Is Anyone back from Alaska on the Statendam yet?

[mel660]

We will be on her in August and I'm wondering if her many post-drydock problems have been fixed.

 

Melinda

[mel660]

Anyone?

[SilvertoGold]

Back from the Statendam, May 16 to 30.

Any specific questions will be answered as soon as I can.

[Gangway]

SilvertoGold,

 

We are sailing on the Old Girl in 4 weeks and are curious if you notice plumbing problems with the toilets, air conditioning not working in the cabins as previosly reported, and any foul oders in the public areas. What were impresions of the food and service in the main dining room. I'm not looking for a negative report but we are apprehensive after reading about the problems after recent drydock. Hope you had a great time.

 

Welcome home and thanks for your reply.

 

Greg

[SilvertoGold]

Gangway

 

This cruise was wonderful, with very few problems, an outstanding crew (Indonesians and Philipinos), excellent service from DR waiters and room stewards (one lady!), a truly wonderful Guest Relations Manager, a good Front Desk, a superb wine steward at dinner and an involved Hotel Manager who was trying very hard to work with some systemic problems that he had no control over.

 

Plumbing, toilets -- It seemed to us that there were a few toilets that didn't flush immediately, but took a little while. We had this happen 3 times in 14 days and it was not a big deal at all: just wait 1 to 10 minutes and it would flush automatically. No word about any overflows, leaks, etc from any plumbing.

 

Air conditioning -- This was a systemic problem, with common areas like the Explorer's Lounge being "freezing" according to the musicians who asked Engineering to do something. This was dealt with and then the temp was perfect for the rest of the cruise. There were areas around the ship that were slightlywarmer/cooler that normal, but this does happen. Our cabin never really had A/C at all for 14 days. There was a bit of cool air coming from the vent, but is was a very weak stream. The fan in the bathroom was extremely strong and may have been sucking the air from the rest of the cabin. It was uncomfortable at times. Word was that parts were on order and this should be dealt with soon.

 

Foul Odors -- Yes, the first week there were some areas (aft stairs; between Explorations Cafe and the Casino; forward in the Lido by the dishwashing area) where the smell varied from stong to just-there. It may have had to do with the ventilation problems, as there appeared to be some correlation between temp and smell. This smell was not in evidence the second week, and we think they have solved that problem.

 

Food and Service in Main Dining Room -- Both excellent. The kitchen seemed to be on its own schedule some mornings, especially when the DR opened at 7:30 instead of at 8am. Service could be slow, but generally we found lunch and dinner progressed smoothly. The DR Manager was not up to HAL standard in that he did not circulate (nor did his assistant managers) and he was a bit stand-offish at best. If we had had a problem that needed to be resolved, I would not have much faith in getting any help from him.

The executive chef did an excellent job with everything, especially fish and cold soups. Hot was hot and cold was cold, everything cooked properly. A well-run kitchen.

Service was superb, our waiters very experienced and a pleasure to see each evening. In fact this was an outstanding bunch of Indonesian waiters and room stewards overall.

 

Any other questions, please ask!

[mel660]

Thank you for us letting know how things went. It sounds like HAL is getting a handle on some of the problems. Your post actually made me feel better about our trip in August.

 

Melinda

[Gangway]

SilvertoGold

 

Thanks for such a detailed report from you recent cruise on the Statendam. We were on her three years ago and were treated like family. We are glad to here from you that they are trying hard to resolve the issues on the ship. My wife got sick the last day of the cruise we were on with the Statendam and they went out of their way to make us comfortable. Three officers escorted us to the Gangway and a cab was waiting to take us to the airport provided by the staff. We felt they did everything possible to make us comfortable.

 

Greg

[SilvertoGold]

Gangway

 

Please remember that there is staff/crew turnover on any ship.

 

We have sailed now 3 times on the Statendam and of course the crew and staff were 90% different each time. Therefore, please do not expect the same treatment each cruise.

 

Your experience when your wife was ill was excceptional. That is not to say that you would not be treated the same today on the Statendam, but it really does depend on the crew and their personalities. One thing we have learned over the past few years on HAL is that there is little consistency in many areas on a HAL ship. Each ship seems to do their own thing in many regards: how anything is done will vary from ship to ship at any given time.

 

Any more specific questions, please feel free to ask.!

[Florida to Alaska]

Gangway

 

 

 

Air conditioning -- This was a systemic problem, with common areas like the Explorer's Lounge being "freezing" according to the musicians who asked Engineering to do something. This was dealt with and then the temp was perfect for the rest of the cruise. There were areas around the ship that were slightlywarmer/cooler that normal, but this does happen. Our cabin never really had A/C at all for 14 days. There was a bit of cool air coming from the vent, but is was a very weak stream. The fan in the bathroom was extremely strong and may have been sucking the air from the rest of the cabin. It was uncomfortable at times. Word was that parts were on order and this should be dealt with soon.

 

!

Was your cabin an inside one? If air conditioner isn't working and you have an outside cabin can't you just open the window or door to cool off? Thanks for your reassurances!

[cruz chic]

Was your cabin an inside one? If air conditioner isn't working and you have an outside cabin can't you just open the window or door to cool off? Thanks for your reassurances!

The windows do not open on an outside cabin.

[Gangway]

Florida to Alaska,

 

Many years ago on some of the ships the port holes could be opened. Now your only ourside air would be from a balcony cabin by opening the door.

[cruisingmimi]

Thanks for the report on the Statendam. We leavel 7/1 for Fairbanks, then board Statendam 7/4. I have been very nervous about the negative feedback from those that have been on the ship, in spite of the refurbishment. I contacted our TA and she had not heard anything about these reports. I booked this cruise for 6 of us and 4 of the group have only been on one cruise b4 so I have been concerned about the smells, etc.

 

We still do not have our cabins as we booked w/ gtys. (o/v) so I am hoping we will get good locations on the ship. I am also hoping we do not get obstructed views if we are in the category w/ these cabins.

 

I do have some specific questions about your port stops. We are doing a cruisetour so will arrive Fairbanks 3 days prior to our cruise departure. We will visit Denali. We board the ship 7/4 and will stop:

 

Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan. We will spend overnight in Anchorage.

 

Do you have any info to share on things to do in these ports? We have booked a floatplane in Ketchikan so are set for that day.

 

Many thanks for your help.

 

Mary

[JWJs]

Gangway

 

This cruise was wonderful, with very few problems, an outstanding crew (Indonesians and Philipinos), excellent service from DR waiters and room stewards (one lady!), a truly wonderful Guest Relations Manager, a good Front Desk, a superb wine steward at dinner and an involved Hotel Manager who was trying very hard to work with some systemic problems that he had no control over.

 

Plumbing, toilets -- It seemed to us that there were a few toilets that didn't flush immediately, but took a little while. We had this happen 3 times in 14 days and it was not a big deal at all: just wait 1 to 10 minutes and it would flush automatically. No word about any overflows, leaks, etc from any plumbing.

 

Air conditioning -- This was a systemic problem, with common areas like the Explorer's Lounge being "freezing" according to the musicians who asked Engineering to do something. This was dealt with and then the temp was perfect for the rest of the cruise. There were areas around the ship that were slightlywarmer/cooler that normal, but this does happen. Our cabin never really had A/C at all for 14 days. There was a bit of cool air coming from the vent, but is was a very weak stream. The fan in the bathroom was extremely strong and may have been sucking the air from the rest of the cabin. It was uncomfortable at times. Word was that parts were on order and this should be dealt with soon.

 

Foul Odors -- Yes, the first week there were some areas (aft stairs; between Explorations Cafe and the Casino; forward in the Lido by the dishwashing area) where the smell varied from stong to just-there. It may have had to do with the ventilation problems, as there appeared to be some correlation between temp and smell. This smell was not in evidence the second week, and we think they have solved that problem.

 

Food and Service in Main Dining Room -- Both excellent. The kitchen seemed to be on its own schedule some mornings, especially when the DR opened at 7:30 instead of at 8am. Service could be slow, but generally we found lunch and dinner progressed smoothly. The DR Manager was not up to HAL standard in that he did not circulate (nor did his assistant managers) and he was a bit stand-offish at best. If we had had a problem that needed to be resolved, I would not have much faith in getting any help from him.

The executive chef did an excellent job with everything, especially fish and cold soups. Hot was hot and cold was cold, everything cooked properly. A well-run kitchen.

Service was superb, our waiters very experienced and a pleasure to see each evening. In fact this was an outstanding bunch of Indonesian waiters and room stewards overall.

 

Any other questions, please ask!

 

I'm so glad to hear your Statendam cruise was wonderful with very few problems. We sailed on the Statendam 12/09 and prior to our cruise a lot of negative reviews were abundant. Had nothing to worry about...our cruise was wonderful too. :)

[SilvertoGold]

Cruisingmimi -- you might want to look at the "Alaska" board on Cruise Critic. There are enough tips and ideas on ports to keep you reading until you leave for your cruise!

 

JWJs -- We, too, read all the negative reports (drydock) before our particular cruise and were somewhat apprehensive.

We have cruised enough to understand that not everything will be perfect and things turned out quite well.

There were no doubt some issues, more so for some pax than others, and most officers were in hiding and likely still reeling from the post-drydock mess they had on their hands, but the Indonesian and Phillipino crew came through with flying colours, as usual, and were really the ones responsible for the success of the cruise for us.

[pcruz13]

I was just on the Statendam from Anchorage/Seward to Vancover for a seven day cruise south along the Alaskan interior. We arrived in Vancover on Sunday the 30th.

 

I was a bit skeptical about the cruise part of the trip as I too read many of the reviews and problems that were reported about the condition of the Statendam. I will say that it looks as if they got them cleared up as there did not seem to be any smell on any of the decks and all of the elevators seem to be working fine.

 

I will try to answer any questions you guys may have and will also be writing a more detailed review in the Statendam thread that had posted a lot of the problems concerning the ship.

[Gangway]

Thanks for the report on the Statendam. We leavel 7/1 for Fairbanks, then board Statendam 7/4. I have been very nervous about the negative feedback from those that have been on the ship, in spite of the refurbishment. I contacted our TA and she had not heard anything about these reports. I booked this cruise for 6 of us and 4 of the group have only been on one cruise b4 so I have been concerned about the smells, etc.

 

We still do not have our cabins as we booked w/ gtys. (o/v) so I am hoping we will get good locations on the ship. I am also hoping we do not get obstructed views if we are in the category w/ these cabins.

 

I do have some specific questions about your port stops. We are doing a cruisetour so will arrive Fairbanks 3 days prior to our cruise departure. We will visit Denali. We board the ship 7/4 and will stop:

 

 

Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan. We will spend overnight in Anchorage.

 

Do you have any info to share on things to do in these ports? We have booked a floatplane in Ketchikan so are set for that day.

 

Many thanks for your help.

 

Mary

 

Mary.

 

 

Just started a roll call for our cruise July 4th. Please come and join us. We fly into Fairbanks June 27th a day before out tour starts.

 

Greg