Mary229

@VMax1700 thanks for another top notch cruise log.

Others have not been so fortunate

I have had trouble deciphering my account on the ship and that is exactly what I did. You also need to check for any credits to those gift cards. It is a mess and no two ships credit the same way. Some do an in-house transaction, some credit everything to the card on file and some credit back to the gift card. A true mess! My disputed amount was found on a gift card🤷‍♀️

CCL (the corporation) has a policy of banning anyone who does a credit card dispute. Sometimes the onboard statement is rather confusing . Perhaps you need to have another pair of eyes look it over.

It looks like a mistake at least the HIA is wrong. HIA is $55 or $1210 per person for 22 days. I did notice some of the cruises going to Iceland went up tremendously over the weekend as the demand to see two eruptions is incredible and people are trying any means possible to get there

Same here. We also travel on land journeys with couples. For land journeys which do require close daily quarters we add the rule “every person gets one day to complain, once you register any complaint that is your one and only day - so choose wisely”. Remarkably there are hardly any complaints 😉

I am sorry that happened but it does sound like an honest mistake. I hope you enjoy the cruise

The point is you can pick the agent of your choice and not rely on them discounting to get the same or better prices if you know all of the possible discounts already available. The big box stores are doing just that then divvying up those discounts to a broader group. If you want, as the OP, wants a full service TA then there is another way

Agreed. People are thinking their agents are making a fortune. It really isn’t that much. I always tackle it from perks. It costs the cruise line nothing to give you a dinner at the Pinnacle Grill but it costs money to get discounts.

Not all agencies provide the HAL confirmation letter. They simply provide their invoice

Any business needs to always be mindful of irritating loyal customers. If the crow’s nest was truly commandeered for the length of the cruise that would be called irritating the loyal base. Sure HAL could do this on a 7 day mass market cruise, it may not create any new loyal customers but their dedicated base maybe wouldn’t be there. Hal is a mass market cruise on the 7 day voyage to many locales and they will do everything that CCL, RCCL and NCL do

Also remember you can pay with AARP gift cards for a 10% discount.

No nor after, only while on voyage. You can also give commendations and kudos. Currently the crew is eager to receive a special mention through the app

I so agree. Being in the southwest we used them often buy tWyndham let them run down to the point where they are a hard pass for us.

My last onboard booking had to be redone but I caught the errors while still on ship and was able to make the corrections. I agree keep a careful eye on things especially when an error can lose a significant OBC

There should be an automatic transfer unless you the customer spectates you don’t want it transferred. Have you had an agent not want the onboard booking.?

Did you ever talk to La Quinta? You do get a second bite at the apple, so if you can work it out with them you still have a chance to overturn the charge. If Barclays treated you badly stay away from all of their credit cards. HAL doesn’t administer the card ,the bank does. I had a similar problem with another bank, I closed the account once it was straightened out and never used that bank again.

As to discounts there truly are no discounts. Learning a cruise lines in and outs is the best way to get a good deal. Know your Mariner benefits. Be keen to snap up an early booking bonus, many only agencies snap those up and offer them later to clients giving the appearance that they are giving you a big OBC. You could have had that same OBC if you had booked early. Always get a refundable deposit so you can refare if prices drop. Your agent should have access to software that tracks changes and that software is more robust than what consumers have available. so my advice is find someone who is attentive and you like and who likes you and let the prices fall in place. Make sure that person has good cruise experience and that they regularly keep up their training. Don’t focus on price

I will let you reread your own responses as I just did.

I have sailed HaL for years and I have never seen any special group use the crow’s nest for more than 2 hours - ONCE, or twice during a very long sailing. It is not a daily occurrence. The Crow’s Nest has gone to any iterations but it has always been probably the most popular venue on HAL. The original post has been called into question as to the complete facts, that I accept is a greater possibility than HAL using the Crow’s Nest as a reserved venue for special groups.

HAL went quite a few years without auctions, it is disheartening to see their reappearance. They had instead an untyped art gallery. you make a good point however one could get quite an art education on the ship just by downloading their art guide and walking around the ship and see the many incredible works of art which adorn the walls of the ship

Yes, that is right. I have stayed with HaL a number of times in various locations. A little known part of booking with them is early checkin even extremely early plus breakfast and transfers are included. Transfers are from airport and to cruise ship. If you arrive early enough for breakfast on the first day that is included too. If the hotel has quit serving breakfast then of course there would not be breakfast.

Well truth be told I have never met anyone on Cruise Critic defend Park West so fervently. You do them a great service. Now back to why you think it is ok for a contractor to commandeer a popular space for the entire length of a cruise. I don’t think anyone would complain about a single evening but not for the entire cruise. PS 30+ day cruises are fairly normal for HAL

On my35 day voyage they were set up on the first floor for several events, their studio was next to photography on the 3 and one special event for one evening in the Rock room

All of the cruise lines ALL, regardless how big or small provide any agency with marketing materials. This includes mailings, website “brochures” , etc…. Each agency then decides who they want to work with and that will be based more on who their customer base is than on other variables