The upgrade fairy is dead!

[u4ea]

So I disembarked the MS Amsterdam last Tuesday, and I’m still having withdrawal systems. This was the Classic Passage transatlantic from N.Y. to Copenhagen and I had a great time (solo). I did miss the CC meeting on the first sea day due to sawing wood in my plush bed, but managed to meet some as we sailed along. I thought I would share a couple of experiences. Bear in mind these are not complaints as I love HAL for their great value (I find the best solo deals of ANY cruise line), small ships, food, and so many other things.
Embarkation was disorganized, oh well. My (GAUR inside) stateroom was changed last minute . My key didn’t work, so went to get that fixed, then I was getting gifts for the people who got moved out of where I was put. Went to the front desk so those people would get their stuff. When I returned to my stateroom, there was the other people’s luggage and more gifts including a tray of chocolate covered strawberries. So I ate half of the strawberries (as a penalty) and called the front desk. When I later returned, everything was gone. I wonder if they replenished the strawberries?:o
I also learned a couple of inside things. Apparently, the bar staff get no salary, they make a percentage of the drinks sold, and the tip pool. I also don’t think the stewards like HAL’s gratuity policy. In other words, cash is king. Also disturbing is the American consume and waste ideology. All the labor and food that goes from the Lido to the dessert extravaganza, gets thrown away at the end of the day. I know It’s practical from a corporate standpoint, but is still a shame in view of the inequality in the world.
Speaking of food. The toast system in the Lido stinks. Also, I was drinking a chocolate milk out of the container and felt something inside it hit my lips! I poured it out in the bathroom, and it had turned to cheese! It was pretty gross, but the milk didn’t taste bad, and I didn’t get sick. I also didn’t report it. Ha, ha, ha…..No big deal, people eat grosser things in China. (sorry, I’m a little sadistic)
I had a great table at dinner, but I was lucky. I heard many complaints, strange table arrangements, people sitting alone that didn’t want to be alone. I does annoy me that the whole thing is a crap shoot. Some knuckle-head in an office somewhere dictating these things without a clue. It’s the same with this upgrade fairy crap, gimme a break.
Well, hope ya’ll enjoyed my humble opinions. Looking forward to your replies as I sit here jonesing in cruise withdrawal.
Best regards,
Mark...:cool:

[HeatherInFlorida]

Mark, you're funny ... you really are. Not sure, though, whether I "get" the title of your thread. Did I miss something?

One point you make about your key not working reminded me the last time I was on the Oosterdam, mine didn't work either. I went to the desk and they asked had I carried it next to my cellphone ... (duh! I had). Seems that de-magnetizes the card and it won't work. So just a hint for anyone who doesn't already know this.

Sounds like you have a great attitude and know that "stuff happens"!:) So glad you had such a great time.

One other thought about all those magnificent desserts being tossed ... you know what gets me? When I think of all those photos being tossed that no one wants to pay +$10 for!!! What a waste.

(Glad you enjoyed the strawberries ... too funny!):D

[Atomica]

One point you make about your key not working reminded me the last time I was on the Oosterdam, mine didn't work either. I went to the desk and they asked had I carried it next to my cellphone ... (duh! I had). Seems that de-magnetizes the card and it won't work. So just a hint for anyone who doesn't already know this.


Ahh, very interesting!! When kikiwik and I were on the Veendam a few weeks back, we had got off in Victoria, then got back on again to have lunch. When we went to get off again, neither of our keycards worked. Maybe that was the cause....it would make sense.

[saltydog28]

Mark- How do you know it was cheese? It could have been butter. But if you didn't get sick, it must have been OK. As for the strawberries-dully compensated for your inconvience-were they milk or dark?

Heather-I didn't know about the cellphone and the roomkey. Does the phone have to be on or doesn't it matter? Thanks for the info.

Take care,
Pat.

[dwbias]

If a cellphone can demagnetize a room key, just think what it can do for your brain.:eek:

[bepsf]

Mark- How do you know it was cheese? It could have been butter...

More likely yogurt...

...but who cares what you call it - EeeW!!!
:p

[bruceh4]

I
I had a great table at dinner, but I was lucky. I heard many complaints, strange table arrangements, people sitting alone that didn’t want to be alone. I does annoy me that the whole thing is a crap shoot. Some knuckle-head in an office somewhere dictating these things without a clue.
Mark...:cool:The seating assignments in the dinning room are done by the Maitr'd and his staff prior to your boarding. It is not done in an office somewhere!!

[u4ea]

Fair enough Bruice, I guess the Maitr'd was lame. Does he just do it randomly?
The details on the milk are as follows: I poured it in the sink and what remained was a disc shaped rubbery mass with a light green auora. It even grossed me out, but not that much:)
Mark

[HeatherInFlorida]

..................
Heather-I didn't know about the cellphone and the roomkey. Does the phone have to be on or doesn't it matter? Thanks for the info.

Take care,
Pat.

Pat, I'm not sure. I did have mine on at the time because I was waiting for our friends also taking the cruise to call. I had placed both the card and my phone in my pocket. Not sure if having it off would make a difference.

They were able to easily magnetize it again ... just who wants to make a trip to the front desk that they don't have to:) ?

[bruceh4]

Fair enough Bruce, I guess the Maitr'd was lame. Does he just do it randomly?

MarkI am not sure of the procedure but there are lots of variables to take into account. Such as special requests for specific table numbers made at the time of booking. Also some people have doctors orders for early dinning due to medical problems, and the list goes on. I am sure it is not an easy job. Then of course you have the rush of people who when boarding go right to the room where the Maitr'd is setup to see if then can get there table changed.

[arzz]

I am not surprised about your room key -- I seem to demagnitize mine all the time carrying my "sleeping" lap top to a hot spot to write and send e-mail.

Sorry about the milk -- I was hoping that it may have been milk from, say, Britain where they do not homoginize and it was the cream at the top, but the colorful description that you shared rather ruins any hopes of writing this off to something less offensive.

You seem to have still enjoyed your trip - I would like to hear some of the positive comments also.

Thanks for posting.

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP - not sure what you meant when you said that the upgrade fairy wasn't working. Someone else had been assigned to your cabin and were moved to another cabin. What was your original cabin - weren't you up-graded in oder to have gotten someone else's cabin at the last minute?

[noblepa]

Due, in part, to the high price of gas, I ride the bus to work and purchase a monthly pass. I friend that I ride with recently had the mag stripe on the back of his pass scrambled by leaving it under his cell phone all weekend, while the phone was on its charger.

As for the unpurchased photos, they are not completely wasted. While the ship's photographers use digital cameras, the prints are made the old-fashioned way, using a photographic process; silver-halide emulsion on paper that is developed in liquid chemicals. On a cruise, last year, I asked at the photo desk and they re-cycly the unsold prints. This involves chemically stripping the emulsion from the paper and then electrically seperating the silver from the resulting slurry. A bit of trivia; at one time, before the digital photography revolution, Kodak was the largest consumer of silver in the world. Through recycling, they were also one of the largest producers.

Paul Noble

[kakalina]

Heather: Just wanted to let you know that the photos aren't wasted, they use a special print paper that allows them to remove the image and re-use the paper. This saves a lot of waste in that department.

I also do not understand the OP's reference to the up grade fairy. Is he just upset that he did not get an upgrade?

[Jim Gallup]

U4ea,

"Upgrade Fairy Crap" ???

Interesting term. I don't remember seeing any cruiselines advertising an upgrade fairy. I'm pretty sure it's not part of HAL's Signature of Excellence Program. Perhaps just a personal fantasy about getting something for nothing?
Too bad it didn't pan out for you.
Maybe those "knuckle-heads" back in the cruise line office decided that they would rather SELL an upgrade to someone who was perfectly willing and able to pay for one, rather than giving it to you for free????
As a Carnival Corp stockholder, I certainly hope that was the case.

[u4ea]

Ok, to clarify my upgrade fairy remarks. Again, don’t get me wrong, I am NOT unhappy. I was originally assigned an (upgraded) handicap cabin in a great location and I got that assignment 3 days before embarking, but I was changed on embarkation day down to the lowest inside. Although this is what I agreed to buy, it was a small disappointment to be brought up, and let down, and with a 100 days with HAL, this is the first time I didn’t get an upgrade. So the upgrade fairy is just somebody somewhere making arbitrary decisions based on God knows what and without regard to last minute changes. But like I said, I got a great deal and had a great time.
Best Regards,
Mark….:cool:

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for clearing everything up. You had some of us confused for a while there. Now we understand everything.

As for upgrades - I do know someone here on these boards who has over 300 days on HAL and only once to my knowledge have i known them to get an upgrade. They have made mention of it a couple of times on this board.

[bruceh4]

Thanks for clearing everything up. You had some of us confused for a while there. Now we understand everything.

As for upgrades - I do know someone here on these boards who has over 300 days on HAL and only once to my knowledge have i known them to get an upgrade. They have made mention of it a couple of times on this board.Count me in as a person with over 300 days with HAL and only once had an upgrade. In fact it was on my very first cruise! So go figure, on my first cruise I had requested a specific room number and had it for about 5 months. Then HAL called and asked if I would let that room go and they would give me $300 back. I agreed, then just before sailing my travel agent called and said they moved me up a couple of categories. I thought this is great, book low and get upgraded. Ha, that was the last time it happened!!!:eek:

[KAKcruiser]

I don't see how HAL can assign a cabin to you and then reassign you to a lower category. Even if you agreed to a guarantee, this doesn't seem right to me. If they needed the handicapped room after they assigned it to you, I think they should have reassigned you at least to that category.

[Grumpy1]

I don't see how HAL can assign a cabin to you and then reassign you to a lower category. Even if you agreed to a guarantee, this doesn't seem right to me. If they needed the handicapped room after they assigned it to you, I think they should have reassigned you at least to that category. There may not have been another room to assign in that category. My guess would be that they found out they needed the HC cabin and they had no place to move OP except back to the original guarantee level. It would have been better if the assignment to the HC cabin had never been made. Getting an upgrade and then getting it pulled out from under you does not start things off on the right note.

"Upgrade Fairy Crap" ???

Interesting term. I don't remember seeing any cruiselines advertising an upgrade fairy. I'm pretty sure it's not part of HAL's Signature of Excellence Program.

Hmmmm, but maybe it should be:D