Sarah Bretz, ContributorAs with just about any cruise line, being loyal to Holland America Line can certainly pay off. Holland America’s loyalty program has five tiers, with new guests achieving 1-Star rank after their first cruise. In our guide to the Holland America Mariner Society program, we go over how to sign up and accrue credits, as well as each tier and the associated benefits.
Our Guide to the Holland America Mariner Society Loyalty Program
How to sign up for Holland America’s Mariner Society loyalty program
Signing up for the Holland America Mariner Society loyalty program is easy — in fact, you don’t have to sign up at all! Once you have sailed with HAL, you’re automatically enrolled in the program and start to receive benefits with your second cruise.
If you’ve sailed with one of Holland America’s sister lines (Carnival, Princess, Cunard, Seabourn, or Costa) you’re automatically enrolled in the Mariner Society program once you book your first Holland America voyage.
To create an account to view your cruise history, Star Level, and bonus Cruise Day credits, go to the “My Account” section of the Holland America website.
How to earn points in Holland America’s loyalty program
With the Mariner Society program, you earn one Cruise Day credit for each actual day sailed. Holland America defines each “actual day sailed” as each overnight on the ship. So if you took a seven-night cruise, you would receive seven Cruise Day credits. If you book a suite or penthouse, you receive double the Cruise Day credits.
Travelers also receive Cruise Day credits for Alaska cruisetours, meaning both the cruise and land portions count for Cruise Day credits. Pre and post-cruise tours and hotel packages in other destinations do not qualify.
You can earn bonus Cruise Day credits by spending money onboard the ship, through HAL’s Onboard Spending Bonus. For each $300 in eligible onboard purchases, one bonus Cruise Day credit is earned. This is calculated on the combined folio charges for all guests on the booking, regardless of who signs each charge and who pays the bill. Casino charges, cash advances, and Future Cruise deposits are excluded. Only the first two guests on a booking are eligible to receive the Onboard Spending Bonus Cruise Day credits.
All guests sharing a stateroom as part of the same booking will receive the benefits earned by the guest at the highest level in the Mariner Society program. This means that if you’re a 2-Star Mariner sailing with a 4-Star Mariner, you’ll receive the 4-Star level perks.
Your Cruise Day credits accrual (and loyalty status, if applicable) will be updated seven to 10 days after the cruise or cruisetour ends.
Holland America Mariner Society Tiers and Benefits
How many levels are in Holland America’s Mariner Society program?
There are five Mariner Society tiers:
- Star Mariner: received after taking one cruise
- 2-Star Mariner: 30 to 74 Cruise Day credits
- 3-Star Mariner: 75 to 199 Cruise Day credits
- 4-Star Mariner: 200 to 499 Cruise Day credits
- 5-Star Mariner: 500+ Cruise Day credits
What benefits do you receive in each Holland America loyalty program tier?
1-Star Mariner
You reach the first Star Mariner tier once you’ve completed your first Holland America cruise. This tier includes a free drink voucher that can be used anytime during the cruise, as well as a collectible gift. 1-Star Mariners also receive a 50 percent discount on cruise fares for the third and fourth guests in a cabin on select sailings.
All Star Mariner tiers, including 1-Star, can also receive up to $400 per cabin in onboard credit for cruises booked within 90 days of a new season launch.
2-Star Mariner
The second Star Mariner tier includes all of the perks as a 1-Star, plus the addition of a complimentary photo of the ship. 2-Star Mariners also receive a 10 percent discount on select Holland America Line logo clothing sold in the onboard shops.
3-Star Mariner
3-Star Mariners receive everything that 2-Stars do, plus an invitation to the Mariner Society Welcome Onboard Reception, which is just for 3 to 5-Star loyalty members.
The 3-Star tier is also where more discounts start to kick in. In addition to the 10 percent discount on select HAL logo clothing, 3-Star Mariners get discounts on select spa treatments, a 25 percent discount on Sommelier Suite packages (excluding wine cards, Cellar Master packages, individual bottles, wine-by-the-glass, and beverage gift cards), a 25 percent discount at most specialty restaurants, a 25 percent discount on specialty coffees, and a 25 percent discount on mini-bar purchases.
4-Star Mariner
The fourth tier in the Holland America Mariner Society program is where the perks start to really get good. Firstly, the discounts on Sommelier Suite packages, specialty restaurants, specialty coffees, and mini-bar purchases are upped to 50 percent. The discount on Holland America logo clothing is raised to 15 percent. 4-Star loyalty guests also receive a 25 percent discount of $55 per person for Rudi’s Sel De Mer specialty restaurant.
4-Star Mariners also receive a complimentary regional wine tasting, complimentary laundry and pressing service, priority check-in, priority tendering and disembarkation, and free cruise fare on select cruises for the third and fourth passengers in the stateroom.
5-Star Mariner
The fifth tier is the highest in Holland America’s Mariner Society loyalty program, and is achieved by those who have accrued 500 Cruise Day credits. For a guest taking seven-night cruises in a regular stateroom, it would take 72 voyages to reach this level, or just under 1.5 years at sea total!
To reward its most loyal passengers, Holland America provides two complimentary dinners at Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind, or Canaletto; one complimentary day pass to the spa thermal suite, and up to a $30 credit towards an internet package for each cruise. These perks are in addition to all of the perks that are included with the other Mariner Society tiers, and in addition to everything else that is always included on a Holland America cruise!
Holland America Mariner Society Q&As
If I become eligible for the next tier during my cruise, will my additional benefits apply right away?
Unless you’re sailing on one of Holland America’s longer Grand Voyages, you do not receive your next tier benefits until the next cruise.
Does Holland America have reciprocal status matching with other Carnival Corporation cruise brands?
While you do qualify as a past guest by sailing the other Carnival Corp. brands listed at the top of this article, cruise lines under the Carnival Corporation umbrella do not offer status matching with each other. You earn credits/points for each cruise line by sailing that line only.
If I qualify for onboard discounts, do I need to request them at the time of purchase?
You do not need to ask for your Mariner Society discounts; they will be applied automatically.
Which specialty restaurants qualify for the 3, 4, and 5-Star discounts?
Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto, Tamarind, and Rudi’s Sel de Mer restaurants all qualify for Star level discounts. The discount does not apply to Morimoto by Sea, other restaurant pop-ups, special events, or restaurant packages.
Can my Cruise Day credits expire and can I lose status?
As is the case with most cruise lines, Holland America’s Cruise Day credits do not expire and you do not need to requalify for your status at any time. This means that once you reach any status, you will never be downgraded — you will have at least that status or higher forever (unless Holland America changes this aspect of the Mariner Society program in the future).
Comments
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