Could HAL's online booking page be any less user-friendly?

[elycelynne]

I sincerely doubt it.

 

I was trying to do a dummy booking on a particular ship just to see how it would price out. First, they only give you a few cabin choices in the particular deck and section that you've selected, and there's no way to tell which subcategory they're in (for example, if you've selected "verandah" in the aft section of the Upper Promenade deck, it doesn't say whether it's a VA, VB, etc.) because they only provide the actual cabin number. Secondly, they don't even show the cabin numbers of those that aren't offered in their little list, so you now have to exit the booking page and refer back to the deck plan if you want to choose another cabin by number and don't already know exactly which other cabin you want.

 

To me, this is clearly a case where change is not for the better. Are they purposely trying to frustrate their passengers?

Edited February 22, 2015 by elycelynne

[EbayCruiser]

I agree, it's awful. I used to try the online travel agents but they have changed also.

 

But Holland's is just terrible. I think they like it that way so you have to call but it just makes me not want to book a cruise with them.

[taxmantoo]

I also find it a most frustrating site to navigate. I usually have 2 or 3 sessions going on at the same time just to see what is available.

[cavecreekguy]

I so hate the pop up that pops up every time...even though they already know everything about me.

 

And "did you know" you can use these filters...even after I've already used the filters? Stop it already.

[RuthC]

Could HAL's online booking page be any less user-friendly?

I would like to say "No, it can't", but would hate to be proven wrong. :rolleyes:

It's bad enough already.

 

Trying to look for cruises, and if you are lucky enough to find something that interests you, see if the cabin you want is available, then the price, is an exercise in extreme frustration.

I have given up, and won't do it anymore.

[Topsham]

Well, I must say something positive.

 

PRINCESS..... P&O..... CUNARD.... COSTA...

 

THEY ARE WORSE!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

[garydm]

You could go to one of the online booking agencies such as C---------- and they will show you much more in terms of cabin availability then you can book with whomever you want.

[Hlitner]

We also dislike the HAL online booking engine. When we do our bookings (always through cruise agencies that save us 7-10% over HAL's own site) we always do a comparison on HALs site. Not only is it time consuming (and a pain) but the HAL site only shows a very truncated cabin inventory (some cruise agencies show nearly all available cabins).

 

There is another issue with HAL (not sure if it has been fixed). At one time we could log onto the HAL site (we are 4 Star Mariners) and get one set of prices. But if we logged onto the HAL site as a "Guest" with no Mariners number we could sometimes get a different (and lower) set of prices. Others have reported the same issue.

 

Hank

Edited February 22, 2015 by Hlitner

[elycelynne]

Well, I must say something positive.

 

PRINCESS..... P&O..... CUNARD.... COSTA...

 

THEY ARE WORSE!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

 

I went to Princess' booking page, and even though it requires a lot of steps, they provide MUCH more information than HAL's. You can see all of the cabin numbers, which ones are already sold, the cost of each, and you can even click on cabins in other categories and see the price differential from the category that you originally selected. And no need to go back and consult the deck plan to find the numbers of the other cabins.

[cruz chic]

I went to Princess' booking page, and even though it requires a lot of steps, they provide MUCH more information than HAL's. You can see all of the cabin numbers, which ones are already sold, the cost of each, and you can even click on cabins in other categories and see the price differential from the category that you originally selected. And no need to go back and consult the deck plan to find the numbers of the other cabins.

 

I agree, the princess site is pretty clear.

[bobbisailsolo]

totally agree. very difficult to select your cabin. You have to first pull up a deck plan, then toggle between the two pages. The agencies sites are much better, and they seem to offer even more choices!

[CowPrincess]

Like others, I detest the new way of booking on the HAL site. I want to see the prices for all the various cabins within a category. If I can get e.g. an FF gty for $50 more per person than an H gty, I want to know. The only way I've found to get that info is to use an online TA's site.

[cruz chic]

Like others, I detest the new way of booking on the HAL site. I want to see the prices for all the various cabins within a category. If I can get e.g. an FF gty for $50 more per person than an H gty, I want to know. The only way I've found to get that info is to use an online TA's site.

 

You can see that. If you select "let us pick your cabin" it will show you the price of all guarantee levels.

[Lizzie68]

I totally agree. The website is one of the most user-unfriendly ever. It used to be so much easier to navigate and get info before the "upgrade".

[CowPrincess]

You can see that. If you select "let us pick your cabin" it will show you the price of all guarantee levels.

 

Thanks for that info. I wonder if that is a recent change because I think (though I get so DARN frustrated with the site now, most of my interactions with it are a big blur :D) I have tried that in the past. Will try it again though! Thanks.

[cruz chic]

Thanks for that info. I wonder if that is a recent change because I think (though I get so DARN frustrated with the site now, most of my interactions with it are a big blur :D) I have tried that in the past. Will try it again though! Thanks.

 

I think it's been that way for a bit. For sure it's anything but friendly.

[cruisingxpert]

You can see that. If you select "let us pick your cabin" it will show you the price of all guarantee levels.

 

You just saved me a load of time:D I just tried it and it works. I was picking a cabin and going to the payment page to find the price - very time consuming. This is great.:)

 

CJ

[sail7seas]

I went there a few times to get prices, compare various categories etc and gave up. I do not like the way they have set up the process and when I have to work too hard at something that I know should be much easier, I get frustrated and move along.

 

I don't want to have to call PCC every time I want to research a cruise I might have in mind. My PCC of many years retired and while the new person is likely very good and I know he is very pleasant, I hate the whole 'listen because our menu has changed spiel', the get voice mail and listen to that whole deal and then wait when it is convenient for someone to call me back. If something gets too annoying for me, I evaluate "It isn't worth it" and I put it on back burner. If I am in the mood to research a cruise, I want to do it at my time choice, not when it is convenient for someone else. It is my non-techie opinion HAL has hired web wizards who forget the average person wants fast, smooth, easy and as few steps as possible.

 

I could buy a house on line faster than a cruise.

Edited February 22, 2015 by sail7seas

[CowPrincess]

I think it's been that way for a bit. For sure it's anything but friendly.

 

I just tried your instructions, and it worked :D I have never, ever seen that page before, and I'm pretty sure that at one time I did try "let us assign your cabin". I tried e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g at least once :D (most of which resulted in me banging my head on my keyboard ;) )

 

Thanks again!

[PathfinderEss]

Could HAL's online booking page be any less user-friendly?

I guess it could be worse but I don't know how. There previous system was very user friendly, this new system not so much.

[rkacruiser]

The change is their site is another example of "why fix something that is not broke" I am unable to get as far into the site as many of you are able to do.

[Harry1954]

I have been designing software since the 1970s .. yes an old fart .. currently our company still does so from web sites to full office systems - the reason I say this is that I have a lot of experience in the business.

As much as I like HAL and cruising with them, I find their website to have been designed by men/women whom we keep in the back rooms ... we make our marketing people criticize any new concepts before they are approved. That avoids the 'this is a cool new gadget' that the more ingenious programmer will attempt to implement just because it is cool to a techie.

 

While I confess to using the book cruise facet often as we cruise 3-4 times per year, i curse a lot on HAL website - especially when they want to give me tips and help me out ... maybe one day they will reach out to customers and survey the likes/dislikes and make it much easier for us to do business with them.

 

harry

[Lizzie68]

You can see that. If you select "let us pick your cabin" it will show you the price of all guarantee levels.

 

Thank you for that excellent information - I had no idea.:D I just tried it and it worked a charm. You should post it in the Hal Newbie sticky above!

[bobbisailsolo]

You can see that. If you select "let us pick your cabin" it will show you the price of all guarantee levels.

 

 

Is that something new... A guarantee for each category? Years ago guarantees were for only the lowest categories in each type... Inside, outside or balcony. For the others, you picked a cabin and specified if you would take an upgrade. Looks like this is just a way for them to make a couple more dollars???

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wander]

After reading comments for the past few months about the "new" HAL website I was afraid to try it to research cabin availability and price.

 

Well, I guess I lucked out and found the easy way in because I could get all sorts of information about cabins and prices, getting deck plans with available cabins and their prices for the various sub categories (like DA vs DC (made-up cabins here)). So, I guess I found the easy route described by others. Unfortunately I do not remember how I got into this section - but I did get there in less than a minute. Now I am afraid to try to get there again.