Day 109 – At Sea – April 23, 2018

Day 109 – At Sea – April 23, 2018

Coffee Chat

The guests for Coffee Chat this morning were Twinkle, the assistant beverage manager, and The Station Band consisting of Sonny, the band leader and Twinkle’s husband, along with Ricky, Federic and Arnie.  They have all been sailing on cruise ships and with Holland America for over 20 years and have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

Mariner Society Reception

The highlight of today’s activities will be the Mariner Society Reception in the Queen’s Lounge. There are two receptions, one at 4:15 PM and the other at 6:45 PM. Since we have late seating we will be going to the reception at 6:45 PM. At this reception passengers will be recognized for having achieved a new Medallion level which is different than the Star levels that give you actual perks on board.

The Mariner Medallion program is not as well publicized or promoted as much as the 1 to 5 Star Mariner Program. The only place I was able to find the Medallion Program mentioned on the official HAL website was in the Mariner Society FAQ.

Unlike the Mariner Star Level Program, the Medallion Program only recognizes and rewards actual cruising days – there isn’t any bonus credit for suites or spending as there is in the Mariner Star Program. While achieving greater Star status gets you very specific perks, achieving a higher Medallion Station gets you nothing more than the commemorative medal itself and local recognition including invitations to these special parties. While not associated with a Medallion, there is the Presidents Club which requires members to have 1400 pure cruise days and be specifically invited. The invitation requirement weeds out people with many sea days but not as full fare guests e.g. lecturers, travel hosts and agents etc.

Here are the Medallion Award levels

100 days – Bronze
300 days – Silver
500 days – Gold
700 days – Platinum
1400 days – Presidents Club

While there aren’t any specific perks associated with the various Medallion levels, there are many perks associated with Presidents Club Membership, including, but not limited to:

• Annual Holiday Gift e.g. Waterford Crystal Vases
• Invitations to special onboard parties
• “Head of the line” tender service equal to Neptune Suite Guests
• Your choice of flowers/beverages/wine, etc. every 2 weeks
• Special seating and recognition at onboard events

Plus more – there isn’t a specific list publicly available, but these are the highlights I have discovered based on my research. Any updated information is appreciated.

The Holland America Mariner Star Program is well documented on the website. Here are the thresholds for the various star levels.
1 Star – completion of first cruise
2 Star – 30 cruise day credits
3 Star – 75 cruise day credits
4 Star – 200 cruise day credits
5 Star – 500 cruise day credits
If you are in a suite you get double credit for each day sailed. You also get one cruise day credit for every $300 in onboard spend.
See the HAL website for the various perks at the various levels.

We arrived at the Queens lounge right at 6:45 PM and had to go find seats in the balcony as everything down below was full. The HAL Orchestra was playing soft background music behind a very large flower arrangement. Standing in front of the arrangement were Capt. Mercer, Hank Mensink, Hotel Director and Hamish, the Cruise Director. The ceremony started with some general acknowledgments and thanks to all the Mariner’s present. The first people recognized were members of the President’s Club who were all seated together back in the corner of the Queens lounge all the way aft on the starboard side. Hamish recognized them by name and asked them to stand or waive but we couldn’t see because they were hidden from view since we were in the balcony.

After the President’s Club members were recognized, they proceeded to call up passengers receiving metals at the Platinum level followed by those at the Gold level and finally those at the Silver level. Passengers at the Bronze level were not individually recognized since there were so many but everyone was invited to come forward and pose for a picture with the Capt., Hank and Hamish afterwards if they so desired.

Gala Evening

This was the last Gala evening for the cruise which means there will be a special menu in the main dining room and usually this also means that the Hal singers and dancers will perform one of their production shows.

You can find a copy of the menu here along with copies of all the menus for the entire cruise HERE.

There wasn’t an advertised theme this evening, but the waiters were wearing sailor costumes which prompted me to line up and pose with the waiters and we all rendered a snappy salute.

Bellissima

The final cast show was called Bellissima and was a collection of song and dance numbers featuring classics such as “Time to Say Goodbye” along with rock hits such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. Other songs included “Danny Boy”, “I Love Paris”, “All by Myself”, and “Amadeus”.

Final Pillow Gift

Back in the room after a wonderful show we discovered our final Pillow Gift of the cruise, a Blue Delft earthenware plate from Royal Goedewaagen plate depicting the 2018 World Cruise map and routing.

You can find pictures of all the pillow gifts for the entire cruise HERE