janisutx

i bet if a hal ship sank some would say that those lousy pas. Opened the sea cocks and let the water in. Maybe it's best if they sail empty.

lol

Hi Portas, we missed you after you left... we got very noisy neighbours for the 4 days:( I hear you about some of the comments - amazed that some here think we were all lying:eek: One of our roll call is heading down to Seattle tomorrow to deal with them in person, and he is definitely not a happy cruiser! Maybe after this cruise they will finally do something to fix the problems once and for all, given the number of incidents and complaints. The ship needs to be dry-docked for an extended period and not just getting band-aid fixes.

Thanks to all of you who posted about the plumbing and AC problems on the Zuiderdam. It is a big help to other CC members even if some want to deny reality. As long as too many just take it and keep booking poorly maintained ships, HAL won't change.

I think you can expect nothing but positive reports about the Zuiderdam from Lisa. The PR machine is at work. James Deering is failing in his duties as Hotel Manager but it was interesting to watch some of the intense conversations taking place. In his eyes, and that transcends to his front office staff, the customer is always wrong. He is well aware of all the criticism on Cruise Critic and I am positive he is taking steps to dilute some of it.

Why would it be James Deering's fault if HAL isn't willing to commit the resources to fix the plumbing and AC problems? He is just an employee and can only ask for what he needs to do his job. I saw him only once on the Thanksgiving 2005 sailing on the Zuiderdam. He met with the CC group one afternoon. He was so open and honest when answering our questions. HAL is lucky to have him. I am sorry passengers are having to put up with the deficiencies but doubt the real problem is staff related. It sounds like maintenance delayed too long to me.

Carnival Splendor 2009

We were lucky to have them for 49 days. Luis is from Columbia.

<a href="http://s983.photobucket.com/albums/ae312/janisutx/?action=view&current=100_0454.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae312/janisutx/100_0454.jpg" border="0" alt="Brix and Luis"></a>

I am going to check into these tours to see if they will pick up a group at the port and modify the hours to work with our port schedule. The link is:

http://www.viator.com/Canary-Islands-tours/Day-Trips-and-Excursions/d231-g5

What do you think Joe and Dee?

Hi, I'm looking for the same information. I booked a private tour for Lisbon yesterday so Tenerife is next. I am still waiting on a response from the Gibraltar TA too, They must be very busy and a Dec. tour is a low priority. Good luck to us all.