One day $1. Deposit Promo Disappointing.

[retird]

Well , yesterday i took the bait and put a $1 deposit on a 2026 transatlantic balcony cabin.  Price was $3194. Each.    Checked the cruise today and the cabin is $2075 each.  Oh well, i only lose $2.  

[catspaw1]

Retired, can't you reprise under their price guaranty? I checked our price & it had not changed. Deposit was now $1200 & we got the $1 deposit. 

[catspaw1]

Retired that price for a TA seems high unless it includes grat, beverages pkg etc. We are taking a celebrity TA in November- 3400 for both of us midship balcony cabin, classic beverages & wifi but no grat. Was yours a suite?

[rodndonna]

10 hours ago, retird said:

Well , yesterday i took the bait and put a $1 deposit on a 2026 transatlantic balcony cabin.  Price was $3194. Each.    Checked the cruise today and the cabin is $2075 each.  Oh well, i only lose $2.  

 

Wow - that's quite a difference. Which TA cruise is that one? 

[retird]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

 

Wow - that's quite a difference. Which TA cruise is that one? 

April 2026. Nieuw Statendam

[retird]

1 hour ago, catspaw1 said:

Retired that price for a TA seems high unless it includes grat, beverages pkg etc. We are taking a celebrity TA in November- 3400 for both of us midship balcony cabin, classic beverages & wifi but no grat. Was yours a suite?

That was in Cdn dollars.  A balcony.   I had been pondering the cruise for a while .  the 2000 range is what it was before $1 promo.  It increased for that one day and went back down the day after.   

[catspaw1]

5 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

Wow - that's quite a difference. Which TA cruise is that one? 

Silhouette nov 16 from Barcelona

[catspaw1]

Just now, catspaw1 said:

Silhouette nov 16 from Barcelona

Sorry I thought you were responding to me. 

[FlaMariner]

On 9/10/2024 at 1:03 PM, FlaMariner said:

So our first time at participating in this one buck deposit.....

 

• We'd been eyeing a 50 night cruise in March 2026 but worried that the daughter might throw a wrinkle in our plans with a possible wedding
• Surprised this cruise was included in the buck promo but it was and we booked today
• The fare was the same price we had been tracking...so no hyped up price because of promo
• We are booked....all for an investment of $2. 
• Couple of interesting "strings/disclosures"....$198 is due in June 2025 and is "un-refundable".  Remaining balance due October 2025 (4 months before departure)
• We use a TA (big, internet one) and was glad to know they participate in all HAL promos...this one included!

 

This works out great for us......We think we will be "in the know" as far as conflicts by mid year next year, I can also be attentive to price drops and we can also easily "change our mind". 

 

I owe a big thanks to learning about this promo the day before on cruise critic.

 

Adding another bullet point to my buck deposit drama:

 

• checked prices today (two days after booking and investing $2) and the fare is up $232 per person. 

 

So far, this is working out....Prior to this first time experience with the buck deposit, I really thought HAL jacked up the prices and it was similar to the other "sales" HAL offers where they add amenities but increase the price......not so thus far....all good.

[Oceansaway17]

On 9/10/2024 at 6:18 PM, FlaMariner said:

 

never, ever buy that.....so we are good.

that is not a good idea, you should have vacation insurance unless you are saying you get your own.

[FlaMariner]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

that is not a good idea, you should have vacation insurance unless you are saying you get your own.

 

I do.  I have cancellation, interruption, etc. with our credit card and GeoBlu Trekker for medical.

 

I'd never travel without it...but not paying the HAL high price insurance......

[Sail and Relax]

22 hours ago, retird said:

That was in Cdn dollars.  A balcony.   I had been pondering the cruise for a while .  the 2000 range is what it was before $1 promo.  It increased for that one day and went back down the day after.   

Would you not be able to get a price adjustment since the price came down before final payment?

[catspaw1]

I checked but the site but it doesn't list user reviews that tells details about the cabin like if the location is good, if noisy, etc. Is there any place that does that?

[AKJonesy]

On 9/11/2024 at 6:09 AM, catspaw1 said:

I think we did the hike up to Exit glacier 30 years ago but I don't remember it being a 5 hour hike. How tough is the hike? Miles? Uphill a lot? Walking on ice. I can walk about 5 miles day but recently in great smokey park we did an almost 7 mile hike & that wiped me out. We both go regularly to the gym. We are fairly active

It depends on how far you hike up.  For me, it was worse going down with toes pushing into the front of my boots.  Yes, it is all uphill and you will cross some ice and snow.  The last time we did this about 5 years ago, we went through every kind of weather from mist to snow and in between.  For us, it was all of 5 hours but we did go all the way up which you don't have to.  https://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/harding_icefield_trail.htm

[catspaw1]

Thanks. Was it 5 miles one way? 10 miles round-trip would be too much for me. As far as going downhill,  look at the way your shoelaces are tied. Sounds crazy I know but REI had a video on it & it does make a huge difference. I also use darn tough socks- expensive but worth every penny when hiking! I am a very experienced hiker. I always hike with two hiking poles now & that's made a huge difference. We are making our second two week trip thus year back to Great Smokey park where we will hike up to 5 miles daily. I have been actively hiking, for almost 70 years. In June, we were in SD for 2 weeks visiting the badlands & hiking daily. 

[oakridger]

13 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

I checked but the site but it doesn't list user reviews that tells details about the cabin like if the location is good, if noisy, etc. Is there any place that does that?

 

Are you are referring to HalFacts.com I mentioned in post #20?  If so, some of the room reviews discuss location or noise issues, but it's up to the individual poster what they write.  You may get answers if you start a new thread asking about a specific cabin or area.  Of course, look at deck plans too for the locations relative to loud clubs, theaters, galley, etc.

 

As far as I have seen, no, I haven't seen any spreadsheets or specific lists with this information for HAL other than what I mentioned above.  Is there anyone else who knows of such a site for HAL?

 

~Nancy

[Euby]

On 9/10/2024 at 3:36 PM, catspaw1 said:

We just booked today on the $1 promo- 14 day cruise may 2026 to AK. My TA didn't tell me when payment is due. I'll watch for price reductions on cruise plum. Does HAL have any spreadsheets like the Celebrity forum had that tells you info on your cabin choice? Would like to know how the noise is on deck 1 Niew Amsterdam if anyone knows.

On my first cruises, my Mom and I had a cabin on the Dolphin Deck.  It was the first level of passenger decks.  I'm not sure what part of the ship was below us, but there was always banging and clanging early in the morning.

Since then, I won't get a cabin that isn't "surrounded" by other passenger cabins.  Cabins above, below, either side and across the hall if possible.

[catspaw1]

Celebrity had spreadsheets on each type of ship where users give their opinion on their cabin. It would be nice if someone on HAL started this. We booked deck 1 aft but the dining room is right above us on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Anyone have any thoughts on this? It's an OV. I agree that we prefer to have cabins above & below us but this was for the 14 day AK cruise in May 26 & cabins were already sold out.

[oakridger]

11 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

Celebrity had spreadsheets on each type of ship where users give their opinion on their cabin. It would be nice if someone on HAL started this. We booked deck 1 aft but the dining room is right above us on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Anyone have any thoughts on this? It's an OV. I agree that we prefer to have cabins above & below us but this was for the 14 day AK cruise in May 26 & cabins were already sold out.

 

Again, the specific cabin will make a difference!  If your cabin is below the galley (Port side) there will be noise from carts being pushed around all night and day.  If your cabin is below the carpeted dining areas (starboard/aft mostly) then I wouldn't be worried about noise from above.  

 

The site Cruisedeckplans.com has a great overlay tool to easily see what's above and below your cabin. These screenshots show the aft cabins on deck 1 and the MDR above on Nieuw Amsterdam.

Deck 1 below:

 

 

Deck 2 MDR

 

 

[catspaw1]

We chose cabin 114 so that's port so it looks like that will be noisy? 113 & 117 were available but we never chose connecting rooms. We prefer aft than forward. There's not a lot if category E cabins. There wasn't a lot of cabins left & this cruise is for 2026!