Offers from HAL to change sailing date?

[LadyLeo84]

Our TA called today and left a message saying that HAL wanted to make us an offer to change our cruise on the 12th to another date. I will call them tomorrow to see what the "deal" is, but I doubt if we will go for it unless it is something REALLY special as it is not only Mother's Day during the cruise, but it is also my Mom's birthday on the 14th and we are going on the cruise to celebrate both of those days.

Has anyone else had offers to change dates?

 

Trudy

[PDAZ]

Not me, but check this thread...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=540860&highlight=overbook

[kryos]

Has anyone else had offers to change dates?

I did ... and some of the potential offers can be really good ones.

 

I was on an overbooked 30-day Hawaii/South Pacific cruise in 2006 and received a couple of amazing offers to "stand down." One of those offers was for 90 days of the 2006 World Cruise ... every segment except the last one from Rome to Fort Lauderdale ... in comparable accommodations ... at no additional cost. I can't help but wonder what the cost would have been to procure the necessary Visas and whatnot on such short notice. Since that cruise was leaving only one day apart from when the Hawaii/South Pacific cruise was leaving, just from a different port, my TA even told me that she could probably negotiate with HAL to eat my r/t San Diego air ticket, and cut me one (at no last minute penalties) that would get me to Fort Lauderdale, and then home from Rome at a reasonable cost. Sadly, I couldn't take advantage of this deal since I still work and no way would the boss give me off for 90 days ... with or without pay.

 

I also traveled with another couple last October on a 13-day Panama Canal Sunfarer cruise, New York to Fort Lauderdale. They had been booked originally on another Panama Canal cruise, and were enticed by HAL to switch over to this one. This cruise was three days longer than the other one, and they got upgraded at no additional cost from a Veranda stateroom to a Deluxe Suite. For what I paid for my Veranda Stateroom, they were enjoying unlimited free laundry, spacious digs and "nibbles" all day long in the Neptune Lounge. Not a bad deal.

 

Listen to what HAL offers. If it sounds good to you, and it is workable with your schedule, you might find yourself getting a really good deal that will make it worth your while to switch.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[LadyLeo84]

Thanks PDAZ and Kryos for the info! I will call the TA back first thing in the morning to see what they are offering us. I really am curious at what it will be. This is my first experience with this, so don't really know what to expect. We started out as a SZ guarantee and were assigned a SS on the Navigation deck two weeks ago. We shall see. . . . .

[Krazy Kruizers]

So far we have never been asked to change dates.

 

Will be curious just to see that they offer you.

[earl_m]

Do not accept the first offer, I am sure that they will come back with a better offer .

[3pcmom]

We were just bumped for a March 30th cruise next year on the Westerdam. Seems someone chartered the entire ship. They offered us another cruise for the same date on the Veendam, upgraded to a better veranda and $100 per person On Board Ship Credit. They also offered the exact same cruise on the Westerdam but March 9th instead. They offered the $100 per person as well.

 

Good luck,

Karen

[hammybee]

We were just bumped for a March 30th cruise next year on the Westerdam. Seems someone chartered the entire ship. They offered us another cruise for the same date on the Veendam, upgraded to a better veranda and $100 per person On Board Ship Credit. They also offered the exact same cruise on the Westerdam but March 9th instead. They offered the $100 per person as well.

 

Good luck,

Karen

 

Well it certainly seems as though the Westerdam is going to be one of the most chartered ships in the HAL fleet. It looks like most of November, January at least a week in February and now March are not available due to charters.

 

Charters need lead time to resell cabin space and are a different animal than overbooking a category or the entire ship, which only becomes apparent close to the sail date. Those pax able to take advantage of an offer to rebook, usually do quite well. The longer it takes for the cruise line, any cruise line to obtain an adequate number of volunteers, the better the offer.

 

This is a very different scenario than being bumped which happens on air carriers whereby the offers to obtain the required number of volunteers to take a later flight is not adequate. When this happens, some airline pax are bumped to a later flight.

[O2B@C]

Well it certainly seems as though the Westerdam is going to be one of the most chartered ships in the HAL fleet. It looks like most of November, January at least a week in February and now March are not available due to charters. ...

 

Hammybee: This is very interesting information. If you don't mind my asking, where did you learn it from? Is it something you can tell from HAL's website, or ...? I'm a little concerned because you mentioned November, and I'm booked on Westerdam for W Carib 11/25/07, which I would not want to change unless I really had to, since it's for our 20th wedding anniversary. Do you know anything about whether that one has been chartered? (Or has any large groups:eek: , for that matter.) Thanks for any info you can provide!

[hammybee]

We were just bumped for a March 30th cruise next year on the Westerdam. Seems someone chartered the entire ship. They offered us another cruise for the same date on the Veendam, upgraded to a better veranda and $100 per person On Board Ship Credit. They also offered the exact same cruise on the Westerdam but March 9th instead. They offered the $100 per person as well.

 

Good luck,

Karen

 

Just curious....did you book this direct through HAL or a travel agency. If the latter, was it a major online travel agency or someone you know. ( We cannot mention names on this board). Reason I ask is that sometimes pax hear about the charter right away and other times, it seems to take forever. I am thinking some of the delay has to do with who booked the sail.

[lucchese1]

Our TA called today and left a message saying that HAL wanted to make us an offer to change our cruise on the 12th to another date. I will call them tomorrow to see what the "deal" is, but I doubt if we will go for it unless it is something REALLY special as it is not only Mother's Day during the cruise, but it is also my Mom's birthday on the 14th and we are going on the cruise to celebrate both of those days.

Has anyone else had offers to change dates?

 

Trudy

 

I have a large Group for the same sailing 05/12/07 and they offered every one in the superior veranda suites (14 cabins) an upgrade to the deluxe veranda suite, and a $500.00 per person refund plus $50.00 ship board credit and a $100.00 to change airfair if needed to move to a different date! With such a large group it would be imposible to cordinate with less than 9 days till sailing but a good offer for others;)

[LadyLeo84]

Called the TA this morning and had to leave her a message. There's 3 hours difference in time from where I live and the east coast. She just got back with me with HAL's offer. The offer was. . . . Upgrade to SA, SB or SC at no additional charge and $600.00 pp refund on the fare that we had already paid, and that it could be on any sailing date with available cabins on the Oosterdam or Noordam for the same Alaska itinerary that we had booked.

I was just curious if the following week was available so had the TA call HAL. She came back and said that they already had the amount of cabins that they needed so were withdrawing their offer. Darn!!! I was actually looking forward to "lets's make a deal". Even though we were going to be celebrating my Mom's birthday and Mother's Day on the cruise, my Mom was also interested in what they had to say.

[sail7seas]

That was a very generous offer IMO.... Seems many must agree as they were able to get the number of cabins they needed. The time difference between you and your TA might have been a factor in why you were not among the first to respond.

 

It's good you can now celebrate your Mom's birthday and Mother's Day on your cruise.

 

Hope you have a wonderful time!!!

 

[LadyLeo84]

Thanks!!!

[Ella2]

but it is also my Mom's birthday on the 14th

 

I'm glad it worked out for you, but just had to add that is MY birthday too, and as you are well aware, it often falls on Mother's Day. :D Hope you and your mom have a fabulous cruise!

[kryos]

Do not accept the first offer, I am sure that they will come back with a better offer .

I disagree with this piece of advice.

 

If the first offer is one that appeals to you ... I say take it. If you don't, others will take it and there will be no second offer made.

 

However, if the deal isn't worth your while ... such as the case when I was offered 90 days of the World Cruise ... it was a great deal, but one I was absolutely unable to take advantage of ... then by all means, turn the deal down. In a case like that, you probably won't care if HAL comes back to you again or not.

 

In my case, you can rest assured that other passengers took HAL up on their World Cruise offer, and I never heard back from them on the subject again.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[3pcmom]

Hammybee,

I had booked with a TA who is also a good friend. Strangely enough, I noticed it first that our sailing was no longer listed on the website. I emailed the TA and she called me the next day. I thought she had read my email but, in fact, HAL had called her and gave her the information for the alternate choices. Since we are taking our married children with us, it was a very busy night on the phone getting everyones wishes taken into consideration, but I called the TA back as soon as possible. We are more than pleased with their offer and intend to enjoy the cruise thoroughly.

 

Karen

[clopaw]

This situation happened to us a couple of years ago. The first offer was just to move to the same cruise a week or two later with no compensation. That wasn't possible due to work schedules. Eventally, after several intermediate offers, we went from a week in a cabin with a porthole to 10 days in a balcony cabin for the sailing of our choice, and reimbursement of the fee to change our flights.

[LadyLeo84]

Ella2: Happy Birthday to you on the 14th!!!

Rita: Your advice was greatly appreciated. I really wish that I had been able to make contact with the TA sooner and would have had the opportunity to accept the offer from HAL. I feel that their offer was very generous and was looking forward to being able to spend some time in the Neptune Lounge. After I explained to my Mom what we would have gotten, she said that she would have been more than willing to take their offer even though it meant that we wouldn't be on the ship for her BD. I think that things happen for a reason and we are very happy with the cabin that we have (SS 8080) AND we leave in a week!!! We are so ready for this cruise and it would have been really hard to be sitting at home on the 12th rather than being on the ship.

Clopaw: Your offer was great, too. So happy for you that you could take advantage of the extra cruise days in a balcony cabin.

Trudy

[O2B@C]

Well it certainly seems as though the Westerdam is going to be one of the most chartered ships in the HAL fleet. It looks like most of November, January at least a week in February and now March are not available due to charters....

 

Hammybee: This is very interesting information. If you don't mind my asking, where did you learn it from? Is it something you can tell from HAL's website, or ...? I'm a little concerned because you mentioned November, and I'm booked on Westerdam for W Carib 11/25/07, which I would not want to change unless I really had to, since it's for our 20th wedding anniversary. Do you know anything about whether that one has been chartered? (Or has any large groups:eek: , for that matter.) Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

Hammybee: In all the flurry of activity on this topic lately, my question to you may have gotten lost in the shuffle, so I thought I'd give it a little bump here. You seem to be very much "in the know" on these matters:) , so I'd really appreciate your input. I did check HAL's website, and my cruise is still listed, with cabins available in quite a few categories, but I'm still terrified that it will disappear on me since it's a 7-day on a Vista. On the other hand, it's the week after Thanksgiving (embarking the Sunday after), which I would not think is a prime charter time. Any thoughts? Please help!

[hammybee]

Hammybee: In all the flurry of activity on this topic lately, my question to you may have gotten lost in the shuffle, so I thought I'd give it a little bump here. You seem to be very much "in the know" on these matters:) , so I'd really appreciate your input. I did check HAL's website, and my cruise is still listed, with cabins available in quite a few categories, but I'm still terrified that it will disappear on me since it's a 7-day on a Vista. On the other hand, it's the week after Thanksgiving (embarking the Sunday after), which I would not think is a prime charter time. Any thoughts? Please help!

 

Thanks for recycling this. It's a lot of work to maintain my status as public enemy#1, on this board :)

 

I don't know more than the next guy, but sometimes I see some things from a perspective different than others. As it relates to your cruise, I would ......RELAX. I think this would be one of the toughest weeks for a charter to fill a cruise, unless it would do so with leftover turkey meat.

 

Checking the HAL website remains the best way I know of for the end consumer to obtain the most current information relative to a cruise being chartered. It seems to take time for this information to make its way down the food chain to 1000's of travel agencies, to their 10,000's agents and finally to the end consumer, like you and me.

[O2B@C]

Thanks for recycling this. It's a lot of work to maintain my status as public enemy#1, on this board :)

 

I don't know more than the next guy, but sometimes I see some things from a perspective different than others. As it relates to your cruise, I would ......RELAX. I think this would be one of the toughest weeks for a charter to fill a cruise, unless it would do so with leftover turkey meat.

 

Checking the HAL website remains the best way I know of for the end consumer to obtain the most current information relative to a cruise being chartered. It seems to take time for this information to make its way down the food chain to 1000's of travel agencies, to their 10,000's agents and finally to the end consumer, like you and me.

 

And thank YOU for the reassurance. I'll keep checking, but I think (and hope) you're right about that being a hard week to fill - indeed, that was one of the reasons I picked it, along with the fact that it has a sea day on our anniversary :) - I'm hoping for very few kids, and a relatively low occupancy rate. Wish us luck! And thanks again.

 

I do think HAL - AND the TAs - should do a better job of informing people promptly about cancellations, whether due to charters or anything else. It's not like HAL doesn't have all the necessary info on their computers already - all they have to do is pull all the existing bookings for that cruise, and send them a letter. The idea that someone would only find out about it from the CC board is horrifying. What about the booked pax who aren't on CC? (There must be at least one or two :D .) Do they find out when they get to the pier?

 

That said, I'm sure as heck not going to buy nonrefundable plane tickets until AFTER final payment time!

[hammybee]

And thank YOU for the reassurance. I'll keep checking, but I think (and hope) you're right about that being a hard week to fill - indeed, that was one of the reasons I picked it, along with the fact that it has a sea day on our anniversary :) - I'm hoping for very few kids, and a relatively low occupancy rate. Wish us luck! And thanks again.

 

I do think HAL - AND the TAs - should do a better job of informing people promptly about cancellations, whether due to charters or anything else. It's not like HAL doesn't have all the necessary info on their computers already - all they have to do is pull all the existing bookings for that cruise, and send them a letter. The idea that someone would only find out about it from the CC board is horrifying. What about the booked pax who aren't on CC? (There must be at least one or two :D .) Do they find out when they get to the pier?

 

That said, I'm sure as heck not going to buy nonrefundable plane tickets until AFTER final payment time!

 

You are welcome. As for postponing the purchase of airline tix, if it were me, I would consider doing so sooner, rather than later, because the first leg of your flight is smack dab on the busiest weekend of the year for most air carriers and airlines often charge a premium when the demand for seats exceeds supply.

 

I remain as perplexed as the next guy as to the delays associated with communicating canceled cruise information to the end consumer. I was amazed when one of the frequent posters on this board was contacted almost immediately when HAL made the decision to delay the sailing of his cruise, due to virus issues. Somehow the "system" worked under what must have been emergecy conditions - as pax might have already been in transit to the ship, but does not appear to do so, as well, when the cruise has been cancelled many, many moons into the future. Perhaps when this happens the the protocol changes.

 

Nothing but speculation on my part here..... am thinking that those pax who booked directly with HAL have an advantage when a distant cruise is cancelled because there is no middle man. When a travel agent is used, the protocol is for all information and communication to flow through the travel agency/agent. Given the number of booking flowing through the giant online booking engines might add to the delays too.

 

Well in any event, I think you will be just fine and I hope your cruise is everything you want it to be.

[RuthC]

It's a lot of work to maintain my status as public enemy#1, on this board :)

Not even close. ;) I dare say, not even in the top ten. :D