HUGE price drop after final payment

[tartanmom]

Booked on the Zaandam for the Dec. 20th, 16 night holiday cruise. Final payment was last month and this week I received a Mariners Club email with offers for upcoming sailings.  To my horror the price of my stateroom has dropped $3,000 cdn! I phoned my travel agent today and she is going to look into it but says HAL is usually pretty firm that if the price drops after final payment I'm out of luck. Is this true? Anyone else have experience with this? Both my husband and I are loyal HAL cruisers and are just about to reach 4 stars as our children who just recently left for university. So we have spent a lot of money with HAL prior to the pandemic and have always enjoyed our cruises with them. I'm hopeful they will take this into consideration and perhaps offer an onboard credit or something because I truly feel sick to my stomach at the moment. 

[CruiserBruce]

You might get an upgrade, but no money back.

[KAKcruiser]

They might give you an upgrade or onboard credit or even future cruise credits.  They will usually do something so keep after your travel agent.

[Radbooks]

I had that happen too and called and got upgraded to a balcony from my oceanview room. I was satisfied, but it is very frustrating too.

[twodjs]

If you're on your way to 4 stars, you know that supply and demand controls prices. If you booked your cruise and felt it was a good value at the time and got the cabin you wanted, that hasn't changed. Sounds like there's a very good chance for an upgrade. Usually prices increase as the sail date approaches. And we all book early expecting that to happen. But, there is risk and for what ever reason, your cruise date didn't book up. Every cruiseline needs a profit now more than ever, so they need as many heads in beds as possible. I simply make it a practice to never look after final payment ... just enjoy a wonderful 16 nights back at sea on an uncrowded ship! 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, tartanmom said:

Booked on the Zaandam for the Dec. 20th, 16 night holiday cruise. Final payment was last month and this week I received a Mariners Club email with offers for upcoming sailings.  To my horror the price of my stateroom has dropped $3,000 cdn! I phoned my travel agent today and she is going to look into it but says HAL is usually pretty firm that if the price drops after final payment I'm out of luck. Is this true? Anyone else have experience with this? Both my husband and I are loyal HAL cruisers and are just about to reach 4 stars as our children who just recently left for university. So we have spent a lot of money with HAL prior to the pandemic and have always enjoyed our cruises with them. I'm hopeful they will take this into consideration and perhaps offer an onboard credit or something because I truly feel sick to my stomach at the moment. 

Not unusual for most cruise lines. I would not expect any price reduction, though you might be able to get an upgrade, (though would not count even on that).  One can wait and book after final payment and get the advantage of any last minute price drops, but if they do so then they might not get the room they want or even be able to book at all if it is a desirable route.  Otherwise you book early and watch in some cases as the price drops after final payment.

[zgscl]

Very unlikely to get a reduction I am afraid. I agree, the best to hope for is to upgrade to a nicer cabin. 

[ski ww]

It happened to us once. We were offered $100 OBC or an up grade from an inside cabin to a balcony for a TA from Rome to Ft Lauderdale on the old Prinsendam. We took the up grade. 

[mcrcruiser]

Yes it very well depends on the cruise & cabin toy need  from the get go . I can tell you that we just booked the  first day out was October 21 ,2022   that HAL released the Jan 30 ,2024 Hawaii cruise on Koningsdam from San Diego Round Trip . I jumped on this because I wanted the cheapest Handicap balcony to nook .got it at a decent price & then told my TA to upgrade  to a V or VA handicap balcony on  decks 5 or 8   & now we can fine in club Orange restaurant with less people  than the MDR 

 

 I can honestly tell you that this Hawaii route for handicap & preferred cabins sells very quickly   .So it really depends on where the ship is headed . some routes  are far more popular & thus sell better than others  .  We have 87 cruises behind us bit not all HAL    .More with Celebrity & Elite Plus there / We are also 3 star Mariners rushing to get to 4 star   level  .We should be there soon as we are booked on earlier cruises with HAL  

 

 The bottom line is to follow closely  the activity with that pre selected route    before booking . Now imo HAL  may give you a upgrade & even some OBC  but ,at this time after final payment consider it a gift of good will  . We all must read the contracts we sign  

 

 Wishing you the very best of  luck    . Let us know what comes from HAL  in this situation .

 

   

 

  

[Mary229]

Carefully peruse your cancellation costs with a possible rebooking.  This generally doesn’t add up.  I usually try for some extra perks or upgrades. 
 

 

[mcrcruiser]

50 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Carefully peruse your cancellation costs with a possible rebooking.  This generally doesn’t add up.  I usually try for some extra perks or upgrades. 
 

 

Good advice as long as they are not deeply into   the higher level of cancellation & that they can get a cabin of their preferences   .Generally speaking appealing to HAL through their TA   may be a better  option for some OBCs & a upgrade  being the sailing is  lagging  in pax booked 

 

 There are many cruises I have booked after  final payment & saved   from our home port  .However ,I have been retired 23 years so we can do this 

 

 B/4 being retired I had  to suck it up    when the prices broke down but ,i was still very content with our ship cabin & location  .The higher the better   .doesn't a;; ways work that way now because we seek a  handicap cabin  on cruises 

 

 We have had memorable cruise like others on these threads   .what comes to mind are TAs  from rear balcony cabins over looking the wake , Australia & the  the south pacific islands  Alaska 5 times pus weeks in the interior self planned  ,twice full transits through   the Panama Canal watching the new longer wider locks being built   .Many TAs   ie 

[Broon]

It happened to us, too. After 2 1/2 years of non travel, we booked onto the Nieuw Statendam in Sept, b2b Que Bos Que. Typically, I don’t check the price after final payment, but, for this cruise, I was checking everything, especially due to the extra Covid requirements. I found a large price drop and went through our TA to HAL. They wouldn’t budge on the price paid, but we did get the Have it All promo and crew appreciation provided to us. This covered a large part of the price drop,  but not all of it. We were very pleased to be back travelling, and back on board, and did not let the price factor become a factor in our enjoyment. Not having spent anything on travel for 2 1/2 years….it was all worth it. 

[Florida_gal_50]

Hal is being very, very stingy with anything.  I had a pretty large price drop before final on a refundable fare and they didn’t want to do it 🙄.  I don’t think so.  They did after a bit of arguing.  You might as well ask.  Good luck.

[Florida_gal_50]

7 hours ago, twodjs said:

If you're on your way to 4 stars, you know that supply and demand controls prices. If you booked your cruise and felt it was a good value at the time and got the cabin you wanted, that hasn't changed. Sounds like there's a very good chance for an upgrade. Usually prices increase as the sail date approaches. And we all book early expecting that to happen. But, there is risk and for what ever reason, your cruise date didn't book up. Every cruiseline needs a profit now more than ever, so they need as many heads in beds as possible. I simply make it a practice to never look after final payment ... just enjoy a wonderful 16 nights back at sea on an uncrowded ship! 

I’ve never seen the price increase over time on anything I’ve booked.  It’s always a fire sale near the end.  I’m not talking about once a year itineraries or something like the voyage of the Vikings.  I don’t think you can assume an uncrowded ship anymore.  My upcoming cruise looks very full along with the ones proceeding it.

[kangforpres]

I use to be an early booker, but I've learned my lesson and unless it's a casino offer or Private Sale price, I'm much more willing to wait and see what  prices do. The parent company is in serious debt and will do anything to fill cabins and increase operating revenue including deep discounts on Holiday cruises.

 

Now if they would only offer me a $200 Ocean View room for a World Cruise.

 

Happy Saturday, 

 

Paul

[pmjnh]

11 hours ago, tartanmom said:

Booked on the Zaandam for the Dec. 20th, 16 night holiday cruise. Final payment was last month and this week I received a Mariners Club email with offers for upcoming sailings.  To my horror the price of my stateroom has dropped $3,000 cdn! I phoned my travel agent today and she is going to look into it but says HAL is usually pretty firm that if the price drops after final payment I'm out of luck. Is this true? Anyone else have experience with this? Both my husband and I are loyal HAL cruisers and are just about to reach 4 stars as our children who just recently left for university. So we have spent a lot of money with HAL prior to the pandemic and have always enjoyed our cruises with them. I'm hopeful they will take this into consideration and perhaps offer an onboard credit or something because I truly feel sick to my stomach at the moment. 

Its been several years since I did this but they did grant the reduction after final payment on one of my HAL cruises...must have been around 2015, so not sure of current possibilities. Never hurts to ask! Good luck!

Edited October 22, 2022 by pmjnh

[bennybear]

It is definitely worth asking and as stated above checking how high the penalty would be if you did cancel and then rebook.  Depending on the time frame the savings may be more than what you would lose on the deposit.  

[Seasick Sailor]

23 minutes ago, bennybear said:

It is definitely worth asking and as stated above checking how high the penalty would be if you did cancel and then rebook.  Depending on the time frame the savings may be more than what you would lose on the deposit.  

 

Agree bennybear. And if you received certain perks when you booked (prepaid crew incentive  etc) and you rebook, the 1st perks would go away. 

[mwj]

13 hours ago, tartanmom said:

Booked on the Zaandam for the Dec. 20th, 16 night holiday cruise. Final payment was last month and this week I received a Mariners Club email with offers for upcoming sailings.  To my horror the price of my stateroom has dropped $3,000 cdn! I phoned my travel agent today and she is going to look into it but says HAL is usually pretty firm that if the price drops after final payment I'm out of luck. Is this true? Anyone else have experience with this? Both my husband and I are loyal HAL cruisers and are just about to reach 4 stars as our children who just recently left for university. So we have spent a lot of money with HAL prior to the pandemic and have always enjoyed our cruises with them. I'm hopeful they will take this into consideration and perhaps offer an onboard credit or something because I truly feel sick to my stomach at the moment. 

From the very beginning, this has been a poorly booked cruise. Sixteen days, encompassing xmas and new years, is to long for those that haven't retired. The mariner specials for this cruise have existed for the past two plus months. We booked using the mariner rates back in August, because we wanted to spend xmas and new years at sea. A month ago, there were 334 available rooms (not including accessible cabins) out of 720. Hopefully, your TA can help remedy your situation in concert with HAL.

[crystalspin]

That is what "Final Payment" represents. If the price went UP, I would be congratulating myself (not offering to pay the difference) and if it goes down, I'm just glad I got the cabin I wanted with the perks I liked.

[tartanmom]

Thank you so much for all the comments/advice. We've always loved HAL -- especially the crew and I'm sure once onboard we will have a wonderful holiday. Usually I would just bite the bullet so to speak and be done with it. You win some, you lose some when it comes to pricing. But this is such a considerate amount that I can't let it go. Plus the booking has had issues since the start. Originally I booked a specific cabin and then several weeks later signed into my account and the cabin number was different. Phoned the travel agent who then spent hours on hold with HAL to find out that they had randomly changed our cabin due to "operational concerns" and the cabin was inferior to what we had originally booked. 😡 Needless to say I'm already an unhappy camper after that! 

[oaktreerb]

When I had a similar issue b/4 Covid.  I called my BBTA and complained to them, “for what I paid I could have  had a suite”.  The rep said “would you like a suite” and I said “yes”. and she traded my veranda or a far forward SS handicap unit.  (the only suite available).  

 

It never hurts to ask but be prepared for what you may receive!  

[JesseLivermore]

Given the occupancy rates these days, I would recommend last minute booking, esp if local port

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, JesseLivermore said:

Given the occupancy rates these days, I would recommend last minute booking, esp if local port

While they may be true of some sailings I’m quite surprised at the sold out cruises lately.  Personally I’d love to have a half empty ship again.  Counting available cabins is not an indication of how well the cruise is booked.  There could be a lot of guarantee bookings.

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

When I had a similar issue b/4 Covid.  I called my BBTA and complained to them, “for what I paid I could have  had a suite”.  The rep said “would you like a suite” and I said “yes”. and she traded my veranda or a far forward SS handicap unit.  (the only suite available).  

 

It never hurts to ask but be prepared for what you may receive!  

Unfortunately I don’t think hal is handing out anything like they may have before the pandemic.  I think a better indication is what have they done since.