Is Holland America trying to drive away 4-star and above Mariners?

[Tennessee Titan]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I use Facebook a lot for issues. 

-1

1 hour ago, Sir PMP said:

I don't think so, he's unimportant...

+1

Edited November 18, 2021 by Tennessee Titan

[Florida_gal_50]

5 hours ago, KirkNC said:

I agree but do agree with the premise that HAL could’nt give a rats rear end if upper tier Mariners were to leave.  Look no further then club orange.

Club orange doesn't bother me at all and I'm a 5 star. There is very little cross over in benefits.

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Club orange doesn't bother me at all and I'm a 5 star. There is very little cross over in benefits.

 

No, just priority tendering, priority embarkation and CO gets more priority than 5* at the front desk & to book specialty restaurants 🙄  

 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

No, just priority tendering, priority embarkation and CO gets more priority than 5* at the front desk & to book specialty restaurants 🙄  

 

I got zero preference for booking specialty restaurants on this cruise so the club orange did nothing.  There is one line at the front desk for club orange with no dedicated person.  I had to wait until they were finished with the regular line so again no. For getting on the ship the transfers from hal hotels got on long before I did so again no.  Real world experience is so much more relevant that words on paper. On older ships club orange will likely be less of a draw.  Maybe wait until you are actually on a ship  before you roll your eyes and see how it actually works.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Florida_gal_50

[kazu]

8 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

  Maybe wait until you are actually on a ship  before you roll your eyes and see how it actually works.

 

I’ve certainly been on enough cruises with very unique ports that require tendering to know how too many people who get “priority tendering” means no one does.  Same with priority embarkation.  The more people who have it, the less priority they get and Club Orange adds to that.  My roll eyes stands - the more people added to the “priority”, the less priority there is.

[KirkNC]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

No, just priority tendering, priority embarkation and CO gets more priority than 5* at the front desk & to book specialty restaurants 🙄  

 

And bypasses the line at the MDR and gets to eat with a “ special menu” and has a separate restaurant they can visit on Pinnacle ships.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Why was not your T/A monitoring you're booking??

[kazu]

8 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Why was not your T/A monitoring you're booking??

 

That’s what I am confused by.  I always hear from TA if she even SUSPECTS something will happen and right away if it’s cancelled.

 

Cancellations weren’t normal pre-covid but sadly they have been now -or ship changes - or itinerary changes, etc.

[Florida_gal_50]

Sounds like sour grapes for a few.  How many people would actually purchase club orange on a ship like the volendam? My guess is zero since I’ve never heard one person query about it.  As usual panic about things that just don’t happen.  It’s the slot machines all over again. I would expect passengers to be elderly on these “unique” 30 plus day cruises.  I’d be very surprised if many weren’t 5 stars already and not interested in club orange.  Not many younger people can take so much time off work. 

[rkacruiser]

53 minutes ago, CHPURSER said:

Internal discussions since that time have been very consistent. It is true that HAL could not survive if they alienated ALL the 4 and 5 Star Mariners at the same time

 

To maintain the loyalty of these people for how long, the best approach is to restore the consistency of the HAL cruise product that we 5 Star Mariners experience!

 

Seriously consider what the two most recent advertising slogans say:  Signature of Excellence, Savor the Journey.  

 

Excellence went out the ships' shell doors when Kirk Lanterman and Stein Kruse left their positions with HAL.  It further left the Seattle home office with the retirement of experienced Senior Executive Vice-Presidents of several areas that dealt with the guest experience.  

 

"Savor the Journey" is the current expectation of this HAL cruiser when I cross the gangway.  But, to use an old cliche:  "the proof is in the pudding".  What has been my most recent "proof"?  Inconsistency of the cruise product experience.  Mostly good or I would not consider booking another HAL cruise.  

 

Micro-management from Seattle has been a  frequent comment that I have heard from the ships' Officers.  THAT is what needs to be changed in order for the "Savor the Journey" and the "Signature of Excellence" to really mean something again.  

 

 

[zgscl]

On 11/17/2021 at 6:17 PM, dockman said:

Time to write an email or letter to the president of HAL....include all documentation, be respectful but firm and give a two week "deadline" for resolution or you will have no choice but seek legal representation.  I bet you will get a good offer.

 

@Desdemona01 I would strongly caution against threatening legal action or even hinting at it. Most companies will immediately call your bluff and turn you over to their legal department which is the last thing you want them to do. 
 

A firm but respectful letter with documentation and a specific request of what you would like them to do to make it right is probably the best course of action and I would of course have your T/A continue to work on your behalf. 
 

The mariner society may be a good avenue as well. One other thought would be reaching out to Seth Wayne on Facebook - he is the brand ambassador and may be able to get you in touch with the right person in corporate. 
 

If all of the above fails I would try the Elliott advocacy group which specializes in helping passengers of airlines and cruise lines fix messes such as this. You also could try your local tv station most of which have something like 7 on your side or similar which takes stories such as this and tries to get them resolved. 

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, KirkNC said:

And bypasses the line at the MDR and gets to eat with a “ special menu” and has a separate restaurant they can visit on Pinnacle ships.

Don’t forget the special tote bag!!

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, CHPURSER said:

the plan is working extremely well.

 

Thanks for your interesting comment.  So, HAL is perfectly pleased if this 5 Star Mariner would choose to book my next cruise on Silverseas, Seabourn, or a return to MSC's Yacht Club rather than booking whatever category of accommodations on a HAL vessel?  

[zgscl]

22 hours ago, DAllenTCY said:

I think leaving your passports in your checked luggage is on you.

 

A responsible longshoreman will remind you, and certainly if you arrived in plenty of time for your sailing....ground staff and ship's staff would have located your luggage in time.

 

Does it happen often?.....just about every sailing.  Either PP or Covid Vaccination Card, or recent test results are left in checked bags.

 

 

David

 

 

 

 

I 100% agree with you. When I dropped my bags in Seattle the porter confirmed. When I got on the HAL transfer bus the bus driver reminded everyone. Like you said if you didn’t get there last minute someone probably could have retrieved the bag. 

[iancal]

Legal action???  Don't think so.

 

Why not do what most people would do?  Simply vote with your feet and with your wallet.   Try another cruise line.  There are enough of them to select from or try a premium line.

 

Why on earth bother with a vender who does not appear to want you business and one you apparently have to chase so that they can enjoy your custom?

 

Far easier to do a little research and book on some other cruise line that does want your business and will treat you like a valued customer.

Edited November 19, 2021 by iancal

[zgscl]

2 minutes ago, iancal said:

Legal action???  Don't think so.

 

Why not do what most people would do?  Simply vote with your feet and move to another cruise line.

 

Why on earth bother with a vender who does not appear to want you business and one you apparently have to chase so that they can enjoy your custom?

 

Far easier to do a little research and book on some other cruise line that does want your business and will treat you like a valued customer.

I would agree with you completely except for the fact they have a large FCC which I presume is non refundable so at least this trip they are locked in. 

[LocoLoco1]

Mariner Stars had nuthin’ to do with this dumb ‘Computer SNAFU’. Now, however,  HAL should figure out how to make you happy. 

[terrydtx]

Having read the OP, something doesn't make sense. If your TA cruise is 4/22 final payment would not have been due until late Dec, so why would HAL cancel for non payment now?  If your travel agent can't fix this, you need to find a new one with enough stroke to get it fixed.

[iancal]

Even IF you get it fixed....is this a business that you want to deal with in the future?

[nocl]

3 hours ago, zgscl said:

 

@Desdemona01 I would strongly caution against threatening legal action or even hinting at it. Most companies will immediately call your bluff and turn you over to their legal department which is the last thing you want them to do. 
 

A firm but respectful letter with documentation and a specific request of what you would like them to do to make it right is probably the best course of action and I would of course have your T/A continue to work on your behalf. 
 

The mariner society may be a good avenue as well. One other thought would be reaching out to Seth Wayne on Facebook - he is the brand ambassador and may be able to get you in touch with the right person in corporate. 
 

If all of the above fails I would try the Elliott advocacy group which specializes in helping passengers of airlines and cruise lines fix messes such as this. You also could try your local tv station most of which have something like 7 on your side or similar which takes stories such as this and tries to get them resolved. 

I would agree with the comment concerning legal action. Legal action is a last resort.  As you say when legal action is threatened, the normal course of action is for the response to be handled by the legal department and not the customer service department.

[nocl]

On 11/17/2021 at 4:02 PM, Desdemona01 said:

we have been sailing with, almost exclusively, HAL since 12/2001.  We've loved them and promoted them whenever we can.  We are half way to 5-stars.

We had a transatlantic crossing booked for 4/21, which was canceled in 2020 (of course) and rather than request a refund we had our fare applied to future cruise credit.

In January of this year we were able to book a transatlantic on the Rotterdam for 4/22.  We have our confirmation with our room number, showing paid in full.

Two weeks ago I went online to check on shore excursions for this cruise only to receive the message that the booking had been canceled.  I immediately contacted my T/A, who had no idea what they'd done.  After back and forth with Seattle she was told that HAL was implementing a new computer system around the time that we booked and a *glitch* caused the system to not acknowledge FCC as payment.  So, the computer canceled our reservation for non-payment....

Our T/A reached out to her contact at HAL--our room was gone, of course, so he offered two options:  waitilist for our category of room, with no control over where the room would be located, or pay $$$ to upgrade to the next category--no apology, no effort to make us whole.  We opted for the upgrade, chose a room, and our T/A continued to negotiate the outrageous cost of the upgrade.  We finally reached an agreed amount with her HAL rep to discover that Seattle had canceled the reservation for THAT room because they said we were double booked......and, of course, that room is no longer available.

We are sailing with friends, also 4-star, who are as confused as we are but who will cancel if this can't be resolved.  My only thought is that HAL wants to discourage 4-star mariners because of the perks we receive and are focusing on new passengers, who don't get those advantages.

I now have two confirmations, for two different rooms, which HAL says they will not honor.  And not a word from them in apology.

 

 

A couple of questions:

Did you get paperwork from your TA or HAL when you initially made the reservation that showed that the FCC had been applied at the time the booking was made, basically leaving a zero balance?  I have always gotten that information whenever a payment has been applied for either HAL or their sister line Princess (they share many of the same back office systems).  If you did get the information showing zero balance and then the FCC went away then it certainly would be HALS fault but if not than maybe not.  Also keep in mind that FCC cannot usually be used for the port taxes and fees.  So even if FCC was used for the cruise you would still have to make that payment.

 

Were you actually on the phone with the HAL representative and your TA? Or are going going by what your TA said.

 

Did you TA actually cancel your existing room when the new room was agreed upon or at least make sure that it was canceled?  They certainly should have made sure that was done at the time the new room was agreed upon.

[nocl]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Having read the OP, something doesn't make sense. If your TA cruise is 4/22 final payment would not have been due until late Dec, so why would HAL cancel for non payment now?  If your travel agent can't fix this, you need to find a new one with enough stroke to get it fixed.

That is kind of interesting isn't it.  Almost sounds as if the FCC was never applied correctly and as a result the booking was canceled almost immediately.  The OP should have received an e-mail when the booking was made showing the properly credit.  Certainly the TA should have confirmed proper application of the credit. 

[OlsSalt]

Legal action would need to be filed in the cruise document's agreed forum - don't know if that would be in Seattle or Florida.  That is one way they stymie legal action unless you have easy access to either. May small claims courts can offer injunctive relief, and often up  the amount that might be tied up right now now would work, but you would till need to be in the agreed forum.

 

We are also Five star with lots of cruise credits, because we do spend a lot on shore excursions every cruise, and are also facing a dilemma due to the current vaccination requirements and the expiration end of 2022 date on our five figure FCC.  Lots of cruises we would like to take before then, but not while the vaccination requirements remains in full force. 

 

Mariner Society has been of no help for us either, even though others earlier claimed they got several extra year extensions to use their FCC - ours expire end of 2022 and it appears this "covid" thing will not be settled by then. 

 

Our sympathies still remain with HAL - this has been an absolutely crazy situation for any high daily cost industry to endure. My sympathies to the OP - that is a terrible run-around.   Lots of collateral damage done by this "covid thing". 

 

[KirkNC]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

Legal action would need to be filed in the cruise document's agreed forum - don't know if that would be in Seattle or Florida.  That is one way they stymie legal action unless you have easy access to either. May small claims courts can offer injunctive relief, and often up  the amount that might be tied up right now now would work, but you would till need to be in the agreed forum.

 

We are also Five star with lots of cruise credits, because we do spend a lot on shore excursions every cruise, and are also facing a dilemma due to the current vaccination requirements and the expiration end of 2022 date on our five figure FCC.  Lots of cruises we would like to take before then, but not while the vaccination requirements remains in full force. 

 

Mariner Society has been of no help for us either, even though others earlier claimed they got several extra year extensions to use their FCC - ours expire end of 2022 and it appears this "covid" thing will not be settled by then. 

 

Our sympathies still remain with HAL - this has been an absolutely crazy situation for any high daily cost industry to endure. My sympathies to the OP - that is a terrible run-around.   Lots of collateral damage done by this "covid thing". 

 

If you are waiting for the vaccinations requirements to go away, take a seat, it will be a while.  A long while I believe.

[KirkNC]

6 hours ago, zgscl said:

Don’t forget the special tote bag!!

You are right, how could I forget the bags!