DaveOKC Posted November 19, 2022 #1 Share Posted November 19, 2022 (edited) Looking at a booking for later this year and its a bit hard to keep up with the promotions and restrictions: Have It All or non-refundable or refundable fares and perks with each Casino discount on above fares Black Friday Crew Appreciation fee waived Casino offer from last cruise good for free play Thank you for Sailing with Us promotion (OBC) Early booking Bonus from Mariner Society Stockholder OBC credit Future Cruise deposit and OBC Some of these good only on certain sailings within my timeframe. I needed to do a spreadsheet to keep up with it all! Edited November 19, 2022 by DaveOKC 4 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted November 19, 2022 #2 Share Posted November 19, 2022 The simple solution is that a decent cruise agent/agency that not only gets you the best deal but will also enhance it with additional On Board Credits (which can be thousands of dollars). Hank 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted November 19, 2022 #3 Share Posted November 19, 2022 Call TA. Tell him (or her) what you are looking for. Get a quote. If it is satisfactory, say book it. Does not sound so complicated. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Banditswife Posted November 19, 2022 #4 Share Posted November 19, 2022 We have a specific cruise in mind and will be on NS next Saturday (26th.) Would it be best to book while on board or try to figure it out on our own before we go? Specific sailing is due to my son & wife will be on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted November 19, 2022 #5 Share Posted November 19, 2022 If you book on board you should get some OBC added. You can transfer it to your travel agent if you wish after booking within HALs timeframe. I forgot how long that is. They can tell you. Have fun! ~Nancy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrcruiser Posted November 19, 2022 #6 Share Posted November 19, 2022 45 minutes ago, Hlitner said: The simple solution is that a decent cruise agent/agency that not only gets you the best deal but will also enhance it with additional On Board Credits (which can be thousands of dollars). Hank Hank over many years of sales negotiations i have found that mist travel agents work to line their pockets more than their clients . We have however found one that we book with exclusively & I keep even them in my sights by getting competitive bids .It takes a long time to zero in on a really great TA agency . Usually ,it boils down to a test of time to make a wise selection 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted November 19, 2022 #7 Share Posted November 19, 2022 Just now, mcrcruiser said: Hank over many years of sales negotiations i have found that mist travel agents work to line their pockets more than their clients . We have however found one that we book with exclusively & I keep even them in my sights by getting competitive bids .It takes a long time to zero in on a really great TA agency . Usually ,it boils down to a test of time to make a wise selection No question cruise/travel agencies are in business to make money. From my perspective a good agency/agent is a win-win for me and the agency :). The agencies that we routinely use (at the moment there are two) have made a lot of money, from our business, and show their appreciation by treating us well. From my perspective, we have saved 10s of thousands of dollars because of all the on board credits and other amenities we have received from cruise agencies. There have also been times when our favored agencies have been able to use their clout, with cruise lines, to resolve some issues. When a lone cruiser calls or e-mails a cruise line for help the are just one customer out of thousands. When a high volume agency (that handles hundreds or even thousands of bookings a year) deals with a cruise line, the cruise line tends to listen. Hank 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Banditswife Posted November 19, 2022 #8 Share Posted November 19, 2022 I checked for the specific sailing I am wanting. Web page quoted me $496 for an inside or $949 with HIA to include crew appreciation. Difference being $453 for the HIA, doesn't seem like that great of a deal to me. We bought HIA w/o crew appreciation for $350 pp on our upcoming 7 day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrcruiser Posted November 19, 2022 #9 Share Posted November 19, 2022 4 minutes ago, Hlitner said: No question cruise/travel agencies are in business to make money. From my perspective a good agency/agent is a win-win for me and the agency :). The agencies that we routinely use (at the moment there are two) have made a lot of money, from our business, and show their appreciation by treating us well. From my perspective, we have saved 10s of thousands of dollars because of all the on board credits and other amenities we have received from cruise agencies. There have also been times when our favored agencies have been able to use their clout, with cruise lines, to resolve some issues. When a lone cruiser calls or e-mails a cruise line for help the are just one customer out of thousands. When a high volume agency (that handles hundreds or even thousands of bookings a year) deals with a cruise line, the cruise line tends to listen. Hank Hank you are absolutely correct . We have had the same good fortune ;but ,it takes work to find the good ones .One day we are going to book a high end ocean cruise line to gain the experience that you enjoyed . We have done it on river cruises & imo nothing beats river cruises for food quality , all included tours ,service on board & the crew entertaining us & or specialist the line brings on board Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted November 19, 2022 Author #10 Share Posted November 19, 2022 25 minutes ago, Banditswife said: I checked for the specific sailing I am wanting. Web page quoted me $496 for an inside or $949 with HIA to include crew appreciation. Difference being $453 for the HIA, doesn't seem like that great of a deal to me. We bought HIA w/o crew appreciation for $350 pp on our upcoming 7 day. The cruise I am looking at is only $500 more for HIA and its for 11 days! With the $200 in Shore excursion credit, the specialty dining and free wifi that get my cost down to less than $20 per day for the free drinks. Could not pass that up. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted November 19, 2022 #11 Share Posted November 19, 2022 (edited) Sweet deal Dave!! It’s a matter of doing the math. When I got my HIA cruises this fall it worked out to me paying extra about $50/day. That included crew appreciation, beverage package, WiFi, one specialty restaurant per week(approximately -3on a 24 day cruise) and $300 excursion credit! The beverage package alone is ~$50 per day! If you don’t want any of that then it’s not a good deal but I want the beverage package, crew appreciations and WiFi for sure. Dinners were good. Didn’t end up doing any excursions but that was for a non related reason. ~Nancy Edited November 19, 2022 by oakridger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cbr663 Posted November 19, 2022 #12 Share Posted November 19, 2022 I agree Dave. The online booking is simply too hard. I mentioned on another site that when we try and book (we are in Canada, if that matters) the final total is always higher than the price of the cruise and taxes and fees. Sometimes hundreds of dollars higher and the reason isn't apparent from the booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted November 19, 2022 #13 Share Posted November 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Hlitner said: No question cruise/travel agencies are in business to make money. From my perspective a good agency/agent is a win-win for me and the agency :). The agencies that we routinely use (at the moment there are two) have made a lot of money, from our business, and show their appreciation by treating us well. From my perspective, we have saved 10s of thousands of dollars because of all the on board credits and other amenities we have received from cruise agencies. There have also been times when our favored agencies have been able to use their clout, with cruise lines, to resolve some issues. When a lone cruiser calls or e-mails a cruise line for help the are just one customer out of thousands. When a high volume agency (that handles hundreds or even thousands of bookings a year) deals with a cruise line, the cruise line tends to listen. Hank But when one of those high volume cruise agencies intercede for you aren't you worried that you "lost control of your booking"? 🤣🤣🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetsugarNL Posted November 19, 2022 #14 Share Posted November 19, 2022 In my country we never have refundable options. A booking is a booking and you stitck with that price. So al these offers are nice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oaktreerb Posted November 20, 2022 #15 Share Posted November 20, 2022 5 hours ago, Banditswife said: We have a specific cruise in mind and will be on NS next Saturday (26th.) Would it be best to book while on board or try to figure it out on our own before we go? Specific sailing is due to my son & wife will be on it. Book Onboard. You will get OBC and can still transfer to a TA within a specific time frame (ask the onboard rep for timeframe). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida_gal_50 Posted November 20, 2022 #16 Share Posted November 20, 2022 (edited) Sorry not feeling sorry for you. I see no good deals. For the first time in years and years I will have nothing booked. Even had cruises booked in the height of the pandemic. Hal has lost its shine for me and I’m ready to try another line again. Edited November 20, 2022 by Florida_gal_50 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrcruiser Posted November 20, 2022 #17 Share Posted November 20, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said: Sorry not feeling sorry for you. I see no good deals. For the first time in years and years I will have nothing booked. Even had cruises booked in the height of the pandemic. Hal has lost its shine for me and I’m ready to try another line again. From reading many posts on several lines we are confident with Celebrity .we are E;lite Plus .RCL er are diamond level .Primcess Ruby bit there preboarding is far too complicated with Ocean Ready on a smart phone because there are so many glitches . I threw away a $934 FCC because after trying over 6 hours No one could help at Princess .I will not sail Princess because of their on a cell phone for giving the pre boarding information .Far too hard imo We have B2B on Celebrity ,B2B on RCL on 2023 . B2B on KDam Dec 2-22 & a 18 night Hawaii on K Dam Jan 31 ,2024 . Before the pandemic our last cruise was on the old Rotterdam ,April 2019 from Tampa western Caribbean which was number 87 .We also have several Carnival cruises behind us probably 6 or 7 From vast past experiences in the pursuit of cruise lines to sail over all ,, I would stay with HAL for over all service & price point ,next would be Celebrity but in general their prices are much higher & RCL is some where in between in pricing & service quality ,They are more into rock climbing walls & shows ie .We will not sail Princess because of the technical glitches & bad on land service .We truly do not know a cruise line until we get into sailing with them a while ,c This is always the case .We feel the most important area of good cruising e=results is to have a great relationship with a top cruise TA firm for things we may not know which can impact our cruise experience one way or the other If not HAK hope you find your hearts desire but some where in my mind I think toy will be back with HAL .Why loose your seniority level & perks ? Edited November 20, 2022 by mcrcruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodndonna Posted November 20, 2022 #18 Share Posted November 20, 2022 16 hours ago, DaveOKC said: Looking at a booking for later this year and its a bit hard to keep up with the promotions and restrictions: Have It All or non-refundable or refundable fares and perks with each Casino discount on above fares Black Friday Crew Appreciation fee waived Casino offer from last cruise good for free play Thank you for Sailing with Us promotion (OBC) Early booking Bonus from Mariner Society Stockholder OBC credit Future Cruise deposit and OBC Some of these good only on certain sailings within my timeframe. I needed to do a spreadsheet to keep up with it all! Have you ever sailed or booked Carnival on-line. I LOVE their web booking. When you select a a cruise it then shows you on one page ALL the code booking options available to you (usually about 6 different options) with prices and perks neatly summarized. Not suggesting to go book Carnival, just saying of all the cruise lines, I think they have the best website for reviewing options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida_gal_50 Posted November 20, 2022 #19 Share Posted November 20, 2022 7 hours ago, mcrcruiser said: From reading many posts on several lines we are confident with Celebrity .we are E;lite Plus .RCL er are diamond level .Primcess Ruby bit there preboarding is far too complicated with Ocean Ready on a smart phone because there are so many glitches . I threw away a $934 FCC because after trying over 6 hours No one could help at Princess .I will not sail Princess because of their on a cell phone for giving the pre boarding information .Far too hard imo We have B2B on Celebrity ,B2B on RCL on 2023 . B2B on KDam Dec 2-22 & a 18 night Hawaii on K Dam Jan 31 ,2024 . Before the pandemic our last cruise was on the old Rotterdam ,April 2019 from Tampa western Caribbean which was number 87 .We also have several Carnival cruises behind us probably 6 or 7 From vast past experiences in the pursuit of cruise lines to sail over all ,, I would stay with HAL for over all service & price point ,next would be Celebrity but in general their prices are much higher & RCL is some where in between in pricing & service quality ,They are more into rock climbing walls & shows ie .We will not sail Princess because of the technical glitches & bad on land service .We truly do not know a cruise line until we get into sailing with them a while ,c This is always the case .We feel the most important area of good cruising e=results is to have a great relationship with a top cruise TA firm for things we may not know which can impact our cruise experience one way or the other If not HAK hope you find your hearts desire but some where in my mind I think toy will be back with HAL .Why loose your seniority level & perks ? I will likely sail with celebrity next even though I haven’t been thrilled with them in the past. It’s been a while though. Many of the employees on the koningsdam are great but I’m just so tired of their guest services. So many lies. When you walk through the ship rarely do I hear hello unless it’s someone I’ve already met. That’s a first on a hall ship for me. It’s a totally different vibe from March. Food has been excellent on the ship so that hasn’t changed. One of my friends just completed his first celebrity cruise so I’m looking forward to his take on it as I value his opinion. Maybe the grass isn’t greener? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida_gal_50 Posted November 20, 2022 #20 Share Posted November 20, 2022 2 hours ago, rodndonna said: Have you ever sailed or booked Carnival on-line. I LOVE their web booking. When you select a a cruise it then shows you on one page ALL the code booking options available to you (usually about 6 different options) with prices and perks neatly summarized. Not suggesting to go book Carnival, just saying of all the cruise lines, I think they have the best website for reviewing options. That would be wonderful. I think hal is about 20 years from now giving them the benefit of the doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted November 20, 2022 #21 Share Posted November 20, 2022 I think one of the issues people forget is that cruise lines -- like airlines and hotels -- can vary year on year depending on management practices, new offerings and issues beyond their control (Covid, oil prices), all of which can impact the onboard experience. This is one reason I've sailed with a number of different lines through the years. Sometimes a line will just hit a "sweet spot" for a while, but others will eventually catch up or surpass them, or offer something new that is more appealing. IMO it's far better to take off the blinkers of "loyalty" and try different lines to see what is a good fit today vs. what was a good fit 10 years ago. Of course, that means having a certain mental flexibility and understanding that a line that doesn't do everything EXACTLY like HAL isn't necessarily a bad thing. Regarding pricing, I suspect that cruise lines are happy to have less transparency in pricing. Going forward, I doubt we will see the same level of clarity and flexibility (with regard to rebooking fares) that were once common -- why would we? It is to the benefit of the lines to make it more difficult for you to get those lower fares... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocoLoco1 Posted November 20, 2022 #22 Share Posted November 20, 2022 I ignore early ‘Promotions’. At the last possible Drop Dead Moment mix of HAL, Airlines and our health etc (about 60/days out+-) we look at $Price$, Casino offers and destination. Then it’s a Go/No Go. RARELY have I seen better deals pricewise. Flying in on the day-of in Coach and no Insurance often save us $Thousands$ After 20+ cruises, that adds up. Never missed a cruise…That would not work for many cruisers, but 40+/yrs. cruising have taught me a few things. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted November 21, 2022 #23 Share Posted November 21, 2022 On 11/19/2022 at 11:11 PM, Florida_gal_50 said: Sorry not feeling sorry for you. I see no good deals. For the first time in years and years I will have nothing booked. Even had cruises booked in the height of the pandemic. Hal has lost its shine for me and I’m ready to try another line again. Give Celebrity a try. You will not be disappointed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisy-mae Posted November 21, 2022 #24 Share Posted November 21, 2022 When it comes to online booking (or shopping for that matter), what is most frustrating is the inability to determine the exact price without going through the entire process. What matters to me is basically the bottom line, or what I will have to pay once the dust settles. For the past few days we have been trying to book a flight south to visit friends. The airline website provides a "teaser" price for the dates that we input, then offers a variety of tiers that do not resemble the original fare. Then come the various add-ons, taxes, fees, etc., and four or five screens later, a final tally that is way beyond our (admittedly naïve) expectations. It would be so much easier if we could simply be given a ball-park figure at the outset. I believe that online merchandise retailers collect statistics on "abandoned shopping carts" , or transactions that are not completed. It would be interesting to know if the travel industry is taking notice of similar trends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodndonna Posted November 21, 2022 #25 Share Posted November 21, 2022 21 minutes ago, daisy-mae said: For the past few days we have been trying to book a flight south to visit friends. The airline website provides a "teaser" price for the dates that we input, then offers a variety of tiers that do not resemble the original fare. Then come the various add-ons, taxes, fees, etc., and four or five screens later, a final tally that is way beyond our (admittedly naïve) expectations. It would be so much easier if we could simply be given a ball-park figure at the outset. Have you tried using google flight? . It's not a booking tool - but great for reviewing options and air fare. https://www.google.com/travel/flights 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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