Holland America Black Friday 2022 deals announced

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 11/17/2022 at 1:23 PM, westcoastsue said:

I was told it was for new bookings only.

new bookings only

[doone]

On 11/17/2022 at 1:23 PM, westcoastsue said:

I was told it was for new bookings only.

Me too…..

[billbunger]

 Just booked an October 2023, 27 day Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale cruise. Looked at the HAL website first and then checked the big box store. In the end the big box store had the better deal. We picked the cabin we wanted and this is what is included. 
 

Included Extras

   CA $ 925 Costco Shop Card 

  US $ 450.00 Cruise Line Shipboard Credit

  Included Crew Appreciation (previously called complimentary shipboard gratuities)

  Cruisefare Savings (savings reflected in price shown)

  Reduced Deposit

  Shipboard Credit Per Stateroom (included in cruise line shipboard credit shown above)

  Signature Beverage Package

  Three Specialty Dinners

  Wi-Fi Surf Package for Two

  USD 300 Shore Excursion Credit (per person, USD 100 per tour)

Edited November 19, 2022 by billbunger

[SweetsugarNL]

Sounds good.

I wish we have this obc deals in my country.

[Suncitycruiser1925]

We are fairly new to sailing with Holland America.  This variable pricing seems confusing to me.  How do you know if the sailing is eligible for The Mariner early booking discount?  We have only sailed once previously with Holland America.  We have booked in the past for cruises with Vacations To Go Travel.  Should we check with Holland America by calling for their best pricing?  Price with Costco?  Do you have to be a member to book cruises through Cosco?  We are considering the Feb 25th Southern Caribbean 7 day on NS.  Thanks for any input/direction.  

[zelker]

30 minutes ago, Suncitycruiser1925 said:

We are fairly new to sailing with Holland America.  This variable pricing seems confusing to me.  How do you know if the sailing is eligible for The Mariner early booking discount?  We have only sailed once previously with Holland America.  We have booked in the past for cruises with Vacations To Go Travel.  Should we check with Holland America by calling for their best pricing?  Price with Costco?  Do you have to be a member to book cruises through Cosco?  We are considering the Feb 25th Southern Caribbean 7 day on NS.  Thanks for any input/direction.  

I'd call HAL and talk to them about what it qualifies for and get their pricing.  I almost always book directly with the cruise line and then have it transferred to our travel agent within 60 days of putting a deposit (must transfer before final payment), who then applies any discount/perks they may offer on top of what HAL is offering.

 

And yes, you have to be a Costco member to book with them.

[Suncitycruiser1925]

Zelker, thank you for the information.  I will call Holland America to get their best pricing for the cruise we are considering.  I didn't realize that you could book directly and then transfer the booking to a travel agent within a certain time.  

[mcrcruiser]

10 hours ago, billbunger said:

 Just booked an October 2023, 27 day Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale cruise. Looked at the HAL website first and then checked the big box store. In the end the big box store had the better deal. We picked the cabin we wanted and this is what is included. 
 

Included Extras

   CA $ 925 Costco Shop Card 

  US $ 450.00 Cruise Line Shipboard Credit

  Included Crew Appreciation (previously called complimentary shipboard gratuities)

  Cruisefare Savings (savings reflected in price shown)

  Reduced Deposit

  Shipboard Credit Per Stateroom (included in cruise line shipboard credit shown above)

  Signature Beverage Package

  Three Specialty Dinners

  Wi-Fi Surf Package for Two

  USD 300 Shore Excursion Credit (per person, USD 100 per tour)

Your cruise must be quite expensive to get those listed perks  .You are going through the Panama Canal  & those taxes are very high  .We did the canal twice full transits with Celebrity ships & our last transit was 2011 when they were adding the new wider longer locks  ,We saw them under construction  . Mt last cost total for 2 was not more than $3600  in a balcony cabin on Celebrity Infiniti  .They even had a deck sale back then & we snared some really great buys   .BTW that cruise was 15c days  .We did the Transit from Ft Lauderdale to  San Pedro Ca  . It was April  of 2011  when we came out to the Pacific ocean side the water temperature  at the surface was 85 degrees because the ship was  near to the equator 

Back then the  transit  tax was not nearly as high . I believe that the Panamanians  are having high taxes to pay for those new wider .longer locks they built  .But ,they are making a fortune  .Alaska port taxes are also very high  .We been there 6 times  .  

 Now we sail to Mexico & Hawaii or up the Coast of Calif & back .no more flying .We done it all  including cruises t in Europe , Trans Atlantic cruises  &  to Australia from SD   .We love Hawaii cruise now  .Good length  &wonderful  American ports 

Edited November 19, 2022 by mcrcruiser

[Ellencruise]

Had my TA look into the sale for my SA trip in March2023. No deal for me, keeping my original booking 

[crystalspin]

On 11/17/2022 at 11:18 AM, SilvertoGold said:

 With the Mariner number it is a "Private Fare" and last week included 75 pp OBC, now it includes nothing for the same fare.

I saw this too. And no indication if the deposit is even refundable. 

 

Private fare plus crew appreciation plus SBP for two plus ONE premium/pre-purchased Wifi plan -- is more than HIA. So the $600 in ShoreEx and six dinners are "free" for our SoPac cruise.

 

ETA: Also the website is flaky+++ this weekend, assume due to increased BF traffic. Flakier than usual! Had to wait until late last night to even see my Private Fare, and it still won't bring up any of my three current bookings (to compare perks); fortunately I save all my confirmation emails. Whether it shows Crew Appreciation on the very same pseudo-bookings is random -- sometimes yes sometimes no. I took a screenshot and and emailing my PCC for first thing attention Monday!

Edited November 19, 2022 by crystalspin

[crystalspin]

On 11/17/2022 at 11:23 AM, westcoastsue said:

I was told it was for new bookings only.

If you have a refundable deposit (i.e. HIA or Advantage fare) and are before Final Payment or Penalty Date, a re-fare with new promo is the same as a new booking -- but of course you lose any perks from first that are not also in the new.

[billbunger]

mcrcruiser said:

Your cruise must be quite expensive to get those listed perks. 
 

Those perks are available to any one who books one of the Black Friday cruises. The only difference for us from the HAL booking is the big box shop card. 

[mcrcruiser]

3 minutes ago, billbunger said:

mcrcruiser said:

Your cruise must be quite expensive to get those listed perks. 
 

Those perks are available to any one who books one of the Black Friday cruises. The only difference for us from the HAL booking is the big box shop card. 

Interesting   the big box shop card is a real plus  Thanks  for the info  

[funntheson]

Like many have said, the Black Friday "deals" don't seem to be too great. When I look through the available cruises that say up to 40% off, the majority of them only show about $100 off right on the search page. This equates to maybe 5% on several of them.

[SilvertoGold]

20 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I saw this too. And no indication if the deposit is even refundable. 

 

Private fare plus crew appreciation plus SBP for two plus ONE premium/pre-purchased Wifi plan -- is more than HIA. So the $600 in ShoreEx and six dinners are "free" for our SoPac cruise.

 

ETA: Also the website is flaky+++ this weekend, assume due to increased BF traffic. Flakier than usual! Had to wait until late last night to even see my Private Fare, and it still won't bring up any of my three current bookings (to compare perks); fortunately I save all my confirmation emails. Whether it shows Crew Appreciation on the very same pseudo-bookings is random -- sometimes yes sometimes no. I took a screenshot and and emailing my PCC for first thing attention Monday!

 

[Torquer]

We were about to book a cruise for February 2023, and now the Black Friday sale sweetened the pot.  However, I cannot find on the HAL website when final payment is due.  In our last cruise post-covid it was closer to the cruise than pre-covid times.  Can someone post what it is at this time, or better a link to the HAL website where this information is posted.

[sailingdutchy]

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

We were about to book a cruise for February 2023, and now the Black Friday sale sweetened the pot.  However, I cannot find on the HAL website when final payment is due.  In our last cruise post-covid it was closer to the cruise than pre-covid times.  Can someone post what it is at this time, or better a link to the HAL website where this information is posted.

 @Torquer Final Payment is due about 90 days before embarking the ship . During Covid it was down to 60 days but now it is back to what it used to be .

 

I was also looking for a couple of cruises for the fall of 2023 and also at one for Jan 2022 , a last minute kind of booking . I was disappointed with the so called 40 % savings . I found some cruises had gone up in price compared to the anniversary sale and others were the same  , the only savings being the Paid Gratuities .

 

In years past the BF Special was a lot more attractive , but I guess with what the Cruise Lines have gone through this was to be expected . BUT we will keep cruising ! It is our best kind of vacation ! 

Edited November 20, 2022 by sailingdutchy

[mcrcruiser]

We are not crazy in love with this sale  .We do much better with using our TA   & many times they have group bookings   which gets us even  better pricing  

[SilvertoGold]

I think you really need to work through a TA. I have been helping a friend book this sale and he was positive he could not get the "gratuities paid" part with his Mariner number pricing. It certainly didn't look like it on the website unless he was willing to pay nearly $2500 more for the Black Friday pricing.  My TA looked it up and it was only $150 more for the Mariner number pricing and that did include gratuities (worth USD 600).

[Mary229]

In another thread about HIA cancellation policy I reviewed my own booking to gather information for the OP. Much to my surprise the HIA was incredibly low.  Here is what I posted in that thread

 

My agent and I talked about the really good deal I mentioned above.  It seems that because of the big sale they discounted the HIA on past bookings.  Check you bookings, check your math but our booking (35 days) did not go down in price as we have the coveted aft balcony.  We will have to pay our own gratuities but we are only paying $11 a day for both of us for HIA.  Agent says if they don’t honor that price I will be refunded but in her experience HAL honors whatever they have on their website 

[crystalspin]

52 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

We will have to pay our own gratuities but we are only paying $11 a day for both of us for HIA.  Agent says if they don’t honor that price I will be refunded but in her experience HAL honors whatever they have on their website 

Where is the WOW emoticon?!!

 

I took a screen shot yesterday of when I finally got the website to complete a dummy-booking -- showing the included crew appreciation. Then I emailed my PCC (not in on Sat/Sun but hope to get her attention first thing in the morning tomorrow) with a request to cancel-n-rebook to the same Vista Suite we have on our upcoming B2B. Moving from a upper-forward Verandah to lower Midship VS.

 

As far as BF, no savings, but they did bring back the Crew Appreciation at least on this cruise.

[Mary229]

17 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Where is the WOW emoticon?!!

 

I took a screen shot yesterday of when I finally got the website to complete a dummy-booking -- showing the included crew appreciation. Then I emailed my PCC (not in on Sat/Sun but hope to get her attention first thing in the morning tomorrow) with a request to cancel-n-rebook to the same Vista Suite we have on our upcoming B2B. Moving from a upper-forward Verandah to lower Midship VS.

 

As far as BF, no savings, but they did bring back the Crew Appreciation at least on this cruise.

This is on our Tahiti sailing in 2024.  I booked mine onboard with the early booking Mariner bonus so the $50 discount plus gratuities aren’t worth rebooking and leaving behind a whole lot of OBC.   Before you rebook look at the HIA offer and see if it is not a better deal.  For that cruise is is exactly $402 for both of us

[mcrcruiser]

20 hours ago, billbunger said:

mcrcruiser said:

Your cruise must be quite expensive to get those listed perks. 
 

Those perks are available to any one who books one of the Black Friday cruises. The only difference for us from the HAL booking is the big box shop card. 

Getting a c$925  shop card is booking some thing pricy  ,i checked with a Alaska balcony on Koningsdam in May 2023  & the Big box store was a $125 shop card   for a 7 night Alaska  cruise  

[billbunger]

Mcrcruiser said:

Getting a c$925  shop card is booking some thing pricy  ,i checked with a Alaska balcony on Koningsdam in May 2023  & the Big box store was a $125 shop card   for a 7 night Alaska  cruise  

 

The shop card value is based on your cruise fare and cabin selection. Our cruise is a 27 day and we are in an inside K on the main deck. Our shop card is the lowest amount we would be eligible for. If we had booked a veranda or a suite the shop card would have been a much higher value. 
 

We checked the lowest (best) fare and the HIA package was a far better value. We ran a mini budget and if we each had five drinks a day, alcoholic or nonalcoholic based on $11.00 each plus 18% gratuity the cost for just those beverages alone would be just over $3,500 00 for the cruise. That would bring the cost of the “cheap” fare up to the HIA price! That  drink package with the other perks that you would normally pay for, such as shore excursions, specialty dinning and crew gratuities made the HIA package a no brainer. 
 

I firmly believe that HAL is positioning fares so they can turn to an all inclusive model and do away with all of the “other fares”  and have one single price. This is an excellent opportunity for them to compete with land based all inclusives. I suspect within a relatively short time you will see just one price offered to customers and not just on Holland America. 

[five.]

14 hours ago, Mary229 said:

We will have to pay our own gratuities but we are only paying $11 a day for both of us for HIA.

My mouth was hanging down when I read that. I've only ever saw $50 per person per day. That is amazing.