Free interior stateroom offer?

[Longstraw]

I, too, have sailed on several of the casino offers. My offers have been clearly tied to the casino, hence, I am using that terminology. They are really great for solos if you don't mind staying in whatever category is offered since they typically don't require paying the single supplement and port taxes and fees for a second occupant. It is often possible to put together longer cruises with them as well.

 

When it wasn't clear how long Covid would prevent cruising, they were offering more sailings than usual; however, many of these were cancelled due to the ongoing bans. For the last couple of years, I managed to book two 40-60 day b2b sailings in Europe for less than $800 total each as a solo passenger albeit in inside cabins. 

 

Sadly, they were both cancelled...the first due to continued sailing bans, the second when Holland rented out the Volendam to the Netherlands for housing Ukrainian refugees.  In the second case, they offered replacement cruises but I was unable to make the timing of the replacements work for me. I did accrue an astonishing amount of fcc which I am finally using up on a Mediterranean sailing this fall.

 

Caveats:

1. Cancellations as noted above although I think both the above situations were pretty unusual and would not expect this to be an issue from this point forward.

2. You are only guaranteed a cabin in whatever category was offered, cannot select your own room, and you will not know the cabin assignment until relatively close to sailing. This can be a non-starter for some folks because of noise or movement sensitivity. While you can upgrade to a higher category relatively inexpensively, you then are on the hook for the costs of a second occupant. *I do not know if or how the room upgrade that comes with purchasing Club Orange works with the casino offers. Perhaps others have experience with that.*

3. You cannot add HAL's insurance after paying in full and payment in full is required immediately so either add it at the outset or get it from an outside source within fourteen days of booking. Normally, I would not bother with insurance if I was taking one of these offers for a shorter duration as the insurance can cost almost as much as the port fees and taxes but as I get older and have more medical issues, I am more cautious in calculating the costs vs. benefits.

[Ipeeinthepools]

Unless you are within easy driving distance to the port and you don’t purchase beverage packages and internet, I’m not sure I see a huge advantage to taking a cruise I didn’t plan on taking.  The price of a basic inside cabin can be pretty cheap considering the complete cost of a cruise when you consider flying and the cost of a pre cruise hotel in addition to the cruise.

 

But it’s great if it works for you.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Ipeeinthepools

[si4444]

I've done 78 days in a row comped and going solo just paying taxes and port fees. I like HAL O:)

[rochelle_s]

On 1/13/2023 at 3:54 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

if I see an offer for something for free, I stop and think hmmmmm, what is the catch.

I do not think I would ever reply to one of these offers so as to not get caught up in a room or situation that was not to my liking.

If you want to partake in a free cruise offer but are warty because of the possibility of a less desirable cabin, just add Club Orange and you have the choice to pick the best available cabin that category.

 

Rochelle

[Oceansaway17]

On 2/8/2023 at 6:19 PM, rochelle_s said:

If you want to partake in a free cruise offer but are warty because of the possibility of a less desirable cabin, just add Club Orange and you have the choice to pick the best available cabin that category.

 

Rochelle

hmm something to investigate, I guess. But I am one who spends a lot of time picking my perfect room.   And I do find it hard to get excited about anything free wondering what the catch is. 

[FlorenceItaly]

20 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

hmm something to investigate, I guess. But I am one who spends a lot of time picking my perfect room.   And I do find it hard to get excited about anything free wondering what the catch is. 

There really is no catch.  We did one in November and we have one coming up in May.  For May it is a 16 day TA in a VH guarantee.  This makes me a little nervous so earlier this week I added Club Orange and picked a nice VA cabin Deck 6.  An additional thing nice about the casino offers is the low insurance cost.  For us only $99per person for the cancel for any reason.

[MaineLobstah]

We usually cruise on Carnival, but went with HAL a few yrs ago to Alaska.  Since then I get casino offers from HAL frequently.

Yesteray I got an offer for a "Free stateroom - Free Upgrade".  They had a cruise in Europe in August that we were very interested in, so I called them up.

Gave them Captains Club, gave them "offer ID at bottom of email"...she put me on hold for 5 minutes, then came back and verified all of my details.

 

She then asked when I received the offer, I said 1hr ago, and she said I had to wait 3 days before "they would see the offer on their end".

?????????????????

So HAL sent the emails out, but no one can book for 3 days?...she said yes, that's exactly true.

 

Anyone else run into this?  Seems like a crazy way to do business to me...

 

Lob

[FlorenceItaly]

3 hours ago, MaineLobstah said:

We usually cruise on Carnival, but went with HAL a few yrs ago to Alaska.  Since then I get casino offers from HAL frequently.

Yesteray I got an offer for a "Free stateroom - Free Upgrade".  They had a cruise in Europe in August that we were very interested in, so I called them up.

Gave them Captains Club, gave them "offer ID at bottom of email"...she put me on hold for 5 minutes, then came back and verified all of my details.

 

She then asked when I received the offer, I said 1hr ago, and she said I had to wait 3 days before "they would see the offer on their end".

?????????????????

So HAL sent the emails out, but no one can book for 3 days?...she said yes, that's exactly true.

 

Anyone else run into this?  Seems like a crazy way to do business to me...

 

Lob

Did you log into your HAL account and see if it is there when you go to book the cruise online?  You will need to go all the way through to the booking summary.    If so book it or put it on hold.   I no longer receive the emails for some reason but at times I notice them when I am logged in and looking for cruises.

[MaineLobstah]

Yes...I checked online, nothing there.
I used their "Chat" feature yesterday, since I was going to be sitting at my PC for some time anyway.  Spent 30minutes with an agent who kept giving me various prices for a specific cruise.
I kept saying "No...that's not what I'm looking for.  I want information on the FREE stateroom that has upgrades available."  After saying exactly that for maybe 3 times?...the agent responded by saying "What exactly do you mean by free?"  😂

I read the banner in the email, and he/she said, "Well, you'll have to talk to the casino dept. about that offer.  It's a casino offer."
Which we knew, and I had told them that upfront.  So there's 30 minutes you can't get back.

I guess they thought I'd be dazzled by one of the offers they gave me and I'd book it with them.

 

[Moriah]

On 2/11/2023 at 7:10 AM, MaineLobstah said:

Yes...I checked online, nothing there.
I

On 2/10/2023 at 6:27 PM, FlorenceItaly said:

Did you log into your HAL account and see if it is there when you go to book the cruise online?  You will need to go all the way through to the booking summary.    If so book it or put it on hold.   I no longer receive the emails for some reason but at times I notice them when I am logged in and looking for cruises.

 

 

I know this is a relatively old thread, but can you explain where on the HAL site I would see a casino offer?  I get the emails, and have booked a few casino offer cruises, but lately I am only getting "reduced fare" offers.  I'm curious if there is a way to see "all" the offers (or any of them) online.  It sounds like you are saying pick a cruise, go through the booking process and THEN they will tell you there is a casino offer you qualify for? Or is it something else... thanks in advance for guidance!

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, Moriah said:

 

I know this is a relatively old thread, but can you explain where on the HAL site I would see a casino offer?  I get the emails, and have booked a few casino offer cruises, but lately I am only getting "reduced fare" offers.  I'm curious if there is a way to see "all" the offers (or any of them) online.  It sounds like you are saying pick a cruise, go through the booking process and THEN they will tell you there is a casino offer you qualify for? Or is it something else... thanks in advance for guidance!

They seem to be doing both.  When booking two cruises recently the offer did not appear until the cart.  It might be easier just to call the phone number given in the email. 

[FlorenceItaly]

9 hours ago, Moriah said:

 

I know this is a relatively old thread, but can you explain where on the HAL site I would see a casino offer?  I get the emails, and have booked a few casino offer cruises, but lately I am only getting "reduced fare" offers.  I'm curious if there is a way to see "all" the offers (or any of them) online.  It sounds like you are saying pick a cruise, go through the booking process and THEN they will tell you there is a casino offer you qualify for? Or is it something else... thanks in advance for guidance!

Yes, this is what I am saying.  Sadly, there is no consistency.  When they were promoting $200pp to book and $200 obc I would see it on the front page.  Or, SOMETIMES I would receive the email.

Yesterday I received an email and it says "special rates".  I had to call in because the special rate did not show anywhere even on the last page when going through the booking process.  

[lakedweller64]

I had the same special rate offer but when I called in it was about 100. Dollars off a few select cruises.

[HelloKittysMum]

We are currently on eurodam and have met a few people who had free inside cabin offers. They all upgraded to balcony and seem v happy with what they got.

[breakiron]

Booked this special rate for a 22 night Antarctica/South America cruise for January 2024 on the Oosterdam.  All I paid was port taxes and fees and a $100 deposit.  I was only charged for single occupancy.  This is not a casino offer, I don't gamble.  Called the phone number listed in the email and mentioned the code given.  Took advantage of a similar deal on the Rotterdam last Halloween and even upgraded to a balcony that turned out to be a wonderful cruise.  Yes these promotions are legit so take advantage while they last.

[00649]

How do you think you were put on the list for these offers.Any idea what the credentials are.

[adoris]

14 minutes ago, 00649 said:

How do you think you were put on the list for these offers.Any idea what the credentials are.

I got an offer last summer….absolutely no idea how or why I received it.  But I sure took advantage.

[AllTheSun]

On 2/10/2023 at 12:13 PM, MaineLobstah said:

We usually cruise on Carnival, but went with HAL a few yrs ago to Alaska.  Since then I get casino offers from HAL frequently.

Yesteray I got an offer for a "Free stateroom - Free Upgrade".  They had a cruise in Europe in August that we were very interested in, so I called them up.

Gave them Captains Club, gave them "offer ID at bottom of email"...she put me on hold for 5 minutes, then came back and verified all of my details.

 

She then asked when I received the offer, I said 1hr ago, and she said I had to wait 3 days before "they would see the offer on their end".

?????????????????

So HAL sent the emails out, but no one can book for 3 days?...she said yes, that's exactly true.

 

Anyone else run into this?  Seems like a crazy way to do business to me...

 

Lob

What email do these come from? I got an offer after doing a status match from MGM but my email provider must have snagged it because I only knew about it after they sent me a follow up email asking how their service was with a copy of the original offer.

 

Mine worked a bit different, maybe because I’d never cruised HAL, maybe  it was because I received it due to a casino status match or maybe they’re just tweaking their system. I was able to select my exact interior cabin at no charge. “Booking fee” was $100pp and when I called to add HIA ($50pp/day) they said my account showed a $200 credit and they used it towards HIA.

 

 

As for those wondering what’s the catch- all the other costs lol. Airfare, hotels before/after, gratuities, on board costs (HIA really helped with that for me) & shore excursions.

Edited May 7, 2023 by AllTheSun

[islandwoman]

I received one of these "free interior stateroom"  offers today. It is not a "casino" offer. The "select sailings" are not at a time when I could go, but I'm thinking about taking advantage of such an offer if I were to receive another one.  Just for research purposes, I searched one of the "select cruises" and found cabins available that I would be happy to sail in. 

 

If there are better than inside cabins available on a "select cruise", does that mean that upgrades would be available?

Can I book such an offer through my TA?

[Mary229]

On 12/7/2023 at 1:13 PM, islandwoman said:

I received one of these "free interior stateroom"  offers today. It is not a "casino" offer. The "select sailings" are not at a time when I could go, but I'm thinking about taking advantage of such an offer if I were to receive another one.  Just for research purposes, I searched one of the "select cruises" and found cabins available that I would be happy to sail in. 

 

If there are better than inside cabins available on a "select cruise", does that mean that upgrades would be available?

Can I book such an offer through my TA?

There are upgrades available.  You can use your TA but she may receive no commission and may not be interested in being involved . 

[kelliebiz]

On 12/7/2023 at 11:13 AM, islandwoman said:

I received one of these "free interior stateroom"  offers today. It is not a "casino" offer. The "select sailings" are not at a time when I could go, but I'm thinking about taking advantage of such an offer if I were to receive another one.  Just for research purposes, I searched one of the "select cruises" and found cabins available that I would be happy to sail in. 

 

If there are better than inside cabins available on a "select cruise", does that mean that upgrades would be available?

Can I book such an offer through my TA?

My offers always say to call my HAL personal cruise consultant, whose name and number is included on the email. I would doubt you could use an outside TA, but I don’t really know. There are definitely upgrades available for purchase! 
 

I hope you get another offer that you can take advantage of. The sailings are very select, sometimes within a very short time frame. To date I’ve found two that work for me and booked them, both in 2024. 

[Tampa Girl]

On 12/7/2023 at 2:13 PM, islandwoman said:

I received one of these "free interior stateroom"  offers today. It is not a "casino" offer. The "select sailings" are not at a time when I could go, but I'm thinking about taking advantage of such an offer if I were to receive another one.  Just for research purposes, I searched one of the "select cruises" and found cabins available that I would be happy to sail in. 

 

If there are better than inside cabins available on a "select cruise", does that mean that upgrades would be available?

Can I book such an offer through my TA?

 

You can upgrade to a higher class, but not to a specific cabin.  I don't know if buying the Orange benefit allows you to choose the cabin.  If one is very particular about their cabin, these offers, whether casino or a HAL select, may not be the way to go..

[Haljo1935]

On 12/9/2023 at 9:25 AM, Tampa Girl said:

 

You can upgrade to a higher class, but not to a specific cabin.  I don't know if buying the Orange benefit allows you to choose the cabin.  If one is very particular about their cabin, these offers, whether casino or a HAL select, may not be the way to go..

The most recent one I booked did allow for CO, I chose not to do it, but it was available. 

[islandwoman]

18 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

The most recent one I booked did allow for CO, I chose not to do it, but it was available. 

Thanks.  Cabin location is important to me.

 

[waiting2retire]

I did book one of the free interior special offers from HAL (not casino) and was able to choose my cabin when I added Club Orange.