A really bad review

[whogo]

I believe what you say, but that seems strange to me. Why not be listed as a member when you sign up?

 

I do not know if there is a reason. An administrator's description of the situation is in post #11 in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1193479

[Sir PMP]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=216571

 

I read this really negative review of the Volendam. I haven't cruised HAL in awhile but I think there are some inaccuracies in the this review. I am sure the poster had some issues but it seems to be inaccurate as well?

 

 

Sorry, we happened to be on this cruise, nothing but 5 stars for crew and cruise...and by the way we were in 2715 fabulous cabin...

[kazu]

Sorry, we happened to be on this cruise, nothing but 5 stars for crew and cruise...and by the way we were in 2715 fabulous cabin...

 

Thank you.:D

[magandab]

I thought the review was nutty. Sorry, that's my best description;).

I wondered if maybe English was not his first language and that could be why he kept saying lies--not understanding the meaning of the word.

Maybe he will be happier on another cruise line.

Don't think he will be missed here.

 

This was my feeling as well, that it is clear (at least to me) that English is not his first language. I think Hyperbole might be though :D as his descriptions are highly exaggerated.

 

Interestingly, after reading this review, I clicked on "next" and the following review was only marginally better.

 

Obviously this guy and his wife had what they perceive as the worst cruise ever. We all create our own reality and that was theirs. I prefer my rose-colored glasses, glass half full, lemonade out of lemons existence!

[MarKandi]

He's probably a spy from a competing cruise line.

[SwissMyst]

Sorry, we happened to be on this cruise, nothing but 5 stars for crew and cruise...and by the way we were in 2715 fabulous cabin...

 

What about the reported "smells" on Deck 2. We also noticed more ship smells on Deck 2 of the Rotterdam, but assumed this was because we were a lot closer to the working areas of the ship than our prior experiences up on the verandah deck.

[Tampa Girl]

 

For this fellow perhaps the glass broke before he embarked.

 

 

What a wonderful line! Wish I had thought of it.

[Viesczy]

I completely LOVE these reviews!

 

Why? Gives great convo on the boards & it showcases the complete whine baby that the reviewer happens to be.

 

The review reads that the reviewer has rules for everyone else but them!

 

I can be really uncharitable and TEAR them a new one, just to do so, but I'm sure that they did that to themselves with their stomach malady.

 

Derek

[Sir PMP]

What about the reported "smells" on Deck 2. We also noticed more ship smells on Deck 2 of the Rotterdam, but assumed this was because we were a lot closer to the working areas of the ship than our prior experiences up on the verandah deck.

 

No smell at all, everything clean as a whistle, been on the Volendam almost 200 days in the last 2 years...

[stlouistravelers]

It seems to me that the poster may have had a reaction to his/her food. I also could be the flu bug that has been prevelant this winter. DW and I go to alot of all inclusive resorts and have noticed that the patrons seem to think all preprations should be to their taste. I even read a review that while in Mexico that they could have gotten better Mexican food at Taco Bell. Additionally, I notice that people will drink and eat items not normally on their diets and are miffed when it does not agree with them. The milk was probably UHT milk that we used to get in Europe. It is processed at a ultra high temperature (UHT) so it can be stored outside of the fridge. Smells and taste a little different but palatable the same.

It is a shame that the poster did not look at the experience and enjoy what was before them. DW and I tend to go on cruises for the rest and relaxation and tend to not expect too much. When we get something special we just thank our good fortunes. Sure wish the poster would have written about some of the things they liked also.

[Kansas Gal]

Might have to do with his expectations - maybe it was his first cruise. I remember an older lady travelling solo seated at our table on a cruise back in the 80's. She was expecting it to be just like the TV show Love Boat, complete with a shipboard romance! Needless to say, she often expressed her disappointment and said she would never cruise again.

[kruzhappy]

One of the things I noticed is that there was nothing really unique about this review. All of the complaints are about things I've read about here on Cruise Critic and the other info about the ports, pricing and deck maps could be found on the hal website.

 

In short, this review could have been written by someone with an ax to grind or competitor that didn't even go on the cruise.

 

I also thought many of the complaints were just how thing happen sometimes. Sometimes you get sick and very easy for the next person to get sick too. Who's fault? Mother nature or insufficient sanitizing? Hard to prove either way.

 

I'm not a HAL cheerleader, but I also have a high BS detector. And on this one it went ding, ding ding.

[Laminator]

In this instance Lies is a synonym for not getting what he wanted,

[Beejay4016]

I have to say that on our cruise in January the only sour note was the incredibly rude, arrogant maitre'd in the upper level dining room. What a puffed-up peacock that man is. We had a phone call one evening to say that the table we had requested wasn't available but that we had been allocated a lovely table on the upper level. We were even given the table number. At the appropriate time we rocked up expecting to be seated. He refused, telling us that the upper level was for fixed seating only. We pointed out that we had received a phone call and that table XX had been allocated to us. He still refused to seat us and told us we had to go downstairs and eat down there. When we went downstairs there was a great long queue. By the time we got to the front of the queue our table had been given to somebody else. Because we were always polite to the staff, we were given a voucher for some champagne and enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in one of the bars. We then ended up on a shared table with a couple of really arrogant prats who managed to insult just about everybody in hearing distance (we all fled, claiming a prior engagement). That was our first formal night, and what an incredible disappointment.

 

Our friends, who have cruised HAL many times, had a situation where their son and a friend got in the dining room queue while they were finishing dressing. When they were ready they joined the queue. Their son, who had been seated upstairs at a table for four, saw them in the queue, waved at them and signalled for them to come on up. They then tried to enter the dining room upstairs but were prevented from entering by that Maitre'd. They pointed out to him that their son and friend were already seated waiting for them, but he would not let them pass, insisting that they go back downstairs and wait in the queue.

 

Of a morning you would often see him wandering around the Lido buffet, speaking quite rudely to the staff and acting as if he expected everyone to bow down to him. We absolutely loved our first cruise, fell in love with the vessel and the whole HAL way of doing things - oh, and the sommelier's dinner was a gastronomic experience to remember for ever - and really look forward to sailing with them again, but this guy should not be in a role where he is actually dealing with people. I can't imagine anybody tipping him as we heard so many other people making adverse comments about him.

 

A long way of saying that on one point alone the OP is correct.

[peddieplease]

I don't know about "lies" but the OP obviously had a really disappointing cruise and that would tend to color every ese about it. Feel bad for them. These things happen. I just heard one person speak about their nightmare cruise to Hawaii where the weather was terrible and they couldn't even get to Hawaii, so Mexico was substituted but they couldn't make port there either so back to San Diego they went. Obviously very disappointed because all they got was the port charge returned a gift certificate. They felt that the cruise should have been refunded. In a case like that where the weather is that severe that you can't enjoy dining or doing anything else, that should be fair. Just my two cents worth.

[bar_20]

I don't know about "lies" but the OP obviously had a really disappointing cruise and that would tend to color every ese about it. Feel bad for them. These things happen. I just heard one person speak about their nightmare cruise to Hawaii where the weather was terrible and they couldn't even get to Hawaii, so Mexico was substituted but they couldn't make port there either so back to San Diego they went. Obviously very disappointed because all they got was the port charge returned a gift certificate. They felt that the cruise should have been refunded. In a case like that where the weather is that severe that you can't enjoy dining or doing anything else, that should be fair. Just my two cents worth.

 

Get real! Who's going to refund them the cruise? Mother Nature? A cruise line has no control over the weather. Did they get to eat on the ship? Did they have a cabin to sleep in? Were they entertained? I am sure the cruise line refunded any prebooked excursions through the cruise line.

[Topsham]

When someone is quarantined then the other person sharing the cabin is quarantined as well, yet while he was sick his wife was doing two things... running around the ship and preparing to go ashore on tour. I'd have shot her on sight. The husband even suggests that he might have gone ashore on tour but was worried about lack of facilities on the bus. The two of them would have set off Code Red for the rest of the ship.

 

His final comment about HAL not paying the price to dock at the passenger pier is just plain stupid.

[Seago2]

I believe what you say, but that seems strange to me. Why not be listed as a member when you sign up?

 

You're not listed until you make 30 posts (sorry if this has been answered).

 

I was laughing at the "chains dragging through walls" but the violent up chucking... Yikes. Freezing room also not good. Poor people. I'm sure their sickness colored their whole perspective. Ugh.

 

ETA: rude, arrogant maitre d's are par for the course!

[Esri]

The reviewer and his wife obviously had a really bad cruise experience, but I didn't see any lies by HAL. The price dropped after they had paid more - yeah, that happens all the time and it can be irritating, but it is not a "lie".

 

I'm sorry they got sick, but that is hardly HAL's fault... Even if they got Noro onboard, the ship and crew are not at fault. Viruses happen. I caught probably the worst cold I've had in 10 years on the last 2 days of our Alaska cruise. I was sick the last two days and I felt AWFUL during the all day process of flying home. It didn't ruin my cruise or my perception of it though.

 

The only thing he mentioned that would be HAL's fault was the heat in the room and the stewards not wanting to clean up while he and his wife were sick. If that part was true, that was a valid complaint, but it still wasn't a lie...

 

I too was confused by the complaints about vegetarian cooking and then talking about milk and chicken soup...