Credit for Onboard Spending

[Shmoo here]

59 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Did you have 'Have it All' or in a suite?

As you say, no questions!!😉

We did have the HIA package.  But, even the cost of that doesn't up our spending amount as much as the number of credits we got for onboard spending reflects.

[Cruise Suzy]

The HIA components are credited as if purchased individually not at the cost of HIA.

[Shmoo here]

13 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

The HIA components are credited as if purchased individually not at the cost of HIA.

For example, does that mean we get credited for "purchasing" the maximum number of drinks allowed per day, or only the drinks we actually got?

[Cruise Suzy]

The max

[Shmoo here]

7 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

The max

Well, that certainly explains it.  Thanks.

[VMax1700]

13 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Well, that certainly explains it.  Thanks.

yes our experience has been that if you have HIA then you receive credit for the maximum number of days!  So 7 day cruise with HIA = 7 + 7 = 14 credit.  If you have a suite then its another multiplier!  7 + 7 + 7 = 21 (hello free laundry 😁).

[Cruisin4now]

I was just on board Zuiderdam two days ago and the FCC said HIA nor Club Orange count toward Mariner Status. 

[Alberta Quilter]

1 hour ago, Cruisin4now said:

I was just on board Zuiderdam two days ago and the FCC said HIA nor Club Orange count toward Mariner Status. 

I suspect the FCC is correct, in a way.  Both are part of the cruise fare so would not be included in the calculation.  However, as I recently experienced, when one goes to the PG for their HIA dinner, the charges do hit your account, albeit at $0.00.  On a prior cruise where we did get a printed statement, these dinners/ beverages would show both a debit and a credit to the folio.  As I understand how the calculation is done, it is based on the debits to one’s account, not how it was paid.  Therefore, in a way, the calculation do include the dinners and beverages, even though you’re not actually paying for them (other than in your cruise fare).  That doesn’t explain how people are getting credit for the entire beverage package though.  I’m hoping that my credits will be updated this week and then I’ll see if that happened to me too.  Because I definitely did not use the full value of the package on any day.

[WOTnow]

I'm travelling solo. I was on a 12 night cruise earlier this summer. Had HIA but not much else in expenses. Was credited for 22 days. 

[Shmoo here]

2 hours ago, Cruisin4now said:

I was just on board Zuiderdam two days ago and the FCC said HIA nor Club Orange count toward Mariner Status. 

It's my understanding the COST of HIA doesn't count toward Mariner status, but the cost of the components do.  Whether you use them or not.  At least that's how it worked for us.

Edited September 2 by Shmoo here

[Alberta Quilter]

On 9/2/2024 at 9:36 AM, Alberta Quilter said:

I suspect the FCC is correct, in a way.  Both are part of the cruise fare so would not be included in the calculation.  However, as I recently experienced, when one goes to the PG for their HIA dinner, the charges do hit your account, albeit at $0.00.  On a prior cruise where we did get a printed statement, these dinners/ beverages would show both a debit and a credit to the folio.  As I understand how the calculation is done, it is based on the debits to one’s account, not how it was paid.  Therefore, in a way, the calculation do include the dinners and beverages, even though you’re not actually paying for them (other than in your cruise fare).  That doesn’t explain how people are getting credit for the entire beverage package though.  I’m hoping that my credits will be updated this week and then I’ll see if that happened to me too.  Because I definitely did not use the full value of the package on any day.

I finally received my cruise day credits today.  For a 24 day cruise, in an OV cabin, I received 48 days, 24 for the cruise and 24 for the spend.  So I tried to figure it out because that meant the two of us spent somewhere around $7200 ($24 x $300).  The HIA components do appear to come into play in the calculation.  Our actual spend was $1600 in shorex, and about $900 in bingo, spa, upcharges, and shopping.  I even included the 4 star laundry benefit ($204) since it showed on my statement as a net zero amount.  The HIA perks of gratuities ($816), Premium Internet ($584), EBP ($2829) and specialty dining ($276), make up the rest of the $7200.  When I added it all up, it came to $7224.71!  

 

Now if only I would see the net credit on the account owing to me on my credit card, I would be happy.  It's only been 2.5 weeks since disembarkation!

[Ken the cruiser]

OK, reading the various posts on this thread was a little confusing. So I’ll make this simple assumption, and please let me know if it’s a fair estimate. We will be on a 21-day cruise on the Eurodam in Apr 2025.  We booked the cruise with the HIA Early Booking Bonus. We have approximately $1500 in excursions booked.
 

Based on what various folks have posted, we’re thinking we should get 1 cruise point per day for our veranda cabin plus 1 cruise point per day for the HIA perks and the excursions we’ve booked. Is it a fair estimate that we should each get 42 Mariner points at the end of the cruise?

[Shmoo here]

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

OK, reading the various posts on this thread was a little confusing. So I’ll make this simple assumption, and please let me know if it’s a fair estimate. We will be on a 21-day cruise on the Eurodam in Apr 2025.  We booked the cruise with the HIA Early Booking Bonus. We have approximately $1500 in excursions booked.
 

Based on what various folks have posted, we’re thinking we should get 1 cruise point per day for our veranda cabin plus 1 cruise point per day for the HIA perks and the excursions we’ve booked. Is it a fair estimate that we should each get 42 Mariner points at the end of the cruise?

The maximum number of points you can get with the HIA and/or excursions is equal to the number of days onboard.  So, yes.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, Shmoo here said:

The maximum number of points you can get with the HIA and/or excursions is equal to the number of days onboard.  So, yes.

Cool! That is awesome news! 😁

[Shmoo here]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Cool! That is awesome news! 😁

Yep.  We were a bit taken aback with our 70 points for our recent 35 day cruise (with Early Booking HIA package) until I asked here.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Yep.  We were a bit taken aback with our 70 points for our recent 35 day cruise (with Early Booking HIA package) until I asked here.

With those totals, we should be 5 Star after our 28-day Jun 2026 Alaska cruise to Nome! 🕺💃🏻

[SUESEABE]

@Ken the cruiser Woohoo! Do the 5 Star Dance...Congrats.

[Ileneilene123]

On 8/26/2024 at 1:38 PM, Ileneilene123 said:

I just sent a note to the Mariner Society asking them to recalculate the credits awarded for our recent 7-day Alaska Cruise. My husband and I were each awarded 16 credits in total:
Cruise and Tour Days: 7 (correct)
Suite Bonus: 7 (correct)
Onboard Spending: 2 (this is too low by my calculations)

With a total onboard spend of $2327.25 and one day awarded for every $300 spent on board, I asked why we were awarded only 2 days for onboard spending? I’ll see how they reply. 
 

My own on calculations for on board spending included not only the small itemized charges shown in our final on board invoice, but also our larger pre-paid items: all of our excursions, a premium 4-device wifi package and Club Orange — none of which were shown on the onboard invoice.
 

I’ve seen conflicting info on whether Club Orange is included or not — I will see what they say about that. I am not sure why the other items were excluded? 
 

I’ll post here once I hear back. 

UPDATE … 2 WEEKS LATER:

 

I just received a reply email from the Mariner Society. Their explanation of how they got there doesn’t really make much sense, but I can see that my account now reflects the correct number of credits for our 7-day cruise.  

Total Days 21 (corrected from 16):

Cruise and Tour Days: 7 
Suite Bonus: 7
Onboard Spending: 7 (corrected from 2)

 

Hopefully, my husband’s account has been corrected now as well. I’m glad that I double-checked HAL’s accounting and followed up to request the correction. It’s because of the helpful CC folks here that I spotted the mistake — thank you! 

Edited September 9 by Ileneilene123