"Snowman" reports on the Zuiderdam

[snowman]

When we got on I thought we had got on a Carnival ship. After a while it kind of grows on you. I am going to be very honest
with you all, I don't think I have many bad things to say about this cruise. We thought the food to be very good with a few exceptions. The cabin (S) 7077 was really nice, we met some very nice people. We did the See and Sea excursion in Tortola and if you don't like crowds this the one to take. The concierge staff get an A+. At check in we were giving a gold star to wear so the staff could identify us and were personally taken to the Neptune Lounge. (the last time I had a gold star was in 1st grade). We ate in all the restaurants and if you can't find something good you don't want to be on a cruise. Our only serious complaint was the in the Pinnacle, Fritz the Matri D (sp). He is an arrogant jerk and needs a lesson in diversity, and the ADA we are taking that up direct with HAL.
I learned a lot from this board but some people should not report things that they have not seen or done personaly ie. someone said that a certain bay in Tortola was polluted and that is simply not true, you can not wear jeans in the dinning room, someone needs to tell the 100+ people me included not to do that, I wore a sport coat and levies twice.
I ask my self the question would I do HAL again and the answer is yes, but I think I will go back to my Elite status Princess where I think the perks are a little better. I did the HAL trip because I thought it would be and upscale experiance but it really was not. At any rate we had a good time and if anyone has any questions on the Zuideram I woul be happy to answer them. The "Snowman" has spoken.

[gizmo]

At check in we were giving a gold star to wear so the staff could identify us and were personally taken to the Neptune Lounge. (the last time I had a gold star was in 1st grade).
LOL My thoughts exactly !!!

Thanks for posting your review. I enjoyed reading it. It sounded like you had a good time.

[elmorejj]

Could you expand on the problem with the Maitre D` in the restaurant? I would love to know what he did or didn`t do. Glad you enjoyed your cruise, but I think you would have had more of a "HAL" traditional experience on one of the smaller ships.....jean :cool:

[Esme]

:confused: Who's the "ADA" ? Did you mean the Asst. Cruise Director or someone else?

[jhannah]

ADA stands for the Americans With Disabilities Act. Since it's not a US-flagged ship, the law doesn't apply. That said, I would think that any cruise line would serve their best interests by making reasonable accommodations (beyond offering accessible cabins) to those who have disabilities. From what I've read on this board, HAL does that. It will be interesting to learn the specifics in Snowman's experience.

[Mary Ellen]

We had an 'ADA' problem with the Zaandam's Maitre d` last May. What was the man was thinking when he wanted to seat a family with 2 handicap cabins booked in the elevated part of the lower DR - that has NO ramp. Handicap cabins should be a clue that possibly at least person may not be able to handle steps. This was his 'remedy' to the problem of having seated us (group of 7) at seperate tables - and yes, the reservations were made with the same TA and linked. His arrogence and attitude were totally unacceptable. Only beacuse of the WONDERFUL waiters, were we able to sit together 1 night to celebrate my DF's 80th birthday. Our waiter took care of us by himself in the King's Room, while his asst. and the area Captain filled in for him in at the rest of his tables.

[jhannah]

Our waiter took care of us by himself in the King's Room, while his asst. and the area Captain filled in for him in at the rest of his tables.That is truly service above and beyond the call, and speaks volumes about his customer service commitment.

[lknick]

His arrogence and attitude were totally unacceptable. I don't understand this? What was it you expected him to do?

[dewhit6959]

The maitre 'd is horrible. The bay is not polluted. The gold stars are silly.
They allow jeans and sports coats in the dining room. Your excursion was good. That is some review! The snowman has spoken.

[gizmo]

How about giving Snowman a break? There is nothing wrong with short and to the point. He did take the time to post his opinions of his cruise. Not everyone writes a long review that covers from the time they left their house, to the time they walk back in their front door.

"The Snowman has spoken" is his signature. I never saw him post without it.

[snowman]

The problem with Fritz: We had a reservation in the Pinnacle for 7:00 and I had allready reserved a certain table. When we arrived we waited for a few minutes and here comes the Matire D in a motorized wheelchair and Mrs. Snowman MD who works with HC people all the time said oh look Fritz is HC, and I said that is really cool that he had a great job on the ship. He said do you have a reservation and I said yes, he said follow me, we got about half way to our table and he stops the wheelchair and laughing got out and walked us to the table and the wrong one at that. My wife was shocked. He was driving around and finally parked it for a HC passenger. We thought that was in real bad taste. Also he never came around to ask us how are meal was. That same night one of the waiters slipped on some water on the floor and he came running over and said to her, get up. 2 nights later one of the people at our table fell in the same spot and broke her wrist, he saw it and made no move to her, the passengers had to help her up. The diversity is a whole different story. We had reservation for 2 other nights and cancled. When I write this out it dosen't seem so bad but to witness it in person it was real bad.

As I said earlier we had a great cruise and I want to thank ALL of you for the great info I gleened on these boards. I will be happy to answer any questions. The "Snoman" has spoken!

[Esme]

Snowman - just curious - did you ever speak to the GRM or the Hotel Manager about Fritz, the Maitre'd? Just wondering, because this would have been the route to take if you had a complaint about a crew member.

[sail7seas]

Esme is correct that is who to complain to.

Has anyone ever really done that?

I cannot imagine actually going to the Hotel Manager or GRM to complain about a crew member. Their 'offense' would have to be in the unbelievable, horrible, incredible category for me to go run off and be a 'tattler'. If the situation were dangerous, then Yes.....otherwise, I cannot imagine (a) spending my vacation time doing that or (b) going to out of my way to 'get them in trouble.'

Just my personal opinion, of course, and only my personal standard. I guess I didn't 'tattle' a whole lot as a child and still would not feel comfortable doing that.

Each to their own way, certainly.

[dakrewser]

Esme is correct that is who to complain to.

Has anyone ever really done that?

I cannot imagine actually going to the Hotel Manager or GRM to complain about a crew member.
Why do you feel that this would be different than writing an unfavorable comment card?

-dave

[arzz]

I am delighted that Snowman had a wonderful trip.

In reference to Snowman's comments about the "certain bay in Tortola" -- if you are referring to comments that I made on this Board I would like to confirm that my comments were not made on hear-say but on personal experience -- We were on a 10 day crewed sail charter in the BVI's last June (this was our third time on a crewed charter in the BVI's) so we are familiar with the area -- and we found that particular bay on the day that we were there to be extremely unpleasant for swimming. Neither my husband or I, our Captain or his mate were happy with the water that day. The water was not clear, and there were visible particulates present. I cannot speak for the conditions on other days. For our part, we will probably have a massage in the spa when we are in Tortola at Christmas.

Tortola is so small I have difficulty imagining it with a cruise ship full of people. I am also very concerned about the long term effect of such people pollution on a place as special as the Baths as cruise ships run their excursions there. Our first time at the Baths was about 10 years ago and the water was clear as glass and ever so slightly turquoise. I am currently afraid to go back lest it has changed. I remember the color of the water at Dunn's River Falls from the Kodak ads that ran in the '60's in the photo magazines (as a teen I saw the pictures and I knew I would go there some day) and I know what color the water is today.

[sail7seas]

Why do you feel that this would be different than writing an unfavorable comment card?

-dave
There is little difference, I agree, Dave.

When I complete the comment cards and have some negative experience/observation I wish to comment about, I cannot ever remember naming a particular person. I have related what happened/what displeased me or disappointed me but doubt I ever said it was Joe Jones who 'did it'. I guess my point is that I wouldn't find it necessary to say Maitre d' Joe was rude unless it was REALLY BAD and that has not happened to us on any ship YET.

On the other hand, I do mention names of folks I want to commend.

[bookworm0911]

I don't think anyone is being a 'tattler'. If no one in a position of authority, such as GRM or HM, is made aware of 'who' needs correcting and retraining, how is the situation prevented from happening again? Just to say something happened is not enough to prevent it from ever happening again if the supervisor does not know the crew member who was involved, is it?

[sail7seas]

Yes, Bookworm.....I see your point and agree.


Perhaps, for me, it is a matter of feeling I am on vacation and it is really not my problem to see to it that things are reported in order for deficiencies to be corrected. If I am displeased enough with any product, I voice my opinion with my wallet. I don't buy it again.

If something was really, really horrendous or dangerous or I felt
VERY wronged, I would be more proactive. If it was simply annoying or disappointing, I would not expend my energy seeing to it that it was 'fixed'.

Just my own personal choice. I can certainly understand that others look at it differently.

[Esme]

For your information, Sails, it was at the suggestion of a HAL Captain, who called me yesterday when he was in FLL and asked if Snowman had taken this situation up with the GRM or HM. He reads CC sometimes and happened to read Snowman's post. That is why I posted my comment.

Maybe you should have left it up to Snowman to answer and not put your 2 cents worth in. :mad:

I wouldn't call speaking to the HM or GRM being a "tattler". :rolleyes:

[lknick]

Twice in my cruising career I have moved an issue up the chain of command. In both cases, the issues were corrected.

How can you expect an issue to be corrected if management doesn't hear about it? Weeping on a public bulletin board may make you feel justified, but serves no other purpose.

[peaches from georgia]

DH and I used to have our own business and, believe me, what any owner of a business wants is for the public to help them make it a more successful company by letting the owners/managers know where there can be improvement.

Our employees were representing 'us' everytime they spoke with a customer. We wanted to know everything, good and bad. The 'bad' rarely if ever meant anyone got fired; it simply gave us the opportunity to correct a wrong and see it didn't happen again. Didn't do a bit of good not to know the details and who in the company needed help. Obviously HAL, through that Captain, follows the same policy. It's called Customer Service.

Having a crew member who would insult the handicapped certainly qualifies as more than 'annoying' and something that should be 'fixed' immediately, at least in my book.

[Roadwork]

Snowman,

Thanks for posting your thoughts on your cruise.

Seas,
I cannot agree with your views on this. Issues should be taken up with the GRM and HM. The issues should be reported and if written up on the comment card, the offender should be named. Management cannot address the issue if they do not have all the information. Annoyances and disappointments should be mentioned. Holland America cannot fix it if they are not aware of it. I am not condoning nit picking. I do not believe Snowman's case falls into the nit picking scenario.
On the other end of the spectrum when something is good, it should also be written up and the person named. It is a two way street.

[sail7seas]

Of course you do not need to agree. You only need to agree that we each have a right to our own opinion and the right to express it.

[tommy]

For your information, Sails, it was at the suggestion of a HAL Captain, who called me yesterday when he was in FLL and asked if Snowman had taken this situation up with the GRM or HM. He reads CC sometimes and happened to read Snowman's post. That is why I posted my comment.

Maybe you should have left it up to Snowman to answer and not put your 2 cents worth in. :mad:

I wouldn't call speaking to the HM or GRM being a "tattler". :rolleyes:
Couldnt agree more,with entire post. TOM