Another HAl item gone

[Watson's aunt]

I just got the Amsterdam on Friday (Alaska) the first few days we got the "IN PORT: flyer with our Explorer Flyer. One day it did not come. I asked and it has been discontinued. Many of the cruisers never recieved it. I guess they were just getting rid of the supply they had. they have a magazine in the room to replace it. How sad.

 

 

Mary

[HamburgAvonLady]

Is this like an "informaton" sheet talking about the port you are visiting for the day ???

Thanks.

[Lisa63]

We received the In Port paper on our 6/30 Alaska cruise on Westerdam -- but it was available at the gangway, not delivered to our stateroom as in the past. I'm sad to hear they're being discontinued. Aside from the ads (and there were many of them), the historical background on the port is nice. Not as many pax do the amount of research I do before a cruise.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. (And sorry to have missed you on your recent cruise -- that was our original booking.)

[catl331]

I will miss the map, however crude some of them are, and a convenient way to take the Port Agent's telephone number with me. :(

[sail7seas]

We received the In Port paper on our 6/30 Alaska cruise on Westerdam -- but it was available at the gangway, not delivered to our stateroom as in the past. I'm sad to hear they're being discontinued. Aside from the ads (and there were many of them), the historical background on the port is nice. Not as many pax do the amount of research I do before a cruise.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. (And sorry to have missed you on your recent cruise -- that was our original booking.)

 

 

They were not delivered to the cabins but on our recent Oosterdam cruise, I was able to get one every port at the gangway.

 

I agree it is a cutback we do not welcome.

I like to have that flyer in our cabin the night before.

Less crew = less service. The crews are working as hard as anyone can ask of them but they cannot accomplish what used to be done aboard.

 

[trophy_23]

We were on the same trip with you and we received the 'In Port' sheet for Juneau, Ketchikan and Icy Strait. I just assumed we didn't get any for the other ports (Anchorage, Kodiak, Homer) because no other ships go there? But I did start to wonder when we didn't get Sitka or Victoria. We picked up a magazine style book down near the front office that had our whole itinerary in it and all of the detailed port info. I actually really liked the new one, but did miss the old sheets we'd get in the 'mail' night before the port.

[iancal]

Perhaps they are trying to be more environmentally friendly. If someone wants one, they are available. Saves printing and recycling for those that do not really want or need them.

 

Now, if only they were this responsible on the useless advertisiing and promotional bumph that so often litters our cabin in box.

[sail7seas]

Perhaps they are trying to be more environmentally friendly. If someone wants one, they are available. Saves printing and recycling for those that do not really want or need them.

 

Now, if only they were this responsible on the useless advertisiing and promotional bumph that so often litters our cabin in box.

 

 

I don't think that is the reason.

 

If they are not going to deliver the port information sheet, I think it very important they put the Port Agent contact name, telephone in the Daily Program. That information should be directly given to every guest at each port, IMO.

 

[trvlcrzy]

Agreed. The Port Agent's contact information is a vital element that every passenger should have if off the ship for the day.

 

I'll have to look for that Port Agent information...

[surfsidemary]

Perhaps they are trying to be more environmentally friendly. If someone wants one, they are available. Saves printing and recycling for those that do not really want or need them.

 

Now, if only they were this responsible on the useless advertisiing and promotional bumph that so often litters our cabin in box.

 

I absolutely agree with this. My most recent cruise (SA GV) I was papered to death with "sales" flyers for the shops and spa. I hope they are delivered to cabins by the vendor and not the stewards, but more importantly, somebody is printing all that useless paper. Meanwhile, they had cut back drastically on number of NY Times copies available. I usually had to go to the front office where they would cheerfully print out a copy for me. Apparently trying to save paper if the paper is not about making money.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We didn't even get the new Explorer booklet. We found out about it at the end of the cruise when we asked why we had not gotten Port guides for all the ports. The pages can be torn out. For each port there is information about that port, suggested shops and suggested places where to eat. The Port Agents are also listed. There are maps for each port.

We were told that the old Port guides will be discontinued. They are working on Alaska with this new guide. Then the Caribbean will be set up next and finally the Med. I have no idea what they plan to do about repositioning cruises.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There were none of the old port guides at the gangway on the Amsterdam.

As for "sale" flyers. This is most we have gotten in a long time.

And every other day we were getting flyers for the Art Auctions.

[kazu]

I don't think that is the reason.

 

If they are not going to deliver the port information sheet, I think it very important they put the Port Agent contact name, telephone in the Daily Program. That information should be directly given to every guest at each port, IMO.

 

 

totally agree - that is one piece of information that I NEVER want to walk off the ship without

[Watson's aunt]

hi

 

Lisa we missed you. I completely forgot the meet and great. That was Number one on my list. I could not believe I missed it.

 

I never saw them give them out on dock. I went to the front office and I talked to my wonderful cabin steward and he pointed to new guilde. Front desk told me same thing. I had to asked twice for the NY times. I just toss the ads they put in the mail. The port guides were freat for extra information. If they keep cutting here and there they will find the people have gone elsewhere to cruise.

 

 

Mary

[SwissMyst]

Unfortunately we always thought these port info sheets were extremely deficient, out of date and unhelpful and should have either updated or not bothered with. They have long appeared to be nothing more than a gratuitous afterthought of marginal information and ads, and should/could have been so much better.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I find it very helpful...

[3rdGenCunarder]

Perhaps they are trying to be more environmentally friendly. If someone wants one, they are available. Saves printing and recycling for those that do not really want or need them.

 

Now, if only they were this responsible on the useless advertisiing and promotional bumph that so often litters our cabin in box.

 

I agree! That IS a terrible waste of paper. So many of those offers are in the Explorer already, so there's no need for the extra flyer.

 

I find the maps useful, although the info about places to see can be out of date. When we did the Maasdam repo last fall, we were visiting ports after the "season," and much of what was on the sheet was wrong for the time of our visit. I do a lot of research before a trip, so I knew what would really be open, but I wonder how people who hit a port "cold" felt about the info available.

 

I can't believe they don't put the port agent info in the Explorer (Cunard always does this). I never noticed that because I've always had HAL's map. Sometimes I check out the port agents in advance as part of my research. That's one of those bits of "don't leave the ship without it" information.

[PathfinderEss]

I just got the Amsterdam on Friday (Alaska) the first few days we got the "IN PORT: flyer with our Explorer Flyer. One day it did not come. I asked and it has been discontinued. Many of the cruisers never recieved it. I guess they were just getting rid of the supply they had. they have a magazine in the room to replace it. How sad.

 

 

Mary

I agree and thank you for the heads up. We were still getting them in May on the Zuiderdam.

So I can tear the pages out of the new Magazine?:D

[iancal]

Agree with swissmyst. The only useful information for us is the name of the port agent (in case something untoward happened to us while ashore that prevented us from returning to the ship).

 

We do not need the adverts for shops which pay HAL very well for their recommondation to cruisers-same as all the other cruise lines. Nor do we need a map to get those stores because we never bother with them.

[doncarlos]

I

I can't believe they don't put the port agent info in the Explorer (Cunard always does this). I never noticed that because I've always had HAL's map. Sometimes I check out the port agents in advance as part of my research. That's one of those bits of "don't leave the ship without it" information.

 

Agree with who raise this point ...like Kazu said " never get off the ship without it "

[Lisa63]

If they are not going to deliver the port information sheet, I think it very important they put the Port Agent contact name, telephone in the Daily Program. That information should be directly given to every guest at each port, IMO.

 

 

Absolutely! This information is so important that I believe it should be in more than one place -- certainly in the Daily Program and perhaps even somewhere in a QR code for pax who bring devices capable of reading them. Maybe the latter can be posted at the gangway and pointed out to pax as they get off the ship.

[andyandsue]

I just got the Amsterdam on Friday (Alaska) the first few days we got the "IN PORT: flyer with our Explorer Flyer. One day it did not come. I asked and it has been discontinued. Many of the cruisers never recieved it. I guess they were just getting rid of the supply they had. they have a magazine in the room to replace it. How sad.

 

 

Mary

 

Just off the Veendam yesterday and we did receive the port flyer, but we were in Bermuda, so there was only one port. I found it handy, but not a necessity. I liked the port contact information which I tore out and brought with us.

[jaguarstyper]

Agreed. The Port Agent's contact information is a vital element that every passenger should have if off the ship for the day.

 

I'll have to look for that Port Agent information...

Really? :confused: I never even heard of a "Port Agent" before I read this thread. I've been off the ship at dozen's of ports and I've never missed this vitally important element. Sometimes I find its so much easier to just happily skip through most things things in life, ignorant and uninformed. Its more fun that way. LOL :D

[vbmom87]

I went on my first cruise in 2008. If it weren't for my reading of CC, I would have been totally oblivious to Port Agents and the importance of keeping this information with us. I used a TA for my first cruise and she made no mention of this importance piece of information. I am quite sure there are a lot of cruisers that are totally clueless about port agents.

[Krazy Kruizers]

This is what the front of the Alaskan Amsterdam Explorer looks like: