Bringing Unlimited Wine Policy Officially Change Yesterday

[babyher]

Oh come on and lets get this damn thing to 1000 posts andf end the suspense

[babyher]

don't bet on it;)

 

Unless they do something very quickly - my faith is gone - they have been inundated on face book, had emails and no one, absolutely no one, has had the courtesy to come on this board and answer questions.

 

CC will do open questions for any CEO/whomever from the cruise line.

 

HAL doesn't choose to come on here or even address an open forum.

 

sorry, if they are taking notice - we don't know about it - but just the same - we will fight.

 

Of course, if we win, at the rate HAL is going, there will be a LOT of cancellations.

 

The scariest thing is that once some loyalists go - HAL will have to win them back - and they will be in competition. I'm guessing they will lose out - they don't offer anything for early bookings unlike the competition.

 

Once people are gone - will they be back? - who knows. They may come running and they may be laughing.

 

Only time will tell - but I suspect HAL has a made a huge mistake on this one and not only they but the stockholders will pay.

 

 

 

Congrats Kazu!!!!!! :) :)

Edited July 30, 2013 by babyher

[LindaM]

Check out Seabourn my friend - lots of deals - 6 hot tubs on the ship I looked at (I don't use them but they are there). Walk in closets, bath tubs and room service - I haven't checked out if they have a retractable roof and it's not high priority - but if you are traditionally booking suites or SY's (which I know before you did) it's time to take a look. don't just look at them - look at others. It might be worth a bit of time:) and you probably don't need any special orders:D

 

When we were on Regent, we met LOTS of people who sail on Seabourn. Most preferred it to Regent. I believe they have a liberal smoking policy, but I could be wrong.

[innlady1]

1000-plus posts on this thread in three days! That is amazing!!! :cool:

Thanks, Lisa, for the head's up....:)

[innlady1]

Jacqui...This has been so discouraging that I may decide to bag cruising and just do land vacations. We bought a Roadtrek RV after selling the inn (DH's dream) and we may just travel in that. The upside is that we can bring the dogs.

Quite honestly, I don't have the energy to shop around and find another cruise line that suits us. I HATE change, and it's evident with this whole debacle.

We have been very happy cruising HAL but I think the way they handled this whole situation has been beyond disgraceful.

We'll do the NA in October and the Maasdam in January. I was seriously considering jumping ship at the end of that cruise to the Noordam for another 11 days...but forget that. We'll probably fly home, unpack and repack and hop in the Roadtrek and head South to get out of the New England winter.

[kazu]

Jacqui...This has been so discouraging that I may decide to bag cruising and just do land vacations. We bought a Roadtrek RV after selling the inn (DH's dream) and we may just travel in that. The upside is that we can bring the dogs.

Quite honestly, I don't have the energy to shop around and find another cruise line that suits us. I HATE change, and it's evident with this whole debacle.

We have been very happy cruising HAL but I think the way they handled this whole situation has been beyond disgraceful.

We'll do the NA in October and the Maasdam in January. I was seriously considering jumping ship at the end of that cruise to the Noordam for another 11 days...but forget that. We'll probably fly home, unpack and repack and hop in the Roadtrek and head South to get out of the New England winter.

 

ahh Sheila - don't be discouraged - it's not that hard to do some digging - no different than a private excursion (well, maybe a little;)).

 

In any case if you have the vehicle, why not enjoy it? btw - will your husband let you bring more than one bottle of wine on board or is that only at embarkation:p (sorry, couldn't resist). I'm sure if he changes the rules, he'll discuss it with you first.

 

do what suits you and don't let it bother you - ourselves - we plan on a cruise next year - so I am researching as we speak.

 

After all, I've already been told several times to leave HAL if I don't like it.;)

[Thebes]

Its the bathtubs, retractable roof pool, hot room service breakfast and meals from MDR for room service that kill it for us, or else we would be there no question.

 

Also not enough sea days, i just can not keep up with something that port intensive :(

 

Otherwise, looks amazing. But those are deal killers for us :(

 

Totally agree. Itinerary is what keeps me from going anywhere else. Seriously HAL has one or maybe the best itineraries out there.

[kazu]

When we were on Regent, we met LOTS of people who sail on Seabourn. Most preferred it to Regent. I believe they have a liberal smoking policy, but I could be wrong.

 

not from what I could see - but I'm still digging - I'm not jumping into anything blind - but so far I like what I see - and DH is listening - so - we'll see what I can find. As I said before I don't do anything when I am upset - I just research;)

 

But it is eye opening:eek:

[Jade13]

I have asked for a refund of our future cruise deposits because we bought them with the thought that we would be able to do an extended cruise (up to 3 weeks) in Europe and bring wine on board to enjoy. Now that they've decided to be like everyone else, I'm going to explore every cruise line before making any cruise decision. That seems to be the best equation for us. My allegiance is now gone--just like the "old" alcohol policy on HAL. Yes, HAL, it is big a deal.......:(

 

Wow, you didn't wait to cancel those cruises. The closest I have found to HAL is actually Azamara (not Celebrity). They allow you to bring on all of the wine that you wish, but being smaller ships and now more inclusive their prices have gone up. But we have actually paid higher per diems on our HAL cruises. As you know HAL's pricing has a very wide range depending on whether you are in an Inside in the Caribbean or Mexico, or a Neptune Suite in Canada/New England or some exotic itineraries such as Voyage of the Vikings.

Edited July 31, 2013 by Jade13

[Jade13]

Totally agree. Itinerary is what keeps me from going anywhere else. Seriously HAL has one or maybe the best itineraries out there.

 

Agree!

Edited July 31, 2013 by Jade13

[Jade13]

When we were on Regent, we met LOTS of people who sail on Seabourn. Most preferred it to Regent. I believe they have a liberal smoking policy, but I could be wrong.

 

When we were on HAL last year we met people who prefer Regent but were on HAL because of the itinerary. They told me on the ship that we weren't around long enough to see all of the changes, and HAL was nothing like it used to be. They brought a lot of wine onboard and did pay the corkage fees but found the wine list lacking and expensive and felt for them Regent was a better value. That was of course before these changes. We would never cruise on Regent because the excursions are included and that won't work for us, and there is no way we would pay for a cruise that included excursions and go and pay for private excursions.

Edited July 31, 2013 by Jade13

[Cindy]

absolutely - you've hit that nail on the head

 

 

 

Well said - sounds like a good email to send to the Office of the President.

 

You don't mind if I 'steal' your last two lines do you:p:p

 

Excellent post - I hope you email it to HAL;)

 

Thanks for your kind words, ladies. Use anything you like, and maybe I'll send it along myself!

[thyme2go]

Wow, you didn't wait to cancel those cruises. The closest I have found to HAL is actually Azamara (not Celebrity). They allow you to bring on all of the wine that you wish, but being smaller ships and now more inclusive their prices have gone up. But we have actually paid higher per diems on our HAL cruises. As you know HAL's pricing has a very wide range depending on whether you are in an Inside in the Caribbean or Mexico, or a Neptune Suite in Canada/New England or some exotic itineraries such as Voyage of the Vikings.

 

LOL! No, we are taking our $$$ back now.......we've cruised enough to know that although HAL can have good itineraries, it may not be the ship I want. And having had good experiences on ships other than HAL.....it is NOT the end of the world. It's depressing to cruise HAL and see so many changes...... death by a thousand cuts while vacationing. :mad:

[startwin]

don't bet on it;)

 

Unless they do something very quickly - my faith is gone - they have been inundated on face book, had emails and no one, absolutely no one, has had the courtesy to come on this board and answer questions.

 

CC will do open questions for any CEO/whomever from the cruise line.

 

HAL doesn't choose to come on here or even address an open forum.

 

sorry, if they are taking notice - we don't know about it - but just the same - we will fight.

 

Of course, if we win, at the rate HAL is going, there will be a LOT of cancellations.

 

The scariest thing is that once some loyalists go - HAL will have to win them back - and they will be in competition. I'm guessing they will lose out - they don't offer anything for early bookings unlike the competition.

 

Once people are gone - will they be back? - who knows. They may come running and they may be laughing.

 

Only time will tell - but I suspect HAL has a made a huge mistake on this one and not only they but the stockholders will pay.

 

HAL sadly underestimated the tenacity of their loyal customers..... the very thing that had us hanging in with them in spite of cutbacks, poor maintenance, non flushing toilets and lack of air conditioning... made us tough:D Oh boy, did they ever make a huge mistake. And for those nay-sayers who insisted we were whining.... let's see what the next thing is - perhaps water and soda. And for those nay-sayers who spent the weekend sniping at us for fighting... we got a result. The war is not over but at least we won this battle.

 

I meant to say also.... never underestimate the power of social media.

Edited July 31, 2013 by startwin

[serendipity1499]

Its the bathtubs, retractable roof pool, hot room service breakfast and meals from MDR for room service that kill it for us, or else we would be there no question.

 

Also not enough sea days, i just can not keep up with something that port intensive :(

 

Otherwise, looks amazing. But those are deal killers for us :(

 

Well I prefer a shower as It's been difficult for me to get into a bathtub since I had my hip operation.. We have a tub on the next cruise & am hoping I will not need DH's help in getting in & out of it..:eek:

We have a pool & hot tub at home, which we can use all year round...We rarely order from Room service as prefer to eat in the restaurants so those things would not be a deal breaker for us..

Only thing which might be a deal breaker is the wrap around Promenade deck..:D

Cheers...Betty

[Wakepatrol]

HAL sadly underestimated the tenacity of their loyal customers..... the very thing that had us hanging in with them in spite of cutbacks, poor maintenance, non flushing toilets and lack of air conditioning... made us tough:D Oh boy, did they ever make a huge mistake. And for those nay-sayers who insisted we were whining.... let's see what the next thing is - perhaps water and soda. And for those nay-sayers who spent the weekend sniping at us for fighting... we got a result. The war is not over but at least we won this battle.

 

 

Yes water and soda is another area the bean counters will be looking at. There's money to be made,and unfortunately that's the business they're in.

 

I suppose everybody who brings water and soda also has a huge bar tab for water and soda like the wine crowd.

[jschm27]

Jacqui...This has been so discouraging that I may decide to bag cruising and just do land vacations. We bought a Roadtrek RV after selling the inn (DH's dream) and we may just travel in that. The upside is that we can bring the dogs.

 

Quite honestly, I don't have the energy to shop around and find another cruise line that suits us. I HATE change, and it's evident with this whole debacle.

 

We have been very happy cruising HAL but I think the way they handled this whole situation has been beyond disgraceful.

 

We'll do the NA in October and the Maasdam in January. I was seriously considering jumping ship at the end of that cruise to the Noordam for another 11 days...but forget that. We'll probably fly home, unpack and repack and hop in the Roadtrek and head South to get out of the New England winter.

 

Hey Sheila!

 

Just returned about 1.5 week ago from an across US voyage in our motor home. Once we got to Texas, pretty much followed the Gulf Coast, west side of Florida, out to Key West and Dry Tortugas, up the eastern seaboard until Charleston, when the urge to hug the grandson exceeded our desire to go further north. All in all we were gone about 6 months, and (to bring it back to this thread), I took a case of wine AND liquor onboard and nobody said a thing! When in New Orleans, we went to a rum distillery and restocked and... no one said a thing! I didn't even have to pay corkage!

 

While we can, we're "cruising" the USA in our coach, and then doing an occasional ocean cruise. In a few years, when driving becomes less enjoyable, we plan to transition to more ocean cruises, and restrict our land "cruises" to locations that are nearer.

 

Have fun in the Roadtrek!

 

Best of regards,

 

John

[Boytjie]

Unless they do something very quickly - my faith is gone - they have been inundated on face book, had emails and no one, absolutely no one, has had the courtesy to come on this board and answer questions.

 

Other than Copper and I think only one other ex (or maybe current) HAL employee has posted here so I am not sure why you expect a response here. Some other cruise lines have people that monitor and respond to posts on Cruise Critic - HAL has not been one of them.

[wu687]

I am still somewhat confused with regards to the amount of wine that I can bring on board the Westerdam when I board on Saturday, is it back to the old unrestricted limit, also is vermouth considered as wine?

[ellieanne]

Other than Copper and I think only one other ex (or maybe current) HAL employee has posted here so I am not sure why you expect a response here. Some other cruise lines have people that monitor and respond to posts on Cruise Critic - HAL has not been one of them.

 

If I were HAL, I would certainly not have replied to this thread. I would have posted the statement on the HAL website or as a post on Facebook, but not here.

 

I am very surprised there is no one whose job it is to follow social media. Obviously they have someone who handles the Facebook page, the Twitter page, the blog, etc. I would think it would be a portion of that department, even if it is not one person's job specifically. I would expect them to read the threads, but I would not expect them to chase down or respond to any comment made on a message board. I can see responding to specific concerns in reviews, but not message board comments. Certainly not when so many of the posts could be considered hearsay or hyperbole.

[Rockfan2]

I am still somewhat confused with regards to the amount of wine that I can bring on board the Westerdam when I board on Saturday, is it back to the old unrestricted limit, also is vermouth considered as wine?

 

Vermouth is definetley considered a fortified wine.

 

We have it in writing from HAL.

 

Rockfan2 :)

[kazu]

I am still somewhat confused with regards to the amount of wine that I can bring on board the Westerdam when I board on Saturday, is it back to the old unrestricted limit, also is vermouth considered as wine?

 

you are under the old rules = they are extended until January.

 

If I were HAL, I would certainly not have replied to this thread. I would have posted the statement on the HAL website or as a post on Facebook, but not here.

 

I am very surprised there is no one whose job it is to follow social media. Obviously they have someone who handles the Facebook page, the Twitter page, the blog, etc. I would think it would be a portion of that department, even if it is not one person's job specifically. I would expect them to read the threads, but I would not expect them to chase down or respond to any comment made on a message board. I can see responding to specific concerns in reviews, but not message board comments. Certainly not when so many of the posts could be considered hearsay or hyperbole.

 

a statement on FB or their website would be fine. I haven't seen one

[LVWineaux]

And place your bets. Taking bets on how many pages this thread will go.

 

Winner wins a bottle of wine

 

Let's see. 52 pages in 3 days. I'm betting on 150!

 

As you may guess from my handle, I am also highly upset with this change in policy! As one who carried a case of wine for 2 people for 14 days on several cruises, and still had "significant" bar tabs, HAL is more likely to miss my Future Cruise bookings than any modest increase of room charges on my next cruise in 2 weeks.

[Jade13]

Some other cruise lines have people that monitor and respond to posts on Cruise Critic - HAL has not been one of them.

 

It would be helpful if they had someone answering questions on this board like many other boards here. Oceania, Azamara, and Celebrity all have at least a Customer Service Rep or Chief Blogger (or in some cases the President of the company) answering CC questions.

[LVWineaux]

This will be me on embarkation day:

 

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2245853465/

 

Yes, but it won't work with so many of us trying to find willing helpers. Getting the bottles back could be a problem, too.