Mariner Society Early Booking Bonus

[Ken the cruiser]

Part of the fun of coming back to HAL after a 5-year hiatus is learning about their new promotions if you like to book early. Back then, there was no military appreciation perk, or if you like to book early like we do, there was no HIA Early Booking Bonus. Then we discovered this Mariner Society Early Booking Bonus.
 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/mariner-early-booking-bonus

 

To help us understand how to take advantage of this new Mariner Society perk, as the introductory date of a new itinerary is not posted anywhere I can find, can I assume the list of itineraries mentioned below the perk’s definition are the applicable cruises?

[kazu]

If you use the search on the HAL site for Early Mariner Booking bonus - you should be able to see the current offerings - this is what I got today - https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/cruise-deals/mariner-early-booking-bonus?ICID=INTHWEB20230120FFC8DEOPAP

 

You can also check for news releases when itineraries are released.

You have to book within 90 days of when bookings open but the Early HIA booking bonus stays on for a bit after.  

[FlaMariner]

30 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

can I assume the list of itineraries mentioned below the perk’s definition are the applicable cruises?

 

Yes. That link does pull up a list of cruises that are available for "Mariner Early booking bonus".....Happy hunting...It is a nice benefit...especially for early bookers.

 

And welcome back to HAL.

Edited March 16 by FlaMariner

[POA1]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Part of the fun of coming back to HAL after a 5-year hiatus is learning about their new promotions if you like to book early. Back then, there was no military appreciation perk, or if you like to book early like we do, there was no HIA Early Booking Bonus. Then we discovered this Mariner Society Early Booking Bonus.
 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/mariner-early-booking-bonus

 

To help us understand how to take advantage of this new Mariner Society perk, as the introductory date of a new itinerary is not posted anywhere I can find, can I assume the list of itineraries mentioned below the perk’s definition are the applicable cruises?

If it helps, you can expect 2025-2026 Caribbean next week.

 

I've been getting announcement emails each time a new "market" launches. A market corresponds to those little gold buttons on the "Find a Cruise" page. I think the only exception is Alaska, which has both cruises and the land and sea cruise tours.

 

All the others launch as a market. In other words, all the South America & Antarctica cruises will launch together.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Part of the fun of coming back to HAL after a 5-year hiatus is learning about their new promotions if you like to book early. Back then, there was no military appreciation perk, or if you like to book early like we do, there was no HIA Early Booking Bonus. Then we discovered this Mariner Society Early Booking Bonus.
 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/mariner-early-booking-bonus

 

To help us understand how to take advantage of this new Mariner Society perk, as the introductory date of a new itinerary is not posted anywhere I can find, can I assume the list of itineraries mentioned below the perk’s definition are the applicable cruises?

Welcome back.😀

[Ipeeinthepools]

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Part of the fun of coming back to HAL after a 5-year hiatus is learning about their new promotions if you like to book early. Back then, there was no military appreciation perk, or if you like to book early like we do, there was no HIA Early Booking Bonus. Then we discovered this Mariner Society Early Booking Bonus.
 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/mariner-early-booking-bonus

 

To help us understand how to take advantage of this new Mariner Society perk, as the introductory date of a new itinerary is not posted anywhere I can find, can I assume the list of itineraries mentioned below the perk’s definition are the applicable cruises?

More OBC is always good but remember that you cannot spend the OBC until you are onboard the ship.  You probably will need to use real money to purchase shore excursions or make specialty dining reservations ahead of time to avoid excursions being sold out and get more desirable dining times.  I’ve combined this with the onboard booking bonus and got $1100 OBC on a couple upcoming trips.  I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with that much OBC since the early HIA bookings also pay crew gratuities.

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

More OBC is always good but remember that you cannot spend the OBC until you are onboard the ship.  You probably will need to use real money to purchase shore excursions or make specialty dining reservations ahead of time to avoid excursions being sold out and get more desirable dining times.  I’ve combined this with the onboard booking bonus and got $1100 OBC on a couple upcoming trips.  I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with that much OBC since the early HIA bookings also pay crew gratuities.

 

Yes, you have to use real money to book in advance for what is not included in your HIA but you can get it back and have it applied to your OBC once on board.

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

32 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Yes, you have to use real money to book in advance for what is not included in your HIA but you can get it back and have it applied to your OBC once on board.

 

 
I know some people have been successful with that approach but the concern is that  when you cancel a sold out shore excursion your spot might move to someone on the waitlist and you might not be able to rebook.  Perhaps that works better with specialty dining.

[kazu]

6 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 
I know some people have been successful with that approach but the concern is that  when you cancel a sold out shore excursion your spot might move to someone on the waitlist and you might not be able to rebook.  Perhaps that works better with specialty dining.

 

You don’t cancel.  You just go to shore excursions for excursions or guest services (for specialty dining) and request that they charge your OBC and refund you.  NEVER cancel.  Just go and get it taken care of.

[Ken the cruiser]

Thanks @Ipeeinthepools and @kazu! Good points and will definitely try to remember to "ask" if it would be possible to exchange some of the $$$ we used to prebook excursions, after using the HIA excursion allowance, with any excess OBC we may have once onboard. But I have to say it is nice to have the "new" HIA OBC to prebook excursions with, which in our case is $600 on our April 2025 PC cruise! 😀 

 

Edited March 17 by Ken the cruiser

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks @Ipeeinthepools and @kazu! Good points and will definitely try to remember to "ask" if it would be possible to exchange any excess OBC we may have once onboard. But I have to say it is nice to have the "new" HIA OBC to prebook excursions with! 😀 

 

If I am understanding you correctly - you plan to use OBC to pre-book excursions?

You can use the HIA component for shore excursions to pre-book, but the OBC cannot be used until you are on board.  You may have meant that - just want to be sure it’s clear.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

If I am understanding you correctly - you plan to use OBC to pre-book excursions?

You can use the HIA component for shore excursions to pre-book, but the OBC cannot be used until you are on board.  You may have meant that - just want to be sure it’s clear.

Thanks for that! I just modified my previous post to better reflect our intentions.

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 
I know some people have been successful with that approach but the concern is that  when you cancel a sold out shore excursion your spot might move to someone on the waitlist and you might not be able to rebook.  Perhaps that works better with specialty dining.

I have not had any problems changing pre booked excursions with a credit card switched to OBC once onboard, even if sold out. I just go to guest services and get this done, CO makes this even easier as there is a CO only line for guest services. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

15 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have not had any problems changing pre booked excursions with a credit card switched to OBC once onboard, even if sold out. I just go to guest services and get this done, CO makes this even easier as there is a CO only line for guest services. 

Ok, you guys have convinced me.  I’ll try next time.

[Ken the cruiser]

38 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have not had any problems changing pre booked excursions with a credit card switched to OBC once onboard, even if sold out. I just go to guest services and get this done, CO makes this even easier as there is a CO only line for guest services. 

So you don't need to specifically go to the Excursion Desk to get this done? Guest Services will also "refare" your prepaid excursions with excess shipboard OBC as well?

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So you don't need to specifically go to the Excursion Desk to get this done? Guest Services will also "refare" your prepaid excursions with excess shipboard OBC as well?

 

I followed the advice of other CC posters who had done this and they said it was best to go to the shore excursion desk.  IIRC their instructions were only to the shore excursions desk.  I only went to guest services (no lineup with CO) for my specialty dining.

 

If @terrydtx was successful at Guest Services, that’s great!  I don’t know if there is a difference having CO or not.  I didn’t try it.

[POA1]

4 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 
I know some people have been successful with that approach but the concern is that  when you cancel a sold out shore excursion your spot might move to someone on the waitlist and you might not be able to rebook.  Perhaps that works better with specialty dining.

Follow @kazu's advice. See the Shorex desk for your rebooks.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I followed the advice of other CC posters who had done this and they said it was best to go to the shore excursion desk.  IIRC their instructions were only to the shore excursions desk.  I only went to guest services (no lineup with CO) for my specialty dining.

 

If @terrydtx was successful at Guest Services, that’s great!  I don’t know if there is a difference having CO or not.  I didn’t try it.

 

1 minute ago, POA1 said:

Follow @kazu's advice. See the Shorex desk for your rebooks.

I agree. I think to be on the safe side we’ll just head to the Excursion Desk to get this done. 😁

[terrydtx]

46 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So you don't need to specifically go to the Excursion Desk to get this done? Guest Services will also "refare" your prepaid excursions with excess shipboard OBC as well?

I use the CO Guest services line as there is usually no one in line, unlike the shore excursions desk and general guest services line that can be exceedingly long specially on embarkation day. Being able to use the CO guest services line is one of the best amenities of CO.  Why we only cruise with HAL with added CO.

 

Funny and pathetic story from our HAL cruise last November on the Koingsdam. On embarkation day, I was in the CO line and the person in front of me wanted all of his prepaid crew gratuities refunded to his OBC. He said he only tips the people who provide direct services on any cruise. The agent told him that he had booked with a promo that included pre-paid crew gratuities and they were non-refundable as they were included in the cruise fare, but he still demanded to have them refunded to his account. A supervisor was brought out to discuss this with him and he continued to argue the point until he was asked to leave as the supervisor already determined that no gratuities would be refunded. I heard him say something like he would never cruise with HAL again. 

Edited March 17 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

17 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

I agree. I think to be on the safe side we’ll just head to the Excursion Desk to get this done. 😁

On Embarkation day the shore excursion desk can have over 100 passengers in line all afternoon, which is why I always use the CO guest services line. Never had any problems doing this. The CO Guest services is like having a concierge. 

Edited March 17 by terrydtx

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I use the CO Guest services line as there is usually no one in line, unlike the shore excursions desk and general guest services line that can be exceedingly long specially on embarkation day. Being able to use the CO guest services line is one of the best amenities of CO.  Why we only cruise with HAL with added CO.

 

Funny and pathetic story from our HAL cruise last November on the Koingsdam. On embarkation day, I was in the CO line and the person in front of me wanted all of his prepaid crew gratuities refunded to his OBC. He said he only tips the people who provide direct services on any cruise. The agent told him that he had booked with a promo that included pre-paid crew gratuities they were non-refundable as they were included in the cruise fare, but he demanded to have them refunded to his account. A supervisor was brought out to discuss this with him and he continued to argue the point until he was asked to leave as the supervisor already determined that no gratuities would be refunded. I heard him say something like he would never cruise with HAL again. 

Good to know about the CO line. I also find it fascinating, if I understand the “new” CO rules correctly. You can initially book the cheapest veranda cabin, then purchase CO for $15 pp/day and upgrade to a more desirable cabin, such as an aft-facing veranda for no additional charge. I also imagine you would need to do that early on as the CO slots go fast on some of the more desirable itineraries. 
 

Like I said, the “new” perks are quite alluring. However, for us it will be interesting to see how enjoyable the entertainment offerings are on their longer 3-5 week itineraries, such as the April 2025 Panama Canal B2B we’re currently booked on. As long as they offer “something” to go to every night in the main theater as well as some form of lecture/port talk on most sea days on their longer 15+ day itineraries, we’ll be happy. One itinerary we really have our eye on is their 28-day Alaska cruise that includes going to Nome! 😁

[Ipeeinthepools]

On 3/17/2024 at 12:11 PM, terrydtx said:

On Embarkation day the shore excursion desk can have over 100 passengers in line all afternoon, which is why I always use the CO guest services line. Never had any problems doing this. The CO Guest services is like having a concierge. 

 
FWIW. I went down to guest services and asked if it was possible to use the OBC to pay for shore excursions and get a refund of payments made prior to the cruise.  The representative confirmed this was possible but he recommended that I go directly to the shore excursions group to request this refund.  The guest services representative said all he could do was forward the request to the shore excursions department and they are the ones that ultimately have to process this request.

 

BTW there is also a CO line at the shore excursions desk.

 

YMMV

Edited March 21 by Ipeeinthepools

[Ipeeinthepools]

On 3/16/2024 at 6:41 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Part of the fun of coming back to HAL after a 5-year hiatus is learning about their new promotions if you like to book early. Back then, there was no military appreciation perk, or if you like to book early like we do, there was no HIA Early Booking Bonus. Then we discovered this Mariner Society Early Booking Bonus.
 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/mariner-early-booking-bonus

 

To help us understand how to take advantage of this new Mariner Society perk, as the introductory date of a new itinerary is not posted anywhere I can find, can I assume the list of itineraries mentioned below the perk’s definition are the applicable cruises?

The Future Cruise person on my current cruise told me that he expects more cruises for late 2025 and early 2026 to be released on March 22