One Dollar Deposit

[Mikeyto]

I booked a Nov 2024 7nt Pacific Coastal on Koningsdam, fully intend to go.  I have my first HAL cruise coming up this November, Partial Panama Canal transit on Rotterdam.  I'm looking forward to cruising on HAL!

Edited September 12, 2023 by Mikeyto

[Hlitner]

14 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Well, I can confess that HAL has been very disappointed in my bookings. 

 

Frankly, I find it very effective to wait for a last minute deal. After all, >95% of the itineraries are generic.

 

For example, the 2024 VoV is asking for sky-high prices. But, there's a ton of vacancies on every deck forward and aft.

We have done the HAL VOV cruise, twice, and it quickly became one of our favorite itineraries.  But last month, we decided to do a similar itinerary (like a one-way VOV) from Lisbon to Montreal, and really loved the fact that we were on a ship with only 400 passengers.  The reason I mention this is because when we originally did the VOV, HAL nearly had that kind of itinerary to themselves.  Hardly anyone went to Greenland and cruised through Prince Christiansund.  But these days, many lines have followed HAL's lead and embraced Iceland/Greenland itineraries.   What is even more interesting is that we paid almost the same price for being on Seabourn and in a suite as it would cost to do it in a NA Signature Suite.  And Seabourn is all-inclusive!

 

It seemed strange doing the cruise on the Seabourn Quest, since we did not have "Barry from Boston" who had been on our HAL cruises.  Those were the good ole days when HAL still had a piano bar (with excellent player/singers) on all the ships.  We will admit that Barry was one of those entertainers that some loved and others loathed...but we became fans.

 

Hank

[yerdua]

57 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

@CNSJ thank you for posting this. Booked our 2025 Europe cruise to Egypt and Istanbul with two overnights with the $2.00 deposit. 

 

43 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

We booked the same cruise 🚢 

 

Me too!!! Now crossing my fingers that we can actually go!

[tupper10]

Just now, yerdua said:

 

 

Me too!!! Now crossing my fingers that we can actually go!

We hope for the same thing - really want to do this cruise but it is a long way away.  We love Turkey and I am thinking we will just fly home from Istanbul,  we like it  more than Athens.  

[cbr663]

16 hours ago, retird said:

Hopefully their pricing will come down a little.   Some of their cruises are outrageously high compared to same cruise in 2023.  Fingers crossed

 

 

We've noticed the same.

 

I have been diligently checking out some itineraries as next month we will be cancelling a cruise we have booked and I have been seeking out a replacement.  One cruise I had looked at the price increased $2000 with the Labor Day promo and it has increased again with this $1 deposit promo to almost $2100.

 

I have learned that when HAL has a promo you have to decide whether you want to pay less now and more later.

[doodlefan]

46 minutes ago, yerdua said:

 

 

Me too!!! Now crossing my fingers that we can actually go!

What date has the 2 overnights?  Thanks

[yerdua]

3 minutes ago, doodlefan said:

What date has the 2 overnights?  Thanks

Sept 20, 2025, 14 days Barcelona to athens.

[kelliebiz]

We just booked a 10 day Newfoundland/New England for next August and have every intention of actually using it! Do lots of folks actually overbook themselves and just cancel? I guess there’s nothing to lose monetarily 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

[DaveOKC]

14 minutes ago, kelliebiz said:

We just booked a 10 day Newfoundland/New England for next August and have every intention of actually using it! Do lots of folks actually overbook themselves and just cancel? I guess there’s nothing to lose monetarily 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

Yep - I know some people who do that.

[happywandering]

Two cruises booked today.  VOV 2025   A Eurodam Caribbean November 2024.  Fully intend to go on each, but this far out sometimes intentions don't matter.

[foodsvcmgr]

Website must be overloaded, can’t proceed past picking a category and date.

Not good.

[RD64]

All smoke and mirrors for HAL - enables them to put a spin on how fully booked they are for 2024 and 2025 even though the bookings may eventually be cancelled.

Edited September 12, 2023 by RD64
Spelling

[tupper10]

3 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

Website must be overloaded, can’t proceed past picking a category and date.

Not good.

I had to call HAL and the agent booked everything for me and I only was on hold for about 1 minute.

[kwb101]

19 hours ago, disneyochem said:

Thanks for the heads up!  We’ve been waiting to book the 2025 Voyage of the Viking until we had FCC.  Didn’t want to put down a $3500 deposit on a cruise in 2025.

I just started the Roll Call for the VoV:

 

 

[Cruise Junky]

1 hour ago, yerdua said:

Sept 20, 2025, 14 days Barcelona to athens.

We’re on the preceding 14 days as well. Amsterdam to Athens 28 days in total. 

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, Mikeyto said:

I booked a Nov 2024 7nt Pacific Coastal on Koningsdam, fully intend to go.  I have my first HAL cruise coming up this November, Partial Panama Canal transit on Rotterdam.  I'm looking forward to cruising on HAL!

Welcome to HAL!!

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

All smoke and mirrors for HAL - enables them to put a spin on how fully booked they are for 2024 and 2025 even though the bookings may eventually be cancelled.

Do you have anything other than anecdotal evidence there is a significantly higher number of cancellations on extremely discounted deposit bookings as opposed to standard deposit bookings? 

[kelliebiz]

How many booked this one? 😳

[BermudaBound2014]

20 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Do you have anything other than anecdotal evidence there is a significantly higher number of cancellations on extremely discounted deposit bookings as opposed to standard deposit bookings? 

 

If you follow social media, there is pretty compelling anecdotal evidence to support the claim.

 

During the last $1 deposit sale there was a gal bragging that she booked 9 cruises and would decide later which one she wanted to sale on. Yep, one. She booked them all for roughly the same time frame but different ships and different itineraries. 

[CruiserBruce]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

If you follow social media, there is pretty compelling anecdotal evidence to support the claim.

 

During the last $1 deposit sale there was a gal bragging that she booked 9 cruises and would decide later which one she wanted to sale on. Yep, one. She booked them all for roughly the same time frame but different ships and different itineraries. 

As you mention...anecdotal.

[HappyInVan]

It must be obvious by now that the discounted deposits don't work. Otherwise, why would HAL keep using it again and again?

 

HAL's problem is that they're trying to maintain prices that are unrealistic. Eventually, there will be big discounts that will astonish you, on some itineraries. 

 

It's happened to me.

[BermudaBound2014]

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

As you mention...anecdotal.

and compelling 😉 

[RD64]

43 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Do you have anything other than anecdotal evidence there is a significantly higher number of cancellations on extremely discounted deposit bookings as opposed to standard deposit bookings? 

No I do not, but just going by my own experience of seeing how much is available after final payment date passes.

 

And to be quite honest - because nobody knows what life is going to throw at you a year or two into the future, I have also booked multiple cruises into the future, and then cancelled those which I could not do as final payment approached.

 

At the end of the day, as I said previously, it is a great publicity spin for HAL to say that they are 70 / 80 /90 booked for the first / second / third quarter - when in actual fact the bookings may turn into cancellations.

Edited September 12, 2023 by RD64
Additional

[BermudaBound2014]

13 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

It must be obvious by now that the discounted deposits don't work. Otherwise, why would HAL keep using it again and again?

 

???? Not following this logic ????

 

What we don't know is HAL's intention with the sale, but since HAL keeps offering it, doesn't that mean it IS working (for whatever it is that HAL intends)?

 

To use your words, "Otherwise why would HAL keep using it again and again?"

 

I don't disagree that big sales are coming after final payment. 

[CruiserBruce]

3 minutes ago, RD64 said:

No I do not, but just going by my own experience of seeing how much is available after final payment date passes.

And so anything anything available after final payment was a $1 deposit that got canceled?

 

If we heard from travel agencies or from the cruise lines that $1 deposits were too much hassle, or not helping the bottom line, and the cruise line didn't do them again...that would be reasonable evidence of a problem. But this is, what, the third or 4th time in the last couple years they have done them? We have one cruise (of our 3) booked on a $1 deposit,  and we plan on taking that cruise.