So now that they've back-pedalled..

[kazu]

Do you think it would be useful to contact the people who run the "Most Ethical Companies" program with some feedback. Somebody who could document what was said 2 or 3 days ago could send them a pretty convincing heads up.

 

Roy

 

now that's a good idea - wonder if a google search will give you the email.

[jig]

Funny that it is put off till the World Cruisers are on board.

[OVgirl]

the only problem with this assumption is that you are assuming these people will be drinking.

 

If a certain poster has their way, HAL will be full of tea toatltlers (don't know how to spell it and not looking it up) who will not spend a dime in bars on board. Of course, they know how to make their own fun - at the risk of everyone else's cruise price.

 

should make the share holders really happy. The cancellations I am seeing are people who do spend money on board. I guess HAL doesn't need them either.

 

If HAL doesn't have any pax, trust me the shareholders will not be happy;)

 

kazu, you are right that not everyone is drinking on their cruise.

 

There have been threads posted asking people how low their on board bill is at the end of their cruise. And there are a lot of people on this site who have very low bills to pay.

 

They don't drink, they don't gamble, they don't buy souvenirs, they don't go to specialty restaurants, they don't do excursions. And the list goes on and on.

 

These responses were not all HAL cruisers, it's across the board for the mainstream cruiselines.

 

So how can the cruiselines squeeze some money out of these cruisers?

[innlady1]

the only problem with this assumption is that you are assuming these people will be drinking.

 

If a certain poster has their way, HAL will be full of tea toatltlers (don't know how to spell it and not looking it up) who will not spend a dime in bars on board. Of course, they know how to make their own fun - at the risk of everyone else's cruise price.

 

should make the share holders really happy. The cancellations I am seeing are people who do spend money on board. I guess HAL doesn't need them either.

 

If HAL doesn't have any pax, trust me the shareholders will not be happy;)

 

Perhaps many of the shareholders will jump ship to other lines under the CCL umbrella (Princess, Cunard, Seaborne, etc.) so it won't affect the stock.

[OVgirl]

Funny that it is put off till the World Cruisers are on board.

 

The new smoking policy also did not go into effect on that ship until after the world cruise.:rolleyes:

[Typhoon1]

How could such an experienced company handle a policy change so poorly?

 

They could not have done it much worse, IMO.

 

 

HAL's PR department could use a complete overhaul from top to bottom.

 

That said, Those of you interested in wine have a six month notice that the policy will change next year.

[rafinmd]

now that's a good idea - wonder if a google search will give you the email.

 

I think you could go to the HAL website and click on one of the "Ethics" icons at the bottom of the page. You'll be directed to the ethisphere and there's a contact link in the upper left hand corner. It will produce a form that looks something like this:

 

http://ethisphere.com/about/contact/

 

I would put "customer" in the title box and submit the form.

 

Roy

[sail7seas]

Undercover Boss. And the NCL top dog was on a year or 2 ago. Fun to watch him try to be a CD and a poker dealer!! I think it would be great if Stein or one of his boys did this. And i also liked the suggestion that they be made to drink the (awful) wine offered in the wine packages.:D

 

ML

 

 

Mr. Kruse is far too well known and recognized to pull off 'Undercover Boss' for a nano-second. :D

 

I actually like that show and think it a wonderful learning experience for CEO's who are not widely recognized at the 'ground level'.

 

[Randyk47]

Mr. Kruse is far too well known and recognized to pull off 'Undercover Boss' for a nano-second. :D

 

I actually like that show and think it a wonderful learning experience for CEO's who are not widely recognized at the 'ground level'.

 

 

Not to mention, considering the make-up of the HAL crew, a Caucasian would kind of be obvious as wait staff or cabin attendant. :)

[xjust4fun]

the only problem with this assumption is that you are assuming these people will be drinking.

 

If a certain poster has their way, HAL will be full of tea toatltlers (don't know how to spell it and not looking it up) who will not spend a dime in bars on board. Of course, they know how to make their own fun - at the risk of everyone else's cruise price.

 

should make the share holders really happy. The cancellations I am seeing are people who do spend money on board. I guess HAL doesn't need them either.

 

If HAL doesn't have any pax, trust me the shareholders will not be happy;)

 

Well said Jacqui............. finally somebody has hit the nail on the head. Bravo.............

[Laminator]

the only problem with this assumption is that you are assuming these people will be drinking.

 

If a certain poster has their way, HAL will be full of tea toatltlers (don't know how to spell it and not looking it up) who will not spend a dime in bars on board. Of course, they know how to make their own fun - at the risk of everyone else's cruise price.

 

should make the share holders really happy. The cancellations I am seeing are people who do spend money on board. I guess HAL doesn't need them either.

 

If HAL doesn't have any pax, trust me the shareholders will not be happy;)

 

HAL won't be in business for long with tea-totalers. I have only been cruising for 5 years so I do not have the experience many of you do.

 

I have seen my fair share of cutbacks in the last 5 years though. I know many of you have seen dozens more in your experiences.

 

It does not appear there are many outside the box thinkers at HAL's corporate offices.

 

A voucher idea would have been great. Sell them as part of the shore excursions. $20 to $25 per voucher. Put a limit on them. 2 per cabin per week. 1 additional per cabin per port. Maybe one for every other port. I don't now. But at least try to be somewhat accommodating. A wine related shore excursion would include 1 free voucher per attending pax.

 

As for HAL having no pax that is not going to happen. They will continue to discount rooms to get pax. The same all cruise lines do.

[NoWhiners]

These are solid ideas. Let's try to offer reasonable solutions. Something that would be a win/win for pax and HAL. Now is the time to start a discussion. It may fall on deaf ears but at least there was an attempt made.

 

I agree in principle that HAL needs to come up with a better compromise--they are swaying too far in each direction (old policy; bring all you want, corkage fee for outside the cabin consumption. new policy--one bottle per person per cabin, period). I don't agree that any compromise that sets up even more different classes will help--when has having classes with different treatment ever worked in society? (Think segregation, busing, the recent presidential campaign and the 47%, maybe the Arab Spring movement. Remember the Titanic--lower classes got locked below deck--hmmm, maybe this could be another option for cabins:D). I would favor a blend of bringing wine onboard, pay a corkage fee (I think it should be the $10-15 level, not $18-20, but that is minor) for all bottles you bring on, AND doing something to improve their woeful wine selection and pricing. And then getting wine on tables faster during dinner:) !

 

If they had a better selection of wine at a reasonable price, I would only bring on bottles from ports in Europe, Chile, Argentina, etc--places that have great wines that I love to try and likely are not available at home.

 

We are not 4 star mariners, and will never be, so we will never qualify for that discount. If we were, we would still be stuck with crappy wine but at least the pricing is more in line with the quality. Isn't this enough of a class distinction to make without creating even more problems? What next--the "nice" tables in the MDR can only be used by certain classes of pax, and the rest of us (I guess the cruisng equivalent of the 47%:) ) would have to sit at bigger tables, near the kitchen or something!!:D

 

HAL is a business and needs to make a profit. doing things to annoy your customers isn't the way to get there. remember the KISS principle--keep it simple. So, a rational policy of bottles brought onboard with some kind of fee is fair to all.

 

ML

[kazu]

Perhaps many of the shareholders will jump ship to other lines under the CCL umbrella (Princess, Cunard, Seaborne, etc.) so it won't affect the stock.

 

good point - it might not affect the stock - but I can assure you that if a corporation has a losing subsidiary - it's not going to be there for long - sad but true and more cutbacks will just make it worse and worse and worse.

 

If HAL doesn't do something fast to show that they really do have a 'signature of excellence' I think they could be in deep trouble. they have to do something to distinguish themselves and what they are doing is everything but.

[aliaschief]

Not to mention, considering the make-up of the HAL crew, a Caucasian would kind of be obvious as wait staff or cabin attendant. :)

 

I agree but some executives other then Mr Kruse should go on a cruise without knowledge of who they are and without VIP status and drink some of their wine packages, try and get a wine steward to serve it and experience the lack of wait staff and other cutbacks. Than report back to Mr. Kruse what the regular passenger experience.

 

We have seen when Hall executive staff are catered to when on-board and it's like dinner at the Captain's table.

 

I believe they disembark with a sense that all is perfect with their present policies.

 

Just my opinion but I will also state our Dam cruise for the most part are enjoyable or we would not be re-booking future cruises. Wine policy may just change that.

[Cruise or Lose!]

"Just my opinion but I will also state our Dam cruise for the most part are enjoyable or we would not be re-booking future cruises."

 

Ah, yes. Idle threats are so emphatic - and fun to proclaim. On another online forum, we call this "flouncing".

 

But the wine policy will have ZERO effect on the vast majority of HAPPY cruisers. Of course, if you CHOSE to be unhappy before the wine policy, that would be the last straw. But even then, only for some. Not for all. Not even for the majority.

 

I recognize that this is very upsetting. I do. I just don't get it, and I never will. But predicting the death of HAL is just a tiny bit melodramatic, n'est-ce pas?

 

(Oh, and I never suggested you NOT drink. I suggested that if you must drink, you do so in the bars so our friends from Indonesia and the Philippines can send money home. Another knock on BYOB - it takes money out of their pockets.)

[Wakepatrol]

"Just my opinion but I will also state our Dam cruise for the most part are enjoyable or we would not be re-booking future cruises."

 

Ah, yes. Idle threats are so emphatic - and fun to proclaim. On another online forum, we call this "flouncing".

 

But the wine policy will have ZERO effect on the vast majority of HAPPY cruisers. Of course, if you CHOSE to be unhappy before the wine policy, that would be the last straw. But even then, only for some. Not for all. Not even for the majority.

 

I recognize that this is very upsetting. I do. I just don't get it, and I never will. But predicting the death of HAL is just a tiny bit melodramatic, n'est-ce pas?

 

(Oh, and I never suggested you NOT drink. I suggested that if you must drink, you do so in the bars so our friends from Indonesia and the Philippines can send money home. Another knock on BYOB - it takes money out of their pockets.)

 

Were you around when they did away with trays? Another "World Ending" event.:)

[Cruise or Lose!]

ROFL...since I have the balance of a drunken sailor (how did THAT happen?) and trays always scream "cafeteria" to me, that change was somewhat welcome.

[mudscraper]

The wine stewards in HAL`s dining rooms throughout the fleet are no doubt dismayed at the upcoming policy. Many passengers who bring their favorite wines into the MDR each nite of their cruise make an `arrangement` with the wine steward for the duration of the cruise. This relationship appears to be coming to an end.

[sail7seas]

good point - it might not affect the stock - but I can assure you that if a corporation has a losing subsidiary - it's not going to be there for long - sad but true and more cutbacks will just make it worse and worse and worse.

 

If HAL doesn't do something fast to show that they really do have a 'signature of excellence' I think they could be in deep trouble. they have to do something to distinguish themselves and what they are doing is everything but.

 

 

Jacqui,

I'm a little confused.

 

You returned very recently from Prinsendam and you had glowing reports of how wonderful your experience on the elegrant explorer and it was a joy reading how happy you were on that ship.

 

What happened between now and then that you are so disturbed at their lack of 'signature of excellence'? I fully understand your displeasure about the wine policy change and particularly how it was handled but does that alone negate everything you loved about HAL a mere two months ago?

 

I genuinely do not know what else might have happened about which I am unaware to have you so sure HAL is on a path to all bad things. All the things you loved no longer matter?

 

[Cindy]

I agree but some executives other then Mr Kruse should go on a cruise without knowledge of who they are and without VIP status and drink some of their wine packages, try and get a wine steward to serve it and experience the lack of wait staff and other cutbacks. Than report back to Mr. Kruse what the regular passenger experience.

 

We have seen when Hall executive staff are catered to when on-board and it's like dinner at the Captain's table.

 

I believe they disembark with a sense that all is perfect with their present policies.

 

Just my opinion but I will also state our Dam cruise for the most part are enjoyable or we would not be re-booking future cruises. Wine policy may just change that.

 

I think that's an excellent idea! If executives are currently sailing and having every whim catered to immediately, then they are certainly disembarking with a false impression of what a cruise is like for the average passenger.

My wine experience on my one HAL cruise so far was not a good one, because of the lack of service. I couldn't seem to get my wine opened and poured in a timely manner, and that was with both wine purchased from the ship and with bottles we brought to the dining room and paid corkage for.

[Boytjie]

The wine stewards in HAL`s dining rooms throughout the fleet are no doubt dismayed at the upcoming policy. Many passengers who bring their favorite wines into the MDR each nite of their cruise make an `arrangement` with the wine steward for the duration of the cruise. This relationship appears to be coming to an end.

 

I have always viewed such an "arrangement" as stealing from HAL.

[startwin]

I have always viewed such an "arrangement" as stealing from HAL.

 

Wow, I was never aware of it.

[Boytjie]

Wow, I was never aware of it.

 

Aware of what?

[mudscraper]

I have always viewed such an "arrangement" as stealing from HAL.

Tell that to the wine stewards and the MDR manager and his or her assistant MDR managers who condone the arrangement. In fact some of them were former wine stewards and have participated in the arrangement. Each hotman could put a stop to it but they also condone it.

[arewethereyet]

The wine stewards in HAL`s dining rooms throughout the fleet are no doubt dismayed at the upcoming policy. Many passengers who bring their favorite wines into the MDR each nite of their cruise make an `arrangement` with the wine steward for the duration of the cruise. This relationship appears to be coming to an end.

What kind of arrangement? Do you mean bribing the steward so as to avoid the corkage fee?