cHLOES NANA MED Cruise update

[chloes nana]

I am still on board the MS Noordam in the lovely port of Kusadasi and want to post a letter I have sent to Ms. Gloria Payne in property claims regarding our not so perfect cruise so far. I love the ship and my stewards are the best and the ports are lovely all of which I will cover when I get home but wanted to get this going for now:

Good day to you Ms. Payne,

I am sending you this email while still aboardthe Ms. Noordam, regarding my camera LCD screen which was broken by security during the mishandling of my daypack after pleading with them to please be careful as there was glass and breakables in the pack. The first security guard was proceeding to place it nicely on the belt , as I had asked, so I rushed to the other end to tell the guard there as well, and as I was saying to please be careful he pulled it out along the rollers and released it on to them with no regard to what I had said. I proceeded to my room to see if anything had been broken, I had purchased glass plates and bottles of olive oil, while in port that day. After inspecting all the bottles, I went to charge my camera battery up as I always do on return from an excursion,and noticed a black starburst on my camera's LCD screen. I turned it on to check it and sure enough the screen had been broken. I immediately went down to the front desk to report it and was handled wonderfully by the front desk ladies!, especially since I was sobbing over the fact my cruise was only half done and I no longer had a camera! They have been wonderful through my entire cruise so far. After filling out the report I asked if Holland America would reimburse me or supply me with another camera, they said, "we will investigate the situation". Ad they informed me they would not have a replacement camera for me. At that time my husband and I rushed back off the ship and went into the duty free shop to buy another camera, now mind you, mine was a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 with 12 megapixels and a 10X zoom. The purchase orice on this camera was $380, I purchased a Sony cyber shot DSC-W270 for 209 euro or roughly $315. Now mind you this was the best I could find with only a few hours til all aboard and it is only a 5X zoom. Not nearly the quality for closeups as my broken camera.

When embarking back on the ship I informed them I would not scan the new camera since my other one was just broken by their mishandling of my daypack, they proceeded to bring over an asst, security manager, who proceeded to tell me they didn't break my camera, so now HAL calls it's passengers liars?? And when my husband inquired about scanning cameras on the hard roller belts, the security man proceeded to say and I do quote, "this is you Americans laws and security measures". And when I asked if that they were not going to admit fault and that I was just out a camera for the rest of my cruise and he just smiled very condescendingly at me and looked away.

The following day I went back to the front desk since I had heard nothing from them and was told to wait for the head security manager. We again, for the third time, repeated our story and he took notes and said he wouold check into it and get back to us, and that he had reviewed all the tapes and saw us coming and going off the ship twice, the first time was at 11:45 and then asked what excursion we had been on. ? Why that matters I really don't know. The next day we were told by the front desk that we had to pick up a form and contact you when I returned home.

As I can appreciate your position in this, I think you need to realize we feel as if we have been called liars through all this and that we are trying to cheat Holland America or something. This along with other matters such as lost laundry to be found later, wrong balance on our shipboard account when boarding, which was resolved by the front desk again in a very efficient manner, and a few other small issues have left us with a very bad feeling.

This was the first cruise we have ever been on and chose Holland America after alot of research, and based off their customer service reccomendations. We were so impressed when we boarded the ship, that we booked a future cruise within 3 days I believe. And now today, we are in Ephesus, and were given the wrong excursion stickers and ended up on a half day tour instead of our choosen Best of Ephesus tour which was all day with lunch. We were told we need to catch Michelle the Shorex manager to see what can be done. So again we need to track down someone instead of them getting a hold of us., as it was shorex's mistake. They even knew they had messed up, as they called the tour guide on the bus we were on and asked if there was anyone who wasn't on the Terrace House excursion, and we said it was us.

For a first time cruiser on your cruiseline this is not a very professional way to start. We have 4 more days to go and are just holding our breath to see what is next. Let's see if the Dining room can get my husbands birthday right! I have only asked and checked 4 times.

I would hope you should be able to do something to reimburse me the $695 I am out due to the negligence of your security staff regarding the camera fiasco. Let alone all the other mishaps and the way we have been treated.

I anxiously await your response, and thank you for your time.

Phyllis Kuhn

cabin 7097

Ms Noordam

Mediterranean Adventure sailing 8/27 to 9/16.

[Krazy Kruizers]

WOW!!

Sorry to read that your Med cruise has had several problems.

Hope you get everything straightened out.

[COLLEYBERRY]

Goodness me! You were so excited about this cruise, I am sorry things have turned sour for you.

Perhaps the issue will be resolved to your liking...In the mean time take a deep breath and be determined to savor all the wonderful sights the lovely Mediterranean will offer you in the next few days.

Wishing you good luck,and Happy Sailings.

[Cruising-along]

Oh my! I was just thinking about you yesterday and wondering how your cruise was going. I'm SO sorry to hear about your troubles. :( I hope HAL comes through and makes good on your broken camera, and that you can enjoy the rest of your cruise and ports. So glad to hear that you like the ship, stewards and ports though!

 

We got the wrong shore excursion tickets on our last cruise, but thankfully did catch it ourselves and had it corrected in time. So I do know this can be a problem.

[wander]

I feel for you. On an important trip to places many had never been, my camera "locked-up" and no one could get it to work. I was so angry, with no one to blame. For a few hours I sort of felt I might as well go home if it would not work. I so loved taking great pictures. However, but the next day I was somewhat over it and in fact the rest of the trip was much more personally satisfying in ways as I really saw things, many more things than when I was viewing much through the lens, trying to get the best picture, etc. I did not even think of buying a new camera while traveling, I was too fussy as to what I used.

 

Now, I was very sorry to not have wonderful pictures to take home, but honestly I took home many better personal memories.

 

After that, I always took a simple camera with my more elaborate gear in case such a thing happened again. I also always put my cameras in their own cases inside my backpack. I am too afraid of something happening like you experienced, even just walking around.

 

I sincerely hope your new camera takes some nice memories for you to share with others and enjoy yourself.

[Route6A]

I am so sorry to learn of your problems, especially with your camera. Due to the rough treatment in security, I pack mine in a carrying case, which I place in my shoulder bag. That does provide some padding against the rollers. It is always a challenge to see that your things are not damaged in the security process, especially laptops. I do hope HAL reimburses you for your loss.

[Roz]

Sorry to hear of your not so good experiences, which I assure you aren't typical of HAL.

 

Suggestion....pare down your letter to one page. Keep it simple. Eliminate details such as buying olive oil. If the olive oil wasn't broken, it has nothing to do with the damage to the camera. Ms Payne probably receives several pieces of correspondence a day. You need to focus on your 1 or 2 main complaints.

 

Roz

[TucsonRick]

Your great concern about your bag going thru security tells me that it was not packed properly and you knew that. Was the camera in it's own case? Were the glass plates and olive oil wrapped and padded? You want $695 to pay for both the old and new cameras? Gee, then you would have a free camera. BTW, the huge typeface of your post is akin to shouting!

 

Roz - you say the olive oil had nothing to do with the damage to the camera. On the contrary, it is quite possible that the bottle did break the camera.

[CowPrincess]

Eliminate details such as buying olive oil. If the olive oil wasn't broken, it has nothing to do with the damage to the camera.

 

It may in fact have a great deal to do with the broken camera, if both were in the same bag and the olive oil and/or plates were not adequately wrapped and padded. I can see how a badly packed item such as a bottle of oil could do the damage to the camera, regardless of how the agent handled the bag.

 

I don't understand why the camera was in the backpack. I think I remember (though not 100% certain) that there are little plastic dish-type things to hold stuff to go thru the security scanner.

[dandro]

chloes nana, sorry you are so upset. And sorry about all the problems you have encountered. Hope your cruise gets better.

 

The worse thing to do with a camera is to put it in a day pack loose with other hard items. It should have been in a sturdy, well padded carrying case, hand carried by you. Then it could have been placed in a tray when going on the rollers through the security checkpoint.

 

Even though you don't want to hear this, HAL is NOT responsible in this case. I would not let this ruin your cruise. You purchased the new camera, so you can still take pictures.

 

How do you figure HAL owes you $695 ? they aren't going to pay you for two cameras when only one was accidentally broken.

 

As for all the other stuff, does it really make your cruise a bad experience or are there some positive things you can find pleasure in?

[suse]

I got kind of dizzy and weirded out reading the huge purple font. But, if you have a problem, you can just write a letter and HAL is a fine line; they will be fair. Hope some of the rest of your cruise is satisfactory. It sounds terrible so far.

[suse]

I really, really hope things get better for you.

[Jade13]

Wow. I'd be more upset about the tour since you can never make that up. How the heck did that happen? Don't they say something when you get on the bus like this is the "x tour full day with lunch"?

 

How do they owe you $695.00? Even if liable it would be for the cost of replacement (or cost of original value). You have a $300.00 issue at most sine that was the cost of the replacement and your broken camera was used.

 

Also, I'm still unclear about the camera. Was it in a case in your backpack? My camera is in a Slingback (basically a camera back pack) and I have never been asked to take it out. That's the point of the x ray machine. I'm still unclear if the camera was placed on the belt by itself, OR if the entire pack-pack was placed on the belt which unfortunately would cause a situation where there is no proof that the camera was broken prior to placing it on the belt.

 

If I were you I would ask to see the security tape. They either mishandled your bag or they didn't.

[Jade13]

It may in fact have a great deal to do with the broken camera, if both were in the same bag and the olive oil and/or plates were not adequately wrapped and padded. I can see how a badly packed item such as a bottle of oil could do the damage to the camera, regardless of how the agent handled the bag.

 

 

That is what I am trying to understand is whether the camera was just "tossed" in the back pack with the olive oil and plates and not in a case. All those items (especially a heavy can of Olive Oil) could easy cause damage to the camera.

[Two@Sea]

I really, really hope things get better for you.

 

I think the OP would gladly suffer the loss of her camera, while on a cruise no less, rather than exchange her past week for the one you have been through...

 

Priorities, people!

[HWH]

I'm sorry to hear that your camera is broken, presumably beyond repair, but I hope for your sake you can repair your outlook on things before your cruise goes down in the flames of self-fulfilling prophecy. I love looking through my vacation photos as much as the next person, but remember that although photographs are wonderful things, the good memories we keep of our travels are even better. The tone and content of your letter suggests that you are setting yourself up for a disappointing birthday celebration, as you sound convinced that something will go wrong, which pretty much guarantees that result. Not to mention that a) complaining about the outcome of an event that hasn't even occurred yet, b) piling on complaints about events that were, indeed, resolved quickly and efficiently, and c) demanding $695 for damage to a used camera that you say was worth $380 new, probably won't help Ms. Payne look favorably on you and your more legitimate complaint. My advice is to treat yourself to your relaxation of choice (for my wife, that would be a spa treatment, for me, some red liquid in a bottle with a cork in it) and enjoy the remaining days of your adventure.

[dandro]

Ever since I read this thread this morning, I have been mulling over a few points in her post.

 

#1- If she saw the security person mishandle her daypack, and was worried about something being broken, why would she wait and proceed to her room to check the items for any possible breakage? Why not open the daypack there in front of security? HAL could claim the damage happened after the daypack went through security on her way to the room, or even in her room.

 

#2- When we did excursions on our cruise, there were signs indicating the name of the tour before you got on the bus, and the tour guide specified which tour it was before the bus departed. Did this not occur, and did the stickers not indicate the name of the tour?

 

#3- Why would anyone, WHILE ON THEIR CRUISE, take time away from their cruise activities and relaxation, compose a lengthy letter AND post it here on CC? Wouldn't that tend to ruin the ambiance of cruising? I would have purchased a new camera, go back to enjoying my cruise, and dealt with the breakage problem upon my return home.

 

 

I really don't mean to sound harsh, but it just doesn't make sense. JMHO.

[Copper10-8]

I'm sorry to hear that your camera is broken, presumably beyond repair, but I hope for your sake you can repair your outlook on things before your cruise goes down in the flames of self-fulfilling prophecy. I love looking through my vacation photos as much as the next person, but remember that although photographs are wonderful things, the good memories we keep of our travels are even better. The tone and content of your letter suggests that you are setting yourself up for a disappointing birthday celebration, as you sound convinced that something will go wrong, which pretty much guarantees that result. Not to mention that a) complaining about the outcome of an event that hasn't even occurred yet, b) piling on complaints about events that were, indeed, resolved quickly and efficiently, and c) demanding $695 for damage to a used camera that you say was worth $380 new, probably won't help Ms. Payne look favorably on you and your more legitimate complaint. My advice is to treat yourself to your relaxation of choice (for my wife, that would be a spa treatment, for me, some red liquid in a bottle with a cork in it) and enjoy the remaining days of your adventure.

 

One excellent post!

[CowPrincess]

our not so perfect cruise so far

 

I was sobbing over the fact my cruise was only half done and I no longer had a camera

 

now HAL calls it's passengers liars??

 

he just smiled very condescendingly at me

 

a few other small issues have left us with a very bad feeling.

 

We were so impressed when we boarded the ship, that we booked a future cruise within 3 days I believe.

 

We have 4 more days to go and are just holding our breath to see what is next. Let's see if the Dining room can get my husbands birthday right! I have only asked and checked 4 times

 

Has anyone else experienced being called a liar by a HAL staff member? Or condescending smiles from crew? Seriously?

 

The more I think about this, the more it sounds like the OP might be hoping for some sort of financial compensation beyond the value of the camera. Especially given that she already feels she is owed $695 for a used camera.

 

On one cruise, I had an issue that was ENTIRELY my fault and a result of TOTAL stupidity on my part. The HAL staff fell over backwards to help me and make sure I suffered no loss at all. At no time did I feel I deserved ANYTHING -- it was completely my stupidity that caused the problem, and the crew were NOT involved at all. If anyone deserved NO HELP about something it was ME. Yet the staff were amazing and helpful and solicitous, and every time I said "It's not Holland America's fault, I'll deal with it thank you" they just smiled and said "no, we'll look after you".

 

Seeing as the OP has been directed to contact someone in head office, I'd say that the staff onboard don't have the authority in this case to help/resolve the problem. Or the staff onboard feel they are truly not responsible.

 

I hope the cruise improves. I hope the birthday turns out okay. I hope the OP is able to adjust her attitude. I hope they cancel the cruise they booked onboard, and book with a different line -- why anyone who is so distraught over their current cruise would book another one with the same line is beyond me.

[Jemima]

Changed mind.

[TucsonRick]

I just re-read this post and realized that there was more than one bottle of olive oil in the pack! No wonder the camera was broken!

 

The OP says this was her first cruise yet she has posted 412 times??????????

[dandro]

The OP says this was her first cruise yet she has posted 412 times??????????

 

 

I've only been on the one cruise and I have posted over 850 times. What's your point?

[ekerr19]

We always keep our camera in it's case. I have the same Lumix and mine came with a case. :)

 

I hope things get better for you.

 

Regarding your letter to HAL, I'm not so sure posting it here is in the best interest of resolving things and it sounds like you have multiple issues relating to your cruise. I hope you can let some of it go and enjoy the remainder of the voyage - it's a wonderful itinerary and at least you have a camera now. :)

[Copper10-8]

Hot tip: before you approach the X-Ray machine at the gangway, remove your expensive camera (especially when not in its protective case) from your respective bag(s), backpack(s), purse(s), other shopping receptacle(s), what have you, and hand it to the security team member manning the machine. He (haven't seen a she yet) will place it in a small (usually) red-colored plastic basket and it will make the ride through the machine in the relative comfort and protection of it (the basket). When it exits the machine on the other end, you can then retrieve it and be on your happy way:)

[ekerr19]

Hot tip: before you approach the X-Ray machine at the gangway, remove your expensive camera (especially when not in its protective case) from your respective bag(s), backpack(s), purse(s), other shopping receptibles(s), what have you, and hand it to the security team member manning the machine. He (haven't seen a she yet) will place it in a small (usually) red-colored plastic basket and it will make the ride through the machine in the relative comfort and protection of it (the basket). When it exits the machine on the other end, you can then retrieve it and be on your happy way:)

 

Good advice as usual, Copper!!!