Rep. rting In From the Zuiderdam

[Candy]

No, the signs are there so people won't prop open the doors.

[iancal]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[PathfinderEss]

When you have 90 degrees in tempeture and 90 percent humidity, I think it is easy to say keep the door shut. It is very hard to keep it cool when you have weather like that.

[Magellan321]

It's not just HAL having issues. We have been on Celebrity and Princess in the last twelve months and both have had issues....granted not to the degree that the Zuiderdam appears to be having.

 

Yes a lot of the issues are cut backs to maintenance but the passengers really don't seem to care to follow instructions either making an already overworked maintenance crew work even more in some cases.

 

The most recent was on the Grand Princess we lost the use or bathroom for a good part of a day.......thankfully a port day. It started the night before with a strange flush follwed by no flush(fixed before we went to bed) and by morning a very delayed flush. It turned out that our lovely neighbors had flushed a DIAPER! I know because she was yelling at maintenance that the sign in her bathroom did not state no diaper flushing just no foreign objects!It turned out that while they had retrieved the "object" it had caused a secondary vacuum leak that wasn't noticed until the delayed flushing started with several cabins and had to be traced down and repaired.

 

That being said I totally get the fustration aboard ship. If I didn't want plumbing or A/C I'd go camping!

[cruz chic]

It's not just HAL having issues. We have been on Celebrity and Princess in the last twelve months and both have had issues....granted not to the degree that the Zuiderdam appears to be having.

 

Yes a lot of the issues are cut backs to maintenance but the passengers really don't seem to care to follow instructions either making an already overworked maintenance crew work even more in some cases.

 

The most recent was on the Grand Princess we lost the use or bathroom for a good part of a day.......thankfully a port day. It started the night before with a strange flush follwed by no flush(fixed before we went to bed) and by morning a very delayed flush. It turned out that our lovely neighbors had flushed a DIAPER! I know because she was yelling at maintenance that the sign in her bathroom did not state no diaper flushing just no foreign objects!It turned out that while they had retrieved the "object" it had caused a secondary vacuum leak that wasn't noticed until the delayed flushing started with several cabins and had to be traced down and repaired.

 

That being said I totally get the fustration aboard ship. If I didn't want plumbing or A/C I'd go camping!

Wow, some people are not bright. I wonder if they flush diapers at home. I find it scary that she has a child.

[PathfinderEss]

Wow, some people are not bright. I wonder if they flush diapers at home. I find it scary that she has a child.

It happens all the time, flushing diapers, kotex, and a lots of other things.

[Wakepatrol]

Perhaps HAL can arrange for a fleet of porta-potties to be installed on the promanade deck prior to the next sailing.

 

This brings a new meaning to the expression 'ship happens'. We were seriously considering a partial Panama cruise last month on this ship. So glad that we passed on it.

 

HAL needs to do much better.

 

you're running out of ships you're not going on. Have you thought about other lines? (you know the ones that have zero problems)

[FrankNJ]

Why cruise at all ? If cruise ships can't be maintained and "chat" agents talk in think- speak

" we are not aware of any problems but it is in our best interest to fix them promptly "

 

From the front desk on Zuiderdam in march , on my third visit there in 24 hours , and talking to the same person : " Sir , let me document this carefully " ( poised over the keyboard )

"Are you kidding me ? "

" Like I told you 3 times today , we have no Air conditioning , none "

 

"Sir I'll report this to our maintenance department immediately "

 

On the third day I had to raise holy hell to get the dam thing fixed , which they did on the fourth morning . They found clogged air filters and diverters in the ductwork turned in the wrong direction , resulting in no air flow . Probably when they restored mine someone else lost theirs. Probably that's how my cabins problem started .

 

Why do I need to go on a cruise to be aggravated ? I'm sure I can do that at home .

[Sea42]

60% little or no airconditioning on a ship near the equator is BIG NEWS. That means people sleeping on the open decks, meals served outside, groups of passengers demonstrating in the lobby and demanding to meet the Captain, CNN and Fox News covering this disaster, the cruise line making statements to the press and making plans to cancel the cruise and send everyone home.

But when I tuned into CNN this morning, they didn't even mention it.

Strange, no?

 

So I emailed a friend in the Technical Department on Zuiderdam to see how things were going.

He was quite surprised to hear about these problems.

After a few back and forth emails, he did admit that 4 cabins had air flow problems after the A/C maintenance in Grand Turk. They flew in their top A/C Engineer in Curacao and three of the cabins were fixed that day. They expected to fix the final one today.

 

Zuiderdam has nearly 900 cabins. 60% of 900 is 540 cabins with "little or no A/C".

540 vs. 4 ?

 

Could there be some correlation between passengers who flush forbidden objects down their toilets and poor math skills?

 

I'm wondering if you've received an updated from your friend in the Technical Department?

[sail7seas]

I'm so sorry for those who experienced loss of toilet and/or air conditioning.

 

It is MISERABLE and anyone who calls it a 'small thing' and 'don't let it bother you' is heartier than most of us care to be on our luxury cruise vacation.

 

I got told last week to stop cruising if I wanted air conditioning and working toilet but I still think we have every reasonable expectation the mechanics in our cabin should work.

 

If they need to put different, more obvious, in our faces kind of notices in bathrooms to tell guests nothing but ship provided toilet paper and that which is intended goes into the toilet, than why isn't the print shop busy preparing the notices?

 

It likely is often guests flushing what should not be flushed but I really don't want the excuses if my toilet doesn't work. I don't want chocolate strawberries, wine or free Pinnacle..... I want air conditioning and a toilet on my luxury cruise vacation.

 

Sorry for anyone this offends.

[cruz chic]

I'm so sorry for those who experienced loss of toilet and/or air conditioning.

 

It is MISERABLE and anyone who calls it a 'small thing' and 'don't let it bother you' is heartier than most of us care to be on our luxury cruise vacation.

 

I got told last week to stop cruising if I wanted air conditioning and working toilet but I still think we have every reasonable expectation the mechanics in our cabin should work.

 

If they need to put different, more obvious, in our faces kind of notices in bathrooms to tell guests nothing but ship provided toilet paper and that which is intended goes into the toilet, than why isn't the print shop busy preparing the notices?

 

It likely is often guests flushing what should not be flushed but I really don't want the excuses if my toilet doesn't work. I don't want chocolate strawberries, wine or free Pinnacle..... I want air conditioning and a toilet on my luxury cruise vacation.

 

Sorry for anyone this offends.

Agree 100%! I guess HAL needs to tell people if it doesn't go through your body don't put it in the toilet (except for toilet paper). I wonder if that will be clear enough for everyone:D.

[Wakepatrol]

Why cruise at all ? If cruise ships can't be maintained and "chat" agents talk in think- speak

" we are not aware of any problems but it is in our best interest to fix them promptly "

 

From the front desk on Zuiderdam in march , on my third visit there in 24 hours , and talking to the same person : " Sir , let me document this carefully " ( poised over the keyboard )

"Are you kidding me ? "

" Like I told you 3 times today , we have no Air conditioning , none "

 

"Sir I'll report this to our maintenance department immediately "

 

On the third day I had to raise holy hell to get the dam thing fixed , which they did on the fourth morning . They found clogged air filters and diverters in the ductwork turned in the wrong direction , resulting in no air flow . Probably when they restored mine someone else lost theirs. Probably that's how my cabins problem started .

 

Why do I need to go on a cruise to be aggravated ? I'm sure I can do that at home .

 

Who in their right mind would put all of their eggs in one basket with a "Chat" agent (on a weekend no less) you'd probably get better results with a ouija board

[PathfinderEss]

Agree 100%! I guess HAL needs to tell people if it doesn't go through your body don't put it in the toilet (except for toilet paper). I wonder if that will be clear enough for everyone:D.

I know this is not funny but we had that happen once on the old Princess Regal. The Events Manager actually came on the intercom and stated pretty much that. We were on a 21 day cruise and I guess they were getting tired of cleaning out the toilet blockages.

[Copper10-8]

They're in every head on every one of the fifteen dam ships; Yet fine folks still deposit everything from the Daily Program to the kitchen sink into their onboard ceramic throne frequently resulting in the doodoo hitting the fan. Anyone wish to take a gander as to why fine folks do this?:cool:

 

[Himself]

They're in every head on every one of the fifteen dam ships; Yet fine folks still deposit everything from the Daily Program to the kitchen sink into their onboard ceramic throne frequently resulting in the doodoo hitting the fan. Anyone wish to take a gander as to why fine folks do this?:cool:

 

 

 

 

Good Point but I do not want to print the guess! (I'm "chicken"!)

[Wakepatrol]

Uh...because they're dumber than dirt?

[sail7seas]

John, :)

Since our first cruise ever on HAL, many moons ago, we have seen notice behind every toilet.

 

However, it seems that notice is not doing the trick.

If there are so many blockages, ship to ship, being blamed on inappropriate things being flushed, then maybe HAL (all cruise lines ?) need to make a more bold statement and draw full attention to the sign. Seems many people don't see it or don't take it seriously enough.

 

Isn't it worth trying a bit harder to get cooperation?

Maybe a card on the bathroom counter?

Maybe a letter on the desk when everyone boards?

Maybe a red letter, bold, impossible to miss sign.

What is there now is tasteful and 'blends' into the wall tile........

Maybe it would be better if written in bold, bright red letters and promise of a fine for causing a blockage? :eek:

 

If what is being done isn't working, it would seem possible something different should be tried. IMO

I wonder how many chocolate strawberries, bottles of wine and Pinnacle dinners are handed out fleetwide in any given week.

 

Would bolder signs cost that much?

 

[Wakepatrol]

If one is dumb enough to throw foreign objects in their toilet, then your room steward gets to give you a swirly.

 

This might curtail toilets being blocked up.

[knitlady037]

Very sad to hear about the problems on the ship. We did not have the best experience on zuiderdam last time we cruised her. Seriously considering canceling our Panama Canal cruised booked for April.

We just returned from a 12 day cruise on NCL Star that had to be the best vacation I have been on in years.

[PathfinderEss]

John, :)

Since our first cruise ever on HAL, many moons ago, we have seen notice behind every toilet.

 

However, it seems that notice is not doing the trick.

If there are so many blockages, ship to ship, being blamed on inappropriate things being flushed, then maybe HAL (all cruise lines ?) need to make a more bold statement and draw full attention to the sign. Seems many people don't see it or don't take it seriously enough.

 

Isn't it worth trying a bit harder to get cooperation?

Maybe a card on the bathroom counter?

Maybe a letter on the desk when everyone boards?

Maybe a red letter, bold, impossible to miss sign.

What is there now is tasteful and 'blends' into the wall tile........

Maybe it would be better if written in bold, bright red letters and promise of a fine for causing a blockage? :eek:

 

If what is being done isn't working, it would seem possible something different should be tried. IMO

I wonder how many chocolate strawberries, bottles of wine and Pinnacle dinners are handed out fleetwide in any given week.

 

Would bolder signs cost that much?

 

How do other cruise lines handle these problem, because they do have them. Maybe a nice red sign on the bathroom counter, thrown anything besides toilet paper in the toilet and it will cost you $200. Would that make them take notice? I wonder.......:rolleyes: I know they hate to act like the bad guys but really what can be done to help solve this problem?

[rwams]

I do believe that the sign should be presented in other languages also. A lot of people that don't know English at all may not really understand the sign.

[SwissMyst]

....

 

So - plumbing problems on the Zuiderdam - previous complaints are valid:( After 4 days of "delayed flush" - up to an hour - we got into "no flush" mode. Not nice when we had to go downstairs to use a toilet! So finally I said if the toilet is not fixed immediately I am coming down to the lobby and I will scream blue bloody murder.... the plumber was at the door within minutes. It worked great last night, but now we are back to delayed flush......

 

Off for my tour. Will report back in later.

 

We have had delayed flush on other ships. Never thought of it as a problem. No wonder there is this disconnect between those who claim the Zuiderdam is going to h*ll in a hand basket and those who roll with it because ship happens.

[GeriatricNurse]

I do believe that the sign should be presented in other languages also. A lot of people that don't know English at all may not really understand the sign.

 

Well, how do they order from the menu? :confused:

[Mary Ellen]

HAL has menus in at least one other language than English. I wad given one by mistake one night. It's nice that HAL isn't as English-centric as some here believe.

[3rdGenCunarder]

My guess is this is what happens when HAL cuts back or defers basic maintenance and preventative maintenance in order to save money and reduce dry dock time.

 

I'm sure that's part of the problem. And now there's a similar complaint thread about Amsterdam.

 

I've been on a lot of cruises and never encountered a/c or plumbing issues. The worst was a few times when we had the delayed flush, and I don't think of that as a problem, just an oddity of cruising.

 

Yes, some people are stupid about what they flush--and you KNOW they aren't that careless at home where it's THEIR plumbing and THEY pay the plumber. But I can't believe that cruisers are getting that much stupider/sloppier that this problem is increasing so much. Maintenance (or lack of it) has to be part of the cause.