Mariner special offer

[Frankie Sue]

I just returned from a cruise on the Eurodam and a day later received an email offer from Holland with the following statement: "These special fares are not available to the general public and may differ from those on "Cruise Details and Availability" pages. To receive these special fares, please visit My Account, and enter your ID number or provide this information when you call." One of the cruises shown under this offer was very tempting so I checked its pricing, etc... on the general Holland Website first and then called an Holland sales representative to find out what would be MY special Mariner pricing and what amenities I would receive under this offer.

Guess what? The pricing I was quoted and the amenities offered were exactly the same as those offered on the general website. I asked the agent to double check again "my" special mariner price, gave her the promo code again and she confirmed that the price she had quoted me was correct and she did not have any explanation for this price being the same as the one quoted on the general website.

I think that this kind of promotion is very misleading and that Holland America should be denounced for making these misleading and quite honestly somewhat frodulent offers.

Anyone else had this experience?

 

 

 

[solocanadian]

Simply put, NO. Sounds very unprofessional and more like a scam.

[taxmantoo]

You did quite well :rolleyes: The "special" Mariner fare is sometimes even higher than the regular fare !!!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I just returned from a cruise on the Eurodam and a day later received an email offer from Holland with the following statement: "These special fares are not available to the general public and may differ from those on "Cruise Details and Availability" pages. To receive these special fares, please visit My Account, and enter your ID number or provide this information when you call." One of the cruises shown under this offer was very tempting so I checked its pricing, etc... on the general Holland Website first and then called an Holland sales representative to find out what would be MY special Mariner pricing and what amenities I would receive under this offer.

Guess what? The pricing I was quoted and the amenities offered were exactly the same as those offered on the general website. I asked the agent to double check again "my" special mariner price, gave her the promo code again and she confirmed that the price she had quoted me was correct and she did not have any explanation for this price being the same as the one quoted on the general website.

I think that this kind of promotion is very misleading and that Holland America should be denounced for making these misleading and quite honestly somewhat frodulent offers.

Anyone else had this experience?

 

 

 

This very is legit and totally normal for their current Welcome Home campaign email. For about 90 days after we returned from our Zuiderdam cruise in May we were getting emails about three times a week and I would log into the HAL site and find some amazing low prices, especially for Europe and Trans Atlantics. There big push right now is to get you booked within 90 days of returning home. I did book, then canceled because I booked my Crystal which sadly did not happen. But now I am booked again with HAL for end of December so I expect I will have some emails with some great offers once we return. Do sign in to HAL and take a look. The best prices will be for Europe and most likely Spring Caribbean. The prices we were getting were amazingly lower usually any where from $200.00 to as much as $800 per person less. Remember NOT ALL sailings qualify for the special offers so what you already booked may not have been one that it applied to!!!

Edited November 5, 2013 by LAFFNVEGAS

[localady]

You did quite well :rolleyes: The "special" Mariner fare is sometimes even higher than the regular fare !!!

 

Especially if you are a 4 Star Mariner or higher!

One or two star Mariners get the good offers, our higher fares are justified to pay for our perks! :rolleyes:

Edited November 5, 2013 by localady

[jtl513]

I think that this kind of promotion is very misleading and that Holland America should be denounced for making these misleading and quite honestly somewhat frodulent offers.

I have also been annoyed by these false come-ons in the past. "Special offer just for XXX" ... and everybody else in the country! :rolleyes:

 

Remember NOT ALL sailings qualify for the special offers so what you already booked may not have been one that it applied to!!!

She said:

 

One of the cruises shown under this offer was very tempting ...

[ICUQT]

Especially if you are a 4 Star Mariner or higher!

One or two star Mariners get the good offers, our higher fares are justified to pay for our perks! :rolleyes:

 

You stated what I was thinking (lol)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Especially if you are a 4 Star Mariner or higher!

One or two star Mariners get the good offers, our higher fares are justified to pay for our perks! :rolleyes:

 

You stated what I was thinking (lol)

 

Actually I was quite shocked this last summer when I was getting the special Mariner offers because I am 4 Star but the offers were amazingly lower than what HAL was offering to the general public and they were with our Mariner number. SO they do offer these special prices to 4 star Mariner.

[iancal]

We have become immune to special offers from anyone. Very rarely are they not special to anyone but the vendor/supplier. It is not just HAL either.

[Fouremco]

This very is legit and totally normal for their current Welcome Home campaign email.

Well, it may be normal, but I'd hardly call it legit to state that "These special fares are not available to the general public" when they in fact are available to the public, according to the OP. Smacks of false advertising in my books. We are all used to marketing hyperbole, but this appears to be an outright falsehood.

 

[cruz chic]

I'm still waiting for my special low offer. Maybe it will happen after my April cruise unless I'm stupid and book another HAL cruise before then.

[Frankie Sue]

My point is that a few itineraries were linked to that special offer. The one that I picked was offered at the same price as what was shown on the general website.

 

Do not tell me that I am getting a special price not offered to the general public, when that is not true....i am really disappointed with Holland America.. And not for the first time.

 

Holland wants my repeat business? ( i am 3 star Mariner). What they are getting is having me look elsewhere for my next cruise..

 

Deceitful advertising does not pay!

[Vict0riann]

I don't think we've ever had that kind of email. :confused:

[iancal]

We get even better special offers than that.

 

Lately, 'this is your Captain speaking has called us numerous times, complete with foghorn, offering us free cruises. Of course we hang up.

 

We cannot afford 'free' trips.

[sail7seas]

I don't think we've ever had that kind of email. :confused:

 

 

We're 5 * Mariners and don't get those sort of 'welcome home' discount e-mail. We know about them and ask, if within applicable time after cruising, but we don't get the e-mail.

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Well, it may be normal, but I'd hardly call it legit to state that "These special fares are not available to the general public" when they in fact are available to the public, according to the OP. Smacks of false advertising in my books. We are all used to marketing hyperbole, but this appears to be an outright falsehood.

 

 

Well it is legit if there are some sailings that are offered that are less. After I came home in May for the months of June and July I saw so many various sailings that were in fact much lower. Granted not every sailing I looked at but definitely quite a few. The fares I was finding under my Mariner number were NOT available for the public. I am sure in the OP's case if they search they were find several that they can find for lower rates than what HAL is advertising. While I did not take the cruise I was actually booked on the Noordam TA for several hundred less that HAL was offering even with FLASH Sale so YES it can be. This past summer I saw several occasions of people that were given offers right after they came home from a cruise with some amazing deals. The offers stopped coming in after we booked the Noordam TA and then canceled. Have not gotten any of the offers since but I have had the occasion to talk to some that have in fact received these emails, they would ask the current rate and the price they were seeing when they logged into HAL was in fact much lower. I will not be surprised that when we return from our New Years cruise it will start over again with some great offers.

[SeaBands]

we received an offer for OBCs for our next cruise with a special 3 letter code. Told our TA and it worked.

[sail7seas]

I believe the code is ZPM and/or ZPN.

 

It has been posted here a number of times.

[Fouremco]

Well it is legit if there are some sailings that are offered that are less. After I came home in May for the months of June and July I saw so many various sailings that were in fact much lower. Granted not every sailing I looked at but definitely quite a few. The fares I was finding under my Mariner number were NOT available for the public. I am sure in the OP's case if they search they were find several that they can find for lower rates than what HAL is advertising. While I did not take the cruise I was actually booked on the Noordam TA for several hundred less that HAL was offering even with FLASH Sale so YES it can be. This past summer I saw several occasions of people that were given offers right after they came home from a cruise with some amazing deals. The offers stopped coming in after we booked the Noordam TA and then canceled. Have not gotten any of the offers since but I have had the occasion to talk to some that have in fact received these emails, they would ask the current rate and the price they were seeing when they logged into HAL was in fact much lower. I will not be surprised that when we return from our New Years cruise it will start over again with some great offers.

Had HAL said "Most of these special fares are not available to the general public" or otherwise qualified their statement to reflect that it did not apply to all of them, I might agree with you. As stated, however, it's simply not true, no matter how you try to spin it.

 

[cruz chic]

I don't think we've ever had that kind of email. :confused:

Because like me, you always have another cruise booked. That will teach us a lesson:rolleyes:.

[ICUQT]

Well it is legit if there are some sailings that are offered that are less. After I came home in May for the months of June and July I saw so many various sailings that were in fact much lower. Granted not every sailing I looked at but definitely quite a few. The fares I was finding under my Mariner number were NOT available for the public. I am sure in the OP's case if they search they were find several that they can find for lower rates than what HAL is advertising. While I did not take the cruise I was actually booked on the Noordam TA for several hundred less that HAL was offering even with FLASH Sale so YES it can be. This past summer I saw several occasions of people that were given offers right after they came home from a cruise with some amazing deals. The offers stopped coming in after we booked the Noordam TA and then canceled. Have not gotten any of the offers since but I have had the occasion to talk to some that have in fact received these emails, they would ask the current rate and the price they were seeing when they logged into HAL was in fact much lower. I will not be surprised that when we return from our New Years cruise it will start over again with some great offers.

 

The OP in her initial post stated:

 

"Guess what? The pricing I was quoted and the amenities offered were exactly the same as those offered on the general website. I asked the agent to double check again "my" special mariner price, gave her the promo code again and she confirmed that the price she had quoted me was correct and she did not have any explanation for this price being the same as the one quoted on the general website."

 

My similar experience also when I returned in June. Truth is my brother who is a one star mariner gets more email and mailings with special pricing than I do and I am a four star working on five. But that may not be a bad thing not receiving them. Sorry Lisa my HAL loyalty attitude has change over the course of the last several months so please forgive me for this negative comment.

 

bob

[cruz chic]

The OP in her initial post stated:

 

"Guess what? The pricing I was quoted and the amenities offered were exactly the same as those offered on the general website. I asked the agent to double check again "my" special mariner price, gave her the promo code again and she confirmed that the price she had quoted me was correct and she did not have any explanation for this price being the same as the one quoted on the general website."

 

My similar experience also when I returned in June. Truth is my brother who is a one star mariner gets more email and mailings with special pricing than I do and I am a four star working on five. But that may not be a bad thing not receiving them. Sorry Lisa my HAL loyalty attitude has change over the course of the last several months so please forgive me for this negative comment.

 

bob

I'm SO with you on this. It's very tiresome. Prices on Princess are always MUCH better for me when I sign in. HAL needs to appreciate who is buttering their bread or someone else will. They do not have me in the bag.

[Sea42]

I'm SO with you on this. It's very tiresome. Prices on Princess are always MUCH better for me when I sign in. HAL needs to appreciate who is buttering their bread or someone else will. They do not have me in the bag.

It could be that HAL is looking at who is buttering their bread. When going through the thread "What won't you do?" it's pretty obvious many repeat cruisers don't do a lot of things that generate onboard revenue.

I don't mean you personally, just in general.:)

[sail7seas]

It could be that HAL is looking at who is buttering their bread. When going through the thread "What won't you do?" it's pretty obvious many repeat cruisers don't do a lot of things that generate onboard revenue.

I don't mean you personally, just in general.:)

 

 

VERY good point!!!!! :)

 

[cruz chic]

It could be that HAL is looking at who is buttering their bread. When going through the thread "What won't you do?" it's pretty obvious many repeat cruisers don't do a lot of things that generate onboard revenue.

I don't mean you personally, just in general.:)

Haven't read that thread. I put a lot of butter on their bread. I can just as easily butter someone's bread that appreciates it.