Free cruise offer open to solo cruisers?

[Elkins45]

A little background: my wife likes to play the slot machines and one of the comps she gets is an occasional free cruise offer. I'm not a gambler and I get nothing. Over Christmas we took our first free HA cruise.She spent considerable time in the casino. I might have played $100 worth of blackjack but honestly I can't remember if I did or not.

 

Fast forward to a couple of days ago when I (not she) received an email offering me a free inside cabin on a fairly decent selection of HA cruises. Of course I know it's not really free because gratuities and port fees aren't included, but it's still tempting offer. Do any of you know if they will honor this offer for a single cruiser? The fine print on the offer says "rates based on double occupancy" but doubling a free fare is still $0 by my math. My wife is unavailable for all of the ones that are attractive to me but I might consider going by myself if HA will let me without paying for the empty second bunk. Yes, I know I can just call and ask, but why wait on hold and use up my minutes when somebody here might already know?

 

I'm still wondering why they sent me the offer and not her. They won't have any chance of winning it back from me in the casino. 

[Mary229]

Yes you can book it solo as long as the offer is in your name.  Same exact thing here.  I toss a few quarters at the machines but in no one’s dictionary am I am gambler.  He is offered discounts but I got the free offer. 

[breakiron]

I received a free cruise offer awhile back and booked the 22 night Antarctica cruise.  I booked a solo and was charged taxes & fees for only 1 person plus a $100 deposit.  I’ll receive the deposit back as a $100 OBC.  I also managed to purchase HIA package for $50/night.  This was not a casino offer, not a gambler.

[Nickelpenny]

15 hours ago, Elkins45 said:

A little background: my wife likes to play the slot machines and one of the comps she gets is an occasional free cruise offer. I'm not a gambler and I get nothing. Over Christmas we took our first free HA cruise.She spent considerable time in the casino. I might have played $100 worth of blackjack but honestly I can't remember if I did or not.

 

Fast forward to a couple of days ago when I (not she) received an email offering me a free inside cabin on a fairly decent selection of HA cruises. Of course I know it's not really free because gratuities and port fees aren't included, but it's still tempting offer. Do any of you know if they will honor this offer for a single cruiser? The fine print on the offer says "rates based on double occupancy" but doubling a free fare is still $0 by my math. My wife is unavailable for all of the ones that are attractive to me but I might consider going by myself if HA will let me without paying for the empty second bunk. Yes, I know I can just call and ask, but why wait on hold and use up my minutes when somebody here might already know?

 

I'm still wondering why they sent me the offer and not her. They won't have any chance of winning it back from me in the casino. 

So far I have done 2 "free" cruises and 2 more booked as a solo.  I don't play in the casino at all.  I love them.  I asked my PCC if someone wanted to join me what would be the cost.  She said exactly what I paid - port fees and a "booking fee" that she would get back as OBC.  The one I am most excited about is the Amazon River cruise next Feb.  28 days.  It will be so exciting!!

[Mary229]

Where are the free cruise offers coming from?  I assumed mine was casino because it included casino play and casino drinks.  As I said earlier I gamble very little, $20 on sea days only.  

[Nickelpenny]

15 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Where are the free cruise offers coming from?  I assumed mine was casino because it included casino play and casino drinks.  As I said earlier I gamble very little, $20 on sea days only.  

I have always wondered.  In fact, I got and email offering free insides (and the emails tend to come on a Thursday) and then the very next week I got another one.  I assumed it was just a repeat of the previous week's one but no - it was different.  You can only book 2 off of the list, though.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason why I get them.  The first time I was only a 1*, and I think when the other emails came I was a 2*.  Now that I am a 3*, maybe no more free insides???????  I only gambled once - my first cruise ever - and I think I put in $10-20.  I have never played since.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Nickelpenny
addition

[Mary229]

Just now, Nickelpenny said:

I have always wondered.  In fact, I got and email offering free insides (and the emails tend to come on a Thursday) and then the very next week I got another one.  I assumed it was just a repeat of the previous week's one but no - it was different.  You can only book 2 off of the list, though.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason why I get them.  The first time I was only a 1*, and I think when the other emails came I was a 2*.  Now that I am a 3*, maybe no more free insides???????

I just made 4 star and have a full slate of upcoming cruises yet I got a free offer.  No rhyme nor reason.  (I did have an ongoing dispute with accounting and a disagreement about a refund , maybe this is my consolation prize)

[Nickelpenny]

Just now, Mary229 said:

I just made 4 star and have a full slate of upcoming cruises yet I got a free offer.  No rhyme nor reason.  (I did have an ongoing dispute with accounting and a disagreement about a refund , maybe this is my consolation prize)

Pretty good consolation prize, IMHO!!

[Mary229]

Just now, Nickelpenny said:

Pretty good consolation prize, IMHO!!

It is a very long story including detention at a border crossing while on a HAL tour.  We can’t seem to agree on appropriate compensation 

[Haljo1935]

I have never given a HAL casino (or any CCL family casino) a dime, yet up until this spring regularly received casino rate free offers. Those come w/OBC but not casino play and/or drinks, so they're easy to distinguish. This year, I've only received 2 offers and have only been able to book 1 due to timing. There have been some amazing itineraries that have been on my bucket list (Iceland, Antarctica, AK land/cruise with Yukon...) that have been on both those offers - I will continue to check every one.

They are definitely tied to a Mariner number and won't be honored if your number is not on "the list." My sister forwarded me one she received that I didn't get; when I called in to ask about booking, the agent spent considerable time looking through the different current private offerings searching by both my Mariner number and email address but wasn't able to find me so she couldn't book me. During that search, she did find one I hadn't received and I was able to book it - TA Rome->FLL this Nov, so sometimes you may have offers you're not aware of.

If I had a good PCC, I probably would be getting all the offers I'm eligible for...that's a topic of its own...

[Mary229]

12 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

During that search, she did find one I hadn't received and I was able to book it - TA Rome->FLL this Nov, so sometimes you may have offers you're not aware of.

Good hint.  I have one next year that I am certain will qualify for a discount, I just don’t know if I will be on the list.  I will try this method at the right time. 

[POA1]

Did you ever consider that you might be receiving the offers because you are fun and just having you on a cruise adds value to the vacation experience of all those who sail with you? 😃

[Banditswife]

Be aware that some of the itineraries listed in the offer will NOT be available.  When I get a "free" offer, I pick 2-3 that I'd be interested in, then contact my TA.  My TA then contacts her person at HAL, several of my chosen itineraries have been "sold out" or unavailable.

[Elkins45]

4 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

 

If I had a good PCC, I probably would be getting all the offers I'm eligible for...that's a topic of its own...

I don’t think we have a PCC from Holland American. That’s interesting because our Carnival PVP contacts us all the time and Norwegian assigned me one before I even booked my first cruise with them. I suppose we don’t have one because our only HA cruise was arranged Boyd Rewards and not with HA or a TA directly.

[Elkins45]

1 hour ago, Banditswife said:

Be aware that some of the itineraries listed in the offer will NOT be available.  When I get a "free" offer, I pick 2-3 that I'd be interested in, then contact my TA.  My TA then contacts her person at HAL, several of my chosen itineraries have been "sold out" or unavailable.

Sadly it looks like I won’t be able to take advantage of any of these offers. I hope they send me another one in the future.