HAL transfers

[uppitycats]

When I booked my cruise I declined HAL transfers; now I'm having second thoughts. We booked our own hotel in the port city, and will be booking our own airline flights, and coming in a day early, so perhaps I couldn't use them anyway..

 

but would they be available? I'd love to be met at the airport, have our main luggage whisked away so we don't have to bother with it...and then the reverse when we get off the ship at the end of the cruise. Is this how it would work?

[CruiserBruce]

Are you referring to your upcoming Alaska cruise in your signature? What city are we talking about? Occaisionally, transfers are only available day of sailing, not available the day before.

 

Rarely is the cruise line transfers and hotel a good deal cost wise. But, yes, the plan would be for them to meet you, take you and your bags to cruise line hotel, tell you a meeting time in the morning, then take your bags again and get you to the ship. If you are coming in a day early they don't keep your bags until you get on the ship.

[sapper1]

We have used HAL's airport pickup two nights early on a few occasions. You have to be staying at a HAL provided hotel to use the airport to hotel to ship transfer. You can book ship to airport as a stand alone transfer.

 

Twice we were the only ones arriving at the airport at that time and were put in a taxi by

the HAL rep who met us.

[Randyk47]

When I booked my cruise I declined HAL transfers; now I'm having second thoughts. We booked our own hotel in the port city, and will be booking our own airline flights, and coming in a day early, so perhaps I couldn't use them anyway..

 

but would they be available? I'd love to be met at the airport, have our main luggage whisked away so we don't have to bother with it...and then the reverse when we get off the ship at the end of the cruise. Is this how it would work?

 

If you've booked your own hotel and it's not a HAL hotel I'm not sure you can get a HAL transfer from the airport to that hotel. Having said that it's not exactly like HAL just whisks your luggage away even with a HAL transfer. You still have to claim it and get to the HAL rep who will get it loaded on the bus, or whatever transportation HAL is using, to take it to the hotel. Once at the hotel you get your luggage back for the night and then turn it back over to HAL for them to get it to the terminal in the morning. To me that's not a whole lot different than using a taxi which typically is a whole lot cheaper. At the end of the cruise it's a bit easier and you have at least two or three options. One would be to use a HAL transfer and they'll more or less handle your luggage but you still have to claim it in the cruise terminal, get through Customs with it, and then get a porter to take it to the appropriate bus. Second would be the luggage service, I think called Luggage Direct or something like that, where you'd pay for the service on the ship and HAL would turn it over to the service once you docked. Next time you'd see it would be when you arrived at your home airport. Of course the third is just taking care of your transportation and luggage yourself which is probably the least expensive alternative. With all that in mind I have to say we rarely use HAL transfers and have never used the luggage service at the end of the cruise. Part of it is that we're not too excited about waiting around for a bus load of people and would much rather be in control of our own transportation. The other part, particularly at the end of the cruise, is we have advanced frequent flier status and that gives us priority handling on our luggage and not airline bag fees. Not sure we'd be able to arrange that with the luggage service. Might add that we kind of like knowing exactly where our bags are and while there are no absolutes we feel a lot better handling, with a porter's assistance, our own bags to the point we turn them over to the airline.

[CANDYAPPLE]

We were recently on the Westerdam out of San Diego. Arranged our own airfare, but booked HAL's hotel/transfers for one night. We were met at the airport and quickly transported to the hotel. Our bags were delivered to our hotel room as we checked in. The next morning, our bags were picked up from inside our room at 8:30 A.M. and we next saw them when they were delivered to our cabin, very shortly after we embarked. No fuss, no muss.

The previous cruise to ours was late disembarking (started at 10:00 A.M.) Our luggage went on ahead of us, as we were transported to the ship at 12:40. There was a huge lineup of passengers standing in the hot sun with their luggage waiting to board. Some had been there since 11:00 A.M. or so. Our bus went through the line and right up to the door. We were the first group to board the ship with no line ups or waiting and not having to bother about our luggage. There were over 300 passengers who used HAL's hotel option. Paying for HAL's transfer/hotel package was well worth the cost and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

 

Cheers CANDYAPPLE

[uppitycats]

Sounds like my arrive in the port (Seattle) won't work with the HAL transfer service: I'm sure we're not at a HAL-approved hotel. :)

 

Can I book the Luggage Direct service once on board, to handle our luggage upon disembarking, then?

 

I'm in a wheelchair, so anything I can do to get the luggage handled by someone other than my 71 year old husband and me is worth the cost!

[Randyk47]

Yes, you book Luggage Direct once on the ship. You should get some kind of notice or flier in your cabin. If not then check with the front desk. Here's the information from the HAL website:

 

Luggage Direct

Luggage Direct offers you the opportunity to receive your airline boarding passes, and check your luggage in to your flight while still onboard your Holland America Line ship. Our TSA certified partners will take your luggage directly from the ship and deliver it to your outbound aircraft. You will then claim your luggage when you arrive at your final airport destination.

This disembarkation option allows you to enjoy your final hours in the port at your leisure. Imagine your options: 1) enjoy the sights of the city or 2) stand in a never-ending line at the airport--the choice is yours with Luggage Direct.

Luggage Direct is available in selected departure ports and for selected ships, detailed below. Once onboard, a letter explaining the eligibility requirements will be sent to you.

Holland America Line is offering Luggage Direct in:

 

• Fort Lauderdale
  
• Los Angeles
  
• Seattle
  
• San Diego
  
• Vancouver (on select dates only)
  
• Tampa
  

On the following thirteen (13) vessels only:

 

• 
  
• ms Amsterdam
  
• ms Eurodam
  
• ms Oosterdam
  
• ms Maasdam
  
• ms Noordam
  
• ms Ryndam
  
• ms Rotterdam
  
• ms Statendam
  
• ms Veendam
  
• ms Volendam
  
• ms Westerdam
  
• ms Zaandam
  
• ms Zuiderdam
  

Please note the following general information about Luggage Direct:

 

• Cost is $19 per person at all ports
  
• Airline assessed baggage fees will be applied to guests' onboard account - fees vary by airline and all pricing is communicated directly from the airline to our partner company, BAGS, Inc. These fees are collected onboard and are then distributed to the airlines.
  
• Guests are able to check no more than 2 pieces of luggage per person.
  
• Upgrade Requests, Seat Assignment Requests, and Flight Changes cannot be accommodated onboard.
  
• There are restrictions established for each homeport city.
  
• Restrictions include: participating airlines, earliest and latest flight times, and citizenship requirements.
  
• All flights must be Domestic (inclusive of U.S. Territories).
  
• In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada all flights must be bound for the U.S.
  

Those guests not participating in Luggage Direct should expect the following: Upon disembarking the ship, all luggage will be organized in the disembarkation hall by color/number order. Once you have been invited to exit the ship please come to find your color/number group and claim your bags. There will be a limited number of porters available, but individual carts will not be available. Please exit the building with all family members and luggage, as re-entry is not permitted.

__________________

[cruz chic]

Sounds like my arrive in the port (Seattle) won't work with the HAL transfer service: I'm sure we're not at a HAL-approved hotel. :)

 

You need to book the hotel thru HAL. It doesn't work if you book it on your own even if HAL has pax at that hotel. For my Feb cruise Hals hotel was cheaper than the one I had booked on my own. I'm sure that you could find cheaper but I like a nice hotel no matter how long I'm in it.

[uppitycats]

Thanks, Randy! I don't know how I missed that on HAL's site. But then, I haven't read every page, yet! :o

[Randyk47]

Thanks, Randy! I don't know how I missed that on HAL's site. But then, I haven't read every page, yet! :o

 

That's why we're all here....to help each other out. I would never pretend to know every little detail about HAL or cruising so Cruise Critic is a great source. :) We're heavy into planning our Med cruise next year and already folks here have come through with great hotel, tour, restaurant, and transfer information for our cruise. We'd probably get through it all alright on our own but the vast experience and knowledge base here makes things so much easier.