Mariner Number changed to Princess Circle Number

[DesertRat46]

Have only 2 Princess cruises, 1997 & 1999. About 12 HAL cruises since then Considering another Princess cruise in January. Wonder if I'm still in the system?

[jhannah]

So far my original HAL Mariner number remains the same.

[wombatKY]

3 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

That theory doesn’t work.  I made the original booking and was the lead on the reservation.  🤷‍♀️

 

Then maybe it's just "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a enigma".🙃

[CNSJ]

HAL, Seabourn, Princes all use the same POLAR reservation system.  Maybe it's somehow tied to that.  One number is easier for sure.

 

 

[Laminator]

This is probably an IT snafu as it is the one thing HAL and Carnival Corp for that matter is consistent with.

[pengu1n]

I called Princess today because while my number changed to my HAL number, I did not have any cruises listed (I have 3) on their website. He asked for my Princess # (I'm a B, husband A and kids C & D) and he could see the 3 listed there. He couldn't fix the website or link them together or fix it in any way. He just recommended giving the Princess # if I book a cruise.

[L454S]

We have been with Princess for over 20 years, recently sailing with HAL. Different numbers here.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I contacted Holland American and our Mariner number will not change, We did 17 Princes Cruises years ago.

[Wehwalt]

21 hours ago, atexsix said:

Well no, lol, it's more for personal satisfaction.

I know. My old United number started with 000. I was very regretful when they and Continental merged and they took Continental's numbering system.

 

Sometimes, I sort of like the idea of a merger since both DW and myself have over 1200 nights between HAL and Princess and I like the idea of being within a reasonable distance of President's Club. But then I realize there are enough people in our situation that it would dilute President's Club (unless they changed the requirements) out of recognition. When everyone is somebody, then no one's anybody, as W.S. Gilbert said.

Edited August 15 by Wehwalt

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, Wehwalt said:

I know. My old United number started with 000. I was very regretful when they and Continental merged and they took Continental's numbering system.

 

Sometimes, I sort of like the idea of a merger since both DW and myself have over 1200 nights between HAL and Princess and I like the idea of being within a reasonable distance of President's Club. But then I realize there are enough people in our situation that it would dilute President's Club (unless they changed the requirements) out of recognition. When everyone is somebody, then no one's anybody, as W.S. Gilbert said.

On my last Princess cruise, there were more people that had early boarding privileges that didn't, and this was a 7 day, if it were a world cruise I'd expect this.  On HAL, so many people had perks like free laundry creating lengthy delays for the people that actually paid for it.  So yeah.  

 

Edit: BTW, Princess prioritized the earlies ahead of the handicapped/disabled, which I felt was inexcusable, stewards had to come down and clear a path for the wheelchairs to get through, all of which was taking place on the gangway. HAL would never have done that, but their embarkation is far superior to the mess Princess created just so the early birds could get to the buffet before everybody else; they were side to side at the pier and I could easily see the difference between HAL and Princess.

Edited August 15 by atexsix

[terrydtx]

There have been rumors for years that CCL would love to Merge Princess and Holland into one branded line. I hope this isn't the first step like when Continental Airlines and United became one branded company, The first step was merging loyalty accounts.

[Ken the cruiser]

50 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

There have been rumors for years that CCL would love to Merge Princess and Holland into one branded line. I hope this isn't the first step like when Continental Airlines and United became one branded company, The first step was merging loyalty accounts.

We sure hope that’s not the case, as they definitely offer two different products from our POV. For one thing Princess usually has 4-5 assistants to help the CD with a variety of games and trivias whereas HAL has one. For another Princess hires professional lecturers for their enrichment programs whereas HAL usually has their combined Cruise/Excursion director give them using a scripted narrative.

 

Another difference is that Princess offers a Reserve Collection dining area for everyone on any of their ships that books a Reserve Collection mini suite or higher (like us) whereas HAL only has a separate CO dining area on their newer class ships that anyone can purchase and usually sell out rather quickly. 
 

We don’t have anything against HAL, other than they simply offer a more relaxing cruising environment. We just like the option of choosing which one we will cruise with, depending on the 3-5 week cruise we’re looking at. 
 

Edited August 15 by Ken the cruiser

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We sure hope that’s not the case, as they definitely offer two different products from our POV. For one thing Princess usually has 4-5 assistants to help the CD with a variety of games and trivias whereas HAL has one. For another Princess hires professional lecturers for their enrichment programs whereas HAL usually has their combined Cruise/Excursion director give them using a scripted narrative.

 

Another difference is that Princess offers a Reserve Collection dining area on everyone that books a Reserve Collection mini suite or higher (like us) whereas HAL only has a separate CO dining area on their newer class ships that anyone can purchase and usually sell out rather quickly. 
 

We don’t have anything against HAL, other than they simply offer a more relaxing cruising environment. We just like the option of choosing which one we cruise when we’re looking to book a 3-5 week cruise. 
 

I agree, I do not want to see a merger, we like HAL for the more varied, unique and longer itineraries, like we are doing next week on the Volendam. Celebrity has now become another cruise line focusing on the more profitable cruises in the Caribbean, by offering 4-, 5- and 6-day cruises from Florida. We no longer want to cruise the Caribbean and prefer longer cruises to places we have not visited.

 

 

Edited August 15 by terrydtx

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, terrydtx said:

I agree, I do not want to see a merger, we like HAL for the more varied, unique and longer itineraries, like we are doing next week on the Volendam. Celebrity has now become another cruise line focusing on the more profitable cruises in the Caribbean, by offering 4-, 5- and 6-day cruises from Florida. We no longer want to cruise the Caribbean and prefer longer cruises to places we have not visited.

We totally agree! 

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We totally agree! 

If Princess and HAL did ever merge, I suspect the end product will look more like Princess than HAL. Princess has huge mega ships but their smaller ships would fit well for HAL like cruises to smaller ports and unique locations.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, terrydtx said:

If Princess and HAL did ever merge, I suspect the end product will look more like Princess than HAL. Princess has huge mega ships but their smaller ships would fit well for HAL like cruises to smaller ports and unique locations.

True. It would also be nice if HAL brought back their In-depth EXC program, minus the zodiacs, on some of the longer 3-5+ week itineraries on their smaller ships. We definitely enjoyed the multiple lectures we received on sea days back in 2018/19 on the Zaandam and Maasdam provided by professional lecturers before being cancelled when HAL switched to their Music Walk entertainment strategy. 

[BermudaBound2014]

22 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

If Princess and HAL did ever merge, I suspect the end product will look more like Princess than HAL. Princess has huge mega ships but their smaller ships would fit well for HAL like cruises to smaller ports and unique locations.

 

But remember, it wasn't too long ago we were being lectured how Princess actually was attracting an older demographic than HAL (minus references of course) 😄

 

[BermudaBound2014]

14 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

True. It would also be nice if HAL brought back their In-depth EXC program, minus the zodiacs, on some of the longer 3-5+ week itineraries on their smaller ships. We definitely enjoyed the multiple lectures we received on sea days back in 2018/19 on the Zaandam and Maasdam provided by professional lecturers before being cancelled when HAL switched to their Music Walk entertainment strategy. 

 

I would love the EXC program (with the zodiacs). 

 

IMO, for HAL to survive it needs a very solid niche. We all know it has a little niche in smaller cruise ships and longer itineraries to interesting places. The recent move to add 15% more ships sailing 7 day bus runs seems counter intuitive to solidifying the niche market which makes HAL attractive to me.

 

It is very unlikely I would select HAL for anything other than a long niche voyage because HAL just doesn't offer the same things I can get for similar pricing on other lines (better entertainment, more dining venues, more ship activities, more modern technology, more modern decor, etc..). 

[terrydtx]

16 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

But remember, it wasn't too long ago we were being lectured how Princess actually was attracting an older demographic than HAL (minus references of course) 😄

 

I am in my 70's and I can't imagine attracting a much older demographic than HAL already has.😁

Edited August 15 by terrydtx

[SusieKIslandGirl]

So far, our numbers have not been merged. My Princess number does not have a letter but DH has a different number with A.  Interesting topic!

[BermudaBound2014]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I am in my 70's and I can't imagine attracting a much older demographic than HAL already has.😁

 

It's pretty common knowledge that HAL attracts the oldest demographic of the main stream lines. Nothing wrong with that, but there are travel experts among us who insist Princess now holds the crown for attracting the oldest passengers 🤷‍♀️

 

Princess is building new ships with rock walls and water parks to attract Gen Xers (and younger).

 

I'm a GenX, still hanging onto my 50's (by a thread), and truth be told I do love a good water slide and would absolutely  sail on Princess if they offered an itinerary I was interested in. In fact, I would likely choose princess over HAL for a bus run.

 

When it's all said and done I have zero brand loyalty and have never met a cruise ship I did not enjoy. Big. Small. New. Old. I'm just not that picky (I'll even stay at an IHG lol) 😄 

 

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

It's pretty common knowledge that HAL attracts the oldest demographic of the main stream lines. Nothing wrong with that, but there are travel experts among us who insist Princess now holds the crown for attracting the oldest passengers 🤷‍♀️

 

Princess is building new ships with rock walls and water parks to attract Gen Xers (and younger).

 

I'm a GenX, still hanging onto my 50's (by a thread), and truth be told I do love a good water slide and would absolutely  sail on Princess if they offered an itinerary I was interested in. In fact, I would likely choose princess over HAL for a bus run.

 

When it's all said and done I have zero brand loyalty and have never met a cruise ship I did not enjoy. Big. Small. New. Old. I'm just not that picky (I'll even stay at an IHG lol) 😄 

 

I agree, brand loyalty is no more for us. We first decide what itinerary we want and then look for the cruise line that comes closest to the itinerary with a level of service we desire. After over 20 cruises only three, I can honestly say were the worst. Carnival our first and almost last cruise, Royal our 2nd cruise and NCL. Never been on Princess mostly because we never found an itinerary we liked.

[Ken the cruiser]

31 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I agree, brand loyalty is no more for us. We first decide what itinerary we want and then look for the cruise line that comes closest to the itinerary with a level of service we desire. After over 20 cruises only three, I can honestly say were the worst. Carnival our first and almost last cruise, Royal our 2nd cruise and NCL. Never been on Princess mostly because we never found an itinerary we liked.

We agree, brand loyalty doesn't play that big of a role for us any more in our decision-making process. Of course, it helps that we are now 4-star with HAL, Elite with Princess, and Elite+ with Celebrity, all levels that provide us free laundry! 

 

The thing for us about Princess is they also offer some unique itineraries. For example, we've always wanted to cruise to Brazil but without having to get a Yellow Fever vaccination. Princess has an 18-day itinerary in Jan 2025 from BA to FLL, with two stops in Brazil to include an overnight in Rio. Apparently, this itinerary is flying under the radar because right now you can still book a M1 Reserve Class mini suite for $185 pp/day, which is super cheap! We also enjoy searching for the Northern Lights and Princess has a NL cruise in October 2026 out of Southampton that also offers a follow-on TA back to the states.

 

However, HAL has their 28-day Alaska cruise to Nome that's got our attention for 2026. Then in 2027 we want to go to Alexandria to see the Egyptian pyramids (after the conflict is over), and HAL might be our choice for that one too. 

 

Then there is Viking that has a 14-day cruise from Reykjavik to Bergen with a 2-day stop in Longyearbyen, which we booked for Aug 2025. This will also be our first cruise with them to see if they are as "special" as some folks are saying.

 

What can I say. We're also in our early 70s, cruiseaholics, and enjoy cruising to places that no one cruise line seems to have a lock on. But at the same time, that free laundry perk we've earned on the various lines we cruise with does cause us to look at them first. 😀

[BermudaBound2014]

@Ken the cruiser a yellow fever vaccination is not required to travel to brazil

 

https://www.brazilevisas.com/yellow-fever-certificate-requirements

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

@Ken the cruiser a yellow fever vaccination is not required to travel to brazil

 

https://www.brazilevisas.com/yellow-fever-certificate-requirements

 

Thanks! That's good to see. But at the same time, we will definitely be bringing a bunch of mosquito spray on our January cruise where we stop in Rio for 2 days! However, we've shied away from booking an Amazon cruise in the past because it was a requirement at one time.