OBC for teachers and first responders - who is included?

[AnnieBelle]

My credit finally showed up and my TA was able to add it to my account. Is this split between the two guests? If both guests are teachers, can they each apply for it?

[Haljo1935]

9 minutes ago, AnnieBelle said:

My credit finally showed up and my TA was able to add it to my account. Is this split between the two guests? If both guests are teachers, can they each apply for it?

Both should apply if both eligible.

[pmjnh]

11 hours ago, mkl55 said:

I am a retired teacher.  I applied and submitted the form with my pension information from our state teacher's retirement board.  I got an email stating that my organization's name is missing.  I don't have anything else but my retirement board info.  What worked for you retired teachers?

 

I sent a screenshot from my retirement board web member page that included the url of the retirement board.

Edited April 1, 2023 by pmjnh

[Coram]

16 hours ago, AnnieBelle said:

My credit finally showed up and my TA was able to add it to my account. Is this split between the two guests? If both guests are teachers, can they each apply for it?

We were both eligible; however, we were told that only one would be applied to our cruise.

[AnnieBelle]

I finally received confirmation that my $100 OBC has been applied to my cruise in November.🎉

[gregma60]

You know, one interesting thing.  I've had both my military and Shareholder $100 credited to my cruise, however, it still shows $100 available on my account when looking at my account on the web page...

 

-gregma

[Haljo1935]

6 hours ago, gregma60 said:

You know, one interesting thing.  I've had both my military and Shareholder $100 credited to my cruise, however, it still shows $100 available on my account when looking at my account on the web page...

 

-gregma

That may be different OBC from a canceled booking or a special promo you haven't used...

[gregma60]

5 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

That may be different OBC from a canceled booking or a special promo you haven't used...

 

First cruise ever, so not the first.  Could be the second.  I SO wish they would designate what each OBC is from to make it easier to keep track.  I'll wait until on board and if it's still there, ask about it with the concierge.

 

-gregma

[Hllb]

I have a funny update on this. I was tired of arguing with HAL so I just decided I didn't care enough to bother. We just wouldn't use my husband's $100 credit.

 

Then today, I noticed that a midship, inside cabin on deck 6 suddenly became available, which in addition to being better for motion sickness, was also closer to our SS cabin. The rate was less too so I figured they would let us move cabins. I called my TA to ask to move. She called HAL and was told that rate is only for new bookings so to move our cabin (from a K cabin to an I cabin) would be a total of $40. OK, super annoying, but worth it to me to have the cabins only a couple of doors apart. She put me on hold, and then comes back on the line saying yes, they were able to move it, and she charged me $40...but, suddenly we now have $150 OBC from HAL instead of just $50 OBC. So that was great! Then I went online to make sure everything looked good, and my husband's educator credit is gone from his profile now. So, I suspect that when we moved cabins, they did apply that credit and that's why the OBC went up.

 

Did you follow all that drama? LOL...either way, we have a better cabin and the additional OBC more than made up for the additional $40 I had to pay.

[nyc12345]

1 hour ago, Hllb said:

I have a funny update on this. I was tired of arguing with HAL so I just decided I didn't care enough to bother. We just wouldn't use my husband's $100 credit.

 

Then today, I noticed that a midship, inside cabin on deck 6 suddenly became available, which in addition to being better for motion sickness, was also closer to our SS cabin. The rate was less too so I figured they would let us move cabins. I called my TA to ask to move. She called HAL and was told that rate is only for new bookings so to move our cabin (from a K cabin to an I cabin) would be a total of $40. OK, super annoying, but worth it to me to have the cabins only a couple of doors apart. She put me on hold, and then comes back on the line saying yes, they were able to move it, and she charged me $40...but, suddenly we now have $150 OBC from HAL instead of just $50 OBC. So that was great! Then I went online to make sure everything looked good, and my husband's educator credit is gone from his profile now. So, I suspect that when we moved cabins, they did apply that credit and that's why the OBC went up.

 

Did you follow all that drama? LOL...either way, we have a better cabin and the additional OBC more than made up for the additional $40 I had to pay.

 

Lucky you, I kinda did the same thing, upgrading my cabin after final payment to a "new booking" only promo, no luck for the educator OBC though, even though I can see it in my profile (after weeks instead of instantly like most of you).  HAL is very inconsistent on this, but I have given up on this OBC.  HAL does not appreciate educators, it's just a marketing tactics and it's giving me more negative feelings about them.

[cgolf1]

Seeing this, I am wondering if my wife would qualify. She works in a district office for a school system here. I will have to have her try to sign up.

 

[cgolf1]

On 3/21/2023 at 7:28 AM, Primus said:

This offer is for Educators and Teachers.  The educators category includes current and retired faculty and at least some staff titles at universities.  The approval process was fast and easy this past weekend.  I'm now just waiting for the credit to be applied retroactively to a cruise I booked earlier this month.

 

How did you get this applied retroactively? My wife was approved, but only sees the option for booking a new cruise.

[campbean41]

I was able to get it applied to a cruise I had already booked by starting with the HAL chat. That person told me that it was possible but that I had to call the Reservation Department. (I took a screenshot of the chat just in case.) I called the reservation department and they had to call the Resolutions Department. I was on hold for about 10 minutes but they were able to do it. I requested an emailed confirmation of my reservation and the teacher OBC showed up on there. 

[ColonyGirl2]

On 3/31/2023 at 6:29 PM, mkl55 said:

  What worked for you retired teachers?

 

I sent a photo of my letter from HR approving my retirement.  It was on school district stationary.

[badtwin]

57 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

 

How did you get this applied retroactively? My wife was approved, but only sees the option for booking a new cruise.

 

It seems hit and miss - or maybe it is a matter of timing.  

 

We booked a cruise for February in December and paid at that time.  In early February DH qualified for fire fighter benefit and neither we nor TA could get credit applied retroactively to that cruise.

 

While on that cruise we booked another cruise for the fall.  I qualified for teacher's credit the day we got home and we got OBC awarded for that cruise, but it was within a week of booking.

 

The other thing that is inconsistent is how many credits you can get per stateroom.  The website says that only one can be awarded, but it is not clear if they mean one of each type (first responder, educator health care provider etc) or just one "special people" even if cabin mates are in different categories.

 

I figure it is a nice benefit if I get it but not really an entitlement.

 

 

 

 

[cgolf1]

20 minutes ago, badtwin said:

 

It seems hit and miss - or maybe it is a matter of timing.  

 

We booked a cruise for February in December and paid at that time.  In early February DH qualified for fire fighter benefit and neither we nor TA could get credit applied retroactively to that cruise.

 

While on that cruise we booked another cruise for the fall.  I qualified for teacher's credit the day we got home and we got OBC awarded for that cruise, but it was within a week of booking.

 

The other thing that is inconsistent is how many credits you can get per stateroom.  The website says that only one can be awarded, but it is not clear if they mean one of each type (first responder, educator health care provider etc) or just one "special people" even if cabin mates are in different categories.

 

I figure it is a nice benefit if I get it but not really an entitlement.

 

 

 

 

 

Totally agree. If we get it that is wonderful, if not no big deal. We are just looking forward to trying HAL for the first time.

[trickylibrarian]

I used the online qualifier and was "verified" on 4/11.  Have been checking daily for

it to appear as Future OBC.  Nothing yet.  We sail on the Westerdam next month.

I am going to call HAL and inquire about it.  We are Platinum which I am going to mention

and see if I can't get it applied to our upcoming cruise.  If they say "no" at least I tried.

Anyone know how long this Educator OBC has been going on?  Wish I had known about

it sooner.  

[dfish]

I qualified for this in March and it wasn't until yesterday that it showed up on Navigator as being available.  They are holding firm on me when it comes to applying it only to a new booking.  If the process had worked last summer when I first tried it, I would have had a new booking to apply it to.  

[Haljo1935]

58 minutes ago, dfish said:

I qualified for this in March and it wasn't until yesterday that it showed up on Navigator as being available.  They are holding firm on me when it comes to applying it only to a new booking.  If the process had worked last summer when I first tried it, I would have had a new booking to apply it to.  

Unfortunate it took so long, but hopefully you'll find another cruise to enjoy it on. 

We've submitted documents on new booking for my husbands military OBC but the PCC says she doesn't see it and is insisting we use Sheer ID to prove his status. Sheer ID shows he's already been approved and will not give any kind of approval code or anything we can send in. Ugh...

[dfish]

36 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Unfortunate it took so long, but hopefully you'll find another cruise to enjoy it on. 

We've submitted documents on new booking for my husbands military OBC but the PCC says she doesn't see it and is insisting we use Sheer ID to prove his status. Sheer ID shows he's already been approved and will not give any kind of approval code or anything we can send in. Ugh...

 

Sheer ID is a big part of the problem.  Take a screen shot of the page where it says he has been approved and send that to her.

Edited April 19, 2023 by dfish

[alwaysfrantic]

Can this be added to a booking we just made? My husband qualifies it appears. 

[Hllb]

2 hours ago, alwaysfrantic said:

Can this be added to a booking we just made? My husband qualifies it appears. 

Some people have gotten them to apply it but many have not been successful. If your deposit is refundable, the easiest thing to do is once the OBC shows in your profile, cancel and rebook your cruise and it will automatically apply.

[teacherman]

I did not know about this "perk" for retired teachers until I read it on this chat.  So, I applied by sending them the original letter from my state retirement board (2007) informing me of what my pension would be, when it would begin, etc.  I received an email approval at 1:18 pm, and then received my booking confirmation at 1:30 pm.  So, since it was approved before I booked, I would expect to receive it.  Of course, expectations are not always met.

[Hllb]

1 minute ago, teacherman said:

I did not know about this "perk" for retired teachers until I read it on this chat.  So, I applied by sending them the original letter from my state retirement board (2007) informing me of what my pension would be, when it would begin, etc.  I received an email approval at 1:18 pm, and then received my booking confirmation at 1:30 pm.  So, since it was approved before I booked, I would expect to receive it.  Of course, expectations are not always met.

It generally takes a few days to apply to your account so I’m guessing that it will not be applied to your booking. However, keep your time stamped proof and they should apply it for you!

[alwaysfrantic]

My husband did the online application and was approved instantly.  It shows in his cruise credits on his account as available and did within 48 hours.  HAL can not see it.  My TA has a screen shot from the account page.  They spent an hour on the phone with HAL who had no idea what they were talking about.  I called and same result.   How can I see it is available in the account on my end on their website and they can not?