Pinnacle Grill Mariner program question

[Jalex63]

If I invite quests to dine with me in the Pinnacle at my expense. Will I be charged my rate for all or will I be charged based upon each couples mariner status?

 

Another question that I will throw in here is about tipping. Should one tip the waiters in these venues?

[dakrewser]

If I invite quests to dine with me in the Pinnacle at my expense. Will I be charged my rate for all or will I be charged based upon each couples mariner status?

 

Another question that I will throw in here is about tipping. Should one tip the waiters in these venues?

 

If you are paying then you will be billed based on your status. Tipping is optional - you might do so for exceptional service (especially if your group is large) but it has to be in cash as there's no way to add it on to your non-existent bill.

[Vict0riann]

When we have invited other cruisers to be our guests for dinner (for example, we have taken my sister-in-law and her hubby a few times), we have been charged our (half) price for them also. But you never know what HAL may be up to next!:)

[jtl513]

When we have invited other cruisers to be our guests for dinner (for example, we have taken my sister-in-law and her hubby a few times), we have been charged our (half) price for them also. But you never know what HAL may be up to next!:)

According to the Mariner FAQ's:

 

13. Can I extend my benefits (such as the 25% or 50% discount at select food and beverage outlets) to shipmates?

 

No. Benefits are intended for the personal use of the applicable guest and those sharing a stateroom with the guest on the same booking number. Not applicable to groups. Holland America Line reserves the right to limit benefits if necessary.

 

That was the case when we first treated guests in the Nieuw Amsterdam Tamarind in 2010, but in subsequent cases our discount was applied to the entire bill. So ... if for some reason the ship decides to apply the written rule ... :)

Edited March 2, 2016 by jtl513

[Vict0riann]

According to the Mariner FAQ's:

 

13. Can I extend my benefits (such as the 25% or 50% discount at select food and beverage outlets) to shipmates?

 

No. Benefits are intended for the personal use of the applicable guest and those sharing a stateroom with the guest on the same booking number. Not applicable to groups. Holland America Line reserves the right to limit benefits if necessary.

 

That was the case when we first treated guests in the Nieuw Amsterdam Tamarind in 2010, but in subsequent cases our discount was applied to the entire bill. So ... if for some reason the ship decides to apply the written rule ... :)

 

Exactly! It'll be the luck of the draw, as to what they will charge.:)

[SilvertoGold]

It varies and it shouldn't.

 

I would email the Mariner Society and get their take on this in writing. If they were to say you get your discount for your guest, too, take it with you on the cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just something else that inconsistent among the ships.

Yes -- we do give a tip to our servers in the Pinnacle -- that is just us.

[sail7seas]

According to the Mariner FAQ's:

 

13. Can I extend my benefits (such as the 25% or 50% discount at select food and beverage outlets) to shipmates?

 

No. Benefits are intended for the personal use of the applicable guest and those sharing a stateroom with the guest on the same booking number. Not applicable to groups. Holland America Line reserves the right to limit benefits if necessary.

 

That was the case when we first treated guests in the Nieuw Amsterdam Tamarind in 2010, but in subsequent cases our discount was applied to the entire bill. So ... if for some reason the ship decides to apply the written rule ... :)

 

 

Every time we brought guests to Pinnacle Grill for dinner we always were charged according to our Four Star /Five Star Status for all at the table.

 

We Always tip in Pinnacle unless something most extreme were to occur that was unacceptable.

 

Those who say 'they look around and they don't see people tip' have no idea. It is so easy for someone to palm cash and shake the hand of their steward in thanks. No one saw and no one cares.

 

[sail7seas]

If I invite quests to dine with me in the Pinnacle at my expense. Will I be charged my rate for all or will I be charged based upon each couples mariner status?

 

Another question that I will throw in here is about tipping. Should one tip the waiters in these venues?

 

On some cruise lines, the upcharge for alternative restaurants is

partly) for tips but that is not the case on HAL. The upcharge for Pinnacle/Tamarind/Caneletto does not include tip.

[the2ofus]

I'm smiling about the tip question because of my last experience in the Pinnacle Grill on one of the R class ships.

 

The food was wonderful, as usual, and the service was outstanding, except that once dessert and coffee was served they apparently forgot about us completely. My Dear Sis and I sat there, and sat there, and sat there. No refill cup of coffee was served, our dessert dishes were not cleared, no one came to move the table back so we could escape the banquette.

 

It was the strangest thing, our server never came back, no one else took her place although there was service to tables nearby. We finally became noisy and were rescued. No explanation given and no tip.

 

Did it put me off the Pinnacle Grill, of course not, glitches happen and our cruise experience was not diminished. Just very odd.

[jtl513]

... sat there, and sat there, and sat there ...

We had a similar experience in the Westerdam PG. At first service was excellent, until a couple came in that seemed to be "favorites", and all the attention was diverted to them. We sat there with empty water glasses and bread basket while 3 waiters hovered around their table chatting. When we were finally were served our dinners they were cold!

 

After we ate we waited a long time for someone to clear the dishes and ask for our dessert orders, but no one came by, so we just got up and left. That was the first time we had ever been to a PG, and we didn't try it again for several cruises after that.

[Boatdrill]

Never had any problems in PG on a variety of ships until....during dinner I noticed a nearby table of 4 people who had finished their evening and were getting ready to leave. There was much fuss and happy chatter as the ladies gathered their things and the men stood up. The waiter was there and they thanked him for a wonderful dinner. As they were leaving the table, the waiter reminded them about their opened wine bottle that was sitting in the standing ice bucket near their table. The ice bucket was holding about 3 bottles. A conversation followed, and one person opted to take a bottle "home" to their room.

 

I watched in stunned silence as the waiter handed them OUR bottle of wine out of the ice bucket !! They thanked him and off it went, in the hands of a man I'd never met.

 

What to do ? About 10 minutes later, our waiter (the same one who had given the wine away) came by our table, and so I asked him for a refill of my wine glass. He acknowledged my request, stopped by a few other tables, and then headed to the ice bucket. Imagine his surprise when he couldn't find our bottle. He came back to me and gently asked if we had finished it. I said no, we had only had 2 glasses. He looked puzzled and disappeared for a long time. When he came back, he asked if I had ordered the bottle in the MDR the previous night, or had brought it from my room ? He was still baffled and starting to panic.

 

Enough was enough, so I told him what I had seen...that he had given away our bottle. Within minutes he replaced the kidnapped bottle with a new one, complimentary of course. :)

Edited March 5, 2016 by Boatdrill

[lilybob]

When I inquired about my 3 star discount in the Pinnacle Grill I was told that it would only apply to those in my cabin (in this case my spouse.) Even though I was making the reservations, my 2 in-laws who would be joining us would be at the regular price. I guess we will see when we sail next;)

[catl331]

When I inquired about my 3 star discount in the Pinnacle Grill I was told that it would only apply to those in my cabin (in this case my spouse.) Even though I was making the reservations, my 2 in-laws who would be joining us would be at the regular price. I guess we will see when we sail next ;)

That's the official rule, as quoted in post #4. If you pre-book and pre-pay the reservations, you will probably find when you board that four "Loyalty" credits have been applied to your account on day 1. At least that's what has happened to us, and many others. Or they may just decide to go by the written rule. ;) Edited March 5, 2016 by catl331

[Moriah]

When you invite guests to a meal in the Pinnacle, nobody goes around asking those guests what their mariner status is! If they are your guests then YOUR room card is the one on that bill, so your status applies. My experience has been that your benefits apply to you and everyone at the table THAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR. If you dine with friends from another cabin but they are your guests at that meal, then your discount would apply since anything you purchase on your room card will incur YOUR mariner benefits. However, if you dine with friends from a different cabin who are paying their own bill for their meal, then their mariner status would apply to their part of the bill. It's all done automatically from your stateroom key card. It's not that someone in the Pinnacle makes an arbitrary decision how much to charge you. So if you want your friends to benefit from your higher mariner status then you will have to make sure only you are charged for the entire party and then either you treat them, or settle up with them separately.

 

Editing to add a little more. When we have made reservations for the Pinnacle we tell them the number in the party and we give only OUR stateroom if the others are our guests, or if we are just a group and the others are not our guests per se, then we give everyone's name/stateroom numbers, and then everyone is charged according to their mariner status benefits or lack thereof. Unless we are paying for them, they don't get the benefit of our higher status simply because they ate at the same table. Again, if you are paying for the entire party, you will pay according to YOUR mariner status. If not, then each person paying will pay according to their own status. Sorry if I repeated the same thing 6 different ways LOL

Edited March 5, 2016 by Moriah

[sail7seas]

Yes, ^^ that.

 

When we host guests in Pinnacle, we make the reservation on our cabin number (thus our Mariner Number) and tell the number of people in our party. They have never asked cabin number of our guests and we have always been charged according to our Mariner Star Level with all discounts applied to entire bill.

 

In cases when we pre-booked and paid in advance of boarding, we always got the appropriate refund due us for our Mariner Status.

[dakrewser]

When you invite guests to a meal in the Pinnacle, nobody goes around asking those guests what their mariner status is! If they are your guests then YOUR room card is the one on that bill, so your status applies.

 

 

Exactly.

[Moriah]

By the same token, if you go to the Explorations Cafe and purchase 10 coffees and distribute them to your friends, you paid for those according to YOUR status because yours is the card you gave the barista. You are not asked the status of those you are gifting the drinks to! But if they are paying for their own coffees by giving the barista their key cards, they can't say "but give us this person's discount because we are here together." :)

[cruz chic]

Every time we brought guests to Pinnacle Grill for dinner we always were charged according to our Four Star /Five Star Status for all at the table.

 

We Always tip in Pinnacle unless something most extreme were to occur that was unacceptable.

 

Those who say 'they look around and they don't see people tip' have no idea. It is so easy for someone to palm cash and shake the hand of their steward in thanks. No one saw and no one cares.

 

 

I get to know the ladies in the tamarind quite well. I understand this is not the pinnacle. On my last cruise I asked them about how many people tip percentage wise. I also said they were under no obligation to tell me. They had no problem telling me about 50%. While passangers might not know the wait staff should. They could have easily told me everyone does. For the record I do tip but that is a personal choice.

[Moriah]

Not to beat a dead horse, but the times when someone DOES get the benefit of your status when theirs is different are when they are rooming with you in your stateroom. If you sail with a family member or friend who does not have mariner benefits of their own, they will automatically receive those by virtue of being in your stateroom. So THEY - if they do go to the Pinnacle Grill or whatever, even without you, WILL receive the discount based on your mariner status. This is because, as said, it is automatic based on their key card. When you check into your cruise at embarkation, all key cards for all persons in your stateroom are cued up with your benefits.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I get to know the ladies in the tamarind quite well. I understand this is not the pinnacle. On my last cruise I asked them about how many people tip percentage wise. I also said they were under no obligation to tell me. They had no problem telling me about 50%. While passangers might not know the wait staff should. They could have easily told me everyone does. For the record I do tip but that is a personal choice.

 

 

I am so glad to hear that the Tamarind ladies say that about 50% of the people do tip.

We also always give the ladies there a tip. In fact we always tip in the Tamarind and Pinnacle.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Never had any problems in PG on a variety of ships until....during dinner I noticed a nearby table of 4 people who had finished their evening and were getting ready to leave. There was much fuss and happy chatter as the ladies gathered their things and the men stood up. The waiter was there and they thanked him for a wonderful dinner. As they were leaving the table, the waiter reminded them about their opened wine bottle that was sitting in the standing ice bucket near their table. The ice bucket was holding about 3 bottles. A conversation followed, and one person opted to take a bottle "home" to their room.

 

I watched in stunned silence as the waiter handed them OUR bottle of wine out of the ice bucket !! They thanked him and off it went, in the hands of a man I'd never met.

 

What to do ? About 10 minutes later, our waiter (the same one who had given the wine away) came by our table, and so I asked him for a refill of my wine glass. He acknowledged my request, stopped by a few other tables, and then headed to the ice bucket. Imagine his surprise when he couldn't find our bottle. He came back to me and gently asked if we had finished it. I said no, we had only had 2 glasses. He looked puzzled and disappeared for a long time. When he came back, he asked if I had ordered the bottle in the MDR the previous night, or had brought it from my room ? He was still baffled and starting to panic.

 

Enough was enough, so I told him what I had seen...that he had given away our bottle. Within minutes he replaced the kidnapped bottle with a new one, complimentary of course. :)

 

 

Love your story!!

Glad you told him what you had seen and that he was kind enough to give you a new complimentary bottle since he realized he had "goofed".

[sail7seas]

I admire your restraint in not saying something at the time you watched the steward hand over your bottle of wine to those who were leaving. You knew then he was making a mistake but let him go ahead and send your bottle away. I am sure I would have politely commented that was 'our' wine. :D

 

[sail7seas]

I am so glad to hear that the Tamarind ladies say that about 50% of the people do tip.

We also always give the ladies there a tip. In fact we always tip in the Tamarind and Pinnacle.

 

We always tip in Tamarind.

 

We always tip in Pinnacle but when we are on a ship for 14 days, eat breakfast most every morning there, some lunches and a number of dinners, we often tip after two or three visits. We find we often have the same steward and would prefer tipping them for three of so visits at once rather than after each meal seeing we go so often.

 

We always tip as well at the end of the cruise.

 

[Boatdrill]

I admire your restraint in not saying something at the time you watched the steward hand over your bottle of wine to those who were leaving. You knew then he was making a mistake but let him go ahead and send your bottle away. I am sure I would have politely commented that was 'our' wine. :D

 

 

It happened far enough away that I would have had to either leave my table and jog over to them waving my arms, or stay put and send up an emergency flare. Neither option seemed appropriate at the time. lol :D

Edited March 6, 2016 by Boatdrill