"Stateroom Capacity Advisory" Email - Have you received this notification?

[TRLD]

3 hours ago, cbr663 said:

 

This is exactly why they are doing it.  HAL wants to flexibility to place passengers to maximize the number of passengers sailing.  Cruise lines right now are not aiming for 100% capacity, they want capacity far in excess of 100%.

 

I get the reason why - it's profit driven.  Cruise line profits are made from on board spending and the more people onboard the higher the onboard spend.  I also understand the 20/80 rule of business.  20% of your customers provide 80% of your profits.  In this day of analytics it's easy to find those 20% of customers that you need to focus on.  It may be humbling to accept that the majority of us are most likely in the 80% category.  It doesn't mean though that you ignore us or the you treat us poorly and this is what this policy feels like.  Luckily, we have other options.

Cruise lines have always been above 100%. Precovid CCL was around 105-106% across its lines. RCL was around 108%. They are now getting back to those levels.

 

 

[DJ Cruisers]

We were on a Christmas cruise once and there were a lot of kids on board, around 400 or more.   The likelihood of being moved to accommodate families would increase on this type cruise when kids are out of school.   You booked your cruise before this awful policy even came about.  Totally unfair.

 

We avoid cruising around school holidays but will still have to keep this new policy in mind now when picking out a cabin.

 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Cruise lines have always been above 100%. Precovid CCL was around 105-106% across its lines. RCL was around 108%. They are now getting back to those levels.

 

 

 

Isn't 100% capacity calculated on all bookings being double? So triples and quads bump that up over 100%.

[TRLD]

3 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Isn't 100% capacity calculated on all bookings being double? So triples and quads bump that up over 100%.

Yes 100% is the lower berth capacity (two per cabin). 

[Dutchman48]

Just curious. For those that has this happened to.

Understand the policy of wanting to maximize cabin utilization, but if someone pays the upcharge to select a special room, does HAL refund the charge and treat it as a guaranteed selection.

I would be unhappy if they let me pick a room and later change that, but I would be very upset being charged extra for a guaranteed category.

[forevercruising1]

19 minutes ago, Dutchman48 said:

Just curious. For those that has this happened to.

Understand the policy of wanting to maximize cabin utilization, but if someone pays the upcharge to select a special room, does HAL refund the charge and treat it as a guaranteed selection.

I would be unhappy if they let me pick a room and later change that, but I would be very upset being charged extra for a guaranteed category.

 

I am hoping to get clarification on this, too.

[shadow 123]

15 hours ago, TRLD said:

Since it is now August and the Cruise is December HAL is making sure that you are notified in time for you to cancel and get a refund.

 

It also indicates that they are serious about the application of the policy.

 

Options seem pretty clear cancel or take your chances.  

 That's horrible. What happened to you get what you paid for? Doesn't he/she/they have a reasonable expectation to get what they paid for ? So the HAL policy is.. it is what it is, take it or leave it. I could understand if the OP was told this at the time of the booking. I'm sorry, don't jump down my throat anyone please, but this is not right.

Edited August 18 by shadow 123

[Wehwalt]

Since these emails were not reported, I believe, when this subject originally came up, it sounds like they are being a bit more proactive, if they are in fact warning people who may well be moved under the new policy. Still not a fan of the policy to begin with, but warnings are good. Once you are warned, you either change cabin assignment or take your chances. 

[twincheryl]

How does one see the capacity for a stateroom?  Do you just have to do a mock booking for different number of passengers?  I did that and it appears that the aft facing verandas (for example) are not available to book for 3 or more passengers.

 

Some other cruise lines have a small symbol on the deck plan to show if there is different capacity… am I missing something on HAL?

[shadow 123]

30 minutes ago, Wehwalt said:

Since these emails were not reported, I believe, when this subject originally came up, it sounds like they are being a bit more proactive, if they are in fact warning people who may well be moved under the new policy. Still not a fan of the policy to begin with, but warnings are good. Once you are warned, you either change cabin assignment or take your chances. 

I agree wholeheartedly if you are warned at the time you make the booking.

Edited August 18 by shadow 123

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, shadow 123 said:

 That's horrible. What happened to you get what you paid for? Doesn't he/she/they have a reasonable expectation to get what they paid for ? So the HAL policy is.. it is what it is, take it or leave it. I could understand if the OP was told this at the time of the booking. I'm sorry, don't jump down my throat anyone please, but this is not right.

Not unusual for cruise lines to change policies after booking considering that they have bookings two years out. Often those changes involve price increases, as well as the less frequent changes in policy.

 

Sometimes they do so without advance notice. In this case they appear to have given people enough notice that one could cancel prior to final payment date. 

 

The other part of the policy is now they are making it much more difficult for people to book a cabin that would make them subject to being moved in the future. 

[Roz]

46 minutes ago, twincheryl said:

How does one see the capacity for a stateroom?  Do you just have to do a mock booking for different number of passengers?  I did that and it appears that the aft facing verandas (for example) are not available to book for 3 or more passengers.

 

Some other cruise lines have a small symbol on the deck plan to show if there is different capacity… am I missing something on HAL?

I can see the symbols on the deck plans. A square is a quad and a circle is a triple. 

[shadow 123]

38 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Not unusual for cruise lines to change policies after booking considering that they have bookings two years out. Often those changes involve price increases, as well as the less frequent changes in policy.

 

Sometimes they do so without advance notice. In this case they appear to have given people enough notice that one could cancel prior to final payment date. 

 

The other part of the policy is now they are making it much more difficult for people to book a cabin that would make them subject to being moved in the future. 

Agreed. Also, it makes you wonder why you even bother to book a room. I spend a lot of time looking for a room. I pay extra to get the room I want. I don't know, to me  just doesn't seem right.

 

If I know upfront there's a possibility you're going to change my room then I have the opportunity to decide if I want to go forward with this booking.  We are all aware when we book a cruise that we may not stop in the ports that are listed when we book the cruise. We know that. We know the cruise line can change ports at anytime ,change  destinations at anytime. We know that going in. And now we know going in that we may not have the room we wanted.

[Wehwalt]

49 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I agree wholeheartedly if you are warned at the time you make the booking.

That's the ideal and hopefully there will be a warning as you book in future, and you take your chances. But warning before final payment is better than not warning before final payment, as the first people who collided with this policy got.

[VMax1700]

2 minutes ago, Roz said:

I can see the symbols on the deck plans. A square is a quad and a circle is a triple. 

Yes they are on the deck plans but not on the graphic showing available staterooms when you are making an online booking.

[oaktreerb]

23 minutes ago, TRLD said:

 

 

Sometimes they do so without advance notice. In this case they appear to have given people enough notice that one could cancel prior to final payment date. 

 

 

Not good enough.  People may be able to cancel the cruise 90 days out but how about the other plans people have made like arranging time off work, airline flights, coordination with family and friends.  

 

My final payment is next week.  I have a 4 person room booked for 2 people on a holiday week cruise.  HAL has sent me a notice of final payment due.   I have NOT received notice of the new policy.  The cruise is no big deal.  I booked this cruise because this stateroom was available.  🤔

[shadow 123]

1 minute ago, VMax1700 said:

Yes they are on the deck plans but not on the graphic showing available staterooms when you are making an online booking.

I've often wondered why they don't just carry those symbols over to their website.

[WriterOnDeck]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Isn't 100% capacity calculated on all bookings being double? So triples and quads bump that up over 100%.

Balanced out by people like me who are a single in a stateroom.

[a.madruga]

23 hours ago, forevercruising1 said:

 

We are angered by HAL’s new policy and livid that those of us who booked long before it was activated are not exempt.  

 

* We booked two cabins for this year’s Christmas cruise on the Koningsdam (12.21.24) with the Future Cruise Consultant onboard the Koningsdam last December, 2023.  
 

* We selected two very specific cabins due to their locations and their verandahs.

 

* As always, our bookings were marked “Do not upgrade.”  We chose those cabins and have no desire for any others.

 

* We have Club Orange for both cabins — paid for at initial booking.

 

* We were NOT provided with the “do you accept the possibility of your cabin changing due to capacity levels” option.  Had we been presented with that, we would not have booked at all.

 

We received the following notice in an email yesterday (again, we booked in December, 2023):

 

We are booked in a quad extended balcony cabin, which we selected specifically for its location and balcony, and we booked the same cabin (on the other side) for our adult son and are paying the single supplement for his.  We were never informed that the cabin capacity might ever become an issue.

 

It is ironic that HAL’s email states that “guest stateroom selection is on a first-come, first-served basis,” as we were clearly the first, yet HAL is choosing to serve other people and take our cabin(s) away from us. 

 

Instead of canceling (which my husband is ready to do), I would like to fight this and try to keep our Christmas cruise cabin selections and vacation plans in tact (we are not interested in changing to any of the few cabins that are still available on that sailing).  Is anyone else currently in this situation and attempting to fight the good fight?  If so, what is your plan?

We send our PCC a message as to the same issue booked an extended balcony cabin Nov 23 for a July 25 Alaska cruise and now to read about this new HAL issue is not welcomed by many who have had their money in HAL's bank accounts for a long period to have this bestowed on them,

 

[TRLD]

27 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Not good enough.  People may be able to cancel the cruise 90 days out but how about the other plans people have made like arranging time off work, airline flights, coordination with family and friends.  

 

My final payment is next week.  I have a 4 person room booked for 2 people on a holiday week cruise.  HAL has sent me a notice of final payment due.   I have NOT received notice of the new policy.  The cruise is no big deal.  I booked this cruise because this stateroom was available.  🤔

Good Luck. 

[cbr663]

7 hours ago, julia said:

While you are correct about the onboard spending, it seems rather counterproductive for HAL to offer 3rd & 4th sail free.  That equals MANY more kids (yes, they pay grats & taxes), who are NOT necessarily spending a lot, but yet may CONSUME a lot. (Have you ever seen some teenagers eat?!)

 

 

From my own personal experience while traveling and knowing the travel practices of many friends and family members, it is more than minor children sailing.  It is quite common today for parents to travel with their adult child(ren).  My sister and BIL still travel with their 23 year old daughter in a shared room, for instance.

 

Keep in mind also that the more people in a cabin, the more time they spend out of that cabin on the ship and excursions, increasing their onboard spend.  

[atexsix]

11 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

This has been annoying me for a while, but then I realized we have always paid more to choose our own cabin.

 

HAL has moved that decision step farther down the process. It used to be when they showed available fares, the guarantee option (usually with nonrefundable deposit) was shown at the same time as whatever promo fare was available, with the promo allowing cabin choice. The guarantee was always less expensive.

 

Now, the choice is in two steps--no frills or promo. Next step, whichever option you selected, is where HAL shows the price difference between guarantee and choice.  Somehow, that makes the cost of choosing feel more expensive. I wonder if HAL has done this to make people less inclined to spend the money on cabin choice. The more guarantees they sell, the more control they keep over where people are placed on the ship.

Thanks, I actually never knew that.  I don't think I'd ever be comfortable with it know matter how HAL promotes it in the future.  I have never flown Southwest for the same reason, I need to know where I'll be sitting when I fly on a plane, and I will gladly pay more for an aisle to avoid the dreaded middle seat.  Similarly, I was about to by season tickets from my local chamber orchestra until I found out no assigned seats.  I politely declined.  

[Dutchman48]

5 hours ago, shadow 123 said:

I agree wholeheartedly if you are warned at the time you make the booking.

My feelings exactly. I normally book 18-24 months out so I can get what I want. If they notify me 4 months out that they may change my selection the room options available are severely limited.

 

Since there are only 2 of us, I have no problems not letting me book a 3–4-person room during early booking. Waiting till the 2 person rooms are filled before allowing us to take a larger capacity room is good business sense.

I may be unrealistic, but I feel once they take my money, they should honor what we agreed to.

[Sebbiesgrammy]

10 hours ago, Roz said:

I can see the symbols on the deck plans. A square is a quad and a circle is a triple. 

 My TA confirmed that the right to remove or change cabin assignments to accommodate anything they need has been buried in the fine print that I never read for a long time.

Edited August 19 by Sebbiesgrammy
Subject already covered

[ExArkie]

2 hours ago, Sebbiesgrammy said:

 My TA confirmed that the right to remove or change cabin assignments to accommodate anything they need has been buried in the fine print that I never read for a long time.

Based on what I downloaded a few years ago versus what is currently on the HAL Web site, they did (recently?) add language specific to reassigning your cabin based on its occupancy relative to your party size. 
 

And yes, I did read the contract…