HAL Private Sale?? Not really.

[cruzngal]

I received a brochure for a limited time Private Sale on selected HAL cruises.  I saw one that I liked and called to make a reservation.  The long and short of it was that the dates and sailings I wanted, and are published in the private sale brochure, are not really on sale.  The HAL reservationist finally admitted that they are listed, but there is no sale -- only the representative sailing, whose price was listed was the one on sale.  The other dates and sailings listed in the same section were not. The actual rate for the one I wanted was  hundreds of dollars higher for the same category of room.  It appeared to be the regular price. 

 

I contacted HAL about this, but of course, they have not responded.  It has been about a week.

 

Nothing I can do about it other than to caution others.  If you call about one of these promotions and the rates don't match, ask specifically if the private sale applies.  I'll be far more cautious about these sales in the future.  This is the first time I've seen them be this deceptive.  Lesson learned.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We figured that out many, many years ago when we got one of those "private" sale brochures.

 

Never figured out who got those special prices.  Our TA called supervisors and got the run around.

[Mary229]

When HAL puts a cruise on sale it is specific to the date and itinerary.  Change the promoted date, the price goes up or the promotion is not available.  I recently took advantage of a sale and got exactly what was promised.

[cruzngal]

Mary229, I got exactly what was promised last time I did this too.  This one was different, however.  But after reading KrazyKruisers post, I might have just been lucky. 

[iancal]

That is exactly why we trash all cruise line snail mail before it even gets into the house.   Most of the email marketing gets deleted without even being opened.  

[kazu]

19 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

When HAL puts a cruise on sale it is specific to the date and itinerary.  Change the promoted date, the price goes up or the promotion is not available.  I recently took advantage of a sale and got exactly what was promised.

 

I agree.  I’ve seen some good private sales but usually they are not the dates we want or the itinerary.  I did luck out once.  I think that was back in 2003 but my memory is short.

 

It can work out for someone who is either flexible or not fussy (my S America cruise is on sale from Buenos Aires to Santiago but we planned on going further) but for most of us, they often don’t.

 

When it does, it’s a bonus but I don’t count on them.  I do look to be safe as I have saved mega dollars once, but the odds are it’s hitting the recycling bin.

 

[shipshapegirl]

We received the Private Sale in the mail.  I called my travel agent and we booked the 17 Day Voyage of the Vikings.  The price was exactly what was on the brochure.  Maybe we got lucky.

[Fouremco]

It seems to me that the wording in these brochures is pretty straight forward. For each itinerary, where there are often multiple sailings and at times multiple ships, it shows the pricing for the various categories followed by the statement that "Fares shown are for the [length][ship][date] sailing." Nowhere in the brochure does is suggest that all cruises listed in the brochure are offered at a sale price. I have a recent "Caribbean & North America Cruises" brochure in front of me which, I believe, lists all of HAL's cruises in these regions. IMO, it would be unrealistic to expect them all to be on sale. 

[cruising cockroach]

You need e-mail as the offer may be gone by the time you get snail mail.  Best (and only) I got was for a Prinsendam TATL:  20% off the lowest rate for a balcony, in a better cabin category (think the BC was $1500 while I was offered a AB for $1,250, and ended up in an A) + a decent OBC ($200/cabin IIRC).  Was cheaper (booked inside final payment window) than even the take-out cruise clearance site.

[dfish]

I booked my upcoming cruise on Rotterdam on private sale rates.  My PCC is the one who alerted me to it, knowing that I had wanted an Iceland/Greenland itinerary that had been cancelled due to the sale of the Prinsendam.  My price was well below what was and is being offered on the web site.  Just lucky in this instance.