Unhappy with HAL onboard Noordam

[washaw]

We embarked yesterday in NY.

1.) DO NOT buy embark gifts on the HAL web site. They charge your credit card but do not deliver the gifts. They will have no record and the front desk onboard CAN NOT HELP.

2.) Laundry service is $25 per bag and NOT $12 per bag as described in the pre-boarding material. According to the front desk onboard Noordam it has been $25 for over a year. (Wonder what else in out of date in the preboarding material?)

3.) DO NOT make reservations for the Grill on the HAL web site. I checked with the manager when I embarked. He had no reservations from anyone, on this cruise or any other from anyone, from the HAL web site. (Wonder what happens to those reservations. Wonder how much frustration and needless irratation?)

Good to be on msNoordam but I'm a little unhappy. Especially for my wife on her birthday! HAL, HAL, HAL, so sad!

Walker

[SakeDad]

Sorry to hear the trip started with a few problems.:( Hopefully the rest of the trip will make up for it.:) I hope you brought your printed receipts with you? That way you can show everyone you booked what you said you did!:p Enjoy the rest of your trip and Happy Birthday to the Mrs.

[CSkier71]

I was also onboard this past week and heard disembarkation wasn't great for many people. We got off at 9:45ish but i talked to someone who didn't carry off his luggage like we did and they got off at 1:00 and they didnt get lunch.

[Oceanwench]

This past week was spring vacation week for Mass.
I wondered if there were going to be problems reported from the Noordam ... :(

[tomc]

I was also an Express disembark, so I can't speak to that. However, my TA's gift from last October's cruise was supposed to be delivered this time and they really fouled it up -- even to claiming it was sent to my cabin, which it was not. The shops said it was sent and I was nice, but persistent; even went to the shop where the clerk was a self-absorbed idiot. So there is a problem in the gifts area.

There were 150 kids aboard, but I did not notice any problems with them.

[luv2cruz4fun]

I was on the Noordam 2/28 sailing and ordered gifts for 2 cabins online and had no problems. My husbands gift came to the room shortly after sail away and my mothers was in her cabin when they entered. I had also prearranged shore excursions and they were in the cabin when I arrived.

[washaw]

I will pass along the birthday greetings. Thanks.

Shore excursions when as ordered with tickets delivered to the stateroom shortly after we checked aboard.

However, EVERYTHING ELSE order online failed. HAL still has the money without delivery of the services and, so far, only a "so sorry" to show for it.

Usually I am not grumpy and almost always look for the up side. This is a small thing, several hundred dollars, about 2% of our cost. Will HAL come through and make good on their on-line sale? Yet to be seen.

For now, DO NOT BUY ONLINE FROM HAL.

I'm online aboard msNoordam headed for Half Moon Bay.

Walker

[SakeDad]

Did you take your receipts with you?? I have seen it mentioned here several times to make sure you take your emails and online receipts just in case there are any problems. No one can tell you you're wrong if you have paper in front of you!:p Hope it all works out for you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

So sorry to hear that your cruise started off on the wrong foot.

We have also had problems with gifts and ship board credits the last couple of years on a couple of ships. We always take e-mails and credit card slips with us as proof. It is a hassel and sometimes took us 4 or 5 days to get things cleared up.

Hope the rest of your cruise goes well.

[Desdemona01]

Online/phone booking can be a challenge, regardless. This can also happen with hotel reservations, car reservations, etc. This is an example of why you need to print out your receipts/confirmations for everything you book online or by phone and take them with you. If you don't have an online receipt, take along a copy of the credit card statement showing the charges.

We've prebooked items several times with HAL and never experienced a problem, but I had my documentation ready just in case;)

I hope your cruise is wonderful and that this will not mar your experience. I have to believe that HAL will make it right once proof of payment is provided.

Good luck
Des

[jtl513]

For now, DO NOT BUY ONLINE FROM HAL.
Foul-ups in on-line purchases from HAL is not just a current problem. 18 months ago we made Pinnacle reservations that were charged to our credit card as two separate $20 items rather than a single $40 transaction. When we got to the ship there was only a reservation for one person, and we had to pay another $20 in order to eat together. It took 6 weeks to finally get the extra $20 back.

[jhannah]

I agree that receipts/confirmations are important. But it's also very apparent that HAL is not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to their website.

[HeatherInFlorida]

This is absolutely not fair and very disappointing for the OP. I have noticed there is often a disconnect between HQ and the ships. They do sometimes act like they're completely separate and this shouldn't happen.

I never have had a problem with shore excursions, but other things can be an issue.

I do always bring all my receipts, but if the onboard staff is going to disassociate themselves with Seattle, that won't help. A big "I'm sorry" doesn't help much if you still don't get what you paid for!!!

Hope the rest of your cruise is great and makes up for the disappointment. A very Happy Birthday to your wife!

[Jade13]

Online/phone booking can be a challenge, regardless. This can also happen with hotel reservations, car reservations, etc. This is an example of why you need to print out your receipts/confirmations for everything you book online or by phone and take them with you. If you don't have an online receipt, take along a copy of the credit card statement showing the charges.

We've prebooked items several times with HAL and never experienced a problem, but I had my documentation ready just in case;)

I hope your cruise is wonderful and that this will not mar your experience. I have to believe that HAL will make it right once proof of payment is provided.

Good luck
Des


We gave our boss a dinner for three at the Pinnacle. He had a copy of the receipt that was e-mailed to us by ship services. He had also pre-paid for a couple other nights which they put back into ships credit when the first night was not good. Now, there was no problem on the ship, but just last month, 4 months later, they tried to charge his credit card for this dinner that was already paid for. I gave him someone at Ship Services to straighten it out and luckily I had the receipt because my boss did not keep a copy. His issue was why was this coming up 4 months later. We thought everything was settled when you left the ship?

[Odd Ball]

There is NO EXCUSE for this type of thing. :mad:

I am very sorry you had to put up with this. A letter to Hal is in order.

[CocoKai]

Receipts mean nothing to the front desk and/or Pinnancle Grill people. I was still chewing my dinner when they called our stateroom and said they didn't believe my internet receipt and would have to contact Seattle for verification.

On another note, we did get two dinner reservations from a very nice couple named Jim and Cheryle. Thinking it was my in-laws, Jim and Cheri, we called them and thanked them when we got home. Although they would have liked to take credit....it wasn't them. So to whoever Jim and Sheryle are.....thanks for our great dinner at the Pinnacle. To bad your real recipients never got to go and don't be mad at them because they never thanked you.

[fcorey]

I am sorry to hear your cruise started off on the wrong foot. I hope things improve for you. I didnt trust the online system last year and I made all purchases through ship services phone number. I got everything we purchased, some was in the room when we arrived, the rest arrived later in the day. However I went directly to Pinnacle grill and confirmed our reservations when we got there, which was a good thing as they were fouled up too. its something that they really need to work on. Have a gret trip and dont let this stuff get you down

[Atomica]

Can you check your credit card statement on-line? Print that out and take it down to them and that should clear up any issues.

I agree with everyone else - take a printed copy if you're going to order anything for yourself, just as a backup. There is a bigger picture problem - you SHOULD be able to order things from HAL without having to prove that you did, but for now, a printed reciept is the next best thing.

[Dolphins]

Foul-ups in on-line purchases from HAL is not just a current problem. 18 months ago we made Pinnacle reservations that were charged to our credit card as two separate $20 items rather than a single $40 transaction. When we got to the ship there was only a reservation for one person, and we had to pay another $20 in order to eat together. It took 6 weeks to finally get the extra $20 back.

Whenever we ordered excursions or restaurant reservations on NCL before sailing, they were never charged to our credit card. They were charged to our onboard shipboard account after boarding. Makes no sense to pay ahead of time for something you may cancel on board? Appreciate the information and I will make sure to do all my HAL reservations on board.

[mamaofami]

I've never had any problems with excurions booked on line or the ROV, but I do most everything else when I'm on the ship.

[RevNeal]

It sounds like this particular cruise has had some extra problems than just normal clerical errors ... if there were NO advanced Pinnacle Grill reservations for ANYBODY, that seems like a BIG slip up. My suggestion to you is that, if you don't have satisfaction from HAL before the cruise is up (and you might, especially if this is a ship-wide problem) write HAL. You should, eventually, get your money back.

HAL HQ really does have a problem in the department of taking orders online and getting those orders fulfilled. They do ok with the online shore excursions booking system, but the connection to Ships Services is hit-and-miss. :(

For my own part, I have always just called ship's services and placed my orders that way. Even then, sometimes they don't go through and I had to "have it out" with the front desk more than once on such occasions (like when an order for flowers for my mother was never fulfilled). The last time I ordered from ships service's direct I asked for them to send me either a mail or a fax receipt. I was told "Oh, that won't be necessary, sir." And my reply was "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." And then proceeded to tell them what had happened before. It resulted in me getting bumped up to a "supervisor" who turned out to be a friend of mine in Ship's Services management. Before I hung up that phone my office's fax machine was printing my receipt.

In short ... until HAL gets the bugs out of their on-line system, place your ship-services related pre-orders (1) by phone, and (2) don't take no for a faxed/physical mail receipt.

[InsureFun]

I generally just lurk, due to having to cancel some past cruises I am trying not to jinx anything. This thread has really upset and concerned me and I feel I must comment.

I purchased a great deal online for our cruise in a few weeks, $1,200.00 in shore excursions, $400.00 in shipboard credit, 2 soda cards, 1 coffee card and dinner for 2 at the Pinnacle Grill. I just called ship services and they confirmed what I purchased on the website but hardly feel confident. I wanted to have almost everything paid for before we cruised.

I do not relish the idea of spending any of my vacation arguing with the help desk. I am totally sympathetic to the OP an, "I'm sorry" does nothing to rectify the situation. HAL needs to hire people who care, can research and solve problems in a timely manner. The OP shouldn't have to carry a bunch of receipts with him. I would have approximately 5 pages just of online gift receipts, not including car rental, hotel and airline. If a business is efficeint and well run there is no need to have to carry around pages of receipts.

To the OP you can get online onboard the ship and bring up those receipts. If you still get no satisfaction file a dispute with your credit card company. I am really disappointed in HAL and hope you salvaged some of your vacation.

[hammybee]

This is most unfortunate for everyone involved. With the exception of pre-ordering excursions, which seems to work well, most of the time, I would refrain from pre-ordering anything else. Why give the cruise line your money to work with in advance of your sail? Why increase the liklihood that you may have to go toe to toe with people, once onboard. And clearly the people onboard are not empowered to rely upon printed copies of such orders.

Pre-ordering spa services, PG dinners, soda cards and what not is a convenience that HAL apparently is not up to snuff to deliver. It almost seems to create/sustain jobs for people to have to deal with the problems after the fact. That it becomes necessary to have to accelerate a situation to a supevisor or have a personal connection, speaks volumes for the internal operations/controls within the HAL organization.

Thank goodness this kind of management is not onboard the ships we love to sail.

[jhannah]

Can you check your credit card statement on-line? Print that out and take it down to them and that should clear up any issues. While this is certainly logical, Aaron, the credit card statement won't say what the charge is for. So you'd likely get the "It doesn't say it's for these things" argument from the front desk. :(

[jhannah]

Can you check your credit card statement on-line? Print that out and take it down to them and that should clear up any issues. While this is certainly logical, Aaron, the credit card statement won't say what the charge is for. So you'd likely get the "It doesn't say it's for these things" argument from the front desk. :(

[fatcat04]

We are sending my parents on a cruise and don't have a choice but preorder. I won't be there to order anything and wanted them to have these things when they get on the boat.

Maybe I could give the receipt to them in a sealed envelope and IF there is nothing in their cabin when they get there, they can open the envelope and get HAL to fix the problem.

It would be very disappointing for all this special stuff we have planned did not happen. :(

[washaw]

Can you check your credit card statement on-line? Print that out and take it down to them and that should clear up any issues.

I agree with everyone else - take a printed copy if you're going to order anything for yourself, just as a backup. There is a bigger picture problem - you SHOULD be able to order things from HAL without having to prove that you did, but for now, a printed reciept is the next best thing.

=========
I DID print the credit card receipt and took it to the front desk. NO they said, a receipt was not good enough to resolve the matter.

Again, DO NOT USE HOLLAND AMERICA online purchases except for shore excursions. When you get onboard they will not be able to find what you purchased and a printed receipt is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Walker

[Atomica]

=========
I DID print the credit card receipt and took it to the front desk. NO they said, a receipt was not good enough to resolve the matter.

Again, DO NOT USE HOLLAND AMERICA online purchases except for shore excursions. When you get onboard they will not be able to find what you purchased and a printed receipt is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Walker

That's very unfortunate. Sorry, it was just a suggestion.

I can appreciate your frustration; I'd be absolutely furious if that happened to me.

[hammybee]

We are sending my parents on a cruise and don't have a choice but preorder. I won't be there to order anything and wanted them to have these things when they get on the boat.

Maybe I could give the receipt to them in a sealed envelope and IF there is nothing in their cabin when they get there, they can open the envelope and get HAL to fix the problem.

It would be very disappointing for all this special stuff we have planned did not happen. :(

I know how much you are invested in your parents having a wonderful experience. I also know how much you want to surprise them. It's one thing to be disappointed and furious when what we pre-ordered for ourselves does not materialize, but when we do so for others it's an embarassment for everyone. In your case, I would personally contact Ship Services to increase the likelihood of a communication follow-through within HAL. I hope it all works out as planned for your parents.

[fatcat04]

I know how much you are invested in your parents having a wonderful experience. I also know how much you want to surprise them. It's one thing to be disappointed and furious when what we pre-ordered for ourselves does not materialize, but when we do so for others it's an embarassment for everyone. In your case, I would personally contact Ship Services to increase the likelihood of a communication follow-through within HAL. I hope it all works out as planned for your parents.

I will call HAL today and check up on things then. I had considered ordering over the phone but just assumed since the website seems so efficient (and actually my inner teenager thinks it is pretty "cool" compared to other cruise websites) that that way was the best way. I did order their cake to be delivered to their table over the phone so I hope that will work out.

We were planning on booking their excursions online too in the next couple days. Should this be done over the phone as well or do the excursion booked online generally work out okay?

Funny... you never realize how much there is to booking a vacation until you do it. You kinda need a vacation after booking a vacation. :) Think I'll go to Disney for a weekend after mom and dad get back safe and sound!! But then I never NEED an excuse to go to Disney... but I'll take an excuse if you got one handy. :D

[hammybee]

We were planning on booking their excursions online too in the next couple days. Should this be done over the phone as well or do the excursion booked online generally work out okay?

:D

I am not aware of anyone having a problem with booking shore excurions via HAL's web site. I would not hesitate to do so.

[RustaRoo]

I will be joining Walker on the Noordam this Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale. When I ordered on-line excursions and gifts on line, for this cruise, I received separate e-mail confirmations with two separte confirmation numbers on them. I intend to take those with me as well as my Visa receipts. The totals match what was sent to me on the confirmation e-mails.

Like most people, I've never had problems getting the pre-booked excursions but I, too, HAVE had problems on two occasions trying to sort out gifts. Now, it looks as though I'll be faced with it yet again this week. How disappointing:( What's more frustrating, as an earlier poster mentioned, is if someone ELSE sent you a gift, you may never receive it, nor know that one was in fact due!

I'll be letting folks know my experience upon my return.

Walker, I'm hopeful that since it's Monday (and your sea day) that HAL Seattle has been contacted and is sorting this out for you. I'll be looking forward to talking to you when I get onboard. Until then, have fun at Half Moon Cay tomorrow:D <that's my green with envy face!>

[InsureFun]

=========
I DID print the credit card receipt and took it to the front desk. NO they said, a receipt was not good enough to resolve the matter.

Again, DO NOT USE HOLLAND AMERICA online purchases except for shore excursions. When you get onboard they will not be able to find what you purchased and a printed receipt is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Walker

Not the credit card receipt but the confirmation number of your website purchase. We printed the confirmation page which has a 4 digit confirmation number in the right hand corner. When I called Ship Services I spoke to a pleasant young man named Will and he even emailed a screen shot of what was purchased and suggested I bring that with us. He did acknowledge that this is new but if there are any problems the Help desk can contact Ship Services.

[RustaRoo]

I'm coordinating the CC get-together this Thursday onboard the Noordam, so I alerted my contact with HAL about Walker's (and others!) problems. Her prompt yet unhelpful reply was:
Hello Richard,

I would advise you to call ship services at 800-541-1576 to place your gift order for now. It will help you feel more comfortable.

Kind regards,
Arica Hawley

This of course doesn't help anyone on board or those of us about to board who ordered online months ago. Time will tell I guess, on this one.

I decided to edit and add these additional comments. I wrote back to Ms. Hawley, explaining that my order, for example, was placed online in January and re-ordering via Ship Serivces would not be an option I would choose. I asked her if she could at least 'alert those in the know' to see if this could be resolved for those of us boarding in FLL.

She replied:
I have passed the information on to the correct department. Hopefully there wont be a problem with your orders.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I am still stunned! I can't believe that even when presenting your receipt, they refused to help you? Or honor the order?

In our case, it wasn't things we ordered or paid for so I never mentioned it or complained at the time, but more than once Ship's Services has said to me (about a request) "No problem, you're all set" and practically hearing her smile:) , I would rest easy.

But once onboard, there was no record of my requests. In one case which had to do with a change in people at our table of 8, the Maitre D' looked at me quite amused when I told him I had spoken with Ship's Services and had been told "you're all set!".

[Spender Nui]

After my last HAL cruise I called my TA to thank her for dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. She asked if I also enjoyed the 4 bottles of wine. I told her there was no 4 bottles of wine. I don't know if she did anything about it or not.

[Sunshine91]

We've pre-ordered shorex via the website, mostly to ensure our "spots" on what we assumed would be popular trips. No problems with the tix in those bright pink envelopes waiting for us in the cabin. :)

Any other pre-cruise purchases - Pinnacle dinners, gifts, etc - I've only ordered over the phone (guess I'll continue to do so). Probably because I had a question regarding what I was about to buy. I've also always requested, & received within minutes, an e-mail confirmation of the credit card transaction.

I've always always always taken every receipt with us. It just gets printed at the time I receive it & goes into my cruise folder. Never needed anything (yet :rolleyes: ), but you never know. :)

[washaw]

Once embarked the resolution process is for msNoordam to send a message to their HAL HQ in Seattle. We embarked on a Saturday. HAL HQ is closed until 8am Seattle time on Monday.

Bankers hours for a cruise ship line? This world class cruise line can only resolve issues during office hours - 40 hours per week - while their cruise passengers and ship staff wait.

So I agree with all those that suggest you wait until you are onboard to make arrangements. It appears that the staff can resolve issues that were initiated while onboard. DO NOT use the HAL website to order anything except shore excursions. And even those can be ordered onboard to ensure accurance.

From onboard msNoordam, we went through the Panama Canal yesterday. Right now out the window I see the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the coast of Panama. Cruise life is very good indeed.

Walker

[Jade13]

My boss and his family did not get the cake that "ship Services" offered to send. AND, that was two different people, one at the Pinnacle and one in the dinning room. So, two cakes did not appear.

Additionally, my boss still does not have the issue resolved where the accounting department is trying to get him to pay a second time for the Pinnacle Grill dinner. I had the recipt for the gift from our department but he threw out the other two receipts. His concern is that they are just nasty to him by phone. I had him call Will Chase who told this him to have the women in the credit department call him, but she won't do it. Right now he doesn't want to get on a HAL ship again.

[knitlady037]

I ordered coffee cards, drink cards, and shirts from ship's services for our Noordam sailing. When I requested a receipt be mailed to me or e-mailed to me, they said that wasn't possible. They assured me all the items would be there. When we got to our room, some items were not there. Went to front desk, and the first thng they asked for was a receipt. Luckily, the items arrived a little while later. My advice is bring whatever documentation you have and hope for the best.;)

[SparklPlenti]

Hi,all,

My folks and in-laws are onboard Noordam as I type (in fact we watched them go through the Panama Canal yesterday via webcam!), and I ordered a bunch of gifts by phone. Quick summary - everything went wonderfully. The flowers, champagne, coffee cards and Pinnacle Grill certificates (no reservations) were waiting for them upon arrival. One hour prior to their dining room seating time, the appetizer platter arrived. They called from aboard ship just before they got out of cell range and were over-the-moon both by the gifts and HAL's attention to detail.

When ordering, I requested even more gifts delivered on the folks respective anniversaries (50th & 51st!). This seemed a bit of a stretch, and I was told they would do their best, but could not guarantee the gifts would arrive on the date specified. The goodies are scheduled to arrive this week, so here's hoping it goes according to plan.

My only negative comment is more of a long-winded question rather than an outright criticism. After ordering via phone and asking for a confirmation number, HAL said there was "No need for a confirmation number. It would all be taken care of". As a person who's spent a good deal of her professional life working Customer Service related industries, this reply is both unacceptable and a tad silly. Why would HAL want to open themselves up to possible discord by not offering, and honoring, confirmation numbers? The software for creating and tracking confirmation numbers exists, it's a simple matter to implement, and a great way to insure happy passengers. It seems such an easy, efficient, and consistent way for HAL to build on thier tradition of excellence that I'm confused as to why they wouldn not implement such a system. Here's hoping they do so in the future.

[sailor5552]

A few valuable lessons I learned on these boards

1. definitely order shore/ex online before the cruise, especially if the tour is popular. The pink envelope was there at embarkation, and so were the other members' of our group. Didn't hear of one problem with that on the 4/11 Noordam trip.

2. My husband's birthday was during the cruise, but I did not order the special bottle of Scotch for him until we were a few hours out to sea. That way, we avoided the city and state sales taxes out of NYC. Had I ordered that from Ship's Services prior, it would have cost alot more.

Thank you to everyone on the boards.....

[caviargal]

Last week, I prebooked a massage, two dinners at the PG and also added two OBCs to my cruise. My preference is to prepay for my trips as much as possible and this helps me do exactly that.

I printed the receipts the website provided and theyb specified the dates and times of everything I prepaid. I cannot imagine that HAL could disregard this once aboard but I also agree that the communication between HQ and the ships leave a lot to be desired.

[washaw]

Last week, I prebooked a massage, two dinners at the PG and also added two OBCs to my cruise. My preference is to prepay for my trips as much as possible and this helps me do exactly that.

I printed the receipts the website provided and theyb specified the dates and times of everything I prepaid. I cannot imagine that HAL could disregard this once aboard but I also agree that the communication between HQ and the ships leave a lot to be desired.

I graduated high school during your first cruise! Certainly you must be the most senior Cruise Critic person I have encountered with 113 cruises and almost 8,000 posting to CC.

You said "I cannot imagine that HAL could disregard this once aboard...". This systemic HAL headquarters problem has been experienced by such a large percentage of customers it is difficult to understand your confidence. HAL has not empowered shipboard personnel to resolve these problems. The receipts you carry are of no interest or value to the personnel at the front desk onboard. The three day delay for HAL Seattle to decide what to do is intentional. The HAL process makes the problems systemic. And the HAL failure to improve the process suggests at the very least a disregard for customer satisfaction.

However, experience is the best teacher and I defer to your 44 years of cruise experience. But I would still caution the less experienced and novice cruiser not to order services from HAL online.

Very respectfully,
Walker

[caviargal]

I graduated high school during your first cruise! Certainly you must be the most senior Cruise Critic person I have encountered with 113 cruises and almost 8,000 posting to CC.

You said "I cannot imagine that HAL could disregard this once aboard...". This systemic HAL headquarters problem has been experienced by such a large percentage of customers it is difficult to understand your confidence. HAL has not empowered shipboard personnel to resolve these problems. The receipts you carry are of no interest or value to the personnel at the front desk onboard. The three day delay for HAL Seattle to decide what to do is intentional. The HAL process makes the problems systemic. And the HAL failure to improve the process suggests at the very least a disregard for customer satisfaction.

However, experience is the best teacher and I defer to your 44 years of cruise experience. But I would still caution the less experienced and novice cruiser not to order services from HAL online.

Very respectfully,
Walker

Walker, I continue to read of issues with these advanced bookings and have no doubt that there is a communication problem. I have had some less than stellar experiences with trying to resolve issues once onboard that were supposedly taken care of by Seattle.:( So, your points are well taken.

I have been a group leader on two HAL cruises over the past 18 months with a third on the books so I am sure my recent positive experiences are due to the fact that I work with a completely different group of folks who have direct access to management and staff on the ships. I made over 30 individual sets of PG reservations prior to my April cruise on OS and there were no issues once on board except for the fact that the ship had not properly posted all the payments (apparently this is only done on the final night before debarkation). By emailing my contacts in Seattle, my issues are generally resolved in a timely fashion, albeit still frustrating to deal with onboard.

I was told by Ships Services yesterday when I pushed this issue that any pre-paid reservations for the Spa and PG are requests only, despite what the paperwork says. No reservations are actually confirmed in advance. I can see where anyone who books these would assume otherwise, as I did, especially new cruisers. The confirmation makes it appear to be a done deal.

Since this next cruise on the Noordam will not be with a group, it will be interesting to see the level of service I will experience. As a group leader, HALs support is heads above the other lines, both from Seattle and on the ships. I have not cruised with HAL as an individual passenger since the 80s so look forward to the experience.

[RustaRoo]

I printed the receipts the website provided and they specified the dates and times of everything I prepaid. I cannot imagine that HAL could disregard this once aboard Oh, trust me, they do TOTALLY disregard it. My receipts via e-mail directly from HAL Seattle, with confirmation numbers meant absolutely NOTHING to the Front Office Staff. Unlike washaw who had to endure 3 days, mine was "quickly" resolved in only two days - totally unacceptale in both cases. I met directly with the Hotel Manager, Henk Mensink, on the Noordam and he was well aware of the disconnect between head office and the ship and did not have an answer on how OR when it would ever be resolved. This is a wide-spread problem and not likely to disappear soon.

[mamaofami]

I think we've all read enough reports on this board about reservations and orders of items that never seem to make it to the shi[s' computers. I would not order these things in advance if I didn't want to be disappointed. A quick trip to the Pinnacle Grill when on board can take care of those reservations and the same for the spa.

The only remaining problem is for people who want to pre order gifts. The gifts from my TA did arrive with no hitch. However, this seems to be a catch as catch can event. It's very disappointing for those who think they've placed an order or made a reservation and then to find it isn't carried out, yet they've been charged for it.

Anyone have any suggestions?:confused:

[caviargal]

Oh, trust me, they do TOTALLY disregard it. My receipts via e-mail directly from HAL Seattle, with confirmation numbers meant absolutely NOTHING to the Front Office Staff. Unlike washaw who had to endure 3 days, mine was "quickly" resolved in only two days - totally unacceptale in both cases. I met directly with the Hotel Manager, Henk Mensink, on the Noordam and he was well aware of the disconnect between head office and the ship and did not have an answer on how OR when it would ever be resolved. This is a wide-spread problem and not likely to disappear soon.

I believe you:). As I just posted, my access to HAL personnel has been through different channels and I am sure that is why I have had few issues.

I have found Guest Relations and the office to be the weakest link on both ZUI and OS, and that is no different from the other lines I work with, which are actually worse.:(

[Radiomark]

It's apparent that there have been some pretty nasty disconnects on Noordam. Have people been experiencing the same problem on the other ships as well? We board in Vancouver for our Alaska cruise on Sunday on Statendam. We pre-booked Pinnacle Grill reservations and some gifts as well. I hope we have better success than what I'm seeing on this thread. You guys have me a bit worried. I have printed receipts for everything, assuming that makes any difference at all.

Mark

[Jade13]

Last week, I prebooked a massage, two dinners at the PG and also added two OBCs to my cruise. My preference is to prepay for my trips as much as possible and this helps me do exactly that.

I printed the receipts the website provided and theyb specified the dates and times of everything I prepaid. I cannot imagine that HAL could disregard this once aboard but I also agree that the communication between HQ and the ships leave a lot to be desired.

You can pre-pay OBC? I never thought of that.

Also, not the Noordam, but my boss was on the Veendam. I called Ship Services twice, the first was to pre-pay/book a PG dinner. They offered to send him an anniversary cake and I said the Chocolate Mousse was great (which by the way when we went to the PG they asked if we were celebrating anything special and brought the cake on their own).

Another time I called a diff. Coordinator who offered to send a cake in the main dinning room. Well, my boss received neither. So, I felt terrible after I asked him. Do you know because of the reports on this bb I thought by OK'ing two, I thought at least one cake would show up.

[wander]

Perhaps someone already commented on the Laundry charge issue, but if so I missed it.

I cruised on 3 different HAL ships for a total of 4 months and ten days between October 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007. None were the Noordam. However, on these three ships, the laundry WAS still $12 per bag.

What they charge since April 30th I do not know, but for the past 7 months, it was still $12 on the Prinsendam, Amsterdam and Zaandam.

[RustaRoo]

Perhaps someone already commented on the Laundry charge issue, but if so I missed it. On the Noordam it's $25 per bag.

[TonitheTiger]

On the Noordam it's $25 per bag.

Can any one tell me how big the bag is? How many clothes items will fix in it? How soon do you recieve it back?


Thanks,
TJ

[e-CJ]

On the Noordam it's $25 per bag.

Can any one tell me how big the bag is? How many clothes items will fix in it? How soon do you recieve it back?


Thanks,
TJ

The bag does not look very big, but a lot can be stuffed into it. Our second bag was barely cinched up at the top. If you put jeans in it will not hold as much, of course, but if you send smaller items you can fit quite a lot into it. Approximately the same amount as a regular load in your washing machine at home (not an extra large capacity washer). Or maybe the size of a ten pound bag of potatoes. Just an estimate. $25 was a lot to pay but we were conservative and only had two bags washed during our 22 day cruise. Today we are washing the rest, so on second thought, it might be worth it!

They say 48 hours, but I think that depends on how far you are into your cruise. Earlier in the cruise it takes them less time to return the laundry. For those of us who iron only when necessary, it was very odd to get back jeans socks and underwear ironed.

Smiles, CJ

[e-CJ]

I have been a group leader on two HAL cruises over the past 18 months with a third on the books so I am sure my recent positive experiences are due to the fact that I work with a completely different group of folks who have direct access to management and staff on the ships.

Since this next cruise on the Noordam will not be with a group, it will be interesting to see the level of service I will experience. As a group leader, HALs support is heads above the other lines, both from Seattle and on the ships. I have not cruised with HAL as an individual passenger since the 80s so look forward to the experience.

I am curious as to what type of groups you are with that you have so many cruises to go on? Also with your expertise at working with upper levels at HAL, how do we get you to advocate with the home office on our behalf? I hope you enjoy your Noordam cruise, I have to say that certain aspects of this last cruise on her were considerably less than stellar.

Smiles, CJ

[FoxyTerrier]

I ordered coffee cards, drink cards, and shirts from ship's services for our Noordam sailing. When I requested a receipt be mailed to me or e-mailed to me, they said that wasn't possible. ;)
Last summer I ordered spirits, wine and a soda card from Ship Services and I asked to have the receipt faxed to me. I received it promptly and did bring it along with me. When we arrived in our staterooms nothing was there. I called the Neptune Lounge to verify the order and they did know about it and all items arrived shortly.

We did have a snafu on our Westerdam cruise this past March. As part of our booking we were to get 2 Dinners in the PG, 2 photo vouchers and champange. We did get all of our items except our Dinners had turned into Lunch in the PG. I called the Neptune and brought down my copies of the booking receipts and after a couple of calls I was told it was an error, and no dinners were being given out any longer. I argued a bit and finally gave up, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. We booked 2 cabins - one being a SB and I think they could have turned the lunches into dinners at their expense especially since we were planning on buying 2 more dinners for the 4 of us. So we had a nice lunch in the PG for 2 since DS and friend were not interested in doing the PG at lunch.

The other thing that got me was none of our pics turned out that good and we do have tons from other cruises so I asked about using the photo vouches as credit towards something else and I would pay the difference and was told no because they had zero value. They tried to explain that to me and I still don't get it, so I brought them home with me and just threw them out. Next time we book I'm going to ask the TA for OBC instead of all these perks cause they just don't work out as planned.

[FoxyTerrier]

I ordered coffee cards, drink cards, and shirts from ship's services for our Noordam sailing. When I requested a receipt be mailed to me or e-mailed to me, they said that wasn't possible. ;)

Sorry dup post.

[caviargal]

I am curious as to what type of groups you are with that you have so many cruises to go on? Also with your expertise at working with upper levels at HAL, how do we get you to advocate with the home office on our behalf? I hope you enjoy your Noordam cruise, I have to say that certain aspects of this last cruise on her were considerably less than stellar.

Smiles, CJ

I am a partner in an incentive/meeting planning firm so there is no one particular type of group. The smaller groups (family reunions, etc.) I do not escort, the larger ones I do as we have daily events both onboard and in port that I am responsible to manage. I do more land based events than cruises as a rule but still do my share of cruises.

I provide detailed feedback to management at HAL after my group cruises, including suggestions on making things easier for everyone. I will do the same after my Noordam cruise and this time will not have a group with me as I am going to Alaska to arrange my shore excursions, etc, for next year. (I book independently of the ship.) This will give me a different perspective entirely being a "regular" passenger.

I occasionally send my HAL contacts links to certain threads that are posted here at cruisecritic. If there is a consenus on issues to be brought to HALs attention, I am happy to utilize my contacts to do so.

[kryos]

2.) Laundry service is $25 per bag and NOT $12 per bag as described in the pre-boarding material. According to the front desk onboard Noordam it has been $25 for over a year. (Wonder what else in out of date in the preboarding material?)

I think the pricing is higher on the Vista class ships since basically you're stuck. There is no self-service laundry facilities on those ships and HAL knows you have no choice but to pay what they charge. It was still $12 a bag on the Veendam last month. I know that for a fact, because I sent two bags out during that 18-day cruise.

As for the gifts ... did you bring your online receipts with you? Showing them at the front desk should get the problem promptly resolved. I know my cabinmate on the Veendam cruise ordered some items ... Coke Cards, onboard credit, etc ... and everything was in the cabin when we arrived. Our shore excursions were properly noted and booked as well. We both ordered them in advance on the website.

I can well understand your disappointment in these failings of HAL, though. I'd be quite disappointed too. Hopefully, the rest of your cruise will go smoothly.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

The other thing that got me was none of our pics turned out that good and we do have tons from other cruises so I asked about using the photo vouches as credit towards something else and I would pay the difference and was told no because they had zero value. They tried to explain that to me and I still don't get it, so I brought them home with me and just threw them out. Next time we book I'm going to ask the TA for OBC instead of all these perks cause they just don't work out as planned.
That is a load of crap! Twice now I've returned bathrobes for OBC. For some inexplicable reason, I've had TA's who give us vouchers for free bathrobes. The TA on my last cruise actually had bathrobes waiting in the cabin for both me and my cabinmate. These were brand new ... still wrapped in plastic. I truly appreciated the thought, but there was no way I was gonna try to figure out how to get something that takes as much room up in a suitcase as a bathrobe home at the end of a month's travels. So, we took them down to the front desk and got $45 in OBC in exchange for them.

There has to be a value to photographs. I understand that the credit for them would be non-refundable. You either use it or you lose it. But, surely they have an assigned value to that package that could have been added to your account ... to be spent in a manner of your own choosing.

Frankly, I wish TA's would bag these "gimme" packages and just provide their clients with non-refundable OBC. Such would be far more appreciated since the client can then redeem the OBC in a manner that he/she sees fit.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[TonitheTiger]

They say 48 hours, but I think that depends on how far you are into your cruise. Earlier in the cruise it takes them less time to return the laundry. For those of us who iron only when necessary, it was very odd to get back jeans socks and underwear ironed.

Smiles, CJ

Many thanks,

I hate to iron and did not even think of it.

Tj

[Jade13]

Perhaps someone already commented on the Laundry charge issue, but if so I missed it.

I cruised on 3 different HAL ships for a total of 4 months and ten days between October 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007. None were the Noordam. However, on these three ships, the laundry WAS still $12 per bag.

What they charge since April 30th I do not know, but for the past 7 months, it was still $12 on the Prinsendam, Amsterdam and Zaandam.

I just e-mailed the Ship Coordinator for the Westerdam and she said it is $12.00 per bag and $70.00 unlimitef for ten days. She never responded to why the Noordam is $25.00 (is it possible they are charging for 2 people in a room, although that would be $24.00?)

[kryos]

They say 48 hours, but I think that depends on how far you are into your cruise. Earlier in the cruise it takes them less time to return the laundry.
I sent a load of laundry out in the a.m. ... it was waiting on the bed for my cabin steward when he came in to tidy up the cabin. I received it back that same day ... around 6:00 or so. And no ... I did not ask for (nor was charged for) rush service.

Blue skies ...

--rita