Mariner Credits for pre-booking Excursions?

[trixiee]

Just checking... for our upcoming cruise, I would like to pre-book and pre-pay for our excursions.  These transactions will be counted towards our mariner credits, correct?

[taxmantoo]

Correct.

[trixiee]

Thank you!

[DoggyDaddy]

When would they be credited, before embarking or after disembarking? We have a $6,000 excursion coming up and it may affect our star rating.

 

DD

[sevenseasnomad]

4 minutes ago, DoggyDaddy said:

When would they be credited, before embarking or after disembarking? We have a $6,000 excursion coming up and it may affect our star rating.

 

DD

Credits will not be posted to your Mariner account until after your cruise.  If you're depending on that excursion to push you over into the next Mariner level, it won't happen until you return home.  Congratulations on reaching the next level (at some point).  BTW, what excursion are you taking?   Just curious.

[richwmn]

36 minutes ago, DoggyDaddy said:

When would they be credited, before embarking or after disembarking? We have a $6,000 excursion coming up and it may affect our star rating.

 

DD

 

30 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Credits will not be posted to your Mariner account until after your cruise.  If you're depending on that excursion to push you over into the next Mariner level, it won't happen until you return home.  Congratulations on reaching the next level (at some point).  BTW, what excursion are you taking?   Just curious.

 

Also remember that "Bonus" days max out at the number of days in the cruise, so you would have to be on a 20 day or more cruise for all of that $6000 to count.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

We are taking the 44 day Koningsdam cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego. We only need 32 credits to get our four star level. 
 

DD

[catl331]

40 minutes ago, DoggyDaddy said:

taking the 44 day ... only need 32 credits to get our four star level. 

Then your spending is irrelevant.

[Walfam]

I always thought days cruised were all that counted toward Mariner levels, and whether those days were suites which counted more.  So HAL EXC excursions booked before departure count, too?    🤷🏼‍♀️ Seriously, this is a learning moment for me, so could someone please clarify?  

[smilesntravels]

57 minutes ago, Walfam said:

I always thought days cruised were all that counted toward Mariner levels, and whether those days were suites which counted more.  So HAL EXC excursions booked before departure count, too?    🤷🏼‍♀️ Seriously, this is a learning moment for me, so could someone please clarify?  

I just called HAL the other day, specifically talking to someone within the mariner society.  The lady told me that excursions, or any extras purchased even in advance do count towards points for mariner levels.  It's only second HAL cruise but I found out that for every $100 spent onboard (in advance as well, like the pre-paid excursions, etc.) one will get an extra point/night.

[crystalspin]

17 minutes ago, smilesntravels said:

It's only second HAL cruise but I found out that for every $100 spent onboard (in advance as well, like the pre-paid excursions, etc.) one will get an extra point/night.

You might have heard incorrectly -- it's $300 in spending (per stateroom) that counts as one point. You can only earn as many "Bonus Points" as there are nights in the cruise. And only passengers 1&2 get the Spending Bonus credits.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

4 hours ago, Walfam said:

I always thought days cruised were all that counted toward Mariner levels, and whether those days were suites which counted more.  So HAL EXC excursions booked before departure count, too?    🤷🏼‍♀️ Seriously, this is a learning moment for me, so could someone please clarify?  

 

Everything bought pre-cruise counts for credit for Mariner spend days. Beverage packages, specialty restaurants, shore excursions, laundry packages, wine, everything that you purchase before the cruise. Also everything posted to your onboard account, including gratuities. One day for every $300. The maximum number of spend days you can earn is the number of days in your cruise. We did a 14 day cruise in July and earned an extra 14 days.

[Roz]

I pre-book and pay for anything I can, and always get mariner credit for my purchases. 

[taxmantoo]

10 hours ago, catl331 said:

Then your spending is irrelevant.

Not really ... it is a step towards attaining 5-star level.

[Walfam]

5 hours ago, Cruising Is Bliss said:

Everything bought pre-cruise counts for credit for Mariner spend days. Beverage packages, specialty restaurants, shore excursions, laundry packages, wine, everything that you purchase before the cruise. Also everything posted to your onboard account, including gratuities. One day for every $300. The maximum number of spend days you can earn is the number of days in your cruise. We did a 14 day cruise in July and earned an extra 14 days.

Thank you!  I will go back in to my Mariner account and check on this.  
 

How does this appear on the Mariner account? Under the "Onboard Spending Bonus"  in the Bonus Cruise Days category?  The Cruise and Tour days total at all my actual days(nights) on the ships,   But my Bonus Cruise Days is a much larger sum.

 

Is there a magic number spent that equals a bonus cruise day?  
 

Thanks!

Edited December 10, 2019 by Walfam

[catl331]

1 hour ago, Walfam said:

Is there a magic number spent that equals a bonus cruise day?

 

$300 ... but they do generous rounding up, so you may get one more credit than you can account for.

Edited December 10, 2019 by catl331

[smilesntravels]

13 hours ago, crystalspin said:

You might have heard incorrectly -- it's $300 in spending (per stateroom) that counts as one point. You can only earn as many "Bonus Points" as there are nights in the cruise. And only passengers 1&2 get the Spending Bonus credits.

Yes, you're right about the $300...not 100.    I do know the rest.

 

[Walfam]

Thank you! ❤️

[sevenseasnomad]

21 hours ago, richwmn said:

 

 

Also remember that "Bonus" days max out at the number of days in the cruise, so you would have to be on a 20 day or more cruise for all of that $6000 to count.

 

Since when?  Is this a new policy?  If not, we've accumulated days we weren't entitled to.  Please don't tell anyone.  HAL has been more than generous in rounding up over the years.  In many instances, especially on our European cruises, we have more bonus days than cruise days, and they were all credited.

[crystalspin]

39 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Since when?  Is this a new policy?  If not, we've accumulated days we weren't entitled to.  Please don't tell anyone.  HAL has been more than generous in rounding up over the years.  In many instances, especially on our European cruises, we have more bonus days than cruise days, and they were all credited.

Were you in suites? Because those are also bonus days (doubling your days onboard). Then another day per $300 combined spending. So if in a suite you can get up to triple the actual days.

[sevenseasnomad]

1 minute ago, crystalspin said:

Were you in suites? Because those are also bonus days (doubling your days onboard). Then another day per $300 combined spending. So if in a suite you can get up to triple the actual days.

In a suite twice but not on the European cruises.

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Since when?  Is this a new policy?  If not, we've accumulated days we weren't entitled to.  Please don't tell anyone.  HAL has been more than generous in rounding up over the years.  In many instances, especially on our European cruises, we have more bonus days than cruise days, and they were all credited.

When they announced the program the rules stated that bonus days were limited to the number of days in the cruise. Doing a quick search of the Holland Site I can find no reference to it now, so maybe they changed.

 

[Cruisin Kay D]

DoggyDaddy:     Would you PLEASE tell me WHAT is the $6000 excursion???   

I cannot imagine anything like that.....

[kwb101]

On next year's World Cruise/Grand Voyage to South America,  the Galapagos & Machu Picchu excursion for two is close to $10,000.

[richwmn]

@sevenseasnomad

After searching further, I found this on the Holland America site

Quote

Only the first two guests on the booking receive the limit of one bonus day for each day sailed;

 

Quote

Here is the link -- https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/mariner-society.html

It is under the tab -- How is the number of cruise day creduts calculated

 

Edited December 11, 2019 by richwmn