Can Canadians join AARP for cruise OBC?

[*Miss G*]

On 7/3/2024 at 10:59 AM, lots-of-km2 said:

 

One major disbenefit is the email bombardment that AARP starts once you join. Several junk emails a day, no exaggerating -- not only from AARP but from a lot of third parties.  Opting out of the emails and unsubscribing doesn't seem to stop it completely.

 

That’s why I have a junk mail email address. I never use my personal email to sign up for anything deemed unimportant. AARP is one of them. 

[Sailor Sam 407]

If you have the SheerID email confirmation, you can forward that to HAL at reservations_submit@hollandamerica.com along with your booking number(s).

 

No need to call ...

[Grandmaanne7]

As the OP, I had stated that I would come back and report once I had booked onboard.  The process was seamless.  The OBC appeared on my invoice and my Canadian TA didn't even know that this benefit existed.  The only reason I knew that it was there was because my OBC was $200 more than my DH's and there was no other reason that would be so.  I had mentioned it to the future cruise agent onboard and she just said that anything I would be entitled to would be included and it was.

[everbeentoseabilly]

We got our aarp obc credit for 2 upcoming cruises! Our pcc was helpful.  The only thing that was slightly inconvenient was going through a US vpn 

[poffles]

For those that have done this, is or can the cruise still be booked in CAD or does this require it to be fully US currency booking.

[Fouremco]

3 hours ago, poffles said:

For those that have done this, is or can the cruise still be booked in CAD or does this require it to be fully US currency booking.

From everything I've read, including this thread, there is no USD booking  requirement.

[rodndonna]

3 hours ago, poffles said:

For those that have done this, is or can the cruise still be booked in CAD or does this require it to be fully US currency booking.

 

No requirement to book in USD. 🙂

[RobTheGob]

We booked our HAL cruise in CAD, using the big box discount travel agent that sells hot dogs for $1.50. I joined AARP a month or two later and went through the confirmation process and later sent an email to HAL.

 

The USD OBC showed up within a few hours.

 

When looking at pricing for future cruises - I see both the Shareholder's OBC and AARP OBC listed as a benefit at booking time.

[Atlantic Girl]

Could you post the  HAL’s email address that you sent your AARP credit request to?  I sent my email to HAL’s Guest Relations and they responded that because my inquiry was a pre cruise issue , then they could not help me. They said to contact the reservations department, but they didn’t give me an email address. Thanks if you can help.

 

 

[*Miss G*]

24 minutes ago, Atlantic Girl said:

Could you post the  HAL’s email address that you sent your AARP credit request to?  I sent my email to HAL’s Guest Relations and they responded that because my inquiry was a pre cruise issue , then they could not help me. They said to contact the reservations department, but they didn’t give me an email address. Thanks if you can help.

 

 

 

I had an issue with the Educators’ credit.  (AARP credit was not a problem as all I had to do was send the info to my PCC.)

 

I sent an email with a screenshot of the acceptance email, my mariner account information, and the booking # with ship and sailing date. They responded within a few days confirming the OBC.

 

Contact:

 

Reservations_Submit@hollandamerica.com

[Atlantic Girl]

Thanks @*Miss G* for the help. This is my first time with AARP benefit and HAL is not making it easy. I will give that email a go.

[Fouremco]

My experience with the AARP OBC. Rather than rewriting it, here's a link to my post on the HAL forum: 

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

Thanks for everyone for contributing to this thread. I got a membership yesterday and sent it to my pcc.  She verified me and submitted the info. I'll have $200 for my next 2 cruises  I wasn't going to bother but I'm glad I did thanks to this thread.

[DebDuh]

On 6/26/2024 at 1:09 PM, rodndonna said:

 

We've had AARP membership since they launched the HAL benefit, and have used it for HAL OBC (we're Canadian)

 

As you've pointed out, it's a no luck with gift cards though as a Canuck. 😏

Did you need to be cruising from a US port to use as a Canadian? Curious because I read AARP discounts applied for Canadian members if traveling in US.

[*Miss G*]

10 minutes ago, DebDuh said:

Did you need to be cruising from a US port to use as a Canadian? Curious because I read AARP discounts applied for Canadian members if traveling in US.

No. It is a HAL sponsored perq. 

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, DebDuh said:

Did you need to be cruising from a US port to use as a Canadian? Curious because I read AARP discounts applied for Canadian members if traveling in US.

 

No - we've had it applied to all our cruises (including Europe and NE/Canada)

[DebDuh]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

 

No - we've had it applied to all our cruises (including Europe and NE/Canada)

That's great. Thanks.

[galipemi]

I’m curious, if you buy the AARP gift cards they will presumably be in USD.  If the booking is in CAD, would that pose a problem?

[rodndonna]

6 hours ago, galipemi said:

I’m curious, if you buy the AARP gift cards they will presumably be in USD.  If the booking is in CAD, would that pose a problem?

 

You can use USD gift cards for on-board expenses, but not the cruise itself if booking in CAD.

 

Purchasing the AARP discounted gift cards is not something we have had any success with as Canadians. 

[*Miss G*]

7 hours ago, galipemi said:

I’m curious, if you buy the AARP gift cards they will presumably be in USD.  If the booking is in CAD, would that pose a problem?

 

Some people have reported that they take them to Guest Services after boarding to deposit to the onboard account.

[Fouremco]

3 hours ago, rodndonna said:

Purchasing the AARP discounted gift cards is not something we have had any success with as Canadians. 

Yes, it's my understanding that Canadian residents are unable to purchase AARP gift cards. If there's a Canadian member who was successful, please let us know how you were able to buy them. 

[DebDuh]

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Yes, it's my understanding that Canadian residents are unable to purchase AARP gift cards. If there's a Canadian member who was successful, please let us know how you were able to buy them. 

 

[DebDuh]

This appears to say Canadians can

 

https://help.aarp.org/s/article/international-residents

[rodndonna]

25 minutes ago, DebDuh said:

This appears to say Canadians can

 

https://help.aarp.org/s/article/international-residents

 

We can "join" and get the OBC (which we have done).

 

Purchasing gift cards in AARP requires you be US based.

[Fouremco]

 

From the AARP website:

 

We offer digital gift cards exclusively for our members from esteemed cruise lines such as Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America Line. These can be purchased at a discounted rate from our AARP Rewards catalog. 

https://help.aarp.org/s/article/rewards-carnival-gift-cards

 

Unfortunately:

 

AARP Rewards is currently only available to residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.

https://secure.aarp.org/applications/user/programOptIn?promo=AARPREWARDS&ref=https://www.aarp.org/rewards/

 

This second link requires you to be a member and sign in.

Edited September 27 by Fouremco