Booked a HAL cruise and two weeks later the price dropped!!!

:(:confused::eek: Not the best way to start your holiday....

We have booked a cruise through a travel agent and guess what: about two weeks later the prices dropped. Called the TA and they called HAL. To make a long story short: you are within the 90 days before departure and we can't do anything for you. At the time of calling the TA there were 76 days before departure. For the two of us the damage is $740 in total. So when you cannot change your booking, HAL drops their prices. Just beware when you book your cruise....

We will enjoy the cruise anyway!!!

I’ve been noticing recently that last minute bookings can be amazing bargains. Of course there are some risks. The cruise could sell out or you end up in an undesirable stateroom.

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Your TA could have pushed for a perk, like an upgraded room or little bit of OBC. Did they even try? Or, for that matter, did the really call?

Price drops often happen after final payment. HAL needs to sell the remaining cabins and they wait until booked passengers are past the point of making changes. Sometimes you can negotiate some OBC or a small upgrade.

I seem to have a knack for choosing popular cruises because I've rarely seen a price drop below what I paid (when I factor in perks like free grats or OBC), and I tend to book early.

Would you pay more if the fare went up after you booked? I have an airfare to Munich that has gone up more than 25% since I booked it. Should I cancel and re-book at the higher fare?

It's common practice for cruise companies to drop prices after final payment if they have an excess of cabins left to sell. It's also common practice for cruise companies to not allow price matching after final payment. That's just the way it is. According to the information you supplied, you booked on final payment day. If you wanted to get a last minute deal then you should have waited to see if the price would drop before booking. Also, there are no damages of $740. HAL offered to sell you a cruise for a specific amount and you accepted. End of story.

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When you make the final payment you are not just buying the cruise, you are buying it at a price you are happy with at the time, and you are (presumably) getting the accommodations you want. All of these things are values you receive. Those certainties are values you receive, and it is a good idea to keep those things in mind.

What other people get, and pay, does not have any real impact on you. Unless you would be willing to pay more should prices have gone the other way, there is no logical reason to feel entitled to a rebate if prices go down.

I wonder if the recent stock market correction has anything to do with the ship's having to fill cabins?

At any rate, as others have stated, you got what you signed up for two weeks ago and you knew you were within the cancellation restriction deadline, so HAL really does not have to do anything for you.

To straiten things out. Final payment is yet to come! Final payment is 60 days before departure. So the whole issue occurred at 76 days before departure. No changes are allowed within 90 days for departure.

Last month on the Eurodam, I was standing at Guest Services when a couple was talking to one of the employees. They said "We just talked to the people in the cabin next to us and we find it very DISTURBING that they paid $300 less than we did!". Disturbing!

I just had to feel sorry for the young woman who was dealing with them. I just walked away shaking my head.

To straiten things out. Final payment is yet to come! Final payment is 60 days before departure. So the whole issue occurred at 76 days before departure. No changes are allowed within 90 days for departure.

Maybe I’m missing something. What’s to prevent you from canceling and rebooked?

This is a basic example of supply and demand. Cruise lines, airlines, hotels, etc. many times offer last minute discounts when they haven’t sold out.

If you have a flexible schedule, and live reasonably close to a departure port, you can get some great deals. Most people need to plan ahead for time off work, reserving flights at a reasonable rate etc. The price for ensuring that you get the time that works for you is sometimes paying a higher price than those that are flexible and book closer to the sailing date.

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When you bought the cruise, you must have thought it worth the price you are paying fr you would not have booked it. Unless the itineary, date or your cabin has changed, why is it no longer worth the amount you agreed to?

Maybe I’m missing something. What’s to prevent you from canceling and rebooked?

A guess: losing their deposit?

Would you pay more if the fare went up after you booked? I have an airfare to Munich that has gone up more than 25% since I booked it. Should I cancel and re-book at the higher fare?

There have been times HAL price went up a fter we booked, however, they never tried to charge us more.

To straiten things out. Final payment is yet to come! Final payment is 60 days before departure. So the whole issue occurred at 76 days before departure. No changes are allowed within 90 days for departure.

sounds like this may be a travel agent 'terms and conditions' situation. Check their fine print.

I have a tendency to book cruises within the 90 days.

There has been one itinerary I have been trying to get on for 3 years and the price goes up after final payment.

I really want to due this cruise so I bit the bullet. Booked an inside cabin at a fair price. I am hoping to upsell along the way but if I can’t that is ok. I got a great pick of cabins compared to when I book under the 90 days.

Usually when we book under 90 days we go with guarantee unless there is something that is a great bargain.

There are pros and cons to booking early and booking late.

To straiten things out. Final payment is yet to come! Final payment is 60 days before departure. So the whole issue occurred at 76 days before departure. No changes are allowed within 90 days for departure.

Is this a new policy, I thought final payment is due by 75 days, at least it has been in all the cruises we have taken with Hal? Cancellation any time by a penalty will be charged. We have only tried to make changes within the 75 days, so I don't know about the no changes after 90 days.

Is this a new policy, I thought final payment is due by 75 days, at least it has been in all the cruises we have taken with Hal? .

This has been our understanding as well...however, our TA takes payment at 85 days so there is no issue.

And the problem is?????

If one books a cruise at a price that they like, why is it a problem if the price later changes (either up or down)?

HAL is not going to come back and demand more money if the prices go up. Hal also doesn't owe you any money ( OBC, upgrades) if the price goes down.

:(:confused::eek: Not the best way to start your holiday....

We have booked a cruise through a travel agent and guess what: about two weeks later the prices dropped. Called the TA and they called HAL. To make a long story short: you are within the 90 days before departure and we can't do anything for you. At the time of calling the TA there were 76 days before departure. For the two of us the damage is $740 in total. So when you cannot change your booking, HAL drops their prices. Just beware when you book your cruise....

We will enjoy the cruise anyway!!!

The $740 isn't "damage". It is an insurance of a peace of mind (at the time you made the booking) that your cruise vacation, your specific cabin and your price were all secured, regardless of how well/poor HAL is selling that cruise thereafter.

There have been times HAL price went up a fter we booked, however, they never tried to charge us more.

You missed the point. I was being facetious.

Nothing to be wary of - you obviously didn't have any issues with booking when you did at the price you paid and this is normal practice in the industry.

There is no way to know if and when prices may go down. Chances are, these are going to be rooms that you wouldn not have initally considered to begin with......

The $740 isn't "damage". It is an insurance of a peace of mind (at the time you made the booking) that your cruise vacation, your specific cabin and your price were all secured, regardless of how well/poor HAL is selling that cruise thereafter.

Of course, since OP referred to the $740 price differential as "damage", I wonder if he would be consistent and think of himself as being unjustly enriched if later bookers paid $740 more than he did.

After all, the flip side of "damage" in a financial sense is "unjust enrichment".

Is this a new policy, I thought final payment is due by 75 days, at least it has been in all the cruises we have taken with Hal? Cancellation any time by a penalty will be charged. We have only tried to make changes within the 75 days, so I don't know about the no changes after 90 days.

Final payment is usually 75 days, but on some cruises cancellation begins 90 days out. Usually cruises of 30 days and more. Prinsendam 30 day cruises and our Hawaii Tahiti & Marquesas was another.

A sharp roll call member caught it on the latter and warned people (for trip insurance purposes) that cancellation started in December if they wanted HAL's insurance or any other that had the requirement of "no penalties". Our final payment was a month later IIRC in January.