Online sites can't undercut HAL?

[IPB4IGO]

In planning our next two cruises (up to Alaska, then a return cruise), I checked a big box travel site and found fares for the same cabins to be about 20% lower than the fares on the HAL site. 

 

Then I came across this from https://www.smartertravel.com/best-sites-to-book-a-cruise/  

 

But is there one best site to book a cruise? That depends on what you’re looking for. Sometimes the best cruise website is actually a cruise line’s own site—since technically, cruise booking websites aren’t allowed to undercut the prices that the cruise lines set.

 

What am I missing? We have always used a TA in the past, and the fare hasn't been lower than HAL's, but they always threw in hundreds of dollars in OBC. And the online big box site seems to actually undercut the published fare.

[MisterBill99]

It's possible that they have group booking on those sailings, which would be cheaper  (I know that the other big online travel agent has these). Another possibility is Advantage Pricing, which I've seen on TA sites. 

 

Did you enter your Mariner number on the big box site and login to HAL to make sure that any Private Sale pricing is showing?

[IPB4IGO]

4 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

It's possible that they have group booking on those sailings, which would be cheaper  (I know that the other big online travel agent has these). Another possibility is Advantage Pricing, which I've seen on TA sites. 

 

Did you enter your Mariner number on the big box site and login to HAL to make sure that any Private Sale pricing is showing?

Yes, I entered my Mariner number on the big box site (it made a big difference), and I did log in to the HAL site. I selected the same two cabins for the same cruises.

[MisterBill99]

2 minutes ago, IPB4IGO said:

Yes, I entered my Mariner number on the big box site (it made a big difference), and I did log in to the HAL site. I selected the same two cabins for the same cruises.

 

Did the HAL price match the big box price without your Mariner #? I've had problems with HAL only showing Private Sale pricing for my wife and not me. I complained to HAL and they "fixed it" and now I see the lower prices but not my wife. Amusingly, the USPS sale mailings we get have both of our numbers of them. Maybe you entered your spouse's # as well as yours and the big box store found it on theirs? If not, then I've got nothing :).

[TiogaCruiser]

I’ve found on several instances that the BigBox site is within a few dollars of HAL EXCEPT the Big Box typically includes port fees and the HAL site adds them on. So the BB is lower.... Have also had several circumstances when the BB showed a bunch of adjacent cabins that had good prices and were not available on the HAL site when entering the specific cabin numbers.

[IPB4IGO]

14 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Did the HAL price match the big box price without your Mariner #? I've had problems with HAL only showing Private Sale pricing for my wife and not me. I complained to HAL and they "fixed it" and now I see the lower prices but not my wife. Amusingly, the USPS sale mailings we get have both of our numbers of them. Maybe you entered your spouse's # as well as yours and the big box store found it on theirs? If not, then I've got nothing :).

Without entering my Mariner number in the big box site, the big box and HAL fares match. I enter my Mariner number, and the big box fare is $500 less, plus it includes $350 OBC and a $650 shop card.

 

Go figure.

[Cruising-along]

47 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

It's possible that they have group booking on those sailings, which would be cheaper

We lucked into one of those with Big Box.  Big savings plus the OBC.

[MisterBill99]

1 hour ago, IPB4IGO said:

Without entering my Mariner number in the big box site, the big box and HAL fares match. I enter my Mariner number, and the big box fare is $500 less, plus it includes $350 OBC and a $650 shop card.

 

Go figure.

 

So maybe there is Private Sale pricing that HAL's site is not showing for one reason or another. Of course, HAL isn't going to be able to match the shop card (the OBC may be part of what HAL is offering).

 

If you post the cruise dates, I can check my account and see what the HAL site shows me. As I mentioned, I do generally see private sale pricing when I look on my account.

Edited January 13, 2020 by MisterBill99

[jimmy2x]

Have never booked direct with any cruise line. Or the big box. There are numerous sites on the net to check pricing. A little research can save a lot of money. I tend to book about a year prior to the sailing as am admittedly picky about the cabin and location. 

[Mary229]

My sister who owns an agency has always said that if one agent can offer it, all agents have access to it.  As noted above, I think they are using the private sale or large group booking rates to resell.  If you set up price alerts on your cruise you can re-fare anytime until final payment day - that is a nice feature with HAL.

 

 I know many people say they "hand back their commission" but that makes no sense at all - why on earth would someone open a business and give away all of the profit.  

[DreaminoftheCaribbean]

11 hours ago, IPB4IGO said:

In planning our next two cruises (up to Alaska, then a return cruise), I checked a big box travel site and found fares for the same cabins to be about 20% lower than the fares on the HAL site. 

 

Then I came across this from https://www.smartertravel.com/best-sites-to-book-a-cruise/  

 

But is there one best site to book a cruise? That depends on what you’re looking for. Sometimes the best cruise website is actually a cruise line’s own site—since technically, cruise booking websites aren’t allowed to undercut the prices that the cruise lines set.

 

What am I missing? We have always used a TA in the past, and the fare hasn't been lower than HAL's, but they always threw in hundreds of dollars in OBC. And the online big box site seems to actually undercut the published fare.

New to Cruise Critic...I have never been on a cruise...please forgive my lack of knowledge, but what is a bigbox site? I know you can not name names..but  can you imply so I can infer?

[DaveOKC]

32 minutes ago, DreaminoftheCaribbean said:

New to Cruise Critic...I have never been on a cruise...please forgive my lack of knowledge, but what is a bigbox site? I know you can not name names..but  can you imply so I can infer?

big box is the "implied".  Its about as far as we can go without breaking the rules.  It should not be hard to figure out if you search the term "big box" and also travel agencies.

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by DaveOKC

[richwmn]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I know many people say they "hand back their commission" but that makes no sense at all - why on earth would someone open a business and give away all of the profit.

The "Big Box" stores and other large Travel Agencies do "hand back" the commission. There are two ways to make money. Sell one of something at a large profit or sell 100 at a small profit. By cutting back their profit, the large agencies sell many more cruises than the small agencies. The incremental cost of the additional sales is insignificant. The large Agencies also get perks from the Cruise Lines based on the huge number of cruises they sell.

 

 

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

 I know many people say they "hand back their commission" but that makes no sense at all - why on earth would someone open a business and give away all of the profit.  

They don't "give away all of the profit", only a portion, about 8-10% of the fare.

[retafcruiser]

59 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

They don't "give away all of the profit", only a portion, about 8-10% of the fare.

I don't understand how they give 8-10% when the cruise line only gives them 8-10% commission????

[IPB4IGO]

12 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

So maybe there is Private Sale pricing that HAL's site is not showing for one reason or another. Of course, HAL isn't going to be able to match the shop card (the OBC may be part of what HAL is offering).

 

If you post the cruise dates, I can check my account and see what the HAL site shows me. As I mentioned, I do generally see private sale pricing when I look on my account.

This morning, the HAL site is showing a fare  of $7,274, about $150 LESS than the big box fare, although the big box fare includes a $650 shop card, $350 in OBC, and complementary shipboard gratuities for two. The HAL fare includes an undefined "Onboard Spending Money".

 

The fare I am looking at is Seward to Vancouver, 6/21/20, cabin 7069. I would be interested to know if you get a different fare. Yesterday, the HAL site was showing a fare of $7,992.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, retafcruiser said:

I don't understand how they give 8-10% when the cruise line only gives them 8-10% commission????

The travel agents receive more than 10% from the cruise lines.  Their compensation rate is a function of sales.

But it doesn't matter what we 'understand'.  My travel agent does give 8-10% discounts on all my cruises.  

 

Just accept the fact that it is possible to get 8-10% discounts and find an agent that does give those discounts.

Edited January 13, 2020 by RocketMan275

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, retafcruiser said:

I don't understand how they give 8-10% when the cruise line only gives them 8-10% commission????

 

I don't believe this is an accurate statement. There are different commission structures available. 

[MisterBill99]

51 minutes ago, IPB4IGO said:

This morning, the HAL site is showing a fare  of $7,274, about $150 LESS than the big box fare, although the big box fare includes a $650 shop card, $350 in OBC, and complementary shipboard gratuities for two. The HAL fare includes an undefined "Onboard Spending Money".

 

The fare I am looking at is Seward to Vancouver, 6/21/20, cabin 7069. I would be interested to know if you get a different fare. Yesterday, the HAL site was showing a fare of $7,992.

 

I assume this is Westerdam? I am seeing the $7992 price. And I am only seeing "View and Verandah" as the fare option Did you see Private Sale or some other option?

[IPB4IGO]

7 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

I assume this is Westerdam? I am seeing the $7992 price. And I am only seeing "View and Verandah" as the fare option Did you see Private Sale or some other option?

 

You're right, I'm getting the $7,992 fare. The $7,274, was my mistake.

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by FulltimeRVer

[MisterBill99]

That's the 6/14 sailing. You said 6/21 and that is what I priced. On 6/14 I see a Restricted Fare without perks and View and Verandah. And it would be much simpler if you posted the per person fare that shows on the website and not the total since it's much easier than going thru the whole booking process.

[IPB4IGO]

5 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

That's the 6/14 sailing. You said 6/21 and that is what I priced. On 6/14 I see a Restricted Fare without perks and View and Verandah. And it would be much simpler if you posted the per person fare that shows on the website and not the total since it's much easier than going thru the whole booking process.

Thanks. I saw my error and corrected it, but not before you saw it.  

I didn't post the per person fare from the web site because it varies based on the specific cabin selected. That's why I selected the same cabin when comparing fares.

I see now that, aside from the shop card, the perks cited in the big box quotes are probably all part of the View and Verandah promotion, so they are the same regardless of where the cruise is booked.

Is there a restricted fare for the 6/21 sailing? I don't see a choice of fares on the HAL site.

 

Thanks for your help.

[MisterBill99]

I do not see any other fare for the 6/21 sailing And I just checked the "C" agency (not big box) and they are also $7992 with no fare  other than V&V.

[Alberta Quilter]

6 hours ago, DreaminoftheCaribbean said:

New to Cruise Critic...I have never been on a cruise...please forgive my lack of knowledge, but what is a bigbox site? I know you can not name names..but  can you imply so I can infer?

 

They sell hot dogs for $1.50 at their warehouses...

[Lido deck main]

39 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

They sell hot dogs for $1.50 at their warehouses...

The ones that make you burp.🙃