HAL ship services poor

[KAKcruiser]

My point was that sometimes you can make things harder for yourself by trying to go around the routine way of doing things just because you are annoyed about something. You might think that you are getting even with HAL but many time you cause yourself more aggrevation. I don't know if the outside vendor would work as well as HAL.

[dakrewser]

I will admit up front that I am a HAL fan, however, the OP related his experience and was seeking help in finding an outside source. All of the "well that has not been my experience" stuff does not addres the ? and seems to imply that there is something wrong with the OP. Glad to see that the Op has found an alternate source and was able to save a few bucks to boot.

 

Frank

 

And as I said in my initial reply, most of the responses indicated that no one here had ever felt the need to go "around" ships' services for this. No one suggested the OP was lying, but most did feel that a second shot at them would be better handled.

 

Whether or not the "second source" can delvier on their promises has yet to be seen.

[spendalot]

Thank-you Fnb . I sure was not looking for a poll, but got one. I recieved bad :mad: service period! I learned that some posters needing to chime in on ever post made on this board,( you know who you are and so do we):mad: whether what they are saying matters a whole lot or not feel it necessary to suggest that I somehow was in the wrong. I do not care. I believe in good old fashion customer service and did not get it that day on the numerous calls to HAL. Oh and guess what I was there, my well meaning posters were not!!!!! :D :D :D

[oliviaonthe beach]

My first call ever to Ship's Services may interest you. It was just last week. I had a list of questions. This is our first HAL cruise. The first person I spoke with was rude and extremely unhelpful. She seriously had a "tough luck" attitude toward me and my issues. I asked to speak with her supervisor. Somehow, she transferred me to Reservations. I had no idea of course. The man I spoke with listened to my complaint, found answers to all of my questions, profusely apologized for the other woman, and told me that I could personally e-mail or call him at any time with questions of any kind. He then revealed that he was not even in the ship's services department and promptly transferred me to the original woman's boss so I could speak with her. She was also more than gracious and again insisted that I contact her specifically in the future. I am the first to complain about poor service but I also pride myself in commending people who go the extra mile. Steve at HAL certainly fits the bill for me. You can't judge a company on just one emplyee!

[DFD1]

Hear Hear, Oliviaonthe beach. You are so right.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Oliviaonthebeach, thanks so much for telling us your positive experience. So often we're so quick to complain, but if all goes well we say nothing. It was great for you to post.

[Cathy p]

I have been in customer service over 35 years and never would I call three times. If I did not get the proper respect the first time, I would have asked for a supervisor and gone up from there. If I still did not get the results I was expecting I would have emailed them with my complaint so I would have a record to show them when I got on the ship. Why waste all that energy over flowers. I have a feeling that you were the problem to start with. In order to get respect you need to give it. I am glad you believe that you saved some money, however, with all you went through you probably aged several years. Have a great cruise and remember put a smile in your voice.:)

[Boatdrill]

I wouldn't say the folks here are shills, but they wouldn't be here if they didn't truely like the product. I haven't yet experienced HAL but from many of the posters' comments they seem to have had seconds on the HAL Kool-Aid. There's not alot of criticism or even objectiveness. But that's the nature of message boards. The Choir preaching to the converted. Very helpful comments and advice but also alot of loyalty.

 

 

May I recommend the Carnival threads...there's plenty of criticism over there, and lots of talk of angry passengers because of missed ports (due to a crew injury medical emergency), particular football games not being televised, and overheard crew conversations about their fear of being in some public areas ("the Atrium") without security nearby.

 

I find the HAL threads refreshing and positive, and at the same time, if there's a problem, some weigh in, in an attempt to be helpful.

[DFD1]

Boatdrill, you're right about Carnival. The purser's desk can be a war zone at times. I remember once when it was so bad we avoided the lobby altogether and passed thru on another deck.

[Sunnystone]

I certainly have no love for any Carnival product, including HAL, but good service does deserve mention. My mother in law is currently on the Oosterdam, 2/19 departure. As her birthday was also yesterday, we called ship's services about getting a gift delivered. We did this on Friday, 2/18, as my husband "forgot" to do it earlier in the week. The person was very pleasant and gave us several options to choose from. She also told us what my husband's sister had ordered so we would not duplicate gifts. We really appreciated the help and service. The cost was also very reasonable.

Much to our astonishment, my mother-in-law called us during sail-out to thank us for her gifts and how suprised she was that all the info was in her stateroom upon boarding! I think we, especially me, were more surprised that HAL had done this correctly with only 24 hours notice. Very impressive.

We still don't want to cruise on HAL again, but were appreciative of their service on this issue.

[Dutchman]

I used Ships services to get an email to the CD on the Volendam two weeks ago. As promissed she sent it on and I got a reply from Dottie, the CD, just before she left the Volendam for a vacation. No problems for me with this department. sorry you got a sore head?