Has HAL's quality suffered in this economy??

[thecook]

Quick question..I was wondering if you have seen a drop in the quality of service and food on HAL ship in recent months? We just returned from A Baltic cruise on another line. Word was that the shipboard experience overall had slipped considerably:(. We cruised HAL to Alaska and loved it...wondering what to expect if we plan our next cruise with them. Thanks!!!

[world~citizen]

Quick question..I was wondering if you have seen a drop in the quality of service and food on HAL ship in recent months? We just returned from A Baltic cruise on another line. Word was that the shipboard experience overall had slipped considerably:(. We cruised HAL to Alaska and loved it...wondering what to expect if we plan our next cruise with them. Thanks!!!

 

I would say the staff is worked a little harder if that is possible. :eek:

 

Smooth sailing...

[jtl513]

We didn't see any slippage on the Noordam in Dec.

[CowPrincess]

We noticed a significant decline in service on our January cruise. Absolutely part of it was the cabin stewards being overworked. Another part of it is that not everyone who gets hired as a cabin steward should be :rolleyes:

 

This is how bad the cabin stewards were: My DH is one of the lowest-maintenace people you will EVER meet. When I asked for his input on which cabin to book for our Feb/11 cruise, his response was "I don't care WHERE it is in the ship -- I just want better cabin stewards." This was at least 2 months after returning home. He is not a complainer, and has very low expectations -- easy to meet and exceed his expectations. His clearest memory 2 months post-cruise was how bad the cabin stewards were. :(

 

Our dining stewards worked hard but were only able to manage "acceptable", not "outstanding" service. I think they had too many tables, and yet upper fixed dining was mostly a ghost town on this specific cruise.

 

So yes, IMHO, service has slipped.

 

If our Feb/11 experience is similar, we will be looking at other cruise lines.

[seagarsmoker]

We noticed a significant decline in service on our January cruise. Absolutely part of it was the cabin stewards being overworked. Another part of it is that not everyone who gets hired as a cabin steward should be :rolleyes:

 

This is how bad the cabin stewards were: My DH is one of the lowest-maintenace people you will EVER meet. When I asked for his input on which cabin to book for our Feb/11 cruise, his response was "I don't care WHERE it is in the ship -- I just want better cabin stewards." This was at least 2 months after returning home. He is not a complainer, and has very low expectations -- easy to meet and exceed his expectations. His clearest memory 2 months post-cruise was how bad the cabin stewards were. :(

 

Our dining stewards worked hard but were only able to manage "acceptable", not "outstanding" service. I think they had too many tables, and yet upper fixed dining was mostly a ghost town on this specific cruise.

 

So yes, IMHO, service has slipped.

 

If our Feb/11 experience is similar, we will be looking at other cruise lines.

 

I think you will find (service has slipped) has happened across the board with most all of the major cruise lines.

 

I've been on Princess 9 times and noticed the last couple of cruises that service (& food quality) had slipped so we tried RCI and the first cruise was pretty good, same ship 2 months later and noticed the service had slipped so much we'll never get on a RCI ship again. Back to Princess and actually the service (& food) was worse than ever. So we tried HAL and were VERY HAPPY with service (& food)! Last cruise was on Carnival (booked and paid for before our last HAL cruise) and the service was the pits. We're going back to HAL this fall and I am sure the service will be better than we experienced on the other cruise lines.

Service may have 'slipped' for some of the HAL veterans, I guess its where you started on the 'slip' and what you are comparing it to.

[CowPrincess]

I think you will find (service has slipped) has happened across the board with most all of the major cruise lines.

 

I've been on Princess 9 times and noticed the last couple of cruises that service (& food quality) had slipped so we tried RCI and the first cruise was pretty good, same ship 2 months later and noticed the service had slipped so much we'll never get on a RCI ship again. Back to Princess and actually the service (& food) was worse than ever. So we tried HAL and were VERY HAPPY with service (& food)! Last cruise was on Carnival (booked and paid for before our last HAL cruise) and the service was the pits. We're going back to HAL this fall and I am sure the service will be better than we experienced on the other cruise lines.

Service may have 'slipped' for some of the HAL veterans, I guess its where you started on the 'slip' and what you are comparing it to.

 

Thank you SO MUCH for the info! :) After I posted, I was wondering whether other lines had seen similar reductions. We'd be looking at Princess, I suspect.

 

The service on my previous HAL cruise (May/09) on the same ship was light-years better than the last cruise (Jan/10). Seriously, I won't go into everything that went wrong with the cabin stewards. You'll just have to trust me on this that there was something profoundly wrong with them. Part of it was definitely as a result of too much work.

[mszula]

On our last cruise we had the best service we have ever had. This was both with the room stewards and the MDR staff... BUT you could tell that they were waaaaaay busy. The days of them having time to visit with the passengers during dinner are over. We saw our room stewards cleaning rooms that were quite a distance from ours. These guys were running all the time.

[Jemima]

We have not noted any decline in service. We've actually seen an increase in service since HAL went to two cabin stewards with twice the cabins one did. Working in pairs seems to increase efficiency.

[thecook]

Thank you for all of your responses...I think it's back to HAL for us:D

[dadroy]

I took my fiance on a short Carnival cruise during the H1N1 debacle because the price was unbeatable. $129 for 4 days. She enjoyed it immensely, I was underwhelmed. Our honeymoon cruise in August 09 we went back to my favorite line, HAL, and went to Alaska. I noted the service in the MDR was down and the food was not as good as it had been on past cruises. My new wife (the converted fiance) was underwhelmed. She prefers Carnival to HAL when measuring food quality and service. She loved the stewards on both ships and on our most recent Carnival sailing.

 

I thought the two of us had so much in common, but seriously Carnival better than HAL? ;)

[Mr_Cruise]

In this economy, I haven't noticed service levels slipping so much as I've observed cruisers expectations increasing; often beyond reason.

 

Many of the issues people post about were non-issues in years past. Service levels / efforts haven't changed nearly as much as the average traveler's expectations have.

 

Something to think about...

[CowPrincess]

I thought the two of us had so much in common, but seriously Carnival better than HAL?

 

Yeah, the things you find out after you're married :eek: :)

[foodsvcmgr]

Comparing our experience on VEENDAM in April against three earlier HAL

cruises in 2007 and 2008, I felt the food and entertainment were actually better, though the waitstaff is overworked and spread quite thin.

[Bakincakes]

I took my fiance on a short Carnival cruise during the H1N1 debacle because the price was unbeatable. $129 for 4 days. She enjoyed it immensely, I was underwhelmed. Our honeymoon cruise in August 09 we went back to my favorite line, HAL, and went to Alaska. I noted the service in the MDR was down and the food was not as good as it had been on past cruises. My new wife (the converted fiance) was underwhelmed. She prefers Carnival to HAL when measuring food quality and service. She loved the stewards on both ships and on our most recent Carnival sailing.

 

I thought the two of us had so much in common, but seriously Carnival better than HAL? ;)

 

 

Get it in writing.

 

sounds like grounds for divorce to me...:p;)

[Bakincakes]

Back to the OP..we've noticed a difference and it isn't just HAL.

 

We've noticed it on RCI..X and Princess as well. Cruised Carnival once ages ago..it was horrid and have not been back.

 

I think all the lines are hurting and are doing whatever they can to stay afloat(no pun intended)..so they are cutting back and praying those of us who know what it was like in the past will hang in and understand the logistics of it all.

 

Most notable is the food. Gone downhill...very disappointing..our last HAL our room service was very good and we had an issue with the shower in our suite. It was fixed within the hour of our complaint. I also noticed that the deck furniture had seen better days. We were able to get the room steward to exchange our ottoman as it was quite damaged and the edges of the broken weaving were sharp. It was taken care of immediately.:)

 

I've also noticed that HAL has been a bit lax in enforcing the dress codes in the MDR. :(

[Juanita462]

Yes, we noticed a difference in the level of service on our last cruise and the quality of the food.

The room stewards generally did as little as possible - no ice for 3 days and then ice only once a day, cleaning was sketchy - missing towels - it seems to me that 2 people doing 30 rooms is the same as each person doing 15 rooms - we noticed that they didn't work together, but did a room each. It wasn't that bad, just not what we are used to on HAL.

 

In the dining room the main waiter didn't have very good English and often got the orders wrong - but what we didn't appreciate was his coming to us at the end of the cruise and telling us to give him a high score on the forms so he wouldn't get fired. Our group of tables were nearly always the last to be served and we only saw the assistant when he put the basket of bread on the table - They really are spread too thin and are rushed off their feet - when we started cruising it was 2 serving 14 people - now it is 2 serving 24 people.

 

The activities staff is down to the CD and DJ - those men worked terribly long hours but never complained and were always cheerful - but, there were just not many activities available especially sports and games except for trivia. Quite a change from when the CD had 4 or 5 staff to run the activities.

[sail7seas]

We think the wonderful stewards are still providing the same great service we have always enjoyed on HAL ships. I think they are working harder than ever but they still wear big smiles. In the last 6 or 7 months, we've been on three ships and consistently, from ship to ship, we had great service.

 

 

 

[iancal]

Yes, and we have noticed the same on Princess as well. Service has declined a little but not such a big deal for us. We have definately seen a decline in the quality of the food.....the quality of meat being one. HAL and Princess are definately no longer buying top quality restaurant grade beef cuts for their MDR'S. They have also cut down on the quality/selection of cheeses and on the dessert selections-especially in the Lido. No surprise thought, the cruise lines are doing everything to remain price competitive and price attraction vis a vis other vacation options.

[twinkletoes4445]

Quick question..I was wondering if you have seen a drop in the quality of service and food on HAL ship in recent months? We just returned from A Baltic cruise on another line. Word was that the shipboard experience overall had slipped considerably:(. We cruised HAL to Alaska and loved it...wondering what to expect if we plan our next cruise with them. Thanks!!!

 

We were wondering the same thing prior to our second cruise with HAL (in 2009). I had read many negative things and was getting a bit worried because our first cruise was so awesome. No need to worry because our second cruise was even better than the first! And we couldn't believe that was even possible.

 

I need to keep telling myself this as we've got an upcoming cruise planned on HAL. It's costing us quite a bit more money for the same cruise as we took in 2009, but, if the service level and experience is as good as that one was, well, it will be worth every penny. Hubby was just mentioning today how much fun we had going to the Crow's Nest bar before dinner. The bartenders were just so much fun. As much as we love HAL's ships, it's the wonderful crew that makes it a memorable experience. We're just hoping that we run into some of the crew members that were on the our past Noordam cruise. :)

[Jemima]

...The activities staff is down to the CD and DJ - those men worked terribly long hours but never complained and were always cheerful - but, there were just not many activities available especially sports and games except for trivia. Quite a change from when the CD had 4 or 5 staff to run the activities.

The CD staff has changed to people with specific job titles and I think it works better. There's the CD, the DJ, the Party Planner, the Digital Workshop person. Now events are held when scheduled and the person in charge is there. With the old system, there were times no activities staff showed for an activity such as trivia or they were quite late.

[jadragnfly]

prices have stayed the same,still a great deal for 7 days! yes they are worked harder and yesyes the food on carnival group[holland,princess,carnival etc] has declined greatly. seems like a grade above lyons coffee shop. BUT when u have to fill a 2000-3000 passenger ship when a few yrs ago u only had to fill a 1200-1800 passenger ship ,well of course you will have a big difference. we veteran hal cruisers see it.we are 100 days members and we still love hal and their crew. princess we are elite members but we wont be going on them as much from the last few cruises..sad to see the decline. we all agree its these mega ships good and bad but mainly decline of the fun of cruising. our new direction is to try river cruising which we did in june 2009 viking sun 2 weeksrhine treasures. wonderful tours /pours /guides but food average. so this yr we tried the new cruise line DoA AEGEAN ODESSEY..oh my gawds it was in top 2 of best cruises we have been on. just like the old days. excellent tours/guides/gourmet food. includes air,tips.wine and beer for dinner and all tours included. it just started May 2010 and we were on the athens to rome 2nd cruise. try it and you wont go back to the mega ships...~KC

[jadragnfly]

prices have stayed the same,still a great deal for 7 days! yes they are worked harder and yesyes the food on carnival group[holland,princess,carnival etc] has declined greatly. seems like a grade above lyons coffee shop. BUT when u have to fill a 2000-3000 passenger ship when a few yrs ago u only had to fill a 1200-1800 passenger ship ,well of course you will have a big difference. we veteran hal cruisers see it.we are 100 days members and we still love hal and their crew. princess we are elite members but we wont be going on them as much from the last few cruises..sad to see the decline. we all agree its these mega ships good and bad but mainly decline of the fun of cruising. our new direction is to try river cruising which we did in june 2009 viking sun 2 weeksrhine treasures. wonderful tours /ports /guides but food average. so this yr we tried the new cruise line DoA AEGEAN ODESSEY..oh my gawds it was in top 2 of best cruises we have been on. just like the old days. excellent tours/guides/gourmet food. includes air,tips.wine and beer for dinner and all tours included. it just started May 2010 and we were on the athens to rome 2nd cruise. try it and you wont go back to the mega ships...~KC

[SF Cfan]

Just back from Alaska on the Oosterdam - the food & dining room service was not as it was good last summer on Eurodam.

 

The staff & service on the balance of the ship was wonderful. But, the main dining room was a real let-down.

[crzr]

We have not noted any decline in service. We've actually seen an increase in service since HAL went to two cabin stewards with twice the cabins one did. Working in pairs seems to increase efficiency.

 

Jemima, I have noticed the same thing. Room service is somewhat more efficient in pairs.

 

Our last cruise saw good service from the room and bar stewards, but a serious drop in the dining room. The table steward was adequate except for poor English, the assistant steward disappeared after the first night (another one covered his tables) and the section captain was sweet but too new to solve any problems. Very mediocre. This was our thrid time on the Zuiderdam, which in our experience is not up to the standards elsewhere in the fleet.

 

We will be in the Noordam next month and expect better service there.

We will

[sealady1]

Just back from Alaska on the Oosterdam - the food & dining room service was not as it was good last summer on Eurodam.

 

The staff & service on the balance of the ship was wonderful. But, the main dining room was a real let-down.

The 5/16 sailing of the Veendam was the very first cruise for my DH and me so I don't have anything to compare it to. If you read my review (sorry for the length), you will learn how I felt about the service. Our room stewards were wonderful but out of the 4 times we ate in the MDR, (we had open seating), only once was the service halfway decent. In my opinion, the service on the Veendam did not live up to the portrayal on the HAL website. Perhaps it was just this particular ship and its crew. Perhaps the service and the food are better on other HAL ships, I don't know. Most people would probably not want to go on another cruise given our experience. We will cruise again soon but most likely with another line for comparison.