Upsell from big box TA?!

[bluesplayer]

I have cruised many times using a big box TA (the one that sells the $1.50 hot dogs). No problems and happy with their service. I have never been offered on upsell? Curious if anyone has received upsell offers from big box Travel Agents?

[Cruizer Bill]

No, they will not contact you with any offers.

[DaveOKC]

No, they will not contact you with any offers.

 

I guess that this does not surprise me, due to their high volume and the time it would take to notify every person with each upsell (then of course call the cruiseline back and the person back, etc.).

 

I boo through a HAL PCC (personal cruise consultant). I may not get as good a deal as the big box TA, but on virtually every cruise I take I get (and accept) an upsell. So for me this is an important issue.

[chrisbu315]

Agreed. If you want a crack at upsells, book direct.

 

 

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[oaktreerb]

You are still eligible for a free upgrade. You can call the big box when you think the upsells become available (check with your roll call) to see if any upsells are being offered. They will call HAL on your behalf.

[oaktreerb]

I guess that this does not surprise me, due to their high volume and the time it would take to notify every person with each upsell (then of course call the cruiseline back and the person back, etc.).

 

I boo through a HAL PCC (personal cruise consultant). I may not get as good a deal as the big box TA, but on virtually every cruise I take I get (and accept) an upsell. So for me this is an important issue.

 

What category do you usually book?

[shipgeeks]

We book through a big online agency, and have been offered (and declined) upsells.

[DaveOKC]

What category do you usually book?

 

Vista (on the smaller ships) and Signature on the larger ones.

[bluesplayer]

Thank you for your responses. I will not count on the upsell fairy calling. My first time in a Signature Suite over a standard balcony.. so all is well!!

[Tinknock50]

I am using a hybrid method. My online TA assured that I would be contacted if any Upsells come through her. I am backing that up by occasionally calling the Upsell department starting a month out from my cruise date. I will inform my TA of any Upsell I hear of so she can make any changes I agree to.

[WisRiver]

We use the $1.50 hot dog big box travel agency. Their final payment is due about 60 days before departure. When we call in our credit card number for the final payment, we ask if there are any upsells available. This year when we made our final payment for our transatlantic when we inquired about upsets. The agent called HAL, and we were offered an upset from a veranda guarantee to a SC Neptune guarantee for an extra $700. Last week we were assigned an SB aft wrap Neptune. Moral of the story; when dealing with the big box TA you have to ask. We also received larger OBC. We are happy. We have used the big box for our last five HAL cruises. Usually we get an upset offer from a veranda to a signature suite. This is the first time we were offered a Neptune.

[bluesplayer]

Thank you Tinknock50 and Wisriver for the info. I have not been proactive regarding upsells; will give your suggestions a try! Would not have done either of those. Appreciate your input.. if the upsell doesn't work out I can drown my sorrows in a $1.50 hot dog..

[Tampa Girl]

I am using a hybrid method. My online TA assured that I would be contacted if any Upsells come through her. I am backing that up by occasionally calling the Upsell department starting a month out from my cruise date. I will inform my TA of any Upsell I hear of so she can make any changes I agree to.

 

This is the first time I have heard of an upsell department. Where is it - at HAL - and if so, at what telephone number? If you are using a TA rather than a HAL PCC, how can you get an upsell directly from HAL. I thought that everything had to go through your TA.

 

OP: If you are in a Signature Suite, you stand a good chance of being offered an upsell because those suites are in demand and apparently get oversold.

[DaveOKC]

We use the $1.50 hot dog big box travel agency. Their final payment is due about 60 days before departure. When we call in our credit card number for the final payment, we ask if there are any upsells available. This year when we made our final payment for our transatlantic when we inquired about upsets. The agent called HAL, and we were offered an upset from a veranda guarantee to a SC Neptune guarantee for an extra $700. Last week we were assigned an SB aft wrap Neptune. Moral of the story; when dealing with the big box TA you have to ask. We also received larger OBC. We are happy. We have used the big box for our last five HAL cruises. Usually we get an upset offer from a veranda to a signature suite. This is the first time we were offered a Neptune.

 

While you can always call and ask about upsells, the really good "deals" go very quickly once the mass emailing goes out. For example, my friend received three emailings for an upsell, the first one for $499, the second for $399 and the third for $299. From what we could see, HAL had very few takers at the first two prices, but once the "good" deal of $299 came out, the Neptunes filled up that day and of course the offer was closed.

[Tinknock50]

While you can always call and ask about upsells, the really good "deals" go very quickly once the mass emailing goes out. For example, my friend received three emailings for an upsell, the first one for $499, the second for $399 and the third for $299. From what we could see, HAL had very few takers at the first two prices, but once the "good" deal of $299 came out, the Neptunes filled up that day and of course the offer was closed.

Makes sense. That is why it might be a good idea to call first on the off chance they have not been e-mailed out yet and you have a chance to grab them then.....especially when it drops to $299!

[Tinknock50]

We use the $1.50 hot dog big box travel agency. Their final payment is due about 60 days before departure. When we call in our credit card number for the final payment, we ask if there are any upsells available. This year when we made our final payment for our transatlantic when we inquired about upsets. The agent called HAL, and we were offered an upset from a veranda guarantee to a SC Neptune guarantee for an extra $700. Last week we were assigned an SB aft wrap Neptune. Moral of the story; when dealing with the big box TA you have to ask. We also received larger OBC. We are happy. We have used the big box for our last five HAL cruises. Usually we get an upset offer from a veranda to a signature suite. This is the first time we were offered a Neptune.

 

Wow....I didn't know you could get upsells that far out. Hmmm.....maybe I shouldn't wait till 30 days out, even if the upsell guy said wait till then. He probably was speaking "generally".

[Herfnerd]

We have always used our buck fiddy hot dog combo big box TA to book - since we always get better pricing as well as great extras like OBC, we book the cabin we want - have never gotten an upsell call

[Baddabing]

We have always used our buck fiddy hot dog combo big box TA to book - since we always get better pricing as well as great extras like OBC, we book the cabin we want - have never gotten an upsell call

Those were our sentiments exactly. We booked with a HAL PCC who suggested after we book through him ( special HAL sale on cabins ) we could switch to the same big box TA. So we got the exact cabin type and location we wanted. Then with the big box TA we will be getting hundreds in OBC. We have also saved hundreds using the big box TA to get the travel insurance and saved on booking their shore excursions. Bottom line we won't need any up sell offers, we already purchased the cabin we wanted. Saving money doing so.

[Tinknock50]

Those were our sentiments exactly. We booked with a HAL PCC who suggested after we book through him ( special HAL sale on cabins ) we could switch to the same big box TA. So we got the exact cabin type and location we wanted. Then with the big box TA we will be getting hundreds in OBC. We have also saved hundreds using the big box TA to get the travel insurance and saved on booking their shore excursions. Bottom line we won't need any up sell offers, we already purchased the cabin we wanted. Saving money doing so.

Same here......only with an online TA. Did not get onboard credit, but skipping the "sale" we got a very, very low price on the handicap cabin we require. We are pretty happy with our cabin choice, but there is even better cabin that will increase my handicapped friends enjoyment and I have my eyes on that as an upsell.

 

If the upsell doesn't happen or the price is just too much more, we will still be happy.

[Herfnerd]

We also lucked out in that we noticed a price drop on the big box TA site AFTER we had made final payment but three months before the final payment was actually due. Called up our TA and she went to bat for us with HAL - we got the price difference back! Same room, kept all of our OBC, no difference other than we got several hundred dollars back!

[Tinknock50]

We also lucked out in that we noticed a price drop on the big box TA site AFTER we had made final payment but three months before the final payment was actually due. Called up our TA and she went to bat for us with HAL - we got the price difference back! Same room, kept all of our OBC, no difference other than we got several hundred dollars back!

Cool!:)

 

Just curious, why the final payment so early?

[Herfnerd]

Cool!:)

 

Just curious, why the final payment so early?

 

Ask my wife, lol! She's a VP with Bank of America and doesn't believe in carrying a balance on things like vacations or credit cards - we used the big box credit card to get the 3% back. I told her that we should wait to take advantage of price drops, etc but the finance part of her doesn't like that so we paid it off so we won't have to worry about it

[TiogaCruiser]

Those were our sentiments exactly. We booked with a HAL PCC who suggested after we book through him ( special HAL sale on cabins ) we could switch to the same big box TA. So we got the exact cabin type and location we wanted. Then with the big box TA we will be getting hundreds in OBC. We have also saved hundreds using the big box TA to get the travel insurance and saved on booking their shore excursions. Bottom line we won't need any up sell offers, we already purchased the cabin we wanted. Saving money doing so.

 

We're talking about "BigBox(st)co " that is headquartered in the Northwest, right? Did you get the same OBC they were offering on the same cabin category? ( If so, i didn't realize they would accept HAL booking transfers).

[Cruising-along]

... switch to the same big box TA. So we got the exact cabin type and location we wanted. Then with the big box TA we will be getting hundreds in OBC. ...

 

That is what we do too. On our next cruise we not only are getting hundreds in OBC, but their price for the cruise (better cabin) was amazingly lower than HAL's (group price). When we told our PCC we were transferring, she said she would too for that deal. ;)

 

As for upsells, over the years we have never, ever, gotten an offer that was worth replying to much less taking. They have never offered less and less, they just keep sending the same ridiculous offer over and over. Kind of insulting. :D So for us upsells are not even on our radar. We just book what we want.

[DaveOKC]

That is what we do too. On our next cruise we not only are getting hundreds in OBC, but their price for the cruise (better cabin) was amazingly lower than HAL's (group price). When we told our PCC we were transferring, she said she would too for that deal. ;)

 

As for upsells, over the years we have never, ever, gotten an offer that was worth replying to much less taking. They have never offered less and less, they just keep sending the same ridiculous offer over and over. Kind of insulting. :D So for us upsells are not even on our radar. We just book what we want.

 

That is unusual in my experience (same offer over again). We have gotten several offers on the cruise, but each time it was lower than the previous one. We book directly with HAL.