Noordam Neptune Suite Issue

[jayisgerman]

While I don't know if it's ever been proven, or if it's just suspected or an "urban legend", but it's thought that indeed HAL, and maybe other or all cruise lines, maintain some kind of problem cruiser list to the extreme that it includes people who have been banned from cruising a line again. I actually thought of that when I first read your initial post but didn't think to bring it up. That would be sad and would add even more insult to injury.

 

Remember Seinfeld when Elaine's medical chart gets marked "difficult patient"? This is the nightmare that I am envisioning from poor OP's description. What a mess and I feel truly sorry that this occured. :( I hope future sailings will be more carefree. And I also hope Mr. X is getting what's coming.... :eek:

[kazu]

This is very unprofessional behaviour by HAL employees. On two separate occasions by 2 different HAL employees you were challenged by them when you politely informed them that they were talking with the wrong passengers. The minute that you informed them that they were speaking with the incorrect passengers, they should have immediately conformed by simply stating, "Is this not the "X" party?' or "Am I not speaking with Mrs. X?", and then immediately apologizing for interrupting your vacation. To continue to argue that you, the passenger, is wrong is unforgivable.

 

To further complicate the matter, HAL's insistence that they are correct resulting in sharing confidential medical information with you, a point which you clearly made known. This action only led to further embarrassment for the affected passenger.

 

But to call your TA and share this episode is completely unacceptable. At this point I would suggest that you write the President of HAL a strongly worded letter and suggest that HAL undertake some much needed training and coaching for its employees on this ship.

 

Thank-you for sharing this experience with us.

 

Totally agree. I am just looking for that like button;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

I feel so sorry that this happened to you.

I can't believe that HAL had the nerve to call your TA while you were on the cruise.

I hope you contact Seattle over this.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I also went to the deck plans and looked at those cabins.

Surely HAL could have thought of a better way to number/letter those 3 inside cabins.

I know that if we ever came home and found that Seattle or any cruise line called our TA -- that would be the last time we would sail on them.

[Windsailer]

I would send a letter to the HAL President over this. And specifically ask that any mentions in your record of being "problem passengers" be removed. I'd also post a message on Facebook outlining your problem. They really need to fix those numbers.

[whogo]

This thread cries out for a public apology from Holland America.

[lastlook]

Upsetting and extremely distressing for the OP and even to me just reading about it. HAL needs to make this right and those cabin numbers need to be changed immediately. What a horror story. I'd be livid!

[BobandRanda]

This is terrible. I wonder how you place a phone call to cabin 7047A.

[elycelynne]

I agree that it should have been SO simple to give these cabins other designations. On deck 4 (upper promendade) there are additional rooms that are numbered UP001, UP002, etc. Why couldn't HAL have done something similar on your deck?

 

Not to mention all the hassle that you had to endure -- How ridiculous and unnecessary!

[Linda&Vern]

I can't even find the words to comment on this. I am totally shocked. The OP and her DH must be a classy couple. I'm pretty sure if this happened to us that I would have started screaming ... I'm not sure to whom. I have a hot button when I'm accused of something that I didn't do. :eek: I'd have lost it.

[jtl513]

On deck 4 (upper promendade) there are additional rooms that are numbered UP001, UP002, etc. Why couldn't HAL have done something similar on your deck?

Those "UP" cabins are for visiting entertainers and the like, not ordinary passengers ... but certainly HAL could have given the deck 7 cabins unique numbers like 7247 or 7747 etc. On the other three Vistas the Inside cabins are 7049/7051/7055 but the suites across the hall are 7047, 7053, and 7057. Makes much more sense.

[Watson's aunt]

I don't know what I would do if this happened to me.

 

What I don't undterstand is they key card. It has your name on it all the bar tender had to do is look at it. It should have stopped in the place where Passenger was drinking. A call to mananer would have fixed this. I doupt I would ever sail with Hal if they did did to me and to call my TA. I think Seattle would hear me sceaming for Massachustts. I hope they make it right for you or for anyone else this happened to.

 

Mary

[peaches from georgia]

I'm not sure what "making it right" means. There's no excuse for how OP and spouse were treated, and worse, it wasn't by just one staff member, but several. The call to the TA is beyond being fixed with a little OBC on a future cruise, which of course will be the standard apology they are going to get.

Edited February 11, 2014 by peaches from georgia

[cbr663]

cbr,

Great posts.

OP and her DH did not have to prove their innocence.

They have embarkation photos and the bartender certainly could view the photo and recognize whether the person pictured was the offender or not.

 

 

Thank-you Sail and I agree with you. All the bartender had to do is look at the picture and could then identify the passenger by name. I feel confident that HAL has learned time and time again that identifying passengers by cabin number is a recipe for disaster.

 

I also feel really bad for the couple who were across the hall. There are numerous reasons why someone may become boisterous - perhaps a celebratory vacation drink interacted poorly with some medication?

[sail7seas]

I'm not sure what "making it right" means. There's no excuse for how OP and spouse were treated, and worse, it wasn't by just one staff member, but several. The call to the TA is beyond being fixed with a little OBC on a future cruise, which of course will be the standard apology they are going to get.

 

 

What do posters here think is appropriate for 'making it right'?

 

Were you tasked with handling this upsetting situation, what would you provide?

 

[Randyk47]

What do posters here think is appropriate for 'making it right'?

 

Were you tasked with handling this upsetting situation, what would you provide?

 

 

I think a letter of apology from the line president is in line. If I had to write the letter then it would also include what steps (i.e., policies, procedures, training) have been put in place or will be reinforced to try to reduce or eliminate recurrences of such staff behavior. I would offer a substantial compensation, not a "free" meal in the Pinnacle Grill or a $100 OBC. By substantial I mean up to "and I invite you to cruise with us in the cabin category of your choice at our expense". Sound harsh.....well.....it is but, as I said before virtually nothing is more sacred than my reputation and integrity, I consider the offense by the staff unwarranted and without excuse. The escalation of calling the OP's TA was a HAL staff decision and raised the issue beyond something that should have not only never happened but should have been resolved on the ship. They in essence made it pubic so substantial compensation is a fitting penalty.

[kazu]

I think a letter of apology from the line president is in line. If I had to write the letter then it would also include what steps (i.e., policies, procedures, training) have been put in place or will be reinforced to try to reduce or eliminate recurrences of such staff behavior. I would offer a substantial compensation, not a "free" meal in the Pinnacle Grill or a $100 OBC. By substantial I mean up to "and I invite you to cruise with us in the cabin category of your choice at our expense". Sound harsh.....well.....it is but, as I said before virtually nothing is more sacred than my reputation and integrity, I consider the offense by the staff unwarranted and without excuse. The escalation of calling the OP's TA was a HAL staff decision and raised the issue beyond something that should have not only never happened but should have been resolved on the ship. They in essence made it pubic so substantial compensation is a fitting penalty.

 

Randy I don't know if it needs to be a free cruise - but......it probably would be if it happened to us. My DH would be mortified if this happened to him - and if our TA was called - heavens to Betsy - he would probably be too embarrassed to book with her again!

 

Who wants to try to prove their innocence?

 

this is beyond comprehension and understanding to me - they have the pics on the key cards.

 

Definitely the OP deserves at the very least an apology (with a cc to their TA) and something - what the perk is I don't know - but I do know if it was our reputation on the line and the risk of being 'labelled' we wouldn't be happy campers.

 

The only thing I would have done - if they had already woken me up (I don't nap much) then I would have invited them to come and faced them head on. Asked them to check the pics, etc. Trust me, if that happened it wouldn't have been a pretty picture.

Edited February 12, 2014 by kazu

[cbr663]

If I were in the position to make this situation right, I would offer a written apology to the OP with my sincere regrets regarding the incidents. I would reassure the OP by outlining how we intend to make sure that these experiences do not happen again, either by making any changes to the appropriate policies and procedures, introducing new training procedures, or providing coaching to the employees involved. As a gesture of goodwill, I would also offer the OP a free cruise in a Neptune suite. This is a small gesture to try and persuade a regular customer that their faith in the company is well founded, and a small price for a company as large as HAL to ensure that these passengers rebook their future cruises. These cancelled future cruises are the minimum revenue loss to HAL, and the small investment of a free cruise can rebuild goodwill.

 

I would also send their TA an apology letter also for placing him/her in the unfortunate position of having to share this experience with their client and offer them an OBC that they can share with their clients for future cruises.

 

Finally, I wold assure the OP that any mention of his name and identifying details have been removed from any record of this event.

 

And yes, should the OP avail of the free cruise offer, I would immediately make sure that the OP is treated as a VIP and make sure that all staff bend over backwards to ensure that the cruise event is perfect and flawless.

[sail7seas]

I think a letter of apology from the line president is in line. If I had to write the letter then it would also include what steps (i.e., policies, procedures, training) have been put in place or will be reinforced to try to reduce or eliminate recurrences of such staff behavior. I would offer a substantial compensation, not a "free" meal in the Pinnacle Grill or a $100 OBC. By substantial I mean up to "and I invite you to cruise with us in the cabin category of your choice at our expense". Sound harsh.....well.....it is but, as I said before virtually nothing is more sacred than my reputation and integrity, I consider the offense by the staff unwarranted and without excuse. The escalation of calling the OP's TA was a HAL staff decision and raised the issue beyond something that should have not only never happened but should have been resolved on the ship. They in essence made it pubic so substantial compensation is a fitting penalty.

 

If I were in the position to make this situation right, I would offer a written apology to the OP with my sincere regrets regarding the incidents. I would reassure the OP by outlining how we intend to make sure that these experiences do not happen again, either by making any changes to the appropriate policies and procedures, introducing new training procedures, or providing coaching to the employees involved. As a gesture of goodwill, I would also offer the OP a free cruise in a Neptune suite. This is a small gesture to try and persuade a regular customer that their faith in the company is well founded, and a small price for a company as large as HAL to ensure that these passengers rebook their future cruises. These cancelled future cruises are the minimum revenue loss to HAL, and the small investment of a free cruise can rebuild goodwill.

 

I would also send their TA an apology letter also for placing him/her in the unfortunate position of having to share this experience with their client and offer them an OBC that they can share with their clients for future cruises.

 

Finally, I wold assure the OP that any mention of his name and identifying details have been removed from any record of this event.

 

And yes, should the OP avail of the free cruise offer, I would immediately make sure that the OP is treated as a VIP and make sure that all staff bend over backwards to ensure that the cruise event is perfect and flawless.

 

 

I was so hoping someone would suggest exactly what these posts set out. It was my instinct to say just this but wondered if I was 'going overboard'. That is why I asked the question.

 

I will try to be fair and give a nod to the fact we haven't heard the concierge's (or anyone from HAL's) view of what transpired but I doubt it would sway me in the least.

 

The treatment of these guests was so egregious an OBC and dinner in Pinnacle would be a further insult. Nothing less than what suggested here would suffice, IMO. DH would be horrified to be treated thus. He has spent a lifetime buildinig his good name.

 

Without a good name (and good health) none of us have much.

 

 

[crxman80224]

Who was the concierge in the neptune lounge? Was it Paulo and Ivy?

Our recent trip on the Noordam they did a great job and was the best we have had.

 

I'm sorry that you and your husband had to go through all of that

[erewhon]

We have had four previous sailing in the same suite with no problems. This time, there was an issue. Here is a warning for people who book SA suite 7047, 7049, or 7051. The rooms across the hall are 7047A, 7049A, and 7051A.

 

If the people in the inside cabin do not say their room number including the A, their issues will be confused with you! Example, the conscierge called me to tell me my husband was in the bar being boisterous. I explained that no he was not. We were both in our cabin taking a nap. He asked if I was sure! He then stated he wanted to come down to our room to talk in person. I said no, we are napping and that he had made a mistake. My husband then got up and went to the Neptune Lounge where it took quite a bit of convincing to get the concierge to understand, no he was not in the bar. My husband had him pull up our account to be sure there were no bar charges on it. We thought the matter was settled, because he said he would look into it further. However, when we got home, I called my travel agent to let her know that we had booked another cruise. She told me that she had recived a call from HAL the next day stating that we were demanding free drinks in the bar. They actually called her to report this incident! I explained to her the above information. We were so embarrassed as to what she must have thought when she got that call while we were in the middle of the cruise. The concierge never told us they had called our TA.

 

Several days later we had 3 messages on our answering machine regarding the quarantine and health issues of Mr. X. I tried to call the medical department back, but they failed to answer. Shortly after, the Medical Department called our room. She asked me how Mr. X was doing and wanted to remind me he was under quarantine. I explained to her she had the wrong cabin. She insisted Mr. X was in our cabin. I explained to her that he was not in my cabin, but across the hall. To my amazement she stated that "the rooms are the same." I again told her they were not and that she was leaving confidential information with the wrong people. She finally accepted that Mr. X was not with me. Later that day we saw Mr. X outside of his cabin.

 

My husband is so angry that HAL called our TA that he wants to cancel our two future sailings with HAL. Obviously they did not believe it was not us. All they had to do was pull the security tapes to see who it was, or talk to the bartender for a description. We accepted the fact that the concierge said he would look into it. We have always enjoyed HAL and have always treated all staff members with great respect. We keep our cabinet neat and I actually return all cups,etc to the Neptune lounge, so our busy cabin attendants don't have to worry about that in addition to all their other work. That fact that they would not believe us and called our travel agent is really an insult.

 

We as well as our TA have written to HAL. The cabin numbers should be changed. It is not like this any where else on the ship. And, no we are not looking for anything. Just saying be careful in these particular cabins, because mail was also misdirected.

 

So sorry to read of your horrific experience.

So much for HAL "A Signature of Excellence".

 

Hope you will do as has been suggested on this thread and write to the President of HAL.

[cruisin'girl]

Thank-you Sail and I agree with you. All the bartender had to do is look at the picture and could then identify the passenger by name. I feel confident that HAL has learned time and time again that identifying passengers by cabin number is a recipe for disaster.

 

I also feel really bad for the couple who were across the hall. There are numerous reasons why someone may become boisterous - perhaps a celebratory vacation drink interacted poorly with some medication?

If I read OP's first post correctly Mr. X across the hall was supposed to be "in quarantine" sick in his cabin according to the Medical Dept when they called OP's room by mistake, not in a lounge causing a disturbance. So I don't really feel bad for that couple.

[kjw869]

Who was the concierge in the neptune lounge? Was it Paulo and Ivy?

Our recent trip on the Noordam they did a great job and was the best we have had.

 

I'm sorry that you and your husband had to go through all of that

 

Abigail and Paulo were our NL concierges on the same cruise.

Edited February 12, 2014 by kjw869

[thepoint]

Yes, Paolo was who we dealt with. While it took convincing, we believed that he was convinced that it was not us, so we thought the issue was settled. Not really a big deal. Mistakes happen. It was not until we got home, that we found out HAL had escalated to our TA. I don't believe it was Paolo who would have made the decision to call TA. I also don't believe Paolo was fully informed about the issue, because had we know how serious it was we would have pushed back much stronger. I think Paolo was just a messenger. I do wish that we had been told at the time, because believe me my Dh would have hit the roof and demanded to interview bartender and to have security tapes pulled. This would have been so easy to straighten out without TA involvement. Plus on ship, HAL was saying DH was problem. TA said she was informed by HAL that I was the problem.

 

We have cancelled our two cruises. Husband and TA have written to HAL. Response is that it will take six weeks to receive a response. We are not looking for OBC or free cruise. We always book in advance in a Neptune suite future cruises were at a cost of $40,000. HAL does not care, we are only one small fish in the sea. I have read on CC where worse things have happened to people and the response has been pretty much so what. DH is done with HAL, and honestly I don't mind. I think that things have changed a lot over the past ten years. I have been saying for a long time that I don't think we are getting our money's worth. But, DH was loyal to HAL and didn't want to go on any other line. He loved Neptune Suite, breakfast in Pinnacle Grill, etc. In fact, we are going on Celebrity in September because friends arranged it and I pushed him to go. So, I hope all goes well with that and we will be Celebrity members going forward. We have two river cruises under our belt which we thoroughly enjoyed, so I will probably pursue that also.

 

By the way, we did enjoy our cruise and tipped Paolo and other cruise members extra because we did have such a good time. It was when we got home the stuff hit the fan. I will keep up with HAL on CC and if opinions on value change and I can convince DH to forgive and forget, maybe we will be back. Thanks for all your support.

[sapper1]

Yes, Paolo was who we dealt with. While it took convincing, we believed that he was convinced that it was not us, so we thought the issue was settled. Not really a big deal. Mistakes happen. It was not until we got home, that we found out HAL had escalated to our TA. I don't believe it was Paolo who would have made the decision to call TA. I also don't believe Paolo was fully informed about the issue, because had we know how serious it was we would have pushed back much stronger. I think Paolo was just a messenger. I do wish that we had been told at the time, because believe me my Dh would have hit the roof and demanded to interview bartender and to have security tapes pulled. This would have been so easy to straighten out without TA involvement. Plus on ship, HAL was saying DH was problem. TA said she was informed by HAL that I was the problem.

 

We have cancelled our two cruises. Husband and TA have written to HAL. Response is that it will take six weeks to receive a response. We are not looking for OBC or free cruise. We always book in advance in a Neptune suite future cruises were at a cost of $40,000. HAL does not care, we are only one small fish in the sea. I have read on CC where worse things have happened to people and the response has been pretty much so what. DH is done with HAL, and honestly I don't mind. I think that things have changed a lot over the past ten years. I have been saying for a long time that I don't think we are getting our money's worth. But, DH was loyal to HAL and didn't want to go on any other line. He loved Neptune Suite, breakfast in Pinnacle Grill, etc. In fact, we are going on Celebrity in September because friends arranged it and I pushed him to go. So, I hope all goes well with that and we will be Celebrity members going forward. We have two river cruises under our belt which we thoroughly enjoyed, so I will probably pursue that also.

 

By the way, we did enjoy our cruise and tipped Paolo and other cruise members extra because we did have such a good time. It was when we got home the stuff hit the fan. I will keep up with HAL on CC and if opinions on value change and I can convince DH to forgive and forget, maybe we will be back. Thanks for all your support.

We all know that HAL reads these boards so maybe this thread will get your deplorable treatment the top level attention it deserves. Occasionally a HAL PR person will post on an issue that demands it. This is one of those times and it would be a good opportunity to issue you a public apology.

 

You know it is a genuine HAL person when they reply because it says so under their screen name and only CC can put that line there.

 

I think your reserve in your description of events was admirable. You have every reason to be very angry and embarrassed.