rodndonna

That Early Bonus isn't the same as what the OP was refering to (I thought) - there are 2 bonuses associated with being early, The one as you show above, and also the "Mariner Loyalty" early bonus OBC which is only available if you have a Mariner number and you book within 90 days of launch. You can "double-dip" by being within the 90days of launch and get both.

You get the Mariner early booking bonus when you book in the first 90 days after the launch - so really really early. You will have to ask HAL or check back to see the release dates for your cruises to see if you are eligible. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/deals_CAD/mariner-early-booking-bonus.html

I hope so also .. but am not optimistic....

For those of you that like to plan early like myslef, Europe Fall 2025 cruises are now visible with pricing on a large 3rd party booking site. I can see pricing per category, but when you try to continue through it says no cabins left. They don't appear on HAL's site. This happened with Alaska (before available in HAL) and I could swear I had seen Europe for a while earlier this summer and then it disappeared. Fun to start peeking though when they show up like this 😃

I'm a big fan of booking early as the early booking bonus version of HIA you get the elite beverages and Premium Wifi and the gratuities are included. If you can book within 90 days of launch you also get extra OBC with the Mariner early booking bonus. We use "Future cruise deposits" purchased on a prior cruise, so the deposit is small, but doesn't sound like the case for yourself but worth looking into for future cruises if you are in a HAL cruise and every expect to book another. We are in Canada and we can re-fare if the price drops, not sure that is an option for you in the UK though. Another reason we book early is airfare for us is generally the long pole, and by booking early we have a better chance of getting decent flight options and prices. A final reason we book early is that I have a hard time imagining cruises prices will drop over the couple of years (but who knows). Good luck with your planning!

The thing for me is since I got my first Casino discount, I have always had that same discount on every cruise I look at, regardless of when I look (email received or not). I suspect this may be due in part to my nature of gambling the same relative amount on our cruises in combination with but more likely due to the fact that I am only ever looking at 7-14 day cruises (blame the dog!) that are in the order of a year or more out. Someday that Casino discount might not just be there for me... but I've yet to see it 🤔 When I am preplanning 2025 (as I am right now) I am already mentally tallying in my anticipated casino discount🤞to what I think 2025 pricing might be (based on HAL 2024 prices and what other lines are doing in regards to their relative 2024 to 2025 pricing).

Yes to more Canadian ports! Being selfish in part (from the region) but also because I have been eyeing the HAL cruises to Newfoundland (where I have yet to venture) but they appear to have actually reduced the sailings in 2024 from what they are in 2023 for options doing doing multiple NFLD ports. HAL is about the only "fare friendly" option to get to multiple ports in NFLD, so hoping 2025 offering is back to 2023 offering. Azores would be great. Another 2025 short list contender for us is an NCL Canary Islands cruise because it included ports invthe Azores. Again, not a lot of "fare-friendly" options getting to the Azores so nice if HAL went there.

It's only new bookings, but if you booked very recently you could consider re-faring it (essentially cancelling and rebooking) to get the OBC.

Reading through this topic (bits and pieces of the 10 pages) I am a bit unsure if it is valid for just 1 cruise a year or not. I see some folks stating that but have not read it in T&C (which may be in flux since this is so new) Not a big deal for us (have joined AARP as it appears worth is for even 1 cruise a year) but just wondering if we should be putting some forethought into which cruise to apply it to (potentially) if there is a limit.

I have always had it that way - which for me (a newer HAL person) would be for over a year now. First time I came across it (price dropping "on the fly") I thought it was some Canadian resident "at par" thing going on since it seemed to correlate to the difference in our currency, but not the case. Edit: Maybe an oddity on the Canadian currency rates site.

It's odd I don't need to get to the cart to see it ... I can see the price drop when I select the room category from what was displayed when it shows me all the room categories.

I have booked 3 cruises with a Casino discount - and it has always been the same % on each, and the also the same discount I see for any future cruises I have been eyeing. Definitely makes our Casino play worthwhile 😎

we see it when pricing (price is reduced after selecting room category) and then it is listed in the invoice as well (although in the invoice we no longer see what the actual discount was, just that it was applied to the rate)

I rarely get emails, but the Casino discount I receive seems to just be a mainstay on any cruise I have looked at (after I follow through the booking). I seem to always have the same % discount, but perhaps it is because everything I am looking at is at least a year in advance. We never get Casino related perks (like free play) on those though .. just the discount. All other perks (Shareholder OBC and such) are applicable on our Casino discount cruises. They are not on our rare "free cabin" offer with free play offers (always near term cruises for us). For us, even with a "free" cabin, we don't come out ahead of just booking early with a Casino discount and all the perks we can get with those bookings.

Canadians can join AARP and get the OBC. Not really expecting CARP to carry the discount as they don't match much of AARP benefits.

That was what I was thinking might happen.

We won't get it with CARP, but it appears we can join AARP even though we are Canadian (it asks for country to sign up and I have read on other boards Canadians are members) I have tried in the past to purchase the gift cards with AARP (no membership required) but it blocks me requiring a US phone number.

You clearly overestimate my navigational abilities - sadly I need the outlines on the carpet to be updated with "your room is this way" and "the Ocean bar is this way".🤔

Oops 🤭 We're been booked on our first upcoming Oosterdam cruise for well over a year now, and have been mispronouncing it. After so long saying it wrong, it will take some work to undo the bad habit and get it right in time for our cruise 😃

It sounds like you are hitting the highlights with St Martins and Bay of Fundy. Fredericton is a lovely small city (was born there) but I would say skip the car rental and stay more local in Saint John (and be prepared for folks to correct you on the abbreviating the name of their city to "St." John - it's a local joke and/or sore point with locals and a reason they are often confused with St. John's NFLD.

Just a couple more things to add (Crystalspin covered most) The only non-alc beer is Heineken 0.0 Since you are looking at 2024 Alaska - the cruises (at least some) are still offering "Early booking" HIA (which includes extras of "Elite" beverage package, upgraded wifi and crew gratuities, along with the other standard HIA perks of speciality dinning and excursion credit) It is generally a good deal if you are looking at purchasing a drinks package, so worthwhile pricing out those options.

I think your assessment is pretty much spot on (my husband is from Sydney and went to school in Halifax). At the port in Sydney there is little to do within walking distance but some good options for history and/or nature with excursions. In Halifax, there are many things to see and do within walking distance including the Maritime museum which is always popular (includes Titanic exhibit and lesser known but worth seeing - Halifax Explosion exhibit).

As others have said, the form can be dropped off or front desk can do them. We had no consultants on board our last cruise in June (Zaandam) and the form delivered to our room. In our case we have to go to the front desk as the FCD is charged to the card you have on file, but we are Canadian (requiring Canadian currency FCD). We keep a USD credit card on account so we guest services use a different (Canadian dollar) credit card.

I agree - very much required for inventory planning purposes. We were on a Celebrity cruise in the spring and attended a "navigation" info session (like a the Q&A with the captain type of session except this was geared to things related to navigation of cruise ships. He spent some time talking about what goes into the planning of itineraries from start to finish. One of the things he then talked about was the fact that they project something something like 2-3 years in advance food and beverage requirements for a proposed itinerary based on have very good estimate the percentages for nationalities, ages and such (along with the related associated eating and drinking patterns)

When you say you receive it online - is it there when you are logged in or do you get an email? Do you see the offer when you get to the checkout point of booking? 10% - nothing to sneeze at ...I'll off looking now.... 😃