Voyage of the Vikings a Specialty Cruise? I think not!

[Riversedge]

We returned a couple weeks ago from the Voyage of the Vikings.  Since we paid more than what it's costing us per day than the Grand Voyage we have coming up, we expected something very special.  We only had a lowly Oceanview room.  Most people on the cruise paid WAY  more than we did.  Since we could have bought a new car for what we paid for 5 weeks we were expecting a special onboard experience.  The crew looked the most overworked and unhappy as any we have ever seen anywhere.  We heard that the Zuiderdam had never done more than a 14 day cruise before and therefore was unprepared for the expectations of people expecting a bit more for the price we paid.   I have never heard so many people complaining in my life.  Even the people at our table that were President's Club said it was the worst experience ever and that they didn't care if they ever sailed HAL again.  That seemed to be the overwhelming feeling of most people onboard from 5* to the newbies.   We truly enjoyed the ports and at the end of the day we considered ourselves fortunate to have experienced the things we did.  We only did one HAL tour so can't comment on those but we heard many complaints about the cost and some of the guides.  

 

This is the letter I wrote to Orlando.  I've not heard anything back yet as it's only been about 10 days.  If we weren't already booked on another voyage we would be done with HAL.   Even the HAL people with the "rose colored glasses" were disappointed with their shipboard experience.  If Holland America doesn't do something positive soon they will lose many customers.  I'm not expecting Orlando to answer but if we all sit around and do nothing things will never get noticed.  I imagine they had all kinds of bad survey marks but do they even pay attention?  I'm sure some of you will go "not another Holland America hate thread" but we're all entitled to our opinions and expectations.  Not everyone has to agree with my perceptions.  We are 4* and younger than the average passenger.  From looking at age of most onboard, in 5 years none of those people will be able to travel anymore.  Then what??  Something has to be done to attract future cruisers. 

Linda

 

Dear Orlando Ashford:

We recently returned from the 35 day Voyage of the Vikings onboard the HAL Zuiderdam.  I can’t express how disappointed we were.  If this is the sign of how things will be on Holland America from now on, count us out.   I will address the issues in parts, but first let me remind you that this is a SPECIALTY cruise.  We booked an ocean view room so we were paying less than most of the people on the ship but we were still paying more per day than we are on our upcoming Grand Voyage.  An upper price point makes one assume that the experience will be special.  Not so. 

The positives:  There were some positive aspects of our cruise.  The ports themselves were amazing and we were so glad to have experienced them.  The cabin was comfortable and our room stewards, Putu and Rai were very good.  The temperature was easy to maintain and we liked the new interactive tv’s.  Jessica, who did most of the EXC talks was the best we’ve ever had.  The dessert chef is the best ever and the sticky buns at breakfast were excellent as well as the beef at dinner.   We enjoyed our one night at Sel de Mer.  The new tenders made the tendering process so easy and we never had to wait to get off.  Front desk was so helpful and friendly.  Lunch in the Pinnacle was excellent.  Justine, the Assistant Beverage Manager, is a huge asset to Holland America.  That’s where the positives end and the negatives begin.

 

Officers:  The top officers on this cruise, Captain Vaartjes and Hotel Director Darren Lewis were unfriendly and unapproachable.  The Captain's welcome talk was all about spending money at the onboard shops, at the bars and booking their tours (because we might get left behind if we didn't)   Our cabin was in the same hallway as the Hotel Director’s office so we saw him often when he almost knocked us over hurrying down the hallway.  Never an excuse me or hello and the two of them would sometimes be on the dock as we were getting off talking to each other.  They did not greet guests….just stood there with their noses in the air.  The friendliness of the ship begins on top.  It is the HD’s job to make sure a cruise is a positive experience in all areas.  Didn’t happen.  I don’t think we’ve ever had a hotel director that did a worse job.  

 

Ambience of the ship:  There were buckets everywhere in the hallways to catch dripping water.  Two buckets were outside our room for 8 days until I made the comment to our room steward that I was going to buy pool toys and have a pool party in the hallway.  They finally fixed it but there were other buckets in many of the hallways the entire cruise.  There were cones in the Lido a few places to mark where the tiles were broken.  There were very few flowers around the ship and none on the tables anymore.  Instead we had an empty lamp that didn’t even have a battery light in it.  No coverings on the chairs at gala night and some of the windows were so damaged that you couldn’t see out of them.  We never had a single decoration to show it was a specialty cruise.  No special celebrations other than the usual birthday song.    Nothing extra to show that this was, indeed, a specialty cruise.  

 

Dining Room:  The service was terrible.  We often didn’t get coffee, tea or water refills.  The first two weeks of the cruise we couldn’t even get our wine glasses refilled. At that point we got a new wine steward and things improved.    I had a lobster dropped in my lap with no apologies.  The staff was so overworked that there was no time to have any short conversation with them.  They couldn’t keep up with anything.  The maître d only showed up the two nights that an officer dined with us.  Never any other time and we did not see him trying to help out.  The dining room was very poorly run.  It often took an hour to get our first bite of food.  The assistant maître d came often and asked how our dinner was but didn’t really care.  When I mentioned that the fish in the seafood pie was old he said, “well there are 600 meals being prepared at once so we can’t make everything good.”  When I mentioned the same complaint to the waiter his answer was “enjoy”.   They were working hard but clearly not enjoying their jobs because they can’t keep up.  Breakfast and lunch were even worse than dinner.  What happened to having the women served first?  That didn’t happen as the waiter started with whomever he pleased.  The soups were barely lukewarm and apparently we don’t have an option of a cold soup anymore. 

 

Laundry:  Some items came up missing that we never got back.  We were told the ship was not expecting so much laundry but how hard is it to know in advance how many 4 and 5* members are going to be aboard and plan accordingly?  We saw the laundry guys in the hallway and they looked completely exhausted and unhappy but kudos to them for working hard. 

 

Bars:  Hardly anyone there during any time except happy hour.  Why not lower your prices and make it affordable at any time?  Even at happy hour prices the drinks were expensive.  And the wine packages had $8.00 wine for almost $50 a bottle if you didn’t have 4* status.  Many of the bar waiters were obviously not enjoying their jobs.

 

Shuttle costs:  When passengers are paying well over $500 per day per cabin why are we being charged $20.00 per person for a shuttle to town?  This happened 3 times.  Did we not pay enough for this to be included?

 

Cruise Director:  Jonathan Beaumont.  What a disgrace.  He was clearly not experienced and always had to read names off a paper when announcing entertainment or officers.  He was not visible around the ship.  Worst we’ve ever had.  Maybe the new distribution of jobs is not working??

 

Spa:  In advance of this cruise we had bought a couples pass to the thermal suite.  I called Seattle twice to make sure the price was for the whole 35 day cruise.  They said yes so we purchased it.  When we got onboard they said, no, it was only for half a cruise.  I called Seattle and they did say they had told me wrong.  The spa was supposed to work up a deal for us and call us but we never heard from them.  If you promise on something…..deliver.  At least honor us with a phone call to our room. 

 

EXC guide:  Apparently HAL has decided that the cruise director should take on this job.  When we had Jessica, the travel host, she was BEYOND amazing.  So upbeat, had us excited about the ports and gave us knowledge we needed.  She was always available when we were leaving the ship for the day.  Please do NOT take this position away as it was one of the things this ship did well.

 

Entertainment:  As we all know, the ship’s cast and crew are a thing of the past.  We enjoyed them so much but they were taken away.  Now there’s not much to like about the evening’s entertainment.  Modern Jukebox is a joke.  And how many people actually like to hear an hour of saxophone music and other musical instruments night after night?  Can’t there be something that’s enjoyable for all?  The comedian, Doug Funk, was a hoot and loved by the audience.  Movies, especially BBC, were shown over and over.  How many times do you think we need to see the same thing??  BB King could be enjoyable but it’s too loud and they play the same songs multiple times a week. 

 

Orange Party:  What a joke.  It was really a non-event except for getting people to go to the bar and buy a drink because they thought it was going to be a big deal.  Won’t have to bother with that again.  Most people left after the first set. 

 

Toilet paper:  I’m giving this a mention on it’s own because I have never seen such cheap toilet paper in my life.  It was worse than dollar store paper towels.  One person even had toilet paper that was full of holes.  Seriously?  Over $400 a day can’t buy decent toilet paper?  How cheap can you get?

 

We were told that the Zuiderdam had never done more than a 14 day cruise.  It was very obvious that they had no idea how to make a cruise special.  I have never heard so much complaining and unhappiness amongst passengers.  The staff was overworked and unhappy and it showed.  The majority of the passengers said they were done with Holland America, even the ones with over 1000 days.  I’m sure the surveys showed the negatives but I’m not sure how much attention is paid to them.  If you are going to provide a specialty cruise at high prices, then the experience should match the money commitment on our end.  When we booked this cruise it was to be on the Rotterdam.  Maybe that would have been a better experience.  The Zuiderdam had plenty of opportunity to plan for a long cruise but clearly nothing was done that showed it was being treated any differently than a 7 day cruise. 

 

There was nothing on this cruise to ever convince people to return.  Several people said it was their first and last cruise on HAL.   A cloud of dissatisfaction and unhappiness was over everyone aboard from crew to passengers.  This cruise ended up being merely a transport from port to port without any of the special experiences we normally get from a cruise. 

 

We have another cruise planned in January….a 41 day portion of the Grand South America.  We are still within the cancellation period.  Someone needs to convince us that we should continue with our plans for this cruise or we will be looking elsewhere.  If we’re going to pay the big prices, we expect big experiences. 

 

We are hoping to hear from you to convince us to return to Holland.  We need assurances that it can be a better experience. 

 

Sincerely,

 

[lcand1923]

Thank you so much for posting your experience.  I am booked for the Voyage of the Vikings in 2020.  It has been on my list from my first Holland America cruise in 1999. 

My last cruise on HAL was the first Trans-Atlantic on the Nieuw Statendam.  i enjoyed the cruise, but had noticed some of the things you mentioned.  Several friends, who are major HAL fans, have just returned from back to back cruises on HAL and they have told me how things have deteriorated even more.

Please let us know when you get a reply from HAL.  Tell us what Orlando has said.  

Based upon your posting I am seriously considering cancelling the Voyage of the Vikings.  It is such an expensive cruise and I don't look forward to 35 days of cheap toilet paper and overworked staff! 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our last cruise on HAL was in 2016 on the Westerdam -- 21 days.  We have done the repositioning many times and this time it was a big disappointment.  It convinced us to cancel 2 future cruises.  We were all set to try another cruise line, but my health has deteriorated and we are no longer able to cruise.

 

In 21 days we only saw the captain and hotel director 2 times -- at a distance.

 

Actually the Zuiderdam has 21 day repositioning cruises.  But still you should have experienced more parties, balls, special occasion nights, etc.  I don't blame you for being disappointed.

 

Many people are complaining about the bad entertainment.

 

We wrote a letter once about a bad experience on HAL -- took the Seattle office nearly 8 weeks to respond to us.Hope you hear from them sooner than we did.

[CruiserBruce]

I am wondering how many times you can mention how much you paid? And how you know so much about the other 2000 pax on board's take on things?

[FredT]

Of my last four cruises only one has been on HAL.....    (About 10 HAL cruises total)  My point is that over the past 10 years or so ALL of the mass market lines have (In my opinion) seen similar drops in service.  Yes, they could improve things markedly, but that would cost a lot, and they would have to raise (across the board, not necessarily the "specialty" cruises only) prices significantly.   And you know what?   As long as NCL,  RCCL, Celebrity, and a host of other lesser cruise lines DONT follow suit, HAL can NOT do that.  

 

I know, you will say "Then who will sail on them?"   My answer is lots of people like myself, who look at itineraries and ports, THEN COST, way before we are bothered by the quality of toilet paper, or the lack of cold soup.  Now do I miss the HAL of 20 years ago?   Heck yes, but if my options are to have shiny new ships, gourmet food, great entertainment (All at a higher cost) or fun, quirky, unusual itineraries and elegant older ships at a lower cost. (Which is all we can afford anyway)    Well, you know what we will choose.  

 

Our next cruise is a winter mid-east cruise on NCL's smallest ship, then we are waiting for HAL's 2021 northern Norway cruises to be published.   Hope by then they STILL have the Zuiderdam (Or even better the Veendam or Volendam) and not any of the new "mega ships" that HAL is churning out.  

Edited September 26, 2019 by FredT

[Riversedge]

14 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I am wondering how many times you can mention how much you paid? And how you know so much about the other 2000 pax on board's take on things?

I could've mentioned how much I paid a lot more than I did....that's the point, right?  A cheap cruise equals lesser expectations.  As to how we know how other people feel?  People talk everywhere....at breakfast, lunch, dinner, shuttles, bars, etc. and it was often overheard from other people talking nearby.  You would've had to be deaf not to hear it.  The crew (for the most part) didn't look any happier than the guests.  

[MikeD4134]

What is a Specialty Cruise?

[SilvertoGold]

OP:   Thanks for posting this.   HAL can be so good and this is so sad!  Parts of this cruise was good, so I am glad for you in that respect.

 

About Jonathan Beaumont:  we had him as CD for two weeks on the Westerdam before he went to the Zuiderdam.  He was relatively new, but we would not have known.  He was gracious, enthusiastic, diligent, prepared and friendly.  A mature and engaged CD, not like the newer, young ones that HAL had foisted on us lately. We are Platinum and have a fair amount of experience with CDs on HAL: he was one of the very best we've had.

What happened?  I think from the general tone of this cruise there were leadership problems on this ship affecting all crew, staff and officers. Top down, I guess. Hotel Directors are mainly involved in human resources: perhaps this one wasn't as good with his officers and staff as the one on the Westerdam.  What a shame.

 

Please do let us know if you get a reply from Orlando.

Edited September 26, 2019 by SilvertoGold

[oaktreerb]

The dining room has been understaffed for a couple of years and it has gotten worse.  Fixed dining works best because you are not having to start over every night to have your preferences known.....lemon for water, coffee with desert.  On our last cruise we were asked every night of open dining if we had any dietary restrictions....fixed dining would only ask one time and then they would know for the future.   Fewer servers seem to have more issues to deal with.   Will Club Orange dilute the wait staff crew even further?

 

The food imo has improved ...not so much food but better quality.  Staffing has been reduced to the point that it is impossible to receive good service in open dining unless you manage to get the same crew every evening.

 

Entertainment needs to get back to the production shows with singers and dancers being part of the crew.  Let them entertain at the Orange Party, lead the line dancing, take part in the fun of cruising.  This may be a labor issue on HAL.  Other lines like Seabourn have entertainers who although they are not part of a production show take part in social events.

 

 

[AncientWanderer]

So many of these complaints are easily fixed.  They mostly all relate to cutbacks in labor.

 

I do wonder if cruise food will ever be special again.  One sees the same complaint on all the cruise line boards -- that the food isn't what it used to be.  A lot of this is probably due to the fact that they have to offer so very many options -- gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo...every night.  Not knowing ahead who will order what, they have to make it all available and there would be so much food waste.  Tough to run a business like that.  (Then when the leftovers are used for Lido lunch the next day, in a less-than-palatable way, that's a bummer, too.)  In the end, to cut costs, we get a lot of cornmeal presented 50 different ways as the starch with dinner.

 

I'd still rather be onboard than not, though.

[Sir PMP]

Thanks for your comments, hopefully Mr. O will read it or someone close to him, it sounds like, it's time to dump this ship along with the Oosterdam, they seem to be in really bad condition, by the way did you have a band in the Ocean bar?

[CJcruzer]

2 hours ago, FredT said:

Of my last four cruises only one has been on HAL.....    (About 10 HAL cruises total)  My point is that over the past 10 years or so ALL of the mass market lines have (In my opinion) seen similar drops in service.  Yes, they could improve things markedly, but that would cost a lot, and they would have to raise (across the board, not necessarily the "specialty" cruises only) prices significantly.   And you know what?   As long as NCL,  RCCL, Celebrity, and a host of other lesser cruise lines DONT follow suit, HAL can NOT do that.  

 

I know, you will say "Then who will sail on them?"   My answer is lots of people like myself, who look at itineraries and ports, THEN COST, way before we are bothered by the quality of toilet paper, or the lack of cold soup.  Now do I miss the HAL of 20 years ago?   Heck yes, but if my options are to have shiny new ships, gourmet food, great entertainment (All at a higher cost) or fun, quirky, unusual itineraries and elegant older ships at a lower cost. (Which is all we can afford anyway)    Well, you know what we will choose.  

 

Our next cruise is a winter mid-east cruise on NCL's smallest ship, then we are waiting for HAL's 2021 northern Norway cruises to be published.   Hope by then they STILL have the Zuiderdam (Or even better the Veendam or Volendam) and not any of the new "mega ships" that HAL is churning out.  

 

Our second trip to Norway was on the Koningsdam in 2018, and it was fantastic.   (our first visit being with Celebrity Millennium).    I would not rule out the “mega ships for that area.   I believe only one port was tender, but we are 4* and just headed to the tender area - no lines.

Edited September 26, 2019 by CJcruzer

[CJcruzer]

3 hours ago, Riversedge said:

Cruise Director:  Jonathan Beaumont.  What a disgrace.  He was clearly not experienced and always had to read names off a paper when announcing entertainment or officers.  He was not visible around the ship.  Worst we’ve ever had.  Maybe the new distribution of jobs is not working??

 

I was on the cruise following yours, 12 day Canada-NE.   agree with the above, the cruise director was pretty much useless.

[oaktreerb]

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Our last cruise on HAL was in 2016 on the Westerdam -- 21 days.  We have done the repositioning many times and this time it was a big disappointment.  It convinced us to cancel 2 future cruises.  We were all set to try another cruise line, but my health has deteriorated and we are no longer able to cruise.

 

In 21 days we only saw the captain and hotel director 2 times -- at a distance.

 

 

We were on the same cruise.  I’ve been watching for another 21 day Panama Canal cruise.  We don’t have your many years of HAL cruising experience but we did enjoy the cruise.  We were probably 3 star at the time.

 

We were invited to a mariners cocktail party on deck and although there were a lot of people attending we had a nice discussion of sailing initiated by a staff officer.  We also spent a good deal of time talking with the Captain at that event.  

 

I had one major issue with dining one evening when we were led to believe by our server that all guests were to attend the on deck barbecue.  If I had known that the dining room was open, we would have eaten in the dining room.  The bbq was very poorly done and I was so angry about the self serve ice cream arrangement that I wrote it up on a complaint form.  The next day I was tracked down in the hallway outside my room and I received an apology but not from an officer.   It does help to write complaints down...I feel better and they know exactly what my issue is!  I didn’t find out that the dining room was open until the next day.  Lesson learned!

[DaveEv]

Let's see.  You paid about $500 a day for your cabin for 34 days, and you could have gotten a new car for that.  Hmmm.  Around here I could only get a second-hand 2018 Kia with 50,000 miles on it for that price.  The Voyage of the Vikings is always fully booked.  It is on the bucket list for a lot of folks.  So they charge a premium.  It is not a "Specialty" or "Grand" cruise, It's price is based on supply-and-demand.  HAL is a mass-market cruise line, trying to make a decent profit in a very competitive market.

 

Reading the posts of other folks who were on the VOV, many found much to like, and none seemed to experience the woes you speak of.  It has been my experience as a 5-Star Mariner, that when people go on a cruise they find what they are looking for.  Those that are looking to have a wonderful experience, with the usual blemishes caused by human foibles, have a memorable time.  Those that expect a perfect world, unchanged from when they starting cruising some years ago, but at a virtually unchanged price, are often sadly disappointed.  It sounds like you would be happier on one of the premium cruise lines, price not withstanding.  I hope your future cruise experiences bring you more happiness than this one did.

[cowmilker]

My husband and I have tickets to see Post Modern Jukebox in mid-October in a nearby city. Some people, like us, really, really like PMJ.  That's not a joke.

If we were lucky enough to be on a HAL cruise where they were performing, we'd be on the front row.

 

[cruisemom42]

You post is disheartening, but it also raised some questions. I'm not yet at the stage of being able to consider a 35-day cruise, but the itinerary and concept is somewhat unique and I've casually read discussions about the VoV cruise here on the HAL board for several years, thinking "Someday...."

 

I say casually, so my questions are somewhat to inform myself. I'm in no way trying to throw any shade. I was always under the impression that this particular itinerary is unique to HAL (or at least among mass market lines there is no competitor offering it). Isn't that one of -- or the main -- reason why the price is so high?  That is, basic supply and demand and what the market will bear? 

 

I don't know about this year, but in years past it seemed like this itinerary was always sold out or nearly so....  Was that because in the past it has been done on one of the smaller ships?  (And has that always been the case -- not a Vista class or larger in the past?)

 

Also, not having been on a longer cruise, what kind of 'special events' were missing?  Not including the changes/cutbacks that are apparently taking place fleet-wide, what kinds of things were anticipated by passengers?  Do they have more parties/events? Special meals? And these have been offered on past VoV cruises?

 

I have to wonder whether HAL may have realized this cruise was a hot ticket and sort of 'killed the goose that laid the golden eggs' by using a larger ship and still charging the same higher fares while not going to any effort to make it memorable (other than the wonderful ports)?

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Was that because in the past it has been done on one of the smaller ships?  (And has that always been the case -- not a Vista class or larger in the past?)

 

This cruise has traditionally been done on an R class ship and usually the Rotterdam if my memory serves me correctly.

 

The Prinsendam’s sale caused a big shuffle in itineraries and the Rotterdam was assigned to attempt to take over some of her itineraries (along with the Volendam, I believe) which led to the need for another ship to do this itinerary.  IMO that is a mistake as the R & S cabins are larger for this longer cruise and offer a more intimate feel for this type of itinerary than the Vistas (despite the lesser musical offerings).

[richwmn]

12 minutes ago, kazu said:

This cruise has traditionally been done on an R class ship and usually the Rotterdam if my memory serves me correctly.

The Voyage of the Vikings is returning to R class on Zaandam next year.

I was on Rotterdam last year for the 38 day version of the Voyage of the Vikings and had a wonderful time. Ship and crew performed well. I had a problem with my cabin about 8 days prior to the end and was moved to another. I was very glad to get to do it when I did.

 

[Mary229]

I did VOV RT in 2017 and at that time the Rotterdam was in sorry condition and I complained here and directly to HAL.  Condition was our only complaint.   However after much contemplation I am ready for another trip.   

[newbie53]

We were on this same cruise and had a wonderful time.  Our experience with crew was completely different.  Smiling, greating us always, cheerful.  We saw the captain often about the ship.  While he may not have stopped to talk, he was approachable.  We don't have a lot of cruises under our belts, but this captain was the most visible of any we have had.  This was only our second with HAL, so maybe we just didn't have as high expectations as the long time cruisers.

[newbie53]

24 minutes ago, newbie53 said:

 Smiling, greating us always, cheerful. 

Greeting, not "greating"

[Lazy Lakes]

I also was on this cruise and booked it last minute as the "bigger ship"" had not sold out.

Also i agree with some of your points. But the Captain Bart Vaartjes was great kept us informed, stood outside when we came into ports and on the last day bid us farewell.

But the cruise director was worse then the one on the Maasdam in June 2019.

It might work on a 7 day cruise but a 35 day cruise with only 160 who were less then 4 star it did not work we were expecting more of the cruise director.

HAL sure has changed in the last 20 years and not for the better, it is like NCL 20 years ago.

Good luck with getting Orlando to get back to you. Never heard back from him.

Or the mariners department or the custom service people.

 

 

[kwb101]

We were on Zuiderdam from the third through fifteenth of this month, and ali I can say is that the OP must've been on another Zuiderdam, because the one we were on for twelve days from Boston to Quebec City didn't resemble the OP's description of the ship in any way, shape, or form.

The ship was immaculate, crew was universally courteous, friendly, and efficient, especially in the Main Dining Room, and food in the MDR was excellent. However, I have to agree about the missing flowers on the tables, both in the Lido and MDR: HAL's pinching the pennies a little too hard.

There was no evidence of leaks or cones in the Lido marking broken tiles. Overall, the ship appeared to be in the same excellent condition with similarly excellent crew as when we were on it last September for the 20-day Viking Passage from Copenhagen to New York. We were in the same stateroom (4061) on both trips, and the condition was comparable to our room at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, with did cost $500 a night. 

We saw Captain Vaartjes several times this last voyage, on-stage, at a reception, and informally in the corridors and elevators, and he was always friendly. We had no complaints about any aspect of the voyage, although there was a bit of a wait for taxis in Quebec (but this isn't HAL's fault).

We are also on the 41-day segment of the 77-day Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, and I sincerely hope you enjoy this trip more than your last one.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, newbie53 said:

We were on this same cruise and had a wonderful time.  Our experience with crew was completely different.  Smiling, greating us always, cheerful.  We saw the captain often about the ship.  While he may not have stopped to talk, he was approachable.  We don't have a lot of cruises under our belts, but this captain was the most visible of any we have had.  This was only our second with HAL, so maybe we just didn't have as high expectations as the long time cruisers.

But how many times did you mention how much you paid? Always the best way to approach things, like discussing religion or politics!