Saying goodbye to Holland...Veendam A/C problems

[iancal]

$200. future credit is of no use to someone who has no intention of sailing on HAL again, and the eighteen month window just adds insult to injury.

[sail7seas]

If one tells HAL they are done with them and will never sail again, why make any further attempt to satisfy them? If they will not be using the future OBC, HAL has lost them anyway.

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

I would suggest that everybody that has AC problems remove all their tips from the bill.

 

HAL will get a real problem if their staff's earnings drop because week after week people are removing their tips because of the AC problem.....

May that gets them to change something!:(

[AFuncruiser]

I do not understand how HAL can think about using the Veendam on Amazon cruises with all the A/C problems..Very concerned about my March cruise..

 

Dennis

Jacksonville, Fl

 

 

409 days at sea

34 cruises

11 cruise lines

T/P, T/A, Hawaii, Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific

 

Booked

12 day TA Norwegian Sun Oct 2010

8 day Norwegian Sun Oct 2010

28 day Rio/Amazon river/ Ft. Lauderdale March 2011

[family cruisers]

We'll be on the Veendam Aug. 29th and I hope we don't have a room with no AC. Regarding your comment on staff tips :

removing tips from staff for their hard work would be cruel as this has nothing to do with them. I hope no one would even consider this.

 

 

I would suggest that everybody that has AC problems remove all their tips from the bill.

 

HAL will get a real problem if their staff's earnings drop because week after week people are removing their tips because of the AC problem.....

May that gets them to change something!:(

[whogo]

We'll be on the Veendam Aug. 29th and I hope we don't have a room with no AC. Regarding your comment on staff tips :

removing tips from staff for their hard work would be cruel as this has nothing to do with them. I hope no one would even consider this.

 

I would hope that if someone made it clear to HAL that they removed the autotip because it was the only chance they had for recompense, HAL would make it up to the staff. The OP could have gotten back $11 per person per day instead of nothing. Tell HAL to give the shipboard credit to the staff and the hotel service charge back to you.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Passengers are gone every week.....but if the crew revolts because people are NOT satisfied and cancel the tips...and their pay is going down because HAL does not care about passengers or AC....that helps fast....:cool:

 

The crew represents HAL ......so no tips if HAL does not fix the AC....

 

But I guess it is a cultural thing.....we Europeans do not believe in tips ....but that a company should pay their workers right to begin with:rolleyes:

We do NOT tip when not satisfied with the service OR the company...so the staff knows they need to get their boss to change something or he will loose the employees.....

[HeatherInFlorida]

I hope everyone absolutely ignores any suggestion that withholding tips is a good idea. It's a bad idea, it's not fair, and it's wrong. It's taking out your displeasure with the HAL PTB on those who have no control over the situation whatsoever. Please scratch that idea off your list:(.

 

What I don't understand is how HAL (or anyone here on their side) can think that giving OBC for a future cruise in any way compensates the passenger for the cruise they already paid for!!!! It simply makes no sense at all.

 

The passenger paid HAL thousands of $$$ for their cruise experience which they logically expected would include a comfortable cabin to use whenever they wanted to throughout the day. So the credit should be on that cruise (i.e. money refunded to the purchaser), not some future cruise that the purchaser may or may not be able to make within the 12 to 18 month window.

 

I recently purchased a box of all natural oatmeal at Publix and when I opened it some weird critters literally flew out of the box! Needless to say, I returned it. And guess what! Publix gave me back my money. They did not give me a credit for another box of oatmeal I might want to buy down the road which was a good thing because I've sort of sworn off oatmeal for the time being:D.

 

This is good customer service because I will return to Publix. I just won't buy that brand of oatmeal, but I'll buy lots of other stuff.

 

Moral of the story is that when HAL acknowledges the problem and provides good customer service by crediting the person back a fair amount of the purchase price of the cruise, they are more likely to rebook ... just not the Veendam. But as it is now I'm guessing Karen is probably a little soured on HAL altogether.

[serendipity1499]

I would suggest that everybody that has AC problems remove all their tips from the bill.

 

HAL will get a real problem if their staff's earnings drop because week after week people are removing their tips because of the AC problem.....

May that gets them to change something!:(

 

That is not fair to the crew! Plus $11 per day for two people on a 7 day cruise would only amount to $144 even for a 14 day cruise it would be $288. which is much less than what the OP received..

 

 

 

We'll be on the Veendam Aug. 29th and I hope we don't have a room with no AC. Regarding your comment on staff tips :

removing tips from staff for their hard work would be cruel as this has nothing to do with them. I hope no one would even consider this.

 

I agree with you! It would be very cruel..

Karen, First of all I'm very sorry that your cabins were not comfortable for you & your family..

Most of our Floridan friends keep our home temps at 76 degrees in the summer & in winter about 72 degrees when we have very cold spells...When we lived in the Northern climes, we always wore sweaters when our homes were 72 degrees....

However, I completely agree with you that the Thermostat in your cabin should have worked, so you could adjust the AC to your comfort level..

Now, since you have asked for our opinion on HAL's offer of additional OBC...If it was us, we would be happy with a $440 OBC on board with an additional $200 OBC to total $640 or 20% of our cruise fare, but again that is me..Many cruise lines would not offer that type of OBC..

However, you have to make up your own mind..We're sorry that you were so disappointed with HAL..

Cheers......:)Betty

 

P.S. Forgot to mention that when our cabin was 64 degrees on another ship, for 14 days, we were not happy campers either..After 14 days when it was verified that the AC was not working properly & the thermostat was not even connected & we asked to see the HM..They finally fixed it & we were able to keep our outside cabin at a 76 degrees, which for us was comfortable..We did not ask for any compensation & none was offered, but we still had a wonderful cruise..

[Cruising-along]

As always, very well said Heather. I agree with you 100%, excellent post. :)

[whogo]

I hope everyone absolutely ignores any suggestion that withholding tips is a good idea.

 

 

Holland America's Hotel Service Charge explanation with my highlights: http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-planning/PlanningAndAdvice.action?tabName=Shipboard+Life&contentMenu=Money+Matters&contentSubMenu=Hotel+Service+Charge

Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as our dining room wait staff and the stewards who tend to your stateroom each day. There are also many others that tend to your care that you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge of US$11 per passenger is automatically charged to each guest's shipboard account. If our service exceeds or fails to meet your expectations, you are free to adjust this amount at the end of the cruise. The Hotel Service Charge is paid to Holland America Line crew members, and represents an important part of their total compensation package...

I would say that the OP got lousy service from the crew members in charge of her air-conditioning and that an adjustment of the hotel service charge is a reasonable last resort.

[sail7seas]

Cabin stewards, dining stewards, bartenders and bar stewards and others in positions of that sort have absolutely nothing to do with fixing air conditioning. Why would you dream of punishing them for something that is no where in their parameter of responsibilities?

 

Letters, e-mails, telephone calls, comment sheets are the place to advise HAL Seattle of your displeasure with how any mechanical issues on board the ship were or were not handled. This becomes the fault of crew, staff, Officers other than cabin stewards.

 

Don't punish the innocent.

 

[whogo]

That is not fair to the crew! Plus $11 per day for two people on a 7 day cruise would only amount to $144 even for a 14 day cruise it would be $288. which is much less than what the OP received..

The OP received nothing. Onboard credit is worthless to a cruiser who is not taking another HAL cruise. Onboard credit is the first thing HAL offers and the last thing a cruiser should accept. How much does onboard credit cost HAL? Ask them the next time they offer you $500 in onboard credit. Will HAL give you $400 cash now instead? $300 now? $200 now?

[sail7seas]

I think OP got some OBC off her final bill for that cruise. HAL then offered additional OC for a future cruise.

 

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

The question is....you want a result or not.....if everybody withholds tips for bad service/ experiences you will get a fast result.....letters do not get results....money talks.:rolleyes:

 

I only tip if the overall experience is acceptable it is not my job to analyze who did what or not....

 

If the staff puts pressure on HAL that is much more effective than writing useless letter.....

 

It is the staffs job to bring it to the attention of the management that this unbearable......not getting the tips they expect might focus them more on that....

 

If they still get all the tips and their cabin has AC .....they can care less.....

[sail7seas]

But the money isn't until the end of the cruise. Until last day, you can remove automatic charged hotel service charge. If your goal is to get air conditioning, it's too late at that point as you are going home. So what will witholding tips from hardworking crew accomplish except to save you money and deny them.

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

It puts tremendous pressure on HAL for good....passengers leave after a week.....but if the crew revolts......things change...

[peaches from georgia]

The OP received nothing. Onboard credit is worthless to a cruiser who is not taking another HAL cruise. Onboard credit is the first thing HAL offers and the last thing a cruiser should accept. How much does onboard credit cost HAL? Ask them the next time they offer you $500 in onboard credit. Will HAL give you $400 cash now instead? $300 now? $200 now?

Exactly. The easy acceptance by so many that anyone is being given something when they are offered OBC on a future cruise is ludicrous. The cruise that had the problem is the issue and getting a pittance off your onboard account if and only if you are willing to pay thousands more for another cruise is insane. HAL is laughing all the way to the bank. No wonder that don't spend what they need to to fix the 'dam problem. Write all the letters you wish. Until HAL is hit in the pocketbook nothing will change.

 

Would anybody here deal with a company who sells you a defective product and then insists you buy another at full price in order to get a tiny refund on the first product? It's laughable.

[sail7seas]

There are some of us who don't want any amount of OBC or $$. No offer would suffice for us....... all we want is the problem corrected and our cabin cooled. It isn't about money but rather is about our ability to enjoy our cruise. Skip the money - fix it!

[ballgown1]

That is not fair to the crew! Plus $11 per day for two people on a 7 day cruise would only amount to $144 even for a 14 day cruise it would be $288. which is much less than what the OP received..

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with you! It would be very cruel..

 

Karen, First of all I'm very sorry that your cabins were not comfortable for you & your family..

 

Most of our Floridan friends keep our home temps at 76 degrees in the summer & in winter about 72 degrees when we have very cold spells...When we lived in the Northern climes, we always wore sweaters when our homes were 72 degrees....

 

However, I completely agree with you that the Thermostat in your cabin should have worked, so you could adjust the AC to your comfort level..

 

Now, since you have asked for our opinion on HAL's offer of additional OBC...If it was us, we would be happy with a $440 OBC on board with an additional $200 OBC to total $640 or 20% of our cruise fare, but again that is me..Many cruise lines would not offer that type of OBC..

 

However, you have to make up your own mind..We're sorry that you were so disappointed with HAL..

 

Cheers......:)Betty

 

P.S. Forgot to mention that when our cabin was 64 degrees on another ship, for 14 days, we were not happy campers either..After 14 days when it was verified that the AC was not working properly & the thermostat was not even connected & we asked to see the HM..They finally fixed it & we were able to keep our outside cabin at a 76 degrees, which for us was comfortable..We did not ask for any compensation & none was offered, but we still had a wonderful cruise..

 

I thought it was $60 per person per day???

[sail7seas]

I thought it was $60 per person per day???

__________________

Ballgown1

 

 

 

The automatic hotel service charge applied to your account is $11 pp per day. The $60 per day you reference is a 'hold' placed against your credit card but it is never charged until the end of the cruise. That hold includes the $11 pp and also offsets what they expect many (most ?) cruisers average in spending per day on such things as soft drinks, cocktails, spa appointments, photos, excursions etc

 

The actual charge is not submitted to credit card company until the actual sum you spent is totaled. The hold assures there will be enough credit remaining on your credit card to cover your bill.

 

[ballgown1]

The automatic hotel service charge applied to your account is $11 pp per day. The $60 per day you reference is a 'hold' placed against your credit card but it is never charged until the end of the cruise. That hold includes the $11 pp and also offsets what they expect many (most ?) cruisers average in spending per day on such things as soft drinks, cocktails, spa appointments, photos, excursions etc

 

The actual charge is not submitted to credit card company until the actual sum you spent is totaled. The hold assures there will be enough credit remaining on your credit card to cover your bill.

 

 

 

Ahh! So much to learn/remember :D. Thanks!

[AFuncruiser]

If one tells HAL they are done with them and will never sail again, why make any further attempt to satisfy them? If they will not be using the future OBC, HAL has lost them anyway.

 

 

Because it may be the right thing to do! Don't you think people are owed something when they do not recieve what they paid for?

Dennis

 

Lots of Cruises

[peaches from georgia]

There are some of us who don't want any amount of OBC or $$. No offer would suffice for us....... all we want is the problem corrected and our cabin cooled. It isn't about money but rather is about our ability to enjoy our cruise. Skip the money - fix it!

And if they don't or can't fix it your entire cruise or almost your entire cruise? This seems to be the case from many reports. HAL still owes you no kind of compensation? Everyone wanted the problem fixed. The discussion is what is owed if it's not fixed.

[sail7seas]

Compensation is my least favorite word when discussing cruising.

 

But, yes....... people have to be compensated if they are forced to leave the ship because they cannot abide the conditions due to faulty air conditioning. They should expect less if they remain aboard.

 

The amount has to be set in consideration of so many variables, not least of which is the amount of money the people paid for their cruise.

 

Someone who paid $6,000 for a suite should be paid more than someone who is sailing for $599 IMO They paid more and, therefore, lost more.

 

So, here we go with the........ why is a Suite guests discomfort worth more than an Inside Cabin? :D I'm the target who proposed the concept so......... :D :) I know I set myself up for these attacks but I always say what I think. :o

 

We are at an age and stage in our lives where if we are not at least as comfortable when we travel as we are at home, then we choose to not go. No one need agree with that concept. It's our privilege so set our personal needs.