komo

7 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

When you book obstructed view you have to expect maintenance will be going on at some point - perhaps most days.  It's not unusual and certainly not anything HAL should be expected to compensate you for.  I don't understand the extreme reaction of your kids - as parents you should be able to put them at ease and explain things - especially at age 8 & 12.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Right. It would have still shown the goodwill of the agent towards its child passengers - if they did not warn them (or their parents) about the possible loud works beforehand. Don’t you agree?

Thank you very much for your comments. It is not their first cruise but they were really scared by the loud noise of banging and shouting that has awakened them. We have talked to them, explaining what was happening, but indeed, HAL should have informed us beforehand or really should have compensated the kids by sending them some treats for the « inconvenience » (as the supervisor of the Front Desk addressed the whole situation). It might sound as a First World Problem, but if you are on holiday, than you want to offer the best experience for your kids and not return home with some bad memories. The whole management of the issue is what bothers me. We cruised HAL several times before, but clearly never experienced the handling of issues in such a manner.

We are currently cruising on HAL’s Oosterdam. We have obstructed view cabins that have lifeboats in front of them. Today morning, at 7.55 

Am we were awakened by banging, welding and the sound of steel being cut. My kids - 8 and 12 - started crying as they thought the ship was sinking. After opening the curtains we found out that mechanics started some kind of maintenance. The kids continued crying saying that most probably they were cutting off lifeboats in order to lower them. We tried - with my wife - to calm them and called the front desk instantly who reassured us that it was « only planned maintenance and that they instructed the colleagues to stop the loud work ». I inquired a couple of hours later as what type of remedy HAL offers in such cases - our kids don’t want to cruise anymore. The kind reply was that they could offer their sincere apologies. I drew their attention on the fact that prior information could have been given before planned works that cause such a noise and might frighten and shock kids, moreover, it was quite strange for me that no compensation policy exists for such cases (eg. a bowl of fruit or some candies for the kids) besides their apologies…

Just now, CruiserBruce said:

HAL is allowed to put requirements on as they see fit, and I don't believe the EU has any say in the matter. Note, in the US, boosters are also not recommended for under 12 year olds. 

Right, true, but HAL informed me that they are sticking to EU regulations if sailing in Europe, whereas they follow US regulation in the Caribbean (not requiring boosters). I tried to discuss with them that they did not interpret the directive well...

Hi, we are planning to take a cruise in Europe with our vaccinated kids (below 16). One of them received his second shot 9.5 months ago.  According to HAL's website, 'A booster dose is required for guests whose final dose of an approved/authorized COVID-19 vaccine is older than 9 months (270 days) to be considered “fully vaccinated”.' 

This is totally nonsense, contrary to EU regulations, as  the European Commission stated that 'if you are over 12 years old and under 18 years old, you will be considered as vaccinated even if 270 days have passed since the last dose without having received the booster dose'. 

I called HAL, I was connected to a guy at their Documentation (?) Department, who kept on saying the mantra that "We are continuously reviewing our policies and are updating them if necessary." Absolutely not paying attention to EU Regulation what I highlighted, HAL's policies would require children to get a booster shot... Any advice on what we could do? Take a different cruise line is an option, of course, but we would rather stick to HAL.

Hi, we recently cruised on Costa Mediterranea. Coffee capsules were free of charge in the suite (Illy) and were replenished daily.