Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

What was your recent experience on an upsell offer with HAL?

tuolumne couple

By tuolumne couple,
in Holland America Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

MISTER 67

MISTER 67

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Iamthesea said:

That's really unheard of these days.  Must have been because the ship was not sailing full.  Were you a Celebrity cruiser with any status? 

 

Back in the day, we once asked guest services about availability to move up from an OV GTY to a balcony on Celebrity.  We were put on a wait list.  Didn't happen!  Taking that GTY was the biggest booking mistake we have ever made.  It was a last minute cruise to Bermuda.  We had never stayed in anything lower than a balcony, but a balcony was not available by the time we booked, so we booked the OV.  We stupidly assumed that we would be upgraded.  Miserable stateroom with separated beds on either side of the porthole. Beds up against the walls.  The stateroom connected to another, so instead of a couch, we had a chair.  Could also hear the next door neighbors.  We knew to talk quietly.   Other than the stateroom, had a great cruise! 😉

The Equinox was sailing at about 80% of capacity and at the time that was our 7th cruise with Celebrity. I have no idea why we received the upgrade and we were willing to pay a reasonable amount, we just were in the right place at the right time and we were dealing with a really nice person. Things like that you never forget and even though we are 4 Star Mariners with HAL and Elite with Princess going forward Celebrity is now our cruise line of choice, in fact we are booked on the Reflection in a few weeks.

Edited by MISTER 67
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mwj

mwj

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

The Equinox was sailing at about 80% of capacity and at the time that was our 7th cruise with Celebrity. I have no idea why we received the upgrade and we were willing to pay a reasonable amount, we just were in the right place at the right time and we were dealing with a really nice person. Things like that you never forget and even though we are 4 Star Mariners with HAL and Elite with Princess going forward Celebrity is now our cruise line of choice, in fact we are booked on the Reflection in a few weeks.

Customer service at its finest… and always remembered

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Iamthesea

Iamthesea

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, friendswithdave said:

We had a nearly identical experience to mathed101. We used CLub Orange to upgrade our guarantee balcony to 4168 on a Dec 11 NA cruise. I called about an upgrade I think 11 days out and took an upgrade to the Neptune for $549 pp but they refunded our Club Orange purchase. Definitely worth it for us, our first suite on a cruise. We enjoyed the bigger room, Neptune Lounge, and a few other perks.

I was wondering what would happen if you had paid for OC and then were upgraded to a Neptune.  Thanks for that!

2 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

The Equinox was sailing at about 80% of capacity and at the time that was our 7th cruise with Celebrity. I have no idea why we received the upgrade and we were willing to pay a reasonable amount, we just were in the right place at the right time and we were dealing with a really nice person. Things like that you never forget and even though we are 4 Star Mariners with HAL and Elite with Princess going forward Celebrity is now our cruise line of choice, in fact we are booked on the Reflection in a few weeks.

We have been on 20 Celebrity cruises and never received an upgrade or upsell.  We book with a TA, so maybe that's why. Celebrity and HAL have been our cruiseline of choice for the last several years, but we chose HAL for this next cruise because of price and a smaller ship.  We have cruised on the Celebrity Edge class once and will never do so again.

 

I have asked my TA to please forward any correspondence from HAL.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
tuolumne couple

tuolumne couple

Posted
  • Author
Posted
16 minutes ago, rothbury said:

I haven't seen it mentioned but I believe if you upgrade to a suite, you don't get the double sea days.  I haven't sailed in a while so that may have changed.

That part has not changed, and that was our experience as well. It will also be reflected thusly in your cruise history/ cruise credit points, based on the original category you originally booked. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
57redbird

57redbird

Posted
Posted
48 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

I was wondering what would happen if you had paid for OC and then were upgraded to a Neptune.  Thanks for that!

We have been on 20 Celebrity cruises and never received an upgrade or upsell.  We book with a TA, so maybe that's why. Celebrity and HAL have been our cruiseline of choice for the last several years, but we chose HAL for this next cruise because of price and a smaller ship.  We have cruised on the Celebrity Edge class once and will never do so again.

 

I have asked my TA to please forward any correspondence from HAL.

We had purchased CO & unlimited laundry for our Vista Suite...when we accepted the upgrade to a Neptune we requested those amounts to be refunded & they were.  Since we had already paid for a suite, our double cruise day credits remained.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
KroozNut

KroozNut

Posted
Posted
36 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

I understand Do Not Upgrade because the cruise line version of upgrade may not mesh with my own.

But why No Upsell to discuss what could be an excellent price in a room you choose?

 

It's just personal preference for us. When we book a cruise, we pick the cabin we want, based on location, amenities and price point. For this reason, we prefer not to be surprised with automatic 'upgrades', nor are we interested in emails/phone calls from HAL offering us 'deals' on other cabins that we are likely not interested in anyway. 

We understand that others enjoy the suspense and anxious anticipation of playing the up sell game with HAL, but we'd rather focus our time and energy on other aspects and the excitement of cruise planning.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
tuolumne couple

tuolumne couple

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

Thanks for all the information. My question is, "Can you call HAL directly about an upsell even if you booked with a TA/Big Box agency?" If so, does anyone have the number that you should use?  Thanks again.

We often use a TA/ Big Box agency, however, this time we booked directly with HAL. Big Box does not offer upsells, and this cruise does not appear to be selling out yet. We like the room we chose, but a nice upsell offer would be worth looking at. Thanks everyone for the input. The PCC desk number is 800-355-3017, or the upsell desk I believe is 888-628-8107. Maybe I will call in another week or so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Real NHDOC

Real NHDOC

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

Thanks for all the information. My question is, "Can you call HAL directly about an upsell even if you booked with a TA/Big Box agency?" If so, does anyone have the number that you should use?  Thanks again.

Yes, regardless of where you booked your cruise you can call the ship inventory office to look into and buy upgrades.  Their number is 888-628-8107.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
tuolumne couple

tuolumne couple

Posted
  • Author
Posted
32 minutes ago, Scotswoman said:

Has anyone outside the USA, for example in Europe, ever received an offer of either upgrade or upsell from HAL? An international phone call would be expensive. Does anyone know of an e-mail address for the PCC Desk?

 

I suppose you could try to email the world cruise desk. This is also where I email my request for OBC for stockholder credit :

World Cruise Res <world_cruise_reservations@hollandamerica.com>
Link to comment
Share on other sites
five.

five.

Posted
Posted

We have a cruise planned for Nieuw Statendam leaving on 3/11. We received an offer on 2/3:

S3yhLHe.png

 

The original cabin was a free interior that was offered last May while on an Alaska K'dam cruise, here is the letter and associated cost for upgrades:

NZIMTC1.png

 

gNwNWSI.png

 

So at the original booking, a verandah would have been $1260 to pay for the upgrade at that time. It's hard to complain about a $300 balcony. All in with taxes and port fees, the room itself is costing us $658. We have also paid for spa access and a retreat cabana for some additional cost.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
five.

five.

Posted
Posted

That's good to know, that it's not exactly the norm. I have no idea what goes into the formulas that decide the free room in the first place and all. When we reported to the future cruise desk, everyone that was there with a similar card were similar ages, so it seemed like they were targeting the younger demographic. We are early 40's.

 

I would not have accepted the $849 PP offer, that's a joke. But $149 PP, was enough for me to go for it and I'm pretty cheap.

 

Other money spent:

$658 Spa Verandah

$399 Retreat Cabana

$207 Rudi's and Pinnacle Grill

$298 Thermal Suite 7 day

 

So a "free" vacation has thus far cost us over $1500. But after the recent Alaska cruise that was triple that with flights, I'll take it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Real NHDOC

Real NHDOC

Posted
Posted

I also don't know how they come up with who gets free offers...just know we never got one! But we've been pretty consistent customers of HAL and since the restart have been on too many cruises to count (we were on the third voyage after restart on Nieuw Amsterdam in Alaska in August of 2021 and I think have spent more time on ships than at home since).  I am sure that enters into it (why give something to us for free when they are pretty certain we'll pay). 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bea3

Bea3

Posted
Posted

We were on the Greenland/Iceland Roundtrip from Boston in August.  We first got an offer to upgrade from an inside to a verandah for full price and then a few days later for half price.  We took that offer.

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Iamthesea

Iamthesea

Posted
Posted

That's a great deal, five.!    You may be right about targeting younger people.  Makes sense to try and cater to the young crowds.  I am a 3rd generation HAL cruiser and already in my mid  60's.  My parents and grandparents sailed with HAL almost exclusively.  My parents once received an upgrade from a Signature to a Neptune Suite, but DH and I have never received an upgrade or upsell.  Would be great to get an offer such as yours, or at least an upsell for our upcoming N Statendam cruise in May.

 

BTW - I noticed that you live in my home town of Anderson.  Is that a photo of Lake Hartwell in your signature?  My brother lives on the lake. Looks like the view from his house!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
five.

five.

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

noticed that you live in my home town of Anderson.  Is that a photo of Lake Hartwell in your signature?  My brother lives on the lake. Looks like the view from his house!

It is Lake Hartwell and my hearts home. I have many great memories of cruises and sunsets, but my favorites will always be from my grandparents house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
VMax1700 "Live from...." Rare

VMax1700

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Scotswoman said:

Has anyone outside the USA, for example in Europe, ever received an offer of either upgrade or upsell from HAL? An international phone call would be expensive. Does anyone know of an e-mail address for the PCC Desk?

 

 

Yes, I have phoned a few times.  The number from outside USA is  +1 206 626 7381

(DW and I both have a 200 minutes of International calls per month included in our package)

 

 

19 hours ago, Scotswoman said:

Thanks for the suggestion! That's definitely worth a try, and I'll be requesting my stockholder credit there in any case, so not much extra effort involved!

I always send the stockholder request to Holland America UK  (enquiries@hollandamerica.co.uk)

They are always prompt and send a new Booking Confirmation showing the additional OBC.

 

Perhaps if you email HAL UK and ask about upsell too?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...