The best staff ever

Hi.

I am recently back from my 1st Alaska cruise on the Statendam. I cruise with many different lines so have a wide knowledge of what to expect. The ship I believe is moving to P&O so I could see some things that were allowed to slip a little but nothing important enough to cause any concern. We have always cruised in warmer climates so on the 1st 2 days I thought have I done the right thing what with the rain and colder than I am used to. This feeling soon disappeared though and we had one of the best times of our lives. I still have post cruise blues after 2 weeks lol. I had heard the entertainment was very poor but I loved the piano player Justin, the guitar player who's name escapes me and the Hal cats. Some of the shows were not my thing but that's normal. The food was OK I have had worse and better so no complaints. Alaska was amazing and we are going back without a doubt. We met some wonderful people on the cruise who I will keep in touch with. This helps make a cruise as when you meet people like we did. As I said we have cruised with many lines and I have to say the staff on here were the best ever, they were amazing. We always tip extra for people who stand out, this cruise cost me a fortune on tips they were all brilliant. I have never had bad staff but these guys WOW. Even the cruise director Ross was special. He told rubbish jokes but his manner around the ship was excellent. You see some directors who speak and you can tell by there body language they can,t wait to be away from you. He was not like that, he had time for everyone. He also done me a big favor. We were celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary onboard and while talking to him at the bar and while my wife had wandered off somewhere I had a thought is it 33 or 34 so as I was getting a cake made I though I better get it right or I could be in trouble. I told him this so when my wife came back he asked her how long we had been married. Men are not daft. There was also a young lady called Erin who worked really hard at doing all the activities. She was a lovely little thing and again had time for everyone. We had a brilliant time and tank you HAL for an experience we will never forget and as I say we will be back.

Billy.

Thank you for your review.

I am surprised that you still had the HAL Cats on your ship. Most ships now have "The Band".

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

Congratulations on your 34th anniversary.

Hi.

...................................but I loved the piano player Justin, the guitar player who's name escapes me and the Hal cats. ................................

SADM's solo guitarist is Michael Simons

Thank you for your review.

 

I am surprised that you still had the HAL Cats on your ship. Most ships now have "The Band".

 

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

 

Congratulations on your 34th anniversary.

Since the ship is "moving on" to another line, perhaps they did not bother to change some things.

Thanks for your review. Glad you enjoyed yourselves.

Thanks very much for sharing. The crew are one of the reasons that a lot of us return to HAL :)

Thank you for your review. We spent 15 days on the Statendam in April and I thought the crew was the best part of that cruise.

The crew is regularly the primary reason we appreciate HAL cruises more than any others.

Thank you for taking the time to do a review.

Hal's crew is wonderful and are the main reason we go back to HAL often. Glad you had a great time!

...We always tip extra for people who stand out, this cruise cost me a fortune on tips they were all brilliant.

I knew I was doing something wrong, I should have been tipping!

How much is a "fortune on tips"? I figured it was all included, but now I see I was mistaken. Maybe I could have gotten one of the tables in the main dinning that was under the A/C, adjacent to the serving station if I would have greased the palm of the right person..

Maybe you could explain who to tip and when... to get the most out of the trip. Or maybe we should start a whole new thread?

Slightly off topic, is there a difference between a "tip" and a "payoff"?

I'm glad you found the secret to a successful cruise. I, OTOH, was one of the 26% who found the experience not one to be recommended.

I knew I was doing something wrong, I should have been tipping!

 

How much is a "fortune on tips"? I figured it was all included, but now I see I was mistaken. Maybe I could have gotten one of the tables in the main dinning that was under the A/C, adjacent to the serving station if I would have greased the palm of the right person..

 

Maybe you could explain who to tip and when... to get the most out of the trip. Or maybe we should start a whole new thread?

 

Slightly off topic, is there a difference between a "tip" and a "payoff"?

 

I'm glad you found the secret to a successful cruise. I, OTOH, was one of the 26% who found the experience not one to be recommended.

I am glad that the OP had a great cruise, so much so that he decided to tip extra to the people who made it extra special for him. It is nice to hear that people appreciate the "extra" service that HAL normally provides.

Congrats on 34 years. We are coming up on 10 this October...

Also, bonus points for the use of the word "daft", which is totally underused in the US. ...

(I loved Scotland last Summer on a land based journey... would love to go back)

What a nice review. Thanks for sharing with us.

Happy Anniversary and wishes for many more years together in good health and happiness.

Congrats on 34 years. We are coming up on 10 this October...

 

Also, bonus points for the use of the word "daft", which is totally underused in the US. ...

 

(I loved Scotland last Summer on a land based journey... would love to go back)

Glad you enjoyed Scotland. Welcome back any time. Some of the scenery in Alaska reminded me of Scotland.

I have spent 56 days on the Statendam this year on three different cruises. I can not agree more with the OP. This is the best crew I have sailed with. We had a great time.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience. I will be on the Statendam in a few weeks and I love hearing about other people's cruises. I'm glad to hear that the staff was so good to you. I love that. I always tip extra at the end of the cruise to the people who provided great service. I better bring some extra cash!

Thanks again. I'm anxious to go on my cruise!