Dry Cleaning Warning - ms Noordam (March 2014)

[POA1]

A few weeks ago, someone posted that they had a sport coat ruined by HAL's laundry. In response, I posted that we had sent many things out over the years and have never had a problem.

I need to amend that.

 

I sent a sport coat and a tuxedo vest out for DRY CLEANING and they were both laundered and ruined. :mad: A pair of my wifes's pants - also marked for dry cleaning, were sent through regular laundry. Fortunately, her pants were not ruined.

 

The items were sent on different days and in different bags. We retained all of our laundry slips so that we could make sure we got everything back. One of my wife's shirts went missing, but they were able to find it.

 

I took photos of all of the laundry sheets and the damaged items - including my now comically small sport coat and vest. (If you've ever seen the "big guy in a little coat" routine from the movie, "Tommy Boy," that's kind of what I now have.) We have out vacation photos so I can post some before and after pix when I get home.

 

At this point, I've turned everything over to the Neptune concierge and we'll see where it goes from here. I'm pretty annoyed because my jacket was custom made and vest was very expensive as well. The cruise ends tomorrow, so I will update you on what happens from here. They always say that excellent customer service kicks in when things go wrong.

 

I will keep you posted.

 

It's been a nice cruise, otherwise. I would be really careful about sending out any nice clothing though.

[kazu]

A few weeks ago, someone posted that they had a sport coat ruined by HAL's laundry. In response, I posted that we had sent many things out over the years and have never had a problem.

I need to amend that.

 

I sent a sport coat and a tuxedo vest out for DRY CLEANING and they were both laundered and ruined. :mad: A pair of my wifes's pants - also marked for dry cleaning, were sent through regular laundry. Fortunately, her pants were not ruined.

 

The items were sent on different days and in different bags. We retained all of our laundry slips so that we could make sure we got everything back. One of my wife's shirts went missing, but they were able to find it.

 

I took photos of all of the laundry sheets and the damaged items - including my now comically small sport coat and vest. (If you've ever seen the "big guy in a little coat" routine from the movie, "Tommy Boy," that's kind of what I now have.) We have out vacation photos so I can post some before and after pix when I get home.

 

At this point, I've turned everything over to the Neptune concierge and we'll see where it goes from here. I'm pretty annoyed because my jacket was custom made and vest was very expensive as well. The cruise ends tomorrow, so I will update you on what happens from here. They always say that excellent customer service kicks in when things go wrong.

 

I will keep you posted.

 

It's been a nice cruise, otherwise. I would be really careful about sending out any nice clothing though.

 

Oh What a shame:(

 

Our drycleaner here ruined something of my DH and while they offered to make good (and did) it did not replace the item which can not be found anymore!

 

We have had good luck on HAL so far.

 

I do hope HAL makes this right for you and I would not get off the ship until it was rectified to your satisfaction as much as that would be possible.

 

So sad.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for the warning.

I always take pictures of everything that is sent to the laundry and/or dry cleaners. Westerdam lost a shirt of his.

Then last November the Nieuw Amsterdam ruined 2 brand new golf shirts of his in the regular laundry. Showed the concierges what the shirts looked like before they were sent out and of course they could see what they looked like after they were returned.

[DaveOKC]

Great idea of the photos. Last cruise I had a new white shirt ruined by iron marks on the Statendam, but did not notice it until we got home, so I never pursued the issue.

 

DaveOKC

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I hope they fix the problem ..

[POA1]

I hope they fix the problem ..

 

Me too. This is the first time anything like this has happened to us. It kind of puts a damper on the whole Suite Perks thing.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great idea of the photos. Last cruise I had a new white shirt ruined by iron marks on the Statendam, but did not notice it until we got home, so I never pursued the issue.

 

DaveOKC

 

 

I always check everything the minute it is returned to the cabin.

[Topsham]

The Phantom Button Breaker!

 

Nuisance. Never have the problem over the years. Recently button missing or broken.... metal clasps flatten etc. (NODM Nov.)

 

Try to avoid dry cleaning or only pressing. Washing... well I guess you have to do that!

 

Stephen

[PatsyAnne]

On our last cruise my clean laundry included one pair of panties several sizes larger than mine. I just figured they'd watched me eat and were helping me out.

 

 

Trish

[erewhon]

Thanks for the warning, sorry to hear that this happened to you.

 

Some of my blouses returned from the laundry (washing) with broken buttons last cruise.

[rkacruiser]

I have had one unfortunate laundry incident: pants that were sent to the laundry that were returned shrunk. If I had not checked these pants before putting my luggage outside of my stateroom door the night before we returned to Los Angeles, I would have had a most uncomfortable trip home on the plane.

 

Never have had any issues since!

[POA1]

Here's where we're at: I was offered $100 per item for the damaged goods. I declined and had to sign a waiver in order to get my shrunken sport coat and ruined tuxedo vest returned to me.

 

It's the ship's policy and I have to fight with Seattle when we get home.

 

This doesn't bode well, but since we're in the SEO business, I hope to get results.

[alwaysfrantic]

If you have travel insurance it's possible that might cover damaged articles just as it does stolen ones. Not sure, but worth an inquiry.

 

If you purchased them just prior to the trip on a credit card, the card likely has coverage for 90 days for items damaged beyond repair.

[SargassoPirate]

Nobody takes care of my stuff like I do, so I don't trust a "temporary" laundry/dry cleaners with any of my clothes. Temporary? Yep, temporary since I'll only be on the ship a relatively short time.

 

I travel with mostly quick-dry clothes that I can wash out in a sink when they need it and have them dry and ready to go the next day. Any outer wear such as jackets can wait until I get home. This has worked for me for long motorcycle trips, backpacking/train trips around Europe, and on 35 plus cruises - some of which were up to 49 days on the ship.

 

For shipboard wear, I pack a few polo style "golf" shirts that are designed to dry quickly. With a pair of slacks, they work well for smart casual nights and for formal nights I eat in the Lido so that I don't ruin someone else's vacation for failure to wear a tux.:D

[GeriatricNurse]

A few weeks ago, someone posted that they had a sport coat ruined by HAL's laundry. In response, I posted that we had sent many things out over the years and have never had a problem.

 

I need to amend that.

 

I sent a sport coat and a tuxedo vest out for DRY CLEANING and they were both laundered and ruined. :mad: A pair of my wifes's pants - also marked for dry cleaning, were sent through regular laundry. Fortunately, her pants were not ruined.

 

The items were sent on different days and in different bags. We retained all of our laundry slips so that we could make sure we got everything back. One of my wife's shirts went missing, but they were able to find it.

 

I took photos of all of the laundry sheets and the damaged items - including my now comically small sport coat and vest. (If you've ever seen the "big guy in a little coat" routine from the movie, "Tommy Boy," that's kind of what I now have.) We have out vacation photos so I can post some before and after pix when I get home.

 

At this point, I've turned everything over to the Neptune concierge and we'll see where it goes from here. I'm pretty annoyed because my jacket was custom made and vest was very expensive as well. The cruise ends tomorrow, so I will update you on what happens from here. They always say that excellent customer service kicks in when things go wrong.

 

I will keep you posted.

 

It's been a nice cruise, otherwise. I would be really careful about sending out any nice clothing though.

 

I would never send anything, of value, on HAL, to be either drycleaned, (or laundered for that matter)! :eek: Some people are under the impression that their laundry items are washed in the water temperarture that thay have indicated on the requisition, when, in fact, everything is probably washed/dryed in hot water/dryer! :mad: In fact, on my recent Ryndam cruise, items were placed in a washer in a launderette; (those that were not out of order); the water temperature was set for cold water & the clothes were removed hot from having being washed in hot water! :mad: If one cannot afford to have their items of clothing lost/ damaged/shrunken, then one should not be sending them, at a hefty cost, to be laundered in the first place! ;)

[POA1]

If you have travel insurance it's possible that might cover damaged articles just as it does stolen ones. Not sure, but worth an inquiry.

 

If you purchased them just prior to the trip on a credit card, the card likely has coverage for 90 days for items damaged beyond repair.

 

Thanks. We'll look into that as well. I'm waiting for the store I bought my clothes at to open so I can get updated pricing.

 

Then I'll call HAL in Seattle and hopefully they will step up.

[POA1]

Nobody takes care of my stuff like I do, so I don't trust a "temporary" laundry/dry cleaners with any of my clothes. Temporary? Yep, temporary since I'll only be on the ship a relatively short time.

 

I travel with mostly quick-dry clothes that I can wash out in a sink when they need it and have them dry and ready to go the next day. Any outer wear such as jackets can wait until I get home. This has worked for me for long motorcycle trips, backpacking/train trips around Europe, and on 35 plus cruises - some of which were up to 49 days on the ship.

 

For shipboard wear, I pack a few polo style "golf" shirts that are designed to dry quickly. With a pair of slacks, they work well for smart casual nights and for formal nights I eat in the Lido so that I don't ruin someone else's vacation for failure to wear a tux.:D

 

I hear you. However, since the ship operates a full time dry cleaning plant and sells the service as a suite perk, I didn't expect this much of a mess. We have to trust them to cook food, sail the ship, and whatnot, so I was expecting a little more.

 

Thank goodness I only sent 1 vest and not my tuxedo. I would have had to wear my shrunken jacket and tiny tux pants on formal nights. (With a sign taped to the back that said, "Tuxedo Made Extra Awesome by HAL Dry Cleaning."

[Sam.Seattle]

Here's where we're at: I was offered $100 per item for the damaged goods. I declined and had to sign a waiver in order to get my shrunken sport coat and ruined tuxedo vest returned to me.

 

It's the ship's policy and I have to fight with Seattle when we get home.

 

This doesn't bode well, but since we're in the SEO business, I hope to get results.

So did you get the $100 per item and not sign the waiver? You did much better than I ever had... I have had damaged clothes on HAL and other lines and never was compensated. Just an apology from HAL and a refund of laundry fee when on other lines.

[POA1]

So did you get the $100 per item and not sign the waiver? You did much better than I ever had... I have had damaged clothes on HAL and other lines and never was compensated. Just an apology from HAL and a refund of laundry fee when on other lines.

 

No. I would have had to give up my clothes for the $100. The PR value of the damaged items is much greater. I wasn't giving them up for less than replacement cost.

[alwaysfrantic]

The reason I know to send you to the credit card if they were recent purchases is because smart phones don't do well getting run over by SUVS. Not even BRAND NEW PHONES......

 

Teens....

[POA1]

The reason I know to send you to the credit card if they were recent purchases is because smart phones don't do well getting run over by SUVS. Not even BRAND NEW PHONES......

 

Teens....

 

Ouch! We're outside the credit card replacement window, but we had both trip insurance and we paid for our cruise with our Platinum American Express. They may offer some coverage if I cannot get anywhere with HAL.

[sail7seas]

Here's where we're at: I was offered $100 per item for the damaged goods. I declined and had to sign a waiver in order to get my shrunken sport coat and ruined tuxedo vest returned to me.

 

It's the ship's policy and I have to fight with Seattle when we get home.

 

This doesn't bode well, but since we're in the SEO business, I hope to get results.

 

 

I'm sorry your clothing was ruined on the ship. Hopefully you can recover the value.

 

You reference SEO business and despite googling it, I still cannot figure out what that stands for. :o Help...... please. :D

 

[SilvertoGold]

No. I would have had to give up my clothes for the $100. The PR value of the damaged items is much greater. I wasn't giving them up for less than replacement cost.

 

Isn't there a waiver on the laundry/dry cleaning form to the effect that you can expect reimbursement of up to 10 times the cost of the service rendered?

 

I know you were in a Suite, but how much is the charge for dry cleaning a vest and a tux jacket?

[POA1]

I'm sorry your clothing was ruined on the ship. Hopefully you can recover the value.

 

You reference SEO business and despite googling it, I still cannot figure out what that stands for. :o Help...... please. :D

 

 

Search engine optimization.

[POA1]

Isn't there a waiver on the laundry/dry cleaning form to the effect that you can expect reimbursement of up to 10 times the cost of the service rendered?

 

I know you were in a Suite, but how much is the charge for dry cleaning a vest and a tux jacket?

 

It's included with the suite. So it's either free or $8,116 depending on how you look at it.

 

The upper limit on dry cleaning according to the Neptune concierge is $100 per item. I opted to take it up with Seattle and retain the garments. The men's store in Portland, ME where I purchased the items is sending me a receipt and checking on the availability of the fabric for my jacket. Once I have that information, I'll start the process with Seattle.

 

Best case scenario, they'll cover the replacement cost. Worst case, I'll have to pay for items myself. If that happens, I can get some before & after photos and get to work.

 

There were a lot of unhappy people sitting in the Neptune lounge with garments draped over their arms. The problems happened with 80% of our dry cleaning. Fortunately, my DW's slacks didn't shrink down. They lost a little sheen, but they're not ruined. DBIL had a pair of pants marked for dry cleaning and they got washed as well. Once again, his slacks were okay and not wrecked.

 

I'm hoping for a good resolution to the situation.

Edited March 10, 2014 by POA1