Air price advisory.

[billroddy]

HAL has issued this notice to agents.

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Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment. Baggage fees and other charges may be directly assessed by airlines or airports.

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Bill

[sapper1]

HAL has issued this notice to agents.

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Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment. Baggage fees and other charges may be directly assessed by airlines or airports.

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Bill

Wow!!! Thanks for the heads up! I just emailed our TA and told her to look at booking independent flights for our next July flight to Copenhagen instead of going with the HAL arranged flights that we don't make final payment on until next May. I would sooner pay now and lock in at the lower price.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We bought our air line tickets this past weekend for a cruise next spring.

 

I checked this morning -- prices had gone up.

[takemewithyou]

HAL has issued this notice to agents.

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Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment. Baggage fees and other charges may be directly assessed by airlines or airports.

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Bill

 

My TA was quite startled by this...says she doesn't know anything about this. She just finished speaking with her HAL Rep the other day and he is now on his way for the Inaugural Sailing of the Eurodam! Was this in the form of an e-mail or letter you received?

 

Not taking any chances....I went ahead and made final payment on my next cruise as it was due by 7/6 anyway.

[heavenly]

HAL has issued this notice to agents.

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Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment. Baggage fees and other charges may be directly assessed by airlines or airports.

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Bill

 

While it is true this was sent out (and it is plastered in red all over the POLAR system we use to book HAL cruises) this is not a new policy. The reason for stressing the policy is because of all the fuel surcharges, the cruiselines contract rates (the actual airline fare) are locked in and do not really change, but they do have to collect any new taxes or fuel surcharges for those that are not already ticketed when these increases go into effect. Not to mention, there are many clients (and agents too) that do not keep up with the changes in air travel and do not understand all the new baggage rules/fees.

 

The good news (and it is not in the notice) is that we can now directly list all independent air into the clients record through POLAR and that is a great benefit to all of us.

[kryos]

We bought our air line tickets this past weekend for a cruise next spring.

 

I checked this morning -- prices had gone up.

Thank God I've got all my air locked in and paid in full for September/October.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[FlorenceItaly]

I thought this was always HAL's policy. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. At one time I had HAL air for my Fall trip, but then decided to do my own air. When including the HAL air in my reservation, I "thought" that my TA said HAL had the right to increase the fee before final payment.

 

 

 

Marie

[takemewithyou]

While it is true this was sent out (and it is plastered in red all over the POLAR system we use to book HAL cruises) this is not a new policy. The reason for stressing the policy is because of all the fuel surcharges, the cruiselines contract rates (the actual airline fare) are locked in and do not really change, but they do have to collect any new taxes or fuel surcharges for those that are not already ticketed when these increases go into effect. Not to mention, there are many clients (and agents too) that do not keep up with the changes in air travel and do not understand all the new baggage rules/fees.

 

The good news (and it is not in the notice) is that we can now directly list all independent air into the clients record through POLAR and that is a great benefit to all of us.

 

heavenly: Thanks for the response. That's basically what my TA said. She said that the airfare quoted by the cruiseline doesn't usually ever change, but the fees and new taxes may change. I had just called her a week or two ago to ask about whether the airfare could change from what was quoted to us (back in March) when we first booked our cruise for Oct. I thought this might have been a new change in policy. I wouldn't be surprised with all that is happening with the airlines! Seems like things are changing very quickly as they struggle to stay in business.

 

I don't usually do air through the cruiseline, but since the cruise begins in one spot and ends in another - I decided to this time.:o

[takemewithyou]

I thought this was always HAL's policy. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. At one time I had HAL air for my Fall trip, but then decided to do my own air. When including the HAL air in my reservation, I "thought" that my TA said HAL had the right to increase the fee before final payment.

 

 

 

Marie

 

Sorry, Marie, I was writing my previous reply at the same time as you....but now, I am confused....is this a new policy or not??? :confused:

[heavenly]

heavenly: Thanks for the response. That's basically what my TA said. She said that the airfare quoted by the cruiseline doesn't usually ever change, but the fees and new taxes may change. I had just called her a week or two ago to ask about whether the airfare could change from what was quoted to us (back in March) when we first booked our cruise for Oct. I thought this might have been a new change in policy. I wouldn't be surprised with all that is happening with the airlines! Seems like things are changing very quickly as they struggle to stay in business.

 

I don't usually do air through the cruiseline, but since the cruise begins in one spot and ends in another - I decided to this time.:o

 

You are so very welcome! And you are correct, that type of itinerary is where the cruise line air is probably the best way to go.

[RoupMom]

We're booked on the Holiday cruise in New Zealand. I was reading the HAL book/catalog the other day and noticed in the section on things to know before you go that airfares were not guaranteed until final payment is made. I checked with my TA because we COULD pay now, figuring the interest we earn might be less than any increase in air fare, and she checked with HAL. The person my TA spoke with even checked with her supervisor. TA was assured that the basic price wouldn't change, only fuel surcharges would possibly go up. At this point the air fare we're paying HAL is several hundred each less than what we could do any other way. Hope what my TA was told is correct!

[jhannah]

This is the deal we've seen for years when booking on an airline website. The price isn't locked in until it is actually purchased/paid for. Now HAL is bringing the same policy over to their Fly and Cruise program. Makes sense to me due to the fuel price volatility mentioned in the notice.

[arzz]

Question: Does your airfare lock when the passenger makes final payment (at whatever date they choose to do so) or does the airfare lock on the date that final payment is due to HAL (usually 60-90 days before travel)? These are two different dates but can each be referred to as "final payment" .... remember the cruise fare fiasco with the Noordam some time back? Didn't that confusion revolved around the definition of final payment?

[Juanita462]

We are cruising next March and paid in full to save the 3% - our TA told us that our airfares would not increase - the amount quoted included the

fuel surcharges so there should be no surprise - I hope!

[Pam in CA]

I don't think this is just a HAL policy since there's discussion of this exact same memo (I think word-to-word the same) on the Princess boards. Up until now, it's been very unusual for a cruiseline to increase the air above the original quoted amount but with airlines decreasing the number of flights and raising prices, I'm not surprised. Remember, some people book their cruises 18 mo - 2 years in advance and it's almost impossible for the cruiselines to predict what the actual fares will be. I don't like it but I'm not surprised.

[takemewithyou]

I don't think this is just a HAL policy since there's discussion of this exact same memo (I think word-to-word the same) on the Princess boards. Up until now, it's been very unusual for a cruiseline to increase the air above the original quoted amount but with airlines decreasing the number of flights and raising prices, I'm not surprised. Remember, some people book their cruises 18 mo - 2 years in advance and it's almost impossible for the cruiselines to predict what the actual fares will be. I don't like it but I'm not surprised.

 

Yes, my TA told me she did get a notice from Princess about this - a similarly worded memo as HAL's that Bill posted.

 

She speculates that this could go the same way as the fuel surcharges that were imposed on us after booking - they were returned! :o

[Pam in CA]

She speculates that this could go the same way as the fuel surcharges that were imposed on us after booking - they were returned! :o

That's possible. For my cruise in April/May, we were flying from LAX to Sydney and my sister and BIL chose Princess air (I booked my own air) in Biz Class. We booked this cruise in very early May 2005, i.e., almost two years in advance. At final payment, they were told that they'd have to pay $1000/pp more for their flights. My BIL pushed back and they backtracked, allowing the original quoted amount. That's what he paid.

[Taxguy77]

We are cruising next March and paid in full to save the 3% - our TA told us that our airfares would not increase - the amount quoted included the

fuel surcharges so there should be no surprise - I hope!

 

That sounds right.:) Our last cruise, we had the cruiseair changed both ways to avoid an airport with a change of planes, and a better flight home.:mad: I decided this time I would rather just book my own and be happy.:D

Also, which airlines will still be flying in Nov.:confused:

[NHBob]

Just received an e-mail from Delta informing me that there will now be a fuel surcharge for SkyMiles award tickets:

• $25 domestic
  
• $50 international

Haven't checked details yet, but assume they are on Delta's website. Will be interesting to see if other airlines follow suit. Guess it still beats paying for a ticket!

 

Bob

[schoolinmy3]

Just received an e-mail from Delta informing me that there will now be a fuel surcharge for SkyMiles award tickets:

• $25 domestic
  
• $50 international

Haven't checked details yet, but assume they are on Delta's website. Will be interesting to see if other airlines follow suit. Guess it still beats paying for a ticket!

 

Bob

 

We used our Thank You points to purchase two free and five paid airline tickets in April for our cruise in August. We are so glad we purchased our flights early. We were able to get a great deal of $189 per ticket (on those we had to pay for) to fly non stop from the East coast to Seattle. We just watched the fares on the internet and when we saw a deal we jumped on it. We're going to Disney next April and are planning to drive. With five in our family the flights will be cost prohibitive between surcharges and fees for checked bags and who knows what else they'll add in! I think the gas for one fuel efficient car (Toyotal Corolla) is just the ticket!

diane

[kryos]

With five in our family the flights will be cost prohibitive between surcharges and fees for checked bags and who knows what else they'll add in! I think the gas for one fuel efficient car (Toyotal Corolla) is just the ticket!

diane

The truly sad thing is that it won't be at all cheap to drive either ... and God knows what gas will be going for by then.

 

Sadly a lot of people are gonna find themselves vacationing very close to home in the coming years ... like within a tank of gas of home. In fact, the newspaper I work for just started a new series ... vacation destinations within a tank of gas of the Philly area.

 

Homeporting is gonna be the next big thing ... trust me. We'll go wherever that ship is going, with whichever cruise line can get us there.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

This is the deal we've seen for years when booking on an airline website. The price isn't locked in until it is actually purchased/paid for. Now HAL is bringing the same policy over to their Fly and Cruise program. Makes sense to me due to the fuel price volatility mentioned in the notice.

Well on the sites of the major internet consolidators, you have no choice but to pay in full when you book. So at least you're protected. Now, of course, nothing much you can do if the airline goes belly up and you have to start again from scratch, I suppose. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[db777]

Last night I saw that SWA had added November flights to their booking and checked out price for flight from Dallas to FLL for 10 day cruise in Nov. We will be flying back Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend so I knew prices would be higher than normal...well I saw the total price was around 425 (and on AA it had been running for over 500) so I just said ok...Well, today I checked the same flight on SWA was now $559...I was thrilled... oh my gosh it is awful with you feel you got a deal for $425... DB777