Tell me about the pre cruise HAL experience

[Mary229]

Besides the Denali tour last summer we have always arranged all of our pre and post cruise travel and accommodations.  Next month we decided to buy the HAL hotel along with some of their overland tours prior to sailing.   I assume someone will meet us at baggage claim and take us to the hotel for early check-in (noted on our invoice). From that point what should I expect for the two following days until I get to ship.  A step by step or sample printed itinerary would be helpful.  DH is asking so therefore my request. Thank you.  

 

 

[crystalspin]

Yikes, Mary: the only pre- or for that matter post- HAL travel I have booked was getting us to or from port. But gosh, your inquiry has drifted down to the fourth page without an answer so I will "bump" it -- someone must have done this!

 

ETA: maybe say where you are sailing from?

Edited January 20, 2023 by crystalspin

[ski ww]

Doesn't HAL provide you with an itinerary for the overland tours?

[Mary229]

I have only received a general overview.  When on the Alaska tour I received a hour by hour agenda only when I arrived at the hotel.  I was hoping to get something earlier.   I guess I will call.  I am sailing from Buenos Aires but doing some overland tours prior to the cruise.  The overland was contracted through HAL

Edited January 20, 2023 by Mary229

[Alberta Quilter]

We did a pre cruise tour in BA with HAL many years ago so my info could be very outdated and short on details.  We were met at baggage claim and transferred to the hotel, I think in a taxi.  I think we should have received a packet of info with the schedule at the airport but it was not provided to us there.  There was a HAL rep at the hotel who retrieved the info packet.  We did not do an overland tour so cannot comment on that.  I do recall two or three days of touring which were similar to the shore excursions one could book in BA:  a city tour, a boat ride in the delta and a gaucho show.  Oh, and we also went to a tango show one evening.

 

I think if you read the current shorex descriptions, you’ll get a good idea of what tours you’ll be doing.

[TiogaCruiser]

Interesting that you would ask that exact question. If it is specifically about the HAL Iguazu overland, I asked the same one several years (2017) ago, and it took a lot of persistence to get an answer.

 

There was a short blurb on the website, saying transfers, hotel in BsAs and Iguazu, a city tour in BsAs and a tour of the falls were covered. But no one could clarify what parts of the falls, and how long it would be. I believe that the packages are handled by independent tour agencies and contracted by HAL shorex. I wanted a description similar to the ones provided pretrip for Alaska. (Dang, I was paying enough for the trip that I wanted to know what I was buying….) If this is your question, I can elaborate more.

 

If you are just wondering just about hotel and transfer- I did that in 2012, landing in Santiago Chile, and was met by HAL agents. One was at the stairs, checking us off their sheet and directing us where to go to pay the reciprocity fee ( now defunct), do customs & immigration, then a couple more agents to direct us to baggage claim, and then the shuttle. I think we had about 14 or so pax. At the hotel there was a desk for HAL, where we could book a couple city tours that day. I think we received a letter telling us what time the HAL shuttle would depart for the port the next day. Anything else was up to us. Is this what you are asking?

 

 

[Homala]

Following this because I am considering pre and post cruise hotels and transfers for two cruises I have coming up. A preliminary search seems to show that HAL charges significantly more for the hotels than I would have to pay if booked directly. (These are for hotels in Auckland, Boston and Montreal.). Anyway, still want to know more of other’s’ experiences if anyone else is willing to share or offer tips.  Thank you for a good question, Mary. 

[Mary229]

13 minutes ago, Homala said:

Following this because I am considering pre and post cruise hotels and transfers for two cruises I have coming up. A preliminary search seems to show that HAL charges significantly more for the hotels than I would have to pay if booked directly. (These are for hotels in Auckland, Boston and Montreal.). Anyway, still want to know more of other’s’ experiences if anyone else is willing to share or offer tips.  Thank you for a good question, Mary. 

I can only speak to Anchorage.  I took the tour which included one night.  My agent misread my communication and ended up booking two nights through HAL.  I said what the heck it will save me trouble moving.  One the con side there are better hotels a stone throw away on the pro side it was booked just before the inflationary environment began and it ended up being a bargain.

 

As to South America I have travelled independently there and have always had a private driver at least for the transfer.  All flights are overnight, I am exhausted and don’t want to early check in to the hotel with my very bad Spanish. 

[Homala]

Ah yes, I too would be more inclined to have HAL handle the reservations and transfers in some foreign countries where there would be a language barrier. Good planning on your part. I hope you get more feedback on this. 

[TiogaCruiser]

In 2017 I did book Iguazu through HAL, but had to cancel 4 days prior due to a family emergency. Others on my roll call kept me updated on the tour. They only saw the Argentine side of the falls, and pictures received indicated they saw the upper and possibly lower circuit, and the Argentine side of Devils Throat. They had rooms for 2 nights at the Sheraton and got falls view rooms. The tour operator called my name to give me a room on the end, so they didn’t get the message I wasn’t coming.

 

 I ended up booking through an Argentine agency the following year, and got 2 nights in BsAs (1 before and 1 after the falls), flights to and from the falls, 3 nights at Sheraton (then Melia), tours on both Argentine and Brazilian sides, and all transfers for about a thousand less than the HAL package. This was single occupancy. The agent would not book me without a night in BsAs after (even though the ship had didn’t leave on embarkation day.) He said that the chance of flight being cancelled in the afternoon from Iguazu was really high. I was able to book the first flight out to Iguazu, like at 8:00 am, and was glad I did as the following flights were delayed or cancelled. The one following got in to Iguazu around 9:00p in torrential rains. I was offered an upsell to a falls view room at the hotel desk for a pittance.😁