kelleherdl Posted April 23, 2014 #1 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I have a large party for a cruise on the Noordam over Easter next year. To comparison shop I have looked at various online agencies, including big-box superstore and airline sites. To my surprise the March 30 2015 cruise does not show up on all the sites. Does HAL only release certain cruises to certain agencies? And does that change as it gets closer to the cruise. It really does not make much difference to me as I book through our PCC. (I now, I know I am paying too much for multiple bookings) I just found it interesting. Also if others do choose to join us, with them paying, it would be nice to let them know that may get a better deal than from HAL directly. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandj Posted April 23, 2014 #2 Share Posted April 23, 2014 (edited) The big TA's get blocks of rooms. If you don't see a certain itinerary offered it could be they have sold their allotment out or weren't given any rooms to sell. I'd however call the agency for a quote. Sometimes they can release some rooms they have on hold. However if you ARE looking for a large group of rooms you might have a little more trouble. Edited April 23, 2014 by eandj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare POA1 Posted April 23, 2014 #3 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Depending on the number of cabins you're reserving, you might qualify for some group perks from HAL. More info here: http://qa.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Simple.action?requestPage=Groups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted April 23, 2014 #4 Share Posted April 23, 2014 (edited) We booked a cruise a few years ago thru our on line TA. She gave us the usual discounts in the form of OBC's but then added an extra $100. because we were 'part of a group'. The group was listed on our paperwork. Turned out to be a block of rooms purchased for the group but some were left unsold. We never did see any mention of the group while on board. On our Christmas cruise, we ended up with an OBC plus a complementary tour/lunch in Barbados. Same deal. No idea what the group was supposed to be. We enjoyed the tour very much. We only found out about this independent tour after embarkation. Edited April 23, 2014 by iancal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjw869 Posted April 23, 2014 #5 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I have a large party for a cruise on the Noordam over Easter next year. To comparison shop I have looked at various online agencies, including big-box superstore and airline sites. To my surprise the March 30 2015 cruise does not show up on all the sites. Does HAL only release certain cruises to certain agencies? And does that change as it gets closer to the cruise. It really does not make much difference to me as I book through our PCC. (I now, I know I am paying too much for multiple bookings) I just found it interesting. Also if others do choose to join us, with them paying, it would be nice to let them know that may get a better deal than from HAL directly. Dennis Our online agency shows the 11-day cruise listed giving OBC from $125-475, and double the amounts for the 21-day cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipity1499 Posted April 23, 2014 #6 Share Posted April 23, 2014 (edited) I have a large party for a cruise on the Noordam over Easter next year. To comparison shop I have looked at various online agencies, including big-box superstore and airline sites. To my surprise the March 30 2015 cruise does not show up on all the sites. Does HAL only release certain cruises to certain agencies? And does that change as it gets closer to the cruise. It really does not make much difference to me as I book through our PCC. (I now, I know I am paying too much for multiple bookings) I just found it interesting. Also if others do choose to join us, with them paying, it would be nice to let them know that may get a better deal than from HAL directly. Dennis I believe that Hal & their TA's probably follow the same procedure which we had in the Airline Industry.. Large TA's & Consortiums are the ones which request group space from the providers such as HAL.. If a small Agt is in a consortium of TA's & the consortium believes they can sell "X" number of cabins on a particular cruise & date they contact HAL for their group space.. When TA's & Consortiums contacted us for group space we blocked it on a first come first saved basis.. Obviously one ship can't be listed on all sights, as then it could result in an over sold ship.. In addition we had many groups booked by small Agents which did not belong to an affiliated consortium.. Our blocked space was booked 12 to 18 months in advance.. We also gave the TA's a certain amount of time to sell their blocked space, or it was cancelled.. As it was, we usually oversold our flights by a certain percentage depending on the date of departure as we knew their would be cancellations.. Betty P.S. Our TA belongs to a consortium & even though the cruise may not be listed on his WEB site he can always get us a good price on any cruise.. Suggest you telephone some of the Agents & don't assume that they can't give your group a good fare.. Edited April 23, 2014 by serendipity1499 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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