What is your favorite & least favorite change since you started cruising HAL?

[cruisemom42]

11 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

Pros:   I like everything except.....

 

Cons:  I hate paper straws.....I mean I seriously hate paper straws.....did I mention I hate paper straws?

 

Luckily this is a small problem that is easily remedied by bringing on your own stainless or silicone straws for use onboard. I wish other issues (such as smaller ships) could be solved that quickly!

[cruisemom42]

15 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

A complaint that I have heard from some of these Officers is that so much of their work day is filled with dealing with micro-management issues caused by the "suits" in Seattle.  Maybe doesn't leave much time for them to be "guest oriented"?  

 

And yet other lines manage it well. I find it hard to imagine that HAL in particular is loading up their officers with work while other lines are not....

 

Wasn't there word of a memo to HAL officers a few years back discouraging them from attending Meet and Greets and similar activities?  I think that was a very poor move.

 

[510picker]

Favorite: Accessibilty has improved on the Pinnacle Class ships. 

 

Least Favorite: Cell phone use being encouraged. I loved throwing my cell phone in the safe and not seeing others with their faces buried in their phones.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Luckily this is a small problem that is easily remedied by bringing on your own stainless or silicone straws for use onboard. I wish other issues (such as smaller ships) could be solved that quickly!

I think building small ships is not something that is going to happen. The best we can wish for is the ships instead of getting larger at least, though not by any means small, get smaller than the huge mega ships. An example is NCL. The Prima ship class being built is nowhere as large as the Epic and Breakaway/ 

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I find it hard to imagine that HAL in particular is loading up their officers with work while other lines are not....

 

I am only reporting what I have heard from two Captains, a Hotel Director, and a Culinary Operations Officer.  

 

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Wasn't there word of a memo to HAL officers a few years back discouraging them from attending Meet and Greets and similar activities?  I think that was a very poor move.

 

Yes.  But, that memo was in response to the practice that was taking place during those Meet and Greets by some guests spending much of the time involved in meeting with other guests participating in their private shore excursions (and maybe marketing them as well?).  HAL saw that as being in competition with their own shore excursions and discouraged the Officers from participating in the Meet and Greets.  Some still did, particularly the CD, but, it became rare to see the Master or the Hotel Director in attendance.  

[jhannah]

This is trivial, I know; but I miss the Baked Alaska parade while the waiters marched in with their trays to the sound of Strauss' Radetzky March. Passengers cheering, clapping, and twirling their napkins. If you want to take a trip down memory lane, here's the song.

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by jhannah

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Yes.  But, that memo was in response to the practice that was taking place during those Meet and Greets by some guests spending much of the time involved in meeting with other guests participating in their private shore excursions (and maybe marketing them as well?).  HAL saw that as being in competition with their own shore excursions and discouraged the Officers from participating in the Meet and Greets.  Some still did, particularly the CD, but, it became rare to see the Master or the Hotel Director in attendance.  

 

That explanation was, I seem to recall, proferred by some apologists here. But I don't think it was confirmed, just floated as a possible explanation. If I'm wrong and someone has it directly from an officer, I'm happy to be corrected. Now that I think more about it, I also recall others saying the reason for the change is because too many people were using the meet and greets to complain about specific issues (toilets overflowing, cabin too hot, etc.). Again -- conjecture, unless I'm mistaken.

 

That said, ALL lines have similar practices of private tours, and a meet and greet is certainly a good time to locate your tour mates and get the final details. I absolutely don't believe HAL guests are alone in these practices -- yet other staff on other lines still actively participate and interact with guests.

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by cruisemom42

[Sea42]

Likes:

We enjoy the addition of BB Kings. It was nice to listen to music that my parents enjoyed rather than my grandparents. Looking forward to Rolling Stone Rock Room on NS!

Tamarind is excellent.

More healthy choices and smaller portions at meals.

Navigator app and interactive TVs.

No more art auctions

Elimination of single use plastics

Dislikes:

Changes in the carry-on beverage policies. I want my Mountain Dew, in cans of course! (LOL)

Lack of daytime enrichment activities. I want to learn about the ports we will be visiting. Even the Caribbean ports have a history and I want to hear about it.

Less choices on the MDR menu each night

Neutral

We only cruise every few years so the repetitive shows in the show room aren't a concern for us.

I don't care whether or not I meet or see the senior staff. As long as they're doing their jobs, I'm good.

Libraries. I bring my own reading material but as a library director, I love to see the passion some have for the ship's libraries!💖

[rkacruiser]

48 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

That explanation was, I seem to recall, proferred by some apologists here. But I don't think it was confirmed, just floated as a possible explanation. If I'm wrong and someone has it directly from an officer, I'm happy to be corrected. Now that I think more about it, I also recall others saying the reason for the change is because too many people were using the meet and greets to complain about specific issues (toilets overflowing, cabin too hot, etc.). Again -- conjecture, unless I'm mistaken.

 

You are mistaken, I am sorry to say.  I have attended Meet and Greets when guests were complaining about picky issues (but, of course, important to them) and seemed to expect expert advice in how to solve their issue.

 

I have attended Meet and Greets when I have witnessed the Officers in attendance leaving early when "guest tour organizers" began to dominate the meeting.  

 

56 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

That explanation was, I seem to recall, proferred by some apologists here. But I don't think it was confirmed, just floated as a possible explanation.

 

I don't consider myself as an apologist.  I have been rather critical of some of my HAL experiences.  Was such a change of Officers attending Meet and Greets due to the "shore excursion" issue?  None of those of us on CC were on the e-mail list from Seattle to the Officers that may have dealt this concern.  (To the best of my knowledge.)  But, it does not take a genius to link the disappearance of these Officers from the Meets and Greets when such private shore excursion activities took place during them.  And, at the same time, when onboard spending by guests was helpful to the "bottom line" earned for that cruise.  

[Boatdrill]

Just a thought...it could be the officers didn't want to attend the Meet and Greets anymore - for whatever reason - and their appearances were discontinued. 

 

[cruisemom42]

I am not someone who spends a lot of time chatting up officers, but there is a certain open and welcoming air on ships where the senior officers and staff are visible, appear happy and are approachable by guests. 

 

My point is that passengers on HAL are no worse (and perhaps better) than those on other lines. If other officers on other lines still manage to take this on as part of their duties, I am left scratching my head as to why HAL allows or encourages -- or whatever the correct word is -- this behavior among their personnel. Yes, I of course realize that the officers' duties are to navigate and run a safe ship. But in this day and age I am willing to bet that on a cruise ship there is an expectation for something more than just that.

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by cruisemom42

[cruisemom42]

59 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

You are mistaken, I am sorry to say.  I have attended Meet and Greets when guests were complaining about picky issues (but, of course, important to them) and seemed to expect expert advice in how to solve their issue.

 

I have attended Meet and Greets when I have witnessed the Officers in attendance leaving early when "guest tour organizers" began to dominate the meeting.  

 

I think I was not clear in making my point.

 

Observing a behavior and making a guess as to what is behind it is a very different thing than knowing the contents of whatever "rumored" official communication was sent to senior officers and staff.

 

Front-facing personnel in a vacation industry should be prepared to hear the inevitable complaints as well as compliments. And frankly, I have been cruising on ships long before shore excursions were pushed as a revenue center, there is nothing "traditional" about it -- it is a modern-day revenue maximizing strategy.

 

[jeda4137]

Miss the proper promenade deck along with the deck chairs. Promenades on Pinnacle just does not cut it. Feel like walking thru an industrial area. Sad. This is in spite of always booking a veranda .

Also the library. Disappoited to hear that MDR have charges for certain meals.  Just set up another for charge  dining room and keep the MDR as it used to be. 

 

[shank63]

The new policy toward bringing a bottle of wine aboard for consumption in our cabin.  Being nickeled and dimed enough already.

[rkacruiser]

23 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

but there is a certain open and welcoming air on ships where the senior officers and staff are visible, appear happy and are approachable by guests. 

 

 

And that type of an experience "spills" over to many of the crew as well.  A "happy ship" is like a "happy workplace on shore".  The leadership sets the tone.  

[St. Louis Sal]

On 1/11/2022 at 6:23 PM, rkacruiser said:

Something missed :  Protestant services with an ordained Protestant Minister on Sundays as well as on the appropriate holidays that ought to "require" such a person.  One of the best sermons by a Methodist Minister (from Dallas as I recall) was provided during a cruise.  (However, one of the worst experiences with religious services was by a husband/wife duo on my Prinsendam Christmas/New Year's Cruise.  Communion, each Sunday, including Christmas Eve, seemed to be all that they could do.  No message, most disappointing.  My traveling companion stopped attending.)

 

Somethings positive:  The Grand Dutch Cafe and the New York Pizza and Deli on Nieuw Statendam are good additions to one's cruise experience.  The Rolling Stone Rock Room is an excellent music venue as long as the group has a diverse and lengthy playlist.  Night after night of the same songs, while I like them, becomes tedious to hear.  

That pastor you mention was probably Greg Neal. If so, I don’t doubt his sermon was a great one, he is an excellent speaker, a wonderful minister (and he loves cruising).
 

Because I’ve cruised over Christmas so much, I’ve had the chance to meet quite a few pastors and like you have experienced some of the best and at least one of the worst. On one Christmas Eve we experienced the worst sermon (basically an anthem of praise for his own church and hardly a mention of the birth of Christ) and no communion. We decided to stay for the Catholic midnight service since we felt we hadn’t really been to church. The priest offered communion to those non-Catholics present because he said we had no access to the sacrament. I had never heard of that before or since, and although I didn’t partake, I felt such a sense of love and acceptance that it made up for the rather awful Protestant service we had sat through. 
 

And I’m with you on the Grand Dutch Cafe, loved that place on the Koningsdam.

 

St Louis Sal

[FlaMariner]

On 2/2/2022 at 8:32 PM, jeda4137 said:

Also the library.

 

Enjoyed the library on the Rotterdam in October.....

 

Found a couple of Grisholm novels and a book on the world history of alcohol !!....Her majesty also found a few in her category.

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, St. Louis Sal said:

That pastor you mention was probably Greg Neal

 

It was not Rev. Neal.  I am sorry that I don't remember his name.  His wife and he were very nice people who always had time for some conversation.  

 

19 hours ago, St. Louis Sal said:

We decided to stay for the Catholic midnight service since we felt we hadn’t really been to church. The priest offered communion to those non-Catholics present because he said we had no access to the sacrament. I had never heard of that before or since, and although I didn’t partake, I felt such a sense of love and acceptance that it made up for the rather awful Protestant service we had sat through

 

I have felt the same concerning a "sense of love and acceptance" expressed by a Priest when I have attended a non-denominational service led by a Priest.