HAL -holding- suites for cruisetours?

[krewzin]

Just got off the phone w/my TA...I tried to book a PH suite on the Noordam for Alaska '07 and was told I could not. Even though they're currently available... they're (SA and PH suites) being 'held' for folks who might purchase them in conjunction w/a land tour.

 

Huh?:confused:

 

I asked when they might become available if they aren't sold and the HAL rep did not know, but she could put me on a waiting list. She could get me on the Oosterdam or Westerdam...but not the Noordam.

 

I've never heard of this before.

 

Nothing against the Oosterdam or Westerdam, but we really wanted to give the new Noordam a shot. If HAL doesn't want my $$ I guess it's time to check out Celebrity.:(

[RuthC]

There have been several reports on this board that that is SOP. Personally, I think it's a poor idea to reserve every suite on a "just in case" basis. Perhaps your TA could argue that "a bird in the hand..."? After all, you're talking the Penthouse!

 

Good luck.

[Krazy Kruizers]

This has been discussed before and it is very true!!!

 

We had a hard time getting a suite for our back-to-back cruises on the Statendam this past June. Even though we were on a cruise in May of 2005, we had our TA try to book our Alaskan cruises. HAL would not give in and open they suites. HAL believes that everyone who is on a cruise tour wants to book suites!! And that is not true. In fact very few of the land tour people book suites - they book the lowest price cabins that they can!!!

 

When we got home the end of May 2005, we sat over 2 hours with our TA while she talked to HAL. Finally in the middle of June, HAL gave in and gave us the suite that we wanted for 14 days.

 

Others are going through the same thing this year for nest years Alaskan cruises. In fact I know someone who has decided to go with another cruise line because they were not able to book the PS that they wanted!!

[twinkletoes4445]

I really hate hearing this, because we want to do an Alaskan cruise in the next year or so...and we planned on going on HAL.

[Ferry Watcher]

I am also considering an Alaska cruise next summer with my family. I have a particular HAL ship and date in mind. Since we are a family of 4, we really would like a verandah cabin or a suite at a decent price.

 

Currently, the HAL site only lists Oceanview and Inside cabins as available for the date I want to travel. The online TA sites don't list much more. I also believe that HAL is holding back these cabins for the cruisetour customers. I'm afraid that I may lose out on this vacation next summer if I have to wait until these cabins are 'released'. I wish that HAL would reconsider this business plan.

 

I will be on the Westerdam in September. Does booking a future cruise with an onboard cruise consultant make any difference in cabin availability? Is there any $ advantage to booking your next cruise while on board?

[cruisinjudy]

The advantage to booking on board is an on board credit. Unfortunately that credit is shrinking. For a ten day cruise the credit was only $70 and the deposit was $1200 for two. They are holding more deposit money and giving less credit! And when I wanted to change that cruise to another date I was told we would lose the onboard credit! In the end we did change it but not to the originally discussed date and I see our OBC is still there.

[krewzin]

Krazy Kruizers...did your TA contact anyone specific for you to eventually get what you wanted, or was it simply a matter of calling and calling?

 

When we got home the end of May 2005, we sat over 2 hours with our TA while she talked to HAL. Finally in the middle of June, HAL gave in and gave us the suite that we wanted for 14 days.

 

We're gonna try to get this Noordam thing booked regardless of these 'blocking restrictions.' We're looking for 2 suites....so I'd hope that the 'bird in the hand' theory as RuthC mentioned might be of interest to HAL, or they'll lose my business to another cruise line.

 

I've not heard of any other cruise line doing this...it penalizes those of us who like planning our land-based tours independantly.

 

What gets me is that this Alaska cruise isn't a 'north-south' which has extensive landtour options (Denali/Vancouver)...it's a round tripper outta Seattle.

 

I'll post back if we're able to make any progress on this, but I have my doubts.

[Ferry Watcher]

Krewzin,

Since the cruise is a round trip out of Seattle, maybe the cabins are being held back for a partial charter.

 

I do know that the ship I'm interested in sails RT out of Vancouver and does provide transport for the cruisetour passengers. But, it is still a RT cruise and it would make sense to make available those cabins & suites to all customers.

 

Whatever the reason HAL is holding back these cabins & suites, it's still frustrating for those of us who would like to book our vacations early!

[krewzin]

Hi Ferry Watcher... this wasn't for a particular weeks sailing....it was over a 3 month period (my window).

 

My TA had me on hold while we went back and forth w/the HAL rep, and I questioned this 'land tour blocking.' From what I've learned, this is not a fleet-wide policy as there were some cabins available on the 'O' ...it's 'ship specific.'

 

It seems that they're looking at the most popular ship(s) and/or itineraries...in this case the Noordam/Alaska... and trying to get more bang for their buck by witholding certain cabin categories for those that are willing to spend the extra $.

 

I understand this marketing decision, but IMO it's not a good one and it will end up hurting them more than helping them. Many folks who want to book these cabins don't want to take the chance of waiting for one to open up and will book with another line.

 

Sure, they'll sell the space...but at the risk of alienating folks like me and my family (repeat cruisers-Mariners), I don't see it as being worth the risk.

 

An opinion.

[Ferry Watcher]

Krewzin,

Just for fun I rechecked the online listings of the internet TA that I used to book my Sept 2006 HAL trip. For the 2007 Alaska trip I wanted, on the day I wanted, they had been listing only oceanview and inside cabins. Today they added suites, but not verandahs. I've been tracking the prices and availability for the Zaandam for a few weeks. So what I found today is new!

 

I checked on the Alaska 2007 Noordam and they were offering all cabins, including Verandahs and Suites. I checked a number of summer 2007 Noordam dates and the Verandahs cabins and Suites were all showing up as available. I know when I checked just yesterday for my desired ship/date they were only showing inside and oceanview cabins. Maybe HAL just released some cabins.

 

This online TA company is a big name, heavily advertised company on Cruise Critics. I hope this helps!

 

Everyday brings more surprises!

 

Ferry Watcher

[Krazy Kruizers]

We don't know anyone special in Seattle. Our TA had to just keep calling and calling. After a couple of weeks of all this calling she asked to speak to a superviser who finally released the suite.

[Ferry Watcher]

I called my on-line TA and inquired about the Zaandam 2007 Alaska cruise. On the date(s) I'm interested in, he tells me that he shows only Oceanview cabins as available for a family of 4. I really wanted a balcony/Verandah just for the extra space. A real suite would be great, but we can't afford it.

 

The on-line TA said that HAL actually has very few cabins that accomodate 4 passengers. Is this true?

 

Could all the balcony/Verandah cabins that hold 4 people be actually booked up for a cruise that's still 10 months away? Wouldn't all the balcony/Verandah cabin accomodate up to 4 people?

 

Should I just contact a HAL cruise rep, or a local (real) TA and work with them to get what I want?

 

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

Ferry Watcher

Westerdam 9/2006

[RuthC]

Should I just contact a HAL cruise rep, or a local (real) TA and work with them to get what I want?

No, not every suite would sleep four.

Why not get a brochure with the deck plans and get the list of cabins that do sleep four people. Then, go to HAL's website and try to book the cruise by plugging in those cabins---this will let you know which ones are available. Cancel out before you finish.

Then have your TA go to bat for you to get one of them.

At least this way you know if what you want can be had.

[Ferry Watcher]

Thank you RuthC, for the suggestion. I will give it a try!

 

Ferry Watcher

Westerdam 9/2006