CONTACTING HAL

[Beachin2]

Any words of wisdom of how to get in touch with these guys to cancel?  Have tried calling, email to customer service and sitting by a chat that never answers.

 

Wondering if my next step is to just open a credit card dispute and be done with the whole thing.

[1ANGELCAT]

2 minutes ago, Beachin2 said:

Any words of wisdom of how to get in touch with these guys to cancel?  Have tried calling, email to customer service and sitting by a chat that never answers.

 

Wondering if my next step is to just open a credit card dispute and be done with the whole thing.

How did you book, with a travel agent, PCC or direct with HAL ? You need to start with whichever one you booked with.

[Beachin2]

Direct.

[Mary229]

What time of day are you trying?  They operate on Pacific time so try mid afternoon to evening Pacific time.  I am sorry you are having issues but I have never had an issue.  Oh, if you booked with a travel agent then your agent will need to take care of this

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

What time of day are you trying?  They operate on Pacific time so try mid afternoon to evening Pacific time.  I am sorry you are having issues but I have never had an issue.  Oh, if you booked with a travel agent then your agent will need to take care of this

I do now recall an outage last year.  I hope that is not the case again.   

[Beachin2]

This a direct internet booking.  Have tried all times of day (west coast time) via phone and chat and on various days.  Gave up on both after over an hour on each numerous times.  Have sent 2 emails to customer service - all over the last 3 weeks.

 

Sounds like not much else to try - tomorrow is the magic day.  Don't get through - let AMEX deal with them.

 

Thanks for the replies.  Don't usually cruise HAL - probably won't consider them after this.

 

[KAKcruiser]

I know it is frustrating but you really are better off trying to cancel by phone.  You just have to be patient (I know it is hard) but if you don't reach them, you might have trouble getting your deposit back.  

[1ANGELCAT]

2 hours ago, Beachin2 said:

This a direct internet booking.  Have tried all times of day (west coast time) via phone and chat and on various days.  Gave up on both after over an hour on each numerous times.  Have sent 2 emails to customer service - all over the last 3 weeks.

 

Sounds like not much else to try - tomorrow is the magic day.  Don't get through - let AMEX deal with them.

 

Thanks for the replies.  Don't usually cruise HAL - probably won't consider them after this.

 

Have you ever sailed HAL before? Try calling Mariner Society 800 5479139 , they are usually helpful.

[Beachin2]

FINALLY got through this morning after 1 hour 19 minutes on hold - to do a 4 minute transaction.

 

If I can do just about anything else on line - why not the ability to cancel?

 

Expecting my deposit back in "about 30 business days" - AKA call after 2 months.

 

All cruise lines need to step up their game - this should be a simple transaction requiring no human interface - why pay someone to do this task???  Yo - bean counters - low hanging fruit here!

[rucrazy]

1 hour ago, Beachin2 said:

FINALLY got through this morning after 1 hour 19 minutes on hold - to do a 4 minute transaction.

Glad you got it resolved!

Stay safe.

[Himself]

The agent at HAL I dealt with left the company recently and I have a hard time getting ahold of the rep who took over his accounts. 

[nocl]

On 7/14/2021 at 2:14 PM, Beachin2 said:

This a direct internet booking.  Have tried all times of day (west coast time) via phone and chat and on various days.  Gave up on both after over an hour on each numerous times.  Have sent 2 emails to customer service - all over the last 3 weeks.

 

Sounds like not much else to try - tomorrow is the magic day.  Don't get through - let AMEX deal with them.

 

Thanks for the replies.  Don't usually cruise HAL - probably won't consider them after this.

 

Sometimes you just have to stay on the phone.  I had to stay on the phone for over two hours to make a change on Delta a couple of weeks ago.

[rucrazy]

Just a suggestion I find it best to call right when they unlock the switchboard.

Monday – Friday 6:00am to 6:00pm Pacific / 9:00am to 9:00pm Eastern
Saturday & Sunday 7:00am to 4:00pm Pacific / 10:00am to 7:00pm Eastern
 

[Hlitner]

While I understand that some folks prefer dealing direct with a cruise line (any line) we have a lot more luck (and fewer hassles) using decent cruise agencies.  When we recently wanted to cancel a cruise it took about 15 seconds to write an e-mail to our cruise agent and the deed was done within a few hours.   The agencies we use all have customer service desks so that if our particular agent is not working it is not a problem.   We currently deal with three different cruise agencies and they all will handle cancelations via e-mail although one does require a quick follow-up with an e-mailed cancelation form with my signature.  This ensures no accidental cancelations.

 

By the way,  if you folks think its bad sitting on hold with HAL for a few hours just try dealing with the airlines.  The last time we needed to talk with AA it took 7 hours to get a call back (they have an automated system so you do not have to wait on the phone).  And some have complained that Delta is even slower.

 

Hank

[kazu]

25 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

While I understand that some folks prefer dealing direct with a cruise line (any line) we have a lot more luck (and fewer hassles) using decent cruise agencies.  When we recently wanted to cancel a cruise it took about 15 seconds to write an e-mail to our cruise agent and the deed was done within a few hours.

 

Completely agree.  My TA has even fought the good fight to get my cruise re-deployed from the cruise HAL wanted to transfer me to.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

While I understand that some folks prefer dealing direct with a cruise line (any line) we have a lot more luck (and fewer hassles) using decent cruise agencies.  When we recently wanted to cancel a cruise it took about 15 seconds to write an e-mail to our cruise agent and the deed was done within a few hours.   The agencies we use all have customer service desks so that if our particular agent is not working it is not a problem.   We currently deal with three different cruise agencies and they all will handle cancelations via e-mail although one does require a quick follow-up with an e-mailed cancelation form with my signature.  This ensures no accidental cancelations.

 

By the way,  if you folks think its bad sitting on hold with HAL for a few hours just try dealing with the airlines.  The last time we needed to talk with AA it took 7 hours to get a call back (they have an automated system so you do not have to wait on the phone).  And some have complained that Delta is even slower.

 

Hank

All I have to do is send my pcc an email.  Never had a problem getting a reply.  A person doesn’t need a ta necessarily.  Many ta’s aren’t great either.

[sambamama]

My TA is always on top of whatever I need.  Airlines are horrific.  When COVID broke out, I was booked to fly on Turkish Air in a week out of JFK which is a good 3 hours away without traffic.  I could not reach them by phone.  I was advised to drive to the airport by someone on Flyertalk as the best remedy.  I ended up waiting on hold for 4 hours and staying up late to reach them to cancel.  It was a nightmare!