LIVE from the Noordam-- a Disasterdam

We sailed Noordam in February, but under different managers and not in a Neptune Suite. At that time there were a few issues that were starting to influence crew moral, but overall we had a great cruise. I hope that this has not escalated to the point of ruining someones cruise.

OP, can you post some copies of the Daily program that missed showing events for the Showroom?

I have never seen so many people having negative experiences with HAL. Everything from poor entertainment, lack of service, to the aging fleet is causing formerly loyal HAL passengers to start to look elsewhere. Seems to me that the folks in Seattle are not taking our concerns seriously because otherwise you would see positive changes from HAL. I for one would like to keep cruising with HAL the way it used to be. Why don't they get it? I don't mind paying more since Celebrity typically costs a little more than HAL. I hope someone in Seattle reads what passengers are saying. Here are some suggestions:

1. Maintain the aging fleet up to HAL standards. Replace old and dirty carpeting (such as that on the Noordam now). Change old and stained cushions or not have them at all. Bath towels should be replaced when they are 3 star hotel standards.

2. Focus on customer service that finds a way to satisfy reasonable requests.

3. Stop changing the Pinnacle Grill for the worse. Add menu items rather than delete them. Onion soup and lobster come to mind. This should be the premier upscale dining venue on the ship and HAL should make sure it is. IMHO, it is nowhere near where it was 3-4 years ago.

4. Stop the promotions and focus on your core values. Explore 4 and Signature Beverage Package are gimmicks that won't keep loyal HAL passengers when you cut services in other areas.

5. Improve the main theater entertainment. While some of the production shows are OK, bring in good entertainment on other nights. Much of the entertainment is pathetic, especially for a premium line.

Please feel free to add others or disagree. I hope they listening at HAL.

I don't know how many threads you have seen with negative experiences but I do know that three of them were posted by you and this one makes four.

I don't know how many threads you have seen with negative experiences but I do know that three of them were posted by you and this one makes four.

Where is that LIKE button :D

they should just choose another line and not keep complaining as most of us are quite happy. 4 similar posts don't accomplish much.

There may be a few things wrong on HAL ships, but I don't believe any more than any other cruiseline I've been on (NCL, Celebrity, Princess, RCCL and Carnival). None of them have the quality and excellence of just a few years ago.

Our first cruise on NCL in 2004 made my friend so eager to continue cruising with them. In 2011 she again wanted to go with NCL, the difference in the quality of food was unbelievable. We finally quit ordering beef items because we couldn't cut them with a knife, let alone chew them.

HAL is still my choice of cruiselines, if it isn't OP's, move on, there are many others to choose from.

You can't please everyone, all of the time and some people you just can't please.

I sat down and thought after I read this about any negatives I could thing of on my last cruise.

1. I wished the Food hours weren't so odd as short hours or finishing early - but I'm guessing this cuts down on waste and waste is something I absolutely abhor so I can't complain really.

2. The room service menu at night is a bit too fancy for my taste, we tend to party late and after a few wang wangs I want a sandwich and fries not an oriental vegetable wrap. - but when I asked for a tuna melt and fries at 1 am they brought it me without question while smiling from ear to ear.

3. Our room steward was a little lax in his standards of cleaning - but he was new to the job and trying so hard while being so nervous that you just felt like giving him a hug and telling him it would all be ok.

Maybe I'm a glass half full kind of person, or maybe some people try so hard to look for the negative that they fail to see the positive.

Most, if not all, of the reductions in service result from maintaining cruise fares at a bare minimum. I, for one, would prefer to see an increased fare and maintain a high level of service. From what I read, however, when this option is presented most folks opt for maintaining the low fares.

I honestly don't know what the OP is talking about. We just sailed HAL for the 5th time, on the Zaandam in July. It was a wonderful cruise. I could not complain about one thing the entire cruise. Ship was in good shape, service and food was great. The crew was beyond nice. Over all it was one of my favourite cruises.

I don't know how many threads you have seen with negative experiences but I do know that three of them were posted by you and this one makes four.

Thanks for pointing that out. "nordam" and "old carpet" and towels did bring the "Disasterdam" to mind. Especially since that is where the negativity theme on Nordam has seemed to congregate. Maybe this thread should be joined with those others.

Thanks for pointing that out. "nordam" and "old carpet" and towels did bring the "Disasterdam" to mind. Especially since that is where the negativity theme on Nordam has seemed to congregate. Maybe this thread should be joined with those others.

Excellent suggestion! How does one request "the merge" of threads?

The OP has an axe to grind and this is his fourth attempt with a bunch of vague complaints. It is not producing his desired results, at least not with me. HAL will remain our line of choice.

Excellent suggestion! How does one request "the merge" of threads?

click on the red triangle at the top right corner of the post. this will bring up a box for you to post direct to the moderators. If it is a duplicate, triplicate etc thread just ask the mods to merge the threads.

IMO what's "wrong" with HAL is a result of the same problem that afflicts all the cruise lines - namely having to make a decent return on investment in light of booming overcapacity in the industry and constantly falling rates for a basic cruise fare in an era of ever increasing costs per cabin for new construction. Per berth costs for new construction are averaging nearly $300,000, how many years will it take to even return your cost in today's competitive market?

I lament that HAL is no where near the cruise line I sailed 40 years ago, or even 10 years ago and I do wish they'd "bite the bullet" and try to recover some of their lost glamor, but I understand the reasons. Hopefully at some point the picture will turn the other way. What it's going to take is a willingness to sacrifice short term financial rewards consistent with keeping shareholders happy with dividends, not an easy task and one that will take uncommon courage by management.

Very well put, Dave.

Just so nobody thinks that HAL is his sole target of displeasure:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1516142

A bit dated, but the same tenor. It must be terrible going through life so full of disappointment.

IMO what's "wrong" with HAL is a result of the same problem that afflicts all the cruise lines - namely having to make a decent return on investment in light of booming overcapacity in the industry and constantly falling rates for a basic cruise fare in an era of ever increasing costs per cabin for new construction. Per berth costs for new construction are averaging nearly $300,000, how many years will it take to even return your cost in today's competitive market?

 

I lament that HAL is no where near the cruise line I sailed 40 years ago, or even 10 years ago and I do wish they'd "bite the bullet" and try to recover some of their lost glamor, but I understand the reasons. Hopefully at some point the picture will turn the other way. What it's going to take is a willingness to sacrifice short term financial rewards consistent with keeping shareholders happy with dividends, not an easy task and one that will take uncommon courage by management.

Probably the biggest "problem" with HAL is it's long history. Many other cruise lines are going through the same things as HAL but fewer people have the long history of golden times to compare with on the others.

Roy

I still like HAL very much. :):)

We are relatively new to cruising so have nothing to compare from a few years ago. We have sailed a brand new ship, Carnaval Magic, and the Osterdam and Nieuw Amsterdam, another relatively new ship. The Magic was fun and we took children who were 17 and 23 and it was a great time-water slide, outdoor theatre, mini golf, basketball court, etc. The kids loved it. When cruising by ourselves we like HAL because we enjoy a quieter time and crowd.

I must say that the best wait staff we had was on the Magic in the Open dining. We enjoyed Pictuck and his staff so much we went back to his section everynight, even waited a few minutes to be seated there.

We take in the entertainment every night and have enjoyed them all to some degree, productions, magicians, piano bar, classical duo. We are there to have fun not criticize. We have walked out of productions because they were not our cup of tea, usually too loud, not because they weren't well down. With that many people you will never satisfy everyone tastes and I can appreciate that.

We are going on the Nordam in 6 months, I hope that is is ok and as are bringing friends with us.

We are new cruisers to HAL and after only two cruises with them what do we know? We know we want to sail with them again. The only reason we aren't taking a HAL cruise next year is because of someone else's itinerary. We just want HAL to continue with ships, not amusement parks. If someone doesn't like the brand or is tired of it, there are plenty others to select from and they are all building new ships. We understand how people can be disappointed if expectations aren't met anymore for something they enjoyed in the past. Hope the OP finds cruising happiness and isn't trashed for their opinion because there does seem to be quite a few complaints.

Trouble with the cruise industry is too many ships/too much capacity and not enough customers that are willing to pay, and building all sorts of newer and bigger ships to attract the same pool of customers. Sort of reminds me of the airline market in the U.S. a decade ago, and the luxury cinema of the same era.

Carnival and RCCI will eventually have to take it on themselves to consolidate the market (i.e., scuttling ships and not selling them) to reduce capacity so they have pricing power.

In the meantime, I will pay low fares and not have any expectations from experience of ages past. :D

If you can't say anything nice (about something, somebody), just don't say

anything.

We cruise several of the lines (HAL, Princess, Celebrity, NCL, and RCCL). They all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Lamenting over what used to be is a fool's game. Yes, cruising--and cruising with HAL specifically--used to have higher levels of service. The same can be said of airline travel and rail travel, too.

When choosing a cruise, the only question should be, "Am I getting value for money with this choice?" If the answer is, "no," then there are plenty of choices: you can go down in room category, until the price matches what you believe the service is worth; you can opt for a cheaper cruise itinterary; you can move to a cheaper cruise line.

Alternatively, you can go in the opposite direction, and start to opt for more expensive categories, itineraries, or lines that offer the amenities that you want.

When we look forward to something, expecting great things, sometimes we can be disappointed. Movies come to mind. A friend tells us about a stupendous movie they enjoyed, so we shell out for tickets, popcorn, etc, at great expense, and then the movie is awful in our opinion - and the operating phrase is - in our opinion.

Maybe the OP has set his sights too high. I think we have to enjoy HAL for what it is, it's not a luxury line, but a more affordable, mid-class line with interesting itineraries, and even the itineraries don't always work out. It is what it is. If we're not happy with what we're getting, we can change to another line.

I do agree, we have to look at this new thread as a continuation of OP's first, second and third moans!