bugs on the Nieuw Amsterdam

[Boytjie]

We are prowling around from 9am to 5am. Very little cleaning was ever done.

 

Maybe they started cleaning when everyone was done prowling at 5 am. ;)

 

On our charters we too are up and about till late at night - the parties on the upper deck end at 2:30 am then moves to the night club till 4:00 am. We usually stop dancing at 2:30 am and then hit the Lido for snacks. And I know I have seen people cleaning that time of night. And in the morning. And in the afternoon. :)

[sharpasice]

 

I know elderly folk probably don't notice the dirty furniture or carpets. They were pretty evident.

 

 

HUH?? Explain please? I find this statement offensive.

[momatibm]

Maybe they started cleaning when everyone was done prowling at 5 am. ;)

 

On our charters we too are up and about till late at night - the parties on the upper deck end at 2:30 am then moves to the night club till 4:00 am. We usually stop dancing at 2:30 am and then hit the Lido for snacks. And I know I have seen people cleaning that time of night. And in the morning. And in the afternoon. :)

 

Thanks, Boytjie -- once I read Sun~'s review -- I knew why he/she didn't see people cleaning vigorously -- because all of the passengers were out until 5 am or so--as said -- they adjusted their schedules. Just because no one in the Pinnacle had on 'beach wear' didn't mean the bugs didn't 'tag' along when they got back from the tours.

 

Also, the reason the cabin stewards were so upset is the massive concern about bed bugs -- so far I've not heard of any on HAL -- which is why they went into overdrive.

[Himself]

Ihope Seattle knows about this. This could hurt business. It is in the best interest of HAL to respond to this. I never heard of such a thing myself and I am most sorry for your trouble.

[kruzhappy]

It's one thing if there is a large pest outbreak, especially troublesome bugs like fleas, lice, mosquitoes, bed bugs, but the reality is that we live in this world with lots of bugs. They are everywhere -- get used to it! Right now there are millions of bugs all over you in your hair on your skin, in your bed. They feed on your dead skin, and there are even bugs that eat the poop from other bugs.

 

Read more here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/bugs-that-live-on-you.html

 

And see them here:

 

It's even possible the dots are not bites, but contact dermatitis. I had a breakout of red itchy bumps once and went to the doctor. They examined them under magnification, they said it wasn't a bite. It's possible that if conditions were right there could be a large growth of bugs on your body and the skin was naturally killing them off and was inflamed.

 

All kinds of weird things happen with our bodies.

 

Unless there is a huge outbreak, numerous people at the same time, visible bugs that can be controlled with pesticides, there isn't really much you can do about it!

 

Live with the bugs!

[sun~]

Nope, we definitely got bites. Who said anything about sand fleas? We got bitten in the PINNACLE GRILL in the evening. On a sea day. We only joined up on the ship, so no common hotel, not everyone got off at HMC the day before. Yep, bugs are everywhere. They should take it seriously.

 

We were sitting, talking and laughing when I got a nasty bite and jumped. I have little scars that I would say looks like a burn.

 

And to those I offended re elderly folks not seeing dirt. I stand firm on this one. I am a realtor, I go into many, many houses in a week. Once folks get past a certain age and cataracts set in they truly don't see how dirty things are in their homes. While I am polite to them, as part of my listing package I get a cleaner in to spiff the home up. It may be tidy, but in no way clean. This is very common.

 

I am not talking carpet patterns, but dirty carpets in dire need of a vacuum and good clean.

 

I think the main cause of the lack of cleaning is lack of staff.

 

I don't know why folks hate the Nieuw Amsterdam. It is a nice enough ship, good lay out and overall has nice staff. I think the Eurodam and the Nieuw Amsterdam are the nicest HAL ships I have been on, certainly far better than the Zaandam and Maasdam in my opinion.

 

The crew that I met and saw working, worked very hard. It is challenging for them on this cruise, but after speaking with many staff and crew it seems the overall concensus is that they enjoy working this cruise as it has a very different vibe than other charters and regular cruises.

[Typhoon1]

Disappointing the GRM didn't take some time to investigate. Hope you send an email to Seattle or give them a call.

[colbe]

I liked this advice that you gave everyone else in your post no 511 :o

 

"I find the best way to enjoy a cruise is to: smile and be polite to all staffers, don't sweat the small stuff, and most of all don't pay more than you can afford for a vacation - you will go with high expectations and you will be disappointed." Post 511

[sail7seas]

I really am interested so I'll ask again......

 

Did you actually see these bugs that bit you?

 

Perhaps you missed where I asked that question higher up in this thread.

[sun~]

I really am interested so I'll ask again......

 

Did you actually see these bugs that bit you?

 

Perhaps you missed where I asked that question higher up in this thread.

 

I didn't really, so it wasn't a mosquito or anything. The one that really made me jump I brushed off right away. So I don't know what the heck it was. Definitely not a mosquito. The bites happened quickly, like one after the other. Then one hurt! All I know is that I have some scarring now. :(

[startwin]

I was going to stay out of this one, but decided to share my experience. While cruising the Caribbean/Panama/Mexico last year, we had a mosquito in our room which we could not get rid off. I asked our room steward if he had some spray we could use. I was covered in bites. Next thing I know, the front desk asked me to go to the infirmary to see what kind of bites I had (yes, indeed, it was mosquito) and in the meantime housekeeping came in and pulled the room apart to make sure there were no bed bugs. Lordy, all I wanted was a bug spray:rolleyes: Never did get it, and eventually squished the culprit. I think they take any kind of bug bite report very seriously.

[metairiegal]

My bug story - On our December 2012 Zuiderdam cruise one night at dinner we found a crawling ant on our table in the MDR.

[sammygoose]

I'm sorry to hear about your bug bites, that sucks but I believe that it is more of an isolated incident than an epidemic. I sailed the NA in October and I was impressed with the level of cleaning and general cleanliness of the ship. In retrospect the choice of mustard yellow for carpeting in the common areas- ie elevator/stairwell area lends itself to visible staining but I always saw people cleaning all the time. Never in my life have I seen cleaning in a hotel like I saw on the NA. As I stated in my review of my cruise one should be way more worried about your local ATM machine which BTW never gets cleaned than any surface on a HAL ship.

I think your room stewards acted appropriately in cleaning your room and in making the appropriate 'shocked faces'.....what else are they going to do? I guess the MD failed you in not making the appropriate shocked faces too....even if they weren't willing to take it as seriously as you did. Everyone in customer service knows they are -on stage- and maybe if they had the appropriate gestures/answers you would have felt better.

No one wants to get bug bites, no one wants to get sick but in an enclosed space with high passenger turnover there will be bumps along the road especially in a hot environment. I'll take the risk of a bug bit in the caribbean vs a freezing week in Canada knowing the cold is the only thing that kills those critters.....

[Projunior]

We are prowling around from 9am to 5am.

 

From 9AM in the morning till 5AM the following morning? Twenty straight hours? Damn, that's a lot of prowling. How about sharing the best places to prowl after the bars close?

[sun~]

From 9AM in the morning till 5AM the following morning? Twenty straight hours? Damn, that's a lot of prowling. How about sharing the best places to prowl after the bars close?

LOL! The bars don't close!

 

The jams on the pool deck went on til about 4:30am, the jams in the piano bar and the crow's nest could go on all night. There were some sunrise parties!

 

With the jams, you never know who was going to show up. There could be musicians playing the guitar, base and trumpet show up at the piano bar. Musicians coming and going all night in the crow's nest. They pretty much kept serving while there were people around.

 

From what I was told, the bartenders and servers were on shifts.

 

We may have had a short nap in the afternoon, then right back at it! Hence one of the rules on the blues cruise - you can sleep when you're dead!

[PathfinderEss]

I didn't really, so it wasn't a mosquito or anything. The one that really made me jump I brushed off right away. So I don't know what the heck it was. Definitely not a mosquito. The bites happened quickly, like one after the other. Then one hurt! All I know is that I have some scarring now. :(

 

Sorry about your bug bites, I'm sure it was an uncomfortable experience.

There was a suggestion made that it could have been sand fleas. Could be very possible as you were in HMC. Someone could have come into the Pinnacle for lunch and brought them from the island. You come in at night and those hungry little buggers bite you. Trust me fleas can jump very high and don't necessarily attack just your ankles.

........but I do have a problem with whatever bit you left scarring, really..........did you go see the doctor, maybe you should take pictures of those scares and send it to Hal.......I'm sorry but there are so many other serious problems that could have happened to you, I think bug bites are the least of your problems.

 

[Boytjie]

From 9AM in the morning till 5AM the following morning? Twenty straight hours? Damn, that's a lot of prowling. How about sharing the best places to prowl after the bars close?

 

In defense of the OP on this... on charters things can be very different from a regular HAL cruise.

 

Not atypical for me on a HAL cruise and RSVP charter would be to be up when the sun comes up and I could be dancing from 10:00 pm to 2:30 am, followed by relaxing in the Lido getting a snack and maybe be in bed around 3:30 am. and be up again when the sun comes up. OK, sometimes napping during the day is involved. Yes, at the end of the cruise we may be dead tired, but we had a fun time. So, that part of it I can understand.

[Boytjie]

Yep, bugs are everywhere. They should take it seriously.

 

I thought it was only in the Pinnacle.... where else did you encounter bugs on the ship? :confused:

[cruz chic]

I thought it was only in the Pinnacle.... where else did you encounter bugs on the ship? :confused:

On the outside decks:D;).

[sun~]

Sun..........I am not as polite as the other posters, but I have cruised on HAL for over 30 or more years and I have never even seen a fly, they are constantly keeping the ship in tip-top-shape..........you are a fake

 

I could call you a name, but I won't.

 

No, I am not a fake. What an idiotic thing to say.

 

You do know I have been at many cc meet and greets for several ships? My picture has been posted on cc.

 

Don't say stupid things without basis. Sheesh.

[sun~]

I thought it was only in the Pinnacle.... where else did you encounter bugs on the ship? :confused:

 

Only in the Pinnacle. Another poster just said that bugs are all around us etc. yep they are. I just didn't expect to get bitten in a dining room!

[sun~]

In defense of the OP on this... on charters things can be very different from a regular HAL cruise.

 

Not atypical for me on a HAL cruise and RSVP charter would be to be up when the sun comes up and I could be dancing from 10:00 pm to 2:30 am, followed by relaxing in the Lido getting a snack and maybe be in bed around 3:30 am. and be up again when the sun comes up. OK, sometimes napping during the day is involved. Yes, at the end of the cruise we may be dead tired, but we had a fun time. So, that part of it I can understand.

 

The RSVP charter is second only to the blues cruise in partying. It certainly gets mentioned by staff and crew. I did hear that things wind up a little earlier on the RSVP. Also that is is a very profitable cruise as well. It is a week to party too! I was told by a staff member that about 60% of the crew are gay and enjoy working the RSVP ships. I know the crew seems to love the vibe of a party ship!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I normally stay out of threads that may become controversial ... but do have to speak up this time. We have close to 200 days on HAL, and there has not been one single day during which I was not totally impressed with the cleaning crew. Never did I NOT find one within eyesight, and each was diligently working to keep things as close to perfect as possible. These are good people who literally give their lives to HAL, for months on end. And they work hard to keep their jobs.

 

I cannot sit idly by and not say something when their work is belittled here.

 

I do not doubt the validity of your bug bites - but cannot fathom they were caused by a dirty ship. Not a Holland America ship.

Very well put ..

[solocanadian]

I'm sorry this happened to you and have to agree with Donna about the crew and their cleaning.

 

On the other hand, while I personally have never seen any bugs while cruising, it's possible for bugs to come along for the ride in any port. The ship sits at dock for hours so any stow away is possible.

HAL is well aware they sometimes have bugs. There were bug traps in the public washrooms on the Zaandam last May/June when I did a collector's cruise to Alaska & back. Day 2 there was what I thought was a fruit fly buzzing around my cabin. Took awhile but I finally smucked it after it had bitten me on my nose. Took 3 days to get his little stinger out.:eek:

[IRL_Joanie]

LOL, just had to post these 3 photos that I took of a portion of my verandah railing on the Zuiderdam, while docked in Ketchikan September 2011:) Photos have been on my site since October 2011. This is Stateroom SB 7142.

 

They say the bugs are bigger in Alaska, and until I saw this one I really had not believed it!!!

 

 

Joanie