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Sounds like the old bait and switch program to me.
I'd be angry too if I had received confirmation.
I doubt I would cruise Holland American again!

Forget that nonsense, "Hello, Mr. Attorney..." a confirmation is a confirmation, Holland America should acknowledge that they made a mistake and greet these guests as paid in full.

Bad PR on their part, people have many options for cruising so they may be very short sighted on this one.

It will definitely hurt their brand. I can't imagine ever sailing with Holland America again, nor would I be inclined to recommend them to my friends.
The big question is: why would H-A even think that $550/passenger is worth the millions in bad press this is causing?

I have cruised with Holland America on two different cruises, they were great. But if they don't honor what they confirmed your reservation for how could you ever trust them again. Or for that matter how could anybody trust them?

It is hard to know all of the relevant facts.

But if this was an honest mistake such as a clerical error or a programming glitch, the law is clearly in HA's favor. So it is unlikely that the legal route will accomplish much.

Crusing veterans would have probably recognized this as something that was probably too good to be true. They may feel unhappy about having to pony up some additional cash, but they will probably do so.

So it boils down to the cruising newcomwers and the potential cruising public and how they feel about HA after this event.

HA will have to explain themselves or as the others on the board have pointed out, they will suffer the consequences.

There must be laws in regards to this situation. They were sent confirmations so I think the cruise line should honor the price. I am quite sure they will make it up in other ways. It is better to lose a little rather than lose a lot from bad PR. Bad PR can really hurt a company.

I have cruised with Holland America on numerous occasions and have found them to be wonderful. HOWEVER this situation which is their mistake is being handled in a customer service thoughless manner. This is BAD publicity and will cost the cruise line far more than any lost revenue in this one instance. Being more careful in editing offers is certainly in order but to penalize confirmed passengers with EITHER PAY MORE OR CANCEL IS NOT A SOUND PR OR CUSTOMER FRIENDLY DECISION. The line need to rethink that as I will rethink my future cruise line options.

I think It will hurt the company right into a slump as more passengers choose other options and cruise lines that are more HUMANE and Passenger pleaseing amenities A CONFIRMATION is just that!!! CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!!
Holland American It is your wrong doing take your LOSS. THe public does not need you. There are other better cruise lines. Susan

Well thank you for the comments everyone and please keep them coming. Personally I think this is a bad way to do business but I don't think it will hurt their brand long-term. A year from now I bet only a handful of people will remember this incident (I suspect I'll have forgetten it).

The cruise industry in general is getting soooo much bad press lately....Major shipboard illnesses, murder/missing persons scandels, etc. One would think that something this "minor" in comparison would be handled in a gracious manner by honoring the posted prices.

I am a cruise veteran with mutiple cruise lines and woudld think twice about booking with HA.

I bet if I "forgot" to pay them any money owed, they wouldn't hesitate to get it! If your company makes the mistake, eat it and hope the employees don't screw up again. Let the people who got to take advantage have their memories.

HAL has been Carnivalized... No other statement required...

Myself having taken 19 separate cruises on Holland-America need I remind everyone that Carnival owns Holland-America and at least 6 other cruise lines so any boycott of Holland-America will not have much effect on it.

I find it amusing that H/A would force "confirmed" passengers to pay additional funds for the cruise. They could have turned this incident from a PR disaster into a PR victory, by just allowing the "confirmed" passengers to take the vacation. Now they must endure constant riducule, and hopefully feel the sting of reduced passenger counts on all of the voyages to follow

I have always recommended this cruise line as the one to avoid.. 2 bad experiences ..not even a letter of apology after a letter was written along with a complaint filed on board..this just further justifies my opinion of HA..Husband and I have cruised more than 30 times so friends (newbies) new to the wonderful world of cruising always ask our advice..I will continue to tell them.. NOT HOLLAND AMERICA..

I'll bet many people finalized their time off based on the perception of recieving a good deal. Because a confirmation was recieved, and this seems like a contract to me, as you must click "accept" to finalize the deal, I hope someone does indeed sue HA. I know that as a cruiser, this has left a very bad taste in my mouth and I won't be cruising with HA. I recognize that mistakes can be made, but they should have at least offered to grant a decent discount, and offered additional discounts on further cruises to make up the difference. A $100 shipboard credit? Shameful.

My wife and I just recently returned from a cruise on HA's Westerdam. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and as newly retired we have plans to become frequent cruisers. However, after hearing of this we are now wondering if HA is a respectable business. I hope HA will do the right thing by their customers, it is not too late.

WHAT A MISTAKE HOLLAND AMERICA IS MAKING.....they can use this to their advantage....i have been on many cruises.....on many lines...i would hesitate to book on H.A....in our economy cruising is becoming a luxury for alot of people...they ought to take advantage of the situation ....let the people with confirmed rooms have a nice vacation..the few dollars they are asking them for will triple their public standing...i would not pay the extra....period..it leaves a bad taste in my mouth....poor business....

When you receive a written offer and you accept it, it becomes binding. HAL accepted the payment and if they sent an invoice showing Paid in Full, then they have to honor it mistake or not. As a travel agent, I have had this happen before and we stood our ground for the client. Yes, they sailed at the "mistake" rate. If you booked on your own, as I've said before, Don't overestimate your position in the David vs. Goliath relationship you have entered into with the Cruise Line. If you booked on your own, you have limited resources as you can only sue in Florida, but I would hold their feet to the fire anyway. They have to honor their written offer.

When you go into a store and an item is marked wrong, the store has to honor the price on the item. And they will. They'll immediately run out to the floor to make sure no one ELSE gets the too-low price, but they honor the price.

H/A should be no different.

I cruise Norwegian. ;)

I have cruised with HA 5 times. This blunder by them is not forgiveable. I will cruise with other lines from now on and nolonger recommend HA to anyone.

I had planned on taking a luxury cruise with H/A for my 50th in 2008,but after reading this I will never cruise with them bad PR.

Why it makes me think that Holland America isn't worth two dead flys with their wings clipped!

In this fast paced world with it's many problems, the issue will simply be a non issue within three months.

if it smells like fish and it tastes like fish that just means somethings fishy i would cancel and book with someone else oops sorry that burger you ate was the 25$ not the 10$ one so pay up what moron is handling HA PR

what happen with Holland cruise,is no different than an advertisement in the sales paper,if you advertise for that price you have to honor it.otherwise it's called deceptive practice,or bait and switch or FRAUD.Because who is the company blaming for the error??? The consumer or the person in charge of advertising.Holland Cruise should be ashamed of its self,making all that money to hand over a 20ft fence,then bull#$^* the customer.

A year from now, I may not remember the details, but I'll bet there will be a little bell in the back of my mind that says I should avoid Holland America for some reason. I once read a study about how a person who has a bad experience with a company tells an average of 8 other people--a statistic rendered meaningless in these days of Internet postings. Not worth the bad publicity for Holland America if it had cost them twice as much.

Two time traveler of HA and many other ship lines. I have had good and bad from all. My question to all of you whiners is, How good can you feel about yourself knowing that you just got one over on HA? We all have had price mistakes at Walmart or Home depot (fill in blank) and bought an item for much less than it was intended to sell for. We walk out of the store feeling this whole "one over" thing but in the back of our minds and our hearts, it feels a lot like stealing. So I wish all of you to have a huge cash mistake in your lives and feel the butt pucker as you have to eat it. Bet you don't!