Weird experience with glassware on Rotterdam

[SarasMommy]

What happened to me on our Rotterdam cruise from Lisbon to Rio back in November 2005 was strange but kind of funny at the same time. Every morning I take a powdery medicine that I mix into a glass of water, which leaves residue in the glass. So the first morning on the ship, I used the glass from the holder in the bathroom, along with tapwater (which was fine). When I was finished, I put it back in the holder so it wouldn't be in the way, assuming it would be exchanged for a clean one by the steward. But when we returned to the cabin later that evening, the glass had not been exchanged. So the next morning, I put the same glass on the counter in the bathroom, thinking he would get the hint (I mixed my medicine up in the Lido that day, by the way). When we returned to the cabin in the evening, the same dirty glass was back in the holder. Then the next morning I took the glass out of the bathroom and put it on the vanity out in the cabin. Sure enough, when we returned in the evening, the glass was back in the holder in the bathroom! So the following morning, I took a more obvious approach and put the glass out in the hallway, like people do when they are finished with room service dishes. When we returned to the cabin, we were shocked to find that THE GLASS WAS BACK IN THE HOLDER!!! Maybe the policy is not to change them every day, but I thought for sure if it was visibly dirty they would get rid of it. And for the glass to be brought back into the cabin after sitting out in the hall for hours - that's just plain gross!

[jtl513]

It should not have happened, but after the first time I would have said something to the steward or stuck a note in the glass.

[Krazy Kruizers]

That definitely should not have happened. I know we would have said something to the cabin steward if that had happened to us.

[eh2zed]

In our experience used glasses are routinely replaced daily. I can only think the steward had some reason to think you needed to keep that glass. That doesn't make much sense but sometimes coming from a different culture causes a disconnect with our own.:) :) :D :D

[Cruising-along]

In our experience used glasses are routinely replaced daily. I can only think the steward had some reason to think you needed to keep that glass. That doesn't make much sense but sometimes coming from a different culture causes a disconnect with our own.:) :) :D :D

 

This was my first thought too. Too bad he didn't ask you about it though. :confused:

[jhannah]

So far as I can remember, ours have been replaced daily ... sometimes more than once a day ... on every cruise.

[FR926]

After the first Day I would have put a sticky note on it asking to have it replaced. I always carry some with me. Different cultures different way of doing things.

[SarasMommy]

I let it continue because I was curious just how long it would be until he changed it. It became a source of cheap amusement for us! Plus I didn’t mind getting water from the Lido because I found it tasted better anyway for some reason. But after the hallway incident, I obviously had to speak up.

Another strange thing that happened on that cruise: right in the middle of our cabin floor there was a hole under the carpet, about 2 inches deep and wide enough for my husband to fit his entire foot in. If we weren’t careful, it was easy to roll our ankles in it, especially for me when I wore heels on formal nights. We mentioned it to our steward and heard nothing more about it. A few days later we told the front desk, and when we returned to our cabin later that day, they had come up with a solution – they put a towel over it! So in addition to the hole, we also had a towel as a trip hazard!

[magictam]

I let it continue because I was curious just how long it would be until he changed it. It became a source of cheap amusement for us! Plus I didn’t mind getting water from the Lido because I found it tasted better anyway for some reason. But after the hallway incident, I obviously had to speak up.

 

Another strange thing that happened on that cruise: right in the middle of our cabin floor there was a hole under the carpet, about 2 inches deep and wide enough for my husband to fit his entire foot in. If we weren’t careful, it was easy to roll our ankles in it, especially for me when I wore heels on formal nights. We mentioned it to our steward and heard nothing more about it. A few days later we told the front desk, and when we returned to our cabin later that day, they had come up with a solution – they put a towel over it! So in addition to the hole, we also had a towel as a trip hazard!

 

So what happened after you spoke up? Did the steward offer a reasoning?

 

Just curious to why your posting these incidents after 2 years have almost passed. Is this thread so others will beware of traveling w/HAL, be amused about your story and share theirs or just negative comments about HAL.

 

I'm really not trying to be rude just trying to understand the point these stories.

[SarasMommy]

My reason for posting these incidents is likely the same as other people’s – to get feedback from fellow cruisers on something that I experienced on a cruise. No need to theorize on some ulterior motive. I didn’t realize I needed to justify it further. But since you asked…

The steward apologized and assured me that the glasses would be replaced every day. But since I got into the habit of getting water from the Lido, I never checked them again and couldn’t tell you if they were replaced for the duration or not. So my question to the forum was whether the policy is to only replace them periodically because they are usually only used for water, and not beverages like the minibar glasses. But based on the responses, it appears not.

As to why I am posting nearly 2 years later, I only discovered this site two weeks ago. It’s rather difficult to post on a website if you have no idea that it exists. Why am I still thinking about it almost two years later? On my recent Asia cruise they were extremely diligent about hygiene (hand sanitizer dispensers by every elevator, staircase and public room; requirement to use sanitizer before eating in the Lido and dining room, and when reboarding the ship; disposable wet wipes that we had to use every time to open public restroom doors), which was in contrast to my incident with the glass in the hallway.

As for why I added the story about the floor, the entire hallway floor in our section of the ship (main deck toward the stern on the starboard side) was raised about 2 inches, and I was curious if anyone on later cruises saw any reconstruction of this section, which would explain why it was in such bad condition. Also, I found the “solution” very humourous.

I’m sure not all reviews on this board are going to be glowing, hence the name of the site. But regarding HAL overall, as you can see from my signature these incidents have not deterred me from continuing to sail with them, and I plan on sailing HAL again within the next year or so.

HAL is among the best of the best, so enjoy the Noordam.