Does the Mariner Discount apply to Rudi's Sel de Mer & Nami Sushi?

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

Of course "going less" makes sense, as it's spendier than the others. Maybe you can save it for special occasions.  

To me the extra expense does make sense, given how much more complex the dishes are at Sel de Mer and also that things are on the regular menu there that are upcharge items at the other restaurants.  

I imagine it's expensive to produce fine continental cuisine these days.  Hint: The birthday cake they provide is itself a special treat -- unlike those we've seen before.  It was so beautiful, we brought it home with us.  😋

Maybe, but I generally order fish there so it’s really not complicated.  Being Canadian we pay around $1.26 extra so $60 a meal is a lot.  I definitely wouldn’t pay that at home.  I find I was just as happy at tamarind and even Canaletto which I never would have said before.  I have my 5 star freebies at the pinnacle too so I have to fit those in 😛.

[kazu]

10 hours ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

Of course "going less" makes sense, as it's spendier than the others. Maybe you can save it for special occasions.  

To me the extra expense does make sense, given how much more complex the dishes are at Sel de Mer and also that things are on the regular menu there that are upcharge items at the other restaurants.  

I imagine it's expensive to produce fine continental cuisine these days.  Hint: The birthday cake they provide is itself a special treat -- unlike those we've seen before.  It was so beautiful, we brought it home with us.  😋

 

You make some good points. I love Sel de Mer and, honestly as long as I know what the Mariner discount is and don’t have to fight for it, I’ll  pay the price.  

 

My attitude?  As long as people know up front what the real cost is they can decide if it’s worth it to them or not.  For me, it is. 😉 

[AncientWanderer]

4 hours ago, kazu said:

 

You make some good points. I love Sel de Mer and, honestly as long as I know what the Mariner discount is and don’t have to fight for it, I’ll  pay the price.  

 

My attitude?  As long as people know up front what the real cost is they can decide if it’s worth it to them or not.  For me, it is. 😉 

 

On Koningsdam we actually received a courtesy call day of to make sure we knew that the discount is 25 percent.  That was kind of them.  I hesitated to mention this before, because we all know how inconsistent HAL ships are.  Some might inform you; many probably will not.  It's good that it's all written down in the official Mariner benefits guide now.  

[MisterBill99]

So I am on Rotterdam and just added myself to a reservation that someone who is 2* had at Rudi's. I am a new 3* with this sailing and asked the person changing the reservation if the other people could also get the 25% off when she told me that I did not get a discount at the restaurant. I think it is absolute BS. The website does not say it specifically and even the FAQ does not exclude Rudi's (although it's also not included once you go look), it only excludes the pop-up nights, which makes sense. I am not happy about this and intend to complain, although I doubt it will get me very far. The woman said something like "it's not our restaurant" which is even more BS since Rudi is a HAL employee. And BTW, Rudi's was almost completely empty when we walked past last night (first night of the cruise). I do see the 25% info listed in the 4* and 5* section, but nothing is mentioned under 3*, which is ridiculous.

 

This is the 3* info:

 

• A 25% discount on specialty restaurant surcharges and on specialty coffees in all dining venues* (Exploration Café and Grand Dutch Café on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam), Sommelier Suites packages*, and all mini-bar purchases* 

 

Here is the info in the FAQ. 

The Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto and Tamarind all qualify for Star Level discounts. Le Cirque and De Librije and themed evenings in the Pinnacle Grill such as Chinese Dinner, Japanese Dinner, Indonesian Dinner, Australian Dinner, South America Dinner and Radio Show Dinner also receive Star Level discounts. Master Chef Dinner, Cellar Master Dinner, Aficionado Dinner, Chef's Table, and restaurant packages are excluded from the discounts. 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by MisterBill99

[kazu]

6 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

So I am on Rotterdam and just added myself to a reservation that someone who is 2* had at Rudi's. I am a new 3* with this sailing and asked the person changing the reservation if the other people could also get the 25% off when she told me that I did not get a discount at the restaurant. I think it is absolute BS. The website does not say it specifically and even the FAQ does not exclude Rudi's (although it's also not included once you go look), it only excludes the pop-up nights, which makes sense. I am not happy about this and intend to complain, although I doubt it will get me very far. The woman said something like "it's not our restaurant" which is even more BS since Rudi is a HAL employee. And BTW, Rudi's was almost completely empty when we walked past last night (first night of the cruise). I do see the 25% info listed in the 4* and 5* section, but nothing is mentioned under 3*, which is ridiculous.

 

This is the 3* info:

 

• A 25% discount on specialty restaurant surcharges and on specialty coffees in all dining venues* (Exploration Café and Grand Dutch Café on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam), Sommelier Suites packages*, and all mini-bar purchases* 

 

Here is the info in the FAQ. 

The Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto and Tamarind all qualify for Star Level discounts. Le Cirque and De Librije and themed evenings in the Pinnacle Grill such as Chinese Dinner, Japanese Dinner, Indonesian Dinner, Australian Dinner, South America Dinner and Radio Show Dinner also receive Star Level discounts. Master Chef Dinner, Cellar Master Dinner, Aficionado Dinner, Chef's Table, and restaurant packages are excluded from the discounts. 

 

 

Yes, and Sel de Mer is not mentioned.  There is a 25% discount on Sel de Mer but it is for 4* Mariners - sorry.  Always good to update on the Mariner benefits before calling BS.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/marketing-assets/mariner-society/documents/mariner-society-grid-09302021.pdf

[MisterBill99]

5 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Yes, and Sel de Mer is not mentioned.  There is a 25% discount on Sel de Mer but it is for 4* Mariners - sorry.  Always good to update on the Mariner benefits before calling BS.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/marketing-assets/mariner-society/documents/mariner-society-grid-09302021.pdf

 

Depending on how you parse the sentence, "in all dining venues" could easily be interpreted to include the restaurant surcharges. If you are going to exclude one of the main specialty dining restaurants onboard, then the item should list the ones that are included, not require the user to find the appropriate FAQ item and expand it. At minimum they should say that Rudi's is not included, the way they did the 25% for 4/5*. And it is still a BS exclusion, iIMHO. BTW, they also are not inviting 3* Mariners to the previously 3-5* reception, just 4 and 5*, due to Covid.

 

specialty restaurant surcharges and on specialty coffees in all dining venues*

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by MisterBill99

[kazu]

47 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Depending on how you parse the sentence, "in all dining venues" could easily be interpreted to include the restaurant surcharges. If you are going to exclude one of the main specialty dining restaurants onboard, then the item should list the ones that are included, not require the user to find the appropriate FAQ item and expand it. At minimum they should say that Rudi's is not included, the way they did the 25% for 4/5*. And it is still a BS exclusion, iIMHO. BTW, they also are not inviting 3* Mariners to the previously 3-5* reception, just 4 and 5*, due to Covid.

 

specialty restaurant surcharges and on specialty coffees in all dining venues*

 

 

It is specifically linked in the link I posted.  Very specifically. And it’s not listed in the restaurants included.

 

Sel de Met has been a bee in the bonnet for a while.  Sometimes you got te discount and other times you didn’t (trust me I know).  At least now, it is fully clarified although I would prefer as a 5* to have 50% off and for you the 25% off. But what we would like is not what it is.  It’s 25% off for 4* and up.  I’ll still go.

[Florida_gal_50]

I agree, it should be 50 percent for 4star and above and 25 percent for 3 star.  On my first week on the koningsdam I couldn’t get a reservation even though I tried as soon as I got on the ship.  They were fully booked.  The second week I booked the Thursday proceeding the next cruise or I probably wouldn’t have gotten that week either so they seem to be doing ok on some ships.

[MisterBill99]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

It is specifically linked in the link I posted.  Very specifically. And it’s not listed in the restaurants included.

 

Sorry, but hiding it in a footnote that you have to find and expand after saying "in all dining venues*" is not what I consider "very specifically".  And if they're going to give 4/5* half the normal discount, they should do the same for 3*.

[MisterBill99]

So, we ate at Sel de Mer on Rotterdam this week. I checked my account and was charged $91.14 for two people. We had also eaten at Tamarind, so I was able to "reverse engineer" that charge of $53.94 to determine that it came out to the posted price of $29 plus 18% less the 25% discount (we are 3*). Using that same formula, we received a 25% discount on our RSdM meal. The charge did show "loyalty discount applied" as it did for Tamarind, so I wondered if we had gotten anything given that this post and the restaurant employee had told me that I would not. YMMV on this, but it worked for me.

[OVgirl]

I didn't know that 3* got a discount at Rudi's.

[MisterBill99]

8 hours ago, OVgirl said:

I didn't know that 3* got a discount at Rudi's.

 

Supposedly they do not, but my experience this week says otherwise. A rare example of HAL's IT ineptitude working to our advantage?

Edited December 12, 2021 by MisterBill99

[OVgirl]

Sounds like what it was pre-Covid.

[Florida_gal_50]

14 minutes ago, OVgirl said:

Sounds like what it was pre-Covid.

 I wish it would go back to pre covid discounts.  I ate at sel de mer on the koningsdam last month and as a 5 star I only received a 25 percent discount.

[Bookited]

On 12/2/2021 at 2:53 PM, MisterBill99 said:

 

Depending on how you parse the sentence, "in all dining venues" could easily be interpreted to include the restaurant surcharges. If you are going to exclude one of the main specialty dining restaurants onboard, then the item should list the ones that are included, not require the user to find the appropriate FAQ item and expand it. At minimum they should say that Rudi's is not included, the way they did the 25% for 4/5*. And it is still a BS exclusion, iIMHO. BTW, they also are not inviting 3* Mariners to the previously 3-5* reception, just 4 and 5*, due to Covid.

 

specialty restaurant surcharges and on specialty coffees in all dining venues*

 

 

Before you get too huffy about not being invited to the 3-5* reception, we are 4* mariners and realized we weren't invited when we saw the free drink card on our bed.  Oh well, we just made use of our wine tasting and medallion ceremony.