AV8rix

Well, I can answer that one -- and it's a BUMMER!! The Mariner medallion reception on the last sea day of every cruise (right before the Mariner luncheon) was a wonderful tradition. ALL 4* and 5* Mariners were invited. It was held in either the theater or the Explorers Lounge (depending upon the ship) with snacks and wine provided. Each person receiving a medallion was called to the front, the ships Master himself placed the medallion on the recipient and a photo was taken with the Master and the Hotel Director. Well, that was discontinued at the startup after the pandemic, when we were all masked. Only a very few extremely high-status 5*s and PC members were invited. I've heard that some of the receptions had fewer than 12 attendees (other than the ones being awarded medallions). Medallions were unceremoniously dropped off in staterooms. Well, I could understand it back then. Wanting to limit the Masters and HDs contact to as few people as possible because covid was still pretty prevalent. But that's still the way the medallions are awarded now and IMO there's no excuse for it. I received my silver in my stateroom, went to the reception, and all they did was call out the names of all of the recipients, each of whom put their own medallion on. No individual contact with either the Master or the HD. Just another lovely HAL tradition that's gone, along with the Yum Yum Man, the crew show, the librarian, the officers hosting tables in the MDR, etc, etc. End of rant.

And we used to fly our planes from Dallas to the great Lowake Steak House back when it had it's own airstrip. Their steaks were the BEST! I was on the crew of an airshow B-17 so we were at Dyess for the arrival of the first B1 bomber.

Thanks. Been lucky, I guess. Now in my 80s, have decades of eating tartare, carpaccio and sashimi but have never (so far) ingested contaminated samples. FWIW, before a mid-life career change into aero engineering I was a clinical microbiologist. So perhaps constant exposure to those pathogens for 17 years conferred immunity on me 😉.

Yeah, but they subtracted the carpaccio. Not a good trade-off (for me, anyway).

Apples and oranges. The two "awards" (loyalty tiers and medallions) are calculated differently. Loyalty tiers (star levels) are calculated to include actual days aboard the ships + onboard spend. The medallions are calculated based number of days on board ONLY. Therefore the loyalty-tier bumps always come before the medallions. You can check your Mariner Society status on your account on the HAL site. It will tally up the days and the onboard spend separately so you can see how close you are to either next star status or medallion award. Hope this helps.

OK, thanks. Makes sense. From what I can see from his content history, this poster sails mostly on Carnival and this is the FIRST thread in which he has EVER participated on this board.

Huh? The "Behind The Scenes" tour has been discontinued since the shutdown in 2019. That fact has been verified by numerous folks on this board, plus I myself have been on six cruises since the restart and have not seen it offered. Would you mind sharing with us which ship you were on "last week" when you took this tour and which line (you're apparently not a HAL regular)? I'm hoping you were telling the truth because I haven't been on that tour since 2016 and I'd like to sign up for it again if HAL has really resumed it. TIA.

However, many (perhaps most) of your comments are not facts. They are your opinions. "What is important" is to differentiate between those two terms and to use them properly. JMO.

Rudi's steak tartare -- it is presented with a quail egg. The same dish in the PG lacks the quail egg. Jewels of the Sea soup in Tamarind. Just about anything freshly prepared to order at the Asian station in the Lido. Liver in Canaletto. Poke in Nami.

Wow! Talk about thread creep. I've only been trying to watch this one because I'm a lover of classical music and am hoping for news about what's happening now related to that topic.

Raw sugar used to be available in individual packets in all dining venues. Discontinued since resumption after the covid shutdown. I noticed it immediately on my first cruise in 2021 after the shutdown. Luckily the first stop (Alaska cruise departing from Seattle) was in Victoria BC, so I walked up to the grocery store in the James Bay area and bought a box of packets. And have brought a supply of my own on every cruise since then. Whoops, let me amend that. Raw sugar is still usually available in the Lido. However, it is in those awful dispensers. So I'm happy bringing my own.

Wow! Us in Canaletto on VDAM! Yum! Which reminds me, check your FB messages for something interesting.

Still look in on this thread occasionally, checking in today 'cause it's National Motorcycle Day! I've had three of them, here's a picture of my favorite. Her name was Brunnhilde and we went all over the US and Canada together. Umm, I probably can't post here WHY her name is Brunnhilde but some of you know me personally and are FB friends or FB messaging friends. So if you're curious about her name you can PM me on Facebook.

What?? Seriously??? I've been trying to get into the engine spaces for about 14 years now! Retired now, but was an engineer -- so I'd cut my right arm off at the ankle for the opportunity to see the big diesels. Every time I board a ship I plead with any Engineering officer (black stripes on the epaulets) that I encounter but the answer is always no. And yes, I've paid for the "Behind the Scenes" tours in the past on Eurodam but we only toured the engine control room. Guess I've just been on the wrong ships at the wrong time. 😢😢😢

Answers to first two questions is "yes". I guess that's because they're both under the umbrella of the OPC (Ocean Players Club), a CCL subsidiary. Can't provide specific offers -- they will vary for each persons level of play, so mine may not match yours. As to "kinds of offers", I would suspect that they are similar -- free or discounted staterooms, free drinks while playing, free play in varying amounts.

I also commented on that recently. There were always a few evenings (in fixed dining only) where various officers "hosted" tables. I honestly can't remember if it was the pandemic that put an end to that or if it was another of Ashford's "cost-saving" changes. But I really miss it!

Oh, my error! I thought you actually lived in Sky Harbour. MY DUMB! Your handle is POA and I didn't connect it to your condos until RIGHT NOW! Sorry about that. Anyway, since you can't see it, here's what I'm talking about: Whenever we pass Sky Harbour some of the residents are out on the lawn there facing the channel and holding up a HAL banner. It's actually not a flag but a banner -- requires people holding it at both ends. Except in bad weather, they never fail to be out there with the banner. So, having never sailed on another line, I was just wondering if they do that for all the lines. But thanks for the reply anyway. BTW, likely there's at least one other neighbor of yours in Sky Harbour who's a U Nebraska alum. I say that because Copper John @Copper10-8 claimed he sometimes sees a 'Husker flag on a balcony but couldn't be yours if you're in a unit whose view to the channel is blocked, right? 😉😉😉.

Brian @POA1, that entire thread was removed for whatever reason (likely some bluenose was offended by the title). I received notification that you replied to my question but didn't log in until after the thread was censored so I didn't see your answer. So I'll ask again -- do you residents of Sky Harbour display the banner of each line as one of its ships departs PE, or do you do it only for HAL? I'm always thrilled to see it. TIA

Ummm, you were on Rotterdam in April/May. Jus' sayin' 😊.

💯 Right!! And to paraphrase something I said a while back in another similar thread -- there's a reason that they call the LCS type of performances "chamber music".

Yeah, I told you that the LCS rendition actually brought tears to my eyes. So beautiful!

Prior to covid there was usually one dinner per cruise with various officers "hosting" tables. I know this because we were told in advance so I always requested an Engineering officer 😊 -- and usually got one. This, of course, was only for the fixed seating tables on the upper floor. Haven't seen it since covid -- but haven't been on a Grand or the GWC, so they may still do this on those special cruises.

Gotta say that my experience has been the same. I've had the same PCC for 13 years! I put a call in and he ALWAYS returns my call within an hour or two -- and I know that he's SLAMMED since the covid shakeup, when so many were laid off or quit.

One of my favorite PG meals is ALL appetizers -- and they never charge extra because I'm not getting a "main". Anyway, I have either the lobster bisque or the forest mushroom soup (both GREAT), then the bacon, then the steak tartare (for the main). Trust me, that steak tartare is big enough to make a sizeable hamburger. Anyway, with the wonderful breads and a dessert -- it's a BIG meal.

Not the OP but a "pro" tournament player on land, so blackjack is all I do on the ships. There is always a $6 min table but only pays 6/5 for blackjack and is populated mostly by beginners. There is always also a 3/2 table, minimum on that one varies by ship. Have seen it anywhere from $15 to $25. And sometimes, again depending upon individual ship's host, it will be $15 during the daytime on sea days, then $25 at night. While the beginners table is ALWAYS open during casino hours, you sometimes have to ask the host to open the 3/2 table. They will or will not, depending upon staffing availability. Hope this helps.