flyguy

The flaw with your point is like it or not the DSC is split among many many people so if you get bad service from one and withhold or remove the charge you are hurting all. Unless of course every person you come in contact with and even the behind the scenes people have service issues but I real;y doubt that

You have a point but how would you address poor service? Go to the "desk int the central area" and tell the uniformed person there? They couldn't care less about what we think. Somehow one has to bear witness that a certain individual is rude or the service is poor. But how-where it will do good? I still don't believe in rewarding poor duties/service. We pay more now for a cruise than we did a few years ago and even then they were raising costs for fuel increases. With the increase in cruise costs shouldn't we receive a bit more? Better food, waiters attentiveness etc. Before when we were handed envelopes to tip the crew members I tend to think they were more dedicated and took care of the passengers in a more favorable manner.

I earned my money the hard way-I worked for it and I don't like to throw it away on bad service. I do not reward bad behavior or bad service, it's my money and I expect as a norm more than a casual whatever attitude. One can disparage those that remove DSC all one wants but to reward bad behavior creates more of the same. You want good service? Let them know by with holding $$ and they'll get around to doing their job properly. You want the same lousy service? Continue to pay your DSC when the service is deplorable then the next time you embark on NCL don't complain about the service. That is what is wrong in our society, people expect something for minimal effort and fail to produce and then there are the people that feels sorry for them and gives them what they want anyway. If someone comes to paint your home and slops paint all over your sidewalk, brick and tramples your shrubs I guess you'd not expect them to repair the damage and pay them regardless. It's your money, go ahead.

I remember the NCL Wind, fantastic ship, crew and food! We tipped by giving an envelope with cash inside to the employees. But now they make tipping mandatory..sort of by taking it out of one's shipboard account

Tipping is for a service and for poor service I deduct a certain amount because it encourages "more of the same." Consequently, for superior service, I tip handsomely and for some to say it stiffs the rest of the crew when a waiter has failed in some respects i disagree. Someone has to take a stand otherwise they'll continue as is, ho-hum lazy attitude. Slave labor? I seriously doubt it, no one conscripted them to work on cruise ship, they did it of their own volition. If they want great tips, provide the best service they possibly can and they'll be rewarded accordingly.

Why would someone want to hang around and be chastised and/or insulted for their opinion? Some of you people are having a hard time responding to the OP's comments in an appropriate and courteous manner. The food is one reason I cruise and if the food is bad the entire cruise is "tainted." I hope I never have to sit at the same table as some of you posters, you must all live on 5th Avenue or Beverly Hills and if others don't live there...well, we're apparently not good enough company for you.

It's a shame that the cost of taking a cruise has gone up considerably within the past few years and the food quality has remained consistently poor. I remember when I first went on a cruise I thought I'd have T-Bone steak every night but it wasn't so, but I did have great meals. The only line that I know of that has good food now is the Celebrity but I've never cruised on RCI ships. The only food some lines can't mess up is scrambled eggs, I've seen them use leftovers on Carnival and Eye-of -Round cut to resemble Filet Migion on the Holland America. I can tell the difference and so could other passengers who asked if I had a pocket knife to cut the "filet."

I'd like to take another cruise but my main reason to go is to savor the food and when the food is terrible, the entire cruise for me is terrible,.

Obviously I have offended some and I'm sorry if that is the case. When one purchases a product, they expect a certain value in return. In my opinion I didn't receive what was advertised. I usually don't eat at McDonald's or Golden Corral but if I do, I know what to expect and that's the way it is at those establishments. Some people are satisfied with mediocrity-some aren't and I am one of those. Give me value and I'll return if I like your product, take advantage of me and maybe I'll give you a second chance-maybe.

You see, I have heard so much about the elegance of Holland America that I expected more than what was received. If one likes and appreciates the value of HA, then by all means give them more of your money. I think there was a fifty-fifty balance regarding the value received according to other passengers comments and if that is the case, they all can't be wrong.

Carnival Spirit

Celebrity Galaxy

Celebrity Millinium

NCL Wind

NCL (can't remember the name of ship)

Carnival Elation

And I believe a couple of others-somewhere around seven cruises I believe.

And trust me, the food was excellent on the Celebrity ships and NCL Wind however, I don't

know what it's like now. The itinerary was what we wanted, Kodiak and Sitka and we did enjoy the scenery so as far as a total waste, it wasn't a waste in that regard on the Statendam.

I was looking forward to the chilled soups but they were "watered down" to the point that they were tasteless. I'm sorry to hear that Celebrity is following the lead of HA, they had good food and the chilled soups were delicious! And the sandwich bar-wonderful Rubens!

Almost a total loss and waste of money. Other passengers said the food was horrible and I found it lousy! Other didn't want to get off, they though everything was great but the food was HA's downfall. We heard that HA was one of the top-tier cruise lines but to me it was similar to a Carnival 7 day cruise out of Galveston on the Elation. I am really disappointed in the food qualify and variety, often it was dried out in the LIDO and in the MDR the menu was sometimes terrible. (I will post the menus shortly). Braised Ox Tails one time in the MDR and one time they had BBQ ribs in the LIDO on one occasion and no BBQ sauce for 1/2 hour?

Sorry to present such a dismal post but the food ruined the cruise. The itinerary was great and help excellent and the age of the ship presented no problem at all contrary to others but darn if I'll flame them. We'll stick with Celebrity from now on.

We're packed and have a jacket for me and nice dresses for the wife-and it's heavy load I have to bear. I don't mind the wearing of a suit but the airlines are making a lot of profit from baggage and people don't like to be gouged or overcharged.

People can look nice in a pair of slacks and shirt but I agree that jeans or Levis are out of order if one is civil. It's only common respect.

As a side note, I remember one cruise we took perhaps Celebrity? That a guy with long stringy hair and poorly dressed took a bottle of wine off of the display in the Lido and thought he'd gotten by with the deed-but it was filmed and in the out briefing they had a film of the events and happenings that occurred over the cruise and behold! The guy had been filmed by security cameras and it was displayed for all to see. I've always remembered the out briefing.

Now back to the subject matter, sorry to distract the original intent of the OP.

Unfortunately, over the past several decades, dressing up doesn't mean as much as it did in days gone by. Case in point: President Reagan always wore a suit because he respected the office. Since then, a lot of the presidents have dressed down, feet on the desk etc. that is one place that we are represented throughout the world.

And the row dressing trend extends to nearly every vocation form churches to raise ships. I don't mean this post to be political but always remembered that about Reagan.

Getting back to the various subjects, I try to dress according to the people I associate with and that includes the formal nights. At least a dark suit is in order but I won't belittle another person who is in a shirt and slacks. However, if I don't care for the food in the MDR, I'll go elsewhere.

i, like most that have posted here have some strong feelings for food. I know I do, and that is one of the reasons I like cruising. If the quality of food diminishes significantly, there is no reason to cruise that particular cruise line-at least for me. I have this habit of eating that has been with me since birth and so far it hasn't been abated. So if you are in your cabin and are awakened by running sounds, it's probably me headed for a good meal or some kids loose. And I'm not overweight due to genetics.

With all the history of previous repairs, we still don't know what is wrong with the Statendam, we can only surmise. We need meat-not milk! Something of substance that will be definitive.

Holland America should have something on their website, if there is a cancellation they are going to lose a lot of money and those that are scheduled on the 10th will have the opportunity to work on plan B.

I remember a few years back when we were on a cruise ship ?NCL that we we told not to take any food off the ship into Canada and that we would be fined-and were given Dan example,, $50.00 for an apple). We didn't take anything off the ship but had to pass thru customs as usual and I asked the inspector if we'd be funded $50 per apple and he laughed and said "no."

They do that on every cruise we've been on and you can imagine how many cases of apples that would be and the loss of money if 2,000 plus passengers each took an apple off the ship?

We just have a good breakfast and disembark and usually the meal will last us until that afternoon and by that time we're usually at a hotel.

I can remember getting a hot Ruben Sandwich on either the Celebrity Galaxy or Carnival Spirit a few years back (within 8) and it was the best I've ever had! To eliminate the "custom" sandwiches reeks of poor management.

Thank you all for your responses, I'm going to take clear tape and put the tape over the tags and then tape the tags to the luggage handles. These tags that we have to print are simply another way the cruise lines are saving money.

I've printed out mine also but one thing bothers me....how do we fix the luggage tags to our luggage? I don't plan on carrying a stapler and I can't staple them on at home because the airlines would tear them off. Here's what I may do:

(1) Borrow a stapler from the hotel front desk

(2) Use punch to make a hole in the labels and tie them on with a brightly colored string (like yarn) while standing in line

(3) ? put them on using your instructions

I love sailing on any "Dam" ship whether it is inside or an outside. We have not yet sailed in a verandah or suite because we just don't spend enough time there to justify the difference. There are just too many beautiful spaces onboard than in my cabin.

However, we will splurge on many extras such as stateroom flowers, multiple dinners in Pinnacle Grill, cooking classes, corkage fees for our wine brought onboard, $100.00 in Beverage cards, and the must Lido Cabana on Signature-class ships.

So, as you can see, we only sleep, shower, and change in our stateroom.

When our eyes are closed the rooms all look alike!

I don't post much but I doubt if cruise ship personnel are pleased to have us aboard. You see, we don't drink, don't gamble, don't dance, don't smoke or cuss-so that sort of marginalizes us somewhat as compared to others. We don't do these things because of religion or necessity, but enjoy each other, the ports, crew members, other passengers and the food. It's a chance to get away from relatives or the heat and we usually spend a lot of money in the ports or I may buy the wife some jewelry on ship-and 14k. I'm still relatively healthy enough to carry my own luggage and care for the wife an myself traveling.

We tip and we give extra to those who make our cruise pleasant. As for budgeting, we pay as we go and don't owe on the cruise when we return home. I wish our government budgeted-even a little.

I figure this post may set off a few people and if so, I can take the flames. I've taken a lot of flames in my 71 years.