Private Sale Incorrect Information Provided by HAL

[Billthekid]

About each month I receive a letter about a "Private Sale" This month's offer was 40% off, etc, etc, and $25 onboard credit per person.  I was already in the process to booking an Alaska cruise and I asked my TA to check on the offer.  The TA booked the cruise under the "Private Sale", but the TA could not get the OBC.  A day later I called HAL and was told not eligible.  I reread the offer and called the next day.  Same story but now told only the specific date that was in Bold Print was eligible.  I reread the offer and there was no language indicating only one single cruise would receive the OBC.  So an email to the reservation department resulted in a one-time OBC of $25PP and this comment:  "Thank you for your email. With the Limited Time Private Sale offers, its usually the date in bold or the “Fares shows are for the **** date”,  that is the date eligible for the special fare. The other dates shown are showing the other dates that are having that same sailing."  

I returned to the website and made a mock reservation on the same cruise I booked and it stated:"included in your reservation.........US $25 per person. 

More correspondence ended with the Reservation Department stating "With the Limited-Time Private sale offers, they are for certain dates as stated in the flier"

 

 

I believe the offer of the SBC of $25PP applies to all these cruises and the others listed and not to a specific fare for a cruise in BOLD letters.  By the way, it is not about the $25 which we did receive, but rather the explanation provided.  Am I wrong or did HAL incorrectly interpret the offer?

[Cruise Junky]

I booked Koningsdam for the not highlighted date under a private fare and got the $25 OBC each.  I booked last week.  

[sunviking90]

I just booked B2B on Nieuw Amsterdam under Private Sale and got the OBC for each leg. I was having website issues though (surprise!) so I called my HAL consultant that I’ve used before and she did it for me. I also notice when booking it says my AARP and stockholder credit is already applied and it never is. She fixed the AARP for me too. 

[PumpkinPatches]

I just got this flyer in the mail as well.. I am interested in one of the sailings in BOLD, but the price is much higher on the HAL website....

 

It's a 2025 sailing so I don't think cabins are running out that quickly.

[SilvertoGold]

38 minutes ago, PumpkinPatches said:

I just got this flyer in the mail as well.. I am interested in one of the sailings in BOLD, but the price is much higher on the HAL website....

 

It's a 2025 sailing so I don't think cabins are running out that quickly.

My experience with cruises within 6-9 months is that the Private Sale pricing is usually higher than my website pricing. So I assume these flyers are just out of date. I find them helpful for browsing but not for pricing.

[Billthekid]

I have noticed over the years, that the PRIVATE SALE offer is the same price available to anybody viewing the website.  If you sign/log in, the same price is available, instead of calling it a PRIVATE SALE, why not just call it a marketing gimmick.  I get a letter monthly with 20-plus cruises listed.  The website never reflects the prices in BOLD print. 

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, PumpkinPatches said:

I just got this flyer in the mail as well.. I am interested in one of the sailings in BOLD, but the price is much higher on the HAL website....

 

It's a 2025 sailing so I don't think cabins are running out that quickly.

I’m assuming you logged in with the credentials that received the offer?

 

 

28 minutes ago, Billthekid said:

I have noticed over the years, that the PRIVATE SALE offer is the same price available to anybody viewing the website.  If you sign/log in, the same price is available, instead of calling it a PRIVATE SALE, why not just call it a marketing gimmick.  I get a letter monthly with 20-plus cruises listed.  The website never reflects the prices in BOLD print. 

I have also. But sometimes it’s really good.😁. DH gets different offers than I do. We’re a different demographic.

[KAKcruiser]

Lately the private sales have included nonrefunable deposits.  This never used to be the case.

[Haljo1935]

If not logged in using the credentials of the person who received the offer and whose credentials are shown on the offer, you will see the "public" price. AND you won't see the discounted fare until you get to the cabin selection phase, until then, the price shown will be higher.

Once I click to select a cabin, the browser refreshes and displays the lower rate.

[Billthekid]

Initially starting this topic, I stated I did a mock reservation.  One without logging in and one with logging in.  Same price for both methods, except when I did logged in with credentials it stated it was a private sale and a $25 SBC would be provided.  When the SBC didn't show up I pursued the matter and that was when HAL stated the SBC was only for the cruises listed in BOLD print.  That logic was the reason the topic was initiated.  HAL did provide the SBC, but added it was only a one-time courtesy.  

[mexico8]

I got some papers in the mail with a letter  from Gus Antorcha, President of Holland America for  "Limited Time Private Sale". 

 

Supposedly a Canada/New England cruise advertised for August 31st for an ocean view obstructed from $689.   Tried calling and spoke to 2 different people at HAL and there is no such special price.    Spent quite a lot of time trying to book this but we have given up. 

 

According to the second person we spoke to there is some "Mistake".  Right.   Quite the mistake.  Very disappointed in HAL sending out this kind of misleading ad and wasting my time.

 

We are 4 star Mariners with HAL and I hope they remove me from mail outs like this that are so misleading and erroneous.

[FlorenceItaly]

Is there a code that must be used?  Typically, it is in fine print.  Also, the offers are capacity controlled.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

2 minutes ago, mexico8 said:

I got some papers in the mail with a letter  from Gus Antorcha, President of Holland America for  "Limited Time Private Sale". 

 

Supposedly a Canada/New England cruise advertised for August 31st for an ocean view obstructed from $689.   Tried calling and spoke to 2 different people at HAL and there is no such special price.    Spent quite a lot of time trying to book this but we have given up. 

 

According to the second person we spoke to there is some "Mistake".  Right.   Quite the mistake.  Very disappointed in HAL sending out this kind of misleading ad and wasting my time.

 

We are 4 star Mariners with HAL and I hope they remove me from mail outs like this that are so misleading and erroneous.

You could remove your self on line from mailings . Just go into your Mariner's account.

[mexico8]

12 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

You could remove your self on line from mailings . Just go into your Mariner's account.

It 

 

12 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

You could remove your self on line from mailings . Just go into your Mariner's account.

It was not an online mailing.   It came in the regular (Canada Post) mail.

[DesertDogs]

I would keep calling and send a copy of the letter. Someone should be able to figure it out.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

17 minutes ago, mexico8 said:

It 

 

It was not an online mailing.   It came in the regular (Canada Post) mail.

Yes I understand you can turn off mail (Canada Post)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

1 hour ago, mexico8 said:

I got some papers in the mail with a letter  from Gus Antorcha, President of Holland America for  "Limited Time Private Sale". 

 

Supposedly a Canada/New England cruise advertised for August 31st for an ocean view obstructed from $689.   Tried calling and spoke to 2 different people at HAL and there is no such special price.    Spent quite a lot of time trying to book this but we have given up. 

 

According to the second person we spoke to there is some "Mistake".  Right.   Quite the mistake.  Very disappointed in HAL sending out this kind of misleading ad and wasting my time.

 

We are 4 star Mariners with HAL and I hope they remove me from mail outs like this that are so misleading and erroneous.

Have you previously gambled/spent money in the casino on HAL? The Casino has been sending out promos like this but they do not specifically state Casino nor can it be found under your Mariner number. One has to call into HAL and state you have a Casino offer. The one I heard about recently did state something about a letter from President of Holland America. Is there any kind of promo code even in small print. It could be it is linked to casino making it impossible to be seen by anyone at HAL. The Casino is now operating totally different and regular HAL agents cannot find or nor do they know anything about these special prices. Unfortunately it is kind of like the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

[Mary229]

The private sales first are never all that great.  You must be signed in when you look at prices.  Not all cruises and not all dates are available, it is limited.  I am sorry the phone staff misdirected you, the customer service has become quite difficult.  I provide my agent with my Mariner number and code and she gets them booked for me. I can see them on the site also

 

one thing to note is sometimes the offer is only good under one persons ID.  It is weird sometimes I need to use DH ID, sometimes mines, sometimes either.  

[shadow 123]

3 hours ago, mexico8 said:

I got some papers in the mail with a letter  from Gus Antorcha, President of Holland America for  "Limited Time Private Sale". 

 

Supposedly a Canada/New England cruise advertised for August 31st for an ocean view obstructed from $689.   Tried calling and spoke to 2 different people at HAL and there is no such special price.    Spent quite a lot of time trying to book this but we have given up. 

 

According to the second person we spoke to there is some "Mistake".  Right.   Quite the mistake.  Very disappointed in HAL sending out this kind of misleading ad and wasting my time.

 

We are 4 star Mariners with HAL and I hope they remove me from mail outs like this that are so misleading and erroneous.

That happened to me. And I did have the code and no 1 knew what I was talking about.

[syesmar]

This happened to me once when I was logged in to the website. I saw a very good special that technically wouldn’t be active for a couple of days so no agents nor supervisor could see it and didn’t yet have info on the code. But I could, so they had me take a screenshot and they honored the price. I would ask to email them what you’re looking at.

 

As others have said, there should also be a code somewhere on the information from HAL. And like Mary229, our best prices are attached to my husband’s Mariner number—it can be hundreds of dollars’ difference, though we have an identical history with HAL and I handle all our travel details. 

 

Good luck!

Edited July 8 by syesmar

[Laminator]

4 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Have you previously gambled/spent money in the casino on HAL? The Casino has been sending out promos like this but they do not specifically state Casino nor can it be found under your Mariner number. One has to call into HAL and state you have a Casino offer. The one I heard about recently did state something about a letter from President of Holland America. Is there any kind of promo code even in small print. It could be it is linked to casino making it impossible to be seen by anyone at HAL. The Casino is now operating totally different and regular HAL agents cannot find or nor do they know anything about these special prices. Unfortunately it is kind of like the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

If it's a private sale I can assure you that it is not from the casino. The casino offers always look like this. I receive 6 to 8 a month.
And if you log in to your account you can tell that you have a casino discount on cruises by the price. It used to be much easier as the price always showed $100 but now with the pricing incuding fees and taxes the it's a wee bit more difficult. The highlighted fares are cruises I have casino offers on. 
And if you have an experienced PCC they know exactly how to find and handle your offers. 
There is actually a group of over 6500 Holland America Casino Players on another forum that can help anyone with casino related offers. I would consider at least 100 of them to be experts on casino offers. There is detailed information on what is needed to qualify for casino offers. 

Edited July 8 by Laminator

[mexico8]

7 hours ago, DesertDogs said:

I would keep calling and send a copy of the letter. Someone should be able to figure it out.

That is a good idea.   I am going to do that on Monday.   I spent so much time checking for flights and trains etc. and I was all set to book the cruise and then to get the runaround.

[mexico8]

1 hour ago, Laminator said:

If it's a private sale I can assure you that it is not from the casino. The casino offers always look like this. I receive 6 to 8 a month.
And if you log in to your account you can tell that you have a casino discount on cruises by the price. It used to be much easier as the price always showed $100 but now with the pricing incuding fees and taxes the it's a wee bit more difficult. The highlighted fares are cruises I have casino offers on. 
And if you have an experienced PCC they know exactly how to find and handle your offers. 
There is actually a group of over 6500 Holland America Casino Players on another forum that can help anyone with casino related offers. I would consider at least 100 of them to be experts on casino offers. There is detailed information on what is needed to qualify for casino offers. 

I don't gamble or go into the Casino so it would not be them sending anything to me.

[Laminator]

12 minutes ago, mexico8 said:

I don't gamble or go into the Casino so it would not be them sending anything to me.

I was pretty sure it was not a casino offer. 

[mexico8]

On 7/3/2024 at 5:31 PM, Billthekid said:

I have noticed over the years, that the PRIVATE SALE offer is the same price available to anybody viewing the website.  If you sign/log in, the same price is available, instead of calling it a PRIVATE SALE, why not just call it a marketing gimmick.  I get a letter monthly with 20-plus cruises listed.  The website never reflects the prices in BOLD print. 

I got the Private sale offer but I called HAL today and could not get anything like the price on the  offer they sent me.   It is a lot higher (by hundreds of dollars) and they tell me it is a MISTAKE.

 

I am going to pursue it further and try to get the price they told me on their flyer.   The accompanying letter is from the President of Holland America.   I wonder if he knows that erroneous offers are going out under his name.