HAL - never again.

[AFuncruiser]

No need to beat up a reasonable question. I would still like to know if booking through one of the discount cruise brokers can lead to getting some of the known less desirable cabins.

 

Just wondering are you a travel agent?

 

Dennis

[Randyk47]

No need to beat up a reasonable question. I would still like to know if booking through one of the discount cruise brokers can lead to getting some of the known less desirable cabins.

 

All my cruises of late, the last seven, have been booked through a discounter and I've not gotten one bad cabin. I don't book guarantees, I book specific cabins so getting less desirable cabins is not an issue.

[Hlitner]

Interesting post which makes me wonder about the OP. It said they had a lot of cruise experience and anyone who has cruised a few times (and many who have taken few cruises) are pretty aware that location does matter. If you are someone sensitive to engine or propeller noise its just a matter of booking a cabin in the forward part of the ship where there are no engines (other then the bow thrusters) or propellers. In fact, we love cabins towards the bow for this reason although others avoid these cabins because they do move more in rough seas. The OP reminds me of someone who books an inside cabin and then complains because they have no windows (we have actually heard this one).

 

Hank

[serendipity1499]

I am sorry about your room. I had a room I hated on the last HAL cruise I was on a year ago. The lesson I learned is that it is critical to check out what rooms are available and chose one that is acceptable to you. Leave nothing to chance because you cannot assume they will allow you to change your mind. I am back again but wiser this time.

I think others have explained the amount of hold on your credit card - 2x60x35 = 4200.

I am sorry about the medical mixup, that was a terrible mistake.

 

Bill

 

Bill, You are giving the OP incorrect info..Check out the HAL WEB site...:(

http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-planning/PlanningAndAdvice.action?tabName=Shipboard+Life&contentMenu=Money+Matters&contentSubMenu=Shipboard+Account

Your card will be pre-authorized for US$60 per person for each day for cruises up to 25days and US$30 per person per day for cruises longer than 25 days.

Since the HOLD aka PRE-AUTHORIZATION, for any cruise more than 25 days is $30 per person per day, the HOLD for a couple would be 2X30x35 = $2100, not 4200.

Also I don't agree with you..There was no medical mix up & It wasn't a terrible mistake! It was simply a posting error..The mix up was when either the Front Office received a bill from the Medical Dept or the Nurse found someone with the same name & posted it to the wrong account.. How can you consider a posting error to be a terrible mistake & it certainly was not a medical mix up? What more should they have been done, except to apologize..That's why it's important to check your invoices...

To the OP: I'm sorry you were unhappy with your cabin, and the noise...As others have said, I too belive you are used to the larger ships which tend to have less noise...If you decide to try HAL again, suggest you talk to a knowledgeable Travel Agent who could help you decide on a good cabin..That's the reason we don't book guarantees, if we can help it..We always pick out our cabin.. And BTW we enjoy the smaller ships & the "Amsterdam" is our second favorite ship, behind the "Prinsendam" which are both small ships.. We've never had a bad cabin on the smaller ships except when we booked at the last minute & had one far forward, which was a bit noisy for us..

However, several of your other complaints are unwarranted..

The HOLD also called a Pre-authorization, is not a Charge, therefore your post about receiving the money back is in error..Perhaps your bank lifted the hold & when you checked your credit card it no longer showed on the account..There is no reason for HAL to give you an explanation, as they probably never even knew the hold was lifted..Did you follow HAL's instructions & talk to your bank prior to sailing? We do this every time & have never had a problem with our holds..We too take the longer cruises..

When you brought the posting error of the Medical charge to the Front Office's attention, did they apologize? Since it obviously was a posting mistake, I don't understand what else you wanted them to do..:confused: Also don't understand how anyone could explain away a posting error to an account with the same name?

Hope you have a more enjoyable cruise next time..

Cheers...:)Betty

[USN59-79]

Sadly, the ones who swear that they will NEVER, NEVER, EVER - under any circumstances - EVER come back to a particular cruise line, ALWAYS, ALWAYS come back. And then they complain endlessly about the same things every single time.

 

If they are so untruthful about returning, I can only wonder how truthful they are about the original problems.......................

I think he has a point here. We remember the good times much longer than the bad ones. Case in point: A couple of years ago we took a repositioning cruise on Carnival. Ship had a large number of cases of noro virus. One morning I noticed the water in the sink was kind of brown color. Took a glass of it to the front desk so they could check it to see if maybe it was causing illness. Instead of thanking me, they sneered "Don't you know that you aren't supposed to drink the water in the bathroom?" I was so mad I thought I would never again cruise Carnival. About a year later we were offered a 49 day cruise around South America for less than $50. a day. We took it and enjoyed it.

[GOLDENBONNY]

Sadly, the ones who swear that they will NEVER, NEVER, EVER - under any circumstances - EVER come back to a particular cruise line, ALWAYS, ALWAYS come back. And then they complain endlessly about the same things every single time.

 

If they are so untruthful about returning, I can only wonder how truthful they are about the original problems.......................

 

 

nO ,NOT always come back .we cruised once with NCL and we keep our word not to go back :D

[Bill B]

the op reminds me of someone who books an inside cabin and then complains because they have no windows (we have actually heard this one).

rotflmao!

[leadergal]

For every bee that stings there are thousands that make honey!

Who would have known!

[sail7seas]

This is great.....

 

How did you happen to find this year + old thread?

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same. :D

 

 

[patrick65]

All passengers bring joy to the ship, some when they come, others when they leave.

[serendipity1499]

It is a hold - not a deposit and nothing is charged to your account so there is not any money to return. And it is disclosed when you file the credit card with HAL

<SNIP>

<SNIP>

However, several of your other complaints are unwarranted..

 

 

The HOLD also called a Pre-authorization, is not a Charge, therefore your post about receiving the money back is in error..Perhaps your bank lifted the hold & when you checked your credit card it no longer showed on the account..There is no reason for HAL to give you an explanation, as they probably never even knew the hold was lifted..Did you follow HAL's instructions & talk to your bank prior to sailing? We do this every time & have never had a problem with our holds..We too take the longer cruises..

<SNIP>

My comments are only on the portions of the two posts which are in red, one of which was mine:

Disembarked the NA last Sunday & finished checking our e-mails..We have an alert on our Chase credit cards to be notified any time a charge of more than $200 has been authorized..In my in-box were two e-mails from my CC company sent on Jan 30, the day we boarded, which confused me until I investigated it further..

e-mail no 1: Quote: As you requested, we are notifying you of any charges over the amount of ($USD) 200.00, as specified in your Alert settings. A charge of ($USD) 608.45 at NIEUW AMSTERDAM has been authorized on 01/30/2012 3:17:30 AM EST.unquote"

e-mail No2: Quote: As you requested, we are notifying you of any charges over the amount of ($USD) 200.00, as specified in your Alert settings. A charge of ($USD) 881.49 at NIEUW AMSTERDAM has been authorized on 01/30/2012 3:17:30 AM EST.Unquote

These two "so called charges" equal 1489.94..:confused::confused: The hold for two people for 14 days should have been: $1680..However, since we had a stockholder credit of $250 assume that DH's bill was reduced, but have no idea what the $1489.94 is for..When I checked our CC statement on-line the two so called charges do not appear on it..Only the final charge from the New Amsterdam on Feb. 12, does appear but no alert was sent to us..

I'm wondering if the OP checked his e-mail on board & received a similar alert..It can be confusing unless one checks their CC statements very carefully..

 

This is great.....

 

How did you happen to find this year + old thread?

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same. :D

 

 

Very funny that this thread is over a year old & you are right, Things don't change..:)

Cheers....Betty