Mistake in promotional ad... will it be honoured?

[erewhon]

The reason I gave HAL a chance rather than immediately booking NCL was that HAL cruises roundtrip out of Vancouver (an hour drive for us) and NCL cruises round trip out of Seattle (a two hour drive). I have heard good things about HAL and WANT to try them and give a different type of cruise a chance...

I will wait to hear back from them, and if I don't hear by Monday evening, I will call them. The lady I spoke to prior to booking was so lovely, I was a little shocked by the woman I spoke to on Friday who was argumentative. I'll let them have a chance to rectify the situation in whatever way they deem suitable, and then I will try to go into the cruise and forget about the whole debacle. If they do not even try to rectify the problem, then I will have to seriously consider cancelling.

 

Good luck with having the problem solved.

[kazu]

Well , I am going to chime in here and disagree only from experience.

 

We were going on the Maasdam and all of a sudden the Neptune Suites dropped in price. Rather than hope for an upsell, I was VERY prepared to pay that price. It was very close to an upsell price.

 

Emailed my TA and told her to grab it. She came back that it was website error by HAL but she held them to it and we got it for that price. In a nano second the price was right back up.

 

So, it can happen. You either need a good TA or persistence. Either can work.

 

I hope all goes good for you either way.

[doublebzz]

Well , I am going to chime in here and disagree only from experience.

 

We were going on the Maasdam and all of a sudden the Neptune Suites dropped in price. Rather than hope for an upsell, I was VERY prepared to pay that price. It was very close to an upsell price.

 

Emailed my TA and told her to grab it. She came back that it was website error by HAL but she held them to it and we got it for that price. In a nano second the price was right back up.

 

So, it can happen. You either need a good TA or persistence. Either can work.

 

I hope all goes good for you either way.

 

Similar experience. I had booked a cabin based on the price stated on the web site but then invoiced for $200 more than the printed price. When I called HAL, they revised the invoice to the original price without any discussion. However, OP's case may be a little different in that its not the cabin cost at issue, but the upgrade. Interested in finding out what happens.

[muffin]

Wanderlust, I ppreciate you are upset and discouraged. I hope they do the honourable thing and give it to you. However, before you show your ire by changing to NCL if they do not, please consider the ramifications. Leaving from Vancouver gives you a remarkable evening and next sea day whereas leaving from Seattle puts you out into the open ocean west of Vancouver island where there Is no sceneryat all except water. Also, usually HAL goes into glacier bay which NCL may not visit. The return trip to Seattle is also out in the open sea rather than between the mainland and Vancouver island which is really quite spectacular. If your visitors have not seen this coast before please consider this. You may feel a little vindicated, but at what cost for your memories. Alaska is amazing. Do it up proud. The Seattle run is enjoyable, as all cruising is, but they get drastically short changed on some memorable vistas enroute IMHO.

[Jemima]

The free upgrade always means you book the higher level cabin, not that you book the lower level cabin and are changed to a higher level cabin. At least that's always how it has worked for me. If it is a "free upgrade" from inside to outside, then there will be some outsides that are the same price as some insides. You book one of those outsides, not an inside. Same for "free upgrade" outside to veranda; you book a veranda that is the same price as some of the outsides. Clicking "learn more" will give restrictions including capacity controlled and can be withdrawn or modified at any time etc. I don't book cruises online and would never do so if it involved any special offers or sales or promos. I want to talk to someone. When I call, I've already decide the cabin category and worked out the expected cost. I have the cabin or category (if guarantee), total price and what's included, and dining choice and only then is it booked. I also insist on knowing the booking number before getting off the phone. Just too much can go wrong with booking a cruise online IMO.

[English Voyager]

With the offer of a free upgrade from Inside to Ocean View, surely the key is that the quoted price for Inside and Ocean View will be identical.

 

The fact that the price for Ocean View and Verandah was identical should have raised doubts about the accuracy of either the banner ad or the quoted grades/fares.

 

Either way, one would seek clarification before booking.

 

It seems that it is six of one and half a dozen of the other in terms of apportioning criticism.

Edited January 18, 2015 by English Voyager

[Nghthawke]

Anyways, I would never book a cruise to Alaska, the Carribean or Canada-New England months in advance as all of these usually go down in price. Especially since you do not even need to book airfare. I would just wait and book a last-minute cruise.

[cruisin'girl]

A good TA is worth his/her weight in gold, especially when a problem arises. Booking online is signing a legal contract without a lawyer. I do feel so sorry for you though and am not blaming you for this mess.

[Nlcisme]

We had the same thing happen with an on board credit offer on our recent 14 day holiday collector cruise. I took a screenshot and sent it to my PCR. She fought for us but the powers that be said all offers can be withdrawn at anytime. We did not get the credit.

[summersigh]

Anyways, I would never book a cruise to Alaska, the Carribean or Canada-New England months in advance as all of these usually go down in price. Especially since you do not even need to book airfare. I would just wait and book a last-minute cruise.

 

If the price drops before final payment is due (around 70 days prior to sail date) HAL will honor the drop in your final total due.

 

Biggest Con for us ....... We like to choose our cabin - deck number, area of the deck, and side of the ship - so not booking until last minute doesn't enthuse folks like DH and I since many of the last minute options are "guarantees" where the ship picks your cabin.

 

If location of the cabin doesn't matter then yes, last minute would be good :):)

[david,Mississauga]

If the price drops before final payment is due (around 70 days prior to sail date) HAL will honor the drop in your final total due.

...

 

 

Really? Perhaps for some people they do. I'm not going to repeat in detail my experience of a few months ago, but a price drop for Neptune Suites for the cruise on which we had booked with, obviously, a fully-refundable deposit was not honoured even though it was about eight months in advance. Via our TA we provided the screen shot, then the URL the next day. I suppose the price drop was an error on HAL's part, but they didn't say that. A day or so later the fare went up to about $400 pp more than what we are paying.

 

I'm not going to board with a sour face, but if they try to cheat us on any aspect of the promised Explore 4 package we will not be amused.

[SilvertoGold]

Really? Perhaps for some people they do. I'm not going to repeat in detail my experience of a few months ago, but a price drop for Neptune Suites for the cruise on which we had booked with, obviously, a fully-refundable deposit was not honoured even though it was about eight months in advance. Via our TA we provided the screen shot, then the URL the next day. I suppose the price drop was an error on HAL's part, but they didn't say that. A day or so later the fare went up to about $400 pp more than what we are paying.

 

I'm not going to board with a sour face, but if they try to cheat us on any aspect of the promised Explore 4 package we will not be amused.

 

Possibly your TA was trying to keep the Explore4 for you?

HAL does give the lower fares if you are willing to drop the Explore4 promo.

[Wanderlust.]

I would much prefer to sail out of Vancouver. I'm not just going to cancel - we would have to think about it very seriously. What I'd really like to see is HAL recognize their error and make some form of amends (obviously in an ideal world, I'd love the upgrade, but in a realistic world, even an apology of some sort would be nice, rather than an argument like I experienced).

 

I was so close to booking through a TA, and had quotes from two, but figured it was straight forward enough and there'd be no problem booking directly through HAL. I have to admit, the past cruises I've taken have been organized by someone else for the most part, so I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to booking etiquette. I did speak with a HAL rep and was told my cruise was eligible for the Ready Set Sail promotion prior to booking, but I didn't think to specify. I didn't even click in that the same price on the two rooms was part of the promotion- like I said, I'm not familiar with how HAL works. I just figured because it specified my cruise was eligible for the upgrade to oceanview, I would be eligible! You know what they say about assuming... I thought I'd done my homework by making sure there were no stipulations about class of cabin or category, etc. etc. Lesson learned.

 

When I was looking at various sites and speaking to TA's, I was told that this particular cruise was booking up quite quickly. In fact, even through HAL there are limited rooms, and expedia and the TA I contacted didn't even list the cruise on their websites because their rooms were so limited. Because we have family traveling from abroad, and we have another family joining us, we figured it would be best to book in advance. Websites I used for researched recommended booking Alaska about 6 months in advance (they said prices got more expensive after that, and then dropped to fill the last few rooms). I called HAL and specifically asked about what would happen if the price dropped after I booked. She said, up until the final payment, they would match the price. She also said that after the final payment, if I called, they would offer upgrades or OBC to match the price as close as possible.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Wanderlust.

[sail7seas]

Anyways, I would never book a cruise to Alaska, the Carribean or Canada-New England months in advance as all of these usually go down in price. Especially since you do not even need to book airfare. I would just wait and book a last-minute cruise.

 

That works okay if you have no preference for specific cabins or decks. If, like me, you want particular location earlier booking is usually needed. There is always the chance a given cruise could fill up and perhaps no suitable cabin will be available if one waits too long.

[david,Mississauga]

Possibly your TA was trying to keep the Explore4 for you?

HAL does give the lower fares if you are willing to drop the Explore4 promo.

 

I understand what you are saying, but that was not the case. The Explore 4 promo was still in effect - until the 31st of Oct, I believe - well after the temporary fare reduction which HAL refused to honour. I suppose I would have been better off to forgo the Explore 4 and take the reduced fare, but that option was not available.

 

We could have told HAL to get stuffed and cancel, but didn't, so obviously we aren't too upset with them. But they won't get away with that again with us.

[neptuno]

..............Even if it is, indeed, an error I am sure there is language somewhere that permits them to call it an advertising error and refuse the offer.Good luck and please let us know.

 

Yes, this happened to us as well. And also on other lines, even Celebrity, where the rep gave us inaccurate info on a recorded line. While I was able to have a supervisor review their recording (having noted the agents name), the response was "No, we have the right to correct any errors in advertising..."

[oaktreerb]

Hello HAL people :)

I just booked my first HAL cruise the other night. I've sailed NCL before, and was torn on choosing them again (they had a great promotion on that would get me a lot more) but so many suggested I try HAL so we went for it. I did a lot of research on here and on other websites and was looking forward to it.

So, as part of my research, I clicked on the "Ready Set Sail" promotion at the bottom of the HAL website. I went through to see what the select sailings were, and my sailing and date were listed. The banner add said "Free upgrade to oceanview."

So we ended up booking an inside, anticipating that. We booked online in the evening after their offices closed, so I called them first thing in the morning to inquire how I would go about getting the upgrade. The girl I spoke to didn't seem to know what was going on (she first told me the promotion only applied to suites, then said it didn't apply to my specific cruise). I told her the exact buttons I pressed and showed her exactly what it said and how it listed my cruise. She ended up getting my manager. They then said, sorry, your cruise has free upgrades to verandah.

Ok.. so then I clicked on every date of that ship's sailing, listed under the banner that said "Free upgrade to oceanview" and every sailing has the same price for oceanview and verandah, but it says nothing about that being the promotion. I looked at some other cruises/destinations, and noticed that the banner either said "Free upgrade to Oceanview" or "free upgrade to verandah" depending on the ship/itinerary.

So clearly someone made a mistake with putting that banner above my itinerary, because apparently they intended for it to say "free upgrade to verandah." I understand it is a mistake- but it very clearly says to oceanview, and I booked thinking I was eligible for that promotion.

Now I haven't experienced these problems with NCL, and I was a little disappointed with the customer service rep arguing with me with incorrect facts. I am so tempted to switch to NCL,. I would be getting an oceanview and unlimited drinks OR $200 onboard credit, but the embarkation port is more conventient with HAL and our family from abroad is all set for this cruise and booked in as well.

IMO, since it was an error in their advertising, it should be honoured (and they should fix the ad so there isn't the same mistake). Any experience with issues like this with HAL? I do not like conflict and hate being "that person" that complains... but I feel like I did my research to ensure that our cruise/date was, in fact, eligible for the upgrade based on the Ready Set Sail page!

 

Was this ever resolved?