Current Verandah sale

[eng58]

Does anyone know how it works, I read you have to book an ocean view and get a free upgrade to a verandah room. What type of ocean view do you have to book and do they give you a specific room or just a verandah guarantee. We currenly have inside J booked, but thought it might be worth upgrading?

 

thanks, Lori

[turx53]

We booked a Deluxe Verandah Ocean View ten days ago on the Eurodam leaving Ft. Lauderdale 11/6 (booked thru HAL) and received an email yesterday from HAL offering us an upgrade to a Superior Verandah Suite for $99pp which we took. Last night, my husband happened to be speaking with an acquaintance who is a travel agent and she said she could have gotten us a free upgrade and $25 onboard credit. We booked this trip so quickly we hadn't even considered calling her in the first place. At any rate, I think we did okay.

[m steve]

on your reservations. Deluxe Veranda is a bigger, more expensive cabin than the Superior. Better check with HAL that you are not just getting a Veranda suite and not a deluxe or superior. You may want to go first to their web site to see the difference in size and price.

[maxout]

on your reservations. Deluxe Veranda is a bigger, more expensive cabin than the Superior. Better check with HAL that you are not just getting a Veranda suite and not a deluxe or superior. You may want to go first to their web site to see the difference in size and price.

 

The mix-up is HAL, they call Verandahs (on the website) Deluxe Verandah Ocean-view Staterooms :rolleyes:

 

Deluxe Veranda Suites are the larger stateroom.

[Randyk47]

on your reservations. Deluxe Veranda is a bigger, more expensive cabin than the Superior. Better check with HAL that you are not just getting a Veranda suite and not a deluxe or superior. You may want to go first to their web site to see the difference in size and price.

 

Actually a Deluxe Veranda Ocean-view is lower than a Superior Veranda Suite. The confusion is possibly the naming of the Deluxe Veranda Suite, which is higher than the Superior, versus the Deluxe Veranda Ocean-view Stateroom.

[turx53]

I thought that was weird, too. The SUPERIOR Suite that we upgraded to for $99pp from a Deluxe Verandah Ocean View is not as big as the DELUXE Suite. Don't get me wrong. It's gorgeous. But the wording is very confusing. Deluxe/Superior..........Go figure. Superior should be SUPERIOR - the best. Deluxe - not as superior.

 

I'm so confused! Went from Deluxe to Superior but Superior is less than Deluxe.........suite-wise...........aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

[Randyk47]

I thought that was weird, too. The SUPERIOR Suite that we upgraded to for $99pp from a Deluxe Verandah Ocean View is not as big as the DELUXE Suite. Don't get me wrong. It's gorgeous. But the wording is very confusing. Deluxe/Superior..........Go figure. Superior should be SUPERIOR - the best. Deluxe - not as superior.

 

I'm so confused! Went from Deluxe to Superior but Superior is less than Deluxe.........suite-wise...........aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

 

That's been an issue since the first Vista that came out with the Superior Suites. It's kind of settled down but crops up every once in awhile, especially in connection with Neptune Lounge access which the Superior Suite passenger doesn't get.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

HAL is having a sale for Balcony cabins even if the sailing is for Spring 2011 but be careful. These cabins are being sold under a Flash promotion for a VH category, many of which are for Guarantee only. While cruises may be 5 to 6 months out these Flash fares are totally nonrefundable and even though normal final may not be due till January or February these need to be Paid in FULL NOW.

[Tinknock50]

I thought that was weird, too. The SUPERIOR Suite that we upgraded to for $99pp from a Deluxe Verandah Ocean View is not as big as the DELUXE Suite. Don't get me wrong. It's gorgeous. But the wording is very confusing. Deluxe/Superior..........Go figure. Superior should be SUPERIOR - the best. Deluxe - not as superior.

 

I'm so confused! Went from Deluxe to Superior but Superior is less than Deluxe.........suite-wise...........aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

 

Yah did good! Hope I get that deal on my September 17th cruise.:D

[OVgirl]

HAL is having a sale for Balcony cabins even if the sailing is for Spring 2011 but be careful. These cabins are being sold under a Flash promotion for a VH category, many of which are for Guarantee only. While cruises may be 5 to 6 months out these Flash fares are totally nonrefundable and even though normal final may not be due till January or February these need to be Paid in FULL NOW.

 

Lisa, are you covered for canceling and a refund if you buy the HAL Plat. Canc. Insurance?

[slabeaume]

We booked a Deluxe Verandah Ocean View ten days ago on the Eurodam leaving Ft. Lauderdale 11/6 (booked thru HAL) and received an email yesterday from HAL offering us an upgrade to a Superior Verandah Suite for $99pp which we took. Last night, my husband happened to be speaking with an acquaintance who is a travel agent and she said she could have gotten us a free upgrade and $25 onboard credit. We booked this trip so quickly we hadn't even considered calling her in the first place. At any rate, I think we did okay.

 

Wow, quite a deal. We're on that cruise, too, and tried to upgrade from our balcony room to the suite for $200/person a couple weeks ago and they said that price was for new bookings only.

[Vince1980]

Would it be worth it for me to contact my TA for this, as I´m currently paying about 250 dollars more for my VE cabin than with this free upgrade?

 

I never got any perks such as free OBC or bottles of wine because I didn´t ask for that before, just paid the full price. I wasn´t aware that these perks are common for TA to distinguish themselves as they can not move from the official price.

 

I booked 2 months ago and in 2 days I´ll be paying the final installment, do you think this will create some leverage for my TA to do something for me?

 

Thanks,

Vincent

[CtheW0rld]

Would it be worth it for me to contact my TA for this, as I´m currently paying about 250 dollars more for my VE cabin than with this free upgrade?

 

 

i would certainly call.

[Jade13]

HAL is having a sale for Balcony cabins even if the sailing is for Spring 2011 but be careful. These cabins are being sold under a Flash promotion for a VH category, many of which are for Guarantee only. While cruises may be 5 to 6 months out these Flash fares are totally nonrefundable and even though normal final may not be due till January or February these need to be Paid in FULL NOW.

 

I have never heard of that. Is this something new with a non-refundable fare?

[Jade13]

Lisa, are you covered for canceling and a refund if you buy the HAL Plat. Canc. Insurance?

 

They would have to. But, you would not get your insurance cost back.

 

I just went through this with Celebrity where one of their fares went down by 50% 3 or 4 days after we booked and paid in full (missing their new 48 hour deadline for an adjustment). Their policy is only 75% back in a Cruise credit. However, I could not be sure how soon I could get the credit or whether we want to go back on Celebrity.

 

HAL is much easier because you get the refund back on your credit card. With Berkley (for Celebrity) they said it was not insurance fraud and I could with a new booking number re-purchase their insurance along with the same cruise.

 

I don't know if this helps.

[Tinknock50]

Would it be worth it for me to contact my TA for this, as I´m currently paying about 250 dollars more for my VE cabin than with this free upgrade?

 

I never got any perks such as free OBC or bottles of wine because I didn´t ask for that before, just paid the full price. I wasn´t aware that these perks are common for TA to distinguish themselves as they can not move from the official price.

 

I booked 2 months ago and in 2 days I´ll be paying the final installment, do you think this will create some leverage for my TA to do something for me?

 

Thanks,

Vincent

 

Hi Vince,

Could you clarify with me what is meant by an "offficial" price? Are you saying the price went down but your TA won't try for the lower fare?

[Vince1980]

Hi Vince,

Could you clarify with me what is meant by an "offficial" price? Are you saying the price went down but your TA won't try for the lower fare?

 

Hi Tinknock,

 

I paid the published price 2 months ago for a VE cabin, this was the same prince as on the HAL website. However, now I was wondering if it would be possible to try and obtain the discount price (I believe only valid for this week) even though I booked already.

 

The conditions on the HAL site say it´s for new bookings only though but I guess I could try and maybe get some OBC out of this?

 

Also I wonder to what type of cabin the upgrade is valid for, I believe it´s a VH, but I might be wrong. Is a VE (my current booking) better than a VH?

 

Thanks,

Vincent

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have never heard of that. Is this something new with a non-refundable fare?

The Flash Non Refundable Rates are not new, they have been doing these for a few years now but far more frequently in the past 24 months but this is the first time they have ever offered these Flash Rates that are non refundable before Final Payment date or before 75 days before sailing. Some of these Flash Rates are out there for April. Personally I would not want to purchase a Guarantee cabin needing to make final 6 months in advance. Also these are not only non refundable they are also non changeable meaning that if you wanted to move to another category you can NOT. You are literally stuck at this category at what cabin they give you. I had clients a few months ago that purchased a VF Guarantee in a Flash promo and wanted to pay a lot more to go to an SS and they were refused unless they just walked from what they paid and rebooked. They stayed where they were.

[Been There, Planning That]

I'm confused and have checked on the HAL site and still remain in the dark.

 

We've booked a window cabin in steerage for a Jan. 16th two week sailing thru' our TA. We've NEVER had a balcony on any line.

 

Before I call our agent, would someone, perhaps expert Laffnvegas, explain exactly what options I should investigate?

 

Could we possibly be assigned a worse cabin than our lowest deck centre of ship cabin?

 

Just the thought of a balcony has my heart fluttering.

 

Thanks in advance to any expert out there offering advice.

[HALGirl]

I'm confused and have checked on the HAL site and still remain in the dark.

 

We've booked a window cabin in steerage for a Jan. 16th two week sailing thru' our TA. We've NEVER had a balcony on any line.

 

Before I call our agent, would someone, perhaps expert Laffnvegas, explain exactly what options I should investigate?

 

Could we possibly be assigned a worse cabin than our lowest deck centre of ship cabin?

 

Just the thought of a balcony has my heart fluttering.

 

Thanks in advance to any expert out there offering advice.

 

Sometimes your TA can get you an upgrade but depends on what category you book. Where are you cruising to? Outside cabins lowest deck and center is hardly what anyone would call "worst Cabin" or "Steerage". If I book an outside cabin I usually want lowest deck center. Trust me, if there is rough seas you will be happy you are on a low deck.

[Been There, Planning That]

Does anyone know how it works, I read you have to book an ocean view and get a free upgrade to a verandah room. What type of ocean view do you have to book and do they give you a specific room or just a verandah guarantee. We currenly have inside J booked, but thought it might be worth upgrading?

 

HAL Girl, we've only ever had windows or in one case an inside cabin, because of cost. From your response I must have misread the earlier postings on this thread which I attempted to paste above. The jump in price from our cabin to even the least expensive balcony is considerable.

 

And yes, HAL Girl, on a Celebrity cruise around the Horn we were happy in our lowly cabin when we encountered 17' waves and a couple of days of rough seas. We missed neither a meal nor a minute's sleep.

 

We're on a b2b out of Tampa in an attempt to escape a bit of winter.

 

We're content with our cabin status; it just seems that most posting travel in balconeys.

[OVgirl]

The veranda sale prices will show up on the HAL website if you try and put throught a dummy booking.

 

On our cruise (jan30) we had booked a J cabin on main deck (huge cabin!) and I called HAL about the price for a veranda guarantee.

The price was only $70pp more and we increased our OBC (from future cruise deposit) by $25pp.

 

I know that we will be giving up a very large piece of real estate for a veranda, but for us it was worth the price.

We did have to have our original booking cancelled and rebook with a new booking number. All excursions and extras that we had purchase (including Cabana Club) we also lost when we cancelled the original booking.

I first had to purchase an upgrade to the VH Veranda at the normal price. That left our booking number the same.

The following day (Monday) I had to call back and ask for the lower price. At that time the agent contacted Ship Services and had our Retreat Cabana transferred to the new booking number and we were given the Sale price.

 

I had bought Tamarind Res., Clamshells and Soda card online. These were immediately lost along with the old booking number and I just went online and reordered under our new booking number.

I know that the cabin will be smaller and that we could get a solid metal railing but we are still good to go.

Enjoy you cruise whatever you decide to do.

[Been There, Planning That]

OVgirl, and neighbour (we're in Kanata) I put thru' a trial booking and no balcony deals popped up or were offered. We're in an E cabin on the Ryndam and when I opted for a balcony -- no deals.

 

I think what I'll do is cut and paste the key info from your posting and mail it off to our TA.

 

This is the least expensive trip she's ever booked for us and has done more changing and work. (We started inside and when prices fell opted to move up to a window rather than reduce the price.) But that's why we use our TA in BC on the other side of the country; she offers service.

[Been There, Planning That]

And yes, those capital letters mean I'm shouting! For about $200 we have a balcony guarantee.

 

I must admit I'm worried about tasting the good life. Will I be happy settling back 'where our budget rightly places us?'

 

I really appreciate all the advice and knowledge shared Cruise Critic.

[Tinknock50]

The veranda sale prices will show up on the HAL website if you try and put throught a dummy booking.

 

On our cruise (jan30) we had booked a J cabin on main deck (huge cabin!) and I called HAL about the price for a veranda guarantee.

The price was only $70pp more and we increased our OBC (from future cruise deposit) by $25pp.

 

I know that we will be giving up a very large piece of real estate for a veranda, but for us it was worth the price.

We did have to have our original booking cancelled and rebook with a new booking number. All excursions and extras that we had purchase (including Cabana Club) we also lost when we cancelled the original booking.

I first had to purchase an upgrade to the VH Veranda at the normal price. That left our booking number the same.

The following day (Monday) I had to call back and ask for the lower price. At that time the agent contacted Ship Services and had our Retreat Cabana transferred to the new booking number and we were given the Sale price.

 

I had bought Tamarind Res., Clamshells and Soda card online. These were immediately lost along with the old booking number and I just went online and reordered under our new booking number.

I know that the cabin will be smaller and that we could get a solid metal railing but we are still good to go.

Enjoy you cruise whatever you decide to do.

 

Congrats! Enjoy!