No more Travel Guides/EXC Guides on HAL

[Boatdrill]

10 hours ago, Himself said:

 I was just on the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Cruise Director is called "the Cruise and Travel Director."

Same on the Eurodam last month. 

[Btimmer]

We board the Maasdam next week for a long voyage and I'll be blogging daily and will share my honest impressions of what happens there.  I think I'm pretty level headed, and the EXC program has really been hit and miss.  I miss Dr. Carey and the crew from the FLL to Polynesia cruise last year, really like Kevin and Lance and Ross in their roles that we observed.

 

BTW, my blog address is http:// timmerseattletosydney2019.blogspot.com

 

Tim

[samsonmo]

On 5/8/2019 at 8:48 AM, Storylady said:

We just boarded the Prinsendam in Dover on May 6th. That night we attended the “Port Talk” in the showroom given by one of the best travel guides we have had on HAL ships, Brett. It was a full house despite people just boarding. Since the Prinsendam is being sold, I asked Brett which ship he would be assigned to next. And he told me that HAL will soon no longer have travel guides doing port talks. There is a general country talk given by the EXC Guide on the Maasdam given by the Cruise Director who lucky for those sailing on her happens to have been a travel guide. And there might be a similar program on the World Cruise. But the rest of the HAL ships are out of luck.  I am saddened by this change. The port talks are the ONE program I make a point to go to. I plan to say something on the survey and also write a letter to President Orlando not that it will make HAL change their mind. Talk about dumbing down a cruise line, this really puts HAL in the Carnvial mass market category.

 

Just off the final voyage on Prinsendam June 17-July 1. All the upcoming changes are done from headoffice. These persons should actually be on the "floor"of the ship and listen what guests really want. We had Brett too and he was more then excellent. So unfortunate headoffice does not listen to their guests.  Unfortunately it looks like that also Holland America is going into the mass market like Carnival. Peter

Edited July 2, 2019 by samsonmo

[cowmilker]

9 hours ago, Btimmer said:

We board the Maasdam next week for a long voyage and I'll be blogging daily and will share my honest impressions of what happens there.  I think I'm pretty level headed, and the EXC program has really been hit and miss.  I miss Dr. Carey and the crew from the FLL to Polynesia cruise last year, really like Kevin and Lance and Ross in their roles that we observed.

 

BTW, my blog address is http:// timmerseattletosydney2019.blogspot.com

 

Tim

 

Tim, your link doesn't work.  I tried everything I could think of, including removing the space you have before the word "timmer".  Still nothing.

 

Okay, I tried this 

https://timmerseattletosydney2019.blogspot.com/

and it worked.  🙂

Edited July 2, 2019 by cowmilker

[Btimmer]

2 hours ago, cowmilker said:

 

Tim, your link doesn't work.  I tried everything I could think of, including removing the space you have before the word "timmer".  Still nothing.

 

Okay, I tried this 

https://timmerseattletosydney2019.blogspot.com/

and it worked.  🙂

You are correct.  The link from a website like CC needs to be an https link.

https://timmerseattletosydney2019.blogspot.com/

 

 

[BarbarianPaul]

On 6/30/2019 at 5:28 PM, joekerstef said:

Off Maasdam a couple weeks ago, which has the EXC In-Depth program. My experience with that cruise was very disappointing considering the premium we paid for that cruise and my personal love for Maasdam. I have expressed my displeasure to HAL; might make a full review here, but that's not my purpose right now. As relates to this thread, we did not have a cruise director, we also had a "Cruise and Travel Director" who did the usual CD stuff plus gave port talks that were brief intros to what could be seen in the port and were not shopping based. We had the EXC guest experts to give specialized enrichment talks so Lance wasn't giving any talks beyond the port ones. We also had "Entertainment Director" Matthew, whose function (trivia, djing, bingo, etc.) seems to be more like the former Asst. CD. He told me that he was supposed to be an EXC guide but that HAL was doing away with that position so it was take Entertainment Director or nothing. (Not sure if this is the same Matthew who was referenced earlier in this thread, but I really liked him.) I did also hear, and I believe this came from one of the EXC experts on board but I won't swear to that, that HAL is thinking of expanding the In-Depth program to other ships, perhaps on an itinerary basis rather than designating an additional ship. So maybe if we want any sort of enrichment, we're going to have to pay big bucks for it. 

I will also say here since it did come up in the thread that I really think HAL has lost its way (thinking of hlintner's post in particular). I've only been cruising HAL for three year but I've seen some big changes in that time that are just not good. The line wants to appeal (I guess) to sophisticated and/or active folks in their 40s/50s but don't provide experiences that appeal to that crowd. I don't claim to be sophisticated or active but I am in my 40s and I guess it's just a good thing that I am mostly okay with amusing myself because you are largely on your own for entertainment both day and night unless you're into classical or jazz music. If you were to ask me what really sets HAL apart before, I'd say exceptional service, but even that was uneven and indifferent this time (fortunately not universally so, but still). And the other thing setting them apart has been great itineraries, and looking at the published schedule right now, with the exception of some of the longer voyages that are totally out of my reach, I'm not excited. I'm really starting to feel like under current management, HAL might be in trouble if they don't get their act together soon. It's not necessarily that they're rudderless, it's just that they're steering the ship erratically and will sooner or later wind up running aground on some undesirable and avoidable shoals. 

Every interview with Orlando Ashford is music this and music that. Of course I like music, but I’m already tired of cruising on a line where it’s absolutely the sole focus of 100% of the entertainment. Enough already with all the music! What happened to clever specialty acts, or acrobatic acts, or just something interesting?

 

We also loved the EXC guides. We had a young Portuguese woman on the Koningsdam this spring who handled all the port and excursion talks. All the port talks were read off an existing document and the presentation seemed a little canned and bland.

 

 

[BarbarianPaul]

5 hours ago, Btimmer said:

You are correct.  The link from a website like CC needs to be an https link.

https://timmerseattletosydney2019.blogspot.com/

 

 

Will be fun to follow your posts. My wife and I are in the Noordam Oct. 20 from Honolulu to Sydney, then 14 days to Auckland. 

[rkacruiser]

12 hours ago, samsonmo said:

All the upcoming changes are done from headoffice. These persons should actually be on the "floor"of the ship and listen what guests really want.

 

A more true comment could not have been posted. 

[joekerstef]

17 hours ago, Btimmer said:

We board the Maasdam next week for a long voyage and I'll be blogging daily and will share my honest impressions of what happens there.  I think I'm pretty level headed, and the EXC program has really been hit and miss.  I miss Dr. Carey and the crew from the FLL to Polynesia cruise last year, really like Kevin and Lance and Ross in their roles that we observed.

 

BTW, my blog address is http:// timmerseattletosydney2019.blogspot.com

 

Tim

Do say hello to Rachel Moreno and Jason Kelley and (if he's still onboard) Dr. Kent Syverson for me. They were three of the guest experts on our cruise and they were all in their own ways quite excellent. Rachel and Jason will definitely still be there. 

[Ken the cruiser]

For us the Maasdam and their In-depth EXC program is the ONLY reason we booked our upcoming Australia circumnavigation cruise with HAL. Even though we finally made it to 4*, the free laundry just isn't worth what their charging for a vista suite for most of their cruises when compared to Celebrity and Princess, especially when it comes to their dwindling entertainment options on sea days.

[comcox]

I know many of us are also Carnival stock holders.  Maybe it's time we spoke up as part "owners" and say enough of Orlando Ashford.  It's time he goes!

 

[kazu]

On 7/2/2019 at 8:15 AM, samsonmo said:

All the upcoming changes are done from headoffice. These persons should actually be on the "floor"of the ship and listen what guests really want

 

+1 🤙

[MikeD4134]

Just returned from a Alaska Cruise on Noordam, the EXC Guide and lecturers were the best, Nobody had heard of any plans to eliminate this service, FAKE News.

[Ken the cruiser]

59 minutes ago, MikeD4134 said:

Just returned from a Alaska Cruise on Noordam, the EXC Guide and lecturers were the best, Nobody had heard of any plans to eliminate this service, FAKE News.

You had real professional lecturers on the cruise, not just an EXC speaker and maybe a NP ranger if you went to Glacier Bay? That’s new for HAL if the cruise was less than 15 days. 

[mcmarya]

Wish it were Fake news.  Sounds like they haven't made changes on all the ships yet.  We have corresponded with a couple of EXC guides.  One has been promoted to Entertainment Director, the other is out of a job come fall. 

[Storylady]

On 7/1/2019 at 11:35 AM, KirkNC said:

I don’t know why any of this is surprising.  The company is run by someone who probably does not even have enough sea days to be a two star Mariner.  He is a very nice man but his background is Human Resources with Pepsi.

And from what I heard on the Prinsendam, the Director of Entertainment who is making these changes  hasn’t any cruising background either. We just finished our last cruise on the Prinsendam. And it was a great experience. We still had Brett as EXC Guide/Port Lecturer. We also had five talks by Captain Albert. You definitely had to get to the showroom early to get a seat for both. Both were so well attended that I am still astonished that HAL is making such a “stupid move”. All Port talks will now be done by the Cruise Director. As if the Cruise Director doesn’t have enough to do. They offered the Cruise and Travel Director to both Brett and Heather. They both turned it down. Brett always used port days to do research of the ports. Now what we will get is canned talks that will be a waste of time as they will either get the material from HAL or just copy websites such Planetwares info on each city. I am not interested in a canned talk.

 

I for one,  plan on sending a letter expressing my disappointment that they have eliminated the port talk position and with their replacement talk by the CD who in most cases will not have the experience or knowledge to do a superb job.

 

Also, will be sending a letter expressing my disappointment that they have not yet come up with a replacement for the Prinsendam. We were told that the Prinsendam receives the most letters to the President. And the Prinsendam also had the most repeat guests. We all need to let Orlando know that big ships arent the first choice of many seasoned cruises. That they are fine for beginners, but those of us who have cruised a lot want other choices. During our two months in Northern Europe, we discovered that many cities aren’t interested in so many large cruise ships coming into their cities. We heard from locals that they create more problems for the cities than revenue they were supposedly supposed to deliver. Already Norway who really doesn’t need the cruise ship revenue is planning on banning cruise ships in their fjords by 2025 unless they are electric of hybrid.

 

”Complaints about and suggested curbs on tourism:

In a 2005 Bergens Tidende article Kjetil Smørås (a hotel director and chairman of Fjord Norgesaid that "The cruise traffic pollutes more than several ten thousands of cars, and many of the worst ships sail up here (...) cruise tourists trod down the pristine Norwegian nature, and destroy the foundation for Vestlandet's four entries on Unesco's World Heritage lists".

 

In 2009 Jens Riisnæs (an author and NRK journalist) said "We have the world's most beautiful nation, we don't need to follow cruise operators' premisser. They can go other places with their polluting ships. It is unwanted noise."

 

In 2009 Dagens Næringsliv said that a report by Vestlandsforskning says that both "Flåm and Geiranger are nearing a limit in capacity. It might be an alternative and rather stand forth as a «relaxed», exclusive and somewhat less of a mass tourism, cruise destination."

In a 2014 Dagens Næringsliv article a farmer said that "Previously the smell of summer was that of grass that had been cut. Now [the smell] it is [of] tungolje" ["heavy-oil"]. Furthermore, "They [a retired couple] talk about fish that has disappeared from the fjord. In Norway cruise ships are permitted to dump overboard their greywater in the postcard-narrow fjord-arms. Furthermore, the news article says that defecation in public by tourists, is already a problem; the village's train station has the only public toilets, and 200,000 tourists are expected in the summer season.

 

In 2014 tourism professor (professor i reiseliv) Arvid Viken said that "it is about time this [type of] tourism is evaluated somewhat more soberly than how it has been done in many municipalities for some years".^[11] Furthermore, this tourism "has low profit per tourist, but is often associated with considerable costs for" the municipal administrations.” From Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

16 hours ago, comcox said:

I know many of us are also Carnival stock holders.  Maybe it's time we spoke up as part "owners" and say enough of Orlando Ashford.  It's time he goes!

 

 

From my experience with an issue that I had with Carnival Cruise Lines, if you decide to "speak up", your Registered Mail  letters need to be sent to the Lead Director of Carnival Corporation, Chairman Arison, CEO Donald, HAL President Ashford, and, if you can determine the specific Executive in charge of the section of the Company about which you wish to discuss, your comments may receive more serious recognition than just a regular mail letter or an e-mail.  I would add to this mailing list Stein Kruise as well.  His tenure as HAL CEO were mostly good years as he followed Mr. Lanterman as a very guest friendly HAL executive.  Mr. Kruise is Princess/HAL/Seabourn Group President for CCL.

 

My comments did lead to a result that I argued was needed.  And, I did receive personal feedback from the Executive V-P.  

 

Shaking the Corporate tree is not a bad thing to do at times and we, as shareholders, need to be much more in tune with what these companies are doing.  A prime example is Boeing and GE.    

[Storylady]

4 hours ago, MikeD4134 said:

Just returned from a Alaska Cruise on Noordam, the EXC Guide and lecturers were the best, Nobody had heard of any plans to eliminate this service, FAKE News.

It definitely isn’t fake news.  Both EXC Guides on the Prinsendam were told that the job was no longer available that if they would like, they could become the Cruise and Port Director. Both Brett and Heather told Seattle that they definitely weren’t interested. Brett also told me that KK who was also an excellent EXC Guide had taken the Cruise and Port Lecturer job in the Maasdam. HAL is eliminating positions. Since they have probably never heard or seen the crowded showrooms when excellent port talks are given, they think the job could be done by the Cruise Director.

 

Seattle is definitely wrong. Seasoned cruisers aren’t that stupid that they can’t tell the difference between an excellent port talk and an excellent travel lecture. We had a guest lecture who bragged how he could put together a talk on any subject. To me it was extremely obvious that he had done so. And it was to others who stopped attending his talks.

 

Brett who was one of the best Travel Guides we have had during our years of cruising on HAL ships used pictures he had taken plus was known for his funny tender photos. He never looked at his monitor, but talked extemporaneously!!!

 

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by Storylady

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Count me as very confused. HAL buils trademarked EXC infrastructure into all of its ships and then essentially guts EXC. HAL builds World Stage into its newest ships,  and then eliminates production shows. What the what?!

 

After deciding to never do another NCL cruise, HAL was supposed to be my go-to line. Not with these changes. I'm 51; I still want a little entertainment in the evening. I want a few extras. With all the cuts, I might as well stick with NCL.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Cruiser Bruiser said:

Count me as very confused. HAL buils trademarked EXC infrastructure into all of its ships and then essentially guts EXC. HAL builds World Stage into its newest ships,  and then eliminates production shows. What the what?!

 

After deciding to never do another NCL cruise, HAL was supposed to be my go-to line. Not with these changes. I'm 51; I still want a little entertainment in the evening. I want a few extras. With all the cuts, I might as well stick with NCL.

May I suggest giving Celebrity a try, especially on one of their S class ships, if you're looking for more lively production shows and guest entertainers as well as a lot more things to do on sea days!

[lizinvan]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

May I suggest giving Celebrity a try, especially on one of their S class ships, if you're looking for more lively production shows and guest entertainers as well as a lot more things to do on sea days!

Was looking forward to presentations while on our HAL Amazon Explorer on Volendam after greatly enjoying the Naturalist’s talks in the NZ sounds on Celebrity Solstice.  Beginning to wonder now.  Will be very disappointing if the only tali’s are from staff trying to sell tours.

Edited July 4, 2019 by lizinvan
Spelling and a few words missed

[kevingastreich]

On 7/1/2019 at 7:16 PM, Boatdrill said:

Same on the Eurodam last month. 

Same on Oosterdam now.

[kevingastreich]

Our "Cruise and Travel Director" on Oosterdam in June was a better travel guide than a cruise director. HAL should keep good Cruise Directors and hire travel directors as needed.  We kept asking ourselves..."Where is the Cruise Director?" It was day 3 before we ever heard or saw her.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

8 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

May I suggest giving Celebrity a try, especially on one of their S class ships, if you're looking for more lively production shows and guest entertainers as well as a lot more things to do on sea days!

I appreciate the suggestion. The only disincentive thus far has been the relatively higher cost of Celebrity. As I sail solo more often than not, I really resent that Celebrity always charges 200%, whereas HAL typically charges 175%. But, it would appear that there is more to enjoy on Celebrity, so maybe it is a fair value. I love the Solarium on S Class. Perhaps it's time for a change. 

[comcox]

9 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

From my experience with an issue that I had with Carnival Cruise Lines, if you decide to "speak up", your Registered Mail  letters need to be sent to the Lead Director of Carnival Corporation, Chairman Arison, CEO Donald, HAL President Ashford, and, if you can determine the specific Executive in charge of the section of the Company about which you wish to discuss, your comments may receive more serious recognition than just a regular mail letter or an e-mail.  I would add to this mailing list Stein Kruise as well.  His tenure as HAL CEO were mostly good years as he followed Mr. Lanterman as a very guest friendly HAL executive.  Mr. Kruise is Princess/HAL/Seabourn Group President for CCL.

 

My comments did lead to a result that I argued was needed.  And, I did receive personal feedback from the Executive V-P.  

 

Shaking the Corporate tree is not a bad thing to do at times and we, as shareholders, need to be much more in tune with what these companies are doing.  A prime example is Boeing and GE.    

Thank you for that information.