cruz chic

I didn't notice it being shabby in feb but I did have toilet flushing issues.

Thank you for the conclusion to your journey. Will be looking forward to your world cruise thread.

no worries - no has to agree with me :D To be clear, I didn't expect an answer from Mr. Kruse. My concern is that the answer that was posted sounds like the same generic answer we got regarding the wine issue. I don't put a lot of faith in standard, generic answers. That's all.

 

I worked in a corporation with as many employees (if not more) as mentioned above and if a complaint letter was received, it was read and answered. The answers were not a 'standard statement'.

 

This was a billion dollar corporation that believed the customer was important and knew who contributed to the bottom line.

 

I guess I got spoiled by a corporation that listened to their clients;) Just my two cents:D

 

edited to say - the answers were not necessarily written by the President of course - but believe it or not, he did insist on seeing the letters. They all had personalized responses.

I think I remember you saying you worked in the banking industry. Clearly it wasn't the royal bank because their customer service is beyond pathetic.

Have a great cruise.

Next two cruises...one on Celebrity, the other on Princess.

 

Won't cruise on Veendam or Zuiderdam. HAL...fix these dam ships.

Keep wanting to try Noordam but the stars don't seem to align.

The Noordam isn't all that either. There used to be raves about that ship but there were several of us that were disappointed with it in February.. My toilet had flushing issues. My favs are the Oosterdam and Eurodam.

It could be that HAL is looking at who is buttering their bread. When going through the thread "What won't you do?" it's pretty obvious many repeat cruisers don't do a lot of things that generate onboard revenue.

I don't mean you personally, just in general.:)

Haven't read that thread. I put a lot of butter on their bread. I can just as easily butter someone's bread that appreciates it.

The OP in her initial post stated:

 

"Guess what? The pricing I was quoted and the amenities offered were exactly the same as those offered on the general website. I asked the agent to double check again "my" special mariner price, gave her the promo code again and she confirmed that the price she had quoted me was correct and she did not have any explanation for this price being the same as the one quoted on the general website."

 

My similar experience also when I returned in June. Truth is my brother who is a one star mariner gets more email and mailings with special pricing than I do and I am a four star working on five. But that may not be a bad thing not receiving them. Sorry Lisa my HAL loyalty attitude has change over the course of the last several months so please forgive me for this negative comment.

 

bob

I'm SO with you on this. It's very tiresome. Prices on Princess are always MUCH better for me when I sign in. HAL needs to appreciate who is buttering their bread or someone else will. They do not have me in the bag.

In my mind, cuts have been made to keep the HAL prices compatable with what the public/customer base is willing to pay.

The Alaskan cruise itinerary we took a number of years ago was less expensive this year than we paid back then.

 

I do wonder if the new group will allow mariner points to be used interchangeably like RCCL and Celebrity do.

Prices for Alaska this year were very reasonable. I took the Eurodam repositioning from Quebec to Fort Lauderdale. That price was very high until HAL did it's usual give away the farm after final payment so I think you have to compare apples to apples.

Just a quick note, before we head down to breakfast: a couple more changes that we’re happy about: rather than a sheet of information about the upcoming port we’ve been given a very nice little booklet that has similar information about each port of this journey, each location front and back of the same sheet. I guess you could tear it out and take it along but the booklet’s too nice to do that! The port agent information is there, the local map, a few local attractions, etc. And, from the program for today, it appears that once again we’ll have a 10 pm show option. It may not continue, but while we have it, we’re happy about that.

 

Dinner (formal) for both of us was the lamb option last night, very tasty, and the chocolate soufflé was a lovely ending.

 

Cabo today. We’ve been here many times and would not usually stir up much interest, but it’s been a long time since we’ve sailed out to the end of the point for some new photos, so we’re going to do that.

That booklet has been on my cruises for the last couple years. I like it but have heard people complain.

I don't think we've ever had that kind of email. :confused:

Because like me, you always have another cruise booked. That will teach us a lesson:rolleyes:.

I'm still waiting for my special low offer. Maybe it will happen after my April cruise unless I'm stupid and book another HAL cruise before then.

I simply can't imagine bringing recipes from home and then ordering them made special on a cruise. But then, I usually order salt free meals the day before. I get the menu the night before and circle what I want. Then I can add a little salt on my own.

Lorene...try www.foodnetwork.com and search for "tuna" (I just did it). There's a recipe for pan seared tuna with avocado and soy sauce that sound very good...and easy, too! I have never made tuna but might give this a try!

Thx ladies :)

I cook a lot and am always trying new recipes I see on Food Network. Having said that, it seems really weird to me to bring recipes from home to have them cook for me. DH and I are happy trying what I offered on the menu and experiencing new things.

Me too, I usually like to cook and bake. But the cleaning up - ugh.

Another reason to love cruises - great food, no work.

Sorry this is off topic but I bought some tuna (frozen not canned). Do either of you have a recipe for cooking it that is not to complicated? I had tuna one night on the cruise and I swear it was the best meal I had in the MDR.

I'll bet you do have stories, I know I have a boatload of them as well.....I have been thru the wringer over the last 42 years, let me tell you.....;)

I think we need to meet on a cruise some day:).

Unfortunately, yes it does.........

......and 95 percent of the time it's held true unless I work with an unusually high rate of people that really don't care. I could tell stories.

When we had our tour of the QM2 a year ago we were taken into the top level dining room. (Name escapes me). The person giving the tour explained that passengers could bring their favourite recipes from home and the chef would prepare them. Impressive or what?:)

I'm thinking those pax pay a shipload of money for their staterooms so that's likely why it happens. That said, I rarely eat anything impressive at home so I can't imagine what I would want them to cook.

It's those few that probably return to write a terrible review. Just saying it pays to be nice and why not. We really enjoy the crew.

 

Only pet peeve on our recent cruise, which you were on, was why can't people wait for people to exit the elevator before trying to aggressively get on board.

I thought the crew was awesome for the most part on the Eurodam. They seemed to be very happy which is great.

I didn't notice that too much about the elevator but it happens a lot here. That bug the heck out of me.

Sorry to hear you missed out on them.

We've been lucky, it seems. :)

 

I think the server was not happy when I asked sorta like isn't there enough here already:D. When I was on the Oosterdam I got the peeps that were sitting around me at the party hooked on them. Hopefully they will have them on the Westerdam. A plate with bitterballen and a panama roll and I'll be good to go:D;). I think I'm suffering from food withdrawal from the cruise. Funny thing when I was on the ship I got sick of eating a lot quicker than I normally do. I'm never happy:D.

I have to add to this thread that in many cases the request for a dish was just a casual conversation." Is this on the menu this cruise?" " Missed a good menu item the other night."

 

It was the MDR staff that made suggestions like "would you like to have it" after a casual statement like "wish we could have been here last night as we missed this."

 

The main reason we continue to book Dam cruises is the crews that are always trying to make our cruise a very special experience.

 

Good nuts every formal night and appetizers offered at every lounge for pre dinner cocktails. It does help to be friendly and be courteous to those working there butts off for you.

I think it's funny when people suggest that people be friendly. I think most folks that I meet on a cruise are. Then there are folks that are just obnoxious that don't realize it.

Yes and Yes. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAL has served bitterballen as hors d'ouerves for as long as we have sailed with them. I can't remember a cruise we didn't have some either in Ocean Bar before dinner or at a cocktail party....... You likely have eaten them and didn't realize it or didn't know what they were called. :)

 

I really like bitterballen. :)

 

There was no bitterballen on the Eurodam at the VIP party. That is the only place I've seen them.

Thx for the update.

OHCruiser - You just answered the question I was about to ask. If upsells come to those who book directly with HAL as often as those that book through a TA. Cherie

You'll have TA's say it's not true but in my experience it's way more likely to happen when booking thru Hal.

I so agree. With all the fancy and expensive imported brands out there, good old domestic See's simply cannot be beat. We always pick up a box at the airport for any housewarming gifts we might need alone the way. Last box ended up being a gift for our wonderful Sister Cities guide in Kotor, Montenegro.

 

We all have our own special talents, but mine is being able to identify the fillings in at least 90% of all See's candies from their outside shape and signature markings after a life time of loving this brand. :p

 

When I was younger this meant being able to avoid the dreaded marzipan. Now that my tastes have matured a lot more, that is one of the first ones I go for, but only after taking all the marshmallow-caramel ones for myself first. I also had a pretty strong Bordeaux Creme stage too for years.

We don't have sees in Canada so they are a special treat. The marshmallow caramel is my favorite.