Statendam Review-12-06-04 to 12-21-04 (part 1)

[kygal]

First let me explain how this "adventure cruise" came about. My DH won a contest and was allowed to choose HIS adventure of a lifetime. We had 3 ideas in mind and were swayed toward this trip for various reasons. I actually work in the "performance side" of businesses and after reading alot about how great HAL was, we decided this would be perfect.

 

After booking the cruise and receiving our documents, we realized our flight was scheduled on the day AFTER the ship left (oops) so after a frantic call to our TA they straightened that out and we were back in business..Our flight for San Diego left at 7:00 am EST and we arrived in San Diego at 11:08..I can tell you, I worried that something would happen and we would NOT make this cruise, but we were right on time and met at the airport by an older man who told us to get our luggage ..pile it up and wait our turn..we would be on bus #3 to the ship..we waited..and waited ...and waited..and finally we were called to board the bus to the pier.

 

We didn't have too long of a wait once we got to the pier..as we were NOT registering our credit card we were told to stop in at the front desk to check and make sure our shipboard credits were secured! After having our picture taken, we made our way onboard..lugging our carryons..which were VERY heavy because we were told that our luggage may arrive later ..and so I packed them full of clothes..(great suggestion..but I had no idea how far we would have to carry them)..we were never met with the white glove treatment..was I disapointed? yes! Was I going to complain about something this simple..not in this lifetime!! Afterall, it could be worse..right?

 

By the time we reached the Lido, it was very crowded and so we just grabbed something to drink and headed up to the front office (I spent alot of time here in the next 15 days)...I was greeted by Melody who was very friendly..and I asked her if she could check to make sure our onboard credits were in place..to my amazement ..our account was EMPTY!!..Frantically, we called our TA who assured us the monies were sent to HA well in advance and she would straighten this out..at this point..I just really wanted to go home..but we were 2,000 miles away from home and exhausted...so I made a cash deposit and headed to our outside stateroom. It was very much like the pictures I have seen on the internet..it was clean and would be our home for the next 15 days. I was shocked to find a crack in the mirror in the living area...(just what we need ..7 years of bad luck.. :( ..this was never fixed while we were onboard.)

 

...more to come..I have an injured finger and it is taking me forever to type this with nine fingers :rolleyes: so please bear with me..and any spelling errors I make along the way

[Pincus]

Thanks, kygal, looking forward to your next installment...hope the injured finger gets better soon.

[kygal]

Our "opinions" on this cruise.

 

EMBARKATION - was not bad for us..of course we didn't have anything to compare it to..but have been told by many that it was a "nightmare" for them!

OUR STATEROOM- we had an Outside Cabin..and found it to be larger than we expected. It was clean when we arrived the only "complaint" I had was with the crack in the mirror. I do alot of business traveling and have never stayed in a "cheap" hotel with a broken mirror. I really didn't expect to find one on the Statendam..and NO this didn't "ruin" our cruise..it is just an observation!

 

Our room steward was very friendly and always seemed to have a smile on his face. He has a tough job and I sure don't envy him! We did miss him for several days while onboard and found out later he was sick. We will never forget his kindness, or his smile.

 

**DINING** We loved the Lido...the crew was always smiling..and especially friendly! I caught myself several times just watching them carrying tray loads of food..when I could barely walk a straight line when we had several "rough" sea days!! In the main dining room..we were at a table of 8 and IF I didn't know better I would swear some of Dr. FeelGoods passengers also snuck on our cruise!! The youngest person at our table was 83 and we simply felt "out of place" with them. So we did NOT eat in the dining room often, mostly because there was always a debate of some kind going on and we simply chose NOT to debate with them. I do wish I had counted how many times we heard "We are spending our money so our CHILDREN can't get their hands on it" ..I was of course tempted to wear my NEW T-Shirt that reads: Who needs a job when you have the "Bank Of Daddy" but I decided that might just add fuel to their fire!..There was one gentleman (and I will use that term lightly) who ordered SEVERAL drinks every night with dinner and they NEVER got them right the first time ..so they would keep bringing them back to him...(free of charge of course)...just a hint in case anyone NEEDS a free drink ..LOL!! He was also very concerned with the fact that we would HAVE to pay taxes on this trip..again I was tempted to tell him I hadn't paid taxes in ten years..and was not about to change my ways now...(of course I DO pay my taxes ..but..why he felt the urge to CONSTANTLY remind us of this..I will NEVER know)..We did meet a GREAT couple from Canada who were in their mid eighties and they sure didn't look OR act 80ish..they had been on many cruises on Holland and were very helpful to us!

Room Service: We really used room service alot-skipping several of the "formal nights"and most of the dinner meals because frankly we would have rather went to the dentist than debate with the people we were seated with! The food was always good ..and yes we always tipped them! We did find out at the END of the cruise we could have requested a new table...that would have been NICE!

ART AUCTIONS: STAY AWAY!! ALERT!! SCAM!! UNLESS you just need a glass or two of champagne!! We received an "advertisement" under our door advertising a "Sports Memorabilia" and "Comic Cell" auction. Since I am an avid collector..we went~ for an hour we watched ...lithograph and oil paintings being auctioned...there were NO sports..NO Comic cells...and then..just when things were looking down we WON a FREE RAFFLE! How exciting!! We practically RAN to claim our beautiful piece of art..and were informed that we needed to "frame" this..well of course I WILL frame it..I could "frame" it myself....but ..NO..we needed to PAY THEM to frame it..WHAT?!?!? ..OK..I took the bait and asked just how much the framing would be...a mere $300.00...PLUS SHIPPING! I simply had to pass on this "FREE" painting..IF I pulled something like this in my neighborhood..I would be sued..plain and simple! I did aproach the auctioneer and ask him WHERE the sports memorabilia was...he said..that was YESTERDAY..:eek: But he did offer to look up a few items on the computer for me...

 

**I apologize for taking so long to continue about our journey...but we have had many real-life issues to deal with**

 

much more to come...

[gizmo]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. I enjoyed it.

[Sage]

I'm so sorry that cruising wasn't the experience you had hoped for. Thank you for posting your thoughts on the cruise.

[Traveller1]

Hi Kygal--I was re reading some posts and read how you had asked various questions abt HAL and then wrote abt yr cruise part one and two back in 2004/5---I couldnt find any more --but what I did read sounded like you had not had a wonderful time with the whole cruise experience. Did I miss the rest of it? Do you have any more to add? So sorry if it has put you off for ever (and would really like to know what else happened)--if you are still around and posting.

 

Many thanks