tender ? any changes

[echotumi]

has there been a change on how you get your tender ticket ? we have 2 tender ports on our 3/2 sea of cortez cruise and was just wondering .. i did try to search it but no real luck thanks for any info :eek:

[Barocl]

On our last cruise (it finished 04Jan10) the tenders tickets for those not on a HAL tour were delivered to their stateroom the night before. Take care.

[iflyrc5]

Just off our 33 day on the Rotterdam with lots of Tender ports - we were given tender tickets the night before and then the numbers were called in random order - not a good system as some folks with numbers that were called didn't even want to get off while we waited for 2 hours for our number to be called - even the Dance hosts got off before us. Later on they just said anyone ready to go could go - they should have stayed with the old system - go to the theater when you are ready to go and get your tender ticket - that system worked much better.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Don't like the sound of this new way of passing out tender tickets.

[RuthC]

This new system sounds like a mad scientific experiment gone wrong. It's tantamount to telling someone when they have to get off the ship! Sometimes I don't want to go ashore at all!
Add to the mix that 4* Mariners (don't know if other *s qualify) don't need a tender ticket. They merely need to get in line when they want.

What a mess. :rolleyes:

[jtl513]

We like to get an early start, and invariably when we go to the place to get tickets we're told "just go on down". We've taken some excursions at tender ports where we were called as a group, but other than those we've never had to get a ticket or wait to be called! :p

[RevNeal]

This new system sounds like a mad scientific experiment gone wrong. It's tantamount to telling someone when they have to get off the ship! Sometimes I don't want to go ashore at all!
Add to the mix that 4* Mariners (don't know if other *s qualify) don't need a tender ticket. They merely need to get in line when they want.

What a mess. :rolleyes:

It's a mess, and being a 4-Star Mariner is no guarantee if the Cruise Staff-person doing the gate-keeping at the bottom of the stairs is clueless as to what it means. I had my card from the Guest Relations Manager telling me that, thanks to my 4-star Mariner status, I had priority tender service and wouldn't have to obtain a tender ticket. So, with my mother, I waited in the line going down to A deck. When we reached the bottom of the stairs a member of the Cruise Staff (the DJ) told me that he didn't know what I was talking about and that I needed to have a Gold-colored room key to have priority tender access. I showed him my card from the GRM and pointed to the 4-Star Mariner symbol on my room-key card, and he just shook his head and told me to go up to the Wajang Theater and get a tender ticket.

So, minding my temper, Mom and I went back up the stairs. On our way up I ran into the Cruise Director, coming down. I showed him my card from the GRM and explained what happened. He also didn't know about the perk, but agreed that the card from the GRM seemed to say that I had priority tender privileges and that I should head back down with him. So, we did, and were put in the final line to get on the tender. So ... it ended ok, but it was nevertheless frustrating.

In other words, even the staff responsible for gate-keeping didn't know what they're doing or how the tendering system works! At least, that's what happened to my mother and I on the Zaandam this January.

[Copper10-8]

............ I had my card from the Guest Relations Manager telling me that, thanks to my 4-star Mariner status, I had priority tender service and wouldn't have to obtain a tender ticket. .........................

Just being nosy, Rev - What kind of "card" was that and why did you get one? HAL ought to bring their "cruise staff" up to speed! It's pretty black & white:

4-Star Mariner
Guests who collect over 200 Cruise Day credits join our elite group of 4-Star Mariners. These premier travelers will receive all the benefits available to the previous Mariner Star levels, plus an additional set of exclusive rewards that include:
http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets/myaccount/0375-29.jpg

A 50% discount on specialty restaurant surcharges, all wine packages, food, coffee, tea, and non-alcoholic beverages in the Explorations Café and all mini-bar purchases
A complimentary winetasting session
Complimentary laundry and pressing services
A 15% discount on Holland America Line logo clothing sold in onboard shops (may exclude already discounted merchandise)
Priority disembarkation
Priority tender
Priority check-in
Early notification of shore excursions available for prebooking
A complimentary one-year subscription to Travel + Leisure or Food & Wine magazine (one per household)
Complimentary cruise fare on 3rd/4th guest in your stateroom on select sailings

[RevNeal]

Just being nosy, Rev - What kind of "card" was that and why did you get one? HAL ought to bring their "cruise staff" up to speed! It's pretty black & white:

4-Star Mariner
Guests who collect over 200 Cruise Day credits join our elite group of 4-Star Mariners. These premier travelers will receive all the benefits available to the previous Mariner Star levels, plus an additional set of exclusive rewards that include:
http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets/myaccount/0375-29.jpg

A 50% discount on specialty restaurant surcharges, all wine packages, food, coffee, tea, and non-alcoholic beverages in the Explorations Café and all mini-bar purchases
A complimentary winetasting session
Complimentary laundry and pressing services
A 15% discount on Holland America Line logo clothing sold in onboard shops (may exclude already discounted merchandise)
Priority disembarkation
Priority tender
Priority check-in
Early notification of shore excursions available for prebooking
A complimentary one-year subscription to Travel + Leisure or Food & Wine magazine (one per household)
Complimentary cruise fare on 3rd/4th guest in your stateroom on select sailings


Excellent Question!
In my cabin, on the day I boarded, were a bunch of those "Gift" and "Invitation" cards. Members of my church gave me a gift on my onboard account; a friend here on CC gave me a bottle of wine; my TA had a gift for me. The normal stuff. In addition to this there were several "Invite" cards, one inviting me to the complementary wine tasting, one detailing the complementary laundry service, and one detailing the priority tender service. I'm scanning in these cards and will post them here in a moment.

[RevNeal]

Here's the "Card" I was talking about:

http://www.revneal.org/Resources/ccimages/tendercard01.jpg

[RevNeal]

Off the topic of this particular thread, here's the card I got regarding the complementary laundry/pressing service for 4-star mariners.

http://www.revneal.org/Resources/ccimages/laundrycard01.jpg

[RuthC]

In addition to this there were several "Invite" cards, ... and one detailing the priority tender service.
On the Rotterdam cruise (must have been the first leg, before you arrived) I got a letter with the same info. That was a port where I didn't go ashore, though, so I never learned how the system played out that time.
I do know now that I should bring the letter/card with me if I ever plan to use the perq.

[RevNeal]

I do know now that I should bring the letter/card with me if I ever plan to use the perq.

I would hope that, by the time you board, they'll all know about the perk and you won't need to do anything but show your ship's ID with the 4-Star Mariner Symbol on it.

[Copper10-8]

Like I said, pretty black & white. Time to get everyone on the same page, HAL!:cool:

[RevNeal]

Like I said, pretty black & white. Time to get everyone on the same page, HAL!:cool:

I suspect it was just that this was a new CD and the DJ was also new.
Just as an aside, the discount for wine package, Pinnacle, coffees in the Explorations Cafe, the in-cabin sodas and the complementary laundry service all functioned perfectly. No problems. Indeed, I had my laundry bagged and ready to go on my bed in the morning. It came back NOT the next evening, but THAT evening. I was shocked. And, it was PERFECT.

[Copper10-8]

I suspect it was just that this was a new CD and the DJ was also new.
Just as an aside, the discount for wine package, Pinnacle, coffees in the Explorations Cafe, the in-cabin sodas and the complementary laundry service all functioned perfectly. No problems. Indeed, I had my laundry bagged and ready to go on my bed in the morning. It came back NOT the next evening, but THAT evening. I was shocked. And, it was PERFECT.

We had the same experience on Zaandam in NOV - DW is pretty stoked about the laundry deal