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HAL announces Black Friday sale details

CruiseMark

By CruiseMark,
in Holland America Line

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Duane S.

Duane S.

Posted
Posted

I was able to comparison shop the 2 future cruises we booked for September 24 and July 25, that we booked while on board, and the on board booking were both less expensive when you factor in the on board credit. So for me it not much of a sale and Ill stick with what I got.

Also, the BF sale requires full payment within a month, the onboard bookings do not.

Caveat Emptor

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crystalspin

crystalspin

Posted
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1 hour ago, Duane S. said:

Also, the BF sale requires full payment within a month, the onboard bookings do not.

Caveat Emptor

Wow, I didn't notice that on the dummy bookings I did! (I tend to click through too quickly I guess.) I'm not actually looking to book anything new or really even re-fare (have EBB/HIA on all but one of my bookings, and that is awful hard to top), but I saw no savings on my idle dummies, either logged in or not.

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leerathje

leerathje

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38 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Wow, I didn't notice that on the dummy bookings I did! (I tend to click through too quickly I guess.) I'm not actually looking to book anything new or really even re-fare (have EBB/HIA on all but one of my bookings, and that is awful hard to top), but I saw no savings on my idle dummies, either logged in or not.

 

My booking for June 2024 doesn't require full payment until March of 2024....

 

L.

 

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crystalspin

crystalspin

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1 hour ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I also am not seeing any that require full payment unless it is falling within the penalty period. 

@Duane S. should check again. It took until something after 2pm Pacific today for the "old" promo ($500 flight credit) to disappear from bookings, replaced by the included gratuities.

 

I have seen bookings come up with very short-time Final Payment dates, only to call my PCC and confirm that those dates were simply wrong. Someone copied and pasted without correcting the month or year!

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canadarocks

canadarocks

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Posted

Ok ..... an update from someone who has "lived" this Black Friday....😅

 

Long story longer (as my children would say).... my GOD !!

Holland America has the nicest people working for the worst website I have ever seen.

 

That pretty much sums it up. And I am a somewhat long time Holland America cruiser and a relatively long time Cruise Critic member. I'll post more later, but seriously HA..... do better!!! 

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canadarocks

canadarocks

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Posted (edited)

Just to explain further..... as much as the HA website is ridiculously inept......

 

I rebooked today with the Black Friday sale and saved almost CAN$500 on my cruise and over CAN$ 800 in Crew Appreciation costs. 

 

It just took me about six hours to make it all work...... 

Edited by canadarocks
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crystalspin

crystalspin

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1 hour ago, CH_ca said:

I tried to book online a cruise that's under the "Black Friday Sale" which includes Free Prepaid Crew Appreciation. I couldn't find it mentioned anywhere on the Booking Summary. How can I be sure that it's applied?

Re-do the booking. My "dummy" bookings were showing the old promo ($500 in flight credits, I think) until something after 2pm Pacific. When it switched to Included Gratuities. Showing below the "Included In Your Reservation" header on the left column. 

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kdakda

kdakda

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1 hour ago, CH_ca said:

I tried to book online a cruise that's under the "Black Friday Sale" which includes Free Prepaid Crew Appreciation. I couldn't find it mentioned anywhere on the Booking Summary. How can I be sure that it's applied?

I couldn't see this either and was having a LOT of trouble with the website a few hours ago.  I Iogged out and tried again and finally could see Prepaid Crew Appreciation at the end of the booking .   But it's taken all day.  

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CH_ca

CH_ca

Posted
Posted

Thank you for the tips. So I tried several "dummy" bookings. Yes, sometimes it showed Crew Appreciation included, sometimes not. HAL's site surely is glitchy! I guess I'll talk to my TA if I'm serious about booking. Any idea how long this Black Friday deal lasts?

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HappyInVan Great Review Rare

HappyInVan

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16 hours ago, canadarocks said:

I rebooked today with the Black Friday sale and saved almost CAN$500 on my cruise and over CAN$ 800 in Crew Appreciation costs. 

 

It just took me about six hours to make it all work...... 

 

Quite so. So much nicer if HAL just offered a plain discount.

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Mary229 "Live from...." Rare

Mary229

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4 hours ago, canadarocks said:

One of the reasons the whole think took so long is my TA could not get the same discounted price that I got online. So I had to book it and now go through the hassle of transferring it to her. 

Tell your TA to be sure to sign in your Mariner number when booking.  If you have any special discounts such as casino those are attached to your Mariner number.  I instructed my TA to always use DH’s number as he is such a “big” gambler😉. 

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Naismith

Naismith

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Posted

I called HAL because I was thinking about booking....the person that I spoke with informed me that the "free crew appreciation" is ONLY available if one gets the HIA package.  But that is NOT the impression given by their press release, the email that I received, nor the "terms and conditions" on the website under the "Black Friday Sale" which states:

 

Terms & Conditions
...

Black Friday Offer: Crew Appreciation: Receive prepaid stateroom gratuities on board. Limit one (1) Crew Appreciation Offer for 1st/2nd guests only per stateroom, per booking. Gratuities for other services, including, but not limited to, bar, dining room, wine accounts and spa/salon services, are not included. .....

 

Nothing about HIA.

 

 

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CH_ca

CH_ca

Posted
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32 minutes ago, Naismith said:

I called HAL because I was thinking about booking....the person that I spoke with informed me that the "free crew appreciation" is ONLY available if one gets the HIA package.  But that is NOT the impression given by their press release, the email that I received, nor the "terms and conditions" on the website under the "Black Friday Sale" which states:

 

Terms & Conditions
...

Black Friday Offer: Crew Appreciation: Receive prepaid stateroom gratuities on board. Limit one (1) Crew Appreciation Offer for 1st/2nd guests only per stateroom, per booking. Gratuities for other services, including, but not limited to, bar, dining room, wine accounts and spa/salon services, are not included. .....

 

Nothing about HIA.

 

 

I find the HAL staff knowledge varies a lot. Sometimes you can get 5 different answers by asking 5 different staff members. I'll call and settle with the one that gives you the best answer you want to hear and make sure they keep their words. 😁

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sunviking90 Holiday Sharing Rare

sunviking90

Posted
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34 minutes ago, Naismith said:

I called HAL because I was thinking about booking....the person that I spoke with informed me that the "free crew appreciation" is ONLY available if one gets the HIA package.  But that is NOT the impression given by their press release, the email that I received, nor the "terms and conditions" on the website under the "Black Friday Sale" which states:

 

Terms & Conditions
...

Black Friday Offer: Crew Appreciation: Receive prepaid stateroom gratuities on board. Limit one (1) Crew Appreciation Offer for 1st/2nd guests only per stateroom, per booking. Gratuities for other services, including, but not limited to, bar, dining room, wine accounts and spa/salon services, are not included. .....

 

Nothing about HIA.

 

 

They’re wrong. It is clear if I do a mock booking:

 

 

 

IMG_1532.png

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crystalspin

crystalspin

Posted
Posted
43 minutes ago, Naismith said:

I called HAL because I was thinking about booking....the person that I spoke with informed me that the "free crew appreciation" is ONLY available if one gets the HIA package.  But that is NOT the impression given by their press release, the email that I received, nor the "terms and conditions" on the website under the "Black Friday Sale" which states:

...

Nothing about HIA.

Call again. Tell whoever you get that you have the T&C in front of you and that you will ask for their supervisor to verify if they deny.

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HappyInVan Great Review Rare

HappyInVan

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8 hours ago, canadarocks said:

One of the reasons the whole think took so long is my TA could not get the same discounted price that I got online. So I had to book it and now go through the hassle of transferring it to her. 

 

Looks like you received the crew-appreciation freebie. There are different freebies depending on whether you book HIA or not. Complicates the situation for HAL's feeble IT capability.

 

On the other hand, a simple price cut could be easily implemented for all pax.

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