Bonus Mariner Days

[richwmn]

6 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

That was my only HAL sailing where I wasn't solo.  Did they give me credit for my cabinmate's spending?

 

2 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

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

 Pax 1&2 get credit for all spending including the spending of Pax 3&4 if applicable. As @crystalspin said, any passengers over 1&2 do not get bonus days

[NCTribeFan]

Well, that explains why I got so many points on Zaandam.  There were 3 of us in the cabin.  We did ship tours in two ports, took advantage of the old BOGO Happy Hours daily, and I'm pretty sure I bought a wine package.  I even purchased a photo.

 

I did Zuiderdam B2B Alaska in June 2022.  These were "free" casino bookings.  I added HIA and CO for both weeks.  I also booked a pre-cruise hotel in Seattle with the transfer to Vancouver.

 

I earned 7 spending points on the first leg but only 4 on the 2nd.  The only ship excursions were the ones covered by HIA.  It doesn't make sense that I earned 3 more points that first week where my spending probably was probably much the same.  Sure seems like that pre-cruise hotel & transfer had an impact.

 

Surprise!  Looks like suddenly I can access my statements!  Yee Haw!  Time to put my accounting skills to the test and see if I can make any sense of my spending points earned.

 

LOL.  Just kidding.  I was able to download the statement from the 6-1-22 sailing but the others say it's unavailable.  Sigh.

Edited November 18, 2023 by NCTribeFan

[Ken the cruiser]

OK, I will admit it’s been about 4 years since our last cruise on the Maasdam. But if I remember correctly, the total amount spent by my DW and I that appeared on our shipboard account, such as the daily gratuity charges, ship excursions, bottles of wine purchased, and specialty dining were what was used to compute the $300 Onboard Spending Bonus points associated with cruise day credits. What other expenses show up as folio charges on your shipboard account? Maybe visits to the spa where you paid for their services?

 

Onboard Spending Bonus Effective with cruises on or after September 18, 2009, one bonus Cruise Day credit will be granted for each $300 in eligible onboard purchases. This is calculated on the combined folio charges for all guests on the booking, regardless of who signs each charge and who pays the bill. Only the first two guests on the booking receive the limit of one bonus day for each day sailed; 3rd and 4th guests on the same booking do not earn the onboard spending bonus. 

 

[NCTribeFan]

I did at least figure out why I could download some statements and not others.  On the B2Bs, the 2nd week is included on the first although the statement only shows the date of the first leg.  That's why I couldn't open one for the 2nd.

 

I think I'm slowly getting the idea.  I'm putting casino draws one place and other onboard spending in another column to separate it out.  Does any OBC cancel out the spending or is it treated as a payment rather than an offset of expenses?

 

Am I correct that purchasing CO has no impact because that's considered as part of the base fare?

 

What value is allocated to HIA?  $50/pp/day?

[crystalspin]

48 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

What value is allocated to HIA?  $50/pp/day?

My experience is that HIA (actually the SBP component) seems to make the $300/day by itself -- FOR TWO PEOPLE in one room anyway. 2x $11 (not the actual price) x 15 (no matter if you drink them all) = $330/day. 

 

It is possible that this changed to real prices? on maybe 1/1/2023? because we were awarded maximum spend-days on our 12/29/22 sailing but two days short of max on the second leg of that B2B that sailed in 2023. But certainly more than $50pppd.

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

Does any OBC cancel out the spending or is it treated as a payment rather than an offset of expenses?

It doesn't matter how it is paid, spending is all that matters

[Blackduck59]

@crystalspin you have been a wealth of help on this subject. Your explanation of the drink package "formula" is excellent. It is also a valid point for those wondering if the drink package is "worth it", if mariner points are important to you the drink package goes a long way to racking them up. We had no idea about that, and I was certainly confused as to how we got so many points. I just thought if they want to give them to me I'll take them.

[crystalspin]

2 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

@crystalspin you have been a wealth of help on this subject. Your explanation of the drink package "formula" is excellent. It is also a valid point for those wondering if the drink package is "worth it", if mariner points are important to you the drink package goes a long way to racking them up. We had no idea about that, and I was certainly confused as to how we got so many points. I just thought if they want to give them to me I'll take them.

Understand, I just worked it out starting when we got SBP as a promotional in 2016 (before HIA existed). So I am not an official "voice" on this. But I may be after February when I intend to visit the Mariner Society desk to ask about my missing 2 spend points!

[vicd1969]

On 11/16/2023 at 5:00 PM, crystalspin said:

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

 I found that out the hard way on my third HAL cruise where the lowest spender was designated pax 2 while i splurged on spa and other stuff as pax #4 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Haljo1935]

5 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Understand, I just worked it out starting when we got SBP as a promotional in 2016 (before HIA existed). So I am not an official "voice" on this. But I may be after February when I intend to visit the Mariner Society desk to ask about my missing 2 spend points!

Going through old cards the other day, I saw "SBP" stickers on some. 🤭

[NCTribeFan]

Ah.  It's getting a little clearer with each explanation.  I thank everyone for their input.

 

I'll look at actual spending (excluding casino draws) and take a stab at what I think the SBP/HIA might have been.  Hard to know without having a receipt for every drink!  I'm mostly a beer & wine drinker but I did get used to having an Aperol Spritz or 2 every evening before dinner on Rotterdam.

 

I had HIA on the 16 night TA but did not have it on the 2 x 5-nights following.  I had drinks while gambling and would stop in the casino to get a pre-dinner drink.  But other bar charges should be listed on that statement.  When I get some spare time this week, I'll see if I can make sense of it for those 10 days.

[badtwin]

Thought I would add our recent numbers to the mix.  We were on a 21 day collector (is that the term?) - a 7 day and a 14 day booked as one booking.  We had HIA for $2100.  We spent somewhere between $900 and $1000 with OBC, refunded port fees and some credit card.  We got 15 days on our Mariner accounts for spending.  I had assumed we would get 10 days -  7 for the HIA and 3 for the other spending.   So who knows how they do this.  I have tried to calculate actual drinking but I don't think that gets us there unless I am grossly underestimating our drinking which is possible as I really enjoyed HIA for the first time.   But I don't get why HIA would count beverages but not the specialty dining and tours we enjoyed as part of HIA.

 

I was sort of wondering if port fees were included but from the little paperwork I have and those amounts that doesn't account for the extra days either.  Hard to complain but if I would get more days ordering more drinks, it would be an interesting problem....

[NCTribeFan]

I give up.  I looked at the Alaska B2B and the actual charges were slightly more for the 2nd week than the first, yet I received 7 spending points for week 1 and only 4 for week 2.

 

So I looked at Eurodam when I did NOT have HIA.  I added up every charge except for the draws to my card in the casino.  I *should* have earned only 2 spending points but I actually was given 5.  The only way I could have earned 5 was if they counted the casino draws.

 

I just added up my casino draws and, you guessed it, the total now comes out to 5 spending days.

 

That doesn't explain the differences on Z'dam, though.  I spent more in "regular" spending during week 2 and also drew more for the casino during that week.

 

I give up! 😄

[richwmn]

to throw something else into the mix.

If you are on a B2B your account is not closed until the end of the final cruise.

In my case, I didn't spend much on the first cruise, a majority of the spending was on the second cruise. The total number of bonus days I got seem to be correct, but I received the maximum for the first cruise, with the remaining credited to the second cruise.

[NCTribeFan]

Ah.  That may help explain my confusion with the Zuiderdam point.

 

I'm really thinking that the casino charges are included.  Of course, if I take cash and use that at the tables (like I typically do) that won't count.  But if I charge casino funds to my account at a slot machine, I think that does count.  So, what I'll do in January is charge to my account, play the slots for a bit, then cash out and use that cash at the roulette wheel.

 

Hey, if I'm going to lose my money gambling, I'd like SOME benefit from it! 😁

[DaveOKC]

2 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

Ah.  That may help explain my confusion with the Zuiderdam point.

 

I'm really thinking that the casino charges are included.  Of course, if I take cash and use that at the tables (like I typically do) that won't count.  But if I charge casino funds to my account at a slot machine, I think that does count.  So, what I'll do in January is charge to my account, play the slots for a bit, then cash out and use that cash at the roulette wheel.

 

Hey, if I'm going to lose my money gambling, I'd like SOME benefit from it! 😁

Not a good idea IMO.  You only get credit for what you bet, not what you win, lose or charge.  The credit you earn depends on the type of gambling you do, with slots earning the most points, video poker less, and table games less than that.  I think roulette falls in the table games category.