Live from Miami and just off Zuiderdam

[dexter]

Well folks here we are stuck in Miami Hilton awaiting a flight to Atlanta .... just off our 9 day cruise (2 days were spent circling Cuba). 4 sea days in a row was a bit much but we're safe so far and will give a full report as soon as return. For now everything is HUNKY DORY.

Mr. & Mrs. Dexter

[Lois R]

Dexter:) ...so glad to read you are back safe and sound!!! Look forward to reading anything you have to report!

[starysacz]

Glad you made it back safely and hope you get home soon.

[judyzoo]

We've been seeing shots on TV of the ships returning to port. We counted 12 at the Port of Miami. An unusual sight.

[Susie51]

Glad you made it back safely. How soon will you be able to fly out of Florida or are you driving back home? Could you tell if there were many people able to make the next cruise?

[peaches from georgia]

Well folks here we are stuck in Miami Hilton awaiting a flight to Atlanta ....
Mr. & Mrs. Dexter
The wind and rain from the hurricane are just arriving in Atlanta ahead of you as we speak. Fasten your seat belts; it's gonna be a bumpy ride. :eek:

[Roadwork]

Nice to hear from someone who is back from the Zuiderdam. I bet it was an interesting voyage. :)

[imsulin]

The RCI and Carnival ships that normally arrive back at Port Canaveral are also arriving in Miami. Port Canaveral won't re-open until Sept. 8.

No kidding, Peaches! We've had wind and rain all day here in Auburn, and it's supposed to get worse overnight and all day tomorrow.

[sail7seas]

Glad to hear you are safely disembarked and on your way home....hopefully.

Hope that as soon as you are settled and have the time, that you will post some comments about your 'adventure'.

Welcome Back.

[gliles]

Dexters -

Welcome home, almost. I hope you are in good spirits and make it home safely soon.

[hdawson]

Your travel insurance should cover your extra expenses. Glad you're back safe and sound.

[superstein61]

Welcome Back Dexter - glad to see everyone is home safe and sound. I will be interested in seeing your's and others follow-ups.

[Cruising Jake]

Welcome back and welcome home. Can't wait to read your report.

[elmorejj]

Looking forward to hearing all about your adventures at sea. Its a pity we can`t go into Cuba, I hear they have some nice beaches.....jean :cool:

[Ziggy7]

Welcome to Land Mr. & Mrs. Dexter!
Hope yoy have a safe trip home, cant wait to hear about your extra days! Thanks for the Hunky Dory comment, brought back memories for us!

[gliles]

Your travel insurance should cover your extra expenses.
Did they say they had travel insurance? I didn't read that.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Mr & Mrs Dexter

There are a lot of us here waiting for your report.

Hopefully you have gotten a flight home today.

[luv2cruise123]

Just curious - would travel insurance cover you for post cruise stays because I thought you would only be covered fior the actual days of your cruise. This is something I would love to know about! Also, usually people I know do not cover their air costs - cruise cost only. I know that in this case, airlines are I HOPE honoring past ticket holders, but had it not been a hurrican - would they or would there have been penalties?

[Krazy Kruizers]

luv2cruise

Good question.

I never thought about what happens if you have to stay on the ship longer than expected and then can't fly home on the day the ship actually docks.

Would the travel insurance pay for hotels and food and any other fees since you do indicate how long you are to be gone on the form and now you are past that deadline????

[luv2cruise123]

This is the insurance we always use, so I just called and asked. Seems IF they have to stay overnight or any time I guess say in a hotel awaiting a flight, they WOULD BE COVERED under TRAVEL DELAY at $150 per person per day. IF the cruiseline does NOT reimburse them for a flight penalty, they would also pay on that with proper documentation/proof of itinerary.

I was just curious so I called to find out. Seems you can call a certain number and get info from claims dept and/or download a claims form to be submitted from online.

Good to know I thought. I assume other travel insurance companies would be similar and hopefully they DID have travel insurance!

This is a case where it would definitely pay to have it!

[luv2cruise123]

I just spoke with friends who returned yesterday on the Z and fortunately, they were able to get flights back home with minimum waiting. They seemed to have taken it all in stride and really bragged on how HAL kept everyone informed and updated. She said the weather was great except for a LITTLE motion coming back in.There were buses there waiting for them as they disembarked to take them to the airport. As she pointed out, it was great having 2 "free" cruise days except for the anticipation of not knowing what to expect when they disembarked. Of course, for the Florida residents, I'm sure it was not nearly so stress free as they worried about their homes, etc.!

I forgot to ask what they did those 2 extra days at sea as far as activities. I bet that Cruise director was working overtime!

[Searanger]

Well...I managed to get out of Orlando last night. We rented a car and certainly had an exciting ride up I-95. Thank god...We had a full tank of gas as you couldn't find it anywhere.

I have to say I have mixed feeling on how well the whole thing was handled by HAL. I guess from day "1" there was some anciety (shared by many I talked too) about if we were going to have an itinerary change. Not a word was said (only rumours). The Caribbean Princess ran behind us on the 1st night (they went to Princess Cay) then headed to the Western Caribbean. We continued directly towards Tortola and Frances. Late in the day Monday, the Captain announced that Frances had skirted Tortola & St. Thomas and we were going to hug the Dominican coastline and come up behind it into Tortola with an arrival of 930am instead of 7am. We hit heavy sea's late Monday night (early Tuesday) and arrived in Tortola. (Frances was a 190 miles away) Roadtown was almost shut down with all boats either drydocked or in a safe harbour. All excursions were canceled except the island tours. It was windy and started raining after lunch. Not a wonderful day. The port of St. Thomas was closed Tuesday. Wednesday - St Thomas...nice day. On sailing Wednesday night from St. Thomas we were advised that we were missing Nassau (as expected) and were heading up on the West side of Puerto Rico, Dominican and then back into the Atlantic between Cuba and Haiti. Late on Thursday we were advised that we would be delayed til at least dinner time on Saturday to Ft. Lauderdale. Then later we were advised it would be Sunday morning. People started to panic...running off to the internet centre and making phone calls to change their travel plans. Saturday afternoon we were told of another 24hr delay.

Now...the entertainment staff were wonderful. With 4 sea days...they worked very hard to come up with things to keep us busy. Sometimes it was silly, but you know what, they did a heck of a good job!!!!!

The Casino staff and Store Staff also worked hard to keep us entertained. I have to say, it felt like I was in the movie Groundhog day. As a matter of fact, all the staff worked long and hard to keep us happy. Even the computer system thought we should be off the ship Saturday and locked us out of our staterooms. The stewarts stood guard until 11pm, to let you in to your cabin and then ran down to reprogam your card.

Now, I was really disappointed that HAL maintained their internet and phone pricing. Not until Saturday at 0001am did the phone charges drop from 7.95 per minute to $2.95 minute. The internet maintained it's per minute rip off rate with slow servers being taxed. It wasn't hard to have a $20.00 charge for one E Mail. They missed a perfect opportunity to give their guests that piece of mind.

Met someone on Monday morning at Alamo Car Rental from the Caribbean Princess....They were given free phone and internet service from the time of the announced delays. They had a much better chance of rebooking flights then us poor soles. It was not unusal to be talking for 30 to 60 minutes to rebook a flight. (do the math)

Theres a lot more, ask any questions.

[luv2cruise123]

My friend stressed to me that HAL couldn't have been nicer. And this was an "older" couple who I would have guessed might have been upset over all the uncertainty. They reported a great time on the Zuiderdam.

[luv2cruise123]

After rereading, maybe the prior poster was NOT on the Zuiderdam????????

[srpilo]

After rereading, maybe the prior poster was NOT on the Zuiderdam????????
Just curious..
Why in the world would you think Searanger wasn't on the Zui ??


Srpilo

P.s. IMO.. "First Hand" information is by its very nature always more acturate and reliable. ... btw Thanks Searanger for taking the time to post :D

[Lois R]

Luvtocruise, why would you think Searanger was not on the Z?....

Everyone has different experiences...I have read many, many reviews of all different cruises....there are always different opinions about the same sailing.

Hi Pete:) See you Saturday!

[RevNeal]

... just off our 9 day cruise (2 days were spent circling Cuba). 4 sea days in a row was a bit much...

4 sea days in a row were a "bit much"? I know that everybody is different ... however ... those who find 4 sea days in a row to be "a bit much" should avoid cruises like the Statendam's round-trip to Hawaii out of San Diego, where it's 5 sea days in a row EACH WAY. :) And, in my opinion, those days were among the best features of that cruise! :D Now, granted, those days were known about ahead of time, and that might make a difference for some people. For me, I've never complained about sea days ... even 4, 5, or 6 in a row, they give one the chance to really experience the ship in a way that port days simply don't allow.

I'm very glad everyone on the Zuiderdam made it back safe and sound. I had a friend on a Carnival ship and he said that they had a BLAST.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

DH and I both feel the best days of a cruise are Sea Days. What a way to really relax. I actually think we would of loved the extra sea days but agree we would of been worried about getting a flight home especially since we usually travel with air tickets purchased with earned miles so not sure how the airline would handle that especially since there are usually limited amount of seats on each flight (at least with United)

[luv2cruise123]

Sorry, but the coming from Orlando was what me think maybe poster wasn't on the Zuiderdam - just a casual observation. Certainly didn't meant to be critical. Just sharing info I had.

[dakrewser]

Sorry, but the coming from Orlando was what me think maybe poster wasn't on the Zuiderdam - just a casual observation. Certainly didn't meant to be critical. Just sharing info I had.
Not to worry, it was an honest mistake and certainly didn't deserve being jumped upon :eek:

[BnCCruisers]

While it seemed to me HAL could have changed to a Western right off, it really didn't bother either me or DW because we didn't really want to go that way.

HAL should have made the Internet cheaper, as it was very slow and quite expensive. As for the phones, the people that I talked to said that it wasn't even possible to make a call because all of the lines were busy. I never tried, so I don't personally know, but it made me glad that I was able to email someone who could coordinate post-ship reservations for us.

Interestingly, the seas were not as heavy on this cruise as they were when DW and I took the Paradise a couple of years ago, and there wasn't any storm at that time.

The entertainers were great. They worked together to do shows that were very good, and actually original. The juggler (Edge - don't miss him!) had what seemed to be the most original material. The Elton John guy (Joel Mason - also great) had a bunch too. There was some 'up close and personal' time with all of them, which was very cool.

Even Dane (the cruise director), who has receive some bad remarks on this board did very good. Yes, he does need some more experience, and he really needs to drop the 'SAY GREAT' line, but when he was taken out of the normal schedule, he actually improved. He and Julie Barr (the comedian) had a 'coffee talk' one morning, and it was good entertainment. Not side splitting laughter, but very interesting and worth our time.

HAL did good: They didn't run out of Food or Alcohol. The people who were supposed to have a day off still worked hard and treated everyone with respect. The captian did a pretty good job of communicating what he knew. And, the cruise director staff did a good job of organizing a schedule that was entertaining and varied. And, they provided free transfers to either MIA or FLL airports.

HAL did not so good: Charged full price for the Internet. Seem to not be interested in giving any kind of credit at all for the missed port (Bahamas).

Overall, we are pleased with the cruise...but then again, we like sea days!

[dexter]

I totally agree that HAL should have given folks a better price break on communications especially after the phone system went down. We were able to contact folks at home via internet but that was very expensive. HAL missed a perfect chance to create a little customer relations coup, but they went for the money instead.

[Searanger]

luv2cruise......are you asking a question or do you find it odd that someone who was suppose to be off the ship Saturday would have a flight booked out of Orlando on Monday! Since you were not on this sailing, maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself.

[dakrewser]

luv2cruise......are you asking a question or do you find it odd that someone who was suppose to be off the ship Saturday would have a flight booked out of Orlando on Monday! Since you were not on this sailing, maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself.
Rather a testy reply to someone who admits they misunderstood a posting, don't you think? And, it appears, you also misunderstood what luv2cruise was saying. Perhaps another apology should be forthcoming?

-dave

[luv2cruise123]

I don't find anything "odd". I was just trying to share on these boards - not to offend YOU or anyone. I am sorry my statements caused this much commotion. Again, I am sorry - I was NOT on the cruise (as were others who posted here I THOUGHT). I didn't realize if you were not actually ON THE CRUISE discussed you could not comment. I THOUGHT that's what these boards were for - to share/learn about cruises. I wish you nor anyone any ill will! I'm GLAD everyone is back and safe. I think that is most important. But who knows, maybe I'm wrong on that too.

[luv2cruise123]

I'm glad everyone doesn't think the same of me. I appreciated your thoughts.

[Searanger]

Luv2cruise....Ok...I missed your correction....sorry for snappy reply.

[charliec1]

I just got back Monday on the same cruise. Generally I thought that HAL made the most of a bad situation. However, I had a very negative experience with the communiciations also, both phone & internet. After the 1st announcement confirming a delay, I purchased a phone card to make some calls to American Airlines & some relatives. The card did not work. I spent the whole day trying to get through. There were numerous technical difficulties and even when I was able to get to the point of dialing a number, the number would come back "blocked." I tried 11 different numbers total including 5 different numbers for American Air. I talked to a front office supervisor about it and was told it was their policy not to give a refund on the phone cards. I was told I should have known about the possibility of numbers being blocked and also that the supervisor had not heard of any other problems people had contacting airlines. I was skeptical about this because I talked to several other passengers who had the same problem as I did. Only after going down to the front office and having them try to contact the airline using my card did they offer me 1 free call, which I made, in exchange for the card. This was my 2nd cruise, both were on HAL, and while the overall experience was good both times, this incident really makes me want to look for other alternatives for our next cruise.

[dexter]

Searanger...we were there and we know exactly how things were. There was confusion although people were on a ship...what else could we do but stay there and make the best. But, I fully believe that HAL could have handled this thing much better. There very few announcements, only expensive means to communicate, and even the employees were confused. Ask them a question and they didn't know any more than we did. Don't get me wrong, my wife and I had a blast but at the end it became clear that something should have been done to appease the passengers. That's just good business.

[Searanger]

Dexter...Let's just hope that HAL maybe learned a little bit from this!

Comunication was lacking...now I know the Captain came on once a day, blamed it on "Head Office" and always said "enjoy your day on the beautiful Zuiderdam". However, it would have been nice to be kept more informed from day one. As we all knew on the 28th of August ---Frances was heading in our direction and all the models had it hitting Florida on Saturday. So yes, I was surprised by the silence. At one point, I heard from one of Club Hal people on Monday (30th) that we were heading to Cozumel.??? Rurmours were flying!!!

Some observations:

- The port charge issue for Nassau was forgotten...fair enough.
- No internet or phone service offered to their guests.
- A funny letter came around about tipping for our extra days. The old guilt
trip! (I did it personally with the Dinning and Cabin stewarts)
- When it was a 6 day cruise they offered special rates to stay on.
- When it was a 5 day cruise they offered the same rates...(go figure)

I heard them talking on Monday morning in the dinning room that they could put everyone on one sitting this week. You think they would have tried harder to keep more guests on for the 5 days. They offered more to the poor people who had their holidays wrecked then they did to their captive audience.

Maybe they will do a post-mortem of this cruise in Seattle and learn from it for the next time.

[dexter]

We made it back yesterday with an 8 a.m. flight from Miami to Atlanta. The weather was rough but our pilot had obviously seen similar situations. Visability was zero coming into Atlanta and other than slamming on brakes a bit hard, the landing/flight was only slightly bumpy and overall a very good flight.

American Airlines pilots are fabulous!

Our trip is over but boy do we have the memories! I will be making a scrap book this weekend complete with hurricane letters from the Zuiderdam's captain.

Mrs. Dexter

[superstein61]

Just curious..
Why in the world would you think Searanger wasn't on the Zui ??


Srpilo

P.s. IMO.. "First Hand" information is by its very nature always more acturate and reliable. ... btw Thanks Searanger for taking the time to post :D
I agree Srpilo. the thing that amazes me is how people always find the time to dismiss someone's experiences that differed from their own or their friends.

Everyone is different. Some things are important to some folks and not to others - and vice versa. Bottom line is not everyone has the same cruise experience even if they are on the same ship. People shouldn't criticze / dismiss others who feel diffferently than they do. I too thank Searanger for his /her post.

[superstein61]

4 sea days in a row were a "bit much"? I know that everybody is different ... however ... those who find 4 sea days in a row to be "a bit much" should avoid cruises like the Statendam's round-trip to Hawaii out of San Diego, where it's 5 sea days in a row EACH WAY. :) And, in my opinion, those days were among the best features of that cruise! :D Now, granted, those days were known about ahead of time, and that might make a difference for some people. For me, I've never complained about sea days ... even 4, 5, or 6 in a row, they give one the chance to really experience the ship in a way that port days simply don't allow.

I'm very glad everyone on the Zuiderdam made it back safe and sound. I had a friend on a Carnival ship and he said that they had a BLAST.
Hi Rev - I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "I know that everybody is different ".

I personally would not enjoy 5 sea days in a row. I am a much more port intensive person. The less "pure days at sea" the better for me. I guess thats why we are flying to hawaii next year for vacation rather than doing a cruise on the Statendam. To each his / her own.

[superstein61]

Even Dane (the cruise director), who has receive some bad remarks on this board did very good. Yes, he does need some more experience, and he really needs to drop the 'SAY GREAT' line, Ahhh - the old "SAY GREAT' line - I thought I was one of the few annoyed by that. Glad to see someone else feel the same.

Overall I don't think Dane is bad but he is not good either - just so-so - but the SAY GREAT has to go

[superstein61]

- A funny letter came around about tipping for our extra days. The old guilt trip! OUCH - thats pretty crass if you ask me.

its fine for people to tip extra on their own - but sending a letter around about tipping for the extra days shows a total lack of class IMO

[Ziggy7]

Wow Mrs. Dexter,

I have been back almost 3 weeks and my scrapbooking is going slowly, I think I am trying to capture every moment hehehehe well good luck with your scrapbook :)

[dakrewser]

OUCH - thats pretty crass if you ask me.

its fine for people to tip extra on their own - but sending a letter around about tipping for the extra days shows a total lack of class IMO
THe letter was to the effect that no automatic tip (a.k.a. service charge) would be added for the extra 2 days. Hardly "crass", its informative.

-dave

[judyzoo]

I was not on that cruise. But if it was as difficult and expensive as some posters have said to make contact off the ship, I'm surprised at HAL. When we were delayed a day on a Princess transatlantic crossing due to a medical emergency, Princess made laptops available to everyone at no charge so that we could change arrangements. They also gave us free phone service, as long as the calls related to the delay. Extremely well handled by Princess.

[superstein61]

THe letter was to the effect that no automatic tip (a.k.a. service charge) would be added for the extra 2 days. Hardly "crass", its informative.

-daveUmmm - thats not how the poster on board explained it. he said :

"A funny letter came around about tipping for our extra days. The old guilt trip! "

Without seeing the letter, from his description, that is definitely CRASS

[jfishe]

My family was on the Zuiderdam during this time (aug 28th - sept 6th). The communication was definetely lacking. I think IMO) the extra sea days were enjoyable (please, we had sunshine, cold drinks, good food), but the unsure return date was a bit frustrating, understandable, but still nerve wracking... Sat night, no, Sunday morning, ok, not Sunday morning we'll be there Sunday night... OK... no really... we'll be in on Monday morning. But certainly not anyone's "fault". Mother Nature ruled the roost !! And I do feel that HAL did all it could. It would have been nice to change the itinerary to avoid the hurricane completely, but perhaps there was circumstances that we don't know about (# of ships in other ports, etc.)
The letter regarding the tips was basically just stating the $10.00 per day per person had been suspended for Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th and said a "pool" would be created (35% to room steward, 35% to dining room staff, and the rest divided among other groups) and if you wanted to contribute to the "pool" simply put an amount and your stateroom number and it would be added to your final bill as usual. I felt it made things easier, and the staff did continue to work the same as they had for the entire cruise. We felt they should be compensated accordingly. So we did utilize the form and added the tips ($10.00 per day per person) for the two days.
We didn't use the phone, however, we did use the internet cafe. They lowered the price somewhat ($12.00 for 30 minutes) and we never had an issue. Yes, the connection wasn't the speediest, but it served it's purpose for what we needed. I did feel for the people who were not computer savvy (there was one lady who was trying to log in by actually pushing the login button on the screen with her finger !). But passengers were helpful to each other when needed (sharing minutes etc).
It was certainly a vacation to remember !

[Searanger]

The letter as I described as funny was from the Captain. Basically it said this: That tipping for the 2 extra days at sea was voluntary, however since many of the guests had inquired about how they could still tip (I very much doubt that) The letter had a box at the bottom of the page that you could write any amount in and have it charged to your onboard account. You would then return it to the front desk.

The letter also went into great detail about how hard the crew was working and that the tips are split 35% Cabin Stewart, 35% Dinning Room Stewarts and 30% for everyone else.

The reason I found this humorous: This coming from a Cruise Line that up until May of this year didn't even "discuss tipping". Now we were having a letter from the Captain of all people asking for donations. How Carnival of them!!!!

[sail7seas]

But passengers were helpful to each other when needed (sharing minutes etc).
It was certainly a vacation to remember !__________________


That part I really like to read!!!!

[dakrewser]

The reason I found this humorous: This coming from a Cruise Line that up until May of this year didn't even "discuss tipping". Now we were having a letter from the Captain of all people asking for donations. How Carnival of them!!!!
Don't know which HAL ships you've been on, but I've always found that the officers and crew were quite willing to discuss tipping...

-dave

[superstein61]

The letter as I described as funny was from the Captain. Basically it said this: That tipping for the 2 extra days at sea was voluntary, however since many of the guests had inquired about how they could still tip (I very much doubt that) The letter had a box at the bottom of the page that you could write any amount in and have it charged to your onboard account. You would then return it to the front desk.

The letter also went into great detail about how hard the crew was working and that the tips are split 35% Cabin Stewart, 35% Dinning Room Stewarts and 30% for everyone else.

The reason I found this humorous: This coming from a Cruise Line that up until May of this year didn't even "discuss tipping". Now we were having a letter from the Captain of all people asking for donations. How Carnival of them!!!!
Thanks for the detail Searanger !!!

you confirmed my feelings that this was crass.

I don't have a problem with HAL communicating a tipping policy as a normal course of business - but for this particular circumstance HAL shouldn't have pushed the issue. All they had to say is the automatic tips would not be applied for the extra days and pax were free to do as they pleased. End of story.

instead - they did the old arm twisting guilt trip on pax who were kept an extra 2 days on board thru no fault of their own.

CRASS !!!!!

[dakrewser]

Thanks for the detail Searanger !!!

you confirmed my feelings that this was crass.

I don't have a problem with HAL communicating a tipping policy as a normal course of business - but for this particular circumstance HAL shouldn't have pushed the issue. All they had to say is the automatic tips would not be applied for the extra days and pax were free to do as they pleased. End of story.

instead - they did the old arm twisting guilt trip on pax who were kept an extra 2 days on board thru no fault of their own.

CRASS !!!!!It's only crass, in my estimation, if the line itself somehow profits from the situation. They don't, but they do appear to care about the welfare of their crew as well as that of their passengers. That, to me, is a class act. No one had their arm twisted. No one knew what a passenger's choice was.

-dave

[Cruising Jake]

Dave, I agree with you.

[taszmom]

I was locked in a house for days with no power, no communications...my lifeline was a battery operated radio wondering if my roof would withstand hurricane force winds with no idea of when and how hard we were going to get hit. And...when we were in the throws her frightened as hell huddled in my small closet for hours and hours in the dark of night not knowing when the horror would end, and only praying it would end soon and that the roof would hold and the windows wouldn't break and we would live to see daylight. We were at the mercy of mother nature.

[Nliedel]

With all due respect Tazmom I am at a loss to understand wat your purpose is in posting that?? Are you letting us know you had a terrible and frightening time? Or are you trying to point out that you "had it worse than the people on the cruise and they should stop complaining? I do get that people were in danger and I have been in my home in a closet in a hurricane before (Opal) so I do know how it feels. The thing that bothers me is that there seems to be a prevailing attitude that if you were not in harms way or living in Florida then you should be quiet and be grateful and any negative experience you have had as a result of the Hurricane is null and void because you did not have it as bad as some others had it.

In my life I have had some horrible pain, as has everyone.. Each experience is subjective and what would drop me to the ground and leave me unable to move on with my life would not be as painful to others and visa versa.. Your experience was horrific and I am sorry you had to go through that.. It is a frightening and awful place to be.. however some posts (not you) have stated that this is the price people pay to get a cheaper fare in the summer months (truly people travel to warm destinations on this side of the planet less in the summer months because of local opportunities, not merely because of the threat of hurricanes).. and they should take what they should get.. I find that attitude baffling to say the least.. It would be akin to stating no one should live in places where they could be affected by a hurricane.. or people in Tornado Alley deserve to get their homes destroyed.. No one asks for the pain and suffering of a damaged home, or a lost vacation.. maybe the only one they have ever had in their lifetime...

Each of us has our personal sorrows, fear and pain and we cannot hold ours up to anyone else and say that "ours is worse".. to the person carrying the burden their pain is great.. I am not dumping on anyone.. I am just stating that compassion runs in all directions.

[taszmom]

My purpose was to share my experience of living through this hurricane and provide another perspective on how it has affected us all. I was joining in and sharing about the frustration of this storm and how torturous it was not knowing what she would do and how agonizing long we awaited her arrival and for her to finally depart. Most hurricanes blow in and out and they're done. Not this one....she lingered and moved so slowly. It was agonizing for ALL. I think that they all have a right to complain and maybe it will help HAL do it better next time. It was a tough situation all around. I purposely did NOT say anything negative because I can understand how hard it was for those on the ship not knowing as well. I was commiserating with y'all!

[jfishe]

Taszmom - even though it was frustrating not knowing when we were actually getting into port, we had power, food and nice weather. IMO, that frustration can't compare with actually being on land during that time. After getting into port on Monday morning and driving the 200 miles north to Orlando and seeing the damage, we were certainly the fortunate ones on the ship. My heart goes to all Floridians for the rough times lately. Kind regards - jodie

[superstein61]

It's only crass, in my estimation, if the line itself somehow profits from the situation. They don't, but they do appear to care about the welfare of their crew as well as that of their passengers. That, to me, is a class act. No one had their arm twisted. No one knew what a passenger's choice was.

-dave
SIGH - ok - keep defending HAL. IMO it was very CRASS of HAL to pull the old guilt trip on its PAX who were forced to stay on board thru no fault of their own. HAL committed verbal arm twisting. That is CRASS. But I know some of you who only view HAL thru rose colored glasses will refuse to see that.

[dakrewser]

SIGH - ok - keep defending HAL. IMO it was very CRASS of HAL to pull the old guilt trip on its PAX who were forced to stay on board thru no fault of their own. HAL committed verbal arm twisting. That is CRASS. But I know some of you who only view HAL thru rose colored glasses will refuse to see that.
Here's your chance, what would you have done in this situation?

-dave

[Spot]

My thought is that the issue had to be talked about as I'm certain there were passengers inquiring but it was the method I question. Not all cruisers have an endless credit line and they have been spending plenty not even considering that those extra days aboard might need to be tipped.
IMO, I think it was a tough topic for management to bring forward.

I'm certain there were plenty of passengers that would have never considered not tipping and many passengers tip in excess of the $10 per day gratuity anyway.

To each his/her own in a trying situation.

[superstein61]

Here's your chance, what would you have done in this situation?

-dave
I already answered that in a previous post - but to repeat:

All HAL had to say is the automatic tips would not be applied for the extra days and pax were free to do as they pleased.


End of story. Short, sweet and no arm twisting or verbal guilt trips about the hard working staff, suggestion to add tips to their onboard account, etc

[dakrewser]

I already answered that in a previous post - but to repeat:

All HAL had to say is the automatic tips would not be applied for the extra days and pax were free to do as they pleased.


End of story. Short, sweet and no arm twisting or verbal guilt trips about the hard working staff, suggestion to add tips to their onboard account, etc
Do you often have your arm twisted by a piece of paper? The line was doing what they could to help their passengers (no automatic tip for those two days) while at the same time looking out for their hard working crew. It's true that there is no solution that would satisfy everyone, but you do make it sound as if the staff were standing by the gangway shaking down each departing passenger. Instead, the line offered to assist those who wished to add a tip for those two days by placing it on their account, quietly and discreetly. THose who chose not to could simply throw away the paper and no one would know the difference.

You may not agree with the policy, I've no quibble with that. I do object to your hyperbole in calling it a "guilt trip" and "arm twisting". It was neither.

-dave

[superstein61]

I do object to your hyperbole in calling it a "guilt trip" and "arm twisting". It was neither.

-dave
IMO it was verbal arm twisting. One of the PAX on board actually called it a guilt trip. Maybe to you you think it was neither - but IMO you are dead wrong. I suspect that the majority of folks on board found it distasteful. The problem is this board does not represent the views of HAL's PAX in general

[dakrewser]

The problem is this board does not represent the views of HAL's PAX in general
Ah, so you get your insight into the typical passenger from.... voices you hear? Another forum? Or do you "just know". Note that of the 8 to 10 pax from that cruise who posted to this forum, only 1 complained about this letter. What makes that 1 person the norm and the other 7-9 abnormal?

-dave

[kryos]

It's only crass, in my estimation, if the line itself somehow profits from the situation. They don't, but they do appear to care about the welfare of their crew as well as that of their passengers. That, to me, is a class act. No one had their arm twisted. No one knew what a passenger's choice was.

Both myself and two other ladies I met on the cruise were at the desk adding extra gratuities. I did not read HAL's letter as arm twisting because, honestly, it appeared that everyone was working their butts off to keep the passengers happy ... both on the extended 8-28 cruise, and then on the late-starting 9-4 one. Many of those same crew members ... namely, service personnel ... were getting shafted at the same time that they were being asked to over-extend themselves to keep passengers happy.

I am sure many passengers did not bother adding back those gratuities that were not assessed for the two additional days of the 8-28 cruise. Further, I heard that the total passenger count for the late-starting 9-4 cruise only amounted to about 650. Cabin stewards and waiters who normally have a certain number of passengers to take care of had that number drastically reduced, with a naturally resulting decrease in their normal tips as well.

One cabin steward reported that he normally takes care of 14 cabins on an average cruise. On this particular cruise he only had four of those cabins occupied. That's a major drop in income ... especially when you consider that those tips represent the bulk of these folks' earnings.

HAL cut down the dinner seatings to 1 on the 9-4 cruise ... 7:00 p.m. ... and still the dining room was only about 60% full on a good night.

I heard that the 9-11 sailing was only going out with about 1,200 people ... and that's probably not much for a ship of the Zuiderdam's size and capacity.

I only hope that HAL is doing something to supplement the lower paid service personnel's wages for this group of cruises ... because I have a feeling many passengers did not even bother supplementing gratuities. Maybe that letter placed under cabin doors at the end of the 8-28 cruise was one step in that direction?

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

Here's your chance, what would you have done in this situation?

-dave
If I may add my response to that question ...

I would have charged the automatic gratituity for those extra days and not even bothered with the letter. I would imagine the crew would have received more in tips that way since most people would not have bothered taking the tips off their bill ... and probably most passengers (like myself) would have assumed the $10.00 per day was being charged for those extra days anyway.

Hey ... why shouldn't the tips be put on for the extra days? Passengers were enjoying first rate service. They were still getting meals everyday ... still having their cabins cleaned ... still getting fresh towels ... still enjoying all the ammenities a ship like the Zuiderdam offers. So, why carp about the gratuity for those days?

I'd be willing to bet that few passengers would have taken issue with the gratuities being added for those extra days. I bet fewer passengers bothered to go to the front office and have them added back on once receiving the letter. I think the crew would have made out better had the tips just been left on, in my opinion.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[gizmo]

I
All HAL had to say is the automatic tips would not be applied for the extra days and pax were free to do as they pleased.


End of story. Short, sweet and no arm twisting or verbal guilt trips about the hard working staff, suggestion to add tips to their onboard account, etc
I have to agree with this. Short and sweet is much better. The additional comments about the hard working staff etc., was not necessary.

[superstein61]

Ah, so you get your insight into the typical passenger from.... voices you hear? Another forum? Or do you "just know". Note that of the 8 to 10 pax from that cruise who posted to this forum, only 1 complained about this letter. What makes that 1 person the norm and the other 7-9 abnormal?

-dave
Boy dave - you will go to untold lengths to defend HAL.

Perhaps to you it was not crass, verbal arm twisting and a guilt trip. But you are not the only one with an opinion. IMO it was very crass. Feel free to disagree if you choose - but quit trying to discredit my opinion.

Oh, and BTW - you need a bigger sample size for a ship filled with 1200+ pax to draw any statistically relevant conclusion. The people that post here do not IMO represent the true PAX mix on a HAL cruise

[superstein61]

I only hope that HAL is doing something to supplement the lower paid service personnel's wages for this group of cruises ... because I have a feeling many passengers did not even bother supplementing gratuities. Maybe that letter placed under cabin doors at the end of the 8-28 cruise was one step in that direction?

--ritaKyros - you are making my point for me - thanks. HAL should compensate its staff ofr those extra days, etc - not put a guilt trip on the PAX.

You yourself say that maybe the letter was intended to have PAX pony up more dough for the crew.

IMO - given the situation, that is crass and uncouth of HAL.

[superstein61]

I have to agree with this. Short and sweet is much better. The additional comments about the hard working staff etc., was not necessary.
Thank you Gizmo.

IMO, Having HAL say:

is the automatic tips would not be applied for the extra days and pax were free to do as they pleased.

would have been the right thing to do under the circumstances. This wasn't a typical cruise and needed a different approach IMO

[dakrewser]

Boy dave - you will go to untold lengths to defend HAL.
Sorry, but I would say the same about any organization treated the same way.

Oh, and BTW - you need a bigger sample size for a ship filled with 1200+ pax to draw any statistically relevant conclusion. The people that post here do not IMO represent the true PAX mix on a HAL cruise
Quite true. But my 8-10 beats your 1 any day of the week. You can hold any opinion you like, just don'r expect anyone else to believe you when the "facts", such as they are, don't support you.

-dave

[superstein61]

Sorry, but I would say the same about any organization treated the same way.


Quite true. But my 8-10 beats your 1 any day of the week. You can hold any opinion you like, just don'r expect anyone else to believe you when the "facts", such as they are, don't support you.

-dave
Keep trying dave, keep trying

[dakrewser]

Keep trying dave, keep trying
No, I'm done. Life's too short.....

-dave

[stillfrantic]

On the insurance question, I had the opposite problem. I went to the airport(3 hours away) and then the cancellations continued. We ended up in a hotel for 2 nights. They said it should be covered as a travel delay. Our policy says that the insurance doesn't end until the end date, or the date you actually get home due to a covered travel delay. Soo, if we'd gotten there and been stuck, it would have been covered.

[kryos]

When it was a 6 day cruise they offered special rates to stay on.
- When it was a 5 day cruise they offered the same rates...(go figure)

I heard them talking on Monday morning in the dinning room that they could put everyone on one sitting this week. You think they would have tried harder to keep more guests on for the 5 days. They offered more to the poor people who had their holidays wrecked then they did to their captive audience.

I found that very strange as well. I did not receive a copy of the letter that went around offering people discounts to stay onboard for what would have been the 9/4 sailing. Understandable ... I was already booked for a b2b to include that sailing. But I had a friend onboard who got the letter and began thinking about staying on if for no other reason than to avoid the airline mess. But she really didn't want to pay that much additional for her and her husband. Then we found out we were staying out a day longer, and that 9/4 cruise would be cut even further ... yet no further reduction in the price.

I told her to go down to the desk and talk to them. Surely they would do something for her since that 9/4 cruise would probably be way underbooked.

What she wanted was to keep her balcony stateroom, at the discounted price, to include both her and her husband for only one charge. I honestly didn't think HAL would do that, but surely they would negotiate with her?

They practically laughed in her face. Then they told her she missed the deadline anyway ... it was 3:00 that afternoon and it was now after 10:00 p.m.

When I saw that the 9/4 (actually 9/6 sailing) only had about 650 passengers onboard, this really made no sense. Wouldn't a cruiseline rather sail with staterooms full of happy passengers spending money onboard, rather than having all these empty staterooms with no revenue being generated?

I think HAL needs to come up with an organized plan to handle this sort of thing in the future ... and that plan also needs to include procedures for handling passengers' communications needs with family and airlines, etc.

Of course, it's easy for me to talk ... I wasn't really affected by all this. I had briefed my family before I left not to be concerned about hurricanes because on a cruise ship I would be kept well away from their ill effects. I was also not affected by the telephone and internet problems because I wasn't leaving the ship until 9/11 anyway. But, I could readily see how many people suffered with anxiety wondering how the hell they were gonna get home once being kicked off the ship.

HAL needs a better plan for handling these problems in the future, cause surely there will be other hurricanes.

Blue skies ...

--rita