msZuiderdam Front Desk staff was HORRIBLE. Won't be booking HA again

[cccole]

I think of a cruise as a floating hotel with the benefit of visiting several ports, pre-paying meals, and not having to pack and unpack every couple days. I don't think that I would be "happy" with a resort hotel room where the toilet did not flush and I had to call security for an escort to a public restroom during the night. The "hotel manager" on a cruise ship is the same as a hotel manger at a resort. They are (or should be) recruited from the best hospitality schools and provide guests with the basic accommodations and facilities advertised and paid for. A working toilet seems like a "basic" expectation of a guest. I don't think that guests expect to be presented with bed pans if their toilet has been malfunctioning on previous cruises. Thankfully not all toilets were malfunctioning but for those who were inconvenienced it was a BIG deal. I have fabulous memories of a cruise on the Zuiderdam and hope that everything is resolved. Cherie

[Howasaur]

We just got back a week or so from the Amazon Explorer Cruise on the Prinsendam. We had room issue the door wouldn't shut and lock properly unless you slammed it. Called the front office and it was taken care of that day while we were out That evening the front desk called and asked us was everything ok which it was. They also followed up a few few days later to ensure everything was still ok. Whenever we called or went to the front desk we were greeted warmly.

[kazu]

We just got back a week or so from the Amazon Explorer Cruise on the Prinsendam. We had room issue the door wouldn't shut and lock properly unless you slammed it. Called the front office and it was taken care of that day while we were out That evening the front desk called and asked us was everything ok which it was. They also followed up a few few days later to ensure everything was still ok. Whenever we called or went to the front desk we were greeted warmly.

 

You got on when we got off:) I found the same thing on the prinsendam - there was constant follow up on anything - room service, dvd, whatever. Fantastic crew and fantastic ship:)

[ComputerTravelGuy]

We just got back a week or so from the Amazon Explorer Cruise on the Prinsendam. We had room issue the door wouldn't shut and lock properly unless you slammed it........ They also followed up a few few days later to ensure everything was still ok. Whenever we called or went to the front desk we were greeted warmly.

 

Glad you received great front desk service on the Prinsendam. However, just to clarify, this post thread concerns current front desk and ship issues on Zuiderdam cruises (and lack of HAL management responses to valid issues after the cruise).

 

Russ

[soccerpapi]

soccerpapi makes a note to himself....Don't book yourself on the ms ZUIDERDAM.

 

soccer

[IRL_Joanie]

soccerpapi makes a note to himself....Don't book yourself on the ms ZUIDERDAM.

 

soccer

 

sorry you feel this way soccer:(

 

As for myself and hubby, we've happily booked 2 more weeks aboard her and would do even more if the itinerary were right for us:)

 

Just because there are problems now does not mean they will be in the future.

 

Life is full of problems and we learn to fix them and move on. There are many things that can and do go wrong, sometimes VERY wrong, but we go on:)

 

Cannot wait to board my favorite ship ZUIDERDAM again!!!

 

Joanie

[soccerpapi]

sorry you feel this way soccer:(

 

As for myself and hubby, we've happily booked 2 more weeks aboard her and would do even more if the itinerary were right for us:)

 

Just because there are problems now does not mean they will be in the future.

 

Life is full of problems and we learn to fix them and move on. There are many things that can and do go wrong, sometimes VERY wrong, but we go on:)

 

Cannot wait to board my favorite ship ZUIDERDAM again!!!

 

Joanie

 

OK Joanie, I will try not to let this thread bother me if it turns out that the ms ZUIDERDAM is cruising where I am interested in going. There does seem to be a problem with this ship and bathrooms though. I appreciate all your posts and information and will be interested to read your reviews after your cruises.

 

soccer

[IRL_Joanie]

OK Joanie, I will try not to let this thread bother me if it turns out that the ms ZUIDERDAM is cruising where I am interested in going. There does seem to be a problem with this ship and bathrooms though. I appreciate all your posts and information and will be interested to read your reviews after your cruises.

 

soccer

So glad!!:) I love this ship and spent 2 weeks on her 10-24 September 2011 in one of the staterooms mentioned as having a toilet flushing problem. I had no such problems and did not see or hear of any of our cruise mates, CC or otherwise, having a problem. The only bathrooms out of service were those that were being cleaned and those only took a few miutes:)

 

One thing we did notice on another HAL ship, Oosterdam, was that sometimes you had to push exactly in the middle of the flush area to get the toilet to flush. If you werer off center a bit, you had to move your hand/fingers just a bit and whoosh, there it went:)

 

Joanie

[bozemanman]

you had to move your hand/fingers just a bit and whoosh, there it went:)

 

Joanie

 

 

Love the sound effect!!!:p

[George C]

My wife & I had a great cruise on the Zuiderdam (sail date - 11/25) but did have some shipboard issues (AC, WiFi, Entertainment - see my cruise review for details) that I reported to ship management and promptly reported to HAL corporate. It's been several weeks and no response from HAL (despite a promise to follow-up). Disappointing so will likely use another cruise line on future trips. However, I do agree that minor issues onboard shouldn't ruin a vacation - life's too short - shake it off and go back to having fun.

 

Fair Winds & Following Seas, Russ

 

I am surprised, we sent a e-mail on a couple of issues and Hal did respond within 2 weeks, might want to send a follow up. But agree it was still a good cruise. (this was 1st time in 54 cruises that I ever sent a letter about a complaint). I would sail this ship again.

[ComputerTravelGuy]

I am surprised, we sent a e-mail on a couple of issues and Hal did respond within 2 weeks, might want to send a follow up. But agree it was still a good cruise. (this was 1st time in 54 cruises that I ever sent a letter about a complaint). I would sail this ship again.

 

I am surprised, as well. I did get an acknowledgement that the email was received (standard response but indicates it arrived at HAL corporate). I'll report back to this forum if I ever get a response but not intending on any other follow-ups. HAL has a chance to win my future business - we'll see if they can provide a reasonable response (or even bother to answer). Disappointing so far..

[startwin]

Just a little update re the comments on HAL's facebook page..... "Holland America" is back posting again, but is ignoring the critical comments and as I figured, most of those have dropped down from the first page, so "Holland America" came out of hiding, LOL.

 

For myself, I just decided to heck with it, I'm still looking forward to my cruise and hoping they have fixed everything by then.

[canadianbear]

Just a little update re the comments on HAL's facebook page..... "Holland America" is back posting again, but is ignoring the critical comments and as I figured, most of those have dropped down from the first page, so "Holland America" came out of hiding, LOL.

 

For myself, I just decided to heck with it, I'm still looking forward to my cruise and hoping they have fixed everything by then.

 

I couldn't find HAL answering either on facebook but one person did post this today:

 

quote "As I said in my first post, we had a great time aboard the Zuiderdam during Christmas this past December. One day, that I know of, our room was affected and we were unable to use the facilities for only two hours while repairs were being made. Most of us were off the ship at the time, so it made no difference to the majority of the passengers. Plumbing problems happen all the time, no matter where one is located be it at home or on board a ship!"

 

Hope they have any issues fixed and everyone has a great time!

[jill_delaware]

Zuiderdam had USPH Inspection on December 5, 2011 and scored a 99 out of a possible 100.

 

The score speaks for itself.

We all (most of us ?) know how tough those inspections are.

 

 

 

Doesn't matter. Our toilets still didn't work

[sail7seas]

I am surprised, as well. I did get an acknowledgement that the email was received (standard response but indicates it arrived at HAL corporate). I'll report back to this forum if I ever get a response but not intending on any other follow-ups. HAL has a chance to win my future business - we'll see if they can provide a reasonable response (or even bother to answer). Disappointing so far..

 

 

What does HAL have to do to win your future business?

[jill_delaware]

What does HAL have to do to win your future business?

 

The cruise is already done and I can't get that experience back. But I think even just an acknowledgement that they could have done better and assurance that they will actually fix the problem would go a long way. Not a lot to ask. The front desk person, however, really needs some more training in customer service.

[sail7seas]

My post was in specific response to the comment ComputerTravelGuy made as he said "HAL has a chance to win my future business" and I am interested what it would take for that to happen for Him.

 

But I understand exactly what your message is. I also think everyone's perspective varies by their personal experience, expectation, and many other variables.

 

Thanks for your comments.

[FrankNJ]

Every business has a chance to "earn" or "win" future business. Hal could do so easily by living up to their stated "Signature of Excellence" and by acknowledging in a reasonable time frame customer complaints. like I said before . if they ignore their customers , the customers will go away. I think that's the obvious answer and goes a lot further to instill confidence than a free bottle of wine or some flowers.

[sail7seas]

Every business has a chance to "earn" or "win" future business. Hal could do so easily by living up to their stated "Signature of Excellence" and by acknowledging in a reasonable time frame customer complaints. like I said before . if they ignore their customers , the customers will go away. I think that's the obvious answer and goes a lot further to instill confidence than a free bottle of wine or some flowers.

 

 

"Easily" for you? Easily for someone else? What wins one person back easily for one person may not be so easy for another customer.

 

We had one business push us away and LITERALLY a free cruise did not bring me back. We had a receipt good for any seven day cruise of our choice within (I think) it was a 18 month time span....... we threw it away. They could not pay us to return to that company.

 

Another business simply had to say "We hear what you are saying, it shouldn't have happened, we are sorry..... please give us another chance." We did and we still do business with them so it is not so easy and obvious for all of us.

 

 

[FrankNJ]

easy for Hal . Provide the good service advertised and be responsive to customer concerns.

There is the 'secret".

 

or : They could "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to their door".

 

but : sail cruise after cruise with broken toilets , not so much future success.

 

I don't know yet if they'll figure this out . maybe they'll read it here.

 

7 Seas , can you give a hint whose cruise coupon you threw away ?

[sail7seas]

No, of course, I won't name the cruise line here. :eek:

There really is no good reason to do so.

 

[sail7seas]

easy for Hal . Provide the good service advertised and be responsive to customer concerns.

There is the 'secret".

 

or : They could "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to their door".

 

but : sail cruise after cruise with broken toilets , not so much future success.

 

I don't know yet if they'll figure this out . maybe they'll read it here.

 

7 Seas , can you give a hint whose cruise coupon you threw away ?

 

 

In a perfect world..........

 

Some of the troubles today have to do with the extremely low fares many cruisers are demanding. In some cases, it is what we are paying for ! IMO

 

Not in all cases, certainly.

 

[serendipity1499]

Joanie, insinuating that teenagers and "young adults" are not smart enough to read is not only insulting but it's flat out rude. I would hate to see your dream cruise because if there aren't any "young" people, I'm sure it's boring.

Apparently, you're an idiot until you reach what 40, 50 or 60? I am in my mid to late twenties and I've NEVER had any issues with plumbing in our home nor have I experienced problems on a ship. :rolleyes:

 

For the record, those things you are referring to are called tampons. You CAN flush the actual tampon, but not the applicator.

 

I guess us "young people" aren't all stupid. :rolleyes:

 

You CANNOT flush tampons down a Marine Toilet on any boat or Cruise ship..Marine Toilets are very persnickety..

Anyone who has ever owned a boat will tell you that nothing, not even regular toilet paper or tissues can be flushed down the vacuum lines..

Agree, young people are not stupid, however many tend not to pay attention to these signs & instructions on Cruise ships..

When we had guests on our boat, it was my job to inform them what could & could not be flushed into our heads (aka toilets) & Tampons were always a Big No No...

I've cruised on at least four different cruise lines & every one of them had similar signs in their cabin & public bathrooms..I will even bet my last dollar that Carnival Cruise Lines (the parent Company of HAL) has similar signs in every cabin/public bathroom even though you may have never seen it..

Suggest you go to the Carnival Board, & read this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1538377&highlight=toilet+problems

In Post No. 14 the poster states that Carnival requests you don't bring you own toilet paper on board..

Will not comment on the toilet problem, as agree with others if there was a toilet problem, I would be a very unhappy camper,:eek: even when I spent five consecutive months on our boat..

Cheers, & Happy New Year Everyone! In 28 days we'll be on the N.A. Hooray!:):)

Betty

[ComputerTravelGuy]

My post was in specific response to the comment ComputerTravelGuy made as he said "HAL has a chance to win my future business" and I am interested what it would take for that to happen for Him.

 

But I understand exactly what your message is. I also think everyone's perspective varies by their personal experience, expectation, and many other variables.

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

I'll have to echo Jill_Delaware's comments. To win back my business, HAL needs to acknowledge & address issues we had onboard the ship. To be fair, there were many positives on this cruise (one example - the meals on the Zuiderdam was better than other cruise lines). However, we felt if a cruiser had an issue, their concerns were not addressed. Ship Management was absent - non responsive to my requests onboard ship, non responsive to others on CC or Facebook, non responsive to my email to corporate. To win back my business HAL can start by being responsive.

 

I try to be fair in my comments when speaking to or writing about HAL. Check out my cruise review on the Zuiderdam for the complete list of my positives & negatives. These are just my opinions (others might have different thoughts) but several first-time HAL cruisers I spoke with were expressing other disappointments (which doesn't bode well for HAL if they can't grow their customer base beyond existing Mariners).

 

What was wonderful was my experience in the Panama canal. I'm an engineer and to see 1914 technology still in operation after 98 years of operation was stunning. The snorkeling in Aruba & Bonaire were the best snorkel trips I've experienced. Glad I was on the Nov 25th sailing even with the HAL issues (so if you're booked, the cruise is worth the hassles of having to take a nocturnal trip to a functioning public toilet or WiFi outages for days).

[GeriatricNurse]

No, of course, I won't name the cruise line here. :eek:

There really is no good reason to do so.

 

 

 

Oh Judy, don't tease us, just do tell us! ;) (And why is there no good reason not to do so)? :confused: Enquiring minds would just love to know! :D Curiosity and all that! :p