secondtime

OLD CONTRACT NEW CONTRACT (blue highlights are HAL's not mine)

Upon doing the online checkin for an upcoming cruise, I see that the language has been changed in the contract to reflect that HAL can move anyone to another stateroom. The date on the bottom of the contract is March 2024.

So HAL wants to charge us for access to some of their global itinerary information? It should be free on their website to entice us to book cruises. I wonder how reliable access to this new program will be as the HAL website and Navigator app are often close to useless.

Not everyone wants to listen to music in public places. There may be more passengers complaining of music than requesting it. There are many who want to quietly relax during the day. When there is music, it is often so loud you cannot carry on a conversation with some wonderful fellow passengers. Also, your choice of the type of music that should be played may not be my choice. Many of us bring earbuds to listen to our type of music at our choice of volume. Many of us cruise on HAL for the less lively atmosphere.

I learned of this from my PCC a couple of weeks ago and am very unhappy. I book cruises very early (mostly a day or two after published) so I can get a stateroom near the elevator due to limited mobility. I pay quite a bit more for the high category location and, as a solo traveler, I pay an 80-100% supplement. I often book a triple room because they are near the elevator but at least HAL gets a cruise fare for two people. I will now be limited in stateroom choices for future bookings so may not be able to take some cruises I would like. On a positive note, I might save money as I will have to book a cheaper stateroom. It appears some may still be able to book one or two people in a triple or quad room and then hope they will not be moved. I would not take a chance as I am picky about the location of my stateroom I can see that future bookings should have to follow the new policy but I do not believe HAL should be able to move me from a stateroom that they allowed me to book before the new policy. I have 8 trips booked for 237 cruising days so am now in panic mode. I could find nothing about this on the website (cruise contract or passenger bill of rights) nor on my booking confirmations. I hate the idea that I have booked a cruise, flights, hotels, etc. and then find out just before the cruise that HAL moved me to a stateroom that is unacceptable to me. Is it a breach of contract? I probably could accept if an airline changed my seat as that is only for a few hours. My cruises are from 14-45 days which is a long time to be in a stateroom I do not want. This is going to be a hot topic as I can see there are 8 new replies since I started typing this. I hope some of the new and future replies will relieve some of my anxiety. I have spent hours trying to find acceptable (to me and HAL) staterooms on my previously booked cruises.

When on a ship and receive special service, I tip (with cash) the individual crew member - this is an extra amount beyond the daily automatic crew appreciation I pay. I utilize a HAL PCC who has recently helped me with issues that took a lot of the PCC's time. I believe the PCC went above and beyond the normal responsibilities. I would like to a tip to the PCC but need advise as to how to get this done.

I have read that removing HAL cookies will help navigate the website without getting error messages. There are many threads of problems with the website and I have tried a couple of recommendations with no success. Would someone please explain how to remove HAL cookies for those of us who are technology challenged? I normally use Google Chrome but have problems in other search engines also.

Please notify HAL, your travel agent, or your HAL personal cruise consultant of the website problems. I just talked to my HAL PCC and he was unaware of the problems many of us are having. I sent him many screenshots showing the steps I take and the blank, error, etc. pages that I get. HAL does not have an IT department that he can talk to but he will bring the issue up a HAL meeting he will be attending on Thursday. The more of us complaining the better chances are that the issues can be fixed.

I have cruised around Iceland six times in July and August. Yes, it can be windy in Iceland but very seldom are the cruise ships unable to get into the ports. Last August was the only time I have seen a cancelled port when Grundarfjordur was too rough to safely maneuver the tenders. There may be times when the smaller ferries are cancelled due to high seas but cruise ships are usually able to get to the Iceland ports. If you want to see Iceland, don't let the recent Princess cruise cancellations scare you - it was a bad storm that can happen anywhere in the world. The same system is supposed to hit the coast of Europe and may cause port cancellations there as well.

Thank you! I will call them.

I had to cancel four consecutive cruises and received four FCC's. I have applied three of them to two 2023 previously booked cruises. There are still balances left on those two cruises but I cannot (supposedly) split the one remaining FCC between those two cruises. I was told I must use the remaining FCC toward a cruise departing by May 12, 2024. I cannot apply the FCC to two cruises I already have booked which depart after May 12, 2024. I do not think I can use the FCC. Must I forfeit the $870.30 or can I give it to my brother as a gift/transfer for his spring 2024 cruise?

That is better much for me. Thank you. You provide us with lots of helpful information so I try to read all your posts but I did have trouble with the green.

Ruth, FYI I find your green ink hard to read. If you change it to black, you should decrease the font size a little.

Small cans only - flip top not screw top

There is a special 28-day Alaska cruise departing on June 9, 2024. It was announced a couple of months ago so the early booking bonus may expire sooner than the other Alaska cruises which have been recently published.