No more embarkation day lunch in the MDR fleetwide!

[Crew News]

Per the Nieuw Amsterdam Captain last October, the Mariner Luncheons were currently being offered on cruises longer than 14 days.

 

As HAL continues to evolve away from the COVID restrictions, more luncheons should be occurring.

[Shmoo here]

19 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Per the Nieuw Amsterdam Captain last October, the Mariner Luncheons were currently being offered on cruises longer than 14 days.

 

As HAL continues to evolve away from the COVID restrictions, more luncheons should be occurring.

I hope there's one on our upcoming cruise.  We've attended at least one (maybe 2) in the past (pre-COVID) and they were really nice.

[Real NHDOC]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

Per the Nieuw Amsterdam Captain last October, the Mariner Luncheons were currently being offered on cruises longer than 14 days.

 

As HAL continues to evolve away from the COVID restrictions, more luncheons should be occurring.

Kinda makes it easier for them too since there aren’t as many over 14 days - especially in the Caribbean.  

[kazu]

8 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

Kinda makes it easier for them too since there aren’t as many over 14 days - especially in the Caribbean.  

 

Our Rotterdam cruise was over 14 days so that might explain things a bit?

 

My next one is only 13 days - so I won’t expect one and if it happens I’ll report.

 

My cruises are normally over 14 days - if I’m going to the trouble to fly out of here (ugly connections often), I’m making it worth my while 😉 

[horseymike]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:48 AM, Mr. Boston said:

I agree on the lame excuse.  It sounds like the one they gave for getting rid of the libraries.  They need a better liar in Seattle!

Most likely not in Seattle, outsourced to a foreign country.

[cruiseaholic78]

On 3/16/2024 at 4:42 PM, alwaysfrantic said:

Someone will tell you you’re lying.  I said there was no MDR lunch on my last trip and people came out of the woodwork to tell me I was wrong 🙄

We were on the Westerdam 28 days Asia in October 2023 and on embarkation day we were (of course) sent to the Lido for lunch. I actually went down to the MDR to check and it was definitely closed.

I didn’t quite understand this thread as I am sure this has been discussed previously but as I couldn’t find it I didn’t bother to answer.

 

[Real NHDOC]

5 hours ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

We were on the Westerdam 28 days Asia in October 2023 and on embarkation day we were (of course) sent to the Lido for lunch. I actually went down to the MDR to check and it was definitely closed.

I didn’t quite understand this thread as I am sure this has been discussed previously but as I couldn’t find it I didn’t bother to answer.

 

Prior to March 1, 2024 the MDR was typically open for lunch on every embarkation day. I say typically but not always because there were periodically times where they did not provide this amenity due to things like coast guard inspections, crew shortages, etc. but it was listed as an official perk on the Mariner’s Society list of benefits for the past couple of years. On March 1 it ended and has been removed from the website.

 

There is also some confusion about the various Mariner’s lunches. The welcome aboard lunch is the one on embarkation day which was open to everyone while the Mariner’s lunch that is offered after the awards ceremony is by invitation only, usually to three star and above level, and is offered often on a sea day during the cruise, usually close to the end.

Edited March 18 by Real NHDOC

[jeh10641]

At the implied suggestion of several correspondents in this stream, I sent messages to the Mariner Society and HAL Ship Services about the embarkation MDR lunch. From both, all I got was a form letter stating that I would be contacted later. Both of my notes were sent out before Friday March 15. As of today, March 18, no further response. (For reference only, I am a Three* and loyal HAL patron since 1959.)

Jim

[mawvkysc]

1 hour ago, jeh10641 said:

At the implied suggestion of several correspondents in this stream, I sent messages to the Mariner Society and HAL Ship Services about the embarkation MDR lunch. From both, all I got was a form letter stating that I would be contacted later. Both of my notes were sent out before Friday March 15. As of today, March 18, no further response. (For reference only, I am a Three* and loyal HAL patron since 1959.)

Jim

For reference I am zero star and got a response back within 48 hours, but I wrote pretty soon after this thread started. No response yet to my husband’s email which was sent about two days ago. 

[Ladybentley]

2 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

For reference I am zero star and got a response back within 48 hours, but I wrote pretty soon after this thread started. No response yet to my husband’s email which was sent about two days ago. 

I wrote to both four days ago and still haven't had any response other than the form letter. I live in hope....

[YourWorldWithBill]

I believe we can't expect more than the form letters for some time, maybe quite some time! The hope is just that eventually someone will take our input seriously. I also got the same response that others received to both my letters. Number matter. Let's keep trying.

[bluesplayer]

Since I specifically asked about room service being available on embarkation, they added a sentence to their canned response.  NO, room service is not available.  Glad so many are voicing their displeasure.  Wonder if people on the ships could voice their disapproval of this?  Seems the folks on the ship are much more concerned.  I will certainly leave a note on my next cruise at the front desk.

  Maybe a sit in at the MDR doors?   
 

Response from HA:

Dear Laura,

 

We thank you for your correspondence with Holland America Line regarding the Mariner Society embarkation lunch.  

 

We understand that the embarkation luncheon was a popular activity with many of our guests. Unfortunately, the embarkation lunch has been discontinued as of March 1, 2024. Room Service is also not available for Lunch on Embarkation Day. We apologize for any disappointment this has caused.

We thank you for sharing your thoughts, our guest’s comments and concerns are important to us.  Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We have forwarded your email to our management team for consideration. 

Please let us know if you have any questions.  We hope to welcome you back onboard with us soon.

Kind Regards,
Garrett

Mariner Society
Holland America Line
800-547-9139
206-626-7359
Monday-Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm PST

[Real NHDOC]

I emailed the ship services department last Wednesday expressing my disappointment (mentioning I was currently aboard) and have only received the instant auto reply stating I would hear a response in 48-72 hours. 

[rothbury]

Embarked on the Eurodam on March 6, NO luncheon on a 10 day cruise.  Mariner or otherwise.  3 sea days and no awards ceremony or Mariner luncheon.  Saw medallions and pins sitting in the mail slots about 8 days into the cruise.

The MDR was open for lunch on sea days.  Same menu every time. 

[YourWorldWithBill]

We got our reply from mariner society today, after getting the reply from ship services a few days ago. 

[rj59]

It's not a good move to not do anything meaningful to gain the loyalty of Mariners. I used to love the Mariners lunch, the captain speaking, the simple menu and free drinks and meeting people and getting a tile. It made me feel valued, as did Mariner cocktail receptions where officers would mingle, as still happens on Celebrity and Princess. As a 3-star, they just hand out sparkling wine and that's it, so I stopped going. Also, getting a 100-cruise day medal also made me feel special and valued. Cutting costs might be appealing, but if your competitors are still providing the benefits, then you could lose market share and end up worse off. The most glaring example would be the amazing shows I've seen on Royal, Celebrity, NCL, and even one on Carnival I saw a few weeks ago, and even traditional song-and-dance ones on Princess and Cunard at least are better than interpretive dance shows that are the same on every ship, every cruise. One year I went on the Westerdam 7 times, to Alaska and Mexico, because I loved their shows, the loyalty events, treats like chocolate-covered strawberries in the coffee shop every evening, and there was a piano guy and a classical duo of Ukrainian babes I liked. I even recognized a Westerdam singer now on Celebrity Apex, doing amazing shows in 3 different venues, and he agreed how sad that HAL abandoned singers and dancers and shows. 

[Euby]

I also wrote to both Guest Services and the Mariner Society.  Haven't heard from Guest Services.  Got a similar canned response from the Mariner Society.

"Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line Mariner Society.  We can confirm that the information regarding the removal of lunch on embarkation day is true.  Unfortunately, at this time, there will be no room service available as an alternative."

No mention of a reason why or if the perk was being replaced with something else.