Noordam plumbing issues, Feb 7 sailing

[TravlGrl]

Called Guest Relations this morning (the phone number provided in the form letter I received), and the message says to send them an email. Go figure. I could have done that last night. Oh well. We'll see what happens after they review my email, which is essentially an even more in-depth version of the survey response I already provided. I'm having my DH/TA send the email so it'll come from him.

 

ANOTHER UPDATE -- Got an auto response from HAL when following up as requested over email. Their response said they may take up to 2 weeks to reply. :(

Edited February 18, 2014 by TravlGrl

[Linda&Vern]

Called Guest Relations this morning (the phone number provided in the form letter I received), and the message says to send them an email. Go figure. I could have done that last night. Oh well. We'll see what happens after they review my email, which is essentially an even more in-depth version of the survey response I already provided. I'm having my DH/TA send the email so it'll come from him.

 

ANOTHER UPDATE -- Got an auto response from HAL when following up as requested over email. Their response said they may take up to 2 weeks to reply. :(

Make sure you put your booking number in your e:mail and send to guestrelations@hollandamerica.com. :rolleyes: I've always read that on FB, no idea if this is correct.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Linda&Vern

[mamaofami]

Call again and ask to speak to someone live. Keep trying till you get someone. I happened to be lucky and reached someone on my first try.

[Windsailer]

If you don't hear from them in a few days post a message on Facebook - HAL becomes REALLY responsive then!

[HALrunner]

Well hello there, fellow roll call mates! SO sorry to hear about your outhouse, TravlGirl:( I love that despite your stinky luck you have not given up on HAL- hopefully you will get a better response from guest relations.

 

We did not have any toilet issues in our cabin, but the hall midship starboard side on deck three was nearly impassible for several days due to the stench. (Area you would pass through from midship stairs to get to the signature shops). There was a handicap unisex bathroom there that had an "out of order" sign for several of those stinky days. Can't imagine if that is what your cabin turned into.

 

Sheila- we also had a very noisy cabin! If anyone loves BB King, be sure to book 1062! It is DIRECTLY under the band and you can hear every note, every beat, every toe tap of all three sets nearly every night. Several guests around us complained and got bumped up to much better cabins (interior to verandah!). They ran out of extra cabins by the time we complained loud enough so our 4 & 6 year old got to stay up till 11:15 and "enjoy" the lullaby.

 

Despite all of this, we had a fantastic vacation and hope to run into you all again on another dam ship soon where all the toilets work and we all have quite cabins!

 

We were on the same cruise as you, TravlGrl and didn't have toilet issues in our stateroom. However, DH found the mens room near the upper dining level out of order one evening...and one of the ladies bathrooms on the Lido Deck was out one day.

 

We were in a very noisy cabin and complained to the front desk three or four times and nothing was done about it. Actually, the people in the stateroom next to us were moved after a few days because of the noise. I don't think I ever complain loudly enough! I finally gave up and put in ear plugs.

 

Sounded like they were throwing around furniture...day and night...and I mean 3 AM at times...waking me from a sound sleep...DH is very HOH and even he heard the noise. The Galley was above us. It was an upsell from an inside to outside and unfortunately I jumped too quickly without looking at the deck plans before accepting the cabin!

[TravlGrl]

Make sure you put your booking number in your e:mail and send to guestrelations@hollandamerica.com. :rolleyes: I've always read that on FB, no idea if this is correct.

Yes, the booking number is in the email, and that's the email address they gave us as well.

 

Call again and ask to speak to someone live. Keep trying till you get someone. I happened to be lucky and reached someone on my first try.

Good idea. Calling again!

Edited February 19, 2014 by TravlGrl

[TravlGrl]

If you don't hear from them in a few days post a message on Facebook - HAL becomes REALLY responsive then!

Great idea! I had not thought of FB.

 

Well hello there, fellow roll call mates! SO sorry to hear about your outhouse, TravlGirl:( I love that despite your stinky luck you have not given up on HAL- hopefully you will get a better response from guest relations.

 

We did not have any toilet issues in our cabin, but the hall midship starboard side on deck three was nearly impassible for several days due to the stench. (Area you would pass through from midship stairs to get to the signature shops). There was a handicap unisex bathroom there that had an "out of order" sign for several of those stinky days. Can't imagine if that is what your cabin turned into.

 

Sheila- we also had a very noisy cabin! If anyone loves BB King, be sure to book 1062! It is DIRECTLY under the band and you can hear every note, every beat, every toe tap of all three sets nearly every night. Several guests around us complained and got bumped up to much better cabins (interior to verandah!). They ran out of extra cabins by the time we complained loud enough so our 4 & 6 year old got to stay up till 11:15 and "enjoy" the lullaby.

 

Despite all of this, we had a fantastic vacation and hope to run into you all again on another dam ship soon where all the toilets work and we all have quite cabins!

Hello there! I thought you were on the B2B for some reason. I know EXACTLY which restroom you're talking about that was consistently out of order. In fact, I can probably map every restroom on that ship at this point. Pretty sure either me or DH paid a visit to every one -- you know how some people attempt to visit EVERY ballpark in the country? Well, I think our goal was to visit every restroom on the ship during this sailing! And, yes, our cabin was similar to the hallway smell, but not every day, THANKFULLY! When it DID smell bad, it was really bad, and at times I wondered if people walking by noticed it. :eek:

 

We obviously did not sail full since I've heard of several people being upgraded for one reason or another. If I had any idea in my mind that our toilet nonsense would last the length of the sailing, I sure would have requested a move. I guess I just thought it was really being fixed every time, but like I said before, I finally lost it on Day 4 when we still had no working toilet. It's easy to look back now and wonder why I didn't demand a move earlier, but after unpacking and getting settled, the thought of moving didn't seem enjoyable (plus, I figured we sailed full).

 

Anyway, sorry you had such a noisy cabin, but glad to hear you also enjoyed your cruise overall as well!

[innlady1]

Well hello there, fellow roll call mates! SO sorry to hear about your outhouse, TravlGirl:( I love that despite your stinky luck you have not given up on HAL- hopefully you will get a better response from guest relations.

 

We did not have any toilet issues in our cabin, but the hall midship starboard side on deck three was nearly impassible for several days due to the stench. (Area you would pass through from midship stairs to get to the signature shops). There was a handicap unisex bathroom there that had an "out of order" sign for several of those stinky days. Can't imagine if that is what your cabin turned into.

 

Sheila- we also had a very noisy cabin! If anyone loves BB King, be sure to book 1062! It is DIRECTLY under the band and you can hear every note, every beat, every toe tap of all three sets nearly every night. Several guests around us complained and got bumped up to much better cabins (interior to verandah!). They ran out of extra cabins by the time we complained loud enough so our 4 & 6 year old got to stay up till 11:15 and "enjoy" the lullaby.

 

Despite all of this, we had a fantastic vacation and hope to run into you all again on another dam ship soon where all the toilets work and we all have quite cabins!

 

We were supposed to be neighbors...we were initially booked in 1068...until we had the upsell offer for 1090. Guess both would have been noisy. ery cute children, BTW!

 

Guess I should have been more vocal...went to the Front Office 3 or 4 times to complain but nothing came of it. After my many trips to Guest Services on the previous Maasdam cruise, I was just tired of complaining any more than I did.

[luckysadie]

We were in stateroom 7089 on the Rotterdam deck on the February 7 cruise on the Noordam. We did have an issue with the toilet not flushing on February 8. My husband talked with our cabin steward and he said that there was an problem with the entire Rotterdam deck. We did see some wall panels open that day, but the problem was fixed a few hours later. We had no other issues with the toilet flushing.

[TravlGrl]

We were in stateroom 7089 on the Rotterdam deck on the February 7 cruise on the Noordam. We did have an issue with the toilet not flushing on February 8. My husband talked with our cabin steward and he said that there was an problem with the entire Rotterdam deck. We did see some wall panels open that day, but the problem was fixed a few hours later. We had no other issues with the toilet flushing.

Based on what others from our sailing have said, it sounds like there were small issues in various areas of the ship, but for whatever reason, we suffered the brunt of it. (I bet there are others who experienced what we did, but they're just not on CC.)

 

Meanwhile, my DH/TA called HAL back this morning, and they offered an OBC for a future cruise. They found and referenced the letter we'd already sent. Rebecca in Guest Relations seemed genuinely apologetic and empathetic. As I said earlier, we will sail HAL again, but this takes the sting off of it...and I also know now that if this EVER happens again to this degree (I can't even imagine it happening twice!), I will strongly suggest they move us to a different cabin and will not a.s.s.u.m.e. the ship is sailing full. ;)

 

Thanks to all who provided feedback on this thread. Much appreciation to you!

Edited February 19, 2014 by TravlGrl