Hal Just Doesn't Care

[hfeld]

Actually, with all the bashing you guys did I feel better. I'm seeing your point of view and even though I'm not impressed with HAL's noncustomer service, I now understand that this is just their way of pricing. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are much more customer friendly and I guess I was expecting that. Oh well, Bon Voyage.....

[dakrewser]

Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are much more customer friendly and I guess I was expecting that. Oh well, Bon Voyage.....

 

Not according to what others have said in this thread, nor according to many posts on the Celebrity boards. But you can certainly go ahead and try to convince yourself of that...

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I know that the OP has come back in and stating they are excepting what is happening but I just want to pose a question. First off I also would not compare buying a cruise the same as buying something at Macy's but I would compare it to purchasing an Airline ticket. When was the last time, Northwest, Southwest, United or Delta reduced your airline ticket when you saw that the prices dropped a few days before you left??? And no not all last minute flights are extremely expensive, the last time I flew back to Iowa when my Grandmother passed away a few years ago was the cheapest airline ticket I ever paid to fly back to Iowa. I am sure I paid 1/2 of what the lady sitting next to me paid.

[SandyMc]

I do always feel good for people who get lots of money off their initial booking, and am sorry for those who aren't eligible for money off (for whatever reason). Still, we have a pretty firm rule at our house - don't book a cruise unless you are totally OK with the price!

We have been on cruises that were later discounted, sometimes receiving that discount and sometimes not, but have never been unhappy with the price we agreed to pay! :D

[xpcdoojk]

Actually, with all the bashing you guys did I feel better. I'm seeing your point of view and even though I'm not impressed with HAL's noncustomer service, I now understand that this is just their way of pricing. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are much more customer friendly and I guess I was expecting that. Oh well, Bon Voyage.....

 

These exact threads have occurred in both the X and RCI forums in the past. This really is a non-issue.

 

jc

[Grumpy1]

As someone else here said - do you take your purchases back to Macy's and expect a refund to the lower sale price at the end of the season?* Did you go back to the car dealer and expect them to give you a price reduction when the new models came out?

 

These analogies are not appropriate for comparison to the OP's situation. Why? Because in both cases you have already recieved and had use of that thing of value that you paid for. The OP is not asking for a refund on a cruise already taken.

 

That said, some stores do have a policy of refunding the difference if the item goes on sale within a certain period of time after your purchase, but that is a stated policy of the store and is by no means a "universal" policy.

 

The OP's situation would be more akin to placing an order for an autombile to be delivered at some future date. This can usually be done with a relatively small deposit. When the car arrives, you accept it on the terms of the purchase agreement or forfeit your deposit. If the price has dropped, you try to renegotiate the contract (same as asking for a SBC or reduction from HAL), or you can cancel and purchase the same car at the new sale prices (same as rebooking through HAL), or you can cancel, walk out and buy a car down the street at another dealer. How you handle the situation will be determined by the money involved and the terms of the contract, assuming you keep your emotions in check and look at it from a business point of view.

[happy cruzer]

Where are you seeing the price decrease? Is it on HAL's web site or a travel agent? If it is on HAL's web site and it is more than a 10% decrease, it is possible that HAL will work with you. But, they will only deal with your TA since that is who you contracted with. If you feel you are entitled to this discount, you should speak to your TA again. If you don't get satisfaction there, talk to the TA's supervisor. But, it is possible that this fare is for new bookings only. In that case, people are given the rooms that are left -- usually the worse ones.

 

Where the lower price is listed is very important. Twice I have gotten cruise lines to lower my reserved price. Both times I was able to hold a reservation at the lower price so that the line could see that they were indeed offering that price to new customers. Once I was using a online TA and I made a second reservation with another online TA, the original TA used the original booking number and the new one to show the line that they needed to change. The next time I held the reservation with the cruiseline and gave that booking number to the original TA to use when they called. But if you don't make it that black and white, you may not get them to honor the reduced pricing. Off course that only works if you are not in the penalty period of the reservation. But I think you have to have solid proof that the new price is legitimate.

 

Yes I too hate that they can put very strange clauses in the contracts about raising the rates. And we have to work hard to get reductions. I think they only ever do the reductions because they know alot people will stop booking early and wait for the sales which almost always works if you are not tied to a particular date or cabin.

[Lightsluvr]

X just instituted the same policy - all posted fares on their website include an asterisk * that refers to "*new bookings only". RCCL has done the same thing...

 

LL

[serendipity1499]

Where the lower price is listed is very important. Twice I have gotten cruise lines to lower my reserved price. Both times I was able to hold a reservation at the lower price so that the line could see that they were indeed offering that price to new customers. Once I was using a online TA and I made a second reservation with another online TA, the original TA used the original booking number and the new one to show the line that they needed to change. The next time I held the reservation with the cruiseline and gave that booking number to the original TA to use when they called. But if you don't make it that black and white, you may not get them to honor the reduced pricing. Off course that only works if you are not in the penalty period of the reservation. But I think you have to have solid proof that the new price is legitimate.

 

Yes I too hate that they can put very strange clauses in the contracts about raising the rates. And we have to work hard to get reductions. I think they only ever do the reductions because they know alot people will stop booking early and wait for the sales which almost always works if you are not tied to a particular date or cabin.

 

But the OP is in the Penality period of the reservation..It is 4 weeks away..

 

Many Cruise lines drop prices on cruises at the last minute in order to fill their ships & are very clear that it's "for new bookings only".. As others have said, you obviously made your reservation & picked out the cabin you preferred..These new bookings must accept those cabins which are left over..

 

To the poster who said you should book with HAL- in my experience HAL's rates are usually higher than those quoted by many TA's, so they can give you a refund as they are not losing anything..

 

We had almost the same experience on our up-coming Nov. 10 cruise... Prior to final payment date HAL dropped their price "for new bookings" plus an OBC the same weekend we booked our cruise.. However, the new HAL lower price was still higher than what we paid our on-line travel agent..So of course we were not given either the OBC or the lower price..We could have cancelled & re-booked at the higher price but that made no sense at all!;)

 

And as Grump has said, comparing purchasing an article at Macy's to a cruise is like comparing apples to oranges. FYI most Dept. Stores in FLa will give you a refund if the price goes down on the same article..

 

But I've never heard of a Airline giving a refund on a ticket which might have been higher when you purchased it..

 

To the OP..It's not very smart to say you will never cruise HAL again..We learned that the hard way with another cruise line..

 

When Celebrity, Princess, RCCL all do the same thing to you you may run out of cruise lines to book on...Suggest you check out the threads on their boards to see what happens when prices go down after full payment..Perhaps as another poster said, cruises are really not for you...

[Roz]

To the OP...

 

You mentioned your cruise leaves 11/13/06. Are you sailing on the Volendam?

 

The reason I'm asking is that I'm on that sailing, and the prices have barely budged since I booked it in the spring. Where are you seeing a 25% price reduction? I checked HAL's website and several others, and I don't see the prices you're talking about.

 

The main reason I chose this cruise was that the prices were so reasonable to start with.

 

Roz

[serendipity1499]

Whoops...I spelled dropped wrong & can't correct it!

 

This is the thread on Celebrity where the OP talks about their lower prices "For new bookings only" & could not get Celebrity to give them a refund or OBC...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=421569

 

Suggest you re-think your position & enjoy your HAL cruise...It could be your last cruise unless you are willing to accept the Cruise Lines policies..Betty

[bdcbbq]

Every purchase I make is with the attitude that I am willing to pay x for x. No more, no less. I am happy with it. I don't let future price adjustments affect my attitude. Seeing the item cheaper does cause some regret and only causes me to look around a little more the next time. But I am still satisfied with my purchase. IMO, the reality is that sometimes you will pay higher and sometimes lower, but in the end your paying the average price, which is usually a "FAIR" price.

[sandiego1]

As a matter of fact, Macy's does refund you the money when the price on the item drops. All you need to do is bring the receipt and the garment tag. They will refund you the difference. They used to accept anything that you brought back w/in 6 months of purchase date! I think they recently changed it to 30 or 90 days.

 

I've definitely brought stuff back to them when I see it go on sale a wk or 2 later. There's never been any problem getting a refund. Nordstroms will also give you the difference.

 

Banana Republic will absoluately not give you the difference. You actually have to repurchase the item and return the unworn item you previously purchased. They won't even let you return then repurchase the same item. It must be an identical item on available on the sales floor.

 

And yes, in case you are wondering, I am a big clothes shopper :)

 

As far as purchased vacations, airline tkts, cruises, etc., I've never seen any of them give you the difference if you've purchased a non-refundable tkt or are past the final payment deadline.

[swscruiser]

Celebrity has done the same thing to us. Once final payment is made you are out of luck no matter what cruise line you use. Get over it.

 

 

 

keith

[iceman93]

I think HAL will happily say good riddance to a customer who whines so much about a $300 price difference. When they say that they want to attract more baby boomers and families, they also mean that they still want to attract a somewhat affluent demographic.

 

Enjoy X.

[BumperII]

Most of us realize that cruise prices fluctuate. And we are bargain hunters. The fact is that during the "shoulder" seasons when sales are weak there is a very good chance that prices will go down during the last ninety days before a cruise. We caught a ten day cruise last spring with a very good price, but we bought and paid for it three weeks ahead when we saw the sale.

For our Alaska cruise this year, we bought the cruise several months ahead. Needless to say, sales were strong, and prices went up, so we made out. We have a Panamal Canal cruise booked in February, and thank goodness we booked that early, because sales were again strong, the prices went up, and the cruise is already sold out.

With our cruise this this month, we got a little anxious, and booked it too soon. Well, we were assigned a cabin to our liking, and then the price of the cruise went down by $110.00 per person. We don't care, we aren't going to take a chance on losing this midship cabin.

Our Hawaii cruise over Christmas and New Years has fluctuated by $300.00 pp. up and down several times. For whatever reason, it still isn't sold out. We lucked out and booked that at the lower extreme.

I guess the point I'd like to make is that you can freely make changes in an advance booking up until you get to the point where cancellation penalties come into play. Then it gets a little harded to deal with the cruise lines.

I just feel that we made the choices on the cruises we booked. We try to be careful, but nobody wins them all. We have booked some pretty good deals, and be have booked a couple where we paid a little higher than we would have if we had been willing to take a chance and wait for a last minute deal. We had to consider that if we waited for a last minute deal on our Panama Canal Cruise, we wouldn't have been able to go at all.

Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. There are always trade offs. And none of this, fair or foul ,is going to have any effect at all as we get aboard to enjoy another fabulous cruise vacation.

Now, everyone, put on you happy face :) and lets go on a cruise!!! You know, good ships, good food and good cruise companions!! Bon Voyage!!!!!!!:)

[SANDY BEACH]

My mom was booked in an oceanview room and with the price drop it would only cost $125 to book a balcony. Called travel agent which confirmed this was the price for "new bookings only." We requested the upgrade for her but were denied. I would never ask for a price reduction after final payment; however, I did think we could upgrade. The travel agent requested if rooms available for an upgrade to be contacted, but not holding my breathe. Most of the time I book far in advance due to the fact I want to select certain rooms and like to plan ahead. I'm not terribly upset over the result, just don't agree with it. Our cruise is only 4 weeks away and I feel we should be rewarded for early booking more than a last minute arrival.

[KAKcruiser]

I would never take a travel agent's word if I really wanted something. Talk to a supervisor or owner at the agency. Make sure that this is not possible before you give up.

[Cruiseoften]

These analogies are not appropriate for comparison to the OP's situation. Why? Because in both cases you have already recieved and had use of that thing of value that you paid for. The OP is not asking for a refund on a cruise already taken.....etc.etc.

 

It's unfortunate but I'm in agreement with Grumpy.

[cruznon]

We booked our Alaskan cruise six weeks before departure last summer, because we got a great last minute deal. We had to book a guarantee cabin, but ended up with a nice cabin. (First time we ever did that.) So in this case we took advantage of the last-minute price drop. I'm sure many on our deck paid more--it does happen when ship have availabilities.

I see the prices for Alaska next summer and gasp! I'll keep looking....maybe we can luck out again.

 

We did get a price reduction on Celebrity last year, but it was weeks before final payment.

[newmexicoNita]

This is one of the reasons we book directly with HAL. You are able to speak with an agent that is taking care of you and also has some pull with the company. Our cuise consultant always goes with a lower price for us if it is offered. Once you have made final payment I an not sure that anything can be done with your price. I would think an OBC or upgrade would be more than possible, obviously they are not booked or there would not be a sale.

actually you get less satisfaction in these types of situations when booking directly through the cruise lines than you do going with a TA. Please do not ask me why, I have no answer, but I do know this is true. NMnita

[DiveMaster]

Cabin upgrades are often made at sailing. My experience has been that more times than not I have been upgraded at sailing, so please reserve judgement.

 

HAL just dropped the price of our cruise $300 pp..They will not even consider a shipboard credit or cabin upgrade to make up the difference to people that have paid in full...In fact, you can't talk directly to HAL; you have to go through your travel agent who gets nowhere with them. This is our first cruise with HAL (always sailed Celebrity) and it will be our last. If we didn't stand to lose half of our money, we would cancel in a heartbeat. They are totally not into customer service or even making an effort to care about their passengers' concerns. HAL made a big point of saying they were trying to attract babyboomers with time and money to travel. This babyboomer will book my cruises with Celebrity next time. HAL you've lost this babyboomer's business.

[DiveMaster]

Cabin upgrades are often made at sailing. My experience has been that more times than not I have been upgraded at sailing, so please reserve judgement.

 

HAL just dropped the price of our cruise $300 pp..They will not even consider a shipboard credit or cabin upgrade to make up the difference to people that have paid in full...In fact, you can't talk directly to HAL; you have to go through your travel agent who gets nowhere with them. This is our first cruise with HAL (always sailed Celebrity) and it will be our last. If we didn't stand to lose half of our money, we would cancel in a heartbeat. They are totally not into customer service or even making an effort to care about their passengers' concerns. HAL made a big point of saying they were trying to attract babyboomers with time and money to travel. This babyboomer will book my cruises with Celebrity next time. HAL you've lost this babyboomer's business.

[DiveMaster]

Cabin upgrades are often made at sailing. My experience has been that more times than not I have been upgraded at sailing, so please reserve judgement.

 

HAL just dropped the price of our cruise $300 pp..They will not even consider a shipboard credit or cabin upgrade to make up the difference to people that have paid in full...In fact, you can't talk directly to HAL; you have to go through your travel agent who gets nowhere with them. This is our first cruise with HAL (always sailed Celebrity) and it will be our last. If we didn't stand to lose half of our money, we would cancel in a heartbeat. They are totally not into customer service or even making an effort to care about their passengers' concerns. HAL made a big point of saying they were trying to attract babyboomers with time and money to travel. This babyboomer will book my cruises with Celebrity next time. HAL you've lost this babyboomer's business.