President's Cruise--Mixed review

[pm]

Just returned from three nights on the beautiful new Westerdam with the President. The beds and linens were wonderful upgrades, and the food in Pinnacle Grill was fantastic. A couple of the perks (and there were very few) of being on the ship with all of HAL's VIPs was that Mr. Krause bought drinks until 2:00 p.m. on the day of embarkation, and on the second night of our cruise the entertainment was fantastic. Can't remember the entertainers name, but he is a Las Vegas headliner who can really belt out a song! HMC was beautiful (I highly recommend booking a clam shell) I was sad that the water was very cold and I didn't get to spend more time enjoying that beautiful clear water. The new children's area was great.

On the down side, many prebooked reservations in the Pinnacle were moved around at will to accommodate the VIPs (ours was moved from 8 to 7 on the first day--a little early for us), a few of the bars (including the Crow's nest) were closed due to a lot of private parties, which made cocktail hour last night a challenge, and most of all customer service seems to have disappeared. The new tipping policy certainly seems to have made an impact on the friendly and gracious service we were expecting (this was confirmed by a conversation with our Wine Steward last night--staff is not thrilled either). This is not just my opinion but of many people on this cruise.

We were seated at table of eight, with all of us have having multiple cruises with HAL under our belt. We were all more than a little unhappy with the new attitude a lot of the crew seemed to be displaying. Our cabin steward never came to our cabin to introduce himself or ask if we needed anything. In fact the only time we saw him was this morning when he walked into our room at 7:00 a.m. (we were still in bed sleeping) with our bill, and then a little later later when he came back asking to change the linens for the next passengers. He never did tell us who he was.

There were no more big smiles or no tableside conversations with the staff in the dining room. When one of our table mates asked if there were any teaspoons in the coffee service area in the Lido, she was told "yes, in the back". The waiter then walked off never to return!

Dining room dinners were good, but the menus were not very exciting, lido breakfasts were okay, not great, unfortnately the coffee was their usual offering and I refused to pay for a decent cup of coffee in the morning so I just didn't drink it. Room service coffee was a little better. I don't think we ever at lunch except at HMC, had a late afternoon snack of their good pizza instead.

We were not given the usual surveys to complete at the end of this cruise. We wondered why. I heard several Mariners say they will send e-mails to provide feedback.

Anyway, I'll be checking out ships on some other lines for our spring cruise. I hope for the sake of all of you booked things improve on this ship.

[Roadwork]

Thank you for your update. I enjoyed reading both the up side and down side of your cruise. There are so many reports of the staff being unhappy, or uncaring or over worked. My wife and I are still hoping this cruise line will get their act together one of these days.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for telling us about the special VIP cruise for 3 days.

Just wondering if the crew knew it was only going to be for 3 days and didn't put forth any extra effort??!!

No surveys at the end? Again maybe because this was a special cruise to introduce the new features at HMC along with the Westerdam.

We will be on her in January and will find out for ourselves how things are.

[elmorejj]

Well I`ll be leaving in 5 days for 17 days aboard the Zaandam and I`m looking forward to seing if there are any changes from our 21 days on this ship in Ap/May. I honestly cannot believe that the servers have lost all of their pleasantness in a few short months....tipping change or no. I have always found that their personalities were inborn, not something put on for the sake of a tip. After all, in the past, they didn`t know if they were going to receive a tip, at least now they can anticipate their 15%, and being "nice" surely helps the pax keep the auto charge on the bill more than being indifferent.
As always, JMHO. and I`m going to enjoy my cruise, come what may!!.....jean :cool:

[sail7seas]

Jean....


I have always felt the service was genuine and their smiles were sincere. We have not seen any difference in attitude or friendliness. Stewards realize that many (some) pax will continue to tip them by envelope. We do. We don't feel the automatic tips are enough and continue, at the end of the cruise, to tip those who have taken such good care of us. The stewards do not know who will tip extra so even IF it is only for tips, I think they will continue to do the best they are able.

[rkacruiser]

I 100% agree with sail7seas! That is exactly what I plan to do for my Stewards when I sail aboard the Zuiderdam on February 8th. I expect the service to be excellent. If it is not, and I feel that it has something to do with the change in gratuity policy, I will let Mr. Kruse and Mr. Arison know in no uncertain terms.

My recent experience on Queen Mary 2 with a similar kind of gratuity policy as HAL's was highly positive. Service was EXCELLENT from all with whom I had any contact, save one Assistant Waiter one morning who was determined we should have toast whether one wanted it or not! On this cruise, I provided an extra gratuity to my Cabin Steward, Britannia Dining Room Steward and Assistant Steward, and the Assistant Maitre d' because they deserved it.

I expect my Zuiderdam Stewards to deserve the same.

[petermccue]

We also just returned from the same cruise and had wonderful service throughout the ship. Our cabin steward was very friendly, introduced himself the first day and was very helpful with small things we needed. We, obviously, tipped him extra this morning. And we certainly weren't in the highest grade of cabin at all ... the lowest cabin category with a verandah, in fact.

I noticed lots of smiles from the crew. Had wonderful service on HMC. Gracious service in the Lido. Good service in the bars and on deck. Was thinking that the service was very nice and much happier than I saw on the Zuiderdam in September.

I didn't run into VIP issues, but we didn't eat at the Pinnacle nor did we have the bad luck to try to hit a bar and find it closed.

I will say that our dining room service at dinner was a bit slower than usual. It was hard to determine if it was due to server issues or if it was because our table was so deep in conversation that we the passengers were slow eating ... probably a bit of both!

I guess it's all in the luck of the draw.

I found the food very very good. A notch above what we had on the Zuiderdam in September, and miles and miles above what we had on Carnival's Ecstasy in October.

And the service was so much better than Carnival, I couldn't even believe that Carnival was a cruise line, quite honestly. I get friendlier service from the local Denny's than I did on Carnival.

I'm sorry you had a bad time.

[pm]

I'm glad that you had wonderful service throughout the ship. Don't misunderstand, we had a nice trip, met wonderful people, relaxed in beautiful surroundings, it was just not what we have come to expect. We missed interacting with our cabin steward and our waiter and assistant waiter, that has always been part of our cruise experience. I guess we did draw the short straw this time.

We were also in a regular verandah cabin, as were two of the other couples at our table, our other two dining companions were in category SS. They also held the record at our table for the most HAL cruises, as they were invited to the Mariner party the captain hosted for medallion members (which, by the way, was why one of bars was off limits). Each of these couples felt as we did about the cruise.

For me the service and the smiles were a lot brighter on the Oosterdam last April and when we were lucky enough to enjoy a small family reunion cruise to Alaska on the Ryndam a summer ago, we found that staff to be phenomenal. They practically adopted the kids that were sailing with us as their own. We have also sailed on the Veendam a couple of times and the Zuiderdam, so we do have a basis of comparison. We have been loyal fans of HAL.

We always felt that the smiles and friendliness were genuine, just as sail7seas does, it was just such a marked difference on this cruise for us. I don't KNOW that this is due to the new tipping policy, or if was the staff is being stretched thin, or perhaps they were stressed with all of the VIPs on board. Staff were all very aware of the special passengers and media presence on this trip.

Our very first cruise was a family Christmas cruise on Carnival, at the time that was all we could afford. We had no basis of comparison so we thought it was wonderful. Tried a weekend cruise with them again a couple of years ago and thought it was about what we expected--not so much for us anymore.

I'll be anxiously watching for posts from other non-suite passengers to see how their experiences pan out. I have a feeling that the suite passengers don't have much to worry about! I don't want to give up on HAL, we have truly loved our cruises with them.

[kryos]

Just wondering if the crew knew it was only going to be for 3 days and didn't put forth any extra effort]
I'm also wondering ... could it be that some of these people who did not seem so friendly are new? Maybe just the effort of keeping up with duties that are a totally different arena for them taxes their concentration, leaving them with little motivation or time to chit chat with passengers.

This would seem to be the only logical explanation since some people report a very positive experience in the dining room or with their cabin steward, while others report a negative one.

Just like with any new job ... there is a learning curve involved and while one is scaling that curve, they are constantly struggling just to keep up with their assigned duties. Maybe that's part of the problem here. Maybe many of these personnel who seem less than friendly are actually overwhelmed with their new duties and the complexity of a shipboard life they are not used to?

Just a thought ...

Blue skies ...

--rita

[gizmo]

Thanks for the reviews. I have friends that took this cruise and I am anxious to hear what they have to say.

As far as the service goes, my theory is, it is because of cutbacks. They have more to handle thus the service will suffer.

[thulewx]

While on cruises, we sometimes forget that the crew and staff have real lives, too. And I'm wondering how many of the crew have loved ones in the Philippines, who's lives have been disrupted by the vast flooding occurring there in the last couple weeks - over 1000 dead. Worrying about family back home can cause anyone to be less than effusive and perky...

[Esme]

Thulewx - you are absolutely correct.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes, they have had 2 hurricanes in less than a month.

Can't help but wonder if crew members from all the ships are being effected and worried by those living at home.

[sail7seas]

Kryos....

Excellent observation IMO

Add to that the fact they knew the "Brass" from Seattle were aboard and they were stressed.....big time. And Phil's point must be 'added to the mix'.


Of course, we all want the best, most friendly service that we have become accustomed to on HAL and my DH and I, to date, still feel we are getting that wonderful service.

I think that service on any ship, in any restaurant, in any hotel can sometimes be inconsistent. Not every steward is equally as friendly and experienced as the next one. For those pax who mainly interact with great stewards, their reports will be glowing. For pax whose interaction was less stellar, their reports will be less glowing.

[lcruiser]

As you all know we may be in the same cruise but have a totally different experience.

The service was exceptionally good, food was fantastic, I thougth Chef Krieger did a fantastic job considering that he did have a ship full of "brass", What more pressure? Corporate Chef Gunther, Chef and Culinary consultant Rudi Sodamin and Corporate Chef trainer John Mulvaney where also on board apart from the CEO and the corporate group.

Our cabin attendant Ono, waiter Totok (and his helper) where outstanding as wa the wine stewart and the dinning supervisor Sophie.

RuthC prepare for this one, on the formal night the dessert was (Chef Rudi creation) a minature WHITE CHOCOLATE chef's hat and inside, marvelous chocolate mouse, ohhhhhhh.

The formal night the menu had a beautiful presentation, partchment paper,ribbon and beatiful cover.

As Pm mentioned some bars where temporarily closed off for different functions and not all where for the "brass".

I did find the comments card, it was inside the spiral information book (room service menu etc.), since we were late waking up, I did not have a chance to fill it out.

This was my first time on a Vista class, and it took me a little while to get used to. I particularly enjoyed the Oak Room (though I wish there was some oak in it). I visited the Northen Lights and enjoyed seeing my children (23 and 19 going on 30) have fun (and having the Crows Nest more subdued).

It was too bad that only 3 members showed up for the get together, I would of liked to meet everybody but I understand some do not want to be know. As far as been on the wrong place or bad time of the day I do not understand as nobody express that and I am sure the members that were present could of agreed to a diffent time/place.

The HMC was magnificent, we had the pink cabana with Eduardo as steward (not private butler service), and he sure took care of us. I was signup for the horse riding, unfortunately 2 of the horses were sick (I understand one of them had a cut that required stiches), and a lady and myself gave up our excursion (they offered any other available excursion for free but having the cabana I chose to enjay that instead). My DW did go on them and she enjoyed it a lot, specially the water riding though the horses do not.

The three days even though it was short, myself and my family were totally satisfied.

I forgot to mentioned that we were a little late embarking but that was because they had a surprise health inspection (now talk about pressure, brass on board and to have an inspection) and I am happy to report they got 100, CONGRATULATIONS WESTERDAM CREW. Because of this we all got a glass of champagne during our first dinner.

[Himself]

It is funny how some people can be on the same ship at the same time and have such different reactions to the staff. The point was well made that some of the staff might have felt the stress of having the "Brass from Seattle" on the ship. I can understand this. I can be a bit edgy when my big boss is around and this boss senses it and doesn't like it but that is the way it is.

[petermccue]

Ack! Didn't even realise there was one... my fault, I dropped the ball.

Just totally spaced the fact that there might be one...

[crossingfan]

My partner and I were also on this cruise and were less than pleased. The dining room service was terrible. I like my beef cooked well done and the first night it came out medium. The second night it was medium rare!!!

The assistant waiter was not ever around. We had to always ask for our tea to be refilled. Salads were served without choice of dressing, although choices were listed in the menu.

Then at lunch, I ordered peanut butter icecream. The waiter looked puzzled and I then repeated what I wanted. He still looked puzzled, so finally I just pointed to the item on the menu. Well, I got butter pecan.

After the mess of dinner on the second night I had a talk with the Matre d. The last night the Head Waiter served the table..

Our room steward never did introduce himself and I have no idea of his name. He did not deliver towels one night and was very slow to make up the room in the evening. The bar service again was very slow.

I have had 42 cruises over the past 32 years and know what to expect. In my opinion, HAL has really gone downhill. They have very much to learn from Celebrity Cruises on how to provide quality food and service.

I will say that the new beds and linens are wonderful. Also, Half Moon Cay is as beautiful as always and is very well run.

Maybe HAL is just not for us, but I feel that they have many service issues. Also, the Westerdam felt very dark and seemed to be designed by someone without a good sense of what colors go together. Just my opinion.

Rick

[jollycruiser]

Unreal the extremes of the reviews for this cruise. We will be sailing her next week. I am going into it with a positive attitude, and not going to let a few less than perfect incidents lessen the enjoyment. I have always found if you are friendly and happy with the crew they return your good spirits with good service. Hope my philosophy still works this time.

[Giorgi-one]

I 100% agree with sail7seas! That is exactly what I plan to do for my Stewards when I sail aboard the Zuiderdam on February 8th. I expect the service to be excellent. If it is not, and I feel that it has something to do with the change in gratuity policy, I will let Mr. Kruse and Mr. Arison know in no uncertain terms.

My recent experience on Queen Mary 2 with a similar kind of gratuity policy as HAL's was highly positive. Service was EXCELLENT from all with whom I had any contact, save one Assistant Waiter one morning who was determined we should have toast whether one wanted it or not! On this cruise, I provided an extra gratuity to my Cabin Steward, Britannia Dining Room Steward and Assistant Steward, and the Assistant Maitre d' because they deserved it.

I expect my Zuiderdam Stewards to deserve the same.

Good Luck!

[gwilli]

When (and how) did you find out that the President and all the VIP's would be aboard?

[dakrewser]

When (and how) did you find out that the President and all the VIP's would be aboard?
Mariner Society members got a mailing promoting "cruising with the pres"

:) -dave

[lulu33]

Have to agree with petermccue and lcruiser. We were also on the North American inaugural cruise of the Westerdam, and found the service to be very good. Were asked to change our Pinnacle reservations from 8:00 to 7:00, but for the "inconvenience", Mr. Kruse picked up the tab! Mementos of the cruise were duplicates of the ones given to us on the Zuiderdam inaugural cruise. The only unpleasantness we experienced was the irate and loud table of eight next to us at the 8:30 dinner. It took 2 dining room stewards and 2 captains to mollify them.

lulu33

[TedC]

We were on the Westerdam repositioning cruise from BCN to FLL 12 Nov. to 29 Nov. and it was a wonderful experience overall.

Our room steward Bang, waiters Aris and Adi, and wine steward Charico, all seemed to have too many rooms or tables to cover, but still were ever- smiling and friendly. Those who had other stewards and waiters no doubt had different experiences.

The crew and staff were under pressure because of the Coast Guard and CDC inspections that were to take place upon our arrival in FLL - the first time the Westerdam was in a U.S. port. As Bang put it: "We're going to be very busy."

We gladly left the auto tip in place and rewarded those who took care of us. If we hadn't been pleased, I think we would still leave the auto tip in place and explain our displeasure in the comment cards.

If we had complaints we would make them known immediately and fully expect they would be addressed promptly. I can't imagine things being so bad that we would want take the auto tip off. If things were that bad we'd be off to another line, perhaps Radisson.

It was our second time on the Westerdam and think it's the best of the Vista class.

[jazzsea]

The two days prior to this cruise the ship hosted elite cruise consultants and yes, all the top brass was aboard.

Please give Holland America another chance if you felt less than pleased with service. Many of the crew members were new to the ship. Only about half of them made the crossing from Europe. I'm not excusing bad service but Holland America does not do well in the short cruise market. The staff is used to the longer cruises and simply doesn't adjust well to the changes.

Many of us in the travel biz think that these new vista class ships were built for the three, four and five day market. It will be interesting to see how
HAL deals with the staffing problems created by the short turn around between embarkation and debarkation. Still a wonderful product with wonderful ships. Some growing pains and some friction with all the changes.

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

We were on the Westerdam repositioning cruise from BCN to FLL 12 Nov. to 29 Nov. and it was a wonderful experience overall.

Our room steward Bang, waiters Aris and Adi, and wine steward Charico, all seemed to have too many rooms or tables to cover, but still were ever- smiling and friendly. Those who had other stewards and waiters no doubt had different experiences.

The crew and staff were under pressure because of the Coast Guard and CDC inspections that were to take place upon our arrival in FLL - the first time the Westerdam was in a U.S. port. As Bang put it: "We're going to be very busy."

We gladly left the auto tip in place and rewarded those who took care of us. If we hadn't been pleased, I think we would still leave the auto tip in place and explain our displeasure in the comment cards.

If we had complaints we would make them known immediately and fully expect they would be addressed promptly. I can't imagine things being so bad that we would want take the auto tip off. If things were that bad we'd be off to another line, perhaps Radisson.

It was our second time on the Westerdam and think it's the best of the Vista class.

Charlene and I agree with TedC. The few problems that arose were quickly addressed, including a change of tables during the early dinner seating, due to poor service and excessive noise from the adjacent serving station.

We did notice that the kitchen had problems with under/over cooking of meat dishes, beef and lamb in particular, and the head waiter was appalled when he saw the raw lamb served to my DW one evening.

We will be on the ms Oosterdam on 12 February to Mexico and still have not decided where to go on our 'free bingo' cruise.

Most especially TedC, we enjoyed meeting fellow Cruise Critic members.

George & Charlene

P.S. The only truely bad experience I had while on the ms Westerdam was on the fourth night out someone removed my Cruise Critic's door magnet from Suite 6094. Spent most of the cruise hoping it would magically reappear.

[Peggy Sue]

Interesting to read varied reviews of the same cruise. Sounds like our group from the Volendam last month:o

I think your cabin and dining stewards are the luck of the draw...

We had a fantastic cabin steward. Just down the hall about 15 cabins away our friends had horrible service. Room was cleaned late, skipped completely one morning and cleaning was never quite up to par.

Dining room...we had good wait staff..orders taken and delivered without problems. Couldn't find them for drink refills etc., but I think that has more to do with too many tables to service than ignoring our empty glasses...Our friends with the poor cabin steward had an excellent dining room steward who made the time to talk with them, offered suggestions and made an effort to get to know them. They really enjoyed their dining room experience. Ours was good...but certainly not a memorable event.

I agree with others here than some on board may be new crew members..it's the luck of the draw. Before we set sail, we had several new crew members join the volendam..I'm sure it takes a little while to settle in.

Glad you all had a good time and enjoyed half moon cay...sadly, we missed that due to weather conditions.

Peggy Sue

[Santa Fe Jim]

Well I`ll be leaving in 5 days for 17 days aboard the Zaandam and I`m looking forward to seing if there are any changes from our 21 days on this ship in Ap/May. I honestly cannot believe that the servers have lost all of their pleasantness in a few short months....tipping change or no. I have always found that their personalities were inborn, not something put on for the sake of a tip. After all, in the past, they didn`t know if they were going to receive a tip, at least now they can anticipate their 15%, and being "nice" surely helps the pax keep the auto charge on the bill more than being indifferent.
As always, JMHO. and I`m going to enjoy my cruise, come what may!!.....jean :cool:I got back from the Zaandam a couple of weeks ago and the service matched, and in some cases exceeded, that of the excellent service I had on 2 Veendam cruises last year. My cabin steward introduced himself -- in excellent English -- and seemed to have a bubbly personality. I silently hoped that his service matched the initial impression. It definitely did. Ice refilled twice a day -- whether I took one or two showers a day, the bathroom was always cleaned afterward. In addition to the usual duties, he returned a t-shirt to the laundry after they left some marker on it, and came back with it cleaned promptly.

The DR stewards were busy -- too busy to talk casually -- but the service could not have been better without being intrusive. The headwaiter for the section always had a minute to talk about the day, whether I saw him at dinner or any other event, and to give the stewards a hand if necessary. The wine steward even had time to point out an unusual (good) characteristic of a wine I selected, and promised to pass on to others my poor rating of a wine I ordered because a friend (?) said I had to try it.

The lounge stewards were never very busy, so I had excellent service there, and lots of hors d'ouvres. Even one trio that I enjoyed had a little time to talk.

Enjoy!!

SFJ

[SeaCruiser_1]

My DH and I were on this cruise and enjoyed it very much. This was our 8th HAL cruise. The Westerdam is a lovely ship. I must say I was reluctant to sail such a large vessel but I adjusted quite well. This was our first Vista class cruise. I did submit a more comprehensive review but I know it takes awhile for them to get posted.

The ship was gorgeous, all of our service was warm, friendly and efficient. It was fun to watch all the photographers on board. There were even helicopter shots being taken on HMC. The inaugural gifts were truly a surprise.

We had the opportunity to meet lcruiser and his delightful family along with Amy757 at our CC get together.

My only concern was getting bumped from an excursion I booked and paid for in advance. I was rescheduled to a different time slot. I then found out from others I met on board that they were also bumped from a cabana booking made in September, another lady from her excursion , one couple from the Pinnacle for the VIP night. Now to me, VIP stands for Very Important Passenger. In my book each and every one of us should indeed be just that when we choose to spend our vacation on a cruise ship. I have never seen or heard of this sort of practice on any other cruise?? I will interested to know if this is the new policy aboard these ships??

[DNCButler]

We were on the same cruise with JazzSea on the 30th also. I totally loved the ship. I thought that the entertainment was excellent but I'd like to see some small tables in the Vista Lounge so that you have somewhere to put drinks. The food was fine but limited on our sailing and dinner at 5:45 was served much too slow as we were asked to leave immediately after we finished dinner both nights (at separate tables). One thing they need to do is to put a strip or bar on the stairs which are dark blue and hard to see the edges at night. Saw several people fall on the stairs.

I loved that there is so much details that HAL puts into their ships. The cabins are large enough to enjoy for an entire week (I wish I could have been on much longer than our 2 nights!) and am very glad we booked an SS for our upcoming Oosterdam cruise. The beds and pillows are top notch in my book after sailing in October on one of HAL's sister companies ships with beds like bricks! Will recommend HAL and especially the Westerdam to my clients!! Go have fun and enjoy yourselves, I never met my cabin steward but also never needed him/her for anything either the cabin was always serviced very well.