HIA Promo

[KAKcruiser]

In the old days they always charged double for HIA for solo but for the past few years I have been lucky to get just one HIA charge.  

[erdufylla]

56 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Where you have to be careful about the HIA included fare is if you're a solo. Solos pay double, and sometimes the HIA fare for a solo is double the HIA per person fare (two Advantage fares plus two HIA). Sometimes it's double the Advantage fare plus HIA for only one. 

 

You have to get out the calculator to know which fare is best for your needs. 

Yeah, and at least for the ones I crunched the numbers on, it’s different for different cabin categories. For example, the cruise-only fare (the base non-refundable one) for an inside or oceanview cabin was a 1.8x markup for solo, but it went up to 2x starting with verandah. For the HIA Early Booking promo on these three cabin types (which was +$1000/pp for double occupancy in inside and verandah cabins, and oddly enough, +$1100/pp for oceanview), the HIA promo was +$1240 for solo inside, +$1300 for solo verandah, and +$1320 for solo oceanview. And my guess is that those numbers, or even the ratios, aren’t going to be the same on every ship and every itinerary. It’s enough to make your head spin!

[cbr663]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I'm not understanding. Please help. I must be missing something super obvious.

 

Why it is beneficial for you to include HIA at the time of booking? 

 

Based on the prices I've looked at (and my booking), it's cheaper to book the cruise and then add HIA afterward for $50 pp/pd.

 

In that scenario, this really is a sale. If $50 pp/pd last week did not include gratuities, and this week adding HIA for $50 pp/pd does include gratuities, it seems like a legit sale.

 

I'm not doubting you, I'm just not following. 

 

 

 

 

There isn't a standard HIA package.  HIA is a bundle of different amenities under the HIA umbrella with different promos having different amenities.  For instance, right now the HIA for the Unforgettable Journeys Event has prepaid crew gratuities included with the Signature Beverage Plan and the basic wifi package.  The Early Booking Bonus Have It All Event also has the prepaid crew gratuities but included the Elite Beverage Plan and premium wifi package.  Both of these packages are for new bookings only for select cruises only.

 

Right now my cruise is available only under the Early Booking Bonus Have It All Event.  HIA is $900 more than my Advantage Fare without HIA, or about $65 pp/pd.  To the best of my knowledge as my cruise is part of this promo I cannot add HIA after booking.  It may be available later, but I cannot add it to the booking at this time.  I haven't bothered to call my TA to see whether I can add it after the fact so maybe someone will correct me and let me know if I can.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

On my cruise the HIA pricing at booking was actually LESS than $50 per day.  It was an 11 day cruise.

Yeah, exactly.  I don't know what is so hard to understand.  I don't think people blindly book without looking at all the scenarios.  Also, for Canadians, exchange comes into play.  If you book HIA later on the exchange can be much higher.  Plus, the advantage fare isn't much lower than the HIA.

[rodndonna]

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Agree - we booked the Early HIA and combined it with a Thank You for Sailing credit, plus the Shareholder credit.  And was able to use a 20% casino discount.  With all that it came close to booking a free cabin offer through the casino but this way I was able to pick my cabin and got a good location!

 

If the fall 2025 comes out before July 22, we have a "Thank you for sailing" to use as well but not sure that's realistic. Expecting we will still have our typical Casino discount (seems realistic) and shareholder OBC as well. 😀

 

I totally agree - the combination of the all early discounts and OBC's offers make our "early booked" cruises better value than our "free" cabin cruises (as we always still get HIA). Couple that with better flight prices when booking in advance, always the preferred option for us. 

[oakridger]

10 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Where you have to be careful about the HIA included fare is if you're a solo. Solos pay double, and sometimes the HIA fare for a solo is double the HIA per person fare (two Advantage fares plus two HIA). Sometimes it's double the Advantage fare plus HIA for only one. 

 

I travel solo and all of my HIA trips have been charged for one times the difference between base fare and HIA fare.  I am already paying double for the cabin so would not pay double what I'm paying for HIA!  Next cruise early booking promo including crew appreciation and some OBC as well is $50/day.

 

~Nancy

[rodndonna]

20 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

On my cruise the HIA pricing at booking was actually LESS than $50 per day.  It was an 11 day cruise.

 

I must confess to be being one who does not calculate what our HIA package costs when bundled in the fare at time of booking (early) since we just really never consider not getting more for convenience.

 

Wow - I just checked a 14 day fall 2024 itinerary similar to on we are hoping will be around for 2025, and wow - it actually comes out to just $58 CDN/day or about $45 US/day and that is for the pumped-up "early HIA" with premium wifi, elite drinks and gratuities.  😃

[oakridger]

15 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

I must confess to be being one who does not calculate what our HIA package costs when bundled in the fare at time of booking (early) since we just really never consider not getting more for convenience.

 

Wow - I just checked a 14 day fall 2024 itinerary similar to on we are hoping will be around for 2025, and wow - it actually comes out to just $58 CDN/day or about $45 US/day and that is for the pumped-up "early HIA" with premium wifi, elite drinks and gratuities.  😃

 

That is great news!  

 

~Nancy

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

I must confess to be being one who does not calculate what our HIA package costs when bundled in the fare at time of booking (early) since we just really never consider not getting more for convenience.

 

Wow - I just checked a 14 day fall 2024 itinerary similar to on we are hoping will be around for 2025, and wow - it actually comes out to just $58 CDN/day or about $45 US/day and that is for the pumped-up "early HIA" with premium wifi, elite drinks and gratuities.  😃

So you wouldn’t notice if there was a $2000 difference between the non refundable and hia? Do I calculate mine to the penny? No.  If it’s around the equivalent of $50 usd I’m good with it.  Any more than that and it’s not worth it to me.

[Haljo1935]

On 6/29/2023 at 8:24 PM, OCJayGuy said:

Thanks for the additional info! I was searching around for the terms and conditions, to see the multiple ways my cruise would be excluded lol. Glad it appears somewhat open. Hopefully calling in to add won't be it's own 'unforgettable journey'. 

Well, by now you now from another thread, it indeed is an unforgettable journey for sure...and does not always end with the desired outcome. Wishing others better luck and the gratuities being included is nice!

[rodndonna]

12 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

So you wouldn’t notice if there was a $2000 difference between the non refundable and hia? Do I calculate mine to the penny? No.  If it’s around the equivalent of $50 usd I’m good with it.  Any more than that and it’s not worth it to me.

 

Oh - I notice the difference in the price - just saying I only really look at the price they list as "Best Value - Cruise - Have it all"  as it is our only option when booking. I've always assumed it was still around the $50, but never bothered calculating, so am happy to learn may actually less than that (with more perks when booked early)

 

I would actually prefer HAL would modify their website to allow me the option to default to prices with HIA included. When searching Princess, you select whether you want your search prices displayed as Princess standard" or with "Princess Plus" (which is same as HIA).  

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

 

Oh - I notice the difference in the price - just saying I only really look at the price they list as "Best Value - Cruise - Have it all"  as it is our only option when booking. I've always assumed it was still around the $50, but never bothered calculating, so am happy to learn may actually less than that (with more perks when booked early)

 

I would actually prefer HAL would modify their website to allow me the option to default to prices with HIA included. When searching Princess, you select whether you want your search prices displayed as Princess standard" or with "Princess Plus" (which is same as HIA).  

The Princess site is so much more friendly.  So much easier to find what you need.  This is what hal should strive for.  I don’t know what the big secret is on not displaying all available fares.  Super annoying.

[Haljo1935]

43 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The Princess site is so much more friendly.  So much easier to find what you need.  This is what hal should strive for.  I don’t know what the big secret is on not displaying all available fares.  Super annoying.

Gives a reason to call the super-heloful, super-friendly call center so they can try to upsell you something they can't actually add...

Bitter? Who me?

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The Princess site is so much more friendly.  So much easier to find what you need.  This is what hal should strive for.  I don’t know what the big secret is on not displaying all available fares.  Super annoying.

My PCC said that we will soon see changes to the HAL website.  She did not know exactly what or when but it should be soon.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

19 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

My PCC said that we will soon see changes to the HAL website.  She did not know exactly what or when but it should be soon.

 

I hope they are upgrading and not downgrading 😛😉.  Thanks for the information.

[Caribbean Chris]

OCJayGuy, thanks for posting about this promo. I've been waiting for one to come along with gratuities, and just checked the dates I'm interested in.

 

None of my dates/itins had a price increase following the additional perk, so it will be a good savings for me.

[Haljo1935]

8 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

My PCC said that we will soon see changes to the HAL website.  She did not know exactly what or when but it should be soon.

 

I have seen noticeable changes to the website when I access it from my phone (website, not app) but not when I access it from computer. So, maybe they started with the mobile version. Most changes I've seen are on the excursion pages, but I haven't gone through the entire site.

[Florida_gal_50]

18 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

I have seen noticeable changes to the website when I access it from my phone (website, not app) but not when I access it from computer. So, maybe they started with the mobile version. Most changes I've seen are on the excursion pages, but I haven't gone through the entire site.

Yes, I have to say I’ve noticed a few changes as well but nothing that I find is that useful.  Most important to me

1) show all fare categories, not just ones favourable to Hal’s bottom line

2) give dining discounts for the Mariners that have them instead of us having to fight onboard for them.

[Riversedge]

On 6/29/2023 at 8:57 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

Well the price of my fall cruise went up about the same amount as the gratuities.  Not really a sale for me. 

We found the exact same thing. The sale that is not a sale…..

[Haljo1935]

Tried again today w/o success to add HIA to free cruise (we paid to upgrade from free inside to aft verandah and added CO). Used the app, then logged in when it took me to website.

Typically, indication it's not going to work is when price and names are not displayed.

Edited July 4, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

Tried again today w/o success to add HIA to free cruise (we paid to upgrade from free inside to aft verandah and added CO). Used the app, then logged in when it took me to website.

Typically, indication it's not going to work is when price and names are not displayed.

That is exactly the same as I got last week, but on the website.  When I tried the app it was priced.  Did you try the website version?

[Haljo1935]

42 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

That is exactly the same as I got last week, but on the website.  When I tried the app it was priced.  Did you try the website version?

Yes, both. For my sanity, I only took one set of screenshots.

Edited July 4, 2023 by Haljo1935
Additional comment

[POA1]

On 6/29/2023 at 9:04 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

Can't you just add HIA for $50 a day? That way the price of your cruise is irrelevant. 

Pretty sure that the one you add after the fact is the regular non-gratuity one. At least that's how it reads for our upcoming sailing in December.

[erdufylla]

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Typically, indication it's not going to work is when price and names are not displayed.

That’s what it looks like on my bookings that were booked with the HIA package rate. (Can’t add it, because the fare already includes those benefits.) I’m fairly sure the answer will be no, since it was initially a free stateroom booking, but is it possible your booking already somehow includes the HIA benefits?

[Haljo1935]

14 minutes ago, erdufylla said:

That’s what it looks like on my bookings that were booked with the HIA package rate. (Can’t add it, because the fare already includes those benefits.) I’m fairly sure the answer will be no, since it was initially a free stateroom booking, but is it possible your booking already somehow includes the HIA benefits?

Don't I wish!! This is that same booking we've been discussing; didn't call today, only tried via app & online, but when I call tomorrow, I will ask if it's already included. I know it's not - the invoice only shows CO and $100 OBC.