Very Unhappy w/ NL Concierges on Zuiderdam

[jannandjohn]

[quote name='sail7seas']
[B]What I do not understand is if someone is unhappy while aboard the ship with something not happening the way they want or expect, why do they stay mum until after they are off the ship? [/B]
[B] If something needs attention, requesting/commenting to the person who has the ability to make it better makes sense to me. If the concierges were not up to par, why suffer silently and then complain when it is too late to give the ship/HAL the chance to make it better. [/B][/quote]
how can you do that if it's mail not sent..you don't know until you get home..
that was the MAIN part of this OP'S thread.

[deepnite10]

was there ever a note sent to their office?..and what was the response if any?

[sail7seas]

[quote]how can you do that if it's mail not sent..you don't know until you get home..
that was the MAIN part of this OP'S thread.
[/quote]


[B]This is what Yotefan wrote in the OP.

[/B]



[quote] During the cruise, we were very unhappy with the Neptune Lounge concierges. They consistently made reservations for the wrong days (multiple times), gave us incorrect information, and were totally misinformed about many happenings around the ship. Everytime there was any foul-up, they blamed us and did as little as possible to make it right. The running joke was that the only thing they could do was make change. Others on our trip had the same experience with them. In my previous experience, the Neptune Lounge concierges were absolutely fantastic, so it was discouraging to say the least.[/quote]

[B]OP said 'the icing on the cake' was the failure with the mail.

[/B]


[quote]
Today - the icing on the cake. We sent, after every port, postcards to our loved ones, mailed from the NL. We took the time to buy the postcards, write them, and paid a dollar per for international mailing. To date, only one postcard had been received. Well, I just found out that my SIL got the postcard we had mailed from the NL on Oct 5th. Lo and behold, it was postmarked from Ft Lauderdale on Oct 26th! It's so frustrating, not only did they wait until they got back to the states to mail them, but they waited until the cruise after ours got back to mail them. So much for my nephew having fun getting postcards postmarked from Nicaragua, Columbia, etc. I'll be call HAL guest services tomorrow, but just had to rant about this one.

Andrea
[/quote]


[B]

Certainly the disappointments with the Concierge Service could be discussed while aboard when it could do some good. The cruise is over so there's no way their cruise can now be improved.

[/B]

[yotefan37]

[quote name='sail7seas']
[B]...
What I do not understand is if someone is unhappy while aboard the ship with something not happening the way they want or expect, why do they stay mum until after they are off the ship? Nothing can be done when you are gone to make it better. Isn't the point to have the best cruise possible? If something needs attention, requesting/commenting to the person who has the ability to make it better makes sense to me. If the concierges were not up to par, why suffer silently and then complain when it is too late to give the ship/HAL the chance to make it better. :confused: I would want the situation discussed and hopefully remedied so we could have a great cruise.
[/B][/QUOTE]

I think that's a very fair question...

Quite frankly, many of the issues we encountered were surrounding a Renewal of Vows Ceremony that we had planned for our 5th anniversary. Without getting into the minutia, we were given incorrect information a few times, which had a rippling effect on dinner and salon reservations. In dealing with all of this, we found the NL staff very unhelpful, even rude at times. It may sound odd to you, but we didn't want to find ourselves in an office complaining about something that was supposed to be a special moment for us (and cast a pallor over the ceremony itself). Additionally, when the ROV ceremony was held, Kelly the party planner and Capt Turner did such an amazing job that we were just blown away. It exceeded all of our expectations.

As I said before, we just wanted to focus on having the trip of a lifetime, rather than being upset about several small issues. During the trip, I felt the officers of the Zuiderdam were incredibly personable, approachable, and accomodating: Captain Turner, CD Shane Michaels, HotMan Marco van Bellegham, and BevMan Andre Ehmke were exceptional. They created such a special voyage for us, and we never felt that any single issue with the NL was egregious enough to complain about. In addition to the fact that we didn't know about the postcards at the time, what would we gain from complaining during the trip? We weren't expecting any kind of restitution, nor would we want one now. We noted our unhappiness on the surveys, but we still had a great trip. :)

I hope this helps to clarify. Best regards!

[sail7seas]

[B]Thanks for your additional comments. I understand what you are saying. We would handle it differently but that is what makes us all different.

I'm happy your ROV was so special.
Congratulations on your 5th Anniversary and wishes for many, many more.
We just celebrated our 40th on Maasdam. :)

[/B]

[yotefan37]

[quote name='sail7seas'][B]Thanks for your additional comments. I understand what you are saying. We would handle it differently but that is what makes us all different.

I'm happy your ROV was so special.
Congratulations on your 5th Anniversary and wishes for many, many more.
We just celebrated our 40th on Maasdam. :)

[/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks for the nice wishes, I'll pass them on to DH.

[U][B]Congratulations on your big 40th!![/B][/U]

Hopefully we'll get there someday. One of our strategies for longevity is to not sweat the small stuff (or at least try not to). :)

[jannandjohn]

[quote name='sail7seas']
[B]OP said 'the icing on the cake' was the failure with the mail.[/B]
[/quote]
The icing is always the main part to me:D

anyway, We are of in 1 days time for a beautiful holiday , Las Vegas, Panama Canal etc
all my cards will be mailed by me;)
hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

[Harry1954]

I just realized the OP title included the vista ship name ... our two less than stellar experiences with vista ships was strictly on the Zuiderdam. While we had a marvelous cruise each time, as I mentioned earlier in the thread w/o naming the ship, we did witness two concierges that were overwhelmed with the sheer queuing issues. Most of the time that I would come to the Neptune for some request, there was a line. Further, these were the only cruises on HAL where we felt the concierges could have cared less about the quality of service they were providing. I finally complained to them that I was in need of help and would apreciate more focus from them - that worked, but it was late in the cruise each time.

Again, I question if the concierges are capable of servicing the numbers - a basic queuing problem. We have never experienced this on S-class or Prinsendam - they always seem to be ahead of the curve, responsive, attentive, and minimal waiting time.
harry

[cruiseing marly]

[quote name='gregdude']Just wondering, if this is a rotating job assignment from the front office, if it might go to the least senior people? I would imagine that this job must be extremely boring, very little to do most of the time. The most senior people probably prefer to be where the action is, at the front desk. The result could, and I stress could, be going to new and or less qualified staff.[/quote]
It is perk to work in the NL tips are 1000% better than at the front desk. The posting is short term and a reward

[RichNY]

[quote name='gregdude']Just wondering, if this is a rotating job assignment from the front office, if it might go to the least senior people? I would imagine that this job must be extremely boring, very little to do most of the time. The most senior people probably prefer to be where the action is, at the front desk. The result could, and I stress could, be going to new and or less qualified staff.[/quote]

You could have a point...Being a concierge is a full time job, not an assignment...

It sounds like the people assigned to the NL are just an extension of the Guest Relations Department.

[Jade13]

[quote name='sail7seas'][B]This is what Yotefan wrote in the OP.

[/B][B]OP said 'the icing on the cake' was the failure with the mail.
[/B][/quote]

I can comment on the mail.

Two years ago on Westerdam I went to the front desk because I wanted a post card mailed in Tunesia. I had never been on the African continent. From my recollection, I just brought the postcard of the ship from my stateroom and signed "Greetings from Tunesia" and I was assured it would be mailed that day. I was at the front desk before 7:00am. I paid a premium for the postage, I believe $2.50. I had a private excursion arranged and trusted HAL would mail my postcard. A month later I received the postcard and it had a Greek stamp and was mailed from Greece. My cruise didn't even go to Greece. I was overcharged for the postcard which meant nothing to me as it did not have an African stamp. After that I have never mailed a post card on a HAL ship again.

[Krazy Kruizers]

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Our concierges on the Zuiderdam were Ivy and Nilo -- and they were great!! Always greeted us by name -- took care of a couple of problems that we had.[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Jerry -- know him from another cruise -- was always helping everyone -- constantly helping us all with the toaster -- thankfully we got a new one on the second cruise.[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]What a wonderful crew!! [/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

[Route6A]

In October, we had absolutely wonderful concierges on the Noordam as has always been the case in our seven HAL cruises. In fact, my husband had a sudden, small medical emergency, and the room steward had me call the concierge, who alerted the doctor that we were on the way down to see her. The concierge called to check on my husband twice after that and was also extremely helpful in booking shore excursions, all done accurately. This was a Code Red/Norovirus trip, so it was a busy time for the Neptune Lounge staff. They were simply excellent in every way.

[Julia_B]

[quote name='gregdude']Just wondering, if this is a rotating job assignment from the front office, if it might go to the least senior people? I would imagine that this job must be extremely boring, very little to do most of the time. The most senior people probably prefer to be where the action is, at the front desk. The result could, and I stress could, be going to new and or less qualified staff.[/quote]

Not really,

Most boring job in the front office is the night shift. Allthough boring most front desk attendents like this, as during day time you're the whole day off and can go ashore in every port.

Most front desk attendents like the neptune lounge as well. Do you tip anyone from the front desk? Do you tip your neptune lounge? Exactly, allthough the basic salalry is the same, in the neptune lounge they make much more money then in the front office due to the tips.

Therefore there is a rotation in place which rotates between normal front desk, night shift and neptune lounge.

The most senior people get promoted to supervisor.

[TahoeTraveler]

[quote name='Krazy Kruizers'][B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Our concierges on the Zuiderdam were Ivy and Nilo -- and they were great!! Always greeted us by name -- took care of a couple of problems that we had.[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Jerry -- know him from another cruise -- was always helping everyone -- constantly helping us all with the toaster -- thankfully we got a new one on the second cruise.[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]What a wonderful crew!! [/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/quote]

We were on the Z the cruise before yours (10/14). When we went to the NL upon emarkation, we were introduced to the two concierges Nilo and Rommel. However, later that same day we went to the NL and met Ivy, who had obviously replaced Rommel. Perhaps his issues with the previous cruise caused him to be replaced? If so, I must say I'm glad, because Ivy was an absolute gem to work with. Nilo was rather forgetful and we often had to remind him of things he had promised to take care of for us. But he was very respectful, always greeted us by name, and took care of everything we asked for (even if it did take a few times of asking!).

And Jerry...what a fantastic guy!! In fact the whole crew was fantastic. So I'm sorry to hear that cruises before ours had problems...but it does sound as if those problems have been addressed and taken care of.