Tom O.

56 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Based on my experience on Oceania (just one and I know it’s not everyone’s), for me, it wasn’t premium and the line did nothing about it.

 

Prinsendam offered a more premium experience than Oceania did despite it’s 4 specialty restaurants with it’s microwaved pasta 😞 

Kazu, I have never cruised on Oceana, Viking, or any other premium cruise line. I just pulled those two names out of the air. But I have read lots of reviews from people who say that premium lines are like cruising in the old days when dinners were truly gourmet, and service was exemplary.

I've always said that I would rather go on two cruises on HAL rather than one cruise on a premium line (for the same price).

So, when I want a premium dining experience I go to the Pinnacle Grill.

10 minutes ago, Vacation00 said:

In regards to feeling pessimistic, I can’t help but wonder the cuts that we might have to endure in this new era of future cruising. There was an already dramatic difference between my first cruise (2001) and my last cruise (2016) such as cuts in food, staff, etc..) and that is when the industry was booming. 
i will look forward to hearing what this years cruisers experience, once sailing starts again. 

I understand what you are saying. But, I will say that the cuts in the quality of food, etc. were the result of an overly competitive market, where cruise lines needed to offer low prices to get people on their ships. However passengers could still get the quality they desired by paying extra for specialty restaurants, suites, etc.

Then there are the premium lines like Oceana and Viking, that still offer the experience cruisers used to get. People just had to pay the premium prices of these cruise lines.

Most people choose to pay less and have a less than perfect experience.

I see only two scenarios where we will get any refunds.

1. The cruising industry will return to normal, and HAL will get over its cash flow problem.

2. HAL will go bankrupt, and when the courts liquidate all of its assets, there may be enough cash to pay us off.

The problem with 1 is that this would probably not occur for a long time, and it may never happen.

The problem with 2 is two fold: (a) Courts take a long time, and it could be years before we got any money back; and (b) The main asset they have is their ships - If the entire cruise industry collapses, those ships will be hard to sell and may not sell for a decent price.

I guess I am a pessimist.

2 hours ago, babydrum said:

Why is purchasing a cruise from a big box store a no-no?  I've done it before because they had a great OBC which had cash value and all of the incentives being offered by an online agency.  I assume they are a no-no too but I'd like to know why so that I don't make that mistake in the future.  Thanks.

(Italics are replacement text by me, so I wouldn't repeat naming specific agents.)

It is not a no-no, but you cannot expect the level of service that you would get from a regular travel agent. If everything goes well, then you come out ahead, if not ........

4 minutes ago, CJcruzer said:

I have found Holland America always prompt in refunding or making adjustments - but in this case they are probably inundated and taking one sailing date at a time to process, or possibly one ship at a time (I tend to think sailing date would be the lead factor). 

 

Carol

I think that the slow refunds have nothing to do with how busy they are. After all, the reservation system is computerized, and the refunds should be automatic.

The real problem is that they have no money to refund. They had money at the beginning of this pandemic, and people got their refunds quickly. But when the money ran out, they announced the 60 day delay. The money ran out because there was no money coming in, it was just going out.

They are hoping that people will start making new reservations again, and will be sending HAL lots of deposit money.

Personally, I think that is unlikely, and HAL and most other cruise lines are doomed.

20 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

That's not exactly what HAL said, and it makes a difference.  

"Please note that due to the unprecedented volume of bookings impacted by cancellations, processing 

may take up to 60 days as our team works through each booking."    (HAL, March 30, 2020) 

 

[bold mine]

You are right, I stated the bare bones version of what HAL said, but I don't think it makes a difference.

I don't mind waiting 60 to get a refund, my biggest fear is that I won't get it at all.

I believe there is a reason HAL waits until the last minute to cancel a cruise. They want to make sure they are past the final payment date before canceling. They want everyone to pay in full for their cruise, so they have that cash to pay for their many expenses, including refunds. 

My cruise wasn't until August, and the final payment was due in early May. But, I decided I didn't want to give HAL any more of my money. No way would I pay off that cruise and put more money at risk, so I cancelled it. Now I am waiting for my refund like everybody else, but at least it is just for the deposit, not the entire cost of the cruise.

There is a certain amount of risk, to insure your cruise with the cruise line. Under normal circumstances, there would be no risk, but in these trying times, that is not the case. If a cruise line goes bankrupt, the people who insured through that cruise line might not receive reimbursement, because there is no money available.

A separate insurance company should be able to pay off it's policy holders, but if that company has a run of claims, they could go under too.

If we all lose money on our cruises, at least it is money we can afford to lose, since cruising is a luxury and not a necessity.

11 minutes ago, 0106 said:

My cruise was supposed to leave today.  When HA cancelled it on 3/14, I selected the refund option.  Have patiently waited 3 weeks.  Booked through HA.  Has anyone gotten a refund for a cancelled cruise that was supposed to sail in the past 3 weeks?  Suggestions for how to proceed?

HAL is saying there will be a 60 day delay on all refunds.

The problem is that HAL has no cash right now, they are hoping for more money to come in so they can start to make refunds. But that money may never come.

MudderBear,

I don't know why people are giving you a hard time. If the cruise line cancels your cruise, but offers you the same cruise at a future date, it should be the same price. In fact they should offer it for less, because of the inconvenience.

Your situation is not the same as someone who is just shopping for a future cruise.

I recommend that you request a full refund, and then later shop for a future cruise with that money, once you get it.

This is assuming that HAL doesn't go bankrupt, which is a real possibility. If HAL does survive, I think they will eventually have some good promotions.

I usually don't buy insurance either, because I have never cancelled a vacation, and have never had any problem while on vacation.

But for the Baltic cruise I purchased last November, I did buy insurance, mostly because I was concerned about having a medical emergency. Well along comes this pandemic, and we decided for the first time to cancel our cruise.

As I understand it, because I chose to cancel the cruise myself, it is not covered. But since we canceled in time for a deposit refund, we are supposed to get a refund from HAL. I hope I get the refund, but I am not optimistic about it.

In the meantime, we have non-refundable expenses of our airline tickets and a hotel. I believe if the airline cancels our flight, our insurance will pay us back for these expenses - we'll see about that.

So I am holding on to the airline tickets and hotel, and will hope for the best on those. 

Right now it looks like purchased insurance for the first time, and even though we canceled the cruise, the insurance may not pay us back for our losses.

I cancelled my Alla Tours private tour of St. Petersburg and received a refund in 24 hours. But HAL said it would be 60 days before I got my deposit back on my cancelled Baltic Cruise.

But I will be happy if I get anything back at all. I am not optimistic about the future of HAL, or the cruising industry in general.

One of my favorite indulgences.

1 hour ago, bvocruise said:

I paid for a cruise in full way in advance as it is nice not having to worry about it.  It has never backfired before but did this time. 

 

  I may be out of $6,000 which is an expensive lesson to learn. 

A couple of months ago, I started a thread, saying how useless HAL sales were that featured a smaller deposit.

Now, I am eating crow, waiting 60 days to get a large deposit back. And there is a possibility that I will never get it back.

1 hour ago, funintehsun said:

 

Unfortunately, the pessimist in me is thinking they aren't processing ANY refunds now and are hoping to pay out refunds from new bookings or worse, they are using our money to keep the lights on until the inevitable bankruptcy. 

 

Isn't that the definition of a Ponzi Scheme?

I looked at this thread because I was wondering why it was taking so long to get a refund from the shore excursions I cancelled. Now I would be afraid to give HAL any more money at all. I have a final payment due in May, I was going to wait until then to decide if I should cancel the cruise. I am considering canceling now, and maybe I get a refund in 60 days to 90 days. I definitely don't want to put more money at risk. 

This special dinner is now available on my cruise too. The cost is outrageous, especially since my wife doesn't drink.

Whats more, I noticed that it means that the regular Pinnacle Grill is not available for another night. First Rudi's now this.

2 hours ago, 510picker said:

Bought these from Amazon and they work great. Like others have said, we don't attach these until we are ready to head to the port.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B017BVFA00/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

That is what we use too. They are very strong.

3 hours ago, DaisyFire said:

I will be sailing on the Oosterdam in July.  This is my first time on HAL and from comments on this thread it sounds like specialty dining can often sell out on HAL.  Celebrity lets you prebook using your OBC, but doesn't do a good job of allowing you to select your reservation time, so I typically do that as soon as I board.  Pretty much every Celebrity Cruise I have been on has staff members offering discounts for specialty dining venues once you board.  They even stand outside the buffet area and 'peddle' specialty dining.  So my question - Are there any similar opportunities once onboard to get discounts on specialty dining for HAL - or are the rates pretty much set? If the latter - I am thinking that it may definitely be best to book in advance and just find something else to use buy OBC on.  (Celebrity also has pretty good deals on liquor in their duty free shops - so I have been known to use up any remaining OBC to buy a gift or two there 🙂 )

I have never seen any deals on specialty dining after boarding. If I were you I would book it in advance and just pay for it with your credit card. You will have to use your OBC for other expenses, which are plentiful. This way you will most likely get the best days and times that suits you best.

A lot of people complain of being nickel and dimed for drinks and all sorts of other services. They will point to premium cruise lines that include all those items without extra cost.

But those premium cruise lines charge much more for their cruises. What happens there is that the passengers who make extensive use of these services are being subsidized by the ones who use them the least.

I would prefer to have a cheap cruise ticket and then later choose what kind of goodies I want on board. I will usually refrain from overspending when I see what the charge is. But sometimes I like to splurge too, but the point is that it will be my idea to spend extra. I will not be doing it just because it is included in the fare, and feel I need to take advantage of it.

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Casino offers and discounts are only sent out to people who have played a fair amount in the casino.  However, it is possible that others may get one or both if they have a solid history at a land based casino.

 

A casino offers generally comes via regular or e- mail.  These are often for free cabins (pay taxes and fees of course), but may allow you to pay a bit more for higher level cabins.  Most times these deals are ONLY for guarantee cabins.

 

A casino discount is for a reduced fare on most (not all) cruises and you can select any cabin you want.  I have seen these discounts run from 5-30%, but could be higher for major players.  I like this deal as I can pick my cabin and I still get any existing perks - extra OBC, free drinks, free grats, etc - that HAL is offering at the time.  Also, I have always been able to use my stockholder OBC and future cruise deposits with this discount.

Thanks Dave, for that info. Since I hardly ever gamble, I see why I was unaware of these deals. 

Can someone explain Casino Offers to me? I am completely mystified by this. I have never received anything like this.

This might be because I never go near the casino. I don't enjoy gambling, because I don't like losing money.

17 minutes ago, Nok977 said:

Hi! Has anyone heard anything about Stockholm rooftop tours? Sounds quite exciting for me but not sure this is the right thing to do if you just have one day in the city

Don't know anything about it, but I found this picture on Tripadvisor. Looks terrifying to me.

22 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

I did this last week, as did someone else. We provided an update in another thread. We could book shorex three days in advance by phoning the shorex dept and booking them over the phone. The tickets arrived in our cabin on embarkation day and showed in our itinerary also on embarkation day. 

Thanks for that information. It is an improvement. However, 3 days in advance is not enough time to book popular shore excursions. But it does get you ahead of the folks who don't book until they are on board. And it looks like it still won't work for specialty restaurants

Yes. It will pay for the daily service charge, and any other costs that are charged to your account while on board.

It just can't be used to pay for anything that you purchase before boarding.

11 hours ago, KrissyCruises said:

I just booked Sel de Mer online for N Statendam March sailing. No longer a la carte, fixed price was $40pp. Website indicated online advance purchase is 20% off onboard price. 

How odd! When I try to book it for my August cruise on the Zuiderdam, it is $49. No mention of any discount for booking in advance. Do you have more stars than me? I am only 2 stars, maybe that is the difference?

Or maybe the discount is only on Pinnacle Class ships?