Can 4/5 Star mariners arrange priority tendering for others in group?

Wondering if anyone has experience with this scenario.

Non-HAL shore excursion, organized through Cruise Critic, at a tender port. Group is to meet guide 2 hours after scheduled arrival.

Some people in group have 4 or 5 star status and can tender immediately; others must get tender tickets, and they might not get a good time.

Wondering if the 4/5 star people in the group can contact the powers-that-be ahead of time and arrange for the whole group to leave together.

Thanks for any info.

Call HAL and ask.

We have been with groups that have done that. Go through Guest Relations. Or if you have access to the Neptune Suites Concierge …

4 and 5 star Mariners didn't even get priority tendering on the 2018 World cruise and a friend of mine was on the 2017 Voyage of the Vikings and had the same thing happen. Many of the longer cruises have a lot of 4 & 5 star Mariners sailing so the ship is making everyone (except President Club guest) stand in line for tender tickets.

There were a lot of upset guest on the 2018 World...I think there would be a way to at least give some consideration to their 4 & 5 star Mariner guests. HAL promotes one of the 4/5 star Mariner benefits as priority tendering....but I guess it's at their discretion if they honor this benefit or not :confused:.

[beginquote=Dr.Dobro;56547445]Wondering if anyone has experience with this scenario.

Non-HAL shore excursion, organized through Cruise Critic, at a tender port. Group is to meet guide 2 hours after scheduled arrival.

Some people in group have 4 or 5 star status and can tender immediately; others must get tender tickets, and they might not get a good time.

Wondering if the 4/5 star people in the group can contact the powers-that-be ahead of time and arrange for the whole group to leave together.

Thanks for any info.[/endquote]

===

Discretion of the ship's Cruise Director. We have done this before by having a five star write a nice written request to the CD when board ship. Hope you don't have more than eight in the group. You can say something like we have 2 five stars, 2 four stars and four others going to Pink Sand Beach. HAL is not going there. Would you be kind enough to let us off with an early group? A list of names with stars will be helpful.

You will get a response. If approved they will tell you where to gather as a group until called.

If it is the World Cruise you may be out of luck.

Peter

4 and 5 star Mariners didn't even get priority tendering on the 2018 World cruise and a friend of mine was on the 2017 Voyage of the Vikings and had the same thing happen. Many of the longer cruises have a lot of 4 & 5 star Mariners sailing so the ship is making everyone (except President Club guest) stand in line for tender tickets.

 

There were a lot of upset guest on the 2018 World...I think there would be a way to at least give some consideration to their 4 & 5 star Mariner guests. HAL promotes one of the 4/5 star Mariner benefits as priority tendering....but I guess it's at their discretion if they honor this benefit or not :confused:.

Being a 4* mariner I've also experienced the above. Not happy.

Being a 4* mariner I've also experienced the above. Not happy.

We can understand "not happy" but it is about reality. It is true that on many longer HAL cruises a majority of the passengers are 4 or 5 * Mariners. To quote what a CD once said, "if everyone is priority then nobody is priority." We are all the victims of HAL's huge group of frequent cruisers :). When we did the VOV cruise last August we did have this problem. Everyone had to get tender tickets but they did give out a different color for 4-5* Mariners and those number did get some priority. And it was very interesting to watch some 4-5* Mariners make complete fools of themselves. There was a group that went very early to the lounge at the first tender port and got low numbers. They then failed to turn in those numbers and simply used them at the 2nd tender port so they would be among the first called...without ever having to wait in line.

The CD got wind of the scam so when we got to the next tender port the first numbers they gave out were very high numbers :). Those that had kept the low number tags to beat the system found themselves among the last to be called :). We did hear one lady actually complain to the CD about them changing the order of the number. Talk about nerve :).

Hank

That would defeat the benefit for your other 4-5 star members, would it not?

On our last cruise we had to get tender tickets for 4 and 5* Mariners.

We had no trouble getting the extra 2 or 3 we needed for those in our group that were not.

But, getting off and the consistency was a different story. One of my group members actually went to the front desk (No one there with tender tickets) and got assitance to get our group off last cruise.

there were few independents in the show room when we wanted to get off very early in the morning.

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The CD got wind of the scam so when we got to the next tender port the first numbers they gave out were very high numbers :). Those that had kept the low number tags to beat the system found themselves among the last to be called :). We did hear one lady actually complain to the CD about them changing the order of the number. Talk about nerve :).

 

 

 

Hank

Funny!

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wondering if anyone has experience with this scenario.

 

Non-hal shore excursion, organized through cruise critic, at a tender port. Group is to meet guide 2 hours after scheduled arrival.

 

Some people in group have 4 or 5 star status and can tender immediately; others must get tender tickets, and they might not get a good time.

 

Wondering if the 4/5 star people in the group can contact the powers-that-be ahead of time and arrange for the whole group to leave together.

 

Thanks for any info.

no,

There was definitely some favourtism on our spring cruise. What HAL has to do when they set rules is to follow them!

Sail - I like your answer - short and to the point - “no”

 

The CD got wind of the scam so when we got to the next tender port the first numbers they gave out were very high numbers :). Those that had kept the low number tags to beat the system found themselves among the last to be called :). We did hear one lady actually complain to the CD about them changing the order of the number. Talk about nerve :).

 

Hank

They did this on the GWV this year. There were some very surprised people.;)

They did this on the GWV this year. There were some very surprised people.;)

Please say this is not true :(. And hear we have been led to believe that everyone on the GWV has a lot of class. We know this because a few passengers from that cruise told us so :).

Hank

OP: You can probably ask once on board about getting your group off as early as possible, but I would not be surprised if the answer is to get your group together as early as possible and arrive at the location tender tickets are being given out.

If there are so a good number of 4/5-Star Mariners, the "priority" tendering is less of a benefit. But that's just because of actual numbers. Like when I went though security in the airport in Montreal once: there were a huge number of people with Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check so that line actually moved slower than the line for people without the pre-clearance credentials. If everyone is special, then no-one is.

Early independently arranged tours are a risk at tender ports, especially since the ship will always give priority to their own tours and then 4/5-Star Mariners. The truth is independent arrangements made by one group of passengers are no more or less important than independent arrangements made by other passengers.

I can see HAL's point of view on this but I don't see why they cut off 5 stars as well as 4 stars from the priority tendering.

Leaving out WC, Grands or cruises like the VOV, usually there aren't that many 5 stars on board. Why make those pax mad as well as the 4 stars? It is not as if HAL is cutting off priority tendering entirely, since Pres Club get it.

5 stars + Pres Club = maybe a quarter of a tender, or half of a tender: this shouldn't be a problem to keep their "most loyal Mariners" happy.

OP: ...

Early independently arranged tours are a risk at tender ports, especially since the ship will always give priority to their own tours and then 4/5-Star Mariners. The truth is independent arrangements made by one group of passengers are no more or less important than independent arrangements made by other passengers.

I agree. It would appear though that for many they think that they are little more important and misuse their privileges. Priority tendering is for those that have earned it, and requesting it for those who have not is not only rude to every other passenger waiting to tender, it also shows a very high level of arrogance.

I don't think that anyone should have any problems meeting two hours after docking.

Would you also ask HAL if they could be entitled to priority board with you at embarkation?

Would you also ask HAL if they could stuff some of their dirty laundry in your complimentary bag?

Would you also ask HAL if they could share in your free Pinnacle dinners?

Just saying ...

Why would non 4 or 5 Star Mariners be given the same rewards we “paid” for???

I am quite fine with the odd 4/5 star Mariner group adding another person or two to their tender time. Far too many me-me-me people in this world.

On the GWV this year, groups that had booked independent tours would meet at a designated location and time and all go through the tender ticket line at the same time for their tickets. The max number of tickets they would give any one person was usually 2. Therefore, I could stand in line without my wife and get a ticket for her.

Some tried to circumvent the system as noted above and HAL thwarted that by changing the ticket appearance or number orders given out each day.

I understand the displeasure of the 4 and 5 star Mariners with this system, However, on a trip like the GWV, those passengers not in those levels were in the vast minority and they should have a fair chance to catch an early tender and not always be at the back of the line.

That being said, unless its an unusually difficult tender port, if your group is to see the independent guide two hours after arrival, you may find that they've stopped the use of tender tickets by that time.

On the GWV, there were apparently lots of folks trying to "game" the systems the ship had set up for various activities such as tenders and even arts and crafts. Henk addressed these issues in several diplomatically world messages to all passengers and by things, such as noted above, with tender tickets. It was funny to read some of his notes which detailed how folks were trying to game the systems in place.

There were especially lots of problems with the arts and crafts in the Lido area. So much so that Henk and his assistant showed upon one day before A&C started to announce one of the new policies. I joked with him that he was likely to get taken hostage by some of the passengers who would disagree with his solution to the problem he was addressing. His response was classic: "That's why I brought him along (pointing to his assistant). He's bigger than me and can fight them off while I run away."

I don't mind one person or two but it is extremely Nervy and Rude to think it okay to drag a long a Group or Groups.[/u]

That is extremely inapprorpriate.

Didn't mean to step on a bees' nest here.

If there was a group of, say, eight passengers, and my wife and I were the only 4/5 star people, we would not ask. I agree this would be inappropriate.

But if six people in the group are 4/5 star, I think it should not be a big deal to ask to bring along the other two. It would be a courtesy to those six who have earned their status, letting them get their excursion off on time.

Didn't mean to step on a bees' nest here.

 

 

If there was a group of, say, eight passengers, and my wife and I were the only 4/5 star people, we would not ask. I agree this would be inappropriate.

 

 

But if six people in the group are 4/5 star, I think it should not be a big deal to ask to bring along the other two. It would be a courtesy to those six who have earned their status, letting them get their excursion off on time.

All well and good, but 4-5 star Mariners owe no duty, or quit frankly any extended courtesy, to those who make their own private shore excursion arrangements and therefore request other 4-5 star Marienrs become subservient their chosen departure times. If any 4-5 star Mariners are to make a concession, let it be the ones in this private shore excursion group who have to do the extra waiting.