Without regard for being a Mariner's Holiday Cruise

[3rdGenCunarder]

As others have said, the embarkation lunch is never announced. It's sort of a state secret--nobody will tell you about it. I think it stopped being Mariners only (and yes, sometimes 1 or even 2-stars were turned away) about 7 years ago, maybe more. 

 

I've had a wine tasting very late on a cruise once or twice. It's more likely to happen if the cruise is port-intensive. Our table laughed when the sommelier kept mentioning the wines that were in the packages. Too late to make a sale.

 

I don't think there was a Mariner luncheon on my last HAL cruise (last winter). Don't recall a cocktail party, either. If there was, I guess I missed the invitation. I didn't think to inquire about either event.

 

There was a supply-chain problem with the tiles with a new design. We got a letter about it, and my steward explained it, too. He asked if I had a tile from Eurodam, and when I said I didn't, he said he'd find one for me. And he did. It was the old design, but I didn't care. I don't think he dug out a tile for me because I'm 4-star. He was just a really good cabin steward. That's the thing about HAL. The service is good no matter how many cruises you've sailed with them. 

 

[Billthekid]

7 hours ago, Shalandara said:

With HIA drink packages it has been worthless.  We are saving them though -- our next trip is actually on a charter and we are forgoing a drink package (neither of us are big on beverages other than the "free" ones).  So they will come in handy then.

Our "Mariner's Cocktail Coupon" was in the cabin on the desk, but what was interesting it was date-stamped indicating it was only good for the length of our particular cruise.  Use it (for drink #16) or lose it.  

[VLZT]

17 hours ago, Bill B said:

 

After three cruises I'm still waiting for any of the below:

15% discount at shophollandamerica.com
Mariner Society Welcome Onboard Lunch
Collectible gift
"Mariner Cocktail" voucher to be used anytime during the cruise

Sometimes you have to ask.... 
Over the Christmas holiday, my family of three sailed on Nieuw Statendam as two star mariners. Initially, we found our cabin devoid of the anticipated drink vouchers and the HAL branded bags we've received on HAL previous cruises.  A few days into the voyage, we approached guest services, who kindly provided us with a three drink voucher tickets that had no expiry date. Later that day, we were pleasantly surprised to find multiple drink vouchers (bearing an expiration date) and three Holland America cloth bags delivered to our stateroom. As the cruise progressed, we received the HAL Tiles along with a printed sticker of our voyage itinerary.  The concept of a "sticker" was a novelty to us as on prior HAL voyages we had received itineraries printed on premium paper.  We realized a book was involved only after seeing blue passport colored books in the "mailboxes" of some of the adjoining staterooms.  We requested the sticker book be delivered and it was slid under our door the morning of disembarkation.  

[oaktreerb]

13 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

You can use the drink voucher at any bar for any drink ($11 max) - it does not have to be the Mariner Cocktail. Enjoy!!

I hope you are right.  I’m saving them for a cruise without a drink package!  

 

Oh no, now I have to check expiration dates on the more recent drink vouchers!

Edited January 3 by oaktreerb

[highscar]

Almost 5 star, this year is the first time I have heard of these drink vouchers.    I guess I’m owed many. HAL is the only line we have sailed with. 

[kazu]

3 hours ago, highscar said:

Almost 5 star, this year is the first time I have heard of these drink vouchers.    I guess I’m owed many. HAL is the only line we have sailed with. 

 

It’s a little blue cardboard card on your desk.  easy to miss as they are not big.  If you have HIA never used.  Only beneficial to those that don’t have it.

[Shalandara]

8 hours ago, Billthekid said:

Our "Mariner's Cocktail Coupon" was in the cabin on the desk, but what was interesting it was date-stamped indicating it was only good for the length of our particular cruise.  Use it (for drink #16) or lose it.  

Which ship/sailing were you on?  Because ours were not date stamped.  (Koningsdam in 2022 and Oosterdam in 2023).  Wondering if it's a ship-to-ship thing or a new to all ships thing.

[crystalspin]

On 1/2/2024 at 4:43 PM, Billthekid said:

The disregard for the Mariners Members is not a deal breaker, but it is more of the reflective attitude towards all the passengers in my opinion.  

Bill --

It seems you have attained status with the wrong cruiseline. HAL values all passengers more or less equally. When we were 1-2-and-3* we appreciated that we weren't looked down on. Now that we are 4*, we would never reverse that logic.

 

When we tried RCI (as 3* HAL sailors), we actually found it amusing to watch the elite passengers parade past the rest of us to their exclusive cocktail parties every afternoon. However, it's not too late for you to start building journeys with that line.

 

Edited January 4 by crystalspin

[Haljo1935]

4 hours ago, Shalandara said:

Which ship/sailing were you on?  Because ours were not date stamped.  (Koningsdam in 2022 and Oosterdam in 2023).  Wondering if it's a ship-to-ship thing or a new to all ships thing.

Not date stamped on any of my sailings; most recently including K'dam Dec-Jan 2023-2024, NA Feb 2023, Eurodam April-May 2023, NS Oct-Nov 2023, NS Nov-Dec 2023.

[Seasick Sailor]

We are currently on Rotterdam. 

 

Our drink cards are not dated.

 

Here's the front and back. I've never used the drink cards, mostly used for book marks.

[Shalandara]

So it seems that only the OP has received date stamped drink coupons?

[crystalspin]

5 hours ago, Shalandara said:

So it seems that only the OP has received date stamped drink coupons?

@VLZT said they got some from front desk without date, and some delivered to cabin WITH, in post 28 above.

[Caribbean Chris]

On 1/3/2024 at 10:17 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 …He was just a really good cabin steward. That's the thing about HAL. The service is good no matter how many cruises you've sailed with them. 

 

You hit the nail on the head. The crew is worth all the special cocktail parties in the world. Reading through these posts, for some reason I had a flashback of boarding our first HAL cruise post-pandemic on the shiny-new Rotterdam in November 2021. All the staff was lined up as we boarded, waving and saying, “Welcome Back!”  I still get all teary-eyed thinking about how glad we were to see them.

[Mary229]

Many have said that you shouldn’t marry a loyalty program. I wish HAL would simply offer more economic rewards , that is countable.  Ceremonies and recognitions can very greatly and are hard to evaluate

Edited January 5 by Mary229

[cruisemom42]

Funny story — on my April Westerdam cruise I had a drink coupon on my desk on arrival for the first time, but also had HIA for the first time and deemed it worthless. Little did I know that a) it didn’t expire and b) I could redeem it for ANY same-priced cocktail.

 

A couple of days into the cruise, when looking for something in the closet, I realized my room steward had stashed a supply of them behind my cabin safe. (Like 50 or so). Should’ve grabbed a few. 🤣

[Petronillus]

4 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

You hit the nail on the head. The crew is worth all the special cocktail parties in the world. Reading through these posts, for some reason I had a flashback of boarding our first HAL cruise post-pandemic on the shiny-new Rotterdam in November 2021. All the staff was lined up as we boarded, waving and saying, “Welcome Back!”  I still get all teary-eyed thinking about how glad we were to see them.

I think it's a principle of enterprise organization that every organization has its own "special sauce." It's not always obvious what the special sauce is, even (or maybe even especially) for the insiders. But you mess with the special sauce at your peril. I think a huge element of HAL's special sauce is the cheerfulness of the customer-facing crew. It must be drummed into them during their training, and in my experience they are the most gracious bunch of folks. And their cheerfulness seems utterly genuine and seems to penetrate well below the surface. I've sometimes wondered how exhausting it must be, especially for the introverts among them.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Petronillus said:

I think it's a principle of enterprise organization that every organization has its own "special sauce." It's not always obvious what the special sauce is, even (or maybe even especially) for the insiders. But you mess with the special sauce at your peril. I think a huge element of HAL's special sauce is the cheerfulness of the customer-facing crew. It must be drummed into them during their training, and in my experience they are the most gracious bunch of folks. And their cheerfulness seems utterly genuine and seems to penetrate well below the surface. I've sometimes wondered how exhausting it must be, especially for the introverts among them.

While I enjoy their friendliness, I’ve not found those on other lines to be less cheerful or friendly (including Celebrity, Azamara and Oceania, all of which I’ve sailed in the past few months).