Problems on the Oosterdam

I will try to write a review of our Oosterdam 14 night Panama Canal cruise when I have caught up at home a little. I just want to warn everyone about some issues we had that happened with regards to Guest Relations and the Laundry/DryCleaning Service.

First of all, this was our 4th Holland America Cruise, our 25th cruise overall. We have enjoyed Holland America and have even recommended them to several people but buyers beware. For the purpose of background, my husband's tux was a Ralph Lauren tux, valued at $800. I was fortunate to purchase it on sale for $450, with tailoring it came to just under $550.

On the first Gala Night my husband wore his tuxedo. Accidents happen on any cruise line, it is how it is handled that makes a difference. The tables in the dining room are very close together and the accident happened very fast but from what we can tell, the person behind my husband raised his hand just as the waiter was delivering escargot. The hot butter, garlic and cheese mixture spilled all over my husband's back. He was very lucky the thickness of the tux, vest and shirt protected him from burning, as even with the layers it was still very hot. He immediately removed his jacket and vest. The headwaiter came and filled out a cleaning check for us.

Rather than have our cabin smell like garlic and because we felt it was better to have it professionally cleaned as soon as possible, I brought his tux to Guest Relations so they could deal with it in a timely manner. The tux was returned to our cabin the next day and was ruined. They had cleaned the life out of the tux, ruined the fabric from rubbing, the interfacing was permanently rippled and the collar and sleeves were damaged because it looked like they took the lining out to clean it.

Over the period of four days we had many meetings with Annie (Manager of GuestRelations). She went back and forth with Corporate and at least twice a day we had to go down to her office to discuss the latest "offer". Holland America only wanted to refund us $100! We were not only insulted but very stressed out over the way Corporate seemed to be treating us like we were trying to make money! At one point, we just said, "Buy him another Ralph Lauren tux." We did not want to make money; we just wanted our damaged property replaced! We were very up front with them about the fact that I purchased the tux on sale, we were never asking for $800. All we asked for was $500.

Finally, we were given an onboard credit of $500. We were not happy with the way they dragged this out, the stress alone was ridiculous, but we just wanted to get on with our vacation.

Fast forward...At the end of the cruise we decided to send a bag of dirty clothes to the laundry. They offer a "fill a bag for $20" special. We filled out the forms, sent it out and it returned all folded in a basket (not ironed, by the way). After our cruise I was ironing the laundered items and found the collar of one of my husband's new polo shirts was torn and stained with grease like it had been caught in one of their machines.

I phoned Property Claims at Holland America and wait for it...I was told,"Holland America does not have professional laundry or dry cleaning on the ship, I should not expect professional results."

Unbelievable! Why have laundry/dry cleaning and charge for it if you are not going to be responsible? I am sending in a claim for the shirt but I have to tell you, we will be thinking twice on cruising Holland America again based on the customer service we have experienced.

I am sorry that your husband's tuxedo was ruined. Thankfully he was not burned.

I know all too well about how bad HAL's laundry can be. A number of years ago DH had 2 brand new Polo brand golf shirts ruined. We were re-embursed for them via shipboard credit. But from that time on, I had to hand wash all his shirts.

We use the laundry service on every cruise and only once had a problem - the whites came back grey and looked liked they used them to wash the floor with.

Since then, we try to send in the whites separately and that seems to work out better for some reason.

The OP's situation is much different I know and there is no excuse for the way HAL handled both situations. They charge for their service, so you should expect and demand professional service!

I will try to write a review of our Oosterdam 14 night Panama Canal cruise when I have caught up at home a little. I just want to warn everyone about some issues we had that happened with regards to Guest Relations and the Laundry/DryCleaning Service.

 

 

 

First of all, this was our 4th Holland America Cruise, our 25th cruise overall. We have enjoyed Holland America and have even recommended them to several people but buyers beware. For the purpose of background, my husband's tux was a Ralph Lauren tux, valued at $800. I was fortunate to purchase it on sale for $450, with tailoring it came to just under $550.

 

 

 

On the first Gala Night my husband wore his tuxedo. Accidents happen on any cruise line, it is how it is handled that makes a difference. The tables in the dining room are very close together and the accident happened very fast but from what we can tell, the person behind my husband raised his hand just as the waiter was delivering escargot. The hot butter, garlic and cheese mixture spilled all over my husband's back. He was very lucky the thickness of the tux, vest and shirt protected him from burning, as even with the layers it was still very hot. He immediately removed his jacket and vest. The headwaiter came and filled out a cleaning check for us.

 

 

 

Rather than have our cabin smell like garlic and because we felt it was better to have it professionally cleaned as soon as possible, I brought his tux to Guest Relations so they could deal with it in a timely manner. The tux was returned to our cabin the next day and was ruined. They had cleaned the life out of the tux, ruined the fabric from rubbing, the interfacing was permanently rippled and the collar and sleeves were damaged because it looked like they took the lining out to clean it.

 

 

 

Over the period of four days we had many meetings with Annie (Manager of GuestRelations). She went back and forth with Corporate and at least twice a day we had to go down to her office to discuss the latest "offer". Holland America only wanted to refund us $100! We were not only insulted but very stressed out over the way Corporate seemed to be treating us like we were trying to make money! At one point, we just said, "Buy him another Ralph Lauren tux." We did not want to make money; we just wanted our damaged property replaced! We were very up front with them about the fact that I purchased the tux on sale, we were never asking for $800. All we asked for was $500.

 

 

 

Finally, we were given an onboard credit of $500. We were not happy with the way they dragged this out, the stress alone was ridiculous, but we just wanted to get on with our vacation.

 

 

 

Fast forward...At the end of the cruise we decided to send a bag of dirty clothes to the laundry. They offer a "fill a bag for $20" special. We filled out the forms, sent it out and it returned all folded in a basket (not ironed, by the way). After our cruise I was ironing the laundered items and found the collar of one of my husband's new polo shirts was torn and stained with grease like it had been caught in one of their machines.

 

 

 

I phoned Property Claims at Holland America and wait for it...I was told,"Holland America does not have professional laundry or dry cleaning on the ship, I should not expect professional results."

 

 

 

 

 

Unbelievable! Why have laundry/dry cleaning and charge for it if you are not going to be responsible? I am sending in a claim for the shirt but I have to tell you, we will be thinking twice on cruising Holland America again based on the customer service we have experienced.

They ought to put their pathetic disclaimer on their laundry tickets and start charging $1.00 a lb for "fluff and fold" service like any other non professional laundromat. I wonder what else on the ship is "non professional". Embarrassing response.

They charge professional prices. People should expect professional results. Or open up the self service laundry on the Oosterdam

http://www.theinsidecabin.com

Birdie, I am really sorry ot hear of your experience. That would put a pretty big damper on anyone's cruise :(

While I have had no issues with laundry to date, if I did, I would expect HAL to fix it and make it right. If I had to go back day after day to persevere on what should have been done in the first place, I would be a very unhappy camper to say the least.

Very poor service and response by HAL.

I agree with Inside the Cabin. They charge professional prices - they should act the same as any professional. We had one shirt ruined by a drycleaner and they quickly came good for it. I would expect HAL or any other drycleaner to do the same.

Disappointing, to say the very least.

Thank you folks for your support.

Thank you folks for your support.

So you got $500 in shipboard credit, in my eyes that's not enough, I would write a letter to Orlando Ashford and repeat your story, they should offer you a substantial discount on you next preferred cruise with free laundry!! This was your 4th cruise with Hal and they should do their best to get you back...

Thank you folks for your support.

Please let us know what you hear from Seattle.

So you got $500 in shipboard credit, in my eyes that's not enough, I would write a letter to Orlando Ashford and repeat your story, they should offer you a substantial discount on you next preferred cruise with free laundry!! This was your 4th cruise with Hal and they should do their best to get you back...

A world class response would have been - comp tux rental for remaining gala nights. A recognition the damage was beyond their ability and an offer to reimburse your actual repair/cleaning costs at home or $500 now - no questions asked.

If HAL wants to avoid cleaner liability they should open self service laundries. Cut prices in half. Have laundry tags marked in big red letters. "We are not a professional laundry service. Clothes are submitted at your own risk. No compensation for any loss or damage. "

http://www.theinsidecabin.com

What a terrible experience! I do hope the rest of your trip went more smoothly, but how disappointing.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

A world class response would have been - comp tux rental for remaining gala nights. A recognition the damage was beyond their ability and an offer to reimburse your actual repair/cleaning costs at home or $500 now - no questions asked.

 

If HAL wants to avoid cleaner liability they should open self service laundries. Cut prices in half. Have laundry tags marked in big red letters. "We are not a professional laundry service. Clothes are submitted at your own risk. No compensation for any loss or damage. "

 

 

 

 

www.theinsidecabin.com

We had to ask for a tux rental, they did do that but it was a cheap, poor fitting polyester tux. I was stunned when the Customer Service person said what she said about it not being a professional laundry/dry cleaners. They should not offer the service if it is not. I agree, they need self service laundries on all their ships, I will never again trust a ship laundry.

So you got $500 in shipboard credit, in my eyes that's not enough, I would write a letter to Orlando Ashford and repeat your story, they should offer you a substantial discount on you next preferred cruise with free laundry!! This was your 4th cruise with Hal and they should do their best to get you back...

I would not use the free laundry, don't trust them.

We don't trust HAL for many things including a Security Issue . I won't go onto details ;but , it could have gone into a pretty stiff law suit against HAL for failure about their security when required

I've read too many tales like this to trust our clothes to HAL's laundry and dry cleaning services. The sad thing is even those if us who do our own laundry aboard would have used HAL's service in this circumstance. The $100 initial offer was a joke, $500 is fair, but you shouldn't have had any hassle to get it.

I once took a pair of lined linen slacks to our local dry cleaning shop after someone spilled coffee on me. They were returned to me with the lining shredded and the only compensation was no charge for the service! They tried to claim I brought them in like that. Had to find a new shop to patronize.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Forums mobile app

Sorry to read of your poor experience.

On one cruise we sent our formal clothes (it was formal nights then) out for a pressing. I was dismayed to discover the clothing was returned to us stained with brown spots. I contact the Concierge to have the matter addressed and what ensued was a meeting of the Concierge, the Head of Laundry Services, my self and my DW where the Head of Laundry Services accusing us of sending the items out like that. Like the OP, it was the manner in which HAL handled the issue that left us dissatisfied.

Since that incident, we haven't sent any clothing out for laundry services. We also have decided to travel with clothing of little value or care requirements, understanding that if any special attention is needed for the article, it is untrustworthy on the ship.

Sorry to read of your poor experience.

 

On one cruise we sent our formal clothes (it was formal nights then) out for a pressing. I was dismayed to discover the clothing was returned to us stained with brown spots. I contact the Concierge to have the matter addressed and what ensued was a meeting of the Concierge, the Head of Laundry Services, my self and my DW where the Head of Laundry Services accusing us of sending the items out like that. Like the OP, it was the manner in which HAL handled the issue that left us dissatisfied.

 

Since that incident, we haven't sent any clothing out for laundry services. We also have decided to travel with clothing of little value or care requirements, understanding that if any special attention is needed for the article, it is untrustworthy on the ship.

We really enjoy getting dressed up for Gala nights, it is sad that we feel next time, like you, we will not be bringing our best clothes with us. On a two week vacation they either need a reliable laundry/dry cleaning service or a self service laundry.

We really enjoy getting dressed up for Gala nights, it is sad that we feel next time, like you, we will not be bringing our best clothes with us. On a two week vacation they either need a reliable laundry/dry cleaning service or a self service laundry.

Here is a quote from HAL - "Know before you go" brochure on their website

"Laundry: For your comfort and convenience we offer full laundry and dry cleaning service on each ship in the Holland America Line fleet. In your stateroom you will find laundry bags and price lists conveniently located in your closet."

Maybe they should add a disclaimer that this is a "Non Professional Laundry Operation

A Link to the Laundry Slip is Here - note it says damages are limited to 10 times the cost of the service...

They also say they are not responsible for virtually anything that may go wrong QUOTE -- "HAL cannot be held responsible for any damage resulting from the laundry process"

So I guess we can't say were weren't warned - Use at your own risk -----sigh

As I mentioned earlier, we use the ship's laundry alot, but not for delicate or expensive items. Sounds like this is a good approach given the liability limits.

I had a sport coat and a tuxedo vest laundered instead of dry cleaned on the Noordam a few years ago. It was HAL's error, not mine. The Neptune concierge "opened" with the standard $100 reimbursement offer. I opted out of it and simply took a damage report from him.

We had the receipt for the jacket and the vest, because DW is an excellent record keeper. I MAILED Holland America with return receipt requested via the US Postal Service and emailed them. I included photos and receipts. They credited the full amount to our Amex, just over $1,100. The key was having the receipts and using certified mail.

I had a sport coat and a tuxedo vest laundered instead of dry cleaned on the Noordam a few years ago. It was HAL's error, not mine. The Neptune concierge "opened" with the standard $100 reimbursement offer. I opted out of it and simply took a damage report from him.

 

We had the receipt for the jacket and the vest, because DW is an excellent record keeper. I MAILED Holland America with return receipt requested via the US Postal Service and emailed them. I included photos and receipts. They credited the full amount to our Amex, just over $1,100. The key was having the receipts and using certified mail.

Thanks for sharing.......at least they didn't plead they were running a non professional operation.

I had a sport coat and a tuxedo vest laundered instead of dry cleaned on the Noordam a few years ago. It was HAL's error, not mine. The Neptune concierge "opened" with the standard $100 reimbursement offer. I opted out of it and simply took a damage report from him.

 

We had the receipt for the jacket and the vest, because DW is an excellent record keeper. I MAILED Holland America with return receipt requested via the US Postal Service and emailed them. I included photos and receipts. They credited the full amount to our Amex, just over $1,100. The key was having the receipts and using certified mail.

Very good! Yes, we have receipts too, such a hassle though. Glad you were fully reimbursed. In hindsight we should have taken the tux (evidence) and receipt and handled it that way.

As for the tux, the damage was done in the dining room, the laundry/dry cleaning service finished it off.

Here is a quote from HAL - "Know before you go" brochure on their website

 

"Laundry: For your comfort and convenience we offer full laundry and dry cleaning service on each ship in the Holland America Line fleet. In your stateroom you will find laundry bags and price lists conveniently located in your closet."

 

Maybe they should add a disclaimer that this is a "Non Professional Laundry Operation

 

A Link to the Laundry Slip is Here - note it says damages are limited to 10 times the cost of the service...

 

They also say they are not responsible for virtually anything that may go wrong QUOTE -- "HAL cannot be held responsible for any damage resulting from the laundry process"

 

So I guess we can't say were weren't warned - Use at your own risk -----sigh

Thank you for looking that up. As for the tux, the damage was really done in the dining room, the laundry/drycleaning finished it off. I don't think anyone could have saved the tux, grease is very difficult to remove.

Thank you for looking that up. As for the tux, the damage was really done in the dining room, the laundry/drycleaning finished it off. I don't think anyone could have saved the tux, grease is very difficult to remove.

.... grease is very difficult to remove.

Especially with the "environmentally friendly" dry cleaning that the ship uses. Real dry cleaning fluid would have been far superior.

What a bummer. I am wondering how a paid laundry service is "non professional." We are 5 Star Mariners so do get our laundry done for free...and must admit that we have had few laundry-related problems on our cruises. But we have heard rants from others...so perhaps we have just been lucky. What makes these kind of things even worse is when one has to spend a significant amount of cruise time wrestling with management.

Hank