Sail Standby for $49 a day- new program

[Haljo1935]

15 hours ago, FancyTales said:

Received our cabin assignment today.  Deck 8 verandah mid ship!  Way better than I thought we would get. We were prepared for inside.

Congrats!

Safe travels- enjoy your cruise!

[Haljo1935]

I would give this program a try if I were near a port; sadly, I am 20+ hours drive to nearest HAL port. It's unfortunate 7 days has basically become 1 day notice, but people signing up now can go into it with a different set of expectations due to the painful experiences of those who jumped in at the start. Hopefully HAL will adjust either the wording or the execution as I think the concept is good.

And big congrats to those getting verandah assignments!! Nice win for the pain and effort.

[ChinaShrek]

5 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

I would give this program a try if I were near a port; sadly, I am 20+ hours drive to nearest HAL port. It's unfortunate 7 days has basically become 1 day notice, but people signing up now can go into it with a different set of expectations due to the painful experiences of those who jumped in at the start. Hopefully HAL will adjust either the wording or the execution as I think the concept is good.

And big congrats to those getting verandah assignments!! Nice win for the pain and effort.

You could always take the chance and drive down a day earlier and "assume" you will get a cabin. I wonder what percentage get a cabin?

[LBCABob]

Does anyone remember when/if HAL updated the list of eligible cruises?  They are not exactly rushing to keep the list current (e.g. today is 02/03/2024 and the list still shows 01/30 - 02/03 - 02/04 sailings).  Have they added any sailings since the first announcement back in 11/2023? 

I am not planning for a cruise this year but this program might work for me in 2025 (if it still exists then).

 

Good Luck and Bon Voyage to All who have taken the plunge!  

 

[janetjulie]

2 hours ago, LBCABob said:

Does anyone remember when/if HAL updated the list of eligible cruises?  They are not exactly rushing to keep the list current (e.g. today is 02/03/2024 and the list still shows 01/30 - 02/03 - 02/04 sailings).  Have they added any sailings since the first announcement back in 11/2023? 

I am not planning for a cruise this year but this program might work for me in 2025 (if it still exists then).

 

Good Luck and Bon Voyage to All who have taken the plunge!  

 

! am seeing an updated list now. Shows cruises through the end of 
April. They also updated the wording for when you will be notified if you cleared the list. Now says "Payment is not a guarantee or promise that Cruise will have space/availability for guest; guest will only be cleared for standby to cruise when/if the guest receives official confirmation from HAL approximately 7 days before Cruise’s departure or up until cruise embarkation date." 

[*Miss G*]

3 minutes ago, janetjulie said:

! am seeing an updated list now. Shows cruises through the end of 
April. They also updated the wording for when you will be notified if you cleared the list. Now says "Payment is not a guarantee or promise that Cruise will have space/availability for guest; guest will only be cleared for standby to cruise when/if the guest receives official confirmation from HAL approximately 7 days before Cruise’s departure or up until cruise embarkation date." 

 

I see they’ve been reading this thread.

[LBCABob]

Thank you for your post(s).  However, my point is the current list STILL shows sailings that have already sailed (or will sail today or tomorrow).  More importantly, has HAL ever added cruises to the list?  The 04/30/2024 sailing might be an indicator that this is a test program and may not be extended into May 2024 or beyond.

 

[wdw1972]

I just added my husband to the 3/16 Nieuw Amsterdam standby list. I'll be on Rotterdam 3/8-3/17 but friends of ours are booked on the 3/16 NA.  He could care less about the stateroom, so if it comes through he'll have a cheap cruise ($558 plus crew appreciation and any onboard spending). If it doesn't, no big deal - the money will be refunded. It would be nice to know before the day prior to the cruise, but it is what it is. This standby doesn't work for me - if I'm cruising I want a Retreat cabana, and I'm picky regarding the stateroom, so the only way to try it is for him solo!

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Haljo1935]

32 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

I just added my husband to the 3/16 Nieuw Amsterdam standby list. I'll be on Rotterdam 3/8-3/17 but friends of ours are booked on the 3/16 NA.  He could care less about the stateroom, so if it comes through he'll have a cheap cruise ($558 plus crew appreciation and any onboard spending). If it doesn't, no big deal - the money will be refunded. It would be nice to know before the day prior to the cruise, but it is what it is. This standby doesn't work for me - if I'm cruising I want a Retreat cabana, and I'm picky regarding the stateroom, so the only way to try it is for him solo!

 

Sue/WDW1972

And you were able to do it just paying for him, correct? No solo double charge?

[wdw1972]

6 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

And you were able to do it just paying for him, correct? No solo double charge?

That's correct.  $558 (which includes port fees) for a 7-night sailing.

Sue/WDW1972

[Haljo1935]

8 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

That's correct.  $558 (which includes port fees) for a 7-night sailing.

Sue/WDW1972

I hope you're successful. It would be interesting to see the ratio of Solos vs Doubles that are assigned Verandahs.

[cbr663]

Just wanted to add that several posters keep posting that this program is for Inside Cabins.  No where in the T&Cs does it state any type of stateroom at all.  The only mention of stateroom is this statement,

 

"Guests shall have no ability to select or request a certain room type on the Cruise and, if a stateroom is available, guest will automatically be assigned to such stateroom; no upgrades available."

 

I understand fully that if you want to participate you should do so with the understanding that you may indeed receive an inside cabin, but let's not forget this program is to fill unsold staterooms.  Unsold staterooms can be at any stateroom category.

[cbr663]

16 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

I would give this program a try if I were near a port; sadly, I am 20+ hours drive to nearest HAL port. It's unfortunate 7 days has basically become 1 day notice, but people signing up now can go into it with a different set of expectations due to the painful experiences of those who jumped in at the start. Hopefully HAL will adjust either the wording or the execution as I think the concept is good.

And big congrats to those getting verandah assignments!! Nice win for the pain and effort.

 

I was thinking the same thing.  I would gladly give it a try but I am not living close to a port and then I realized, what am I thinking?  I am only a 2 hour drive from Montreal.  Must keep my eyes on the Standby list when the Canada/NE cruise lists show up.

[Haljo1935]

8 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

 

I was thinking the same thing.  I would gladly give it a try but I am not living close to a port and then I realized, what am I thinking?  I am only a 2 hour drive from Montreal.  Must keep my eyes on the Standby list when the Canada/NE cruise lists show up.

Exactly. You'll have to come back and let us know how it works out if/when the time comes.

[JRG]

On 11/23/2023 at 6:02 PM, OlsSalt said:

A marketing gimmick perhaps.

 

Au Contraire Mon Frere.   The Drive-to-Port customer is an Emerging Market.

 

And it looks like HAL is trying to tap into it.      I was predicting this for some time and I would be surprised if other lines don't follow suit.

 

 

Edited February 4 by JRG
don't

[Laurie59]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

Just wanted to add that several posters keep posting that this program is for Inside Cabins.  No where in the T&Cs does it state any type of stateroom at all.  The only mention of stateroom is this statement,

 

"Guests shall have no ability to select or request a certain room type on the Cruise and, if a stateroom is available, guest will automatically be assigned to such stateroom; no upgrades available."

 

I understand fully that if you want to participate you should do so with the understanding that you may indeed receive an inside cabin, but let's not forget this program is to fill unsold staterooms.  Unsold staterooms can be at any stateroom category.

 

[Laurie59]

I believe this program is to fill last minute cancellations not to fill unsold rooms. As far as being able to find out you have a cabin up to embarkation, you must be very flexible, live fairly close to port and just go with the flow

[HappyInVan]

Please let me know if anyone is cancelling a Neptune suite!!!! 😁

[Madamexxx007Madame007]

I noticed you are from Montreal, I presume you paid in us$ 

tks diane

[rj59]

On 2/3/2024 at 6:38 PM, JRG said:

 

Au Contraire Mon Frere.   The Drive-to-Port customer is an Emerging Market.

 

And it looks like HAL is trying to tap into it.      I was predicting this for some time and I would be surprised if other lines don't follow suit.

 

 

It's not just drive-to-port, since I flew from Seattle the day of the cruise to get to Koningsdam. Still, I've done 10 or so Mexican cruises the past couple of years, and it seems to be there's a huge California crowd that's really into cruising now, with a more diverse crowd than I've ever seen before, so I couldn't tell the difference between crowds on Princess, HAL, Celebrity, or NCL. Cruising is just hugely popular now, as reflected in the prices and ships selling out. I'm irritated that there are so few good options out of San Diego, except for Hawaii and Panama Canal ones, but I can see why they would want to fill those ships completely, for all the onboard revenue and excursion money. I would hope they'll see that with all the excursion money in Alaska, it would make sense to continue the program there, especially for the less-popular and oversaturated N/S Alaska market. 

[crmc]

Just notified that we will be sailing on the Amsterdam tomorrow! No cabin assigned.

[St Pete Cruiser]

1 hour ago, crmc said:

Just notified that we will be sailing on the Amsterdam tomorrow! No cabin assigned.

Good for you. Be sure it is the Nieuw Amsterdam! Holland America sold the Amsterdam 3 years ago. 

[Laurie59]

On 1/25/2024 at 7:21 AM, FlaMariner said:

 

I agree with that!

 

We are usually not "early adopters" (this example is a good reason why) so it's been great intel to see how this "new" program really rolls.......Now that we see that it is exactly as it states...a STANDBY program, it will not work for us.....Unless we move next door to the port....not a bad idea, actually. LOL. 

 

I'm glad HAL has a plan to fill up the ship with $$$ for situations when guests do not make it to the ship......but for us, planning is half the fun.

 

1 hour ago, crmc said:

Just notified that we will be sailing on the Amsterdam tomorrow! No cabin assigned.

 

17 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Good for you. Be sure it is the Nieuw Amsterdam! Holland America sold the Amsterdam 3 years ago. 

 

[Laurie59]

Good for you…were you packed already. Which port? We are standby March 29 cruise from Ft. Lauderdale

[crmc]

Definitely the Nieuw Amsterdam. Just assigned an inside on deck 6. We're in an Airbnb in Ft Lauderdale until tomorrow and planning to spend a couple more weeks in Florida when we return, so, yes, we're packed.