Promotion Frequency

[leaimani]

Hi! I'm planning a Nov. 2020 cruise but I see that they have a promotion currently running (Explore 4) which runs until 10/31/19. Does Holland America typically have monthly promotions? I need to know if I need to scramble and book the trip now or if I can safely wait until next month when another promotion will be running....??? 

[rucrazy]

14 minutes ago, leaimani said:

Hi! I'm planning a Nov. 2020 cruise but I see that they have a promotion currently running (Explore 4) which runs until 10/31/19. Does Holland America typically have monthly promotions? I need to know if I need to scramble and book the trip now or if I can safely wait until next month when another promotion will be running....??? 

Holland America will almost always have some sort of promotion, some better than others. Some include beverage packages and OBC while others might offer a Free specialty dining meal and a beverage card. There does not seem to be a structure to promotions so if you see a promotion you like book the cruise! And, as long as your outside of final payment you can always rebook if a better deal comes along!

 

Joseph 

[Alberta Quilter]

Agree with rucrazy but make sure you book a refundable fare in order to be able to re-fare under a different promotion should a better one (for you) come along.

[leaimani]

Awesome! Thanks for the advice rucrazy and Alberta Quilter! The Explore 4 promo has OBC, 50% deposit, a small bev. card & free dinner at Pinnacle. I think I'm going to pull the trigger!!! Thank you both for your quick response! 

Edited October 18, 2019 by leaimani

[taba]

1 hour ago, leaimani said:

Awesome! Thanks for the advice rucrazy and Alberta Quilter! The Explore 4 promo has OBC, 50% deposit, a small bev. card & free dinner at Pinnacle. I think I'm going to pull the trigger!!! Thank you both for your quick response! 

The advantage of booking early with a refundable fare is that you have better selection of staterooms, but if you rebook, you can keep your room.

[DaveOKC]

16 minutes ago, taba said:

The advantage of booking early with a refundable fare is that you have better selection of staterooms, but if you rebook, you can keep your room.

Excellent point!  Plus, sometime I rebook to get a lower price, even if I have to forego some perks/incentives.  OBC is a good example - I would much rather have the lower price than the same (or close) amount of OBC.  OBC is nice, but can be a pain sometimes (not being able to pre-book excursions for example).  Plus, on one recent cruise we had a port cancelled and had to scramble to use up the OBC we had used for the now cancelled tours.

[rucrazy]

1 hour ago, leaimani said:

Awesome! Thanks for the advice rucrazy and Alberta Quilter! The Explore 4 promo has OBC, 50% deposit, a small bev. card & free dinner at Pinnacle. I think I'm going to pull the trigger!!! Thank you both for your quick response! 

Be aware a 50% deposit normally means non refundable deposit! unless you buy insurance at the time of booking..

Edited October 18, 2019 by rucrazy

[freestyling]

Also ask when booking what the cruise price would be without promotion. Sometimes the “value” of the promotional cost is quite high.

[suec12]

I don't follow HAL too closely but it seems to me the current Explore 4 is a good offer esp. if you get a verandah and up because besides "the 4" which aren't super impressive, you get free internet - that's a valuable perk. And in the current promo, at least for the cruise I'm looking at, the cruise only fare, plus OBC given, equals the Explore 4 fare so it seems a decent deal to me since I know I'll run up grats, beverages and maybe a excursion or two. The 50% deposit is refundable.

 

If you cancel and rebook (to reprice) what happens with your EZ Air - does that get cancelled and needs to rebook that as well. 

[CJcruzer]

Watch for Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales (usually lasts one week of US Thanksgiving)...the past few years the promo has included prepaid gratuities.  Some itineraries remain same pricing as prior, some increase.   

 

As long as you have refundable deposit, HAL  just re-fares your booking and it usually does not involve a change of booking number  - the EZ Air attached to the booking should remain in place.   You can ask this question when and if you find a better price.

 

I just refared an Explore 4 booking, which had OBC, etc - but there was a promo which showed a significant decrease in price, with no perks involved.   I saved way more than the Explore 4 perks/OBC.   

 

I also would rather have a lower cruise fare (less to insure on travel-cancellation insurance) than perks.    

 

Carol

 

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by CJcruzer

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, CJcruzer said:

Watch for Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales (usually lasts one week of US Thanksgiving)...the past few years the promo has included prepaid gratuities.  Some itineraries remain same pricing as prior, some increase.   

 

As long as you have refundable deposit, HAL  just re-fares your booking and it usually does not involve a change of booking number  - the EZ Air attached to the booking should remain in place.   You can ask this question when and if you find a better price.

 

I just refared an Explore 4 booking, which had OBC, etc - but there was a promo which showed a significant decrease in price, with no perks involved.   I saved way more than the Explore 4 perks/OBC.   

 

I also would rather have a lower cruise fare (less to insure on travel-cancellation insurance) than perks.    

 

Carol

 

 

 

Now I’m wondering if our Canadian Thanksgiving sale was the equivalent of a “Black Friday” sale.  In any case, the Canadians who saw it scored on certain cruises and itineraries.  

 

I like a balance between price and OBC since my price is in Canadian dollars and my OBC is U.S. $ 😉. Quite a difference for us Canadians 😉 

I was very happy with the discount on our sale and the OBC that went with it 🙂 

[CJcruzer]

23 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Now I’m wondering if our Canadian Thanksgiving sale was the equivalent of a “Black Friday” sale.  In any case, the Canadians who saw it scored on certain cruises and itineraries.  

 

I like a balance between price and OBC since my price is in Canadian dollars and my OBC is U.S. $ 😉. Quite a difference for us Canadians 😉 

I was very happy with the discount on our sale and the OBC that went with it 🙂 

 

Jacqui, it may very well have been an equivalent.   I do not recall if they have had Columbus Day sales in the past (I don’t think so).....

 

Yes I checked that Cdn Thanksgiving sale - did not help any of my booked cruises - one was the same (but I already have free grats and bev. cards) and the other for 2021 was not listed. In fact my upcoming April cruise is completely sold out.   

 

Then because I thought it was such a great deal  I researched all cruises to see if I could fit something in - but no luck😟

 

But I appreciate that Sailing Dutchy  posted to call attention to the promo, and  that some people benefitted from it.    I actually saw your cruise listed and was going to email you, but you simultaneously posted that you saved on your cruises!  😏 

 

Carol

Edited October 18, 2019 by CJcruzer

[daisy-mae]

47 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I like a balance between price and OBC since my price is in Canadian dollars and my OBC is U.S. $ 😉. Quite a difference for us Canadians 😉 

I was very happy with the discount on our sale and the OBC that went with it 🙂 

 

Thanks for confirming that the OBC is in US$; that is an unexpected bonus.

Glad that we went ahead and booked.

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

 

Thanks for confirming that the OBC is in US$; that is an unexpected bonus.

Glad that we went ahead and booked.

 

Oh absolutely.

 

All charges on the ship are in U.S. $ so any OBC you get, CCL share credits, whatever - it’s all in USD.

 

Makes a difference - especially right now 😉 

[kazu]

38 minutes ago, CJcruzer said:

 

Jacqui, it may very well have been an equivalent.   I do not recall if they have had Columbus Day sales in the past (I don’t think so).....

 

They haven’t other than once when the Canadian dollar was at par.  (Big deal, right?)

My TA said she hasn’t see it and she’s a top TA with HAL.  Let’s cross our fingers that they do this every year 😉 😄 

 

38 minutes ago, CJcruzer said:

Yes I checked that Cdn Thanksgiving sale - did not help any of my booked cruises - one was the same (but I already have free grats and bev. cards) and the other for 2021 was not listed. In fact my upcoming April cruise is completely sold out.   

 

Then because I thought it was such a great deal  I researched all cruises to see if I could fit something in - but no luck😟

 

But I appreciate that Sailing Dutchy  posted to call attention to the promo, and  that some people benefitted from it.    I actually saw your cruise listed and was going to email you, but you simultaneously posted that you saved on your cruises!  😏 

 

Carol

 

Sorry you didn’t score, Carol and thank you for thinking of me when you saw the post.

 

I’ve teased DH he can’t criticize me being on CC any longer 😉 
 

I was thrilled with our sales we got.  Major savings - gave up SBP on one cruise but the $800 OBC and free internet definitely were covered a number of times in the savings.

 

Lost prepaid HSC on the other but again, you didn’t need a calculator to do the math.

All told, thousands (I do mean that) of savings on both cruises (and one wasn’t on the list).  Over 3M on each.  I was ecstatic.  And now those cabins are priced really, really reasonably.  I doubt they would be priced better even in the last 90 days.  

 

Of course, I will watch, but. I am very happy with my pricing 😄 

[Sue from Canada]

On 10/18/2019 at 1:10 PM, Alberta Quilter said:

Agree with rucrazy but make sure you book a refundable fare in order to be able to re-fare under a different promotion should a better one (for you) come along.

AQ - did you see the HAL Thanksgiving special for Canadians a few days ago?  Some people got some really sweet deals.  I got a good solo price for 14 days to Alaska next May 4th out of Vancouver plus SBC way higher than normal and Pinnacle dinner.  Come on back to Alaska.  I'm also booked on a TA (NY to Southamton to NY) on the QM2.  That should be interesting.  How's your mum doing? 

[Alberta Quilter]

2 hours ago, Sue from Canada said:

AQ - did you see the HAL Thanksgiving special for Canadians a few days ago?  Some people got some really sweet deals.  I got a good solo price for 14 days to Alaska next May 4th out of Vancouver plus SBC way higher than normal and Pinnacle dinner.  Come on back to Alaska.  I'm also booked on a TA (NY to Southamton to NY) on the QM2.  That should be interesting.  How's your mum doing? 

 

Yes, Sue, I did but we didn't score.  No changes on my three booked cruises (which had no Canadian ports, so no surprise there). Hal, through my TA, only offered reduced rates if I went non refundable.  

 

We did book a coastal cruise from Vancouver but the perks with Explore4 outweighed the Cdn Thanksgiving sale pricing.  I was told by my PCC that the two promos were not combinable but it sounds like they were for you.  

 

Mum's good but slowing down.  We just take one cruise at a time, always making sure cruises are refundable, and buying insurance.  She enjoys the cruises but not the travels to and fro.

 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

No changes on my three booked cruises (which had no Canadian ports, so no surprise there).

 

Sorry to hear that, AQ.  I was very surprised (happily 😉 ) that my TA was included as it did not have any Canadian ports, either. 

 

Glad to hear that you Mum doing well.