4 and 5 star tender service on the Prinsendam

We are currently on the Prinsendam and have been notified that only the suite passengers with gold colored key cards will be given priority tender service. The 4 and 5 star Mariner's must go to the showroom and get a special red card and will be called to the gangway with "priority consideration".

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We didn't receive such a notification (at least, not that I recall) on the Zaandam in May but we (4 star) also had to go and get a red tender ticket. We were called ahead of the blue (non priority guests) tickets but after the HAL tours (departing at that time). We were fine with it. I suppose with so many of us getting to 4 and 5 star status, they have to control the rush somehow.

I was well into 5* status when HAL expanded the program to that level. When I sail on the Prinsendam, I am but a newbie there. My number of days is insignificant, as compared to many others on board.

With the passenger base so loaded with 4* & 5* Mariners, I'm not surprised that the ship has to do something to manage the crowds. It seems almost everyone qualifies for the priority status!

Ruth beat me to it.... I was going to say that a 4*/5* mariner on the Elegant Explorer is commonplace. They have to use another system to manage who gets "priority" tender service off the ship. Generally, it's not so bad as there are relatively fewer passengers as a whole on Prinsendam compared to the larger ships.

This was the way it was handled on the Princendam in January 2015 for the Antarctic cruise. 4 star mariners did go to the show room and were given the red card with a number. Those numbers were called much faster than the regular numbers. It worked smoothly... I never had a wait of more than a few minutes. Once I even wound up with a tender to myself.

Susan

I just got off the Rotterdam last month and there was no priority granted to 4 & 5 star passengers. When I mentioned this to one of the Shore Exc. people in the show room he got rather snippy and said he'd never heard of this practice...

I just got off the Rotterdam last month and there was no priority granted to 4 & 5 star passengers. When I mentioned this to one of the Shore Exc. people in the show room he got rather snippy and said he'd never heard of this practice...

Rotterdam is a much bigger ship than Prinsendam. They have limited space and also there is a higher likelihood that more 4/5 stars will be onboard Prinsendam on any given trip.

Hence, they have to do something logical to keep things from clogging up. I take my hat off to them to devise this.

harry

I just got off the Rotterdam last month and there was no priority granted to 4 & 5 star passengers. When I mentioned this to one of the Shore Exc. people in the show room he got rather snippy and said he'd never heard of this practice...

Wow! Must have been someone unhappy in his work or someone new. This has long been a benefit for 4* and 5* mariners.

I just got off the Rotterdam last month and there was no priority granted to 4 & 5 star passengers. When I mentioned this to one of the Shore Exc. people in the show room he got rather snippy and said he'd never heard of this practice...

Shore EX people are not the most helpful nor willing to be helfpul IMO. ARe you sure it was shore ex though asoften the tenders are done by otherpeople -not shorex. (Culinary comes to mind).

Prinsendam attracts a LOT of repeat cruisers and many are 4 or 5*.

Longer cruisers who reached their status long ago so 4 and 5* cannot always et special treatment in tender ports when you have that many.

Wow! Must have been someone unhappy in his work or someone new. This has long been a benefit for 4* and 5* mariners.

I agree. I've been on the receiving end of the snippy reply when asking, politely, the evening before the first tender port how they were doing the 5 stars. Having received no instructions (which was unusual), I thought it a good idea to ask. The shorex person looked way down her nose, said, "just go down" and then turned her back on me. But I got an answer! Sheesh!

We did the Maasdam last fall & on tender ports just went down to the gang way and lined up. Never had to go to the show room for tender tickets. Nobody ever asked for our tender tickets. HAL does offer, " Priority check in, tendering & disembarkation for 4&5* " members.

Allan

We did the Maasdam last fall & on tender ports just went down to the gang way and lined up. Never had to go to the show room for tender tickets. Nobody ever asked for our tender tickets. HAL does offer, " Priority check in, tendering & disembarkation for 4&5* " members.

Allan

Were you given any written direction on how to do the priority tender on this cruise?

Glad it worked so well for you. Once in a while it doesn't.

Were you given any written direction on how to do the priority tender on this cruise?

 

Glad it worked so well for you. Once in a while it doesn't.

not ski ww Silver, but we were given no instructions on the Westerdam. Nor on several other cruises. I look on it as "if no instructions, then just proceed as per normal" so we just went down to the tender as well, no problem on any of the cruises ;) The only time we got instructions was when we were not allowed to tender without a ticket after "x" time (I think it was 9:30/10:30 a.m.) and I suspect it was because there were so many of us on that cruise? Before the time, we needed a tender ticket, after the time we could use our Mariner status and just go to the tenders.

not ski ww Silver, but we were given no instructions on the Westerdam. Nor on several other cruises. I look on it as "if no instructions, then just proceed as per normal" so we just went down to the tender as well, no problem on any of the cruises ;) The only time we got instructions was when we were not allowed to tender without a ticket after "x" time (I think it was 9:30/10:30 a.m.) and I suspect it was because there were so many of us on that cruise? Before the time, we needed a tender ticket, after the time we could use our Mariner status and just go to the tenders.

When HAL started the Star program, we got used to receiving written instructions on how to do the priority tendering (just about every ship did it differently at first).

There was a period when none of our cruises used tendering. Lately we've had a few with tendering and there was a change: no instructions.

I'd rather be told outright what to do. Prefer not to assume anything.

However, your experiences make a lot of sense, so I'll go with that! Thanks!

The problem on the Prinsendam is that, on many cruisers, a large majority of the passengers will be 4 or 5 Star Mariners! On one of our Grand Med cruises the 4-5* were about 70% of the passengers! So when that many folks are eligible for priority...it just does not work,

Hank

Have seen priority tender boarding split into 2 categories: President's Club and 5* Mariners, then 4* Mariners due to numbers of people in each category - and HAL tour passengers had a whole other system. Must be ship and HD dependent.

Good thing the Prinsedam can get everyone off in just a few tenders so you probably did not have to wait too long.

I just got off the Rotterdam last month and there was no priority granted to 4 & 5 star passengers. When I mentioned this to one of the Shore Exc. people in the show room he got rather snippy and said he'd never heard of this practice...

We were on the same cruise and on one of the days (obviously not the same day as you,) we went to The Showroom and were told to go directly to tender line. It may have been Qaqortoq for which there were no HAL tours.

We were on the same cruise and on one of the days (obviously not the same day as you,) we went to The Showroom and were told to go directly to tender line. It may have been Qaqortoq for which there were no HAL tours.

Shrimp56 - Wasn't that a great cruise!!! No, it was the first day in Reykjavik that the snippy shore excursion employee showed his attitude in the Showroom.

Did you see the prices for the same cruise next year (at least those for single occupancy):eek: How I wish I could do it again.

Shrimp56 - Wasn't that a great cruise!!! No, it was the first day in Reykjavik that the snippy shore excursion employee showed his attitude in the Showroom.

 

Did you see the prices for the same cruise next year (at least those for single occupancy):eek: How I wish I could do it again.

I wish we could also, but we're ticking off bucket list items before we kick said bucket.

I wish we could also, but we're ticking off bucket list items before we kick said bucket.

I know what you mean. Antarctica is still on my bucket list. Maybe in 2018.

We were on the same cruise and on one of the days (obviously not the same day as you,) we went to The Showroom and were told to go directly to tender line. It may have been Qaqortoq for which there were no HAL tours.

Same cruise on Rotterdam. We got tender tickets, but were told at the exit that it was not needed since we were fourstars. It seems that the shorex people are ignorant of the arrangement but exit staff are tuned in.

Same cruise on Rotterdam. We got tender tickets, but were told at the exit that it was not needed since we were fourstars. It seems that the shorex people are ignorant of the arrangement but exit staff are tuned in.

I'll be back on the Rotterdam on Sept. 24th. I'll just go down to the exit and forego getting a tender ticket in the showroom. Wish me luck.:D