islandwoman

The example of 200K for $5,000 is confusing. The way I read it, I would only have to spend $4,001 to get a 2.5% return. If all of that $4001 is spent on Holland America, I would earn 2 points per dollar spent for 8,002 points.. Wouldn't that actually be a return of 5% on each dollar spent?

Are you saying that the points can not be used toward Holland America cruises?

I'm sorry that happened to you. But, it's good to know. I won't need to pay for my upcoming HAL cruise until after my card's yearly anniversary. So I'll be sure to use it before then anyway.

Are you referring to cash back cards? You might be correct about those. I don't know because I don't have any cash back cards. But I do have several cards that award airline miles. Those are credited to my account as soon as the credit card bill closes and I can use them immediately to book a flight, even though the bill isn't due yet. I'm not sure whether the Holland America credit card would be considered a cash-back card, or what? I'm away from home right now, so I can't check my prior statements. When I return I'll look on my prior statements to see when the points were credited.

If I make charges on the Holland America credit card, can I use the points earned from those charges to pay part of that same bill? Or do I have to wait until the next bill to use those points?

We had two Azamara cruises planned for spring 2023 when Azamara announced the policy requiring a cruise prior to February 2023. We took one in December 2022. Those points are in my Celebrity account, but not in my Azamara account. Neither are the points for the two spring 2023 cruises, in spite of having requested them 5 different times. My point is, I wish Azamara were still using Celebrity's system and was still crediting PUPs.

Are you saying that even though you paid for your shore excursion with a credit card, it will be refunded as onboard credit?

It relates in that my Power Up Points, along with all of my Captain's Club Points and Azamara Club points, were lost from Azamara's account in the split of Azamara's website from Celebrity's.

Azamara split its website from Celebrity's in, I think it was, March. It has been and continues to be, total trash ever since. At least Celebrity keeps an accurate accounting of its customers' loyalty accounts, one of many things that Azamara is incapable of doing. After experiencing Azamara's, I would not even begin to criticize Celebrity's.

If you want to get emails with the PUP opportunities, sign up here: https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/tiers-and-benefits#power-up-points Not a Captain's Club member? "Enroll Now" and/ or "Subscribe for Emails"

Something can always go wrong. Several years ago, I arranged a tour in Montenegro. We were heading back to the ship with plenty of time to spare when a bus got stuck side-ways on the only road down the mountain. Our tour guide got on his phone and called the tender dock. The ship held the last tender for us and we got onboard in time. But it was nerve racking. Now it's funny when I think about us running down the tender dock as if we were late passengers running back to the ship from the bars in Cozumel 🤣 Had our guide not known how to contact the tender dock 😬

Cruise excursions might also be a good choice when, for whatever reason, there is a chance of not getting back to the ship on time. Or in a country where you don't speak the language, understand the culture, or have any way of acquiring local currency in localities where credit cards are not accepted or might be dangerous to use.

I think they want you out of your cabin as early as possible, so they hope you'll go to breakfast and then get off the ship. But some people (like me) want to brush their teeth after breakfast.

Just when you need room service breakfast the most, it might not be available. 😟 I know it isn't on other cruise lines I have sailed.

I didn't realize that! It's good news. Thank you.

What is the fastest or cheapest way to achieve 4-star Mariner status? I am a 1-star with 13 points 🤣 I'd like to be 4-star by fall, 2025 when I hope to go on HAL's Grand Africa (if they offer it). I know that I can earn one point per night on a cruise, or 2 points per night if sailing in a suite, and one point for every $300 spent onboard. I have a 42 day cruise booked for 2024, but that won't be enough and I made the mistake (as far as earning Mariner status is concerned) of buying the Early Booking Bonus that includes crew gratuities that I think would have been considered onboard spending otherwise. I would like to hear some words of wisdom from those who have managed to achieve 4-star status.

Maybe I should have said "Central" Florida well water or Florida sulfur water. Where I live in east coastal central Florida, our well water stinks and tastes of sulfur.

If you lived in Florida and were on well water 🤪, you might feel differently about that ! But I also refuse to buy water on Holland American ships. There's no point. Ship's tap water is so much better than Florida well water.

We always take a re-usable hot/cold cup with a lid. Also, we take a reusable water bottle that we fill with ice and water before leaving the ship on excursions. It makes us feel good about taking care of the planet and also, our drinks stay hot or cold as we like 😊

Did you all notice that we've made 300 pages? 😀

How do I know when formal nights will be? We would like to book our specialty dining reservations before sailing, but need to avoid formal nights because we will not be packing formal wear or anything close to that. Also, would we be expected to dress formally to other events around the ship on formal night, or just in the dining rooms? There are a lot of sea days on our upcoming cruise, so it's not easy to guess at when formal nights will be.

Is the Volendam the only HAL ship that has Lanai cabins?

Easier, but not cheaper - some suites include free laundry.

Are you referring to Million Miler status?

Enough airline miles can be used to book free flights, but not to acquire status as can Power Up Points. A better comparison would be a PUP point to an American Airlines Loyalty Point that can be used to build status. But then Celebrity points (and those of other cruise lines) win hands down because airline status expires at the end of each year. Cruise Line status lasts forever, or as in the case of Azamara, until the cruise line "upgrades" its IT system and loses its passengers' information.