Formercruisestaff takes the Maasdam!!!

[formercruisestaff]

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know that after 2 very quick weeks of vacation, I have arrived safe and sound on the Maasdam.

It was a pleasure getting to meet those of you who came to visit the Zaandam while I was aboard, and I can't wait to meet everyone boarding the Maasdam between now and September 30th.

Remember I won't be working as an assistant cruise director on this ship, so if you want to find me, you'll need to visit Club HAL. My name is Laurie - in case I never mentioned that before.

Enjoy your summer!

[GinnyF]

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know that after 2 very quick weeks of vacation, I have arrived safe and sound on the Maasdam.

It was a pleasure getting to meet those of you who came to visit the Zaandam while I was aboard, and I can't wait to meet everyone boarding the Maasdam between now and September 30th.

Remember I won't be working as an assistant cruise director on this ship, so if you want to find me, you'll need to visit Club HAL. My name is Laurie - in case I never mentioned that before.

Enjoy your summer!

Hi, Laurie, I'll be on the July 1, '06, 35 day sailing Boston-Boston. No kids in Club HAL but look forward to meeing you anyway. Maybe you can break away for the meeting of the CC group on the first full day of the cruise.
Ginny

[sail7seas]

H Laurie..... Happy you are safely aboard the beautiful and elegant ms Maasdam. :)

My DH and I and another couple will board August 5. We're staying for the return cruise Montreal to Boston.

We've no children who will be in Club HAL but hope we get to meet you at some point.

Happy Landings........

We're eagerly awaiting returning to that great ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoy your "work" in Club HAL on the Maasdam.

[RuthC]

Welcome to my neck o' the woods. Hope you like your new assignment.
I'm wondering---since the NE/Canada is so port-intensive---if you'll be as busy in Club HAL as you would have been on another itinerary?

I'm sure there will be some kids on the trans-At (there always are), but I do hope that you can take advantage of all there is to see/do in those ports.

[laminar]

Who is the cruise director now??
How is the weather like ? I am cruising at the end of june with you guys!!

[formercruisestaff]

Who is the cruise director now??
How is the weather like ? I am cruising at the end of june with you guys!!


Doug will be returning on Saturday for what he claims will be one of his final contracts.

The weather this week has been amazing - I couldn't have asked for anything better. From what I hear, last week was pretty cool and rainy, so I'm not sure we're in the clear just yet.


since the NE/Canada is so port-intensive---if you'll be as busy in Club HAL as you would have been on another itinerary?

Actually, yes and no. You're right, with so many ports, it looks like we will be working less than your average cruise that has two or three sea days. However, Club HAL remains open on port days if parents sign their children up for activities, so we could potentially be working just as many hours....AND because the Maasdam has opened her Explorations Cafe, we most likely will have to work additional shifts there :mad: :( :confused:

That being said, with EC duty and port day sign-ups combined, I'm still working only a fraction of the time I was putting in on the Zaandam as an Assistant Cruise Director, so life is good! ;)

[sail7seas]

Aha......NOW I understand.

When we were on Ryndam, I was using one of the computers in Explorations and needed help with something. There was 'a person' seated at the desk (wearing a name badge and therefore "crew"??)....

I figured the person, with the name badge, seated at the desk by the computers should be the person who would help guests with computer issues.

When I asked for help, they told me to come back later when the Computer Manager person was there. I asked ..... Well, gee....er, um.......You're sitting here now; can't you help. They told me: "N0, Can't help you."

Rather than get into it, I simply logged off and left.
Now I get it. Why didn't they tell me they were Club HAL and I would have understood. Instead, All this time I have been thinking it was just as Computer Manager person who simply didn't feel like helping out.

[formercruisestaff]

Aha......NOW I understand.

When we were on Ryndam, I was using one of the computers in Explorations and needed help with something. There was 'a person' seated at the desk (wearing a name badge and therefore "crew"??)....

I figured the person, with the name badge, seated at the desk by the computers should be the person who would help guests with computer issues.

When I asked for help, they told me to come back later when the Computer Manager person was there. I asked ..... Well, gee....er, um.......You're sitting here now; can't you help. They told me: "N0, Can't help you."

Rather than get into it, I simply logged off and left.
Now I get it. Why didn't they tell me they were Club HAL and I would have understood. Instead, All this time I have been thinking it was just as Computer Manager person who simply didn't feel like helping out.



OUCH! First of all I should explain that the person seated at that desk was most likely the Explorations Cafe Manager. This person is in charge of signing out books and DVDs and for the overall upkeep of the Explorations Cafe. However, because the EC is open from 8am-10:30pm every day, cruise staff and youth staff sometimes relieve the EC Manager.

I will admit, that having the internet stations in the EC is frustrating for us, because guests often get upset when we cannot help them with their internet woes. This is especially bad when the internet is down.

BUT-I don't believe there is any reason that the person in question should have responded to you like that. At the very least s/he should have explained that they are not capable of helping you at that time and informed you of the Internet Manager's hours.

If I am not attending to someone at the desk, I always offer to help a guest having internet difficulties - though I do warn them that I am not sure if I will be able to help, and that if they are worried about fees incurred during the session they may want to wait and have the more knowledgable internet manager help them later.

I'm sorry to hear about that awkward experience...If you come to the EC while I'm working I'll try and help you :D :D :D

[betonic]

Hi Laurie!

I'm sorry to hijack your thread but I have a question....

I'm taking my 6 year old on the Noordam Transatlantic in September. Since this sailing is in the fall and for 16 days I don't anticipate there beong very many children. My travel agent assures me that the Club HAL programs will be operating in full even if there are very few children. Is this your experience? I don't plan to leave him there all the time but with so many sea days I know he's going to get bored with me. If you have any advise on how to make his cruise experience the best one I'd love to hear it.

Thanks in advance,
Nicole

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Explorations's Cafe manager on our Amsterdam was knowledgable about computers and was able to help solve many computer problems when the internet manager wasn't there. She was a gem.

[the2ofus]

It is great that we have HAL employees posting on this thread! I, too, have been confused by vague answers or information from various staff on the ships. I finally figured out that on at least one of our cruises it was the dancers and singers that were assigned to the Library checking the books in and out.

It would help new cruisers if there was a note in the daily program that entertainment and Club HAL staff cover the Explorations cafe and/or Library during the day when the Internet Manager is not available. It would also help if these staff were coached in how to explain their role in these areas to passengers.

That way, people are more likely to have realistic expectations.

[sail7seas]

Thank you for our response, Laurie.
I'll come by Explorations from time to time in order to meet you. :) It will be a pleasure, I am sure.

[grandsix]

Hi Laurie, Can you tell us if "Riza" is now the new maitra d ? Had him recently on the Veendam. A great guy and is well respected by his staff. In fact we believe he is the youngest M.D. in the fleet.

[sail7seas]

As long as we're asking crew questions......... :)


Who is Hotel Manager?


I know Captain Draper is Master.

[formercruisestaff]

Hi Laurie!

I'm sorry to hijack your thread but I have a question....

I'm taking my 6 year old on the Noordam Transatlantic in September. Since this sailing is in the fall and for 16 days I don't anticipate there beong very many children. My travel agent assures me that the Club HAL programs will be operating in full even if there are very few children. Is this your experience? I don't plan to leave him there all the time but with so many sea days I know he's going to get bored with me. If you have any advise on how to make his cruise experience the best one I'd love to hear it.

Thanks in advance,
Nicole

All of our ships are equipped with full time programs for children aged 3-17 (with the exception of the Prinsendam, which operates for 5-17 y.olds).

Don't worry, even if few children are on, the program will run in full force.

As for how to make your six year old's cruise the most enjoyable, I would suggest allowing a good mix of "family time" and "Club HAL time." I have found that when children are allowed to participate in the program, moms/dads get a nice break and the kids have fun doing "kids stuff."

I know some parents believe that if they're going to pay to take their kids on vacation then they should spend time together as a family and I agree with that as well...though some kids do enjoy spending 8-10 hours a day w/ Club HAL, I have found that a lot of the younger kids have had problems when left with us for 9 straight hours in port for multiple days (yes, we do see 3-7 year olds occasionally spend time ALONE in Club HAL from 8am-5pm in port for all 6 port days on my current run - to be honest I'm suprised those parents paid for their children to come on a cruise - it probably would have been cheaper to keep them home w/ a good sitter).

Anywho, I recommend allowing your son to spend 3-5 hours w/ Club HAL a day if you're not too busy in port and there are other children signed up. During a sea day, if he's comfortable, the full program (9am-noon, 2-5pm, and 8-10pm) is nice because he gets good time with the other children, and still gets to spend lunch/dinner with his family.

[formercruisestaff]

It is great that we have HAL employees posting on this thread! I, too, have been confused by vague answers or information from various staff on the ships. I finally figured out that on at least one of our cruises it was the dancers and singers that were assigned to the Library checking the books in and out.

It would help new cruisers if there was a note in the daily program that entertainment and Club HAL staff cover the Explorations cafe and/or Library during the day when the Internet Manager is not available. It would also help if these staff were coached in how to explain their role in these areas to passengers.

That way, people are more likely to have realistic expectations.

FYI: You're right, the cast used to soley man the library on our ships, but this no longer occurs.

The EC is primary manned by an EC Manager between the hours of 8am-10:30pm. During this time, the EC Manager is relieved for breaks/meals by either a cruise activities staff or a Club HAL staff who has been trained to preform the same functions as the EC manager.

The problem with the whole setup is actually just that not many passengers realize that the EC manager is not trained to run the internet stations. His/her duty is to sign out books and DVDs, keep the EC neat and tidy, run the daily quizzes, and maintain inventory control of the supplies.

As a passenger, there is no way of knowing that the EC manager is not responsible for the internet stations, and I totally agree that it would only be natural for them to assume that the person sitting at the big desk in front of the computers would be responsible for them...:o

The INTERNET manager's hours are printed in the daily program, but I agree with you that if there was some way of indicating to the passengers that the two positions remained seperate (like title signs on the desk, perhaps), less confusion would occur...

Or, I know this sounds crazy, but why not hire people who can do both jobs! LOL. I mean, not to downplay how hard EC managers work, but if each ship hired TWO internet managers, and taught them how to sign in and out the books, a lot less headaches would occur.

Just my 2 cents...

[kryos]

Or, I know this sounds crazy, but why not hire people who can do both jobs! LOL. I mean, not to downplay how hard EC managers work, but if each ship hired TWO internet managers, and taught them how to sign in and out the books, a lot less headaches would occur.

Of course, I know nothing about how the internet manager's job works on a ship, but just speaking from the viewpoint of a computer operations professional on land, I would assume that the reason the two jobs are separate is because the internet manager could theoretically get hung up for large blocks of time if he/she has to work a problem. Then there could conceivably be no one available to check out books and DVDs for passengers, resulting in people just walking off with them.

I know that here at my job, we can go long hours where we are relatively work-free. We monitor the systems, check off our various work schedules to indicate we've completed each survey of each network cluster ... and other than that, it's easy street. In a similiar situation on the ship, the internet manager could easily help people check out books too. But then ... when the network goes down and the operator has phones ringing off the hook (in the case of your internet manager, he's got multiple passengers asking him when the internet will be back up ... as he's trying to figure out what's wrong and get it back up), he's hardpressed to do more than work the problem ... and let everything else go.

So, maybe that's why there's only one internet manager whose job is totally separate from that of the Explorations Cafe Manager? I would assume that he's on 24-hour call too, so that even if it's not his duty hour, if the network goes down, he can be summoned?

Man, I only wish I were about 20 or 30 years younger. How much I would have liked to work in such a capacity aboard a ship. Unfortunately, though ... I think those jobs are for the young folks who have the stamina to go for twelve to 14 hour days. Guess I just "missed the boat" on that one. :(

Blue skies ...

--rita

[betonic]

Laurie,

Thanks for your response! My son's getting so excited about being on the ship. The first few days I have private tours planned and he will be with me and then we'll see if he likes Club HAL he might want to stay on board for a few hours in some of the ports. I thought of a couple of other questions.... Is there a way to know how many children are booked before the sailing? Also are there normally bi-lingual staff in the Club HAL. My son's first language is Spanish, we live in Cancun, he can certainly get by in English but just wanted to ask. It's actually better if he's forced to speak English, maybe that way he'll come home more confident.

[BM64]

Hi Laurie,
Is it really true that this ship is completely sold out for the month of August? We really want to be on the 8/12 sailing and it sound like my girls would enjoy having you as a youth counselor. I will keep trying for availability.

[sail7seas]

It is my understanding that Maasdam is completely sold out for the remainder of this year's Canada/New England cruises. Doesn't hurt to try to get a booking as there are probably always a few cancellations.

This is a popular itinerary and Maasdam is the perfect ship to do it IMO :)


BM64....... If you get a booking for the 8/12 sailing, I hope we get to meet.

[formercruisestaff]

Hi Laurie,
Is it really true that this ship is completely sold out for the month of August? We really want to be on the 8/12 sailing and it sound like my girls would enjoy having you as a youth counselor. I will keep trying for availability.

From what I understand the ship is sold out...but I think Sail7Seas is right...there usually are cancellations on any itinerary...

[formercruisestaff]

I would assume that the reason the two jobs are separate is because the internet manager could theoretically get hung up for large blocks of time if he/she has to work a problem. Then there could conceivably be no one available to check out books and DVDs for passengers, resulting in people just walking off with them.

So, maybe that's why there's only one internet manager whose job is totally separate from that of the Explorations Cafe Manager? I would assume that he's on 24-hour call too, so that even if it's not his duty hour, if the network goes down, he can be summoned?

--rita

You've got a point...sometimes the Internet Manager is needed for longer periods of time at once...but considering they have limited hours I believe the need for their services would be higher during that time than if one was available all day....

As for the "on call" part...usually when the system goes down (like in Glacier Bay etc.) it is due to MTN rather than the ship itself so, alas, whoever is covering the EC gets to field those inquiries :D Joy.

[formercruisestaff]

Laurie,

Thanks for your response! My son's getting so excited about being on the ship. The first few days I have private tours planned and he will be with me and then we'll see if he likes Club HAL he might want to stay on board for a few hours in some of the ports. I thought of a couple of other questions.... Is there a way to know how many children are booked before the sailing? Also are there normally bi-lingual staff in the Club HAL. My son's first language is Spanish, we live in Cancun, he can certainly get by in English but just wanted to ask. It's actually better if he's forced to speak English, maybe that way he'll come home more confident.


Because our staff traditionally come from Canada or the US, they do tend to speak English only. I have, however, worked with staff that also speak French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Croatian, Cantonese, and Mandarin so it really is more the luck of the draw....