Upsell?

[smj]

Does Holland America ever offer upsells on undersold cruises. We sail on Dec. 9. It looks like every catagory is still available. We are in a balcony but would not mind a suit if the price was right.😎

[oceanmom]

Yes, we've been offered upsells on 3 out of 5 cruises. You could also call HAL and see if any are available. Not sure about the number but suspect you could call the reservations line and they could transfer or give you the number.

[cruiseaholic78]

I noted this number for a HAL upsell some time ago.

1 888-628-8107

Hope it works for you.

Rosalyn

[Krazy Kruizers]

It never hurts to call.  If you originally used a TA to book the cruise, then the TA has to make the call.

[CruiserBruce]

You  can't tell how many cabins are available by looking at the website, you can only tell how many are "unassigned", and that, as discussed here frequently, is a key difference. You don't know how many "guarantee" bookings there are. A couple cabins could be sold, and the ship might now appear as sold out.

[DaveOKC]

25 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

You  can't tell how many cabins are available by looking at the website, you can only tell how many are "unassigned", and that, as discussed here frequently, is a key difference. You don't know how many "guarantee" bookings there are. A couple cabins could be sold, and the ship might now appear as sold out.

Excellent point and explanation.  I have seen numerous times a sailing going from showing a number of cabins available in a category to that category being SOLD OUT overnight.

 

This situation is a bit different than in the past, likely due to HAL more aggressively promoting Guarantees.

[Italy52]

How do upsells work?  If you already have perks do you loose them with an upsell?

[DaveOKC]

26 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

How do upsells work?  If you already have perks do you loose them with an upsell?

Generally speaking, HAL will contact you through your TA or directly via email (if you booked through them), offering to sell you an upgrade to a higher level category (like Inside to Oceanview, Vista suite to Neptune Suite, etc.) for a specific sum.  Most times you can pick out the new cabin (from what is open of course), so do not be afraid to ask for this option.

 

You pay HAL the amount and are assigned a cabin right then (most times).  Your reservation does not change (same dining options, OBC, other perks, etc.).  You (or your TA) will be sent a new confirmation and of course, you should check it out carefully for correctness.

 

A couple of things - first, these upsells GENERALLY start about 4-6 weeks prior to your sailing.  If HAL does not get enough response, they will generally lower the price and try again about a week later.

 

   - second, AND MOST IMPORTANT, if you like the deal, contact your TA or HAL immediately, as the good deals go in a matter of minutes.  You should be prepared ahead of time as to how much you are willing to pay so that you can move quickly.  It is a good idea to notify your TA if you are interested in upsells, so they can be on the lookout.

 

Hope this helps.......

[mcrcruiser]

We know that Princess cruises actively does the up sell quite often . Thus ,HAL may be more subtle ;but ,it is worth the try . Generally ,the cost is never close to the original  cost of that cabin .

[Italy52]

Dave, thanks for the details, it is very helpful.  I do have a couple of follow-up questions:  I have a do not upgrade on my reservation, will that affect the opportunity to be asked about an upsell?  My TA is a big box agency and it seems that they never contact me about upsells -- even when I call to ask about one they act like I have two heads when mentioning it to them.  Do you think they just ignore these offerings by HAL or are they just not made to big box agencies?  Finally, I have an inside cabin --- would HAL allow me to upsell to a balcony or just one category above?  Thanks in advance for the response, I appreciate it.

[Italy52]

5 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We know that Princess cruises actively does the up sell quite often . Thus ,HAL may be more subtle ;but ,it is worth the try . Generally ,the cost is never close to the original  cost of that cabin .

Good to know.  We have a Princess  B2B Alaska 2019 cruise booked so I guess I should be watching for upsells.

[the_woodman]

Here is a specific example.  We are sailing on the Dec 1 Oosterdam sailing.  Originally, we booked a Cat C oceanview cabin.

 

2 weeks before sailing, I received an e-mail from Holland America offering an upgrade to ANY available Verandah stateroom for $99 per person.  I gladly accepted the upsell to a catergory VA.

 

I hope this helps.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

How do upsells work?  If you already have perks do you loose them with an upsell?

 

Dave has answered your "how does it work"

 

You don't lose perks with an upsell.  At least, I never have.

17 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Dave, thanks for the details, it is very helpful.  I do have a couple of follow-up questions:  I have a do not upgrade on my reservation, will that affect the opportunity to be asked about an upsell?  My TA is a big box agency and it seems that they never contact me about upsells -- even when I call to ask about one they act like I have two heads when mentioning it to them.  Do you think they just ignore these offerings by HAL or are they just not made to big box agencies?  Finally, I have an inside cabin --- would HAL allow me to upsell to a balcony or just one category above?  Thanks in advance for the response, I appreciate it.

 

"Do not Upgrade" does not affect upsells.  That's a horse of a different colour 😉

 

You can upsell to whatever category is offered.

 

Hard to say on your big box store.  I suspect they are probably ignored but not sure.  The upsell fairy can be very mysterious, at times.  I will say that when I dealt with a big box store, I never got upsell offers.  Changed and now I do receive them 😉 

[Italy52]

Kazu -- Thanks for the additional information.  I guess I will just wait until the cruise falls into the upsell range and check with my TA.  The big box TA works for me because of the generous perks so that is why I stick with them. 

[Alberta Quilter]

1 minute ago, Italy52 said:

Kazu -- Thanks for the additional information.  I guess I will just wait until the cruise falls into the upsell range and check with my TA.  The big box TA works for me because of the generous perks so that is why I stick with them. 

 

I've never received upsell emails through the big box store TA.  I have when I've kept my booking with my PCC.

[Italy52]

Alberta Quilter -- Thanks for your reply.  I had a hunch what you are saying might be the case.

[DaveOKC]

2 hours ago, Italy52 said:

Dave, thanks for the details, it is very helpful.  I do have a couple of follow-up questions:  I have a do not upgrade on my reservation, will that affect the opportunity to be asked about an upsell?  My TA is a big box agency and it seems that they never contact me about upsells -- even when I call to ask about one they act like I have two heads when mentioning it to them.  Do you think they just ignore these offerings by HAL or are they just not made to big box agencies?  Finally, I have an inside cabin --- would HAL allow me to upsell to a balcony or just one category above?  Thanks in advance for the response, I appreciate it.

 

I almost always mark my reservation "do not upgrade" when I pick out a specific cabin.  I have received upsell offers on most of my cruises - thus it does not matter as far as upsells go.

 

As to the big box stores, I do not have specific knowledge of how it works through them (for upsells).  Some people (on this board) report that they never get them through the big box stores, but others have reported that they do.  

 

One good thing about booking through HAL directly is that you get the offer directly from HAL's upsell department, it does not even go through your HAL PCC.  So, you get the "leg up" (IMO) on people who have to wait for their TA to notify them.  Sometimes this really does not matter much, but sometimes it does.  On a cruise last March I received an upsell offer email from HAL and called them immediately (within 2 minutes of getting it).  They only had one Neptune cabin available an I grabbed it.  Funny thing - at dinner one of table mates brought up the fact that they received the upsell email also and called within 15 minutes to get it, only to be told that it was already taken.............. I just smiled!

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by DaveOKC

[Italy52]

2 hours ago, the_woodman said:

Here is a specific example.  We are sailing on the Dec 1 Oosterdam sailing.  Originally, we booked a Cat C oceanview cabin.

 

2 weeks before sailing, I received an e-mail from Holland America offering an upgrade to ANY available Verandah stateroom for $99 per person.  I gladly accepted the upsell to a catergory VA.

 

I hope this helps.

Thank you very much for the example, I appreciate it very much.

[Italy52]

4 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

 

I almost always mark my reservation "do not upgrade" when I pick out a specific cabin.  I have received upsell offers on most of my cruises - thus it does not matter as far as upsells go.

 

As to the big box stores, I do not have specific knowledge of how it works through them (for upsells).  Some people (on this board) report that they never get them through the big box stores, but others have reported that they do.  

 

One good thing about booking through HAL directly is that you get the offer directly from HAL's upsell department, it does not even go through your HAL PCC.  So, you get the "leg up" (IMO) on people who have to wait for their TA to notify them.  Sometimes this really does not matter much, but sometimes it does.  On a cruise last March I received an upsell offer email from HAL and called them immediately (within 2 minutes of getting it).  They only had one Neptune cabin available an I grabbed it.  Funny thing - at dinner one of table mates brought up the fact that they received the upsell email also and called within 15 minutes to get it, only to be told that it was already taken.............. I just smiled!

 

Dave, thanks for the additional information, I appreciate it.

[Randyk47]

One cautionary note.....not all upsell offers are bargains.    A few years ago we got momentarily excited when our TA called and said HAL had offered us an upsell.   We had just moved cities and bought a new house so resources were down a bit.   Rather than a Neptune we booked a VB and kind of regretted it but it was a 14-day cruise and even in a VB it was up there in cost for us.   We were almost giddy with excitement as we knew from CC about the great upsell discounts people had gotten.  So the TA says HAL wants $1,999 to move us to a Neptune.  We asked if that was for one or two and the TA said it was per person.   I asked if she could check and could we maybe make a counteroffer.   She left us on line so we could hear the HAL representative.   Long story short HAL wouldn’t budge and we stayed in our VB.  And by the way the nearly $4,000 difference was the exact full fare difference between a Neptune and a VB, not a nickel discounted and no other incentive.   

[wyobean]

4 hours ago, Italy52 said:

Dave, thanks for the details, it is very helpful.  I do have a couple of follow-up questions:  I have a do not upgrade on my reservation, will that affect the opportunity to be asked about an upsell?  My TA is a big box agency and it seems that they never contact me about upsells -- even when I call to ask about one they act like I have two heads when mentioning it to them.  Do you think they just ignore these offerings by HAL or are they just not made to big box agencies?  Finally, I have an inside cabin --- would HAL allow me to upsell to a balcony or just one category above?  Thanks in advance for the response, I appreciate it.

Several years ago we were in an inside cabin and got an offer for a Neptune Suite. I don’t remember how much, but it wasn’t a lot cause we took it. Loved it. To all of you who say once to are in a Neptune Suite you won’t sail any other way...sorry. Not us. I just don’t see the expense being worth it for us. Everything was wonderful but we always book inside..the savings allows us to take more cruises and that means more to us than the suite and extra perks. 

 

So, yes, you may get an upsell offer even being in an inside cabin. 

[Italy52]

wyobean, thank you for your post, I appreciate the feedback.

[*Miss G*]

For what it’s worth, I talked to my PCC about upsells and Mariner credits on August 30th.  These are the notes I took:

 

Mariner credits go by the booking on POLAR.  When you are upgraded it does not get changed in POLAR, so this is why/how Suite Credits for additional Mariner days aren’t applied.  You remain in POLAR as your original category booking.

 

Normally, upsells are sent directly to the PCC, first, but when it is close to sailing (within 2 weeks) they will be emailed directly.

 

If upsell offers aren’t fully sold they do upgrades.  When doing complimentary NS upgrades they look at all the top tier (3-4-5 Star) Mariners in Signature Suites first.  A lot of top tier Mariners have “Do Not Upgrade” marked on their bookings so they won’t get chosen.  This is the process for each Category Stateroom.

[RocketMan275]

12 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

It never hurts to call.  If you originally used a TA to book the cruise, then the TA has to make the call.

Perhaps.  Last March, my TA forwarded an upsell offer from Holland.   The TA suggested I call the Upsell Line for more information.  The upsell department was happy to talk to me explaining the offer.  They did explain that my acceptance would have to be through the TA.  I didn't accept the offer.  About a week later, Holland lowered the price of the upsell by 50%.  I called my TA and she called Holland and accepted the offer.  This upsell was from a Neptune to a Pinnacle Suite on a seven day cruise.  The initial offer was $1500 PP.  I accepted the $750 PP offer.  Mostly because I figured it might be a one time chance to experience a pinnacle suite.  It was nice but I would take the same offer again.

[Spunky946]

Last year we were on the Eurodam Christmas sailing and were booked in a veranda cabin as a family of 4.  We got an up sell about 3-4 weeks out for both signature suites and Neptune suites.  We took the jump on the Neptune suite for $799 per first and second guest, we didn’t have to pay extra for the kids.  We loved the extra space and all the perks.