Explore 4 October Bonus OBC

Found on the website today as part of the E4 promo:

Thanks for the information.

Sent from my SM-T380 using Forums mobile app

That is great information.

Thanks for sharing the info!

Could this October promotion be for "Plan a Cruise Month" and not related to Explore 4?

I was looking yesterday for the Plan a Cruise Month benefit and could not find it. I'll look again today using the code in the above post.

Thank you.

BaltimoreCruise

It seems to be similar to the Plan a Cruise Month promo from previous years. But in the past I thought I could add it more easily to my bookings. This year it seems like the only promo it can be combined with is explore 4.

We booked a TA for April next year with Explore 4 when it first came out earlier this year, I saw this thread so I called this morning and asked about the OBC and they were nice enough to add it on, so we now have more OBC.

We booked a TA for April next year with Explore 4 when it first came out earlier this year, I saw this thread so I called this morning and asked about the OBC and they were nice enough to add it on, so we now have more OBC.

Good news :). I might just pick up the phone then ;)

Thanks :D

We booked a TA for April next year with Explore 4 when it first came out earlier this year, I saw this thread so I called this morning and asked about the OBC and they were nice enough to add it on, so we now have more OBC.

I did the same thru HAL and had it added in a matter of minutes [emoji16]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I just tried to get the promotion added to my existing reservation (final payment is due in a couple of weeks). I was successful a couple of years ago having the promotion added to an existing reservation. This morning was very confusing and after 45 minutes on the phone with my big box agent ("bba") and the bba on the phone with a HAL rep. I hung up with no changes to my existing reservation. There were quite a few scenarios communicated to me that included: (i) refare to a higher fare and add $150 obc (which put me ahead by $42, not $100. Where did this $150 obc come from? I'm sailing on the Veendam in an OV on an 11 night itinerary, I believe the promotional obc is $100. (ii) and after more back and forth, leave the exisiting fare and have the $100 obc added. This was what I wanted and when I said yes, the bba went back to HAL and then came back to me and said that option was a mistake. I decided to end the call with the bba after instructing her to keep my existing reservation, and thanking her for spending so much time with me this morning. The bba seemed to agree with me that the HAL rep must have been new (indicated HAL rep was working through HAL supervisor as I continued to ask questions and for clarification of what I was being told). I'll call back tomorrow and hopefully the bba will connect with a HAL agent with more experience. And in the end, if no changes or additional benefits are made to my reservation, I'm good.

BaltimoreCruise

Did you do the arithmtic to be sure it is to your benefit to have Ex;lore 4 ? I was looking at some cruises and they cost more to have explore 4 I don't care about their drink pckage it inclujdes. i do't drink enough t o want it. i am 5* Marinr so already have free PINNaCLE. Some people amy benfit from Explore 4 but mny of us do not. It is worth nothing to me.

The OBC c does not cover ghe added expense as i ha e go pay 200% for my solo nptune but do noget t 200% OBC. -- that is a whole different discussion.

sail7seas,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Yes, careful evaluation was performed regarding the EXP4 package. We had recent HAL cruise data from our April cruise to Cuba to assist with the evaluation.

I'll try again tomorrow, and then leave it alone.

We always look forward to middle of winter getaways and this is no exception.

BaltimoreCruise

Good news :). I might just pick up the phone then ;)

 

Thanks :D

Me too, I just booked my cruise with Explore4 on Saturday, 2 days before the offer changed!

Still not as good as last year’s, we got a total of $500 obc in a suite.

Thanks Andi, OP for alerting us on this.

I was successful today getting it added and considering especially that my Explore4 is priced in Canadian dollars the additional $200 USD OBC pp is much appreciated.

So glad you posted this :D

When we booked our cruise for next year, the Explore4 was worth it for us.

I am not sure if fares have changed some, between the two fares since then?

We have a call in to our TA...

Hope that with the additional OBC ($150.00 for balcony 10 days?) it will still be well worth the difference.

If you both drink a fair amount and would have dinrd in PINNACLE any y way, it might be worth it. Ideon't drink much, have free pinncle from 5* Mariner I only get OBC forf one although I payfo r 2 people.

Our cost was NOT $50 USD pp. I know how to add up my cappucinos, waters, etc. You don't have to drink a fair bit for it to be worthwhile depending on the price.

Everyone has to do their math certainly and every cruise is not priced the same. I've done my math and even though we will still get wine at the MDR (choices are nice ;) ), it's still worthwhile for us, especially since our pricing is in Cdn dollars ;)

Thanks Andi, OP for alerting us on this.

 

I was successful today getting it added and considering especially that my Explore4 is priced in Canadian dollars the additional $200 USD OBC pp is much appreciated.

 

So glad you posted this :D

You’re welcome! I’m always looking for those extras and since my next cruise is a 14 day one it’s worth it to us to have the E4 and the OBC is a nice bonus. I’m happy it’s worked out well for others too.

Well, I don’t know what just happened, but I’m taking it! I’m in the UK and don’t know if this is UK specific. I called HAL this morning and spoke to reservations, explained that I’d booked last week and the obc offer had increased, and being cheeky cloud I please have it. I spoke to a great agent who told me the obc credit for suites had indeed increased to $250pp!! I didn’t say anything. However, he couldn’t guarantee the increase so passed it to his team leader, and told me they’d get back to me. 2 hours later he called to confirm the increase and then an email with new documents arrived shortly after, confirming a total obc of $500 ($250pp). The uk website is still saying that the October offer is $150pp.

That’s the same deal we had on our Alaska Cruise on Explore4 so I’m thrilled. I’m gonna get me a 7 day spa pass when I board!

We are booked on a cruise, September 2019, on which we have the Explorer 4 pkg. I saw this thread and asked my TA to contact HAL to see if we could get the OBC. They told her we were not elible as our fare had increased since we booked. ☹️

Apparently, they (or at least some of the Reps) are requiring that existing bookings be re-booked/re-fared, and not just adding that OBC on there.

You would be 'eligible', if you have a refundable fare... But the increase in fare would probably be the same, or more, than the OBC you would get. So, wouldn't benefit you at all.

What I am hearing is that, on our cruise, the fare is the same, but we had the $1.00 deposit deal. So, to get the OBC we would have to re-book, and this would require the $600.00 deposit. We would come out $150.00. ahead, but would have to put up that $600.00 Explore 4 reduced deposit.

We paid about half the value of the Explore4 as it would cost to buy these perks. And with another $75.00 per person off of that, it is definitely well worth it to us, in our case!

I did the $1 deposit for a July 2019 sailing and when I called HAL I received $50 pp OBC we only have a VC balcony so we got the low ball OBC, but hey every little bit helps !! We did not have to rebook or pay anything right now.

We have always been under the impression HAL just doesn't add the perks (if asked) of an existing promotion without also "refaring" the booking to the current cruise price. In our case we booked a VS on an Oct 2019 cruise when it first came out. The price has gone up $1,500 per person on our booking since Explore 4 came out. It would be nice if we could get these promotional offers added to our booking. However, none of the promotions are worth the price increase we've seen, or am I missing something? Can you now get the promotions applied and still keep your original booking fare if it is before the 3 month final payment date?

What I’m understanding from our TA is, we would have to rebook to get this promotion and the fare for our cruise has gone up $450pp. Certainly not worth it to us.

We have always been under the impression HAL just doesn't add the perks (if asked) to an existing promotion without also "refaring" the booking to the current cruise price. In our case we booked a VS on an Oct 2019 cruise when it first came out. The price has gone up $1,500 per person on our booking since Explore 4 came out. It would be nice if we could get these promotional offers added to our booking. However, none of the promotions are worth the price increase we've seen, or am I missing something? Can you now get the promotions applied and still keep your original booking fare if it is before the 3 month final payment date?

To try to clarify:

If your cruise price has not changed, you should be able to get it added depending on who your TA/PCC is.

If your price has gone up, to get it you have to pay the higher price. So in your case, it wouldn't be worth it at $1500 pp.

My price had gone up but less than $50 pp so it was worth it to pick up $200 extra OBC pp in US $ (we paid in Canadian $). I was on hold for a brief moment and it was all done and we did not have to refare.

But I think the best way to look at it is that it is "like" a refare. If prices have changed (outside of final payment, penalties and with refundable deposit) then you will be subject to them to get the latest offer.

Hope this helps.