Maasdam in Canada

[3rdGenCunarder]

Overall this cruise is going well, but it got off to a bad bad start, with disorganized check-in and a disastrous set of dealings with the restaurant.

 

On the plus side, the ports have been good, several offer free wifi on the pier, which is nice to have. Weather has been good some days, not so good others.

 

 

Specifics follow.

[3rdGenCunarder]

They say that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Add a fourth—anything HAL tells you about dining.

We booked this cruise 13 months ago, and although we requested early fixed, all we could get was open seating. We were waitlisted for early. When I printed my docs a few days before the cruise, we were still open, waitlisted for early. At checkin, we discovered that we were scheduled for late fixed. We NEVER asked for late in any form. What is the point of them listing dining status on your online reservation if they aren’t going to give you what they told you they would give you?

So that meant a stop to see the restaurant manager asap. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get there as early as we would have liked because of the horrible way checkin was handled. (More on that later) The restaurant manager said that early fixed was full. When I asked why we were placed in late when we had never requested that, he said that assignments come from shoreside.

He said he would see what he could do. He said early was already full, but he could move us from late to open. OK, we would go for that. And could we make a reservation for tonight? Yes, see the other man. So we got in the next line. By now DH was steaming. I asked for a table for 2. The asst RM said he would give us a reservation for a table for two for the next three nights at 5:30. (Our only choices were 5:15 and 5:30. I thought there were a few more times available for early reservations, but this is all we were offered.)

We went on to the MDR for lunch. We were seated, no problem. (More on Mariner lunch later)

When we got to our cabin after lunch, there was a card verifying the reservation for table 119. I went to the MDR to see if it was, in fact, a deuce. Well, I couldn’t find it. The table numbers showed no pattern other than odd on one side, even on the other. So I had to take it on faith that we’d get our deuce.

Went to the MDR, handed over the card, and the man with the little register receipt said 121. I said, no, it’s supposed to be 119. He showed me the receipt, which said 121. We got to 121, and it was near, but not next to the window. After I sat down, I saw that the window table was 119, and it was occupied. So, how come this other couple got the table we were supposed to have? Were they old friends of the RM? Did they get to some other table and say “Oh, we want that one by the window” and get it just because they asked, despite it being reserved? Did they go to the RM at some point and ask for a window table and get one despite it being reserved? Did money change hands? I can tell you one thing, when the asst RM came by, he was all over these people. There’s a rude expression I could use, but suffice it to say, he was VERY CHUMMY with them. He was just going to walk by us, but he saw me staring at him, so he felt obliged to stop and ask how we were. I said that we had been jerked around royally, asking for early, getting open, then getting late, then accepting open and getting a reservation for one table and being given another.

Frankly, I don’t give a rat’s tail if we sit next to the window or one away. The point is, we have been jerked around. I think they gave us 119, prime location, to make up for how disappointed we were in the meal time situation. And then they gave that same table to someone else. So, now they don’t want to make us happy because someone more important/special/high priced came along? I felt we were treated like steerage. OK, so we’re only 2-stars, and we’re only in a verandah. We got MUCH better treatment last time in a deluxe suite. There’s a song in the Fantastiks about “it depends on what you pay.” Sure does.

The asst RM asked if there was another table (in the open seating) we would like. I didn’t want a different table, I was willing to stay at 121. I just wanted someone to suck it up and say “I’m sorry for the way you have been treated.” I don’t want “compensation.” I want someone to apologize for the poor treatment we received. Acknowledge that they did a bad job. Never mind blaming shoreside. Every line’s shoreside screws up. The staff on board should know how to manage problems better.

The ONLY saving grace of the situation is an EXCELLENT waiter. We liked that the table was in a quiet spot. We liked the waiter. So we told the AsstRM that we wanted to stay at 121 if we could have the reservation going forward. We even made a point of saying that we wanted to stay there because the waiter was so good. He said yes, he would take care of it. That should be the end of the story. But wait, there’s more…

Next morning, I got a call from someone in the restaurant telling us that we had been moved to table 63, early seating. This is one day after we were told it wasn’t possible, and just over 12 hours since we said we were OK with 121 in open seating. So I went to check out the table. I can see why these seats became available. It was so close to a waiter station that at least two of the six people at that table would be bumped constantly. With the chair pushed all the way into the table, there was no more than 2 feet of clearance. No way did we want all that hubbub. So I called the concierge to ask to have my reservation reconfirmed. She connected me to the restaurant manager. (THIS is concierge service???) I explained again that last night we had told them that we wanted to stay at our table for 2 downstairs. We no longer wanted the move to fixed. OK, no problem, it’s taken care of. Trying to have faith, we went off to enjoy Quebec City.

We came back from our time ashore to find a reservation confirmation for table 63, early fixed. How many times did we have to tell these people that we wanted to stick with 121? I marched down to the front desk and asked to see the Hotel Manager. I got a restaurant manager instead, explained the problem to him AGAIN. He assured us we’d get our 121. And we did.

But is this as you WISH dining? Wishing is such a gentle word. If I had simply wished, I’d have been ignored. I had to scream and stamp my little size eights to get what I wished. And if they hadn’t come through on that second evening, I would have stood there and screamed, “I want to see the hotel manager NOW.” We spent way to much of the first 30 hours or so of the cruise trying to sort out dining arrangements. If this were my first cruise, I’d be posting one of those NEVER AGAIN posts. As it is, this is probably our last HAL cruise because DH is so disgusted that I doubt I could get him on any dam ship again. Maybe not on ANY ship. Things have gone better after that first day, but if I suggest another cruise, he’s sure to remind me of how unhappy we were at the start of this one.

No it isn’t all bad. Food is good, bed is comfy, we’ve made our schedule on time for each port. The two tours we took were great. But in business, you have only one chance to make a good first impression. The way we were treated has me questioning everything I thought I knew about HAL’s famous service.

[sail7seas]

Have you dined in Pinnacle yet? I hear the Chef is really good.

 

Enjoy.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

[sail7seas]

Sorry...... I was posting at the exact time you were.

 

 

I'm also very sorry how much energy you have expended over the dining situation.

I'm exhausted reading it so hate to think how you feel.

 

I hope a great day in Quebec City made up for it....... isn't it charming? One of our favorites.

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Never say never, but I hope that I never will have to embark on a cruise from Montreal again. Chaos. The website says not to arrive before 11:00. By 11:00, all the chairs (75 or so) were full, and people were standing in the cowshed that pretends to be a cruise terminal. I’ve sailed out of NYC’s westside a bunch of times, and it looks like the height of luxury now that I’ve embarked in Montreal.

I know, I know, they aren’t HAL employees. But HAL set up a system that made the situation terrible. We arrived shortly after 11. There were no snake lines or check-in desks set up. Helloooo? Didn’t they know we were coming???? As more people arrived, there was no line, we just sort of milled around in the entry pen area. Around 11:30, they had desks and three rope lines set up. They called for number Ones. Huh? We didn’t have a number. Nobody around us did. The One’s and Two’s were mostly the people who had been sitting in the chairs. OK, fair enough, they were there ahead of the unwashed, un-numbered standees. We figured we’d be next. Somebody commented that these people had paid through the nose for the privilege of going first, as they were on a HAL bus and probably had taken HAL’s expensive pre-cruise hotel. (Once again, I’m reminded of the Fantastiks “It depends on what you pay”)

Next, they were calling Threes. These people came off a bus and were herded into the cowshed AFTER most of the unwashed un-numbered people had been standing around for at least a half hour, but they got checked in ahead of us. I don’t care about their bus or their HAL numbers, that was NOT acceptable. Independent travelers were treated like we weren’t worth anything. We FINALLY got to a check-in desk more than an hour after we arrived, and well after the numbered people had been processed. I did not see anyone try to move ahead saying they were in deluxe suites or were 4-star mariners. Maybe they were all on HAL’s numbered buses. Or maybe those privileges (which I do not dispute) were not being honored at this port. As we were checking in, we could see a line of passengers that extended out the door and along the building. It was a drizzly day, and those people had to stand outside. At the rate things were going, some of them might have to stand in line for another hour! The indoor space was large enough to shelter everyone if someone had thought to arrange things differently. Clearly, they didn’t give a hoot about the unwashed un-numbered people who were not worthy of HAL numbers.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Have you dined in Pinnacle yet? I hear the Chef is really good.

 

Enjoy.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

 

Pinnacle is the last night. We're looking forward to it, although I have to say I can't find anything to complain about as far as MDR food goes.

 

And, by the way--all of you who carried on about HAL's bread pudding--I HATE YOU!!!! I intend to blame any weight gain on you. I don't usually like break pudding, but I am getting addicted to the Lido bread pudding!!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Remember the poster who went to the MDR on the first day and was turned away because she wasn’t a mariner? At the time, I thought she should have seen that it was a Mariner Luncheon. But on embarkation day of this cruise, the “Explorer” just said 12:00-1:30 under lunch for the MDR. Nowhere that I could find on the “Explorer” did it specify “Mariner’s Luncheon.” Apologies to hat poster, whoever you were.

We were not given invitations at checkin. When we boarded, a man in what looked like a restaurant staff uniform was directing people to their decks. I asked him if they were doing the Mariner Luncheon. He asked if I’d received an invitation. I said no and asked if they were cutting off at a high star level. He said they probably were. And yet another meal-related lie.

There were no invitations—dockside could barely get the basic checkin done. Invitations would have been beyond their organizational skills. There was no low-star cutoff, unless they weren’t letting 1-star mariners in. When we got to the MDR, we were asked our room number. Nobody asked to see an invitation. Moral of the story. Don’t believe what you’re told by anyone but the guy at the podium.

 

I'm compiling the FAshion REport for a future post. :eek:

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for checking in from your cruise.

Sorry you got off to a bad start -- check-in at the terminal, dining room and embarkation lunch.

Since this new program began 2 years ago -- we have never gotten an invitation to the Mariner's lunch on embarkation day -- we are 4 stars with nearly 700 days.

[Winters in NZ]

We live just a 2 hour drive east of Montreal...a beautiful city

without a doubt.

 

But I have to agree...that cowshed posing as a cruise

terminal is an absolute disgrace. Some rats running across

it's barren concrete floor would only serve to enhance

it's appearance.

[powderhorn]

Saw all you happy cruisers out enjoying the rain in my home town of Charlottetown today....always enjoy seeing the Maasdam when she is in port. This is her last visit for this season....a sign of what is to come...SNOW!!:eek:

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[RuthC]

Kathy,thank you for checking in with us. Sorry about the hurdles you are being forced to jump over. At least you seem to have cleared them without stumbling.

Continue to find the good things to enjoy.

[aliaschief]

Thanks for the report. Hopefully, the rest of your cruise will go smoothly.

[patwell]

Hi Kathy!! Good to "see" you.

 

Wow.....you have had some time of it. I think my husband would have the same feeling as yours after that fiasco. Hopefully things have stabilized but you sure had what I'd consider a bad start.

 

We had a similar experience in Alaska on Princess this summer. Anytime dining....a misnomer of ever there was one. We found it such a distasteful experience that we ate 5 of the 7 meals in the buffet......and enjoyed it far more than the 2 we ate in the mdr.

 

We're booked to try our first on HAL in Dec. Hopefully we will fare better or it could be our last. We did book fixed late after the Princess experience....back to what we know and like and are accustomed to.

 

Hope things improve for you......if you stop in Bar Harbor say hi for me.....I lived in taht area for 15 years and love it still. Such great natural beauty.....I will keepfingers crossed for sunshine for that day so you can see it all.

 

Cheers, Penny

 

Penny’s Affair to Remember QM2 Review

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=471053

 

November 10,2007...the “Affair” continued...did it ever!

 

October 16,2008...the “Affair” goes transatlantic as we sail in tandem with the grand QE2 on her final transatlantic voyage...what a thrill!

 

December 9, 2008....the “Affair” resumes again....Life is good!

 

July 30, 2009....transatlantic again...some “Affairs” just get better

 

August 7, 2009....the “Affair” goes on...this time “home” to Norway

 

Feb. 7, 2010....the “Affair” takes a sunny detour when Penny meets a Princess

 

Aug 14, 2010....the “Affair” returns to Norway, all the way to the top!

 

June/July 2011....summer land sojourn on Cape Cod

 

Aug 22, 2011...Diamond Princess....North to Alaska!! A wilderness tour and cruise....

 

2011...Holland America to the Caribbean pre holidays

[kazu]

Wow, thanks for your report. I do not blame you a bit for being put out.

 

I would be too. Now I know another reason to pick fixed, late dining (just being cute ;))

 

You have done well to put up with these things. It is the principle of the thing that will get to us and I can see it has to you too. Do not let that put you off the rest of your cruise. Have a great time and a great cruise. Let the water flow under the bridge and do not let it ruin the rest of your trip.

 

I admire your fortitude:D

[Maryandi]

I think the first day of training is for everyone to perfect the ' 1,000 yard stare' and then blame everything on the Home Office. !!

 

The next day would be - (fill in the blank) , continue to the next day , etc. Somewhere along the line every question you may post to any crew, the answer sounds like a lie.

 

Sad to hear of your troubles, but I have had one or another version of your experience at one time or another, too.

 

It's hard to stay positive about the whole thing - like 'I loved the food' then 'I had to scream to get the table I had reserved' , Kinda takes your appetite away !!

 

All the best, M.A.

Hope you have a better experience onward - I hope.

[WriterOnDeck]

Thanks for posting as you go. And take good care of the Maasdam; we board ourselves a week from tomorrow!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Things are getting better had a good day in PEI despite the rain. GORGEOUS in Sydney today and had a great tour of the fortress. I've got about 5 minutes before I have to get back on board.

 

Found something HAL does not do well. Yorkshire pudding. OK, it's not a british ship, but I had to give it a try. There's a NEVER AGAIN for sure!!!!

 

The rest of the food has been great.

 

And here's a "what's changed" item. Remember the days of seeing crew lined up at the pay phones? Not any more. They're all over the terminals with i-pads, laptops, etc. So are passengers. Like me. And if I don't log off now and scoot, I'll be extending my stay in sydney.

 

Any questions about Maasdam, just ask,

 

I love, love, love the Neptunes!!

[aliaschief]

Things are getting better had a good day in PEI despite the rain. GORGEOUS in Sydney today and had a great tour of the fortress. I've got about 5 minutes before I have to get back on board.

 

Found something HAL does not do well. Yorkshire pudding. OK, it's not a british ship, but I had to give it a try. There's a NEVER AGAIN for sure!!!!

 

The rest of the food has been great.

 

And here's a "what's changed" item. Remember the days of seeing crew lined up at the pay phones? Not any more. They're all over the terminals with i-pads, laptops, etc. So are passengers. Like me. And if I don't log off now and scoot, I'll be extending my stay in sydney.

 

Any questions about Maasdam, just ask,

 

I love, love, love the Neptunes!!

 

So true. Need to know where Wi Fi is all you have to do is follow the crew. Envy you as we did both spring and fall reposition cruises a couple of years ago. Smooth sailing and thanks again for the continuing reports.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for the Maasdam reports. I can never read/hear enough about 'our' Maasdam. :)

 

If you have the chance, Kathy........

 

 

Would you ask aboard if Maasdam will be continuing Canada/New England for 2013 season? I know she is scheduled for 2012 but I am getting uneasy Veendam might replace Maasdam on that itinerary. Just a nagging suspicioun creeping into my mind that is making me more than a little nervous. :eek:

 

Have fun!!!

 

[RuthC]

Found something HAL does not do well. Yorkshire pudding. OK, it's not a british ship, but I had to give it a try. There's a NEVER AGAIN for sure!!!!

I've never had Yorkshire pudding except on a HAL ship, and that's only been started in recent years. So, I don't know what the pudding is supposed to be like.

What HAL serves is very much like what I know as a popover, and is good if you look at it that way.

What is Yorkshire pudding supposed to be like?

 

Glad things have gotten better for you.

[mamaofami]

And here's a "what's changed" item. Remember the days of seeing crew lined up at the pay phones? Not any more. They're all over the terminals with i-pads, laptops, etc.

 

 

 

I noticed that when we were on the Maasdam in June. They're at the tables, sitting on the floor, etc. Nice to be able to use the free wi fi.

 

Hope you got to sample some PEI mussels. They are wonderful.

[Aruba]

Thanks for posting as you go. And take good care of the Maasdam; we board ourselves a week from tomorrow!

Now it's a week from TODAY! See you then. :)

[scopewest]

My comment on Mariner embarkation lunch: Two weeks ago on the Oosterdam we did not receive an invitation at the check-in counter. When we boarded we were told that the Lido was open for lunch. We were in a suite so we went to the Neptune Lounge (it was now about 12 noon) and asked. We were told the M lunch had started at 11:30 a.m. in the dining room and to just go. We went and we were seated immediately, nobody checked to see if we were Mariners.

 

The two couples at our table expressed astonishment at how empty the dining room was, and I thought is it because we're half an hour after it started? Or maybe people don't think it's available because they aren't handing out invitations. I'd suggest to anyone taking a future cruise as a Mariner to head for the dining room first to check things out.

 

As for your dining reservations, my heartfelt sympathy. That's no way to start a cruise!

[mudscraper]

Sorry to see your cruise get off to such a bad start. Glad to see the situation improving.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We're in St John today. It's Sunday, so not a lot open, but we did get to the farm market. I love markets, although this one isn't close to as good as the one in Halifax. If you have a port stop in Halifax, don't mis the market. The building is as "green" as it gets--green roof, water catchment to use rainwater for toilets, etc. Wind turbines on the roof, too. Huge market, great stuff.

 

Speaking of "green," here's another thing for the stuff to pack, along with trays, duct tape, etc. A box of real kleenex. The tissues are "green." actually brown in color and very skimpy.

 

Ruth, a Yorkshire pudding is very much like a popover. Instead of being cooked in butter, it's cooked in the fat that drips from the roast beef. The one I had must have been cooked in a teflon muffin tin with NO fat of any kind. I mentioned it to the asst RM last night. I said that all the food has been great with that one exception. I wasn't the only person who told him that. I said that I wasn't expecting a perfect YP on a Dutch ship, so it was kind of an experiment for me. He said the the cook is Phillipino, so he didn't know the English way to make it. Ah well, I'll be home in a week and have to go back to cooking for myself. :eek: I can make my own YP.

 

Sail, I'll try to remember to ask about 2013.