Is Cruising losing the shine like flying? Or is it just an off week on the Westerdam?

[Averyblessedguy]

We love cruising. This was our seventh cruise, third time on Holland America, second on the Westerdam.

 

I have never had a bad dessert on a cruise. This time I had several. I had good ones too, even one great one but that is a far cry from the past.

 

The staff is still good but they have lost the extra polish of getting to know your name and always having a smile and warm greeting. I think the change to automatic daily tips has greatly reduced the incentive for good service.

 

Don't expect to see a midnight buffet any longer or ever find food after 9pm. It is even hard to find a drink frequently (who would have ever thought that would happen on a cruise).

 

Entertainment is still excellent and it is still a good vacation value but it has lost some of the wonder. I thought that Holland America had become my go to cruise line but now I'm ready to try some of the others again (except NCL - I don't think they will get a second chance).

 

I was shocked at the forwardness of a senior beverage manager. His wild ways with some of the female guests is something I have never seen before. This is just one person so I will not judge the line but it seems to be indicative of the trend in service.

 

What are you seeing?

[solocanadian]

When were you on he Westerdam and who was the Beverage Manager at that time?

[PathfinderEss]

Well, I haven't been on the Westerdam for several years (it was a great cruise then), but on the cruises we have taken in the past few years, all have been excellent except for one, and that one was just kind of mediocre. I think you will find if you cruise a lot that most will be good but you can run into a few that are not.

 

I am sorry to hear that your cruise on the Westerdam did not live up to your expectation. We have a cruise schedule for later this year on her. I am hoping for a good one. The one thing I have found is that, I try not to expect much and then I'm usually pleasantly surprised by how good it turns out.

[kjw869]

We love cruising. This was our seventh cruise, third time on Holland America, second on the Westerdam.

 

I have never had a bad dessert on a cruise. This time I had several. I had good ones too, even one great one but that is a far cry from the past.

 

The staff is still good but they have lost the extra polish of getting to know your name and always having a smile and warm greeting. I think the change to automatic daily tips has greatly reduced the incentive for good service.

 

Don't expect to see a midnight buffet any longer or ever find food after 9pm. It is even hard to find a drink frequently (who would have ever thought that would happen on a cruise).

 

Entertainment is still excellent and it is still a good vacation value but it has lost some of the wonder. I thought that Holland America had become my go to cruise line but now I'm ready to try some of the others again (except NCL - I don't think they will get a second chance).

 

I was shocked at the forwardness of a senior beverage manager. His wild ways with some of the female guests is something I have never seen before. This is just one person so I will not judge the line but it seems to be indicative of the trend in service.

 

What are you seeing?

 

We haven't noticed this, and we take 2-3 cruises on HAL a year. The best desserts I've ever had on HAL was at one of their afternoon teas this past January on the Noordam. My wife dragged me along with my granddaughter and our good friends, and I'm glad I went--it was the first time for me.

 

We seem to get better service every year. We really don't care if they remember our names, just clean the cabin and bring the food out in a timely manner.

 

Their late night meals start at 10:30 PM, and we see very few people (passengers) anymore during that time. We do see many of the entertainers, officers and shop employees eating their dinner.

 

Our dining crew on the Noordam in January was the best we've encountered on a HAL ship. The head waiter entertained my 15-year-old granddaughter by making animals out of napkins or performing tricks including cards and rubber bands every night.

 

Sorry you weren't happy with the service. We'll be on the Westie next January and it's one of our favorite ships. So that is what we have seen.

Edited April 17, 2014 by kjw869

[496and706]

Very interesting first post.

 

Hard to find a drink? Really??

 

We just got off of the Noordam 2 days ago and there were always people at every bar. The times for all 10 (?) bars are on the back of the daily program that is delivered to your room every evening for the next day.

 

Some nights it was hard to find a seat in the Lido after the BB King band finished their last set. Everyone was hungry from all the dancing.

 

The Westerdam is a sister ship to the Noordam.

[cruz chic]

Believe me, the service is bad on the Westy. I have 300 days with Hal so I think I can be trusted. Met a couple at lunch today with lots of days on RC. They have not been impressed and likely won't be back according to them. Was at the bar last night with an empty glass. I finally had to ask for another drink. Seems like some of you are being a bit judgmental.

Edited April 17, 2014 by cruz chic

[POA1]

Somewhat. On our last cruise, there was a little kid kicking my seat the whole cruise, and the passenger in front of me insisted on reclining all the way which left me with no room to read my magazine.

 

Sorry. I couldn't help myself. ;)

[kazu]

Believe me, the service is bad on the Westy. I have 300 days with Hal so I think I can be trusted. Met a couple at lunch today with lots of days on RC. They have not been impressed and likely won't be back according to them. Was at the bar last night with an empty glass. I finally had to ask for another drink.

 

Bummer indeed. We did a short cruise on her last year (I think?) and were quite pleased.

 

I'm really hoping that the service is back up to snuff when we are on next year.

 

sometimes I wonder (and this is just wonder) if the shorter 7 day cruises result in less time to know the passengers or perchance less desire to get to know them?

 

It's just a supposition though and has no basis in fact other than our experiences which have been good on most ships and makes me wonder if being on for a longer period of time means the staff have to 'invest' more? Just a silly thought

[mac3835]

We were on the Westerdam for the last cruise before the drydock. It was our first HAL cruise and we were very pleased with the service. Our waiter, assistant waiter and room steward all knew our names on the first day and remembered them all through the cruise even when we saw them in different areas on the ship. Our dinner service was always prompt and friendly. The place we encountered bad service was in the Pinnacle Grill for the Le Cirque dinner, the food was excellent, the service was awful and we let them know. All in all, we very happy with our cruise.

[IRL_Joanie]

..what others seem to find that when 1 or 2 (sometimes a few more) find to be a bit "off," I find the total opposite when I am on that ship. This is NOT to say that they were bad or "off" as you found on your cruise, it is just to say I find the total opposite.

(The word OFF is used by me as an all inclusive term of the OP's findings to us. It is not meant as anything negative, so I hope y'all won't flame me, especially the OP:) )

 

Case in point just a year or so ago so many members were reporting problems they and others had on Zuiderdam that went on for at least 2 or 3 months. But when I boarded her with quite a few CC members who've posted on this thread, I believe only one of us had a problem.

 

I'll be boarding the Westerdam, my 2nd favorite ship in the HAL Fleet, in 80 days and will report back at that time on our findings of her.

 

I think a few of the "off" problems could be because yours was the first cruise after her dry dock. Just a thought as I have seen many posts after other ships come out of dry dock with problems of being "off".

 

Joanie

Edited April 17, 2014 by IRL_Joanie

[Hertz Von Seasider]

Sorry you had some bad deserts. did you see interesting countries, meet some new people, see something outside your dinner plate ?

[cruz chic]

I find it sad that Hal has no desire to please new passangers. Pretty much everyone I've talked to has complained about the service. In all the cases it was not me that complained about it initially. I hope it's just a case of post dry dock.

[CJcruzer]

my only so-so cruise on HAL has been the one cruise that was post dry dock.... may be a connection there after all.....

 

Carol

[sackman]

I just got off the Westy a couple weeks ago. The cruise just before drydock. I thought the service was fantastic. I didn't run into any issues whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact. I would have expected there to be some quirks here and there based on the fact that the ship was headed to drydock immediately after our itinerary. Nothing of the kind ever happened. I don't know what kind of service is expected by the folks complaining, but I have a very recent experience on the Westy and it was terrific in nearly every way.

 

And yes, I cruise a lot. I know the difference between good and bad service.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Cruising has changed.

HAL has changed.

All the cruise lines are experiencing cut backs due to the economy.

The dining room staff have way more passengers to serve that what they used to have -- thus less time to talk.

Desserts -- we have probably had only a couple of desserts in the last several years that I would rave about. HAL's desserts have gone down hill.

Even in the Pinnacle Grill we used to be able to get a great chocolate soufflé -- not on our recent cruise -- it was very dense.

Cabin stewards now have way more cabins to take of then just 6 or 7 years ago.

I read other boards -- Princess -- Cunard -- RCI -- same complaints. Cruising has changed from what many of us knew back in the 80's and 90's.

[shugey]

Another passenger, like Sackman, who was on the Westerdam immediately before drydock. Wow, I saw nothing that the OP did. The Pinnacle was excellent, the stewards made a point to get my name correctly the moment I walked into my room, casino manager Bianca loaded up our Cruise Critic group with lots of goodies for our Slot Pull, and over-all, I thought the food was OUTSTANDING. Oh, the only minor point might have been the pastries at the afternoon tea - there may have been a few less than in past years. But in every important category, I found the Westy was still a superior experience.

 

I don't pretend to know what the OP experienced, but just as far as I was concerned, I thought the Westerdam was BETTER than it was in the past.

[PatsyAnne]

Somewhat. On our last cruise, there was a little kid kicking my seat the whole cruise, and the passenger in front of me insisted on reclining all the way which left me with no room to read my magazine.

 

Sorry. I couldn't help myself. ;)

 

 

I hate it when the room stewards are getting heavy stuff out of the overhead bin and drop it on you. Seriously, cruising - flying - cruising - flying...

 

I fly to get there, I cruise to be there and to visit ports. Some things aren't perfect, but I often don't know what perfect would be.

 

 

Trish

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Cruising has changed.

HAL has changed.

All the cruise lines are experiencing cut backs due to the economy.

The dining room staff have way more passengers to serve that what they used to have -- thus less time to talk.

[

I read other boards -- Princess -- Cunard -- RCI -- same complaints. Cruising has changed from what many of us knew back in the 80's and 90's.

 

I agree with this totally. We have cruised 4 to 5 times a year for the last ten years and although we still enjoy it, cruising does not have the "zing" that it used to. As long as we keep our expectations moderate, we have good times and will continue to book although probably not as often.

[WoodyWindy]

@Kazu

 

I'm sure you get this all the time, and I tried searching, but I can't find it. What kind of dog is the picture in your avatar? I ask because we just adopted a dog from a shelter that could almost be its twin/son. Ours is (as far as we can tell... ;) ) a mix of Golden Retriever and Siberian Husky. (Some folks seem to want to call this a goberian, but we just call him Frasier - or Hurricane Frasier if he is in husky puppy mode...)

[igraf]

The reduced personal warmth and fewer smiles has more to do their higher workload and less to do with the tipping system.

 

There is a late night mini-buffet in the Lido and room service is always available.

 

I had no trouble getting a drink on our recent HAL cruise.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....

 

The staff is still good but they have lost the extra polish of getting to know your name and always having a smile and warm greeting. I think the change to automatic daily tips has greatly reduced the incentive for good service.

 

Don't expect to see a midnight buffet any longer or ever find food after 9pm. It is even hard to find a drink frequently (who would have ever thought that would happen on a cruise).

 

...

 

What are you seeing?

[kazu]

@Kazu

 

I'm sure you get this all the time, and I tried searching, but I can't find it. What kind of dog is the picture in your avatar? I ask because we just adopted a dog from a shelter that could almost be its twin/son. Ours is (as far as we can tell... ;) ) a mix of Golden Retriever and Siberian Husky. (Some folks seem to want to call this a goberian, but we just call him Frasier - or Hurricane Frasier if he is in husky puppy mode...)

 

The dog in my avatar is actually not Kazu. Kazu is my lab (tall and lean, not short and stocky).

 

My avatar is Maverick - my kuvacz. We rescued him from a shelter and only found out later that he was a purebred dog that we had rescued.

 

He was supposed to be lab size. (we thought he was a lab/husky mix too but he was not - he was real white mountain dog = if yours is the same - obedience training and school is a must) He was to my waist and a very nice puppy pony (as I told the children on the street).

 

He was a super dog and we lost him to bladder cancer nearly two years ago.

 

He weighed 115 pounds and was a big dog and not an ounce of fat on him.

 

Sorry, if I waxed sad for a moment - he was an incredible dog and if you have one like him, cherish him/her every minute that you have them.

 

Time is too short with them even though we had ours for 12 years.

[cruz chic]

I just got off the Westy a couple weeks ago. The cruise just before drydock. I thought the service was fantastic. I didn't run into any issues whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact. I would have expected there to be some quirks here and there based on the fact that the ship was headed to drydock immediately after our itinerary. Nothing of the kind ever happened. I don't know what kind of service is expected by the folks complaining, but I have a very recent experience on the Westy and it was terrific in nearly every way.

 

And yes, I cruise a lot. I know the difference between good and bad service.

 

I'm not high maintenance as you seem to be suggesting. I expect not to ask water glasses to be filled several times before it happens. I also expect the waiter to give me a menu and not have to look at someone else's. I also don't think it should take 45 min after ordering to see any food. I'm glad your service was good but please don't make out like anyone that expects any service is asking too much.

[cruz chic]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Cruising has changed.

HAL has changed.

All the cruise lines are experiencing cut backs due to the economy.

The dining room staff have way more passengers to serve that what they used to have -- thus less time to talk.

Desserts -- we have probably had only a couple of desserts in the last several years that I would rave about. HAL's desserts have gone down hill.

Even in the Pinnacle Grill we used to be able to get a great chocolate soufflé -- not on our recent cruise -- it was very dense.

Cabin stewards now have way more cabins to take of then just 6 or 7 years ago.

I read other boards -- Princess -- Cunard -- RCI -- same complaints. Cruising has changed from what many of us knew back in the 80's and 90's.

Princess does not seem to have to wait staff problems like Hal.

[BumperII]

Princess does not seem to have to wait staff problems like Hal.

 

You hit that right on the head. Between the short staff and the oversized chairs, we were referring to the MDR as an obstacle course the last time we sailed the Westerdam. We sailed the Island Princess for two weeks last year, and both the staff and the facility were well matched to the passenger demand.

[WoodyWindy]

Thanks for your response. I have replied to the email address in your signature line so that we can return the thread to its proper flow.