Have the Mariner Perks Gone Away?

[cruisen cracker]

Just completed a 13 day cruise and now on a separately booked 9 day one.  First cruise, no Mariner Brunch and no "Collectible Gift".  This cruise no Welcome Reception and no Brunch.  We used to get tiles at the end of every cruise, apparently not anymore. Three Star status isn't worth very much.

[catl331]

Did you ask about the tiles at the front desk?  I haven't heard any reports that they weren't available anymore.

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by catl331

[NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope]

We had Mariners’ brunch and received tile on Volendam last week.

[3rdGenCunarder]

33 minutes ago, NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope said:

We had Mariners’ brunch and received tile on Volendam last week.

 

Ditto on the K this winter. 

 

I think on some ships (or all?) the welcome reception has been replaced by something in the evening during the cruise.

 

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, cruisen cracker said:

Just completed a 13 day cruise and now on a separately booked 9 day one.  First cruise, no Mariner Brunch and no "Collectible Gift".  This cruise no Welcome Reception and no Brunch.  We used to get tiles at the end of every cruise, apparently not anymore. Three Star status isn't worth very much.

 

We got them on the 13 day KDM transatlantic crossing. We were at one of the Mariner lunches early in the cruise.  We also got them on the previous 11 day Caribbean cruise.  We didn't attend the lunch, just asked for the tiles at the Front Desk.  

[syesmar]

cruisen cracker, 

Which ship were you on?  Maybe other passengers from your ship can chime in. 

 

I do know that one year on a Collector's Voyage, we hadn't received any notice for a Mariner's Lunch quite a while into the sailing and I called the front desk to ask which day this would be, as I wanted to make Pinnacle Grill lunch reservations and didn't want a conflict.  The receptionist said we were supposed to have been invited to the lunch the very day that I called, so she sent us an invitation for the next one.  In my case, it was a case where our invitations were not delivered.

[syesmar]

The page on HAL's website still shows the Welcome Reception, Brunch and collectible gift as benefits: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/mariner-society.html

[Krazy Kruizers]

I haven't heard anyone mention that there wasn't a Mariner's brunch where you receive the tiles.

 

What ship were you on?

 

Call the Mariner's Society and explain your situation and ask them to send you the tiles:  1-800-547-9139.

[Caribbean Chris]

2 hours ago, NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope said:

We had Mariners’ brunch and received tile on Volendam last week.

 

Same on Nieuw Statendam two weeks ago, last day, after the medallion presentation.

[joekerstef]

Zuiderdam in December there was a welcome reception for 3* and up in the BB King/ATK area and there was the Mariner brunch at the end of the cruise where you could get your tile. 

[san diego spartan]

5 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I haven't heard anyone mention that there wasn't a Mariner's brunch where you receive the tiles.

 

What ship were you on?

 

Call the Mariner's Society and explain your situation and ask them to send you the tiles:  1-800-547-9139.

Think we will call.  We had no collectable gift - but did not know we had to go to the front desk to receive it.  There was no mention of a brunch, but we did get invited to a Mariner's lunch.  

[Boatdrill]

10 minutes ago, san diego spartan said:

Think we will call.  We had no collectable gift - but did not know we had to go to the front desk to receive it.  There was no mention of a brunch, but we did get invited to a Mariner's lunch.  

Was the Mariner's Lunch during the cruise on a sea day ?  That's when the tiles are given. 

 

Nieuw Amsterdam 4/7-14/2019   Mariner luncheon (final sea day) and tiles.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Boatdrill

[terrydtx]

13 hours ago, syesmar said:

The page on HAL's website still shows the Welcome Reception, Brunch and collectible gift as benefits: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/mariner-society.html

Interesting that the HAL website still shows this benefit: Mariner Welcome Onboard Lunch.

This was in the past the lunch in the MDR on embarkation day that only Mariner members could attend, but now it is open to all passengers who know about it.

[0bnxshs]

I will say that the administration of the Mariner program on board ship has been very inconsistent over the last couple of years.

 

I've been 4* for several years and my FIL earned his 4* on board Zaandam during a 40 day cruise last fall.  We did not receive any invitations to either the Medallion ceremony (we are both bronze) or to any of the 2 Mariner's Brunches where tiles were presented.  My FIL did not receive his 4* pin.  When we inquired at the front desk, it turns out that we were "forgotten" about (although they swore we had been invited to the brunch) and did receive an apology on board from the HD who we had come to know quite well during the cruise.

 

Not a big deal for either of us (except my FIL really wanted the free laundry!), but definitely noticeable.  IMHO cuts in staff on board and on land may be affecting the administration of these loyalty programs.  On our NS cruise this last January we did not receive our Shareholder's Benefit although I had confirmation from Seattle that it had been accepted and applied.  When we called Seattle afterwards, we've been promised it will be applied on our next scheduled cruise, so we'll see a double credit.  I have email confirmation of this, so we'll see.....

 

OP, call the Seattle office and ask for a tile and an apology.  As far as the embarkation day lunch, sometimes we've seen that due to inspections or crew changes, etc. that they don't serve lunch in the MDR.  Often crew won't acknowledge the MDR is open.

[doone]

17 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Ditto on the K this winter. 

 

I think on some ships (or all?) the welcome reception has been replaced by something in the evening during the cruise.

 

Ditto on the Koningsdam this past March............

[grsnovi]

We've had tiles show up in our cabin as well as getting them at the lunch however I've never missed a meal on a cruise and I have to say that the tile is pretty worthless. Once upon a time there were certainly more Mariner benefits (even if they also didn't rise to expensive heights).

[sammiedawg]

We didn’t get invited to the mariner lunch on a couple cruises but didn’t care.  The ones I attended were overcrowded with people pushing and shoving to get in the door.  Standard food, nothing special.   And lunch is available in other venues.  

Other lines do very popular cocktail parties and open bar events for all passengers and a couple for past passengers.  

I’ve had tiles placed in our cabin and took a few home.  I occasionally find one in a junk drawer.  Couldn’t figure out what to do with them.  Also we leave behind any pins or ship memorabilia left in the cabin. 

[POA1]

We had tiles and the luncheon on the Zuiderdam in late December 2018. We skipped the brunch and forgot to request the tiles, but they were definitely there and we could have had them had it not been for our own lack of effort.

[avian777]

19 hours ago, joekerstef said:

Zuiderdam in December there was a welcome reception for 3* and up in the BB King/ATK area and there was the Mariner brunch at the end of the cruise where you could get your tile. 

 

Ditto for Zuiderdam in late January-early February.

[joekerstef]

Re: the Mariner pins. My mother made 2* as a result of our first Alaska cruise in 2016. I thought for some reason that her pin would be in our cabin at the beginning of our next cruise but it wasn't. When it didn't show up after a couple days, I had her go to the front desk and inquire. The next day in our cabin was her 2* pin and a nice note from Capt. O'Driscoll. So I made 2* as a result of that cruise, and again, no pin at the beginning of our next cruise. Few days later I went to the front desk to inquire... and was handed a pin just like that. My mother had the same experience as me on Zuiderdam in December for her 3* pin. On our last two cruises, near the end of the cruise, people who moved up a level as a result of only that cruise's sea days received pins and I think congratulatory letters in their mailboxes. I made 3* on my last cruise but I needed a couple days of spending bonus to get there so no pin. I imagine I'm going to have to go to the front desk again on my upcoming cruise to claim my pin. It's not a huge deal, but it would be a nice touch to be remembered by HAL since one of their biggest selling points is service. 

[avian777]

13 hours ago, joekerstef said:

Re: the Mariner pins. My mother made 2* as a result of our first Alaska cruise in 2016. I thought for some reason that her pin would be in our cabin at the beginning of our next cruise but it wasn't. When it didn't show up after a couple days, I had her go to the front desk and inquire. The next day in our cabin was her 2* pin and a nice note from Capt. O'Driscoll. So I made 2* as a result of that cruise, and again, no pin at the beginning of our next cruise. Few days later I went to the front desk to inquire... and was handed a pin just like that. My mother had the same experience as me on Zuiderdam in December for her 3* pin. On our last two cruises, near the end of the cruise, people who moved up a level as a result of only that cruise's sea days received pins and I think congratulatory letters in their mailboxes. I made 3* on my last cruise but I needed a couple days of spending bonus to get there so no pin. I imagine I'm going to have to go to the front desk again on my upcoming cruise to claim my pin. It's not a huge deal, but it would be a nice touch to be remembered by HAL since one of their biggest selling points is service. 

 

I don't know what period of time is covered by the experiences you describe above, but an acquaintance of mine who has worked at HAL for several years told me last summer that HAL had stopped automatically giving out Mariner * pins because so few people actually want them.  Now they generally keep a supply on each ship for the Front Desk to hand out on request.

[joekerstef]

18 minutes ago, avian777 said:

 

I don't know what period of time is covered by the experiences you describe above, but an acquaintance of mine who has worked at HAL for several years told me last summer that HAL had stopped automatically giving out Mariner * pins because so few people actually want them.  Now they generally keep a supply on each ship for the Front Desk to hand out on request.

This is all in the past two years. I think since I'm already in touch with the ship's coordinator for my next cruise, I'm just going to ask her if she could arrange with whomever to get me my pin. Can't hurt to ask.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, joekerstef said:

This is all in the past two years. I think since I'm already in touch with the ship's coordinator for my next cruise, I'm just going to ask her if she could arrange with whomever to get me my pin. Can't hurt to ask.

 

My pins for 2 and 3 star came in the mail shortly after the relevant cruise. I hit 100 days and 4 stars within days of each other in the fall of 2017. My pin was delivered to my cabin and my invitation to the medallion at the ceremony was with it.  

 

[avian777]

6 hours ago, joekerstef said:

This is all in the past two years. I think since I'm already in touch with the ship's coordinator for my next cruise, I'm just going to ask her if she could arrange with whomever to get me my pin. Can't hurt to ask.

 

Good idea.  The basic problem is that HAL allows the individual ships a lot of latitude in how certain matters are handled - this results in inconsistency which is difficult for many people to understand or accept.

[ScottC4746]

On 4/25/2019 at 11:41 AM, cruisen cracker said:

Just completed a 13 day cruise and now on a separately booked 9 day one.  First cruise, no Mariner Brunch and no "Collectible Gift".  This cruise no Welcome Reception and no Brunch.  We used to get tiles at the end of every cruise, apparently not anymore. Three Star status isn't worth very much.

We had 1 cruise night when we boarded the Eurodam a few weeks ago and we did get a Welcome Reception invitation (but opted out of going) and did go to the brunch and received our tiles as well as a collectible gift.  It was  logoed reusable shopping bag.