Why do you hate HAL so much?

[Aquahound]

16 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Carnival has too many lines to do that. 

 

 

I don't think it really matters.  It's sort of a wash if you're taking a cruise anyways and if it would normally be on your go-to line.  Plus, perks aren't really much of a cost to the line anyways.  Besides, it doesn't need to be all lines.  When RCCL started it, it was only between RCI and Celebrity.  Apparently they saw value because it has since grown to include Azamara.  As far as I know, they're not including the other RCCL lines (Pulmantur, TUI and Silversea).  

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

That might be an interesting topic to research. 1000 pictures, click Yes if you saw this guest, No if you didn't. The result might be surprising.

 

Answer: No. Of course not.

Multiple choice question:

A. Do they take lemon in their tea.

B. Creme or sugar with their coffee.

C. Remove tips.

D. More than five grand kids.

E. None of the above.

[AmazedByCruising]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

Multiple choice question:

A. Do they take lemon in their tea.

B. Creme or sugar with their coffee.

C. Remove tips.

D. More than five grand kids.

E. None of the above.

 

Those might be notes. They're not Rain Man. I need to ask my best friends if they want sugar, then again I'm not in the hospitality business.

 

It's just the simple acknowledgement, "hey, you're back!". 

 

[HappyInVan]

I just don't know why some cruisers refuse to believe that passengers can form genuine friendships with employees. That employees and passengers look forward to the mutual respect that form the basis for friendship.

 

Is it some form of confirmation basis? I'm sure that it is not a reflection on you if you don't make friends with strangers.

 

I'm willing to take someone at their word that they have onboard friends. That employees recognize them after years apart.

 

The important thing is to introduce yourself, and talk to them. “Hi, I'm Bill. I'm from xxx. Where are you from? I really like the ship. Thanks for your help. Hope to see you on the next cruise.” Warm handshake or hug as appropriate.

 

Give it a try! 

 

[Cruzaholic41]

26 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

I just don't know why some cruisers refuse to believe that passengers can form genuine friendships with employees. That employees and passengers look forward to the mutual respect that form the basis for friendship.

 

Mutual friendship when one is cleaning the other’s toilet, huh?   Hmm. Ya, go ahead and keep believing that. 

[ChinaShrek]

9 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

I just don't know why some cruisers refuse to believe that passengers can form genuine friendships with employees. That employees and passengers look forward to the mutual respect that form the basis for friendship.

 

Is it some form of confirmation basis? I'm sure that it is not a reflection on you if you don't make friends with strangers.

 

I'm willing to take someone at their word that they have onboard friends. That employees recognize them after years apart.

 

The important thing is to introduce yourself, and talk to them. “Hi, I'm Bill. I'm from xxx. Where are you from? I really like the ship. Thanks for your help. Hope to see you on the next cruise.” Warm handshake or hug as appropriate.

 

Give it a try! 

 

 

 

I really cannot understand why some people make friends on cruise ships with the workers.  Here's why:

 

1. I do not go on a cruise to make friends.  I go on a cruise to see the ports, experience different foods, and get away from my humdrum existence back home.

2. Most of my cruise are for 7-nights. Therefore, I rarely see the same workers more than once.  Even the cabin steward is a rare sight to see and the last one was kind of gruff (on Royal Caribbean).

3.  Most people cannot be trusted and usually have some sort of angle or agenda in why they are chatting you.  This is true whether you are on a cruise ship or dealing with real life. (Cruise life is not real.) Most workers are only friendly because they want something out of you in the end.  They want you to mention them on the survey.  Thy want you to sponsor a relative to come into the US on a work visa.  They want more tip money out of you.  Sincerity is difficult to find in life and especially rare on a cruise ship.

4.  Finally, most people have only 2-3 true friends in their lives.  Real friends are people who will die for you on the beaches of Omaha or raise your kids if you die of cancer.  I do not expect to meet these people on a cruise ship.  Everyone else is an acquaintance.

Edited September 8, 2019 by ChinaShrek

[iancal]

Such a shame that there are apparently. no other cruise lines that employ staff that remember you, remember your name, or that some cruisers consider to be friends.  

 

Those other cruise lines must employ all the unfriendly, forgetful types who are doing the job only for the money.

Edited September 8, 2019 by iancal

[sail7seas]

On 9/7/2019 at 8:52 AM, pete_coach said:

It is a service industry. if you think you are "special" then they have done their job. I used to fly for a living and greeted tons of people. Could not really care about any of them but...it is a service industry.

I am not a bad guy or inconsiderate but am fully aware of sites like this where people can and will and do comment on things exactly as you state.

Please don't be mad at me but understand the reality is it is a service industry and we must be nice to customers. Look what happens if we are not. This site is full of complaints.

Being polite and waving or shaking hands does not, in any way, indicate we like you or know you or least of all, remember you (especially on a ship that has 2 to 4000 passengers every week). We are told to behave like this.
Sorry if the aforementioned sounds blunt but truly, it is a customer service industry and must reflect that. We are to make you all comfortable and happy and willing to come back.

 

The fact of th e matter is crew very rarely if ever talk about one  guest to another.  They may acknowledge   they know them   but little more,   and that is the way it should be. 

 

 

 

 

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

 

 

I really cannot understand why some people make friends on cruise ships with the workers.  Here's why:

 

1. I do not go on a cruise to make friends.  I go on a cruise to see the ports, experience different foods, and get away from my humdrum existence back home.

2. Most of my cruise are for 7-nights. Therefore, I rarely see the same workers more than once.  Even the cabin steward is a rare sight to see and the last one was kind of gruff (on Royal Caribbean).

3.  Most people cannot be trusted and usually have some sort of angle or agenda in why they are chatting you.  This is true whether you are on a cruise ship or dealing with real life. (Cruise life is not real.) Most workers are only friendly because they want something out of you in the end.  They want you to mention them on the survey.  Thy want you to sponsor a relative to come into the US on a work visa.  They want more tip money out of you.  Sincerity is difficult to find in life and especially rare on a cruise ship.

4.  Finally, most people have only 2-3 true friends in their lives.  Real friends are people who will die for you on the beaches of Omaha or raise your kids if you die of cancer.  I do not expect to meet these people on a cruise ship.  Everyone else is an acquaintance.

WOW, what a cynical view of people!   While you have a point when it comes to short cruises, you are posting on the HAL blog where many of us take much longer voyages (sometimes measured in weeks and months).  And then you should consider that many HAL cruisers have spent hundreds (or more) of days on HAL...sometimes with many of the same crew.  Friendships can, and do form, and they can be lasting.  We have an Aussie friend who has lots of HAL days (we assume he is well over 1000 by now) and has befriended many crew.  At times he has had crew members to his home for BBQs and parties, will often go ashore with some of his crew friends, etc.  On Princess there is a well known "character" often called the "Candy Man" who brings aboard huge amounts of decent candy which he routinely dispenses to members of the crew (and some passengers).  Mike is so popular that he has even been given his own official employee name tag.  This might all sound a bit silly, but he makes the crew feel good and they do reciprocate his genuine kindness and friendship.  

 

We have developed a few genuine friendships among crew members over our 40+ years of extensive cruising.  A couple of those friends have retired but we still keep in touch.  There are various degrees of friendship and I sure would not want some of my friends raising our Grandchildren :).  And if you judge friendship by folks putting their life on the line for you then you have a really strange view of friendship.  First responders put their lives on the line for strangers because they are folks who care about other folks, whether they are friend or foe.  And consider that in a major emergency on a ship, the crew is expected to put their lives on the line for the passengers..some of whom have your attitude.

 

Hank

[pete_coach]

14 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

The fact of th e matter is crew very rarely if ever talk about one  guest to another.  They may acknowledge   they know them   but little more,   and that is the way it should be. 

 

 

 

 

I never said crew members talk about customers.....but if the customer is especially belligerent , awful or entitled, they would most certainly warn others LOL.

My point is that people that are greeted by crew members and think they were so memorable that the crew person remembers them after seeing 8 to 12 thousand other guests and 2 years gone by are truly  either full of themselves or just naive 🙂

[sail7seas]

11 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

I never said crew members talk about customers.....but if the customer is especially belligerent , awful or entitled, they would most certainly warn others LOL.

My point is that people that are greeted by crew members and think they were so memorable that the crew person remembers them after seeing 8 to 12 thousand other guests and 2 years gone by are truly  either full of themselves or just naive 🙂

Something  of a huge generalization  .  Maybe  true some of the time but  most definitely  not all.And you know this from personal experience  ?  You have the personal knowledge  about all crew, all ships and all HAL guests?

 in regard to the quality of their friendship and if so, why do you care  ?  What is it to you?

 

 

 

[slidergirl]

There could be a list of returning guests that is distributed, just like at hotels.  It prepares the staff to recognize there guests.  The list may "ring a bell" with someone that they remember cleaning their toilet (as someone said), so they will be sure to engage with them.  

If a ship is anything like a large luxury hotel, there are comments kept about guests.  One of my favorite pastimes when we were slow was to look through the comments made by other hotels about guests and their behavior.  Some were of the "she was very nice - she likes Brunello, will tip well", and some were "he is a constant phisher - he will complain about any little thing to get compensation or a free stay", with the occasional "do not accept a reservation from this person - he is verbally abusive to staff."  The notes could be made "global" - i.e. every Marriott hotel can see the notes, or made "local" - only that hotel will see them.  

 

So, while some may indeed find some friendship, some are reading the list and playing the game.  To be in any branch of hospitality, from Guest Services to the Food Service to Housekeeping, to pool staff - you have to be an actor.

[dockman]

Could this thread be a nominee for weirdo thread of the month?

[pete_coach]

25 minutes ago, dockman said:

Could this thread be a nominee for weirdo thread of the month?

Why? Because there is reality and imagination all in one thread LOL.

Edited September 8, 2019 by pete_coach

[pete_coach]

1 hour ago, sail7seas said:

Something  of a huge generalization  .  Maybe  true some of the time but  most definitely  not all.And you know this from personal experience  ?  You have the personal knowledge  about all crew, all ships and all HAL guests?

 in regard to the quality of their friendship and if so, why do you care  ?  What is it to you?

 

 

 

I do not know every crewmember or passenger on all HAL ships but, I do know customer service and what is required of crew members on a cruise line. I have a couple friends that have worked on therm, not HAL but I am sure they are pretty well all the same and have expectations of their employees. It is to their benefit to be pleasant, to be courteous and to make the passengers feel welcomed and appreciated. It is how they get promoted their contracts renewed.  My friends left because of the working conditions and internal problems.

Do I care? No but my comments are to those people that truly think they are special enough to be remembered in such a large service industry and want to show them reality. Can't go on pretending.

[3rdGenCunarder]

52 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

I do not know every crewmember or passenger on all HAL ships but, I do know customer service and what is required of crew members on a cruise line. I have a couple friends that have worked on therm, not HAL but I am sure they are pretty well all the same and have expectations of their employees. It is to their benefit to be pleasant, to be courteous and to make the passengers feel welcomed and appreciated. It is how they get promoted their contracts renewed.  My friends left because of the working conditions and internal problems.

Do I care? No but my comments are to those people that truly think they are special enough to be remembered in such a large service industry and want to show them reality. Can't go on pretending.

 

So how do you explain the instances where returning passengers are remembered and greeted by name? are they psychic? 

[pete_coach]

3 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

So how do you explain the instances where returning passengers are remembered and greeted by name? are they psychic? 

Seriously? You give the cruise line a lot of information about you when you book a cruise.

Hey, it's OK. So many feel they are so special that they should with continue that. Naivety runs rampant, logic is lost LOL

Edited September 8, 2019 by pete_coach

[richwmn]

54 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

I do not know every crewmember or passenger on all HAL ships but, I do know customer service and what is required of crew members on a cruise line. I have a couple friends that have worked on therm, not HAL but I am sure they are pretty well all the same and have expectations of their employees. It is to their benefit to be pleasant, to be courteous and to make the passengers feel welcomed and appreciated. It is how they get promoted their contracts renewed.  My friends left because of the working conditions and internal problems.

Do I care? No but my comments are to those people that truly think they are special enough to be remembered in such a large service industry and want to show them reality. Can't go on pretending.

This sad little lizard told me that he was a brontosaurus on his mother's side. I did not laugh; people who boast of ancestry often have little else to sustain them. Humoring them costs nothing and adds to happiness in a world in which happiness is always in short supply.

Robert A. Heinlein, Notebooks of Lazarus Long

[3rdGenCunarder]

Just now, pete_coach said:

Seriously? You give the cruise line a lot of information when you book a cruise.

 

And crew members really go down the list to look for familiar names? I'm not talking about the waiter or cabin steward assigned to me on the cruise. I'm talking about staff from from previous cruises. 

[pete_coach]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

And crew members really go down the list to look for familiar names? I'm not talking about the waiter or cabin steward assigned to me on the cruise. I'm talking about staff from from previous cruises. 

Yes, that is because you are special....

No, they don't look for "familiar names", but they do look for names of frequent passengers......makes you keep coming back LOL

Edited September 8, 2019 by pete_coach

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

Yes, that is because you are special....

No, they don't look for "familiar names", but they do look for names of frequent passengers......makes you keep coming back LOL

 

It isn't about needing to feel special. That is an incredibly condescending thing to say. My point is that some crew take the time to be friendly. NOT to be my new BFF. I may be naive but I believe that some people are genuinely nice people. Sadly, not all...

 

[pete_coach]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

It isn't about needing to feel special. That is an incredibly condescending thing to say. My point is that some crew take the time to be friendly. NOT to be my new BFF. I may be naive but I believe that some people are genuinely nice people. Sadly, not all...

 

Yes it was. Sorry.

All I have ever implied is that they are being friendly, for their employments sake and as they are directed to do and be.

Yes, there are genuinely nice people.

[AncientWanderer]

Listen, naysayers -- real life:  NOBODY remembers me. I am not memorable.  But EVERYBODY remembers my DH.  Because he has a great deal of charisma and really engages with the people he meets.

He's not on a list.  Crew members just like him very much and remember him.  This is cruise-enhancing for us.   Obviously there are others on this board that are like him -- people who crew members remember and enjoy.

[Ineke]

I don’t need to become friends, and neither do they, but it sure is great to have crew members be pleasant, greet me, and remember my name. It makes for a good cruise experience.

[awhcruiser]

On 9/6/2019 at 8:52 AM, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

Oh, I know. People think some crew members are such good friends. Ha!  If only those people knew what those crew members say when they get off the ship. Crew, just like the cruise line, only want one thing. Your money. And in doing so, gullible people fall for the whole loyalty or friendship game. 

Have you personally heard what they say?