Will NEVER use HAL again!!

[chasetf]

I read the OP's post and then I saw with complete amazement that a single post could generate so many replies! That is almost worth the price of admission and here I am adding to it. :D :p jc

She sure ran everyone off didn't she....

 

Spend $4800 and worried about $60 of booze. Go Figure

 

I only saw two posters that agreed HAL should of sent her 60 bucks. If HAL did it would be to, as Ron White would say "That'll shut her up".

[HeatherInFlorida]

For you it would be dumb. Because you would KNOW the rules and then ignore them.

 

However for the poster who did not know the rules and was a first time cruiser.....they wouldn't be dumb. They would be ignorant of the facts that things get taken from baggage all the time.

 

FYI, my highlighting above, not the poster's.

 

The misunderstanding here is the use of the word "rule". It is not a "rule" not to leave your liquor outside your door for 2000+ passengers to enjoy, it is simply common sense which is merely pointed out by the CD and staff because some people kind of forget common sense when they're drifting in the warm cuddly memories of their great cruise.

 

But how many people would put $60 worth of liquor (or anything else) by the front door of their home before retiring for the night?;)

 

Still ... not a rule that you can't!!:D

[RevNeal]

But how many people would put $60 worth of liquor (or anything else) by the front door of their home before retiring for the night?

 

Is there a guy -- a "Liquor Man" -- who, like the Milk Men of old, would come around and drop off fresh bottles of booze? For them you'd leave your empty bottles out on your front porch ... with a note for "2 bottles of Black Label Scotch, 1 bottle of Gin" and $60 to pay for it. :eek: :D ;)

[xpcdoojk]

Hey JC...Long time,no see.....how ya been??:D

 

Love these "I'll never cruise with **fill in the blank** cruiseline again threads.

 

Hi to my all-time favorite parrothead!!!!

 

How are you? Email me sometime and I will catch you up. What are you doing slumming over here at HAL? No disrespect to my HAL buddies, of course!:D

 

jc

[FLACRUISER99]

Hey, I left a Bag of $100 bills outside my stateroom on my last trip on a Dam ship. HAL should give me a refund!!

[Rotterdam]

ms Oranje from SS Maritime

Doug, you have no idea. This web site showing photos of the Angelina Lauro was a wonderful walk into the past. A rather personal one as there is a photograph of me in these pictures, as a young 23 year old, with hair even, shooting skeet on the aft deck. I have several pictures from that cruise and this surprise is going right into the scrapbook. Thanks

Bill

 

To see the pics of the Angelina Lauro is fun... I still have my original brochure tickets & pics packed away somewhere.....the green & white chairs in the S. Cross dinig room are forever in my mind...the American Bar & Four Seasons Lounge where the Captains Cocktail party was held. The aft deck with pool where you shot skeet - they had a wonderful deck party one nite out there...dancing food & drink - people did not want to leave!!! We sailed from Ft Lauderdale Presidents weekend(the only ship to sail that Saturday..to board the ship we walked into a shed & then up one of the old fashioned gangways) and went to San Juan(due to the storm we were 12 hours late arriving in SJ) , St Thomas & Montego Bay.

 

As far as a resemblance to the Raffaello & Michaelangelo thats not realistic...the hull of the AL had a bulge at the water line - very distinctive & nowhere as steamlined as the beautiful Italian Line ships...all the ships were of their - time design wise. The Italian Line ships were larger & not as intimate as the AL. For contemporary comparisons the Italian Line interiors were much more in line with Costa' Classica & Romantica while the AL was more like the Carla C. As far as the hulls & superstructure the Oceanic also has that streamlined look as did the Raffaello & Michaelangelo.

 

There was nothing sleek about the AL - but she did sail well through that storm we experienced - except when the propellers came out of the water ...thats when it felt like we were in a clothes dryer!!!!!!

 

The food & service on the Italian Line was spectacular as was the AL & of course the Leonardo Da Vinci!!!!

[Grumpy1]

Anyhow, we have done a pretty good top of taking this thread straight off-topic - but who cares ;) ? (Is it dereliction of duty if I don't care?)

 

Personally, I find the off topic posts to be much more interesting than the original thread. Since OP has not come back to acknowledge or challenge any replies, the thread is fair game to wander off in a new direction, IMHO.

[PH8]

Hi to my all-time favorite parrothead!!!!

 

How are you? Email me sometime and I will catch you up. What are you doing slumming over here at HAL? No disrespect to my HAL buddies, of course!:D

 

jc

 

Friend of mine directed me over here,JC.........

 

Hey Grumpy-I was one of your following when you two did the round the world cruise.......I really enjoyed it.................wish it was something I could do........

 

kathy

[mim100]

Hey, Host Doug....thanks for the great detail....you sure know your stuff...reminds me of Julian Perlmutter ( think I've got that name right ) ...trivia question - anyone know who I'm talking about?

[xpcdoojk]

Personally, I find the off topic posts to be much more interesting than the original thread. Since OP has not come back to acknowledge or challenge any replies, the thread is fair game to wander off in a new direction, IMHO.

 

Can't disagree with you since I am in 100% agreement. OT are the best kind of threads, especially from a far out premise. Always makes for a good time for all!:D

 

jc

[Southbound]

Rotterdam -- We had the pleasure of spending 11 days on the Raffaelo and absolutely loved her! Sailed her out of NYC. Oh, the food . . . oh, the service . . . Beautiful ship; wonderful crew. A true ocean liner. Apologies for the OT post, but the devil and fond memories made me do it! :eek:

[Fredr500]

Hey, Host Doug....thanks for the great detail....you sure know your stuff...reminds me of Julian Perlmutter ( think I've got that name right ) ...trivia question - anyone know who I'm talking about?

 

I assume there has to be a lot of Cussler fans here....

 

Fred

[IDoLoveToCruise]

Would you have left the liquor out in the hall if you were on another cruise line, say one that caters to the "Party" sort of cruiser? Probably not, which shows me that on the seven days on Holland America she saw the sort of people she thought she could trust. Seems to me she missed a few late night partiers. Putting liquor out with luggage, yes, it was foolish but to me it is just another feather in HAL's cap. She never expected anything amiss would take place. We live and we learn ---- hopefully.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I agree with recent posts:D ... the farther off topic we can get on a topic like this, the better.

 

Besides, like Grumpy and others, I love to see a thread weave its way into parts unknown. The very term "thread" suggests unravelling and we sure do a lot of that around here!;)

 

P.S. JC, good to see you! Been awhile :)

[KAYEF]

MHEAL

IF you ever come back to read "your" thread. The loss will be yours, not HAL's if you drop them as a cruiseline.

We tried Princess and NCL..............140 sq. ft. cabins as compared to 197................bathrooms you couldn't even turn around in the shower in, whereas we have tubs with showers on HAL.............I could go on and on.

Enjoy the inferior lines and put your wine out in their halls as a "test"

[duckman715]

IDoLoveToCruise -

I agree with your position on this. I'm of the opinion that as a first time cruiser, she could well have thought she was obeying instructions to leave all of her luggage outside the cabin. It having been noted by others on the same cruise that the usuall exception for liquor & other valuables was not pointed out in the disembarkation talk, she probably thought she was doing the right thing. Under the identical circumstances & thought process -- I obeyed the instructions...I put my belongings in your care (HAL) and now it's gone...You owe me...is not completely without some merit. Naive of course, but not totally ridiculous as so many have indicated. We have all performed acts which in retrospect, or to the experienced, appear foolish, naive or downright idiotic & would not be repeated for any price.

 

I do agree that HAL could not reimburse the $60. That would just open the door to too many dishonest opportunists. I wish I had been there to witness exactly how the HAL representative handles this request. Were they sympathetic or did they make her feel like a complete moron. That can have much to do with the resulting emotions.

 

Anyway, I feel for her negative learning experience & hope she gives things another go.

[xpcdoojk]

I agree with recent posts:D ... the farther off topic we can get on a topic like this, the better.

 

Besides, like Grumpy and others, I love to see a thread weave its way into parts unknown. The very term "thread" suggests unravelling and we sure do a lot of that around here!;)

 

P.S. JC, good to see you! Been awhile :)

 

Heather, it is always good to see you too!

 

Just remember if a thread is losing its weave I want to be there!

 

jc

[Captain Crunch]

MHEAL

IF you ever come back to read "your" thread. The loss will be yours, not HAL's if you drop them as a cruiseline.

We tried Princess and NCL..............140 sq. ft. cabins as compared to 197................bathrooms you couldn't even turn around in the shower in, whereas we have tubs with showers on HAL.............I could go on and on.

Enjoy the inferior lines and put your wine out in their halls as a "test"

 

It's interesting that you say that because I was talking about my recent cruise with some of my friends at work who are cruise-aholics. The 3 people I were talking with had about 50 cruises between them, they have tried all the popular cruiselines and have each settled on different ones that they like best. One loves RCI, she has kids she travels with and find them the best. Another routinely travels with her husband an a rotating group of about 4 other couple all in the late 40's to early 60's. They all prefer Celebrity, the 3rd splits her cruises between Disney, with the kids Celebrity without the kids. They had all traveld on HAL, but none as recently as about 7 or 8 years ago. The reason they give is that they have heard so much grumbling and complaints, that they feel it isn't worth their their vacation time to give it another chance. They also said that it is common talk among their TA's that HAL isn't what it used to be and what a shame a fine cruiseline has become nondescript and mundane.

 

Whether HAL is inferior or not as an objective measure is irrelevant, what seems to matter is that the perception of HAL among those I've dealt with off of this meesage board has been the same. HAL has lost its standing as a premier line. It certainly has its faithful, as demonstrated by this board. But a few hundred posters, at absolute most, can't keep the old ship afloat. And attitudes like yours and those who bash other posters who have some criticisms goes a decent way to chasing away future business.

[NoNoNanette]

Hi there, Captain Crunch-

 

Glad to see you "back". Did you bother to post a review of your recent cruise?

[HeatherInFlorida]

I've said it before and I'll say it again if for no other reason than to just drive everyone nuts:D ... everybody has their favorite. Celebrity is mine. HAL is second.

 

Everyone is right. Whatever is a person's cruise line of choice is the best cruise line .... for them!:)

 

But if you don't cruise on a line for 7 or 8 years, you really can't judge.

[krewzin]

And attitudes like yours and those who bash other posters who have some criticisms goes a decent way to chasing away future business.

 

Yes indeedy ...I'm certain this type of attitude here will help to reduce future HAL 'bidness' by a substantial percentage ...and will undoubtedly result in their having to reduce cabin prices, which will in turn affect their bottom line.

 

This will then cause a drop in their stock price.

 

Thanks for the 'heads up' Captain...odds are this type incessant bashing is gonna continue here, so tomorrow I'm gonna short the stock.

[Grumpy1]

This will then cause a drop in their stock price.

 

Thanks for the 'heads up' Captain...odds are this type incessant bashing is gonna continue here, so tomorrow I'm gonna short the stock.

You should have done that last week before the Star Princess fire and Carnival's announcement that fuel prices may affect the bottom line. That double whammy worked to the advantage of those that had taken a short position. Probably too late to cash in now...

[Captain Crunch]

Hi there, Captain Crunch-

 

Glad to see you "back". Did you bother to post a review of your recent cruise?

 

We had a great time.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=320444

[dakrewser]

It's interesting that you say that because I was talking about my recent cruise with some of my friends at work who are cruise-aholics. The 3 people I were talking with had about 50 cruises between them, they have tried all the popular cruiselines and have each settled on different ones that they like best. One loves RCI, she has kids she travels with and find them the best. Another routinely travels with her husband an a rotating group of about 4 other couple all in the late 40's to early 60's. They all prefer Celebrity,

 

And I recently tried Celebrity and - while it wasn't bad- I won't be going back. Still, I haven't seen HAL sailing with lot's of empty cabins. My upcoming Prinsendam cruise os sold out and we haven't reached last payment date, yet.

 

But you go right ahead and sail some other line. I'm sure those folks over on the Celebrity board will be very welcoming :rolleyes:

[Copper10-8]

Yes indeedy ...I'm certain this type of attitude here will help to reduce future HAL 'bidness' by a substantial percentage ...and will undoubtedly result in their having to reduce cabin prices, which will in turn affect their bottom line.

 

This will then cause a drop in their stock price.

 

Thanks for the 'heads up' Captain...odds are this type incessant bashing is gonna continue here, so tomorrow I'm gonna short the stock.

 

Heck, all this talk how much improvement they need might even make them a better line than they already are:rolleyes: Keep it coming! ;)