I'm Now A "past Passenger"-when Will Hal Send A "mariner" Packet/magazine?

[debjo]

Greetings to all those "in the know" HAL MARINERS!

 

Now that I'm not a HAL "virgin" cruiser anymore, I'm wondering when my DH and I can expect our Holland America Mariner Welcome Packet / Magazine / and Mariner cards with our Mariner number? (We returned from our WESTERDAM cruise on 10/22/06.)

 

We're considering booking a HAL cruise to Alaska and would like to make that booking very soon, but don't yet have our Mariner numbers (which I believe are needed to get a past-passenger discount). So, what words of wisdom can you sage Mariners pass along to me.

 

As always...thanks for your bits of advice!

 

Debjo

[Atomica]

You can actually look up your mariner number right now!

 

http://mariners.vcrm2.com/lookup/

 

Once you have that, you can just plug it in to HAL's site when you to to price an itinerary and voila!

 

I don't think you'll get actual cards - I never have, at least. Got some from NCL a few years back, but that's it. As for the mariner magazine, I got my first one this fall - they seem to send them out sporadically at best. You will be able to find a PDF file of the magazine on HAL's mariner page usually...

[jtl513]

Greetings to all those "in the know" HAL MARINERS!

 

Now that I'm not a HAL "virgin" cruiser anymore, I'm wondering when my DH and I can expect our Holland America Mariner Welcome Packet / Magazine / and Mariner cards with our Mariner number?

 

No cards ... and I don't recall any "welcome packet", although there might have been a letter. The Mariner mags aren't very frequent ... quarterly maybe? But you'll soon start receivings LOTS of brochures from HAL ... sometimes 3 or 4 per week!! :D

 

The Mariner discounts aren't very big ... I think it made a $50 pp difference on our next upcoming cruise ... but every little bit helps.

[fann1sh]

....and your Mariner # will be on the brochures you get.

[cruisecache&squash]

I got a little packet about 4 months or so after my first cruise last year. I think it was just a letter with my number on it. I have never gotten the magazine, though. :(

[Randyk47]

Debjo - Welcome to being a Mariner! :) It's great to be an alumni but the truth of the matter is that it's a program in name only without any significant benefits. I noticed particularly that you mentioned past passenger discounts.....mostly a myth. While you will get "offerings" from time to time they can be easily beat, usually significantly, by most travel agencies. The best part of being a Mariner is that it means you've sailed on a HAL ship, that's truly the "reward" in our book. :D

[fcorey]

Greetings to all those "in the know" HAL MARINERS!

 

Now that I'm not a HAL "virgin" cruiser anymore, I'm wondering when my DH and I can expect our Holland America Mariner Welcome Packet / Magazine / and Mariner cards with our Mariner number? (We returned from our WESTERDAM cruise on 10/22/06.)

 

We're considering booking a HAL cruise to Alaska and would like to make that booking very soon, but don't yet have our Mariner numbers (which I believe are needed to get a past-passenger discount). So, what words of wisdom can you sage Mariners pass along to me.

 

As always...thanks for your bits of advice!

 

Debjo

 

FYI, I had the same question and called Mariner Society, they said it can take upwards of 4-6 weeks for your last cruise to show up in their system. They did provide my Mariner number, actually consolidate two for some reason I was in there twice.

[grannynurse]

Debjo,

The fall Mariner mag has been out for a while. The next one will be spring 2007. The good Alaska rates are out now in a mailer form. There are several cruise/land tours that include free hotel in Vancouver and a 3 category upgrade. Go to the HAL website and click on special offers you may see it there. Jan-Feb is also a good time for Alaska promos, usually with an ending date of Feb 28th. A feature of the Mariner mag is a page listing best cruise values, and the issue also includes pages of promos by destination. I suggest that you watch the special offers page on the web site, I don't know if you're interested in flash sales but they show up there too. Also register online for email updates.

Welcome to Mariner-hood,

GN

[debjo]

THANKS EVERYONE...

for your "pearls" of wisdom! I guess I'm a little surprised to learn that HAL doesn't "do up" the MARINER PROGRAM like other cruise lines do with their past passenger programs...especially since HAL is so good at seeing to all the little details and amenities on their cruise ships. After receiving that awesome "pleather" document wallet with our tickets, I assumed that our MARINER "welcome" packet would be similar. (I do like having the past-passenger cards that we've gotten from other cruise lines that have our member number on them...I always know where to find the number that way!)

 

I will look forward to receiving the Mariner Magazine in the spring...thanks for the tips about finding "deals" and the "magazine" on the HAL website...guess I'll focus on finding the most up-to-date "news" and "deals" there. Thankfully I have the computer...I feel bad for HAL's past-passengers that aren't "connected" via cyberspace!

 

I'll also look forward to getting our TILES on the next HAL cruise, along with "any" Mariner discount or deal we can obtain. Now, I'm off to check things out on the HAL website...

 

As always,

Debjo