NEWSFLASH : new updated sel de mer policy fleetwide

[dfish]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Are you suggesting that the hotel managers work on commissions?  Really?

Not at all.  Working for commission and being evaluated on productivity are two different things.   

 

My dental hygienist was bugging the crap out of me to buy a $130 toothbrush along with whitening stuff and other things that I thought were not necessary.  So, I mentioned it to my dental hygienist sister who explained that she is paid an hourly rate, but her job evaluation is partly determined by "productivity", or how much money she brings into the practice.  You can up your productivity by selling toothbrushes and whitening gel.  That evaluation can determine whether or not she is retained in her job or if she gets a raise or not.  The more money you bring in, the higher your evaluation.  Unfortunately, the evaluation has nothing to do with how well she cleans teeth and detects gum disease or oral cancers.  

[ksmaxey]

2 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Are you suggesting that the hotel managers work on commissions?  Really?

As a shareholder I hope that the restaurant manager and others above do not work for commission but receive performance evaluations and perhaps bonuses based upon their financial performance which would include customer satisfaction.

 

[TAD2005]

We had booked a PG dinner for DW and I who are 4-star and our 2 friends who were in another cabin, but only 2-star.  I paid for all 4 dinners in advance online.   After we ate, and checked our cabin account,  I noticed that there were no credits back from the dinner, even after a few days.  After complaining to the front desk, the PG manager, the front desk again, and finally Seattle, we received the 50% credit for all 4 dinners.   I was told that the 50% discount applies to the 4-star mariner who actually pays for the dinners, not who eats it.   That is when Seattle explained, through a letter, that they were working on applying the mariner discount when you book the dinner online.   As long as you are paying for all the people dining, they don't seem to care about the mariner status of some of the guests.

[maggie7667]

21 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

We had booked a PG dinner for DW and I who are 4-star and our 2 friends who were in another cabin, but only 2-star.  I paid for all 4 dinners in advance online.   After we ate, and checked our cabin account,  I noticed that there were no credits back from the dinner, even after a few days.  After complaining to the front desk, the PG manager, the front desk again, and finally Seattle, we received the 50% credit for all 4 dinners.   I was told that the 50% discount applies to the 4-star mariner who actually pays for the dinners, not who eats it.   That is when Seattle explained, through a letter, that they were working on applying the mariner discount when you book the dinner online.   As long as you are paying for all the people dining, they don't seem to care about the mariner status of some of the guests.

that has always been my question to HAL;  I agree, I would like to see it applied when you book online, not when you get onboard and have to watch your account each time; can be exasperating when you are trying to enjoy your vacation!

[ottahand7]

We are currently on the Rotterdam.  I had booked Rudi's prior to boarding at $49 times 2.  I had 4 $8.75 Three Star loyalty discounts refunded for partner and I for 2 Pinnacle dinners and 2 $3.75 which I would guess would be the discount for Canaletto.    Nothing for Rudi's.  I had asked that the $25 upcharge for the fruits de mer be charged to me to get the loyalty discount.  Nothing for that either.   I will be taking this to my concierge.  Many thanks for getting this handled and shared with us.  

[fatcat04]

On 2/4/2019 at 5:41 PM, TAD2005 said:

We had booked a PG dinner for DW and I who are 4-star and our 2 friends who were in another cabin, but only 2-star.  I paid for all 4 dinners in advance online.   After we ate, and checked our cabin account,  I noticed that there were no credits back from the dinner, even after a few days.  After complaining to the front desk, the PG manager, the front desk again, and finally Seattle, we received the 50% credit for all 4 dinners.   I was told that the 50% discount applies to the 4-star mariner who actually pays for the dinners, not who eats it.   That is when Seattle explained, through a letter, that they were working on applying the mariner discount when you book the dinner online.   As long as you are paying for all the people dining, they don't seem to care about the mariner status of some of the guests.

That is what I recently found as well. I prepaid online for 5 PG dinners and 6 Tamarind dinners for our family, many who are new cruisers and have no stars at all.  As a 3 star I got the 25% discount in the form of "Loyalty" on my billing statement at the beginning of the cruise. 

Edited February 19, 2019 by fatcat04

[fatcat04]

One thing I didn't question at the time but maybe I should have, you guys would know, we got the $70 supplement caviar service in PG but no Mariner discount. Should we have? 

[DeeniEncinitas]

We are 4 STAR on our last cruise past March we had the same and our dinner was 50% but not our caviar.

Denise😊

[fatcat04]

1 minute ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

We are 4 STAR on our last cruise past March we had the same and our dinner was 50% but not our caviar.

Denise😊

Okay. Good to know. Looks like the only billing discrepancy then from this last cruise that has not been resolved was corkage charged on a bottle that had a corkage sticker on it. Idk how they missed the sticker but the $18 isn't worth the fight to me at this point. 

[ottahand7]

I took CJ Cruzer's OP to the Neptune Lounge concierge.  She read it but questioned the validity of CC.  She said she would take it to accounting.  I took another step and went to the Holland feedback site for onboard passengers with a cut and paste of the OP dated 2/2.  I probably will hear soon from Guest Services or probably the Pinnacle Grill head who is probably already sick of me for complaining about the dreadful seafood in the Fruits de Mer.   I will post what I find out.  

[Alberta Quilter]

My understanding is the the Mariner discount only applies to the specialty restaurant surcharge and not the supplemental charges for caviar, lobster or any othe upcharges.

[fatcat04]

12 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

My understanding is the the Mariner discount only applies to the specialty restaurant surcharge and not the supplemental charges for caviar, lobster or any othe upcharges.

Gotcha. I didn't even think about it at the time but that had more to do with the very good Spanish wine we had with our steaks than anything else 

The caviar was such a nice splurge and we had some Nicholas F champagne with it. Felt downright decadent!! I love cruising!!

[ottahand7]

Just went down to the Neptune Lounge to get snacks and my concierge said that I get my Mariner discount on Rudi's so hopefully the Rotterdam will get with the program.   Just for the meal and not to $25 seafood platter but that had been ironed out here earlier.   Thanks again for this information!   

[dfish]

19 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

Just went down to the Neptune Lounge to get snacks and my concierge said that I get my Mariner discount on Rudi's so hopefully the Rotterdam will get with the program.   Just for the meal and not to $25 seafood platter but that had been ironed out here earlier.   Thanks again for this information!   

Wow, the Rotterdam did give the discount on Sel de Mer last summer.   Change of staff in the Pinnacle or what?  There should not have been a problem there.

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

My understanding is the the Mariner discount only applies to the specialty restaurant surcharge and not the supplemental charges for caviar, lobster or any othe upcharges.

 

Your understanding is the same as mine - and correct 😉 

 

the Mariner FAQS is pretty clear on surcharge only for specialty dining (although the Sel de Mer hasn’t been updated last time I looked).

I’m taking the proactive move for my sailing to be safe and taking my email from the Mariner’s Society confirming Sel de Mer is eligible. 😉  despite being assured that the ship has been made aware of Mariner benefits 😉 

[kazu]

7 minutes ago, dfish said:

Wow, the Rotterdam did give the discount on Sel de Mer last summer.   Change of staff in the Pinnacle or what?  There should not have been a problem there.

 

Some PG managers seem to think this is a “themed” dinner (Like Cellar Master) and the discount does not apply.  So, if they ended up with a different PG Manager, it’s totally possible sadly, that the rules changed 😞 

[CJcruzer]

When I had my meeting with the Hotel and Guest Services officers - the Hotel Manager pointed out the most recent Cruise Planner, and on the inside back cover page, it clearly states under Mariner benefits that Sel de Mer qualifies.. Granted the print is small (and I pointed out that this could and should be made more prominent) but it is there in black and white.

[dfish]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Some PG managers seem to think this is a “themed” dinner (Like Cellar Master) and the discount does not apply.  So, if they ended up with a different PG Manager, it’s totally possible sadly, that the rules changed 😞 

I wonder if it is the manager or the auditor on board that adjusts accounts.  While I had no problem getting my discount, it did take a few days before it appeared.   The discounts for Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto appeared right away, but the Sel de Mer ones didn't until a couple of days after the dinner.  

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, dfish said:

I wonder if it is the manager or the auditor on board that adjusts accounts.  While I had no problem getting my discount, it did take a few days before it appeared.   The discounts for Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto appeared right away, but the Sel de Mer ones didn't until a couple of days after the dinner.  

I don’t think so - at least, not in our case last year.

 

It was the PG manager who was adamant it was a themed dinner and there was no discount.  The concierge gave me the answer.  Two of us pursued throughout the cruise and got no where as it seemed to be dependent on what the PG manager said.

 

The infamous “night auditor” took a few days to get my internet straightened out but all the loyalty discounts for specialty dining (except for Sel de Mer) were there on day one on my on board account, just as you experienced which has been the same for me on a number of cruises now.

[rkacruiser]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

The infamous “night auditor”

 

Interesting to read what you just wrote because I was going to suggest that the problem might be the "night auditior".  I had some missing on-board credit that was gifted to me when I sailed on the Prinsendam and the Front Desk staff, including one in a "blue suit", put the responsibility on this person.  The proper credit did appear, but it took 3 trips to the Front Office to get it resolved.

[CJcruzer]

3 minutes ago, kazu said:

I don’t think so - at least, not in our case last year.

 

It was the PG manager who was adamant it was a themed dinner and there was no discount.  The concierge gave me the answer.  Two of us pursued throughout the cruise and got no where as it seemed to be dependent on what the PG manager said.

 

The infamous “night auditor” took a few days to get my internet straightened out but all the loyalty discounts for specialty dining (except for Sel de Mer) were there on day one on my on board account, just as you experienced which has been the same for me on a number of cruises now.

 

The inside back cover of the current Cruise Planner clearly names the dinners included in Mariner discount (Sel de Mer is listed) and also states the exceptions ..  

 

Onboard, if there is a problem with the PG manager acknowledging this - I would escalate the issue to the Hotel Manager and Guest Services Manager.. 

 

 

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Interesting to read what you just wrote because I was going to suggest that the problem might be the "night auditior".  I had some missing on-board credit that was gifted to me when I sailed on the Prinsendam and the Front Desk staff, including one in a "blue suit", put the responsibility on this person.  The proper credit did appear, but it took 3 trips to the Front Office to get it resolved.

 

Maybe  the “night auditor” doesn’t work every night 😉 

 

I’ve had the same issue and literally cringe when they use the words “night auditor”

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, CJcruzer said:

 

The inside back cover of the current Cruise Planner clearly names the dinners included in Mariner discount (Sel de Mer is listed) and also states the exceptions ..  

 

Onboard, if there is a problem with the PG manager acknowledging this - I would escalate the issue to the Hotel Manager and Guest Services Manager.. 

 

 

 

I have the cruise planner for April 2019 and Sel de Mer isn’t listed - neither are the other specialty dining.

 

What IS listed is what is not included.

I have my email from the Mariner Society I’m bringing to be safe.

If there is an issue at all, I will definitely escalate. 😉  I certainly hope there won’t be 😉 f

[dfish]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

The infamous “night auditor”

I had to laugh at that.  You are so right.....

[sppunk]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I have the cruise planner for April 2019 and Sel de Mer isn’t listed - neither are the other specialty dining.

 

What IS listed is what is not included.

I have my email from the Mariner Society I’m bringing to be safe.

If there is an issue at all, I will definitely escalate. 😉  I certainly hope there won’t be 😉 f

Could you please forward me that email? 😉