Ryndam.... never again!!

[RevNeal]

I've been on about 8 or 9 other cruises and have never had the bad service we had on HAL. I've never had the plumbing problems we had on HAL. I've never felt that staff was unfriendly on other cruises. I know what to expect from a cruise and I didn't get it with HAL.

 

I understand: you had a bunch of problems and they all compiled, one upon another, and combined with your husband's illness and the annoyance in connection with that, to negatively shade your entire experience aboard the Ryndam. This is totally understandable.

 

In all, I have been on 10 HAL cruises. I have never had the degree of problems you've outlined on any of my cruises. I've always had good-to-excellent service. The Food has either always been well prepared, or I've sent it back on those rare occasion when it wasn't. Minor plumbing problems HAPPEN at sea. Of my 10 cruises, 3 of them have had plumbing problems more than just an occasional flush that doesn't function. I have always gotten what I expected on HAL cruises, and have always been happy. I don't say this to contradict your experience, but rather to illustrate that what you experienced IS NOT the HAL norm.

 

Bottom line is I think HAL should know how I feel no matter how late the informations gets to them.

 

I absolutely agree.

[Splatitudes]

We had plumbing problems on the Sun Princess 10-day last October, but the staff engineer on duty came to our room w/in 10 minutes (at 2am, no less) and repaired the problem. We had a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries in our cabin with a note of apology the next day, and we hadn't even thrown a fit or anything... turning a negative into a positive can really be a golden opportunity for a cruise line. I've heard of similar treatment on HAL, and I'm sorry that wasn't the case for you. :(

[cal2632]

Unfortunately, the last time we were on the Ryndam we had the bad (very bad) sewage smell. We received a letter explaining the problem was with a newly installed sewage system. I had hoped this problem had been resolved because we are sailing on the Ryndam on Sunday. I'll be sure to let everyone know if the smell is still there. Take care

 

Please do let us know if you encounter the dreaded smell. Also, some specifics would be helpful - is it always on the same deck (Pammie, where was your stateroom?), is it in the public areas, etc.

 

Thanks, and enjoy your cruise on Sunday!

[Esme]

There is indeed a Guest Relations Office in Seattle.

 

It is called, Customer Relations and the head of the Department is titled "Manager".

 

Sorry but you are wrong. I just called HAL and it's Supervisor, Guest Relations. :p :D

[ekerr19]

Sorry but you are wrong. I just called HAL and it's Supervisor, Guest Relations. :p :D

 

Well, in my book (and speaking as a Department Manager) they are pretty much interchangeable.

 

Glad to hear you had the time to call HAL and confirm.

[JaniceB]

I am sorry your cruise did not meet your expectations. I had a bad experience on the Zaandam, but we complained to the Hotel Manager and we were compensated for it. I think that when you encounter bad service, broken elevators, ect you need to complain immediately. Hopefully, the service would have been better, you might have been compensated in some way for the elevator mishap and you would have felt better on the cruise.

[tankerjo2]

We had a number of problems on our December Ryndam cruise including the usual plumbing problems in our cabin plus the flooded cabin next to ours in the middle of the night which decided to also visit us and a few smells that we would rather forget. Our letter to HAL resulted in a $200 shipboard credit to be used on a future cruise. We also had issues and problems with Ship Sevices which resulted in a total screw-up of items we had pre-ordered and paid for. We were told our "concerns" had been forwarded to their Ship Services Department and they would, "....communicate directly with you regarding this matter". that was back in early February and to date we have not heard a word.

 

The credit was a nice gesture but I doubt if we will be sailing with HAL in the near furture. Austraila/Asia was something that had really interested us but our past 2 experiences with HAL have left us a tad bit unhappy. Took our 1st cruise with HAL backin the early 90's and had always thought of ourselves as loyal fans. Not really happy about jumping ship. Guess time will tell.

[ekerr19]

We had a number of problems on our December Ryndam cruise including the usual plumbing problems in our cabin plus the flooded cabin next to ours in the middle of the night which decided to also visit us and a few smells that we would rather forget.

 

Which cabins were they?

[joeyanddavid]

( I would send it to the CEO, Stein Kruse at HAL's Seattle office and mark it "Personal".) Thanks for the name and suggestion, I'll do that as well. Our letter from HAL had the name of someone in Guest Relations in Seattle WA. But the CEO is even better. Thanks!

I faxed my concerns directly to Mr. Kruse to a fax number inside his office ..would be glad to share if you need it.

[joeyanddavid]

Originally Posted by Pammie poo

( I would send it to the CEO, Stein Kruse at HAL's Seattle office and mark it "Personal".) Thanks for the name and suggestion, I'll do that as well. Our letter from HAL had the name of someone in Guest Relations in Seattle WA. But the CEO is even better. Thanks!

 

I faxed my concerns directly to Mr. Kruse to a fax number inside his office ..would be glad to share if you need it.

 

I forgot to say that Mr. Kruse didnt take the time himself to address me but instead delegated the response to Mr. Gitai Ben-Ammi, whose response was as condisending (sp?) as the cruise treatment.

[peaches from georgia]

It has always been advised on this board to send complaints to Stein Kruse, as poster Esme said. Of course he is not going to be dealing with all the details of complaints personally, but it should get a lot more attention to start at the top and let his office filter it down to the appropriate person. ;)

[sail7seas]

Sorry but you are wrong. I just called HAL and it's Supervisor, Guest Relations. :p :D

 

 

Actually, I have several e-mails in my box that are signed the way I indicated. By the Manager.......

Seeing as that is how he refers to his own title, I think I'll take his word for it. We've had the pleasure of meeting him and think very highly of him.

[1cruiselvr]

I wouldn't expect much back from HAL. We had bigger issues with a HAL cruise and wrote a detailed letter upon returning from our trip. We didn't expect anything more than a response indicating corrective action had been taken to ensure future pax wouldn't experience the same problems. It took 3 mos to get a response that basically said 'sorry you weren't happy but hope you will try us again in the future'. So much for caring about their customers. Yet overall, we love HAL and will sail them again. I just wonder why they bother with a customer relations department if they aren't going to take the information received seriously. Happy Sailing!

[zdude]

<snip> you might have been compensated in some way for the elevator mishap and you would have felt better on the cruise.

 

Oh come now. Six minutes in an elevator that jammed? Would you go asking for reimbursement at a department store if the same thing happened? Sheesh, with expectations that high god knows how you have a good time at all.

 

Elevator jams for 6 minutes, I say no big deal, and so should everyone. Sure inform someone of the problem, but that should happen when you call for help.

[Rabbitlady]

I hope everything is fixed by the time my husband and I board the ship in June. While I agree these problems can happen, I have searched many sites and the plumbing seems to be such a large issue on ms. Ryndam. I don't seem to see the same number of posts regarding plumbing like on this ship. On other ships it seems to be a minor problem that was fixed.

 

 

Rabbitlady

[tankerjo2]

Which cabins were they?

 

We were in cabin B160

[BJane]

HAL does indeed read and in my case respond to letters from passengers. They had accepted bookings for B2B Oosterdam coastal cruises which I later found out (on this board) were not legal due to the Jones Act. I wrote a concise letter expaining what had happened and how surprised I was that no one at HAL had caught the error. I sent copies to Customer Relations and to the Director of the Mariner Society. I received replies from both departments expressing their apologies over the matter.

 

Although I was angry enough at the time to cancel my July cruise with them, this will certainly not keep me from sailing with them some time in the future. I have had many wonderful experiences on their ships.

[ekerr19]

I faxed my concerns directly to Mr. Kruse to a fax number inside his office ..would be glad to share if you need it.

 

I forgot to say that Mr. Kruse didnt take the time himself to address me but instead delegated the response to Mr. Gitai Ben-Ammi, whose response was as condisending (sp?) as the cruise treatment.

 

You are talking about the President and CEO of a large corporation.. come on people, get real here! Do you honestly think this man is going to answer each and ever letter that crosses his fax? Heck, even I don't do that!

 

Of course he is going to delegate it!!!

 

As for Mr. Ben-Ammi's condescending treatment... what exactly were you asking him to do for you? what was his specific response? I am really curious to hear about this.

[ekerr19]

We were in cabin B160

 

Thank you. :)

[WyoFloater]

Wow, reading this thread is really making me nervous. I'm returning to HAL after several other lines (on which I have experienced plumbing problems as well) because I remembered how great my first cruise was with them.

 

Perhaps you could start a new poll to alleviate your worries (as well as my own!). "How many of you have experienced plumbing problems on the Ryndam first hand?" (no pun intended)

[ekerr19]

Perhaps you could start a new poll to alleviate your worries (as well as my own!). "How many of you have experienced plumbing problems on the Ryndam first hand?" (no pun intended)

 

The same thing happened a few months back, but it was about the Maasdam. I really wouldn't worry about it too much. I have been on the Noordam (4 times), Statendam, Amsterdam, Veendam, Maasdam, Volendam & Zuiderdam. I have never encountered any problems with the plumbing. I think my odds are pretty good considering I just passed 100 days at sea on HAL. The only time I noticed an odor that did not dissipate quickly was on the Zuiderdam - even then it was not overwhelming.

 

We are booked on the Ryndam for a December cruise and the least of my worries will be the plumbing, lol! We even have booked one of the cabins in question.

 

If you go back and read some of the posts, you may also notice that Sail7Seas, who has well over 300 days on HAL ships, has only experienced plumbing problems on one occasion.

 

I am sorry the OP had problems - but I really feel any problems of this nature are the exception rather than the norm.

[Boatdrill]

HAL does indeed read and in my case respond to letters from passengers. They had accepted bookings for B2B Oosterdam coastal cruises which I later found out (on this board) were not legal due to the Jones Act. I wrote a concise letter expaining what had happened and how surprised I was that no one at HAL had caught the error. I sent copies to Customer Relations and to the Director of the Mariner Society. I received replies from both departments expressing their apologies over the matter.

.

 

I'm guessing you received replies because it involved a legal matter, one that could've caused them alot of problems.

 

Nevertheless, I'm glad you heard back from them !

[anniecat]

Last Feb we were on thr Ryndam..same intinerary. Our cabin was 129. At least half the time our toilet did not flush (no rhyme or reason..just something with the vacuum)..no overflow thank goodness, and large banks of room randomly were without toilet service at times, sewer smells filled the halls normally, many public toilets not working and a crew working frantically to fix the problems. No illnesses on board though. After our Loreto port visit..all was well..flush on command everywhere. And yes the service was a little lackadaiscal (sp?) at times and stress showed on many a crew member (don't know why...maybe a full moon was to blame. The front desk was responsive to our complaints about the toilets (and a few staff members were sympathetic..our cabin steward especially).

So.....we still loved the cruise, would go again in a heartbeat

[zdude]

Maybe it is more of a problem on the lower decks?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Pammie, I join everyone else in feeling really badly that so much went wrong on your cruise. Sometimes it just seems like dominoes, doesn't it? I agree with everyone else that a shorter letter will get better attention.

 

Whether you send it to Supervisor or Manager of Guest Relations, I'm sure it will get there. Having worked in Customer Service my entire life, I would be very disappointed if you don't receive a personal response from them. I would love if you would post when you hear from them.

Obviously HAL cannot be blamed for your husband's illness, but I think you have a few very real issues they should address.