Which HAL Sale is the Best Sale

[Stpatsirish]

[CruiserBruce]

58 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Bruce you are saying as a example the deposit for a 14 days cruise with FCCs is now $300 . imo that is still high especially if you add Club Orange  into the mix . I know you do not make the rules , just that other cruise lines deposits are lower  but no HAL

$300 is a pretty low deposit for a HAL cruise. I don't know about other cruise lines. It doesn't matter to me what other cruise lines require for a deposit. And there are frequent other discounted deposit sales.

[mcrcruiser]

35 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

$300 is a pretty low deposit for a HAL cruise. I don't know about other cruise lines. It doesn't matter to me what other cruise lines require for a deposit. And there are frequent other discounted deposit sales.

  I don't disagree when it comes to HAL long cruises 

[Mary229]

51 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

  I don't disagree when it comes to HAL long cruises 

@Stpatsirish published the schedule.  Not all deposits are $300 and look if you can’t afford to put down $300 you should likely look for a new hobby.  

[CruiserBruce]

16 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

@Stpatsirish published the schedule.  Not all deposits are $300 and look if you can’t afford to put down $300 you should likely look for a new hobby.  

Agree. I mean, if the price of the cruise is $2500 (a random number), you are going to pay that $2500, whether it is $100 down and $2400 at final payment, or $750 down, and the balance at final payment.

[bigbeergut]

On 8/26/2024 at 3:25 PM, mcrcruiser said:

HAL has so many sales it gets confusing . However ,there is one sale that is better than the others .Which one do you like the best ?

 

Be careful what you book.  Some of the current promotions have 3 and 4 guests sail free.  The reality of this promotion is that kids sail free.  You may not want that on your cruise.  Be careful.

[KAKcruiser]

It seems like most of the cruises have 3rd and 4th guests free nowadays.

[mcrcruiser]

10 hours ago, bigbeergut said:

 

Be careful what you book.  Some of the current promotions have 3 and 4 guests sail free.  The reality of this promotion is that kids sail free.  You may not want that on your cruise.  Be careful.

We would not be concerned as long as it is not around the Holidays ,when the kids are off from school  . Then you  could see hundreds on a HAL   7  day cruise even up to 10 /11 day cruises  because the kids get 2 to 3 weeks off 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

We would not be concerned as long as it is not around the Holidays ,when the kids are off from school  . Then you  could see hundreds on a HAL   7  day cruise even up to 10 /11 day cruises  because the kids get 2 to 3 weeks off 

Which could happen.🙂

[farjar]

HAL is currently having a Labor Day sale with $25 deposits on selected cruises some with free prepaid Crew Appreciation. Sale ends Sept. 3, 2024.

[mcrcruiser]

4 hours ago, farjar said:

HAL is currently having a Labor Day sale with $25 deposits on selected cruises some with free prepaid Crew Appreciation. Sale ends Sept. 3, 2024.

Seems to me that is a decent sale . Problem for us is need a handicap cabin & that makes us nook very early in the process when the cruise is just newly listed

[mcrcruiser]

8 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Which could happen.🙂

We were on Koningsdam early December 2022  & there were 500 kids   on the ship 

[Blackduck59]

I think we all know (or should know) that there will rarely be "sales" on itineraries that consistently sell out easily. If you want those cruises you better be ready to pay up. If you have special needs then you need to book early, no matter what the deposit is because someone else will pay that deposit. If you are tied to a specific port for whatever reason then those cruises are what you may choose. We as customers can't expect a cruise company to place a ship of (insert size you prefer) there on the off chance we may decide to book passage on it. Nor should we be surprised if the cabin we want has been taken by another cruiser who paid the deposit and booked the cruise. I live in a port stop city but no ship home ports here (nor do I expect they would). I have to travel if I want to cruise, Vancouver and Seattle are the only embarkation ports I don't have to fly to. This would limit my cruising options if I wasn't willing to fly (I don't like flying) so our cruising budget must include business class airfare (for long hauls) and premium for all other flights (I will not fly "coach") So now that I'm retired we can look for options without worrying about booking off work.

[dchip]

7 hours ago, farjar said:

HAL is currently having a Labor Day sale with $25 deposits on selected cruises some with free prepaid Crew Appreciation. Sale ends Sept. 3, 2024.

We were able to refare our Sea of Cortez cruise in March. We saved $400 on the cabin and now have Crew Appreciation paid. We booked with the $1 deposit sale. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

6 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We were on Koningsdam early December 2022  & there were 500 kids   on the ship 

Kovid time's 

[rj59]

It depends on the itinerary and the season and the ship and the inherent value. The only important thing for me is the price (I never have gotten HIA and always book inside), so I track and compare them over time, not only with HAL but with other lines. As a solo, I haven't seen many bargains  on HAL lately, so I have been going with their standby program, which as a solo beats any sale I've seen. I find that using cruiseplum helps, because when you select a cruise, it lists the price over time, and I can break down a search into overall price per night. Then I just look for a bargain fare, like one I got in Alaska in late May on Zaandam for $100/nt or so. That site especially helps with HAL, because their website doesn't allow me to search cruises for a solo rate. Most 'sales' are just the equivalent of car sales commercials and ads, just to get you excited and book something. Celebrity/Royal are the worst for gimmick sales, and NCL constantly puts a deadline on their Free At Sea program that is always available. So my advice is to ignore the websites and their promotional emails and get a good travel agent who will get you a good deal, and then get a fare reduction if the price goes down, and maybe get you perks beyond what the cruise line offers.

[VermeulT]

On 8/27/2024 at 11:03 PM, bigbeergut said:

 

Be careful what you book.  Some of the current promotions have 3 and 4 guests sail free.  The reality of this promotion is that kids sail free.  You may not want that on your cruise.  Be careful.

or a sister or friend can tag along for "free". 🥸

[albingirl]

On 8/26/2024 at 3:25 PM, mcrcruiser said:

HAL has so many sales it gets confusing . However ,there is one sale that is better than the others .Which one do you like the best ?

Rather than pull out the math books and calculator, I have a nifty method for determining when it's a good sale.  It's a good sale when it's going to a place where I want to go, and I get a good value for my money.  I don't sail according to sales, but I make a decision based on priorities relative to what's important for me.  Early booking can be a bonus when it's a long cruise that has been on my mind. The dollar deposits mean nothing to me since I never have multiple cruises booked.

[bigbeergut]

11 hours ago, VermeulT said:

or a sister or friend can tag along for "free". 🥸

 

Maybe, but I doubt my sister or friend would sleep on the sleeper sofa.  Perhaps they would sleep on the separate bunk.