Upgrade to Neptune Suite

[waiting2retire]

We are currently on the Nieuw Statendam and have received an upgrade offer for our cruise next week on the Rotterdam. We booked a veranda cabin and purchased Club Orange for our cruise, both to get the upgrade to a higher category veranda cabin and to have meals in Club Orange, which is better for my limited hearing ability.  
 

I understand that if we upgrade to a Neptune Suite, all amenities, including access to the Club Orange dining room, will be available to us. I also know that we will not get double cruise credits since it is an upsell. 
 

My question is whether the cost of Club Orange, which we have already paid, will be refunded since the amenities are included with the Neptune Suite. I would ask onboard here, but I am not confident in receiving the correct information, and we are unable to call Seattle. Does anyone have experience and/or know the answer to this question?  Might make the cost of the upgrade a bit more attractive. 
 

Thanks. 

[kazu]

According to the HAL site, Club Orange is not refundable.  (From the club orange page of HAL.):

 

 

[*Miss G*]

When I took an upgrade to a Neptune Suite, last year, they reduced the cost of the upgrade offer by the amount paid for Club Orange.  I specifically asked them if they did that before I purchased the upgrade.  Just mention it when you call them.  

[YourWorldWithBill]

59 minutes ago, waiting2retire said:

My question is whether the cost of Club Orange, which we have already paid, will be refunded since the amenities are included with the Neptune Suite.

I would think that what @*Miss G*said makes sense. Ask them. In fact, I think the easiest way for you to deal with this might be to barge into (I mean, enter) the Neptune Lounge and ask the concierge. Although you're supposed to have a key to get in to the Neptune Lounge, there are often people coming and going, and you have a legitimate reason.

[57redbird]

1 hour ago, waiting2retire said:

We are currently on the Nieuw Statendam and have received an upgrade offer for our cruise next week on the Rotterdam. We booked a veranda cabin and purchased Club Orange for our cruise, both to get the upgrade to a higher category veranda cabin and to have meals in Club Orange, which is better for my limited hearing ability.  
 

I understand that if we upgrade to a Neptune Suite, all amenities, including access to the Club Orange dining room, will be available to us. I also know that we will not get double cruise credits since it is an upsell. 
 

My question is whether the cost of Club Orange, which we have already paid, will be refunded since the amenities are included with the Neptune Suite. I would ask onboard here, but I am not confident in receiving the correct information, and we are unable to call Seattle. Does anyone have experience and/or know the answer to this question?  Might make the cost of the upgrade a bit more attractive. 
 

Thanks. 

If you used a HAL PCC to book, ask them.  We had purchased C.O. & the unlimited laundry & then did a paid upsell to a Neptune - our PCC refunded both purchases.

[Florida_gal_50]

I can tell with 100 percent certainty it will be returned to you. I just took an upsell this month to a Neptune and I didn't ask for it to be returned. He did it without me asking.

[VermeulT]

17 hours ago, waiting2retire said:

 I also know that we will not get double cruise credits since it is an upsell.

 

Since it's an upsell - you do get double credits because you are paying for the upgrade.  If you were given a free upgrade, you do not.

[friendswithdave]

17 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

When I took an upgrade to a Neptune Suite, last year, they reduced the cost of the upgrade offer by the amount paid for Club Orange.  I specifically asked them if they did that before I purchased the upgrade.  Just mention it when you call them.  

This was my exact same experience as well. We had already purchased CO and received a credit for that amount when upgrading to a suite.

[*Miss G*]

43 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

 

Since it's an upsell - you do get double credits because you are paying for the upgrade.  If you were given a free upgrade, you do not.

 

Mariner rewards are calculated using the original stateroom type purchased.  The only time you get double credits, in these cases, is if the amount paid exceeds an advertised price.  For example, if I originally purchased a verandah for $700/pp and later saw a Neptune Suite advertised for $650/pp on the same sailing, I can contact the Mariner Society and have them adjust the rewards.  With proof, of course.

[waiting2retire]

Just an update for anyone interested in how it all worked out. We were able to take advantage of the upsell and the cost we had already paid for Club Orange was deducted from the cost of the upgrade. 
 

We sent an email to the PCC we frequently use (but had booked this short cruise directly with HAL) and he very nicely contacted Ship’s Inventory on our behalf. The told him we should deal with the Onboard Cruise Consultant. As so frequently happens, the OCC said he couldn’t make any changes if the cruise was not originally booked while onboard. 
 

We ended up going to Guest Services who allowed us to call Ship’s Inventory from their office once the time change allowed for it. All’s well that ends well. If I remember, I will add a note at the end of the cruise to advise whether or not the credits were doubled in this instance. 
 

thanks to everyone for their quick and informative replies. 
 

 

[kazu]

3 hours ago, VermeulT said:

 

Since it's an upsell - you do get double credits because you are paying for the upgrade.  If you were given a free upgrade, you do not.

 

Sorry, no.  If you are already in a cabin with the name ‘Suite’ in it, yes you do as you paid original price for the category.  But if you are in a regular verandah and receive an upsell to an NS, it is at a REDUCED price and does not quality for double mariner points.  There have been times that people lucked out but I think those days are long gone now like being able to use non refundable OBC in the casino 😉 

[Florida_gal_50]

It says right on the upsell offer the upsell does not qualify for double points. It seems like they are giving points out like candy lately. Pretty soon everyone will be a 5 star.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It says right on the upsell offer the upsell does not qualify for double points. It seems like they are giving points out like candy lately. Pretty soon everyone will be a 5 star.

Can you give us examples of giving more points than the program rules allow? More than pre Covid?

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Can you give us examples of giving more points than the program rules allow? More than pre Covid?

Yes, have it all.  Many, many people are reporting that with have it all they are getting double the points if they are a couple. I've asked if these people maxed out their drinks every day.  Nope. I've had the hia on 3 cruises I believe and I've never gotten double points and I spend a ton, especially on my Nov 2022 cruise. I earned my 5 stars the old fashioned way by my butt being in a bed and spending.

[VermeulT]

19 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It says right on the upsell offer the upsell does not qualify for double points. It seems like they are giving points out like candy lately. Pretty soon everyone will be a 5 star.

I guess things have changed then.  I got them for an upsell in 2010.

[Florida_gal_50]

34 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

I guess things have changed then.  I got them for an upsell in 2010.

 

34 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

I guess things have changed then.  I got them for an upsell in 2010.

I’ve seen it on every upsell I’ve ever seen and I’ve been sailing with hal for a very long time.  If you got them consider yourself fortunate.  It’s clear hal wants everyone to be 5 star so no one has benefits.

[CruiserBruce]

18 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes, have it all.  Many, many people are reporting that with have it all they are getting double the points if they are a couple. I've asked if these people maxed out their drinks every day.  Nope. I've had the hia on 3 cruises I believe and I've never gotten double points and I spend a ton, especially on my Nov 2022 cruise. I earned my 5 stars the old fashioned way by my butt being in a bed and spending.

HIA is simply considered cruise spending. Just as if you walked on board and bought the same stuff. Limited to one Mariner point per day for spending, as the rules state.

[BermudaBound2014]

32 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

HIA is simply considered cruise spending. Just as if you walked on board and bought the same stuff. Limited to one Mariner point per day for spending, as the rules state.

 

Thank you Bruce. Does it make sense to book the cruise and then add Have It All at a later date? 

 

Example: A 35 day cruise x 50 dollars per day for Have it all comes to $1,750. Assuming the rounding Gods are in my favor that would be 6 additional stars just by electing to purchase Have it All thru the On Board spending Bonus option vs adding HIA it at time of booking? 

 

Does that make sense?

Edited April 21, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[CruiserBruce]

40 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Thank you Bruce. Does it make sense to book the cruise and then add Have It All at a later date? 

 

Example: A 35 day cruise x 50 dollars per day for Have it all comes to $1,750. Assuming the rounding Gods are in my favor that would be 6 additional stars just by electing to purchase Have it All thru the On Board spending Bonus option vs adding HIA it at time of booking? 

 

Does that make sense?

I don't know how easy it is to add later. Some have talked about that.

 

You have to do the math...is the $50 per day price better than getting it at the time of booking?

[BermudaBound2014]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I don't know how easy it is to add later. Some have talked about that.

 

You have to do the math...is the $50 per day price better than getting it at the time of booking?

 

Just so I'm clear.

 

If I add HIA at time of booking it will not count toward on-board spending bonus?

 

If I add HIA through the pre-purchase button (it is available for my sailing), then it will count toward the on board spending bonus?

 

For me, it's absolutely cheaper to wait to purchase and not include it in the original booking (and it appears very easy to add as it is listed in options to pre-book).

 

[CruiserBruce]

HIA counts as spending no matter when you book it.

[BermudaBound2014]

4 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

HIA counts as spending no matter when you book it.

 

That makes sense. Post #14 had me confused. Mahalo.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

HIA is simply considered cruise spending. Just as if you walked on board and bought the same stuff. Limited to one Mariner point per day for spending, as the rules state.

So why is it considered spending more when you are a couple? There is no way you could get double points simply from the drinks ordered, unless you are drinking well over 15 a day. Secondly, the purchase of it is your cruise fare, just as club orange.  You get zero points for that as well.  It is not a separate purchase as a cabana would be so your point isn't making sense to me.

[Florida_gal_50]

56 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

HIA counts as spending no matter when you book it.

How?  It's included in your cruise price when you buy it. The only thing that would count is your drink purchases and shorex.

[CruiserBruce]

10 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

How?  It's included in your cruise price when you buy it. The only thing that would count is your drink purchases and shorex.

Not my experience...sailed 3 cruises last year...maxed out Mariner points on 2 of the 3, just missed on the third. We had HIA for all 3, including grats, but without shore excursions. 2 cruises we did zero excursions, so no spending there. No other way to explain how we got $300 in on board spending Mariner credits for about 28 total days.