Upsell offers

[SULLJO]

Just wondering if Holland America has made an upsell cabin offer to anyone for ships that aren't filled?

 

 

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[Kamloops50]

Just wondering if Holland America has made an upsell cabin offer to anyone for ships that aren't filled?

 

 

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I've had a few offers , but they weren't great.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- HAL will do upsell offers.

Some may be good -- others not so good.

Just keep in mind what you think will be a good offer -- just in case you are offered one. In other words -- look at the prices of categories above you that you are interested in and see what the fares are right now.

[Italy52]

If you are working with a TA can you contact HAL directly and ask about upsell offers? Reason I ask is that my TA was negative about upsells from the beginning so I asked that my reservation be marked as "do not upgrade." Yet, when I read posts on this board detailing some of the positive upsells I wonder if I made a mistake. Your thoughts/comments?

[Alberta Quilter]

If you are working with a TA can you contact HAL directly and ask about upsell offers? Reason I ask is that my TA was negative about upsells from the beginning so I asked that my reservation be marked as "do not upgrade." Yet, when I read posts on this board detailing some of the positive upsells I wonder if I made a mistake. Your thoughts/comments?

 

No, if you booked through a TA, you have to go through the TA for upsells. Upsells would mostly be positive because one has the choice to accept what is offered. Upgrades are a different matter and you have little to no choice in where they place you. What HAL feels is an upgrade may not be an upgrade in your opinion.

[Randyk47]

If you are working with a TA can you contact HAL directly and ask about upsell offers? Reason I ask is that my TA was negative about upsells from the beginning so I asked that my reservation be marked as "do not upgrade." Yet, when I read posts on this board detailing some of the positive upsells I wonder if I made a mistake. Your thoughts/comments?

 

You must work through your TA. You could have your TA remove the "do not upgrade". Not sure what you mean by your TA being negative but I'd make sure they know you're interested and tell them you were like to hear if they get any offers. My Internet based TAs have contacted with upsell offers but I'm one of those unlucky ones that get horrible offers so it's never worked out for us.

[richstowe]

If you are working with a TA can you contact HAL directly and ask about upsell offers? Reason I ask is that my TA was negative about upsells from the beginning so I asked that my reservation be marked as "do not upgrade." Yet, when I read posts on this board detailing some of the positive upsells I wonder if I made a mistake. Your thoughts/comments?

Not trying to be snarky but upsells are not upgrades . I don't know if they are doing upgrades for those with assigned cabins . If you are in a guarantee cabin , then yes there are upgrades . They are pushing upsells for everyone ! :p

[bennybear]

Upsell or paid upgrades are different than complimentary upgrades. With complimentary upgrades they can move you anywhere and it may be to a location you don't want.

With an upsell you pay to upgrade and usually have a limited choice and can say yes or no.

If you booked through a TA you have to go through them not HAL. Usually HAL will send emails out to TAs a few weeks prior to sailing.

I agree that the deals haven't been great, but we took one any way. So you have to decide quickly how much you are willing to spend.

You could always call your TA to see if there have been any.

[DaveOKC]

Upsell or paid upgrades are different than complimentary upgrades. With complimentary upgrades they can move you anywhere and it may be to a location you don't want.

With an upsell you pay to upgrade and usually have a limited choice and can say yes or no.

If you booked through a TA you have to go through them not HAL. Usually HAL will send emails out to TAs a few weeks prior to sailing.

I agree that the deals haven't been great, but we took one any way. So you have to decide quickly how much you are willing to spend.

You could always call your TA to see if there have been any.

 

Agree but want to add that even if you mark your reservation Do Not Upgrade, you will still receive upsell offers (which you can accept or decline). This is what I normally do - pick my cabin, mark it do not upgrade (since I think I got the best one in my category) and then watch for upsell offers beginning about 4 weeks prior to sailing.

[Sequim88]

We did our own "upsell" sort of. We were originally booked on Amsterdam in an inside cabin because balconies were so expensive on that relatively smaller ship. Then when HAL switched it to the 14 nt R/T route and moved us to Oosterdam there were a LOT more balconies so I called our PCC to check on what those were going for and it was half the difference it had been on Amsterdam. Basic supply & demand. HAL never contacted us to see if we wanted to move but it seemed like a good idea to check for the new ship. So we switched to balcony and HAL gets $1,000 more revenue for the two of us (instead of $2K more on Amsterdam).

 

We never mark Do Not Upgrade but since we book Handicap Accessible cabins I think it may be automatic to prevent getting upgraded to a standard cabin - which may explain not getting contacted after the ship swap.

[Italy52]

Thanks all for the responses, I appreciate them. When we make our reservations we usually request "no upgrade" because we want a particular location. However, the concept of being offered a choice of moving to a different/possibly more desirable location for possibly a small fee seems interesting (and a new concept to me). I think my TA was confused and thought I was asking about "an upgrade" vs "an upsell." She was also concerned that I would loose my promotions --- which I thought I read somewhere that if I was offered an "upsell" I would not loose it--- correct????

 

"DaveOKC" - Thanks for letting me know that there is a possibility that I could receive an "upsell" offer even if I put "do not upgrade" on my reservation. Since I haven't received that call or email from my TA I guess that I can assume that I am not one of the lucky ones.

[taxmantoo]

Thanks all for the responses, I appreciate them. When we make our reservations we usually request "no upgrade" because we want a particular location. However, the concept of being offered a choice of moving to a different/possibly more desirable location for possibly a small fee seems interesting (and a new concept to me). I think my TA was confused and thought I was asking about "an upgrade" vs "an upsell." She was also concerned that I would loose my promotions --- which I thought I read somewhere that if I was offered an "upsell" I would not loose it--- correct????

 

"DaveOKC" - Thanks for letting me know that there is a possibility that I could receive an "upsell" offer even if I put "do not upgrade" on my reservation. Since I haven't received that call or email from my TA I guess that I can assume that I am not one of the lucky ones.

 

There is no luck involved in upsells, other than responding before everyone else does. Upsells from one category to another, i.e. oceanview to verandah, verandah to Signature Suite, etc, are offered by the cruiseline to all TAs at the same time. Not receiving a phone call from your TA with an offer does not mean upsells were not offered for your category. It simply means your TA did not contact you.

[Randyk47]

There is no luck involved in upsells, other than responding before everyone else does. Upsells from one category to another, i.e. oceanview to verandah, verandah to Signature Suite, etc, are offered by the cruiseline to all TAs at the same time. Not receiving a phone call from your TA with an offer does not mean upsells were not offered for your category. It simply means your TA did not contact you.

 

Kind of. Not all categories are offered for upsell as some simply sell out. Not getting a call certainly can mean that your TA didn't call or it could be they were never contacted by HAL with the offer in the first place. There are also guarantees to factor into what is probably the somewhat complicated inventory management formula/business.

[DaveOKC]

Thanks all for the responses, I appreciate them. When we make our reservations we usually request "no upgrade" because we want a particular location. However, the concept of being offered a choice of moving to a different/possibly more desirable location for possibly a small fee seems interesting (and a new concept to me). I think my TA was confused and thought I was asking about "an upgrade" vs "an upsell." She was also concerned that I would loose my promotions --- which I thought I read somewhere that if I was offered an "upsell" I would not loose it--- correct????

 

"DaveOKC" - Thanks for letting me know that there is a possibility that I could receive an "upsell" offer even if I put "do not upgrade" on my reservation. Since I haven't received that call or email from my TA I guess that I can assume that I am not one of the lucky ones.

 

Glad my information helped.

 

If you take an "upsell", you keep your promotions (but you do not get additional/different ones). One thing that you do not get is double suite credits if you move from a non-suite to a suite via upsell.

[jasperkerri]

Hi, I am sailing on the Eurodam out of Seattle on 05/27. I originally booked a signature suite through a wonderful travel agent. When I asked about if they over discounted "upsells" to the Neptune, I was told that they only offer to the agent you book with and they will pass offer to you. HA contacted my agent last week (2 weeks to sail date) and offered up to Neptune for $399.00, which we jumped on. We were able to pick the cabin that we wanted out of the ones still available. We also previously purchased the Explorer 4 package and moving up to the Neptune did not impact it at all. I don't know if this helps or not, but just offering info. Happy sailings!

[sail7seas]

No, if you booked through a TA, you have to go through the TA for upsells. Upsells would mostly be positive because one has the choice to accept what is offered. Upgrades are a different matter and you have little to no choice in where they place you. What HAL feels is an upgrade may not be an upgrade in your opinion.

 

 

Tell your TA to change your slection to indicate you will entetain an upsell offer.

[Italy52]

Thanks everyone for all your help and suggestions. Just got off the phone with my TA. My TA checked with HAL and they said nothing is available at this time as far as "upsells" for my cruise. However, the agent mentioned that the "upsells" typically are not available until 30 days prior to sailing. Since we do not sail until July 15th, my TA suggested that I call them back around June 15th and they will check again with HAL. My TA also assured me that if an "upsell" offer were to be presented prior to the 30 days she would pass it along ASAP.

[DaveOKC]

Thanks everyone for all your help and suggestions. Just got off the phone with my TA. My TA checked with HAL and they said nothing is available at this time as far as "upsells" for my cruise. However, the agent mentioned that the "upsells" typically are not available until 30 days prior to sailing. Since we do not sail until July 15th, my TA suggested that I call them back around June 15th and they will check again with HAL. My TA also assured me that if an "upsell" offer were to be presented prior to the 30 days she would pass it along ASAP.

 

Your TA is correct - seldom do you see an upsell more than 30 days before sailing. Most are around the 2 week mark.

 

One thing I would do is to be active on your (your specific cruise) Cruise Critic Roll Call board. Often people on there post when they receive an upsell offer and thus you will know to call your TA right away. I just did this for a friend a month ago,

[Italy52]

Your TA is correct - seldom do you see an upsell more than 30 days before sailing. Most are around the 2 week mark.

 

One thing I would do is to be active on your (your specific cruise) Cruise Critic Roll Call board. Often people on there post when they receive an upsell offer and thus you will know to call your TA right away. I just did this for a friend a month ago,

 

Two weeks out could be a problem for me as I will be on a B2B Princess cruise to Alaska that will end in Vancouver and immediately hook up with the HAL cruise. Internet is so unreliable in Alaska as you probably know. Oh well, if it is meant to be then it will somehow work out.

 

Thanks for the Roll Call reference --- unfortunately there are only two introductory posts on it.

[DaveOKC]

Two weeks out could be a problem for me as I will be on a B2B Princess cruise to Alaska that will end in Vancouver and immediately hook up with the HAL cruise. Internet is so unreliable in Alaska as you probably know. Oh well, if it is meant to be then it will somehow work out.

 

Thanks for the Roll Call reference --- unfortunately there are only two introductory posts on it.

 

You could just leave instructions for your TA to take the upsell for you if you are out of reach. Just need to tell them what you would accept in terms of category and price (and perhaps preferred cabin location).

[Italy52]

You could just leave instructions for your TA to take the upsell for you if you are out of reach. Just need to tell them what you would accept in terms of category and price (and perhaps preferred cabin location).

 

 

Something to consider. I am working with a big box TA so I don't really have a dedicated TA for our account. Have to check with DH to see if he would be comfortable with someone acting on our behalf. The "upsell" is not a make or break deal -- just would be nice to get one.

 

 

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

[sail7seas]

Two weeks out could be a problem for me as I will be on a B2B Princess cruise to Alaska that will end in Vancouver and immediately hook up with the HAL cruise. Internet is so unreliable in Alaska as you probably know. Oh well, if it is meant to be then it will somehow work out.

 

Thanks for the Roll Call reference --- unfortunately there are only two introductory posts on it.

 

Karen, Are you looking to get a bargain on a good cab in or do you simply want a higher category cab in than what you booked? If you are willing to pay a reasonable amount and move up t o a higher category cab in, hav e your TA, call..... ... reminda a reluctant TA that if you buy a better ca in, the c ommission goes up

[Italy52]

Karen, Are you looking to get a bargain on a good cab in or do you simply want a higher category cab in than what you booked? If you are willing to pay a reasonable amount and move up t o a higher category cab in, hav e your TA, call..... ... reminda a reluctant TA that if you buy a better ca in, the c ommission goes up

 

At the present time, all categories except ocean views (obstructed) are sold out according to the HAL website. I know there is a large group (can't remember the exact name) that is occupying a lot of cabins. At the present time we are in an inside cabin --- we wouldn't mind an OV obstructed as it would give us a little light. However, I am not willing to pay a lot of money for this upsell but willing to consider it if it were reasonable. Now, if a balcony were to magically appear at a good price I might entertain that idea. Because we are coming off of a Princess B2B prior to this HAL, I have to consider the $$$.

[Hlitner]

We are 4 Star Mariners (soon to be 5) and have only been offered upsells on 2 cruises. What we find unusual is that our two offers both came on Grand Med voyages (Prinsendam) several years apart. One of the offers was so ridiculous (too expensive) that our cruise agent was actually laughing as she relayed the offer (only $9,999 extra!). But on our last Grand Med cruise we had a pretty decent offer to upgrade from our outside cabin to either a Signature or Pinnacle Suite. We ignored the first offer (about 3 weeks before the cruise) without giving it much thought. But a week later our cruise agent e-mailed us a new offer which cut the upsell cost by about 25% (from the prior offfer). At that point we did accept the deal for a Signature Suite...which was a terrific cabin. But on all of our other HAL voyages we have never heard a peep about upsells.

 

Hank

[OceanPatter]

This is our second cruise on the Koningsdam (Northern Europe), and both times, we received an upsell to a Neptune Suite (from Signature) five days before sailing! We took both upsells because they seemed reasonable. But we are disappointed by how heavily HAL discounts prices, as the sailing date approaches. This strategy certainly doesn't seem to reward customer loyalty ...