Mariner Early Booking Bonus

[mcrcruiser]

Our understanding  is the there is a Mariner early booking bonus if you are a Mariner & you book with in  90 days of release of the cruise ..

 

 We looked at a HAL cruise on their web site & it says Early Booking Bonus  .We are 3 star Mariners  & booked this cruise with HAL & then transferred to our TA . Shouldn't we get the Early booking Bonus?

 

TIA

[Haljo1935]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Our understanding  is the there is a Mariner early booking bonus if you are a Mariner & you book with in  90 days of release of the cruise ..

 

 We looked at a HAL cruise on their web site & it says Early Booking Bonus  .We are 3 star Mariners  & booked this cruise with HAL & then transferred to our TA . Shouldn't we get the Early booking Bonus?

 

TIA

Whatever bonuses/perks were in effect and tied to your booking when you made it, will go along with it when you transfer it to your TA.

However, if you cancel and rebook w/TA, you will get the bonuses in effect at that time.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

[Cruise Suzy]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Our understanding  is the there is a Mariner early booking bonus if you are a Mariner & you book with in  90 days of release of the cruise ..

 

 We looked at a HAL cruise on their web site & it says Early Booking Bonus  .We are 3 star Mariners  & booked this cruise with HAL & then transferred to our TA . Shouldn't we get the Early booking Bonus?

The Early Booking Bonus for cruise fares is not the same as the Mariner bonus. The Early Booking Bonus refers to the enhanced HIA components. It is in effect for longer than the first 90 days.

[mcrcruiser]

51 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

The Early Booking Bonus for cruise fares is not the same as the Mariner bonus. The Early Booking Bonus refers to the enhanced HIA components. It is in effect for longer than the first 90 days.

 

51 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

The Early Booking Bonus for cruise fares is not the same as the Mariner bonus. The Early Booking Bonus refers to the enhanced HIA components. It is in effect for longer than the first 90 days.

We booked a cruise that came out this September & now it is early October 2023 . The cruise is April w ,2025 . & trust me no one at hooland has a clue . Asking to connect to the Mariner Dept ,they do noy know how . # phone calls into holland & they don;t have a clue .

 Now O told the TA if this is not resolved today ,hooland will get 3 cruises cancelled  .Never in over 30 years has comminocations been so bad .asking for the office of the president  they can'r do that  LOL

[Nodakboiler]

I was told that you can't get the first 90 day bonus and the Mariner Welcome Home bonus for the same cruise- it's one or the other.

[koolforkatz]

We just booked a recently released cruise onboard the Koningsdam. I am getting confused by the terms now but we received the HIA package with premium drinks and wifi as well as extra Mariner OBC. This on top of the OBC for booking onboard. The booking was transferred to our TA and we have retained everything.

 

Not sure if this helps.  

[shadow 123]

On 10/4/2023 at 12:35 PM, mcrcruiser said:

 

We booked a cruise that came out this September & now it is early October 2023 . The cruise is April w ,2025 . & trust me no one at hooland has a clue . Asking to connect to the Mariner Dept ,they do noy know how . # phone calls into holland & they don;t have a clue .

 Now O told the TA if this is not resolved today ,hooland will get 3 cruises cancelled  .Never in over 30 years has comminocations been so bad .asking for the office of the president  they can'r do that  LOL

I have to agree. I've been sailing with holland America since 2017 and it has never been like this.

[Ken the cruiser]

If I might ask as we are 4 star Mariners, is there a way to tell when an itinerary was released to the public for booking? We booked an April 2025 Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle about a month ago and was just curious, as we booked it through our TA and just want to make sure she checked the applicable Mariner discount box when she booked it for us. 

[mcrcruiser]

13 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I have to agree. I've been sailing with holland America since 2017 and it has never been like this.

 Today , Oct 5 th  ,we connected to a manager at HAL with a excellent conversation . It iurns out I was right about the Mariner Early Booking bonus plus the AARP bonus  on our 10 day april 2 2025 cruise on Zaandam . We got the  $ 300 yoysal OBC ,We also booked the April 12 ,2024 cruise which is aslo Mexican  Riviera 6 night cruise & we got $200 OVC . Then we used American Express  $1000 yp deposit on the 7 night cruise & American Express gives back a $300 credit  ;which we will use up sjopping at the super markets .When we get to 2025 I will buy 100 shares of CCL stock to get $100 more OBC for each cruise .  These OBCs will covert all the tips & some special restaurant dinners

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask as we are 4 star Mariners, is there a way to tell when an itinerary was released to the public for booking? We booked an April 2025 Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle about a month ago and was just curious, as we booked it through our TA and just want to make sure she checked the applicable Mariner discount box when she booked it for us. 

Reconed that you inquire of the Mariner Society ,because , HAL has so many new customer service people that they just do not know  about the  90 day booking window when a cruise comes out . There is also the AARP on board credit available if you are a AARP member .Then there are $500 Holland America gift cards on the AARP web site that cost $450 .you can buy up to 5 of these gift cards each month 

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Reconed that you inquire of the Mariner Society ,because , HAL has so many new customer service people that they just do not know  about the  90 day booking window when a cruise comes out . There is also the AARP on board credit available if you are a AARP member .Then there are $500 Holland America gift cards on the AARP web site that cost $450 .you can buy up to 5 of these gift cards each month 

Thanks, and sorry you had to go through all that stress to get your issues dealt with! 

 

As far as the 90-day Mariner booking OBC bonus, I guess we're going to have to "assume" the HAL "database" keeps track of the initial availability dates of all their itineraries, and we just were too late to qualify. However, I will definitely keep track for future reference when HAL releases their new 2026 and beyond itineraries. 

 

We currently buy the discounted Princess AARP gift cards, as we have received assurances from various sources if the cruise is cancelled before final payment, any payments made using the GCs will be placed back on the cards they came from. As of yet, I have neither read nor heard here that the same happens with discounted HAL AARP gift cards. But if anyone has heard experience to the contrary, I'm all ears.

 

We were finally able to get the AARP and Military Appreciation OBC perk applied to our booking once our certifications made it to the HAL database. I also realize we will have to reapply every year on the anniversary date to have the AARP certification reapplied as it's only good for 1 year in the HAL database.

 

 

[mcrcruiser]

14 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks, and sorry you had to go through all that stress to get your issues dealt with! 

 

As far as the 90-day Mariner booking OBC bonus, I guess we're going to have to "assume" the HAL "database" keeps track of the initial availability dates of all their itineraries, and we just were too late to qualify. However, I will definitely keep track for future reference when HAL releases their new 2026 and beyond itineraries. 

 

We currently buy the discounted Princess AARP gift cards, as we have received assurances from various sources if the cruise is cancelled before final payment, any payments made using the GCs will be placed back on the cards they came from. As of yet, I have neither read nor heard here that the same happens with discounted HAL AARP gift cards. But if anyone has heard experience to the contrary, I'm all ears.

 

We were finally able to get the AARP and Military Appreciation OBC perk applied to our booking once our certifications made it to the HAL database. I also realize we will have to reapply every year on the anniversary date to have the AARP certification reapplied as it's only good for 1 year in the HAL database.

 

 

Our understanding with HAL /AARP gift cards that id not used the money goes back to the gift card

[Ken the cruiser]

47 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask as we are 4 star Mariners, is there a way to tell when an itinerary was released to the public for booking? We booked an April 2025 Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle about a month ago and was just curious, as we booked it through our TA and just want to make sure she checked the applicable Mariner discount box when she booked it for us. 

My DW suggested I check out the HAL news releases on the website, and sure enough she was right again. Our itinerary was released in April 2023, which put our booking well outside the 90-day window.
 
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/news/2023/april/news-04032023-New-West-Coast-Season

 

[mcrcruiser]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

My DW suggested I check out the HAL news releases on the website, and sure enough she was right again. Our itinerary was released in April 2023, which put our booking well outside the 90-day window.
 
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/news/2023/april/news-04032023-New-West-Coast-Season

 

Always pays to check . Because of mistakes by new reps ,got to keep checking to get all that you deserve in OBC 

[boze9999]

On 10/4/2023 at 11:21 AM, Nodakboiler said:

I was told that you can't get the first 90 day bonus and the Mariner Welcome Home bonus for the same cruise- it's one or the other.

That's incorrect @Nodakboiler. We've gotten it every time we book.

 

[boze9999]

This is the Welcome Home Post Cruise booking bonus @mcrcruiser Over recent times, We've been told you need to request it -  Promo code VPM & VPN and it is able to be added to other OBC, unless perhaps you're booking a few kinds of highly discounted fare sales. The $ amount varies anywhere from $25-$200 p/p, depending on cabin and sailing days. Your new cruise must be booked for a certain period after you complete your sailing (I think around 90 days), but the sailing can be any time into the future. 

[shadow 123]

13 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Our understanding with HAL /AARP gift cards that id not used the money goes back to the gift card

I know I got gift cards when Holland  America offered them. The cruise was canceled and none of that money came back to me it all went back to the gift card. This was a few years ago so it may have changed.

[shadow 123]

10 hours ago, boze9999 said:

That's incorrect @Nodakboiler. We've gotten it every time we book.

 

I get both and the AARP credit as far as I know.

Edited October 6, 2023 by shadow 123

[mcrcruiser]

10 hours ago, boze9999 said:

This is the Welcome Home Post Cruise booking bonus @mcrcruiser Over recent times, We've been told you need to request it -  Promo code VPM & VPN and it is able to be added to other OBC, unless perhaps you're booking a few kinds of highly discounted fare sales. The $ amount varies anywhere from $25-$200 p/p, depending on cabin and sailing days. Your new cruise must be booked for a certain period after you complete your sailing (I think around 90 days), but the sailing can be any time into the future. 

That is correct but ,we so ofteb forget about these .There are so many bonus deals  that HAL is now offering

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I know I got gift cards when Holland  America offered them. The cruise was canceled and none of that money came back to me it all went back to the gift card. This was a few years ago so it may have changed.

Those were HAL gift cards rather than the discounted HAL AARP cards, correct? But it's still good to known as in theory they are all HAL gift cards and should all be treated the same.

[shadow 123]

On 10/6/2023 at 11:40 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

Those were HAL gift cards rather than the discounted HAL AARP cards, correct? But it's still good to known as in theory they are all HAL gift cards and should all be treated the same.

I can only tell you what happened to me when I bought the gift cards from holland America a few years back. It was a good deal, spend the thousand get 100 back. I had to pay for the cruise anyway so I thought it was a good deal. However , was canceled none of that money came back to me it all went back to the gift cards.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, shadow 123 said:

I can only tell you what happened to me when I bought the gift cards from holland America a few years back. It was a good deal, spend the thousand get 100 back. I had to pay for the cruise anyway so I thought it was a good deal. However , was canceled none of that money came back to me it all went back to the gift cards.

Thanks. I agree, you can’t beat a 10% discount on $$$ used to help pay down the cruise fare.