HAL boarding pass printing issue - you're not going to believe this!

[kazu]

"Your mileage may vary" includes room for a few fortunate. Be glad. ;)

 

Using MS Edge browser with no add blocker and just Windows Defender as an

anti-virus gives you the best chance. Trouble is, many folks are ...reluctant to

venture onto the internet that naked.

 

that was the only search engine that worked for me. I tried Chrome, IE, safari, etc.

 

Only Edge worked. But, when I went to my documents quick access I found a ton of them downloaded.

 

Go figure. My friend spent far too long trying to download theirs so I got it done for them.

 

I retired all the engines for the fun of it and it was the same thing and I did not have an ad blocker on.

 

Weird how it is working for different people. On Windows 10 for added info.

[bUU]

Ok....Now I feel weird. Am I the only one that hasn't had trouble printing his docs?

Of course you're not the only one.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[Italy52]

Ok....Now I feel weird. Am I the only one that hasn't had trouble printing his docs?

 

 

You are not alone --- I didn't have a problem.

[KroozNut]

How did the new site cause so many people to start making operator errors that they didn't make with the old site?

 

I did not have a single problem with the new site, and I do not consider myself 'technically savvy' at all... far from it.

 

There is often a so-called 'learning curve' associated with any new technology roll-out, and it usually takes some time (more for some than others) to become familiar and comfortable with the new system.

 

This is very common and expected in today's virtual / technical world, and I suspect that all the consternation exhibited in this thread will fade away in a short matter of time as users become familiar and comfortable with the new procedures.

 

Some folks are more reluctant to accept technology and other changes (some would say progress) than others of course.

[KroozNut]

Using MS Edge browser with no add blocker and just Windows Defender as an anti-virus gives you the best chance. Trouble is, many folks are ...reluctant to

venture onto the internet that naked.

 

I had absolutely no problems using Firefox with ad / pop-up blocker turned off (as suggested on the site). And my browser is locked down in terms of security / protection... so definitely not venturing onto the Web 'naked', as you put it.

[Haboob]

I had absolutely no problems using Firefox with ad / pop-up blocker turned off (as suggested on the site). And my browser is locked down in terms of security / protection... so definitely not venturing onto the Web 'naked', as you put it.

 

Delighted to hear that. Back on the 4th, that was not the case.

 

PROGRESS!!! ;p

[3rdGenCunarder]

I did not have a single problem with the new site, and I do not consider myself 'technically savvy' at all... far from it.

 

There is often a so-called 'learning curve' associated with any new technology roll-out, and it usually takes some time (more for some than others) to become familiar and comfortable with the new system.

 

This is very common and expected in today's virtual / technical world, and I suspect that all the consternation exhibited in this thread will fade away in a short matter of time as users become familiar and comfortable with the new procedures.

 

Some folks are more reluctant to accept technology and other changes (some would say progress) than others of course.

 

It isn't about learning curves and Luddites. What does anyone's learning curve have to do with the presence of the dreaded spinning circle of doom?

 

I poked around the new site this evening, and I see how it works. Everything takes more clicks than before and often the only way to get to the next step is to scroll all the way down the page, and the page is long because the pictures are big. I suspect HAL has sacrificed customer convenience in order to force us to look at all the wonderful things we could spend money on before they let us go where we wanted to go in the first place. Kind of like those ads on youtube--you want to see the video, you have to watch (or spend time ignoring) the ad. It's a pretty web site and nice if you're just browsing to think about a cruise. But if you're looking for specific information, it takes too long and too many clicks to get to where you want to be--if it lets you go there.

 

I found my mariner info (still the wrong totals for the bonus days), found my cruise. Tried to get into tours and was told to try later--nothing I can learn about the new site will make it show me my tours. I was able to find tours from the EXC page, but that only gave me descriptions, no way to book from there, or know which ones are still available for my cruise.

 

I went into the old site and I could find the tours for my cruise, read the descriptions, read the reviews (which are not on the new site), make a booking. No waiting, no spinning circle of doom.

[catl331]

I did not have a single problem with the new site, and I do not consider myself 'technically savvy' at all... far from it.

 

There is often a so-called 'learning curve' associated with any new technology roll-out, and it usually takes some time (more for some than others) to become familiar and comfortable with the new system.

That's true, but there are a lot of savvy users on this site (CC) that are having strange problems. Unfortunately we don't have a booking right now and I can't trying printing docs etc. I have searched the new website for some pdf's that I have printed before and can't find them to try. (FastFacts.pdf is a favorite, so if you can find that for me I'd appreciate it! I have a saved copy, but it can't be updated ever.)

 

This is very common and expected in today's virtual / technical world, and I suspect that all the consternation exhibited in this thread will fade away in a short matter of time as users become familiar and comfortable with the new procedures.

And more importantly, as HAL gets the bugs worked out and corrects some of the stupid (IMO) things they've done.

[catl331]

For those who are already booked HAL should make it as easy as possible to take our money to pay for the cruise, book excursions and purchase on board items.

Right. And they should make as easy as possible to research itineraries for those who aren't already booked. If I can't accomplish what I want to do on the site, I won't go back ... and soon won't go back to HAL.

[3rdGenCunarder]

So this morning I tried to print my docs. I had already printed them a while ago on the old site, so I hadn't bothered to try it on the new one. But I was curious to see what would happen. I had no trouble getting the pdf to pop up, and from there I could print.

 

I was also curious about the "boarding pass help," so I clicked on that. Instead of giving a quick list of helpful hints to try, it took me to the FAQs, New to Cruising categories. 23 entries on 3 pages and nothing about printing boarding passes. That help is under Cruise Preparation. Second item, Express Docs FAQs, and it is more than halfway down the list of Express Doc questions. For someone who is having trouble printing the docs, all that clicking and scrolling is going to raise the frustration level. Why not link to the Cruise Preparation tab, where the "Express Docs FAQs" heading is clearly visible?

[bUU]

And they should make as easy as possible to research itineraries for those who aren't already booked.

 

What they "should" do is what best serves their interests not ours.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[catl331]

What they "should" do is what best serves their interests not ours.

And their interests "should" be everything possible to help me book another cruise easily, and assist me to spend as much as possible in extras for that cruise. Edited April 30, 2018 by catl331

[bUU]

And their interests "should" be everything possible to help me book another cruise easily, and assist me to spend as much as possible in extras for that cruise.

No. Their interests "should" be everything possible to help customers book another cruise easily, and assist customers to spend as much as possible in extras for that cruise. And there is every reason to believe that that is exactly what they are doing, every though what they're doing many not please "you" individually.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[jtl513]

And there is every reason to believe that that is exactly what they are doing,

Except, of course, the hundreds of posts on this forum to the contrary.

[bUU]

Except, of course, the hundreds of posts on this forum to the contrary.

Which are both anecdotal and unverified as to their cause. You want, for some reason I won't ask you to share, to bash the cruise line, even though the industry knows that most such issues end up being on the client end. Beyond that, we also know that people tend to complain an order of magnitude more than they say good things.

 

So no, the comments here don't constitute proof of anything other than that some people are complaining.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[sail7seas]

And their interests "should" be everything possible to help me book another cruise easily, and assist me to spend as much as possible in extras for that cruise.

 

Except, of course, the hundreds of posts on this forum to the contrary.

YES

 

Literally...........

 

 

 

 

If they do not have someone in Seattle office reading threads here and gleaning all this free feedback they should ! ALL who have posted their HAL s ite issues. Are NOT mistaken and are no t hypothcal b u tare real HAL cruisers having real prbolems on HAL site. THEN to be told to pay $25 to get boarding document !!! Awful

[OlsSalt]

And their interests "should" be everything possible to help me book another cruise easily, and assist me to spend as much as possible in extras for that cruise.

 

You have it right.

[sail7seas]

You have it right.

 

 

Absolutely

[OlsSalt]

Absolutely

 

Willing buyer meets willing seller. Of course HAL wants to sell us as much as they can and of course we retain the final decision about what we are willing to buy. But in this case of the failed website, they are not even letting us get into the game.

 

Love to be a fly on the wall in Seattle as they sort this out and how it is affecting their bottom line after the new website rolled out - giving an entirely new meaning to the tangled webs we weave, when we first choose to deceive.

[Traveling Dot]

I haven't read all 9 pages of posts but I haven't had a problem with finding what I want once I got use to the new site. It isn't easy but you can get just what you want to see if you just put in the information you want to find on the drop down lists and then click on the heart when you find the ones you want. Then when you want to compare just those cruises you click on the heart and those are the ones that come up.

 

I was able to do dummy bookings to get a price for the ones I wanted to compare. I did notice when I try to log in that I have to do my password twice before I can get in. Don't know if others have that problem, but that is the only one I have had so far. As far as getting into the cruises I already have booked, it did take me awhile to figure out the new system. I haven't tried to book any excursions yet but I have had no problem pulling them up to look at. I was able to get prices for flights through the HAL website (which I had my TA book for me with HAL) which were much better than what she could get on her own. That was something I couldn't do before the new site. I haven't been able to print my boarding passes because it is just too early. And when I do print them I just click on the site in the email they send and have had no problem before. So that is the way I plan to do it when my next cruise becomes available to print.

 

I'm sure with time all the kinks will be worked out. It has only been up for what a little more than a week. Just give it time.

[catl331]

I'm sure with time all the kinks will be worked out. It has only been up for what a little more than a week. Just give it time.

Actually first complaints started appearing on Mar 26. It is slowly getting better as HAL uses us as Beta testers.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2619944

[OlsSalt]

Actually first complaints started appearing on Mar 26. It is slowly getting better as HAL uses us as Beta testers.

 

160 working hours later, and finally reports things are getting better. Good news. But that was one month of user abuse which may be very hard to make up. Particularly to any poor new visitors looking for HAL cruises during that time of unacceptable chaos..

[Haboob]

160 working hours later, and finally reports things are getting better. Good news. But that was one month of user abuse which may be very hard to make up. Particularly to any poor new visitors looking for HAL cruises during that time of unacceptable chaos..

 

Please don't tell me they were only working 8-hour days. I know I don't work

simply 8x5 when I stick my foot that deep into a hole. (Yeah, I've done it :o )

 

What I fear is that HAL hasn't learned the New Coke lesson, and we'll revisit this

issue in another form. I like HAL -- but not when they're acting like the DMV.

 

If we do revisit, it's time for another cruise line. :(

[MikeD4134]

I agree with the Title of the Thread, "I don't believe it"