Booking excursions online for HAL

[jamscckmc]

1st time on HAL and checking out their online booking. On Princess you are not charged for your excursions until after you take them and can cancel up to 24hrs before the excursion. With HAL it looks like you are charged when you book and have to cancel 10 days ahead, is this true? Any info appreciated!

[Jade13]

1st time on HAL and checking out their online booking. On Princess you are not charged for your excursions until after you take them and can cancel up to 24hrs before the excursion. With HAL it looks like you are charged when you book and have to cancel 10 days ahead, is this true? Any info appreciated!

 

Yes, and I like this better. We booked a couple of excursions in 2006 for 2007 (we did mostly private tours) and all went up in price, but we were locked in. You can cancel ten days before you depart (there may be a penalty or other rule for flight tours). The best excursions sell out.

[Roz]

I like having my excursions booked and paid for by the time I embark. If an excursion is canceled, HAL will refund the money.

 

Roz

[RuthC]

Paying in advance also means you're fairly committed to taking the tour. If you don't have to pay, then you can tie up reservations to several tours with the idea of canceling the unwanted tours later. In the meantime, others have been shut out.

Not fair. :mad:

[jamscckmc]

Thanks for the info. I am traveling with my 83yo mom and what she can handle changes day by day. Princess will not let you book more than one excursion/per person for that time frame. The computer is set up that way. It is nice to have things paid off ahead of time but my final payment is due next month and I don't want to add another $$$$ on to my visa bill. Does anyone know the cut off for booking on line? Thanks!

[Roz]

I think it's 10 days out, but don't quote me on that. :D Maybe someone else can confirm this.

 

The tickets for the excursions you book online will be waiting for you in your cabin when you arrive.

 

Roz

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always book our excursions before we cruise.

 

The cut off date is 10 days before the cruise. But to be on the safe side, I wouldn't wait until the very last to cancel.

 

On some cruises that we have been on, we have been able to cancel any trips we changed our minds about on the first day that we boarded the ship without any penalities. On others, whether it be the first day or thereafter, there has always been a 10% penalty no matter what.

 

And of course if you miss the cancelation deadline, then there is no refund.

[grannynurse]

Everything the above posters have said is true......BUT, the shorex form in your cabin allows you to cancel up to 24 hours before the tour. There is a cancellation time listed for each tour in each port. The difference in booking online is the method of payment; credit card for online bookings for which, if you cancel before 10 days before sailing your card will be refunded. If you cancel on board during the allowed time your onboard account will be credited regardless of booking online or on board. I speaking from personal experience as we were able to do this on several HAL cruises.

GN

[Stevesan]

1st time on HAL and checking out their online booking. On Princess you are not charged for your excursions

until after you take them and can cancel up to 24hrs before the excursion. With HAL it looks like you are charged when you book and have

to cancel 10 days ahead, is this true? Any info appreciated!

 

That's correct, and HAL's is a much better policy.

 

Because there's no monetary commitment, many Princess passengers reserve

an excursion because they "might" want to take it knowing they can cancel without penalty.

That freezes out lots of people who actually want to take the tour.

 

Even though HAL allows cancellation without penalty before close out,

having the payment taken at time of reservation plus the potential

ten percent canx fee is a form of commitment. Consequently, people are less likely

to take up tour slots on a "maybe I'll go" basis.

 

HAL doesn't allow canx within ten days of sailing simply because

that's when they close on line entries. That's pretty much true with

Princess, too. Of course, the difference is HAL passengers have

a commitment to the space they've reserved and Princess pax don't.

 

No penalty is charged for swapping tours prior to 24 hours before

the tour departure date.

[Jade13]

Everything the above posters have said is true......BUT, the shorex form in your cabin allows you to cancel up to 24 hours before the tour. There is a cancellation time listed for each tour in each port. The difference in booking online is the method of payment; credit card for online bookings for which, if you cancel before 10 days before sailing your card will be refunded. If you cancel on board during the allowed time your onboard account will be credited regardless of booking online or on board. I speaking from personal experience as we were able to do this on several HAL cruises.

GN

 

I was wondering about this. I thought there was a 10% penalty but I have heard announcements telling folks they have until x time to cancel (and I thought they said without penalty). We only do 1-3 HAL tours per trip (mostly private) and they are normally for half day tours where I have found it would actually be more expensive to do on our own (especially in Europe with the poor dollar).