Retired Now Traveler

In response to the two last posts, yes, I've just seen that.  There was a 14 day NCL cruise for $499 a couple of weeks before sailing, with no single supplement.  By the time it went down to $449 though, the cheap cabins were still advertised but sold out.  I'll keep checking out NCL for last minute deals. 

I always book an inside guarantee, and found that as I increased my Mariner stars, the quality of assigned cabin increased, so I had an oceanview looking on the Zaandam promenade last week. In any case, I keep my tv turned on to the ship's camera channel, so I get my sea view that way, and one of the advantages of HAL ships is that any cabin is only a few decks away from either Lido or Promenade outside views. As a solo I actually don't want a luxurious and spacious cabin, since it makes it more tempting to spend time in my cabin alone instead of being out among people and I end up ordering room service for breakfast and dinner instead of interacting with others in the dining room or Lido. My other regret on my last cruise is signing up for the internet plan by the day, which also kept me inside surfing on an ipad instead of going out and enjoy people and entertainment and watching whales and porpoises instead of depressing news.

Thank you for your perspective. Very useful.

Question; If the TA uses your money to buy a perk for you, is it a "free" perk?

Answer:

Needing to win this argument is not related to the example I presented. This is no longer helpful.

Thanks.

There is no such thing as 'free gratuities". The TA or the cruise lines are not paying them. You are. They are "included" in the fare you pay to take the cruise.

And when $13.50 is added to my account daily, above the cruise fare, am I paying twice?

Yes, if you leave the auto gratuities in place they get distributed to the folks who are supposed to get it which is comprised of the traditionally tipped and tipped out staff. If you tip in cash some people who are supposed to get a portion might not receive it. The same applies if someone pays your gratuities for you.

Thank you. And in the case of a cruise line "free gratuities" sale, for the benefit of the staff, the cruise line fills in for what I didn't have to pay. Right?

This question makes me wonder about the whole gratuities thing. Obviously, if you get a "free gratuities" offer, the workers don't get stiffed, right? So either the travel agent or the cruiseline is picking up the expense on behalf of the workers. So when the gratuities are added to my account automatically, does it go into a fund that gets distributed to everyone? On my last cruise, I had automatic gratuities reduced to 0 and personally gave generous cash tips to everyone.

My budget requires interior cabins (I'd prefer more cruises as low cost than fewer luxury cruises.)

I've seen a couple of cruises where the ocean view cabins were cheaper than the interior ones. Any idea what that's about?

I was recently offered an upgrade to a completely obstructed ocean "view" cabin on a HAL cruise. I turned it down because it was much further forward than my original mid-ship interior cabin.

I would love to hear people's thoughts and experiences on this.

Bill

Princess also offers double credit for sailing solo. If you book one of their 14-day itineraries that is also sold as two separate 7-day cruises, you end up with 4 cruise credits by the end of the trip. Makes it fairly "easy" to make Elite status pretty quickly.

 

If you can afford to book a suite then you'll get status even faster since you get extra credit there too.

Thank you. My first cruise was on Princess. Everything was excellent. I've been looking at their itineraries for future cruises. You just gave me more of an incentive.

Bill

NCL often has no single supplement rates. That is the reason when I go solo only with NCL. Even better if you can do last minute cruises, you can cruise for very cheap and no single supplement.

Check on cruiseplum website often, they update it daily every morning in case there is a sailing with no supplement. It is not a site where you purchase cruise, strictly for info, you can book it any way you like.

Thank you. I've not yet seen any fares on NCL without the full supplement. But I'll keep looking. I've investigated their "studios" which cost as much as paying double in a standard cabin.

Any examples of your solo experiences without the supplement on NCL?

Bill

What accommodation did you book? Were you pleased with your decision; especially since we have to pay that darn single supplement? I am at the moment of decision for my summer cruise. Booking late; as I am able to take time off that I didn't know I would have. Thanks :confused:

I was on the Zuiderdam for the January/February 11 day Panama Canal cruise. I brought a friend along for free so I wouldn't waste the single supplement. We had what would have been solo accomodations: an inside cabin with twin beds. I was perfectly comfortable in the small space, even when shared and I assume my friend was, too. Other than sleeping, napping and watching television on rough sea days, we were rarely in the cabin.

I personally would never hesitate to book the cheapest inside cabin available if it permits me to take an extra cruise (or two) a year.

Bill

Hello

Newly retired and still figuring out the ins and outs

I'm afraid to fly, my wife is afraid of cruise ships. I will bring a friend along for free if necessary, but would love to find the best deal for solo cruising.

Does anyone know which cruise lines charge a lower single supplement?

Does any cruise line offer double points of having paid two fares?

Bill

prior to final payment, you call your TA or Princess and have them re-fare the cruise.

 

After final payment there is a penalty.....if yours has continued to drop and you did not receive any promos call and see if they might upgrade your cabin...this often happens or they might give u a little OBC, never hurts to ask.

My super cheap 7 day Canadian cruise that I booked at the last minute ($961) is now being advertised for $88 less. Not a big deal, but I called to find out how the cruise lines handle this. (I'm still learning.) It was a "guarantee" fare and after the final payment date. The travel agent contacted the line and got me a guaranteed ocean view upgrade from guaranteed interior. So that will be a new piece to this adventure. I know upgrades could get me anywhere on the ship and less desirable cabin, also "ocean view" doesn't guarantee seeing anything and maybe just the underside of a lifeboat. But for only 7 days I can deal with it. When I plan that 28 day cruise someday in the future, these details may be more important.

Bill

(P.S. I forgot to mention its on HAL not Princess.)

Upsell is a term used alot on this board - it is what is also know as a "paid upgrade" when you speak with HAL (Holland America). HAL contacts you (either directly or through your travel agent (TA)) to see if you are willing to upgrade your cabin to a higher level one for a set price. If you accept the offer, you pay them immediately and MOST times you can pick your cabin from what is left in inventory at that time. If you like the deal, you should move quickly on it as the best deals go fast (sometimes in a matter of minutes).

 

The way HAL contacts you varies. If you booked directly with them, you will get an email directly from them with the offer. If you booked through a TA, it will go to them and it is up to them to contact you (some TAs are better than others on this).

 

Usually these offers begin around 4-5 weeks prior to sailing, but this depends on how many cabins HAL want to sell upsells on. If the higher category is Sold Out, you likely will not get an upsell offer of course. If you get an offer 4-5 weeks out, it is very likely at a high price. HAL does this to "test the waters" so to speak. If not all of them are taken, about a week later you will get another offer, usually at a lower price. On it goes until HAL sells them out.

 

Hope this answers your questions.

Something I forgot: When I booked the cruise, through AARP, they asked if I was open to an upgrade. I said yes, but now that you explained "upsell" I don't know if they meant a free upgrade or a paid upgrade. We'll see.

Bill

(Itching to travel. Wish I could get on board tomorrow.)

My cruise to Canada next month will be my second on HAL. Still not a lot of experience, but hoping to have a better than my less than overwhelming experience in January/February.

Some people have told me that Princess is the best cruise line and their favorite. My first cruise was with them. Any one want to comment on how it compares with HAL? It seems to me that it is more expensive generally. Anyone else?

Bill

Upsell is a term used alot on this board - it is what is also know as a "paid upgrade" when you speak with HAL (Holland America). HAL contacts you (either directly or through your travel agent (TA)) to see if you are willing to upgrade your cabin to a higher level one for a set price. If you accept the offer, you pay them immediately and MOST times you can pick your cabin from what is left in inventory at that time. If you like the deal, you should move quickly on it as the best deals go fast (sometimes in a matter of minutes).

 

The way HAL contacts you varies. If you booked directly with them, you will get an email directly from them with the offer. If you booked through a TA, it will go to them and it is up to them to contact you (some TAs are better than others on this).

 

Usually these offers begin around 4-5 weeks prior to sailing, but this depends on how many cabins HAL want to sell upsells on. If the higher category is Sold Out, you likely will not get an upsell offer of course. If you get an offer 4-5 weeks out, it is very likely at a high price. HAL does this to "test the waters" so to speak. If not all of them are taken, about a week later you will get another offer, usually at a lower price. On it goes until HAL sells them out.

 

Hope this answers your questions.

Thanks Dave. Very helpful and clear (to an old guy like me.)

Bill

I start checking inventory about 2 months ago, about once a week, if I am interested in an upsell. That way if it suddenly shows Sold Out, I have a pretty good idea if it is really sold out or if HAL is just getting ready to do upsells (they normally shut off a category when they do upsells).

Hi Dave,

I'm looking forward to lots of cruises now that I'm retired. Can you explain what you mean (for the sake of a beginner.) What's an upsell and how does it work?

Thanks.

Bill

Cruises of that sort tend to sell out so the price rarely goes down. We tend to book about 1.5 years in advance and then watch as the prices go up and up. If they actually go down we can change the booking but normally we just see the prices go way up.

Good morning.

Your phrase "we can change the booking." got my attention. I'm new to this. I've just booked a cruise at the last minute and see the price continue to drop. I thought any change would incur a penalty. How do you go about changing a booking?

Bill

I too am waiting for a guarantee cabin assignment, I am about 40 days out. I used to be able to look at the old HAL website to see there there was no stateroom assigned, yet. With the recently implemented new website, that page seems to have been removed and there is no where to look anymore for the stateroom that I can find. It also seems I now have a male roommate. I am a woman sailing solo, LOL! I can't wait to see who I get. I hope he is charming and good looking. I have not attempted the boarding pass thing, but I imagine I will find out when I get to the dock. :(

Hi, I generally travel alone and have only recently heard of this program where they match you up with a roommate. Have you done this before? I've thought about it to keep my costs down, but I've run into people on board that I want to escape from. I wouldn't want to find out I'm sharing a room with one of them.

What's been your experience with this?

Anyone?

Retired Now Traveller.