Repricing cruises

[tcc8v]

I have read here that if the price of a cruise has dropped one can get it repriced: in cash if before final payment or in OBC if (as in my case) final payment has been made.  I booked my cruise during a period when HAL offered free gratuities.  If I request repricing at a time when free gratuities are not offered, do I lose the free gratuities?

 

I used primarily FCC that arose from a cancelled Feb 28, 2020 Westerdam cruise.  At that time HAL offered a full cash refund PLUS a 100% FCC.  As a result I am paying so little for this cruise that I have felt greedy to request repricing and have not done so.  This question is more out of curiosity and not an actual action item.

[KAKcruiser]

You would probably lose the free gratuities.  

[Florida_gal_50]

I find they are getting pretty rude about price drops before final never mind after even when you have refundable cruises booked.

[Loreto]

11 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I find they are getting pretty rude about price drops before final never mind after even when you have refundable cruises booked.

I agree!  The new Book Early and Save sale is no good deal!  I compared fares from my Big BoxTA and HAL (which were identical, and they are higher than what I paid in March for BtoB Panama Canal cruise and if I refared I might lose the stateroom and all the OBC.  For some reason $200 in extra OBC appeared on each cruise from HAL on my statement.  It was not worth it for me to refare.

[USN59-79]

2 hours ago, tcc8v said:

I have read here that if the price of a cruise has dropped one can get it repriced: in cash if before final payment or in OBC if (as in my case) final payment has been made.  I booked my cruise during a period when HAL offered free gratuities.  If I request repricing at a time when free gratuities are not offered, do I lose the free gratuities?

 

I used primarily FCC that arose from a cancelled Feb 28, 2020 Westerdam cruise.  At that time HAL offered a full cash refund PLUS a 100% FCC.  As a result I am paying so little for this cruise that I have felt greedy to request repricing and have not done so.  This question is more out of curiosity and not an actual action item.

I am surprised that you still have FCC from that cruise.  We were also on it and received the FCC.  I applied it to a similar cruise on the Noordam, but that one was cancelled.  We have finally booked the Westerdam again for 2023, but the FCC has expired.  Since they did refund our money, I am not too concerned about the expired FCC.

[foodsvcmgr]

My request to refare and add gratuities and more OBC was immediately and cheerfully accommodated yesterday for an October 2023 booking.

[DaveOKC]

Refaring (at least before Final Payment is due) is normally quick and easy with HAL.  HOWEVER, remember that you must normally accept all the current perks with your new fare and give up the old ones you have.  No picking and choosing.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

14 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Refaring (at least before Final Payment is due) is normally quick and easy with HAL.  HOWEVER, remember that you must normally accept all the current perks with your new fare and give up the old ones you have.  No picking and choosing.

 

That’s what one would expect.  I’ve had one price reduction and there was an additional further reduction on a fall cruise. They told my ta because I have club orange I can’t have it.  This is a refundable fare with no perks.  She did get it after arguing with them but told her that’s the last time. I was like I’ve heard everything now.  I think they forgot I could cancel the whole works. 

[tcc8v]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

I am surprised that you still have FCC from that cruise.  We were also on it and received the FCC.  I applied it to a similar cruise on the Noordam, but that one was cancelled.  We have finally booked the Westerdam again for 2023, but the FCC has expired.  Since they did refund our money, I am not too concerned about the expired FCC.

The original FCC expired in early 2021, but I asked HAL to extend it.  So, with the extension, I had to book by Dec. 31, 2021 and sail by Dec. 31, 2022.  My son was expecting his first child for early 2022, and he lives in Seattle.  So we booked the last Alaskan cruise in 2022 (the Eurodam on Oct. 1) so that we could also visit our grandson.  We hope that by then the CV will have died down, or at least my grandson will have developed some immunity.

 

We were afraid to book another Asian cruise (the original Westerdam cruise was originally out of Shanghai, and then moved to Yokohama) until the CV situation cleared up.  Of course Shanghai is still closed to tourists.  Yokohama is open for tourists, but with severe restrictions.  I have my eyes on an HAL Japan cruise in Mar. 2023, but I guess I have to wait until Japan opens more for tourism.

[USN59-79]

3 hours ago, tcc8v said:

The original FCC expired in early 2021, but I asked HAL to extend it.  So, with the extension, I had to book by Dec. 31, 2021 and sail by Dec. 31, 2022.  My son was expecting his first child for early 2022, and he lives in Seattle.  So we booked the last Alaskan cruise in 2022 (the Eurodam on Oct. 1) so that we could also visit our grandson.  We hope that by then the CV will have died down, or at least my grandson will have developed some immunity.

 

We were afraid to book another Asian cruise (the original Westerdam cruise was originally out of Shanghai, and then moved to Yokohama) until the CV situation cleared up.  Of course Shanghai is still closed to tourists.  Yokohama is open for tourists, but with severe restrictions.  I have my eyes on an HAL Japan cruise in Mar. 2023, but I guess I have to wait until Japan opens more for tourism.

We boarded the Westerdam on 1 February 2020 in Hong Kong for a 42 day cruise and had to leave her in Cambodia within two weeks.  We have booked her again for 42 days starting 27 March 2023 in Yokohama and ending in Seattle.  Think we will know by this December whether or not it will happen.  Not only Japan has to open to cruise ships; either Taiwan or Korea will have to open also as Japan has laws similar to our PVSA.

[tcc8v]

8 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

We boarded the Westerdam on 1 February 2020 in Hong Kong for a 42 day cruise and had to leave her in Cambodia within two weeks.  We have booked her again for 42 days starting 27 March 2023 in Yokohama and ending in Seattle.  Think we will know by this December whether or not it will happen.  Not only Japan has to open to cruise ships; either Taiwan or Korea will have to open also as Japan has laws similar to our PVSA.

Good grief — you were on the Westerdam as it searched high and low for a port.  I don’t deal well with uncertainty so I would have found that cruise extremely unnerving.  I had HAL flight arrangements to Beijing on Feb. 21, 2020.  During the time you were floating around SE Asia, HAL never rerouted my flights, so I assumed that HAL did not expect its Feb. 28 cruise would actually depart (HAL promised to make all flight changes for those that booked HAL airfare).

 

I am hoping to go on the Westerdam from March 13 - Apr. 10, 2023.  Maybe we will meet there.

 

The original cruise had 4 consecutive ports Kagoshima, Naha, Ishigaki, Keeling that exactly match a cruise I took (but northbound) in March 1970. The earlier cruise was 3rd class on a banana boat.  I am too old to withstand the indignities (it was much worse than 3rd class in the movie Titanic) of the earlier trip but was looking forward to repeating the earlier itinerary.  The great coincidence is that my niece got married in Taipei on the evening we were supposed to dock in Keelung.

 

So the Westerdam is supposed to go to the same ports, but not consecutively, between Mar. 13 - Apr. 10, 2023.  My niece did, of course, get married, but maybe I can visit with them on the 2023 cruise.

[USN59-79]

Looks like we have some things in common.  We plan to fly to Japan from SEA with a stopover in Taipei before the cruise.  We were married in Taipei in 1963, so will be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary on the cruise. 

Ray 

[doone]

I just refared  my cruise in March, for me I saved $80 and got pre-paid crew appreciation added on.  I will say I think HAL has a lot of new reps who are still learning since the pandemic.  The first rep I spoke to told me I couldn’t do it as it was for new bookings only which I didn’t recall seeing on their website.  I waited 6 hours called back, got a different rep and she gladly refared my cruise saving me $80 and now I have the pre-paid crew appreciation……thank you HAL.