Pre paid crew appreciation

[jmc27]

Hi - we pre paid the crew appreciation a month before we boarded via the UK web site.

After checking my onboard statement today I have discovered that it does not cover the daily charge.
Spoke to guest services who said we only paid $15.50 and not $16 per day even though we only pre paid in September and I am certain the web site showed the charge to be $16. 

Guest services suggested I amend our service charge to $15.50 in order to not incur an extra charge but I refused to do that as that would impact the crew.

Anyone else had this happen?

 

[dawnvip]

Odd, I wonder if it has to do with USD/pound conversion?

[Lido deck main]

Do you have your email confirmation.  Doesn't make sense that the charge was less than $16.00.  The prepaid amount is determined by HAL.  You should be good.

[VMax1700]

You would have paid in pounds sterling and then this would be converted to US dollars and the total amount posted to your onboard account as On Board Credit (refundable).

 

I wonder has HAL changed their (very generous) exchange rate?

 

There is no way that Guest Services could say that you only paid $15.50 as you pay Sterling and HAL converts.

[LnWG]

We pre-paid our gratuity at the end of August 2023 for a Sept 2023 cruise. Our account was in Cdn, and so I paid in Cdn, and paid the total amount of gratuity shown as owing on the account. This was exactly the same amount that had shown on the account from the day we booked the cruise 9 months prior.

 

Our on board account debited at a rate of $16.00 US pp/per day, and it all balanced at the end of the cruise. Whatever exchange rate was used, the conversion appears to have been done at the time our cruise was booked and it never varied. 
 

You are well advised to ask Holland America for further explanation.

[jmc27]

My email confirms I paid in sterling but does not actually show dollar rate. Guest services are adamant I paid the old crew appreciation rate of $15.50. They are correct as when I divide the credit on my account it does come to $15.50. 
The issue I think is the UK site which for whatever reason shows the rate to be $16 but has not updated the charge to reflect this.

I have contacted UK guest services to get clarification - I’ll update when I get a response

[Alberta Quilter]

Seems odd to have happened... But couldn't HAL just charge the extra amount to your onboard account to bring it up to $16/day?  Although if it's their error...  I guess it depends on how much vacation time you want to spend fighting the error.  For a few USD, I probably wouldn't bother.

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, jmc27 said:

They are correct as when I divide the credit on my account it does come to $15.50. 

As they posted $15.50 per day then when you divide the amount posted it will be $15.50!

 

When I go to Manage Bookings and try to pre pay grats it is HAL that shows the amount that is required, and in the currency of the booking.  All I need to do is select the guest to pay for and give credit card details.   If it is underpaid then it is HAL's responsibility.  End of!

[jmc27]

Not going to stress about it and certainly not going to do the crew out of their gratuities - only letting HAL UK know there is a glitch in their system. Happy cruising folks

[Bouff]

This is strange. We were on the Zaandam in September and prepaid our gratuities in Sterling. Our statement evidences that we paid $15.50 per day and we were not asked for any more. When was the crew appreciation amount increased?

[High Flyer]

FWIW   I prepaid gratuities last week for a Caribbean cruise 8 weeks out and was charged $217 for 7  days or $15.50 ea per day.  I know it should be $16 for an outside cabin but who am I to argue. We usually add some more at the end.  All was done in US Dollars.  HAL fuzzy math.🤑

[VMax1700]

5 hours ago, Bouff said:

When was the crew appreciation amount increased?

Sometime between September 2022 and August 2023.  Just looking at onboard statements.  There is no press release on the website.

[MAVIP]

On 10/21/2023 at 4:12 PM, VMax1700 said:

Sometime between September 2022 and August 2023.  Just looking at onboard statements.  There is no press release on the website.

and April 2023 (in April 2023 $ 16 on our statements). And as VMax1700 suggested to do: we paid since this spring in € and received on our HAL cruises a credit of $16 per day on your statements. And HAL gave a far better exchange rate than the banks would have done on the day of disembarkation. 

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, MAVIP said:

And HAL gave a far better exchange rate than the banks would have done on the day of disembarkation. 

I am wondering if HAL used an incorrect exchange rate for the pre paid rate for UK cruisers.  If they used the euro/dollar rate instead of sterling/dollar rate and then the amount tp be credited to the onboard account would be incorrect and on a 10 day cruise would (according to my rough calculations) be the equivalent of $15.50 approx.

[caminomama]

Once a year, in the spring sometime I think, the gratuity amount is reviewed. If you prepay before that date you are only charged the lesser amount which is a "perk". 

[LAX]

If I book with the "Have It All" package, will I receive "credits" to be deducted for crew appreciation or would it not even show up as a daily charge? Just curious.

 

LAX

 

[oakridger]

33 minutes ago, LAX said:

If I book with the "Have It All" package, will I receive "credits" to be deducted for crew appreciation or would it not even show up as a daily charge? Just curious.

 

LAX

 

 

We have to stop meeting this way!!  Ha ha.  😁

 

If your HIA includes crew appreciation (it doesn't always, depends on the offer at the time) then all your gratuities are included, and you don't need to pay more unless you want to.  

 

Sometimes it shows up on your folio as a charge then credit but some people said it didn't show on the folio at all.  My last cruises in fall 2022 it showed up as a charge then credit so zero sum.

 

~Nancy

[LAX]

22 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

We have to stop meeting this way!!  Ha ha.  😁

 

If your HIA includes crew appreciation (it doesn't always, depends on the offer at the time) then all your gratuities are included, and you don't need to pay more unless you want to.  

 

Sometimes it shows up on your folio as a charge then credit but some people said it didn't show on the folio at all.  My last cruises in fall 2022 it showed up as a charge then credit so zero sum.

 

~Nancy

Thanks. I appreciate you taking time to answer my questions!👍

 

LAX

 

[POA1]

The Have It All with crew appreciation, aka HIA+, is usually only available more than a year in advance. You might see it in some sales, but it's most often the incentive to book early.

 

On the other hand, you'll sometimes see bonus OBC. Occasionally, the bonus OBC exceeds the value of the crew appreciation / gratuities. I saw that during January and February. On some close-in sailings of 12 days or less, your OBC was more than adequate tu to cover tips.

[Haljo1935]

On 3/12/2024 at 12:54 AM, LAX said:

If I book with the "Have It All" package, will I receive "credits" to be deducted for crew appreciation or would it not even show up as a daily charge? Just curious.

 

LAX

 

My experience is it usually doesn't show at all.

[POA1]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

My experience is it usually doesn't show at all.

 

Exactly.

 

If you booked HIA+, it usually zeroes out prior to boarding. If you have OBC and not prepaid crew appreciation, you'll see the daily charge on your folio