Holland America's Seattle HQ Maintains Its Downhill Spiral

[tuolumne couple]

Hi, We had flowers in our Suite on the Rotterdam, 11/4/17 sailing. We also had Lobster in the MDR, we like to have it there over the Lido for sure...but cant speak about the Lido dining so much.

[igraf]

I can't say that I have any concerns about what amenities one might or might not receive in the Pinnacle Suite...

 

The whole point of the Pinnacle Suite is to pay the criminally high price with a smile. You can't seriously expect value.

 

igraf

 

 

... including the criminal price of the Pinnacle Suite with next to no amenities like similar suites on other cruise lines, ie: bar set up with booze of your choice and wine...oh no...use the pay for mini bar by all means. It's what I call the "dumbing down" of the cruise experience and almost all main stream lines are guilty of it. Oh well...thanks for giving me a reason to moan and groan today.

Cheers,

mdg1956

[Sue from Canada]

You should just be thankful that you were not on the recent post dry dock sailing of the Rotterdam!

 

Please elaborate on your comment.

[Sundagger]

I heard complaints about cutbacks on our Noordam - San Francisco to Auckland. No specifics though.

 

We've only had three cruises on HAL, one in 1999 before Carnival bought HAL. Last year on Voyage of the Vikings and this year.

 

We did have flowers (daisies in a bud vase) in our Signature Suite on Noordam. Saw them after embarkation in San Francisco, and fresh flowers after Sydney.

 

I didn't know this, but Noordam's bathroom doors are made w/ a hydrolic closure so you won't smash the fingers.

 

Rotterdam had a strong door magnet to keep the bathroom door open. With the suite amenities package we bought, we had fresh flowers weekly.

 

Carnival bought HAL in 1989.

[iancal]

Check the post drydock review.

[bobpell]

Seattle looked at the quantity of Signature and Neptune Suites on their Vista class ships and decided to eliminate most of them on the Pinnacle Class to cram more Balcony Class Staterooms to increase profitability. 500 more people in their Pinnacle Class ships that are 50 ft. longer than the Vista Class ones!!

Tried to book a Signature suite in March 2019 and found most of the 14 Signature Suites on the Nieu Statendam were already booked!!

Enjoyed the comments posted here

Bob

[knittinggirl]

We cruised several different lines in 2016, to find which we liked best.

 

When one compares HAL to other cruise lines. It's still better.

[igraf]

HAL has correctly determined that they best serve their market with mostly standard verandah staterooms.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Seattle looked at the quantity of Signature and Neptune Suites on their Vista class ships and decided to eliminate most of them on the Pinnacle Class to cram more Balcony Class Staterooms to increase profitability. 500 more people in their Pinnacle Class ships that are 50 ft. longer than the Vista Class ones!!

Tried to book a Signature suite in March 2019 and found most of the 14 Signature Suites on the Nieu Statendam were already booked!!

Enjoyed the comments posted here

Bob

[knittinggirl]

. . . Pinnacle Class to cram more Balcony Class Staterooms to increase profitability. 500 more people in their Pinnacle Class ships that are 50 ft. longer than the Vista Class ones!!. . .

Bob

 

Oh my, that's horrible!

 

 

Just checked the space ratio on my deck plan page, and Signature's 35, but Pinnacle is 31.

 

 

We cruised Royal Caribbean's Voyager Class several times before and after they added the 100+ rooms, and I could tell a difference in the crowding: elevators, buffet line, etc. Some of the congestion at the elevators may be because Royal Caribbean doesn't have aft passenger elevators. Always long wait times.

 

 

Can anybody comment on the elevator response time on the Pinnacle Class?

 

The largest ship we've been on is the Freedom Class at 165,000 tons, and we prefer the smaller ships.

 

 

. . .

Tried to book a Signature suite in March 2019 and found most of the 14 Signature Suites on the Nieu Statendam were already booked!!

Enjoyed the comments posted here

Bob

We book early!

 

We prefer 300 square room, anything else feels cramped. We did get along for 35 days on Rotterdam in a Vista, because the Neptune was way out of our price range. We really liked the Signature on the Noordam, almost as many square feet as the Neptune, but we were not paying for the extra service.

 

 

If we know where we want to go, we ask the HAL cruise consultant to let us know when bookings open for that itinerary. They phoned me on the Voyage of the Vikings and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Collectors before it's open to the public. That way, I get my choice of room. Did that also w/ a Canada/New England Repositioning, but that time I actually had a Future Cruise Certificate to use. On the Repositioning, I grabbed one of two SBs.

[catl331]

Maybe not enough people were eating the lobster in the Lido and it was going to waste??? Thus is was discontinued on your ship.

I doubt very much went to waste. If some extra was thawed and cooked it would be used in other dishes the next day. Same as in the MDR.

[Aquahound]

Can anybody comment on the elevator response time on the Pinnacle Class?

 

No problems whatsoever. In fact, we were alone in the elevators the vast majority of the time.

 

Then again, HAL wasn't able to sell out the ship. I was told we were 800 people below capacity on our sailing.

[chengkp75]

I doubt very much went to waste. If some extra was thawed and cooked it would be used in other dishes the next day. Same as in the MDR.[/size][/font]

 

If it was cooked, and then placed on the steam table line, it cannot be "reused", regardless of what it is, or what you think has been "reused". Once food leaves a temperature control device (either an oven or a warming cart) the food is now on time control, and must be discarded within 4 hours. Only those items taken directly from temperature control, and flash chilled again (which would preclude, especially for lobster, leaving it in a warming cart), can be reused. If they stocked lobster into the steam table, and then they weren't used, they would have to be discarded.

[sammiedawg]

HAL has correctly determined that they best serve their market with mostly standard verandah staterooms.

 

igraf

 

As it should be. Holland America is mass market. I’ve never understood paying to be a suite customer on this line. There are much better options in the marketplace.

[IRL_Joanie]

No profits, no business. HAL is not doing this for free.

 

Add to that and you have; "... no cruises." No cruises, No Business!!

Unfortunately for everyone, Cruise Lines, venders and customers alike, everyone suffers if they make no profit. Sad, but a true fact that we, as the consumer have to realize that to keep a business running, some things have to change; i.e., Prices rise, some benefits have to be deleted or scaled back.......

Joanie

[iancal]

The other part of the requirement for business to make a profit is the requirement for business to provide products and services that meet the demands and preferences of a changing marketplace.

 

We all may have differing opinions of HAL but what I find interesting is to get feedback from TA's as to which cruise lines/ships they are recommending to customers. Ofen this is based on the feedback they get from previous customers and from colleagues in the industry. Not from customers who always select the same cruise line but rather from those who are shopping with no particular bias.

[WpgCruise]

I wonder when I hear people complain and say they would pay more if only the quality of their cruise was better, really mean it.

 

I suspect most who make this comment don't really mean it for if they did, their next cruise would be on a higher quality line/ship at a correspondingly higher price.

 

Far too many people expect yesterdays cruise experience at yesterdays cruise cost while overlooking the cruel fact that costs for most everything including cruise vacations go up year over year.

 

We can have yesterdays cruise experience, all we have to do is pay for it. That cruise won't be on a mass market line, nor will it be at mass market line pricing.

[dmg1956]

I suspect most who make this comment don't really mean it for if they did, their next cruise would be on a higher quality line/ship at a correspondingly higher price.

 

Far too many people expect yesterdays cruise experience at yesterdays cruise cost while overlooking the cruel fact that costs for most everything including cruise vacations go up year over year.

 

We can have yesterdays cruise experience, all we have to do is pay for it. That cruise won't be on a mass market line, nor will it be at mass market line pricing.

Well that's rather obvious now is it not?

[Aquahound]

I suspect most who make this comment don't really mean it for if they did, their next cruise would be on a higher quality line/ship at a correspondingly higher price.

 

Exactly. The entire mass market cruise industry has made cutbacks in order to keep fares low. It's not HAL spiraling; it's the whole industry.

 

The fact is, if people want the white glove experience of yesteryear, they need to pay the comparable money of yesteryear and cruise other lines like Oceania, Azamara or any of the luxury lines.

 

I just disembarked HAL's latest pride-and-joy, and I only paid $849 for a balcony on an 11 night cruise. Even at those prices, they couldn't sell out their ship. Yet people want to crusade about cruise logs, lobsters, etc? You can't have it both ways.

[iancal]

Absolutely agree.

 

It is more than a little disingenuous for people to complain about certain cutbacks. IF they were serious, they would take the money they spent 15 or 20 years ago, adjusted for inflation, and apply it to purchase a premium or luxury cruise.

 

There are premium and luxury cruises out there. If you want one, buck up and pay the fare. If not, stick with the mass market cruise lines.....of which HAL is one.

 

There is no magic to this. But I also agree with a previous poster. Absolutely no way we would pay top dollar for a suite on HAL. Too much to pay for too little real estate and too few suite amenities on a mass market cruise line for our preferences.

[kazu]

I suspect most who make this comment don't really mean it for if they did, their next cruise would be on a higher quality line/ship at a correspondingly higher price.

 

Far too many people expect yesterdays cruise experience at yesterdays cruise cost while overlooking the cruel fact that costs for most everything including cruise vacations go up year over year.

 

We can have yesterdays cruise experience, all we have to do is pay for it. That cruise won't be on a mass market line, nor will it be at mass market line pricing.

 

Well that's rather obvious now is it not?

 

Ok, I'll pipe up here. And probably get flamed, but it is what it is.

 

I booked one of those "premium" lines and paid the price. My expectations were not high but I did expect that it would be better than HAL.

 

It was the second worst cruise of my entire cruising history - right up there with a now defunct cruise line.

 

I could have sailed the P'dam cheaper and had better service on our sailing. But, I did love the cabins on that ship ;)

 

My cruises on HAL are NOT cheap. We do different itineraries that are usually pricey and as long as I get the service, ambience, food that goes with it, it's all good.

 

So far, we have done well. Better than on that "premium" line.

 

I learned two lessons - just because you pay more doesn't make it better and, pay attention to how their head office treats you. This one didn't care one bit since they had our money and the cruise was over. JME (Just my Experience).

[RocketMan275]

I wonder when I hear people complain and say they would pay more if only the quality of their cruise was better, really mean it. I bet some would, but most would grumble about how high prices have become.

 

Of course they would not. There was an article a few weeks ago about complaints about airlines cramming more and more passengers into economy class seating, reduced leg room, smaller seats, etc. While many passengers claimed they would be willing to pay more for better seats and less crowding, turns out they buy the cheapest seats available.

[knittinggirl]

If it was cooked, and then placed on the steam table line, it cannot be "reused", regardless of what it is, or what you think has been "reused". Once food leaves a temperature control device (either an oven or a warming cart) the food is now on time control, and must be discarded within 4 hours. Only those items taken directly from temperature control, and flash chilled again (which would preclude, especially for lobster, leaving it in a warming cart), can be reused. If they stocked lobster into the steam table, and then they weren't used, they would have to be discarded.

 

 

We had 800 people walk off the ship (day 2) on the Voyager of the Seas's three-day fog delay, and our waiter started bringing us extra servings of entrees, desserts, etc.

Edited December 7, 2017 by knittinggirl

[WpgCruise]

I suspect you are referencing your singular cruise with Oceania that had an outbreak of Noro?

 

While you no doubt didn't enjoy your Oceania cruise, we've certainly enjoyed ours as have the many who have provided positive reviews. But then again we've never been on an Oceania cruise with a "Noro" outbreak.

 

We've learned, as have others, that there are cruise lines that provide an experience more in line with expectations than does H.A.L. frequently at a most competitive price.

 

If we had only one cruise on H.A.L. and based our opinion only on that singular cruise, I'd be reluctant to offer an opinion on the entire line. But that JME:D

 

 

Ok, I'll pipe up here. And probably get flamed, but it is what it is.

 

I booked one of those "premium" lines and paid the price. My expectations were not high but I did expect that it would be better than HAL.

 

 

 

So far, we have done well. Better than on that "premium" line.

[kazu]

I suspect you are referencing your singular cruise with Oceania that had an outbreak of Noro?

 

While you no doubt didn't enjoy your Oceania cruise, we've certainly enjoyed ours as have the many who have provided positive reviews. But then again we've never been on an Oceania cruise with a "Noro" outbreak.

 

We've learned, as have others, that there are cruise lines that provide an experience more in line with expectations than does H.A.L. frequently at a most competitive price.

 

If we had only one cruise on H.A.L. and based our opinion only on that singular cruise, I'd be reluctant to offer an opinion on the entire line. But that JME:D

 

I did not offer an opinion on an entire line.

I simply stated we had tried it and my experience and yes, you are correct in your assumption.

 

It was our hard earned money that paid for that cruise and Noro was the least of our issues, believe me (althought the "sanitizing" done by the crew was a huge issue).

 

I'm not going to go into a long epitaph but it was NOT a good cruise. So why would anyone go back especially at the price we paid???? We were not alone in our disappointment, believe me.

 

Frankly if it had been a HAL cruise, I would be saying the same thing, but I suspect that HAL would have had a much more courteous reply to my letter I sent post cruise and, at least tried to do something to make amends.

 

Since this line chose not to, I am not about to risk more hard earned dollars to try them again. Once bitten, twice shy.

 

My point was simply that booking a supposed "premium" cruise line does not guarantee a "premium" or even good experience ;)

[WpgCruise]

My point was simply that booking a supposed "premium" cruise line does not guarantee a "premium" or even good experience ;)

 

Kazu, I wish for you many more H.A.L. cruises and hope they all meet your expectations.

 

For many H.A.L. remains a good mass market cruise line, but it is no longer a premium line.

 

I trust you will appreciate that others who are seeking a cruise, in keeping with their expectations, may choose to explore other alternatives.