CAUTION: Do Not Book a Non-refundable fare with HAL!!!!!!!

[iancal]

Cannot blame HAL or any other cruise line.

 

We would never book a non refundable fare, other than in the final payment window.

 

This comes down you understanding what you are buying and having a firm fixed quote with those conditions prior to the buy decision. Direct or through a TA. Face it, a lot of TA's today don't have a clue. They are often no more than data input clerks who have never been in a row boat let alone on a cruise.

 

Our TA once told us that the majority of travellers buy out of country medical without understanding the T's and C's or even reading past page one. Yet for many, this is by far the greatest risk to their financial well being.

 

It really does pay dividends to understand what you are buying and to realize that there is no free lunch. Most especially the Mariner's lunches!

[Jade13]

Last year HAL started offering deals with non-refundable fares...which would get the booker a lower fare. NOT! What happens is that if and when HAL further reduces the fare (even well below what was booked with their non-refundable fare) they will not allow you to re-price the cruise. So what HAL has done is lock the customer into a higher fare. The only alternative is to cancel the booking, sacrifice the deposit, and then perhaps rebook (or maybe just forget it and look to a different cruise line).

 

 

 

So I will repeat my warning...do not make the mistake we made and get sucked into a non-refundable fare and think you are getting a good deal! You are likely getting screwed.....

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

 

So what are you going to do? Are you going to lose your deposit and just re-book? How much of a difference are we talking about?

 

Hank, with all of your travel I am surprised that none of your few favored travel agents that you say you always use explained the terms and conditions to you.

 

Also, until the past few years all of our HAL cruises (none in the Caribbean) have sold out, so I wouldn’t have expected a price decrease to happen.

 

 

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[hunt182644]

Cruise lines are a lot like casino's they are in business to make money. Thus they operate on the CYA principal or in their case insert their for your. Be sure to always read the fine print for everything.

[igraf]

The main reason is that the non-refundable fare offers a discount at the time of booking. This is the only way to save money in the case that the fare increases as the cruise date draws near.

 

Another reason is early cabin selection coupled with the discount. If one waits for last minute discounts (as I often do) then cabin selection may be limited and/or the advertised last minute discounts only apply to a few undesirable cabins. I counter this by remaining flexible with sailing dates and destinations.

 

The non-refundable fare makes sense for those sailing on a more singular cruise that typically sells out.

 

igraf

 

 

 

....

 

I should mention that those that talk about their cruise prices increasing....really have nothing to do with non-refundable fares. Anytime you book a cruise you are protected against price increases. But, you are also normally protected against price decreases because you can always have the cruise "repriced" or even cancel and rebook. But with a non-refundable you lose those options. Now that we understand that situation we cannot think of a single reason to book a non-refundable deposit.

 

Hank

[cbr663]

I think this situation illustrates the advantage of a good PCC or TA.

 

When I booked my cruise, I was given full disclosure and was informed how much I could save with the non refundable deposit and, while there was a bit of a savings, it was made clear to me that there were no perks, no re-faring, etc.

 

I opted not to take it. And, in my case, it was the right decision as I saved $1500 on one segment when the promos changed.

 

I agree Kazu.

 

In the past, I would normally book my cruise on HAL's website and transfer the cruise to my TA later. Now, because of the different fare types with different restrictions and the new booking system that I find frustrating, I simply call my TA right at the start to make the booking.

 

 

During our recent booking, my TA put me on hold and called HAL directly and came back to me to inquire if I wanted the Advantage Fare and explained the pros and cons of the different fares being offered.

 

 

Even when seeking price adjustments on a past booking, our TA will call HAL and has come back with different offers with different restrictions fully explained.

 

All this to state that HAL's recent changes has altered my behaviour from self-service on HAL's site to full service TA. (meaning HAL now pays commissions on my bookings that it never in the past)

Edited March 3, 2018 by cbr663
Additions

[kacurl]

We booked the Tahiti cruise round trip from San Diego 2019 while onboard Kdam, in Jan 2017. It had just come out and the rep told us we got a great rate, $600 Refundable deposit. I would never book non refundable that far out, price has gone way up but I still keep checking for new deals!!! Cathy

[Hlitner]

So what are you going to do? Are you going to lose your deposit and just re-book? How much of a difference are we talking about?

 

Hank, with all of your travel I am surprised that none of your few favored travel agents that you say you always use explained the terms and conditions to you.

 

Also, until the past few years all of our HAL cruises (none in the Caribbean) have sold out, so I wouldn’t have expected a price decrease to happen.

 

 

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Fair points. I will admit to having made a bad decision (booking the non-refundable deposit) but it was done in the "heat of the moment" after a couple of happy hour cocktails....while onboard a HAL cruise :). When we later transferred that booking to one of our favorite cruise agents (she tossed in an additional $1050 of OBC) the cruise agent was surprised I would book the non-refundable.

 

At this point the price drop is not sufficient to cause us to cancel (and lose our deposit) and rebook.

 

I posted this tale of woe to simply put out a strong warning to others about the non-refundable policy (which seems to change day to day). This is not even an issue worth whining about to HAL....since it was my lousy decision. Perhaps the thread will help others not to follow my lead and book one of those non-refundable deals.

 

Hank

[KroozNut]

We booked a non refundable for substantially less than refundable. The price of our cruise just kept going up so we were glad we did. What works for one doesn’t always work for another.

 

 

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Here's to hoping you also purchased or have trip cancellation insurance because you just never know.. ;)

Edited March 3, 2018 by KroozNut

[thinfool]

Is it not fair to complete this comment....

This is the only way to save money in the case that the fare increases as the cruise date draws near.

with the fact that you cannot refare if the price goes down?

[DaveOKC]

It appears that HAL has two deals going on right now - one with non-refundable DEPOSITS, the other with Non-refundable Fares (which must be paid at time of booking. My upcoming Dec. cruise is the latter, even though it is 9 months out, so I passed on it, even though it would save me about $100 pp.

[tuolumne couple]

Not necessarily so! We booked a 22-day Koningsdam last year for this September using only 2 $300 Future Cruise Deposits on a non-refundable fare.

A few days after the sale, the cost of our Vista Suite rose by approx $7000.

When looking at the cost of that cruise today under this year's Seas the Day non-refundable fares, it is still approx $2000 more than we paid and we still have not paid final payment.

Moral of the story: Do your homework, consider the risks, and follow your instincts. What works for one cruiser may not work for the other.

Agreed. You have to do your homework. The title of this thread is misleading and does not take into account the date of the sailing, the OBC or any details that might cause one to be tempted to book a non-refundable fare. We have done it with success but you have to take ALL the details of you booking into account, or be savvy enough to know what you are getting yourself into. If you have a cruise in mind and have a category that you are interested in, watch it and when the price dips to your liking, it could really benefit you to book a non-refundable sailing. It is always buyer beware.I have passed up black Friday sales that i have regretted.

[iancal]

Duplicate

Edited March 4, 2018 by iancal

[iancal]

It really comes down to understanding what you are buying and matching the offers with your personal preferences.

 

If you sign up for a non refundable deal you are betting that prices will either remain constant or increase. We typically place our bets the other way and book inside the final payment window. If we do book early, we bet on one or more reprices. So far this has worked well for us. Perhaps not for others.

 

Different choices. But you cannot have both.

[PhD-iva]

All this to state that HAL's recent changes has altered my behaviour from self-service on HAL's site to full service TA. (meaning HAL now pays commissions on my bookings that it never in the past)

 

 

Your TA gets the commission when you transfer the booking from HAL to your TA.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

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[Tampa Girl]

Yes, I saw the same thing on everything I checked yesterday and today. They aren't even talking about non-refundable deposit. This is non-refundable FULL PAYMENT, including anyone who are interested in something like a Panama Canal cruise in early 2020. Whomever responsible for IT at HAL should fix this soon, I hope. ...

 

 

I don't see this as a problem. Any cruise line; any hotel; any merchant has the right to do this. The problem comes in on the part of the people who unknowingly book non-refundable fares and not understanding the plain rules of the contract. There is nothing to fix. One either takes the chance that prices don't go down or they are willing to live with it. And one can always buy the CPP, which HAL is now acknowledging will cover the non-refundable. A telephone call to the insurance underwriter last year during the snap fares confirmed this.

[deliver42]

With Carnival and RCCL, even with non refundable deposits allow repricing as long as you are on the same ship and date, and the same cabin class or higher at no charge, or penalty. The same with Celebrity. If you do change date or ships Carnival charges $50.00 PP, and Royal and Celebrity $100.00PP.

[Tampa Girl]

Here's to hoping you also purchased or have trip cancellation insurance because you just never know.. ;)

 

OP has until final payment for that cruise to purchase a cancellation plan. I think OP said it was a non-refundable deposit, not a non-refundable fare. However, even it were the latter, it is the final payment of that particular cruise, regardless of when the individual poster's final payment was due, i.e. paying in full a non-refundable fare. As an example, we agreed to pay the full cost of our 2018 Grand Asia early to save 3% on the price. Nonetheless, our TA confirmed that the final payment for the cruise is not until approximately four months from sailing date.

[DaveOKC]

OP has until final payment for that cruise to purchase a cancellation plan. I think OP said it was a non-refundable deposit, not a non-refundable fare. However, even it were the latter, it is the final payment of that particular cruise, regardless of when the individual poster's final payment was due, i.e. paying in full a non-refundable fare. As an example, we agreed to pay the full cost of our 2018 Grand Asia early to save 3% on the price. Nonetheless, our TA confirmed that the final payment for the cruise is not until approximately four months from sailing date.

 

Not so. Below is the detail on the fare for our Dec., 2018 cruise (9 months out) which shows that the entire fare is non-refundable and that you have to purchase the cancellation insurance NOW:

 

This is a special fare being offered for a limited time, with certain limitations that apply:

• Payment must be made in full at the time of booking.

• This specially priced promotion is 100% non-refundable from the point of payment unless you purchase one of our Cancellation Protection Plans at time of booking.

[Tampa Girl]

Not so. Below is the detail on the fare for our Dec., 2018 cruise (9 months out) which shows that the entire fare is non-refundable and that you have to purchase the cancellation insurance NOW:

 

This is a special fare being offered for a limited time, with certain limitations that apply:

• Payment must be made in full at the time of booking.

• This specially priced promotion is 100% non-refundable from the point of payment unless you purchase one of our Cancellation Protection Plans at time of booking.

 

Oops! I stand corrected. My assumption was wrong. I think the cut off point is when the fare becomes non-refundable, which in your case was at the time of purchase.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Tampa Girl
Add something.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

HAL is pretty much at a 5 tiered pricing structure at this point:

1. Standard Early Booking Fare with no restrictions (Advantage Fare)

2. Current Promo Fare/offerings with "perks" (Explore 4, View & Verandah, etc - changes every few months)

3. Travel Agent promotional group fares (only bookable trough a travel agent and not available on all sailings)

4. Early booking fare with Non-Refundable deposit fares (Snap, Seas the days, etc)

5. Early booking instant purchase "pay in full at booking" non refundable fares (Launch Specials - only available on a limited number & types of rooms on select sailings)

 

Not all are available on all sailings and the last two have STEEP restrictions. For a sailing that typically books out months in advance, with little last minute discounting, the last 2 options may benefit some consumers, if they are willing to take the risk...... But for your average 7-10 day Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico type sailing then booking a more flexible fare may be to ones best interest as there are more likely to be better promos/price drops down the line. As others have said what works for one one may not work for another .....

[ontheweb]

We actually have one of the pay in full non refundable cruises coming up. We did buy non-cruise line insurance so there are things we are covered for if we had to cancel.

 

This is how that came about. There is a HAL cruise that DW has been interested in for years (between Boston and Montreal or vice versa), but something always came up that we did instead.

 

I alerted the TA that we normally work with that we were on the lookout for that itinerary on HAL. One day he called and there was a special regional discount that included our state. It did seem lower than the normal rate I have seen for this cruise. And then he said he saw a new type fare category that he had never seen before. And it was the one with the non-refundable fare, and it was another several hundred dollars lower.

 

How low was it? Well I booked half of it on my Amex and half on hers to take advantage of the Amex $100 credit offer. And the fare just covered the amount needed for that offer to work for both of us.

 

Although paying far in advance would not be my preference, we are not really risking very much money. Plus, unless they give away cabins, I don't really see how the fare could go lower.

Edited March 4, 2018 by ontheweb
changed just barely covered to just covered

[DaveOKC]

We actually have one of the pay in full non refundable cruises coming up. We did buy non-cruise line insurance so there are things we are covered for if we had to cancel.

 

This is how that came about. There is a HAL cruise that DW has been interested in for years (between Boston and Montreal or vice versa), but something always came up that we did instead.

 

I alerted the TA that we normally work with that we were on the lookout for that itinerary on HAL. One day he called and there was a special regional discount that included our state. It did seem lower than the normal rate I have seen for this cruise. And then he said he saw a new type fare category that he had never seen before. And it was the one with the non-refundable fare, and it was another several hundred dollars lower.

 

How low was it? Well I booked half of it on my Amex and half on hers to take advantage of the Amex $100 credit offer. And the fare just covered the amount needed for that offer to work for both of us.

 

Although paying far in advance would not be my preference, we are not really risking very much money. Plus, unless they give away cabins, I don't really see how the fare could go lower.

 

Similar story here on my next cruise. It was a few months before final payment anyway, plus the rate I booked under was the lowest I had seen in quite awhile for the category, so I took a chance and booked. Even though a promotion came along, it was still a bit above my deal, so I came out a bit ahead.

 

While this worked this time for me, I likely will not book non-refundable again.

[iancal]

I do not understand some of the wringing of hands and knashing of teeth.

 

Simply do what the poster above did. View the options, pick one, and go with it. HAL is not going to give you a dicount for selecting non refundable and then give you another by permitting a re-price. No mystery or trickery to this whatsoever.

[FlorenceItaly]

Not so. Below is the detail on the fare for our Dec., 2018 cruise (9 months out) which shows that the entire fare is non-refundable and that you have to purchase the cancellation insurance NOW:

 

This is a special fare being offered for a limited time, with certain limitations that apply:

• Payment must be made in full at the time of booking.

• This specially priced promotion is 100% non-refundable from the point of payment unless you purchase one of our Cancellation Protection Plans at time of booking.

 

It is the SAME for our 51 night Hawaii/SP cruise in October of 2019. The savings is only $300 savings per person. It is PERPLEXING how this an incentive.

[zeen978]

Our friends booked a snap fare with a B cabin on the Rotterdam several months ago. At that time we checked the last few years history and for their cabin category the fare had not been lower than what was being offered. We had a EE cabin and it did not pay for us to do it but they saved a few thousand dollars by booking that way. Months later while speaking with our PCC she told us that if another snap fare was offered and the price went down on our friends cabin she could readjust it. Anyways, with the promotion this past week, it did drop another $300.00/pp and they did get the price adjustment. I wasn't sure if people realized that this could be done as initially we did not.