Noordam: Broken Toilet, Cold Showers, and a missed port to save money!

[jmkennett]

I will start by saying I’m done with HAL. No, this not a joke and I know the cheerleaders will probably rip me. Let me start by saying I’ve been on 43 cruises and am a three star Mariner. HAL was my favorite line until now, and I have two more cruises planned, one for Spring Break and another for next summer in Europe. Those will now be cancelled. Cruising is my favorite way to travel and always will be. I have never had a major complaint on a cruise, nor do I look fondly at the constant complainers. I work in a five diamond resort, so I understand hospitality.

 

I’m currently five days into an 11 day Med cruise on the Noordam. Many on these boards have said the Noordam was their favorite ship and upon boarding, I agreed this may become the case for me. The ship is beautiful and of course the crew is as friendly as can be.

 

Before I get into it, I will let you know of the couple of changes after drydock. The added cabins above the Lido deck (forward) are awful. It doesn’t really matter on a European cruise, but for the Caribbean, the lack of deck space is going to be bad. They have taken a very large area of open deck space away and not replaced it with anything except for the retreat cabanas (the same as the NA and Eurodam). The NA and Eurodam have the large deck space above Tamarind. The Noordam does not have this. The chair hogs will be out in force and probably for good reason. This is another money grab by HAL that will hurt the experience for their passengers. As you will see below in a few paragraphs, I don’t think they care.

 

The Indonesian crew, as usual couldn’t be nicer. Our cabin stewards are the best I’ve ever had. Couldn’t be better. The Lido service, however, has been marginal at best. The drink machines are constantly out of the advertised drink. Ice availability is hit or miss. The first two days, when you can’t serve yourself was awful. Big lines for everything and way understaffed. The average line for a cup of coffee at 9:30AM, was about 15 people long. To get a glass of juice was a huge project. Food lines extended into the elevator area at the aft of the Lido.

 

I understand the whole noro thing, but if I can push an elevator button on my own, why can’t I push the drink machine button for a cup of coffee? This is a bit excessive and no other cruise line does this, that I’m aware. If you are going to handle things this way in the beginning of a cruise, then staff it properly.

 

Our waiters in the dining room are very nice, but the service has also been marginal. It is not their fault. They are understaffed. Dinner is slow every night. In the past the Maitre D always stops by the table to check on how things were going. Not this time. The little things, like remembering your favorite things, are a thing of the past. This and the Lido, however, are not a deal breaker.

 

So, here is when it starts and ends for me. Not to get into the gory details, but the first night, the toilet won’t flush. OK, not a big deal, things break. After a call to maintenance, I’m sure it will be fixed. After a couple hours, it flushes. Later that night, the toilet won’t flush, again. Another call. A few hours later, it flushes.

 

We now move into day two. I wake up to a toilet that won’t flush, again. Now, we call the front office to escalate. Maintenance shows up about THREE hours later. Says everything should work. It does, for an hour. Once again, toilet won’t flush! Another call, repeat! We are now using the public restroom. Still getting lip service from the front office.

 

Day three arrives. Not only do we repeat day one or two with the toilet, but now the big surprise, no hot water!!! We finally get the excuse that there are too many people taking showers and flushing toilets. In 43 cruises, never heard that one. What, you weren’t expecting after returning from port that people may take showers and go to the bathroom?

 

Move on to day four. Repeat! No hot shower and a broken toilet. More excuses. No compensation, nothing. The toilet flushes when it chooses throughout the day. More time in the public restroom.

 

Now we move on to day five. Not sure about the shower yet and the toilet didn’t flush for 20 minutes (a vast improvement). Toilet problems, shower problems, a major inconvenience, but I won’t let it ruin my cruise. What happens next has left me speechless and absolutely fuming with anger.

 

Upon entering Monaco, we encountered a large thunderstorm, with high winds. This lasted about ten minutes and then blew over. Was it a bad storm? Yes, but it was just a thunderstorm that was passing through. A few minutes later the cruise director comes on and says we have to cancel the port because of the storm. What? The storm is gone and blue sky is coming. Oh wait, the forecast is for “possible” thunderstorms throughout the day and for our safety, we will not stay in Monaco. This is ridiculous. Last I checked, thunderstorms happen all time. Ports would be cancelled constantly. What if we were docked and the thunderstorm happens at two o’clock? Are they going to leave 1800 people on shore? So, I knew this was bogus.

 

For some strange reason, I was thinking that money had to be involved in some way, so I investigated a bit further. Why not wait it out and after conditions improve, head back into port? After another phone call to a higher up, we got a new and improved answer. We were told “that the rule in Monte Carlo is if you tie the lines, you will be charged the port charges.”

 

A decision was made by the captain and HAL corporate to cancel the port and save money. “ Not that I’m shocked by a bogus corporate decision, but this is outrageous. Thanks HAL. You cancel the best stop on the cruise to save money! We are now sitting a few miles off of Monaco in brilliant sunshine and calm seas. Thanks! This is utter BS. I’ve never seen this level of incompetence on a cruise. I will post some pictures of how nice the weather is as soon as possible. This idiot captain could have stayed out from the port for an hour or two, then returned to Monaco. However, he decided to be a corporate hack and save the wonderful company some money, as we were told it would cost too much to return. An absolute terrible decision that involves nothing with safety and everything with the bottom line. You screw 1800 people out of the shot to spend a day in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The safety excuse is just that, nothing but an excuse. I could take a rowboat in and be just fine.

 

No one on this staff cares. The cruise director comes on and tells us at least will have a free movie in the lounge today and some revised activities. Wow. Let’s see, a free movie (included anyway) or a day in Monaco? When calling the front office, all you get is bogus lip service, again. I’ve been dealing with a toilet at 50% and cold showers for the entire cruise, with no compensation and now this. They have my money, so they do not care! The captain said on the noon report that they looked into other Italian port (Portofino, etc.), but that the wind could be too much for the bow thrusters and we would have to get a tug instead. More bottom line from HAL. Can‘t pay for a tug and give us a beautiful evening in Portofino? For the missed stop in Monaco, we are getting a free glass of wine! Just wonderful! How insulting!

 

Due to this, the other service flaws and problems, and spending over $10,000 for two cabins, I will never become a four star Mariner and will never sail on this line again. As a travel agent, I will never recommend this cruise line and I will go out of my way not to sell it.

 

If I had found a staff member that seemed to have cared, it would be one thing, but no one could care a less that we’ve had to use a public restroom instead of our cabin, had cold showers, and missed a call in Monaco for no reason. When asked to speak to one of the “higher ups”, I was told “they don’t have to speak with you sir”. Great response! The captain couldn’t even be the one to break the news about Monaco. He passed that one on to the cruise director. Sorry, HAL, no second chances after the way we were treated. I have to hassle with enough stuff in real life. I shouldn’t have to deal with it on any vacation, let alone one that costs this much.

 

We will now enjoy the rest of the cruise, with a partially working toilet and lukewarm shower, maybe a port call in Florence if it is a perfectly sunny day, but will never sail on this line again. Oh, and still waiting to get some sort of compensation for the toilet. Of course, nothing, but they keep pushing the BINGO game today! I’ll answer any questions you have.

[kazu]

WOW!!!

 

They won't let you speak to anyone higher up about your facilities????

 

Unbelievable. Write a note and address to the HM.

 

At the mariner's luncheon hand him/her your card with your name & room number and tell them you would like an opportunity to speak with them later as you know this is not the time.

 

I agree - the Noordam is not set up for those cabanas - I wouldn't like that either.

 

Whenever we have had to miss a port (and we certainly have under what I considered very understandable circumstances) the captain came on and announced and apologized. Can't believe the CD did this??

 

You won't get any flaming from me - a working toilet, hot water is a resonable expectation anywhere. I know ship happens, but when it happens over and over and is not fixed and no one is the least bit emphatic, I would feel the same with as you.

 

I do hope they do something for you - I assume the ship is sold out and they cannot change your stateroom.

 

What a shame.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to check in and telling us about the problems on your Noordam cruise.

Needless to say -- that is horrible!!! We could not handle toilet not working most of the time and cold showers. That is unacceptable to us.

The last time we cruised on the Noordam we had different problems and ended up cancelling several cruises on HAL.

I sure hope you don't encounter any additional problems on the rest of your cruise.

[cruz chic]

I had toilet issues on the Noordam too. I was in 7004 and it seemed our whole area did. I found the service in the MDR to be mediocre. Seems to be the standard on most heal ships these days. I know that people seem to love the Noordam but it left me and several others to wonder why. My luggage was lost on that cruise and the front desk was exceptionally good but that's where it ended.

[Hgwells01]

I'm sailing on the Noordam on 26 Aug, with several stuff ups already, the change in wine policy and reading this I'm not feeling that my cruise is going to be a wonderful experience. I hope things improve for the OP and I've got my fingers, toes,eyes and everything damn else crossed now :eek:

[Jade13]

I will start by saying I’m done with HAL. No, this not a joke and I know the cheerleaders will probably rip me. Let me start by saying I’ve been on 43 cruises and am a three star Mariner. HAL was my favorite line until now,

 

I’m currently five days into an 11 day Med cruise on the Noordam.

 

The ship is beautiful and of course the crew is as friendly as can be.

 

As you will see below in a few paragraphs, I don’t think they care.

 

The Indonesian crew, as usual couldn’t be nicer. Our cabin stewards are the best I’ve ever had. Couldn’t be better. The Lido service, however, has been marginal at best. The drink machines are constantly out of the advertised drink. Ice availability is hit or miss.

 

Our waiters in the dining room are very nice, but the service has also been marginal. It is not their fault. They are understaffed. Dinner is slow every night.

 

So, here is when it starts and ends for me. Not to get into the gory details, but the first night, the toilet won’t flush. OK, not a big deal, things break. After a call to maintenance, I’m sure it will be fixed. After a couple hours, it flushes. Later that night, the toilet won’t flush, again. Another call. A few hours later, it flushes.

 

We now move into day two. I wake up to a toilet that won’t flush, again. Now, we call the front office to escalate. Maintenance shows up about THREE hours later. Says everything should work. It does, for an hour. Once again, toilet won’t flush! Another call, repeat! We are now using the public restroom. Still getting lip service from the front office.

Day three arrives. Not only do we repeat day one or two with the toilet, but now the big surprise, no hot water!!! We finally get the excuse that there are too many people taking showers and flushing toilets. In 43 cruises, never heard that one.

 

Move on to day four. Repeat! No hot shower and a broken toilet. More excuses. No compensation, nothing.

 

Now we move on to day five. What happens next has left me speechless and absolutely fuming with anger.

 

Upon entering Monaco, we encountered a large thunderstorm, with high winds. This lasted about ten minutes and then blew over. A few minutes later the cruise director comes on and says we have to cancel the port because of the storm. What? The storm is gone and blue sky is coming. Oh wait, the forecast is for “possible” thunderstorms throughout the day and for our safety, we will not stay in Monaco. This is ridiculous. So, I knew this was bogus.

 

After another phone call to a higher up, we got a new and improved answer. We were told “that the rule in Monte Carlo is if you tie the lines, you will be charged the port charges.”

 

A decision was made by the captain and HAL corporate to cancel the port and save money. “ Not that I’m shocked by a bogus corporate decision, but this is outrageous.

 

No one on this staff cares. The cruise director comes on and tells us at least will have a free movie in the lounge today and some revised activities.

Due to this, the other service flaws and problems, and spending over $10,000 for two cabins, I will never become a four star Mariner and will never sail on this line again. As a travel agent, I will never recommend this cruise line and I will go out of my way not to sell it.

 

Oh, and still waiting to get some sort of compensation for the toilet.

 

Sorry to hear about all of this. On our last HAL cruise we had non working air conditioning but they did move us the last few nights of the cruise, but I think it was because they had forgotten to invite us to the mariners brunch after I had asked at the front desk several times when it was going to be held and they kept saying, "Madam, don't worry we will send you an invitation".

 

Based on reports, HAL tends to compensate people by giving credit to use on a future cruise. I only recall one time when someone posted they had received OBC (not a discount) on the current cruise they were on.

 

If you have a non-working toilet and shower I sure hope there is someplace they can move you.

 

Regarding Noordam, we were on her for the Med cruise which was rotated between Noordam and Westerdam over a couple of years. We were on Westerdam one year and came back the next year on Noordam. I recall having a better experience on Westerdam, but this was a number of years ago.

[Jade13]

I had toilet issues on the Noordam too. I was in 7004 and it seemed our whole area did. I found the service in the MDR to be mediocre. Seems to be the standard on most heal ships these days. I know that people seem to love the Noordam but it left me and several others to wonder why. My luggage was lost on that cruise and the front desk was exceptionally good but that's where it ended.

 

Sorry to hear this. Mediocre is not acceptable when people are paying a premium for their vacations. Hope you got your luggage back.

[bishop84]

Concerning the call at Monaco could it have been cancelled due to the port authority closing the port to large vessels due to the weather rather than a HAL Corporate decision? Even once the immediate weather has cleared the port authority make keep the port closed if further bad weather is forecasted. The entrance to the port is very narrow and there are no tugs in the port able to assist ships. Also the pier structure that the cruise ships dock at is a floating dock rather than a fixed breakwater.

 

Sorry to hear about the plumbing problems - when I was on Noordam I understand that there were several complaints about the plumbing.

[sail7seas]

I'm so sorry to hear of these unfortunate circumstances on the beautiful Noordam. We love that ship and I feel a awful to read of your unsatisfactory experience.

Hope things start to look up for you.

 

[Cindy]

Sorry to hear you've had those problems. We also thought the food and beverage service in the dining room (traditional late seating) was painfully slow and impersonal, but that was really the only sour note of our cruise.

We loved the Noordam last November, but I was apprehensive when I heard about the changes they were going to make. I'm not a fan of ships adding cabins without a commensurate increase in public space. It always seems to have a greater impact on crowding and flow than you would think a few extra cabins would have.

[jmkennett]

They have offered a glass of wine as compensation! We were told the decision was the captain and HAL corp, not Monaco. It is a beautiful day here on the S. Coast of France. I'll post pictures later to prove this. This really is the most unbelievable thing ever to happen to me on a cruise. All we had to do was sit outside of the dock for an hour and go in. One yacht after another is heading in. Spoke to several employees who said "off the record" that it was a revenue decision.

 

The captain then said we couldn't go to another port because we would have to get a tug. Another money decision. The whole thing is ridiculous. And to add insult, we are basically sitting here looking at it, but they said it would it would not be beneficial, as to cost, to return. I'm assuming because of all the shore excursions that will be cancelled.

 

By the way, they are not refunding port charges. So they made that on us as well. They can take their glass of wine and shove it. What a joke! The toilet is a whole other issue.

 

We also cancelled Tunisia due to a State Dept warning. Well, we got that e-mail a week ago. Now we find out that HAL has known about this for two months and the warning was given in March. Guess they had our final payment and didn't want to lose our revenue if we cancelled (I wouldn't have). But you can see, I'm not too trusting at the moment.

[orgutierrez]

Sorry to hear you're not having a good experience onboard the Noordam.

 

I am sailing on the Noordam in two weeks and it seems like it won't be as I have been expecting, my last cruise on the Eurodam was truly magnificent and I fell in love with HAL (food, service, everything). I hope they sort out these problems before I get onboard, sorry to hear you're having a bad experience, try to enjoy the cruise. In my opinion, if they have not changed your room, it might be because the cruise is fully booked, if not I do not understeand that being a 3 star Mariner and having two big problems in your stateroom apart from missing a unique port like Montecarlo, they have not upgraded you to a stateroom of a higher category or they have not given you onboard credit for a future cruise or for this one.

 

An other thing, I will be on the recently added VA stateroom (10019) in the Observation Deck (in the same deck as the Crow's Nest), I have not been able to find any information about this stateroom, do you know if the balcony is bigger or smaller than a standard verandah, is the location there fine?

[cruz chic]

Sorry to hear this. Mediocre is not acceptable when people are paying a premium for their vacations. Hope you got your luggage back.

It did arrive on day 4 and 6 of the 11 day cruise.

[cruisemom42]

Concerning the call at Monaco could it have been cancelled due to the port authority closing the port to large vessels due to the weather rather than a HAL Corporate decision? Even once the immediate weather has cleared the port authority make keep the port closed if further bad weather is forecasted. The entrance to the port is very narrow and there are no tugs in the port able to assist ships. Also the pier structure that the cruise ships dock at is a floating dock rather than a fixed breakwater.

 

 

This is where good communication would be critical. When I was on a Swan Hellenic cruise last fall, we couldn't make port into Civitavecchia due to weather. But the captain kept us fully apprised of the entire situation, including sitting outside the port for fully half a day, trying for an opportunity to get in. He even turned the ship around the other way to facilitate getting the pilot aboard (the waves were rough and wind was bad), which was interesting to watch. Finally the port authorities decided to close the port around noon, but it was already obvious that no ships were getting in -- we could see several freighters sitting around us also waiting.

 

Because we were kept fully updated and because it was obvious they were trying all they could to make port, there was little grumbling aboard, even though most people must have been terribly disappointed to miss Rome.

 

(P.S. there was no credit given, but I wouldn't expect any when the cause of missing port is weather. Really nothing one can do about that. However, in the OP's case, it's less cut and dried as to what the real reason for missing port might be.....)

[mickey89]

The Noordam was our favourite ship, we sailed in February for the last four consecutive years each time for 21 days. This year we noted a significant change with the MDR food being the worse we had ever experienced. Our toilet was also a problem for the first four days but was resolved after continual visits to Guest Relations - We were given $250 in compensation from head office during the second week - they said the toilet problems were as a result of people using Wet Wipes.

 

In June we cruised on the Celebrity Equinox, what a difference. We will probably never return to HAL which is so disappointing as it was our favourite.

[sapper1]

I'll echo what Kazu said but will add that Monaco is a very tiny harbour with zero room to spare in the event of a sudden thunderstorm with wind. The Noordam is very high sided and susceptible. The harbour is packed with large pleasure yachts and there isn't the slightest room for error.

 

The Captain cancelled based on the forecast and those of us who live on the coast know you can go from millpond conditions to a raging storm in ten minutes or less.

 

The captain of the Concordia was an idiot. The captain of the Noordam was acting responsibly and deserves an apology for being called an idiot on a public forum.

 

I do sympathise with the rest of your issues and maybe if those things were not angering you, you may have been kinder to the captain.

[bcnvcanada]

A broken toliet and cold showers should not be part of anyones cruise experience. I am so sorry that this happened to you. As for the port,

some times it happens. As for going to Portofino, there is no way that your ship could have docked there. Cruise lines, stay out of the harbour and tender in. Villafrance is a tender, as is Canes, Nice only small ships can dock and it is iffy. Only Genoa could you have docked. The non working toliet and cold shower would be a deal breaker for me.

[startwin]

Wow, what an awful experience. We had toilet like yours for 22 days (actually worse, it ended up back up with other cabins sewage:() and we got much the same from the front office as you. However, we did get bottles of wine and Pinnacle Grill dinners along the way. And an OBC at the end of the cruise - but that was after the sewage backup.

[innlady1]

Wow. :( That is totally outrageous. I have a Med Collectors Cruise booked the month of August on the NA and am sorry that I made final payment a week ago tomorrow.

I hope the rest of the cruise improves for you...but I can totally understand why this is your last HAL cruise.

[iancal]

HAL has one of the oldest fleets of the mass market cruise lines.

 

I believe that HAL has cut back on mtce and capital improvements in order to conserve financial resources. And it is showing. HAL cheerleaders will dispute this of course.

[Cruisergal1208]

Sorry to hear you're not having a good experience onboard the Noordam.

 

I am sailing on the Noordam in two weeks and it seems like it won't be as I have been expecting, my last cruise on the Eurodam was truly magnificent and I fell in love with HAL (food, service, everything). I hope they sort out these problems before I get onboard, sorry to hear you're having a bad experience, try to enjoy the cruise. In my opinion, if they have not changed your room, it might be because the cruise is fully booked, if not I do not understeand that being a 3 star Mariner and having two big problems in your stateroom apart from missing a unique port like Montecarlo, they have not upgraded you to a stateroom of a higher category or they have not given you onboard credit for a future cruise or for this one.

 

An other thing, I will be on the recently added VA stateroom (10019) in the Observation Deck (in the same deck as the Crow's Nest), I have not been able to find any information about this stateroom, do you know if the balcony is bigger or smaller than a standard verandah, is the location there fine?

 

It is my understanding that the verandah is "standing room only" You will probably feel more motion of the ocean being all the way forward. Hope they get all the problems worked out soon.

[jmkennett]

I'll echo what Kazu said but will add that Monaco is a very tiny harbour with zero room to spare in the event of a sudden thunderstorm with wind. The Noordam is very high sided and susceptible. The harbour is packed with large pleasure yachts and there isn't the slightest room for error.

 

The Captain cancelled based on the forecast and those of us who live on the coast know you can go from millpond conditions to a raging storm in ten minutes or less.

 

The captain of the Concordia was an idiot. The captain of the Noordam was acting responsibly and deserves an apology for being called an idiot on a public forum.

 

I do sympathise with the rest of your issues and maybe if those things were not angering you, you may have been kinder to the captain.

 

With all due respect, you are not on this cruise and do not know what we have been told. The reason was given that it was a financial decision due to the port charges. Initially, yes, it was the storm and it lasted 10 minutes. All they had to due was wait it out for about an hour. However, there was no effort to do that and it turned out to be a beautiful day in Monaco. We sat a few miles away for a few hours. The seas and winds were calm and it was a bright blue sky. It is the bottom line, pure and simple. No apologies are needed for the captain. He couldn't even be the one to tell us what is going on. I call it bs when it is bs. I totally agree about the Concordia captain. These are two different subjects. They are now refunding the port charges and we get a wonderful glass of wine!

[Windsailer]

...about your cabin problems.

Officeofthepresident@HollandAmerica.com

[Riversedge]

I am so sorry all this is happening to you. You sound like a person that does not let minor disruptions ruin your cruise but all of this is over the top. I hope the rest of your cruise goes better. We've already made our final payment on our Mediterranean cruise this fall. In light of everything I've been reading lately it will likely be our last Holland America cruise. They were barely hanging onto us anyways. So sorry for you. Please keep us updated on the rest of your cruise. Hoping for good things to come.

[Cindy]

I'll echo what Kazu said but will add that Monaco is a very tiny harbour with zero room to spare in the event of a sudden thunderstorm with wind. The Noordam is very high sided and susceptible. The harbour is packed with large pleasure yachts and there isn't the slightest room for error.

 

The Captain cancelled based on the forecast and those of us who live on the coast know you can go from millpond conditions to a raging storm in ten minutes or less.

 

The captain of the Concordia was an idiot. The captain of the Noordam was acting responsibly and deserves an apology for being called an idiot on a public forum.

 

I do sympathise with the rest of your issues and maybe if those things were not angering you, you may have been kinder to the captain.

 

With all due respect, you are not on this cruise and do not know what we have been told. The reason was given that it was a financial decision due to the port charges. Initially, yes, it was the storm and it lasted 10 minutes. All they had to due was wait it out for about an hour. However, there was no effort to do that and it turned out to be a beautiful day in Monaco. We sat a few miles away for a few hours. The seas and winds were calm and it was a bright blue sky. It is the bottom line, pure and simple. No apologies are needed for the captain. He couldn't even be the one to tell us what is going on. I call it bs when it is bs. I totally agree about the Concordia captain. These are two different subjects. They are now refunding the port charges and we get a wonderful glass of wine!

 

I'm not a "cheerleader" for any cruise line, and I think your toilet issues are inexcusable, BUT I agree with sapper1 when it comes to navigation and port issues. It's always the captain's call, and if he felt it prudent to err on the side of caution, then I would have to respect his decision.

I can think of several times when I was on a ship that missed a port on a beautiful day because of sea or wind conditions. Sometimes it happens, and just because the weather is fair doesn't mean it's safe to attempt to bring a cruise ship into port. I know what you claim you were told, but I seriously doubt an experienced captain would skip a very popular port simply for financial reasons.