TRIP REPORT: My FREE Holland America Cruise (or how I spent ONLY $89/day for this 22 day European vacation)

Updated May 3, 2025

Originally Published October 24, 2024

The Casino Status Match Jackpot has paid off handsomely for me with the cruise offers giving me opportunities to explore some exciting new places and I was especially excited for this comped cruise (it is the third booked but will be the second completed).

After poring through all of the options on Holland America (HAL), there were only a few options that really appealed to me (since I had a booked PCL Alaska comped cruise, a significant number of sailings options were eliminated) – read about how I got my HAL comped cruise here. And when I was finally able to book a Baltics cruise on the MSC Poesia, it narrowed the choice down to one: so I booked the Iceland & Greenland Passage.

This post covers the spend (cash/miles/points) and savings of my Holland America cruise that came from that parlay. This give some insight into my choices that can show you how to maximize your trip and what travel hacking looks like in action.

People wonder how I can afford to travel so much so I am peeling back the curtain to show you exactly what I did but as importantly, to show how it’s possible for you to do this as well. The reason why I am so passionate about travel hacking is that it is simply a way that allows you to travel for cheaper, for better and/or more often. As with everything there are levels to it so it can be simple or complex as you want it to be. This trip showcases so many things in action so please don’t be intimated: learn and use what you can!

^{Want to learn more about how to travel for cheaper, better and/or more often?: Intro to Travel Hacking and my 8 Top Tips For Travel Hacking}

One thing to note is that the cash price is what I would have paid at the time I booked XX. Take those numbers with a grain of salt because some of the things especially the business class flights or even this cruise are not things I would be taking IF I had to pay the full cash price for them. But they are included because they give you an idea of what travel hacking looks like in action.The first part of the trip report looks at what was spent on the vacation as we start with a look at the two typically most expensive parts of the trip: the flights and accommodations (now wondering if I should change the category from hotels but as normal, I digress). Then move on to the cruise then various other items that add to the bottom line before moving on to the trip/itinerary details.

So how did I spend less than $2,000 total for a trip to some notoriously expensive locations? Let’s take a look!

SPEND (Cash, Miles, Points) & SAVINGS BREAKDOWN

FLIGHTS

DEN-BOS (United Airlines Economy)

Spend: $2.13 / Savings from United(UA) travel bank IYKYK.

BOS-ZRH (SWISS Business) + ZRH-CPH (SAS Business)

Spend: 70K AC miles + $73.53 (101.30 CAD) / Savings: technically I only used 58,333 Chase UR points as I took advantage of Chase's 20% transfer bonus to Air Canada

_{Beautiful tip: flexibility + urgency are needed when booking award flights.}

Case in point: I couldn’t decide on which flight to take to maximize my time in Zürich and lost out on the chance to fly directly from Denver!

Taking all these cruises has warmed me up to the idea of taking long layovers and checking out another city. Some things to look at when considering this: what leaving the airport entails, luggage storage options (especially if you’re also #teamcarryon), distance/time/ease of getting from airport to city, what can you realistically see/do when you get to city and don’t forget time needed to go through airport security again.

_{Beautiful tip ~ consider flying out of another city to open up award availability AKA repositioning.}

BUT you must build in a time buffer since your flights are not on the same itinerary (ie as opposed to one booking, the second airline has no obligation to get you on a different flight if your repositioning flight is delayed).

With travel being so chaotic now, I personally opt to fly in the night before. Because of that, I use these repositioning flights as a chance to visit friends or a new city. To further maximize my time, I will fly in as early and then fly out as late as possible.

LODGING

Hyatt Place HP Boston/Seaport

Spend: $173.67 (including $10 Housekeeping tip) / Savings: $50 WoH Business Credit card credit & balance on gifted GC & from upgraded room type (also included in other sections for savings:complimentary breakfast including day of check-in!)

Story Hotel Studio Malmö

Spend 15K points + $18* (Housekeeping tip) / Savings from upgraded room type (also included in other sections for savings:complimentary breakfast + free drink vouchers)

While I love Hyatt and try to use them whenever possible, one of the major downsides is that there are many places that don’t have an Hyatt option if I want to use points (sometimes there are Mr & Mrs Smith properties: which look like incredible places to stay but offer poor redemption values) or at all!

The Story Hotel popped up when I searched for choices in Copenhagen so I decided part of the time would be spent exploring another city.

Flexibility was being open to use this as a base to explore CPH (but know that there would be travel time) or being open to changing hotels. I actually had one night with overlapping point bookings at this hotel and a Marriott property as I wasn’t sure which I would want to do and figured that once I was in Malmö, that I would have a better idea which would be the better choice.

Residence Inn Copenhagen

Spend 42K points + $8* (Housekeeping tip) / Savings: late check-out (was not honored at check-in but given on 6/29) and no upgraded room type (also included in other sections for savings:complimentary breakfast)

_{Beautiful tip: diversification is always a good idea with all things financial}

I decided that using some Marriott points would be better than trying to commute from Malmö to the cruise port the day of embarkment. It was nice to be able to have that option.

Hilton Reykjavík Nordica

Spend 120K points + $209.08 ($26* Housekeeping tip) / Savings from upgraded room type: Exec level ocean-view & $60 AMEX Hilton Business quarterly credit (also included in other sections for savings:complimentary breakfast & executive lounge access & comp spa access)

*My aim is to leave the equivalent of $10 (USD) for housekeeping/night. But because I always leave a cash tip in the local currency, so this doesn’t always work out to the amount especially in countries when I never use cash.

_{Beautiful tips: diversification is always a good idea with all things financial + loyalty pays}

Hilton treats me really well as a Diamond member (which funny enough I have only because of my AMEX Aspire credit card!) I am a big fan of this property which takes the sting out of having to use points here

HAL COMPED CRUISE

Cruise Details: Holland America Line Nieuw Statendam 11 Nights Iceland & Greenland Passage

Spend $808.01- including additional tips ($130/stateroom attendants + $1-10/other staff) / Savings: $730 from AARP Gift Card & AMEX Offer & Gratis stateroom upgrade & Wifi part of HIA*

1. Want to know how I booked my HAL comped cruise? check out this post.
2. Want to know more about what this “free cruise” really cost? Read this post
3. Review of this comped cruise coming soon!

*Have It All components were accounted for up to $650 (the amount I paid for the package) but if I had tracked and accounted for all of the drinks on board including espresso drinks, smoothies, sparkling waters, the overall savings would have been greater.

Note: there will not be separate posts for the sections before the itinerary and any worthwhile mentions will be with the apprsopriate flights, cruise or location detailed posts.

FOOD

Spend: $259.46 / Savings: $786.93 on meals & drinks including on business class flights & lounge access at all airports - for arrivals + departures + layovers (from credit card benefit/flying business class) & comped breakfast at all four hotels & HAL HIA package*: 2x specialty dining/drinks & Hilton executive lounge access

TRANSPORTATION

Spend: $173.34 / Savings: $60.25 AMEX Uber credits & Biz Gold monthly $20 benefit

ACTIVITIES

Spend: $154.26 / Savings: $359.92 HAL HIA $200 excursion credit + Viator Rewards + Hilton Spa Access

_{Beautiful tip: Using Viator is a pro move – here’s why I use it or GetYourGuide to book shore excursions whenever possible. To make your money work harder, also use a shopping portal (here’s all you need to know about Rakuten which gives you cashback on those activities! New to Rakuten, here’s how you can earn $30 for signing up!}

MISCELLANEOUS

Spend: $123.73 Souvenirs: magnets + cash (bills) & sea sickness pills (while I was upgraded to an Oceanview, it was on the lowest deck and at the very front of the boat so I was worried I might get sick – it was fine but I like to be prepared.)

ITINERARY

For everything that I did/ate/saw – check out the trip overview for this cruise. That serves as the anchor post and will link to flight reviews, port stop posts, day posts etc!