line, ie the price was actually the same and in many cases higher than what we had previously seen. Smoke and mirrors.

 

We sometimes wonder if the cruise lines assume that their customer base has a low aptitude for basic math.

Edited September 27, 2016 by iancal

[Tinknock50]

Same with us. We are only interested in the bottom line pricing without the add ons, half price this or that, or those so called discount coupons.

 

We have often looked at those highly promoted special pricing offers only to find that the price was special only for the cruise line, ie the price was actually the same and in many cases higher than what we had previously seen. Smoke and mirrors.

 

We sometimes wonder if the cruise lines assume that their customer base has a low aptitude for basic math.

 

Yep.....my favorite is the 2 for 1 from some lines. Never lowered the bottom line.

 

I continue to be stunned at the huge difference between Explore4 and non Explore4. I might have suspected a small difference, but wow!

I am wondering if HAL will stop allowing the opt out savings. I saw how upset a TA was when it was discovered and they may be requesting that from HAL. I wouldn't wait too long if you are preparing to book for that reason.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Tinknock50

[CJcruzer]

The pricing for the cruise I have my eye on is $1000 total difference, between fare with/without Explore4. I too am not interested in the frou-frou add ons. I would rather pay extras, if I want to, on a user pay basis. At this point in our lives, we cruise for the destination, not the ship - combined with independent land travel.

Edited September 27, 2016 by CJcruzer

[oceanmom]

It is marketing strategy. Just like the grocery store, buy one get one free. The cruise we booked for next year went up exactly $500 pp for both the vista suite and the neptune suite. The vista suite has now gone down by $250 still with E4 included. Since the E4 benefits not including the beverage package total $375 in our situation, it was a no-brainer for us BUT each cruise/stateroom/personal preference will vary. Do the research.

[Tinknock50]

It is marketing strategy. Just like the grocery store, buy one get one free. The cruise we booked for next year went up exactly $500 pp for both the vista suite and the neptune suite. The vista suite has now gone down by $250 still with E4 included. Since the E4 benefits not including the beverage package total $375 in our situation, it was a no-brainer for us BUT each cruise/stateroom/personal preference will vary. Do the research.

 

Well with the grocery store, you usually can easily see you are getting two for the same price. But what I have seen with 2 for 1 fares is that the first fare is just higher to cover it. But if you have seen true bottom line savings that way, that's great!

 

Also great that you found a real value in Explore4. Always good to check it both ways.