HAL New Reservation Transfer Policy 8 Apr 2019

[richwmn]

I just spoke to my PCC. I was told to submit the proposal from the TA via email and it would be forwarded up the chain for consideration. I wasn't given a time frame but should be quickly if it is going to be approved.

 

Rich

 

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, richwmn said:

I just spoke to my PCC. I was told to submit the proposal from the TA via email and it would be forwarded up the chain for consideration. I wasn't given a time frame but should be quickly if it is going to be approved.

 

Rich

 

Rich,

 

I am assuming your PCC confirmed the policy change?  Also, is the reservation you are referring to before or past 60 days?

[richwmn]

1 minute ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Rich,

 

I am assuming your PCC confirmed the policy change?  Also, is the reservation you are referring to before or past 60 days?

Yes, she confirmed the policy change earlier. The original booking was made last Sept, so well past the 60 day window.

 

[iancal]

Cannot blame HAL for this.  They are essentially paying twice for the same service.  What competitive business can sustain this in the long run.

 

They pay once....because they pay for salaries, office, etc for the PCC's.

 

They pay twice because the travel agencies get commission on the sale.

 

Would you be willing to pay twice for the same service?  I would not.   

 

 

[boards]

1 hour ago, doone said:

I booked a specific cruise while onboard the Koningsdam , I am going to transfer my reservation to my TA, assuming since I just booked the specific cruise onboard and did not use the PCC with HAL, this would not apply to me, correct?

I would think so.  I see no problem if the plan was to book the cruise and then transfer to a TA when you get home or soon after.   

[Vict0riann]

If the time frame is now 60 days to transfer, you would still be having the PCC do all the work, research, etc., just the timing is changed.  You'd think they would say just use one or the other.

[ChinaShrek]

7 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

If the time frame is now 60 days to transfer, you would still be having the PCC do all the work, research, etc., just the timing is changed.  You'd think they would say just use one or the other.

 

They could simply say no transfers at all.  Why even have the 60 day rule if there is so much money lost with the practice?

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

I just spoke to my PCC. I was told to submit the proposal from the TA via email and it would be forwarded up the chain for consideration. I wasn't given a time frame but should be quickly if it is going to be approved.

 

Rich

 

Hi Rich, just seeing this thread.  Are you saying that the cruise we have coming up in September (booked a year ago) won't be grandfathered in? 

[richwmn]

11 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Hi Rich, just seeing this thread.  Are you saying that the cruise we have coming up in September (booked a year ago) won't be grandfathered in? 

It looks like it is up in the air. My PCC called her supervisor about the cruise I booked last September for this October and was told to have me submit the proposal from the TA and they would get back to me. I emailed the proposal about an hour ago, I don't know when to expect a response.

Rich

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by richwmn

[Cruising-along]

1 minute ago, richwmn said:

It looks like it is up in the air. My PCC called her supervisor about the cruise I booked last September for this October and was told to have me submit the proposal from the TA and they would get back to me. I emailed the proposal about an hour ago, I don't know when to expect a response.

Rich

 

Well if ours aren't grandfathered in, I know I won't be the only unhappy customer 😞  

[xjust4fun]

We are annoyed at this change of booking transfer policy.  We presently have 3 bookings with HAL one of which is grandfathered and was booked over 1 year ago for this Oct.  We always talk to our PCC to ensure that he gets his commission then we transfer the booking to a TA to get some OBC’s We just recently booked 2 cruises for 2020 with our PCC, guess we will be able to transfer these or just cancel the bookings with HAL and go with the TA.  I just don;t understand why HAL never notified us of this change in policy.  IF Hal had a online system that was user friendly we could do all the work ourselves as we use to, but their new system is not the best....

[slidergirl]

I think too many people are gaming the system and HAL is finally catching up.  It happens in the hotel and airline  business, too.  In hotels, frequent guest members will book multiple stays sequentially at the same hotel to get extra stay credit and bonus points.  Some programs have closed that loophole - sequential stays count as just one stay.  

 

If you want a TA to be in charge of your cruise, book with them from the start.  Or, if HAL allows a transfer, the TA should get no commission because they did nothing and anything you get  by changing should be out of the pocket of the TA. 

[mauimacho]

I'm surprised it took this long. I know people at HAL read this website and there are many threads about transferring bookings.

[Tampa Girl]

15 hours ago, DeltaBreeze said:

This is the reply from my PCC: "As a company we would like guests if they know they are going to transfer their booking to a particular agency to book with them from the beginning so you have continuity of service."

 

They said the new policy was the industry standard. I guess I won't be booking early anymore.

 

 

What does the new policy have to do with booking early?  Why don't you just book with a TA from the onset?  You get at least the same perks and, if you have the right TA, a discount.  

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

6 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

What does the new policy have to do with booking early?  Why don't you just book with a TA from the onset?  You get at least the same perks and, if you have the right TA, a discount.  

 

I agree. I have never understood why some book with a PCC and then transfer to a travel agent. Start with the TA and go from there.

[boards]

7 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

What does the new policy have to do with booking early?  Why don't you just book with a TA from the onset?  You get at least the same perks and, if you have the right TA, a discount.  

No. that has never happened to us.  We have done better booking with the PCC than a TA in our city.   

[aa7yy]

54 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

What does the new policy have to do with booking early?  Why don't you just book with a TA from the onset?  You get at least the same perks and, if you have the right TA, a discount.  

 

Well primarily because then you have three involved if you change your mind. I sit on a reservation till I am 100% sure, then I move it. Minimum pain for HAL, minimum for TA. More flexible for me. The people I deal with are salaried, not commissioned.

[Tampa Girl]

1 hour ago, aa7yy said:

 

Well primarily because then you have three involved if you change your mind. I sit on a reservation till I am 100% sure, then I move it. Minimum pain for HAL, minimum for TA. More flexible for me. The people I deal with are salaried, not commissioned.

 

If you book directly with a TA, you have one involved - the agent.  To be clear, I am not pushing independent TA's, but it seems to be that there is some misinformation being generated.  I don't know if the PCC's are salaried or commissioned, at least partly, but I do know that I cannot get a discounted cruise price from a PCC, and I do and always have gotten a good discount from direct bookings with TA's.  You can sit on a refundable reservation with a TA, the same as with a PCC.

[Randyk47]

Like Tampa Girl I have never ever had a PCC come anywhere close to the fares and incentives I could get from a TA.   Actually talked to a PCC about that and he basically said “you can almost always do better with an external TA” when it comes to cost and benefits.   I know in the situation I was talking to him about he said he could not come anywhere close to the discounted fare I’d found.  That was last time I tried to deal with a PCC, I only deal and book with my TA.  A PCC may be good for a new cruiser since hopefully they know more about their specific line than an external agent but then again not all PCCs or TAs are created equal.   

[KAKcruiser]

I book online at the Holland America website.  I like to be in control of my reservation to take advantage of price reductions and make seating requests for the dining room.  Then I transfer the booking to my travel agent before final payment.  I know the travel agent can do these things for me but I find it easier and more accurate to do it on my own.  

[Randyk47]

25 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

I book online at the Holland America website.  I like to be in control of my reservation to take advantage of price reductions and make seating requests for the dining room.  Then I transfer the booking to my travel agent before final payment.  I know the travel agent can do these things for me but I find it easier and more accurate to do it on my own.  

 

But they may even cut that off by starting a 60-day clock when you book even though you haven’t taken up the time of a PCC.   Lots of details still missing.  

Edited April 9, 2019 by Randyk47

[Cruising-along]

5 minutes ago, Randyk47 said:

Lots of details still missing.

Sure are.  I have to wonder if OP's PCC jumped the gun, since there's been no official notification of this change.  

I still can't imagine that cruises already booked prior to 60 days out won't be grandfathered in.  

[Randyk47]

4 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Sure are.  I have to wonder if OP's PCC jumped the gun, since there's been no official notification of this change.  

I still can't imagine that cruises already booked prior to 60 days out won't be grandfathered in.  

 

You would think and hope they are grandfathering existing bookings but that’s not clear.   As for jumping the gun that certainly is a possibility.   As it is HAL has had trouble with consistency when talking to PCCs, Customer Service, etc., so a printed policy would be nice.   

[Dietemann]

53 minutes ago, Randyk47 said:

 

You would think and hope they are grandfathering existing bookings but that’s not clear.   As for jumping the gun that certainly is a possibility.   As it is HAL has had trouble with consistency when talking to PCCs, Customer Service, etc., so a printed policy would be nice.   

This was my experience yesterday. I had a cruise booked on board last October which I wanted to transfer after reading the new policy post. It took 11 minutes for someone to answer the # I usually have called to initiate a transfer. The person answering told me that they have a new policy which was initiated last Friday and explained to me what I had already read here. He also said "no grandfathering." So it took some gentle persuasion, several long holds while he talked to the "supervisor" and after a total of 37 minutes my cruise booking was transferred to my TA. She also, incidentally, did not know about the new policy, nobody had notified her.

 

So it is indeed official, but I hope for all that may be affected that HAL will indeed give all who have booked outside this 60 day window a bit more time. After all, Princess had to backtrack and be a bit more lenient for all who were caught by their new 60 day policy.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Dietemann

[Fouremco]

As I said recently in response to a different issue, so many threads on the HAL board would never have been started in the first place had HAL been able to develop and implement an effective communications strategy, along with the infrastructure to support it, and stopped treating passengers as an afterthought.