5 Star perks?

[dockman]

12 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

For the most part what you are saying is true, but I have had some high level officers on HAL tell me that the most profitable customers they have are the "newbies".  Long time cruisers (in general) do not buy the photos, fancy drinks, ship trickets and take as many shore excursions.  Interesting take on the situation..

  

I agree but i wonder if they factor in the cost of acquiring that newbie to determine the NET profitability? Those TV and print ads are not cheap and many ads are blasted out to millions the vast majority of which likely do not become customers.

 

Reading this thread makes me wonder how serious they are about taking a hard look at how the 4 and 5 star folks are treated/rewarded etc and sorta seems a lot of foot dragging and we're not sure over decisions that should probably be a priority....300 days to make 4 star is a significant amount of $$ even if the passenger doesn't spend a cent outside the cruise fare....an empty cabin is the worst of all scenarios...zero chance of onboard spending, less tip money for employees etc

 

For me as 4 star the only perks that appeal to me are the free laundry and priority boarding/tenders (which cost them zero).  Perhaps a choice of options that u are allowed to choose from according to taste and overall a bit more thought into the mariner society might be in order?

[canadianbear]

I do think they should be rewarding 4* and higher much better perks.  50% discount on internet; cocktail party with all drinks included etc.  We hear friends talk about what they get on Celebrity & Princess & wonder about HAL.  But, we started with HAL and still sail with them the majority of time but won’t hesitate to hop on different cruise lines in the future more often.

[DeeniEncinitas]

25 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

I do think they should be rewarding 4* and higher much better perks.  50% discount on internet; cocktail party with all drinks included etc.  We hear friends talk about what they get on Celebrity & Princess & wonder about HAL.  But, we started with HAL and still sail with them the majority of time but won’t hesitate to hop on different cruise lines in the future more often.

Hi canadianbear!! I also agree with you on the perks👍 We are the same as starting with HAL also. . We are jumping ship to do 2 Oceania B2B’s in March and April. At first I was so uncomfortable and felt very guilty about us doing that! Then I started realizing HAL needs to take care of their 4 and 5 stars with much needed better perks👍 
Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Denise😊

[Hlitner]

Reaching 4 Star was very nice and we appreciated the free laundry and discount on the wine packages (despite the questionable quality of the wine list).  But reaching 5 Star was just a big yawn.  $30 off on Internet?  On Princess DW and I get 1000 free minutes!  On Celebrity we get several hundred minutes and 2 hours of free cocktails nearly every day.  The same on RCI.  And reaching the necessary levels on those lines is a lot easier then getting to 5 Star.  Two free dinners in the PG is a nice perk although we are generally underwhelmed by the PG.

 

HAL really should revamp their Mariner's Society and offer some decent benefits for the 5 Star folks.  But we have also been told that the older cruises (most 5 Star fall into that category) are not real good for HAL in terms of contributing to on board revenue.  It is the younger and middle aged cruisers who spend the money on booze, photos, etc.  We just returned from a wonderful cruise on MSC (in the Yacht Club) where several bars were packed at 11pm.  One night I went to the casino a little after midnight and had to wait 15 minutes to get a seat at a Black Jack table ($10 minimum).  Have you ever seen a HAL casino after midnight? It is more like a morgue then a casino.

 

The truth is that HAL would be very happy to trade their most loyal cruisers for a flock of new, far younger, cruisers.  But we ole folks have little to fear because there is very little on HAL that would attract most younger cruisers.  They want night life (after 10 pm), live music that was written after 1930, late night adult comedy shows, etc.   When we need to catch up on our sleep we cruise on HAL :).

 

Hank

[avian777]

17 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

For the most part what you are saying is true, but I have had some high level officers on HAL tell me that the most profitable customers they have are the "newbies".  Long time cruisers (in general) do not buy the photos, fancy drinks, ship trickets and take as many shore excursions.  Interesting take on the situation......

Congrats on getting your fifth star, Dave.  You are correct about "newbies" being more profitable for HAL than us old timers ... but only when compared head-to-head on a single cruise.  However, when compared on a year-in, year-out basis (number and length of cruises) over a period of several years, the "newbies" come up very short.  And that's why HAL loves us so much.

On your several questions, I suggest you contact the Mariner Society by 'phone, as I have always found the MS staff to be most helpful and thorough in responding to questions and concerns. I have also found the MS reps to be good  conversationalists with frequent good/interesting  insights into various itineraries, ports-of-call, HAL history, etc..

Again, congrats on reaching 5-star status, Dave.

[USN59-79]

We just returned from a cruise on the Westerdam.  We enjoyed the two free Pinnacle Grill diners, but were somewhat pissed at the way the host suggested we order the more expensive beef dinners but never suggested that these were going to cost you $20 or $30 more than the free price that your 5-star advantage was going to to give to you.  I  actually felt kind of stupid giving him a tip knowing that he took advantage of us just sitting there and smiling whiling we were being taken advantage of.  I can live with it, but I will never do it again. 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

We just returned from a cruise on the Westerdam.  We enjoyed the two free Pinnacle Grill diners, but were somewhat pissed at the way the host suggested we order the more expensive beef dinners but never suggested that these were going to cost you $20 or $30 more than the free price that your 5-star advantage was going to to give to you.  I  actually felt kind of stupid giving him a tip knowing that he took advantage of us just sitting there and smiling whiling we were being taken advantage of.  I can live with it, but I will never do it again. 

HAL has plenty of company when it comes to upsell strategies.  Princess now includes a menu insert (at all MDR dinners) with all kinds of steak add-on options at a $20 - $30 price.  I fear that the trend is going to worsen and we will soon have to pay "add on fees" for lots of things.  Perhaps one cruise line will turn their Lido into an "Automat" where you need to swipe your cruise card to get anything :(.

 

Hank

[RuthC]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

They want night life (after 10 pm), live music that was written after 1930, late night adult comedy shows, etc.

There you go with the gross exaggerations again. You know full well it is just about impossible to find music written before 1930 on a HAL ship. Heck, I would be thrilled to find music written before 1965! You know, the music from the time we were both growing up. 

[Hlitner]

16 minutes ago, RuthC said:

There you go with the gross exaggerations again. You know full well it is just about impossible to find music written before 1930 on a HAL ship. Heck, I would be thrilled to find music written before 1965! You know, the music from the time we were both growing up. 

Ok you got me!  So we will change the1930 to 1940 :).  I still remember sitting in a lounge listening to the HAL Cats (my goodness, that was torture) playing mostly Big Band Music such as "In the Mood" (it was actually circa 1939).  And I am with you when it comes to loving music from the 50s and early 60s.  On the other hand, even as an ole guy I rank The Eagles and Pink Floyd among my favorite groups.  I have actually heard some Eagles music on HAL cruises but do not recall Pink Floyd.  One precious HAL moment happened on a VOV cruise that had Barry From Boston in the piano bar.  A couple of young (probably in their 70s) ladies kept urging Barry to play "Fat Bottom Girls."  Barry does know the song but no way he would play that on a cruise ship :).

 

But seriously, those who do not cruise many other lines have no clue as to how HAL lags when it comes to music/entertainment.  We were just on a decent MSC cruise and one night as we walked through Deck 7 (the main entertainment deck) we counted 4 different music groups playing at the same time (around 10pm) in various lounges.  One of those duo groups (an aging American guitar player with his 12 string guitar and an Italian expat with a Joan Baez voice) played a lot of the music from that 50s-60s era.  As DW and I relaxed with their music I started wondering about what we would find on our next HAL cruise.  I should add that MSC actually has a Production show every night (except the first night) in addition to all those various music groups.  And you will never find them trying to pass-off a documentary movie as a show.  And before somebody chimes in about Lincoln Center (not on all HAL ships) I would add that MSC carries an opera soprano and tenor on their ships and manages to mix opera in with the modern music.

 

One suggestion for any HAL cruiser who would ever consider MSC.  IMHO the only way to cruise on that line is in their Yacht Club.  If cruising outside of their Yacht Club there are some who might consider jumping overboard :).

 

Hank

[RuthC]

19 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Ok you got me!  So we will change the1930 to 1940 :). 

Still a wild exaggeration.
Even worse, is that, except for the chamber music group, no matter what music venue you go to on HAL, even if the style of music varies, the era does not. There needs to be variety not just in genré, but in the time periods of the music offered.
Many more people would find something appealing that way. 

[SilvertoGold]

3 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

We just returned from a cruise on the Westerdam.  We enjoyed the two free Pinnacle Grill diners, but were somewhat pissed at the way the host suggested we order the more expensive beef dinners but never suggested that these were going to cost you $20 or $30 more than the free price that your 5-star advantage was going to to give to you.  I  actually felt kind of stupid giving him a tip knowing that he took advantage of us just sitting there and smiling whiling we were being taken advantage of.  I can live with it, but I will never do it again. 

 

Who was the PG Manager and the Hotel Director?  This sounds shocking from my experience of this ship!

Edited December 22, 2019 by SilvertoGold

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Still a wild exaggeration.
Even worse, is that, except for the chamber music group, no matter what music venue you go to on HAL, even if the style of music varies, the era does not. There needs to be variety not just in genré, but in the time periods of the music offered.
Many more people would find something appealing that way. 

I am starting to think you are cruising on a different HAL them me :).   But we do forgive some of our HAL friends for being delusional 🙂  There are too many times on our HAL cruises when we would settle for any live music.  Trying to operate a cruise line where documentary movies and Team Trivia are considered de rigueur does work for some folks and we also put up with it when we find a great itinerary.  We do think the BB King concept was a great move for HAL, but sadly they only offer that on about half their ships.  Now, if we can just convince the BB King groups to actually play BB King music :).

 

Hank

[iancal]

I suspect that HAL's program was developed when the industry was not as competitive as it is today.  Based on our preferences the HAL program falls well short of at least three other cruise lines that we typically select from.

 

Does this preclude us from considering HAL.  No, because when comparing alternatives we place our value on the perks that we might receive.   HAL does not do well at this point.  If two ships are about  equal from our perspective then we look at things like perks.

 

I believe that it is time for HAL to consider revamping the entire program.  It is a little stale.

Edited December 22, 2019 by iancal

[Overhead Fred]

47 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

playing mostly Big Band Music such as "In the Mood"

 

I would love a night or two of Big Band/Swing music on a cruise (assuming the musicians were talented)!

 

 

[RuthC]

6 minutes ago, Overhead Fred said:

I would love a night or two of Big Band/Swing music on a cruise (assuming the musicians were talented)!

Don't expect to have one on HAL. It isn't going to happen. 

Once upon a time every HAL transAtlantic cruise was a Big Band cruise. A ghost band was on board for the entire cruise. They played a couple of nights as the main show. They also played some nights in the Ocean Bar for cocktail time, played at a tea dansant, and every sea day played for a couple of hours at the Lido pool. There was even an evening pool party where they played. 
There were plenty of gentlemen hosts so ladies with no partner had opportunities to dance. 
Sadly, those days are long gone. They were great fun. 

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, Overhead Fred said:

 

I would love a night or two of Big Band/Swing music on a cruise (assuming the musicians were talented)!

 

 

It actually happened on one of our cruises (out of more then 100) and it was on the Queen Mary 2.  That ship had two ship's bands (a 7 piece and a 6 piece).  On one evening they combined the two bands creating a 13 piece Big Band with both woodwind and brass sections plus a decent singer.  This band played in the large Ballroom (with a dance floor that can easily hold 100 dancing couples) and they played mostly Big Band Music.   Listening to Glenn Miller standards played by a real sax section (not a keyboard or guitar that you find in a HAL band) was truly music to our ears.  HAL used to have some pretty decent ship bands back when they were 7 piece and included woodwind and brass musicians.  But once they moved to this crazy format where keyboards replace real instruments it was a lost cause.  Playing "In the Mood" on a Moog Synthesizer is an affront to those who love that old music.

 

And listening to Queen and the Eagles played on a couple of keyboards is also an affront to that genre.   Speaking of entertainment, on our Divina cruise (last week) they actually had a young Italian singer who could sing Freddie Mercury stuff in the correct key.  That guy actually stopped the show (twice) with standing ovations which I do not recall ever happening on another cruise.  Can you even imagine hearing "Bohemian Rhapsody" sung in its original key on a HAL cruise?

 

Hank

[Overhead Fred]

Hi Ruth-

 

Oh, I never expected to actually see/hear Big Band music on HAL! 

 

Those TAs sound like very special memories. 

[Overhead Fred]

Hi Hank-

 

The Lincoln Center Stage classical group played Gershwin for at least one of their sets on a recent cruise; it was very good in my opinion!

[Crazy For Cats]

We just achieved 5* status and have a question about the two free PG dinners.  Is it possible, if sailing with friends, to invite them to join us for dinner and let them use one of our free meals?  

[taxmantoo]

13 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

We just achieved 5* status and have a question about the two free PG dinners.  Is it possible, if sailing with friends, to invite them to join us for dinner and let them use one of our free meals?  

NO, for the free dinner.  Keep the free dinner for another time, just invite them and pay for the 4 of you on your card (including yourself) and save 50% for everyone.

Edited January 5, 2020 by taxmantoo

[Crazy For Cats]

14 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

NO, for the free dinner.  Keep the free dinner for another time, just invite them and pay for the 4 of you on your card (including yourself) and save 50% for everyone.

Thanks.  On an upcoming 7 day cruise we get a PG meal as a booking perk.  Not sure we want three PG meals in such a short trip.

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

Thanks.  On an upcoming 7 day cruise we get a PG meal as a booking perk.  Not sure we want three PG meals in such a short trip.

 

If you can’t use the 3 PG meals (and I get that) and assuming you can get a time you like for the ‘freebie”, see if you can exchange your free PG for a Canaletto or even a PG lunch if you are so inclined.

 

Not the same value for sure, but at least you make use of a part to your 5*.

 

 

[Crazy For Cats]

12 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

If you can’t use the 3 PG meals (and I get that) and assuming you can get a time you like for the ‘freebie”, see if you can exchange your free PG for a Canaletto or even a PG lunch if you are so inclined.

 

Not the same value for sure, but at least you make use of a part to your 5*.

 

 

That’s a good idea.  Will check when onboard.

[DaveOKC]

47 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

NO, for the free dinner.  Keep the free dinner for another time, just invite them and pay for the 4 of you on your card (including yourself) and save 50% for everyone.

While I have done this myself, I have seen reports that some ships do not allow the 50% off for all persons at your table.

 

[kazu]

3 hours ago, Crazy For Cats said:

We just achieved 5* status and have a question about the two free PG dinners.  Is it possible, if sailing with friends, to invite them to join us for dinner and let them use one of our free meals?  

 

OP asked the above.

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

While I have done this myself, I have seen reports that some ships do not allow the 50% off for all persons at your table.

 

 

They wanted to share their 5* free dinners.  To the best of my knowledge that is not possible.  They may be able to share their 4/5* 50% off If they prebook, otherwise, I doubt that works.  But they are looking at using their FREE PG dinners to their advantage.