Military Onboard credit

[Lizard13]

Sorry if this has been asked before. I tried the search bar without luck.  I was told by a pcc, not mine but someone who answered my call to pcc and told me she could help as mine was occupied, that every time I cruise I have to reapply for military credit.  It’s not like my time in the Navy is going to disappear.  Has anyone else been told this?  

[Boatdrill]

I would like to know too.

Recently a friend had trouble getting the Military Credit applied to his booking. He's been "verified", yet the HAL website said the credit had already been used on his "other" booking. He has one current/active booking. 

The offer is attached to Mariner numbers, and I thought that when a new booking is made, the Military OBC is automatically applied after a few days.

[Haljo1935]

Back when DH first applied, HAL wasn't using SheerID we had to send his DD214 in. Then each booking we had to call to request the OBC get added, which it always was w/o resubmit ting the DD214, just request the OBC.

Now that they use SheerID, he had to "apply" through them, but we still have to call in to request OBC get added to the booking.

It's not ever been automatically added for our bookings. I don't know if it's just the way their system works or because we put him as Pax #2.

[raelyn]

We applied for Military and AARP OBC thru Sheer ID in January and both were successfully applied to our Sept 2024 cruise.  I called HAL last Friday to verify both were applied to our cruise next month and they had not been applied.  I was told the offers could only be applied to one cruise per year.

i plan to call again next week because I question that information.

[Dutchman48]

1 hour ago, raelyn said:

We applied for Military and AARP OBC thru Sheer ID in January and both were successfully applied to our Sept 2024 cruise.  I called HAL last Friday to verify both were applied to our cruise next month and they had not been applied.  I was told the offers could only be applied to one cruise per year.

i plan to call again next week because I question that information.

Had Military credit on both cruise last year. Did have to go through Sheer ID last year, like others I had submitted my military info a long time ago, just needed to comply with new system.

All I do is tell my TA to have the credit applied at time of booking. Have three cruises pending and credit is visible on each. Only complaint I have is HAL does not show a breakdown off credits just a total for each person. Not hard to figure out as wife's shows what come with booking and mine has the add extras (military & shareholders).

[TRLD]

my understanding is, unlike Princess where the military obc is automatically applied to all future cruises, with HAL you have to request the obc for each cruise.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

my understanding is, unlike Princess where the military obc is automatically applied to all future cruises, with HAL you have to request the obc for each cruise.

Yes but do not have to resubmit docs each time, just call to request it be applied. 

[POA1]

Military OBC does not have to be renewed. All the others do.  It should show up as a credit on your Mariner ID when booking.  Unless you are booking a deeply discounted fare, like some casino rates, standby, etc. - It should be available.  If you are booking really far out, your PCC or TA may have to get it manually applied. IIRC, it is preloaded for the current year and the following year.

[FLCruiser97]

We are having this same issue for a cruise in 2025. TA said it should automatically be applied but it is not. Waiting for the results.

[raelyn]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with AARP and Military OBC.  I called HAL again this morning and spoke with a different person.  I was told they could be applied to multiple cruises each year but it was not automatic.

i’m glad I double checked since Friday’s answer didn’t seem right to me and I couldn’t find any limit on the HAL website.

[polySeraph]

I originally applied for the military OBC in 12/02/22 and was able to use it on two cruises in 2022. When it came time to renew my eligibility one year later, I was able to successfully renew on 11/30/2023. SheerID even sent me a happy little email saying that my eligibility had been verified successfully.

 

Today, while tidying up loose ends for my upcoming cruise in May (my first cruise since renewing my status), I asked my (big box) travel agent to call HAL and ensure that my military OBC and my husband's AARP OBC were applied to the cruise. To make a long story short, I was told that HAL had nothing attached to my mariner number showing that I was eligible for the military OBC. The HAL agent told my agent that all I needed to do was re-verify, wait 3 days, and then call back to get the military OBC applied.  That didn't sound right to me but hey, what did I know?

 

Just now, I resubmitted all my info (again) and the immediate response was that I had already applied and been verified. So, clearly there was a record of my eligibility having been verified successfully (attached to my mariner number) somewhere in a database somewhere in HAL.

 

So what should I do next? Wait 3 days and call my TA again? Cry into my gluten-free beer?

[Ken the cruiser]

When I log onto my HAL account, this is what's listed under my Profile in the Future Cruise Credits section (minus the Credit ID which I purposely omitted). I'm guessing the $100 entry is the AARP credit, as it expires at the end of the current year, and the $50 entry is the Military credit, as I applied for military status through Sheer ID in Sep 2023, which I guess means it will expire in 4 years. Is anyone else seeing this, or more importantly am I guessing correctly?

 

[IBM Sweathog]

I just booked a cruise within the last hour and my booking information reflects the military credit of $100.  I could see it on my account BEFORE I booked the cruise today.  I know that I had to verify my military status a second time back in 2023 prior to taking a cruise, but at least now, they (Holland) remember that I am a veteran.

[polySeraph]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

When I log onto my HAL account, this is what's listed under my Profile in the Future Cruise Credits section (minus the Credit ID which I purposely omitted). I'm guessing the $100 entry is the AARP credit, as it expires at the end of the current year, and the $50 entry is the Military credit, as I applied for military status through Sheer ID in Sep 2023, which I guess means it will expire in 4 years. Is anyone else seeing this, or more importantly am I guessing correctly?

 

I used to see the military credit listed under my OBCs and it’s no longer there so something didn’t happen correctly when I renewed last December. OTOH, there is a record of my having re-verified my eligibility last December. My guess is that SheerID’s database shows my record as having been updated but somehow it didn’t get passed to HAL. 
 

….and like the OP said, it’s not like my previous service in the Navy is going to disappear. 

 

I may try calling the Mariner Society’s 800 number tomorrow and see if they can help unravel this. I’ll post back if I can get a resolution.