Another HAL ripoff

[OleSalt]

Hard on the heels of the ParkWest/CrowsNest fiasco comes another HAL boner. The 64 day Far East voyage in September stops for three days in Indonesia. The official Indonesian websites clearly offer a “Visa on Arrival” valid for 7 days for $ 10. In their pre-cruise documents, HAL generously offers to obtain the same visa for $ 93, an $ 83 premium for obtaining the same stamp I can get for $ 10. At 1380 guests, the profit is $ 114,540 for cutting one check to the Indonesian authorities.

Contact with the ShorEx people to discuss this absurdity is met with a shrug. The TA, a large Seattle firm, simply parrots the HAL line, “HAL will obtain the visa and save you the trouble.”

The consequence of this is that 1380 people will demand the return of their passports prior to arrival, and line up each with $ 10 in hand to have their passports done. What a mess! Any hope of arranged tours leaving on time is lost.

To exacerbate the situation HAL tried to pull the same stunt on the Statendam in March of this year (cf NeilGibson CC review) and before that on the GWV on the Amsterdam. Both attempts were quashed by passenger revolts. Apparently the ”Customer be damned” philosophy is alive and well at HAL.

[kakalina]

This would seem to be terribly unfair. The only good thing I can see is that you do still have an option to HAL's usurious price. It may not be a good choice but it is still a choice.

I would write a stongly worded letter to the powers that be in Seattle and advise them of thoughts on the matter.

Good luck fand have a wonderful cruise. We place to do that one in '09

[Juanita462]

I wrote HAL directly about this shameful ripoff but have had no reply as yet.

 

Hopefully, if enough of us write, something will change. I don't understand how they can chop and change what they do from cruise to cruise. I understand that on the Statendam they made people sign to pay for the charge before they would let them board. I suppose they will do that for this cruise too.

[jhannah]

Isn't there some way you can obtain your visa prior to sailing? If what you show is truly HAL's markup then I agree it is ridiculous!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have you checked into getting a visa on your own here in this country?

[hammybee]

Here is a link to the U.S. Department of State's web site relative to Indonesian visas. This site makes reference to $10 visas good for 3 days, upon arrival, for U.S. citizens and mentions that there are reports that such visas may be good for as many as 7 days. It refers the reader to the Indonesian site with current information. I have also included that link but could find no mention of visa within the site. Go figure.

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_2052.html

 

http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/

 

Other sites offer inconsistent information relative to Indonesian visas. Some sites mention that such visas can be purchased at some ports and others mention only airports. Some exclude travelors from the U.S. while others include the U.S. There is mention of departure taxes on some of the sites too. Many countires change their Visa requirements constantly, even by shift. That was the case the last time we were in Russia and Istanbul. You never know.

 

All businesses mark-up their products/services to cover their cost and to include a profit. For example, in Illinois where I currently live, our govenor has seen to it that gas must be marked up at least 10% to avoid competition, which is why, at the moment, Illinois has the highest cost for gas. Why people are not rioting in the streets is beyond me. Perhaps most don't know. I am sure you have no interest in my gasoline woes but it goes to show you that resellers of products and services will charge as much as the market will bear and /or with a minimum built in profit for the supplier, sometimes dictated by state law.

 

Good for you that you did your homework .

[jtl513]

All businesses mark-up their products/services to cover their cost and to include a profit.

Sure, but not 800%! :eek:

[amusea]

While I was in NYC last month I went to the Indonesian Embassy/Consulate in the hopes of finding out how to obtain a visa prior to leaving the country. The door was locked and there was no sign of life. It seems that there is no way to obtain a visa within the USA. The only possibility might be Washington, DC but I have no plans to go there in the near future. So the option is to purchase the visa upon arrival in Indonesia. The first Indonesian port of entry on the Sept. 64 day cruise is Semarang and that is a port that offers the VOA $10. 3 day visa which would cover both ports in Indonesia on the itinerary. The question is whether we can have our visa in hand when docking or whether the ship line retains them once they collect them at the beginning of the cruise in Seattle. The other question is whether HAL will try to force us to purchase a visa prior to disembarking in Semarang.

[bepsf]

Why does HAL insist on continuing to playing these stupid mind games with their customers???

If they had simply raised the ticket price $100/pp across the board and included the visa service for free - it would have accomplished the same thing for them and also made HAL a winner in their clients eyes for offering a convenient service gratis.

[Pincus]

Sadly, HAL is changing -- rapidly, and not always for the better.

 

We have many days of sailing on HAL, but a combination of Carnival ownership and a growth spurt in numbers of larger ships is making a dent in the lovely and traditional caring and service to their guests....IMHO. This is just another example.

 

Are you reading, HAL?

 

Pincus

[gizmo]

Why does HAL insist on continuing to playing these stupid mind games with their customers???

 

If they had simply raised the ticket price $100/pp across the board and included the visa service for free - it would have accomplished the same thing for them and also made HAL a winner in their clients eyes for offering a convenient service gratis.

 

Sometimes it really make me wonder who is running the show. How could they not see something so simple ?

[Chivalrygirl]

My 2 cents worth, for what it is worth! a The New Zealand and Australian governments have a travel warning in place re visiting Indonesia. They are advising their citizens not to travel there unless it is absolutely necessary! Believing that more terriorist plots are in advance stages. I guess therefore there is a chance that the ship will not visit, as has happened in the past or else you might not even wish to go ashore.

 

For quite some time I have in my opinion thought that this is a place old old fools would visit, and personally I for one would give a lot of thought to giving this country a pretty wide berth.

 

I think that American cruise liners are downright rip off merchants at the best of time, but people just let them keep getting away with it! :confused:

[Juanita462]

The Canadian Government is also warning against travel to Indonesia unless absolutely essential. I suspect that there may be no docking at all in that country.

[hammybee]

Why does HAL insist on continuing to playing these stupid mind games with their customers???

If they had simply raised the ticket price $100/pp across the board and included the visa service for free - it would have accomplished the same thing for them and also made HAL a winner in their clients eyes for offering a convenient service gratis.

 

I think this a brilliant idea. This fabulous cruise has no competition. I would imagine that the majority of passengers are from the U.S. too.

[hammybee]

Sure, but not 800%! :eek:

 

I know. I am not defending HAL- Most of us would shudder if we knew how much things really cost to produce versus what we pay.

[Copper10-8]

Here's a hot tip: little schemes like this have already (for years) been in operation when it comes to bus transportation to and from the ship and with shore excursions.

Try comparing taking the HAL bus from the airport to the pier with taking a cab and see how much $$ you save (that is if you have an honest cabbie who doesn't invent a longer route to get there;) ). Also, try comparing booking and paying for an official HAL shorex with booking one yourself either at home before your cruise and/or from the locals on the pier.

It's how they make money, folks! Does it make us/you feel good? Nope! but what's a mother to do?

Thanks for posting this, OleSalt

[Padraic]

I filled out the visa forms visas China and Indonesia for this September cruise but have not yet taken them down to Travisa in Miami. Although amusea notes that "The first Indonesian port of entry on the Sept. 64 day cruise is Semarang and that is a port that offers the VOA $10," the Indonesian Embassy site notes that Padang - the second port - offers the VOA but does not seem to mention Semarang in either the list of airports or sea ports. Am I looking at the wrong place?

[onthegogirl]

Just for giggles I googled Papua New Guinea visa information. If I don't want to travel to DC, I can get a service to obtain a visa for me. Total cost excluding 2 pictures and postage is $84.50. In addition, I have to send my passport to them.:( That's just not happening!

[tomc]

I googled Papua New Guinea visa information.

I have several National Geographics for that area, well-worn, which I can loan you. :) ;) :eek: :D

[INSIDERS CABIN]

Don't be so harsh - when you are traveling into an area for the first time, or when the convenience and expense of having the line make the arrangements outweighs the headache or thrill of doing your own research, or, when you are not computer-literate, using the services of the cruise line makes perfect sense to me. And, we have done so at various times in our cruising history. It really is helpful to visit travel.state.gov before any trip anywhere outside of the US.

[obriendan]

To exacerbate the situation HAL tried to pull the same stunt on the Statendam in March of this year (cf NeilGibson CC review) and before that on the GWV on the Amsterdam. Both attempts were quashed by passenger revolts. Apparently the ”Customer be damned” philosophy is alive and well at HAL.

 

I don't know what NeilGibson said in his review concerning the Indonesian visa for the Statendam visit in March. However, we were on the Sydney to Hong Kong Statendam cruise, March 2-22, 2007. We visited Bali and Semarang. We obtained our Indonesian visa from HAL after we boarded. The cost was a reasonable $15 per person. We also obtained the Vietnam visa onboard for $45. We obtained the Australian electonic visa on our own over the internet. Is it possible that the OP is mistakenly citing the price for more than one visa??

[SDHALFAN]

I don't know what NeilGibson said in his review concerning the Indonesian visa for the Statendam visit in March. However, we were on the Sydney to Hong Kong Statendam cruise, March 2-22, 2007. We visited Bali and Semarang. We obtained our Indonesian visa from HAL after we boarded. The cost was a reasonable $15 per person. We also obtained the Vietnam visa onboard for $45. We obtained the Australian electonic visa on our own over the internet. Is it possible that the OP is mistakenly citing the price for more than one visa??

 

 

No: on the Roll Call Board for this particular cruise this discussion has been going on for some time. I have been reading that board with a great deal of interest because I'm booked on the 2008 Grand Asia Pacific cruise.

 

On this year's GWV we were quoted a price of $45.00 for the Indonesian visa but once on board we found that the price had been reduced to $25.00, which I gladly paid. HAL raising the price from $25.00 to $93.00 per person is nothing short of usurious. I know that there is a Usury Law here in the U.S. but have no idea if it pertains to cruise ships - probably not.

 

Those who are going on this year's Grand Asia Pacific cruise should also bear in mind that there is a good chance that the Indonesian ports could be cancelled as has happened a couple of times in the last few years. We were very lucky this year in that we did get to go ashore and I have to admit that I very much enjoyed both ports and would love to go back again, but if asked to pay $93.00 for a visa then I would definitely have second thoughts, especially knowing that an Indonesian visa can be obtained for a lot less money elsewhere.

 

Also, at least on this year's GWV, HAL required the passengers to surrender their passports to them upon embarkation, and the only time we saw them prior to disembarkation, was in Sydney where we had to report to the Queen's Lounge for a visual comparison - our passports were then given back to Front Office personnel and we did not see them again until we disembarked the ship (at least as far as Hong Kong anyway which is where I disembarked. I'm not sure what the procedure was after Hong Kong). We were given a photocopy of the front page of our passports to carry with us in case we needed them while ashore, but I was never asked by anyone, anywhere, to see my passport.

 

Valerie:)

[CoolChile]

Why does HAL insist on continuing to playing these stupid mind games with their customers???

 

If they had simply raised the ticket price $100/pp across the board and included the visa service for free - it would have accomplished the same thing for them and also made HAL a winner in their clients eyes for offering a convenient service gratis.[/quote]

 

Ain't ONE thing that's gratis in cruising. You can bet your sorry little apples (I don't mean you, bepsf, you seem to gittit) you are indeed paying for everything. I always LOL when I hear people talk about what's FREE on the ship. Uh no, it means it's one of things included in the 'non-inclusive' fare you forked out.

___________

:cool: CoolChile

[Sealog]

Kinda reminds me of the $.75 per minute for internet on HAL ships, when one may get the same service ashore in most ports for about 10% of that price.

[Chivalrygirl]

Here's a hot tip: little schemes like this have already (for years) been in operation when it comes to bus transportation to and from the ship and with shore excursions.

 

Try comparing taking the HAL bus from the airport to the pier with taking a cab and see how much $$ you save (that is if you have an honest cabbie who doesn't invent a longer route to get there;) ). Also, try comparing booking and paying for an official HAL shorex with booking one yourself either at home before your cruise and/or from the locals on the pier.

 

It's how they make money, folks! Does it make us/you feel good? Nope! but what's a mother to do? Meow

 

Thanks for posting this, OleSalt

 

Gulp, loud laugh, what the hec is all this, it seems more than a bit of "monkey business" to this kid :D