Price Drops after Final Payment - Has this happened to You?

[SusieKIslandGirl]

For our Norway cruise last May, not too many weeks before departure, I noticed that the Vista suite was less than what we paid for a regular verandah. I called my big box TA and had them ask about an upgrade. Nope, nothing available. Duh-I called again asking for an upsell, knowing that the price was actually less. We got the Vista and kept all our perks, including the OBC, at no extra cost. We didn't receive any credit for the drop in price but I was happy with the nicer cabin.

[trishbk]

Last time I sailed with HAL the same thing happened. Price dropped, TA said there was nothing he could do to get us an assigned cabin except go to the front desk at embarkation. Sadly even though we paid a significant amount more for a guaranteed inside cabin, we did not get any category upgrade. In fact, we didn’t get a cabin assignment until 4 days before sailing. On top of everything, the cabin had some significant operational issues. 
 

I sure would like to know HAL’s computer algorithm for cabin assignments. Obviously being a loyal 5 star Mariner does not factor into the equation.

[joannelj]

I'm booking a cabin on HAL for the first time, and I was wondering if there was a way to tell if the price I'm getting has price protection - I know on CCL if you book certain promotions, you give up the opportunity to get a price match later.  I think what I'm booking is a decent price, and I can't tell that there's any amazing promotion going on right now, but I also know black friday and wave season deals are coming up soon, so I want to make sure I can snag a better deal if they offer one.

I'm booking direct with Holland, using my AARP membership to get a bit of OBC.  And the promotion right now just seems to be a reduced deposit.

Do I need to call them to verify this?  I hate phones. :0

[trishbk]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:04 PM, joannelj said:

I'm booking a cabin on HAL for the first time, and I was wondering if there was a way to tell if the price I'm getting has price protection - I know on CCL if you book certain promotions, you give up the opportunity to get a price match later.  I think what I'm booking is a decent price, and I can't tell that there's any amazing promotion going on right now, but I also know black friday and wave season deals are coming up soon, so I want to make sure I can snag a better deal if they offer one.

I'm booking direct with Holland, using my AARP membership to get a bit of OBC.  And the promotion right now just seems to be a reduced deposit.

Do I need to call them to verify this?  I hate phones. :0

HAL doesn’t offer price guarantees. Of course you can cancel and rebook at a lower price if you are still in the 100% refund period which is usually at least 90 days before sailing. I have personally found that prices tend to drop at least once after the cancellation period has passed. If you are not too choosy on your cabin and have some flexibility in your travel dates, I would consider booking 3-4 weeks before sail date. If that is not an option, then wait until after the final payment date is due + 1 week before you book. 
 

Having sailed with HAL for over 30 years, I have seen their policy change. Many years ago if the price dropped after booking, they would give you the difference in OBC. Then that changed to 1/2 the difference in onboard credit. Now, you get nothing. If you are lucky, you can ask for them to upgrade you to a cabin category of the same price that you originally paid, but you may forego any promo onboard credit or other perks like paid gratuities. 

[JGCRUISE0507]

Sailing on Rotterdam 10/22/23 for the last couple of weeks they have been dropping the prices significantly. Kind of makes you wonder why you booked months in advance to get a good price but then the people 2 weeks before the cruise actually get a good price. I contacted my travel agent and informed them of my disappointment. Holland basically gave me the All in Package for Free, can't say it makes up for it but it's definitely something I was going to buy and now I don't have to purchase it.

[trishbk]

On 10/1/2023 at 3:09 PM, bradatbradruben said:

Also let us know how crowded the expect the ship to be!

 

4 minutes ago, JGCRUISE0507 said:

Sailing on Rotterdam 10/22/23 for the last couple of weeks they have been dropping the prices significantly. Kind of makes you wonder why you booked months in advance to get a good price but then the people 2 weeks before the cruise actually get a good price. I contacted my travel agent and informed them of my disappointment. Holland basically gave me the All in Package for Free, can't say it makes up for it but it's definitely something I was going to buy and now I don't have to purchase it.

Enjoy your cruise out of Ft Lauderdale. I feel your frustration with HAL’s pricing policies. Because there are so many cruise options out of Ft Lauderdale, prices can surely drop last minute. Because of this, we did an 11 week “cruisearama”. Although we booked the first 2 cruises before leaving home on the west coast, we booked the rest of the 9 weeks of cruises as we were sailing, usually one week before sail date. We would just get off one ship, drag our luggage to the next ship and hop on. Sometimes the price for the ship that we were currently on was worth staying on another week and it was alternating between western and eastern itineraries so most ports were not repeat. That is with the exception of Half Moon Cay (their private island) which never gets old. We were able to take advantage of last minute price drops plus we would get extra OBC by getting a future cruise deposit right before booking the next cruise. Speaking of Half Moon Cay, please keep in mind that you do not get free drinks on the island with your Have it All package. 

[Real NHDOC]

The relationship between cabin price and your willingness to be flexible is inversely proportional.  Those who must have a certain cabin on a certain cruise will absolutely pay much more than those who will take whatever cabin is left on a cruise that finds itself less than full a few days before sailing.  That's the nature of the dynamic pricing system all of the cruise lines employ now.  My experience is HAL's pricing is more stable before the 90 day window expires than most of the other big cruiselines are but once that 90 day window closes it can become "very dynamic". 

[HappyInVan]

1 hour ago, Real NHDOC said:

My experience is HAL's pricing is more stable before the 90 day window expires than most of the other big cruiselines are but once that 90 day window closes it can become "very dynamic". 

Exactly. That's why I now prefer to book HAL as a last minute deal.

[Real NHDOC]

17 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

Exactly. That's why I now prefer to book HAL as a last minute deal.

Being flexible is key.  But you can always book a cheap interior cabin early if it is a cruise you really want to get on and then work on getting upgrades after the prices go down, if they do.  My experience has been that the interiors don't change as much as the higher grade cabins so your risk is low of overpaying substantially if you get "stuck" with an interior. 

 

You just have to look at it as the price of getting onto a ship that would otherwise be sold out or which has high enough demand that you would not get a bargain anyway.  Of course if you don't care if you go or not and live close enough to the port to hop on at the last minute you will likely get the best deals - you just have to be willing to accept whatever cabins are left at that point. 

 

What I have observed is prices have recently started to be more reflective of supply and demand more than they have been since the post-covid restart began.  I think it's because a lot of the future cruise credits have been used up and now people are spending "real money" again and so there may be more downward pressure on fares.  At least I hope that's the case.   

[DaveOKC]

IN reading this post I have a few observations to add:

 

First, HAL is filling up the ships much more so than a year ago.  

Second, HAL has been promoting $1 (and $99) deposit to attract bookings, which many people use to hold cabins and then at final payment they cancel, thus opening up cabins.

Third, HAL aggressively uses the "upsell" process to fill the higher level cabins at the last minute.

Fourth, HAL generally does not assign "guarantees" until after the upsell process is completed.

 

Given this, I now avoid booking guarantee cabins if at all possible (not always able to - long story).  Second, waiting to book until after final payment is now a better idea than previously (IMO).

 

[HappyInVan]

16 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Given this, I now avoid booking guarantee cabins if at all possible (not always able to - long story).  Second, waiting to book until after final payment is now a better idea than previously (IMO).

 

 

I see some progress at HAL as this partial-Panama cruise is almost free...

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/find-a-cruise/c3f12f/y375

 

and some 2024 cruises are almost free...

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/find-a-cruise/l4p05a/n427

 

[trishbk]

8 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

I see some progress at HAL as this partial-Panama cruise is almost free...

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/find-a-cruise/c3f12f/y375

 

and some 2024 cruises are almost free...

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/find-a-cruise/l4p05a/n427

 

While the Panama Canal price at $699 for a 12 day cruise may sound tempting, it is hard to say it is almost free with the port charges at a whopping $560. But they probably need to fill that ship given that the canal transit costs that HAL must pay to the authorities is based on ship tonnage not the number of passengers. 

[rodndonna]

16 minutes ago, trishbk said:

While the Panama Canal price at $699 for a 12 day cruise may sound tempting, it is hard to say it is almost free with the port charges at a whopping $560. But they probably need to fill that ship given that the canal transit costs that HAL must pay to the authorities is based on ship tonnage not the number of passengers. 

 

I agree - everytime I get enticed by a short Pacific Coastal at a good price, I see the taxes are more than the fare 😒

 

Still a good price, but really would like pricing to have taxes and port charges included as an option as they can really vary for itineraries.

[trishbk]

5 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

I agree - everytime I get enticed by a short Pacific Coastal at a good price, I see the taxes are more than the fare 😒

 

Still a good price, but really would like pricing to have taxes and port charges included as an option as they can really vary for itineraries.

I totally agree put all the taxes, port charges, and even gratuities in the fare so we really know what we are paying for a cruise. 

[HappyInVan]

1 hour ago, trishbk said:

While the Panama Canal price at $699 for a 12 day cruise may sound tempting, it is hard to say it is almost free with the port charges at a whopping $560. 

 

The $560 is the 'destination fee' if you wish to travel there. The cruise fare itself is so little that it merely covers the price of a decent dinner back home. Then, there're the add-ons. The endless drinking with drink packages. The spa/hydro-pool options. 

 

The big issue is whether HAL will compensate those who have made FP.

 

Were I living near FLL, I would just pop onto a ship and put in a hundred days at sea. Once the industry shrinks, you won't see this kind of value. 

Edited October 12, 2023 by HappyInVan

[Iamthesea]

Not only do the taxes and port fees add to the cost of the Pacific Coastal cruise, but it is also sailing during Thanksgiving.  It looked enticing until I read about the port fees and it being during. TG. 🤨