1 dollar deposit sale next week?

[liamur14]

Your thoughts on the 1 $ deposit sale  next week ...July 11 for 2024 med cruise? When is the balance due? anyone have experience with this?

[CruiserBruce]

19 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

Your thoughts on the 1 $ deposit sale  next week ...July 11 for 2024 med cruise? When is the balance due? anyone have experience with this?

The balance due date is usually 75 or 90 days in advance of sailing, although your travel agent may process earlier then that.

 

We did the $1 deposit for a booking for next March 30 when it was offered 6 or so months ago. Our final payment is being processed Dec 17, 2023, by our TA. 100 days out.

[KAKcruiser]

Do you know the promo requirements?  Sometimes anyone can get the $1 deposit and sometimes you have to book the HIA fare to get it.

[Ellencruise]

Ooh can’t wait to see and hopefully use this promotion

[boulders]

Are Grand cruises included in the $1 deposit or do they have reduced deposits? 

[PACD_JG]

I don't know...am I the only one who thinks this sales gimmick is bad?  It reminds of me layaway at Montgomery Ward.  Serious customers can't buy merch because all the half-hearted customers stashed it behind the counter waiting until payday.

[crystalspin]

6 hours ago, liamur14 said:

...July 11 for 2024 med cruise? When is the balance due? anyone have experience with this?

What ship and/or itinerary? I would look for similar Roll Call for the date in 2023 and ask the members when there Final Payment was due. 

[Dancing Shoes]

2 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

I don't know...am I the only one who thinks this sales gimmick is bad?  It reminds of me layaway at Montgomery Ward.  Serious customers can't buy merch because all the half-hearted customers stashed it behind the counter waiting until payday.

Hey....when I was a young gal in junior high, that was the only way I could buy something at Learner's in downtown PDX. I earned $$ babysitting.

[mcrcruiser]

For a  $1 deposit we would book  the Jan 2025 Hawaii 18  day cruise

[mowogo]

16 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

I don't know...am I the only one who thinks this sales gimmick is bad?  It reminds of me layaway at Montgomery Ward.  Serious customers can't buy merch because all the half-hearted customers stashed it behind the counter waiting until payday.

It is actually great for the line. People will just let their deposit expire rather than go through the cancellation process.  

[dawnvip]

I think it is a great "gimmick". We are considering an early 2025 cruise as well, so if it is included in the sale then $1 is an easy reservation that we don't have to make a final decision on until much later. 

[BermudaBound2014]

I suspect much of the motivation for such a sale is to be able to report record future bookings. 
 

Did HaL (and all the other cruise lines) offer this many extremely low deposit sales prior to accumulating Billions of debt? 😉 

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

18 hours ago, boulders said:

Are Grand cruises included in the $1 deposit or do they have reduced deposits? 

I dought the Grand cruises are included.

[liamur14]

18 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

I don't know...am I the only one who thinks this sales gimmick is bad?  It reminds of me layaway at Montgomery Ward.  Serious customers can't buy merch because all the half-hearted customers  it behind the counter waiting until payday.

 Dawnvip ...This came from Holland Cruises PCC... we did this a few years back ...it was all good. She emailed me saying it was  1 day.

Edited July 9, 2023 by liamur14
spelling

[canadianbear]

10 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

 .This came from Holland Cruises PCC... we did this a few years back  She emailed me saying it was  1 day.

Wish my PCC would give me a heads up!  Thanks for the info 

[POA1]

If it's anything like the past sales, the Grand Voyages & World Cruise will be excluded.

[crystalspin]

17 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

Wish my PCC would give me a heads up!  Thanks for the info 

I am watching daily! My hope is that it applies to Hawaii/Tahiti in 2025. I will book as a back up to 2024. We have a number of high-risk people in our family "pod" and are seniors ourselves, so a cancellation is not unthinkable. 

 

As far as a gimmick, that is for them to choose. HAL is "holding" $3500 of my money as it is. Hoping not to make it $7000 when only one of the two cruises is likely to happen. Unless 2024 is a go AND we like it so well that we repeat (as several on the Roll Call are doing)!

 

If we decide against it, we will not leave it on "lay-away" until final payment, but will release it as soon as we know.

[afdds]

Sorry this will be my first booking with HAL.  Are you guys saying next week there will be deposits of only $1.00?  We want to book a July 2024 cruise.  
Our anniversary is in a few days, so our 2023 gift will be the booking and 2024 gift will be the cruise.  Win win!   I just haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

[canadianbear]

7 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I am watching daily! My hope is that it applies to Hawaii/Tahiti in 2025. I will book as a back up to 2024. We have a number of high-risk people in our family "pod" and are seniors ourselves, so a cancellation is not unthinkable. 

 

As far as a gimmick, that is for them to choose. HAL is "holding" $3500 of my money as it is. Hoping not to make it $7000 when only one of the two cruises is likely to happen. Unless 2024 is a go AND we like it so well that we repeat (as several on the Roll Call are doing)!

 

If we decide against it, we will not leave it on "lay-away" until final payment, but will release it as soon as we know.

Just so you know they would NOT honour the $25 deposit for the 2025 cruise to the SP. We had to put down a large deposit which is refundable.  But it was HIA including gratuities plus early booking bonus OBC so we put a deposit down.  My thinking was we will love the 2024 cruise we will want to do it again in 2025!  Got the cabin we wanted too. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by canadianbear

[DaveOKC]

I am not a fan of this $1 promotion.  I use FCC so it is only $100 anyway.  More importantly, I foresee people tying up the better located cabins for $1, thus blocking them from the rest of us.

 

[crystalspin]

7 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

Just so you know they would NOT honour the $25 deposit for the 2025 cruise to the SP... 

Ah, I see! I had not had the idea in May for the $25 promo. Probably they treat the long cruises like Grand Voyages even though no "grand" in the name.

[crystalspin]

13 minutes ago, afdds said:

Sorry this will be my first booking with HAL.  Are you guys saying next week there will be deposits of only $1.00?  We want to book a July 2024 cruise. 

The rumor is one-day promo on 11 July. It will not apply to all cruises, but wait and see if yours is included!

[canadianbear]

2 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Ah, I see! I had not had the idea in May for the $25 promo. Probably they treat the long cruises like Grand Voyages even though no "grand" in the name.

There were a lot complaining about it not be accepted.  Only one person on CC got it I think because HAL had a lot of their money already.  So you might be persuasive!  

[EatonDoolittle]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I suspect much of the motivation for such a sale is to be able to report record future bookings. 

 

 

Exactly this.

I retired from the hotel business and future reservations were absolutely a key reporting metric, even more so in a publicly traded company.

 

From a consumer standpoint, I never got the attraction of the very low deposit.

Pay them now, or pay them later. I'd rather pay a good deposit and ease the final bite, especially on a longer, costlier cruise. 

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

I'm good using a fcd instead if these $1 deals.  I believe a lot of people use it as a placeholder.  When I book a cruise I'm pretty sure to take it unless something unforseeen cones up.