Will NEVER use HAL again!!

[mheal]

I was on the Zuiderdam during a cruise March 4 through the 11th. My husband and I had a wonderful time - except at the end. We purchased 4 bottles of liquor on board and unfortunately, did not leave with them. When the box was delivered to our stateroom we put it out with our other luggage to be taken to the pier. When we arrived at the pier we saw lots of other boxes of liquor - but not ours. I spoke to a supervisor who said they do not make claims for liquor, but I insisted on the claim being written up. Reluctantly, she wrote up the claim as a "courtesy". She said we are supposed to carry the liquor off the ship ourselves and that we should have been told that in the disembarkement meeting. Well, I attended this meeting as well as many others on the ship. This was not mentioned to us. (As I said earlier there were many other boxes of liquor on the pier waiting for pick-up - if this was mentioned about 100 other people did not hear it either.) When I called HAL I was told they will not be responsible because I cannot prove it was placed outside our stateroom. Well, how many of you take pictures of your baggage placed outside your stateroom? I must not have heard that in the disembarkment meeting either. This liquor was purchased on the ship for $60 and HAL refuses to accept responsiblity or even credit me the $60. It is now a matter of principle and not the fact that I did not receive my baggage. You would think that when you spend over $4,000 on the cruise and then another $800 on board - they would put customer service first and refund the difference. Obviously, HAL is not the top notch line I was lead to believe they are. Based on this experience, I will NEVER use HAL again. They lost a customer, and as many potential customers I can tell about this, over $60. Sorry HAL but you are not the best. Stand behind your customers please - satisfaction is not your goal.

[doone]

I am sorry this happened to you, but I can't understand why you are blaming HAL. Why in the world would you put alcohol out with your luggage unattended??? Anyone can walk off with it while waiting for the luggage to be picked up. I purchase alcohol all the time on my cruises and never, ever would I have put it in the hallway with my luggage.

 

This, IMHO, was your error, not HAL's. Maybe I am wrong here, but never, ever did I see liquor on the pier waiting for passengers to pick it up. Everyone I have sailed with was walking off with it. If I am wrong here, please, someone correct me, just never saw or noticed it before.

[torpeedo]

I am so sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately this is one of those things you learn from cruising experience regarding what to place outside your door when you go to bed. Never ever place anything outside your door for debarkation that isn't locked tight as a drum. Many things could have happened to your package, including somebody ( passenger ) walking by and picking it up, sad to say. If your room steward had seen it he would probably have knocked to tell you to take it in. This is pretty standard on any cruise line. I can surely see how you might think it would be picked up with a tag etc, but as soon as you placed it outside your door and closed your door, your package became a target!!:(

[u4ea]

It's a mistake on both sides, but HAL probably loses 100 customers a day to old age and death. It's a big world and HAL is a big company with more wealthy people added each day that would like to sail with them. Injustice makes you want to fight, but reality dictates chalk it up as lesson learned and move on.

Mark....

[sail7seas]

I'm very sorry this happened to you. I am surprised you do not recall hearing the Cruise Director say, in his disembarkation talk, that you should carry your liquor off the ship. They have never failed to make the 'joke' during their talk that if you leave liquor outside your room, someone is going to be having a great party with your liquor. There is no mistaking what is in those liquor boxes. Those talks are scripted. They are never 'off the cuff'. We have listened to them literally dozens and dozens of times. The CD always includes that information......same as he always tells you to be sure and leave out clothes to wear in the morning....to not pack all your clothes.

 

How can you hold HAL responsible for (probably) theft from the hallway by another guest when they always tell people to hand carry their liquor off the ship.

 

This is one of those....learned a lesson the hard way situations. Thankfully, it wasn't a diamond bracelot? :)

 

[K&RCurt]

I'm sorry you lost your alcoholic beverages.

 

Can you not see why HAL would not take responsibility for this? You put a case of booze out in the hallway. Your next door neighbor, someone from down the hall, someone just walking by sees it at 1:00 am and says "WHOOO HOOOO FREE BOOZE!". HAL's personnel didn't get it off the ship beacuse they likely never saw it.

 

It certainly was mentioned on our disembarkation talk that boxes of alcohol were to be carried off, and I think it was in the booklet the luggage tags came in also.

 

Given that you put your bottles out for the whole ship to be tempted by I don't think you will get many posters jumping on the "HAL sucks 'cause they lost our booze" bandwagon.

[Jules1]

Altho I haven't sailed HAL yet - not putting booze in the hallway has been emphasized on every cruise I've been on. On other boards there are reports of teens taking booze from the hallways and having a roaring good time.

[RustaRoo]

Of course this is upsetting to you, but HAL is not responsible in anyway for the disappearance of your booze.

 

My Cruise Contract with Hal Section 7 - Baggage © states, "We do not assume any liability for any loss of or damage to or delay of perishable items, medicine, liquor, cash, credit or debit cards......" etc.

 

HAL always encourages pax to read the contract prior to embarkation.

[Copper10-8]

Sorry about your loss but I'm with everyone else so far. The C/D always mentions not to place purchased liquor outside in the hallway with your luggage, in every disembarkation talk I've been to. This is an open invitation to everyone who walks by your room for free booze. The "joke" that the C/D's use in reference to this topic (see the post by S7S) is an old one because it is used so much.

Chalk this one up to experience and an unfortunate $60 lesson learned:(

[torpeedo]

I also see you only have one or two posts so maybe this is your first cruise too. Everyone is really correct about what probably happened to your box of booze. At least is wasn't your jewelry!!

[Jim Gallup]

mheal,

 

Whichever cruise line you decide to take next, please let us know.

I plan to book the cabin next to yours.......................

[richcrow]

Not only is sail7seas right about the CD making the time honored "joke" about leaving booze outside your stateroom, but when we were on the Zuiderdam we were advised by the sales person not to do this.

 

Richard

[Roz]

I'm sorry your first cruise had to end this way. Rather than being bitter and focusing on a negative event, just chalk it up to experience and consider it a lesson learned (albeit the hard way).

 

Regardless of the cruise line, I've never seen people put booze out in the hallway to be picked up with their luggage.

 

Roz

[kendall jackson]

my wife and a girlfriend took a princess cruise a few years ago aboard the star. my wife had a lapse of blondeness and packed her expensive watch. her lesson, if you have a particular fondness for something: carry it.

[2 live cruise]

mheal,

 

Whichever cruise line you decide to take next, please let us know.

I plan to book the cabin next to yours.......................

 

Ha-ha!

[torpeedo]

This might make you feel better mheal. Years ago when there was this great service where you could put your luggage outside your door and it would be delivered to the airline and placed on the plane for you. Essentially you would walk off the ship and on the plane and never have to see or deal with your luggage until you got off the plane at home.. Wonderful!

Well we took advantage of that service. While getting into bed late that last night I was getting my purse ready etc and realized I had packed my AIRLINE TICKETS in the bags that were now gone from outside our door!!

As only HAL in their graciousness would do, I was escorted down to the luggage compartment and searched until I found my bag and rescued my airline tickets! Booby prize of the year we to me!:( The HAL people were so nice to me and never said what an idiot I was!! Now my husband.....hmmm

[AlexandNessa]

We had 2 complimentary bottles of sparkling wine in our suite upon embarkation. We never drank them (don't like the stuff -- wish we could trade them in for a bottle of red wine or something). We left the bottles out with our luggage on the last night for the sole purpose of hoping someone would take them! Lo and behold, they were gone long before our luggage was, and we hope whoever took them enjoyed them! :)

 

Note: we wouldn't do this on a more family friendly cruise, but we had a pretty old crowd and I think there was all of one or two teens on board.

[RedmondCruiser]

I am sorry to hear of your loss. In 35 cruises I have NEVER seen liquor put out in the hall to be taken off the ship the next morning. I also have never seen a liquor pick up area in the luggage area. Most people are very honest but your tempting fate to put it outside your stateroom. Everyone carrys their liquor off at disembarcation.

[kryos]

I am so sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately this is one of those things you learn from cruising experience regarding what to place outside your door when you go to bed. Never ever place anything outside your door for debarkation that isn't locked tight as a drum. Many things could have happened to your package, including somebody ( passenger ) walking by and picking it up, sad to say. If your room steward had seen it he would probably have knocked to tell you to take it in. This is pretty standard on any cruise line. I can surely see how you might think it would be picked up with a tag etc, but as soon as you placed it outside your door and closed your door, your package became a target!!:(

Just as a sidenote ... on Princess, they deliver the liquor and cigarettes purchased onboard during the last day of your cruise. Problem is that they just plop it down on the floor outside of your stateroom. I gave holy you know what to Guest Services over that one. Came back from a busy afternoon onboard to find all these liquor boxes sitting outside of peoples' staterooms. The thought hit me then and there ... boy, it would sure be easy for someone to just scoop up some of these boxes ... by the convenient handle ... and just take them to their own stateroom. I called Guest Services and mentioned this ... saying something to the effect of "you are sure lucky there aren't too many children onboard this cruise ... and no teenagers ... or you could be responsible for contributing to the deliquency of a minor if the teens had made off with just a fraction of that liquor and decided to hold a nice "last night onboard" party.

 

Thank God HAL takes the extra step of putting the bottles in your stateroom. Keeps them safer that way. But, of course, when the passenger puts them back out again on the last night to be picked up with the luggage ... there is no telling what could happen to that liquor. My money is on another passenger helping themselves.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[BJane]

Where does common sense come onto play here? I don't need anyone to tell me not to put liquor outside in the hall.

[TedC]

Where does common sense come onto play here? I don't need anyone to tell me not to put liquor outside in the hall.

 

 

Alas, common sense just isn't all that common.

[vozzie]

Mheal,

 

I'm going out on limb here ... and jumping on your side.

Yes, you were obviously nieve and you obviously missed all the warnings about leaving liquor out.

 

HOWEVER, I do think HAL should have refunded you the $60 ... not because you were right and they were wrong ... but, for good business reasons. Its old and it's worn out but "the customer is always right" still holds true. Many years ago, my wife and I operated a jewellery franchise. The Franchisor continually drummed into us that the customer was always right and that a full refund would always be given ... no questions asked. I can even remember giving cash refunds to people who we actually knew ... had shop lifted the goods.

 

The result of all this was that:

1. We built up a tremendous loyal following ( not just amonst the thieves)
   
2. The customers were very comfortable in purchasing "on a whim" ... as they knew they could always get a refund if they weren't happy with the product.
   
3. The company never had anyone having a gripe at us on Internet forums

Fo the sake of saving $60, HAL has lost a great opportunity to retain the custom of Mheal ... and everyone else that they told about the great service.

[Atomica]

While I am sorry that you lost your liquor, at the same time, there's no way this is HAL's fault. For all anyone knows, another passenger saw it there and picked it up and held a little party in their cabin ;)

 

The sometimes hard-learned lesson with travel is this: if you don't want to loose something, pack it in your carry-on, or carry it off yourself.

[HAL92]

I am sorry but this is mostly your fault. You had a good cruise and just because you made a mistake at the end with your liqour does not mean that HAL is a bad cruise line. Any other line would have done the exact same thing. Don't do foolish things and you won't lose $60. I am sorry you had such a bad experience at the end but overall wouldn't you say you enjoyed 99.9% of you cruise?

[Copper10-8]

Mheal,

I can even remember giving cash refunds to people who we actually knew ... had shop lifted the goods.

 

You make a lot of good points from a customer relations standpoint, Vozzie:) . I'm not a sales person so that probably plays a large part in me not understanding. Why would you give someone a cash refund if you knew these "fine" folks had taken your merchandise without paying in the first place and were now attempting to cause you a monetary loss by requesting a refund?:confused: This is a very common scheme used by boosters. Was it to avoid a confrontation maybe?