Why can't I Get OBC for kids when paying Future Cruise Deposit on HAL ?

[Sonup2Sondwn]

I have been twice bitten by HAL's on board cruise consultants, two times I have paid future cruise deposits for my children and on both cruises, with promises that the children will receive on board credit but both times, we did not receive onboard credit for the 3rd and 4th guest. Does anyone know why - I have read the paperwork & called HAL and have never received a "consistant" answer to this question.

We share a cabin and often take advantage of HAL's free or reduced cruise fare on 3rd & 4th guests.

I'm planning on booking a Panama Canal cruise soon and don't want to make the same mistake again. I can't think of why I would want to put money down on a cruise for my children when there is nothing to be gained.

Thanks,

Jen

[pms4104]

If your children are the 3rd and 4th in the cabin, the only advantage to purchasing Future Cruise Deposits for them is the reduced $100 deposit with no other monies due for them til final payment time. They will not get any OBC.

The paperwork issued by the onboard consultant indicates clearly that the OBC applies only to the first and second passengers in the cabin.

[andeesue]

You'll get OBC if you book a second cabin for them.

[3rdGenCunarder]

If your children are the 3rd and 4th in the cabin, the only advantage to purchasing Future Cruise Deposits for them is the reduced $100 deposit with no other monies due for them til final payment time. They will not get any OBC.

The paperwork issued by the onboard consultant indicates clearly that the OBC applies only to the first and second passengers in the cabin.

I think that's pretty standard throughout the cruise industry. I think kids don't amass Mariner days either, do they?

[Sonup2Sondwn]

Thanks for the replies. My children DO receive Mariner days-- my oldest son is a 2 star Mariner and has the same number of days as my husband and myself.

Thanks,

Jen

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thanks for the replies. My children DO receive Mariner days-- my oldest son is a 2 star Mariner and has the same number of days as my husband and myself.

Thanks,

Jen

That's nice. I thought I read somewhere that kids didn't get days. Maybe it's airlines and miles. How wonderful that your kids have their Mariner accounts started already.

[iriemon]

If your children are the 3rd and 4th in the cabin, the only advantage to purchasing Future Cruise Deposits for them is the reduced $100 deposit with no other monies due for them til final payment time. They will not get any OBC.

The paperwork issued by the onboard consultant indicates clearly that the OBC applies only to the first and second passengers in the cabin.

I did online booking on our last cruise in, for the Panama Canal in Dec and there will be three of us in the room. They told us we all would receive onboard credit which when I looked on line we all DID receive the $100 onboard credit. Not sure why others have not.

[Krazy Kruizers]

That's nice. I thought I read somewhere that kids didn't get days. Maybe it's airlines and miles. How wonderful that your kids have their Mariner accounts started already.


On our Nieuw Amsterdam cruise -- we had a boy about 10 years old receive his 100 day medallian

[Krazy Kruizers]

This is from the mail - flyer that we got in cabin:

Shipboard Credit:

7 - 10 days:
Inside - $25 per person
Outside - $25 per person
Verandah (VA/A - VF/BC) - $35 per person
Suite (PS - S/SY) - $50 per person

11+ days:
Inside - $50 per person
Outside - $50 per person
Verandah (VA/A - VF/BC) - $75 per person
Suite (PS - S/SY) - $100 per person

Please Note:
Deposit of $100 per person -- good for 4 years -- no refund of deposit.
This offer applies to the first two passengers in stateroom only, and is not applicable to upper berth passengers. Passengers with single occupancy will receive a single person portion. Ship board credit may only be used on a single voyage and expires at the end of that voyage. This offer or any unused portion is not redeemable for cash and is available to new bookings only.
This offer is not combinable with the World Cruise, Grand Voyages or segments thereof.

[Big Dawg CC]

I hate to say this, but I think most of these posts are wrong. We have taken 9 cruises with HAL, each with our two children, and, each time, in a Quad room. Until summer of 2010, it was always the policy that the 3rd and 4th guests would not get OBC for a FCD, so there was no reason to purchase a FCD for them. However, that DID change in summer of 2010.

Unless they have changed the rules again, now, if you purchase FCD for the 3rd and 4th guests and apply them to a future cruise, then, yes, you will get OBC for them as well as for the first two passengers in the room. I have three booked cruises where I have received OBC for everyone in the room.

However, there are certain other OBC for which only the 1st and 2nd passengers are eligible. For example, when we were on the Eurodam last winter, and booked a winter curise for 2011, we did receive extra OBC (in addition to the ones for the FCD), but they would only be given to the 1st and 2nd passengers. As an example, we got $75 per person for all four of us for the FCD, and an additional $100 for the 1st and 2nd passengers for the extra perk, for a total of $500in OBC.

[trophy_23]

I think what you are thinking of in terms of mariner sea days is the bonus days. The 3rd and 4th do get the sea days for the cruise but will not get any suite bonus or onboard spending bonus days. Atleast that is how I understood it.

[iriemon]

I think what you are thinking of in terms of mariner sea days is the bonus days. The 3rd and 4th do get the sea days for the cruise but will not get any suite bonus or onboard spending bonus days. Atleast that is how I understood it.


I tried to get my invoice to show on this but am not able to. If someone tells me how I can show that Guest #3 is free, and the $100 credit is still given for booking on board.

[jtl513]

The paperwork issued by the onboard consultant indicates clearly that the OBC applies only to the first and second passengers in the cabin.
Please Note:
Deposit of $100 per person -- good for 4 years -- no refund of deposit.
This offer applies to the first two passengers in stateroom only, and is not applicable to upper berth passengers. Passengers with single occupancy will receive a single person portion. Ship board credit may only be used on a single voyage and expires at the end of that voyage. This offer or any unused portion is not redeemable for cash and is available to new bookings only.The letter we got with our FCDs in Dec 2009 included the sentence that Krazy Kruizers highlighted, but the letter we got in in Dec 2010 does NOT include it. So possibly Big Dawg CC is correct that this restriction has been dropped.

[Big Dawg CC]

I tried to get my invoice to show on this but am not able to. If someone tells me how I can show that Guest #3 is free, and the $100 credit is still given for booking on board.

Here is mine as an an attachment (if I did this right), showing Guests 3 and 4 at $99, plus taxes, plus $50 OBC for use of FCD. Per my prior message, it shows that all 4 of us received a $50 OBC for FCD, plus my wife and I got an extra $50 OBC each for responding to an after-cruise promotion sent to us by e-mail. That e-mail promotion (similar to the on-board perk we got on the Eurodam) was only available to the 1st and 2nd passengers. BTW, this is for a different curise (Alaska June 2011) and that is why the numbers don't match the prior post (Panama Canal December 2011). Also, each has also been transferred to a TA which gave us additional OBC.

[jtl513]

Here's what my letter shows ... but we only put down deposits for two.

http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/45160/2252658490099632937S600x600Q85.jpg

So, OP, you may have a case for getting the OBCs for the 3rd & 4th depending on when you made the deposits and when the rules apparently changed. What does your letter say at the bottom?

[kazu]

ok, so I had to go and look at my FCC from November 2010 - I remember full well previously the clause for the 3rd and 4th passengers.

Here's the two things I noticed - on our original form (which we did onboard with the FCC) there is room for four passengers names.

On our FCC confirmation there is NO mention of this not applying to the 3rd and 4th passenger. It does indeed look like they have changed the rules or, if they haven't they have left out some key statements which could be leading to the op's confusion:confused:

[lvz2cruz]

I agree with previous posters that the policy has changed to include 3rd and 4th persons.
We purchased future cruise credits on Eurodam January, 2011 and were told we could do deposits for DH and I and get OBC for 2 or do for all 4 and get OBC for 4.
Third and fourth are often free and do not require a deposit to be paid, so maybe this is where the confusion comes in.

[sail7seas]

I tried to get my invoice to show on this but am not able to. If someone tells me how I can show that Guest #3 is free, and the $100 credit is still given for booking on board.


So HAL is, in effect, paying them to come?

[catl331]

So HAL is, in effect, paying them to come?Don't the 3rd&4th still have to pay the $11/p/d HSC? And presumably they'd spend some money on board?

[Big Dawg CC]

Don't the 3rd&4th still have to pay the $11/p/d HSC? And presumably they'd spend some money on board?

Yes, $11 for each passenger, which we gladly pay based on HAL's typically great service.

In the end, HAL does greatly discount the 3rd and 4th passengers, and, yes, on top of that, does give OBC for FCD, but ultimately makes money as follows: (i) Due to the discount, it is very hard for us to consider going anywhere else, so we've been sailing HAL exclusively, (ii) we do purchase ship excursions for all four of us when we cannot find a suitable private one, and (iii) our two girls, ages 12 and 13, each have 85 days at sea, and, from HAL's perspective, they are probably more likely to sail with HAL as adults.

[iriemon]

So HAL is, in effect, paying them to come?

They still have to pay the taxes and fees along with the $11 per day hotel charge, but it is a great deal. Where can you go for 11 days and it only cost you a couple of hundred dollars.

[Sonup2Sondwn]

Hi everyone thanks for the great discussion - I always learn a lot on these boards - you guys are invaluable. I've gotten from Hal almost the same array of answers that all of you have given & it's frustrating.

I put down this future cruise deposit last June during our Alaskan cruise. I shared my frustrations of not receiving credit for my children with her at that time and she assured me that I should have and that I would in the future. When I doubted her she want so far as to show me a receipt for a booking she had made that day for a party of four to Europe that clearly showed onboard credit for all four passengers sharing a suite. So I once again put down a FCD for our family of four.

I put a hold last Friday on the 12/27 sailing of the Zuiderdam and when my recipt came through it showed only a $25 credit for the first two passengers. In this case my children are not free but are sailing for $99.00. The free sailing was the excuse I got after paying for the Alaska cruise. The onboard agent countered that it wasn't free when you have to pay several hundered dollars in port taxes.

Our family LOVES Holland America and with our without our $50 onboard credit it is a wonderful vacation value. But, I don't think I should have to make a miriad of phone calls and make complaints to get something that they promise during the sales pitch and then don't make good on. I would never consider putting my children in a seperate room, if I could afford that I would take two cruises a year instead of one! (LOL)

It seems clear to me from this discussion that onboard credit for the 3rd & 4th passenger is a grey area and not clearly defined.

The silver lining to this story is when I booked my cruise today my TA did get Holland America to give the onboard credit for the 3rd & 4th guest. I'm hoping this discussion will shed more light on why HAL doesn't automatically give OBC. But really, why tie up future cruise deposits that are nonrefundable for children when there is no incentive? I don't need them to hold my room, my husband's and mine would do that.

Thanks,

Jen