Turning 4 star and nobody is interested in it

[Haljo1935]

6 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

This thread made me go in and count my actual days, and I just realized I’ll pass 100 days during our upcoming Volendam cruise. I never knew before that there was any such thing as a 100 day medallion, but I guess I’ll get one? I thought only star levels mattered.

Interested to learn if you receive your medallion on that cruise, if you would kindly update us. Congrats!!

[highscar]

@POA1 I have my parents 40,ooo mile pin.  

[CNSJ]

9 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

For some reason in 2009 we got invited to a Medallion ceremony in the MDR on our very first 11 day HAL cruise.  We were no-star.Maybe they did it that way back then.  

 

But when they handed out the 100 day bronze medallions, it was beyond my wildest imagination that anyone could ever accumulate that many days on board a cruise ship. A week here, a week there maybe but 100 total  whole days. Unreal. 

 

It seemed like such a far fetched and out of touch goal. But it happened anyway. Almost 700 days now. Wow, we just say to ourselves, just wow.

 

Thanks HAL for the always enticing new itineraries. Thanks HAL for the memories. And thanks to DH for the stacks of hard copy photo albums he still puts together after each cruise. 

It's why many of us cruise!  We may not ever get to 700 (about 125 days now) - but look forward to the fun trip along the way.  No specific # of days goal.....just the goal of enjoying life from the balcony of a cruise ship or ashore seeing the vast world we call Earth.

[sansterre]

On our recent Grand Africa cruise, we wore our Platinum Medallions to the ceremony and lunch.  After the meal as we waited at the elevators with others who had just received their awards.  One couple stepped on quickly as the woman stated "Gold before Silver."  We smiled, then my husband said dryly "ours were not Silver, they are most desired Platinum".

We all had a good laugh and she apologized for her wrong assumption 🙂

(Silver and Platinum look similar, but there is a difference when seen together and the ribbon is white as I recall.)

[NCTribeFan]

10 hours ago, RuthC said:

If it is a true 100 nights on board, without counting any spending or Suite days, then you should receive your copper medallion on that cruise. 
If you do not, then ask about it at the Front Desk. Even better, ask about it before the cruise gets too far along, so that you won't be left out when the medallions are distributed. 

Yes, I counted actual nights and I'm mid-90s now. 

 

I'm also approaching 4* but probably won't hit that until during the Rotterdam TA next October.  Of course that depends on how much I spend while on Eurodam in January (I added HIA and CO and haven't yet been able to figure out how any of my points have been calculated - and I'm an accountant 😄 ).

 

I'll ask about it early on and also ask about having never received a 3* pin.

[richwmn]

10 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

For some reason in 2009 we got invited to a Medallion ceremony in the MDR on our very first 11 day HAL cruise.  We were no-star.Maybe they did it that way back then.  

 

But when they handed out the 100 day bronze medallions, it was beyond my wildest imagination that anyone could ever accumulate that many days on board a cruise ship. A week here, a week there maybe but 100 total  whole days. Unreal. 

 

It seemed like such a far fetched and out of touch goal. But it happened anyway. Almost 700 days now. Wow, we just say to ourselves, just wow.

 

Thanks HAL for the always enticing new itineraries. Thanks HAL for the memories. And thanks to DH for the stacks of hard copy photo albums he still puts together after each cruise. 

My first cruise (Zaandam) was in 2000, and the second (Maasdam) in 2001. At the time the Mariners Ceremony was held in the Main Stage and all Mariners were invited. Each couple or individual was called up to receive the medal. I don't remember it as being very long, but I do remember thinking that I would never reach the 100 day level, let alone the 500 days I received recently.

 

The medals are a reminder of the many wonderful days I have spent aboard HAL ships in the last 23 years and a hope for many more.

 

 

[POA1]

It's a shame that they don't have one of those staggered Olympic podiums on board. You could run around the ship, trying to find other passengers who had the medal colors different from yours and all have your picture taken on the platforms.

 

Of course, that would leave a lot of people out. The restraining orders wouldn't help, either.

Edited November 1, 2023 by POA1

[regnig]

i guess I'm one of the very few who don't care about pins and medallions or ceremonies as they are just "things".  Along with the wonderful memories of my cruises I'm just excited about the new perks moving up in Stars gets you. Having moved to 4 Star on my B2B in March and earning free laundry was celebration enough. 😁

[RedmondCruiser]

How things have changed.  We have been cruising with HAL since 1986 on the Noordam 3.  The awards ceremony  was held in the Exporers Lounge and certificates were given to people who were only on their second cruise.  This also came with a picture with the captain and hotel manager. Certificates were given to 2nd 3rd and 4th cruises. 

 

We are now five star mariners and we are hardly noticed.  On a 35 day cruise the took a picture of all those who were in the Presidents Club (1400 days at sea) and there were probably a dozen of them.  Times have definitely changed. 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

3 hours ago, sansterre said:

(Silver and Platinum look similar, but there is a difference when seen together and the ribbon is white as I recall.)

We were just at the medallion ceremony on the Eurodam. Yes indeed, while bronze, silver, and gold all have the same blue ribbon, platinum has a white ribbon to make it stand out.

[whogo]

I was perfectly happy to find our four star mariner pins in our mail slot on debarkation day, never thought there should be anything more, all I had done was buy cruises. Now I am sad that the captain did not pin it on me in front of the whole ship and kiss me on both cheeks.

[OlsSalt]

16 minutes ago, whogo said:

I was perfectly happy to find our four star mariner pins in our mail slot on debarkation day, never thought there should be anything more, all I had done was buy cruises. Now I am sad that the captain did not pin it on me in front of the whole ship and kiss me on both cheeks.

 

Post-covid, expect nothing more than a tap on both shoulders with a dress sword. But you must fall to your knees first. 

[FlaMariner]

As far as "cruise days sailed" recognition.......

 

We'd be fine with an email thanking us for our business and include a $25 OBC credit for our next cruise (We do not need/want medals, pins or public acknowledgment ceremonies)......Thinking that was very important to folks from another generation/era...but for us, not so much. 

 

Moving up in Mariner rankings are what is important to us as they translate to free/discounted stuff we want $$$ (laundry, wine etc) and "head of the line" benefits which we enjoy (embarkation/tenders). 

 

.......But we do enjoy our tiles though.....We have a serious personality flaw in that we want to collect as many of those as possible before we are done......We think "he who has the most tiles wins". 

Edited November 1, 2023 by FlaMariner

[RuthC]

18 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

I never knew before that there was any such thing as a 100 day medallion, but I guess I’ll get one? I thought only star levels mattered.

The number of days aboard, with the medallion system was the Mariner recognition program prior to the star system. When the star system came in, the medallion system was eliminated. For about 5 minutes.

Mariners were up in arms that their program, with the coveted medallions, was out. So, it was rapidly reinstated as a parallel program to the star Mariner program. With the exception of the copper medallion. 
Eventually, the copper medallion was also reinstated, but was now called 'bronze'. Funny how the colors are exactly the same. 

Prior to all of that was the former medallion system, which was based on the 'miles' POA referenced. The first medallion in that system was based on average miles, and counted in days. The first medallion was silver, after either 110 or 111 days (I forget which), and was presented on a blue and orange striped ribbon. 
I still have mine. 

My husband was so proud of his, which he received on what turned out to be his last cruise, that I buried it with him. Guess he is cruising for eternity! 

[highscar]

#

 

[highscar]

@ruth I wish I had thought of that 

[sunviking90]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

The number of days aboard, with the medallion system was the Mariner recognition program prior to the star system. When the star system came in, the medallion system was eliminated. For about 5 minutes.

Mariners were up in arms that their program, with the coveted medallions, was out. So, it was rapidly reinstated as a parallel program to the star Mariner program. With the exception of the copper medallion. 
Eventually, the copper medallion was also reinstated, but was now called 'bronze'. Funny how the colors are exactly the same. 

Prior to all of that was the former medallion system, which was based on the 'miles' POA referenced. The first medallion in that system was based on average miles, and counted in days. The first medallion was silver, after either 110 or 111 days (I forget which), and was presented on a blue and orange striped ribbon. 
I still have mine. 

My husband was so proud of his, which he received on what turned out to be his last cruise, that I buried it with him. Guess he is cruising for eternity! 

Thank you for explaining it.

What a lovely idea to bury your husband’s with him. 

[NCTribeFan]

Cruising is much more popular than it was even a couple of decades ago and the loyalty programs just end up getting watered down because there are So Many people at the higher levels these days.

 

I don't really care about pins, either, but if they're giving them out, and I've "earned" one, then I'd like to receive it.

 

But, yeah, the perks do matter.  HAL's perks are so much better than Carnival's loyalty perks.  Yes, I get free laundry on Carnival and have for years, but I rarely use it, so getting to 4* on HAL just for free laundry doesn't excite me that much although it would've come in handy on the 26 nights I spent on Rotterdam this past spring.  The 50% discount on wine packages and specialty dining does interest me for when I don't purchase HIA.  And on ships with Tamarind, I'll use it even if I have HIA because I want to dine there more than once per sailing.  And in Canaletto. These are tangible benefits that I will use.  

[islander47]

On 10/29/2023 at 7:29 AM, FlaMariner said:

Zero charge on my onboard statement for laundry was all the recognition we needed when we just hit the big 4*......

 

.

We will hit four star during our 50 day cruise in the spring. Do you think there is hope for our laundry suddenly becoming free in the middle of the cruise? Sure hope so!!

[OlsSalt]

2 minutes ago, islander47 said:

We will hit four star during our 50 day cruise in the spring. Do you think there is hope for our laundry suddenly becoming free in the middle of the cruise? Sure hope so!!

 

Depending on how close you are, you might want to take an extra shorter cruise before your upcoming long one and build up those final points to 4 star.

 

In the past, the Marina 4 star benefits in the past do not accrue mid-cruise only after completion of the qualifying cruise. (unless it is a World Cruise, from what I heard.)

 

We pushed ourselves over the top on a prior cruise to get to 4 star before a pending 50 day cruise ourselves. All to get "free laundry". Took a Neptune Suite and a lot of shore excursions on the prior cruise to get to our four star status ahead of the big cruise, and we never looked back. 

 

Don't look too closely at the math, just the fun of the game getting to "free laundry". Hope you find a way to get to 4 star before your 50 day cruise. But even if you don't,  the HAL laundry packages are still a very good deal. 

[CNSJ]

On 11/1/2023 at 1:59 PM, FlaMariner said:

We have a serious personality flaw in that we want to collect as many of those as possible before we are done...

This is not a flaw.

 

[wdw1972]

2 hours ago, islander47 said:

We will hit four star during our 50 day cruise in the spring. Do you think there is hope for our laundry suddenly becoming free in the middle of the cruise? Sure hope so!!

If it's a "Grand" voyage yes.  Otherwise, no.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Haljo1935]

5 hours ago, islander47 said:

We will hit four star during our 50 day cruise in the spring. Do you think there is hope for our laundry suddenly becoming free in the middle of the cruise? Sure hope so!!

Turned 4* this year during April  29 - May 6 AK cruise. Completely understand and accept HAL policy that status & accompanying awards will be reflected on the next cruise, so we were prepared to pay for laundry. We were NOT charged for laundry.

This was on the Eurodam - maybe it's just something they did? We just know we appreciated it.

Congrats and enjoy your cruise!

[lyndarra]

On 11/2/2023 at 1:16 AM, regnig said:

i guess I'm one of the very few who don't care about pins and medallions or ceremonies as they are just "things".  Along with the wonderful memories of my cruises I'm just excited about the new perks moving up in Stars gets you. Having moved to 4 Star on my B2B in March and earning free laundry was celebration enough. 😁

You're not alone. But, I'm not attracted to cruising because I may be given a cheap trinket or a perceived perk. Boarding priority? Meh, So long as I they let me on. Laundry, never needed it, I can wash a few things if need be. And those star pins? They usually end up as swag in a geocache along with fabulous trivia prizes.

[kazu]

I think everyone needs to think about how many 4* Mariners there are now.  It’s huge.

 

Just enjoy the perks and what goes with it.  And if the perks are meh, and you want to do your laundry when you get home then so be it.  It is what it is.

 

I think we are past the time of fuss and muss unless HAL creates a new * status (which would be nice IF it had any real perks to go with it).