HAL not available to book on some online US TAs

[drsel]

Some US online travel agents have stopped listing HAL Cruises completely, while others do not have any HAL Cruises listed for 2023.

Does anyone know why?

 

I was looking specifically for Westerdam from Hong Kong to Singapore on Jan 2,  2023.

Of course, it's available on the HAL official website, (where prices tend to be much higher)

Edited February 20, 2021 by drsel

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

Some US online travel agents have stopped listing HAL Cruises completely, while others do not have any HAL Cruises listed for 2023.

Does anyone know why?

 

I was looking specifically for Westerdam from Hong Kong to Singapore on Jan 2,  2023.

Of course, it's available on the HAL official website, (where prices tend to be much higher)

Have you called any TAs? Could it be booked on HAL, and then transferred to a TA? 
 

When you says some TAs, does that imply there are some others who are still listing HAL cruises?

[CNSJ]

I found a similar situation on trying to book AUS/NZ in 2023.  On HAL site, not on my TA's site.  I called and learned they have to program those cruises inland price them.  My Cruise TA told me it would just take a day and he'd be able to book it, as they book using a TA site that is provided by HAL.  The 2023 cruises would all be loaded within a week.

 

I guess it's not automatic. Don't give up,  Book it!

[Roz]

I ran into a similar situation.  Agency website didn't show any 2023 South American cruises, but I was able to book with my TA the first day the cruise showed up on the HAL website - Feb. 12.  

[drsel]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Have you called any TAs? Could it be booked on HAL, and then transferred to a TA? 
 

When you says some TAs, does that imply there are some others who are still listing HAL cruises?

unfortunately this cruise is not yet seen on the bidding site, where I usually get the best prices from multiple different TAs.

 

I noted that 2  large online US TAs have removed HAL completely from their websites, while a third one has HAL Cruises in 2022, not 2023

[Roz]

7 minutes ago, drsel said:

I noted that 2  large online US TAs have removed HAL completely from their websites, while a third one has HAL Cruises in 2022, not 2023

 

I have no idea why they would do that.

[SeaWatch12]

I noticed that the agency I used to book my October 2021 TA, does not show HAL as a cruise line on their searches. Since yesterday.

I wonder if HAL has instructed the agencies to not book anything at this time so they can evaluate and make adjustments for reduced capacity for when sailings start again.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the new guidelines.

 

[drsel]

1 hour ago, SeaWatch12 said:

I noticed that the agency I used to book my October 2021 TA, does not show HAL as a cruise line on their searches. Since yesterday.

I wonder if HAL has instructed the agencies to not book anything at this time so they can evaluate and make adjustments for reduced capacity for when sailings start again.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the new guidelines.

 

Exactly !

are you able to book January 2023 HAL Cruises on any TA website?

Two days ago I could, but now I can't

Edited February 20, 2021 by drsel

[kwb101]

We just booked a March 2023 NZ voyage through HAL, and are transferring it to our big box TA, who has had nothing for any cruise line listed beyond January '23.

[drsel]

4 minutes ago, kwb101 said:

We just booked a March 2023 NZ voyage through HAL, and are transferring it to our big box TA, who has had nothing for any cruise line listed beyond January '23.

I would like to know how much discount or OBC the TA will give before I transfer it

[kwb101]

18 minutes ago, drsel said:

I would like to know how much discount or OBC the TA will give before I transfer it

Me, too, but the voyage was on HAL's site for over a week, and we didn't want to wait to book. Our TA gives a shop card (has to be used for purchases, can't be cashed out) equal to about 8% of the base fare, plus 2% if you pay with their credit card, plus another 3% from the credit card issuer. This all totals about 13% of the base fare, a fair chunk of change. 

[Love2cruise77]

Don't forget that there are two different rates, one with drink package and one without.  Generally speaking, you can get 10% of base fare discount from your TA.  This sailing is available to book, you might need to contact your TA to get rates though.

[drsel]

I shouldn't have mentioned the cruise I was interested in.

It had just been launched on 13 Feb 2021, at a reasonable price.

Now the cruise is back on the TA websites, but the price has gone up 57% from $2788 to $4388 in just 1 day!

Edited February 21, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

Is it better to take a 14 night one way cruise or a 28 night round trip, considering we have visited all the ports on the return journey? We just want to check out / experience HAL for the 1st time & compare it with the other cruise lines.

 

Will the shows, activities & entertainment be repeated on the return trip?

How will HAL provide shows, activities & entertainment for 28 nights? Or will there be many nights WITHOUT any shows or entertainment?

[LocoLoco1]

QUESTION: As I’ve booked directly with HAL for ages now, how can having a ‘middleman’ make a cruise less expensive?. Once aboard, in chatting I find I got a very great rate. 

[kwb101]

2 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

QUESTION: As I’ve booked directly with HAL for ages now, how can having a ‘middleman’ make a cruise less expensive?. Once aboard, in chatting I find I got a very great rate. 

I've booked directly through HAL, and find that my fare is always the same as from the TA to whom I transfer the booking. The difference is that the TA always gives a shop card equal in value to about 8% of the base fare (plus the extra 2% for using their credit card (a cash proposition)), while HAL doesn't give anything. (I'm not counting fares that include perks like the beverage package or free gratuities, which invariably are higher.)

This most recent time (last week), I booked with HAL not only because they had the cruise available to book, but because they offered two fares (with and without perks), the latter of which was $2300pp less. Sometimes, our TA only offers one fare, so we end up with a higher fare with perks. However, the cash card often makes up for that. 

[rodndonna]

2 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

QUESTION: As I’ve booked directly with HAL for ages now, how can having a ‘middleman’ make a cruise less expensive?. Once aboard, in chatting I find I got a very great rate. 

 

We booked our first cruise 3 weeks ago directly with HAL through a PCC (thinking if it is cancelled it would be easier to deal with).

 

We just booked a 2nd HAL cruise  yesterday, but this time  used an on-line based cruise TA this rime. We went with the "have it all" rate and it ended up in the order of 10% cheaper than the HAL pricing and gave us $200 OBC. I was told $50 OBC was from the 'group rate' we were getting with them and then $150 was just a promo from that TA company.

 

For reasons I didn't understand, the ''group rate' we apparently booked was then not eligible for the "pay early" promo. If we had booked HAL directly  and then been able to use the 'pay early'  bonus (10% off and $250 OBC) we   would have gotten to about the same cost. In the end we figure we got the 'pre-pay' rate  but didn't have to front the money this time, just the deposit.

 

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

32 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

For reasons I didn't understand, the ''group rate' we apparently booked was then not eligible for the "pay early" promo. If we had booked HAL directly  and then been able to use the 'pay early'  bonus (10% off and $250 OBC) we   would have gotten to about the same cost. In the end we figure we got the 'pre-pay' rate  but didn't have to front the money this time, just the deposit.

 

The pay early promo IS combineable with agency group rates BUT not all cruises qualify.  For example Europe 2022 and the newly released 2022/23 Exotic sailings are not part of the current offer that ends on 2/28

 

Here is a list of the sailings that qualify: https://gohal.com/app/uploads/2020/12/Early-Pay-Incentives-Master-Sailing-List12.31.20.xlsx 

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by AtlantaCruiser72

[rodndonna]

4 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

The pay Early promo IS combinable with agency group rates BUT not all cruises qualify.  For example Europe 2022 and the newly released Exotic sailings are not part of the current offer that ends on 2/28

 

Here is a list of the sailings that qualify: https://gohal.com/app/uploads/2020/12/Early-Pay-Incentives-Master-Sailing-List12.31.20.xlsx 

 

Thanks for the list. This makes me feel better about the rate we got!

 

I just checked with my husband , and he recalls that is was the sailing itself that was not  eligible for the promo. 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

7 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Thanks for the list. This makes me feel better about the rate we got!

 

I just checked with my husband , and he recalls that is was the sailing itself that was not  eligible for the promo. 

 

I'm hopeful they will "re-launch" the offer in March and include some of the new 2022-23 sailings that have been opened for booking since the last promo launched.  I'm booked on the Westerdam 2022 fall transatlantic and would gladly pay in full for the 10% savings and a $250 onboard credit :)

[rodndonna]

11 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

I'm hopeful they will "re-launch" the offer in March and include some of the new 2022-23 sailings that have been opened for booking since the last promo launched.  I'm booked on the Westerdam 2022 fall transatlantic and would gladly pay in full for the 10% savings and a $250 onboard credit 🙂

 

We prepaid the first cruise for the 10% using the Valentine special gift  cards (which were another 10% bonus). With all that savings we HAD to book another cruise - haha.

 

Wished we would have bought more gift cards now, but maybe that will be offered again next February before out final payment is due.  (-:

[Love2cruise77]

13 hours ago, drsel said:

I shouldn't have mentioned the cruise I was interested in.

It had just been launched on 13 Feb 2021, at a reasonable price.

Now the cruise is back on the TA websites, but the price has gone up 57% from $2788 to $4388 in just 1 day!

 

$2788 is non-refundable deposit fare, $4388 is the "have it all" rate, they are not the same thing

Edited February 21, 2021 by Love2cruise77

[IPB4IGO]

13 hours ago, drsel said:

Is it better to take a 14 night one way cruise or a 28 night round trip, considering we have visited all the ports on the return journey? We just want to check out / experience HAL for the 1st time & compare it with the other cruise lines.

 

Will the shows, activities & entertainment be repeated on the return trip?

How will HAL provide shows, activities & entertainment for 28 nights? Or will there be many nights WITHOUT any shows or entertainment?

We have taken the 28-night round trip Panama Canal cruise (actually it's two back-to-back cruises), and we are booked on it again next year. The east- and westbound cruises will have the same shows, activities, entertainment, and ports. 

 

We like the at-sea days, and we never go to the shows. We like the long days of leisure.

[LocoLoco1]

Thank you one and all. I learned a lot reading this info.