No joy in mudville or on HAL cruises

[*Miss G*]

32 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

There is a HA forum thread entitled Voyage of the Vikings 2020, dated Oct 5, 2018. Go to post #16 and start reading from there for a more thorough discussion on this topic. Here is the link:

 

boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2593024-voyage-of-the-vikings-2020/?tab=comments#comment-55927838

 

In addition to the above, here is the original topic:

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

3 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

In addition to the above, here is the original topic:

 

 

And no more Prinsendam ......just Zaandam        You can always get more money... you can not get more time...   USE it well.

[JeffElizabeth]

21 hours ago, sail7seas said:

 

 

They are not charging    less  to  balance for  the numerous  cutbacks  🙄

 

I was on the ship for 14 days and never got a hot  hors d'ouerve in any lounge, despite asking for one each evening.  No excuse or reason offered    I didn't 'Need'  it but would have liked  a small bite.  I promise  I did  not go hungry and no  one starved me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

sail.noordam@gmail.com

Strange. We were on the Prinsendam for 28 days in June and got offered hot hors d'ouerve in the afternoons and evenings. Both in the Ocean Bar and the Crow's Nest.

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, JeffElizabeth said:

Strange. We were on the Prinsendam for 28 days in June and got offered hot hors d'ouerve in the afternoons and evenings. Both in the Ocean Bar and the Crow's Nest.

The Prinsendam always seemed like HAL in the good old days, though. She never dropped her standards.

[suralottie]

Thanks for the info on Antartica- we are now thinking of a smaller ship that will allow us land excursions. I love the South America intinerary and am def. still considering that for a year for now when I retire. In the end as other posters stated there is such a wonderful variety of ships/experiences to choose from. I liked HAL very much and would certainly love to sail with them again. 

[boom_boom]

Our last 3 cruises have been on Celebrity after several years of sticking with HAL. We have a short, cruise on Eurodam coming up and will decide then if we still like HAL.

[iancal]

There is so much choice out there....never could understand this business of wanting to stick with only one cruise line.   The customer loyalty benefits are hardly worth limiting your choice of ships or cruise lines.

[sail7seas]

Don't you hate when 'work'  gets in the way of our cruising ?  ;:-)

 

 

 

 

 

sail.noordam@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

[KirkNC]

On 8/13/2019 at 7:16 AM, JeffElizabeth said:

Strange. We were on the Prinsendam for 28 days in June and got offered hot hors d'ouerve in the afternoons and evenings. Both in the Ocean Bar and the Crow's Nest.

 

We are always offered a bite during happy hour on every ship. 

[KirkNC]

On 8/14/2019 at 7:15 AM, iancal said:

There is so much choice out there....never could understand this business of wanting to stick with only one cruise line.   The customer loyalty benefits are hardly worth limiting your choice of ships or cruise lines.

 

Depends on the line, some offer some nice perks.  X has a free two hour happy hour for their Elite each night, Oceania gives nice OBC and after about 225 days onboard a free two week cruise.

[SargassoPirate]

On 8/4/2019 at 7:14 PM, iancal said:

No, it is simply that I believe that there are people out there who remain 'loyal' to their cruise line even when they are not particularly happy with the product.  From my perspective, why on earth would you be loyal to any vendor, travel or otherwise, when the product is less than satisfactory?    At some point loyal customers walk.  GM, Ford, etc. learned this the hard way.

 

We are in control of how we choose to spend our cruise dollars.  Our motto there is "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"

 

Had a local car stealership try to screw us on a repair.  They estimated it would take all day and run $1500.  I did some research, bought the part for just over $100 and installed it myself in under 30 minutes.  We have purchased three vehicles since that incident, NONE of them there.

 

Corporate greed and it's manifestations have been the downfall of more than one business.

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by SargassoPirate

[MISTER 67]

On 8/13/2019 at 6:15 PM, iancal said:

There is so much choice out there....never could understand this business of wanting to stick with only one cruise line.   The customer loyalty benefits are hardly worth limiting your choice of ships or cruise lines.

Exactly, the cruise lines do not show much loyalty to their loyal customers, all I see are  higher prices, higher gratuities, higher photo prices, higher drink prices along with less than great entertainment and with less amenities. 

We have changed our cruise schedule and will now cruise 3 times a year on April 1st, August 1st and December 1st. The line that gives me the best rates and best perks will get our business. We constantly recieve daily emails and regular mail from HAL, Princess, Celebrity and RCCL. We also like MSC but have only received a few emails from them. I also check all the cruise lines websites on a daily basis for good rates.  So all in all down through the years I can't complain about the costs of the  cruises we have sailed on.

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by MISTER 67

[iancal]

Definitely like the free one week cruise after 225 days on Oceana.  Sure beats a bag of laundry, a half price dinner, and especially a medallion to hang around one's neck from HAL.

 

We get perks on Celebrity and RCI including access to the lounges.  This is a consideration for us, but only when we have it narrowed down to one or two short listed options.   All being equal we will go with the perks but it they are not an important part of our decision tree.  We would not, for example, pay a few hundred dollars more pp just to board an X or RCI ship if others equally as good, in our opinion, are also on offer.  Or select a Princess cruise just because we get a few free internet minutes.

Edited August 23, 2019 by iancal

[MISTER 67]

2 hours ago, KirkNC said:

 

We are always offered a bite during happy hour on every ship. 

IMHO, the hor d'oeuvres that they now serve are nowhere near what they were 10 years ago, we don't bother asking anymore, if they bring them that's fine and we will try them but most of the time it's one bite with an ugh.

 

[KirkNC]

26 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

IMHO, the hor d'oeuvres that they now serve are nowhere near what they were 10 years ago, we don't bother asking anymore, if they bring them that's fine and we will try them but most of the time it's one bite with an ugh.

 

 

Agreed, they are very hit or miss.  Sometimes quite good, other times not so much.  We look and decide if we will partake.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

IMHO, the hor d'oeuvres that they now serve are nowhere near what they were 10 years ago, we don't bother asking anymore, if they bring them that's fine and we will try them but most of the time it's one bite with an ugh.

 

 

Oh my, I’m getting nervous about my next HAL cruise now!  Our munchies were quite good on the Prinsendam & the Rotterdam’s were nearly as good.

 

It will be 4 years when we sail since we have been on a Vista ship.  We don’t have to have munchies of course, but it’s a nice touch IF they are decent.

 

[MISTER 67]

21 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Oh my, I’m getting nervous about my next HAL cruise now!  Our munchies were quite good on the Prinsendam & the Rotterdam’s were nearly as good.

 

It will be 4 years when we sail since we have been on a Vista ship.  We don’t have to have munchies of course, but it’s a nice touch IF they are decent.

 

Lets face it, the munchies are not a deal breaker, the good news is the food in the MDR and Lido buffet has been very very good as of late. Our last 2 cruises on the Oosterdam, the food was as good as we've had in 40 years of cruising. We cruised on the Celebrity Equinox in June and are sailing on her again next week and the food was also very good but not as good as HAL.

[Ineke]

On 8/5/2019 at 6:57 PM, JimnKaren said:

In March/April, we were on Zaandam from BA around the Cape, through the canal and into FLL (34 days).

Most evenings, there was a young man playing solo piano in the Ocean Bar. Quite good and occasionally someone would get up and dance. It was nice having music during happy hour.

Then, about 8:30 (ish) a vocalist would join three instrumentalists on stage in Ocean Bar and they were received warmly.

Not all ships on all itineraries have devolved to nothingness in the Ocean Bar in the evening.

Jim

 

That was our experience on the Zaandam and on the Volendam less than a year ago.  As well, the piano bar on the Volendam was very populat and standing room only, unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the pianist.  Since the Amsterdam is in the same grouping of ships, we hope for a similar experience when we sail on her next month.  We do miss the Halcats, and all the great times we used to have in the Crowsnest, now there is nothing up there at night, when it used to be the best place to be for a great and fun vibe every night.

[Aquahound]

9 hours ago, Ineke said:

We do miss the Halcats

 

...said no one ever.  

 

😉

Edited August 24, 2019 by Aquahound

[Ineke]

10 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

...said no one ever.  

 

😉

Actually, we always had a good group on all our cruises.  I know others had different experiences, but not us.  So that’s one voice in the wilderness...😋

[crystalspin]

On 8/23/2019 at 2:32 PM, iancal said:

Definitely like the free one week cruise after 225 days on Oceana.  Sure beats a bag of laundry, a half price dinner, and especially a medallion to hang around one's neck from HAL.

Ian, I admire your contributions and it appears that we travel in similar ways (carryon only) -- but I finally have to answer your bristling about loyalty programs and such.

 

We book most with Holland America because we like the way we are treated on HAL!

 

The free laundry after our next HAL cruise was the slightest factor in moving our So.Pacific cruise from Princess to HAL. The fact that Princess treats anyone under a Minisuite as steerage had a LOT more to do with it.

[doublebzz]

On 8/23/2019 at 5:32 PM, iancal said:

Definitely like the free one week cruise after 225 days on Oceana.  Sure beats a bag of laundry, a half price dinner, and especially a medallion to hang around one's neck from HAL.

 

 

"Such a bargain"  Probably works out to at least 20 cruises and $90,000+ as a minimum.

[KirkNC]

1 hour ago, doublebzz said:

"Such a bargain"  Probably works out to at least 20 cruises and $90,000+ as a minimum.

The number  of cruises depends on length,  the $90k is probably about right though. I have spent way more then that for 5 star status on HAL, 600 plus days.  What do I get for that?  Free laundry and priority tendering and two free Pinnacles....wow.

 

and to clarify, the free cruise is two weeks.  What’s that worth? And that does not include the $500 in OBC you get pp at that level when you book another cruise.

Edited August 25, 2019 by KirkNC

[kazu]

8 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

The number  of cruises depends on length,  the $90k is probably about right though. I have spent way more then that for 5 star status on HAL, 600 plus days.  What do I get for that?  Free laundry and priority tendering and two free Pinnacles....wow.

 

and to clarify, the free cruise is two weeks.  What’s that worth?

 

Check out the wine and drink prices on O.  don’t forget the 50% off the mini bar, wine packages and any other specialty dining on HAL.  

 

Laundry prices on O are much higher than HAL’s, too.  It’s not all as simple as it’s made out to be.

 

O fits for some people but for some of us foodies, it doesn’t.  

 

The free cruise is worth exactly what it is on HAL - an inside cabin - anymore and you pay for it 😉 

 

[KirkNC]

8 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Check out the wine and drink prices on O.  don’t forget the 50% off the mini bar, wine packages and any other specialty dining on HAL.  

 

Laundry prices on O are much higher than HAL’s, too.  It’s not all as simple as it’s made out to be.

 

O fits for some people but for some of us foodies, it doesn’t.  

 

The free cruise is worth exactly what it is on HAL - an inside cabin - anymore and you pay for it 😉 

 

I know your not a fan of O Kazu and I respect that but you can’t convince me the perks on HAL hold a candle to other lines O’s included.  Plus as we sit here and watch HAL circling the drain, we (more specifically I) feel compelled to look for a line that aligns with what I want, not perfectly, but at least in most cases.  I know you understand that.

 

And remember, specialty dining on O is free, a 100% discount. 😉

Edited August 25, 2019 by KirkNC