Meal Credits

[kentuckysailor]

I am cruising on a TA in April with HIA. How do I use the meal credits?  And the Excursion amounts?  Can I book now and apply the credits?  I have read a few posts about different types of credits, stock ownership, travel agents, etc. And am thoroughly confused. Nora

[mcrcruiser]

28 minutes ago, kentuckysailor said:

I am cruising on a TA in April with HIA. How do I use the meal credits?  And the Excursion amounts?  Can I book now and apply the credits?  I have read a few posts about different types of credits, stock ownership, travel agents, etc. And am thoroughly confused. Nora

We never in over 90 cruises ever heard the term or the use of " meal credit" .We heard of On Board Credits issued by a cruise line or a travel agent but NEVER a meal credit unless the Travel Agent is paying for a meal in  one of the on board special restaurants that have a cover charge  ;which is a meal credit for you to use when on the ship Use it or loose it 

[pirate cruiser]

Just make your dinner reservations as usual and it will be reflected in your HIA credit. Shore excursion costs will be deducted from HIA and show how much you have left to spend-it's pretty easy IMO.

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, kentuckysailor said:

I am cruising on a TA in April with HIA. How do I use the meal credits?  And the Excursion amounts?  Can I book now and apply the credits?  I have read a few posts about different types of credits, stock ownership, travel agents, etc. And am thoroughly confused. Nora

Yes you can book now.

Have you set up a Holland America account?  https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/log-in/sso-log-in.html?login=myacc

You will be able to make Speciality Restaurant bookings with your 'Meal Credits' and excursion bookings with your Excursion Credits.  

For a TA in April you may find quite a few of the excursions fully booked already as there are limited port calls.

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, kentuckysailor said:

I am cruising on a TA in April with HIA. How do I use the meal credits?  And the Excursion amounts?  Can I book now and apply the credits? 

Hi Nora! As @VMax1700 said, you can make those reservations any time now: look for a check box, I think in the left column, to use the HIA credits. 

[kentuckysailor]

20 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We never in over 90 cruises ever heard the term or the use of " meal credit" .We heard of On Board Credits issued by a cruise line or a travel agent but NEVER a meal credit unless the Travel Agent is paying for a meal in  one of the on board special restaurants that have a cover charge  ;which is a meal credit for you to use when on the ship Use it or loose it 

My booking, HIA, states:” Complimentary Dining: 2 Credits Available”

Ever changing nomenclature. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by kentuckysailor
Addition

[Banditswife]

We had the HIA pkg last Nov/Dec.  As others said, we were able to book it ahead.  But they got our reservations mixed up, & it was a bit of a hassle getting it corrected, but we were able to correct it while on onboard.  These dining credit reservations do show up in the Navigator app & online on your itinerary page.  I had trouble reserving online & had to call the shore ex number listed on the screen.  Same with the shore ex credit.  I just called the shore ex dept & they were able to reserve both restaurans & shore excursions. 

[Tampa Girl]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:27 AM, Banditswife said:

We had the HIA pkg last Nov/Dec.  As others said, we were able to book it ahead.  But they got our reservations mixed up, & it was a bit of a hassle getting it corrected, but we were able to correct it while on onboard.  These dining credit reservations do show up in the Navigator app & online on your itinerary page.  I had trouble reserving online & had to call the shore ex number listed on the screen.  Same with the shore ex credit.  I just called the shore ex dept & they were able to reserve both restaurans & shore excursions. 

 

Would you mind posting the shore ex number, pls?  Also, since you had the HIA, did you have to pay the full amount and then have it credited back on your account after boarding?

[1ANGELCAT]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Would you mind posting the shore ex number, pls?  Also, since you had the HIA, did you have to pay the full amount and then have it credited back on your account after boarding?

Hal Shore ex : 888 4259376

[OlsSalt]

2 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Would you mind posting the shore ex number, pls?  Also, since you had the HIA, did you have to pay the full amount and then have it credited back on your account after boarding?

 

You pay the full amount upfront on your credit card, and it gets credited back on your end of cruise statement.

 

However pay attention to this onboard billing correction, since as there have been recent reports this was not done which created a last minute hassle with the front desk to get it taken off.

[Banditswife]

For us, the meal wasn't charged until we got into restaurant, then immediately credited back.  IIRC, on our booking it just showed up as a meal credit with no $ amount charged.

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

ou pay the full amount upfront on your credit card, and it gets credited back on your end of cruise statement.

 

For my upcoming Japan cruise, the credits appeared in my account and as I booked my shore excursion or specialty dining, they were applied during checkout. So I wasn't charged for them and they no longer showed up as "available".

 

Given HAL's history with incorrect bookkeeping, I'm very happy to have them do it this way.

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

22 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

For my upcoming Japan cruise, the credits appeared in my account and as I booked my shore excursion or specialty dining, they were applied during checkout. So I wasn't charged for them and they no longer showed up as "available".

 

Given HAL's history with incorrect bookkeeping, I'm very happy to have them do it this way.

 

 

That's how my HIA credits were done for my cruise in January. The final bill on board didn't show any of it.

[boeckli]

For both my cruise in Nov/Dec and upcoming one this month, dining and excursion HIA credits were applied at checkout. No charge to my credit card and only unused balance showing as available.

 

 

[terrydtx]

On our Oosterdam cruise from Venice last year we had HIA excursion and Specialty dinning credits that showed up in our HAL online account. We were able to book both online and use the HIA credits. We also had $300 OBC from a booking promo for that cruise, but we couldn't use them until we boarded, which is really frustrating. My wife wanted a spa service on embarkation day but we had to pay with a CC before we boarded and once on board we couldn't use the OBC for the Spa reservation and get our CC payment back.

[oakridger]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:25 AM, kentuckysailor said:

My booking, HIA, states:” Complimentary Dining: 2 Credits Available”

 

When reserving online if you click on the box titled "Complimentary Dining" as @kentuckysailorsays the charge to your account will be zero $0.  No need to pay ahead.  The three previous posts are currently correct.

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

HIA excursion and Specialty dinning credits that showed up in our HAL online account. We were able to book both online and use the HIA credits.

 

2 hours ago, boeckli said:

dining and excursion HIA credits were applied at checkout. No charge to my credit card

 

4 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

The final bill on board didn't show any of it.