Down-Unders
May 20th, 2010, 10:49 PM
On our second night out whilst having dinner in the MDR a fella walked in and sat down in shorts just behind us, no staff at the MDR door to stop him as everyone was busy, and when I made comment to senior staff I realized staffing was short. The over all ambiance of the MDR except for formal nights was poor, HAL needs to leave out the word casual and use smart as many people do not understand what smart casual means.
The food was good but there was no wow factor to it in the main dining room, at the chefs suggestion I had duck one evening which was rubbery, another occasion pork chops cut thick and chewy. Our waiter was excellent, with twenty two people to serve and when service broke down at coffee time we understood. We ended up eating a lot in the lido as we felt there was more variety on our twenty one day cruise.
Room service broke down and on one occasion we had a cracked cup, staff again excellent but they can only do so much if Seattle cut corners. At the lido going for breakfast I pointed out two chipped cups and one which appeared not to be washed properly, a no no in the food and service industry. We also noticed on occasion that spoons were hard to find in the coffee areas, ice cream and sweet section.
Again ships officers could do with a make over, no smart white starched shirts on this ship, during the day officers whist in uniform with leather strips around there neck, shirt buttons undone, belts missing. A uniform is to wear in a smart and a well groomed way, may I suggest they be given a tour of the front desk and see how JO JO runs a professional operation, it was the only part of the ship that scored full marks, well groomed and professional staff at all times.
Service after San Diego to Vancouver went down hill and we felt very disappointed, although the weather was poor on occasion we would go out on to the promenade deck to find chairs with no cushions, when I queried this we were told they could blow away, even though they can be secured with there own straps. We also noticed more and more gowns around the ship, bringing the ambiance into just another run of the mill cruise line.
The shows we went to on the first part of our trip, five in all were the best we have seen at sea we even mentioned this to the entertainment director. One show out of San Diego to Vancouver was enough for us, again we felt HAL let us down on this sector. The travel talks were fantastic with K. and Jim, library, computer classes, movies, cabin and fellow passengers, just great, if you could not find something interesting to do on this cruise, there is some thing wrong.
Th ports were fantastic and especially the cruise along the coast of Molokai will be in bedded in our hearts and mind for ever.
As usual the staff were excellent, but sadly there were three who let the company down, two I delt with directly and the third I spoke to their superior, I refused to give my cabin number as I did not want staff dismissed or in trouble, deal with it and move on. I am glad to say they were not Indonesian or Philippine staff but of a more senior rank with an attitude. The officer whom I spoke to explained that he had two hundred e-mails to deal with ever day, preventing him from getting out of his office to do his job properly.
Overall this cruise was not a signature of excellence that HAL promised us, we left Norwegian thinking we were going to a special cruise line, it happened on the Ryndam and Volendam but the Zaandam to us was just another run of the mill cruise ship. As the Captain thanks us for cruising HAL and reminds us to tell our friends, word of mouth is the best way to promote the company, this time we will be unable to furfill his request.
The food was good but there was no wow factor to it in the main dining room, at the chefs suggestion I had duck one evening which was rubbery, another occasion pork chops cut thick and chewy. Our waiter was excellent, with twenty two people to serve and when service broke down at coffee time we understood. We ended up eating a lot in the lido as we felt there was more variety on our twenty one day cruise.
Room service broke down and on one occasion we had a cracked cup, staff again excellent but they can only do so much if Seattle cut corners. At the lido going for breakfast I pointed out two chipped cups and one which appeared not to be washed properly, a no no in the food and service industry. We also noticed on occasion that spoons were hard to find in the coffee areas, ice cream and sweet section.
Again ships officers could do with a make over, no smart white starched shirts on this ship, during the day officers whist in uniform with leather strips around there neck, shirt buttons undone, belts missing. A uniform is to wear in a smart and a well groomed way, may I suggest they be given a tour of the front desk and see how JO JO runs a professional operation, it was the only part of the ship that scored full marks, well groomed and professional staff at all times.
Service after San Diego to Vancouver went down hill and we felt very disappointed, although the weather was poor on occasion we would go out on to the promenade deck to find chairs with no cushions, when I queried this we were told they could blow away, even though they can be secured with there own straps. We also noticed more and more gowns around the ship, bringing the ambiance into just another run of the mill cruise line.
The shows we went to on the first part of our trip, five in all were the best we have seen at sea we even mentioned this to the entertainment director. One show out of San Diego to Vancouver was enough for us, again we felt HAL let us down on this sector. The travel talks were fantastic with K. and Jim, library, computer classes, movies, cabin and fellow passengers, just great, if you could not find something interesting to do on this cruise, there is some thing wrong.
Th ports were fantastic and especially the cruise along the coast of Molokai will be in bedded in our hearts and mind for ever.
As usual the staff were excellent, but sadly there were three who let the company down, two I delt with directly and the third I spoke to their superior, I refused to give my cabin number as I did not want staff dismissed or in trouble, deal with it and move on. I am glad to say they were not Indonesian or Philippine staff but of a more senior rank with an attitude. The officer whom I spoke to explained that he had two hundred e-mails to deal with ever day, preventing him from getting out of his office to do his job properly.
Overall this cruise was not a signature of excellence that HAL promised us, we left Norwegian thinking we were going to a special cruise line, it happened on the Ryndam and Volendam but the Zaandam to us was just another run of the mill cruise ship. As the Captain thanks us for cruising HAL and reminds us to tell our friends, word of mouth is the best way to promote the company, this time we will be unable to furfill his request.