first time Holland America cruiser priced dropped 36 hrs after booking

[charliebeagledog]

Booked a November cruise  on HA two days ago and already see the price had dropped for our Cabin category VF by 30/person

 

Booked using  AARP Promo for $200 OBC (I got validated through AARP waited until it was on my Mariner account before booking)

Paid in full using AARP Holland America  Gift cards saved $200

Will send in information on CCL Stock benefit of $250 OBC next month

 

We are still 108 days out from the cruise.  I can't find what the price protection is on Holland America on their website.  Can I get an additional $60 OBC issued from HA without losing the AARP promotion I booked through?

 

How would you suggest I proceed? 

[CruiserBruce]

For $30 pp? Not sure I would worry about it.

 

Can't promise you will keep all the other perks...it could go either way. I think the AARP $200 is seriously threatened.

[friendswithdave]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I agree with the other poster, probably not worth the trouble for $60, but continue to watch it. If it goes down any more, contact whoever you booked through and see what can be done concerning a price change or more OBC. Usually before final payment (90 days out) something positive can be done for you.

[DaveOKC]

Are all the extras the same as when  you booked.  Once a promotion expires it is common for the fare to drop a bit.  WHen you rebook you get the low fare but the extras may be different.

 

[oakridger]

23 hours ago, charliebeagledog said:

Paid in full using AARP Holland America  Gift cards saved $200

 

OP states they have already paid in full.

 

 

~Nancy

[shippmates]

On some cruise lines it does not matter if the cruise is paid in full it just must be before final payment due date.  Some time it does not paid to request a price reduction, because you may lose the amenities you got when you first booked.  Make sure it is worth it before you make any changes.

[Mary229]

I do a lot of negotiating  but I don’t know if it is worth it for $30.  If you want to go ahead I think the best approach is to call and try to get some minor perk added in lieu of a fare change.  

Edited August 12, 2023 by Mary229

[Real NHDOC]

While the $30 decrease is probably not worth fighting for it is important to know the rules when you book in case this happens on a future booking or on a larger reduction in fare.  If your booking asked for payment in full (no deposit) and you were more than 90 days out then it was probably a restricted fare without any provision for cancellation.  Some fares are nonrefundable from the moment you make the payment and some have nonrefundable deposits so it is important to know what the terms of the fare you got were (preferably before you book it) and then you will know how much leverage you have to renegotiate after booking.  The flexible fare will typically allow you to cancel without penalty right up until the final payment is due (usually 90 days before sailing).  With those you have the most leverage but usually pay a little more.  Typically with those you can ask for an adjustment to the fare when it drops and they will grant it without having to cancel and rebook it but sometimes they require you to cancel and rebook if the terms of the offer have changed dramatically.

 

Cancelling and rebooking for a lower fare will not sacrifice the AARP or stockholder benefits but you will have to ask for them again on the new booking.  Since there is no limit on the number of times you can get those you will get them on any booking.  The hitch you should be aware of is when paying with gift cards any cancellation refund goes back to the gift cards and that refund is not instantaneous.  It can take up to a week or more to post back onto the cards.  So don't count on being able to cancel and rebook with the same gift cards.  Again, they write the rules.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Real NHDOC

[charliebeagledog]

Lots of helpful information here,  Thank you.  I've been watching the fare daily and haven't seen any other change.  It was a non restricted fare I suspect as it did not require full payment at the time of booking but I was nervous about the gift cards so I purchased them and immediately booked and then applied them.

 

I may call and inquire and see if they would add some amenity as suggested but certainly if the insist I cancel and re-book I agree its not worth the hassle plus waiting for the gift cards to be refunded so I can reapply them.  

 

With  AARP gift cards if I want to pay for the tipping and use them for credit onboard would have to bring them with me and use them onboard and have them applied on the ship?  can I use them for dining  and the spa? 

 

Thank you

Edited August 18, 2023 by charliebeagledog
clarify that i was talking about applying AARP gift cards

[Real NHDOC]

You can use the gift cards when you pre-book or pre-pay for items before the cruise or you can bring them with you and have them applied to your onboard account as credit against purchases.  If you want to use them to pre-book or prepay (for tips, for example) you just use the "manage my bookings" section of the website and when it comes to checkout there is an area to apply gift cards or credit cards.  Just be aware you cannot split between gift and credit cards when doing this online, you can either choose one payment method or the other.  But there is no limit to the number of gift cards you can apply at checkout so if you have say $1200 in purchases you can use two $500 cards and two $100 cards (or three $500 cards and just have a balance left on one). 

[Haljo1935]

On 8/12/2023 at 6:53 AM, Real NHDOC said:

...Cancelling and rebooking for a lower fare will not sacrifice the AARP or stockholder benefits but you will have to ask for them again on the new booking.  Since there is no limit on the number of times you can get those you will get them on any booking...

Shareholder and AARP OBC are not given on every booking.

There are numerous posts from people denied AARP OBC due to discounted rates. I had that happen this week - I got a notification w/in the booking that AARP OBC had been applied when I booked on Tues, but when I called in to request an invoice & confirm it was there, was told no the rate was not eligible. Called the next day and got the same answer.

And today for the same booking I rec'd an email saying I would not receive shareholder OBC for the same reason. First time I've been denied shareholder OBC.

Would be interested in knowing if others are indeed getting both AARP and shareholder OBC on every booking.

[RuthC]

8 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

And today for the same booking I rec'd an email saying I would not receive shareholder OBC for the same reason. First time I've been denied shareholder OBC.

Are you booked under an Interline rate? I KNOW those don't qualify for shareholder credit. 

[Mary229]

25 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Shareholder and AARP OBC are not given on every booking.

There are numerous posts from people denied AARP OBC due to discounted rates. I had that happen this week - I got a notification w/in the booking that AARP OBC had been applied when I booked on Tues, but when I called in to request an invoice & confirm it was there, was told no the rate was not eligible. Called the next day and got the same answer.

And today for the same booking I rec'd an email saying I would not receive shareholder OBC for the same reason. First time I've been denied shareholder OBC.

Would be interested in knowing if others are indeed getting both AARP and shareholder OBC on every booking.

If you had a casino discount even if only 10% the cruise does not qualify for AARP.  I was denied on my cruises with that discount.  The only one I did not get shareholder OBC was the one with an extreme casino discount. 

[Haljo1935]

29 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

If you had a casino discount even if only 10% the cruise does not qualify for AARP.  I was denied on my cruises with that discount.  The only one I did not get shareholder OBC was the one with an extreme casino discount. 

Yes that aligns w/my experience. I'd say "many" bookings will get AARP and shareholder OBC added but not all. Same for HIA - I have 2 bookings where I cannot buy HIA.

[Haljo1935]

51 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Are you booked under an Interline rate? I KNOW those don't qualify for shareholder credit. 

Not interline and you are correct.

The email I got specifically states Interline as one of the rates not eligible, bu tt doesn't specifically say "casino" rate. It says "discounted" rates not eligible. 

So technically anytime we book under one of their sales, those are discounted rates and shouldn't get the OBC. But we know that is not how it's applied and they're not that strict with it.

I believe my request landed in the hands of someone who is just more strict when I've been fortunate my other requests have been handled by someone a bit more gracious. 

Or they're tightening up since they were bombarded with AARP requests. 

[Mary229]

21 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes that aligns w/my experience. I'd say "many" bookings will get AARP and shareholder OBC added but not all. Same for HIA - I have 2 bookings where I cannot buy HIA.

Sometimes you can call and get HIA.  HIA is not offered on Grand voyages nor grand voyage segments. 

[Haljo1935]

7 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Sometimes you can call and get HIA.  HIA is not offered on Grand voyages nor grand voyage segments. 

I've called more than 10 times, all w/o success. I've called so much I've cycled through some of the agents. Heck, they've probably got my file flagged, lol. And the cruise I'm really wanting it for doesn't leave until Nov 26, so I've got time to call some more.🫣

Edited August 19, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[LocoLoco1]

Hardly worth the bother. COUNTLESS times I have seen a fare drop substantially for no apparent reason and yet on other occasions rise. Landing the rock-bottom fare is a game of chance methinks. 

[charliebeagledog]

I was quite pleasantly surprised at how nice they were in helping me with this.   Our booking had a non refundable deposit so they wouldn't offer onboard credit ( but some of the offers were the functional equivalent)  but they did offer several options and we are very pleased with the outcome .  I would advise anyone in this situation call and ask.  I went in with had no expectation but was very happy with the outcome.  We booked a non obstructed veranda guaranty and they assigned us an awesome cabin that represented quite a upgrade (and with it being a transatlantic cruise in Nov/Dec we won't be worried about motion sickness.   The rep was an absolute pleasure to work with.    Thanks for all for your insights and shared experience on this.