Ouch

[cporses]

Booked on Venetian Adventure (Noordam) in September for 2 adults. Want to do 3 days in Rome prior to departure. T/A obtained a quote from HAL for hotel and transfers.

HAL's price is $AU500 more than booking it myself on the net. What benefit would I be getting for this extra money? I understand booking charges, but $AU500! What pitfalls should I be aware of if I book myself?

 

Cheers

 

 

 

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[Bescotti]

Booked on Venetian Adventure (Noordam) in September for 2 adults. Want to do 3 days in Rome prior to departure. T/A obtained a quote from HAL for hotel and transfers.

HAL's price is $AU500 more than booking it myself on the net. What benefit would I be getting for this extra money? I understand booking charges, but $AU500! What pitfalls should I be aware of if I book myself?

 

Cheers

 

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I'm on the Noordam in late September departing from Rome. I also got a quote from HAL Australia but their hotel wasn't in a central location, ie have to take public transport to get to the main sites, so I have made my own arrangements at a lot less money. I have been to Rome before though so know where I want to stay.

 

Some people are happy to pay extra for the convenience of not having to get themselves to and from the airport/hotel/port but I would rather have the extra money in my wallet.

 

There is plenty of advice on transfers and hotels on CC's Mediterranean Ports of Call board so if you use some of the highly recommended providers there hopefully you shouldn't come across any pitfalls.

[cporses]

Yep, understand that. I will contact the hotel, the Londra & Cargill tomorrow and look at booking direct. I think they offer transfers at E50 per car. I am subscribed to the Ports of Call and looking at advice from previous travellers. All my previous cruising has been on the Grey Funnel line. (R.A.N.). No need for hotels or transfers with that lot.

Thanks

 

 

 

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[Aussiepair]

You will save heaps booking yourself. Tripadvisor is a great site to get info on accommodation and transport.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/

[cporses]

Thanks for the link....the more the merrier.

 

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Have you also joined your Roll Call to see what others are doing?

[kazu]

We always do our own hotels and private transfers. As long as you make sure all your arrangements are done, we find it can actually be easier than doing a HAL transfer as we are not waiting for people or a bus to be loaded and we can go at a time that suits us.

 

That's a great city as a pre cruise. transfer to the port is around 140 euros or more last time I looked. You may well find another couple to share it with on your roll call. Even with a private transfer on your own it is cheaper to do your own hotel and transfer than use HAL IMO.

 

If your hotel offers transfers, check out the price and then try another company - several good ones recommended on the ports of call board.

 

I have found that there is usually a higher cost if the hotel arranges it - not always the case but can be. Just arrange the transfer before you get there:D

 

[Randyk47]

We always do our own hotels and private transfers. As long as you make sure all your arrangements are done, we find it can actually be easier than doing a HAL transfer as we are not waiting for people or a bus to be loaded and we can go at a time that suits us.

 

That's a great city as a pre cruise. transfer to the port is around 140 euros or more last time I looked. You may well find another couple to share it with on your roll call. Even with a private transfer on your own it is cheaper to do your own hotel and transfer than use HAL IMO.

 

If your hotel offers transfers, check out the price and then try another company - several good ones recommended on the ports of call board.

 

I have found that there is usually a higher cost if the hotel arranges it - not always the case but can be. Just arrange the transfer before you get there:D

 

 

We are of like mind on this. While I can't say I've never or would never let a cruise line arrange my pre and post cruise hotels or transfers I've found I can typically do much better myself. Yes, it takes some research and time but I actually find that to be fun. In familiar port cities like Ft Lauderdale it's become a "no-brainer", been there done that again and again. Now we've changed our focus to more distant ports, like our upcoming Med cruise, it makes me look hotel locations, distance to and from airports, flight schedules, transfer options, relative costs of all of the above, etc. Luckily there are some great resources on the Internet, like Cruise Critic, that help make at least somewhat educated decisions.

[sail7seas]

Rome is a city we consider location of our hotel to be really important. You can waste so much time and energy getting from one side of the city to the other it is so worth it to book your own hotel in a location that suits you. We have used HAL's hotels in the past on one or two occassions but we were satisfied in advance of the hotel, the location and what was included in the price. Almost always we do our own air, hotels and transfers.

 

[cporses]

Thanks for all the advice. We have looked around the major travel sites, and have decided HAL's inclusive package will suit us. Coming from the other side of the world, we want the least hassle with transfers, stop-overs etc. Added to that, HAL, arranges our transfer from the port to the airport on return. It will be their responsibility to get us to the airport on time to connect with the flight they have booked for us back to Oz.

Using HAL for all our travel, we might just earn ourselves an upgrade if any become available closer to the cruise. Of course, there is the benefit of only having to pay one account, in one currency, at one time.

If it costs a bit more, then so be it. We want to enjoy our trip and not be worried about any possible hiccups.

 

 

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[LaCat3]

Last fall, I independently booked myself pre-cruise into the Londra (not knowing it was a HAL hotel as HAL said their hotels were all booked). I pre-booked a HAL transfer from to cruiseport (about 45 minutes on a Sunmday am).HAL had me going to a certain hotel on my own dime, but luckily the local HAL rep was at the Londra the day before. When she found out, she just switched me to leave from the Londra. The Lomndra is a bit away from the most touristy areas but I found the taxi fares to be no problem.

This was my first trip to Europe as a solo - the Londra took good care of me!

Trip Advisor has never steered me wrong. Check out their recommemdations.

ENJOY!!!

[cporses]

Another good post. We are happy with the location of the Londra, and we will have 3 days to get around.

Cheers

 

 

 

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[GeorgesGal]

There is always the train from Rome to port at a fraction of the price, with a short taxi from the station to the ship. My sister and I have done this a couple of times both in Italy and in England, as well as between the two countries pre and post cruises! And as they say, we ain't no spring chickens (but we are in good enough shape). Just don't have more than one suitcase if planning on these connections. There are no porters to help with stowing our luggage on-board.

[cporses]

Thanks all. I read about taking the train.....still prefer having all transfers are pre arranged. Will certainly be using trains and buses during our 3 day sojourn in Rome. Mixing with the locals in any way in any foreign city is a must do. Meeting the locals is one thing you can't do electronically.

 

 

 

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