$25 deposits are back. Crew appreciation included.

[BermudaBound2014]

$25 deposits are back for Holland America (Labor Day sale). 

 

Also; In the past, in order to get crew appreciation included you needed to book early. Not anymore. The last two years I have been able to re-book close to sailing and get crew appreciation included. Lots of Caribbean sailings posted for this fall and winter now include crew appreciation. 

 

Hope this helps someone.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us

 

 

 

[PROCRUISE]

Good deal but, only for limited months in 2025 and 2006.

[BermudaBound2014]

Just now, PROCRUISE said:

Good deal but, only for limited months in 2025 and 2006.

 

Yes, they have been adding back in crew appreciation closer to sailing on many itineraries. 

 

I did an early booking with a $1 deposit (including crew appreciation) for Antarctica last November. Crew appreciation went away for several months and just came back. I was able to re-fare (losing the $1 deposit), save approximately $1,000 and still keep crew appreciation. I did lose the premium internet and bumped down to surf (I will upgrade onboard) and upgraded drink package (which we don't really need).

 

One does not need to book early to get crew appreciation included.

[SeaMatesNYC]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

was able to re-fare (losing the $1 deposit), save approximately $1,000 and still keep crew appreciation

We just did the same (our deposits were refundable). Our final payment is only three weeks away.  But we had to cancel and rebook. Fortunately our TA is savvy and knew to make a new booking first, then cancel, then grab the released cabin we had chosen 9 months ago.  We too saved about $1,000 on Antarctica December 2024 and got Crew Appreciation added. We lost the Welcome Back OBC, but we had just completed another cruise so got that easily added back. Have to refile StockPerks, but that’s no big deal.  All in all, a good outcome. And reminder to us to Pay Attention, especially as final payment draws near. 

[Sea42]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Yes, they have been adding back in crew appreciation closer to sailing on many itineraries. 

 

I did an early booking with a $1 deposit (including crew appreciation) for Antarctica last November. Crew appreciation went away for several months and just came back. I was able to re-fare (losing the $1 deposit), save approximately $1,000 and still keep crew appreciation. I did lose the premium internet and bumped down to surf (I will upgrade onboard) and upgraded drink package (which we don't really need).

 

One does not need to book early to get crew appreciation included.

The price for our Antarctica sailing is now a bit over $1250 pp more than when we booked in March. Our booking already includes the crew appreciation along with higher internet and beverages plans. It can be a bit complicated figuring out what is the best deal for at any given time!

[mcrcruiser]

We are finished with Holland America deals . Any one who has to book into a handicap cabin can not take advantage of the cruise line deals because to rebook more than likely a problem  holding the cabin you need . 

 In fact we have a very hard time getting the right cabin unless we book when the cruise first comes out 

These deals are good for ordinary bookings  & those who can take advantage good for you 

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, Sea42 said:

The price for our Antarctica sailing is now a bit over $1250 pp more than when we booked in March. Our booking already includes the crew appreciation along with higher internet and beverages plans. It can be a bit complicated figuring out what is the best deal for at any given time!

 

Yes, absolutely. You always need to compare apples to apples. I have a spreadsheet so it's not confusing or complicated for me (and I do it often lol)...., but it does take time and organization.

 

I re-priced our Antarctica fare back in July.  I just looked and my category has also increased in price since that date. I find the searches on cruiseplum helpful to find the sweet spot. We are allowed to mention cruiseplum here because they do not sell cruises, they just monitor pricing. The only problem is that often cruiseplum is behind in updating pricing, but I've found it to be helpful overall and reasonably accurate. It looks like the only category that has increased in price since last March on our cruise is a balcony. The suites have had substantial drops.

 

 

 

Cruise pricing is definitely a moving target. My strategy post covid for HAL (not necessarily other lines) is to book under a $1 deposit (or even $25 would be fine) to secure my room choice. Then I price monitor weekly until final payment. I have always (as in 100% of the time) been able to reprice for cheaper than the initial price when fares are released. That doesn't always work for every category. But the game does take time and energy. For me, chasing the best price is a fun hobby. For others work. No right or wrong way 🙂 

[BermudaBound2014]

3 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We are finished with Holland America deals . Any one who has to book into a handicap cabin can not take advantage of the cruise line deals because to rebook more than likely a problem  holding the cabin you need . 

 In fact we have a very hard time getting the right cabin unless we book when the cruise first comes out 

These deals are good for ordinary bookings  & those who can take advantage good for you 

 

 

 

No problem holding the cabin you have. If you just reprice your cabin is never in jeopardy as there is no change of cabin. If you cancel/rebook just have your TA get on a three way call with HAL and as soon as they release the room, your TA can grab it. Getting HAL involved in the three way call insures that you won't lose your handicapped cabin as sometimes it drifts off into space for a brief period of time. 

 

I understand not everyone wants to play the game as hard as I enjoy, but I see absolutely no reason why anyone would refuse to reprice to save additional money.

[dmcfad2]

I saw the promotion yesterday and quickly booked a 16 day Hawaii over Christmas for December 2024……$50 deposit for both of us and the crew appreciation included! Hard to pass up. That makes 6 cruises I have booked in the next two years. I’m sure there are more to come. I’ve only got 1booked so far in 2026. We want to keep cruising while we are healthy and able! 

[dmcfad2]

J

3 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

$25 deposits are back for Holland America (Labor Day sale). 

 

Also; In the past, in order to get crew appreciation included you needed to book early. Not anymore. The last two years I have been able to re-book close to sailing and get crew appreciation included. Lots of Caribbean sailings posted for this fall and winter now include crew appreciation. 

 

Hope this helps someone.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us

 

 

 

I was only able to do this when the new fare with HIA was less that the HIA fare I originally paid. Otherwise, I was told I needed to rebook at the higher price.

[Sea42]

@BermudaBound2014 I love cruiseplum! I have been able to reprice in the past but so far, for our cruise, it hasnt worked out for me. But there's stull time!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

12 hours ago, dmcfad2 said:

I saw the promotion yesterday and quickly booked a 16 day Hawaii over Christmas for December 2024……$50 deposit for both of us and the crew appreciation included! Hard to pass up. That makes 6 cruises I have booked in the next two years. I’m sure there are more to come. I’ve only got 1booked so far in 2026. We want to keep cruising while we are healthy and able! 

You will be 4* very quick.

[dmcfad2]

5 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

You will be 4* very quick.

I am already 5*. It’s great. I’m working on Princess elite now. 🙂

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

1 hour ago, dmcfad2 said:

I am already 5*. It’s great. I’m working on Princess elite now. 🙂

Holland American has a President club.

[dmcfad2]

57 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Holland American has a President club.

I think I’ll likely die before I get there. I think I need about 700 more days. I don’t take cruises longer than 35 days. LOL

We did meet a lovely couple who were in the President’s club on our last cruise and we have met several people who have made it in to that club. They are a rare breed and I love talking to them. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

6 minutes ago, dmcfad2 said:

I think I’ll likely die before I get there. I think I need about 700 more days. I don’t take cruises longer than 35 days. LOL

We did meet a lovely couple who were in the President’s club on our last cruise and we have met several people who have made it in to that club. They are a rare breed and I love talking to them. 

Thanks for the Compliment.🙂

[dmcfad2]

1 minute ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Thanks for the Compliment.🙂

Well, I’m assuming you are of that rare breed? 🙂 Wonderful!

[Iamthesea]

Is the $25 deposit refundable?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

7 minutes ago, dmcfad2 said:

Well, I’m assuming you are of that rare breed? 🙂 Wonderful!

Yes about 3 years ago we were invited in. 

[atexsix]

22 hours ago, Sea42 said:

The price for our Antarctica sailing is now a bit over $1250 pp more than when we booked in March. Our booking already includes the crew appreciation along with higher internet and beverages plans. It can be a bit complicated figuring out what is the best deal for at any given time!

An understatement, I think it's worse than trying to figure out the airlines.  

[cavecreekguy]

On 8/24/2024 at 1:16 PM, SeaMatesNYC said:

We just did the same (our deposits were refundable). Our final payment is only three weeks away.  But we had to cancel and rebook. Fortunately our TA is savvy and knew to make a new booking first, then cancel, then grab the released cabin we had chosen 9 months ago.  We too saved about $1,000 on Antarctica December 2024 and got Crew Appreciation added. We lost the Welcome Back OBC, but we had just completed another cruise so got that easily added back. Have to refile StockPerks, but that’s no big deal.  All in all, a good outcome. And reminder to us to Pay Attention, especially as final payment draws near. 

I'm also booked on that December 2024 Antarctica cruise. I got what I thought was a good Private Sale fare in March and canceled and rebooked then. My current $199 deposit is non-refundable. I've been checking ever since and all these great sales never come close to that fare.

 

I just checked and the current fare for the cabin right next to mine is about $1,400 more than I'm paying. Crew appreciation is less than $400, so including it doesn't compensate for the higher fare.

 

Glad it worked out for you!