Never make an early booking with Holland America Line

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Precisely.  We decided back in August to book a November cruise.   That's last minute for us.   And, had to settle for a side cabin, not one of the usual aft-wraps we prefer.   As soon as we get some more FCD, we'll be booking our 2020 cruises.

We booked our February cruise (balcony) back in July.  It is hard to tell which way prices have gone - because only insides are now shown as available.  While it is good to think about getting a lower price for a cruise, the real point of the exercise is to get on the ship you want, sailing the date you want, in the accommodations you want.

 

Getting these things are a large part of what I am willing to pay for.  If all you want is a cheap cruise, and are willing to take what’s left over (or not sail at all) then waiting for the last minute is the thing to do.

[KroozNut]

4 hours ago, mamaofami said:

When I book early, it's because I want a particular itinerary on a particular ship and in a specific cabin. If I wait till the last minute, I might not be able to get what I want. JMHO.

 

Right, otherwise, what other reason is there to book at all?

[DeeniEncinitas]

4 hours ago, mamaofami said:

When I book early, it's because I want a particular itinerary on a particular ship and in a specific cabin. If I wait till the last minute, I might not be able to get what I want. JMHO.

That is how we always book! We booked

 both our cruises for 2020 while on The Maasdam doing South America back in 2/18/18!!!

when you know what you want and room we book it right then and there.

I will deal with possible explore 4 deals or gratuities included later if it happens! 

Booking way in advance especially on a cruise you get great perks!! On The Eurodam in Europe 9/16 we booked our South America Cruise got $1,000

OBC prepaid gratuities and internet w/explore 4!!!

Denise😊

[Stratheden]

We have always booked about 12 months ahead. It is important to us that we get the cruise, ship and itinerary. 

However, we recently made a sudden decision to go on a Christmas/New Year cruise this coming December.  There was a suitable 23 day cruise with 2 SS cabins, one of which we chose, and we were extremely happy with the price.  It is certainly a lot cheaper that the one we have booked for June, 2019.

 

We will probably do the same thing again later next year. Wait and see what is available over the holiday period.  

 

 

[SeaBands]

If you wait until the last minute you can miss a lot of bonuses such as drink packages and paid gratuities as well as few choices of cabins available in you desired category.;

[sail7seas]

18 hours ago, mamaofami said:

When I book early, it's because I want a particular itinerary on a particular ship and in a specific cabin. If I wait till the last minute, I might not be able to get what I want. JMHO.

 

Ditto, ditto, ditto.  We   almost always booked a year in advance   as we wanted the cabin we wanted.  There   actually were times the price went up After we had booked.  We never were   asked to pay that higher price.  (Nor did we offer)  😄 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by sail7seas

[Mabs]

I feel the same way as the original poster as it also happened to us. On a two week cruise it was almost $2,000 cheaper to book late and we did indeed get the worst cabin in the category we booked. I will wait until after final payment and pay much less than booking early. We have done a LOT of cruising with HAL and will now look for bargains instead of brand.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We prefer to book early to get the cabin we want.

[navybankerteacher]

19 minutes ago, Mabs said:

I feel the same way as the original poster as it also happened to us. On a two week cruise it was almost $2,000 cheaper to book late and we did indeed get the worst cabin in the category we booked. I will wait until after final payment and pay much less than booking early. We have done a LOT of cruising with HAL and will now look for bargains instead of brand.

This is certainly the way to get  low prices - assuming, of course, that ANY cabins (or cabins you would enjoy) remain available  — AND that prices have gone down.

 

For some itineraries, prices go up, rather than down as sailing date nears.  For those of us who enjoy cruising, and not just the feeling that we got a bargain,  paying what seems to be an appropriate fare  for the accommodations we want seems OK.

[Mabs]

10 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

This is certainly the way to get  low prices - assuming, of course, that ANY cabins (or cabins you would enjoy) remain available  — AND that prices have gone down.

 

For some itineraries, prices go up, rather than down as sailing date nears.  For those of us who enjoy cruising, and not just the feeling that we got a bargain,  paying what seems to be an appropriate fare  for the accommodations we want seems OK.

That is right and we have paid more for interesting itineraries. We are now cruising more for an easy way to enjoy some nice weather and some very nice people we always meet on cruises.

[Stratheden]

6 hours ago, SeaBands said:

If you wait until the last minute you can miss a lot of bonuses such as drink packages and paid gratuities as well as few choices of cabins available in you desired category.;

 

If you get a cheap last minute cruise, who care about the bonuses. You still come out on top after paying for all thos things. 

If the cheap last minute cruise is exactly what you want with a good cabin available go for it.  That is what we did.  We have had an "Annus horribilis" and just want a cruise to relax and get away from it all. We may not even get off the ship.

We have another cruise booked in 2019 for about the same number of days and it cost twice as much, but we have lots of bonuses.  We are happy with both our upcoming cruises. 

[KroozNut]

18 hours ago, Stratheden said:

If the cheap last minute cruise is exactly what you want with a good cabin available go for it.

 

Problem is that this almost never happens when you wait until the last minute to book.

[Bill B]

I just got 'double wammied' on this:

 

Last June, I booked a Volendam 15-day Incan Empires cruise, Cat. K for $3301.00 ('all in' with single supplement) with free gratuities - $202.50 = $3098.50.

 

In July, fares changed. I asked my TA to see if it was to my advantage to re-fare and I mentioned the free gratuities. The booking was re-fared (without consulting me) to $3198.00... and the booking confirmation still showed "Free Gratuities" worth $202.50.

 

Yesterday, I noticed the Cat. K fare for Mariner Society members has dropped to $2898.00 with $100 OBC = $2798.00. I asked my TA to see if I could be re-fared. Today, I received a reply stating I am within the penalty period - 120 days for Incan Empire cruises - and I would lose my $300 deposit, plus there would be a $300 penalty = $600 to re-book... so it's not worth it. Fair enough.

 

However, I was also told my booking does NOT have free gratuities - it was a mistake! Essentially, re-faring last July INCREASED my fare by $99.50. ***** re-fares for an increase???

 

To add insult to injury, HAL has increased the daily gratuity charge by $1/day... so I end up having to pay $117.50 MORE than when I first booked - $400.00 more than I could book the cruise today.

 

I'm not happy with HAL or my TA.

[colbe]

33 minutes ago, Bill B said:

 

I'm not happy with HAL or my TA. 

Why is this the fault of HAL?

[*Miss G*]

Sorry to hear you worked with a really bad TA.  

[CruiserBruce]

Anybody notice the OP has not returned??

[Bill B]

15 minutes ago, colbe said:

Why is this the fault of HAL?

 

I blame both HAL and the TA. 

 

HAL should point out re-faring would result in an increase; and, the TA should have 'picked up' on the fact it would result in an increase.

 

Nobody re-fares because they want to pay more!

[sail7seas]

46 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Anybody notice the OP has not returned??

 

Tht happens so frequently, I hardly notice anymore. 🙂

[avian777]

1 hour ago, sail7seas said:

 

Tht happens so frequently, I hardly notice anymore. 🙂

 

Not notice what???

[acrowe]

So, as one that hates to plan..I usually pick a date that we want to travel and decide based on the deal where we want to go, we just booked an 11-day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Koningsdam last week for November...the price 6 months ago for a Neptune Suite went up and down a bit...high around 9600, until September, when it dropped to about 8500. 

I had been watching and figured we would just go to a resort in Mexico. Well, one day it dropped to 7500...then a week later to 6250...I called to book..great deal!

Not the end..I asked our PCC how long they could hold the reservation and she said 6 days...on the 5th day it dropped to 5600 and we paid the bill. Done. 

We were on the Koningsdam Thanksgiving cruise last year and are very pleased to be back on it this year. 

[Bill B]

For the record, re: post #38 on this thread -

 

My TA went to bat for me with HAL. After what she describes as a stressful morning, HAL has agreed to give me $217.50 (15 x $14.50) in OBC in lieu of the pre-paid gratuities I lost when the booking was re-fared.

[kazu]

14 minutes ago, Bill B said:

For the record, re: post #38 on this thread -

 

My TA went to bat for me with HAL. After what she describes as a stressful morning, HAL has agreed to give me $217.50 (15 x $14.50) in OBC in lieu of the pre-paid gratuities I lost when the booking was re-fared.

 

Very good news indeed 🙂

 

One will offset the other. 

 

FYI, whenever I refard (and I have a few times 😉 ), I have learned to always ask and confirm what you keep and lose.  Just a tip for the future.

 

TA's/PCC's should do it bu they can be busy people or just plain miss it.  Always good to reconfirm everything before they do it.  And always good to check your confirmation and call back immediately if it doesn't match.

 

Glad to hear that things have been fixed for you 😄 

[Bill B]

47 minutes ago, kazu said:

FYI, whenever I refard (and I have a few times 😉 ), I have learned to always ask and confirm what you keep and lose.  Just a tip for the future.

 

TA's/PCC's should do it bu they can be busy people or just plain miss it.  Always good to reconfirm everything before they do it.  And always good to check your confirmation and call back immediately if it doesn't match.

 

My faith in TAs and HAL has been restored (somewhat). 

 

The thing was, when it was re-fared, I was sent a new confirmation showing the new fare and the pre-paid gratuities under "Amenities". I had no reason to question it, because I had it... in writing!

 

I was happy because (I thought) I'd saved $103.00. It was shock to find out yesterday there were no pre-paid gratuities on my booking - I had 'traded' $202.50 (now worth $217.50) of pre-paid gratuities for a fare reduction of $103.00. The result of re-faring was the 'price' had gone UP $114.50!!!

Edited October 25, 2018 by Bill B
I left out a word.

[DaveOKC]

I normally book from 6-12 months out, but only if I find a fare that I think is reasonable (I look at past history for the destination).  That way I generally can find a cabin I like and if the fare does not go down, I am still satisfied.  I do recheck the fare every 1-3 weeks (especially after a promotion comes out or goes off), as I can always rebook (before final payment of course).

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

13 hours ago, Bill B said:

 

My faith in TAs and HAL has been restored (somewhat). 

 

The thing was, when it was re-fared, I was sent a new confirmation showing the new fare and the pre-paid gratuities under "Amenities". I had no reason to question it, because I had it... in writing!

 

I was happy because (I thought) I'd saved $103.00. It was shock to find out yesterday there were no pre-paid gratuities on my booking - I had 'traded' $202.50 (now worth $217.50) of pre-paid gratuities for a fare reduction of $103.00. The result of re-faring was the 'price' had gone UP $114.50!!!

 

ah ha!  It was in your confirmation.  Then you were fine IMO.  It was up to the TA and HAL to fix it.  someone mucked up.

 

Glad it is all taken care of now. 😄