Are you Mr./Mrs. Holland America?

[BobbiSox]

Yeas ago, HAL had an interesting and fun way for passengers to 'break the ice'. On the first day of the cruise, and for the duration,  two passnengers were secretly chosen to become Mr. Holland America, and Mrs. Holland America; they  not could not be related.  The rest of the passengers would ask eash other "Are you Mrs. (or Mr.) Holland America?" and the passengers who correctly identified either one got a prize, which may have been a free cruise; my memory is not clear.  The game was never announced, to my knowledge. It was in inner-circle kind of thing, I guess. You either knew of it, or you didn't. There were some funny reactions by the passengers who weren't aware that the game was taking place, as you can imagine, a stranger approaching you to ask if you were Mr./Mrs. Hlland America!  Does anyone remember it?

[FRANKIEDNYC]

Yes, if I remember correctly.it was Mr and Mrs name of the ship.  My wife was once chosen to be Mrs Maasdam. And on another cruise when my son was about 10 or 12 years old he found Mrs Maasdam.  My wife was awarded a bottle of champagne and a large bag full of HAL logo items.  My son also received the same type of prize but also got a kiss on stage from one of the cruise staff girls about 10 years older than him that he had a secret crush on for the entire cruise.  This brings back some great memories.

[BobbiSox]

4 minutes ago, FRANKIEDNYC said:

Yes, if I remember correctly.it was Mr and Mrs name of the ship.  My wife was once chosen to be Mrs Maasdam. And on another cruise when my son was about 10 or 12 years old he found Mrs Maasdam.  My wife was awarded a bottle of champagne and a large bag full of HAL logo items.  My son also received the same type of prize but also got a kiss on stage from one of the cruise staff girls about 10 years older than him that he had a secret crush on for the entire cruise.  This brings back some great memories.

I'm thinking the rules were different from ship to ship. I enjoy remembering those 'good old days' traditions.

[RuthC]

37 minutes ago, BobbiSox said:

I'm thinking the rules were different from ship to ship. I enjoy remembering those 'good old days' traditions.

As far as I recall, the rules were the same on every ship. It was a fun game, designed to get passengers to interact with strangers. There was a time that HAL was big on that; I miss those days. 

I was MS Ryndam once, and remember the bag of swag. There were some nice gifts in it, but nothing so extravagant as a free cruise. The 'big reveal' was held the last full morning of the cruise, right before the disembarkation presentation. 
Now, there was a free cruise BINGO near the end of the cruise. Could you be confusing the two? 

[salt water in my veins]

Now, I am trying to remember, which year, I found Mrs Veendam. It was fun and I remember a nice photo frame in my prize bag.

[BobbiSox]

Can anyone tell me how they were selected to participate? I have always wondered how the Mr. and Mrs. were chosen. Thanks!

[Copper10-8]

I was chosen Mr. Rotterdam once, and unbeknownst to each other, my dear sister Anneke - may she rest in peace - was chosen Mrs. Rotterdam on a cruise from New York City to Montreal in Sep 2002. You are only supposed to answer "Yes" the first time another pax asks you if you are Mr. Rotterdam and that individual then becomes the "revealer." Anyone else who asks you after that first time, you are supposed to answer "No" to.  As other have said, it was a fun game with the big reveal by the CD Mark Cox on the last sea day prior to, in this case, his disembarkation talk in the show lounge.

 

As far as how we were picked, one day early in the cruise, one of the cruise staffers Melissa (since then, shorex manager for many years), walked up to me and asked if I wanted to be Mr. Rotterdam. I said Yes.

 

HAL would do good to start this game up again, it's an excellent ice breaker

[tjcox9]

Ah yes, remember those days and we even had a social hostess, not a CD, as I recall. Susan Wood comes to mind................

 

 

[Copper10-8]

18 minutes ago, tjcox9 said:

Ah yes, remember those days and we even had a social hostess, not a CD, as I recall. Susan Wood comes to mind................

 

 

 

Susan Wood, the lady from the UK, who lived in a (small) castle

[vinonme2]

31 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Susan Wood, the lady from the UK, who lived in a (small) castle

I fondly remember the fun of wondering who the Mr. & Mrs. was on the ship and totally agree it should be brought back.

Also remember Susan Wood - a real class act. We always looked forward to her talks. She was the social hostess on our 30 night R/T San Diego 1-5-05 Statendam Hawaii/South Pacific Explorer cruise.

[sansterre]

Yes, one of our friends we were traveling with was Mrs. Amsterdam.  We were about 5 days into our cruise and it was mentioned during the evening entertainment that Mrs. Amsterdam had not been found yet.  

The 6 of us talked about it at breakfast the next morning and I finally  - on the 6th day - I said "are you Mrs. Amsterdam"?  We all laughed in disbelief when she said "YES!".  

I probably had asked 50+ women that question prior to asking our friend, Carole.

I also would like to see the "game" return.

[ski ww]

Sounds like a fun way to get to know your fellow passengers.

[ger_77]

Unbeknownst to us, one of the fellows at our dining table turned out to be Mr. Holland America; we were blown away when the big reveal happened.  

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Susan Wood, the lady from the UK, who lived in a (small) castle

 

How many times can one say this lady was a WINNER in the job that she did?  

 

[Evilmuffin]

Are they still doing this?   

[Copper10-8]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

How many times can one say this lady was a WINNER in the job that she did?  

 

 

I agree 100% with the other poster that Susan Wood was a class act as a HAL CD 

[Copper10-8]

10 minutes ago, Evilmuffin said:

Are they still doing this?   

 

Nope, nor the disembarkation talk by the CD on the last day of the cruise but, then again, HAL is no longer doing A LOT of things they used to do. The times, they are a changing..........

[tamsno]

Mr. Rotterdam on the wonderful  four week Rio-Athens voyage in 2007 was a tablemate.  Jokingly one day I asked if he was and he said yes!!  We had to keep the secret for a couple of weeks.  We each won a nice HAL swag bag.  The good old days!  Would be so easy to bring back many things that were special and took little effort or cost.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

In 2004, DH was Mr. Noordam, and about halfway through the cruise, one of our tablemates found him.  He was asked by one of the Cruise Staff via a letter pushed under the door.  He was not supposed to tell even me, but with the letter that was not really practical.  Both DH and our tablemate got the swag bags with some nice logo items and I think a bottle of bubbly.  

 

That was a good ice breaker, and I wouldn't mind seeing it return, along with the Cruise Staff.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[celebrityxxo]

Oh my God we were just talking about when my husband was Mr. Holland America I believe we were going to Alaska Alaska it was a great way to meet people I was curious if they still did this I guess sadly they do not they should reinstate it it was an amazing concept