Part 3 - Not So Harmonious

We had such a good time with the folks we met on the Seaside that we decided to book both of the next group cruises Amy had planned; The NCL Bliss Dec 1st, 2018 and the Harmony of the Seas in January, 2020. Booking the Bliss went fairly smoothly, but again we had to go thru Amy to make payments. The Harmony on the other hand was a nightmare. Once we decided to go on the Harmony I knew I wanted a specific cabin. I wanted a Boardwalk view balcony at the far aft of the ship so that we had views of the ocean, the aqua theater, and the rest of the Boardwalk. We generally sail by the mantra “going cheaper means going more often” but I told you I’m a researcher and I knew that if there was ever a time to get a balcony it was on this ship.

Anyone who’s done any research at all on cruise prices and bookings knows that they tend to get more expensive as time goes on. The best time to book is the moment you know you want to go. 99% of the time the sailing is just going to get more expensive if you wait. It’s simple supply and demand, as the ship fills up the price goes up. Occasionally you can get some good “last minute” deals, but for the most part they don’t really happen that often.

Once again, Amy’s lack of responsiveness became a problem. While waiting for her to respond to her own facebook post about Harmony bookings the price for the cabin we wanted went up $37pp. That’s almost $80 because she couldn’t respond in a timely manner. I do know that she had a lot going on at the time, but she’s the one who started the conversation and then left an entire group of folks up in the air when it came time to follow through. More so than the money, I was worried that the cabin I wanted would be taken before I could get my reservation booked. There were only 3 cabins that fit my criteria left at that point, and only one that I considered preferable.

We ended up having to book the room ourselves and subsequently transfer it to Amy so that we could be “in the group”. Which leads to a whole other story, but for now I’ll save that for another post. I also understand that some folks might say that "well she's really busy with the vlogs, home schooling her kids, moving into a new house, and everything else she's got going on" and I would agree with you. But as a business owner I also understand that if you can't be organized enough to respond when people are quite literally chomping at the bit to give you money then you either need to hang it up or hire someone who is organized to help you out. It just doesn't make sense to leave people hanging like this.

Part 4 - Booking .No