Cat J

11 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

During the Q & A at the captain's talk on the Niew Statendam recently, a passenger prefaced his rant by quoting his 4* status, then went on to complain about an issue relating to guest services. The captain very diplomatically responded that he would meet with him later to try to sort things out. Shortly thereafter another guest started his comment by stating that was NOT a 4* and was met with applause. I think that demonstrates the general sentiment as it relates to status boasting.

You must have been on the same cruise as me 🙂  Was this in Feb.?  I thought the guy said he was a 5 star but maybe I mis-heard him - he complained about an individual issue that shouldn't have been brought up at the Meet the Captain event.  I thought that the captain did an amazing job with his response!!  And I loved it (and applauded and laughed) when the other guest started out by saying he was "not a 4/5 star" - lol.  I'm trying to work my way up to a 4 star for the free laundry - lol.  I love HAL and think they do an amazing job.  The crew and staff has always exceeded my expectations and they are so friendly and helpful all the time.  I will miss the MDR for lunch on embarkation day because I did enjoy going to it for lunch on my 1st day just as part of the routine for my 1st day on board.  However, I love the food in the Lido and the pizza place so it will be just fine.  Have a great day!

4 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

I actually like the idea of making the MDR exclusive to whichever Mariner tier the ship feels they can accommodate on the day of embarkation.  It would be a nice way to say “thank you for your loyalty” with little-to-no impact on cost or staff.  

 

I still think HAL offers value and quality at a great price-point.  It will be a sad day if they depreciate themselves into an inferior product.  I don’t think that is their intent, though.  All businesses must look at ways to cut costs to maintain quality.  Some changes work, while others don’t.  The only way to know for sure is to test the waters.

I agree!  And I'm only a 3 Star but could live if they make the MDR for embarkation day only 4 or 5 star.  Those "thank you for your loyalty" perks are a great way to thank those of us that are loyal to HAL (and I've only cruised with HAL and plan on continuing with them in the future - will be 4 star at the end of 2024).  And I agree that hopefully they will never depreciate themselves into an inferior product.  I think they are a great product for the price.  Have a great day!

On 3/13/2024 at 6:40 AM, Real NHDOC said:

I asked the hotel manager aboard Nieuw Statendam why there was no lunch in the dining room on embarkation day Sunday and was told that HAL has discontinued the embarkation day lunch service fleetwide as of two weeks ago because they felt it wasn’t well attended enough to justify the effort. 
 

Very disappointing. I hope the beancounters reconsider this shortsighted decision. 

Wow - that is disappointing.  I was just on the Nieuw Statendam in Feb. and enjoyed lunch in the MDR on embarkation day.  I try to do that on every cruise - guess I won't be doing it on the rest of my cruises this year if they stopped it fleet wide.  Thanks for letting us know.

Just seeing this post now and I've had these offers and have taken several of the free inside stateroom cruises.  And they can't be casino offers because I haven't gambled on a cruise.  But these offers are legit, and yes, you have to book and pay immediately, however they are worth doing I think.  And as a solo traveler it really makes sense - and no, they didn't charge me double the port fees/taxes.  Have fun cruising!

13 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Has it been fixed,

Yep - it seems that they fixed the glitch yesterday and all looks good in there.  You have some great cruises coming up - have fun!!!

9 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

That is my question.
 

However since HIA has been available (and even before that when the booking had the signature beverage package thrown in as a perk), I have always received the max extra credits per day because they gave you credit for 15 drinks spending per day, even if you haven't ordered all those drinks. And that is not counting Internet cost, dining and shore excursion with HIA plus my extra spending on excursions, dining and spa

 

This is the first time, even though my spending behavior did not change, that I only received 6 bonus spending credits for a 7 day cruise, rather than 7. 

I don't always spend the amount to get the max extra cruise days, because sometimes I don't spend that much on some cruises for the extra stuff including shore excursions (especially if I've been to the port before).  But I don't purchase HIA either so not sure how that works.  Maybe you should reach out to the Mariner Society team and see if they can review your latest cruise and see why you didn't get the 7 extra cruise days due to your spending.  Hopefully they aren't as busy now that HAL fixed the glitch on our accounts for Dec sailings!  Have a great day!

14 minutes ago, Ready2go11 said:

I was on the NS the second week in January and my credits posted quickly. However, for the first time since HIA started, I did not receive an extra spending credit for each day of the 7 day cruise. I only received 6 bonus night credits. 
 

anyone experience that issue? 

The way that I understand it is if you are in a regular room (not a suite which gets extra bonus days), then you get an extra bonus day credit for each $300 spent (there are some things not counted towards this). Is this what you are referring to from your last cruise - you got 7 days for the cruise and then 6 days from on board spending?  Or am I misunderstanding your question?  🙂 

20 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

It is good to read so many profiles are being updated - hopefully the glitch was fixed rather than these all being the result of manual updates. I'd like to know we will automatically get our credits in a timely fashion. It's exciting to have so many people moving up and gaining new perks. Laundry and half price feed & brew are very nice 😊

I'm sure that the glitch was fixed - no way they could do so many updates manually.  And gaining new perks is a good thing 🙂  I'm happy to be at 3 Star now even though I don't get free laundry yet - but I'll work my way up to 4 Star for that perk.  Have a great evening.

3 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

We got out 21 points as well  but we had already hit 5 Star in November and it was quick and applied for our December cruise. I certainly can sympathize with those moving to the next level with a cruise coming up very soon. It appears HAL has gotten it fixed.

Congrats on being 5 Star!!  Mine was fixed today too and I moved up to 3 Star - working my way up 🙂  And yep, I wanted to get the new level since I have back to back cruises coming up in 2 weeks.  Have a great evening!

5 hours ago, Rehoguy1 said:

Good news here too- Grand South America/Zaandam that disembarked on December 19 just updated.  It's official: we're 5* !  Woo-hoo!  

Wow - congrats on being a 5 Star.  I'm a 3 Star now and will now start working on my 4 Star level.  Have a great evening!

3 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

My history was updated as well today from December 17th disembarkation.

That's great - I just checked and so was mine.  Have a great evening!

7 hours ago, Crazy For Cats said:

I have good news to report.  We disembarked the Rotterdam on 12/22/23.  When I checked on Tuesday my account wasn’t updated.  I just checked this morning and the proper Mariner credits were applied.

Thanks for letting me know.  I just checked mine and mine was posted to.  Yay, I'm a 3 Star.  And I was on the Rotterdam from Dec. 3rd - 15th.  Have a great evening!

1 minute ago, cruisedd said:

I sent an email a few days ago to mariner_society@hollandamerica.com regarding two cruises in December that are not showing up in my history.  Here is the response:

 

Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line regarding your recent December sailings.  We are experiencing technical difficulties resulting in the cruise credits for the sailing, onboard spending and suite bonus (if applicable) not populating to guest profiles.  We are working diligently to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.  

At this time we do not have an estimate of when the issue will be resolved and your history posted to your profile. Please know we value your loyalty and sincerely apologize for the delay.  Once this is resolved, all pending information will be processed and visible in your account.  No further action of follow up will be required for this to be processed.

Again, we sincerely apologize for the delay.  If you have any questions please let us know.  We hope to welcome you back onboard with us in the near future.

Thanks for the info.  I got just about the same email response when I sent all of my back up docs about my Dec. cruise to HAL earlier this week. In my email I asked them if it was possible to manually update my level since I'm cruising again in Feb. They asked me to get back in touch 1 week before my cruise so that they can manually update my records since I'm going up a Star level (I'm finally 3 Star) if they don't have the glitch fixed by then.  I'm hoping it's fixed for all of us very soon.  Have a great day!

4 hours ago, Chicanocruiser said:

Point well taken. I normally wouldn’t be anxious about this but I finally made it to Four Star Mariner and I have a cruise coming up in March. It should be resolved by then but this is HAL which doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to IT.

I agree that HAL doesn't have a good track record with IT.  Can't tell you how many times I click on a link on their website only to get an error message!  I love cruising on HAL, however they really do need to upgrade their IT area.  

4 hours ago, Chicanocruiser said:

I sent them an email about my last cruise not being reflected in my cruise history and not having my points applied for that cruise. I received an email from them telling me about the IT glitch and that it was likely to be resolved last week. They also confirmed my calculation that I would be a Four Star (yay!). When it didn’t get resolved last week, I called last Tuesday and they told me about the IT glitch but there was no estimate as to when it will be fixed. However, she told me to call back seven days before my next cruise to have my Mariner Status upgraded temporarily so that I could use the benefits on my Caribbean cruise in March. If I wasn’t supposed to be a Four Star I wouldn’t be this interested and I would just assume that everything would turn out alright.

I understand - going to 4 Star is a big deal and you want the extra benefits.  I'm going to the Caribbean again in a couple of weeks and that is why I want to get my 3 Star level - there are some extra benefits for that too.  I was told the same thing when I emailed in all of the proof of spending from my Dec. cruise - to reach out again a week before my next cruise and they would have me upgraded so that I can use my new level on the 2 back to back cruises I'm taking in Feb.  Let's hope they get this glitch resolved soon - it really seems like they've had enough time to do so 🙂   Have a great day.  

1 hour ago, DFWGUYZ said:

Still waiting for December credits.

Yep - as you can see from this thread that I started, it seems that all of us are still waiting for HAL to resolve their issue.  So far I'm not impressed with how they are handling it at all.  As I said in another post you would think that good customer service would be very important to them.

3 hours ago, Rehoguy1 said:

This is the email I just received from HAL Guest Relations.  They've "carefully reviewed my concern."  Pretty annoying as I've already been reaching out directly to the Mariner Society for weeks and they don't know anything. Apparently neither does the President of the company, which is not reassuring.

 

Thank you for contacting us regarding your sailing on ms Zaandam. We are grateful that you have given us this opportunity to review your concerns.

 

After carefully reviewing your concern, we have found that our Mariner Society department would best handle your inquiry. We kindly ask that you contact them directly, as they are best equipped and happy to assist you with your question. Below is their contact information for your convenience.

 

Department Information:

Operation Hours & Day:  Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm PST

Email: Mariner_Society@hollandamerica.com

Phone:  800-547-9139

 

Thank you again for contacting us with your concerns, and please feel free to follow up with any additional comments or questions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jeff Wrecker

Special Advisor
Office of the President

 

 

 

Wow - that's lousy that you just got pushed back to the Mariner Society.  As I said, I did email them with all my info and did receive a nice reply back but really hate that they don't have an ETA to resolve their issue either.  You would think they would put a big priority on customer service.  I have loved every HAL cruise that I've taken so far and have thought that they onboard service has been excellent.  So for me, this is the first big issue that I've had with them even though I've had ongoing issues with their website with links not working and getting error messages.  So I've thought all along that they need to upgrade their website.  And now with this issue it really tells me that their IT infrastructure needs upgrading too!  Hope we all get our accounts updated soon.  Have a good evening. 

1 minute ago, colbe said:

November sailings too. We disembarked on Nov 25.

1 minute ago, colbe said:

November sailings too. We disembarked on Nov 25.

Wow - I didn't know that November was affected too.  So it's been 2 months and your account still isn't updated?  That is just crazy - HAL really needs to do better - I expect more out of them 🙂 

1 minute ago, crusin'k said:

We are in the same situation - were on GSA&A and no points and not listed in our history.  This is getting pretty ridiculous and when I read that they still have NO ETA of when this will get corrected, makes me wonder what is going on.  Has anyone who completed a cruise this month (January) gotten their points awarded?

I didn't go on a cruise in January, however I have been told that the "glitch" was for December sailings only.  I'm going on two back to back cruises in Feb. (11th & 18th) which is why I really want my new level updated before I go.  Hopefully they will get their act together soon and we'll all have our accounts updated.  Have a nice day.

6 hours ago, Gunther1 said:

So…just another Wednesday…..

🙂 

5 hours ago, Rehoguy1 said:

Is there any way to escalate this within HAL?  We're getting ready to cruise again, and the missing days/points will make a difference.  Thanks.  

I emailed the Mariner Society with my cruise info and the fact that I'm cruising again on Feb. 11th and want my Star level corrected because I should now be a 3 Star level and there are extra perks.  Anyhow, I did get an email back from them telling me that they still don't have an ETA as to when the issue will be resolved, however if it isn't resolved by Feb. 5th they told me to email them again and they will see if they can manually update my account before my Feb. 11th cruise so that I get the additional perks for being a 3 Star.  So I would suggest you do the same thing.  Don't know when your next cruise is but if they haven't resolved their issue then about 1 week before you should email them with all the back up data (I sent in a copy of my room key, my pre-board spending docs and on onboard spending account doc).  And congrats on getting to the next level!!!  Have a nice day.

16 hours ago, Lucie73821 said:

I ended up calling the Mariner phone number.  What I was told is that any bookings made before the change in star level would show the previous level.  The woman I spoke to said she would "refresh" each booking to reflect the new star level.  She also said that the same applies to cruise day credits.  They do not update on any prior bookings.  You can call after you have completed the cruise (and it is showing on your account) and they can refresh your bookings to reflect the correct cruise day credits.  

Thanks for the info.  They really do need to get a bit better at doing their IT stuff I think 🙂  Have a great day!

12 hours ago, Lucie73821 said:

Thank you!  I did look today before I made the call to HAL, and the website had us listed as 4 star. 

Well, hopefully HAL will get it together soon.  Getting to 4 Star is a big deal I think!!  I'm just going to be a 3 Star now and think it will take me until 2025 to make 4 Star.  I have a lot of cruises booked for this year but think I'll be a bit short to get to that level until 2025.  Enjoy all your cruising!

4 hours ago, RuthC said:

How many passengers, on how many ships, over how many cruises happened in December? 
If all of those people have to have their accounts updated manually, it's going to take a while. 

Every time they have to stop to answer the question "How long is it going to take" just makes it take longer. 

I hope that they aren't doing updates manually on all cruises in Dec.  If they can't get their IT department to fix the "glitch" then they really do need to upgrade the level of their IT department 🙂 Have a great evening!

1 hour ago, Lucie73821 said:

We were on a cruise from Dec 27-Jan 7th.  This cruise would put us at 4 star. Our profile when we log on to the HAL website updated to our new status about a week or so ago, however, I called to cancel a cruise today and the agent told me we were listed as 3 star, not 4 like the website shows.  Could this be due to the known glitch? 

I don't know - that sounds crazy.  Did you check your status today to see what it says on the HAL website for your status - and congrats on getting to 4 Star 🙂