Standby Cruising

[guardhouse]

Does anyone know why HAL does not have a standby program similar to Princess?  Deeply discounted rates for those who can fill unsold cabins in the last few weeks before a sailing.  Those incentives have us staying with Princess just due to the lower fares.  Do folks on HAL just not experience much last minute cancellation issues?

[wesport]

Both HAL and Seabourn used to do a top 10 sale periodically. These are flash fares for sailings that are leaving soon. Not called standby though. However, I haven't seen these sales lately as there are no current sailings. 

[drsel]

Does anyone know why HAL does not have a standby program similar to Princess?  Deeply discounted rates for those who can fill unsold cabins in the last few weeks before a sailing.  Those incentives have us staying with Princess just due to the lower fares.  Do folks on HAL just not experience much last minute cancellation issues?

How does one get to know these last minute deals?

[guardhouse]

For the Princess standby program, just go to their website to sign up for emails.

 

[drsel]

.

[Mary229]

HAL deals sends an email.  I met a person on a Virgin Island Cruise.  She was from Fort Lauderdale and gets some very nice deals through her local travel agent that are exclusive to Florida residents only.  Maybe find a new best friend in Florida. 

[guardhouse]

Understood, Mary229.  Not looking for emails from a travel agent, this would be a program through the cruiseline itself.  Princess does it well, but I am not sure any of the other CCL lines do it.  I spoke directly with HAL and they confirmed that they do not have such a program.

Edited September 8, 2020 by guardhouse

[AtlantaCruiser72]

While Princess call it a “standby” program its really just opting-in for marketing emails on close in cruises where they are willing to deeply discount to get more butts in beds. All cruise lines have a strategy to do this, Princess just calls it “standby”.

 

A true “standby” program, in the cruise  & travel sense, would have you booked on a particular sailing and “standing by” for A cabin on an earlier sailing that is sold out, or paying in full for a sold out cruise to see if a last minute space opens up.  Since the Princess program does not require an upfront financial commitment it does actually meet the criteria to be called “standby”. Call it what they want it’s just another marketing strategy. 

[Mary229]

8 hours ago, guardhouse said:

Understood, Mary229.  Not looking for emails from a travel agent, this would be a program through the cruiseline itself.  Princess does it well, but I am not sure any of the other CCL lines do it.  I spoke directly with HAL and they confirmed that they do not have such a program.

From what she told me HAL used the local agents to get the job done.  Anyway I thought I had gotten a pretty good deal and she had the same room for 1/2 the cost

[drsel]

From what she told me HAL used the local agents to get the job done.  Anyway I thought I had gotten a pretty good deal and she had the same room for 1/2 the cost

What was the pretty good deal you got at half price

 

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

What was the pretty good deal you got at half price

 

I got mine on a cyber Friday sale and it was a great deal. She got 1/2 of what I paid at least that is what she said.   I paid $700ish/no gratuities for a 12 day cruise.  She told me hers was 1/2 of that. 

[iancal]

We typically buy cruises inside the final payment window.  Anywhere from days to six-eight weeks from sailing.

 

We are on the Princess mailing list.  Also the Celebrity and the RCI ‘Tuesday Specials’ mailing list.

 

Even then we shop the offers, including HAL.  Not so much interested in cruise line as we are the specific ship.     So even though HAL may not have a similar mailing as Princess it is very straightforward to shop for specials.  on line TA sites make this better for us because the list all cruise lines.

 

We do get emails from HAL.  But, like other lines, the supposed sale prices are often nothing more than bundling or are simply a reduction of the price that was increased prior to the sale in order to claim some sort of wonderful artificial saving.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by iancal

[drsel]

Less than $30 a day ?
even the transatlantic and trans Pacific Cruises are more than that

[drsel]

We typically buy cruises inside the final payment window.  Anywhere from days to six-eight weeks from sailing.
 
We are on the Princess mailing list.  Also the Celebrity and the RCI ‘Tuesday Specials’ mailing list.
 
Even then we shop the offers, including HAL.  Not so much interested in cruise line as we are the specific ship.     So even though HAL may not have a similar mailing as Princess it is very straightforward to shop for specials.  on line TA sites make this better for us because the list all cruise l8nes.
 
 
 
 

Yes, and you need to compare cost per night including all port fees and taxes.
Plenty of deals for around $50-55 per person per night including all port fees and taxes.
But under $30 per night? that's incredible

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, drsel said:

Less than $30 a day ?
even the transatlantic and trans Pacific Cruises are more than that

I am relying on what she told me.  She had a roommate and she preferred our company on shore.  She seemed to be truthful and not bragging.  She was more of an expert cruiser than me and I casually asked for tips on getting good prices. 

[drsel]

There is a thread running for many many years.
It is called tightwad cruising

[iancal]

We only shop balcony cabins.  In the process of shopping we have seen many fabulous offers for insides, and sometimes outsides.  Alaska is one route .  Lowest we have ever seen there was $269 for seven nights inside cabin on Zaandam.   Port fees excluded.   July/Aug timeframe.    The added advantage to late booking Alaska cruises is that you can look at the weather f'cast a week or two weeks out.   We did one one TA on short notice and saw some very low inside pricing.  Cannot remember.  The balcony cabins were in the $50. range.    Our last Med cruise, two years or so ago, was booked two weeks out.  $80 for a balcony (not including gratuities)  but the draw was also excellent one way cruise air pricing/routing  home from BCN.   It was one of the very few times that we found cruise air to be advantageous.

 

We establish a buy price, narrow it down to two or three ships, then buy when our number hits the board.  There are certainly lots of great offers from FLL and MIA for those who can get to the port.  We picked one up while vacationing, three days prior to departure.  We ended up in a very nice balcony cabin.  We have also had a few last minutes during the holiday season-two over Christmastime and three or four over March spring break.  Air can be a challenge so we shop for both at the same time.  No use getting a wonderful offer on a cruise if we have to pay over the odds for air.  Our on line TA is typically able to hold our late booking for a few hours so that we can lock in air travel.

Edited September 8, 2020 by iancal

[iancal]

One other thing we do when late booking shopping for cruises that are outside of NA is to shop in those specific geographies.  We have been on mailing lists from TA's in various countries.  Often there is not difference.  Sometimes there is.  DS saved 15 percent by booking a Baltic cruise with a UK agency vs a NA agency.  We saved 30 percent over our best on line TA's price by calling the RCI sales center in Sydney, Australia and booking the identical cruise through them.  We have met numerous Brits and Aussies who book cruises with NA agencies because of the difference in price and in the difference in terms. It goes both ways.  Some cruise lines have attempted to stop this practice....without success.  They do their best to discourage and threaten though.

Edited September 8, 2020 by iancal

[Hlitner]

On 9/7/2020 at 2:42 PM, guardhouse said:

Does anyone know why HAL does not have a standby program similar to Princess?  Deeply discounted rates for those who can fill unsold cabins in the last few weeks before a sailing.  Those incentives have us staying with Princess just due to the lower fares.  Do folks on HAL just not experience much last minute cancellation issues?

We have done a  couple of HAL bookings at phenomenal pricing and also done a few on Princess.  For us the procedure was similar.  We normally find out about these deals through one or more discount cruise agencies (we have our e-mail registered with several) and then quickly book through those same agencies.  The best deals are not shown on HAL's web site and the cruise agencies that have those deals are generally not permitted to publicly advertise the last minute (which might be a few months or only a few days prior to a cruise).  Info is only sent to those who have registered with the agencies or can sometimes be accessed by simply going online to their web sites.   Cruise lines like keeping these deals quiet since it would only alienate those who have already booked at much higher prices.  

 

Will this happen after COVID?  I have no idea but would expect many changes in the next couple of years.   Some cruise line executives have previously made statements that the practice of last minute discounting will be stopped.  But the reality is that cruise lines do not like to have empty berths (that equals opportunity-lost revenue forever).  Another reality is that a large majority of cruisers cannot take advantage of any last minute deals because various obligations make a last minute trip nearly impossible.  Other cruisers lose out on the deals because they get hung up on their PCC or a specific cruise agent which severely limits their options.  

 

Hank

[iancal]

Absolutely.  More than once when  we we about to book a last minute cruise our On line TA has told us about a more attractive offer on a different ship or cruise line that we had not considered. 
 

 Once she advised us to not to book the day especially called to book.   Her advice was to wait a week or so.  We did, and booked At an even lower last minute price.   Would a PCC do this?

[drsel]

Absolutely.  More than once when  we we about to book a last minute cruise our On line TA has told us about a more attractive offer on a different ship or cruise line that we had not considered. 
 
 Once she advised us to not to book the day especially called to book.   Her advice was to wait a week or so.  We did, and booked At an even lower last minute price.   Would a PCC do this?

You got a fantastic online TA.
We need to phone our travel agent for any price drop or any added benefit.

and the TA tells us that if they lower the price of our cruise, (because of the price drop), they will reduce the onboard credit gifted by them

[drsel]

Maybe we should all post any fantastic deal that we got last minute, whether or not we used it.

I shall set the ball rolling.
I got a last minute deal on celebrity constellation .

We paid $902 for 2 adults in an Ocean view cabin on a 9 night Celebrity Constellation Cruise with $300 onboard credit.
So the net cost was US dollars 602 for two adults.
This was just 45 days prior to sailing.

Considering what Celebrity is, it was an absolutely amazing deal

[iancal]

Once we pay inside the final payment window, payment is final.  In those few times when we booked outside and were re-priced we had to tell our TA about it.  She repriced.  In some instances her rebate to us was reduced.  The BIG plus was when she gives us a heads up INSIDE the final payment window about pricing she knows (don't know how) will be reduced within the next few days.

 

On one cruise we cancelled just before final payment and re-booked same cruise, same cabin a week later inside the final payment window.  The priced had dropped by a fair amount...a few hundred per person.  Our TA at the time told us that it did not seem very full so we took a chance.

Edited September 11, 2020 by iancal

[drsel]

I think that if you check to see how many cabins are still available a few days before final payment, you can figure out whether or not you will get a last minute deal or a substantial price drop for that particular Cruise