bermuda triangle

I agree Ruth. I think they made a bad situation worse for all involved. What is the big deal about saying you are number. X . At least it allows paying customers to know what they are paying for in advance. And it gives them the option before final payment to know if they will go or cancel.

Laura

My TA is not the easiest to get a hold of, so I email customer support at HAL to find out where we are on the dining waitlist.

A couple of weeks ago we dropped from 71 to 55. This is important to me, therefore I emailed again, simply asking what # we are currently. This was the response.:(

(names XXXX'd to maintain privacy). I wonder if this policy is going to lead to people canceling their reservations.:confused:

Dear Ms. XXXXXXXX,

Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line

concerning your upcoming cruise on the ms Noordam departing on Jan. 5th,

2008. We would be delighted to welcome one of our valued Mariners back

on board.

I do apologize for you receiving information and then not being able to

receive any information. The new policy which has taken in affect

this past week states that we can no longer provide what the waitlist

number for dining is. You will be told when you arive on board the ship.

You will have to direct all future questions to your travel agent

because you did book through them.

While we are anxious to provide as much assistance to you as possible,

we regret that we are unable to make any changes, review monetary

figures or release any information regarding your confirmation. This

includes dining status and requests for room assignments. This is due to

contractual agreements between Holland America Line and your travel agency.

Any requests or inquiries regarding your booking must be made through

your travel professional.

Their services are beneficial to you. As your travel planner, they can

assist you with the many details that will make your reservation worry

free. Your agent must call us on your behalf for further details or

assistance with the reservation. Please accept our apologies for any

inconvenience this may have caused.

Please feel free to contact us if we may be of additional assistance.

Our valued Mariners’ comments or suggestions are always welcome and

very much appreciated. We look forward to welcoming you on board in the

near future.

Thank you for your continued patronage!

Kind Regards,

XXXXXX

Consumer and On-Line Support

Holland America Line

1-877-SAIL-HAL

Also I found we moved from 71 to 55 on the waitlist...

*keeps fingers crossed*

Thank you Laura, that is GREATLY appreciated!

You are most welcome Neal!

Laura

If I/we ever am stuck with AYW dining, anyone solo or not, who cares to join me/us for dinner is more than welcome.

I am a traditionalist at heart!

Laura

Doug,

Even on NCL, room service is still available and there is no additional charge for it. So even with their multiple dining options people still opt for it. Many people with balconies choose to use it in place of breakfast in the dining room or the buffet.

Laura

Okay so does HAL still have the baked alaska/farewell song with AYW dining? If so, how does it work? I guess if you have 2nd sitting it is less chaotic, but if early I am sure it is confusing and harried (if they still have it).

I really hope they do.. I haven't had any in years..12 to be exact:eek: These are going to be the longest 5 mos. of my life...lol..trying to talk dBF into a tux. Some progress made though... he actually tried one on :cool:

Laura

It's a great time to be a buyer.:eek:

Prices haven't really come down here, but the absorption rate (time places are on the market) is long. We are getting a Trump Tower here though so that is the talk of the town.

Laura

CB, here. The W. franchise just started here. Talk about timing :rolleyes:

W. has some franchises, some not. My office is not. Jim W. owns our office. There are 4 of us in CT. The franchises are growing rapidly. I am contemplating a switch to W. Raveis. However there are 3 seperate offices of WR in the town I work, so much competition.

How is the market near you?

Laura

some of the newer agents werent aware that they could give out dinning waitlist positions. best of luck i hope you hear back from your agent soon on this, it may also be that your agent may be trying to maneuver you into being prioritized, based on your cruising history or the standing of her agency

Well she has the weekends off, so not until monday at the earliest. why wont some HAL reps tell? some will some wont..

Real estate?

Do you represent a large broker? small? I am with Weichert.

Real estate?

Correct!

I am thinking I might have at least 30 years on you. I work soley on commission. It is too easy for me to nudge a client along to buy something they probably will not be able to afford longer term and connect them with people who will find a way to make it work, now. And if I did this, I would make more $$$ and take the approach that "down the road" is not my problem. This is how the most successful people in my business tend to operate.

Hammy,

I think we are in the same profession.

Laura

LuckiestLady,

Why is it that some HAL reps will tell you where you are on the waitlist while others will not? I am booked with a TA and have not heard back from her regarding this. I am very curious about where we are so this is frustrating. I am not asking for any changes, just to know where I am.

Thanks,

Laura

Aboard ship one is in a cashless society. One cannot buy anything in the shops ship aboard with cash. One cannot buy a drink with cash. One cannot buy a Pinnacle Grill dinner with cash. The onboard account is designed to make carrying cash with you UNNECESSARY, hence HAL proclaims the ships a "cashless society." WHILE ABOARD SHIP one doesn't need cash. PERIOD. HAL makes that clear in their Know Before You Go booklet and on their website. One can use cash to tip staff extra, above and beyond the onboard account ... but that's not required.

Cashless unless you tip or use the casino. My point is you have cash with you. If you are in a hotel you still tip in cash even with a keycard, or at least I do, for bar purchases, restaurants, etc.

As for planning ahead ... watch your use of pronouns. I plan ahead ... but, unfortunately, lots of people don't ... and won't. Even though it's a hassle for me to have to think about carrying money around with me while aboard ship, when I have a reservation at the Pinnacle I always do remember to take a couple of $5s with me. It's not hard to remember, since I only eat there (at most) once or twice a cruise. By having to tip people every night at dinner I will have to carry money with me every night, hence nullifying the convenience of being able to put my purchase on my ship-board ID. It's a HASSLE that I don't like.

It was a general YOU. Not a personal attack (not my style). As I said I agree with you.

That makes sense. But ... HAL doesn't have ATMs aboard ship. Not yet, at least. And, I'm sure, if they did the fee for using them will be HIGH. It's cheaper just to take Travelers Checks and cash them at the front desk (for free) and get cash that way for shore excursions and such.

For example on NCL the bank owning the ATMs were from FL. So no international charges were applied even international ports/waters. The fee was approx. $5.00 per transaction. However if you have a CC attached to your ship account, with an 18% interest rate, plus the 3% onboard charge, 21% or $21 for every 100 used is more money. That to me is higher than the transaction fee. It is too bad they don't have them, that is good information for me though, so thank you!

I can ... and, if I get stuck with AYW dining I will. But it's an inconvenience for me to have to carry cash with me every night ... one that I'd rather not have to "put up with" while aboard ship. I have gotten used to leaving my wallet in my cabin's safe during cruise-days and during the evenings. I like not having to carry my wallet around with me ... it is so much easier just to slip my ship's ID card into my breast pocket or jacket pocket and GO. It's an unnecessary hassle that I can avoid by having Traditional dining and tipping my stewards extra on the last evening. It's how I prefer to do things. It's As I Wish things to be. Why is it that I can't have things As I Wish, but those who want things changed do??

As I said I am not a proponent of AYW dining. I was sad to hear HAL was converting. I wonder if someone starts a petition to send to HAL if it would cause any changes to stop?

However if not then adjusting is a part of life. The cruiseline is going to do what is most cost saving and money making for them.

It's not hard, but it's a hassle. It doesn't weigh much, but it's a hassle. Over the years on HAL I have grown accustomed to not having to carry money around while I'm aboard ship. If if I get stuck with AYW, I will have to further inconvenience myself and start carrying my wallet around aboard ship. I prefer to keep it in my safe and not bring it out until I go ashore. It is how I prefer to do things. And ... just because I would have to do it at a Hotel is NOT a justification for saying I should have to do it aboard a SHIP! It's one of the nice touches that I've become accustomed to while being aboard SHIP ... not having to carry cash around with me.

Again I agree with you, you should have the option.. I hear Royal Caribbean offers prepaying tips versus cash tipping and the prepay goes to the steward directly. Maybe this is a better option for HAL to explore.

It won't "ruin" my cruise either. But I would RATHER NOT HAVE TO DO IT. Is that really so unreasonable on my part???????

No and my inital comments were not directed toward anyone. I am just saying if I have to adjust, then I will. Maybe slipping the Maitre D some cash in the beginning of the cruise will get you a reserved table if you end up with AYW. Or contact the cruise line.. ask questions.. the worst they can do is say no.

Laura

Taking cash with you on shore excursions is an automatic given because your ship ID card can't be used to make purchases on land as it can aboard ship.

So then you have cash with you, which proves my point. You are not in a totally cashless society. You just need to plan ahead. If you can do it for shore items, then you can plan ahead for onboard tipping.

As for the ship's casinos ... I just put it on my shipboard account.

Maybe :o we spent more in the casino then anticipated, so having an ATM was convenient. While we could have used our onboard account, we didn't see the point of having to pay credit card interest rates on that money.

I almost never carry cash around with me aboard ship ... why should I? You can't buy anything aboard ship with cash. The only time I take cash with me aboard ship is when I'm going to eat in the Pinnacle Grill or if it's the last night of the cruise and I'm tipping my stewards.

So if you can bring it to the Pinnacle Grill, why not to the main dining room?

If I get stuck with AYW I'll have to do that every night. I know I will ... but people will be people, and many will not. That's not a stab at AYW diners ... it's a stab at ALL people, based upon my observation of what we do.

I tend to agree with you, however, improper tipping is a pet peeve of mine. That is also why I mentioned they began the autotipping pools.

Nope ... not on HAL. Or, at least, not yet. You've not been on HAL in 12 years, so apparently you don't realize that. You'll find out when you board the Noordam in 5 months.

That is why I said I could only base this upon my last NCL cruise. would be why I asked if there was an ATM on board. It is convenient, however we needed cash in the morning for a ferry and had none, so we had to find an ATM on the way from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook.

Yes, of course, and that's where I keep my cash while aboard ship ... not in my pocket.

So if you already have cash with you, bringing cash to the dining room isn't that hard to do...it isn't like it weighs a lot. Will it really put a damper on your vacation if you have to bring cash to the dining room? If you stay in a hotel you still have to tip when you dine.

Again I am for cash tipping, not auto. And traditional dining not AYW. I think they go hand in hand. However if the cruiselines are going to change, then I will have to be flexible and go with the flow. Carrying cash to the dining room will not ruin my vacation if I have to do AYW dining.

I am a proponent of traditional dining. I can only speak from my experience on NCL regarding freestyle dining and tipping. They also charge 10/person/day. We tipped our cabin steward $100 at the end of our cruise. He was estatic. While I was not satisfied with the freestyle dining, we tipped a few waiters for outstanding service, one looked like he was about to cry. Maybe he had never been tipped before...it is possible if he were new to the cruise industry.

I prefer to tip in cash. We did not have our autogratuity adjusted, we tipped additionally as we felt it was deserved. Isn't autogratuity in place because not everyone would leave tips in the past?

As far as the cashless society is concerned.. do you not have cash for taxis? admission to beaches? shopping? the casino?

Isn't there an ATM on the ship? Or if you prefer to have cash in the beginning, isn't there a safe in the cabin?

Having sailed on NCL approx. 1 month ago I thought I would express my dining opinion.

I have always traveled in a large group. The NCL was the first cruise for my fiance and our first cruise together. This in itself was a new experience for me.

A table for 2 was nice and we often had no wait. Occasionally there was nothing on any menu that was appealing to us, so we litterally walked into one of their nominal fee restaurants one night and were seated without a reservation. It was great since we were a party of 2. I heard that many people were unable to dine where and when they wanted because reservations were full by 8 am the morning before. The funniest thing I discovered was that we always went to dinner around the same time each night to catch the one show.

I did not care for the varied waitstaff, we tried requesting a waiter more than one night and were never able to sit in his service area. The waiters were rushing around with no time to talk to anyone. People were hurried in and out to accomodate everyone. I did not care for this.

IMO it isn't relaxing to have to get up extra early to make a reservation for the next day nor is having a rushed dining experience.

On HAL I love how the waiters take time to get to know you and you get to know them. It isn't that they are overly friendly or annoying. They don't interupt your table conversation, but they do interact, smile and making the dining experience better.

That is one of the reasons I am returning to HAL. I missed the atmosphere and relaxed dining. Even with an early table seating I never felt rushed to make room for the later diners.

I made sure to request my traditional dining and hope I get it. It is also nice to talk to people during dinner. To discuss what experiences you have had in port this trip or if you have been there before or what you reccommend. We are a party of 4 (with me being the most experienced cruiser) and I love to meet new people.

I was kind of disappointed to hear that HAL was switching, I hope they don't change entirely in the future.

Cheers!

Laura