cruisnfool Posted November 20, 2006 #1 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I am taking my first HAL soon and very excited to read all I can. HAL with finish off the mainstream cruise lines for me as I have sailed with Carnival, NCL, Admiral, Costa, Celebrity, Princess and RCI. Just a few things I have picked up from my reads is that the Visa class being bigger than the R & S has a differant level of service as well as a differant type of passenger....maybe younger? maybe looking for a more upbeat atmosphere? Also the level of service has dropeed on the Vista class...... Do all veteran HAL cruisers believe that a 81,000 ton ship is sooooo big it cannot give the same level of service? IMHO, if the company believes in service it should deliver service. I have sailed the smallest and largest of RCI ships and don't see a differance in service. I was reading a negative post about the Westrdam and it seemed like the end result was "I won't take a Vista ship again". In my experience you can sail the same ship at differant times and get differant service as well as entertainment and staff attitudes. My son was a casino dealer for Princess for 3 yeras and he said many things are driven by the management of the time. I have has occasional laps in great service from time to time but had I had the level of complaints the Westerdam poster had I would have had the Maitre-D there in a flash......after all on other ships I've been on they now want tips and don't do anything but ask "what can I do for you". I believe all lines are cutting costs and have experienced this over 26 cruises since 1986 however none that are so bad to change my attitude about cruising. There should not be any reason HAL can't give the same level of service on a Vista class ship. Don't you think the move to a larger ship is a move to stay market competitive as well as increase the profit margin? The bigger the ship the bigger the revenue. Do you think tha HAL has delayed the obvious in learning that bigger brings more revenue like the other lines? What does eveyone elsse think? Love the industry and the thoughts on this board..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songhee Posted November 20, 2006 #2 Share Posted November 20, 2006 We were on the Panama trip on the Z last month and the experience was wonderful. At no time did we feel that we were on a ship with 1,800 guests and 800 staff. We would go into a lounge and find a dozen people and lots of empty seats in prime locations. There were always many empty lounge chairs, also in prime locations. Dining rooms were never full...embarkation and disembarkations were well run and speedy. It is a great ship and the size allows them to offer super entertainment and amenities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djallar Posted November 20, 2006 #3 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Also the level of service has dropeed on the Vista class...... We actually preferred the service and variety of the Westerdam as compared to the Maasdam. Everyone has their preferences... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtl513 Posted November 20, 2006 #4 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Do all veteran HAL cruisers believe that a 81,000 ton ship is sooooo big it cannot give the same level of service?IMHO, if the company believes in service it should deliver service. I was reading a negative post about the Westrdam and it seemed like the end result was "I won't take a Vista ship again". We were on the Westerdam in 9/05 and the Noordam in 6/06 and felt we had excellent service all over both ships, including the dining room. If anything, I think the d.r. service was somewhat better on the W'dam, but that may have been the "luck of the draw" on our waiter team. However, I believe that many of the best crew on the W'dam in '05 have since moved to the N'dam. We saw many that we recognized on the later cruise. Our only smaller HAL ship experience so far was on the Amsterdam 4 years ago, and to the best of my recollection that was not quite as good service as on the two Vistas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted November 20, 2006 #5 Share Posted November 20, 2006 There should not be any reason HAL can't give the same level of service on a Vista class ship. I disagree, as I believe there is a reason that the level of service is lower on a Vista-class (i.e. larger) ship. When I cruised the Noordam I realized that the lounge stewards had significantly more passengers to get to know that they do on the S- or even R-class ships. When they have more passengers they can't get to know them as well as when they have fewer passengers to service. On smaller ships I have been used to walking into a lounge and having my drink appear without asking---simply because the steward recognized me and knew my habits. This didn't happen on the Noordam. There may be the same ratio of passengers to stewards, but we did not know each other as well. Size does make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyk47 Posted November 20, 2006 #6 Share Posted November 20, 2006 It's hard, at least in my mind, to determine a direct cause and effect when comparing service on the different class HAL ships. No doubt our favorites are the S and R class. Most of our cruising has been on those two with only 1 Vista class cruise on the Oosterdam. Don't get me wrong, it was a good cruise, but the Oosterdam cruise was clearly not up to the standard of our previous and subsequent cruises. There could be all sorts of reasons why from crew-passengers ratios to management and every variations and theme in between or beyond. However, lacking any other measure, I go back to the basics and my overall cruise experience has just plain been better on the smaller ships. But and it's a big one.....that's me, that's not everybody and I take opinions, including my own, with a grain of salt. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong but the bottomline for me is that cruiselines and their ships are not "tube socks"....one size does not fit all. If that were true there'd only be one massive line with 100 plus ships all the same size, color, deck plans, etc., etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhannah Posted November 20, 2006 #7 Share Posted November 20, 2006 In my experience you can sail the same ship at differant times and get differant service as well as entertainment and staff attitudes. I believe you have hit on a key to this. When I sailed the Zuiderdam, it was in her first season. I noticed some difference from the Rotterdam, but it wasn't horrible. The crew was getting used to a new venue. I have since sailed all vistas but the Westerdam and experienced fine service on all of them. Service levels, like food, can be quite subjective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisnfool Posted November 20, 2006 Author #8 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Nice to hear comments so far that in general people feel the Vista class can offer a great level of service. I don't think its the size but more a group getting to know how to do a great job on a bigger ship......they may not remember my name but they can still give excellent service. I have found that when new ships start their innagural year the best of the best are placed on that ship as well as better entertainment....untill the next ship comes out. Personally I like the mid size ships but I also know that when they are bigger you can usually get better entertainment and onboard ammenities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy_Chief Posted November 20, 2006 #9 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I haven't traveled on the Noordam yet and have only been on the Rotterdam so I can't be specific until I sail in 3 weeks. I will report then for sure. With that said, some points may be worth speaking about. First, leadership at sea or in any business is a key to service. Poor leadership leads to poor morale which will have or could have a direct impactmon service a passsenger would receive. I doubt that has anything do do with the size of the ship or the number of passengers. As far as Bar Tenders getting to know you, it leads to how much you engage them in conversation. I have engaged the crew members in general with conversation because we share common ground, we have both spent long times at sea and I share my experiances with them and they always seem to remember me. I'd be willing to bet that if you talk to the crew, they will be even more responsive and remember you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimVrhovac Posted November 21, 2006 #10 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Ruth and I have been on many HAL cruises and will contiue to cruise with HAL. We have been on cruises that others have ripped to shreads on this board and wondered f we were on the same ship. I think it is unrealistic expectations on the part of some people. Have we had problems - YES - Were they always resolved to ou satisfaction - 90 % yes. Some people think the universe revolves around them and it does not. If you have realistic expectations and laugh off the small problems you will always have a great cruise. Jim & Ruth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomica Posted November 21, 2006 #11 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Is there a difference in service? Somewhat, but I see it as the other way around: I've had more prompt, personal service sailing on the Zuiderdam and Oosterdam than I did on my two Veendam trips. Now, crews on all the ships were extremely good, mind you. Regardless of ship class, the service is very attentive and well-rounded, and I don't think you'll have any problems. Enjoy your first HAL cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechcc Posted November 21, 2006 #12 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Have only sailed on Vista Class buttttttttttttt - if I frequent a certain bar more then twice, the bartender knows my drink of choice and makes it as soon as I arrive unless I give them an obvious sign I want something different. Every time the room steward has been excellent on the Vista Class. Both times the dining steward has been efficient, but not as personable as we have found on RCL. Worst time for feeling crowded is the Lido Buffet upon embarkation and the sail away party but is typical on any cruise on any size of ship. If the service is better on an R and S class then a Vista then we can't wait till our cruising experience and time lets us take a cruise in that class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candy Posted November 21, 2006 #13 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Last week we sailed the Zuiderdam for the 7th time, and I can honestly say we have noticed a decided increase in the level of service received. Officers, staff and crew are very proud of their ship, and make every effort to make their passengers comfortable and happy. The Vista class of ships is different in many ways... they are larger, more eclectic in decor, and geared a bit more to the younger, family-oriented cruiser. That doesn't say that the older crowd is overlooked, just that the energy level is a bit higher. The few negative reviews I have read were mostly when the Vista ships were new and Mariners were having a painful period of adjustment. Others were cruisers, in my opinion, who may have boarded with a bad attitude in the first place. We have sailed S, R and Vista ships as well as the old Westerdam and Noordam, and have had no less than excellent service on all. Candy the ZuiderPrinces and Sir James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted November 21, 2006 #14 Share Posted November 21, 2006 There are differences in ervice levels ship-to-ship, but it has nothing to do with ship size. Rather, it has more to do with the attitude, training and attention to detail of all staff from the Hotel Mgr on down. We had great service on the Prinsendam (the smallest HAL ship) and on the Oosterdam (a Vista-class) with a bit lower level on the Volendam (about 3 years ago). Still, overall, the service was excellent on all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. T & Amelie Posted November 21, 2006 #15 Share Posted November 21, 2006 There are differences in ervice levels ship-to-ship, but it has nothing to do with ship size. Rather, it has more to do with the attitude, training and attention to detail of all staff from the Hotel Mgr on down. Sounds logical. Agree with DaKrewser on this one (yikes, gettin scary). Hey Dave, keep on smilin;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted November 22, 2006 #16 Share Posted November 22, 2006 There are differences in ervice levels ship-to-ship, but it has nothing to do with ship size. Rather, it has more to do with the attitude, training and attention to detail of all staff from the Hotel Mgr on down. Sounds logical. Agree with DaKrewser on this one (yikes, gettin scary). Hey Dave, keep on smilin;) Check the Hades weather report - could be snow by morning! :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougandEric Posted November 22, 2006 #17 Share Posted November 22, 2006 Service is VERY subjective. You could be on the same ship on back to back cruises (not just HAL) and have great service one week then terrible service the next. Try to define where you received the bad service - steward, particular bar, dining room, etc. If you can, avoid that area. If not, take your complaint to the hotel manager. Some people LOVE to complain - it's their only joy in life - sad but true. Try what I do with reviews: Average out the positive reviews and the negative reviews. If the average is negative, I'm going to ASSUME a less than perfect cruise. If the average is positive, I'm going to ASSUME a better than average cruise. If ALL are negative - I would think twice about booking it at all. In addition, look at what is being complained about. Does that aspect matter to you ("My God, there are NO HOT APPETIZERS in the bars before dinner! How will I survive?????") or ("No one carried my tray to my table!"). If the majority are complaining about the Pinnacle Grill, don't go. Try to define what 'service' means to you and if you are left with an overall positive feel, then great. If not, you'll think twice next time. Don't let someone else's opinion make your decision on how you enjoyed a cruise. Also don't let one little aspect of 'service' ruin your whole trip. Just my 2 cents. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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