localady
December 14th, 2004, 10:49 AM
Here is the second part of my review. I will be happy to answer any questions.
The second problem they encountered sealed the deal for our friends travelling with us. One day while many were coming in from shore there was an announcement that all the elevators would be inoperable for the next ½ hour as they were testing their emergency generator system. Those of us that were onboard the Ship heard the announcement but those just reboarding did not. Not knowing of the inoperable elevator, they got into the elevator on "A" deck without any of the staff attempting to stop them or the 5 others that got on, including a man in a wheelchair with serious medical probs. Anyway they get on the elevator, it goes up a bit and stops dead. The people in the elevator attempted to use the phone inside the elevator to call for help and it wasn’t working either.:eek: For over 20 minutes our friends were stuck in the elevator with one man tapping out SOS in morse code with his cane on the door. No one responded. When the elevators resumed service 20 minutes later, no one was there to ask if anyone was okay and when my friend told the Security officers of their traumatic ordeal, they received a curt answer that an announcement had been made and they were "stupid" for not heeding the warning. Miffed, our friend went to the front desk to also report the incident, and was also brushed off my the staff. Unfortunately, that left a lasting impression with my friends, who now vow to never return to HAL. I myself feel terrible as I was the one to rave about the cruise line and they relied on my recommendations and went home with a sour feeling.
After this I can understand how different people have vastly different experiences on a cruise. We had a fabulous time! We found the food in the dining room, the Lido and from room service to be wonderful. We did not find any problems with tough beef and the 4 of us enjoyed every meal. I was thrilled to see that the cold soups were back on the menu, as I didn’t recall seeing them on the Ryndam this last summer.
This Ship and cruise felt more formal than our cruises other HAL ships, including the 17 day South America cruise on the Amsterdam. This surprized me for a Caribbean cruise. The dress code was strictly adhered to by the passengers including no shorts in the dining room. Many of the men wore tuxs and I saw no one "underdressed" in the dining room. This was very different than our experience in Alaska this last summer.
We did have an opportunity to eat at the Pinnacle this time and noted that they still are staffed by the Indonesian waiters. During a cocktail party we were seated with Captain Bos, who stated that he feels that the crew is happier when there isn’t a mixing of staff’s nationalities. I had to wonder if this was why the Pinnacle was not staffed by Eastern Europeans as on other HAL ships.
One thing we did miss was the lack of any Caribbean music on board. In fact one day we were docked next to the Brilliance of the Seas and from our balcony we could hear their steel drum band, it accentuated how sedate our experience was with Frank Sinatra being piped into the Lido. Many commented on the lack of Caribbean music on board.
Despite our friends unfortunate experience, we found this cruise to be very lovely and the service to be top notch in general.:) My fears that I had about a lessening of quality on the Ship were again not proven. I would recommend this cruise and this Ship, but I may shy away from ever inviting friends who’ve not cruised HAL to join us as experiences can differ greatly among passengers on the same cruise!:eek:
:cool:
The second problem they encountered sealed the deal for our friends travelling with us. One day while many were coming in from shore there was an announcement that all the elevators would be inoperable for the next ½ hour as they were testing their emergency generator system. Those of us that were onboard the Ship heard the announcement but those just reboarding did not. Not knowing of the inoperable elevator, they got into the elevator on "A" deck without any of the staff attempting to stop them or the 5 others that got on, including a man in a wheelchair with serious medical probs. Anyway they get on the elevator, it goes up a bit and stops dead. The people in the elevator attempted to use the phone inside the elevator to call for help and it wasn’t working either.:eek: For over 20 minutes our friends were stuck in the elevator with one man tapping out SOS in morse code with his cane on the door. No one responded. When the elevators resumed service 20 minutes later, no one was there to ask if anyone was okay and when my friend told the Security officers of their traumatic ordeal, they received a curt answer that an announcement had been made and they were "stupid" for not heeding the warning. Miffed, our friend went to the front desk to also report the incident, and was also brushed off my the staff. Unfortunately, that left a lasting impression with my friends, who now vow to never return to HAL. I myself feel terrible as I was the one to rave about the cruise line and they relied on my recommendations and went home with a sour feeling.
After this I can understand how different people have vastly different experiences on a cruise. We had a fabulous time! We found the food in the dining room, the Lido and from room service to be wonderful. We did not find any problems with tough beef and the 4 of us enjoyed every meal. I was thrilled to see that the cold soups were back on the menu, as I didn’t recall seeing them on the Ryndam this last summer.
This Ship and cruise felt more formal than our cruises other HAL ships, including the 17 day South America cruise on the Amsterdam. This surprized me for a Caribbean cruise. The dress code was strictly adhered to by the passengers including no shorts in the dining room. Many of the men wore tuxs and I saw no one "underdressed" in the dining room. This was very different than our experience in Alaska this last summer.
We did have an opportunity to eat at the Pinnacle this time and noted that they still are staffed by the Indonesian waiters. During a cocktail party we were seated with Captain Bos, who stated that he feels that the crew is happier when there isn’t a mixing of staff’s nationalities. I had to wonder if this was why the Pinnacle was not staffed by Eastern Europeans as on other HAL ships.
One thing we did miss was the lack of any Caribbean music on board. In fact one day we were docked next to the Brilliance of the Seas and from our balcony we could hear their steel drum band, it accentuated how sedate our experience was with Frank Sinatra being piped into the Lido. Many commented on the lack of Caribbean music on board.
Despite our friends unfortunate experience, we found this cruise to be very lovely and the service to be top notch in general.:) My fears that I had about a lessening of quality on the Ship were again not proven. I would recommend this cruise and this Ship, but I may shy away from ever inviting friends who’ve not cruised HAL to join us as experiences can differ greatly among passengers on the same cruise!:eek:
:cool: