Casino offers on website but never received an email??

[DaveOKC]

Sometimes I can see an obvious casino offer (deeply discounted) on the HAL website when logged into my account, but I never have received an email about it.  Makes it a bit complicated to book it, plus I never know what is included (like Free Play, drinks, etc.)  Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[retird]

When you are logged in to your account, where do you see the offers?

[DaveOKC]

21 minutes ago, retird said:

When you are logged in to your account, where do you see the offers?

I just see a very cheap fare on some cruises and nothing about a casino offer or other perks involved.  Last time this happened I called my PCC about it and she had to call the casino department to get it, but even then no other details on what was included.  Strange!

 

[Mary229]

Yes, two of my last two booked were surprise discounts in cart.  I now make sure my TA uses DH’s Mariner number.  Even she was surprised by the surprise discount.  I usually only see the discount in cart 

[DaveOKC]

12 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Yes, two of my last two booked were surprise discounts in cart.  I now make sure my TA uses DH’s Mariner number.  Even she was surprised by the surprise discount.  I usually only see the discount in cart 

Strange IMO.  Bad thing is that you do not know what else is included (like casino free play).  Also, since it is a casino deal (I assume) you cannot get other perks added to the booking, such as booking promotions, stockholder OBC, etc.

There should be a way for us to see this and not have to bother the PCC with it, until we are ready to book.

[rodndonna]

I rarely get emails, but the Casino discount I receive seems to just be a mainstay on any cruise I have looked at (after I follow through the booking).

 

I seem to always have the same % discount, but perhaps it is because everything I am looking at is at least a year in advance.

 

We never get Casino related perks (like free play) on those though .. just the discount.   All other perks (Shareholder OBC and such) are applicable on our Casino discount cruises. They are not on our  rare "free cabin" offer with free play offers (always near term cruises for us).

 

For us, even with a "free" cabin, we don't come out ahead of just booking early with a Casino discount and all the perks we can get with those bookings.

 

[FlorenceItaly]

14 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Sometimes I can see an obvious casino offer (deeply discounted) on the HAL website when logged into my account, but I never have received an email about it.  Makes it a bit complicated to book it, plus I never know what is included (like Free Play, drinks, etc.)  Has anyone else experienced this?

 

This has happened once to me.  It was in May 2022 for a TA in a balcony for May 2023.   It was during the time when you booked for $200 and received $200 OBC.  I didn't have any paperwork to show the casino onboard but fortunately things were in order and I didn't need to.  I received a sticker on my card for complimentary drinks while in the casino.  I had a little bit of OBC too.  However, even if I had none of this the cruise rate (basically free) was so good I didn't care.  Also, I added CO at a reasonable rate since it was a 16 day TA.  This allowed me to go from my guarantee VH to a selected VA.  I put the cruise on hold and then emailed my PCC to take it over.  No problem booking.

[Mosaic]

Keep in mind also that there are offers that are "specials" that are not casino offers.  Can be very low pricing, but no free drinks or money for play.

[DaveOKC]

2 hours ago, rodndonna said:

I rarely get emails, but the Casino discount I receive seems to just be a mainstay on any cruise I have looked at (after I follow through the booking).

 

I seem to always have the same % discount, but perhaps it is because everything I am looking at is at least a year in advance.

 

We never get Casino related perks (like free play) on those though .. just the discount.   All other perks (Shareholder OBC and such) are applicable on our Casino discount cruises. They are not on our  rare "free cabin" offer with free play offers (always near term cruises for us).

 

For us, even with a "free" cabin, we don't come out ahead of just booking early with a Casino discount and all the perks we can get with those bookings.

 

You really do have to do your homework on these casino deals AND it varies alot by the cabin category you are booking.  I have found that if you are doing an Inside, sometimes the casino discount deal is better than the free (or super discounted) deal, once you consider all the perks and promos that you can apply.  Once you start upgrading yourself to a larger cabin, this is less likely to be true.  So, One Size Does Not Fit All.

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, Mosaic said:

Keep in mind also that there are offers that are "specials" that are not casino offers.  Can be very low pricing, but no free drinks or money for play.

The ones I mentioned clearly state casino discount in cart then again on my invoice 

 

as to perks I don’t drink and am not that avid a casino player so fare is my criteria 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Mary229

[YourWorldWithBill]

I think that @Mosaic's point may be the reality: I find that I see offers for deep discounts by clicking on emails that are not connected to the emails I get for casino offers. So, I can't really tell if there is any connection to casino offers.

[Mary229]

43 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I think that @Mosaic's point may be the reality: I find that I see offers for deep discounts by clicking on emails that are not connected to the emails I get for casino offers. So, I can't really tell if there is any connection to casino offers.

If you scroll very far down on your invoice you will see a notation if it is a casino rate/discount.  It is just about the last thing to appear on the invoice. 

[rodndonna]

17 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

If you scroll very far down on your invoice you will see a notation if it is a casino rate/discount.  It is just about the last thing to appear on the invoice. 

 

we see it when pricing (price is reduced after selecting room category) and then it is listed in the invoice as well (although in the invoice we no longer see what the actual discount was, just that it was applied to the rate)

 

[Mary229]

46 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

we see it when pricing (price is reduced after selecting room category) and then it is listed in the invoice as well (although in the invoice we no longer see what the actual discount was, just that it was applied to the rate)

 

It would be nice to see the discount.  I keep track of it to gauge whether my casino play is paying out - it is!

[rodndonna]

27 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

It would be nice to see the discount.  I keep track of it to gauge whether my casino play is paying out - it is!

 

I have booked 3 cruises with a Casino discount - and it has always been the same % on each, and the also the same discount I see for any future cruises I have been eyeing. Definitely makes our Casino play worthwhile 😎

[YourWorldWithBill]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

It would be nice to see the discount.  I keep track of it to gauge whether my casino play is paying out - it is!

I was trying to see it before getting as far as the invoice, when comparing fares! But my PCC can tell me, so that's always an option.

[Mary229]

7 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I was trying to see it before getting as far as the invoice, when comparing fares! But my PCC can tell me, so that's always an option.

I know, it is a pain.  I see it in the cart.  I have always booked a dummy cruise before calling my TA. I like to look around at airfares, amenities and excursions before making a decision 

[rodndonna]

13 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I know, it is a pain.  I see it in the cart.  I have always booked a dummy cruise before calling my TA. I like to look around at airfares, amenities and excursions before making a decision 

 

It's odd I don't need to get to the cart to see it ... I can see the price drop when I select the room category from what was displayed when it shows me all the room categories.

[Mary229]

26 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

It's odd I don't need to get to the cart to see it ... I can see the price drop when I select the room category from what was displayed when it shows me all the room categories.

Perhaps that is an “update”.  I haven’t booked anything new in a few months. 

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

 

It's odd I don't need to get to the cart to see it ... I can see the price drop when I select the room category from what was displayed when it shows me all the room categories.

Sometimes I see the casino deeply discounted fare when browsing cruises, other times I have to drill down a couple of screens before it shows up.

 

I called my PCC on this and she could not explain why sometimes I get the email offer for these great deals but other times I have to find them on my own on the website.  She stated that others have reported the same situation.

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

Perhaps that is an “update”.  I haven’t booked anything new in a few months. 

 

I have always had it that way - which for me (a newer HAL person) would be for over a year now.

 

First time I came across it (price dropping "on the fly") I thought it was some Canadian resident "at par" thing going on since it seemed to correlate to the difference in our currency, but not the case.

 

Edit: Maybe an oddity on the Canadian currency rates site.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by rodndonna

[Haljo1935]

I see the price drop when I click on the category as @rodndonna mentioned. While I like a bargain and appreciate them being offered, I'd prefer a heads up email  as I'm sure I've missed an opportunity to go somewhere I would really like to go because I didn't know to look. I don't have time to click through all their cruises.

Simply, if they're going to create a list and load it to select Mariner numbers, just one more step to notify those Mariners would be nice. I think they're speaking $$ on the table by not.

[rodndonna]

32 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

I see the price drop when I click on the category as @rodndonna mentioned. While I like a bargain and appreciate them being offered, I'd prefer a heads up email  as I'm sure I've missed an opportunity to go somewhere I would really like to go because I didn't know to look. I don't have time to click through all their cruises.

Simply, if they're going to create a list and load it to select Mariner numbers, just one more step to notify those Mariners would be nice. I think they're speaking $$ on the table by not.

 

The thing for me is since I got my first Casino discount, I have always had that same discount on every cruise I look at, regardless of when I look (email received or not). I suspect this may be due in part to my nature of gambling the same relative amount on our cruises in combination with but more likely due to the fact that I am only ever looking at 7-14 day cruises (blame the dog!) that are in the order of a year or more out. 

 

 Someday that Casino discount might not just be there for me... but I've yet to see it 🤔 When I am preplanning 2025 (as I am right now) I am already mentally tallying in my anticipated casino discount🤞to what I think 2025 pricing might be (based on HAL 2024 prices and what other lines are doing in regards to their relative 2024 to 2025 pricing). 

 

 

[DaveOKC]

50 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

I see the price drop when I click on the category as @rodndonna mentioned. While I like a bargain and appreciate them being offered, I'd prefer a heads up email  as I'm sure I've missed an opportunity to go somewhere I would really like to go because I didn't know to look. I don't have time to click through all their cruises.

Simply, if they're going to create a list and load it to select Mariner numbers, just one more step to notify those Mariners would be nice. I think they're speaking $$ on the table by not.

Agree!  Getting an email offer for a good deal certainly increases my probability of booking something with HAL.  Even better than just seeing the lower (or free) price is seeing what else is included (slot tournament, free play, etc,) - when I just see the lowered price online I do not see the extras.

[Haljo1935]

2 hours ago, rodndonna said:

The thing for me is since I got my first Casino discount, I have always had that same discount on every cruise I look at, regardless of when I look (email received or not)...

 

 Someday that Casino discount might not just be there for me... but I've yet to see it 🤔 

 

 

Thanks for saying this. This was my experience until early this year, when one day I logged in and prices did not change. I thought surely the website had "messed up." Nope - no more unlimited casino rate discounts for me. I made several posts about my unfortunate loss of discounts, so if I were to research, I could tell you when it went away.

Since then, I have only received 2 offers (that I know of) and certainly do not see reduced fairs on most itineraries. 

Congrats - book up while you have the "magic powers."

I really believe it was my PCC (several posts about that awful relationship) b/c she mentioned one time about my low low rates & OBC, shortly after she sent me an email saying she noticed during an "audit" that I was incorrectly tied to a group and had updated my profile and removed the OBC from the associated bookings. That's when the casino rates were no longer coming up.