Best Price Guarantee - Shore Excursions

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Has anyone ever claimed HAL’s Best Price Guarantee on Shore Excursions? How does it work? 

A few months ago I booked a Penguin watching excursion through a private company for our Iceland cruise. Later, the tour boat operator contacted me and regretfully had to cancel our booking. Holland America had a cruise ship in that day, and had booked the full boat for all three tours while the ship was in port. He was able to offer us the last tour after the ship left, or another day. Obviously those don’t work for us, so we got a refund.

Now I have booked the same tour through HAL for 2 1/2 times the cost of my original booking. We will be in exactly the same boat doing exactly the same tour I had booked, no extra add ons to ensure it’s technically a different tour.

I have all the emails and receipts for proof.

Is the Best Price Guarantee legit? How do I go about submitting a claim?

Edited December 18, 2023 by Horizon chaser 1957

[Mary229]

No penguins in Iceland, did you mean puffins?

[FlaMariner]

1 hour ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Has anyone ever claimed HAL’s Best Price Guarantee on Shore Excursions?

 

I tried it once and will not waste my time again.......

 

The excursions have to be the same and I do not recall specifics but it was all the same except the one I was on included lunch....therefore it did not qualify.

 

It's difficult to find a tour that EXACTLY matches and that was the requirement that knocked us out. 

 

As far as how to try, once you dive into the shore excursions, you will see a link to the "best price guarantee" page w/the info and an online form to fill out the "claim".

 

You may have a "claim" since the 3rd party you booked is charting now for HAL.  Good luck!

 

Here is a portion of the info.....

 

We offer the best price on shore excursions, guaranteed!* If you book a shore excursion and find an identical third-party tour with a lower price, you will receive 110% refund of the price difference as a non-refundable Onboard Credit. 

Apply for the onboard credit:

• Book shore excursions through Holland America Line.

• Did you find the same tour elsewhere at a lower price? Check that you are logged into the booking number that contains the shore excursion purchased through Holland America Line.

• Submit request form. We will email you within two business days. If your request is accepted, you will receive 110% of the difference as a non-refundable Onboard Credit to your shipboard account.

 

[Vict0riann]

The problem might be that now you can't find a comparable tour - HAL has chartered them all!

[Horizon chaser 1957]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

No penguins in Iceland, did you mean puffins?

 

 

I missed that! Yes, I meant puffins.

Guilty of distracted typing here!😄

[Horizon chaser 1957]

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

The problem might be that now you can't find a comparable tour - HAL has chartered them all!

Well, he’s running the tour again at 3 pm, and we’re booked on the 1 PM. But yes, I’m wondering if they get shady with this. 
‘Oh, that’s not a comparable tour, that’s the same tour. It doesn’t count.’

[Horizon chaser 1957]

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I tried it once and will not waste my time again.......

 

The excursions have to be the same and I do not recall specifics but it was all the same except the one I was on included lunch....therefore it did not qualify.

 

It's difficult to find a tour that EXACTLY matches and that was the requirement that knocked us out. 

 

As far as how to try, once you dive into the shore excursions, you will see a link to the "best price guarantee" page w/the info and an online form to fill out the "claim".

 

You may have a "claim" since the 3rd party you booked is charting now for HAL.  Good luck!

 

Here is a portion of the info.....

 

We offer the best price on shore excursions, guaranteed!* If you book a shore excursion and find an identical third-party tour with a lower price, you will receive 110% refund of the price difference as a non-refundable Onboard Credit. 

Apply for the onboard credit:

• Book shore excursions through Holland America Line.

• Did you find the same tour elsewhere at a lower price? Check that you are logged into the booking number that contains the shore excursion purchased through Holland America Line.

• Submit request form. We will email you within two business days. If your request is accepted, you will receive 110% of the difference as a non-refundable Onboard Credit to your shipboard account.

 

Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for.
In our case, it is the exact tour on the exact boat we had booked and been bumped from. He runs four tours a day. HAL has booked three, but not the last departure since it ends after all aboard.

I checked carefully. There are no added bits, like ‘On the way back to the pier, you will stop for a photo opportunity at the local fishing dock. See fishermen gutting fish and swearing in Icelandic exactly as their ancestors did a hundred years ago. If you are lucky, you may get to sample freshly chopped cod cheeks scales and all. A rare delicacy not to be missed!’

We will be on the same boat, possibly the same seat, on the same tour at the exact time we originally booked. If this gets denied, then yes, it’s a sham promise.

[Bill B]

Good luck. You may be the first person to successfully make a claim. I hope they don't deny it on the grounds your tour is no longer available so it's not comparable.

 

This reminds me of hotel booking sites and their ubiquitous, 'Best Price Guarantee'. To successfully make a claim, everything has to be identical. However, they are in collusion and all have slightly different booking conditions - such as one day difference in the free cancellation period etc. I don't think anyone has ever made a successful claim.

 

EDIT: Your experience illustrates (and confirms) the overpricing of line-booked excursions. I've always found them to be 2-3 times the price of a comparable, self-booked excursion.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Bill B

[Torquer]

The interesting thing is that you can almost always find a better private tour than the one offered by HAL for less money.  By better, I mean it sees an extra attraction, or it is longer duration than HAL's so more time to see things, or even a smaller number of people on the tour bus/van than HAL's.  But because it is not exactly like HAL's I assume they will deny a claim.

[Mary229]

@Horizon chaser 1957  I am a famous throw the pasta and see what sticks person.  I follow instructions to the letter and wait. It costs nothing to find out.  I have never had the occasion to use this particular program but I wouldn’t let the prospect of failure stop me.  It is not like they keep a little book of whose naughty or nice 😉

Edited December 18, 2023 by Mary229

[FOPMan]

It's not the same time. That's probably enough to be different. And there's obviously a potential reason for price differentials based on time. More demand for the 1pm?! 

 

The guarantee also states the order in which excursions must be purchased- through HAL and then through another provider (which, among other things, enables HAL to buy out a particular trip, making it unavailable for separate purchase).

[Horizon chaser 1957]

5 hours ago, FOPMan said:

It's not the same time. That's probably enough to be different. And there's obviously a potential reason for price differentials based on time. More demand for the 1pm?! 

 

The guarantee also states the order in which excursions must be purchased- through HAL and then through another provider (which, among other things, enables HAL to buy out a particular trip, making it unavailable for separate purchase).

Oh, but it IS the same time. The company runs the tour four times a day. HAL has booked three of them. HAL’s excursion times are exactly the same as the originals offered privately. In fact, we will be on the exact departure we were booked on privately. 
As @Mary229 suggests, I will throw the pasta at the wall and see if it sticks.

[Bill B]

1 hour ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

I will throw the pasta at the wall and see if it sticks.

 

Please let us know if it sticks.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

9 hours ago, Bill B said:

 

Please let us know if it sticks.

The request form has been submitted. They are supposed to respond within two business days. So now we wait.

i will let you know what they say.

[ontheweb]

Sorry, but I would not bet on getting it since you are no longer able to privately book it.

 

On Carnival (same corporation, same terms for the price match), we were once able to get the OBC and reduced price for an excursion. (Our TA never thought we would get the price match and OBC, but when I submitted it as there was nothing to lose by doing so, we received it.)

[FOPMan]

17 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Oh, but it IS the same time. The company runs the tour four times a day. HAL has booked three of them. HAL’s excursion times are exactly the same as the originals offered privately. In fact, we will be on the exact departure we were booked on privately. 
As @Mary229 suggests, I will throw the pasta at the wall and see if it sticks.

 HAL's guarantee is for an excursion found AFTER booking with HAL. Your (cancelled) booking was BEFORE booking with HAL. If there is no availability for the 1pm excursion other than through HAL, then there is no comparable offering available (at least from that vendor).

[Horizon chaser 1957]

10 minutes ago, FOPMan said:

 HAL's guarantee is for an excursion found AFTER booking with HAL. Your (cancelled) booking was BEFORE booking with HAL. If there is no availability for the 1pm excursion other than through HAL, then there is no comparable offering available (at least from that vendor).

Actually, I did book with HAL first. Then I found this tour company online and booked through them. After booking privately, I cancelled the HAL tour. A few weeks later, the tour company emailed me and said that the cruise company had booked their tour exclusively and they had to cancel my tickets. After being refunded, I rebooked the same tour with HAL (again).
AFTER rebooking with HAL, I went to the tour companies website and took screenshots. The tour times HAL has booked up are still listed, with the price, but marked as sold out. The last tour time is still available, and for the original price. HAL didn’t buy out that one because it ends after all aboard.

After booking the exact same blasted tour three times, and having it cancelled twice, I’m no longer sure which came first, the chicken or the egg.

 

[Bill B]

I've learned to make folders and save EVERYTHING to do with any online bookings or purchases in case something goes wrong. For example, if you dispute a credit card transaction the bank will want to know who said what and when.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Bill B

[sandiego1]

Pls let us know if you were able to get the guaranteed refund. I tried once with the Flam, Norway train excursion. HAL added a waffle so the tour wasn’t exactly the same, but it was over 2 times the price! That was one expensive waffle. We booked it independently and didn’t bother getting a waffle 😀

[Alphen]

We have had mixed success with claiming the Best Price Guarantee, sometimes it works, sometimes not. I think we have had a 70% success rate over the years, just this week claiming two excursions, of which one was granted, the other not, because not being exactly the same, the other was the same operator HAL uses, so they could not deny.

We always put in a claim if we think we have located the original partner that HAL uses for the exact excursion and as said, reasonable success over the years and always a response within two business days, sometimes even shorter. Good Luck!

[kopykat]

This actually worked for me. We had booked an excursion and called to verify that it was still on. The excursion company said no our excursion was canceled. HAL has the same exact one as they were using the tour company we had booked with. We followed the directions under Best Price Guarantee “ and got the difference in price. However when Hal figured our original cost of the excursion they tacked on tax which wasn’t on the booking. But it did work. I’d go for it 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

So, I submitted the claim the morning of December 19. They state you will get a response within 2 business days.

On December 22 I received this:

 

“Hello,

 

Thank you for your interest in the Best Price Guarantee program.

 

I am forwarding your request to the upper management team for review.”

 

On December 28, I’m still waiting to hear back from ‘the upper management team’. 
Mind you, I doubt they work over Christmas. If they now add a waffle so they can deny the claim, I’m celiac and can’t eat it, but I hope the rest of the group enjoys it!😄

 

Many thanks to all who shared their actual experiences with the Best Price Guarantee!

[Horizon chaser 1957]

On 12/21/2023 at 2:48 PM, kopykat said:

This actually worked for me. We had booked an excursion and called to verify that it was still on. The excursion company said no our excursion was canceled. HAL has the same exact one as they were using the tour company we had booked with. We followed the directions under Best Price Guarantee “ and got the difference in price. However when Hal figured our original cost of the excursion they tacked on tax which wasn’t on the booking. But it did work. I’d go for it 

 

On 12/20/2023 at 4:01 AM, Alphen said:

We have had mixed success with claiming the Best Price Guarantee, sometimes it works, sometimes not. I think we have had a 70% success rate over the years, just this week claiming two excursions, of which one was granted, the other not, because not being exactly the same, the other was the same operator HAL uses, so they could not deny.

We always put in a claim if we think we have located the original partner that HAL uses for the exact excursion and as said, reasonable success over the years and always a response within two business days, sometimes even shorter. Good Luck!

Many thanks for these! This is the exact position I’m in. HAL has taken over the tour we had booked, and has added nothing extra. My fingers are crossed.

[FlaMariner]

13 minutes ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

I am forwarding your request to the upper management team for review.”

 

Me thinks that is a very positive sign.....My logic:  the associate has reviewed and cannot find a reason to deny so had to send up a level for final decision and payoff.

 

Thank you for keeping us updated.....I am rooting for you!

 

 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Me thinks that is a very positive sign.....My logic:  the associate has reviewed and cannot find a reason to deny so had to send up a level for final decision and payoff.

 

Thank you for keeping us updated.....I am rooting for you!

 

 

That's my hope.

And I love ‘Thank you for your interest in the Best Price Guarantee Program’.

It sounds like I’m trying out for a position on a sports team, or a job interview. Maybe they only pick one successful candidate?😂