Reaching next level mariner status

[Krazy Kruizers]

Congratulations on becoming Five Star. The benefits are nice. :)

 

Each of you will receive two complimentary Pinnacle Dinners. If you book them in advance of boarding, you will have to pay full amount on your credit card. The charge will be removed and put as a credit to your OBC when you actually dine.

 

I have never had to chase them for the credit. It has always been automatically applied.

 

(Hope I didn't make any typos but more often than not, likely I made at least one. :D)

 

 

As Sail said, you can book these in advance, and pay for them. But I would not hold it to chance that you are refunded properly. Sometimes I have not had a problem, and some times I have.

 

I now make it a point to confirm when my dinners are scheduled for, and which ones I want credited as the "free" dinners, and which ones should have the 50% discount applied.

I find it works better if I do this some time when they are not serving meals.

 

 

On our last cruises, I had pre-purchased several Pinnacle dinners and we had to fight like crazy to get our 2 free ones.

[sapper1]

I hope they still have the unlimited internet package for our cruise - I really liked it:)

 

I am curious how the internet deal for 5* will be handled as well.

 

Hopefully there will be unlimited internet and a minor discount? We can only hope :)

 

Unlimited length of voyage with a discount would be a good way to handle it.

[sail7seas]

I have been a 5 Star Cruiser for over 3 years. I am cruising on the VOV July 2015 and will pass over 500 cruise sea days on the first leg of the cruise. Will I be eligible for my next medallion?

 

Bob

 

Congratulations on reaching Gold Medallion level.

 

You should receive it on the cruise during which you reach that level (unlike the Star Mariner Program where you wait until next cruise - usually).

 

I suggest you verify early in the cruise with the Front Office to be sure they have the records correct and make sure they are prepared to present your Medallion. Print out your Mariner Page on the HAL site which indicates your cruise history. There can be no question with Front Office if you can produce that record.

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2015 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

On our last cruises, I had pre-purchased several Pinnacle dinners and we had to fight like crazy to get our 2 free ones.

 

Sorry you had a hard time. That never should happen and I'm grateful, thus far, I have not experienced that.

 

[sail7seas]

We are 5 Star Mariners.

On the Zuiderdam we had a choice of buying the 100 minute Internet package for 50% off -- normally it is $55 so we would get it for $27.50 or buying the unlimited package.

No other deals.

 

What was the price of the Unlimited Package?

[POA1]

As Sail said, you can book these in advance, and pay for them. But I would not hold it to chance that you are refunded properly. Sometimes I have not had a problem, and some times I have.

 

I now make it a point to confirm when my dinners are scheduled for, and which ones I want credited as the "free" dinners, and which ones should have the 50% discount applied.

I find it works better if I do this some time when they are not serving meals.

 

We have never had a problem getting the reservation credited back as OBC, but I always caution people that it's a possibility. I think the worst case scenario for us was that we had to use an American Express dinner as a lunch. ($10 vs $29) The Pinnacle Grill manager comp'd us a few glasses of wine, so all was well. For the most part, we've found the PG managers - and pretty much everyone on HAL ships - to be very service oriented. I'm sure that it helps to have a deep, soothing voice, but it's really rare that we had an issue that couldn't be taken care of.

[POA1]

If you had booked the legs of your cruise separately, I believe that you would have been promoted at the conclusion of the qualifying leg, but a single booking number Collector cruise is viewed as a single voyage.

 

 

This is true. CC member Shrimpboat123 booked a Collector's Cruise as two segments with different booking #s last December. He and his lovely wife, Shrimpette, got to four stars in week 1. My wife and I - also hitting 4 stars in week 1, but being booked on the 14 day Collector's Cruise, didn’t achieve 4 stars until we got home.

[RuthC]

We have never had a problem getting the reservation credited back as OBC, but I always caution people that it's a possibility.

I've found a pre-emptive strike, presented in a charming manner, works wonders. ;)

[ski ww]

Last year on our B2B cruise we reached the next level during the first segment and we got our next level for the second segment. I contacted head office before we left and asked if we would and were told yes. At the start of the cruise I went to the front desk told them about our up coming change and at the start of the second segment we went down and received our new cards. They will not change to the next level if it occurs during the cruise, in that case you have to wait until your next cruise.

Allan

[sail7seas]

This is true. CC member Shrimpboat123 booked a Collector's Cruise as two segments with different booking #s last December. He and his lovely wife, Shrimpette, got to four stars in week 1. My wife and I - also hitting 4 stars in week 1, but being booked on the 14 day Collector's Cruise, didn’t achieve 4 stars until we got home.

 

There is usually a small discount if booked as a Collector's vs b-to-b.

 

Several times we booked b-to-b because at the time of our booking, those cruises were not offered as Collector's. At a future time, unknown to us, HAL converted our booking and made it one cruise and a Collector's. We found out about it at the time we made final payment. One of the downsides is if you find you have to cancel one segment but can go on the other segment, you have to cancel the whole cruise. Another downside has been pointed out in this thread. If you reach a new Star Mariner Level, with a b-to-b you can enjoy it on the next segment. On a Collector's, you must wait until your next cruise.

 

Edited June 24, 2015 by sail7seas

[POA1]

There is usually a small discount if booked as a Collector's vs b-to-b.

 

Several times we booked b-to-b because at the time of our booking, those cruises were not offered as Collector's. At a future time, unknown to us, HAL converted our booking and made it one cruise and a Collector's. We found out about it at the time we made final payment. One of the downsides is if you find you have to cancel one segment but can go on the other segment, you have to cancel the whole cruise. Another downside has been pointed out in this thread. If you reach a new Star Mariner Level, with a b-to-b you can enjoy it on the next segment. On a Collector's, you must wait until your next cruise.

 

There was a small difference, but from what I understand, the free laundry and extra discounts on wine/specialty dining made up for it.

[sail7seas]

Yes, that likely would make up the difference. :)

 

[DaveOKC]

There was a small difference, but from what I understand, the free laundry and extra discounts on wine/specialty dining made up for it.

 

Plus, if you are a stockholder you can earn 2 sets of OBC (normally $100 each unless its a long segment).

[GHCruiser7]

On 6/25/2015 at 4:44 AM, DaveOKC said:

 

Plus, if you are a stockholder you can earn 2 sets of OBC (normally $100 each unless its a long segment).

Yes.  In the case where the 36-day Collector was broken into 14 and 22 day segments, if the cruiser had 100+ shares of CCL, they would get $250 booking as the Collector and $500 if they booked it as two segments.  14+ days is $250 in OC.  It's always worth looking at what benefits you might be giving up if booking B2B, but usually the CCL double credit is worth it.

I booked 3 28-day segments in early 2025 rather than an 84 day voyage.  It was worth $500 extra in onboard credit.  🙂