Live Westerdam May 7-14 OMG!!

[Leo-the-fox]

On 5/12/2023 at 8:03 AM, 1teach53 said:

We are 5 Star Mariners - boarding was a mess, ( in terminal) wheelchair assistance non available, then very slow, no one knew what was going on!! Very slow & confusing for all! Never seen it this bad! We have embarked many times in Seattle on HAL. 
At checkin on board my DH had one cabin number I had another! After 3!!!! Cabin changes, many trips to front desk, a good hour + in time we finally got a cabin. (We had booked 9 months ago & had a cabin number)! But no it didn’t work! 
We have next week booked, so BTB cruises. Now they are telling us we will have to move cabins for next week!!! We are happy to stay where we are. They are saying someone else has this cabin for next week!!! Ok, move them, switch their cabin like you did ours 3 !!! Times!! 
Our future cabin is yet to be determined!! We are to be told today our cabin for next week, some yak / double talk, about “ships inventory “, deflecting! 
During a massage I had cold water dripping from a ceiling fire sprinkler!! (5-6 times) What!!?? Therapist put a towels on me to catch the cold drips! Very relaxing massage! NOT!!!! 
Still beverage & food items non existent. 

Will update as we know more. 
K & J 

I am curious the cabin you being switched to, is it in the same category? is it better room or worse? i booked an aft wrap suite, definitly don't want to be switched, even for a better one. feel so sorry for you.

[Boatdrill]

On 5/14/2023 at 9:08 AM, 1teach53 said:

Perrier? Apparently they have never heard of it.

They serve Pellegrino instead.   

[Florida_gal_50]

7 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

They serve Pellegrino instead.   

I’ve had Perrier on every single cruise I’ve been on.  They don’t have Pellegrino in small bottles on the ship that I’ve seen and who knows if it’s included in the beverage package since the large water aren’t.

[Seasick Sailor]

You are correct. We had Perrier every day at lunch and dinner. Pellegrino (large bottle) was only served with the HIA if they ran out of Perrier.

[1teach53]

3 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

You are correct. We had Perrier every day at lunch and dinner. Pellegrino (large bottle) was only served with the HIA if they ran out of Perrier.

As of today 5/19, they have had neither last week or this week Perrier or Pellegrino.  Talking  to crew in the bars it WAS available but no longer. No Coke Zero only Coke light 320 ML , Seltzer water in small 7.5 OZ vs 12 OZ still charging the same. 

[Florida_gal_50]

45 minutes ago, 1teach53 said:

As of today 5/19, they have had neither last week or this week Perrier or Pellegrino.  Talking  to crew in the bars it WAS available but no longer. No Coke Zero only Coke light 320 ML , Seltzer water in small 7.5 OZ vs 12 OZ still charging the same. 

I'm  not doubting you but I'm for sure doubting them.  I was just on a cruise in April so if that's true its a quick change.  The westerdam doesn't seem to have much.  First it was because they weren't in north america.  What's the excuse now?

[1teach53]

48 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I'm  not doubting you but I'm for sure doubting them.  I was just on a cruise in April so if that's true its a quick change.  The westerdam doesn't seem to have much.  First it was because they weren't in north america.  What's the excuse now?

Good question!?!? “Supply Chain issues “ LOL!!!

Yep, apparently a change from 2 weeks ago! 🙃

 

[BermudaBound2014]

4 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

These days there are only two good excuses for continued supply issues. 1. Incompetent management and/or  2. Not paying the vendors.   

 

Hank

I have to believe that if they were missing vendor Payments with any degree of regularity, this info would leak to the financial forums. I haven’t read anything (but will report here if I do).

 

[1teach53]

15 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

These days there are only two good excuses for continued supply issues. 1. Incompetent management and/or  2. Not paying the vendors.   

 

Hank

100 percent correct!!!! 

[1teach53]

1 minute ago, 1teach53 said:

100 percent correct!!!! 

Certainly not the cruise line we sailed on before!! 

[OlsSalt]

27 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I have to believe that if they were missing vendor Payments with any degree of regularity, this info would leak to the financial forums. I haven’t read anything (but will report here if I do).

 

 

 

Maybe someone here is trying to "pump and dump" the brand. Maybe even a tag team. You never know what goes on behind this internet mask.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

Maybe someone here is trying to "pump and dump" the brand. Maybe even a tag team. You never know what goes on behind this internet mask.

That’s funny. Every single member of this forum could all sing the exact same song and we couldn’t even begin to budge the market 

 

The big guys call the shots. All us littles combined are a tiny drop in the ocean.
 

Of course there is market manipulation taking place; but it’s not from individual investors. Institutions make all the rules. We just play on the sidelines and hope to be on the right side of the trade. 

[Florida_gal_50]

6 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

Maybe someone here is trying to "pump and dump" the brand. Maybe even a tag team. You never know what goes on behind this internet mask.

What 😂? What does that even mean?

[BermudaBound2014]

9 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

What 😂? What does that even mean?

Pump and dump is a very common term on wall street.  Ask your financial advisor to explain it to you. He/she will know exactly what the post meant. 

Edited May 20, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[boze9999]

On 5/14/2023 at 10:08 AM, 1teach53 said:

As we begin our next cruise a few observations: 

The crew continues to be the highlight. So friendly and helpful!! They are tremendously over worked and short staffed! I feel bad for them! 

In the Lido no more picking up plates in a timely manner, wiping tables , providing water, coffee or helping disabled to seats & carrying plates etc. Hit and miss cleanliness in the public areas. You don’t see the cleaning & polishing hand rails & tables! ( like in years past) I question how much sanitizing they are doing? 

Rough, sometimes stained, and raggedy linens & towels. 

Food is fair to poor except in the specialty restaurants.

Perrier? Apparently they have never heard of it. Stevia , listed as available but non existent, bring your own, glad I did!!

We are hopeful for a better experience this coming week! 
Certainly not the HAL of yesteryear’s! 

We've been on a handful of cruises over the last year, so for other readers I'll add a few of my comments if I may. 

1. Cleaning / polishing etc...These crew membes were everywhere and each and every time I encountered one, I thanked them and they were excited and very grateful recipients of a tip - so little from a guest brings so much heartfelt gratitude from them!

2. Food - in my experience, always above fair to poor - and generally very good to exceptional. And yes - even in the specialty restaurants, it was sometimes fair, however with honest feedback, the servers were ready to make it right to elevate it to our expectations. 

3. Perrier - we had Perrier at every bar and restaurant on the ship - every day and night. The Perrier are the single serving size bottles. When at a restaurant, we also ordered and received the large Pellegrino bottles for sharing. 

 

I will add that sometimes, some of the bars ran out of some things during the day/evening, however other bars on the ship frequently still had it in stock. And most commonly the next day brings another round of replenishents.

 

I do truly wish you a better experience on your upcoming cruise and hope all of your faves are well stocked!

[OlsSalt]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

That’s funny. Every single member of this forum could all sing the exact same song and we couldn’t even begin to budge the market 

 

The big guys call the shots. All us littles combined are a tiny drop in the ocean.
 

Of course there is market manipulation taking place; but it’s not from individual investors. Institutions make all the rules. We just play on the sidelines and hope to be on the right side of the trade. 

 

The animal spirits of the market place have very keen senses. They know where to look to spot trends. 

[bluesplayer]

Our last 3 cruises,  Alaska (5/23),  Antartica - Santiago to Buenos Aries (1/23),  and Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale (10/22).  We purchased the signature beverage package on all cruises.  Many options on the signature beverage package were "not available" and all 3 cruises were replaced with (much) lesser quality options.  We started to call this the Signature Plonk Package.  I do understand supply chain and shortages..  yet why every time is the wines replaced with Two Buck Chuck?   (or the liking)

[PACD_JG]

14 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Pump and dump is a very common term on wall street.  Ask your financial advisor to explain it to you. He/she will know exactly what the post meant. 

It's the office equivalent of when one of your absolute worst co-workers tries to transfer to another location, and when the potentially new office management/employees call in to ask questions, the old office management/employees respond with nothing but the most positive accolades. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

14 hours ago, bluesplayer said:

Our last 3 cruises,  Alaska (5/23),  Antartica - Santiago to Buenos Aries (1/23),  and Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale (10/22).  We purchased the signature beverage package on all cruises.  Many options on the signature beverage package were "not available" and all 3 cruises were replaced with (much) lesser quality options.  We started to call this the Signature Plonk Package.  I do understand supply chain and shortages..  yet why every time is the wines replaced with Two Buck Chuck?   (or the liking)

 

That's sad to hear. In the past when a wine in a package was not available, the substitution came from a higher package, not a low-quality wine.

 

These seemingly random shortages do sound more like bad management (or penny-inching) than supply issues. I was lucky in January. The only thing not available that I was aware of was the new HAL tile.

[Marelaine]

3 hours ago, 1teach53 said:

“ 3. Perrier - we had Perrier at every bar and restaurant on the ship - every day and night. The Perrier are the single serving size bottles. When at a restaurant, we also ordered and received the large Pellegrino bottles for sharing. “ 

 

You were very fortunate!! NOT true on this, Westerdam 5-7-23 through 5-20-23 ! 

Can’t wait to pack my bags tonight!! Never felt this happy / elated to get off a cruise!! 
Boy ! HAL has changed, not for the better!! 
Go ahead haters start your hate- I’m speaking truth & observed facts, ( here & now) and over 5 Stars of experience on HAL. 

It's so sad to look forward to a cruise for months and then be disappointed.
I hope your next adventure is positive.
 

[1teach53]

New Rule??? 
This just in …. Disembarking tomorrow. 
News to us…. No in room breakfast IF you are disembarking, & not continuing on next cruise! 
Great customer service!!! NOT!!! 
Must be one of there “new rules” !!! 
Never again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[RuthC]

7 minutes ago, 1teach53 said:

News to us…. No in room breakfast IF you are disembarking, & not continuing on next cruise! 

This has been discussed many times on this forum since it was implemented. Not new. 
Either you didn't read about it, or you have forgotten. 

[1teach53]

10 minutes ago, RuthC said:

This has been discussed many times on this forum since it was implemented. Not new. 
Either you didn't read about it, or you have forgotten. 

You still have your lovely personality!!!!

[1teach53]

3 minutes ago, 1teach53 said:

You still have your lovely personality!!!!

Lucky us we haven’t been on in a year and a half!
Still doesn’t make this rule good or even adequate customer service!!
And won’t be returning!!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Edited May 21, 2023 by 1teach53

[Haljo1935]

40 minutes ago, 1teach53 said:

New Rule??? 
This just in …. Disembarking tomorrow. 
News to us…. No in room breakfast IF you are disembarking, & not continuing on next cruise! 
Great customer service!!! NOT!!! 
Must be one of there “new rules” !!! 
Never again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

No in room breakfast on disembarkation day has been our experience on HAL for all cruises we've been on since the re-start; includes Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam and Eurodam, all as recently as Oct 2022 - May 2023. So not new policy and has been discussed on several threads here, but may be new info to you.

I think they need to do a better job of informing passengers...