Amazing HAL offer!

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I've probably "donated" enough to HAL casinos over the years to pay for a suite--so where is my offer ;)?

[Lottie A]

Maybe the casino offer is given to those who stay in suites? Has anyone stayed in a non-suite and received the offer? If so, please let us know if it was interior, OV, balcony, etc.

 

We originally booked a standard balcony cabin on Zuiderdam in July and it was my first HAL cruise. Due to significant plumbing problems with our cabin, which at the time were not able to be repaired, we were upgraded on the second day to a wonderful Neptune Suite. :D

 

We had a meal in The Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto, always drank a few cocktails at Happy Hour and wine with our meals, bought a reasonably priced bracelet in the shop onboard and yes, I played the slots in the Casino for an hour or so most nights. I reckon my casino donation was not more than a couple of hundred dollars max. So I suppose I spent an average amount onboard but certainly not a big spender. I am just a one star mariner due to previous Cunard/P&O cruises.

 

However I am a frequent cruiser with Azamara and Silversea and am wondering whether my casino offer was maybe to entice me away to HAL? They do ask for your cruise history when booking in online. I certainly hope to get another Casino offer soon and hopefully on dates that don't clash with another booked cruise. I would be booking a Neptune Suite without a doubt, for the reasonable cost on my casino offer. In July I just loved breakfast in The Pinnacle Grill, light lunches and little cakes in The Neptune Lounge and of course, our huge balcony and suite. Don't think I could go back to a standard balcony on HAL now! :)

[travelnap]

Maybe the casino offer is given to those who stay in suites? Has anyone stayed in a non-suite and received the offer? If so, please let us know if it was interior, OV, balcony, etc.

 

I travel solo, so I just book an inside cabin. I did get the email offer and I just booked the 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise, in an inside cabin. Cost of the cruise is under $150 which is to pay port fees and taxes. Great deals.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...I am a frequent cruiser with Azamara and Silversea and am wondering whether my casino offer was maybe to entice me away to HAL?...

 

It seems to be a mystery. I have sailed more or less equally on HAL, X and Princess, and donated to casinos in all three. Princess offers me casino deals, yet the other two never have :confused:.

[Hlitner]

There does seem to be some amazing offers out there these days for last minute cruisers. Today we just snagged a 10 day cruise (leaving next week) on the new Regal Princess. The cost was $1300 total (including taxes) for 2! And we are also able to get about $400 in OBCs putting the net cost at about $900 or $45 per passenger day! And this is for a balcony cabin. The catch is that this is booking a cruise only 10 days in advance. But the stars all aligned on this deal since Southwest can get us home from Florida (the cruise is from NYC to FLL) for only $69 per person! SWA has a big sale on this week and we lucked out!

 

I post this info to give folks hope and emphasize what we have preached for years which is to deal with multiple online cruise agencies and shop around. When the mass market cruise lines started taking a hard line on protecting their prices we (and others) predicted that the best deals would again be for last minute cruises. The lines cannot afford to sail with lots of empty cabins and holding prices on cruises often results in "booking resistance." When a cruise line is faced with many empty cabins they need to find a way to recover some of the cost...and this results in last minute bargains. We are also seeing this on HAL and a few other lines.

 

 

 

Hank

Edited October 14, 2015 by Hlitner