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Fogtownrog

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  • Posts

    185
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About Me

  • Location
    Atlanta
  • Interests
    photography, food and wine, cooking, travel
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Seabourne, Celebrity
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Caribbean

Fogtownrog's Achievements

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  1. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I appreciate feedback.
  2. I use a Nikon Z6 II which is a great camera!! I also use the back button to lock in focus. Also I work on contrast in post.
  3. Weather was great, 70’s with mostly sunny or mostly sunny. I wore shorts and a polo shirt most of the time and pants and jacket on the cooler or rainy days. I almost don’t bother with their formal or chic nights as nobody dresses up anymore. But on those nights I’d wear a dress shirt and dark designer jeans. On our westbound trans-Atlantic we sailed on HAL for the first time. In April it was cold and rainy for most of the crossing.
  4. After a wild limo ride to the dock in Barcelona we arrived around 1PM. There was a short line that moved quickly. Security and Docs check was fast and I found my perch in the Martini Bar fifteen minutes later, while my better half fixed our late sitting table for two. I met up with him 10” later after he took care of our table and went up to Deck 5 to complete our Muster check in. Then to the Mast Grill for a burger and fries. Not so great, but we weren’t ready to face the crowds in the Oceanview. Then headed to the Sunset Bar to enjoy the afternoon. Bar service was 10 out of 10, a notable achievement considering half of the ship seemed to be there! And thus our cruise began. I’m not going to bore you with our day to day routine. I’d just like to say how wonderful it was to be back on the Reflection. I was a bit concerned as this was our first Celebrity Cruise since the pandemic. But I have to say I was impressed. Not much had changed. Yes the food selection in the MDR and Oceanview wasn’t as great as it used to be, but the quality was mostly as it was. This is 2023 and the world has changed. I understand that our new CEO is aware and hopefully has resolved the matter. I was impressed by how well the ship has been maintained with one exception Our cabin seemed a bit tired as the furniture was worn and frayed. Celebrity needs to fix that soon! The entertainment has really improved. Although I find dj music and silent disco boring, there was still a couple of live bands that saved the day. Halloween was the best night. Moving the party indoors due to rain really made the party more vibrant and fun as the guests on board, campy, glamorous and fun, played a huge role. I had so much fun. I enjoyed our bartenders and servers everywhere. The crew is definitely Celebrity’s prime asset. I am so thankful for everything they did from start to finish. Debark was for the dogs this year. We had hired a porter as normally they can speed things up, but this time they could not. We were told that this slow down was due to lack of electronic face recognition. Hopefully Celebrity and RCL can pressure the port and DHS to innovate and provide better service at the port. Here is a link to my pictures! Enjoy!!! Fall 2023 Westbound Transatlantic
  5. Nieuw Statendam April 8, 2023 Transatlantic Crossing In early March we decided to do our first transatlantic crossing. While we are Elite with Celebrity, I thought it would be wise to do some price shopping and found a good fare with Holland America. I had always wanted to give them a go, as I heard mostly excellent reviews especially about the music walk and enrichment programs. I felt that entertainment on a transatlantic cruise would be a critical contribution for having a great cruise. So we flew out on Delta from Atlanta the night before. Delta’s reputation for being a reliable and friendly airline shined through as from checking in to picking up our bags went smoothingly well. We spent the night at the Marriott Courtyard and especially enjoyed the hotel cafe. We had a very festive time. I think we had too much of a great time as the next day was a bit rugged. Embarkation It took about an hour to board. Check in seemed more tedious as we had to wait in several lines as it appeared that customer service was under staffed. I’d give them a C- Once on the ship I soon met Ronaldo and Tony at the Ocean Bar and I soon was convinced that we would have a great time. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Trader Vic’s Original Mai Tai on the bar menu. After a refreshment we reconfirmed our MDR seating arrangements as we were originally on a waitlist for the second seating. We then found our way to the aft elevator bank and easily found our cabin 5201, an outside Verandah. I soon fell in love with our stateroom. It was spacious and surprisingly there was adequate storage. There were more than enough outlets and I appreciated the muted colors and use of wood which added a sense of warmth and texture. We soon met our cabin steward who was great throughout the cruise. We sat on the edge of the bed, watched the safety video and began exploring the ship, then headed to the Lido for some nourishment. Went to the slicing station and picked up a lovely roast beef sandwich while my husband put together a lovely salad. We found two seats next to the window and enjoyed our lunch. I particularly enjoyed the table service. However, I felt the layout of the space seemed awkward. Everything seemed overly crowded and a bit claustrophobic as the design of blocking the middle of the space for the service areas causes forward to aft human traffic jams with less room for seating. After the first day, we pretty much avoided the Lido. Sail Away was a lot of fun with lots of music, a conga line and plenty of refreshments as we headed out to sea for the next two weeks. Dinner later in the MDR was excellent but the small portions was notable, but ok with me. No reason to blow up like a pig. However I think the chef went too far with desserts. The cake slices were so small I could barely taste it. The second day we had reservations at Tamarind. I had the roasted lamb chops which was out of this world whereas my spouse had the duck confit that looked and tasted like a Cornish hen leg. He was not a happy camper. So overall we were disappointed. The staff and service in all dining venues were excellent at their craft. On most nights we’d head to the Music Walk or theater to have fun. First of all the BB King show was incredible! The band was impeccable. They engaged the crowd with every move. The room was packed and fun was had by all. Then in between the BB King performances we’d head forward to Billboard and the Rolling Stone lounges. The piano duo was a lot of fun as they got the place going with good old fashioned sing along. The rock band was hot as the joint was rockin! Kudos to the sound engineers at all venues. Now I saved the best for last. I have an eclectic taste in music and also enjoy classic music. The piano quartet at The Lincoln Center were very talented. They packed the room every afternoon and again the sound engineers did a great job. Bar service at all venues was excellent and I don’t recall ever having to wait over 2 minutes to get a drink. The entertainment was continual day and night. I was never bored, even for a second. I soon learned why people love Holland America. We met many people throughout the cruise and after two days I observed a common thread among them. Most everyone seemed to be on a longer voyage beyond this transatlantic crossing. Many people have been on the ship for many sailings and many are staying on the ship,for several more cruises. Many passengers were travel savvy: knowledgeable about seeing the world in style. Not the hee haws you’d see on some other cruise lines. So that is all I wanted to say about the wonderful advantages of traveling on Holland America. However, there is an overriding issue which casts a shadow on all the goodness. After we crossed the Atlantic I was one of the first off the ship upon arrival in Cadiz, Spain. I had looked forward to taking photographs which is my number one favorite pastime. I began walking through town, walking along the sea for maybe a half mile, and then headed to the farmer’s market. Well worth a visit if cooking and good food interests you. I did stop and had a bite to eat and headed to the main cathedral. So I was walking down the sidewalk downhill and noticed there were short steps along the way. Then, as if I was struck by lightning I must have tripped and fell.. the pain was unbearable. Fortunately for me there was a driver who was standing next to his car. He came to me and asked if I was ok and I told him I couldn’t move my leg without suffering major pain. He offered to call a taxi or ambulance and I chose the second option as I wasn’t sure of the damage caused. All I knew it hurt so bad. I received decent care at the hospital and took a cab back to the ship. I had texted my spouse and asked him if he would please alert the ship and arrange for a wheel chair to get me back on the ship which they did and I asked to go to the ship’s Medical Center. I received excellent care there but there was only so much they could do. I needed to get home, get a MRI and likely surgery as it was clear that there was a tendon tear as they found no broken bones. I can’t say enough nice comments about the medical center. They were most helpful. So back to the cabin were I sat out the remainder of the cruise - 4 nights. Thank goodness for room service and the large screen TV. As well I enjoyed the views from my veranda cabin. Now for the bad and ugly: Unfortunately the so called Guest Services team made our lives hell for 3 days. They absolutely would offer me zero assistance to disembark the ship. They informed me that I would need to make my own way off the ship. I tried to be nice and pleaded with them to help me. They would not budge. I realized that their guest services team was not empowered to resolve my problem. We called back again and I asked the agent to escalate this matter and she refused to do so. I tried to send an email to the Captain and his leadership team. I guessed what Hollands email address protocol is and sent off my email. The server never sent me a bounce message but I never heard back. I was forced to tell Guest (dis)Service that I would not be vacating my cabin unless they would help me. I must have given them a hint of seriousness as finally after 3 days they finally agreed to assist. So one of the restaurant waiters came to get me and I was taken off the ship. To drag this decision out for three days was totally unnecessary and out right cold and indifferent. The delayed response caused us distress and mental anguish. So he takes me off the ship and left me on a vacant chair 100 yards away from the front door. I wasn’t sure what to do, but try to walk as my husband went ahead to take care of collecting our baggage. I made it but not after feeling lightheaded thus vulnerable. I understand that ship personnel cannot take me to the front door, but they should have warned me and offered another solution for those 100 yards. Overall it seemed that proper care of handicapped persons was not a priority at Holland America (Carnival.) Accordingly I have decided to file an ADA complaint with the Department of Transportation. I understand that the ADA has limited jurisdiction over cruise lines. Perhaps the law should be expanded so nobody has to go through this ship induced horrific customer service. I have made several attempts to speak to Holland but nobody has bothered to respond
  6. We had contacted the insurance company and they started a case, but never heard back. I really couldn’t leave the cabin due to the pain anyway. As well to get into a wheelchair would have required me to walk to the corridor, the pain from which, wasn’t worth the effort. I entertained myself by watching TV and calling room service!
  7. I worked in Customer Care for a major US airline which continually receives customer service awards. I handled a lot of disability cases and would move mountains to help our customers. We would never use a vendor who would charge that type of fee. We would negotiate with anyone to make sure the customer was taken care of. I’d also follow up with the customer after the fact. HAL didn’t show any empathy or care. One customer (dis)Service manager even told my spouse that HAL can’t offer wheel chair service off the ship as if they did that everyone would ask for that.
  8. My spouse and I were guests on the April 8th Sailing from Lauderdale to Barcelona on our first cruise with HAL. We are experienced cruisers and wanted to give HAL a go. Heard the entertainment was especially great which it was. sadly after crossing the Atlantic I slipped and fell while on my own walking around Cadiz. Outside the Cathedral I took a bad fall and was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. I was treated within 2 or 3 hours and sent back to the ship. While in the hospital I texted my spouse who went to the ship reception desk seeking help as I needed assistance. They did meet my taxi with a customer service manager and a wheel chair as I wrecked my knee and could not walk. I then asked to stop by the ships health center and received excellent care there. They provided me with pain medication, a pair of crutches and self care instructions. I asked for a urinal as I wasn’t sure if I could step up into the bathroom and they didn’t have one. Instead they gave me a screw top can of water and told me to use that. I asked for a bed pan and they gave me one that was made of cardboard along with a bio waste bag. The nurse kindly wheeled me back to our cabin. All good, but things went downhill from this point on. After settling in my cabin I called customer service and spoke to the customer service manager who did help me back to the ship and asked her if the ship could loan me a wheel chair and she responded “no, but you can rent one for $100 per day!” I immediately reacted and said I could rent a BMW for that amount! I told her that smells of price gouging and extortion! I can’t do that. She apologized and blamed a third party vendor. So a day went by and I thought that I should make arrangements for getting off the ship upon arrival in Barcelona. The same customer service agent apologized and said they offer no wheelchair service on that day. I was really horrified as I really didn’t think I could walk. I became irritable and told her that I won’t vacate the cabin if I can’t get assistance and reminded her of the American Disabilities Act. I then forced myself to cry and apologized for getting angry and begged her to help. She said she would see what could be done. She called me back and said she could have someone wheel me to the gangway, and I responded by saying that’s great but I still won’t be able to get off the ship without assistance. She said she would get back to me. Grrr. But I told myself to be patient and perhaps prayers might work. Finally they came back and said they can make arrangements to wheel me off the ship to the terminal. Our prayers were answered, but wait, not so fast. The attendant showed up at our cabin at 7:45 as promised and took me off the ship and through passport control and stopped about 100 yards from the exit and said he had to go back to the ship. I pleaded with this employee but he wouldn’t budge. I had no choice but to walk the last 100 yards which seemed like a mile. I was dizzy and started having balance issues but made it to my car and driver who took over. He was great and arranged for a porter and then delta took over and provided excellent assistance to the plane and upon arrival their team member wheeled me through customs and to curb helping us with all our baggage. Thank you Delta. As far as HAL goes, as much as I loved our cabin, the Lincoln Center, the Ocean Bar and BB King I have to say, good-bye HAL. Never again. Don’t treat me like this and expect me to comeback.
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