Booking on board

[Randyk47]

15 hours ago, quandrea said:

I spoke with an agent today. Her price was exactly the same as HAL’s online price. What’s the point?  I can book with HAL and control my reservation. Maybe I need to find a better agent?

 

If you spoke to a full service "brick and mortar" travel agent then I'm not surprised that she gave you that price.  As others have said to get bigger incentives, be they on-board credits or cash discounts, you have to deal with agents/agencies that do large volumes of sales and who can afford to provide these incentives.  Smaller agencies typically don't offer those kind of incentives as they aren't big enough to afford to do business that way.  Gets even harder if they have fixed offices in strip malls, etc., where they are paying rent and have other overhead. 

Edited April 17, 2019 by Randyk47

[iancal]

We view buying a cruise as two stages.  The first, the cruise itself, to us, is nothing more than a commodity.   Just like a bag of sugar.  Does not matter where we buy the cruise or from whom, on boarding the ship the product will be exactly the same.

 

So it comes down to the booking process.  Whether or not you do everything yourself and simply use the TA or cruise line agent as a booking agent or data entry clerk/cashier.  Or whether you prefer personalized service.  

 

We do not need hand holding.  So we book with an online TA who gives us a better price than the cruise line will and gives us a level of service that matches our requirements.  No doubt everyone has a preference.  We prefer not to book with an employee of the cruise line.

 

We do not feel that booking direct will give us one more iota of control over our reservation.  This is not, and has never been an issue for us over the years of booing cruises.

[jimmy2x]

26 minutes ago, iancal said:

We view buying a cruise as two stages.  The first, the cruise itself, to us, is nothing more than a commodity.   Just like a bag of sugar.  Does not matter where we buy the cruise or from whom, on boarding the ship the product will be exactly the same.

 

So it comes down to the booking process.  Whether or not you do everything yourself and simply use the TA or cruise line agent as a booking agent or data entry clerk/cashier.  Or whether you prefer personalized service.  

 

We do not need hand holding.  So we book with an online TA who gives us a better price than the cruise line will and gives us a level of service that matches our requirements.  No doubt everyone has a preference.  We prefer not to book with an employee of the cruise line.

 

We do not feel that booking direct will give us one more iota of control over our reservation.  This is not, and has never been an issue for us over the years of booing cruises.

Could not agree with you more. 18 cruises, most with HAL.  Have always booked with one of the big on-line agencies. The money is better in my pocket than in the cruise lines. 

[quandrea]

Who are these online agencies?

[Randyk47]

1 hour ago, quandrea said:

Who are these online agencies?

 

Unfortunately we aren't allowed to mention specific agencies or agents here.    

[grest]

We will be on an Alaska cruise next week (YAY!)....meanwhile, there is a cruise we like which currently offers the drinks, Pinnacle, etc.  Not sure if what they might offer on board would be better, and if the promotion for beverages etc will be around when I return, or if it really is a good value.  Opinions?

Thank you.

[Riversedge]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 11:01 PM, *Miss G* said:

 

I am an educated shopper and I have almost always gotten a better deal booking directly with HAL.  HAL offers private fares and I have never found anyone who can beat those prices.  

 

 

 

I've never found that booking directly with HAL is the best deal.  For example, when we booked our Voyage of the Viking cruise we got the same price as HAL (it was the private sale price) plus $1,400 OBC from my agent.  HAL is never going to give me something like that.  The chance for an upsell is probably never coming my way as it might with a PCC but that's o.k.  I can live with the cabin I booked.  

[Tampa Girl]

On 4/16/2019 at 11:01 PM, *Miss G* said:

 

I am an educated shopper and I have almost always gotten a better deal booking directly with HAL.  HAL offers private fares and I have never found anyone who can beat those prices.  

 

WRT booking onboard:  I have seen some really great prices offered on new itineraries that did nothing but increase in price over time.  I have regrets about not committing to those sailings when I could.  You will receive a Future Cruise mailing with promotional itineraries.  If pricing looks appealing it is probably a good deal.

 

How does one get offered private fares?  Every time I have spoken to a PCC, they say that they cannot lower the listed price.  I have always gotten at least 10% discount, plus the listed OBC's, plus some TA perks when I book through a TA.  I sure would love to know how one gets private fares from HAL.  We are 20 days short of 5*, BTW.  What am I missing or inadvertently ignoring - something in the mail?

[Sharon in AZ]

I have always done a future cruise deposit while on board but never select a specific cruise.  I always give them our PCC info so she gets credit.  We don't cruise as often as we used to, mostly because of work.  I get home after the cruise and mull it over a while and after a year or so decide what we are going to do.  This time it was 2+ years since our original future cruise deposit.  We still got our OBC, maybe not as much if we had done it sooner but still got something.  It works for me, no pressure but still have options, and still get some perks.

[kazu]

I don’t book on board.  I buy Future Cruise Deposits but this time I did - sort of - I put a deposit to secure a possible place on the Grand Africa.

 

It’s just a little bit and when it happens (when I get the real pricing and itinerary), then it will be booked where I want to book it.  

Annette sold me on it with the only “once every 6 years” and she is a trustworthy Future Cruise Consultant.  Generally speaking, the quality of FCC’s can vary from ship to ship and I’ve heard enough misinformation on other ships given to passengers that make me cringe plus I like to mull over when I’m home.  I don’t want to be studying cruises on board (unless I see something really tantalizing) as I am usually too busy 😉 

[Riversedge]

3 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

How does one get offered private fares?  Every time I have spoken to a PCC, they say that they cannot lower the listed price.  I have always gotten at least 10% discount, plus the listed OBC's, plus some TA perks when I book through a TA.  I sure would love to know how one gets private fares from HAL.  We are 20 days short of 5*, BTW.  What am I missing or inadvertently ignoring - something in the mail?

 

 

We get private sale brochures all the time.  Seems like you should too.  Maybe call HAL to ask why you’re not getting them?  They aren’t on every cruise however. 

[*Miss G*]

18 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

How does one get offered private fares?  Every time I have spoken to a PCC, they say that they cannot lower the listed price.  I have always gotten at least 10% discount, plus the listed OBC's, plus some TA perks when I book through a TA.  I sure would love to know how one gets private fares from HAL.  We are 20 days short of 5*, BTW.  What am I missing or inadvertently ignoring - something in the mail?

 

As Riversedge has mentioned, they come in the mail.  I have also started receiving them by email.  If you aren’t getting notifications then log in when you find an itinerary you are interested.  If the price changes and you see “Private Fare” in the options box when choosing a room category you’ll know you’re receiving them too.

[Tampa Girl]

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

 

As Riversedge has mentioned, they come in the mail.  I have also started receiving them by email.  If you aren’t getting notifications then log in when you find an itinerary you are interested.  If the price changes and you see “Private Fare” in the options box when choosing a room category you’ll know you’re receiving them too.

 

Thank you.  I never thought to look for "private Fare" in these mailings.  Forewarned is forearmed!  Do these fares occur in all categories on a particular cruise?

[Tampa Girl]

On 5/25/2019 at 10:09 AM, Riversedge said:

 

 The chance for an upsell is probably never coming my way as it might with a PCC but that's o.k.  I can live with the cabin I booked.  

 

Not so.  We have gotten two upsells, and we never book through a PCC.  But both occurred when we were in a Signature Suite and it was an upsell to an NS.  The signature suites are so popular that I guess HAL has no concern that those will go quickly if they move people out of them.  So don't give up hope.

[fatcat04]

On 5/25/2019 at 8:48 AM, grest said:

We will be on an Alaska cruise next week (YAY!)....meanwhile, there is a cruise we like which currently offers the drinks, Pinnacle, etc.  Not sure if what they might offer on board would be better, and if the promotion for beverages etc will be around when I return, or if it really is a good value.  Opinions?

Thank you.

You can always book it and refare it if you get a better deal or cancel and rebook it later if necessary. Just make sure the deposit is refundable. 

[DaveOKC]

2 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Not so.  We have gotten two upsells, and we never book through a PCC.  But both occurred when we were in a Signature Suite and it was an upsell to an NS.  The signature suites are so popular that I guess HAL has no concern that those will go quickly if they move people out of them.  So don't give up hope.

TAs can also offer upsells, but if you book direct the email upsell offer comes directly to you, not your TA, which improves your chances of getting a deal before it is sold out (one time I was able to snag the only upsell to Neptune cabin being offered on my cruise because of this).

 

Further, some people have reported that some of the larger on-line TAs do not bother with forwarding upsell offers to their clients.

[*Miss G*]

4 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Thank you.  I never thought to look for "private Fare" in these mailings.  Forewarned is forearmed!  Do these fares occur in all categories on a particular cruise?

 

Yes, reductions in all categories.