Bonus Mariner Days

[BermudaBound2014]

Forgive me; the HAL website isn't cooperating and I hope these are easy questions for most of you.

 

I realize you get one additional mariner day for each $300 spent onboard. If my TA gave me $600 in OBC and I spend that onboard, will I earn 2 additional nights? Any restrictions (example, can't be spent at casino or on gratuities).

 

Is this the same if HAL offered me the OBC. Example $300 pp shore excursion credit with HIA? Does that get additional award nights also?

 

Finally, if I purchase AARP gift cards and pay for $600 worth of things pre-cruise (laundry, spa, etc..), will that spend accumulate 2 additional Mariner nights?

 

Just trying to figure out if anything is excluded so I can verify that I received the correct number of bonus nights based on spend.

 

tia 

 

 

[Cruise Suzy]

Not sure about casino spending, but whatever you purchase - on board or pre-cruise - and however you pay for them ALL count toward Mariner spend bonus days. It has been my experience that if I book with bonus HIA (Crew Appreciation included), the max spend days are awarded. So if you have regular HIA and then also pay Crew Appreciation, you should be awarded the max spend bonus day. Evidently HAL counts HIA components at max value.

[Cruise Suzy]

Remember that Mariner spend days are based on the account folio total, so the value of HIA for both DH and I is counted towards our folio total. This is the amount that used to calculate spend bonus days for each of us. So, as far as spend bonus days, it's as if each of us purchased 2 HIA packages.

 

If you are sailing solo, you will not be credited for what a second person spends. Thus, you might not reach the max.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Cruise Suzy

[Mary229]

Where the money came from is not factored only how it is spent.
Pre and post cruise arrangements such as pre cruise flights and hotels are not included.  Most other arrangements are included and as usual Casino expenditures are officially off the table but sometimes sneak in.  As @Cruise Suzy indicated the maximum allowance is to double your days and no more. So for our 35 day cruise you can only earn an additional 35 days credit. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Mary229

[Blackduck59]

I don't think this is really helpful, all I know is we ended up with way more spend points than we expected and we'll take them thanks very much. There was a thread a while back that had some good explanations about how spend points are calculated. They were most helpful but I'm still confused. I have said many times I don't get the status thing. I am happy to have the perks if they come, how they came I don't know or care. We book the cruise that we hope to enjoy, we spend money on things we want aboard (even better if it's onboard credit) if we get points for spending someone else's money, cool. We'll take those too. Any chance of there being non refundable OBC left at the end of the cruise? Absolutely none.

[Mary229]

The calculation is easy.  1 point per day, 2 if in a suite and an extra day per $300 spent up to equal the number of days sailing. Which expenditures are included is the only confusing aspect. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Mary229

[ChinaShrek]

Casino has not counted for me. I charged thousands on one cruise and didn't receive any points for it.

[Blackduck59]

10 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

Casino has not counted for me. I charged thousands on one cruise and didn't receive any points for it.

Apparently the casino is an outside contractor. So while it may have space on board, when you spend money at the casino, it's not on board spending.

[*Miss G*]

5 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The calculation is easy.  1 point per day, 2 if in a suite and an extra day per $300 spent up to equal the number of days sailing. 

 

Just a point of clarification:  The double mariner points for a suite are only applicable if you booked one at the outset.  If you took an upgrade offer from a non-suite to a suite, double mariner points do not apply.  To confuse things further, double mariner points do apply if you paid an advertised fare for the upgrade, or higher.

 

 

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Finally, if I purchase AARP gift cards and pay for $600 worth of things pre-cruise (laundry, spa, etc..), will that spend accumulate 2 additional Mariner nights?

 

 

Everything you purchase in advance (casino excepted) will be counted when calculating mariner points earned.

 

To summarize:  Casino charges do not earn points.  Final statement charges (less casino) will earn points.  

 

Others have reported that disbursement of mariner points have been generous but that has not been my personal experience.

[Blackduck59]

Just to clarify, when I said "I don't think this is really helpful" I was commenting on the value of my own post. At the end of our only HAL cruise we had 11 "spending points" with the formula of 1 point for every $300.00 spent, that would suggest $3,300.00 of on board spending. We didn't come close to that. We are however happy to take the points if they want to give them to us. As I said there was quite a good explanation on another thread, which helped explain the theory of  how the spending could be calculated. 

[Mary229]

8 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Everything you purchase in advance (casino excepted) will be counted when calculating mariner points earned.

Clarification.  Pre and post cruise flights and hotels do not count.  I am curious do precruise/post cruise over lands count?  Anyone know?  During the cruise they do count 

[Haljo1935]

Just now, Mary229 said:

Clarification.  Pre and post cruise flights and hotels do not count.  I am curious do precruise/post cruise over lands count?  Anyone know?  During the cruise they do count 

Confused as to what you're asking, probably cuz it's early and I haven't had any coffee, but can you rephrase your question?

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Confused as to what you're asking, probably cuz it's early and I haven't had any coffee, but can you rephrase your question?

No coffee here yet😴. I am asking in regards to overland journeys offered by HAL.  If taken during the cruise they do count but are they like the precruise hotels which don’t count toward Mariner points?

Edited November 14, 2023 by Mary229

[badtwin]

Two questions.  How long in general until a cruise is posted to my account as part of my mariner points total?  It has been 5 weeks and our last cruise is still missing.  (For that matter, our other past cruises come and go too) Second, can anyone actually open any of the the pdfs of past cruise spending shown on your account statement?  I have tried numerous times and it says not available.

 

 

 

 

[Cruise Suzy]

14 minutes ago, badtwin said:

Second, can anyone actually open any of the the pdfs of past cruise spending shown on your account statement?  I have tried numerous times and it says not available.

 

I have been able to open all of ours. Generally they are available for Passenger #1 but not Passenger #2.  But for one cruise, the PDF was available for Passenger #2 and not Passenger #1.

[*Miss G*]

12 minutes ago, badtwin said:

Two questions.  How long in general until a cruise is posted to my account as part of my mariner points total?  It has been 5 weeks and our last cruise is still missing.  (For that matter, our other past cruises come and go too) Second, can anyone actually open any of the the pdfs of past cruise spending shown on your account statement?  I have tried numerous times and it says not available.

 

 

 

 

 

The general rule is “within 10 days”.  I’ve experienced much longer than that, which required me to contact the Mariner Society directly.

 

I was also getting “not available” with the PDF’s on the website but just checked and I am now able to download.  It’s possible that the PDF is available in the other person’s account so you may want to try having them log in to get it.

 

They are also available in Navigator.  Again, the statement may only be available to the person you traveled with, depending upon how the info was entered in the initial booking.

 

Alternatively, you can email onboardbilling@hollandamerica.com, with the booking number, ship, and sail date and they will send you the statement.

[RuthC]

10 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Clarification.  Pre and post cruise flights and hotels do not count.  I am curious do precruise/post cruise over lands count?  Anyone know?  During the cruise they do count 

I know that the days of an Alaska cruise/tour do count toward Mariner Days. I have them from my Alaska cruise/tour back in '93. 
I also know that absolutely none of my pre-cruise hotel days have ever been counted, no matter where they were spent. 

[Mary229]

26 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I know that the days of an Alaska cruise/tour do count toward Mariner Days. I have them from my Alaska cruise/tour back in '93. 
I also know that absolutely none of my pre-cruise hotel days have ever been counted, no matter where they were spent. 

That has been my experience so far.  I took an overland mid cruise and it counted.  I don’t think the pre cruise overland counted.  .  I buy the cheap room and spend like a drunken sailor so it is hard for me to determine line items. 

[badtwin]

On 11/14/2023 at 8:03 AM, *Miss G* said:

 

The general rule is “within 10 days”.  I’ve experienced much longer than that, which required me to contact the Mariner Society directly.

 

I was also getting “not available” with the PDF’s on the website but just checked and I am now able to download.  It’s possible that the PDF is available in the other person’s account so you may want to try having them log in to get it.

 

They are also available in Navigator.  Again, the statement may only be available to the person you traveled with, depending upon how the info was entered in the initial booking.

 

Alternatively, you can email onboardbilling@hollandamerica.com, with the booking number, ship, and sail date and they will send you the statement.

 

Thank you all for the responses.  DH could open the pdf files.  I sent an email with proof of our last cruise and our mariner numbers and we both got credit for the last cruise within 24 hours.  We are a long way to the coveted 4 star (I want laundry and wine discount!) but it was nice to see the new points.

 

Thank you.  One "hint" I will pass on that I have been learned recently.  The HAL tab selections and drop down menus don't work for me - my brain must be wired differently.  But if I stop and use the search function, I can often find pages I have never been able to find the way I would normally find on a website.  

[NCTribeFan]

I know I've stated this before.  I'm a CPA and I've never been able to understand why I've received whatever points I've received.

 

Maybe I'll try again.  I'm getting semi-close to making 4* but if casino spending doesn't count, then I won't reach it on my upcoming Eurodam sailing.

 

Why would spa and shops count but not casino?  They're all separate entities so why would they be treated differently?  I don't really expect a logical answer, so this may just be a rhetorical question! 😄

[Blackduck59]

@NCTribeFan I'm not sure there is a logical answer to the "formula" although there have been some good attempts by members to help me understand. 

[crystalspin]

I'm one of the "explainers". My experience since 2015 is that having the Signature Beverage Package (lately HIA), has been enough to give all the Spend Days possible. I figure the accounting is 15 drinks at $11 pppd. NOT the actual price of what was imbibed!. For two in a cabin, this amounts to $330/day or 10% over all you can earn. (Note, the $300/day is totalled for the length of cruise, and does NOT have to be earned daily.)

 

Strangely all of my post 2015 history shows this math EXCEPT the second leg of our B2B last winter -- seven days earned five spend days. Fortunately we still came out two points OVER 4* (not two under!). I still may stop by the Mariner desk on next cruise...

[kazu]

11 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I'm one of the "explainers". My experience since 2015 is that having the Signature Beverage Package (lately HIA), has been enough to give all the Spend Days possible. I figure the accounting is 15 drinks at $11 pppd. NOT the actual price of what was imbibed!. For two in a cabin, this amounts to $330/day or 10% over all you can earn. (Note, the $300/day is totalled for the length of cruise, and does NOT have to be earned daily.)

 

Strangely all of my post 2015 history shows this math EXCEPT the second leg of our B2B last winter -- seven days earned five spend days. Fortunately we still came out two points OVER 4* (not two under!). I still may stop by the Mariner desk on next cruise...

 

 

I found that too when “we” cruised.  Now that I am solo, the HIA is not enough to account for the full $300 per day yet I achieved it on my 15 day cruise and while I treated to some specialty dining that alone doesn’t account for it.

 

It nearly looks like a portion of casino play did come into the equation would be my best guess but I’m certain it didn’t on the Koningsdam.  Strange as by my calculation it did on the Oosterdam.  

 

The extra days aren’t a big concern to me unless HAL is going to create a new star level and give us something for it but I’m not holding out much hope for that 😉 

[NCTribeFan]

Well, since I cannot access the PDFs at all (tried different browsers, the app, and Chrome on my phone), I can't see the detail.

 

Their website really is frustrating.

 

The amount of Spending days I got for my first cruise on Zaandam (14 nights Hawaii) seem way out of line with whatever spending I did.  No HIA back then and I didn't spend nearly as much as it seems I should have to get 8 additional points.  That was my only HAL sailing where I wasn't solo.  Did they give me credit for my cabinmate's spending?

 

Many of the others, I purchased HIA and/or Club Orange after my initial booking.  I do have those amounts on my spreadsheet, but I really would like to see my statements to see if I think any casino spending was included.  I do gamble, but I am very far from a high roller but it really seems like I got some credit for that spending.

 

Of course, I was doing some "cleaning" recently and pitched out all the documents I had stacked up from several years of sailing. 😄

[crystalspin]

2 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

The amount of Spending days I got for my first cruise on Zaandam (14 nights Hawaii) seem way out of line with whatever spending I did.  No HIA back then and I didn't spend nearly as much as it seems I should have to get 8 additional points.  That was my only HAL sailing where I wasn't solo.  Did they give me credit for my cabinmate's spending?

Yes, pax 1&2 get credit for total purchasing for the cabin. A third person would get only Sail Days.