cruz chic

Ahoy!

 

Just adding this to this thread, I too have noticed that the smaller ice cubes provided by HAL have not been as cold as the larger ones from prior cruises.

 

I've written Mr. Kruise about this development and have yet to recieve a written reply, a voucher or future upgrade.

 

Fancy that!

 

Seriously, there are other cruise lines out there. If folks are unhappy with HAL then perhaps a 'break out' would be in order.

 

Bon Voyage, Good Health Happy Holidays!

Bob

With a due respect just because there are a few things you don't like you should jump ship? For me, there is a breaking point. I don't think anything will ever be 100 percent.

High rent,,low rent districts could be different zones. I would think it could be possible to spend more time/money maintaining specific areas on the ship.;)

Absolutely! I'm pretty sure they would tend to fix problems a lot quicker in the PH then an inside room.

That is not logical, mechanically speaking. The ac is a chilled water system, and is piped in different zones running off of different chilling units, so when cold water circulation is lost for whatever reason, either a chiller or circulating pump failure, the entire zone is down, regardless of the prices of cabins in that ac zone. The only part of the system that is specific to your cabin is the evaporator coil and fan unit, which is located in the ceilings, behind the access panel.

I'm not an a/c specialist so I can't dispute what you are saying. I know one thing, you can feel the difference in temp walking down a hallway. When I've been on the upper floors or R and S class ship I've never feel warm like I do on the lower decks. I always thought it was odd because heat rises.

I'm anxious to hear about these rules? The only "rule" I know of is not taking food off in port. That is not a cc rule. Could the OP please let us know what that means?

We have sailed HAL many times and only once encountered this - it was fixed promptly. I am at the point that I think it's how hard you complain and how you complain (nicely - but firmly). The head of housekeeping ended up in the room and DH who is not usually a complainer said he couldn't sleep in those conditions and it wasn't what we paid for - I don't know what they did - but it was fixed!

 

At the same time, I am getting worried that we lucked out and what happens next time. Nevertheless off we go with three cruises booked. I have to say, that the old ship theory doesn't work for me. The oldest ship in the fleet is the one I have ever had the least issues with :) And the Elegant Explorer is on our itinerary once again.

 

The biggest issue we had was on the Nieuw Amsterdam and it was barely 6 months old:eek:

I don't think you can compare the Prinsendam to other ships. Also, I'm fairly sure they would make sure the a/c is functioning in the more expensive cabins on the ship before they do the cheap seats. That just makes financial sense for HAL.

I remember sailing on the ryndam back when it still did the Mexican Rivera. That was several years ago. I had a cabin with non functioning a/c for almost the whole cruise. It was a problem in the whole area of cabins on the LP deck near the back iirc. This is one reason why I tend to stay with the newer ships. Hopefully less chance for problems. Hal needs to address these long standing issues on their ships.

I've learned not to go to the spa on a ship because they do a lousy job. I never get a sales pitch at a spa here. How sad that just because you go to one it's ok to be hassled. Sorry but I don't get that.

Looking forward to reading all about it.

Great upgrade!! I'd be very happy with that as well. Hoping for the same...

 

We booked the lowest inside for our Dec. 16th cruise on the Noordam, but I called the TA Thursday of last week and got an excellent up sell to a VH guarantee for only $20pp. We sail one week from today and still don't have a cabin assignment yet. I took the up sell behind my partner's back and plan to keep it a surprise until we board, but of course it's driving me crazy not knowing what cabin we're in and if we'll get an upgrade.

Wow, that is the cheapest upsell I've ever heard of! Have a wonderful cruise.

I could have sworn I posted here last night - must not have hit the "submit" button. Anyways, my opinion is that caviar is pretentious and yukky, and no more than fish eggs on toast. It used to be commonly served at functions where I lived in the UK years ago and I avoided it every time.:(

I don't mind caviar but I sure hate escargot! I do love the Caesar salad made tableside. It's way better than the MDR stuff.

Thanks for answering my water question and also your latest updates. I look forward to your thread every day.

We have always had nothing but outstanding service from the wine stewards.

I could be wrong but I thought you had mentioned that you don't drink. Am I confused?

Crazy about sending the steward to confirm the toilet was overflowing. Like someone wouldn't know what an overflowing toilet would look like:eek::rolleyes:. Call again in a hour:confused:. I would not be happy. I'm so glad that I'm booked on the Westerdam instead of the Z for my 2014 Canal cruise.

Thx for your live from thread. I'm enjoying it. Sorry about your kitty.

Are there self-serve machines? What is the cost?

No, not on the Z.

I'd be very happy with that. Enjoy your cruise!

Sorry to hear the heat got to you. It is the type of heat that has to be experienced to be believed. :eek:

If you haven't cancelled your full transit yet you should consider that you can do some good viewing in comfort from the Lido restaurant and from the Crow's Nest. You don't have to suffer the heat. It is just such an amazing experience and a partial transit is only a teaser.

You can also alternate viewing from inside and outside which helps. There is also such a great friendly roll call going.

I have to agree with you. Nothing like a full transit.

Wow - I would have spoken to the maitre d' - that is totally unacceptable. We only brought 2 bottles of wine aboard, and those were reserved for our in room use. I knew that Celebrity had a good wine list so we purchased our dinner wine in the dining room.

 

Unfortunately it only takes one or two sub-par employees to spoil your cruise experience.

I didn't think of speaking with the maître d' although I should have. This was kinda the way the entire cruise went and why I'm not too excited about sailing with celebrity again.

Interesting comment about celebrity. I brought a bottle on and paid the $25 corkage fee. I couldn't get them to serve it. When I had it the second night they brought it out and literally slammed it on the table with no ice bucket. It was a white wine so it needed to be chilled. The me, that is unexceptable.

Enjoyed your review very much. I'm not one for reading long reviews but yours was the perfect length.

We've had good & bad ... but prefer to have a wine "attendant" than not ...

One night we were waiting for the "attendant" to come back and refill my glass, and Mr Chew took matters into his own hands and poured it himself (he doesn't drink wine himself so it was kind of funny, but you had to be there to get the joke) ... a few minutes later the "attendant" came by and scolded Mr Chew about it and said that only the "attendants" were allowed to pour ... needless to say, that didn't go over very well, and didn't stop any of us from pouring our own wine after that.

Oh please! They should get their butt over there then. I always explain to the wine steward that I don't want to see the bottom of my glass. Some understand that, others don't. On one cruise the wine steward was standing around making origami animals and taking pics for people while my glass was empty. When I buy a 5 or 7 bottle wine package I'd like to drink it. Maybe the service is intensionally bad so they get to keep the extra wine.

Since we mostly cruise on Princess , they don't have wine stewards . The table stewards deal with bring and pouring the wine for you. But if there was a wine steward I would probably like the assistance.

.....and they are way more efficient than Hal is as well.

I'm assuming the OP is kidding.

Now you're talking:D.

I would think the 900 would include everyone on board whether they got a lower rate or not.