Holland America Cruise on Marriott points?

[CruiseAddict58]

Has anyone ever cruised with Holland America by using their Marriott points? Several cruise itineraries are offered by Marriott based on your accumulated "Marriott points." They advertise that these cruises will be in Category G cabins which according to the website appear to be outside cabins with either a window or a porthole. The one we are considering is the "Scandinvian Capitals" cruise in either June or July of 2007. :confused:

[hammybee]

We have done this. It was an outside cabin and we paid to upgrade to a balcony cabin and to add our dd. I would book early as possible as I think usage might be capasity controlled, just like air miles. Of course all your shipboard expenses are your responsibility but when the bill comes, it sure feels good knowing that this is the extent of what the cruise cost you.

[CruiseAddict58]

Thank you very much for the advice. I wondered about the limitations on this as there appear to only be 6-8 Category G cabins on the ship. I plan to book them this week for my parents. Just trying to decide if they would prefer the "Scandinavian Capitals" cruise in July '07 or the "Gems of the Baltic" in July '07. The intineraries are just about the same, just trying to figure out what the differences are. Both are on the ms Veendam which sounds like it was recently refurbished. My parents just returned from an Alaskan cruise on the ms Zaandam. They had a wonderful time, but were not overly impressed with the ship.

[legalslave]

We did use our Marriott points for the free HAL cruise in 1999. We went on the old Westerdam that did not have balcony cabins. We were guaranteed an inside cabin and paid a little extra for a deluxe outside cabin. Had to pay the tax and I think port fees. The total we paid out of pocket was around $500.00 ($250.00 per person). It was a good deal.

 

Diane

[sfocruiser]

Just trying to decide if they would prefer the "Scandinavian Capitals" cruise in July '07 or the "Gems of the Baltic" in July '07. The intineraries are just about the same, just trying to figure out what the differences are. Both are on the ms Veendam which sounds like it was recently refurbished. .

 

The only difference in the itineraries is that Scandinavian Capitals visits Oslo, Norway while the Gems of the Baltic visits Germany (the port for Berlin)

[CAKruises]

We went on our first cruise on the Westerdam in 1994 using Marriott points. My DH wasn't sold on cruising but would try it for free. We sail on the Volendam on !!/3, our 12th cruise!

 

Carol

[cajunpepsi]

We used our point for the Carnival Conquest when it was still sailing out of New Orleans, we had an oceanview and upgraded to a cat 9a which was a room starboard aft and had a wrap around balcony. It was easy to use the points, I would recommend it, hope you have a good cruise.

 

Dave

[BamaTraveler]

We are also trying to use our Marriott points to cruise the Mediterranean this spring. According to the special accounts rep at HAL, they have not finalized their 2007 contract with Marriott yet and said to call around Christmas!!! I am a bit skeptical and will try again in a week or so...I don't want the spots to fill up. What did they tell you?

[CruiseAddict58]

I haven't actually called Marriott regarding this yet. I've just been reading about it online and doing some research myself. With over 500,000 Marriott points, I've got to do something.

[arlenez]

We are also trying to use our Marriott points to cruise the Mediterranean this spring. According to the special accounts rep at HAL, they have not finalized their 2007 contract with Marriott yet and said to call around Christmas!!! I am a bit skeptical and will try again in a week or so...I don't want the spots to fill up. What did they tell you?

 

HI:

 

DH and I have used Marriott points twice to book cruises. The first one was last April, a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Westerdam. We paid to upgrade to a VA cabin and it was wonderful. We are also booked for March 15th for a 10 day cruise to the southern Caribbean on the Maasdam, again using points and upgrading to a B cabin. I didn't have a problem booking for 2007, so I hope you won't have a problem either.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[sunflowerstarr]

I haven't actually called Marriott regarding this yet. I've just been reading about it online and doing some research myself. With over 500,000 Marriott points, I've got to do something.

 

Well if you need any help figuring it out let me know! :)

 

jk

[hammybee]

Had to pay the tax and I think port fees. The total we paid out of pocket was around $500.00 ($250.00 per person). It was a good deal. Diane

 

Excellent point and one that I failed to mention.

[NancyIL]

I try to get at least a 1% return on Marriott points, so at 360,000 points for a 10-day Northern Europe or Mediterranean cruise for 2, it's a good deal to me if the cruise would cost at least $3600. However, I can usually get better use out of the points by using them for pricey hotels - like the ones you might stay in pre and post-cruise in Europe, or transferring them to an airline for free plane tickets to Europe.

[CruiseAddict58]

Thanks for the info!

[cstrick]

We used Marriott points last year for an Alaskan cruise. I don't remember the cabin grade but we upgraded to an S suite. We booked in December for a July cruise. There was no problem booking at that time.

[keep on cruising]

I booked an April 1st, 2006 cruise on the Zuiderdam mid February using my Marriott points. When I called to book, they told me there were no outside cabins left for points - but I could pay a little more and upgrade to a balcony. Since I had planned to ask if it was upgradable, we jumped at it. Besides the upgrade, we paid taxes and port fees. And they gave us an upgraded balcony cabin.

 

I'm saving my points now to book a Med Cruise in 2008. :)

[hammybee]

I try to get at least a 1% return on Marriott points, so at 360,000 points for a 10-day Northern Europe or Mediterranean cruise for 2, it's a good deal to me if the cruise would cost at least $3600. However, I can usually get better use out of the points by using them for pricey hotels - like the ones you might stay in pre and post-cruise in Europe, or transferring them to an airline for free plane tickets to Europe.

 

I had never thought of it this way and I agree there is probably a better bang by using the points for European hotel stay before or after the cruise.

Thanks for my lesson of the day.

[lmt1022]

I just returned from the Aug 11 sailing out of Copenhagen using my Marriott rewards points.(And I used my Delta miles from ATL nonstop to Copenhagen). Even though we used points, we still had to pay over $900 for two (taxes, port fees, etc.) We also upgraded to a FF guarantee. We ended up getting upgraded to a DD room (which I would not recommend). We tried to get moved back down to an FF or E, but were unsuccessfull. When I researched this trip last year, I was told by Marriott that I would have to wait until the begininng of the year until they had renegotioted their contract with HAL. Even if there are no G rooms left on the cruise you are thinking of going on, they will let you bump up one or two and still use your points. At thee time I booked this cruise, the prices for two was over $4,000... so I would say this was worth the points I used. We also stayed at the Hilton at the airport in Copenhagen using my Hilton Honors points. Very nice hotel attached by tunnel to the airport and just a quick 10 minute train ride to Central Station.

[sammiedawg]

We used Marriott points 3 years ago for Alaska, no problems of any kind other than we were suprised we had to pay taxes and port fees. We did not pay for an upgrade but were upgraded a couple levels to a higher level outside cabin. HAL was very good to deal with as you book directly with the cruise line. I sure hope they renegotiate this deal. Much better availability then trying to find frequent flyer seats.

[iceman93]

I've used MR points for Alaska and Baltic cruises, upgrading cabins each time. Although the process is a bit cumbersome (call Marriott or use the website, get a certificate mailed to you, call HAL, mail the certificate to HAL), customer service reps at both companies seem helpful and cheerful.

 

As for using the points for pre- and post-cruise hotels, I'd much rather earn more MR points (and get those nights towards elite status) than burn them. It's the same reason I rarely use frequent flier miles for free plane tickets!

[NancyIL]

As for using the points for pre- and post-cruise hotels, I'd much rather earn more MR points (and get those nights towards elite status) than burn them. It's the same reason I rarely use frequent flier miles for free plane tickets!

 

We use hotel points to stay in expensive hotels ...the kind I would never pay for out of pocket. As for FF miles sitting in the account being rarely used...doesn't happen at our house!

[iceman93]

I didn't say they're rarely used, just that they're rarely used for free tickets. If anything, we'll buy tickets and then use the miles to upgrade.

 

And with hotels, the more expensive they are the more points you earn! ;)

[mollysmom]

So how amny points, roughly are needed for a cruise? I always use mine for pre and post hotel stays but if it's a better deal to use them for a cruise I'm there!:D

[lmt1022]

It was 360,000 points for the Gems of the Baltic 10 day cruise. We had to pay for taxes and port charges... and we also paid for a one level upgrade. Total out of pocket was $950 for two (plus the tipping charges). I believe the Alaskan cruise was 320,000 (you can check it out at the Marriott Rewards site)

[andreecruisemom]

We redeemed Marriott points for a 10 day cruise on the brand new Noordam this past June. I remember calling Marriott frequently until they had the yearly contract finalized. Marriott also made the suggestion of putting a deposit on the cruise to secure it and telling HAL that we would be using Marriott points to pay as soon as the contract was set. We didn't do this, but if cabins seem tight it may be a good idea. Then you could use your deposit money on upgrading, port etc... It was an easy process overall and I did no more checking on things than I usually do when I'm checking out cruise prices with travel agent or online. We upgraded to a verandah guarantee (VE) and got upgraded to a VA-same cabin, better location. The cruise was fabulous (Rome to Rome) and the Noordam is a beautiful ship. Of course there is still airfare, excursions etc... but it is nice to have the main portion of the ship paid for. We are trying to earn Marriott points so we can go again soon!