Mariner Society/Alumni Pricing?

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

As a Marnier Society/Alumni member, do you feel HAL gives you the best pricing when shopping for a cruise?

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

My DW and I are displeased with HAL at the present moment over their pricing and marketing approach to Alumni Specials (pricing for Mariner Society Members).

Called our TA for an Alumni Special for the Mexican Riviera (San Diego) cruise for Feb 12, 2005, Category S - Deluxe Verandah Suite, two adults. To keep this thread short, the bottom line price was quoted as $3,608.58.

Logged into HAL's web site and "claimed" I had not sailed before with a different user name than ours (Joe Public sailing with HAL for the very first time). Same sailing, same suite, etc., price quoted as $3,608.58.

Called Travelocity, same routine as above (Joe Public pricing), price quoted within $25 of the above price with a free Pinnacle dinner for two and two bottles of wine for our suite.

------------------

Have spoken with our TA this a.m. requesting she find out from HAL why their Alumni Special is no different than other source pricing and what they are willing to do to keep us as future cruisers.

I am interested to hear other's experiences in this area.

Thanks for participating in this survey.

George & Charlene Campbell

[Krazy Kruizers]

I do check out the various sites and when I see a price that is lower than HAL's, I call our TA and she in turn calls HAL and quotes the site and price we have seen. 98% of the time we get the lower price.

HAL doesn't give alumni any special breaks - not even to those of us who have cruised more than 25 times with them.

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

HAL doesn't give alumni any special breaks
That is exactly the point. When called by my TA they claimed to have a "Alumni Special" price for us at the moment.

George

[iamirish]

I agree - we do not get a break . . . Alumni Specials (pricing for Mariner Society Members) are NOT special!!!!

[Randyk47]

My personal feeling Mariner or Alumni price breaks are only in HAL's imagination. I too have played the game of logging into their site as a returning customer using my Mariner number and as "John Smith" newbie cruiser and get exactly the same price. My last cruise I worked through my long time TA and she booked us as Mariners. At the time I thought great, we'll get a deal, not only because we're Mariners with several cruises but also because our TA had some kind of preferred status with HAL. That was before I knew about CC or even gave the slightest thought to booking through an Internet agency. Turned out I paid exactly the same price and anybody else, including a first time cruiser, who booked directly with HAL but a lot more than I would have paid if I'd been smarter. OK....lesson learned. It's OK to be a Mariner but quite frankly I don't think it's any big deal.

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

Possibly at issue is the fact that all three pricing models were the same. Difficult to get a better price is our present experience.

My TA just called back with a reply from HAL that they are trying to "sell the ship" at the present time and may have different pricing at a later date, which we will apply for.

Keeping in mind that I did not want to pay more in a tighter market, closer to the sail date, and not miss this suite category this sailing, we have gone ahead and booked.

This may be our last expience with HAL.

George

[sail7seas]

I agree that Mariners are not getting special rates on most cruises. The price seems to be the same for repeaters as for first timers.



But, I do feel that HAL is a good value for the money. I feel we get our money's worth on ALL cruises and far more than that on MOST cruises.

[Pincus]

HAL seems to think that giving its loyal customers heavy medals on ribbons and a tile is enough reward.

We have never been given a break on fares for being repeat customers.

Makes one wonder, doesn't it.

[ekerr19]

I too, feel HAL is the best deal for the money - our TA always manages to get us the best pricing, but those days may be numbered... TA's are going to have a difficult time staying competitive in the months to come.

As far as special "Mariner" pricing, it no longer exists, IMO.

[jhannah]

And it used to be that the Mariner luggage tag got your bags handled in priority fashion ... and the Mariner lapel pin got you checked in quicker and whisked off to your cabin. Now, there are far too many Mariners to allow this. So ... other than an invite to the reception, what's the benefit of being a loyal passenger? (And I do agree that HAL gives a basic good value for the money.)

[dakrewser]

I sail on HAL because I like the line and the ships. I choose the sailing I'm interested in then shop for the best price. Whether its a Mariner price, a "California and the west" price, a one-day special - what difference does it make? I evaluate the price and decide if that's what I'm willing to pay. American Airlines doesn't give me a better price because I'm an Aadvantage member nor does Marriott discount their rooms to me as a Rewards member. And Hertz doesn't give me a free day because of my #1 club status, either.


That said, do you know, verifiably, that any other cruise line offers specials to alums that are only available to the alums?

[Toad]

Internet pricing is always better!

[Lovebirds]

On the 2005 World Cruise, the HAL site shows the pricing as being 20% off brochure for new cruisers, 24% off brochure for previous sailings on a HAL affliate, and 25% off for Mariners. There are internet sites that have prices equal to the Mariner pricing, but I have not seen any that are better than Mariner. Since the cruise is nearly sold out, that's not too surprising. In this instance, Mariners that go through HAL do get a little break, but non-mariners could do just as well with a little effort.

[Lovebirds]

That said, do you know, verifiably, that any other cruise line offers specials to alums that are only available to the alums?
Doesn't Celibrity Captain's Club membership get you one or two class cabin upgrade for bookings less suite class?

[jollycruiser]

We have only cruised one time that being with HAL. We have booked our 2nd and 3rd cruise again with HAL. I have checked most other cruise lines comparing price and staterooms, on no other line do I find a better value than on HAL, at least on paper. The room size (vista class SS or S) has no competition I have found for the price. We do really enjoy a larger room with veranda and they are quite more expensive on other lines.

[BCEagle78]

I am guessing but I would think that a large portion of HAL's pax are repeat (at least >50%)?

So, how would one be able to make a significant distinction between rates if most everybody got the same rate? If there was a big difference, you might have fewer people wanting to try it for the first time.

The Mariner thing really doesn't do much in my opinion but the great value for the dollar keeps me coming back... :)

[estj]

OK...I'll go out on a limb:rolleyes: ...what I think the Mariner society status, and signing up for e-mail notification of promotions, DOES get you is an opportunity to jump on a limited/special offer that isn't offered to the general public. That's how I'm affording this next cruise (since we sailed once this year already...we usually limit it to one a year). I called HAL directly, asked their agent what special promotions they had...and worked with the agent until I got a price almost half of what I just paid in April on the Zuiderdam through a travel agent! And far less than ANYTHING posted on any internet site...including HAL. It was such a good rate that at first I tought it wasn't real...but I WAS talking to a HAL representative, soooooo...promo ended that day so I had to pay for the entire cruise at that moment. Got a great verandah suite, good location on the ship (Oosterdam), and booked for three of us. I cannot complain at all! I'm just mad at myself for not doing this for the April cruise!
CP

[Seadoc]

Somewhat akin to "doing a deal" (in which success is defined as two equally satisfied or unsatisfied participants) or, perhaps, a marriage (in which synergy is alleged to allow 1+1=3) brand loyalty is two-sided.
In the case of HAL, if they've become convinced that a snazzy luggage tag and some ego stroking ("YOU are a member of an august group of discerning travellers and here hereby annointed as a MARINER") will suffice to create whjat passes for brand loyalty in the leisure travel biz (as several posts here seem to confirm) why would anyone expect them to do anything further to maintain the status quo (such as taking less of your money)?
As long as the lemmings continue to line up, neither this cruise line nor any other will take SERIOUS steps (ready "$$$$") to keep your business.
If, however, HAL (and all other lines) actually thought customers would bolt unless rewarded for brand loyalty, something real might happen...but not at all likely before the meteriorite strikes this planet and life ceases.

[Roboat]

HAL's website says they don't discount for Mariner's on Caribbean Cruises because it's too competitive. Under FAQs under Mariner link.

[TedC]

I have seen at times a small price advantage on the HAL website for Mariners. It's not on every itinerary, however.

The Mariner magazine sometimes shows which itineraries have the somewhat better pricing. But it always pays to look at other sources.

There's a move afoot by the major cruise lines to stop discounters from advertising prices. We'll have to see how this will shake out.

I have a strong feeling the recent "buyers market" may be coming to an end. But it all depends on supply and demand. If there's resistance to higher prices some discounting should return. An empty cabin brings no revenue.

(Tell your friends how terrible cruising is and perhaps the demand will subside, except for us!)

[Sunviking]

Although we've found that HAL's prices are sometimes better than other cruise lines, that is definitely not the case on some of the more exotic itineraries. When we sailed around Cape Horn the per diem cost for HAL versus Princess in a suite was substantially more. Likewise for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii, the Statendam leaving one day later than the Island Princess in a suite was about $2000pp more. Given the fact that Princess now offers essentially the same perks for suite passengers as HAL, it's difficult to justify so much more for precisely the same itinerary.

[ualtim]

My wife and I have always found that there are bargains through HAL if you are willing to search a little bit and have some date flexibility. Try booking too far in advance and the deals are not good. When they finally set the Mariner discount, it is usually hard to beat even through discounters (we have tried.) While it is true 1st time cruisers can get a similar rate through discounters, why go through the hassle once you have sailed on HAL? We love dealing directly with HAL. Documents come directly to us. Any problems, we can solve them directly with HAL (had a few bad experiences with T/A's a few years ago and have booked direct ever since.) Sometimes the advertised price on the internet is awesome, but once you add up all the other charges, fees, and taxes it comes out about even with direct booking through HAL. Unless we can really beat the HAL price by a good margin, we will book direct.

One bonus of direct booking? On our cruise that was supposed to leave tomorrow (Sept 25) HAL called us directly at home to inform us of the changes and options. No middle man/woman. No too bad, the T/A was closed on Friday night when we called and you showed up 2 days early for your cruise. I know that there are some really good T/A's out there and I hope that those of you lucky enough to have a good one support them. Two bad experiences with T/A's will keep us booking direct for a while.

[estj]

agree...working directly with HAL has always been a good move for us. My experience is that their booking agents do just about anything to secure a booking. Good negotiating skills come in handy when planning vacations! Just know what the competition is offering when you call.
Cass

[Jacqueline]

Other boards- esp Celebrity have even bigger complaints are prices are rising and no discounting is allowed - a new edict from the cruiseline.
At least with HAL there are at times some good promos that can come up- we hit on one last fall for Europe.
That said, the buyers market does seem to be coming to an end.

[Sailure]

Doesn't Celibrity Captain's Club membership get you one or two class cabin upgrade for bookings less suite class?
It still does. Being a Captain's Club Member though, I've always booked a mini-suite and have always been upgraded to a Sky Suite and once the Royal! The other thing I love about Celebrity is the Butler service and the in suite services. They seem to be more than what HAL offers and Costa is even better with the suite service and the staff and crew on Costa are the nicest of any line I've ever cruised on.

[jhannah]

I just booked the Prinsendam for next year while onboard. The future cruise consultant gave me HAL's "Mariner" price. Later, she called our cabin with a significantly lower price through our regular AAA agency. It all probably has to do with incentives HAL gives their major cruise bookers to help them fill their ships.

[ron46936]

The only line I have gotten an actual discount on for being a past cruiser is RCCL. It was in the form of dollars off coupons sent to in the magazine to past cruisers. They also have a discount of sorts if you have been on five or more cruises by waiving the fee for air deviations.

[jhannah]

Just noticed this morning in the Mariner Magazine (don't know when it came ... I'm way behind in reading mail that was held in our absence) that the alumni discount is 5%. On a $1,500 fare, that's just $75. While 75 dollars is 75 dollars, it really doesn't seem like much of a discount. My AAA discount was way more than that. Am I expecting too much?

[merryecho]

I don't know about HAL, but have had similar experience with the co-owned Windstar (they even send us mariner info, calling it their 'sister club'). They also give a $75-100 discount. It doesn't do us any good, as we use an online TA who gives a kickback, so I have always found I could get a lower price than the discounted fare.
What Windstar does that I did like is offer a free excursion for past cruisers. Our last trip it was an excellent tour that other passengers paid over $200 for. Windstar also provided a huge plate of caviar and an excellent bottle of champagne to amex platinum cruisers. Since DH and I don't like caviar, it was a terrible waste. Wish they had sent a card first, so we could have declined.

[HeatherInFlorida]

It wouldn't surprise me if soon HAL adopts the new policy recently set forth by Celebrity and RCI. Last week I priced a 14-night cruise from LA to Ft. Lauderdale thru the Panama Canal for October 2005 and no matter where I looked ... from the Celebrity site to every internet site I could find, the price was the same. This is because they have alerted all TAs that they can no longer "play" around with their commissions. Of course it does make the "hunt" a lot easier;) .

Despite that, however, when I priced the identical cruise on HAL the cost was considerably higher. The only benefit was it was a smaller ship. Everything else was comparable.

A footnote: Since the TAs can't give you any breaks, they now give "points" or other "extras" to entice you. These can be used for future travel insurance, gifts, etc. ... a whole new concept and all the more confusing.

[Spender Nui]

Regardless of discounts, which we seem to agree HAL doesn't do anything special for past guests, their alumni program has to be the worst. 18 HAL cruises, 155 days on board with them ... and what do we get? Another tile (the ones KLM Airlines give out are better) and a medallion to wear to their Mariners party.

We sailed on the Rotterdam in an S Suite last May. At the Mariner party they invited those of us with medallions to the stage and took a group picture of their most loyal of passengers. It would have been nice of them to deliver the pictures to us ... but instead they posted them in the photo gallery and gave us the opportunity to purchase them.

Other cruise lines offer not only discounted prices but priority boarding, disembarkation, tendering, complimentary laundry, internet, etc.

I get a lot more for frequent sailings with other cruise lines and now take that into consideration when choosing my cruises. Since the year 2000 checked in we have taken 14 cruises and have 3 more booked. Of that total number of 17, HAL has gotten 2 and I don't expect that will change soon.

The crew on HAL, who everybody loved, was always their strongest selling point. On our last cruise with HAL the crew was grumbling and and there was a great deal of dissension.

Most of the reasons to sail HAL are slipping away.