Mariners Society ~ ~ How Special Was This?

[sail7seas]

DH and I were on Nieuw Amsterdam for Thanksgiving cruise and the following one. Our second week, we sailed with Margaret Binnendyk who I'm sure many well remember as the,now retired, former Director of the Mariners Society.

 

We all were invited to Mariners Party and DH and I were presented our 700 Day Platinum Medallions.

 

For us, it was a happy and exciting event and thought it so special for Margaret to be present..... it was during her years with HAL we sailed so many days.

 

Lots of great cruises, lots of wonderful days aboard and many memories........

 

Looking forward to many more.

[GmaPajama]

Special indeed !!! Congratulations on becoming Platinum Medallion Holders - Incredible! And, Welcome Home!

[Candy]

Congratulations on receiving your Platinum Medallions... just think of all the many cruises you have enjoyed to achieve that goal!

 

Candy

[kazu]

Congratulations indeed Sail - how very special indeed:) Welcome home:D

[GmaPajama]

I'd be fascinated to hear about your first HAL cruise ever, Sail. What ship? What itinerary? Your impressions? Anything about that very first one that kept you coming back to HAL?

 

Willing to share? :)

[cruisinjudy]

Congratulations on 700 days!

[LADYLAYLA]

Congrats on 700 days Sail!

[andeesue]

How wonderful to be honored with your 700-day platinum medallion with Margaret present. You obviously are a HAL fan! Are there any especially favorite itineraries you've enjoyed?

[Two@Sea]

Congratulations on 700 days! I'm sure you enjoyed every single one of them! :)

[Colakid]

Congrats from your Pinnacle Grill friends. Nice meeting you recently. Colakid

[rkacruiser]

Congratulations, Sail! 700 days! Wow! I wonder if I will ever be able to reach that milestone.

 

Margaret is indeed a most wonderful, friendly person. Being able to meet and talk with her in 2008 on the Amsterdam was one of the treats of that particular cruise. She is missed, but she surely deserves her retirement years.

[boards]

Congratulations on your 700 days. We got our bronze medallion, as you said we would and our next goal is 4 star status.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

WOW Sail, I guess Congratulations are in order. I had not realized you had done quite that much cruising in the last three years. Since it was late August 2008 you talked about getting your Gold Medallion and were afraid with the 499 days you would not get it but they still awarded it to you.

[off2ctheworld]

Congratulations on reaching your 700 day status!

[bet410]

Congratulations to you on your platinum achievement! You and your DH are truly expert cruisers! I'm sure having the opportunity to receive this achievement with Margaret Binnendyk present made it especially memorable for you.

 

While I'm hoping to achieve the same status sometime in the future, I remind myself that all HAL cruises are memorable, whether we're experiencing Day 1 or Day 700!

 

In addition to my congratulations, I offer you my thanks for your many, many insightful comments on CC. I've learned so much from you other regular HAL posters!

[Copper10-8]

Congrats on reaching that milestone, S7S. Not too many can say they have achieved that!

[sail7seas]

Thanks, everyone.

 

I want to answer the questions and will tomorrow but for now, whoever asked, our first ever HAL cruise was Noordam III, ten days, in 1992. :) I guess that really started a 'long voyage'. :D

 

I appreciate the nice comments.

[SilvertoGold]

Congrats on reaching that milestone, S7S. Not too many can say they have achieved that!

 

John

 

Are you now in the position to know how many Platinum there are? Would be interesting to know just how may have reached that level, and Gold also!

 

 

Sail

 

Congratulations! So glad that they are still awarding medallions and you received yours. Eventually they may add to the 4 star perks at the different medallion levels -- you certainly deserve more!

[luvcruisn']

sail7seas - congratulations on your 700 day achievement. Thanks for all of your insightful posts.

[ariawoman]

Wow 700 days! Makes my 12 days look bad :-)

 

I'll have to get to work on that.

 

<startingggggggggggggggggg now>

 

:):)

[sail7seas]

John

 

Are you now in the position to know how many Platinum there are? Would be interesting to know just how may have reached that level, and Gold also!

 

 

<snip>

 

Some time ago I asked a Hotel Manager how many living Mariners had Platinum Medallions and at that time he told me there were about 170. I'm sure some have passed this then and others have been awarded so that number is only a guesstimate.

 

[SilvertoGold]

Thanks, Sail. Such select company! Congratulations again.

[babyher]

Congratulations Sail :)

 

Thats a wonderful accomplishment. Wishing you many many more healthy and happy days on HAL.

 

Mark my words ,there will be a bust or a portrait of you on one of those DAM ships one of these days *LOL*

[hal lover]

I'd be fascinated to hear about your first HAL cruise ever, Sail. What ship? What itinerary? Your impressions? Anything about that very first one that kept you coming back to HAL?

 

Willing to share? :)

 

CONGRATULATIONS INDEED!!! I too would love to hear about the first cruise. Please share!

[matondo]

Congratulations!!!

 

What are or were your favorite ships? Favorite destination? Favorite cabin? Sorry for all the questions :o but I would love to hear from a real expert and I think 700 days would qualify you as such.