Anniversary Sale - "up to us" shore excursion credit

[DaveOKC]

I noticed that HAL just started a new promotion called Anniversary Sale until June 1.

 

A new item showed up, a shore excursion credit of up to $400 and $800 for suites (14 days or longer). The offer states that this is an "up to us" shore excursion credit???? I know that you have to book the shore excursions onboard to get this credit, but I am unclear exactly what the "up to us" means.

 

Does anyone know?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I'm reading it as "up to U.S. $400 or up to U.S. $800." Referring to the monetary value.

[SilvertoGold]

I suspect this is HAL's way of saying either:

 

1. it is up to to HAL which shorex qualify, or

 

2. it is up to the pax which shorex they want to put the CR towards.

 

Hopefully, the latter.

 

I notice, by the way, that the pricing for the outside is about $600 pp more for this promo than before on the one cruise I was looking at. Hmm.........

[InTheWASide]

I'm reading it as "up to U.S. $400 or up to U.S. $800." Referring to the monetary value.

 

 

^ that! :D

[DaveOKC]

My question is not the monetary value, but rather what they mean about "up to us" excursion.

[SilvertoGold]

Post 7 below has it!

 

Congratulations, M-A Mom!!

Edited March 31, 2015 by SilvertoGold

[Old As Dirt Mom]

My question is not the monetary value, but rather what they mean about "up to us" excursion.

 

Look at it again on HAL' s main page. (The main page for the sale, I mean).

 

HAL doesn't mean "up to us", they mean "up to U.S.", as in US dollars. They used small letters for the font, which makes it confusing.

Edited March 31, 2015 by middle-aged mom

[DaveOKC]

Look at it again on HAL' s main page. (The main page for the sale, I mean).

 

HAL doesn't mean "up to us", they mean "up to U.S.", as in US dollars. They used small letters for the font, which makes it confusing.

 

I get it now - THANKS!! It was confusing since I did not look at it careful enough.

 

I just called my HAL PCC and he explained it. Sounds like a good deal on 11 day or longer cruises in a "suite", but be careful on pricing. My 2016 cruise jumped $200 pp at the same time this promotion came out, so its sort of a wash for me on it.

 

DaveOKC

[S&B]

Silver to Gold,

The price of our cruise has been raised 200.00pp since this new anniversary cruise sale came out. Does make you wonder!!! We really have not gained anything.

[SilvertoGold]

Silver to Gold,

The price of our cruise has been raised 200.00pp since this new anniversary cruise sale came out. Does make you wonder!!! We really have not gained anything.

 

Thanks for that info!

 

I've seen this so many times. A promo is only a promo, not necessarily a good deal or a freebie or something even better.

 

As you and Dave note, it is pretty much a wash.

 

Great way for HAL to snag the newbies who may not have the experience to understand how these thing work.

[crusinpsychRN]

I went to the HAL site to check it out and under the Anniversary sale "learn more" button it goes to a list of sailings that included every sailing. I priced it at the same price I paid for 11/28/15 Westerdam.

 

So I called to get the promotion added but was told the price would change to $400 more than I paid. First she said it wasn't on this sailing, talked to a supervisor and it is on this date but only with the $400 increase.

 

I called back and a guy said it's not on this sailing and he's going to email a list of dates it is on. ???

 

As bad as Carnival--call twice and get different answers. Some promotion, raise by $400 to get $400, WOW!

[whogo]

Silver to Gold,

The price of our cruise has been raised 200.00pp since this new anniversary cruise sale came out. Does make you wonder!!! We really have not gained anything.

The cruise I have been following went up $300 with a $400 shore excursion credit.

[DaveOKC]

I went to the HAL site to check it out and under the Anniversary sale "learn more" button it goes to a list of sailings that included every sailing. I priced it at the same price I paid for 11/28/15 Westerdam.

 

So I called to get the promotion added but was told the price would change to $400 more than I paid. First she said it wasn't on this sailing, talked to a supervisor and it is on this date but only with the $400 increase.

 

I called back and a guy said it's not on this sailing and he's going to email a list of dates it is on. ???

 

As bad as Carnival--call twice and get different answers. Some promotion, raise by $400 to get $400, WOW!

 

I checked on the HAL website and you are correct - it is on your sailing. I do not know the price of course, as it depends on the category - however the price I see for the category I normally book is higher than I normally pay for this ship and this itinerary.

[RickT]

Very Odd promo. Currently booked on the Aug 8th Nieuw Amsterdam sailing and the price on the website hasn't changed. Called about having the promo items added and was told my fare would go up by $600 :eek:

 

Glad to see they are offering a promo... as long as you fully pay for the benefits.

[Caribbean Chris]

I suspect a lot of people are underwhelmed by a shore excursion credit + price increase, especially when you can't reserve until you get on board the ship. And many of us make our own arrangements ashore.

 

I've been looking at a sailing for next year, but this promo only discouraged me from booking HAL.

[summer slope]

Sent an email to my TA as my cruise is listed for this sale. The price on the website is more than I'm paying. She said we could do the sale but would have to up the price to the one listed. I said no. But if you are looking at a published price that is offered for this special I would insist they honor it. However, the $$ for excursions and having to wait was not appealing to me. We've already booked and paid for ours.

[rbp3072]

I just booked a Mexican Riviera Holiday cruise that fell under this promo. The PCC said the way the credit for the Shore Excursion is applied is the same as 'regular' OBC, and can be used just like regular OBC. When he emailed me my summary, sure enough, it shows the OBC from this promo (as well as my ZPM OBC) as a single lump sum of OBC for both myself and my mom, just like my prior cruises.

 

*That's not to say he isn't wrong, and he just entered it incorrectly, but that's how mine worked out. So for me, it worked out well as I usually pre-pay for any Shore Excursions that I want, and would prefer the generic OBC.

Edited April 1, 2015 by rbp3072

[SilvertoGold]

Thanks to those who wrote of their experiences with this promo.

Caveat Emptor. Please!!

 

I have to laugh: "HAL" and "customer service" are an oxymoron these days!

 

This kind of promo is not, however, new. HAL has been doing this for quite a while. They are just publishing a lot of promos, same or similar, under a variety of names.

 

I had something like this happen at least 7 years ago, but it wasn't a published. public promo, just a TA incentive, I guess:

 

Priced a cruise through a TA. Fine.

Any perks?? Well, yes, you can have a Pinnacle dinner, 25pp OBC and chocolate strawberries, IF you want to pay $200 per person more. Even by today's prices, that is less than $69 benefit for $200

[jaspersmycat]

I just called my PCC and rebooked my Prinsendam Christmas cruise to get this promo. The price for the cruise went up $144 but I'm getting $350 more in OBC and a free dinner in Pinnacle and Canaletto. Works for me.

[sherryf]

My question is not the monetary value, but rather what they mean about "up to us" excursion.

 

I agree with others. They don't mean up to 'us' but up to 'U.S.$', though I'll admit that it does appear to be lower case 'us' on their web page.

[DaveOKC]

I am going to book a cruise for late this year with this promotion and watch the pricing closely right up to final payment. If they go down (like they did for me with Explore4, I will cancel and rebook later.

 

The best deals look like for an 11 day cruise in a mini-suite, as you get $800 in shore excursions, $100 in beverage cards, dine-around, and $55 in free Internet (about a $1000 in value).

Edited April 1, 2015 by DaveOKC

[grayjay]

When I read about the promo I immediately looked up a cruise I was keen on booking anyway - prices hadn't changed and were good because it was one of those cruises that don't seem to sell well ( Baltics - June).

I booked this cruise but got an e-mail from my TA two hours later that Holland America doesn't want to honor this special in my case because the contingent for the sale was already "sold out". Really??? One day into the sale and not a single balcony cabin for this cruise out of the many I saw still open for booking taken?? I simply can't believe that.

I wrote back , insisting that the honor the deal even if I know I can't force them . Maybe they simply forgot to raise the prices first ? All the OBC they offered will go back to the cruise line anyway and it's an incentive for us to try out shore excursions - we normally tend to book private tours.

It will be interesting to hear if something similar happened to others who tried to book the promo.

[SilvertoGold]

When I read about the promo I immediately looked up a cruise I was keen on booking anyway - prices hadn't changed and were good because it was one of those cruises that don't seem to sell well ( Baltics - June).

I booked this cruise but got an e-mail from my TA two hours later that Holland America doesn't want to honor this special in my case because the contingent for the sale was already "sold out". Really??? One day into the sale and not a single balcony cabin for this cruise out of the many I saw still open for booking taken?? I simply can't believe that.

I wrote back , insisting that the honor the deal even if I know I can't force them . Maybe they simply forgot to raise the prices first ? All the OBC they offered will go back to the cruise line anyway and it's an incentive for us to try out shore excursions - we normally tend to book private tours.

It will be interesting to hear if something similar happened to others who tried to book the promo.

 

Very strange, but then, everything so far with this promo has been strange.

 

Please let us know what happens! This is a great learning experience for us!

[grayjay]

Very strange, but then, everything so far with this promo has been strange.

 

Please let us know what happens! This is a great learning experience for us!

 

I certainly will! I just got a reply from my travel agency that Holland America's denial of our booking seems fishy to them, too and they will look into it. They said it sounded absolutely strange that suddenly the offer is said to be "sold out" just a few hours into a sale that is supposed to go till June when in reality no cabins have been sold on that day.

Well , let's see if Holland America does the honorable thing and gives us this offer or we'll look elsewhere for a nice June cruise.

[SilvertoGold]

I certainly will! I just got a reply from my travel agency that Holland America's denial of our booking seems fishy to them, too and they will look into it. They said it sounded absolutely strange that suddenly the offer is said to be "sold out" just a few hours into a sale that is supposed to go till June when in reality no cabins have been sold on that day.

Well , let's see if Holland America does the honorable thing and gives us this offer or we'll look elsewhere for a nice June cruise.

 

Thanks! It can pay to have a good TA or PCC in such cases. It seems to me that HAL is dropping the ball on this promo. Perhaps it was released before it was totally prepared. The reps and Polar Online may not have been updated.

 

Wait and see is likely a good idea!

Edited April 2, 2015 by SilvertoGold