about to book, help?!

[molly22]

how do i get the best deal?

who do i book with?

how do i decide which cabin is best for me?

what questions should i ask before i book?

 

im looking at the Koningsdam Fjord cruise in june 2016

 

thanks for any help

 

molly

Edited March 18, 2016 by molly22

[cabinluvn]

I would first contact a travel agent. Get a quote and advice on cabin, etc. Then I would call HA and do the same. Evaluate the perks from both and then go with your gut

 

 

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[sansterre]

I agree with Cabin Luvn. I would also look carefully at the Deck Plan of the Koningsdam on the Holland America website. You probably already know if you want inside, outside (with a view), or perhaps a balcony based on cost. Look at what might be above and below you, as well as beside you if you choose a cabin. If you select a "guarantee", then look to see where those cabins might be and make sure you are ok with ALL of them.

[SetAnOpenCourse]

As far as "the best deal" goes, you probably need to wait till within a few weeks of the cruise. It's a gamble though - prices go down only if HAL thinks they may have trouble getting the cruise, or perhaps the stateroom category, fully booked. Airline reservations, if necessary, may make it impossible to wait it out.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Since you have a lot of questions, I definitely recommend that you find a travel agent who can help you by providing the information you need. Because your selected cruise is about three months away and on a new ship, there might be some difficulties so you need someone in your corner.

[monkey@cruise]

In addition to above already mentioned. to determine which cabin is best for you, you need to do some soul searching on what is important to you such as location of the cabin, convenience (such as close to the elevator or stairs), noise, any seasickness issue, view, etc.

[RMLincoln]

And as for a "deal" do you need airline reservations? If you work with HAL on air understand what you are getting - specific flights, seats, connections, transfers.... - when you are paying for them, when they are non-refundable. If you work with HAL on air have an idea of costs for independent flight arrangements either from your Travel Agent or form your own searches on the web.

 

The fjord cruise sounds beautiful. Hope you find a deal that works for you. m--

[utahtea]

As far as "the best deal" goes, you probably need to wait till within a few weeks of the cruise. It's a gamble though - prices go down only if HAL thinks they may have trouble getting the cruise, or perhaps the stateroom category, fully booked. Airline reservations, if necessary, may make it impossible to wait it out.

 

Depending on the cruise it might not go down at the last minute! We've learned to book as early as we want with HAL and then I just keep an eye on the prices. When they go down, HAL will give you the reduced price as long as you haven't made final payment. Most times it won't go down after final payment but if it does, then HAL will give you on board credit. On board credit can be used for all kinds of things including the gratuity you pay at the end of the cruise. All you have to do is call HAL. We booked our up coming cruise 13 months in advanced because we knew what kind of cabin and location we wanted and wanted to secure that cabin. I've called HAL twice to get two price reductions. :D

[molly22]

Since you have a lot of questions, I definitely recommend that you find a travel agent who can help you by providing the information you need. Because your selected cruise is about three months away and on a new ship, there might be some difficulties so you need someone in your corner.

 

what do you mean by difficulties??

 

m x

[SetAnOpenCourse]

Depending on the cruise it might not go down at the last minute! We've learned to book as early as we want with HAL and then I just keep an eye on the prices. When they go down, HAL will give you the reduced price as long as you haven't made final payment. Most times it won't go down after final payment but if it does, then HAL will give you on board credit. On board credit can be used for all kinds of things including the gratuity you pay at the end of the cruise. All you have to do is call HAL. We booked our up coming cruise 13 months in advanced because we knew what kind of cabin and location we wanted and wanted to secure that cabin. I've called HAL twice to get two price reductions. :D

 

On all those cruises where you have received the price reductions and/or onboard credit, do you know if the final price you paid minus the onboard credit has always been equal to the lowest price that HAL offered at any point for that cruise (for the same stateroom category)?

[diane.in.ny]

Use a travel agent that specializes in cruises. They have the answers to questions you probably wouldn't even think to ask.

 

A good TA should start by asking you a while bunch of questions about what you hope to get out of the cruise. And make recommendations from there.

[2ptu/000]

When you have figured out all the specifics for your cruise, date, type of cabin, cabin category, etc, call HAL and book cruise. Then switch to a travel agent and get more goodies from them. Gets me the best of both worlds. Unless you are just flying one way, you will probably be able to book cheaper air on your own.

[molly22]

thanks for all your suggestions.

 

whats the difference between holland america and cunard for cruise luxury experience??

[diane.in.ny]

thanks for all your suggestions.

 

whats the difference between holland america and cunard for cruise luxury experience??

 

I have not sailed on Cunard, only HAL, and I wouldn't call HAL a luxury cruise experience. The crowd is usually bit older than other mainstream lines line Princess, Celebrity, Carnival and RCI. I think the food is a bit better. But I would not put it in the same class as Cunard, which I would definitely call a luxury line.

[utahtea]

On all those cruises where you have received the price reductions and/or onboard credit, do you know if the final price you paid minus the onboard credit has always been equal to the lowest price that HAL offered at any point for that cruise (for the same stateroom category)?

 

I keep a very good eye on the cruises we plan to take and keep track of the prices. I'm pretty confident that we have gotten very good deals. I can't guarantee they all were the lowest before I started checking on a specific cruise except for the upcoming cruise. We booked so early & the wait is driving me crazy!

Edited March 21, 2016 by utahtea

[SetAnOpenCourse]

I keep a very good eye on the cruises we plan to take and keep track of the prices. I'm pretty confident that we have gotten very good deals. I can't guarantee they all were the lowest before I started checking on a specific cruise except for the upcoming cruise. We booked so early & the wait is driving me crazy!

 

Still, it sounds like I need to reconsider my strategy. I always booked within the final couple of weeks, usually when the price dropped one last time (last time I missed the lowest price when it dropped again a day or two before sailing). Plus, I think I'd enjoy some month(s) of anticipation.:)

[utahtea]

Still, it sounds like I need to reconsider my strategy. I always booked within the final couple of weeks, usually when the price dropped one last time (last time I missed the lowest price when it dropped again a day or two before sailing). Plus, I think I'd enjoy some month(s) of anticipation.:)

 

If the prices drop that late then you will only be able to get OBC. I've never had to try for that. I think some of my strategy was because of the cruise we were taking. Our first cruise was a 7 day Alaska cruise and there were so many of them there was time to wait and see how the prices dropped and booked just one month ahead of time. The prices only went up after that.

 

Our next three cruises were pretty unique. The second was a Panama Canal repositioning cruise with 6 more days than the standard 14 days and so many more ports. They don't even off it any more. The third cruise was the 14 day Alaska Cruise and there were only 4 sailings that year and it had been discontinued the year before so we didn't want to miss out and booked early. This last cruise is a 39 day collector cruise and since I knew there were several different sections that people could book I didn't want to take a chance of not getting the cabin we wanted so we booked over a year in advance. Way to much anticipation...LOL!

 

Utahtea