Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Holland America Lines Disasterdam

ejammer

By ejammer,
in Holland America Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

sail7seas

sail7seas

Posted
Posted

I PROMISE, it is really true.......

 

I thought of this thread this week and wondered if you ever got any satisfaction from HAL.

 

I so appreciate you came back here to let us know you will get to cruise Eurodam, afterall.

 

Hope you have a wonderful time and will share some comments after your cruise.

 

Very happy to hear you will finally cross that gangway. :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
ejammer

ejammer

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Yes, HAL did come through with flying colors, and our first cruise was an absolutely AMAZING experience filled with wonderful memories that will last a lifetime! The entire trip was much more than we could have ever expected, and to simply say it was well worth the wait is such a tremendous understatement. HAL has certainly succeeded in completely erasing any ill feelings, resentment, or otherwise negative memories from our first attempt. :)

 

Along with all the typical cruiser shipboard, port, and shore excursion adventures, my wife, and I just can't say enough good things about the courtesy, expertise, and professionalism of the entire Eurodam amenities, staff, and crew. Everything was first class all the way. I have really never seen so many genuinely happy smiling workers in one place before in my life. They must have a special "Happy Smiling Faces" training school or something. Whatever their secret, it works! It will be a long time before we will be able to wipe those contagious smiles off our own content faces. :)

 

Yes, to say it was all well worth the wait would be a tremendous understatement! Thank each of you so much who contributed your advice, feedback, and support. Thank you travel ombudsman Christopher Elliot for you advice and contribution. Thank you Congressman Phil Roe, and your expert congressional staff, for assisting me with obtaining my CRBA and passport. And especially, thank you Holland America Lines for helping make our first dream cruise become a reality! :)

 

Finally, as a special bonus, one of the many shipboard activities offered aboard the Eurodam were several Digital Workshop seminars. I attended a few of those, and learned a lot about editing in Photo Gallery and Movie Maker from the ships techspert, Jane. This is my first attempt at using some of what I learned by creating a short movie of our departure from St. Thomas. Until next time...:)

Edited by ejammer
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TracieABD "Live from...." Rare

TracieABD

Posted
Posted
Yes, HAL did come through with flying colors, and our first cruise was an absolutely AMAZING experience filled with wonderful memories that will last a lifetime! The entire trip was much more than we could have ever expected, and to simply say it was well worth the wait is such a tremendous understatement. HAL has certainly succeeded in completely erasing any ill feelings, resentment, or otherwise negative memories from our first attempt. :)

 

Along with all the typical cruiser shipboard, port, and shore excursion adventures, my wife, and I just can't say enough good things about the courtesy, expertise, and professionalism of the entire Eurodam amenities, staff, and crew. Everything was first class all the way. I have really never seen so many genuinely happy smiling workers in one place before in my life. They must have a special "Happy Smiling Faces" training school or something. Whatever their secret, it works! It will be a long time before we will be able to wipe those contagious smiles off our own content faces. :)

 

Yes, to say it was all well worth the wait would be a tremendous understatement! Thank each of you so much who contributed your advice, feedback, and support. Thank you travel ombudsman Christopher Elliot for you advice and contribution. Thank you Congressman Phil Roe, and your expert congressional staff, for assisting me with obtaining my CRBA and passport. And especially, thank you Holland America Lines for helping make our first dream cruise become a reality! :)

 

Finally, as a special bonus, one of the many shipboard activities offered aboard the Eurodam were several Digital Workshop seminars. I attended a few of those, and learned a lot about editing in Photo Gallery and Movie Maker from the ships techspert, Jane. This is my first attempt at using some of what I learned by creating a short movie of our departure from St. Thomas. Until next time...:)

 

Yay!!!! I just love a happy story! This outcome is awesome and I am so glad that it helped to erase those negative feelings. It sounds as if your forgiving nature contributed to this as well!

 

 

... and they lived happily ever after! The End!:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dobiemom

dobiemom

Posted
Posted
Yes, HAL did come through with flying colors, and our first cruise was an absolutely AMAZING experience filled with wonderful memories that will last a lifetime! The entire trip was much more than we could have ever expected, and to simply say it was well worth the wait is such a tremendous understatement. HAL has certainly succeeded in completely erasing any ill feelings, resentment, or otherwise negative memories from our first attempt. :)

Welcome home! Glad you had a great time. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sackman

sackman

Posted
Posted

I'm glad everything worked out. I haven't read through all the posts, so this may have been covered, but a good travel agent would have also made sure your documentation was in order well in advance. One of the first questions a good travel agent will ask is whether your passport is current.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stlouistravelers

stlouistravelers

Posted
Posted
I will not beleaguer whether a Passport should have been purchased or not. My opinion on that is not relevant to what you went through..Well not much anyway:)

 

My Frankfurt's 59th General Hospital.. Old Laws that has since been changed.

 

As soon after her birth as possible we made an appointment with the US Consulate and applied for an American Birth Certifiacate for her. At that time we were informed that under (then current) the laws of both Germany and the US, at the age of 18 she had to declare which nationality she wanted to be listed as and to relinquish the rights of the country she did not choose.

 

At 18 she chose, of course, American Citizenship and we helped her to contact the State Department and received her American citizenship, at the same time relinquishing her DDual Status.

 

I am guessing that you may have had similar, to a point, because your mom is German, so you have(?) dual citizenship also?? Or have not gone through the required process to drop your German citizenship at the age of 18?

 

IF that is the case, and it is kind of rare, then the HAL personnel in Seattle would most likely be unaware of the complicity of your Birth Certificate issue, and more than likely gave you the answer they KNEW, which would pertain to a person born after the laws were changed. I cannot remember when the laws of Dual Citizenship was changed but it had to be after 1972 when my daughter was born...

 

I am so sorry that you and your wife went through this. It saddens me to hear of it...........

 

It now shows others who might have a possible scenarion, the importance of

 

a. Contacting the US State Department about such matters

b. Having a Passport.

 

Again, I am so sorry

 

Joanie

 

My son was never given the choice. We had to make the decision on citizenship prior to bringing my son home 30 years ago. He was born in Wurzberg Army Hospital.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gerko

Gerko

Posted
Posted

Are there actually ways for Americans to leave the USA without a passport?

In Australia you must hold a passport to go anywhere outside the country, whether by ship or plane, so even the concept of trying to travel with only a birth certificate is bizarre to me. But perhapos things are different in the USA and there may be other option?

 

Australian passports have a built in microchip containing complete information about the holder. They have a special digitalized photo that cannot be forged or amended. And they're about to be enhanced with voice and retinal recognition technology. So I've always assumed that such a security conscious country as the US would be equally as strict, if not more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...