This poor guy paid HAL $600 for an upgrade....

[CineGraphic]

but his Youtube video of his view has had over 1 million views today.

[ithaca gal]

but his Youtube video of his view has had over 1 million views today.

 

And, because you saw it on the internet it is true?

[kazu]

but his Youtube video of his view has had over 1 million views today.

 

If was an upgrade he didn't pay for it.

 

If it was an upsell he did.

 

If he got an upsell offer then normally you get to choose the room (or has been in our case)

 

Or at least you get to see the category and potential cabins.

 

What happened to looking at deck plans and doing your homework????

[Shmoo here]

Now see, I read his complaint as that he paid for an oceanview room, and HAL didn't warn him that there would be maintenance going on during his cruise.

 

So he "paid extra" for the window (over an inside room).

[CineGraphic]

If was an upgrade he didn't pay for it.

 

If it was an upsell he did.

 

If he got an upsell offer then normally you get to choose the room (or has been in our case)

 

Or at least you get to see the category and potential cabins.

 

What happened to looking at deck plans and doing your homework????

 

It was an upsell, oy veh, the nitpickers, but how would the deck plans let you know someone would be grinding paint near your cabin window all week?

[Fouremco]

Duplicate thread. Also see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2379798

[OVgirl]

It was an upsell, oy veh, the nitpickers, but how would the deck plans let you know someone would be grinding paint near your cabin window all week?

 

I doubt that they will be working outside that one window for the whole cruise. Most likely doing work all along the side of the ship. Might have to be back when they get around to painting.

[Tampa Girl]

It was an upsell, oy veh, the nitpickers, but how would the deck plans let you know someone would be grinding paint near your cabin window all week?

 

They probably wouldn't. However, homework would have shown that the cabin was directly over a lifeboat and that it might not be a good choice.

[LDVinNC]

Some of the comments are truly appalling.

[iancal]

Homework? What homework? We knew nothing about cruise ships and the art of selecting the right cabin on our first cruise. We were happy to be able to get on the ship.

 

Better cabin...honeymoon?? We never had a honeymoon until the following April. It was married and then get back to university. Our tax refund paid for our first trip in late April. Believe it or not...an all inclusive to Bahamas for one week @$219. per person. It was all we could afford in terms of money and time since we had lucrative summer employment lined up. Lots of married couples start out this way.

 

Just not sure why posters are so quick to criticize these folks over their choice of cabins or how much they spent to get on the ship. Just think back to those years when you may have been commencing your married life with not much in terms of assets/income but with a lot of anticipation of a whole future ahead of you.

[Pennsylvania Sailor]

Homework? What homework? We knew nothing about cruise ships and the art of selecting the right cabin on our first cruise. We were happy to be able to get on the ship.

 

Better cabin...honeymoon?? We never had a honeymoon until the following April. It was married and then get back to university. Our tax refund paid for our first trip in late April. Believe it or not...an all inclusive to Bahamas for one week @$219. per person. It was all we could afford in terms of money and time since we had lucrative summer employment lined up. Lots of married couples start out this way.

 

Just not sure why posters are so quick to criticize these folks over their choice of cabins or how much they spent to get on the ship. Just think back to those years when you may have been commencing your married life with not much in terms of assets/income but with a lot of anticipation of a whole future ahead of you.

 

 

Excellent! Totally agree.

[OlsSalt]

Don't they do a lot of that heavy work only when docked in port - when most passengers are off the ship or at least out about other parts of the ship?

 

We had some grinding work done like this while on the Zuiderdam recently, but it was pretty transitory. However during the port stops, they managed to paint the entire outside hull and turned a rather battered looking ship when we boarded into a glistening proud blue beauty by the time we got off.

 

I think that is also the chance one takes when booking "shoulder season" cruises, between the summer and winter main destination itineraries. Ours was a Northern Europe explorer cruise, just after a trans-Atlantic but before the main Baltic season.

[jakers]

On our first cruise with HAL we received an upgrade (no charge) from an inside cabin to an outside on the lower promenade deck. I was aware that people walking on the lower promenade could see into our room if they wished, but the upgrade was too good to pass up. During one of our sea days we were awoken (at 9 am) by a loud and persistent banging on metal. It sounded like somebody was hitting a flag pole with a hammer. Upon investigation we noticed a crew member chipping paint off the outside wall of our cabin with a hammer and chisel. We called the front desk and told them that if it didn't stop there would be a man overboard drill momentarily. He left for 15 minutes and then resumed his noise making. We decided that since we were up, it was time for breakfast. We didn't let it spoil our cruse, but we haven't booked an outside cabin on the lower promenade since.

On a side note, after listening to many horror stories, we've decided that a FIRST cruise for a honeymoon is a bad idea. Nothing like being cooped up in a small room on a ship with thousands of strangers and not knowing what to do. Just my opinion.

[Fouremco]

Don't they do a lot of that heavy work only when docked in port - when most passengers are off the ship or at least out about other parts of the ship?

 

We had some grinding work done like this while on the Zuiderdam recently, but it was pretty transitory. However during the port stops, they managed to paint the entire outside hull and turned a rather battered looking ship when we boarded into a glistening proud blue beauty by the time we got off.

 

I think that is also the chance one takes when booking "shoulder season" cruises, between the summer and winter main destination itineraries. Ours was a Northern Europe explorer cruise, just after a trans-Atlantic but before the main Baltic season.

No, maintenance work goes on whenever they can. Some work, like painting the ship's hull, obviously has to be done while the ship isn't under way. Other work, like that resulting in the original OP's video, can be conducted on a sea day.

 

This welding went on for many hours on a sea day during an Alaskan cruise on the Oosterdam. We were headed south, having just passed Alert Bay:

 

[Fouremco]

On a side note, after listening to many horror stories, we've decided that a FIRST cruise for a honeymoon is a bad idea. Nothing like being cooped up in a small room on a ship with thousands of strangers and not knowing what to do. Just my opinion.

Lots of honeymooners would have no problem being cooped up in a small room. But those ones know what to do! ;):)

[whogo]

I would not want to listen to that for two minutes whether it was an upsell, an upgrade, an ocean view, a verandah, my first cruise, or my 100th cruise.

[kevingastreich]

On a side note, after listening to many horror stories, we've decided that a FIRST cruise for a honeymoon is a bad idea. Nothing like being cooped up in a small room on a ship with thousands of strangers and not knowing what to do. Just my opinion.

 

Absolutely agree. We've seen it more than once. Lovebirds on first day of cruise, not speaking on last day of cruise! Ha! :p

[SLOTheta]

Homework? What homework? We knew nothing about cruise ships and the art of selecting the right cabin on our first cruise. We were happy to be able to get on the ship.

 

 

 

Just not sure why posters are so quick to criticize these folks over their choice of cabins or how much they spent to get on the ship. Just think back to those years when you may have been commencing your married life with not much in terms of assets/income but with a lot of anticipation of a whole future ahead of you.

 

 

Well said. I don't understand why people on this board are so quick to justify bad service or poor communication. We just finished our first cruise and I am so thankful for finding CC, but I can say out of the 50 people in my group, no one had ever heard of CC and really had only the word of our part time TA to help us. I was much more prepared than anyone else on our cruise. Anytime we called or emailed HAL, the answers were all different.

 

 

Something similar like his happened to me at the Le Meridian in Chiang Mai. They decided to remodel the room next door to us. After a long day out, coming back to the smell of paint and the sounds of drilling were not good. I called the front desk and and within minutes they moved our room and upgraded us. I don't understand why people who cruise think it's ok to have bad rooms or unfortunate things happen to them, just because they got a deal or were upgraded. We paid $450 a night for our cruise, much more than hotels we stay in. No matter what the price I've paid at a nice hotel, with or without an upgrade, when there's issues, I've always received prompt help. I've received the same service at a hotel where I scored a deal at $150 a night vs times where I've paid $250+ a night, or when I've used points.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[SilvertoGold]

Well said. I don't understand why people on this board are so quick to justify bad service or poor communication. We just finished our first cruise and I am so thankful for finding CC, but I can say out of the 50 people in my group, no one had ever heard of CC and really had only the word of our part time TA to help us. I was much more prepared than anyone else on our cruise. Anytime we called or emailed HAL, the answers were all different.

 

 

Something similar like his happened to me at the Le Meridian in Chiang Mai. They decided to remodel the room next door to us. After a long day out, coming back to the smell of paint and the sounds of drilling were not good. I called the front desk and and within minutes they moved our room and upgraded us. I don't understand why people who cruise think it's ok to have bad rooms or unfortunate things happen to them, just because they got a deal or were upgraded. We paid $450 a night for our cruise, much more than hotels we stay in. No matter what the price I've paid at a nice hotel, with or without an upgrade, when there's issues, I've always received prompt help. I've received the same service at a hotel where I scored a deal at $150 a night vs times where I've paid $250+ a night, or when I've used points.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Unfortunately, a ship or a hotel can't give a customer a new cabin/room if there are none available. In a hotel, of course, they can transfer you to another hotel if needed, but a ship can't very well do this.

 

As to bad service or communication, I think your hotel should never have put you next to a reno in the first place.

 

Glad you have found CC so helpful. We sailed for several years before finding this great board and have relied on it completely! Good that you found it for your first cruise!

 

Having read your wonderful review, I hope you will be coming back to HAL!