Holland America False Advertising

[wdblake]

We received a brouchure the other day from Holland America advertising 7 day cruises to Alaska on the Statendam from 5/10-9/6 2009 for $499. I went to the website on tuesday January 27th and the website confirmed the $499 price. Early today (thursday) their website changed to "call for quote" and then by then end of today it shot up to $699. When called about this the first time the agent "Jason" asked us what the brouchure looked like.He then could not find a cruise date for $499. He then proceded to hang up the phone when we asked to speak to a supervisor. On our second attempt we had to speak to three different people and only after threatening to call the Attorney General did they magically find a cruise for that price. I used to think that Holland America was a reputable company but after this behavior i have my doubts. You shouldn't advertise a price and then decide you don't want to honor it. For Shame!

[pms4104]

In my experience with reading the fine print ... brochures and promos generally indicate somewhere in the disclaimer/tiny print that prices are capacity controlled, that the offer can be withdrawn at any time, and that the from prices generally pertain to a specific sailing with other sailings being at other (higher) prices. Is it possible that when you called, the cheap seats for your desired sailing already had been sold out?

 

If any or all of the above-mentioned disclaimers were on the materials you received, I don't know that it could be considered false advertising.

[E-500]

Had a similar event in Oct. '08. Received a print mailing with great pricing for Feb. '09 for a balcony for the Carib. on the Maasdam. Visited my T/A the same day, she called HAL while I was in her office. Hal phone agent had no idea about the special, it was not in the computer system. Asked my agent to describe it with codes etc. Still no go, we faxed to Hal their own brochure! Long story short after working with her regional HAL rep, my T/A was able to get us the deal in the brochure in a couple of days. My guess is a communication breakdown between sales/marketing and reservations/ops. Not an attempt to deceive the public.

[CC Help Michell]

We received a brouchure the other day from Holland America advertising 7 day cruises to Alaska on the Statendam from 5/10-9/6 2009 for $499. I went to the website on tuesday January 27th and the website confirmed the $499 price. Early today (thursday) their website changed to "call for quote" and then by then end of today it shot up to $699. When called about this the first time the agent "Jason" asked us what the brouchure looked like.He then could not find a cruise date for $499. He then proceded to hang up the phone when we asked to speak to a supervisor. On our second attempt we had to speak to three different people and only after threatening to call the Attorney General did they magically find a cruise for that price. I used to think that Holland America was a reputable company but after this behavior i have my doubts. You shouldn't advertise a price and then decide you don't want to honor it. For Shame!

 

Did that brochure seriously say that every cruise on the Statendam during all those months, including the peak of the season, featured cruises "for" $499? Or did it say "from" $499? I seriously have to wonder -- that price isn't remarkable for May or September 2009 in the current economy, but a couple of hundred dollars higher is certainly the going rate for June, July, and most of August. I've never received any brochure or email from HAL stating any substantially lower price during the peak months -- and I get at least two pieces of snail mail and 4-5 emails per week -- they all say "from" $X.

 

PS Whether it was due to a brochure the phone rep didn't know about, a misprint, error, or whatever -- what you are really saying is "Yes, HAL honored this price, but it was a nuisance for us to book, and we had some hassle, so we came here to post about what a lousy company they are and encourage others not to do business with them." Wow. Wonder if they'll honor that price for the next person in your situation? :rolleyes: Hope you have a great cruise and that it meets your expectations. :)

[hammybee]

All brochures say from, $XXX.

 

Only specified sailings ( usually designated with underscoring) have cabins at the lowest price.

 

Like airline seats, a cabin is a commodity and the quantity is controlled by the seller. They may have 1 seat or cabin or 50. When they are sold, they are gone.

 

You probably could have snagged a cabin online when you first checked the web site. Instead, you waited and waited and waited.

[mjwood77]

$499 for the May Statendam cruises has been the going rate for months (we booked in November). Lately the May 10th sailing has increased to $599 for inside on on-line agencies or no availability at all. People have must have booked since they printed that brochure (probably weeks ago). Apparently many booked this week as you saw with the price increase in two days.

 

Checking HAL's website the "from $499" currently applies to the 5/22 Ryndam sailing.

[HALFans]

We received a brouchure the other day from Holland America advertising 7 day cruises to Alaska on the Statendam from 5/10-9/6 2009 for $499. I went to the website on tuesday January 27th and the website confirmed the $499 price.

 

I think enough said.

 

You got the brochure. You had the opportunity to purchase it at that price, without even involving a Travel Agent.

 

You passed on the deal, and several days later it wasn't there.

 

Hey, did the brochure say 'SALE' on it anywhere? Have you EVER heard of a company having a 'SALE' and you interpreted it to mean that 'All of your prices will be like this for the rest of my life'???

 

No.

 

When did Americans forget how to read and understand what they read?

[Sunshine91]

Its not uncommon for the sales/marketing folks to "be on the front edge" & send out materials that the booking agents don't know about. Or that the reso system hasn't been updated yet to reflect that these specials are available. That's why the reso agent wanted to know what the brochure looked like.

 

Happened to us for Noordam's inaugural. Sail date was Feb 2006, we booked July 2005. When our then-TA called HAL about something printed in the promo brochure, HAL's system wasn't up to speed yet. No biggie, it didn't affect whether or not we were going. We simply had her call back before the special expired to add the extras to our booking.

 

Enjoy Alaska. We're looking forward to it ourselves in Sept. :)

[Pettifogger]

Whenever I am frustrated by the opacity of cruise fares, which is quite often, I remind myself that passengers who book without making the effort to wrestle with the opacity are subsidizing my cruises. Since I am retired and my time is worthless, it seems to me to be a good bargain to trade some frustration for a lower fare.

[HALFans]

Whenever I am frustrated by the opacity of cruise fares, which is quite often, I remind myself that passengers who book without making the effort to wrestle with the opacity are subsidizing my cruises. Since I am retired and my time is worthless, it seems to me to be a good bargain to trade some frustration for a lower fare.

 

I stand in awe of your intelligence and wisdom. ;)

[Pokeynose]

Its not uncommon for the sales/marketing folks to "be on the front edge" & send out materials that the booking agents don't know about. Or that the reso system hasn't been updated yet to reflect that these specials are available. That's why the reso agent wanted to know what the brochure looked like.

 

Happened to us for Noordam's inaugural. Sail date was Feb 2006, we booked July 2005. When our then-TA called HAL about something printed in the promo brochure, HAL's system wasn't up to speed yet. No biggie, it didn't affect whether or not we were going. We simply had her call back before the special expired to add the extras to our booking.

 

Enjoy Alaska. We're looking forward to it ourselves in Sept. :)

 

 

When are you going in Sept.? We cruise on the 13th on the Westerdam.:)

[brucory]

The May 24th sailing is still at the advertised prices, at least in this neck of the woods. It is selling from $559 AUD which is USD$363 pp on the HAL Australia webpage. Either exchange rates are extremely favourable at the moment or HAL is desperate to get Aussies on their Alaska sailings.

 

What a bargain!!!

 

:D:D:D

[HALFans]

Early today (thursday) their website changed to "call for quote" and then by then end of today it shot up to $699.

 

When a sailing stateroom category changes to 'call for quote' it means that that category is SOLD OUT. There are no more staterooms available. They're all booked. There aren't any available at ANY price.

 

If later in the day a few came available due to upgrades, cancellations, etc. and they are now a highly desirable commodity (and should be priced accordingly).

 

None of that changes the fact that you had a chance to purchase at the advertised priced, even though you decided not to until after the cruise sold out. I'm sorry, but I just don't understand how that is False Advertising. :confused:

 

Maybe if I had a copy of the brochure I'd understand...

 

I do hope you enjoy your cruise. You got it at a fantastic price. Just remember that and Happy Sailing to you! :D

[altosax]

We received a brouchure the other day from Holland America advertising 7 day cruises to Alaska on the Statendam from 5/10-9/6 2009 for $499. I went to the website on tuesday January 27th and the website confirmed the $499 price. Early today (thursday) their website changed to "call for quote" and then by then end of today it shot up to $699. When called about this the first time the agent "Jason" asked us what the brouchure looked like.He then could not find a cruise date for $499. He then proceded to hang up the phone when we asked to speak to a supervisor. On our second attempt we had to speak to three different people and only after threatening to call the Attorney General did they magically find a cruise for that price. I used to think that Holland America was a reputable company but after this behavior i have my doubts. You shouldn't advertise a price and then decide you don't want to honor it. For Shame!

 

Inexcusable!!! Had I done this (hung up on a customer asking for a supervisor) when I worked front line for the airline, I could have been fired without hesitation. This Jason was fortunate if he was not being monitored.

 

The only time I ever did this, as we did not have to listen to verbal abuse, I told a customer that I was trying to help that if he continued to use the F word I would terminate the call. He immediately continued using the F word while at the same time insulting the legitamacy of my birth. At that point, I did hang up. No repercussions.

[Northshorecruisers]

Let's not write Jason off so fast - have you ever gone to transfer a call and lost the person on the other end? Happens all the time.

[crusinbanjo]

So...... .......did you buy the cruise at $499.00 or once you got the price, you decided to let it go?

 

Just curious, it is a really low price and they ALWAYS stipulate that the offer can be withdrawn at any time.

 

 

We received a brouchure the other day from Holland America advertising 7 day cruises to Alaska on the Statendam from 5/10-9/6 2009 for $499. I went to the website on tuesday January 27th and the website confirmed the $499 price. Early today (thursday) their website changed to "call for quote" and then by then end of today it shot up to $699. When called about this the first time the agent "Jason" asked us what the brouchure looked like.He then could not find a cruise date for $499. He then proceded to hang up the phone when we asked to speak to a supervisor. On our second attempt we had to speak to three different people and only after threatening to call the Attorney General did they magically find a cruise for that price. I used to think that Holland America was a reputable company but after this behavior i have my doubts. You shouldn't advertise a price and then decide you don't want to honor it. For Shame!

[LoveHAL]

Funny how WDBlake has nothing more to say! Doesn't that say something?

[SeaMatesNYC]

Funny how WDBlake has nothing more to say! Doesn't that say something?

 

Can you say "wind up"? OR s(he) was ignorant of the nature of cruise promos and perhaps has learned something from the responses above, looked again at the brochure and its fine print and is too embarrassed to return.

[newmexicoNita]

We received a brouchure the other day from Holland America advertising 7 day cruises to Alaska on the Statendam from 5/10-9/6 2009 for $499. I went to the website on tuesday January 27th and the website confirmed the $499 price. Early today (thursday) their website changed to "call for quote" and then by then end of today it shot up to $699. When called about this the first time the agent "Jason" asked us what the brouchure looked like.He then could not find a cruise date for $499. He then proceded to hang up the phone when we asked to speak to a supervisor. On our second attempt we had to speak to three different people and only after threatening to call the Attorney General did they magically find a cruise for that price. I used to think that Holland America was a reputable company but after this behavior i have my doubts. You shouldn't advertise a price and then decide you don't want to honor it. For Shame!

 

oh for heavens sake, this does not mean every date will have those prices, nor any date for that matter. How many times have you seen dept store ads say, up to 70% off. when you get to the store there is one little rack with 70% off. All the cruise line is saying: they have some cabins (maybe only 4 or 5) at that price...

 

Sorry this is not false advertising, it is the name of the game.

NIta

[vbmom87]

As stated many times already, the specials are limited and once they have sold that number the promotion is over. That said, I have to say I was most unimpressed with HAL last year in terms of their customer service. As I have said many times, their left hand does not know what their right hand is doing. All I have to say, is I was glad I had a local TA with a good connection with HAL. She was always able to straighten out the things that were amiss. However, it is a hassle, and there are no excuses for the number of miscommunications that happen in their company.

[Mtierney]

Whenever I am frustrated by the opacity of cruise fares, which is quite often, I remind myself that passengers who book without making the effort to wrestle with the opacity are subsidizing my cruises. Since I am retired and my time is worthless, it seems to me to be a good bargain to trade some frustration for a lower fare.

Wow! Our situation and observations exactly. We are pricing a May cruise presently and for the same category we get totally different prices. Our TA and HAL direct and even Costco all offer different rates. If one aspect looks better, another seems high. We are dizzy!

[Davey Interweb]

There are at least two sailings in May - on the 17th and 24th - that offer a $499/person fare. What exactly are you complaining about?

[hammybee]

Wow! Our situation and observations exactly. We are pricing a May cruise presently and for the same category we get totally different prices. Our TA and HAL direct and even Costco all offer different rates. If one aspect looks better, another seems high. We are dizzy!

 

And as thousands of passengers learned with Cruise Value Travel Agency, lowest price sometimes means something is rotten in Denmark, or in their case NJ/Michigan.

[newmexicoNita]

And as thousands of passengers learned with Cruise Value Travel Agency, lowest price sometimes means something is rotten in Denmark, or in their case NJ/Michigan.

you are so right, it is hard for some to understand. When wholesalers or any agent discount too much, they wil eventually go broke...

 

Nita

[HALFans]

And as thousands of passengers learned with Cruise Value Travel Agency, lowest price sometimes means something is rotten in Denmark, or in their case NJ/Michigan.

 

-Hammybee

 

Who always dresses for dinner and does not notice what you are wearing, unless there is a pineapple on your head.

 

Hammybee, I've always wanted to ask... "Wha'cha got against PINEAPPLE wearers???" :p Did you have some kind of tragic Carmen Miranda accident in your childhood? :eek: