Star mariner program in dissaray

[BumperII]

Apparently the New Star Mariner program includes being deprived of free peanuts and being shunned by the ship’s command staff

 

During a back-to-back Canada- New England cruise in May of 2008, HAL really made a fuss over us when we received our Copper Medallions recognizing 100 cruise days. We were treated like VIPs on the next two cruises with invitations to numerous receptions and mixers.

 

Boy did that change under the Star Mariner Program. When we checked in on July 18th, our room key cards had at Three Star Logo on them. It ended right there.

 

We were instructed not to board until 1:00 p.m. By that time the Mariner’s Society embarkation reception was over and we were herded into the Lido as usual. An inquiry at the main desk revealed that the HAL computer system had lost track of three previous cruises and 28 cruising days. We were told to fill out a form.

 

The promised complimentary ship photo never arrived.

 

We did get a 10% discount, three dollars, on two Dam Ships hats.

 

The “special recognition” lapel pin” was not given. When we inquired at the main desk on the last day, the officer became argumentative and insisted that these pins had been mailed to our home along with the special “collectable”. That simply was not true. Anyway, we still had the copper lapel pins.

 

The 25% Discount on specialty restaurant surcharges was useless, as the Pinnacle was completely booked on the first four days of the cruise. We finally had a splendid dinner in the Pinnacle Grill as the guests of Suite passengers on our trivia team.

 

When they finally held a Mariners Reception on the last day of the cruise, only the 4 star passengers were invited. There were six of them. They were treated to peanuts and glass of champagne and the customary nobles oblige. The Mariners luncheon was so large it had to be held in two sessions with a severely restricted menu. Almost everyone on the ship had been invited. We had to go to the Lido for lunch afterward.

 

My sense is that the “Star Mariner program” is really a cost cutting measure in disguise.

 

When we arrived home, the mail included a brochure from Celebrity Cruises offering three cruises out of Baltimore.

 

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[taxmantoo]

When we arrived home, the mail included a brochure from Celebrity Cruises offering three cruises out of Baltimore.

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Can't blame HAL Mariners' program for that one :D

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm sorry to hear that you were so disappointed in the mariner recognition. Perhaps the problem was the large number of mariners on the voyage. It's possible that there were more than a handful of 4-star mariners invited to the reception, but many decilined or didn't bother to show up.

 

Never mind the form to fill out about the "lost" info. Contact HAL through the website about that. Our first HAL cruise (from many years ago) didn't show up on our account. I contacted HAl and they found it for me and updated our file. I was impressed at how quickly they took care of it. It seems the front desk staff don't always know what's going on with the mariner perks.

 

Of your complaints, the one that I have to question is the boarding time that made you miss the embarkation luncheon. With so many cruises, you should have been aware that they won't keep you off the ship because you got to the pier in time to make the luncheon. We boarded Veendam well before 1 PM because we wanted to go to the luncheon. Nobody said "no, no, you must wait until 1 PM to board." And if they had, I would have explained about the luncheon. It's a valid reason to not follow the suggested time.

[cruz chic]

I've been invited to 1 VIP party and I'm coming up to 200 days! There are other posters on this board that have way more days then I do and have never been invited to one. Consider yourself lucky!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home

 

First let me explain that there is no Mariner's reception on embarkation day -- it is a lunch from Noon until 1:30 which it seems that anyone can go to as HAL considers everyone a Mariner once they book and get on their first cruise.

 

We have always had a limited Mariner Brunch -- it's been this way since it was first tested in 2006. And on every cruise that we have been on there has always been 2 Mariner Brunches.

 

We will no longer go to them -- HAL now also invited passengers to the brunch who are on their first HAL cruise but have sailed on one the sister cruise lines. This Brunch is no longer special. JMO

 

Yes -- we were invited to the reception on our last cruise as we are 4 star Mariner's -- and there were not any peanuts or mixed nuts.

[boards]

On our Hawaii cruise last April 2010, we were invited by Invitation to the Mariner Society Brunch in the Rotterdam Dining Room. We at that time were 2-star Mariner's. It was a very nice luncheon and well attended with one guest 106 years young. I am sure many you may know who she is. For sure there were no peanuts or mixed nuts. We had several glasses of champagne.

[blue whale]

We took the 14-day Alaska cruise on Amsterdam this June. We are "four-star" and when we got to the pier we were ushered into a special line to get checked in more rapidly. We got embarkation number 1 and an invitation to go to the luncheon that noon. The luncheon was excellent—salmon, etc.

 

We got invited to attend the Mariner luncheon later in the cruise and to the reception that preceded it. It appeared to us that the only folks there were those with 4-stars. We were receiving our platinum level award, so we got our picture taken with a couple of others who were already platinum level as well as ourselves with the captain. We got the pictures delivered to the cabin the same day. We only got the medallions. When we asked about the pins we were told that those pins had been phased out and the new 4-star pins were taking the place of the other pins.

 

On the final day of the cruise, we were invited to a question and answer session with the cruise director and hotel manager, but we did not get any other special recognition. Oh, yes, at the Mariner luncheon, we had reserved seats at the hotel manager's table, but did not get to talk much with him. He was busy talking with those who had more days than we had, and it was hard to get his attention.

 

We did go to the Pinnacle and were changed half price. There was no charge for laundry.

 

We were satisfied with the program in that the luncheons were nicely done and we were fortunate to meet other folks whom we had met on prior cruises and were able to sit with them at the luncheons. I remember that drinks were served at the reception; I cannot remember about any nuts.

[IRL_Joanie]

I am probably wrong, but this sure sounds like it might be the unhappy SIL mentioned in another thread???

 

Joanie

[luvs2travl]

I am probably wrong, but this sure sounds like it might be the unhappy SIL mentioned in another thread???

 

Joanie

 

I don't think so, Joanie. The poster with the unhappy SIL said it was only his third HAL cruise. The OP here is a 3-Star Mariner with over 100 days with HAL, listing way more than 3 cruises.

[hrhdhd]

The promised complimentary ship photo never arrived.

 

For future knowledge (information I learned and am glad to know), you must go to the photo gallery on the ship to get the complimentary photo. They usually have several to choose from. Just show your ID, pick out your photo, and you're on your way.

 

It doesn't just appear in your stateroom.

[Jade13]

Apparently the New Star Mariner program includes being deprived of free peanuts and being shunned by the ship’s command staff

 

When they finally held a Mariners Reception on the last day of the cruise, only the 4 star passengers were invited. There were six of them. They were treated to peanuts and glass of champagne and the customary nobles oblige. The Mariners luncheon was so large it had to be held in two sessions with a severely restricted menu. Almost everyone on the ship had been invited. We had to go to the Lido for lunch afterward.

 

 

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We do not cruise for the past passenger program but it's clear the program is poor unless you are a 4 star Mariner with 200 days (or 100 days if you sailed in a Suite).

 

All the good benefits including priority embarkation and free laundry service are reserved for 4 star Mariners. The average person could take 20 years to reach that level.

 

On the other hand one can be top tier on Celebrity after 5-10 cruises, or 10 points (5 cruises of 12 nights or 5 cruises in a CC class or Suite). Even on our second Celebrity cruise we received free pressing of two items each (which had value and did not really cost the cruise line anything but time), an invitation to a Back Stage tour and invitation to a Bridge Tour. Wine was served prior to all tours including the galley tour which was open to all. The Captains Club Rep on our second Celebrity cruise was fantastic. I don't recall if HAL has a Rep like that onboard each cruise or not.

 

Regarding the luncheon, my DH hated it and we also thought it was a cost saving measure with about 3 entrees. He said he would never go back but maybe I will convince him so I can get a glass of wine. We will just end up at the Lido after the luncheon.

[Maryandi]

We were on the Eurodam, May 19th to 29th. This is the first cruise on HAL since the Mariner program started.

 

We had invitations in the cabin to lunches, cocktail parties, etc. Had a call, also, from the front desk - making sure they had the correct number of days and the fact that we already had the Copper Medallion already. All the info. they had was correct.

 

One of the invitations was to a pre-lunch cocktail party - we had hot hors d' & champagne or whatever we wanted. As we were sitting there with about 40 others - the Captain and others started the awards program .

 

Here's the amazing part: the 100 days people got the medallions but they were also giving the copper ones to people who had 75 days and other days up to 100 !! What's with that ???

 

Surprizingly, John & I were the 2nd 'most days travelled' on the ship with 207 days (pretty low figure for a full ship ), the highest days were 294 (but they didn't get the 300 medallion). There were only 2 couples of 4-stars.

 

Then we leave the pre-lunch party and go to the MDR and there were all the other Mariners with just a few days.

 

It seems to be done every which way - and the priority tendering :eek:-we showed our card and usually they tried to turn us back ( but we persisted;))

 

They do need to work on standardizing the service.

 

MaryAnn

[IRL_Joanie]

I don't think so, Joanie. The poster with the unhappy SIL said it was only his third HAL cruise. The OP here is a 3-Star Mariner with over 100 days with HAL, listing way more than 3 cruises.

 

Oops!! My Bad once again:o Just kind of sounded like it might be him.

 

OP, I am sorry for confusing you with the SIL in the other thread I mentioned.:o

 

Joanie

[Jemima]

We are three star and have over 150 days. We've been invited to the VIP party on some cruises and not on others. It seems to depend partly on how many passengers have more days or more stars with the star program. This doesn't bother us. If invited, I go. If not invited, that's ok too. We also were once invited to the small Q & A session on a cruise where most passengers were new to HAL or have just a couple of HAL cruises. I enjoyed participating in the session, would go if invited again; but am not offended if not invited.

 

We enjoy the Mariner Brunch and find the food good. There are choices and we are even able to make choices that are vegetarian. We've been seated at "regular" tables, at tables near the captain's or hotel manager's tables and a couple of times at the hotel manager's table. We particularly enjoyed the two times we were at the hotel manager's table, but are not offended when we are seated at a "regular" table.

[rkacruiser]

For future knowledge (information I learned and am glad to know), you must go to the photo gallery on the ship to get the complimentary photo. They usually have several to choose from. Just show your ID, pick out your photo, and you're on your way.

 

It doesn't just appear in your stateroom.

 

Thank you for this information. I did not know this.

[BumperII]

Thank you one and all for your responses. I really enjoyed seeing the different observations.

 

I didn't make myself very clear. My remark about the Celebrity brochure was only to indicate that I at least read it. Normally, other than HAL, I run cruise advertisements through the shredder unread.

 

And in all fairness, I should hcrave made clear that we don't cruise for the free peanuts. Ts was still a great cruise, and we booked a fourteen day b2b for November on board the Westerdam while still on this cruise on the Veendam.

 

I really did like the various receptions early on in the cruises past as they are great ice breakers that introduced us to folks who enjoy the cruise experience at least as much as we do. During the Mariner's reception on the last day, we were seated with three really neat 4 star couples we would love to cruise with again. That is how we found out about the preceding reception.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

At the Mariner's brunches we have attended recently -- got only one glass of champagne.

 

We were assigned tables -- i.e., there was a table for those of us over 500 days combined by 4 star Mariners. BUT -- they also brough people to the table who were on their first HAL cruise.

[3rdGenCunarder]

At the Mariner's brunches we have attended recently -- got only one glass of champagne.

 

We were assigned tables -- i.e., there was a table for those of us over 500 days combined by 4 star Mariners. BUT -- they also brough people to the table who were on their first HAL cruise.

 

We're very lowly 1-star mariners. We just got plunked down wherever. We were among the last ones in and were walked quite a way round the room before the waiter (or whoever it was) found us seats.

 

I thought they were stingy with the champange. Somehow, DH got a refill, but nobody else at our table did. The food was good, though.

[Copper10-8]

It, the new Mariner Society program, is still a work in progress and will differ on each of the fifteen dam ships, depending on the make-up and totals of the various Mariners on board. The program on the cruise we just finished yesterday on Statendam differed from the one on Oosterdam in March/April

The only thing that, as of right now seems to stay the same is the Mariner Brunch menu:

Mariner’s seafood cocktail

or

Caesar Salad with grilled chicken breast

Seared salmon with mustard sauce, assorted vegetables and fingerling potatoes

or

Sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce, mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables

or

Cheddar quiche with caramelized onions and broccoli served with mixed greens and balsamic dressing

banana strudel for dessert

[HALFans]

...They were treated to peanuts and glass of champagne and the customary nobles oblige.

 

The best place to get free peanuts almost any time of the voyage is the bar at the crow's nest... and they're often the Good Nuts! :D And who likes the junk 'champagne' they serve at these functions anyway? I just order a Rob Roy and call it a good deal. ;)

[RedmondCruiser]

We are four star mariners and have been sailing with HAL for 25 years. We find the new mariner program to be great and well appreciated. We have utilized priority boarding twice ( in Seattle it was not needed ) and find it to be a very nice perk. Add to that the half price Pinnacle dinners and the free laundry and I think that HAL has done a fine job. They are bound to get complainers but personally I think that they have hit a home run with the new program.

[kakalina]

The best place to get free peanuts almost any time of the voyage is the bar at the crow's nest... and they're often the Good Nuts! :D And who likes the junk 'champagne' they serve at these functions anyway? I just order a Rob Roy and call it a good deal. ;)

 

 

I'm with you on this one. Their bubbly is truly awful! I always order a nice, dry martini and who cares what the food served is :D have two and you won't remember if you had lunch or not.

[boards]

I guess when you don't drink much champagne anything taste good which is what we thought and enjoyed it very much and the meal too. We were seated right where we wanted to be at the aft window. It was great and we were only two star.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We're very lowly 1-star mariners. We just got plunked down wherever. We were among the last ones in and were walked quite a way round the room before the waiter (or whoever it was) found us seats.

 

I thought they were stingy with the champange. Somehow, DH got a refill, but nobody else at our table did. The food was good, though.

 

I'm with you on this one. Their bubbly is truly awful! I always order a nice, dry martini and who cares what the food served is :D have two and you won't remember if you had lunch or not.

 

The3 Pol Clemente Champagne is awful.

On our last cruises they served you one glass of champagne and the wine stewards left the dining room. No orders were being taken for drinks -- we tried and were told that they didn't have time to do special requests.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The best place to get free peanuts almost any time of the voyage is the bar at the crow's nest... and they're often the Good Nuts! :D And who likes the junk 'champagne' they serve at these functions anyway? I just order a Rob Roy and call it a good deal. ;)

 

On our last cruises you could only get Gold Fish in the Crow's Nest -- that's all they had.

This varies by ship.