Sail Standby for $49 a day- new program

[Laurie59]

Good to know that notification for not getting on was given and refund should not take too long. We are on standby for March 29. We are 1 1/2 hours away from port. I can have my bags packed quickly! 🤞🤞🤞

[Skvalloney]

7 minutes ago, SittingDuck said:

Nope, no cruise for us. 😞
HAL cancelled our cruise. We were told to expect our refund in 7-10 days. We didn't ask if that was calendar days or business days because, well, did they mean solar days, lunar days, 24 hr periods based on EST or PST, etc.
We learned our lesson. 🙂

 

Did you call them to find that out or did you get an email? 

[SittingDuck]

3 minutes ago, Laurie59 said:

Good to know that notification for not getting on was given and refund should not take too long. We are on standby for March 29. We are 1 1/2 hours away from port. I can have my bags packed quickly! 🤞🤞🤞

Please don't interpret what HAL did with us as what any other customer can or should expect. I have never experienced a situation with a company who's guidelines were as chaotic and contradictory as I have with this Standby program.

[SittingDuck]

We got an email from HAL stating that our cruise was cancelled and it showed we still owed all the money. We called back and were told we would be getting a full refund.
In reality...the only thing we know is we are not going on a cruise.

Buyer beware.
 

[NWFloriday]

2 minutes ago, Skvalloney said:

Did you call them to find that out or did you get an email? 

We got an email that said nothing about the Standby Program. The title of the email was, "Attn: Booking Confirmation" and I got excited thinking we were finally confirmed. It was only when I opened the attachment I saw that the booking had been canceled and we would incur 100% penalty for the cancellation. Meaning no refund. I called and they said yes we would receive a refund within 7-10 days because there was no availability on the ship. I explained this is not what the cancellation notice says and we did not cancel, she assured me we would be refunded. Honestly, I will be surprised if we are refunded as we have nothing in writing saying so, the only thing we have in writing is that the booking was canceled and we will receive no refund. Now we have to wait to see if we will even get a refund after waiting to see if we get on the cruise. Unfortunately we did not buy trip insurance as we were waiting for confirmation of the trip. 

[NWFloriday]

I wanted to compile a list of PROS and CONS for this Standby Program. Feel free to add yours!

 

PROS:

1. $49 pp/pd is a great deal for a lot of these cruises even for an inside cabin. 

2. $49 pp/pd may apply to solo travelers and they do not have to pay a supplemental (from what I've read, could be wrong as T&Cs state the $49 pp/pd is based on double occupancy).

3. Possibility to get upgraded to a nicer cabin although the T&Cs say this program is for interior rooms only and when we booked this we were told by the agent that this was for a category N room only and there would be no upgrades. 

 

CONS:

1. Waiting to hear if you are cleared or not which could be 14 hours or less before departure and not being told that upfront. The T&Cs available to the public are not the T&Cs on the internal memo. 

2. Dealing with customer service. 

3. Not being able to apply any promotions i.e. stockholder benefit, AARP promotion, veterans promotion. 

4. Not being able to prepay for WiFi and get the discount.

5. Not being able to book any excursions, spa services, or make dining reservations ahead of time. 

6. Not knowing if you were actually receive the refund in 7-10 days. 

7. I did not see a way to buy trip insurance through HAL for this program. So, getting trip insurance for this type of program is another issue I have. I know we can buy it through another company, but do we pay hundreds of dollars for trip insurance for a trip that isn't confirmed? 

8. Packing for a cruise and being ready to go only to have the booking canceled. 

9. Booking or prepaying for hotels, parking, outside tours/excursions/rental cars etc. only to have to cancel at the last minute. So make sure what you book is fully refundable. 

Edited January 25 by NWFloriday
Clarification

[TiogaCruiser]

5 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

IMHO, it is inappropriate to compare flight standby with cruise standby.

 

As I understand it, the main reason to standby for a flight is a scheduling problem. I have a booking, but I prefer an earlier flight. So, it's worth the bother to arrive at the airport earlier and stand by.

 

 

once upon a time that’s how air standby worked. There was virtually no or little airport security ( until occasional flights would be high jacked to Cuba) and the airport was like any other public place. Family and friends of travelers would accompany them right up to the gate, and they would greet arriving pax as they walked down the jetway. (LAX had to get legal orders to stop the Hare Krishnas from aggressively hustling people with their flowers…). So if you wanted to fly at the last minute, or if you were in an airline employee family, you showed up at the airport and checked in at the gate, and waited until a plane going your direction had been boarded and had room. 

 

24 minutes ago, NWFloriday said:

We got an email that said nothing about the Standby Program. The title of the email was, "Attn: Booking Confirmation" and I got excited thinking we were finally confirmed. It was only when I opened the attachment I saw that the booking had been canceled and we would incur 100% penalty for the cancellation. Meaning no refund. I called and they said yes we would receive a refund within 7-10 days because there was no availability on the ship. I explained this is not what the cancellation notice says and we did not cancel, she assured me we would be refunded. Honestly, I will be surprised if we are refunded as we have nothing in writing saying so, the only thing we have in writing is that the booking was canceled and we will receive no refund. Now we have to wait to see if we will even get a refund after waiting to see if we get on the cruise. Unfortunately we did not buy trip insurance as we were waiting for confirmation of the trip. 

And HAL doesn’t even have a proper “boiler plate” cancellation email? This program is either not well thought out and/ or not well implemented. 

[SittingDuck]

2 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

once upon a time that’s how air standby worked.

True for airlines. If HAL had 4 cruises on the same day and you had a confirmation on the last cruise of the day headed for the same itinerary, and you could "hang out" at the cruise terminal hoping to grab an available cabin on an earlier cruise...it would be like a "once upon a time" standby scenario.
:-)

[*Miss G*]

51 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

stop the Hare Krishnas from aggressively hustling people with their flowers

 

I forgot about the Hare Krishnas!!  🤣🤣🤣

[publicpersona]

4 hours ago, NWFloriday said:

3. Possibility to get upgraded to a nicer cabin although the T&Cs say this program is for interior rooms only and when we booked this we were told by the agent that this was for a category N room only and there would be no upgrades. 

 

 

Your overall post is pretty accurate. I will pick a nit about the stateroom. The terms and conditions do not state a specific stateroom, only that the guest has no choice about it (and by inference, it may well be an interior). I believe it is the case that in their systems, they technically treat the booking as on WAITL for N (interior).

[cbr663]

4 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

... 

 

And HAL doesn’t even have a proper “boiler plate” cancellation email? This program is either not well thought out and/ or not well implemented. 

 

I think not well implemented.  We are seeing the implementation pains of a new program.  I don't think HAL even ran a pilot for this program.  Most likely just dusted off its old program of selling unsold cabins on sail away at deeply discounted prices, but made some changes to it so as it could be presented as new and different.  The old business practice of recycling the old by making a slight difference and change the name and hope no one remembers the old. 

 

I used the term "early adopters" a couple of posts back as anyone partaking of any new program should expect some hiccups.  Early Adopters are generally seen as risk takers and tend to use new products and services before the majority of people do.  The Standby Program may very well get to approximately 7 days notification (as this seems to be the sticking point for a lot of people), but it obviously isn't there yet.  Or it may not.

[cruisemom42]

I always had my doubts about the 7 days' notification as I believe there are always a few (or more than a few) last minute cancellations, and that is what they are trying to mitigate.

 

Honestly it reminds me of something cruise lines were doing way back in the 1970s when my grandparents moved to Fort Lauderdale. They registered with a local TA who would phone them up anytime from a week to a couple of days in advance of a sailing and offer them a stupendous last minute rate. I guess they were 'vagabonds' as they took advantage of more than a few of these offers, including one my grandmother took me on.

 

I suspect that living about 5 minutes from Port Everglades was one of the key factors that enabled them to do this. 

 

Appropriate expectations are key. HAL needs to drop that "approximately seven days" wording for sure.

 

 

[publicpersona]

26 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Appropriate expectations are key. HAL needs to drop that "approximately seven days" wording for sure.

Yes, for certain. But there is another way they could approach this. They could leave the program exactly as it is but add that anyone who has not been notified that they have cleared standby within 48 hours of departure has the option to cancel with full refund. Those who get on the standby and cancel further out than 48 hours will still lose their money.

[rj59]

The people with the most insight would be the ones who actually assigned the rooms, a "Ship Inventory Specialist" who sent me the approval email and so would know about availability and how early/late they actually assign rooms or cancel people. Since it's a new program and not well-advertised, most CS people on the phone, at the port, or on the ship aren't going to be aware of it--you can't even find it by searching 'standby' on the HAL website. Having it under the radar is actually good for those of us interested in it, since otherwise it would catch on and overwhelm their ability to run the program, the likelihood of getting a spot would be less with current high occupancy, and god help if some YouTuber or blogger started spreading the cruise hack and put out some "I sailed in a luxury suite for $49 a night!" video. 

 

Now we've seen how it works for those who were approved and those who were canceled (since you were booked the entire time, they have to cancel you to get the refund process going). I'm hoping they'll add some Alaska cruises, other than the 5-day Noordam in April, since I'm between Seattle and Vancouver and could get a refundable flight to/from Anchorage for N/S sailings (usually much cheaper and therefore less full than r/t Seattle/Vancouver trips). Standby in Alaska would actually be much more valuable, since weather changes so quickly, and I usually go on last-minute Alaska cruises when I see favorable fares and weather anyway. 

[publicpersona]

45 minutes ago, rj59 said:

most CS people on the phone, at the port, or on the ship aren't going to be aware of it--you can't even find it by searching 'standby' on the HAL website.

 

This is very true. The PCC I spoke with was appalled that I hadn't heard anything less than 46 hours from sail away.

 

The direct booking agent I spoke with told me yes, I was indeed on the cruise, I was going to have a great time, and how many shore excursions, drink packages, specialty restaurants, etc. could she sell me? I told her to slow down .. I said "What stateroom am I in then?". Then she said, "Oh my .. wait .. what the ...".

 

The escalation person that finally settled it for me could not find any public facing information on the program at all. So I gave her the link.

[syesmar]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

...Appropriate expectations are key. HAL needs to drop that "approximately seven days" wording for sure.

Yes! They could also have a second, or even third, category of Standby if they are trying to fill it with truly last-minute passengers. They could keep those who are notified "approximately 7 days" out, but then if others are fine with having less notice, whether it be 4 days or 2 days, so be it. But at least be honest about the product people are purchasing in good faith! There is zero reason for this current situation to be so confusing. Do better, HAL!

[SittingDuck]

13 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

The escalation person that finally settled it for me could not find any public facing information on the program at all. So I gave her the link.

So, did you get to go? 🙂
We hope so! 🙂

 

Edited January 25 by SittingDuck

[publicpersona]

2 minutes ago, SittingDuck said:

So, did you get to go? 🙂
We hope so! 🙂

 

 

Nope. My story was just like yours.

[SittingDuck]

Dadgummit. We were hoping someone would make it. 😞
 

Edited January 25 by SittingDuck

[NWFloriday]

17 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

 

Nope. My story was just like yours.

Bummer! I knew if you didn't get on we weren't getting on since you signed up before us. Although we were hoping we both got on and we could meet you! Maybe the key is to book Standby for less popular ports/cruises? We were thinking with all the colds and flus going around a lot of people would have to cancel but I guess not. Also, you are correct about the printed T&Cs on the booking receipt not specifying what type of cabin you would receive. I just remember the agent asking me if I understood this was for an interior room only with no ability to upgrade. So many inconsistencies with this program. I'm actually surprised when we called (less than 46 hours before departure) they didn't offer to cancel the booking for a full refund (because no cabins were available and because of the misrepresentation and inconsistencies in the program) and rebook and upsell us another cruise. I mean why would they not take the opportunity to sell their customer another cruise when they have them on the phone instead of leaving the customer disgruntled and owing them a refund? 

[cbr663]

3 hours ago, publicpersona said:

Yes, for certain. But there is another way they could approach this. They could leave the program exactly as it is but add that anyone who has not been notified that they have cleared standby within 48 hours of departure has the option to cancel with full refund. Those who get on the standby and cancel further out than 48 hours will still lose their money.

 

HAL has a cruise waitlist for passengers who want the flexibility to remove themselves from the program prior to sailing.  This program seems to be targeting people who are willing to live with the uncertainty of getting a cabin at a very short notice for a reduced fare.  

[bundtkate]

5 hours ago, publicpersona said:

They could leave the program exactly as it is but add that anyone who has not been notified that they have cleared standby within 48 hours of departure has the option to cancel with full refund.

Don't they have to finalize the ship's manifest 48 hours ahead anyway? Maybe it's 24 hours, but I really thought it was 48. If so, then surely they not only could must must notify standby passengers at least 48 hours ahead as they'll have to know who's going in time to submit the manifest.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, bundtkate said:

Don't they have to finalize the ship's manifest 48 hours ahead anyway? Maybe it's 24 hours, but I really thought it was 48. If so, then surely they not only could must must notify standby passengers at least 48 hours ahead as they'll have to know who's going in time to submit the manifest.

 

From the Know Before You Go, it’s 90 minutes for the info and 60 minutes to submit.

 

[NWFloriday]

23 hours ago, NWFloriday said:

I wanted to compile a list of PROS and CONS for this Standby Program. Feel free to add yours!

 

PROS:

1. $49 pp/pd is a great deal for a lot of these cruises even for an inside cabin. 

2. $49 pp/pd may apply to solo travelers and they do not have to pay a supplemental (from what I've read, could be wrong as T&Cs state the $49 pp/pd is based on double occupancy).

3. Possibility to get upgraded to a nicer cabin although the T&Cs say this program is for interior rooms only and when we booked this we were told by the agent that this was for a category N room only and there would be no upgrades. 

 

CONS:

1. Waiting to hear if you are cleared or not which could be 14 hours or less before departure and not being told that upfront. The T&Cs available to the public are not the T&Cs on the internal memo. 

2. Dealing with customer service. 

3. Not being able to apply any promotions i.e. stockholder benefit, AARP promotion, veterans promotion. 

4. Not being able to prepay for WiFi and get the discount.

5. Not being able to book any excursions, spa services, or make dining reservations ahead of time. 

6. Not knowing if you were actually receive the refund in 7-10 days. 

7. I did not see a way to buy trip insurance through HAL for this program. So, getting trip insurance for this type of program is another issue I have. I know we can buy it through another company, but do we pay hundreds of dollars for trip insurance for a trip that isn't confirmed? 

8. Packing for a cruise and being ready to go only to have the booking canceled. 

9. Booking or prepaying for hotels, parking, outside tours/excursions/rental cars etc. only to have to cancel at the last minute. So make sure what you book is fully refundable. 

More CONS:

Feeling like you are in limbo with this Standby program and not wanting to pay for and book another vacation until you hear you are cleared for this one or not. 

 

The inability to book and be placed on more than one Standby list for cruises leaving around the same time. I mean you can, but then you would lose all your money on one of the cruises if you got on the other one. 

[ChinaShrek]

On 1/25/2024 at 3:51 AM, HappyInVan said:

 

 

As a cruise pax, I carefully choose an itinerary and slot the cruise into my calendar. I would book a specific cabin. I can see no reason why I would want to accept a standby status on 24-hour notice.

 

Why would a cruise line extend an offer for 24-hour standby? Surely they would know the vacancy situation >2 weeks prior to embarkation? Makes no sense to wait for 24-hours. Surely it's a sign of problems with HAL's pricing program.

 

Here's the big question. Is HAL desperate enough to accept backpacker pax? How much would they spend onboard?

 

IMO, not a good potent for HAL's future!

 

If I lived in Fort Lauderdale, had nothing going on, and could get on a Holland America cruise for $49/day, I would jump at the chance. I live in Maine. If they offered me a cruise out of Boston in August (when I am on summer vacation) for $49/day, I'd go in a heartbeat. Not only is that dirt cheap but it could be a fun adventure. Plenty of people do not want to plan their lives months or years in advance.