Nieuw Statendam / Multiple Topics Please :)

[SSBrickNJ]

90 minutes ago I worked w/ a nice HAL phone rep. to create a 24 hour courtesy hold on Stateroom K5024 on board Nieuw Statendam.

My guess is "Nieuw" is pronounced "New"....and my guess is "Statendam" is pronounced "Stah- ten- dahm". How did I do? 🤔

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So, please help me to clarify this.....

I'm told it is a 24 hold but my deposit is not due until Jan. 2nd between 8am and 4:30pm Seattle/Pacific Time.

So it seems that tomorrow I have to call and say "Yes"....but actually my "Yes" has no financial commitment until I call on Jan. 2nd and give the credit card for the deposit. Do I understand that correctly?

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I DO have to call tomorrow or my "mock booking" I did today is purged from their system?

Yet I can defer the deposit until Jan. 2nd?

Thanks everyone for your anticipated help on this thread! 🙂

Steve

[wdw1972]

You're correct on the pronunciation - good job!  Sorry I can't help with your other questions.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[SSBrickNJ]

27 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

You're correct on the pronunciation - good job!  Sorry I can't help with your other questions.

 

Sue/WDW1972

That's ok. Thanks for posting!

I'm pretty sure I understood the agent correctly.

Say "yes" tomorrow...yet it is ok to defer the credit card deposit until Jan. 2nd.

[SSBrickNJ]

One drawback is my wife really likes the cruise...and....she appreciates that the price is very fair.

BUT....the drawback is she plugged in the dates re. the airfare.

We can fly out of Newark NJ (EWR) or out of Philadelphia (PHL)

She says the air fares are really high....as if we were flying to Indonesia instead of just flying to Copenhagen.

I suggested we pay the Refundable Deposit for the Cruise rather than the cheaper Non refundable Deposit....then we wait for the airfare prices to drop. We have until May 4th before we have to pay the cruise balance.

She was non committal re. that.

Thoughts anyone?

Edited December 28, 2022 by SSBrickNJ

[jayhawk66]

Did you price the air through flight ease? You ma find much more affordable fares.

[REOVA]

Which airline is the European partner airline that may be flying this route. You may try Incognito in Google and going to that airline (like Lufthansa) and pricing the flight. It might be in Euros but the exchange may be cheaper depending on your credit card. I haven't done this in many years but seemed to get cheaper flights. (Unless you have points to use). 

[colbe]

SSBrick keep in mind that that is high season for flights to Europe. We are also on this sailing and booked our flights from New Zealand two months ago. The fares have gone up since then. One possibility is for you to fly into another large European airport, eg Amsterdam, and transit to Copenhagen from there.

[cbr663]

Airfare to Europe has really increased in price.  We had hoped to book a cruise back to Norway this Spring and it was the high cost of the airfare that has us deferring that cruise for a later date.  We can't put it off too much longer though with Norway only allowing zero emission cruise ships in Flam and Gairanger in 2026.  

[KAKcruiser]

Somehow I am skeptical about what the agent told you.  Did you receive a confirmation telling you when the deposit is due?  Usually a hold is until the deposit is due.  So either your hold is until Jan  2 or your deposit is due tomorrow.  I would definitely go with a refundable deposit.  

[SSBrickNJ]

6 hours ago, KAKcruiser said:

Somehow I am skeptical about what the agent told you.  Did you receive a confirmation telling you when the deposit is due?  Usually a hold is until the deposit is due.  So either your hold is until Jan  2 or your deposit is due tomorrow.  I would definitely go with a refundable deposit.  

I did receive an email with an attachment displaying that my deposit is due Jan. 2nd.

There is nothing in that attachment stating I have to call within 24 hours. That info is based on what the agent verbally said.

[rodndonna]

As others have said airfare to Europe has definitely increases. We are in the same 'boat' with a European cruise in September with airfares being much higher than in the past. Keep in mind, it is early and there are generally not sales yet for flights that far out so hopefully still a but of reduction from what you are seeing now. Our large Canadian airline is still only offering sales into June for international. 

 

A thing I like to do to appease myself is combine the cost and cruise and cost of the airfare and ask myself - is that a decent price for "air and cruise"? and then if it is a number I find acceptable, focus on that while trying to whittle down the air cost as an added bonus.

 

Good luck!

[SueMo]

Try Play Air--out of Iceland.  They are a budget airline, but we booked round trip flights with them from Baltimore to Copenhagen for our cruise in August, and even after adding the additional cost for luggage and insurance, it was about 2K for two people, at least 1K less than other airlines.  I think they fly out of Newark.

[HALcruiser2001]

13 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

One drawback is my wife really likes the cruise...and....she appreciates that the price is very fair.

BUT....the drawback is she plugged in the dates re. the airfare.

We can fly out of Newark NJ (EWR) or out of Philadelphia (PHL)

She says the air fares are really high....as if we were flying to Indonesia instead of just flying to Copenhagen.

I suggested we pay the Refundable Deposit for the Cruise rather than the cheaper Non refundable Deposit....then we wait for the airfare prices to drop. We have until May 4th before we have to pay the cruise balance.

She was non committal re. that.

Thoughts anyone?

I would not expect airlines to decrease prices on flights in the foreseeable future.  Shop around to get the best deal and then book it, my opinion.  But this is major carriers, I do not have any experience with budget or chartered lines.

[SSBrickNJ]

I called Holland America and said "Yes" to the 24 hour courtesy hold I arranged yesterday.

The deposit is due Jan. 2nd.

I'm choosing the REfundable deposit.

I'm willing to pay a higher fare for the peace of mind to be able to cancel for a full deposit refund....I have up to May 4th to cancel.

[colbe]

1 hour ago, SSBrickNJ said:

I called Holland America and said "Yes" to the 24 hour courtesy hold I arranged yesterday.

The deposit is due Jan. 2nd.

I'm choosing the REfundable deposit.

I'm willing to pay a higher fare for the peace of mind to be able to cancel for a full deposit refund....I have up to May 4th to cancel.

Great news. Are you on for the British Isles part of the cruise as well as Norway?

[SSBrickNJ]

1 hour ago, colbe said:

Great news. Are you on for the British Isles part of the cruise as well as Norway?

Nope. Thanks for posting !

Aug 2 thru Aug. 9

Then we gotta go home 🙂