Interlopers on Koningsdam Thalassotherapy Pool/Thermal Suites?

As quoted by LesMartini in a review of the Koningsdam dated 07/26/16:

Thermal Suite offer for our first 7 days Cruising Norway - there were six of us who joined and there was a limit of 60 passengers who had admittance to this area, we were all easily identifiable by our Spa gowns (which differed from the ones in the Cabins) and the blue locker band around our wrists. After a day or two the lounging area in particular became more and more crowded especially with people who had paid nothing as they arrogantly used the facilities for nothing, to avoid confrontation many people reported these people to the spa reception only to have the whole matter ignored and not dealt with. Subsequently a lot of money would have been lost in this area as because of these interlopers and the inability of the staff to control their intrusion, none of us renewed our subscriptions for the next 14 days of the cruise. This will never be resolved without a card entry to the Thermal Suite.

Is this common on the other Dam ships? I'm wondering why we should pay for the access when others use without payment. Any insight on why personnel do not enforce the policies?

Many thanks on any input.

As quoted by LesMartini in a review of the Koningsdam dated 07/26/16:

 

Thermal Suite offer for our first 7 days Cruising Norway - there were six of us who joined and there was a limit of 60 passengers who had admittance to this area, we were all easily identifiable by our Spa gowns (which differed from the ones in the Cabins) and the blue locker band around our wrists. After a day or two the lounging area in particular became more and more crowded especially with people who had paid nothing as they arrogantly used the facilities for nothing, to avoid confrontation many people reported these people to the spa reception only to have the whole matter ignored and not dealt with. Subsequently a lot of money would have been lost in this area as because of these interlopers and the inability of the staff to control their intrusion, none of us renewed our subscriptions for the next 14 days of the cruise. This will never be resolved without a card entry to the Thermal Suite.

Is this common on the other Dam ships? I'm wondering why we should pay for the access when others use without payment. Any insight on why personnel do not enforce the policies?

 

Many thanks on any input.

I can't comment on the Koningsdam, but on the other ships we have had spa access (that we paid for), you showed your card as you went in (except for one very small ship where they knew us by sight after time went on;) )

On the Westerdam, there was a star placed on my key card. They took the key card to exchange it for the locker which held the bathrobes, etc.

All other HAL ships we have been on have a "card entry" system to access the Thermal Suite. You exchange your cabin key card for a spa card at the main spa desk.

Unfortunately the lay out and design of the Spa area on the Koningsdam is a bit flawed. Some things like the Mens and Women's Saunas were like they were an afterthought. It is extremely easy to by pass the Spa Desk and just walk into the Thermal Suite area. While I did pay for the week pass after the first time I did not stop by the desk, I did not need a locker and just wore my own bathing suit coverup. The people you saw in the Thermal Suite may have done the same thing and may have also paid for the full week. So unless you asked them really hard to say or accuse someone for not paying for it.

Wow! IMO a lot of $$ being lost. Now that we're aware of this we'll be calling ship services

to cancel this package.

Thanks for the input.

I most certainly paid the fee for the week and booked in at the desk each time. However, because I am partially disabled I arrived in my gown from the cabin and did not use the changing room (although I was given a key). It was much easier for me to use the sunbeds and then go back to the cabin to change back. As well as not wearing the gown I also had my key in the pocket of the bag I carried my book in.

Certainly on the cruise we were on I thought the spa was very underused.. On the occasions I went in the pool there were never more than three others, and the heated beds were never full.

Wow! IMO a lot of $$ being lost. Now that we're aware of this we'll be calling ship services

to cancel this package.

 

Thanks for the input.

Why?

I'm not sure how it is set up on the K but on the Oosterdam (Oct/Nov 2015) you had to check in each time at the spa desk with your room key and get a spa key card to enter the thermal suite and the pool. You have to leave your cabin key at the desk so there is no way to just keep the spa card unless you never want back in your cabin! Also there was a sticker on the back of your card indicating you have access. Also, we never used a locker so I don't see how the reviewer can use the lack of a blue locker band as evidence that the person didn't pay. As for the spa gowns... I never even saw those!:rolleyes: I will say though that many people didn't use the spa the first few days or last few days but it was heavily used in the middle of the voyage.

Why?

If you were paying a substantial fee for uncrowded use of a special facility and you learned that, because of lax controls, that facility would be crowded by a lot of people who were not paying for it, wouldn't you consider cancelling it?

If you were paying a substantial fee for uncrowded use of a special facility and you learned that, because of lax controls, that facility would be crowded by a lot of people who were not paying for it, wouldn't you consider cancelling it?

Precisely. Why would one need to pay for a flaw in that system when it could be had for free?

I suspect that this is just another teething problem with the Koningsdam that will get sorted out in due course.

I never wore a spa gown in the Thermal Spa area. I always wore my own swimsuit cover to the Spa so that is no reason for suspecting interlopers.

It's a bit presumptious to assume just because someone isn't wearing a locker band or spa robe that they are not paying ... Some of us don't use the lockers. On one occasion I saw a person who hadn't paid asked to leave the thermal suite, I got the impression staff members soon got to know who was supposed to be there.

The card entry system is an easy way to control access. What someone is wearing does not become the issue. Another thing for"the "K" is different" list. Will be interesting to see if they change this in the future.

If you were paying a substantial fee for uncrowded use of a special facility and you learned that, because of lax controls, that facility would be crowded by a lot of people who were not paying for it, wouldn't you consider cancelling it?

No. Not cancel so I could sneak in and use it without paying.

If it was crowded I might consider cancelling and finding some other quiet place to hang out.

As quoted by LesMartini in a review of the Koningsdam dated 07/26/16:

 

there were six of us who joined and there was a limit of 60 passengers who had admittance to this area,

It's a bit presumptious to assume just because someone isn't wearing a locker band or spa robe that they are not paying ... Some of us don't use the lockers. On one occasion I saw a person who hadn't paid asked to leave the thermal suite, I got the impression staff members soon got to know who was supposed to be there.

Agree and would also have my doubts about the 60 guests limitation. Never known these spa operators turning down an easy buck.

Agree and would also have my doubts about the 60 guests limitation. Never known these spa operators turning down an easy buck.

They were quite strict about it on the Westerdam when I used it. The limit was 25/35 (I forget which) and the hydrotherapy pool and thermal suites never seemed crowded. I mainly used the pool and only on rare days were there 4 or 5 people in there with me. Sometimes, in fact, I was the only one.

Depending upon how proportionately larger the thermal suites and pool are on the KI, 60 might be too many people? Hard to say.

We have never used the spa, but I have watched as people exchanged their ID cards for the spa cards on various ships we have been on.

It is a shame that the same policy isn't being enforced on the Koningsdam.

Actually I should have said in my post that this was on the Koningsdam. I think the limit on Rotterdam and the other S/~R class ships was 30 people, but would be pretty sure that there were not sixty on the K cruise I was on. I know you do not get everyone there at once, but it seemed so easy to get a heated bed on K as against the others where at certain times of the day it would be crowded - never were all the beds taken on K. ~They were strict about signing in, so much so they insisted on giving you a locker key, where on previous ships they only gave you one when needed. It is also true as someone else has said that the attendants learn who people are very quickly.

I just wonder if on that particular cruise it was a special arrangement for a group to use it on certain days.

On the recent Fjords sailing on the K'dam the thermal pool was often not crowded (especially on the North Sea crossing heading out) but on at least one occasion when my wife was there it was very crowed with folk that simply walked in the back door to the area from the Lido pool area instead of using the 'main' door where there was a person to check that you had paid for access. The Lido access issue was only observed on one occasion of the times we used the area, but it was an annoyance given what was paid for 'exclusive' use.

The basic question is, why does the K'dam not have a card entry system? Easy to control, eliminates the second guessing, maybe this will be changed.

The basic question is, why does the K'dam not have a card entry system? Easy to control, eliminates the second guessing, maybe this will be changed.

It does seem odd, considering that the card entry system is used on all the other ships. Did nobody notice that it works well???

Just an observation: the original poster assumed that those additional people were "interlopers" and getting to use the spa for free. At no time did he say that he was inconvenienced, or didn't have access to the features that he wanted to use. He complained to the spa attendants, and they didn't throw anybody out, so maybe they weren't interlopers at all. No harm, no foul.

My Husband and I have used the thermal suites pass on multiple sailings and the process is the same--they identify your cabin key with something like a sticker and you exchange that for a spa key which gives you access to the pools, thermal suites, etc. The problem is that one can easily access those areas without a spa key. The doors do not always lock or are not always closed. Many times, we accessed the areas without having to use the spa card. We plan to use the thermal suites on Koningsdam this December so I hope there is no problem. It is really one of our favorite things about HAL.