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Anyone Speculating? Mariner Society.....


sail7seas

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But, will the size of the bust vary upon the amount said Mariner has paid over the years? Will those for whom have only booked S suites be larger than those who've only booked inside cabins? What about those of us who have booked everything from insides to suites? More problems. :eek:

 

Woah, the topic has changed to bust sizes?:eek: Look, everyone knows you've gotta have goals before you can see end results so if HAL is going to change the Mariner program, they've absolutely, positively have to set some goals!

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John, I'll admit you were a top contender for the 'honors'. :D Please say hello to your lovely child bride, Maria, for us.

 

I really don't see how HAL can give any perks of much substance and as someone mentioned they have a hard enough time keeping track of days as it is. Even though is may be fun speculating about how much one spends could also be a factor, that is even more work for them. Would HAL also have to bring in on board spending into consideration??? I know some spend more on board than their cabin cost. Just not feasible.

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Besides there is also the 'Grand Mariner' status. Those Grand Voyages cost more per diem than a cheapie Caribbean cruise where there is lots of competition.

Tell me about it!

 

I priced out the 67-day Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific grand voyage in 2009. I also priced out another 70-day voyage that begins in Australia and ends up in Vancouver in 2010. That 70-day voyage is considered a "Collector's Voyage," rather than a "Grand Voyage." The price on that sailing, despite the fact that it is actually a few days longer, is CONSIDERABLY less than the "Grand Voyage" ... to the tune of over $5,000 bucks!

 

But, then ... again ... you get what you pay for. The grand voyages come with a lot of extra perks ... a heightened level of service. From what I understand, the crew for grand voyages are handpicked from among the best in the fleet. There are a lot of pillow gifts, special events, and better entertainment/activities that you will get on a regular voyage.

 

So, people taking grand voyages pay more, but then they get more too ... regardless of the accommodations they book. People in the premium accommodations, beginning with one of the outside cabin categories, also get a menu of extra perks, including free luggage shipment, air to the embarkation port, transfers, prepaid gratuities ... stuff like that. So, that is the compensation for taking a grand voyage. The Mariner Days should still remain the same. 67 days sailed is 67 days sailed ... regardless of whether you sail them in a quad inside cabin or the penthouse suite.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

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Originally Posted by sail7seas

We've had the conversation in the past about a guest who has 500 days sailed in an "S" suite vs a guest with 500 days in an Inside Cabin.

 

Both have 500 days of loyalty to the line but have spent considerably different sums.

 

 

 

 

And the person who sails 500 days in an "S" suite gets their reward in terms of the enhanced service and "perks" that go along with that suite. Mariner awards reward days sailed on the line ... period. What type of accommodations you sail in shouldn't make one iota of difference.

 

As you know, I 100% agree that Mariner benefits should be kept entirely separate from suite benefits. It is unfair to duplicate them and thus degrade the value the suite passenger is getting for his money. But part of keeping them separate means that the suite passenger enjoys an entirely different set of perks, based on his accommodations. Only the suite passenger will get the enhanced level of service that comes with those accommodations, such as the use of the Neptune Lounge concierge, the canapes, the unlimited laundry, etc.

 

If HAL wants to further enhance suite benefits, by perhaps including some free internet, extra parties, etc., that's fine. But any enhancements to the Mariner program should be based on days sailed regardless of what you spent to do so.

 

Just my humble opinion ...

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Here is the rest of my post. You excerpted from it and I think lost some of what I was expressing. The whole quote makes it more clear than just a part of it, in this case, IMO.

 

I agree. I think the odds high they have a running total on the amount each Mariner has spent but, of course, I'm only guessing.

 

We've had the conversation in the past about a guest who has 500 days sailed in an "S" suite vs a guest with 500 days in an Inside Cabin.

 

Both have 500 days of loyalty to the line but have spent considerably different sums.

 

I don't know or really even have an opinion if that makes any difference. I go back and forth in my thinking about it. I see and agree with both sides of that conversation.

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Here is the rest of my post. You exerpted from it and I think lost some of what I was expressing. The whole quote makes it more clear than just a part of it, in this case, IMO.

 

[/b]

I never said you advocated more Mariner credit for people in suites ... I was just adding my opinion on the subject.

 

But, you are correct. I should have kept the entire post together. I guess I just try to cut the quote down to simply the point I am responding to in order to keep the post shorter. I'll try to do better with my editing skills in the future.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

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I will weigh-in the Mariner Society with a negative comment. The benefits given to Mariner Society members are about the worst of any major cruise line! In fact, they give you nothing other than silly pins and perhaps an ocassional gift. Lets compare that to some of the competition. We are Elite on Princess and they give us free laundry, free dry cleaning, free mini-bar set-ups, priority tendering, priority embarkation and debarkation, hundreds of free internet minutes on each cruise and free wine tasting.

 

And than there is RCI. For Diamond members (we fall into that category) we get free access to their concierge lounges which includes 4 hours of free cocktails every evening, free hor d'oevres each night, unlimited free expresso and cappucino in the concierge lounge, coupon books that include many things such as free photos, free play in the casino, etc etc, free wine tasting, priorty tendering, priority embarkation and debarkation, some booking discounts, and more.

 

And than we have the Mariner Society. humph!

 

Hank

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And they're pricey because you CHOOSE those accommodations. You enjoy that enhanced level of service while onboard.

 

Mariner perks reward days sailed and that's it. If I am willing to sail them in an inside cabin and a far lower price than you pay, then that's my choice. I don't get the same "quality" of cruise that you get in the luxury accommodations. That's a choice I made, just as you've made yours, and it shouldn't matter beans in terms of the awarding of Mariner days. A day on a HAL ship is a day on a HAL ship, regardless of where your cabin is located. Mariner recognition should reward that, and nothing else. Suite perks will take care of compensating you for the extra you spent over me. If you don't feel you are being compensated enough in that regard, then that's a decision you have to make the next time you are selecting your accommodations, but you shouldn't be looking to the Mariner program to enhance the value of your suite. After all, we all sail the ship, and thus should be treated equally in that regard.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

The reason for what I said was in response to this:

The tricky part of all of this is to not water down the perks that those sailing in Deluxe Suites pay dearly for. And I say this as someone who is more apt to sail in the cheap seats, than not.

 

Looking at it from the perspective of a cruise line, assuming I wanted to improve the current program, I would be more inclined to reward based upon accumulated money spent, than days sailed. That of course presumes that the cruise line retains this information within the repeat guest data base.

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Looking at it from the perspective of a cruise line, assuming I wanted to improve the current program, I would be more inclined to reward based upon accumulated money spent, than days sailed. That of course presumes that the cruise line retains this information within the repeat guest data base.

And if I were the cruise line, that would be the last thing I would want to do. If I give Mariner recognition based on money spent, I'm going to irritate a lot of passengers who sail in more "run of the mill" accommodations. They are going to feel that they will have no chance of getting to the higher reward categories, simply because they don't spend "enough" money onboard ... so why bother even trying? Why not just switch over to another cruise line that values their business more?

 

The percentage of passengers sailing in the upper level accommodations is pretty minescule when compared to all those cabins in other classes ... cabins that are far cheaper to book than a suite. Personally, if I were the cruise line, I wouldn't want to thumb my nose at all those passengers just to give extra recognition to my "high rollers" in the suites. I would sooner reward my high rollers with extra nice suite perks, and keep the Mariner recognition program based on days sailed only.

 

Of course, we won't know what HAL is going to do until they come out with their "enhanced" Mariner program ... and it could very well work out that they decide to award Mariner medals and levels (and presumably the new perks that go along with them) based on dollars spent, rather than days cruised. But I fear that if they do that, they're gonna p*ss off a lot of loyal cruisers, thus encouraging them to seek out another cruise line that will value their loyalty more.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

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How about leaving the Mariner program as is? If there are six million Mariners out there, it would seem HAL need not worry about repeat business - but rather look for new business. Most people on the HAL boards agree that HAL offers the best service, crew, ships, and itineraries. A pin/medallion and reception/lunch are nice but Mariner rewards are not the reason most people sail on HAL (at least I hope that's the case). Just another point of view.

 

Barbara

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I'm not sure about how to add my own thoughts here, mainly because most of you have many more HAL cruises under your belts than I do, and I don't wish to appear supercilious.....

 

.....anyway - here's my two cents/pennies/drachma (delete as appropriate)

 

Currently, the Mariners program costs HAL almost absolutely nothing. It will almost certainly stay that way. Marketing departments are paid a fortune to make sure they retain repeat customers at the lowest possible cost. The tricks they employ are to make it appear to the customer that they are being treated to something 'unavailable' to the first time cruiser, and therefore are somehow 'preferable' to have on board.

 

On our last cruise, 86% of the cruisers were Mariners, a number that I don't think is unusual for HAL. It simply is not possible to give 86% of 1200, 2000 or 760 people something for nothing.

 

What might be on the cards is a revamp of the scheme, in order to align the rewards in line with the profit generated by the cruiser in question. To play devil's advocate, why should someone who regularly cruises in the Penthouse Suite receive exactly the same rewards as someone who has the same number of days, but by booking the lowest cost accomodation on the ship? Personally, I don't care who sleeps where, but I can assure you that the Marketing department at HAL will be trying a lot harder to retain the PS cruisers than they will the lowest category of passenger.

 

Think of it this way....in the UK, almost every supermarket or high street chain store has a 'loyalty' program. These are almost always based upon the amount you spend with the store in question, not on the time you spend in the store, why should a cruise line looking to retain its best customers be any different. You already know that HAL can track every penny you spend on their ships, and will be able to target their marketing at those who bring in the greatest profits.

 

So, in a nutshell, here's my prophecy. HAL's Mariner program will change from being 'Days' based to be 'Profit' based somehow. They might couch it in different terms, but if they're serious about retaining their profitable clients, that's what I'd be doing.....

 

As I said, just my 2p/d/c'th

 

Tim

 

Tim, this is too complicated and will not work. HAL has a simple process to count days and I think it will stay this way. They could change the system to "points" and give extra points per cruise if one books a Suite (they do this on Celebrity).

 

What I want to know is, how your (and some others) idea to reward by money spent works with those who book direct through HAL verses those who book through an outside TA? I have done both and through the TA HAL does not even know how much I paid on my second to last cruise. Why? Because on my last outside TA booked cruise the TA charged my credit card to their agency and then paid HAL (and they won't be doing that again). Some TA's discount. Some discount in the form of OBC. Even Celebrity/RCCL who say they do not discount apparently have high producing TA's that are allowed to do this with group bookings. HAL only knows what I pay when I go through one of their PCC.

 

Btw, to answer your question about why someone in a PH should get the same Mariner rewards as someone in an inside cabin. Here is why. The PH guest is paying for the better Real Estate. I have taken one Celebrity cruise and they distinguish Real Estate vs Amenities. I was in a Concierge Class Stateroom which was the same size as the Regular Verandah and guess what? I had better Amenities than the Suite Guests (who complain on CC about that). We had extras available on our breakfast menu such as Smoothies as well as fresh flowers while someone in a Suite said their flowers were plastic. In some ways HAL is going in this direction since they are selling many of the Suite Amenities (not taking them away from the Suite Guests but selling Amenities to those who want to pay for them. So, Suite Guests are mostly paying for the larger Real Estate, better location and Neptune Lounge. Someone else can purchase a bottle of Champaign or unlimited laundry and pressing.

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What's wrong with a perk called "Free Cruise"?

Nothing! Airlines do it successfully. With the 'yield management' model airlines employ, people pay all different prices for the very same seats based on market demand at the time of booking. Some buy from TA's, some on the internet, or whatever. There are restrictions and limitations on how many seats are available for reward travel on any given flight, and there's no reason why cruiselines can't do the same--offering free cruises or cabin upgrades based on past travel, and limiting the number of rewards on any particular cruise.

Airlines that cover vast areas of the world have a real advantage with this plan in ensuring brand loyalty. HAL would have a similar advantage since HAL goes almost everywhere cruises are offered.

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How about leaving the Mariner program as is? If there are six million Mariners out there, it would seem HAL need not worry about repeat business - but rather look for new business. Most people on the HAL boards agree that HAL offers the best service, crew, ships, and itineraries. A pin/medallion and reception/lunch are nice but Mariner rewards are not the reason most people sail on HAL (at least I hope that's the case). Just another point of view.

So true. I sail HAL to enjoy the ships, the people, and the whole cruising experience ... not to get Mariner recognition, though that is nice too.

 

I don't think HAL will be able to "leave the Mariner program alone" simply because it is getting to the point that just about EVERYONE is a Mariner and eventually they will all have pretty much the same benefits, rendering those benefits basically null and void (if everyone has a perk, it's no longer a perk, right?)

 

I think HAL is gonna have to do something to overhaul the program. I just don't know what it is and am just glad that it's not my problem to figure it out.

 

Unlike many other cruise lines, HAL doesn't have to give out things like free internet, access to a concierge lounge, etc., to its Mariners. So many of HAL's passengers are repeaters that it is obvious HAL is already giving us enough in the way of service and ambience to keep us coming back without all of those added bennies. Many of the other cruise lines out there have a tough fight on their hands to retain repeat passengers. There is so much competition for those passengers' cruising dollar, and pretty much one of those cruise lines is the same as the other as far as onboard experience. So, to keep bringing their passengers back, they have to offer them those perks. Frankly, I'd rather forego the perks and have an overall higher level of cruise experience such as the one I get on HAL.

 

It'll be interesting to see what develops with the Mariner program. I know they sent me a survey about a year ago asking my thoughts on possible enhancements. They mentioned something about awarding travel-related gifts to Mariners ... such as I would guess a small globe after so many days, maybe a larger one after more days, etc. I told them in the comments section of the survey exactly what I've said on these boards. My opinion is that Mariner awards should be cold hard cash, in the form of meaningful discounts on future cruises or OBC -- things that would encourage the Mariner to sail HAL's ships even more than they do now.

 

So, it'll be interesting to see what they come up with, if anything, in this regard.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

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Jade 13

I don't think I am incorrect to say that HAL does know what you pay, even through a TA. We booked through a TA for our upcoming cruise and received a Guest Confirmation on the HAL standard form. This Confirmation gives all the detail from original fare, discounts, insurance, taxes and fees, fuel supplement, shipboard credit and even the discount the TA gave us for using their firm.

 

Rita

I agree with your thoughts. I do not feel that the passsenger who cannot afford a suite should be penalized. That passenger pays what he can afford just as the suite passenger does.

 

P. S. We will be receiving our copper medalion on our Zuiderdam cruise later this month and look forward to receiving it. Never thought we would when we took our first cruise eight years ago.

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Congratulations to everyone just about to get your next level of Mariner Recognition. Have fun at the party or luncheon and enjoy your new pin or medallion!!!

Congratulations and wishing you many more great cruises.

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Congratulations to everyone just about to get your next level of Mariner Recognition. Have fun at the party or luncheon and enjoy your new pin or medallion!!!

Congratulations and wishing you many more great cruises.

Thanks froms us, Sail. We'll be proudly sporting our 50 day pins in just over a week. To be received on your favorite ship, MS Maasdam. :)

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Donna.......... that's wonderful. Congratulations to you both.

 

Teeny Tiny correction. :D I have TWO favorite ships. ;)

 

Maasdam/Noordam/Noordam/Maasdam/Noordam/Maasdam/Maasdam/Noordam/Love 'em both!!!

 

 

Have a perfectly fantastic, wonderful, amazing time on the awesome Maasdam. And please take good care of her for us until we arrive not long after you leave. :)

 

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Nothing! Airlines do it successfully. With the 'yield management' model airlines employ, people pay all different prices for the very same seats based on market demand at the time of booking. Some buy from TA's, some on the internet, or whatever. There are restrictions and limitations on how many seats are available for reward travel on any given flight, and there's no reason why cruiselines can't do the same--offering free cruises or cabin upgrades based on past travel, and limiting the number of rewards on any particular cruise.

Airlines that cover vast areas of the world have a real advantage with this plan in ensuring brand loyalty. HAL would have a similar advantage since HAL goes almost everywhere cruises are offered.

I'm not sure that achieving the same standards as the airlines is the direction in which HAL should go. :rolleyes:

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We've had the conversation in the past about a guest who has 500 days sailed in an "S" suite vs a guest with 500 days in an Inside Cabin.

 

Both have 500 days of loyalty to the line but have spent considerably different sums.

 

I don't know or really even have an opinion if that makes any difference. I go back and forth in my thinking about it. I see and agree with both sides of that conversation.

 

Yeah, loyalty is subjective.

 

The bottom line for cruise lines also includes onboard spending. Let's not forget all those who buy art, spend serious time in the spa and contribute to the casino cause. :)

 

I prefer HAL maintain service levels than provide loyalty rewards. With the economic downturn, more people are abandoning loyalty programs, in favor of best price, anyway.

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When we first started cruising we sailed on Norwegian and they offered upgrades or even free cabins based on the number of times you sail. X gave extra points to greater levels by booking concierge or suite cabins. I guess HAL could base their award levels based on type of cabin. (Suites would be awarded more points than inside) . There could also ne credits for what you spend while on board. Like in the casino, the more you play(lose) the higher the credit. Now if they offered something like that for your bar bills maybe people would bring less on board. I know that is my biggest expense on a cruise.(My 95 year old aunt tells me that when she first cruised, all the drinks were included like trans pacific flights)

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I'm not sure that achieving the same standards as the airlines is the direction in which HAL should go. :rolleyes:

 

Celebrity prices cruises this way. I took one Celebrity cruise. The costs (on-line) kept changing and sometimes more than once per day. It drove me crazy. I think they use an airline type pricing system.

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Yeah, loyalty is subjective.

 

The bottom line for cruise lines also includes onboard spending. Let's not forget all those who buy art, spend serious time in the spa and contribute to the casino cause. :)

 

I prefer HAL maintain service levels than provide loyalty rewards. With the economic downturn, more people are abandoning loyalty programs, in favor of best price, anyway.

I find that those who patronize a certain concession onboard tend to be rewarded by them. For example, if you buy a lot of art on the cruise, chances are you might be invited to a special private showing ... free cocktails, etc. ... by the art concession. If you use the spa a lot, I would assume they do something special for you ... and maybe the casino offers some perks as well for their big spenders, just as Atlantic City or Vegas would.

 

I know we've heard on this board in the past about situations where Park West reserved the Crow's Nest for a good portion of the cruise for special art auctions where only their top customers were invited. I'm sure they do other things as well, on a lesser scale, for those who tend to buy from them while on a cruise.

 

I still say that Mariner benefits should have nothing whatsoever to do with what you spend onboard, or on your accommodations. Let the suite perks and concessionaires take care of providing those rewards.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

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