Cost Cutting in full Swing

[sppunk]

The ONLY Vista Ship I am aware of having them was the Oosterdam and they were not installed till November of 2011. While I have not seen them since I was last on the Oosterdam right before they were installed I was told by a reliable source they did place them in the elevators. But I believe they discontinued it shortly after they started. I think the carpeting guys made the rugs but due to the number of elevators it is possible that management decided against keeping them.

 

 

 

 

Sorry to disagree with you but I was on the Zuiderdam this past May for 11 days and also on the Zuiderdam in May 2012 and in her Inaugural Year and there has NEVER EVER been day of the week rugs in the Elevators on the Zuiderdam. The Days of the week Rugs have only been on R and S Class ships and I also believe the Prinsendam. It was discontinued with the Zuiderdam.

 

Eurodam has the DOTW mats, as I'm 95 percent sure NA does. Westernsm did two years ago in Alaska.

[cruz chic]

Ahoy!

 

Just adding this to this thread, I too have noticed that the smaller ice cubes provided by HAL have not been as cold as the larger ones from prior cruises.

 

I've written Mr. Kruise about this development and have yet to recieve a written reply, a voucher or future upgrade.

 

Fancy that!

 

Seriously, there are other cruise lines out there. If folks are unhappy with HAL then perhaps a 'break out' would be in order.

 

Bon Voyage, Good Health Happy Holidays!

Bob

 

With a due respect just because there are a few things you don't like you should jump ship? For me, there is a breaking point. I don't think anything will ever be 100 percent.

[Copper10-8]

Ahoy!

 

Just adding this to this thread, I too have noticed that the smaller ice cubes provided by HAL have not been as cold as the larger ones from prior cruises.

 

...................................

 

Thanks for the moment of jocularity, Mr. Bob!

[kjw869]

With a due respect just because there are a few things you don't like you should jump ship? For me, there is a breaking point. I don't think anything will ever be 100 percent.

 

I think his post was said in jest!

[cruz chic]

I think his post was said in jest!

 

When someone say seriously there are other cruise lines out there I'm thinking they are serious. Call me silly.

[Copper10-8]

When someone say seriously there are other cruise lines out there I'm thinking they are serious. Call me silly.

 

I thought your name was cruz chic

[ellieanne]

I did notice some cuts on my cruise on the Eurodam in October, but nothing I would say was bad or out of line, and certainly nothing that would cause me to consider another line for my future cruises.

 

--> Neptune Lounge: not in a suite so I can't comment, though I did notice the back employee door was unlocked and unguarded and I know at least 4 people who were not in suites who went in the Neptune Lounge regularly through that door.

 

--> Elevator Mats: in all elevators, even the midship glass elevators, which I had never seen before.

 

--> Formal Nights: cotton chair covers on all three formal nights, though I wish they would cut these out. I hate the dressed chairs!

 

--> Captain's Welcome Toast: didn't go, so I can't comment.

 

--> Menus: We had menus in menu covers and I actually prefer that. We did have the unrolled menu on the last night, but I found it too big and unwieldy for the table (4 top) and wished we had the other menus on that night

 

--> Bedtime Chocolate: we got the plain, square chocolates, but since I didn't eat them, the steward stopped giving me new ones. He just put the same one on my bed each night. When he overheard me offering mine to my mother, he told me he would give me news ones if I wanted. I declined.

 

--> Small Toiletries: I had 1 round, white soap, and 1 bottle of lotion. I used the sop, and when I discovered the shower gel was causing an allergic reaction, my room steward brought me a new soap every other day, without asking. I only used 2 though. I did not use the lotion.

 

--> After dinner coffees: never drink coffee, so I have no comment.

 

--> Entertainment: didn't attend one show, but we had several different acts were advertised.

 

--> BINGO: not a Bingo Player, so I can't comment, but I didn't see the "Win-A-Cruise" game on the daily program. I usually go to that one. I wondered about them stopping that.

 

--> Late Night Dessert Extravaganza: held one of the last nights of the cruise. I didn't go, but I heard others say it was gorgeous.

 

I did notice there were fewer fresh flower arrangements, but I chalked that up to both the time of year and thanked whatever lucky stars I had, as most of the time I suffer horrid allergies on the ship. Maybe that could be a reason, rather than cost cutting. I know lilies in particular are allergy triggers for me (and many other people); maybe there were complaints. And I noticed that the salon/spa girls were much pushier about trying to sell products, but I thought that was a Steiner thing not a HAL thing, as they are contracted with Steiner, not HAL.

 

Other than that, I really didn't notice overt cost cutting.

[Ethel5]

wow we just returned from Princess and pretty much experienced the same thing. Lots of cut backs. Food was awful - not even sandwiches or a yogurt for lunch. Very limited menu in FDR and the shows also nothing to brag about. Same crew on all week except we did have one good comedian. I was attacked when posting my critique however I see you noticed the cut backs also.

 

When people don't complain the cruise lines will continue to cut back even more. We plan on being very selective when cruising in the future. We have one more lined up and if no improvement we may cut back our cruise travel to land vacations.

 

Since you continue to cruise and continue to complain, I think cruising is not for you-at least on the mass market lines. Why don't you try the upscale more expensive lines-maybe then you will have a good experience.

[boulders]

 

--> BINGO: not a Bingo Player, so I can't comment, but I didn't see the "Win-A-Cruise" game on the daily program. I usually go to that one. I wondered about them stopping that.

 

 

I've only ever seen win-a-cruise bingo on Royal Caribbean ships.

[RuthC]

I've only ever seen win-a-cruise bingo on Royal Caribbean ships.

HAL has had them for ages. It's the only Bingo I go to, as I keep trying for that free cruise.

Does this mean that there's no hope of winning anymore??? :(

[TiogaCruiser]

Jay, we were on the Westerdam for Thanksgiving week in a NL suite. Just a couple of comments on the items above:

Menus: We too were disappointed that the scrolls disappeared for the International Night dinner along with the "Baked Alaska" (such as it is) March being a thing of the past. Yeah, it's cheesy, but it's what we've come to expect.

 

Night-time Chocolates: It's been a long time since we've seen the coins; last I remember them was in 2009.

.

 

Any chance that SOMEONE (perhaps DW) might know anything about MIA chocolates? :)

[Ethel5]

Ahoy!

 

Just adding this to this thread, I too have noticed that the smaller ice cubes provided by HAL have not been as cold as the larger ones from prior cruises.

 

I've written Mr. Kruise about this development and have yet to recieve a written reply, a voucher or future upgrade.

 

Fancy that!

 

Seriously, there are other cruise lines out there. If folks are unhappy with HAL then perhaps a 'break out' would be in order.

 

Bon Voyage, Good Health Happy Holidays!

 

Bob

 

Well, If this is true, I'm going to cancel my cruise. How dare they give us warmer ice cubes! :D

[Spinner2]

We've (me once, my DH once) have won 2 of the "win a cruise" things--once Bingo, and once the lottery. When we won the lottery one some time ago we did a reposition (Maasdam) New England to Florida and continued on for the first Caribbean cruise of the season and applying the certificate was pretty seamless. I guess we paid the port taxes and the upgrade for that week but it didn't seem like much out of pocket, probably because it was all lumped in with the 14 days we'd paid in full for.

 

We had the bingo one (got it Dec 2012) so looked into applying it to our 31-day Incan Empires that we just concluded. We found that it could be applied but the value they'd give us would be far less than what an inside cabin Mexico or Caribbean would be worth. So we held onto it and since we must use it by June 2014, we have booked a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise which is one of the cruises you win the certificate for. You still have to pay the port tax, and we upgraded to an ocean view cabin as we're not interested in an inside. So, the certificate is, for what we can use, paying about half of the cost, not counting onboard spending of course and I'm not sure if we'll get stock credit or not. You don't get other OBC promotionals that you might get if you just bought the cruise outright, but then we didn't pay for the actual cruise (just the cabin upgrade) so it seems fair to me.

 

Don't rule out wanting to win one, but it's not a magnificent bonanza. It gets you on the ship. Which is a good thing, of course! We don't play much bingo (just the win a cruise and the final jackpot) and we usually buy $25 worth of the lottery cruises, and the value of what we've won is way ahead of what we've spent, so I'm certainly not complaining. It's exciting to win!

 

They did have both contests (bingo/lottery) on the Statendam earlier this month; I didn't play this time as we wanted to do something else. It used to be scheduled around the disembarkation talk, perhaps the afternoon before, but with no talk any longer, there's more going on at those times.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Spinner2

[0bnxshs]

Any chance that SOMEONE (perhaps DW) might know anything about MIA chocolates? :)

 

LOL... DW is on a strict diet and not eating any chocolates (yeah, she is in pain much of the time due to this....) ;) but we just haven't seen the coins.

 

As recently as 2 weeks ago we have seen the squares, though only briefly, just before they disappeared into DDs maw. :D

[Chelly]

Last October on NA, I had coins for a few nights, then squares for remainder. According to reports all we are getting are squares now. For my upcoming cruise on the Westy, I am going to bring my own fine-foil-covered-pillow-chocolates and place them on my pillow before the cabin stewards come in for the evening turndown. I'll probably make my own towel animals too. May even fill my own ice bucket. Hey what else do I have to do? I am on a cruise

[momatibm]

Well, If this is true, I'm going to cancel my cruise. How dare they give us warmer ice cubes! :D

 

Most people don't know the difference between 'new' vs 'old' cubes for their drinks and they definitely won't understand this comment.

[momatibm]

LOL... DW is on a strict diet and not eating any chocolates (yeah, she is in pain much of the time due to this....) ;) but we just haven't seen the coins.

 

As recently as 2 weeks ago we have seen the squares, though only briefly, just before they disappeared into DDs maw. :D

 

I bring all the chocolates home -- the grand children love them -- last year they had 50 to split. They don't care if they are coins or squares -- it's CHOCOLATE after all.

[Copper10-8]

Warm ice cubes, if made in the shape of a nugget, as opposed to a true cube, are not bad. They seem to last longer in cold drinks :cool:

[Chelly]

Warm ice cubes, if made in the shape of a nugget, as opposed to a true cube, are not bad. They seem to last longer in cold drinks :cool:

If a cube has four sides, how many sides would a nugget have? Would the multi-sidedness explain the nugget's longevity?

Edited December 13, 2013 by Chelly

[0bnxshs]

If a cube has four sides, how many sides would a nugget have? Would the multi-sidedness explain the nugget's longevity?

 

Doesn't a cube have 6 sides? In any case, a nugget should have more. More surface area would mean more contact with the liquid of choice..... right? How does this word (word???? Good Lord... I mean work), Copper John?

Edited December 13, 2013 by 0bnxshs

[Chelly]

Doesn't a cube have 6 sides? In any case, a nugget should have more. More surface area would mean more contact with the liquid of choice..... right? How does this word (word???? Good Lord... I mean work), Copper John?

 

I think my ice cubes are four-sided, at least the warm ones are.

[0bnxshs]

I think my ice cubes are four-sided, at least the warm ones are.

 

That might explain their warmth! :):D

[Chelly]

That might explain their warmth! :):D

 

Well then, we must demand that HAL provide ice nuggets in their buggets.

[Copper10-8]

A nugget is generally described as a solid lump which, in itself, can be classified as something without definite shape such as "a lump of coal". It can therefore be concluded that a nugget has no sides, hence an ice cube in the shape of a nugget, specifically, a warm ice cube, seems to last longer in a cocktail drink :eek:

[Copper10-8]

Well then, we must demand that HAL provide ice nuggets in their buggets.

 

"Buggets" eh? How did Hamop's bug make it in this conversation? :cool: