There is Something Very Wrong and I Don't Know What it Is........

[brazilgirl]

This has been a most interesting thread. I certainly do not have experience as a loyal HAL cruiser ( just came back from my first HAL cruise !) , but I have been traveling for a very long time internationally .

 

Hotels , airlines , cruiselines , trains ... There have been major changes in all these areas , both good and bad.

 

Travel has been globallized and has become accessible to groups of people that , just a few years ago , would not have been able to go on a plane , a cruise or stay in a hotel. My parents made a fairly comfortable living , but had never travelled outside of the country until I moved to Brazil. I have many , many friends who had never travelled abroad and with the advent of internet agencies , now buy cruises and trips they would have never considered before. In the past , you would have to fo to a big city to get a visa...now you can do it online.

 

Travel and cruising areno longer for the elite few...the massification is a reality. With that comes better pricing in many cases , but a lower level of service and less personalized attention.

 

I have found ( for me) the trick is adjusting my expectations. If I go to an intimate , upscale boutique hotel , I do expect a level of personalized attention I don't expect in other venues. When I sailed on a ship with only 96 passengers , the attention was quite different than the big ships I have sailed on.

 

I still am lucky enough to always be quite happy with my travel adventures...I do tend to be a person that looks at life with a glass half full attitude . I try to let little irritations and imperfections roll by . There are problems with a capital P and problems with a little p. i try to only let the Capital P problems have my precious energy and attention.

 

What are Capital P problems? I would say that air conditioning and toilet problems are at the top ... These problems would really irritate me. Also , staff with a bad or unhelpful attitude - I always address problems with a smile and a ploite attitude and I expect to be listened to and taken seriously. Safety issues....no need to even say that safety is top , top priority.

 

I will continue to travel and cruise as long as I still feel the delight and happiness that I do now. I feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to see the world and have so many different experiences.

[sppunk]

You know whose opinion I'd love to read? Jeff F.'s, or Tanman as he is known on board.

 

I recall his blogs 2-3 years ago showed many ways HAL was failing to serve the most loyal of loyal (this man sails 260+ days/year).

[bunnyrab]

We were on the Maasdam in May/13. Late set dinning. I found the waiter & ass. waiter to be very efficient. Not too friendly but very efficient. On the last formal nite our table had no white seat covers and no flowers. We were wondering why did we bother to take extra trouble dressing. The boss of our section (his proper name escapes me) dropped by and he immediately went and found us some flowers and explained they had run out of clean seat covers. We only missed 2 nites in the MDR. One nite I was sick and the other we ate at the Pinnacle. A table for 6 only had 4 the whole cruise (15 days) but they put chair covers on the 2 seats that had never been occupied. On the last nite I ordered something I had never tried before. I remember it had beans in it. When it came it was too rich tasting and was very thick as if it was dried out. I left it there. At no time did anyone ask me if anything was wrong and would I like something different. I expected better on the Maasdam. And we always tip through auto charge as we consider it to be part of the price of cruising.

 

On the other hand we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam in Feb./13 for 14 nites and everything in the dinning room was excellent.

[thepoint]

I have been actively involved on CC for over 10 years as evidenced in my profile.

 

I love CC and call it my 'hobby'. For me, who loves cruising HAL ships, talking about them here on CC is the next best thing to being aboard.

 

I have never been so depressed and saddened as I am lately when I come here. Never in all these years have I read of so many unhappy HAL cruisers for so many varied reasons.

 

The poor way HAL announced the Wine Policy change was very upsetting to almost everyone here. On top of which, the new policy probably could use some 'tweaking'.

 

Mariners are discovering the more loyal they have been, the higher prices they are being charged.

 

Frequent loyal cruisers have discovered they are rarely offered upsells and upgrades in comparison to new cruisers being offered all sorts of delightful surprises.

 

Another cruiser has always purchased from HAL liquor by the bottle for her cabin enjoyment and now has to buy a full case.

.........

 

Where did all the fun go? :confused:

 

 

I have not read every single post, so maybe this has been addressed. I can not find any where on the Holland America website where someone would have to buy an entire case of liquor versus just one bottle. The idea that HAL would make someone buy a case of liquor for their cabin consumption versus one bottle just does not make any sense. I love reading CC, it helps us prepare for our trips, but I don't necessary believe everything I read here is fact, it is just opinion. Sometimes good and sometimes not so good. But I appreciate everyone's efforts to share their opinion.

[stillwaters]

What totally disappoints me is the marketing. I somehow started receiving sale info as a new customer to HAL. The prices are so much better then the ones I receive as a 3 star mariner.

[sail7seas]

I have not read every single post, so maybe this has been addressed. I can not find any where on the Holland America website where someone would have to buy an entire case of liquor versus just one bottle. The idea that HAL would make someone buy a case of liquor for their cabin consumption versus one bottle just does not make any sense. I love reading CC, it helps us prepare for our trips, but I don't necessary believe everything I read here is fact, it is just opinion. Sometimes good and sometimes not so good. But I appreciate everyone's efforts to share their opinion.

 

 

 

Surfergirl has posted a number of times on this forum that her usual special order of dessert wines/ports and sangria used to be available for her to order by the bottle but she is now told she must special order a full case in order to have the brands/products she wants.

 

That is all I know about her situation but she has been very open and written about it a number of times recently.

 

[thepoint]

Surfergirl has posted a number of times on this forum that her usual special order of dessert wines/ports and sangria used to be available for her to order by the bottle but she is now told she must special order a full case in order to have the brands/products she wants.

 

That is all I know about her situation but she has been very open and written about it a number of times recently.

 

 

Thanks, I think I understand. This is a "special order", not something that HAL usually carries, so they are passing the cost of their having to buy a case and store something not normally asked for onto the customer. If that is the case, it makes sense. Thank you.

[sail7seas]

In the recent past, they permitted her to order the number of bottles she wanted. The requirement for full case was just instituted according to what she has posted.

[innlady1]

What totally disappoints me is the marketing. I somehow started receiving sale info as a new customer to HAL. The prices are so much better then the ones I receive as a 3 star mariner.

 

That has happened to me as well. Very strange.

[innlady1]

You know whose opinion I'd love to read? Jeff F.'s, or Tanman as he is known on board.

 

I recall his blogs 2-3 years ago showed many ways HAL was failing to serve the most loyal of loyal (this man sails 260+ days/year).

 

His name escapes me but I know who you mean...he does the World Cruise...and a lot of others.

[sail7seas]

That has happened to me as well. Very strange.

 

 

We never get any mail (e-mail or snail) from HAL....

The only mail I've had from them in ages was an e-mail Birthday card. :)

That and notice our docs were ready for printing.

 

 

That's okay..... I don't write them either. :D

[Linda&Vern]

Sail – Thank you for starting this thread. I have waited a couple of days to respond because I wanted to gather my thoughts. I do have to agree with you … something is amiss among the HAL posters on this board. Is it HAL … or is it the posters? Probably both?

 

I have told the story of booking our first cruise. We booked a 2004 Holiday cruise on HAL because we could drive to the port the morning of the cruise. That is the only reason we chose HAL. Shortly after booking and making full payment, I found CC … AND I was devastated. According to many, many posts on CC we had booked the worst ship in the fleet – The Maasdam. Everything was old and falling apart. Some posters made it sound like we would never survive 11 days aboard her. The day before our trip was to begin HAL called us and said the ship would not arrive the next day at 7:00am – but would arrive Norfolk late in the afternoon. And yet, we were determined none of this was going to ruin our first cruise. And guess what – the cruise was fabulous. Ok, so we didn’t sail until after midnight – but we were on a ship, with our own little cabin, and these friendly crew people were running all over the place and smiling at us at every opportunity. Instead of spending Christmas Day frazzled and tired … someone actually cooked all our meals, did the dishes … and I’m sure if I would have asked they would have tucked me in at night. Apart from missing our adult children – it was heaven for 11 days.

 

We fell in love with everything about HAL and its ships and their crew. We are now planning our 7th HAL cruise. We have no desire to look elsewhere. We like what we have in HAL … and will not consider jumping into a “the grass is greener” situation.

 

Have our cruises been perfect? Absolutely not. If we think about it, there have been some issues on each cruise. Some of those issues were more significant than others. Did any issue ruin our cruise? Again, absolutely not!

 

I agree Sail – there seem to be so many more unhappy HAL cruisers posting now. Perhaps because the internet is more alive than it was 9-10 years ago? How do we know for sure how many HAL cruises each poster has taken? Are there posters that haven’t set foot on a HAL ship in years … but just like to stir the pot? Are new cruisers getting on ships with unrealistic expectations? Have they done their homework? And how many unhappy posters simple do not understand “big business.” No cruise line is in business to entertain us. They are in business to make profits for their shareholders. Whatever else is said, that is the bottom line.

 

My big question is that if these posters hate HAL so much, why are they still cruising HAL? Why are they posting on a HAL cruise board? Why do they love driving away newbies with their stories about how awful their cruise is going to be? Of course we want to know the “bad stuff” that happens on your cruise. We really do want to feel sorry for you if your toilet didn’t work, or your air didn’t work. But we would like to hear the good stuff that happened on your cruise too. We want to know what’s new, and what’s gone. We want to know if those Lido trays ever reappeared. :D

 

Sail, in response to some of your bullet points:

 

IMO the wine policy change was long overdue. I’m surprised the finance/revenue executives let it go as long as it did. It was time to stop the unlimited wine policy. I find it interesting that under the new policy HAL requires your beverages to be brought on in your carry-on luggage and not in your checked baggage. Too many broken bottles? Too many people complaining about their broken bottles. YES – on our first cruise we packed a couple bottles of wine in our luggage, secured in many layers of bubble wrap. One bottle broke, we had to trash the suitcase, and spent our first cruise night doing laundry. So please don’t say it never happens. It did … to us. I’m really sorry many HAL cruisers are so upset by the new policy. I think if a few years ago HAL had put a tighter limit on the number of bottles one could bring onboard they would not have had to put such a strict policy in place for January.

 

I don’t think upsells or upgrades have anything to do with your cruise “star status.” Out of 6 cruises, we have been offered upsells on 4. We didn’t take them all, but they were offered.

 

You mentioned someone unhappy about having to special order wine by the case instead of the bottle. That just makes sense. Let’s just say they want 5 different wines (or however many). Why would HAL want to buy a case each of those 5 different wines, sell them one bottle, and have to store and try to get rid of the other bottles in those cases? Again, it just doesn’t make business sense to do that.

 

Of course the Explore4 package is offered at a different price than a cruise without the package. It is a specific package. Buy this package – pay this price. And just wait until the special package deal is over and cruise prices drop! This board will be on fire with rants about how their TA called HAL and if they get the lower price on their cabin they will lose the Explore4 package. We all know that is going to happen.

 

Lastly, I know that you Sail have not been happy about hoop jumping to get a new Cruise Atlas. Alas, this is now the digital age. With the printing costs for those brochures, HAL is smart to try to cut those costs. Just as we read our books on Kindles (etc.) … we now move into the on-line brochure phase of our lives.

 

I’m not loving some of the things I’ve been reading here recently either. But I’ve learned to read, maybe make a comment, and then move on. I’m sorry others are so unhappy . . .

 

BUT Linda and Vern are still having FUN … and we are doing in on HAL ships! :D

[OlsSalt]

Sail – Thank you for starting this thread. I have waited a couple of days to respond because I wanted to gather my thoughts. I do have to agree with you … something is amiss among the HAL posters on this board. Is it HAL … or is it the posters? Probably both?

 

I have told the story of booking our first cruise. We booked a 2004 Holiday cruise on HAL because we could drive to the port the morning of the cruise. That is the only reason we chose HAL. Shortly after booking and making full payment, I found CC … AND I was devastated. According to many, many posts on CC we had booked the worst ship in the fleet – The Maasdam. Everything was old and falling apart. Some posters made it sound like we would never survive 11 days aboard her. The day before our trip was to begin HAL called us and said the ship would not arrive the next day at 7:00am – but would arrive Norfolk late in the afternoon. And yet, we were determined none of this was going to ruin our first cruise. And guess what – the cruise was fabulous. Ok, so we didn’t sail until after midnight – but we were on a ship, with our own little cabin, and these friendly crew people were running all over the place and smiling at us at every opportunity. Instead of spending Christmas Day frazzled and tired … someone actually cooked all our meals, did the dishes … and I’m sure if I would have asked they would have tucked me in at night. Apart from missing our adult children – it was heaven for 11 days.

 

We fell in love with everything about HAL and its ships and their crew. We are now planning our 7th HAL cruise. We have no desire to look elsewhere. We like what we have in HAL … and will not consider jumping into a “the grass is greener” situation.

 

Have our cruises been perfect? Absolutely not. If we think about it, there have been some issues on each cruise. Some of those issues were more significant than others. Did any issue ruin our cruise? Again, absolutely not!

 

I agree Sail – there seem to be so many more unhappy HAL cruisers posting now. Perhaps because the internet is more alive than it was 9-10 years ago? How do we know for sure how many HAL cruises each poster has taken? Are there posters that haven’t set foot on a HAL ship in years … but just like to stir the pot? Are new cruisers getting on ships with unrealistic expectations? Have they done their homework? And how many unhappy posters simple do not understand “big business.” No cruise line is in business to entertain us. They are in business to make profits for their shareholders. Whatever else is said, that is the bottom line.

 

My big question is that if these posters hate HAL so much, why are they still cruising HAL? Why are they posting on a HAL cruise board? Why do they love driving away newbies with their stories about how awful their cruise is going to be? Of course we want to know the “bad stuff” that happens on your cruise. We really do want to feel sorry for you if your toilet didn’t work, or your air didn’t work. But we would like to hear the good stuff that happened on your cruise too. We want to know what’s new, and what’s gone. We want to know if those Lido trays ever reappeared. :D

 

Sail, in response to some of your bullet points:

 

IMO the wine policy change was long overdue. I’m surprised the finance/revenue executives let it go as long as it did. It was time to stop the unlimited wine policy. I find it interesting that under the new policy HAL requires your beverages to be brought on in your carry-on luggage and not in your checked baggage. Too many broken bottles? Too many people complaining about their broken bottles. YES – on our first cruise we packed a couple bottles of wine in our luggage, secured in many layers of bubble wrap. One bottle broke, we had to trash the suitcase, and spent our first cruise night doing laundry. So please don’t say it never happens. It did … to us. I’m really sorry many HAL cruisers are so upset by the new policy. I think if a few years ago HAL had put a tighter limit on the number of bottles one could bring onboard they would not have had to put such a strict policy in place for January.

 

I don’t think upsells or upgrades have anything to do with your cruise “star status.” Out of 6 cruises, we have been offered upsells on 4. We didn’t take them all, but they were offered.

 

You mentioned someone unhappy about having to special order wine by the case instead of the bottle. That just makes sense. Let’s just say they want 5 different wines (or however many). Why would HAL want to buy a case each of those 5 different wines, sell them one bottle, and have to store and try to get rid of the other bottles in those cases? Again, it just doesn’t make business sense to do that.

 

Of course the Explore4 package is offered at a different price than a cruise without the package. It is a specific package. Buy this package – pay this price. And just wait until the special package deal is over and cruise prices drop! This board will be on fire with rants about how their TA called HAL and if they get the lower price on their cabin they will lose the Explore4 package. We all know that is going to happen.

 

Lastly, I know that you Sail have not been happy about hoop jumping to get a new Cruise Atlas. Alas, this is now the digital age. With the printing costs for those brochures, HAL is smart to try to cut those costs. Just as we read our books on Kindles (etc.) … we now move into the on-line brochure phase of our lives.

 

I’m not loving some of the things I’ve been reading here recently either. But I’ve learned to read, maybe make a comment, and then move on. I’m sorry others are so unhappy . . .

 

BUT Linda and Vern are still having FUN … and we are doing in on HAL ships! :D

 

Wow! You saved me from telling virtually the exact same story, down to the horror stories found here in 2009 on CC about our first HAL ship, the Maasdam which also became the love of our cruise life - except you left out the part about CC posters claiming it smelled to high heaven too.

 

You hit a lot of key points and I hope all new cruisers to HAL take everything you said to heart. We got hooked on HAL and never looked back. Yes, there have been changes. No, every cruise was not prefect. But all were wonderful, memorable and beloved. Comes with the territory, so overall we find HAL is still solid value and wonderful travel.

 

Thank you for taking the time to provide so much detail about your own experience. Just to say "ditto" didn't seem like enough.

[Sea-travelers]

Sail – Thank you for starting this thread. I have waited a couple of days to respond because I wanted to gather my thoughts. I do have to agree with you … something is amiss among the HAL posters on this board. Is it HAL … or is it the posters? Probably both?

 

I have told the story of booking our first cruise. We booked a 2004 Holiday cruise on HAL because we could drive to the port the morning of the cruise. That is the only reason we chose HAL. Shortly after booking and making full payment, I found CC … AND I was devastated. According to many, many posts on CC we had booked the worst ship in the fleet – The Maasdam. Everything was old and falling apart. Some posters made it sound like we would never survive 11 days aboard her. The day before our trip was to begin HAL called us and said the ship would not arrive the next day at 7:00am – but would arrive Norfolk late in the afternoon. And yet, we were determined none of this was going to ruin our first cruise. And guess what – the cruise was fabulous. Ok, so we didn’t sail until after midnight – but we were on a ship, with our own little cabin, and these friendly crew people were running all over the place and smiling at us at every opportunity. Instead of spending Christmas Day frazzled and tired … someone actually cooked all our meals, did the dishes … and I’m sure if I would have asked they would have tucked me in at night. Apart from missing our adult children – it was heaven for 11 days.

 

We fell in love with everything about HAL and its ships and their crew. We are now planning our 7th HAL cruise. We have no desire to look elsewhere. We like what we have in HAL … and will not consider jumping into a “the grass is greener” situation.

 

Have our cruises been perfect? Absolutely not. If we think about it, there have been some issues on each cruise. Some of those issues were more significant than others. Did any issue ruin our cruise? Again, absolutely not!

 

I agree Sail – there seem to be so many more unhappy HAL cruisers posting now. Perhaps because the internet is more alive than it was 9-10 years ago? How do we know for sure how many HAL cruises each poster has taken? Are there posters that haven’t set foot on a HAL ship in years … but just like to stir the pot? Are new cruisers getting on ships with unrealistic expectations? Have they done their homework? And how many unhappy posters simple do not understand “big business.” No cruise line is in business to entertain us. They are in business to make profits for their shareholders. Whatever else is said, that is the bottom line.

 

My big question is that if these posters hate HAL so much, why are they still cruising HAL? Why are they posting on a HAL cruise board? Why do they love driving away newbies with their stories about how awful their cruise is going to be? Of course we want to know the “bad stuff” that happens on your cruise. We really do want to feel sorry for you if your toilet didn’t work, or your air didn’t work. But we would like to hear the good stuff that happened on your cruise too. We want to know what’s new, and what’s gone. We want to know if those Lido trays ever reappeared. :D

 

Sail, in response to some of your bullet points:

 

IMO the wine policy change was long overdue. I’m surprised the finance/revenue executives let it go as long as it did. It was time to stop the unlimited wine policy. I find it interesting that under the new policy HAL requires your beverages to be brought on in your carry-on luggage and not in your checked baggage. Too many broken bottles? Too many people complaining about their broken bottles. YES – on our first cruise we packed a couple bottles of wine in our luggage, secured in many layers of bubble wrap. One bottle broke, we had to trash the suitcase, and spent our first cruise night doing laundry. So please don’t say it never happens. It did … to us. I’m really sorry many HAL cruisers are so upset by the new policy. I think if a few years ago HAL had put a tighter limit on the number of bottles one could bring onboard they would not have had to put such a strict policy in place for January.

 

I don’t think upsells or upgrades have anything to do with your cruise “star status.” Out of 6 cruises, we have been offered upsells on 4. We didn’t take them all, but they were offered.

 

You mentioned someone unhappy about having to special order wine by the case instead of the bottle. That just makes sense. Let’s just say they want 5 different wines (or however many). Why would HAL want to buy a case each of those 5 different wines, sell them one bottle, and have to store and try to get rid of the other bottles in those cases? Again, it just doesn’t make business sense to do that.

 

Of course the Explore4 package is offered at a different price than a cruise without the package. It is a specific package. Buy this package – pay this price. And just wait until the special package deal is over and cruise prices drop! This board will be on fire with rants about how their TA called HAL and if they get the lower price on their cabin they will lose the Explore4 package. We all know that is going to happen.

 

Lastly, I know that you Sail have not been happy about hoop jumping to get a new Cruise Atlas. Alas, this is now the digital age. With the printing costs for those brochures, HAL is smart to try to cut those costs. Just as we read our books on Kindles (etc.) … we now move into the on-line brochure phase of our lives.

 

I’m not loving some of the things I’ve been reading here recently either. But I’ve learned to read, maybe make a comment, and then move on. I’m sorry others are so unhappy . . .

 

BUT Linda and Vern are still having FUN … and we are doing in on HAL ships! :D

 

thank you for posting. I enjoyed reading it and agreed with you on all points. We went on our first cruise 20 years ago and have seen the changes with each cruise. Our first cruise on HAL was on the Maasdam and we loved it. A Hal ship is like home to us. Not all the changes have been good but as the saying goes....thats progress. Thanks again for your thoughtful and respectful posting. We too are still having fun sailing on a dam ship:)

[sapper1]

Sail – Thank you for starting this thread. I have waited a couple of days to respond because I wanted to gather my thoughts. I do have to agree with you … something is amiss among the HAL posters on this board. Is it HAL … or is it the posters? Probably both?

 

I have told the story of booking our first cruise. We booked a 2004 Holiday cruise on HAL because we could drive to the port the morning of the cruise. That is the only reason we chose HAL. Shortly after booking and making full payment, I found CC … AND I was devastated. According to many, many posts on CC we had booked the worst ship in the fleet – The Maasdam. Everything was old and falling apart. Some posters made it sound like we would never survive 11 days aboard her. The day before our trip was to begin HAL called us and said the ship would not arrive the next day at 7:00am – but would arrive Norfolk late in the afternoon. And yet, we were determined none of this was going to ruin our first cruise. And guess what – the cruise was fabulous. Ok, so we didn’t sail until after midnight – but we were on a ship, with our own little cabin, and these friendly crew people were running all over the place and smiling at us at every opportunity. Instead of spending Christmas Day frazzled and tired … someone actually cooked all our meals, did the dishes … and I’m sure if I would have asked they would have tucked me in at night. Apart from missing our adult children – it was heaven for 11 days.

 

We fell in love with everything about HAL and its ships and their crew. We are now planning our 7th HAL cruise. We have no desire to look elsewhere. We like what we have in HAL … and will not consider jumping into a “the grass is greener” situation.

 

Have our cruises been perfect? Absolutely not. If we think about it, there have been some issues on each cruise. Some of those issues were more significant than others. Did any issue ruin our cruise? Again, absolutely not!

 

I agree Sail – there seem to be so many more unhappy HAL cruisers posting now. Perhaps because the internet is more alive than it was 9-10 years ago? How do we know for sure how many HAL cruises each poster has taken? Are there posters that haven’t set foot on a HAL ship in years … but just like to stir the pot? Are new cruisers getting on ships with unrealistic expectations? Have they done their homework? And how many unhappy posters simple do not understand “big business.” No cruise line is in business to entertain us. They are in business to make profits for their shareholders. Whatever else is said, that is the bottom line.

 

My big question is that if these posters hate HAL so much, why are they still cruising HAL? Why are they posting on a HAL cruise board? Why do they love driving away newbies with their stories about how awful their cruise is going to be? Of course we want to know the “bad stuff” that happens on your cruise. We really do want to feel sorry for you if your toilet didn’t work, or your air didn’t work. But we would like to hear the good stuff that happened on your cruise too. We want to know what’s new, and what’s gone. We want to know if those Lido trays ever reappeared. :D

 

Sail, in response to some of your bullet points:

 

IMO the wine policy change was long overdue. I’m surprised the finance/revenue executives let it go as long as it did. It was time to stop the unlimited wine policy. I find it interesting that under the new policy HAL requires your beverages to be brought on in your carry-on luggage and not in your checked baggage. Too many broken bottles? Too many people complaining about their broken bottles. YES – on our first cruise we packed a couple bottles of wine in our luggage, secured in many layers of bubble wrap. One bottle broke, we had to trash the suitcase, and spent our first cruise night doing laundry. So please don’t say it never happens. It did … to us. I’m really sorry many HAL cruisers are so upset by the new policy. I think if a few years ago HAL had put a tighter limit on the number of bottles one could bring onboard they would not have had to put such a strict policy in place for January.

 

I don’t think upsells or upgrades have anything to do with your cruise “star status.” Out of 6 cruises, we have been offered upsells on 4. We didn’t take them all, but they were offered.

 

You mentioned someone unhappy about having to special order wine by the case instead of the bottle. That just makes sense. Let’s just say they want 5 different wines (or however many). Why would HAL want to buy a case each of those 5 different wines, sell them one bottle, and have to store and try to get rid of the other bottles in those cases? Again, it just doesn’t make business sense to do that.

 

Of course the Explore4 package is offered at a different price than a cruise without the package. It is a specific package. Buy this package – pay this price. And just wait until the special package deal is over and cruise prices drop! This board will be on fire with rants about how their TA called HAL and if they get the lower price on their cabin they will lose the Explore4 package. We all know that is going to happen.

 

Lastly, I know that you Sail have not been happy about hoop jumping to get a new Cruise Atlas. Alas, this is now the digital age. With the printing costs for those brochures, HAL is smart to try to cut those costs. Just as we read our books on Kindles (etc.) … we now move into the on-line brochure phase of our lives.

 

I’m not loving some of the things I’ve been reading here recently either. But I’ve learned to read, maybe make a comment, and then move on. I’m sorry others are so unhappy . . .

 

BUT Linda and Vern are still having FUN … and we are doing in on HAL ships! :D

 

Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts in such a concise and rational manner. It must have taken you ages to put it all together and it was very clear and easy to read. You make a lot of good points.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Sail – Thank you for starting this thread. I have waited a couple of days to respond because I wanted to gather my thoughts. I do have to agree with you … something is amiss among the HAL posters on this board. Is it HAL … or is it the posters? Probably both?

 

I have told the story of booking our first cruise. We booked a 2004 Holiday cruise on HAL because we could drive to the port the morning of the cruise. That is the only reason we chose HAL. Shortly after booking and making full payment, I found CC … AND I was devastated. According to many, many posts on CC we had booked the worst ship in the fleet – The Maasdam. Everything was old and falling apart. Some posters made it sound like we would never survive 11 days aboard her. The day before our trip was to begin HAL called us and said the ship would not arrive the next day at 7:00am – but would arrive Norfolk late in the afternoon. And yet, we were determined none of this was going to ruin our first cruise. And guess what – the cruise was fabulous. Ok, so we didn’t sail until after midnight – but we were on a ship, with our own little cabin, and these friendly crew people were running all over the place and smiling at us at every opportunity. Instead of spending Christmas Day frazzled and tired … someone actually cooked all our meals, did the dishes … and I’m sure if I would have asked they would have tucked me in at night. Apart from missing our adult children – it was heaven for 11 days.

 

We fell in love with everything about HAL and its ships and their crew. We are now planning our 7th HAL cruise. We have no desire to look elsewhere. We like what we have in HAL … and will not consider jumping into a “the grass is greener” situation.

 

Have our cruises been perfect? Absolutely not. If we think about it, there have been some issues on each cruise. Some of those issues were more significant than others. Did any issue ruin our cruise? Again, absolutely not!

 

I agree Sail – there seem to be so many more unhappy HAL cruisers posting now. Perhaps because the internet is more alive than it was 9-10 years ago? How do we know for sure how many HAL cruises each poster has taken? Are there posters that haven’t set foot on a HAL ship in years … but just like to stir the pot? Are new cruisers getting on ships with unrealistic expectations? Have they done their homework? And how many unhappy posters simple do not understand “big business.” No cruise line is in business to entertain us. They are in business to make profits for their shareholders. Whatever else is said, that is the bottom line.

 

My big question is that if these posters hate HAL so much, why are they still cruising HAL? Why are they posting on a HAL cruise board? Why do they love driving away newbies with their stories about how awful their cruise is going to be? Of course we want to know the “bad stuff” that happens on your cruise. We really do want to feel sorry for you if your toilet didn’t work, or your air didn’t work. But we would like to hear the good stuff that happened on your cruise too. We want to know what’s new, and what’s gone. We want to know if those Lido trays ever reappeared. :D

 

Sail, in response to some of your bullet points:

 

IMO the wine policy change was long overdue. I’m surprised the finance/revenue executives let it go as long as it did. It was time to stop the unlimited wine policy. I find it interesting that under the new policy HAL requires your beverages to be brought on in your carry-on luggage and not in your checked baggage. Too many broken bottles? Too many people complaining about their broken bottles. YES – on our first cruise we packed a couple bottles of wine in our luggage, secured in many layers of bubble wrap. One bottle broke, we had to trash the suitcase, and spent our first cruise night doing laundry. So please don’t say it never happens. It did … to us. I’m really sorry many HAL cruisers are so upset by the new policy. I think if a few years ago HAL had put a tighter limit on the number of bottles one could bring onboard they would not have had to put such a strict policy in place for January.

 

I don’t think upsells or upgrades have anything to do with your cruise “star status.” Out of 6 cruises, we have been offered upsells on 4. We didn’t take them all, but they were offered.

 

You mentioned someone unhappy about having to special order wine by the case instead of the bottle. That just makes sense. Let’s just say they want 5 different wines (or however many). Why would HAL want to buy a case each of those 5 different wines, sell them one bottle, and have to store and try to get rid of the other bottles in those cases? Again, it just doesn’t make business sense to do that.

 

Of course the Explore4 package is offered at a different price than a cruise without the package. It is a specific package. Buy this package – pay this price. And just wait until the special package deal is over and cruise prices drop! This board will be on fire with rants about how their TA called HAL and if they get the lower price on their cabin they will lose the Explore4 package. We all know that is going to happen.

 

Lastly, I know that you Sail have not been happy about hoop jumping to get a new Cruise Atlas. Alas, this is now the digital age. With the printing costs for those brochures, HAL is smart to try to cut those costs. Just as we read our books on Kindles (etc.) … we now move into the on-line brochure phase of our lives.

 

I’m not loving some of the things I’ve been reading here recently either. But I’ve learned to read, maybe make a comment, and then move on. I’m sorry others are so unhappy . . .

 

BUT Linda and Vern are still having FUN … and we are doing in on HAL ships! :D

 

 

Very good post, and some very valid points made. Thanks for posting your thoughts, your viewpoint was a welcome change.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts in such a concise and rational manner. It must have taken you ages to put it all together and it was very clear and easy to read. You make a lot of good points.

 

Sorry, Sapper1, I didn't mean to post almost the exact same thing you said :o, it just happened that we were thinking the same thing at the same time.......!:) You just posted first!

[monina01]

I’m not loving some of the things I’ve been reading here recently either. But I’ve learned to read, maybe make a comment, and then move on. I’m sorry others are so unhappy . . .

 

BUT Linda and Vern are still having FUN … and we are doing in on HAL ships! :D

 

great post!

 

I can't imagine being unhappy when on a HAL ship....but that's just me :)

[sapper1]

Sorry, Sapper1, I didn't mean to post almost the exact same thing you said :o, it just happened that we were thinking the same thing at the same time.......!:) You just posted first!

 

That happens to me sometimes as well. :)It was such a good post that I just had to thank her.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Looking at the resumes of a significant number of posters, I note that their cruising experience is largely carribean, North America. I have never been on a Carribean cruise and do not plan to (just the advertising hype drives me away), but you will find that the TA and European demographics and experience are quite different.

 

For years we did quite a few European cruises, TranAtlantic, South America. We loved them -- did them on 4 different cruise lines.

But health issues now prevent us from doing those wonderful cruises. So we are limited to the Caribbean, Alaska and full transits of the canal.

I envy you being able to do those wonderful cruises.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

That happens to me sometimes as well. :)It was such a good post that I just had to thank her.

 

Yes, it was a good post....."suitable for framing" as they say.......:)!

[Candiaccruiser]

Thank you, Linda and Vern, my sentiments exactly! Great post!

We also love the HAL ships and after several cruises on them they now feel like home. Of course, every cruise wasn't perfect -- we didn't have air-conditioning for almost a week on one of our Maasdam cruises but the crew did their utmost to make us comfortable, bringing in several fans, and we were eventually helped to move to another cabin and given an OBC. It was annoying but in no way stopped us from having a wonderful time.

We currently have three future cruises booked on HAL, so I think that says it all!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[sail7seas]

Linda & Vern,

Your post is wonderful and well thought out. Your points are valid and hard to 'argue'.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to share these thoughts with us.

 

We are loyal HAL cruisers and have no expectation for that to change.

At many important times in our lives these last 20+ years, we have boarded HAL ships to celebrate major events of importance to us, I have recovered from serious surgery on HAL ships, we have gotten badly needed R & R and we have generally Had FUN, made friends, drank a little too much on occassion, laughed a little too loudly, danced and been pampered and spoiled. We have met people we never would have met elsewhere and those beautiful ships have taken us to amazing places.

 

Our complaints are small and though niggling when we first encounter a change we rather had not occured, the things we love about HAL, most especially the crews, so far outweigh the small disappointments, we are happy cruisers. :)

 

I was prompted to start this thread after reading complaint after complaint the likes of which I have never seen on this forum throughout all the years I have participated here. I, like others, want to hear when something went wrong on a ship, when someone's cruise could have been considerably more enjoyable if a small mistep had been corrected rather than denied or ignored and recognize not every cruise is perfect but I have felt the negativity overwhelming recently. Hopefully a chance to air all this out has been beneficial and put things in perspective.

 

In the end, all of us who cruise often or infrequently are very fortunate to have the ability and opportunity. The world of cruising is evolving as is the world we live in.

We either accept it and adjust or we can make ourselves miserable. :(

 

Many have contributed great messages to this thread.

Thanks all.

 

 

 

 

[lcand1923]

Sail,

We should be thanking YOU for starting this thread. It was good to read so many people posting about the magic of cruising. (I can't think of any other way to describe it!:)) THANK YOU!

[Copper10-8]

Sail – Thank you for starting this thread. I have waited a couple of days to respond because I wanted to gather my thoughts. I do have to agree with you … something is amiss among the HAL posters on this board. Is it HAL … or is it the posters? Probably both?

 

I have told the story of booking our first cruise. We booked a 2004 Holiday cruise on HAL because we could drive to the port the morning of the cruise. That is the only reason we chose HAL. Shortly after booking and making full payment, I found CC … AND I was devastated. According to many, many posts on CC we had booked the worst ship in the fleet – The Maasdam. Everything was old and falling apart. Some posters made it sound like we would never survive 11 days aboard her. The day before our trip was to begin HAL called us and said the ship would not arrive the next day at 7:00am – but would arrive Norfolk late in the afternoon. And yet, we were determined none of this was going to ruin our first cruise. And guess what – the cruise was fabulous. Ok, so we didn’t sail until after midnight – but we were on a ship, with our own little cabin, and these friendly crew people were running all over the place and smiling at us at every opportunity. Instead of spending Christmas Day frazzled and tired … someone actually cooked all our meals, did the dishes … and I’m sure if I would have asked they would have tucked me in at night. Apart from missing our adult children – it was heaven for 11 days.

 

We fell in love with everything about HAL and its ships and their crew. We are now planning our 7th HAL cruise. We have no desire to look elsewhere. We like what we have in HAL … and will not consider jumping into a “the grass is greener” situation.

 

Have our cruises been perfect? Absolutely not. If we think about it, there have been some issues on each cruise. Some of those issues were more significant than others. Did any issue ruin our cruise? Again, absolutely not!

 

I agree Sail – there seem to be so many more unhappy HAL cruisers posting now. Perhaps because the internet is more alive than it was 9-10 years ago? How do we know for sure how many HAL cruises each poster has taken? Are there posters that haven’t set foot on a HAL ship in years … but just like to stir the pot? Are new cruisers getting on ships with unrealistic expectations? Have they done their homework? And how many unhappy posters simple do not understand “big business.” No cruise line is in business to entertain us. They are in business to make profits for their shareholders. Whatever else is said, that is the bottom line.

 

My big question is that if these posters hate HAL so much, why are they still cruising HAL? Why are they posting on a HAL cruise board? Why do they love driving away newbies with their stories about how awful their cruise is going to be? Of course we want to know the “bad stuff” that happens on your cruise. We really do want to feel sorry for you if your toilet didn’t work, or your air didn’t work. But we would like to hear the good stuff that happened on your cruise too. We want to know what’s new, and what’s gone. We want to know if those Lido trays ever reappeared. :D

 

Sail, in response to some of your bullet points:

 

IMO the wine policy change was long overdue. I’m surprised the finance/revenue executives let it go as long as it did. It was time to stop the unlimited wine policy. I find it interesting that under the new policy HAL requires your beverages to be brought on in your carry-on luggage and not in your checked baggage. Too many broken bottles? Too many people complaining about their broken bottles. YES – on our first cruise we packed a couple bottles of wine in our luggage, secured in many layers of bubble wrap. One bottle broke, we had to trash the suitcase, and spent our first cruise night doing laundry. So please don’t say it never happens. It did … to us. I’m really sorry many HAL cruisers are so upset by the new policy. I think if a few years ago HAL had put a tighter limit on the number of bottles one could bring onboard they would not have had to put such a strict policy in place for January.

 

I don’t think upsells or upgrades have anything to do with your cruise “star status.” Out of 6 cruises, we have been offered upsells on 4. We didn’t take them all, but they were offered.

 

You mentioned someone unhappy about having to special order wine by the case instead of the bottle. That just makes sense. Let’s just say they want 5 different wines (or however many). Why would HAL want to buy a case each of those 5 different wines, sell them one bottle, and have to store and try to get rid of the other bottles in those cases? Again, it just doesn’t make business sense to do that.

 

Of course the Explore4 package is offered at a different price than a cruise without the package. It is a specific package. Buy this package – pay this price. And just wait until the special package deal is over and cruise prices drop! This board will be on fire with rants about how their TA called HAL and if they get the lower price on their cabin they will lose the Explore4 package. We all know that is going to happen.

 

Lastly, I know that you Sail have not been happy about hoop jumping to get a new Cruise Atlas. Alas, this is now the digital age. With the printing costs for those brochures, HAL is smart to try to cut those costs. Just as we read our books on Kindles (etc.) … we now move into the on-line brochure phase of our lives.

 

I’m not loving some of the things I’ve been reading here recently either. But I’ve learned to read, maybe make a comment, and then move on. I’m sorry others are so unhappy . . .

 

BUT Linda and Vern are still having FUN … and we are doing in on HAL ships! :D

 

Great points! Thanks for bringing them out!