Holland America Guest Relations

[MikeKool]

How 'bout we bolt and/or screw them suckers to the deck? That way, there is no moving the puppies! Deck guys happy, sun worshippers happy, cabin dwellers below happy, everybody happy! Don't worry, be happy! Problem solved

 

Seems like an awful lot of flag waivers are congregating here again

Got to agree about the HAL flag wavers! I don't think anyone's going to screw deck chairs down. Over the years I've seen and heard the banging and dragging of deck chairs around the decks. Very annoying. I think with a little effort the workers could keep the noise down. All to often I see these guys dropping/throwing the chairs or kicking out the back supports. I've been disturbed sitting out there reading a book and having workers around me slamming chairs around. Things could be a lot quieter if they bent over a couple more inches or lowered the back rests by hand rather that kicking out the support. "Stacking" could be made quieter too. I've seen them use small "dollys" to move large stacks of chairs with little to no noise. Reminders to the crew about keeping noise levels down would help.......but who's going to remind the passengers? Generally I don't book anywhere nears the "public areas". If on the rare occasion I take a balcony guarantee.....then I realize "anythings" possible. In all my cruises I have only called the office once about a "banging" in the wall of our cabin next to an area off limits to passengers. It was some sort of slack cable problem that was fixed pronto. So minor I can't even remember the ship.

I'll be 10-7 remainder.

[serendipity1499]

Got to agree about the HAL flag wavers! I don't think anyone's going to screw deck chairs down. Over the years I've seen and heard the banging and dragging of deck chairs around the decks. Very annoying. I think with a little effort the workers could keep the noise down. All to often I see these guys dropping/throwing the chairs or kicking out the back supports. I've been disturbed sitting out there reading a book and having workers around me slamming chairs around. Things could be a lot quieter if they bent over a couple more inches or lowered the back rests by hand rather that kicking out the support. "Stacking" could be made quieter too. I've seen them use small "dollys" to move large stacks of chairs with little to no noise. Reminders to the crew about keeping noise levels down would help.......but who's going to remind the passengers? Generally I don't book anywhere nears the "public areas". If on the rare occasion I take a balcony guarantee.....then I realize "anythings" possible. In all my cruises I have only called the office once about a "banging" in the wall of our cabin next to an area off limits to passengers. It was some sort of slack cable problem that was fixed pronto. So minor I can't even remember the ship.

I'll be 10-7 remainder.

 

Touche'..I agree with you 100%..

 

I honestly don't believe that Passengers should have to put up with that kind of noise either..

 

2 Kities...However, I really don't see anything wrong with HAL's answer to you now & don't believe they are trying to sweep it under the rug..What other answer or compensation are you looking for...Did you bring your complaint directly to the attention of the HM while on the ship?..And if you did, what was the outcome of your complaint? Did they offer to change your cabin?

 

Also I really don't believe that carpeting is safe & it would look quite cheesy on HAL's beautiful decks..

 

It really does no good to complain about noise after the fact..

 

Mike...Just a suggestion..I agree that Sakedad's response was uncalled for & cruel however suggest you use the little triangel to report this type of abuse..I've found it works very well & if the Hosts are made aware of the problem and agree with you they will take action..Check out the stickey at the top of the threads..

 

Cheers Everyone..Betty

[Jade13]

Serendipity, Is there a spell check on this board? I didn't see it.

 

Btw, Serendipity was the name of my dog growing up. He died over 20 years ago but I still miss him. He was about age 16. We called him "Dippy" for short.

[2kitties]

Got to agree about the HAL flag wavers! I don't think anyone's going to screw deck chairs down. Over the years I've seen and heard the banging and dragging of deck chairs around the decks. Very annoying. I think with a little effort the workers could keep the noise down. All to often I see these guys dropping/throwing the chairs or kicking out the back supports. I've been disturbed sitting out there reading a book and having workers around me slamming chairs around. Things could be a lot quieter if they bent over a couple more inches or lowered the back rests by hand rather that kicking out the support. "Stacking" could be made quieter too. I've seen them use small "dollys" to move large stacks of chairs with little to no noise. Reminders to the crew about keeping noise levels down would help.......but who's going to remind the passengers? Generally I don't book anywhere nears the "public areas". If on the rare occasion I take a balcony guarantee.....then I realize "anythings" possible. In all my cruises I have only called the office once about a "banging" in the wall of our cabin next to an area off limits to passengers. It was some sort of slack cable problem that was fixed pronto. So minor I can't even remember the ship.

I'll be 10-7 remainder.

MikeKool, you sound just like me. In another thread that I started last week, this is what I had to say on the subject of dragging chairs.

 

When they were going to wash the deck down one night, they had to move everything. It sounded like a freight train going across our ceiling. I finally went upstairs and demonstrated to the men how to pick up furniture and move it without making any noise. After that it was very quiet. How do you train passengers to do the same thing?

[2kitties]

Touche'..I agree with you 100%..

 

I honestly don't believe that Passengers should have to put up with that kind of noise either..

 

2 Kities...However, I really don't see anything wrong with HAL's answer to you now & don't believe they are trying to sweep it under the rug..What other answer or compensation are you looking for...Did you bring your complaint directly to the attention of the HM while on the ship?..And if you did, what was the outcome of your complaint? Did they offer to change your cabin?

 

Also I really don't believe that carpeting is safe & it would look quite cheesy on HAL's beautiful decks..

 

It really does no good to complain about noise after the fact..

 

Mike...Just a suggestion..I agree that Sakedad's response was uncalled for & cruel however suggest you use the little triangel to report this type of abuse..I've found it works very well & if the Hosts are made aware of the problem and agree with you they will take action..Check out the stickey at the top of the threads..

 

Cheers Everyone..Betty

When I was on the ship, I went down to the pursers office and complained to them. They wrote down the Guest Relations phone number, fax number and email address, along with the person's name I should speak with when I got home. They never suggested I should speak with someone on the ship, nor did they offer me any earplugs or suggest that possibly our room could be changed. It doesn't do any good to complain with Holland America even when it is happening. It is no win situation.

 

If you do a direct glue on with carpeting, be it inside or out, there isn't any problem. That is what is done in high traffic areas. This is done all the time. I'm only suggesting it be done in a very small area of the ship.

[2kitties]

The heavy trash pickup truck is outside my door making an horrendous racket!!! This happens every month. There's no respite from it, and no GRM to complain to. I think I'll write a letter to the mayor. Maybe I can get some compensation.

 

Oh, I nearly forgot. There's an intersection a couple blocks away that has a persistent sewage odor. I'll add that to my letter - more compensation.

 

Going on a cruise next week. I'll be super alert for any noises. I'm three decks down from the Lido, but maybe I'll get lucky and have a laundromat, a showroom, a nightclub or stewards storage room nearby. Those are all good noise sources.

Stevesan,

 

What is your stateroom number on the cruise you are taking next month. Maybe you can arrange with the crew to make some racket outside your door with pots and pans, so you feel like you are at home.

 

I remember spending a week in Hawaii. Every morning outside my room, they would collect the garbage at this hotel around 4 or 5am. It only lasted a few minutes. I was able to go right back to sleep. On the ship this noise went on for about to 16 to 18 hours a day. It was like someone grinding their teeth or running a piece of chalk across a blackboard.

[serendipity1499]

Serendipity, Is there a spell check on this board? I didn't see it.

 

Btw, Serendipity was the name of my dog growing up. He died over 20 years ago but I still miss him. He was about age 16. We called him "Dippy" for short.

 

Jade, when you post a reply, just before clicking on the submit button go to the top right hand corner of your message window...You will see a small black check mark with a very tiny ABC above it...That is your spell check..It doesn't catch everything but it does give you various options..It occasionally does not like words you may insert in your post..It would not take your name..But in that case, all I had to do was click on add & the next time I reply to you it will let it go..It will also give you options on words that can be spelled differently..

 

Re Serendipity..Our niece named our boat that, after we sold a piece of land to the County for much more than we paid for it..Our friends wanted us to name our boat "Land Scam" but we named it serendipity..Much more refined..LOL..

 

So sorry you lost your PUP..We had to put our 17 year old LAB to sleep over 18 years ago & that was the hardest thing we ever had to do..We still think about "Sam" & miss him very much.....It was 10 years before we got another dog , but now our delightful wire-haired dachshund "Brandy" is our baby..

 

Cheers..:) Betty

[hammybee]

How do you know in advance how much noise will be produced from outside your room, especially when it come to furniture? I can understand noise that comes traffic or people talking, but furniture? When I was a kid, we had light weight furniture in our kitchen. I use to rock back & forth on them. It use to drive my mother nuts. One day I came from school and found she replaced the chairs. The new ones were very heavy and couldn't be moved, unless you picked them. Maybe those are the kind of chairs Holland America should buy for their Lido Deck?

 

HA ! I used to do the same thing on chairs as a child. Eventyally I broke all of them.

[sail7seas]

Not that I think they are going to screw chairs down on the decks, nor would I like the idea, but they cannot as those decks are sometimes emptied to set up a buffet or special event. The lounges are often stacked to make room at Lido pool to set up the barbeque or more tables and chairs for such things as a N

[sail7seas]

It is not likely they are going to be screwing chairs to the deck IMO nor would I want them to. We like to move them in different directions to 'follow the sun'. Or if we are a group of four but only three empty chairs, we look for a fourth which can be moved to provide the extra seat we need. (Of course, we do this silently. :) )

 

It is impracticle to think of permanently attaching the lounges as often they need to be stacked and removed from Lido Pool to set up for such things as Buffet tables for the Deck Barbeque. They remove them to set up more tables and chairs for events like New Years Eve parties.

 

Aft pool lounges are always stacked on embarkation day if they are running a sailaway party at aft pool. They need to have flexibility in configuration of furniture/set up on the decks.

 

These cruise lines have been handling pool furniture on these ships for decades. I seriously doubt no matter how long this thread gets there are going to be drastic changes made. This is a noisy world we live in. We don't get to pick and choose which noise is agreeable to us. I can't stand pounding loud music ....that is the ultimate noise IMO but others can't get enough of it.

 

I can live with pool chair noise. I think it a small disturbance by comparison. JMHO......

[Jade13]

Serendipity, thanks!

 

Our dog (a grey medium sized poodle) was "found" by a cousin wandering around on a highway. It was after we were forced to give a beagle away (to a farm was the story my parents told us) who had bitten a friend of my sisters. After advertising in the paper and a number of people coming by to see if it was their lost pet, we kept him.

 

I'm still sad that he died in a dog hospital. He had kidney failure from experimental drugs. My parents took him there while I was traveling around Europe over the summer. He waited until I returned and stopped by to see him before he died. It still bothers me that my parents left him to die in that cage (especially at that age) rather than bringing him home to die, which I begged them to do. By the time they agreed we received a call that he was gone. Your name has brought back memories, but they are good ones.

 

And it was almost 20 years before I could get another pet. We have some Tortoises now. One three year old will probably outlive us.

[Rahi]

You are correct about the deck chairs. They don't want to bother replacing them. I was a professional interior designer, so I have some idea how the problem can be solved.

You should have looked into what was above you before you booked cabin. Your area/room would be easy to predict there would be some noise from above. You whine way too much over simple things.

[Rahi]

MikeKool, you sound just like me. In another thread that I started last week, this is what I had to say on the subject of dragging chairs.

 

When they were going to wash the deck down one night, they had to move everything. It sounded like a freight train going across our ceiling. I finally went upstairs and demonstrated to the men how to pick up furniture and move it without making any noise. After that it was very quiet. How do you train passengers to do the same thing?[

We should all be "trained" to accommodate you? I was in a room below pool area on Carnival.. meh you live with it , not a big deal.

[dakrewser]

Seems like an awful lot of flag waivers are congregating here again

 

What's that mean, John? The chair dragging is an issue on every cruise ship I've been on, not limited to one line. So there's no "flag waving" occurring, just a lot of "welcome to the real world."

 

It does never cease to amaze me that some people feel the whole world should stop and spin on a dime just to accommodate their individual needs....

[Copper10-8]

What's that mean, John? The chair dragging is an issue on every cruise ship I've been on, not limited to one line. So there's no "flag waving" occurring, just a lot of "welcome to the real world."

 

It does never cease to amaze me that some people feel the whole world should stop and spin on a dime just to accommodate their individual needs....

 

Tongue in cheek, Dave - just like bolting down the chairs;) Never gonna happen!

[AWED23]

Tongue in cheek, Dave - just like bolting down the chairs;) Never gonna happen!

:D Bolting the chairs to the deck is only a partial solution. Making them swivel is a slight improvement. Installing 4 point seat restraints might be a needed improvement. ...what is really needed, at least in my opinion, is a "Whiner Ejection Button".....Push it and watch the occupant go for a "Swim with the fishes"....350 days directly below the Lido and I never missed a nights sleep......Gin will do that for you.....Rob.:D :D :D

[AWED23]

What's that mean, John? The chair dragging is an issue on every cruise ship I've been on, not limited to one line. So there's no "flag waving" occurring, just a lot of "welcome to the real world."

 

It does never cease to amaze me that some people feel the whole world should stop and spin on a dime just to accommodate their individual needs....

After reading the whole thing I am beginning to believe that 2Kitties is putting us all on....?????.....If not, WOW !!!.....:cool:

[bepsf]

*On the ship this noise went on for about to 16 to 18 hours a day. It was like someone grinding their teeth or running a piece of chalk across a blackboard.

 

16-18 hours a day???

Hardly - The deck chairs are placed out around 6am and stacked & stowed around 6pm.* That's only 12 hours...

Even then they're not going to be dragged across the deck but very occassionally. *And when they are moved during the day, a passenger would be doing the moving - Do you propose that HAL retrain their passengers on how to move deckchairs???

 

BTW - Why would anyone hole themselves up in their stateroom for 16-18 hours a day anyway? (unless you had Norovirus?)* You should have been out and about, on deck enjoying the sun and dragging your own deckchair around!

 

If I were a poor decksteward who works for an entire year every single day moving deckchairs around, etc. and I had some rich American come show me how to do my job - I think I'd make darned sure to make more noise above her stateroom!

 

Based on your comments about how they could put down carpets over the teak decks or use teflon foot-pads on the deck chairs to make them slide easier and quieter or how the deck stewards could be more careful - and your general expecation of tomb-like silence in your stateroom - I honestly don't think you have any appreciation for the fact that cruising involves being aboard a ship.*

 

If this is the way you honestly feel, perhaps you really should consider that cruising just isn't for you.

:cool:

[2kitties]

This will be my last note I wiil post about his issue or any other thread, since no one seem to have any compassion for my thoughts and feelings. I attempted to point out what occurred in my stateroom and some possible soluations. Either you don't want to believe me or you don't care. People suggested I check out a stateroom before taking it, here again, that is an impossibilty. I had never been on the Noordam, so I had no idea the type of furnishing used on the Lido Deck. It makes me sad that the people who post on the this bulletin board could care less about their fellow passenger. They assume I am whining, but I'm not, I am just stating facts. I don't think it is unreasonable for Holland America to fix the chair problem. I just hope that one of you is given this room. You will hear first hand the noise that radiated from the ceiling in my stateroom.

 

This is my response to BEPSF. When the guys were cleaning up the aft Lido Deck, it was between 8 and 9 pm. As far as the passengers are concerned, they dragged the chairs across the deck ever few minutes. I am not saying that there is a way to prevent passengers from dragging chairs, but what I am saying is buy chairs that will not create any noise or possibly replacing the tips of the legs.

 

Call me a cat, I enjoy staying up until 3am and sleeping during the day. I do this at home, so why would things be any different on a cruise? It is a place where you can relax. Different strokes for different folks.

 

I don't know the income of a deck steward, that has no reason to throw chairs around a deck. The comment you made sounds like the "ME" generation.

 

This was my 8th cruise. The first 7th were delightful. Even made $1800. on the Veendam in their casino.

 

I can't see why anyone would want to post any comments on this board, if the people who spend time here will attack the person like a pack mad dogs.

 

Adios

[cnmiranda]

You just have to ignore the nasties and there are a lot of them on this board, not only speaking of this area. Some folks are only happy when being mean to others and that's their problem not yours:)

 

I would have been disappointed too if I was under a loud room. In fact, it happened to us on the Empress of the Seas when we were under the pool, lots of banging noises starting 8am to the following 2am, thankfully we are heavy sleepers. We also knew ahead of time that there would be noise in our cabin from past passenger comments. I always google our stateroom to try to find cabin info from various places. Your response wasn't surprising at all. Again, just try to research your room as much as possible beforehand. Happy travels:)

[Jade13]

I think the experiance of the OP is because she spends 16-18 hours a day in the cabin. That's a lot of time vs being on land, dinning room, the pool or anywhere else on the ship.

 

Most of the noise is during day time hours.

[magictam]

Wow I can't believe how mean and nasty the responses have been to Kitty's concerns. Attacking her for her feelings and concerns. They are hers and no one has a right to degrade or dismiss them. Attacking her for staying in her cabin, telling her what she should be doing. Who truly believes they have that right? She planned her vacation and should have the right to enjoy it as she sees fit. Not to be harassed or belittled because others don't agree with it.

 

She was offering ideas on how the noise could have been minimized and for the most part was attacked for that too. Had she been making suggestions on something else, I.e; what are the essentials to pack or how to make embarkations faster, most of you would have chimed in with excellent ideas (I've seen it happen).

 

But for some reason a majority of people think HAL belongs to them and when the slightest criticism is offered, they take personal offense. And then turn on the defense and attack. It's very scary to watch this in play. I hope that I never become the object of these attacks.

 

When most people complain they are not looking for others to make it better or to told how they could have done it differently. They're looking for compassion and understanding. What can't we offer that to those who come to the boards?

[dakrewser]

Wow I can't believe how mean and nasty the responses have been to Kitty's concerns.

 

No one attacked her feelings. But what many pointed out (politely, at first) was that she wanted the cruise line, its employees, and the other passengers to all change their behavior to accommodate her! Who does that make the unreasonable one?

 

The people on this board are very sympathetic to the real problems that many people have. In fact, they generally treat everyone in the manner that they deserve. I don't see anything different here!

[MikeKool]

No one attacked her feelings. But what many pointed out (politely, at first) was that she wanted the cruise line, its employees, and the other passengers to all change their behavior to accommodate her! Who does that make the unreasonable one?

 

The people on this board are very sympathetic to the real problems that many people have. In fact, they generally treat everyone in the manner that they deserve. I don't see anything different here!

 

Who makes the determination of a "real problem". IMHP she was treated poorly.

[hammybee]

This will be my last note I wiil post about his issue or any other thread, since no one seem to have any compassion for my thoughts and feelings. Adios

 

You did not say you were going to stop reading the boards and I know you are still out there.

 

I have compassion for your situation and think all cruise lines and travel agents should make consumers aware that some cabins, on all ships, on all cruise lines, may be less desirable because of "fixed defects", to borrow an appraisal term.

 

Such disclosure is done for those cabins with full or partially obstructed views and the same logic should be applied to those prone to more than average noise. I also think those cabins with defects should sell at a discount, to balance the defect , no different than what is done with those cabins sold with full or partially obstructed views. And for all any of us know, this may have been the case, via a guaranteed cabin.

 

A good travel agent should have pointed out the potential for a defect added some value to your transaction instead of clerking for a fee, assuming you used a travel agency.

 

I am sorry that the quiet enjoyment of your cabin was disrupted by noise from deck chairs. I know you are going to study the deck plan before commiting to a cabin, in the future and I sincerely hope your next cruise is better.