Free inside stateroom

[Gertie17]

Since I just took my first cruise on Holland in December (12-nt Panama Canal), I am not sure if this is the norm, but two months after we got back, I got an email for free inside staterooms on particular sailings.  After your first cruise with them?  Unfortunately, I didn't see the email right away, so the itinerary I wanted was not available for that promotion.  Just curious if the Holland aficionados know.

 

Thanks

 

Pam

[YourWorldWithBill]

50 minutes ago, Gertie17 said:

 the itinerary I wanted was not available for that promotion.  

 

Pam

That sentence is the key point! Almost all offers are for certain cruises, and usually within the next few months. You just have to hope that you get lucky one day! You may get other offers for discounts, etc.

[Gertie17]

I was not surprised by that, and also, many of these cruises are quite long.  Unlike many Holland cruisers, I am not retired.  It just so happened, one of the itineraries, I was already planning on.  It's just that I have been on many other cruise lines, and never got an offer like that so soon. 😄

[oakridger]

7 hours ago, Gertie17 said:

  It's just that I have been on many other cruise lines, and never got an offer like that so soon. 

 

And some people who have cruised with HAL for 20 years have never gotten a "free" offer!  Like Moi.  Enjoy it when you can!

 

~Nancy

 

 

[Nickelpenny]

I have gotten the emails for free insides and not all of them were sailings in the next couple of months. 2 included sailings over a year away. I have taken advantage of a couple of the offers. Some I was interested in were already booked for the free insides. So it is controlled on how many are available. And, no, they were casino offers. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

And some people who have cruised with HAL for 20 years have never gotten a "free" offer!  Like Moi.  Enjoy it when you can!

 

~Nancy

 

 

 

And moi as well. And I probably never will, as I don't gamble and I don't buy expensive jewelry onboard.

 

I think EFFY may have some allotment of cruises to give away because a couple on my recent cruise had a free cabin (and they added CO to get to choose their cabin, still an inside). They sort of grumbled that they had to pay that extra to choose. Well, [insert string of expletives here], I paid a lot more to get to choose my cabin!

 

Sorry (not sorry?) for the rant/digression. They did not gamble, and I don't think they were big drinkers--never saw them have wine at dinner. And they never talked about excursions. BUT she spent big on jewelry, including a few things at the EFFY auction. So I'm guessing that EFFY or shops onboard were the source of their freebie. 

 

I've done 16 cruises on HAL, so they probably figure they don't need to entice me. Right now, I don't have anything booked with HAL and no plans to.  My next cruises are all on Cunard. So, HAL, entice me back?

[cranier2000]

Yes, I started receiving those offers and didn't pay much attention to them.  Then while on a Mexican Riveria cruise, I received one in my email. I called them next port stop and I have a free 9 night out of Ft. Lauderdale (leaving March) which I was able to upgrade for about $199.00 and I have a free * 35 night one to Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Ireland and Norway scheduled for July.  If I get offered an upgrade, I'll probably take it since they are so inexpensive.  *Nothing is for free however, don't forget you need to add gratuities, taxes, laundry (for the 35 night one), drinks, excursions, internet, etc.  My 35 day one will probably cost us over $5,000 after all is said and done but still - I've been on 10 day cruises that I've spent twice that.  

[cbr663]

5 hours ago, cranier2000@yahoo.com said:

Yes, I started receiving those offers and didn't pay much attention to them.  Then while on a Mexican Riveria cruise, I received one in my email. I called them next port stop and I have a free 9 night out of Ft. Lauderdale (leaving March) which I was able to upgrade for about $199.00 and I have a free * 35 night one to Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Ireland and Norway scheduled for July.  If I get offered an upgrade, I'll probably take it since they are so inexpensive.  *Nothing is for free however, don't forget you need to add gratuities, taxes, laundry (for the 35 night one), drinks, excursions, internet, etc.  My 35 day one will probably cost us over $5,000 after all is said and done but still - I've been on 10 day cruises that I've spent twice that.  

 

Do you by chance purchase a Future Cruise Deposit when sailing?

 

I'm wondering whether having a FCD would benefit for HAL's enticement, as in they want to come back so let's make it worth their while, OR, if it may work against you in that the algorithm considers the FCD as customers who are planning to return so they don't need enticement?

 

[cranier2000]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

 

Do you by chance purchase a Future Cruise Deposit when sailing?

 

I'm wondering whether having a FCD would benefit for HAL's enticement, as in they want to come back so let's make it worth their while, OR, if it may work against you in that the algorithm considers the FCD as customers who are planning to return so they don't need enticement?

 

No the offer was from gambling in the casino on a previous cruise.  But I didn’t spend much in the casino - less than $100.  

[RuthC]

12 minutes ago, cranier2000@yahoo.com said:

No the offer was from gambling in the casino on a previous cruise.  But I didn’t spend much in the casino - less than $100.  

Fantastic investment! 

[YourWorldWithBill]

7 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

And moi as well. And I probably never will, as I don't gamble and I don't buy expensive jewelry onboard.

 

I've done 16 cruises on HAL, so they probably figure they don't need to entice me. Right now, I don't have anything booked with HAL and no plans to.  My next cruises are all on Cunard. So, HAL, entice me back?

Most of the offers are connected with the casinos, even for those that don't gamble too much, and the offers aren't really from HAL, but from the casino operator, who has an agreement with HAL. And it is pretty unfair for long-term cruisers such as you... but it works for me! (Although I've never been able to take advantage of any offer, but hope springs eternal.)

[Gertie17]

I didn't buy anything extra, nor do I gamble or drink, so it is beyond me why I received that email after only one cruise. I filled out my post cruise survey and told them what they did right and what they did wrong, IMO. So maybe I'll get lucky enough to get another offer, because alas, I can not use any of those. I am a nurse, and not much of a chance getting large chunks of time off, since nurses are leaving in droves.