CHANGE for the BETTER to CASINO PROMO

I posted this on the Explore 4 thread, but thought it warranted an announcement. The casino discount promo is now compatible with Explore 4. In the past, the casino promo discount was in lieu of all other HAL promos. HAL sent us some love with this change! I just added Exp 4 to our 7-day suite booking in January for a little over $700. After subtracting the free gratuities, internet credit, and the PG dinner, all of which we would have bought or paid for anyway, it left the Bev Pkg costing about $140 a piece. Thanks HAL!

Last week I took a chance and emailed our TA - "not sure if Explore4 is combinable with Casino pricing". I was as surprised as you and so was the TA - we took advantage of the offer on one of our spring cruises - it didn't work out for another.

Last week I took a chance and emailed our TA - "not sure if Explore4 is combinable with Casino pricing". I was as surprised as you and so was the TA - we took advantage of the offer on one of our spring cruises - it didn't work out for another.

This is one of the reasons I book with a HAL PCC, work through all the promos, casino discounts, etc., before transferring the booking to our TA. Our PCC is so knowledgeable of the ins and outs with HAL, he's saved us a lot over time that I'm not sure the TA would have picked up on.

Originally booked my Thanksgiving cruise under the anniversary sale promo - free HSC and $50 drink card per person. I just called to make our final payment and my PCC told me the price had dropped but I had to give up the promo. I took the price drop because it was a much better deal. When I got my new confirmation it showed the price drop was due to a casino promo. Do you know if combining the program only applies to the new explore 4 since this benefit just went into effect? Do you know if it's stated anywhere on HAL's website? I just haven't looked yet.

Thanks,

Helen

Originally booked my Thanksgiving cruise under the anniversary sale promo - free HSC and $50 drink card per person. I just called to make our final payment and my PCC told me the price had dropped but I had to give up the promo. I took the price drop because it was a much better deal. When I got my new confirmation it showed the price drop was due to a casino promo. Do you know if combining the program only applies to the new explore 4 since this benefit just went into effect? Do you know if it's stated anywhere on HAL's website? I just haven't looked yet.

 

Thanks,

Helen

Just last week my brother booked a casino promotion (lowered the fare by over $400 pp) and got the Explore4 package as well. It was a great deal IMO.

Do you know if combining the program only applies to the new explore 4 since this benefit just went into effect? Do you know if it's stated anywhere on HAL's website? I just haven't looked yet.

 

Thanks,

Helen

Good afternoon Helen. I have never seen the Casino promo details in writing anywhere. My PCC clued me in the first time it was offered to us. I booked our cruise upcoming in January a little less than a year ago. Our fare with the casino discount w/o EXP 4 was a better deal than the fare w/ Exp 4 offered then. I talked to my PCC yesterday and he re-fared it with both the casino discount and Exp 4 and got the results I mentioned in my original post. This is new enough that my PCC hadn't heard about it before his vacation from which he just returned. It's typical when adding a promo, in that you have to work from the fare offered at that present time, but now you can use the casino discount to reduce today's fare including Exp 4. Make sure your PCC compares your options with you. Clear as mud, right?

I just noticed your final payment remark. I'm not sure if you are past final payment date what effect that might have.

Dave aka bizzardboy

Just last week my brother booked a casino promotion (lowered the fare by over $400 pp) and got the Explore4 package as well. It was a great deal IMO.

Lucky guy. It increased our fare, as I mentioned previously, but with all perk values taken into account, it was a still a good deal.

Good afternoon Helen. I have never seen the Casino promo details in writing anywhere. My PCC clued me in the first time it was offered to us. I booked our cruise upcoming in January a little less than a year ago. Our fare with the casino discount w/o EXP 4 was a better deal than the fare w/ Exp 4 offered then. I talked to my PCC yesterday and he re-fared it with both the casino discount and Exp 4 and got the results I mentioned in my original post. This is new enough that my PCC hadn't heard about it before his vacation from which he just returned. It's typical when adding a promo, in that you have to work from the fare offered at that present time, but now you can use the casino discount to reduce today's fare including Exp 4. Make sure your PCC compares your options with you. Clear as mud, right?

I just noticed your final payment remark. I'm not sure if you are past final payment date what effect that might have.

Dave aka bizzardboy

Hi Dave,

Our final payment wasn't actually due until Sept. 6 but it was a convenient time for us to pay it. Found out that if we have to cancel we would still get 100% credit up to Sept. 6. As far as the promotion combo - went on to the website and now realize that the Explore 4 is for 2017-2018 cruises. We are going on Nov. 20 for Thanksgiving.

Oh well...now I'll know to carefully watch for it on future cruises.

Thanks for your info!

Helen

I found out that I have a Casino Promo when talking to a HAL representative, however I had been talking previously to an outside TA about the cruise. Would the outside TA also have access to my Casino Offer? or must I book through HAL to get the offer?

I booked and paid online. I did not find out til all the port fees and an FCC credit showed up. It was certainly a nice surprise.

I found out that I have a Casino Promo when talking to a HAL representative, however I had been talking previously to an outside TA about the cruise. Would the outside TA also have access to my Casino Offer? or must I book through HAL to get the offer?

My casino offer was connected to my Mariner # so my TA knew about it and applied it for me:). In fact, that's how I found out I had it.

I found out that I have a Casino Promo when talking to a HAL representative, however I had been talking previously to an outside TA about the cruise. Would the outside TA also have access to my Casino Offer? or must I book through HAL to get the offer?

This is new enough that the ability to add both codes to a booking is not yet common knowledge. If they don't know they can enter both codes, it won't happen automatically. Make sure to ask the TA if they've entered both.

Thank You all for your help and advice.

We just booked our cruise two days ago through a TA and she was told that you could not combine the casino rates with the Explore 4 perks. :confused: We were able to use our discounted Mariner rates with the Explore 4 but they were a bit higher than the casino rates. We are still happy with the deal we got but it certainly would have been better if we would have been allowed to use the casino rate.

So, now one wonders how come it works for some and not for others. We just were able to add the Explore 4 to our existing reservation that we have and our price for the cruise was with a casino credit.

We just booked our cruise two days ago through a TA and she was told that you could not combine the casino rates with the Explore 4 perks. :confused: We were able to use our discounted Mariner rates with the Explore 4 but they were a bit higher than the casino rates. We are still happy with the deal we got but it certainly would have been better if we would have been allowed to use the casino rate.

Can you try to book the same cruise through another TA (or HAL) to see if you get the same answer? Something does not seem right here, as others have recently done this exact thing.

We just booked our cruise two days ago through a TA and she was told that you could not combine the casino rates with the Explore 4 perks. :confused: We were able to use our discounted Mariner rates with the Explore 4 but they were a bit higher than the casino rates. We are still happy with the deal we got but it certainly would have been better if we would have been allowed to use the casino rate.

This is a brand new deal in the last week or so. Before you couldn't combine the two now you can. Have the TA try adding your Casino promo code to the Exp 4 booking. My PCC had no problem getting it handled 3 days ago. Just another reason I deal with him until just before final payment date then kick it to our TA.

We booked our 2017 cruise with our PCC a few months ago and were very pleased to have received the casino discount. Last week we had our PCC add E4 to our booking, then transferred our booking to a TA and picked up an additional $360 OBC. Couldn't be happier.

We booked through HAL yesterday and my PCC told me that the amenities were not available for the casino rate. Then I transferred our reservation to my TA and he told me the same thing too. So, we stuck with the casino rate because it was too good to pass up.

We booked through HAL yesterday and my PCC told me that the amenities were not available for the casino rate. Then I transferred our reservation to my TA and he told me the same thing too. So, we stuck with the casino rate because it was too good to pass up.

Is your cruise in 2016? If so, not Exp 4 eligible. Not all 2017-18 cruises eligible either.

Is your cruise in 2016? If so, not Exp 4 eligible. Not all 2017-18 cruises eligible either.

This is a brand new deal in the last week or so. Before you couldn't combine the two now you can. Have the TA try adding your Casino promo code to the Exp 4 booking. My PCC had no problem getting it handled 3 days ago. Just another reason I deal with him until just before final payment date then kick it to our TA.

We booked a January 2017 cruise on 7/29 through our PCC and got the casino rate and the exp 4. I've seen your reference (and a few others) to working with the HA pcc and then also referring it later to a travel agent. Could you explain the benefit to doing this for someone like me who has always just done the travel arrangements myself? I didn't even know you could do that or why exactly you would want to? Is it because you travel so much a TA makes a lot of money from you?

We booked a January 2017 cruise on 7/29 through our PCC and got the casino rate and the exp 4. I've seen your reference (and a few others) to working with the HA pcc and then also referring it later to a travel agent. Could you explain the benefit to doing this for someone like me who has always just done the travel arrangements myself? I didn't even know you could do that or why exactly you would want to? Is it because you travel so much a TA makes a lot of money from you?

Travel Agencies get approx 15% in commission on your fare before taxes and fees. TAs more often than not offer their own perks in addition to your deal with HAL. The big wholesale club rhyming with bosco offers about 9% of your fare in on board credit (OBC). 9-10% of your fare before taxes and fees in perks seems to be the top deals. Unused OBC from a TA is refundable to the passenger if not used, so that would be my preference. HAL's OBC is not refundable.

Some TAs don't offer up much compared to others. Shop around and do your due diligence on the TA. I negotiated a match of the bosco deal with my TA with the understanding that she'll get all of our business except some airline stuff. I don't need a TA for most things, but the more involved the trip, the more valuable they become.

HAL allows transfers up until final payment due date. Some other lines have same rule with additional restriction of transfers allowed within 60 days after booking.

Travel Agencies get approx 15% in commission on your fare before taxes and fees. TAs more often than not offer their own perks in addition to your deal with HAL. The big wholesale club rhyming with bosco offers about 9% of your fare in on board credit (OBC). 9-10% of your fare before taxes and fees in perks seems to be the top deals. Unused OBC from a TA is refundable to the passenger if not used, so that would be my preference. HAL's OBC is not refundable.

Some TAs don't offer up much compared to others. Shop around and do your due diligence on the TA. I negotiated a match of the bosco deal with my TA with the understanding that she'll get all of our business except some airline stuff. I don't need a TA for most things, but the more involved the trip, the more valuable they become.

HAL allows transfers up until final payment due date. Some other lines have same rule with additional restriction of transfers allowed within 60 days after booking.

I have 2 questions. Can you transfer a booking to that big box TA and still get the 9 or 10% credit? Also, is the credit based on your price with the casino discount or before the casino discount?

I have 2 questions. Can you transfer a booking to that big box TA and still get the 9 or 10% credit? Also, is the credit based on your price with the casino discount or before the casino discount?

Yes, whatever deal you have with HAL gets transferred intact to whatever TA you choose. Your HAL fare after whatever promos or discounts are applied, less the port fees and taxes, is the fare the TA works from. The big-box has a $100 cancellation fee on cruises, but I don't transfer until just before final payment, and they do offer a pretty good deal on Trip insurance as well. I still hit google and compare trip insurance options as well. I personally don't think HAL's insurance is competitive.