Free Gratuity 5 Day Sale

[Cruising-along]

52 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

Are you no longer booking with "our" PCC and then transferring to Big Box?

It looks that way....this is our first booking we've made without booking with "our" PCC first.  Absolutely no complaints against him, but I'm not happy with the recent reports about how HAL is handling this "Save the Sale" promotion.  I'm having a hard time believing HAL can match our extra OBC from the Big Box.  I guess I'm waiting to see how that all pans out.  

[Alberta Quilter]

3 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

It looks that way....this is our first booking we've made without booking with "our" PCC first.  Absolutely no complaints against him, but I'm not happy with the recent reports about how HAL is handling this "Save the Sale" promotion.  I'm having a hard time believing HAL can match our extra OBC from the Big Box.  I guess I'm waiting to see how that all pans out.  

 

Guess I missed something.  I'm not familiar with "Save the Sale" and the recent reports.  Were these reports here on CC?

[DeeniEncinitas]

Well I just got a reply from my PCC! 

2 Cruises in the future:

1: Rotterdam 3/11/20 San Diego to FLL

     🌺includes Explorer 4 SBP and

           Pinnacle Grille 

2: Koningsdam 1/9/21 RT San Diego to

     Mexico and Hawaii

     🌺includes Explorer 4 SBP and

            Pinnacle Grille 

 

she says she talked to corporate to get the gratuities added on! They said it was only

for new bookings with the current Explorer 4 ($25.00) beverage card! I have which she said we are lucky because corporate said that is now expired old Explorer 4!!!!!!!

I sent her a reply saying”Do you mean there is no more SBP Explorer 4?”

Have not heard back!!! For us that is a game changer for future cruises! We have 2 Oceania Cruises in March and April 2020

only because after FLL on Rotterdam we were hoping she was going to do a TA!

NOT so will be in FLL for 2 days and head to Miami to do a TA on Riviera!

For is we really enjoyed the Explorer 4 for all our coffees drinks etc!

Denise😊

       

[xjust4fun]

45 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Hi Diane,

IF it is any consolation, IMO, you would be getting the same answer from the PCC.  It has been my observation that no one with the SBP has been able to get the gratuities added.  WE were very lucky with the Black Friday promotion on our upcoming cruise.

Hi Marie, friend of mine was able to get the free gratuities added to her booking without loosing anything, she also upgraded her cabin, it was a win win for her but not for us.  We still have more than a year to go so we will watch the future promotion and could give up the beverage package as we do not drink enough to justify it if we had to buy it..... One of our previous cruise we gave up the beverage package and both saved $2,600.00 Cdn. So it is something we could consider in the futur.  We transferred our bookings to a TA when HAL made a change in transfer policy.  Oh well....

[kazu]

42 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Holland virgin here and would like advice from you experienced HAL sailors please. We are eyeing a 12/4/19 Vendam 7 night sailing due to its already low price ($269 + p&t for an inside guarantee). If we booked now in an outside guarantee with the gratuity promo we would save a hundred dollars or so in total. 

 

I had intended on waiting until final payment hoping they might throw in a drinks package or free grants or something. Since this is not a cruise we "have to do" but are doing as it's cheaper than what a week in an Airbnb would cost, it won't be the end of the world if it sells out.  

 

But, we would like to take it...so, any thoughts on whether waiting until after the final payment date will likely result in an overall better deal would be greatly appreciated!

 

TIA,

Clay

 

If you like the price, why not book it?  You have until the day before final payment to cancel if you think there will be better deals.  

 

Just make sure you don’t book the “non refundable” fare.

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Well I just got a reply from my PCC! 

2 Cruises in the future:

1: Rotterdam 3/11/20 San Diego to FLL

     🌺includes Explorer 4 SBP and

           Pinnacle Grille 

2: Koningsdam 1/9/21 RT San Diego to

     Mexico and Hawaii

     🌺includes Explorer 4 SBP and

            Pinnacle Grille 

 

she says she talked to corporate to get the gratuities added on! They said it was only

for new bookings with the current Explorer 4 ($25.00) beverage card! I have which she said we are lucky because corporate said that is now expired old Explorer 4!!!!!!!

I sent her a reply saying”Do you mean there is no more SBP Explorer 4?”

Have not heard back!!! For us that is a game changer for future cruises! We have 2 Oceania Cruises in March and April 2020

only because after FLL on Rotterdam we were hoping she was going to do a TA!

NOT so will be in FLL for 2 days and head to Miami to do a TA on Riviera!

For is we really enjoyed the Explorer 4 for all our coffees drinks etc!

Denise😊

       

 

I wouldn’t fret Denise.

 

The new Explore4 is not the standard and it doesn’t appear to appeal to many.

 

I suspect the regular Explore4 will be back.  I thought the current Explore4 was still on, it certainly is for my friend who got the prepaid HSC and already had it with the $800 OBC.

 

Certainly, I know the SBP Explore4 appeals to more people than the current package.  

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

I wouldn’t fret Denise.

 

The new Explore4 is not the standard and it doesn’t appear to appeal to many.

 

I suspect the regular Explore4 will be back.  I thought the current Explore4 was still on, it certainly is for my friend who got the prepaid HSC and already had it with the $800 OBC.

 

Certainly, I know the SBP Explore4 appeals to more people than the current package.  

Thanks Jacqui!!🤗 you always ground me!

Denise😊

[richwmn]

42 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

Guess I missed something.  I'm not familiar with "Save the Sale" and the recent reports.  Were these reports here on CC?

There was another thread that I discussed the difficulties I was having getting two cruises transferred. Either in that thread or another one, someone else mentioned that their PCC had matched what "Big Box" offered in order to keep the booking in house. I did end up getting the cruises transferred. I have not been able to locate that thread again.

 

[Cruising-along]

54 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

Guess I missed something.  I'm not familiar with "Save the Sale" and the recent reports.  Were these reports here on CC?

This thread talks about it, see Rich's post (108). 

I don't think he uses the term "Save the Sale" here, but I do remember him using that phrase when I spoke with him not long ago or maybe it was a different thread.  Something the PCCs are being pushed to do. 

 

oops, edited to say Rich beat me to it, I got interrupted when typing 🙂  

Edited August 27, 2019 by Cruising-along

[Clay Clayton]

32 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

If you like the price, why not book it?  You have until the day before final payment to cancel if you think there will be better deals.  

 

Just make sure you don’t book the “non refundable” fare.

Because final payment is just next week.  

[kazu]

6 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Because final payment is just next week.  

 

Oh stupid me, I guess I missed that?

apologies if I did.  If you don’t care about the HSC and other stuff, then sure, wait until after final payment and book when you like the price assuming, of course, that you are not fussy about cabin type and location and that the ship isn’t sold out.

 

There can be some sweet deals after final payment.  Hope it works for you 🙂 

[Clay Clayton]

49 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Oh stupid me, I guess I missed that?

apologies if I did.  If you don’t care about the HSC and other stuff, then sure, wait until after final payment and book when you like the price assuming, of course, that you are not fussy about cabin type and location and that the ship isn’t sold out.

 

There can be some sweet deals after final payment.  Hope it works for you 🙂 

What is HSC and other stuff?

[JMAUST]

10 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

There appear to be conditions to the offer.  I've highlighted a couple of them:

 

Thanks for the info. Rang HAL (Australia) again and told not available for the cruise. Then spoke to my travel agent who said she can find no record of this deal on the Australia website. We cannot book through the US site. Looks like it may well be a north American deal again.

[kazu]

24 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

What is HSC and other stuff?

 

Hotel Service Charge - there’s currently a deal where if you book the HSC is prepaid.  That’s about $15.50/16.t0  pp per day.  And there’s another sale on (and yes, they can be combined) with extra OBC (on board credit), etc.  The amount depends on the category of cabin you are booking.

Will the price decline enough to cover that?  Hard to say but possibly if you don’t mind to do an inside cabin or possibly (but not always) and OV.

 

hope this helps.

[canadarocks]

31 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

What is HSC and other stuff?

Hotel Service Charge aka Gratuities .... I had no clue what HSC meant either until very recently. It can get confusing around here. 😉 

[Clay Clayton]

Thanks.  On the cruise lines I frequent (Norwhan and Viking), those are called daily service charges (dsc) officially and gratuities informally. The current sale on those results in an overall savings of$100 or so as noted in my op.  I'm just wondering if I'd do better to wait until after final payment next week. 

Edited August 28, 2019 by Clay Clayton

[cowmilker]

Clay, you're already down to about $38 per day pp, which is really low for HAL.  I mean, CHEAP.  That's about what Dave and I got the TA from Rome on the Norwegian Star for.  We're on a 10-day cruise with HAL in December and I was happy to get it for less than $70 per day pp.

If doing this would put you in an OV and net you an additional $100, well. . . 

I go through this angst with every cruise I book, especially when I'm doing what you're doing (cruise cheaper than AirBnB would be ). Right now, I've got two cruises with HAL booked. I've paid in full for both of them just because I got the best price I could and then said "screw it" and paid them off so I won't obsess over them any more.

But I'm almost never right about anything, so don't listen to me.

[Clay Clayton]

Yes that’s what the angel on one shoulder is telling me while the devil on the other is saying but wait...maybe the same price with drinks!  LOL

 

Oh and for what it’s worth, it’s $82 a day once you add taxes and port charges!

 

[mauimacho]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I wouldn’t fret Denise.

 

The new Explore4 is not the standard and it doesn’t appear to appeal to many.

 

I suspect the regular Explore4 will be back.  I thought the current Explore4 was still on, it certainly is for my friend who got the prepaid HSC and already had it with the $800 OBC.

 

Certainly, I know the SBP Explore4 appeals to more people than the current package.  

Heres a vote for the new Explore 4. I never cared about the SBP because we don't drink.

[wesport]

Since my final payment on the Zuiderdam, they have lowered the price of my Neptune suite by 100, given free internet, and free gratuities.  With two phone calls from my TA to HAL, they have given nothing. New bookings only. I know that, but had to try. 

[Woofbite]

19 hours ago, Woofbite said:

Where did you see that offer?  When I look at the website I can't find it and if I start a dummy booking it never appears.

 

I found it this morning.  Offers say they apply to stateroom based on double occupancy.  Do they apply to a single? Seems they should so I'll call later to find out.

[BaltimoreCruise]

No luck for me yesterday or this morning.  Yesterday I was told that the fare had to be non-refundable in order to add the promo.  This morning I was told that if the cabin category was available the promotion could be added, but the cabin category I have booked is no longer available.  Notwithstanding, I could cancel and rebook the same cabin (but would risk losing the cabin and the OBC that I currently have although it is not that much).  I guess I'll let this one go and look at the Black Friday promotion.  

[Alberta Quilter]

3 minutes ago, BaltimoreCruise said:

No luck for me yesterday or this morning.  Yesterday I was told that the fare had to be non-refundable in order to add the promo.  This morning I was told that if the cabin category was available the promotion could be added, but the cabin category I have booked is no longer available.  Notwithstanding, I could cancel and rebook the same cabin (but would risk losing the cabin and the OBC that I currently have although it is not that much).  I guess I'll let this one go and look at the Black Friday promotion.  

I"m really sorry to hear that.  In the T&C's it does say something about it being capacity controlled but I would have thought that was by itinerary and not by cabin category.  My DS is booked only for the same segment as you and she is trying to get the free grats, too.  I haven't heard if she was successful or not yet; she's dealing with her own TA.  We are both booked in a VD.  What category did you book?

[Alberta Quilter]

14 hours ago, richwmn said:

There was another thread that I discussed the difficulties I was having getting two cruises transferred. Either in that thread or another one, someone else mentioned that their PCC had matched what "Big Box" offered in order to keep the booking in house. I did end up getting the cruises transferred. I have not been able to locate that thread again.

 

 

14 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

This thread talks about it, see Rich's post (108). 

I don't think he uses the term "Save the Sale" here, but I do remember him using that phrase when I spoke with him not long ago or maybe it was a different thread.  Something the PCCs are being pushed to do. 

 

oops, edited to say Rich beat me to it, I got interrupted when typing 🙂  

 

Thanks to both of you.

[BaltimoreCruise]

Alberta Quilter,

I am currently booked in a Spa OV on Deck 10.  I was looking forward to trying this cabin category (view perspective) and didn't want to give it up.  The big box TA said that I could upgrade my cabin category to the next level and get the promotion for $300 more.  I am not interested in an obstructed view balcony or paying $300 more.  Before our two trips on the Veendam in 2018 and 2019 we always sailed in a balcony cabin.  We liked the OV cabin (we had the same cabin each sailing) on the Veendam so we thought we would try an OV on a larger ship.  As I said earlier, I will be sure to look at the Black Friday sale this year. I hope your DS is successful with adding the promotion.

BC