Sail Standby for $49 a day- new program

[sambamama]

There are casino offers extended to people who gamble extensively. If you are lucky enough to be coded as that, you get those offers. There are offers that are practically free, and offers that are just verygood. I used  to get very good casino offers from my TA every so often, even though I don't gamble. I didn't cruise the year before COVID. I got my first ever free cruise offer and went. I doubt I will get another, but I may. HAL has increased its prices so all solos are paying 200% now. I won't be booking again at those prices so they may offer me a free cruise 3 years fromnow. 

[Troysers1]

I can confirm the exact opposite of clearing the standby list. 

 

Apparently after HAL incorrectly put me on a waitlist (as opposed to the standby list) when HAL went to correct the situation an automatic refund was generated to my credit card, so no transfer to the standby list could be performed.

 

Lessons learned include this standby program is very new to HAL and they are "still figuring it out."  Very few agents seem to be knowledgeable about the program.  I am thankful for using a travel agent in this situation as it has saved me the hassle and frustration of sorting things out with HAL.

[Laurie59]

Thanks for the update. We are on standby for March

[Raybit]

Update - we are on standby for the 6 January cruise out of San Diego.  Have heard nothing from HA even though their web page clearly states that they will notify us of acceptance (confirmed with agent also should notify of non-acceptance) "approximately 7 days before cruise ship departure.  When I checked in today, they said that "approximately" can be anytime up to embarkation.  BIG DIFFERENCE and we would not have signed up under these conditions.  Unfortunately, the only way they have to cancel is to the standard forfeiture of all but taxes and port fees.  Still working but wanted to share with the community...

 

Has anyone cleared the waitlist for the this cruise?

 

 

[Commodore2022]

We are the same Boat for the same cruise. Yes, this is not approximately 7 days.

[BigMattT]

2 hours ago, Raybit said:

Update - we are on standby for the 6 January cruise out of San Diego.  Have heard nothing from HA even though their web page clearly states that they will notify us of acceptance (confirmed with agent also should notify of non-acceptance) "approximately 7 days before cruise ship departure.  When I checked in today, they said that "approximately" can be anytime up to embarkation.  BIG DIFFERENCE and we would not have signed up under these conditions.  Unfortunately, the only way they have to cancel is to the standard forfeiture of all but taxes and port fees.  Still working but wanted to share with the community...

 

Has anyone cleared the waitlist for the this cruise?

 

 

We only got our cabin assignments yesterday for our casino inside gty for this sailing… so I’d imagine you’ll know soon.

[Raybit]

Thanks - on the phone with them now.  Seems like they really misrepresented how they were using the Standby Program.

[shipmeoff!]

Thanks to all who are acting as Guinea pigs and sharing their experiences.

 

It seems like there hasn’t been a lot of thought put into this by people who truly understand what it’s like to cruise. Kind of poor.

 

I live very close to a standby port but I would need a bit more notice than “up until embarkation time”. If they can promise I would know either way by 72 hours prior or even 48, that would be okay with me, 7 days obviously would be really nice.

 

My passport is in a safe deposit box at the bank, I would rather not pack until I know I’m going, so two to seven days would give me time to pull things together.

 

So thank you again to all contributing to this thread. I am grateful to you. Please keep the updates coming. 

[Commodore2022]

We just got a Email that we are on. I'll probably dispute it with AMEX. This not enough time.

[BermudaBound2014]

I agree, thanks to those contributing.

 

At this point, it seems this standby program maybe only good for those who want to add a back-to-back. I thought about it on my next cruise but I have places to be. Next time I sign up for a HAL cruise, I may leave my schedule open for the following cruise and sign up for the program (if the program is running).

 

At this rate, I'm not thinking many are willing to cruise within a day or two notice. 7 days is doable. 5 days is doable. I suspect 48 hours is going to be rough on even those who live close. In the scenario that @shipmeoff! described above, they would need enough notice to ensure that the bank would be open to collect passports. 

 

Best of luck to you @Commodore2022. American Express is a very customer friendly CC to use. I think you have the best luck with them. Please let us know how it turns out.

Edited January 4 by BermudaBound2014

[Laurie59]

55 minutes ago, shipmeoff! said:

Thanks to all who are acting as Guinea pigs and sharing their experiences.

 

It seems like there hasn’t been a lot of thought put into this by people who truly understand what it’s like to cruise. Kind of poor.

 

I live very close to a standby port but I would need a bit more notice than “up until embarkation time”. If they can promise I would know either way by 72 hours prior or even 48, that would be okay with me, 7 days obviously would be really nice.

 

My passport is in a safe deposit box at the bank, I would rather not pack until I know I’m going, so two to seven days would give me time to pull things together.

 

So thank you again to all contributing to this thread. I am grateful to you. Please keep the updates coming. 

We’re on stand by for March 29 out of Ft. Lauderdale. I’d be thrilled to get on even if Its Day before. Since I live in FL it’s super easy to pack. I can be ready in a very short time. 🤞🤞 someone gets on a cruise before March to tell us about it

 
as far as challenging the payment with Am Ex interested how that works out. You haven’t gotten a room yet on stand by so it might be a moot point

[Raybit]

So - after spending an hour on the phone and receiving an email that did NOT acknowledge my request for being removed with a full refund as we requested...we received an email stating that we had cleared the list and assigning us a room.  We are going - but I concur that the program is not as advertised, and therefore we have had an unnecessarily stressful experience.

 

Note: we did get an aft vista suite as our assigned room - so the cost savings is pretty significant!  

[rj59]

I just got my room for the Jan 6 sailing on Koningsdam as well, getting a signature suite. It's definitely stressful waiting, though, since I've been constantly checking email and the app all week, hoping to get a room, and was encouraged when I saw rooms in most categories for sale last night, so there was a lot of emotional ups and downs, ready to be resentful if I didn't make it. At the same time, I think it's pretty awesome of HAL to put standby passengers into suites, instead of upgrading other people and putting standby people into the inside/balcony cabins they vacate. I'm especially grateful to get charged only $49/nt as a solo passenger, with no single supplement. I'm also excited to visit La Paz and Loreto, new ports for me and inside the Baja peninsula, where humpback whales give birth and raise their young, so I'll be glued to my balcony and using the provided binoculars to do whale-watching. 

[Laurie59]

5 minutes ago, rj59 said:

I just got my room for the Jan 6 sailing on Koningsdam as well, getting a signature suite. It's definitely stressful waiting, though, since I've been constantly checking email and the app all week, hoping to get a room, and was encouraged when I saw rooms in most categories for sale last night, so there was a lot of emotional ups and downs, ready to be resentful if I didn't make it. At the same time, I think it's pretty awesome of HAL to put standby passengers into suites, instead of upgrading other people and putting standby people into the inside/balcony cabins they vacate. I'm especially grateful to get charged only $49/nt as a solo passenger, with no single supplement. I'm also excited to visit La Paz and Loreto, new ports for me and inside the Baja peninsula, where humpback whales give birth and raise their young, so I'll be glued to my balcony and using the provided binoculars to do whale-watching. 

So exciting..what a bargain and wonderful experience 

[Laurie59]

1 hour ago, Raybit said:

On 12/22/2023 at 1:50 PM, Troysers1 said:

I thought I would share my experience so far in case others run into similar problems.

 

In November paid total for standby on a late March cruise through my travel agent.

 

I received an email on Wednesday from my TA that I have cleared the list and was assigned an interior stateroom much to my surprise as I had thought I would only receive confirmation approximately seven days before cruise departure.

 

Yesterday, it turns out, according to my TA, that Holland agents are not well versed on this program, and there was confusion between being "Standby" versus "waitlisted."  When my TA made the reservation I was charged the full standby fare (as per my request); however, in Holland's system I was coded as "waitlisted" for an interior cabin.  I "cleared" the "waitlist" when an interior cabin became available and Holland reached out to my TA to receive further payment from me as the price for an interior cabin at the prevailing rates were higher than the total standby cost.

 

Apparently, my TA has had to go through several HA agents and their supervisor to have me added back on to the standby list (including waiving any penalty charges for changes) and to the position I was in originally as the standby list is supposed to be handled on a first come first served basis.

 

It would be interesting to hear whether anybody has successfully been assigned a cabin for a December or early January cruise.

 

I hope Holland is not just using this to help them with temporary cash flow.  While no direct impact on their income statement, any cash they receive from this program could reduce any interest payments they would otherwise have to make (which would have any impact on their bottom line).

 

On 12/27/2023 at 9:32 PM, boze9999 said:

Looking forward to seeing how this new experiment goes! Thanks for being our guinea pig!

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Raybit said:

So - after spending an hour on the phone and receiving an email that did NOT acknowledge my request for being removed with a full refund as we requested...we received an email stating that we had cleared the list and assigning us a room.  We are going - but I concur that the program is not as advertised, and therefore we have had an unnecessarily stressful experience.

 

Note: we did get an aft vista suite as our assigned room - so the cost savings is pretty significant!  

So - after spending an hour on the phone and receiving an email that did NOT acknowledge my request for being removed with a full refund as we requested...we received an email stating that we had cleared the list and assigning us a room.  We are going - but I concur that the program is not as advertised, and therefore we have had an unnecessarily stressful experience.

 

Note: we did get an aft vista suite as our assigned room - so the cost savings is pretty significant! 

[Laurie59]

Why were you expecting a refund when you thought you weren’t getting a room HA specifically said no cancellations.. seemed like the program worked like it was supposed to and you did get a room after all

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Raybit said:

So - after spending an hour on the phone and receiving an email that did NOT acknowledge my request for being removed with a full refund as we requested...we received an email stating that we had cleared the list and assigning us a room.  We are going - but I concur that the program is not as advertised, and therefore we have had an unnecessarily stressful experience.

 

Note: we did get an aft vista suite as our assigned room - so the cost savings is pretty significant!  

That is a great cabin location - congrats, enjoy your cruise! Double congrats for surviving the stressful ordeal.

Edited January 5 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Haljo1935]

17 minutes ago, rj59 said:

I just got my room for the Jan 6 sailing on Koningsdam as well, getting a signature suite. It's definitely stressful waiting, though, since I've been constantly checking email and the app all week, hoping to get a room, and was encouraged when I saw rooms in most categories for sale last night, so there was a lot of emotional ups and downs, ready to be resentful if I didn't make it. At the same time, I think it's pretty awesome of HAL to put standby passengers into suites, instead of upgrading other people and putting standby people into the inside/balcony cabins they vacate. I'm especially grateful to get charged only $49/nt as a solo passenger, with no single supplement. I'm also excited to visit La Paz and Loreto, new ports for me and inside the Baja peninsula, where humpback whales give birth and raise their young, so I'll be glued to my balcony and using the provided binoculars to do whale-watching. 

Congrats - that is a nice surprise. Happy to hear you're aware of what a fabulous opportunity you've gotten. Hope you see lots of whales 🐋 

[Raybit]

If the verbiage had suggested that we would not know if cleared until (potentially) the day before embarkation we would not have signed up.  It states "approximately 7 days prior to the cruise" and we figured roughly 7 plus/minus 2 days we would know and that would be plenty of time. We heard crickets until less than 48 hours before underway and that is too stressful for us.

 

Still a great deal - simply not executed as described. 

[vicd1969]

This could work for those who don't live near the ports. You don't even have to be retired. The key feature is you get to choose which cruise, and consequently which days to be off. So you can plan ahead. For me, I have friends and family in the LA and Fort Lauderdale area, so this is promising. Unfortunately, I already have two non-cruise trips this spring, but  fall 2024 once they open up those bookings are possibilities. Here is how I would go about taking advantage of the standby program when still having a job: 

 

1. Select a cruise with dates that would work for me as if I was taking time off like any other vacation.

2. Book cruise standby, arrange pre-cruise accommodations with check-out maybe same day as cruise date or one day afterwards. 

3. Book airline tickets as if I was taking the cruise

4. Now here is where the optionality is valuable

- If I learn I made the list, fine, take the cruise like normal since my pre-cruise hotel and air are already set. Enjoy the savings and even get a suite maybe for about half the price of an inside. Win.

- If I don't make the list, still fly to LA or Fort Lauderdale. Spend a vacation week there, enjoy the area and friends/family. It's pretty easy getting last-minute hotel deals, or if staying with family, they would know there is a possibility your stay with them could be up to a week, or could be just a day or two. They would understand once you tell them about the standby cruise possibility. Win.

 

So commit to the vacation, not to the cruise. 

 

A couple of questions, however:

- Would I still get normal Mariner credits?

- If they open this to foreign parts, can I book air using Flight-Ease ahead? (pretty sure no, but l look forward to the misfortune of having to spend a week in Rome or Athens or some other Europe place if I didn't get picked from standby, lol)

 

 

[BigMattT]

6 hours ago, Raybit said:

 

 

Note: we did get an aft vista suite as our assigned room - so the cost savings is pretty significant!  

Wow! Congrats! Yesterday we tried to upgrade from our assigned inside guarantee for this sailing and were told we were not eligible.

 

Interesting stuff, these promotional programs.

[publicpersona]

11 hours ago, Laurie59 said:

Why were you expecting a refund when you thought you weren’t getting a room HA specifically said no cancellations.. seemed like the program worked like it was supposed to and you did get a room after all

 

No, the program didn't work like it was supposed to. HAL, which wrote the terms after all, basically said ...

 

Are you willing to put money at risk that you can be flexible enough to make arrangements to cruise about a week before departure?

 

but what they are delivering is ... 

 

Are you willing to put money at risk that you can be flexible enough to make arrangements to cruise within 48 hours of departure?

 

That's very different. I'm on standby for a Jan 26 cruise and now very nervous. I have flexibility if I know more than 3-4 days ahead, but cannot do it with lesser notice.

[ChinaShrek]

1 hour ago, publicpersona said:

 

No, the program didn't work like it was supposed to. HAL, which wrote the terms after all, basically said ...

 

Are you willing to put money at risk that you can be flexible enough to make arrangements to cruise about a week before departure?

 

but what they are delivering is ... 

 

Are you willing to put money at risk that you can be flexible enough to make arrangements to cruise within 48 hours of departure?

 

That's very different. I'm on standby for a Jan 26 cruise and now very nervous. I have flexibility if I know more than 3-4 days ahead, but cannot do it with lesser notice.

You should never assume what a business advertises is what they will actually do or deliver. 

[Madamexxx007Madame007]

In essence we are debating the definition of “approximately” which can be different for everyone 

 

 

[publicpersona]

33 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

You should never assume what a business advertises is what they will actually do or deliver. 

So I guess that you no longer cruise because you have no assurance that the cruise ship is actually going anywhere.