HAL might have lost me... Would love opinions

[Marbella]

I'd have to side with the others who have said this was not a typical HAL experience. That's not to excuse your observations of poor service or the other issues mentioned. HAL ought to be, and I'd assume they are, very sensitive to the impact of these short cruises and the lasting impressions and impact they have on future customers. I'd like to think that they took the feedback they got for this cruise very seriously. In all fairness though a one day cruise is not indicative of any cruise line.

 

Randy , my thoughts exactly.

 

The OP posted asking more seasoned HAL customers if this was a typical experience. I'm sure they were waiting to hear that it was not. I'm in the service business and our motto is each job is advertisement for the next. We do the same quality of work for a $200 project as we do for a $20,000 project. If you think the smaller jobs are not worth it, then don't take them on. Would you have a mediocre experience in a restaurant and then have a wedding reception there in order to show they were up to the task?

 

I loved my experiences on HAL and if I lived in the area would consider taking the "ship to Vancouver" for the weekend. You are not doing HAL any favours by telling the OP .... well what did you expect or why should the staff put themselves out etc.

 

To the OP, I, too am sorry it was not a great experience. Do give HAL another try. We certainly had a fabulous time and wonderful service (and HAL is not the only cruise line we have experienced)

[Atomica]

While we had an excellent one-day cruise on the Rotterdam from Vancouver to Seattle in May, what you experienced was not typical of HAL.

 

There's a couple things to keep in mind on any one-day cruise, some of which have been touched on in previous posts:

 

As Brian stated, it's just not a long enough voyage for the crew to truly get to know passengers as they would on a longer voyage. Now, that's not an excuse for bad service, but it is a reason they can't provide the same flatteringly good service that's present on the longer voyages.

 

The one-day cruises are rough on the crew. Turnaround day is a logistical nightmare for everyone involved, and crew get to look forward to two of these monster days back to back.

 

A one day cruise is a great way to determine if you like a specific ship - but a lousy way to test out a cruise line. You'll get a feel for the overall product, but not the full picture.

[Roz]

Clickchick,

 

We had similar issues on our Sept. 4-day Pacific NW cruise on the Amsterdam. There were a number of people onboard who were using this short cruise to "sample" HAL. Surely HAL must realize this. I reassured several people that I had 8 previous cruises on HAL ships, and experienced better overall food and service. As someone already said, you get one chance to make a good first impression.

 

LindaM,

 

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the situation. Corporate SHOULD care about service levels on ALL cruises. And I don't understand your comment about price. Just because a 1-4 day cruise costs less than a 7 day or more cruise, why shouldn't service be the same? Back in 2008 I snagged a great last minute deal on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Oosterdam. I still expected certain things. If HAL has to lower prices in order to sell out a cruise, that's really not my problem.

 

Roz

[krewzin]

 

LindaM,

 

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the situation. Corporate SHOULD care about service levels on ALL cruises. And I don't understand your comment about price. Just because a 1-4 day cruise costs less than a 7 day or more cruise, why shouldn't service be the same? Back in 2008 I snagged a great last minute deal on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Oosterdam. I still expected certain things. If HAL has to lower prices in order to sell out a cruise, that's really not my problem.

 

Roz

 

 

This.

[LindaM]

Clickchick,

 

We had similar issues on our Sept. 4-day Pacific NW cruise on the Amsterdam. There were a number of people onboard who were using this short cruise to "sample" HAL. Surely HAL must realize this. I reassured several people that I had 8 previous cruises on HAL ships, and experienced better overall food and service. As someone already said, you get one chance to make a good first impression.

 

LindaM,

 

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the situation. Corporate SHOULD care about service levels on ALL cruises. And I don't understand your comment about price. Just because a 1-4 day cruise costs less than a 7 day or more cruise, why shouldn't service be the same? Back in 2008 I snagged a great last minute deal on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Oosterdam. I still expected certain things. If HAL has to lower prices in order to sell out a cruise, that's really not my problem.

 

Roz

 

I am certainly not the only person to feel this way on this thread. I think you are somewhat confused. This has nothing to do with snagging a great deal on a week's cruise. Of course a shorter cruise costs less. I am quite sure this cruise cost much less than 1/7 of a 7 day cruise. HAL had an extra day in between cruises, so they are trying to make some money instead of letting the ship just sit empty. We are talking about a ONE day cruise that is probably more or less considered a party cruise. I suggest you reread some of the previous posts to get a handle on this.

 

BTW, if you reread the OP's assessment, it was really not that horrible. It just wasn't the excellence most people expect from HAL. I have been on 21 cruises, and have experienced situations not too dissimilar from the OP's. The only difference is, the problems occurred maybe once or twice out of 7- 14 days. In this case, there was only one day for issues to occur.

 

If the cruise was THAT terrible (and from my experience, I don't think it was), then corporate would be interested. I think it is ridiculous to report a less than friendly waitstaff, or food that wasn't presented perfectly,or a towel on the floor on a one day cruise. If it happened several times on a longer cruise, that would be significant.

 

This is really beating a dead horse!! I've noticed that some of this boards most helpful members have had enough sense to stay away from this thread. I am done with it, too!

[greengazers]

I am an experienced HAL cruiser and I was on this one-night cruise on the Zaandam from Seattle to Vancouver on Oct 1, 2010. I agree with several previous posters. It was not representative of my previous HAL cruising experiences.

 

First, I have to say that the service levels on a one-night sailing can't, in all fairness, be measured against those of a longer cruise. The crew barely has a chance to make an impression. I'm taking that into account with my comments below.

 

Embarkation was delayed because of a mandatory incline test. The ship passed and embarkation began a little earlier than the expected delay, at 3:30 instead of 4:00. I overheard that the ship's crew was finally able to board ahead of the passengers to prepare the staterooms and public spaces for our cruise. So this cruise began without the service levels they typically provide because they were locked off the ship till the test was completed. Passengers received a ten dollar shipboard credit, but it was one per stateroom, not one per passenger as I expected.

 

It was my first time at Pier 91 and it was a chaotic mess. Why the inhumanity? Why the yelling into the PA system? Where was the well designed international signage for people who are not fluent in English, like you see in other cities? Where were the refreshment concessions for people who had to kill three hours due to the delayed embarkation? I live in Seattle and I was embarrassed. Not Holland America's fault, though. Blame the Port of Seattle for this one.

 

We arrived in our stateroom to find that the beds were not made up into twins as we had requested. No big deal, we thought. We called housekeeping and made the request again and were told it would be done at turn-down time. When we came back to our room after dinner at 9:45 or so, the bed was turned down but not separated. We found our steward and learned that he had never received the request. So no complaints with the steward. We watched him separate the beds and it is not a trivial task. But how did the request get lost, two times?

 

Our stateroom, 7048, also had a very noticeable odor. An intimate odor of B.O. It smelled like a stinky man. Sorry, guys. That's the fact.

 

I was surprised at the wear and tear on the ship. The exterior of the ship had lots of visible rust. And the upholstery on the couch in our stateroom was hopelessly slumped and wrinkled. I couldn't resist trying to smooth and tuck it back into shape, but it didn't work. Very sad looking and in need of an update.

 

The stateroom had a fruit bowl, as usual, with a card where you could select the fruit you wanted to get. We marked the card and were surprised later to find the bowl was put away and the card was removed. No fruit. Why not remove the request card in advance on a one-night cruise, so we wouldn't be disappointed?

 

After boarding we went to the bar near the pool on the Lido deck. We sat at a table but no one waited on us. Others nearby at similar tables were getting service but we could not catch the eye of a server. I know, it's a busy time when everyone is coming aboard. Eventually we left for the Crow's Nest. We found a window seat and got comfortable. And waited. And waited. And chatted and laughed and waited. No one ever came. We finally got a drink by standing up at the bar.

 

We paid in advance for the Pinnacle Grill over the phone a few days before the cruise. But when we arrived they had no record of our reservation. When I expressed my surprise, the host said that's okay, we were one of a number of parties with the same problem that night. They did seat us but then we were seemingly forgotten. Let me say that we are uncomplaining, easy-going people. So it's not like we were raising a stink and they wanted to hide us. We were going with the flow. But oh my gosh did we ever wait between every visit by a server. I was shocked by how long it took to get our plates removed between courses. At the end of the meal, we finally just walked away. No one ever came to say thanks or clear our dishes.

 

Wow, what happened to the wine lists of yore? I remember an interesting cellar aboard the Maasdam just a few years ago, but on the Zaandam the entire list was on the two panels of a wine list folder. Am I remembering wrong?

 

We repeatedly read instructions for proceeding to certain numbered levels of the ship, but the elevators only displayed *named* levels. Or was it vice versa? Anyone else experience that? We laughed it off, but it's not a good cruising experience for first-timers.

 

Because of the late embarkation, the casino was also late to operate. A lot of people had gathered but the start time was repeatedly delayed by 20 minute increments till we reached international waters. Some of us waited over an hour in a series of twenty-minute delays. I understand the int'l requirement, but why couldn't they provide an accurate opening time? The casino folks blamed the bridge. That didn't seem professional to me.

 

On the plus side, disembarkation was a breeze. Our cabin steward was a sweetheart. Good water pressure, good water temperature. Great beds and pillows! Excellent room service breakfast. But, oh... the breakfast arrived TWICE! Once at the time we requested and again about a half hour later. Oh gosh. We had to send it away.

 

So there you have it. I have heard that some ships have a reputation internally for being very well managed. This one, it would seem, does not. I hope that changes. HAL has a well-deserved reputation to protect.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I think the reason this post sounds familiar to some is that I posted a somewhat similar experience for a 1-day from Vancouver to Seattle in May. We were coming off a two-week cruise and wanted to give HAL a try. There were things I liked, like the size and layout of the cabin, but the bathroom was dirty and the toilet didn't work. After we called them for the third time, it finally got fixed at 9:30 p.m.

 

Thought the officers were surly and the rest of the staff seemed to be phoning it in. It didn't make me want to leap back on another HAL ship. I got flamed for this report and will probably get flamed again, but it was what it was.

[photomikey]

It seemed to me that the OP got a lot of sympathy in this thread, and not flamed.

 

For my money, the two worst days aboard are the day you leave and the day you get back. Rather than just make the bed and bring fresh towels, the room stewards have to strip every bed and clean every room top-to-bottom, then do the same again tomorrow. They load 2000 pieces of luggage onto the ship and load 2000 pieces back off, they make 2000 ID cards, load 2000 passengers, give 2000 sets of directions in addition to all their usual duties. It's the 6 days of luxury inbetween that make up for that. I am as disappointed as you, but I am not surprised. Please don't assume it's the stock HAL trip.

[Crusing Bob]

clickchick, maybe you want to read on the Review Board the posting of the Alaskan cruise that was posted just prior to yours and maybe this will give you a little different opinion of Holland. We are going on our 4th Holland cruise over the last 4 years and all were so very pleasant and relaxing. You might want to give them another shot but for 7 or more days.

 

Bob

[Cruising-along]

clickchick, maybe you want to read on the Review Board the posting of the Alaskan cruise that was posted just prior to yours and maybe this will give you a little different opinion of Holland. We are going on our 4th Holland cruise over the last 4 years and all were so very pleasant and relaxing. You might want to give them another shot but for 7 or more days.

 

Bob

 

Yes! We always say that it's a good thing we've been on longer HAL cruises. If we were judging HAL by the 1 one-day coastal we took, we would think twice about booking again. A one-day can be fun if looked on as just a "night out" for locals, it really isn't as good as a longer cruise.

 

We can't wait to be able to take longer cruises when we retire. So far 15 days is our longest (twice) and we just want more and more!

[ikelmay]

I am very interested to read both the OP's thoughts and some of the very well written responses and experiences.

 

We have only sailed with HAL the once on the Ryndam, a 4 day repositioning trip from Vancouver to San Diego.

 

Although I enjoyed the short trip, it left me without a warm and fuzzy feeling, and I really can't put my finger on what exactly was missing.

 

We have sailed on six other lines, and HAL is the only one that I am struggling with to try again. Maybe it was the rather distant and slightly harassed looking cabin attendant, maybe the frosty dinner companions on our first experience of the as you wish dining in the main dining room who made us feel intruders and unwelcome.

 

No one cruise should ever be used as a yardstick for judging the whole cruise line by, but it is hard not to find yourself making a judgement call - I hope very much to try another HAL cruise, but my first slightly offputting encounter has had an effect on my choosing future cruise experiences.

[Roz]

LindaM,

 

No one said the cruise was terrible. However, when several little things start to add up, it leaves a bad impression. I'm not going to write to the CEO of HAL, but I was a little disappointed in the overall experience.

 

Roz

[rafinmd]

The conventional wisdom is there's only one chance to make a first impression. That's mostly true but in cruising there's USUALLY a big proviso to that statement. I think service does tend to take a hit on embarkation day, both because the crew has to work extra hard and is tired, and also because they likely are delayed in getting ready for the evening meal as they are diverted to other duties. Disembarkation day is also very chaotic. Usually on a cruise there are at least several days in between where good service can soften an instantaneous first impression into a better one. On a one-day cruise that impression of a less than perfect first meal is the one a guest keeps forever.

 

Roy

[Jade13]

We did a 3 day Bahamas cruise on the Eurodam in 2008. We had cruised HAL 4 times previously, and this cruise was a little off the usual HAL experience, including no tote bags, no Mariner tiles and NO cruise survey. Everything was just not quite up to HAL standards, and we are not picky or hard to please.

 

When I asked about it at the Front Desk, a very nice rep explained that these mini-cruises are indeed atypical, and almost always occur when the ship is in repositioning mode. There generally is a large turnover in staff either just before or just after that cruise. In addition there is normally a huge amount of reprovisioning that takes place, and a lot of personnel resources are allocated for restocking shelves after all those pallets that had been loaded on the ship when in port are unpacked.

 

It made sense, and we still had a great little cruise, just a bit different. But we didn't have a survey for the usual feedback.

 

I recall that there was that 3 night Bahamas cruise as we were on the 3 night Cruise to NoWhere from NYC at the end of August/begining of September in 2008. It was Eurodam's first cruise from North America.

 

It was fantastic! We were able to board early, we had a Meet & Greet in the Crows Nest with about 80 CC members and they had complimentary Sparking wine and Mamosas, as well as passed hors d'oeuvres. The hotel director was present. We received the mariner tiles (large ones) as well as book on the Eurodam. We were also fortunate to be gifted some Inaugural plates. Tamarind was complimentary and I enjoyed lunch with some CC members as well as met Cruisineta who made a special boat to give a demo. The lobster tails were huge and food in the MDR very good. Stein Kruse was onboard. Oh, I forgot. As we passed the Statute of Liberty a waterboat surprised us with a fabulous show. It was an excellant 3 night cruise.

[Jade13]

I am very interested to read both the OP's thoughts and some of the very well written responses and experiences.

 

We have only sailed with HAL the once on the Ryndam, a 4 day repositioning trip from Vancouver to San Diego.

 

Although I enjoyed the short trip, it left me without a warm and fuzzy feeling, and I really can't put my finger on what exactly was missing.

 

No one cruise should ever be used as a yardstick for judging the whole cruise line by, but it is hard not to find yourself making a judgement call - I hope very much to try another HAL cruise, but my first slightly offputting encounter has had an effect on my choosing future cruise experiences.

 

You should try again. Two years ago we took a 5 night cruise on Celebrity Century. It was the only short cruise at the time on the east coast on an "upper end Mass market line" where we could take a couple of teenagers and put them in an Inside by themselves and also have a nice time ourselves. I left feeling the food was not very good, cusomer service bad (especially pre-cruise), and overall worst cruise experiance ever although I gave the ship high marks for cleanliness and loved the Aqua Spa cafe and Sushi bar in the afternoons. Two years later and we were looking for something to do for the weekend with the same teenagers. So, we decided to try Century again on their 4 night cruise. The experiance was totally differant on our second Celebrity cruise. We were blown away. Food excellant in the MDR, nicest staff and great Captains Club hostess. I was glad we decided to give Century a second chance and you might do the same for HAL.

[Jade13]

For us, the biggest issue would have been the delayed embarkation at 4:00pm. If we should do a one night cruise our only day is that one day. We are used to boardibg at 11:30am. At 4:00pm you have lost your day.

[m steve]

or judge a cruise line.

[Rstamper]

I was also on this 1-night cruise. I have been on lots of 1-night cruises, and they have been great in the past. It is a great and inexpensive weekend getaway. But I have to agree with OP. With the long wait in the terminal, and long lines in the buffet (because we had to all be served everything), it just was disappointing. I am not counting HAL out though. We did have a wonderful dinner, and great conversation with tablemates they sat us with.

[smslms]

The first cruise we ever took was a one night coastal (called that I think because we never lost sight of the coast) on Hal. It was horrible, I particularly remember that the wine arrived after we had finished dinner (didn' stop us from drinking it). I guess it didn't deter us as since then we have sailed to a good many places with HAL, Princess and others. It doesn't always pay to rush to judgement.:)

[Guest Indigogarden]

I was on the Oosterdam on Oct. 26 for the one day cruise to Vancouver. We are veteran HAL cruisers and I cannot ignore what I experienced on this cruise. The bar wasn't set very high, however, HAL apparently doesn't operate with their standards in place on one day cruises as evidenced by people having similar experiences on more than one boat with the same time table. This is not good. I've seen how good HAL can be--and what I saw on our mini-cruise was below the levels seen on other cruises I consider far inferior. What will I do? Right now I am not booking another cruise until I hear from Guest Relations regarding the situations that occurred on the cruise. Time will tell---so far HAL has not responded. :(:mad::confused:

[chaching]

Too bad that your room steward was like that. They aren't all that way. We took the coastal Zaandam last year, 4 or 5 nights from Vancouver to San Diego and totally loved it! The only problem was our room steward who never seemed to figure out when we were not in our room. There is a tag that you put on the outside of your room so he knows when to come and fix it up. Also, you should have requested that things be "cleaned up" or gone down to the main desk and complained! I don't care if it is a 1 night or 30 night cruise... or if they are "new" or "seasoned" crew members. I'm sure the head of housekeeping would want to know that their crew member was rude or that the room was dirty!!! Speak up... believe me, with the competition and so many cruise lines to choose from, they need your business!:eek:

[DaveOKC]

We did a 6 night Coastal on Zaandam last April and while we really had a good time, we did notice that the staff was "not on their game". There was nothing serious nor important wrong, but just that the excellant service we come to expect from HAL was a bit below excellant this cruise.

 

I attributed this to the Coastal not being part of a regular "run" for the ship and it may disrupt the routine. We know how organized things have to be on a ship, and these cruises are shorter and visit different ports.

 

Its much like a holiday week in most businesses - things just do not run as smoothly. Plus, often people take extra time off those weeks and therefore the business is short-handed.

 

I agree with the other posters - HAL has a great crew and offers a very good product, give them another chance to prove it to you. Also, do not be afraid to book a Coastal again, but I might suggest one that is a bit longer.

 

DaveOKC