Westerdam: I Hope the Cruise was the Exception for HAL, Not the Rule.

[kazu]

I was using a credit card. I know what my credit card charges for international purchases. I did not intend to use cash at all. All I wanted to know what the current exchange rate was so when I went into a shop and saw something that was $10 I could convert it in my mind into US Dollars. I did not ask what individual shops were charging. I did not ask what my credit card company was charging.

 

Yes, as a matter of a fact you are. What the exchange rate is irrelevant. It's what your credit card will be charging that matters. If you needed to know then they were the people to ask - not HAL. different credit card companies charge a different premium - no one could have answered this question but your credit card company.

[Topsham]

Regarding any of the negative issues you had on board you should have requsted a meeting with the Guest Services Manager. End of story. Any issues would have been dealt with nand cleared up immediately. That is what they are there for.

 

As for exchange rate... isn't there a note on the Daily Program what the rate is for each port? Failing that.... why not just ask the shopkeeper at time of purchase?

[hypercafe]

In this case the problems the OP had are not based on line policy which is cut and dried but on what the OP,s perception is of good service. So who is to say what is right. My question is why is it so impossible for some to take any complaints about the line?

[wallyboag]

I wasn't asking what my credit card was charging. I knew that ahead of time. I was asking what the exchange rate for Canadian to US Dollars was. This has nothing to do with my credit card or what stores charge. I was asking how many US Dollars to One Candian dollar. Simple. Once I knew what that was I could calculate what my credit card would charge and I would know that something marked $10 in the shop would cost me $10.40 cents and not $14.00 or $128.56 or whatever.

[SwissMyst]

...... My question is why is it so impossible for some to take any complaints about the line?

 

Not sure you are asking the right question, hypercafe. People bring their complaints about HAL here all the time. Since when does that mean other can't agree with those complaints? That does not make us robotic HAL cheerleaders. Not sure what your complaint is really about.

[kazu]

I wasn't asking what my credit card was charging. I knew that ahead of time. I was asking what the exchange rate for Canadian to US Dollars was. This has nothing to do with my credit card or what stores charge. I was asking how many US Dollars to One Candian dollar. Simple. Once I knew what that was I could calculate what my credit card would charge and I would know that something marked $10 in the shop would cost me $10.40 cents and not $14.00 or $128.56 or whatever.

 

sorry you are still wrong - the exchange rate is not set until that night by your credit card company when it goes through (it might have been a whole 50 cents higher or even a point or a point lower:)). no one can tell you what it will be. The premium you may know - the final rate is not known until the charge is processed:) retired banker here - so I do have a clue how these things work.

 

anyways - the difference would have been nominal - as Topsham says it's in the daily explorer every day/ port guide. By now, I am sure you know what your were charged:)

[kazu]

In this case the problems the OP had are not based on line policy which is cut and dried but on what the OP,s perception is of good service. So who is to say what is right. My question is why is it so impossible for some to take any complaints about the line?

 

I have no problem with complaints - none at all - but I really think there should be some reasonable expectations - the exchange rate kerfluffle is one as far as I am concerned - but what do I know:confused::confused: I just know my expectations and what I think is a fair expectation.

 

We are all only human - so each to their own - smooth seas:D

 

definitely time to get off this thread:rolleyes:

[whogo]

I guess I am over reacting? I don't know. Really, I know it sounds like I am whining, but I am not a complainer by nature. Our last cruise was wonderful. When it came time to tip at the end of the cruise we doubled the recommended tips for our waiter and assistant waiter and added more for our room attendant. We truly received exceptional service (It was a Disney cruise to Mexico, by the way).

 

What really irked me about the service was not that things went wrong. I can forgive when things go wrong, but the reaction when we asked for them to be fixed. For instance the drink thing: I can totally understand a bartender making a mistake when making a drink. Especially at dinner time when there are probably 50 drink orders coming in at once. But when the drink is made improperly and not drinkable, it should be replaced right away no questions asked! It shouldn't be left on the table while the server goes to find the head steward! Or the laundry bags. I can understand the room attendant forgetting to put out two or three of the 50 things he has to put in the room, but it shouldn't take two calls and three days to get it replaced (incidentally about the note left for the guy, I actually thought about doing that, but there was no paper or pen in the room either... another thing he forgot to leave for us). Or the room service thing. When my brother called the third time and asked to cancel, they should have apologized to him for taking so long, my brother shouldn't have had to apologize to them for canceling an order two hours after he placed it! I work in the service industry and these things are called "Service Recovery" and they are more important than the actual service. When things go wrong it's how they are fixed that make animpression on the customer, and the crew of the Westerdam had absolutely no service recovery skills, which is what made this cruise seem exceptionally unfriendly to me.

 

I am with you on this one wallyboag, I think you got lousy service. I am sorry to see that HAL is still double charging for items that are pre-ordered. By this time they should be able to charge customers once, and only once, for unlimited laundry or other pre-ordered items. Double charging makes me wonder if HAL is deliberately trying to pad their revenue.

 

I could only wish that my customers would be as understanding of my errors as HAL apologists are to their favorite cruise line's failures. I would not bother writing to Seattle. If HAL does not pay attention to this thread, they won't pay attention to your letter, either.

[SwissMyst]

 

I could only wish that my customers would be as understanding of my errors as HAL apologists are to their favorite cruise line's failures. I would not bother writing to Seattle. If HAL does not pay attention to this thread, they won't pay attention to your letter, either.

 

Ever wonder why there are such strong HAL "apologists"? What is in it for us to tolerate shabby service if in fact this is what HAL tries to get away with? Or, do we just approach this in a more comprehensive manner.

 

I'll repeat what I just wrote. HAL is a good 85% service quality, B+ ship which makes us 100% happy.

[rafinmd]

You asked the wrong people. Front Desk people have no need to know exchange rates, so they probably don't.

The person to ask is the port lecturer. Knowing exchange rates is part of that job.

 

May I quibble here? I believe HAL's term is actually "Travel Guide". I know Celebrity uses the term "Port Lecturer", and if the Travel Guides I've seen on HAL and the Celebrity Port Lecturer are any indications there's a world of difference. I know all 3 of my Travel Guides were pretty unbiased, knowledgeable, and went out of their way to help individual cruisers, while my Port Lecturer was pretty much a shill for Celebrity partner shops and shore excursions.

 

Roy

[hypercafe]

I'll repeat what I just wrote. HAL is a good 85% service quality, B+ ship which makes us 100% happy.

 

I do not know where the us comes in. This makes you happy and that is great as you plan and pay for your trip. This could make me happy or unhappy based on my def of good service. Why do you try to convince me I am right or wrong?

[SwissMyst]

I'll repeat what I just wrote. HAL is a good 85% service quality, B+ ship which makes us 100% happy.

 

I do not know where the us comes in. This makes you happy and that is great as you plan and pay for your trip. This could make me happy or unhappy based on my def of good service. Why do you try to convince me I am right or wrong?

 

/////////////////////////////////

Uhhh... I am beginning to see the fundamental problem.:rolleyes: SM

[Topsham]

Juneau day dining: Here's where it got really frustrating. Because of a time change, clocks were set back the day we were scheduled to arrive in Juneau.

 

 

Correct. Normal proceedure when time zone changes. The time change is usually done at either 2 or 3 o'clock... in the middle of the night. This is not done without telling you. It is in the daily program and also the steward leaves a note on the bed... DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCK BACK ONE HOUR. How can this be frustrating? All it means is that you got an extra hour sleep!

 

 

 

This meant to our bodies and the 2,000 other passengers on board, 11:00 was lunchtime.

 

No it does not mean that at all. If you were heading for lunch at 11:00 that is the same as Noon on old time... so what is you body having to adjust to? Unless you just finished breakfast an hour earlier and in that did you really want a lunch as well? Please don't tell us what 2,000 other people did because I'm quite certaain that the majority were up early, having breakfast and enjoying the scenery.

 

 

The all ashore time for Juneau was 12:15. The lido did not open until 11:00 AM and the dining room did not open until 12:00. This meant that 2,000 people had to cycle through the Lido in 1 hour. Ridiculous!

 

There is no such thing as 'all ashore time'. 12.15 is simply the time that the ship is expected to dock and you will be allowed to go ashore for whatever purpose you wish. 2,000 people DID NOT have to get through the Lido in one hour. You are assuming and quite incorrectly I believe. Those passengers going on early tours might want to have something before heading ashore. Fair enough but all tours don't leave at the same time so while some may have been eager to get shore the rest can do their lunch in the lodo... after 12 o'clock or go to the dining room... as they wish.

 

 

 

I called room service at 11:00 to order a steak sandwich. They would only have the limited menu until 12:00! What good is that when everyone is going on shore?

 

 

Yes, limited menu because breakfast would have been available from around 7 am to 10 or 10.30. Why would anyone be requesting a steak sandwich immediately after breakfast or when teh lido is just aabout ready to open for lunch? This is normal practice in 99% of hotels etc around the world. If you are indisposed in your cabin for any reaason.... like Norovirus.... you won't be eating steak sandwiches. Again, not everyone goes ashore at the same time.

 

The food options up at the Lido were very limited even at 11:00... only sandwiches and potato chips. Why couldn't the kitchens be opened early to accommodate the port schedule? The lines at the lido were ridiculous and people were very agitated.

 

I don't belive this at all. If the lido was open at 11 then they WERE open early to accommodate the port schedue. If you went to order room service at 11 o'clocck then you obiously did not wait around to see what was being offered in the Lido but in twenty years I have NEVER seen HAL offer just sandwiches and potato chips.

 

Similarly all aboard in Juneau was after 10:00. The only food available at that time was room service. So 2,000 hungry people clogged the room service line right at 10:00.

 

 

 

No, this is simply not true. I have done some 16 cruises to Asaska, the most recent on the WESTERDAM in May. The 2,000 people you talk about were most likely on board for first and second sitting in the dining room, Pinnacle, Lido etc and by 10 pm had already finished their meals.

Those passengers who stayed ashore most likely also had dinner ashore. So who was ashore, coming back at saailing time that did not have their supper? Perhaps a few hanging out at the Red Dog Saloon. So, no 2,000 people clogging the line. I'm not saying there was no delay. There probably was because that time of night is busy and they do not have dozens of stewards standing around waiting to serve up orders for room service.

 

 

 

 

I sat on hold for 15 minutes before my order was taken. My brother called a few minutes later and waited almost 30 minutes. I was told 45 minutes for delivery, but it was delivered an hour.

 

 

So it was fifteen minutes late. Big deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a few minutes a different beverage server came and told us that wine flights were several "very small" glasses of wine (very small were his words) and we said that we knew what it was, that's why we ordered them!

 

When the first set of wines came out... boy was very small right. These were maybe one ounce pours. There was not enough wine in the glass to cover the tongue when you sipped it. I don't know if this is standard for HAL or if he was pouring extra small to make a point.

 

 

But you said that you knew that the wine flight was several small glasses

of wine?

Several small glasses. Yes, but in the end you pay the same as what a single large glass would cost, but have the enjoyment fo tasting serveral wine. Or did you expect lots of wine for free?

 

again, but I am definitely going to use a different cruise line this time.

 

Well, good luck.

 

What do you guys thing? Is this odd for HAL? quote]

[Wakepatrol]

I keep seeing Inspector Clouseau,being summoned to the room to investigate a moldy chocolate covered strawberry. He gingerly picks it up with tweezers puts it in a bag, but eats it in the elevator on the way to forensics.

[RuthC]

May I quibble here? I believe HAL's term is actually "Travel Guide". I know Celebrity uses the term "Port Lecturer", and if the Travel Guides I've seen on HAL and the Celebrity Port Lecturer are any indications there's a world of difference. I know all 3 of my Travel Guides were pretty unbiased, knowledgeable, and went out of their way to help individual cruisers, while my Port Lecturer was pretty much a shill for Celebrity partner shops and shore excursions.

 

Roy

Quibble away, Roy. The point is still the same: HAL has an assigned person who was available at the end of the gangway to answer the question. It was published in the daily program where and when he would be there. All OP had to do was read the program and connect the mental dots.

Instead, he gets upset that a procedure doesn't exist when he thinks it should.

 

There's already too many things in life to get upset about. This isn't one of them.

[Se4deb]

What do you guys thing? Is this odd for HAL? Am I being overly picky? Should I write a letter? Do you think it would do any good for them?

 

Write a letter for Pete's sake and vent your spleen. If I have learned anything about cruising is that sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands. No laudry bag, just make a nice pile of dirty clothes on your bed or desk, with a note asking for laudry service and top it off with a $5 dollar bill. Trust me you will have nicely folded clean laundry as soon as humanly possible. The bill issue is something every cruiser has learned to keep an eye on. Data entry errors happen all the time because humans do the data entry. Your problem was solved - no problem. I've had problems on Princess and RC so cruising is not a perfect adventure, but neither is living. Go try another cruise line and see what you can find to complain about. Maybe more maybe less - it is always your choice.

[dakrewser]

Certainly one shouldn't have to pay Crystal's prices to get a laundry bag. I agree that if one isn't in the cabin upon embarkation, it's not a problem to call and ask for one. But then if it doesn't appear? That's a lapse in service, and combined with the numerous other issues pointed out by the OP, that's cause for concern.

 

I don't want to spend my cruise in line at the front desk asking repeatedly for items I've already asked for.

 

No need to call anyone, just flag down your steward and get two. Then let him know he should leave one for each full one he picks up while doing the cabin.

[SwissMyst]

An irony to note is one does hear good things about HAL service, and often that is in comparison to what one finds else where.

 

We had cruised Crystal prior to our first HAL cruise and since we were low-level cabin Crystal, we were very pleased to see how much more attentive and genuine the service was that we found on HAL compared to the relative indifference, out-right surliness or cloying excesses we experienced on Crystal.

 

We did not leave "Crystalized", but appreciated this is a pretty ship and does have aspects to recommend in its favor; however, service perfection is not one of them.

 

So count us among those who do go about bragging about the "great service on HAL". Which the OP is teaching us can mean anything to anybody. This is a good lesson too.

[dakrewser]

I think this is total nonsense. I have been in hotels, restaurants and bars all over the world and have never experienced anything like this. Every business is under financial stress and needs to control their inventory. But when that inventory control creates a bad customer experience, its a bad control. Ask any restaurant owner. I'm sure any of them would take the loss of a single bad drink, no questions asked, versus giving the customer a hard time about it and possibly losing their future business.

 

I would reasonably suspect that HAL is making a very high profit on drinks and can afford to pour one down the drain once in a while without having to present it to a committee for approval.

 

But, as noted in a different thread, the MDR steward doesn't actually speak to the bartender - or see him. The order is entered on a terminal then brought by a runner. It may be necessary to involve a supervisor in order to insure the correct drink is offered.

[dakrewser]

I wasn't asking what my credit card was charging. I knew that ahead of time. I was asking what the exchange rate for Canadian to US Dollars was. This has nothing to do with my credit card or what stores charge. I was asking how many US Dollars to One Candian dollar. Simple. Once I knew what that was I could calculate what my credit card would charge and I would know that something marked $10 in the shop would cost me $10.40 cents and not $14.00 or $128.56 or whatever.

 

But it's NOT simple - as everyone has been trying to tell you. There s no "standard rate" (the way tere was 50 years ago) - each transaction takes place at diffeent rates. The rate you were interested in was what your CC issuer was charging, as they would be doing the conversion (not the retailer who would be billing in $CDN).

[wallyboag]

In preparing to write my letter I remembered some other service issues that I didn't include in my original post.

 

My brother's balcony door was jammed locked. The previous guests had bent and broken the key inside the door so it couldn't be opened. Although he called about it right away when he got to the cabin, it was not fixed until later that night after dinner. He missed sailaway on the balcony that he paid a premium price for and no effort or apology was made to make up for the delay in the repair.

 

When we disembarked in Juno the barcodes on our cards would not scan at the security desk. They were still able to check us off the boat by swiping the magnetic stripe, but we got a stern "You must go to the desk to replace your cards as soon as you get back" from the guard. When we came back on the boat so my three year old daughter could take a nap, the card still wouldn't scan, so I told the security guard that he would have to swipe the card because the barcode wouldn't scan. When I went to depart the boat again to go on my whale watching tour (Harv & Marv's by the way... it was excellent) I got a "Why didn't you get it replaced?" Gee, I'm so sorry that I didn't take several minutes of time out of a very busy port day to wait in line at the front desk and have the card replaced! Why is this such a big deal? I have to go wait in line at the front desk to get my card replaced on a port day to save the guards the three extra seconds it takes for them to swipe the magnetic stripe as opposed to scanning the barcode? Why couldn't this wait until a sea day when I would have plenty of time to run errands on the ship? And why would a security guard have to be so rude about having to swipe instead of scan? Seriously! It's not my fault that the card doesn't work.

 

My sister had purchased the suite amenities package add-on for her cabin. This included a couple of bottles of wine. We brought them to the dining room to enjoy with dinner. When the wine stewardess came over to ask about wine with dinner, she gave her the two bottles and the stewardess said "I will need your card because there is a $15 corkage fee." My sister said "But these came with our suite amenities package and we were supposed to be able to have them with dinner." The stewardess said "I will have to look into that." and left the bottles on the table, disappeared for a while and didn't return to serve the bottles until after the second course. No apology was offered for the long delay, no smile... it was as if we were "getting away" with a free corkage fee despite us purchasing the wine from HAL!

 

Again, it's not that these things went wrong that I'm upset about. It's about the lack of concern for them going wrong that is upsetting. Couldn't they have said to my brother, "Hey, sorry that you were locked out of your balcony for the whole first day of the cruise, but here's a free drink at the crows nest so you can enjoy the view from up there instead." Or, "Hey, your card doesn't scan. I'm sorry, it must have misprinted back in Seattle. At your convenience could you please stop up at the front desk to get it changed so it will speed up boarding and deboarding?"

 

I'm sure some people will commiserate with these issues, and I'm sure some will just say I am being overly complainy about things that are supposedly out of HAL's control despite the fact that they are totally within their control.

[lcand1923]

The cruise started wrong for the OP when the moldy strawberry was on the floor. This strawberry indicated to the OP that things wouldn't go well. If a housekeeping matter isn't handled correctly, what else will be wrong? (I've felt the same when I've checked into a hotel and found a lipstick stain on the drinking glass wrapped in its little paper bag indicating it was clean.) From there, we have no paper or writing instrument, no laundry bag and no robe. Perhaps there was a shortage of Cabin Stewards in this section of the ship? The other issues -- food service on a port day, a bad drink, the wine flight, the currency exchange rate, the double billing -- all of these are "ship happens" things that MAY have been shrugged off if the OP felt the room had been cared for correctly. I would write a letter letting Seattle know that first impressions DO matter.

[sapper1]

In preparing to write my letter I remembered some other service issues that I didn't include in my original post.

 

My brother's balcony door was jammed locked. The previous guests had bent and broken the key inside the door so it couldn't be opened. Although he called about it right away when he got to the cabin, it was not fixed until later that night after dinner. He missed sailaway on the balcony that he paid a premium price for and no effort or apology was made to make up for the delay in the repair.

 

When we disembarked in Juno the barcodes on our cards would not scan at the security desk. They were still able to check us off the boat by swiping the magnetic stripe, but we got a stern "You must go to the desk to replace your cards as soon as you get back" from the guard. When we came back on the boat so my three year old daughter could take a nap, the card still wouldn't scan, so I told the security guard that he would have to swipe the card because the barcode wouldn't scan. When I went to depart the boat again to go on my whale watching tour (Harv & Marv's by the way... it was excellent) I got a "Why didn't you get it replaced?" Gee, I'm so sorry that I didn't take several minutes of time out of a very busy port day to wait in line at the front desk and have the card replaced! Why is this such a big deal? I have to go wait in line at the front desk to get my card replaced on a port day to save the guards the three extra seconds it takes for them to swipe the magnetic stripe as opposed to scanning the barcode? Why couldn't this wait until a sea day when I would have plenty of time to run errands on the ship? And why would a security guard have to be so rude about having to swipe instead of scan? Seriously! It's not my fault that the card doesn't work.

 

My sister had purchased the suite amenities package add-on for her cabin. This included a couple of bottles of wine. We brought them to the dining room to enjoy with dinner. When the wine stewardess came over to ask about wine with dinner, she gave her the two bottles and the stewardess said "I will need your card because there is a $15 corkage fee." My sister said "But these came with our suite amenities package and we were supposed to be able to have them with dinner." The stewardess said "I will have to look into that." and left the bottles on the table, disappeared for a while and didn't return to serve the bottles until after the second course. No apology was offered for the long delay, no smile... it was as if we were "getting away" with a free corkage fee despite us purchasing the wine from HAL!

 

Again, it's not that these things went wrong that I'm upset about. It's about the lack of concern for them going wrong that is upsetting. Couldn't they have said to my brother, "Hey, sorry that you were locked out of your balcony for the whole first day of the cruise, but here's a free drink at the crows nest so you can enjoy the view from up there instead." Or, "Hey, your card doesn't scan. I'm sorry, it must have misprinted back in Seattle. At your convenience could you please stop up at the front desk to get it changed so it will speed up boarding and deboarding?"

 

I'm sure some people will commiserate with these issues, and I'm sure some will just say I am being overly complainy about things that are supposedly out of HAL's control despite the fact that they are totally within their control.

Cards that will not scan happen to us several times over the course of a cruise. No big deal. The problem is usually caused by storing the card too close to a cell phone in purse or pocket.

[wallyboag]

Cards that will not scan happen to us several times over the course of a cruise. No big deal. The problem is usually caused by storing the card too close to a cell phone in purse or pocket.

 

The barcode wouldn't scan, not the magnetic stripe. The magnetic stripe worked fine. So the security guard had to take the extra step of swiping the card through the reader instead of squeezing the handle of his barcode reader.

[hypercafe]

Wallyboag, you are wasting your time, some people here would say it was your fault if the ship hit a rock and sank, write your letter and let it die. Next time use a different line.