Doing it my way

[chefestelle]

Cheeky title aside, I am doing a bit of an experiment with two cruises I have booked. I thought I would share as I go along what I have learned about booking as a complete cruise novice (my last cruise being booked about two decades ago by someone else) compared to booking through my travel agent. To make it as complete a black and white comparison as possible (although not intentional at the start) I booked my trip (Mexico) entirely with HAL from air fare to transfers to hotel and even excursions. There was a reason behind it that had nothing to do with the experiment or comparisons but it does set up neatly.

 

Booking the trip online was super easy. Itinerary was my starting point only because I thought "hmmm, I'd do Mexico by cruise ship..." And that was that. I was already booked on a HAL cruise for next year so I didn't really look at anyone else. That may have been more time consuming with searching ships with a teen demographic...

 

The Mediterranean (note the correct spelling - inside joke) was done a little differently. I told the TA that my DD wanted to cruise the Med and what we each wanted to see most. I told her DD's preference was HAL having cruised with it a few years prior. However, we would go with whichever cruise line gave us the itinerary we wanted most. We ended up with HAL on the Eurodam although I'm sure the other lines are offering similar itineraries.

 

My TA knows we are not prone to motion sickness and wanted balconies so she got us a balcony on deck 7 that seems to be just fine. It is up near some suites.

 

I used CC and a couple of others to compare staterooms, locations, etc. for Mexico. I selected an aft suite and am excited for the luxury of a little extra space.

 

Since the Mexico cruise is so soon, I was able to book excursions. I booked all of them directly through HAL. The personalized brochure helped me compare prices to similar tours offered on a site beginning with V, tripadvisor, and a site preferred by my TA for the Med cruise with the initials ST. The prices were similar for similar tours, with HAL only being $10 or so more in some cases (although I only compared excursions we were interested in). However, two of our selected excursions have no comparables on these other sites, so HAL was the obvious choice for all three. ST had two similar tours for similar prices to HAL but their tour times did not correspond to our port times. Perhaps they are geared to a cruise line with a younger demographic...

 

I can't book excursions on the Med cruise yet but I have a rough idea of what I would like to see. I have no issue with bus tours, really, but I don't like having to move as such a large herd. So I looked at the tour site provided by my TA and I'll be reviewing this with her. They are extremely expensive private or small group tours. We are not on a honeymoon or seriously experienced cruisers who will enjoy private touring. We like the company of others and would enjoy a small van tour. We have travelled a lot together on land and are used to sharing time and space with others. So I have identified a number of such tours on the site beginning with V and will compare them to HAL once the brochure comes out (likely in January). I also started a roll call which I now regret because I thought it would be for information sharing, not all the commitment and planning that it seems to be [emoji58]. I'll make sure any joiners know about my misunderstanding and limited commitment!

 

We also booked our specialty dinners online for Mexico and will do the same for Med. We are booked for Le Cirque on Christmas Eve and back to Pinnacle for Christmas Day. I also booked the Pinnacle for our first day at sea, and Caneletto for a port day. These I ended up cancelling when the Explore4 came out. I picked that up for $120 each and returned two paid dinners and our beverage cards. It was a respectable savings and the OBC credit will go to laundry, 'better' beverages and Internet. I know that some of the drinks I prefer won't be covered but gin and tonic, lattes, bottled water and mocktails for DD will be. So I think it's a reasonable way to go.

 

Oddly, I didn't hear from my TA about the Explore4 which is also now offered on my Med cruise. Perhaps that's because she wasn't going to go back to my booking til later this month when she books my flights. I raised it with her when I gave my flight instructions so she will price that too.

 

As for flights, I do a lot of diy trips without my TA but my Med trip is going to be preceded by a conference on the eastern side of Canada so I left that juggling to the TA. For Mexico, I priced the air fare and connections online before calling HAL. Since I know nothing about San Diego and hadn't been on CC long enough to to know what great advice I would get, I thought I would go ahead and see what HAL had to offer. For only about $100 more, they would do that booking along with the hotel and transfers for me (additional costs, of course). It was a matter of convenience, really. I can't say I would do it again. I could have picked more agreeable flight times but theirs were not awful. What was inconvenient was not having seat assignments! I had to call each individual airline to book my seats just to make sure we would get to sit together! If I had done this online, seat selection would have been part of that process. There was no additional fee for the seats except I selected the extra comfort options for a small fee. Lesson learned. I'll book the flights myself next time. It's so easy, there really is no reason not too!

 

The hotel and transfer in San Diego are together very competitive to a night at the Marriott in Vancouver so I have to say I have no complaints there. Of course, the airport is practically next door in San Diego but it will be lovely to be greeted and carted off to our hotel and then on to the port next day. I've been reading up on the various options in Vienna. They all seem very straightforward but for such a short trip (only 12 days) I wonder if the pre-booked transfers wouldn't be less time consuming and bustle-free! I'd rather get right to the hotel and start enjoying Venice! We will see what the TA comes up with.

 

So that's as far as I can go for now! My next step will be to compare the agonies of pre-booking Internet and laundry. Thankfully, this site has provided lots of info regarding costs, exchange advantages, etc that just aren't available on HAL's site and don't seem to be covered by other sites.

 

Observations are welcome!

[Essiesmom]

Might I suggest that before you book any excursions on your Med. cruise that you get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He tells you what there is to see/do in your ports, and how you can do it on your own and what it should cost. His website offers free audio tour downloads for some ports for ipod/mp3 and some maps to go along with them. Your teen might enjoy planning this. EM

[chefestelle]

Thank you! That's exactly the sort of advice I hope to get!

[Lottie A]

And may I suggest you also look at http://www.tomsportguides.com

This is a fantastic resource for independent cruise travellers.

[regnig]

........................

 

My next step will be to compare the agonies of pre-booking Internet and laundry. Thankfully, this site has provided lots of info regarding costs, exchange advantages, etc that just aren't available on HAL's site and don't seem to be covered by other sites.

Observations are welcome!

 

If you are considering the "Unlimited Laundry" just call Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576 and they'll take care of it in advance for you. Your Mexico trip will be $7 a day and that includes washing, drying, pressing with items either folded or on hangers. Your Med trip will probably be $8 or $9 a day.

[chefestelle]

And may I suggest you also look at http://www.tomsportguides.com

 

This is a fantastic resource for independent cruise travellers.

 

 

Yes, I saw that one! Very useful.

[chefestelle]

If you are considering the "Unlimited Laundry" just call Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576 and they'll take care of it in advance for you. Your Mexico trip will be $7 a day and that includes washing, drying, pressing with items either folded or on hangers. Your Med trip will probably be $8 or $9 a day.

 

 

YeS, I thought I would do the bag one in Mexico and see if that helps me decide if I will pre book the daily laundry or just go by the bag in the Med. I'm thinking daily will win...

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would like to congratulate you on booking cruises on your own.

Good job.

Hope they go well for you.

[chefestelle]

Thank you! I often book straightforward trips myself but there is quite a difference between booking a flight and hotel with flexible plans on arrival, and booking a cruise with a specific itinerary! I hope it works well too but I have been to Mexico often enough before the troubles (to borrow an Irish understatement) that I was pretty confident with the simplicity of this one!

[chefestelle]

Arrrgh! I'm so mad I could spit nails! After going to each airline I had to book separately just so I could sit with my daughter (if I'd done this myself directly through air canada it is part of the booking process) I have now had three flight changes, each requiring me to go back to Delta and United (there were no changes to air canada) to make sure we had seats together in the comfort seat section. Now Air Canada has switched my flight to 6 a.m. which means rising at 3!!! Plus my other two airlines have made flight changes which means I have to call all three AGAIN! I am so never doing this again. I don't even know the outcome because United's proposed time is not within the HAL window. So I have to froth at the mouth til Monday to give them time to sort it out. Then, because we are ever closer to the holiday season, am I even going to get a seat with DD?! I may not have much of a cruising history but I do fly a lot. Never has this happened with bookings I have done or my TA has done. In fact, I've only been bumped from a flight once in decades. Fortunately I still made the next flight, lost only two hours (and my race check in but that's another story) plus received a flight coupon each and meal vouchers in Vancouver airport which is not a bad place to get stranded. And it's not as if flightease is getting a smoking deal on these flights. I could have paid $120 less and done it myself![emoji49][emoji49][emoji49][emoji49][emoji35]

Edited September 18, 2015 by chefestelle

[Lizzie68]

Arrrgh! I'm so mad I could spit nails! After going to each airline I had to book separately just so I could sit with my daughter (if I'd done this myself directly through air canada it is part of the booking process) I have now had three flight changes, each requiring me to go back to Delta and United (there were no changes to air canada) to make sure we had seats together in the comfort seat section. Now Air Canada has switched my flight to 6 a.m. which means rising at 3!!! Plus my other two airlines have made flight changes which means I have to call all three AGAIN! I am so never doing this again. I don't even know the outcome because United's proposed time is not within the HAL window. So I have to froth at the mouth til Monday to give them time to sort it out. Then, because we are ever closer to the holiday season, am I even going to get a seat with DD?! I may not have much of a cruising history but I do fly a lot. Never has this happened with bookings I have done or my TA has done. In fact, I've only been bumped from a flight once in decades. Fortunately I still made the next flight, lost only two hours (and my race check in but that's another story) plus received a flight coupon each and meal vouchers in Vancouver airport which is not a bad place to get stranded. And it's not as if flightease is getting a smoking deal on these flights. I could have paid $120 less and done it myself![emoji49][emoji49][emoji49][emoji49][emoji35]

 

Oh dear, I feel your frustration.:( Flying is hell these days and the airlines seem to want to make it as uncomfortable as possible and create nightmares all the time. I always book my own, but check them constantly as these days they make changes routinely, it seems.

[cbr663]

I feel your frustration. I believe that Air Canada has changed nearly every advance flight that we have ever booked. It is always so frustrating.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Arrrgh! I'm so mad I could spit nails! After going to each airline I had to book separately just so I could sit with my daughter (if I'd done this myself directly through air canada it is part of the booking process) I have now had three flight changes, each requiring me to go back to Delta and United (there were no changes to air canada) to make sure we had seats together in the comfort seat section. Now Air Canada has switched my flight to 6 a.m. which means rising at 3!!! Plus my other two airlines have made flight changes which means I have to call all three AGAIN! I am so never doing this again. I don't even know the outcome because United's proposed time is not within the HAL window. So I have to froth at the mouth til Monday to give them time to sort it out. Then, because we are ever closer to the holiday season, am I even going to get a seat with DD?! I may not have much of a cruising history but I do fly a lot. Never has this happened with bookings I have done or my TA has done. In fact, I've only been bumped from a flight once in decades. Fortunately I still made the next flight, lost only two hours (and my race check in but that's another story) plus received a flight coupon each and meal vouchers in Vancouver airport which is not a bad place to get stranded. And it's not as if flightease is getting a smoking deal on these flights. I could have paid $120 less and done it myself![emoji49][emoji49][emoji49][emoji49][emoji35]

 

Ohh, and you were doing so well with all those plans! Airlines have become crazy in recent years.

 

One suggestion for the 6 AM flight. Consider staying at an airport hotel the night before. I've done that a few times when I had to be at the airport super-early,. One time, Virgin Atlantic changed my flight from 8 AM to 6 AM and I couldn't face getting up and out of the house so early. Staying at the airport made a huge difference, worth the money. If I know I have to be up at a crazy-early hour, I'll lie awake thinking, "OK, it's 9 PM. I'll get six hours if I fall asleep NOW. "And then at 10, it's "I'll get five hours if I fall asleep NOW." etc etc If I'm at the hotel, there are no last-minute distractions, and I get a decent night's sleep.

[sail7seas]

We also stayed at hotel a few times when we had a ridiculously early wake up for o'dark hundred flight.

[chefestelle]

Yes, I like to stay in airport hotels for early flights. I'm particularly fond of the Fairmont Airport hotel in Vancouver for those early morning flights to Hawaii and Mexico! Sadly, my much smaller city does not have a hotel near the airport. I tried to get them to book me for a flight to Vancouver late the night prior to our flight south but that would have been my shout. What on earth is the point of booking early if you can't keep your flight?!

[chefestelle]

HAL got my trip all sorted out but on entirely new flights and even different airlines. They did a smokin' good job of it and now I just have to hope nothing changes again. Of course, now I have to try to get reimbursed for my preferred seats on the cancelled flights[emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33] I don't know if I have any more fight in me...

[sapper1]

Ohh, and you were doing so well with all those plans! Airlines have become crazy in recent years.

 

One suggestion for the 6 AM flight. Consider staying at an airport hotel the night before. I've done that a few times when I had to be at the airport super-early,. One time, Virgin Atlantic changed my flight from 8 AM to 6 AM and I couldn't face getting up and out of the house so early. Staying at the airport made a huge difference, worth the money. If I know I have to be up at a crazy-early hour, I'll lie awake thinking, "OK, it's 9 PM. I'll get six hours if I fall asleep NOW. "And then at 10, it's "I'll get five hours if I fall asleep NOW." etc etc If I'm at the hotel, there are no last-minute distractions, and I get a decent night's sleep.

 

How I wish that was an option. We have a 5:15 AM flight out of here in March and there is no hotel anywhere near the airport. There is no option for a later flight if we want to get to San Diego the same day. The plane will have arrived at midnight and will have been sitting all night unheated. It takes forever to warm up after they close the doors. There is only one airline------Air Canada. We are not well served here with respect to air service.

[kazu]

HAL got my trip all sorted out but on entirely new flights and even different airlines. They did a smokin' good job of it and now I just have to hope nothing changes again. Of course, now I have to try to get reimbursed for my preferred seats on the cancelled flights[emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33] I don't know if I have any more fight in me...

 

oh, go for it. A phone call and then they will give you an email to contact (if it is the same as when it happened to me). I think it took 90 days to get the money back last time for me but we only discovered that we had no preferred seats when they changed the plane at the last minute. Yours might be quicker.

 

good luck and don't let them keep your hard eanred money :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL got my trip all sorted out but on entirely new flights and even different airlines. They did a smokin' good job of it and now I just have to hope nothing changes again. Of course, now I have to try to get reimbursed for my preferred seats on the cancelled flights[emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33] I don't know if I have any more fight in me...

 

 

Hope that all these new flights work out for you and that there will be no more changes.

We just got notified of a time change from US Airways which will soon be American Airlines.

[Krazy Kruizers]

How I wish that was an option. We have a 5:15 AM flight out of here in March and there is no hotel anywhere near the airport. There is no option for a later flight if we want to get to San Diego the same day. The plane will have arrived at midnight and will have been sitting all night unheated. It takes forever to warm up after they close the doors. There is only one airline------Air Canada. We are not well served here with respect to air service.

 

 

Our first flights are always early.

Thankfully since we do not live near our airport, we do have hotels nearby.

[chefestelle]

oh, go for it. A phone call and then they will give you an email to contact (if it is the same as when it happened to me). I think it took 90 days to get the money back last time for me but we only discovered that we had no preferred seats when they changed the plane at the last minute. Yours might be quicker.

 

 

 

good luck and don't let them keep your hard eanred money :)

 

 

Thanks Kazu! Nice to hear some things work!

[chefestelle]

More changes! But this time, it's because the supervisor suggested different flights home using Virgin and Westjet. Now I get in at 9 pm instead of midnight. Wonderful! Then I went in to get seats and both virgin and Westjet already assigned us seats! I love them! Now I have to work up the energy to call delta and united about my refunds...

Edited September 25, 2015 by chefestelle

[Tampa Girl]

Chefestelle - o.k. - have you reached a conclusion yet? Your way or HAL's way?

[chefestelle]

I'm going to say my way. If I book through air canada online, they may change flights but they handle all the seat changes and I don't have to deal with HAL AND three airlines just to sit together. Even better is to go through a travel agent who will even stick handle flight changes.

[Tampa Girl]

I'm going to say my way. If I book through air canada online, they may change flights but they handle all the seat changes and I don't have to deal with HAL AND three airlines just to sit together. Even better is to go through a travel agent who will even stick handle flight changes.

 

Makes sense to me.