The lady with just over 10,000 days is on the move

[mamaofami]

I couldn't find the newspaper article on Mama Lou that I read years ago. But it seems her sons didn't want her living with them even though Mama Lou and her husband helped them with their homes. They put her in assisted living. She didn't like it. She walked out of the assisted living place and moved to the Villages and started cruising. She decided to adopt the crew as her family. Her plan is to spend the kids inheritance on cruising.

 

I hope she does just that and enjoys every minute of it.

[Willem Ruys]

I asked a friend in the Seattle office if it is true that Mama Lou has 10,000 days. I knew she didn't...and if she had 5,000 in 20087 it is arithmetically impossible to go from 5,00o in 2008 to 10,000 in 2013.

 

Here's the answer to my question if her claim is true:

 

"No one in our Mariner base has 10,000 days on HAL."

 

She is a member of the President's Club but hasn't nearly the number of days claimed.

 

Sorry to burst your bubbles

[SeaBands]

but I would guess she has the most sailing days of any passenger and maybe even more than some Captains. Someone posted a few years ago that she had passed but it's good to see that she is still sailing. Does she get a special rate for a single or does her bear get charged as well?

[DWAliaschief]

She flew planes in WWII in Britain, married an American, and after he passed, came onboard. Her husband was an admiral in the US Navy.

 

IF her bio is correct, she was married to an Air Force Brigadier General. Perhaps she confused a BG with an admiral after sailing so much?:rolleyes:

[sevenseasnomad]

I would not pretend to know how she can afford it, but cruising doesn't have to be all that expensive, especially if one is a little older. There are families that put the seniors on a cruise ship simply because it is cheaper than assisted living!

 

May I please be adopted by one of these families when I retire?

[JJ33328]

So if she had 5000 days in 2008, it would take over 13 years for her to accumulate another 5000, and that if she never got off the ship. What am I missing here?

 

 

On board spending credit days?

[sailandcruise]

I believe she was on the Maasdam sailing from Norfolk, VA in October, 2006 -- my first HAL cruise, 11 nights to (and from) the Southern Caribbean. :D. She was already quite well known by passengers and crew, although I have no idea how many days she had sailed by then.

[Randyk47]

On board spending credit days?

 

Possibly but considering Mama Lou supposedly started cruising "full time" around 1995 a lot of her time was done before HAL went to the present calculated Mariner Society Cruise Day credits. Cruising every day of the year from 1995 to present would still leave her well short of 10,000 days and would take some significant spending from when they went to the new program in 2009. Unfortunately, and I don't think she's sailed in a lot of qualifying suites, HAL did not go back and give the extra credit for qualifying suites for cruises prior to September/October 2009. We got the straight number of days we'd cruised with HAL up to then, which was good, but would be 4-star Mariners if they had calculated extra suite days.

[Willem Ruys]

I asked a friend in the Seattle office if it is true that Mama Lou has 10,000 days. I knew she didn't...and if she had 5,000 in 20087 it is arithmetically impossible to go from 5,00o in 2008 to 10,000 in 2013.

 

Here's the answer to my question if her claim is true:

 

"No one in our Mariner base has 10,000 days on HAL."

 

She is a member of the President's Club but hasn't nearly the number of days claimed.

[sail7seas]

No matter how many days she actually has, I want to wish her many more healthy, happy days aboard the blue hulled beauties.......

Long may Mama Lou sail. :)

 

[Nanaimo Gal]

No matter how many days she actually has, I want to wish her many more healthy, happy days aboard the blue hulled beauties.......

Long may Mama Lou sail. :)

 

 

I second this, have met Mama Lou on a couple of trips. She's quite the lady and the crew treat her like gold.

[Randyk47]

No matter how many days she actually has, I want to wish her many more healthy, happy days aboard the blue hulled beauties.......

Long may Mama Lou sail. :)

 

 

Absolutely true. She's interesting to talk to and her relationship with the crew is amazing to watch. I think they honestly care for her as she does for them. After some news a while back that she potentially had some health issues that had stopped or kept her from cruising I'm happy she's apparently cruising again. :)

[SilvertoGold]

I asked a friend in the Seattle office if it is true that Mama Lou has 10,000 days. I knew she didn't...and if she had 5,000 in 20087 it is arithmetically impossible to go from 5,00o in 2008 to 10,000 in 2013.

 

Here's the answer to my question if her claim is true:

 

"No one in our Mariner base has 10,000 days on HAL."

 

She is a member of the President's Club but hasn't nearly the number of days claimed.

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

I find it interesting that the Mariner Society won't say how many days she does have, not even an approximation. Privacy, I suppose?

[Willem Ruys]

yes. privacy. Privacy ROCKS. It's why I use the name of an old Dutch liner named for a Dutch shipping man shot as a hostage by ****s during the occupation of the Netherlands,

[sppunk]

So, does she have the most days ever sailed? Anyone know?

[innlady1]

I would suspect the answer to your question is "yes". But it's anyone's guess, I suppose.

[Storylady]

Dolly Smith would be a candidate for the most days. i think she told me that she had around 5,000 days when I first met her on the Rotterdam in Italy in 2005. She started cruising according to HAL back in 1085. She has been on 23 World Grand Voyages according to HAL.

[Fouremco]

Dolly Smith would be a candidate for the most days. i think she told me that she had around 5,000 days when I first met her on the Rotterdam in Italy in 2005. She started cruising according to HAL back in 1085. She has been on 23 World Grand Voyages according to HAL.

Wow, one of the original Vikings! :)

[RuthC]

Dolly Smith would be a candidate for the most days. i think she told me that she had around 5,000 days when I first met her on the Rotterdam in Italy in 2005. She started cruising according to HAL back in 1085. She has been on 23 World Grand Voyages according to HAL.

I expect that the actual total days sailed for these "high rollers" is more of a "movable feast" than an accurate count.

I roomed with Dolly on an August 2003 cruise, and she reportedly had something in the 3000 days range then. She couldn't have accrued another (more or less) 1500 days in another 2 years.

 

The exact number of days sailed doesn't really matter so much, though, as the fact that several people do have an astounding number of days on the high seas, via HAL. I want to grow up to be just like them. :D

[Storylady]

Wow, one of the original Vikings! :)

 

Sorry about that. I had wrist surgery and am typing with one hand. I meant 1985. Good reply. LOL

[Storylady]

I expect that the actual total days sailed for these "high rollers" is more of a "movable feast" than an accurate count.

I roomed with Dolly on an August 2003 cruise, and she reportedly had something in the 3000 days range then. She couldn't have accrued another (more or less) 1500 days in another 2 years.

 

The exact number of days sailed doesn't really matter so much, though, as the fact that several people do have an astounding number of days on the high seas, via HAL. I want to grow up to be just like them. :D

 

Ruth,

 

I think you are right. Because I remember her saying 5,000 + days and I found postings from others in 2005 that said 5,000 days. Yet, when I met her again on a Mariners cruise in the Baltic in I believe 2007, she told me she had 7,000 days. I do know she cruised a lot. Her favorite CD was Bruce Allen Scudder. And both the cruises I saw Dolly, Bruce was the CD. He lives near her in Florida. Do Mariners get extra days for doing the World Cruise?

 

Regardless of how many days either have ladies have, they are both members of the President's Club which it will take a very long time for many of us to reach.

 

What I do remember about Dolly was she was dressed in a long formal gown and long gloves on formal nights. I hadn't see gloves with a gown since my high school prom.

 

Hope you had a wonderful cruise and had fun in their piano bar and had chocolates to eat! And met some great people.

[fuzzywuzzy]

IF her bio is correct, she was married to an Air Force Brigadier General. Perhaps she confused a BG with an admiral after sailing so much?:rolleyes:

 

 

Does she not have any family? Just curious.

[510picker]

Does she not have any family? Just curious.

 

She told us her kids tried to put her in an assisted living facility. As soon as they left, she went out the door and got on a ship.

[496and706]

The last time I spoke to Mama Lou was during the black Friday watch sale on board, and she had a pile of watches that she was buying for her grandkids. That was 9 days ago.

 

A flight to Miami could have been to get her to Ft. Lauderdale. I didn't have a massive internet package, and therefore didn't have much time when I posted the original post in the thread and not time to research if it was a Ft. L. departure.

 

I did see a pic that someone posted, and she was partly recognizable by the red floral hair decoration. She had it on every day.

 

She was on deck 5 forward on the port side. No balconies. Possibly an inside cabin as I always saw a lot of crew gathering around a door at the forward end of our hallway.

 

Also saw a reserved seat in the Lido in the late afternoons and then saw her sitting there with various staff hovering and talking. She sure brought a lot of smiles (more than usual if that's possible) to whatever crew or staff were around her.