doublebzz

Instead of blaming Psgrs. for taking advantage of the policy, we should be blaming HAL for not limiting the amount of wine Psgrs could bring on board & charging a corkage fee as several other carriers do even if consumed in our cabins..

 

 

JMO Betty

That would make too much sense. Management, in many fields today, choose to make the easy fix. Instead of focusing on the perceived grievance and developing policy to deal with it, management initiates a "broad brush" policy and ignores the unintended consequences. Frankly, however, I'm not convinced that the few instances of guests bringing multiples cases aboard had anything to do with the change in policy. I never witnessed this nor these so called wine parties but, then again, I failed to qualify for the wine police.

The last one was "busy" making oragami animals and taking pictures:rolleyes:.

I wish they would eliminate the animal towels instead of some of the other benefits that are really meaningful. After one or two cruises, I believe guests have seen enough animal towels to last a lifetime. At least, allow each cabin the choice of whether they want the towels or not. But I guess this is a subject for another thread.

That's the problem. Usually I'm sitting at a larger table and the wine is tucked away somewhere where I can't see it. I had another person at the table pour me some and they couldn't have cared less but it wasn't that apparent. If I get out of my chair I think that would be more noticable. They just don't seem to care. I know people say it hasn't happened to them but what reason would I have for lying? About the only thing left is getting up on the table and screaming for the guy:D.

I doubt anyone's challenging you veracity. My question is whether this is an exceptional occurrence or do you experience it frequently? I've experienced just the opposite where servers are over-zealous in refilling glasses to the point where it seems like they are trying to "push" wine sales.

I find the posts about bad drink service curious as that was not our experience in March, on our 14-day Westerdam cruise. We never had any trouble getting a waiter for a drink at the aft pool. Never. Same for the Crows Nest and other bar areas. In the MDR (contrary to what I read on CC) the wine steward brought DH his Grolsch and me a diet soda or glass of wine every night. After several days I remarked to him that I thought wine stewards didn't provide that service anymore. He looked at me like I was from outer space. :eek: Apparently he didn't get the memo. We have no complaints about HAL's drink service.

My observations exactly. It seems some folks that are so put out by HAL's wine policy change, and I am one of them, are extending their dissatisfaction by condemning the service staff. Of course on the smaller ships and extended voyages, the servers will get to know your names and drink choices. But to expect the same same service on a two week cruise with 2,000 guests seems unreasonable to me. Yes, in a crowded bar for a pre-dinner cocktail, I've, at times, experienced some pretty bad service but I don't let it color my overall opinion of the bar staff.

Newer is not necessarily better, however.

Sure glad I saw this thread in time to move my April, 2014 Transatlantic cruise from HAL to Celebrity. The wine policy was a true point of distinction for HAL, particularly on an 15 day cruise. Absent it, other lines are more attractive IMO.

 

One bottle of wine per person for a 15 day voyage? One would have to bring a Very small wine glass along.

And it looks to me that Celebrity is less costly on newer, more modern ships as well.

I sent an email through the HAL website right after I read the original post here (http://www.hollandamerica.com/contactUs/Main.action)

 

 

Her recommendation was to send our emails to:

 

guestrelations@hollandamerica.com

I understand people's frustration with the new policy but I doubt sending individual emails, threathening cruise cancellations and alike will alter HAL's decision making. What is needed is a large scale peaceful demonstration on a dock where a HAL ship is berthed to attract media attention and arouse the cruise minded public as well. We might even be able to hire the Reverend Al Sharpton to organize such an event.