Raising Our Fare (four threads combined into one)

[hammybee]

So are you saying that after I have made my deposit and/or final payment, HAL can hit me up for more money when we are boarding? If this is true, I think I am cancelling my cruise tomorrow. We were quoted a price, made the initial deposit and have the final balance due date with amount.

 

If they really can change this and charge me more...I will not cruise and I will cancel my upcoming cruise.

 

What I am saying is that any cruise line can change the price of the cruise after you have made a deposit , through and up to the point of departure. It's in the Terms and Conditions of all cruise lines. If the price changes, exclusive of a fuel surcharge and taxes, after you have made your full payment, you can cancel the cruise without a penaty.

[twinkletoes4445]

Twinkletoes - Please don't misinterpret one posting on a message board & cancel your vacation.

The first week of Sept HAL had some major pricing problems that appear to affect only those who booked that week. Ridiculously low prices appeared on the website & to TAs, so folks snapped them up, only to be told later, sorry, HAL goofed & those prices aren't being honored. Haven't seen anyone post (so far) about having an already-booked trip & their price jumping up.

As kakalina & hammybee suggested, please take a look at those other threads. :)

 

I've been following along on those threads. I was just surprised at the idea that HAL could hit us up for more money when we are boarding. I also never read a post where someone had an already-booked cruise and were asked for more money.

 

This event does seem limited to the group of posters who recently booked. I do have sympathy for them...and I do hope all works out for them.

 

When we booked our cruise, I checked with many different sources and all were within $100 of each other.

 

Thank you for posting...I think I have had too much caffeine today! I think I need to hop in the hot tub and think about my cruise...and how much fun we are going to have. :)

[AAAAmerican]

A f(u)rlorn lady *S*:eek:

[turia]

So if I check my price the day before I leave for NY and when I arrive at the dock after my 8 hour trip they can raise the price. Then what's the point of booking early and paying early so they can earn interest off of our payments and then Jack the price in the end.

[twinkletoes4445]

If you're not one those directly affected, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Unless you were given an incorrect quote, you will almost certainly not be asked to pay any more.

 

We are not one of the ones who are involved with this pricing issue. There's nothing cheap about what we are paying for our cruise, and I was concerned that HAL could tack on even more, should they decide to (reading from a post, that I misunderstood). I know with rising fuel costs and other things, prices could go up, but it shouldn't have any bearing on what we've paid (at least I don't think it will and that's what HAL told me).

 

It would be like the airline coming back and telling me I owe more money for my flight (because the cost of fuel has risen). But I see where HAL (and those who purchased the cruise) is coming from on this issue at hand.

[hammybee]

Huh? Not so fast. If a cabin is booked and a deposit in place, a cruise line most definitely will not (at their sole discretion) bump up the cost of the booked cabin nilly willy until sailing day. I've never heard of such a thing.

 

Surely that's not what you meant to communicate here.

 

That would be tantamount to making a hotel reservation at $149/nt and then watching the price change daily based on market conditions until the day of arrival, when you're told the room is now going to cost you $229.18. Unheard of.

 

Perhaps you meant to say that cabin costs can fluctuate (up and down) after time of booking and that, in some cases, staterooms that see pricedrops are occasionally dropped for booked pax who make the effort to inquire. (???)

 

Scott: Yes and no. See my reply to Twinkletoes. Regardless of the terms and conditions of booking, cruiselines do not "willy-nilly" increase the fares of passengers who have deposits. This language is consistent across all cruise lines, not just HAL.

 

As passengers we often feel entitled to reductions in fare, up to the point of final payment and we get the benefit of those reductions. There is nothing in the Terms and Conditions that obligates any cruiseline to give us this consideration, but they do. So if there is some kind of error, it makes sense that a cruiseline would want to be able to protect themselves and correct a mistake.

[twinkletoes4445]

What I am saying is that any cruise line can change the price of the cruise after you have made a deposit , through and up to the point of departure. It's in the Terms and Conditions of all cruise lines. If the price changes, exclusive of a fuel surcharge and taxes, after you have made your full payment, you can cancel the cruise without a penaty.

 

I misunderstood your post. Thank you for clarifying it.

 

Here that noise...that's my blender. Anyone care for a drink? :)

[turia]

No Problem! I'm not worried (bought my tickets in May). I'm sorry to have confused you! Thats the last thing I wanted to do! :o

 

I'm dizzy and confused most of the time so don't worry about it.

[hammybee]

Just to check that I went out to an internet travel site right now and the 2/4/07 sailing of the Westerdam ( a 7 day cruise) with a balcony is listed for $899. The final price will, of course, be more with taxes and port charges but still those are not bad prices (unless of course, they are pricing mistakes too).

 

Cabins are a commodity sold topassengers in a futures market and prices change, based upon supply and demand and perhaps the rare human error:)

[blueboro]

When have you seen a Verandah for $100/day PP????? An Inside cabin, maybe but a HAL verandah for anything less than $200/day PP would be an incredible steal...

 

We got a balcony on Zuiderdam October 2005 for $628 PP so it is not that unusual.

[scott in maine]

What I am saying is that any cruise line can change the price of the cruise after you have made a deposit , through and up to the point of departure. It's in the Terms and Conditions of all cruise lines.

 

Right, but it seems to me that the way you're choosing to toss this out on CC so matter-of-factly makes it sound as if this happens with some frequency. It positively does NOT.

 

You are correct that the legal language is in the contract of carriage, but surely all of us can agree that to enact such a right (even with rare irregularity) would be a very poor business practice.

 

That clause is written in to the pax contract almost exclusively to protect them from pricing errors or other egregious (at their interpretation, admittedly) scenarios.

 

This happens from time to time in both the airline and hotel biz. Significantly moreso as the web has become the preferred travel booking medium. That said, when pricing errors have occurred, airlines virtually ALWAYS honor those error fares -- I can only think of a few times when they have not. I was lucky enough 2 years ago to snag a USAirways ticket from Lebanon NH to Las Vegas round trip for a ridiculous price of $1.86 plus taxes and fees. You read right. UA honored the fare. Other folks this fall are flying from Toronto to Corsica on Alitalia in Business Class for something like $35.

 

Hotels that have pricing errors on their websites aren't as consistent as the airline industry has been in terms of fully honoring them, but it depends on the severity of the error, as most reasonable people can understand. The Sheraton in Portland Maine erroneously priced their rooms at $19 this fall (peak time in Maine for rooms), when it should've been a promotional rate at $119. They opted to honor it. Other situations, like the Courtyard in Manhattan chose not to honor a recent pricing error on their website.

 

Bottom line is pricing errors do occur. My feeling is when they are outrageous, egregious errors that are obvious, I find it reasonable on the part of the seller to say, "Wait a minute, we made a real error here." My $1.86 airfare across the country and back would've qualified for that sort of scrutiny. However, a cruise fare booked at something like 65% of the new price is not, in my mind, an egregious error. It was close enough to the price HAL meant to charge that HAL should simply eat the error. I think it's poor form to ask for another 40% or so, at this point.

 

Regardless, Hammybee, your posts seem to indicate that everyone should fully expect a cruiseline to adjust pricing on booked cabins at any time up to days before sailing. That's simply not the case. This is a very rare instance, indeed.

[twinkletoes4445]

So if I check my price the day before I leave for NY and when I arrive at the dock after my 8 hour trip they can raise the price. Then what's the point of booking early and paying early so they can earn interest off of our payments and then Jack the price in the end.

 

No, they can't. They can hit you up for additional fees (like the $50 charge Alaska is adding to each cruise passenger-or whatever the amount is), but they can't just charge you more because fuel costs or food prices have gone up.

 

I think this is a very rare occurance. I've been around for years and this is the first time I've seen something like this. It does appear that it involves quite a few people...and it involves a computer glitch of some sort.

 

I was just wondering if when we got to the port, they might ask for an additional $2,000 for who knows what. But I'm pretty sure that the price we paid for our cruise is a valid price. I checked all sorts of different places for price comparison prior to booking our cruise, and all were within $100 of each other. Nothing jumped out as a huge bargin.

[happy cruzer]

Yes, I agree it's time for a time out. The threads need to be unified just like the Alaska one as Hammy pointed out.

 

Once a topic gets emotional it's time to cool off especially for the uninvolved. These issues take time to resolve themselves. Hopefully the involved will keep us posted so that we can learn from their experience but I think we need to back off of giving them advice until more facts come out.

 

Rumors and gossip may be fun to participate in but they are not helpful to the ones involved. my two cents....

[AAAAmerican]

Not in a suit now I have to inject.

 

This so reminds me of a little place near an American Embassy.. thats in London, England and its called speakers corner... anyone can get up on there soap box.. soup box ..or nut box... and say what they want ... :eek: YIKES Freedom of Speech.. and nobody has to listen they can walk away too if they want...:rolleyes:

 

So yes she said it in the lowest amount of words here::

 

 

hammybee

Let's stop the insanity.

as well in the synopsys:

 

....what appears to be a complicated situation worse. Imagine being new to HAL and coming to this board and seeing the fur flying as it is.

 

 

I just saw a flying fur cruiser floating by..

WwwwWWww^~^~^^~wwwWW

[hammybee]

 

This episode is an anomoly. .

 

You stated the facts and history well.

 

If consumers were to demand that all cruise lines guarantee price, regardless of human error, I think they would need to balance this by becoming disinclined to give us the benefit of sharing in the savings of subsewuent fare reductions, similar to the way air lines and tour operators conduct thier business.

[twinkletoes4445]

Many moons ago, I worked as a sales clerk at a local department store. One Sunday their ad came out in our local newspaper and something (I can't even remember what it was), was priced at one dollar. I remember we had to sell that product at that price even though it was an obvious error.

 

I know this was a computer glitch...and they are covered by the legalities of the contract...but I thought it was interesting that the store I worked at honored this price...even though it was not their fault.

[AZjohn]

When have you seen a Verandah for $100/day PP????? An Inside cabin, maybe but a HAL verandah for anything less than $200/day PP would be an incredible steal...

 

We got our VD for very close to the $100/day pp for 7 day Mexican Cruise on the O on 11-25-06 (final payment made and accepted). So, not sure how you came up with anything less than $200/day pp is a "steal":confused:

John

[BillandJen]

I would be glad to participate in her investigation. My family and I are in total limbo because of this mess.

 

Feel free to call me at 732-890-9661

[hammybee]

Many moons ago, I worked as a sales clerk at a local department store. One Sunday their ad came out in our local newspaper and something (I can't even remember what it was), was priced at one dollar. I remember we had to sell that product at that price even though it was an obvious error.

 

I know this was a computer glitch...and they are covered by the legalities of the contract...but I thought it was interesting that the store I worked at honored this price...even though it was not their fault.

 

I hear you. I wonder if the department store, any store, would be so inclined to honor the erroneous price if the cost of the item were in the range of a cruise? Sorry- I could not resist.

[newmexicoNita]

know you all seem to want to get your 2 cents worth in, but oh my heavens, this subject must have 3 or 4 threads now and they are starting to repeat themselves over and over.

 

NMNita

[AAAAmerican]

The Federal Trade Commission and your States Attorney Generals Offices are the best places to inform so as it is on record and they have to investigate.

 

They are public servants and now when youall are in need they are there in deed .

 

:D

GOD bless the USA.

[twinkletoes4445]

I hear you. I wonder if the department store, any store, would be so inclined to honor the erroneous price if the cost of the item were in the range of a cruise? Sorry- I could not resist.

 

No, I am sure they wouldn't.

 

And what I remember of the incident...was horrifying!! I was a teenager and all these people had copies of the ad and they were waving it in front of me. It was more like a mob scene! Of course, these people knew all along it was a printing error...but they ended up getting the item at the advertised price. It was ugly, but I somehow survived. :)

[hammybee]

I have a Veranda booked on A RCL SHIP and that Veranda is costing me less than 20.00$USD a day.

 

$20.00 a day?????

 

Is a "sugar mama" paying your way or did you use points?

[twinkletoes4445]

know you all seem to want to get your 2 cents worth in, but oh my heavens, this subject must have 3 or 4 threads now and they are starting to repeat themselves over and over.

 

NMNita

 

Well, according to my kids, I repeat things over and over...so this is like being in my home! Pretty soon, the subject will change...and we'll be off in another direction. :)

[Davey Interweb]

When have you seen a Verandah for $100/day PP????? An Inside cabin, maybe but a HAL verandah for anything less than $200/day PP would be an incredible steal...

Wait, what? Where are you pricing out cruises? On our Noordam sailing in November, HAL's own website shows pricing at just a hair over $100/day for a VH (deluxe verandah). I'd see $200/day PP for a balcony as an incredible ripoff, not a steal.