Sailor Sam 407 Posted June 30 #26 Share Posted June 30 When I received confirmation from HAL, that my AARP membership was accepted, the following notice was included. ”Please allow 3 business days before making a new reservation to receive your AARP member onboard credit offer. Offer is not valid for existing bookings made prior to the validation process.” I’ll be interested to see if anyone has success with an existing booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everbeentoseabilly Posted June 30 #27 Share Posted June 30 1 hour ago, Sailor Sam 407 said: When I received confirmation from HAL, that my AARP membership was accepted, the following notice was included. ”Please allow 3 business days before making a new reservation to receive your AARP member onboard credit offer. Offer is not valid for existing bookings made prior to the validation process.” I’ll be interested to see if anyone has success with an existing booking. My pcc says it can be applied to existing bookings. I guess I’ll find out in about a week and a half since she said it takes about 7 days not counting weekends ans holidays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted June 30 #28 Share Posted June 30 1 hour ago, Sailor Sam 407 said: When I received confirmation from HAL, that my AARP membership was accepted, the following notice was included. ”Please allow 3 business days before making a new reservation to receive your AARP member onboard credit offer. Offer is not valid for existing bookings made prior to the validation process.” I’ll be interested to see if anyone has success with an existing booking. 7 minutes ago, everbeentoseabilly said: My pcc says it can be applied to existing bookings. I guess I’ll find out in about a week and a half since she said it takes about 7 days not counting weekends ans holidays There seems to be no consistency in HAL's approach, some people getting the OBC for previously booked cruises and others being rejected. I decided to gamble and took out a membership a few days ago, then completed the verification process. Now I'll sit back and see what happens.🤞 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodndonna Posted July 1 #29 Share Posted July 1 11 hours ago, Fouremco said: There seems to be no consistency in HAL's approach, some people getting the OBC for previously booked cruises and others being rejected. I decided to gamble and took out a membership a few days ago, then completed the verification process. Now I'll sit back and see what happens.🤞 I recall when they launched the offer, it was all over the map in terms of the rules. It seemed to have launched too quickly without really informing PCC's at HAL as to what the rules were. I "think" it was supposed to be only for "new" bookings, but a number of folks pushed back (as it wasn't well documented initially) and that opened a can of worms when some folks got it on old bookings and others say they didn't. There was also the rule about only being applied to a single booking in a year. I know that wasn't the case in the first year (we had it applied to 2 as did others) but again this rule was thrown around. I like to think things have settled out by now in terms of the rules, but I guess things are always changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted July 1 #30 Share Posted July 1 Can we only get one year memberships? I first selected a 5 year membership but once I entered that I was from Canada that option disappeared. I have a few cruises already booked but am about to embark on one so thought I would get the membership now, in case I book a cruise onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retirement Posted July 1 #31 Share Posted July 1 21 hours ago, Fouremco said: There seems to be no consistency in HAL's approach, some people getting the OBC for previously booked cruises and others being rejected. I decided to gamble and took out a membership a few days ago, then completed the verification process. Now I'll sit back and see what happens.🤞 Did you just buy one membership? Or, did you also buy one for your wife, as well? Is it sufficient to have just one membership for the booking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted July 1 #32 Share Posted July 1 34 minutes ago, Retirement said: Did you just buy one membership? Or, did you also buy one for your wife, as well? Is it sufficient to have just one membership for the booking? I think just one membership. When I registered this afternoon, I was given the opportunity to add a second person from my household (for free). I did not need to add a second person so did not do that. I assume that if your spouse cruises without you, he/she would still be able to get the HAL OBC offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted July 1 #33 Share Posted July 1 22 hours ago, Fouremco said: There seems to be no consistency in HAL's approach, some people getting the OBC for previously booked cruises and others being rejected. I decided to gamble and took out a membership a few days ago, then completed the verification process. Now I'll sit back and see what happens.🤞 How did you complete the verification process? I could not get any links to work on the HAL website (got the dreaded 404 error multiple times). I then called HAL and got transferred to Reservations. She tried to help me. I used three devices and two browsers and still could not get the form. I have to try going through my TA but I'm not holding much home with that since it's the big box store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted July 1 #34 Share Posted July 1 1 hour ago, Retirement said: Did you just buy one membership? Or, did you also buy one for your wife, as well? Is it sufficient to have just one membership for the booking? I purchased a single membership, but received the free membership for my DW. The AARP OBC is one per cabin, no matter how many occupants have a membership. 23 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said: How did you complete the verification process? I could not get any links to work on the HAL website (got the dreaded 404 error multiple times). I then called HAL and got transferred to Reservations. She tried to help me. I used three devices and two browsers and still could not get the form. I have to try going through my TA but I'm not holding much home with that since it's the big box store. The link is available right in the AARP webpage, but you'll need to use a VPN. The link in the AARP webpage will give you the 404 error code if it detects that you are in Canada, but will link to the verification page if it believes that you are in the US. So, use the VPN to set your location in the US, then click on this link: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/community-appreciation-cruise-offers/aarp-member-benefit-offer?XID=EXTHPRTNR20230501VT3I62RMF3, and then click on the yellow "VERIFY YOUR AARP MEMBERSHIP" button. You should get an almost instant response from SheerID Verification confirming your eligibility for the OBC offer. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted July 1 #35 Share Posted July 1 Thank you! Now I have to figure out how to get/use a VPN. I’ll talk to the IT people at the office this week… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keata Posted July 2 #36 Share Posted July 2 (edited) This morning, I called the regular reservation line and had them put my AARP number on my profile. Within minutes of them doing that I received the email from Sheer ID Verification that it was done. Very easy process for the OBC. I hope it is combinable with the Shareholder OBC. Edited July 2 by Keata Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted July 2 #37 Share Posted July 2 1 hour ago, Keata said: I hope it is combinable with the Shareholder OBC. According to posts on the HAL forum, it is combinable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted July 2 #38 Share Posted July 2 5 hours ago, Keata said: This morning, I called the regular reservation line and had them put my AARP number on my profile. Within minutes of them doing that I received the email from Sheer ID Verification that it was done. Very easy process for the OBC. I hope it is combinable with the Shareholder OBC. Huh, I'll have to try again. I was speaking with someone in Reservations yesterday and after all attempts failed, she told me to have my TA fill out the form. I knew they were closed yesterday for the holiday so didn't bother. Haven't had a chance to call yet. But maybe I'll try HAL again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keata Posted July 2 #39 Share Posted July 2 @Alberta Quilter Trust me it took multiple times expaining what I wanted; but as I persisted it did work out in the end. Unfortunately I do find that the skill level on the reservation line varies wildly.If I am not successful with the 1st rep I will call back. Hope it works for you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JJK2008 Posted July 2 #40 Share Posted July 2 1 hour ago, Keata said: @Alberta Quilter Trust me it took multiple times expaining what I wanted; but as I persisted it did work out in the end. Unfortunately I do find that the skill level on the reservation line varies wildly.If I am not successful with the 1st rep I will call back. Hope it works for you! This is off the subject but how do you send your reply with the blue highlight of the person you're sending it to??? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everbeentoseabilly Posted July 2 #41 Share Posted July 2 3 minutes ago, JJK2008 said: This is off the subject but how do you send your reply with the blue highlight of the person you're sending it to??? Thanks. @JJK2008 it’s the @ symbol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JJK2008 Posted July 2 #42 Share Posted July 2 11 minutes ago, everbeentoseabilly said: @JJK2008 it’s the @ symbol @everbeentoseabilly OMG....I'm an idiot. Duh!!!😌 Thank You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everbeentoseabilly Posted July 2 #43 Share Posted July 2 Just now, JJK2008 said: @everbeentoseabilly OMG....I'm an idiot. Duh!!!😌 Thank You. No if you didn’t know, you didn’t know! @JJK2008 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted July 3 #44 Share Posted July 3 The important thing is to select it off the drop-down list, otherwise you just get text. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lots-of-km2 Posted July 3 #45 Share Posted July 3 On 6/26/2024 at 3:29 PM, Ex-Airbalancer said: Is there any other benefits with joining AARP? $100obc is one good reason Though Canadians can join, a lot of the $ benefits seem to be reserved for US residents -- discounted cruise gift cards, for example. One major disbenefit is the email bombardment that AARP starts once you join. Several junk emails a day, no exaggerating -- not only from AARP but from a lot of third parties. Opting out of the emails and unsubscribing doesn't seem to stop it completely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodndonna Posted July 3 #46 Share Posted July 3 3 hours ago, lots-of-km2 said: Though Canadians can join, a lot of the $ benefits seem to be reserved for US residents -- discounted cruise gift cards, for example. One major disbenefit is the email bombardment that AARP starts once you join. Several junk emails a day, no exaggerating -- not only from AARP but from a lot of third parties. Opting out of the emails and unsubscribing doesn't seem to stop it completely. It's odd - since joining we've never received any AARP emails (other than our renewal notice). We do get the AARP magazine "snail-mailed" regularly, but that seems to have been it for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JJK2008 Posted July 3 #47 Share Posted July 3 Just a thought, in post #22 I gave some info on AARP E Gift Cards. The HAL OBC is a great perk, but the AARP E Gift Cards can save even more money. The Gift Cards save you 10% across the board. AARP sells E Gift Cards for Cruise Lines, RCCL, CCL, Celebrity, Princess and HAL through their Rewards Program. There is a small catch. The Rewards Program is only open to persons in the US. So, if you have friends/family in the US they can buy the cards for you, and you can redeem them. The AARP E Gift Cards are FULL TRANSFERABLE - They are a Gift Card. The savings is 10% across the board. The denominations of the E Gift Cards can vary, but usually they sell $500 cards for $450 and $100 cards for $90. These are "E Gift Cards" and not hard copy cards. They do NOT have any name on them, only the card number and a pin number. The card number and pin are what whoever has the card would use to get the discount. There are a number of other sites that you can get cruise line E Gift Cards, NOT just AARP. CardCash is one. On this site people buy and sell gift cards. You can buy discounted cards for a number of different products including cruises. This operates like Ebay. Like any 3rd party on-line you have to be careful with what you buy. Some may be legitimate some may not be. Newegg is another site that sells cruise E Gift Cards but usually at face value. However, Newegg does have sales. Newegg recently had CCL E Gift Cards at 10% off (a $500 gift card would be $450). This was a limited time offer with limited quantity. The AARP E Gift Cards are always 10% off and have NO expiration date. Yes, it is jumping through a few hoops, but if you have a $4 - $5 thousand dollar cruise and you buy the cards to pay for it, then saving 10% is worth a little effort (IMHO). If any of you do decide to check this further, keep in mind all the prices I quoted are in USD, so take that into consideration. PLEASE read and understand the T & C for each site and cards and how to redeem them. The CCL cards can be used for pretty much anything connected to the cruise, but there are still T & C to understand. The RCCL cards can be used but are VERY restrictive and can ONLY be used to pay the cruise fare, no excursion, no gratuities, etc. You must follow the T & C to the letter. One condition that I read here on CC often is people will book their RCCL cruise through a TA and then try to apply the AARP E Gift Card and RCCL rejects it. You must book directly with RCCL AND make the initial deposit to then apply an E Gift Card. You can transfer the booking to a TA after the initial booking. This catches a lot of folks off guard, and they get really ticked off (they DON'T read the T & C). The T & C are right on the screen with AARP BEFORE you buy the cards. The T & C are also on-line with RCCL for anyone to read. So, READ the T & C and UNDERSTAND them. I'd also suggest reading the threads here on CC about AARP gift cards. Some really good info and of course some really bad info, you decide. Best of luck to all, hope this info helps you save some cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare *Miss G* Posted July 4 #48 Share Posted July 4 Whoa. Paragraphs are your friend. Good luck to those who try to slug through that.^^ 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted July 4 #49 Share Posted July 4 19 hours ago, JJK2008 said: The Gift Cards save you 10% across the board. According to numerous recent posts on the HAL forum, this has now been reduced to 8%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-Airbalancer Posted July 4 #50 Share Posted July 4 1 hour ago, *Miss G* said: Whoa. Paragraphs are your friend. Good luck to those who try to slug through that.^^ You don’t like reading a wall of word ?🤔😉😁 It makes it very hard to read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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