Question for a Current or Former HAL Employee

[AV8rix]

They know which passengers have a high cruise critic profile.

 

HAL pays very close attention to CC both in Seattle and on board the ships.

 

I don't mean to be critical but how can HAL know which of us is active on CC? The majority of us don't know each other's real (full) names. But all of us (including me) have some real-life friends with whom we cruise or have met on cruises or know from elsewhere whose CC identities are known to us. But how can HAL possibly link our CC handles with our Mariner names? Again, I'm just asking, not criticizing.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Av8rix

[frankc98376]

I don't mean to be critical but how can HAL know which of us is active on CC? The majority of us don't know each other's real (full) names. But all of us (including me) have some real-life friends with whom we cruise or have met on cruises or know from elsewhere whose CC identities are known to us. But how can HAL possibly link our CC handles with our Mariner names? Again, I'm just asking, not criticizing.

 

Some of us are easy- our emails are in our signature or our nicknames. I'm betting that all of your past cruises in your sig and you are in Western Washington would help the computer narrow it down if they needed. Likely more easy during a cruise that has a "live from". I'm sure the on board wi-fi tracks usage.

[sworksjr]

This begs a question: why would " high complaining" passengers even bother coming back on HAL ships.

 

Any "lists" of passengers could simply good customer service -striving to do a good job. One more reason to keep bragging about offering additional "tipping" out of the equation - may HAL never succumb to becoming a selective, venal "fee for service" operation. No thank you.

 

We ourselves honor the daily service change and offering additional tips to cabin and dining stewards or anyone else who offered exemplary personal service, but only at the end of the cruise. I hope we can maintain a level playing field for all passengers to enjoy a high level of standard service and not let it become something only available to the "highest bidders".

 

Some times they complain just to try to get freebies, not because there was anything really wrong.

[slidergirl]

Some times they complain just to try to get freebies, not because there was anything really wrong.

 

Oh yes. the "Phishers." A very common sighting on cruise ships and hotels. They will nibble at you to try to get some comp stuff - a bottle of wine, a dinner at the restaurant comp'd, a plate of brownies, $10 worth of OBC, you name it, they will try to get it.

 

How HAL can find your name: it's been 8 years since I joined, but: do you remember if there was a statement anywhere that CC would NOT disclose your name at anytime to anyone???

 

I know on TripAdvisor, we could figure out who someone was - then the GM or higher (corporate) could contact the person to try to get more info or a resolution. Look at some of the responses from the hotel/restaurant to a comment; you can see that they know who it was by their responses. Some of it was just reading a review and looking at the date and the "hometown" of the poster - pretty darn easy to associate a compliment/complaint to a previous guest - or you could figure out who it was by some very specific information included. We then go to that guest's corporate record to add information for future hotels if that guest stayed there. Those records make for interesting reading - gave me something to do on a boring shift (I'd go through the records of arriving guests to see what was coming our way).

[3rdGenCunarder]

Some times they complain just to try to get freebies, not because there was anything really wrong.

 

Sad, but true. Some people are professional complainers.

 

One time when I called my former (now retired) TA after a cruise to say how great it had been, she told me about a couple who were on the same cruise. They had tons of complaints, and wrote to the cruise line about it. They did this after every cruise. Someone in guest relations called the TA and asked, "What's with these people? They seem to hate their cruises, but keep coming back." My TA told them "Well, every time they complain, you give them future discounts or OBC."

[Mosaic]

Every one who complains is a not necessarily a "complainer." There can be many things that go wrong on a ship. Some others have higher expectations than others.

[sammiedawg]

I don't mean to be critical but how can HAL know which of us is active on CC? The majority of us don't know each other's real (full) names. But all of us (including me) have some real-life friends with whom we cruise or have met on cruises or know from elsewhere whose CC identities are known to us. But how can HAL possibly link our CC handles with our Mariner names? Again, I'm just asking, not criticizing.

 

The roll call section is a treasure trove of demographic information, first and sometimes last names, hometowns, etc. Fifth graders could figure out who is who.

Beyond CC the world of analytics is mind blowing. Private entities track your every keystroke and they know everything about you.

[jtl513]

... while a steward will run into hundreds of passengers.

On the newest 7 ships most stewards will have 60 per cruise to take care of.

 

But how can HAL possibly link our CC handles with our Mariner names? Again, I'm just asking, not criticizing.

On Roll Calls many people give their cabin numbers.

[chloes nana]

This begs a question: why would " high complaining" passengers even bother coming back on HAL ships.

 

Any "lists" of passengers could simply good customer service -striving to do a good job. One more reason to keep bragging about offering additional "tipping" out of the equation - may HAL never succumb to becoming a selective, venal "fee for service" operation. No thank you.

 

We ourselves honor the daily service change and offering additional tips to cabin and dining stewards or anyone else who offered exemplary personal service, but only at the end of the cruise. I hope we can maintain a level playing field for all passengers to enjoy a high level of standard service and not let it become something only available to the "highest bidders".

 

simple answer, my sister and brother in law are perpetual complainers. The air conditioning needs the filter changed, my cabin smells funny, the food is not right, etc.. my favorite is on both cruises we have gone on with them they "lost" their drink card, and have had them replaced at full value. And the busses are too hot or too cold, tour guides are too loud or can't be understood clearly... needless to say, we don't cruise with them anymore. She always had our bookings joined for whatever reason, including booking all the same excursions as us. I decided I didn't want reputation by association, so no more!

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[chloes nana]

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Some people are simply inveterate complainers. Even when they enjoy a cruise, they'll find something to complain about. They'll moan and groan about the declining quality of the food, but will still tuck in with a hearty appetite and stop just shy of licking the plates clean!

 

that is my idiot brother in law, and always orders 2 entrees at dinner:eek:

[momatibm]

Does Holland America rate cruise passengers, like passengers can rate experiences and employees on cruise ships? For example if a frequent Holland America previous passenger, has a history of being extremely grateful, tips well, spends a lot of money on board, or other good behavior or bad behavior? Can those attributes be posted so employees can see it when booking or dealing with a customer? In other words are customers "rated" too?

 

I've been recognized by waiters, bar men on multiple ships. Yes, I do tip for exceptional service, but nothing out of the ordinary. But when a waiter recognizes you years (5) later - you know you must have done something right. You know the standard courtesy, nothing over the top.

 

Elaine

[shipgeeks]

Among our tablemates on a recent cruise were a couple of men who were lots of fun for us but apparently "rascals" when it came to dealing with some of the dining room staff. They confided that on an earlier cruise they did a galley tour, and were shocked to see that their pictures were posted on the wall as difficult guests!

[Aquahound]

Oh, I agree - but it is a lot more likely for a passenger to remember a steward than the other way around. Most of us only run into a few stewards in any given year, while a steward will run into hundreds of passengers.

 

Funny story...I first cruised HAL in 2012 on NA. Three years later, I cruised Oosterdam. My waitress in Pinnacle Grill recognized my wife and I from NA where she was a Tamarind waitress. She even remembered that we were from Key West.

 

Now, I don't have an ounce of narcissism in me and I don't look for, or expect staff to remember me or swoon over me, because I'm not there to make friends with crew, but I have to say I was impressed with this girl's memory.

[bay guy]

It all comes down to how you treat people. You can complain in a manner that is respectful to the people you are complaining to and be rewarded.

Last year, we were on back to back cruises on an RCI ship in Europe. We had booked a Junior Suite for the two weeks. Our first night, we had sewage back up into our cabin through the floor drain. We notified our steward and he had maintenance come try to fix the problem. It didn't work and we had the same problem the next night. It was fixed the next day and we had no further problems.

However, since we had been so respectful to the steward and hotel manager in dealing with the problem, they insisted, despite our protesting, that they were going to upgrade us to a Grand Suite for the second week we were on board and, even after we had moved, kept checking to be sure everything was going well.

When you start screaming at people when you have a complaint/problem, that automatically puts a wall up and you're unlikely to be taken care of as well as if you respect the fact that the crew members have very difficult jobs.

[TiogaCruiser]

Among our tablemates on a recent cruise were a couple of men who were lots of fun for us but apparently "rascals" when it came to dealing with some of the dining room staff. They confided that on an earlier cruise they did a galley tour, and were shocked to see that their pictures were posted on the wall as difficult guests!

 

That's the galley.....Imagine what those who have their pictures posted in the shipboard post office have done :eek:

[cbr663]

I don't mean to be critical but how can HAL know which of us is active on CC? The majority of us don't know each other's real (full) names. But all of us (including me) have some real-life friends with whom we cruise or have met on cruises or know from elsewhere whose CC identities are known to us. But how can HAL possibly link our CC handles with our Mariner names? Again, I'm just asking, not criticizing.

 

Many posters share an amazing amount of personal information on this site as well as others. It is very easy to determine not only first and last names, but personal addresses, house values, property taxes, volunteer associations... the list just goes on and on.

[cbr663]

I've been recognized by waiters, bar men on multiple ships. Yes, I do tip for exceptional service, but nothing out of the ordinary. But when a waiter recognizes you years (5) later - you know you must have done something right. You know the standard courtesy, nothing over the top.

 

Funny story...I first cruised HAL in 2012 on NA. Three years later, I cruised Oosterdam. My waitress in Pinnacle Grill recognized my wife and I from NA where she was a Tamarind waitress. She even remembered that we were from Key West.

 

Now, I don't have an ounce of narcissism in me and I don't look for, or expect staff to remember me or swoon over me, because I'm not there to make friends with crew, but I have to say I was impressed with this girl's memory.

 

 

I think that it has been shown on this thread that it has nothing to do with crew memory, but with HAL keeping detailed records on its passengers and sharing these details with its crews.

[sammiedawg]

I think that it has been shown on this thread that it has nothing to do with crew memory, but with HAL keeping detailed records on its passengers and sharing these details with its crews.

 

Absolutely correct. People are flattering themselves when they think crew members randomly remembers them.

[LUPY48]

My travel mate and I first cruised on the Westerdam. A year or so later, we were doing the Panama Canal on the Zuiderdam. Michael, a poolside server came over and asked if we were on the Westy last year. We replied, yes. He remembered us....and I think it was because we tipped $1 for every drink. lol On a side note...the Zuiderdam won the contest that year for selling the most alcohol. I'd like to think we contributed to that effort. lol

[RuthC]

I think that it has been shown on this thread that it has nothing to do with crew memory, but with HAL keeping detailed records on its passengers and sharing these details with its crews.

I have no doubt the service crew have excellent memories, and put them to good use.

 

I can't count the number of times a steward has approached me, remembering the ship and year on which we traveled together.

When friends were traveling without me, and went for pre-dinner cocktails, the steward asked "Where's muumuu lady?". Clearly it was a reference to me. He KNEW.

[avian777]

Many posters share an amazing amount of personal information on this site as well as others. It is very easy to determine not only first and last names, but personal addresses, house values, property taxes, volunteer associations... the list just goes on and on.

 

Spot on, cbr663!!! I am constantly amazed at how much personal information people are willing to share on social media sites and appalled when those same social media junkies object to others using that data for marketing/sales (and some far more nefarious) purposes. JMO & probably just a byproduct of a character flaw on my part.

Smooth sailing ...

[frankc98376]

My travel mate and I first cruised on the Westerdam. A year or so later, we were doing the Panama Canal on the Zuiderdam. Michael, a poolside server came over and asked if we were on the Westy last year. We replied, yes. He remembered us....and I think it was because we tipped $1 for every drink. lol On a side note...the Zuiderdam won the contest that year for selling the most alcohol. I'd like to think we contributed to that effort. lol

 

Michael is the best!

[avian777]

Absolutely correct. People are flattering themselves when they think crew members randomly remembers them.

 

In general, I agree. However, having met a few CCers on cruises, I can also say without reservation that I will remember them forever ... and not in the same way they probably see themselves!

Smooth sailing ...

[sail7seas]

I have no doubt the service crew have excellent memories, and put them to good use.

 

I can't count the number of times a steward has approached me, remembering the ship and year on which we traveled together.

When friends were traveling without me, and went for pre-dinner cocktails, the steward asked "Where's muumuu lady?". Clearly it was a reference to me. He KNEW.

 

yES AND yeS., ditto. :) SO many times.

[Bill B]

I reckon it would be interesting to hear what employees would have to say about passengers

 

They collectively refer to us as "cows" - most are: large, dumb and don't do anything except eat.