jmc27 Posted October 20, 2023 #1 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Hi - we pre paid the crew appreciation a month before we boarded via the UK web site. After checking my onboard statement today I have discovered that it does not cover the daily charge. Spoke to guest services who said we only paid $15.50 and not $16 per day even though we only pre paid in September and I am certain the web site showed the charge to be $16. Guest services suggested I amend our service charge to $15.50 in order to not incur an extra charge but I refused to do that as that would impact the crew. Anyone else had this happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnvip Posted October 20, 2023 #2 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Odd, I wonder if it has to do with USD/pound conversion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lido deck main Posted October 20, 2023 #3 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Do you have your email confirmation. Doesn't make sense that the charge was less than $16.00. The prepaid amount is determined by HAL. You should be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted October 20, 2023 #4 Share Posted October 20, 2023 You would have paid in pounds sterling and then this would be converted to US dollars and the total amount posted to your onboard account as On Board Credit (refundable). I wonder has HAL changed their (very generous) exchange rate? There is no way that Guest Services could say that you only paid $15.50 as you pay Sterling and HAL converts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LnWG Posted October 20, 2023 #5 Share Posted October 20, 2023 We pre-paid our gratuity at the end of August 2023 for a Sept 2023 cruise. Our account was in Cdn, and so I paid in Cdn, and paid the total amount of gratuity shown as owing on the account. This was exactly the same amount that had shown on the account from the day we booked the cruise 9 months prior. Our on board account debited at a rate of $16.00 US pp/per day, and it all balanced at the end of the cruise. Whatever exchange rate was used, the conversion appears to have been done at the time our cruise was booked and it never varied. You are well advised to ask Holland America for further explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmc27 Posted October 20, 2023 Author #6 Share Posted October 20, 2023 My email confirms I paid in sterling but does not actually show dollar rate. Guest services are adamant I paid the old crew appreciation rate of $15.50. They are correct as when I divide the credit on my account it does come to $15.50. The issue I think is the UK site which for whatever reason shows the rate to be $16 but has not updated the charge to reflect this. I have contacted UK guest services to get clarification - I’ll update when I get a response 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted October 20, 2023 #7 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Seems odd to have happened... But couldn't HAL just charge the extra amount to your onboard account to bring it up to $16/day? Although if it's their error... I guess it depends on how much vacation time you want to spend fighting the error. For a few USD, I probably wouldn't bother. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted October 20, 2023 #8 Share Posted October 20, 2023 1 hour ago, jmc27 said: They are correct as when I divide the credit on my account it does come to $15.50. As they posted $15.50 per day then when you divide the amount posted it will be $15.50! When I go to Manage Bookings and try to pre pay grats it is HAL that shows the amount that is required, and in the currency of the booking. All I need to do is select the guest to pay for and give credit card details. If it is underpaid then it is HAL's responsibility. End of! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmc27 Posted October 20, 2023 Author #9 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Not going to stress about it and certainly not going to do the crew out of their gratuities - only letting HAL UK know there is a glitch in their system. Happy cruising folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bouff Posted October 21, 2023 #10 Share Posted October 21, 2023 This is strange. We were on the Zaandam in September and prepaid our gratuities in Sterling. Our statement evidences that we paid $15.50 per day and we were not asked for any more. When was the crew appreciation amount increased? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flyer Posted October 21, 2023 #11 Share Posted October 21, 2023 FWIW I prepaid gratuities last week for a Caribbean cruise 8 weeks out and was charged $217 for 7 days or $15.50 ea per day. I know it should be $16 for an outside cabin but who am I to argue. We usually add some more at the end. All was done in US Dollars. HAL fuzzy math.🤑 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted October 21, 2023 #12 Share Posted October 21, 2023 5 hours ago, Bouff said: When was the crew appreciation amount increased? Sometime between September 2022 and August 2023. Just looking at onboard statements. There is no press release on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAVIP Posted October 23, 2023 #13 Share Posted October 23, 2023 On 10/21/2023 at 4:12 PM, VMax1700 said: Sometime between September 2022 and August 2023. Just looking at onboard statements. There is no press release on the website. and April 2023 (in April 2023 $ 16 on our statements). And as VMax1700 suggested to do: we paid since this spring in € and received on our HAL cruises a credit of $16 per day on your statements. And HAL gave a far better exchange rate than the banks would have done on the day of disembarkation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted October 23, 2023 #14 Share Posted October 23, 2023 1 hour ago, MAVIP said: And HAL gave a far better exchange rate than the banks would have done on the day of disembarkation. I am wondering if HAL used an incorrect exchange rate for the pre paid rate for UK cruisers. If they used the euro/dollar rate instead of sterling/dollar rate and then the amount tp be credited to the onboard account would be incorrect and on a 10 day cruise would (according to my rough calculations) be the equivalent of $15.50 approx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caminomama Posted October 25, 2023 #15 Share Posted October 25, 2023 Once a year, in the spring sometime I think, the gratuity amount is reviewed. If you prepay before that date you are only charged the lesser amount which is a "perk". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAX Posted March 12 #16 Share Posted March 12 If I book with the "Have It All" package, will I receive "credits" to be deducted for crew appreciation or would it not even show up as a daily charge? Just curious. LAX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted March 12 #17 Share Posted March 12 33 minutes ago, LAX said: If I book with the "Have It All" package, will I receive "credits" to be deducted for crew appreciation or would it not even show up as a daily charge? Just curious. LAX We have to stop meeting this way!! Ha ha. 😁 If your HIA includes crew appreciation (it doesn't always, depends on the offer at the time) then all your gratuities are included, and you don't need to pay more unless you want to. Sometimes it shows up on your folio as a charge then credit but some people said it didn't show on the folio at all. My last cruises in fall 2022 it showed up as a charge then credit so zero sum. ~Nancy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAX Posted March 13 #18 Share Posted March 13 22 hours ago, oakridger said: We have to stop meeting this way!! Ha ha. 😁 If your HIA includes crew appreciation (it doesn't always, depends on the offer at the time) then all your gratuities are included, and you don't need to pay more unless you want to. Sometimes it shows up on your folio as a charge then credit but some people said it didn't show on the folio at all. My last cruises in fall 2022 it showed up as a charge then credit so zero sum. ~Nancy Thanks. I appreciate you taking time to answer my questions!👍 LAX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare POA1 Posted March 13 #19 Share Posted March 13 The Have It All with crew appreciation, aka HIA+, is usually only available more than a year in advance. You might see it in some sales, but it's most often the incentive to book early. On the other hand, you'll sometimes see bonus OBC. Occasionally, the bonus OBC exceeds the value of the crew appreciation / gratuities. I saw that during January and February. On some close-in sailings of 12 days or less, your OBC was more than adequate tu to cover tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Haljo1935 Posted March 13 #20 Share Posted March 13 On 3/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, LAX said: If I book with the "Have It All" package, will I receive "credits" to be deducted for crew appreciation or would it not even show up as a daily charge? Just curious. LAX My experience is it usually doesn't show at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare POA1 Posted March 13 #21 Share Posted March 13 1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said: My experience is it usually doesn't show at all. Exactly. If you booked HIA+, it usually zeroes out prior to boarding. If you have OBC and not prepaid crew appreciation, you'll see the daily charge on your folio 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RileyFox Posted August 15 #22 Share Posted August 15 Is the "prepaid appreciation" the same as "the daily crew appreciation charge"? Is this charged per cabin or per person? How much is this charge normally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted August 15 #23 Share Posted August 15 2 hours ago, RileyFox said: Is the "prepaid appreciation" the same as "the daily crew appreciation charge"? Is this charged per cabin or per person? How much is this charge normally? Someone just asked this very same question 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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