Live from the Eurodam, Where are the officers?

[bobandgloria]

Just arrived in St. Thomas still haven't heard from the Hotel Manager Don Habets in regards to our numerous request's. I have taken the many cruisecritic ideas about contacting the Hotel Manager. They have included contacting the toll free reservations department. leaving a comment card message for him to call, I have left messages at the front desk, I also have e-mailed customer service. I haven't been aboard a Holland America Ship in a while but is this the normal protocol for management to ignore a customer?.

[whogo]

I think you have your answer. Your minor problem, whatever it is, is not going to be corrected. The hotel manager is not going to meet with you.

[bobandgloria]

Negative employee attitudes and less-than-professional behavior can poison the workplace atmosphere especially aboard a cruise liner. I have over the years have praised numerous cruise line employee's for the hard work they due. But when a employee treats a elderly customer with disrespect because of his disability, he needs to be reported to the Hotel Manager.

[sppunk]

All I'm going to say is this does not surprise me in the least. It's one reason some of us request staff listings. That's all I'll say about it.

 

Good luck, OP. My suggestion: Just deal with the situation until you get off the ship and write a nice, long, detailed letter to Holland America.

[Lizzie68]

I think you have your answer. Your minor problem, whatever it is, is not going to be corrected. The hotel manager is not going to meet with you.

 

However, courtesy demands an acknowledgement at the very least. There seems to be a complete lack of basic manners here, as well as arrogance. However, I wonder how far past the front desk the requests went.

[sail7seas]

Unless there is a matter of safety or absolute discomfort, I would get on with enjoying my cruise and speak with whomever after my cruise. How much of the cruise does anyone want to spend concentrating on a complaint? It seems the matter is not going to be dealt with immediately. If the circumstance is tolerable, put it aside for the moment.

 

IMO

 

[taxmantoo]

Unless there is a matter of safety or absolute discomfort, I would get on with enjoying my cruise and speak with whomever after my cruise. How much of the cruise does anyone want to spend concentrating on a complaint? It seems the matter is not going to be dealt with immediately. If the circumstance is tolerable, put it aside for the moment.

 

Totally agree. It seems the OP has already expended a lot of time and effort to correct what she herself described as a MINOR problem. It might be that the staff also view the problem as so MINOR to not even require a reply. Hopefully, the OP will get over this MINOR problem and finish the cruise without running into a MAJOR problem.

[bobandgloria]

Thanks for all your responses regarding my situation, I am trying to be vague in regard to the incidents that had occurred. But it become a lot more complicated when it should not have.

 

1. Minor incident occurred on 1st day of cruise reported it to Guest Relations, it should of been resolved then it was not.

 

2. Supervisor Of Guest Relations a Ms. (deleted name) while assisting the Guest Relations staff member on the initial report was rude, un-professional and biased in regard to a handicapped customer (me).

 

3. Now the situation escalated to the point of notifying her superior which would be the Hotel Director, Mr. Don Habets about her actions. It should of happened that 1st day or the next morning it did not.

 

4. I had left messages with the front desk for a meeting. But unfortunately Mr. Habets wasn't available at any point during the cruise because of his busy schedule.

 

5. That is why I turned to the boards for help. I am completely aware that I could of waited till I get home and report the incident, but if this would happen to another cruise passenger it would not be right.

 

I want to thank you again all for your advice and wisdom.

[Topsham]

I fear you have allowed a minor problem become a major problem. Too bad.

 

Write a short letter and address it directly to Captain Scott. Ask for a written receipt as a photocopy of your letter.

 

Don't dwell on the problem of the GRM or Hotel Manager. Simply that you had a minor problem during the cruise and you have not received any response of any other officer in Hotel Dept.

[cruz chic]

I fear you have allowed a minor problem become a major problem. Too bad.

 

Write a short letter and address it directly to Captain Scott. Ask for a written receipt as a photocopy of your letter.

 

Don't dwell on the problem of the GRM or Hotel Manager. Simply that you had a minor problem during the cruise and you have not received any response of any other officer in Hotel Dept.

 

Totally agree with you.

 

OP, please try to enjoy your cruise. Don't let someone's actions spoil your time aboard.

[ajagent]

This is distressing to read as I am getting ready to take my first cruise on the Eurodam with my Older Parents. I am just curious...If you don't mind my asking What was the original issue? I sure want to avoid any problems when we cruise.

[taxmantoo]

This is distressing to read as I am getting ready to take my first cruise on the Eurodam with my Older Parents. I am just curious...If you don't mind my asking What was the original issue? I sure want to avoid any problems when we cruise.

 

Please believe me when I say there is no need to worry.

We have been on the Eurodam 4 times and have always found the crew and officers to be nothing less than professional and cordial in their dealings with passengers. We are not getting the entire story here as the OP is not letting anyone know what her MINOR issue was.

[Windsailer]

Please believe me when I say there is no need to worry.

We have been on the Eurodam 4 times and have always found the crew and officers to be nothing less than professional and cordial in their dealings with passengers. We are not getting the entire story here as the OP is not letting anyone know what her MINOR issue was.

 

Do we really need to know what the issue is? It seems at this point that the lack of response by many staff on the Eurodam is the issue. I had a laundry pricing issue on the Eurodam a year ago and it took 6 days to sort it out. The Front Desk kept telling me - it will be fixed by tomorrow and we'll call you - but it never was and they never did call. It became a routine...drop by the Front Desk after dinner to see if the problem was fixed.

[Windsailer]

Apparently HAL Seattle has "reached out" to the ship and the Hotel Director will be in contact today.

[mllewis48]

This is hard to believe from our perspective, we too have cruised on the Eurodam several times. Last year on a reposition cruise from Quebec City to Ft Lauderdale we had a family emergency and had to disembark in Bar Harbor. The Front Office and Staff could not have been more helpful, they planned our entire return home in a matter of an hour or so.

 

We send a "thank you" letter to HAL once everything had settled down expressing our thanks to all that helped.

 

In about two weeks we will board the Eurodam for a BtoB Christmas and New Years cruise and plan to thank and recognize those that helped us during our period of distress.

 

We have had issues over the many years but consider most to be something that is easily resolved, in a couple instances we have send letters to HAL mostly to bring the issue to their attention so they can use it as a learning tool for their staff. People are human and sometimes they do have bad days, their hours of work is unbelieveable and they do get tired, at least I would.

 

We find HAL to be a very special cruise line

[Lizzie68]

I see from HAL's facebook page that the Hotel Director will be in touch with these passengers today. Good response.

[sail7seas]

I just looked at HAL's Facebook page and didn't see anything about this matter. :confused:

[momatibm]

I just looked at HAL's Facebook page and didn't see anything about this matter. :confused:

 

 

Sail, it was under the 'post to page' section and may have been deleted due to the employee being named.

[YubaSutter]

Unfortunately the Guest Services Manager doesn't seem to like elderly cruisers who are handicapped, was given the cold shoulder and no response to my request.

 

Thanks

Gloria Redgrave

 

Did you ask them if this is the reason? Could it have been your attitude instead of assuming it was because of your handicap and being old?

[Windsailer]

I just looked at HAL's Facebook page and didn't see anything about this matter. :confused:

 

It's still there on the left hand side under Posts to Page.

[taxmantoo]

Do we really need to know what the issue is?

 

There is quite a difference between the toilets not working properly or the patio door being difficult to open or the handle on the cabin door being an inch too low or high :rolleyes: In every family, business or government endeavour, the nature of the issue often dictates the urgency of the reply or action.

[cruz chic]

This is hard to believe from our perspective, we too have cruised on the Eurodam several times. Last year on a reposition cruise from Quebec City to Ft Lauderdale we had a family emergency and had to disembark in Bar Harbor. The Front Office and Staff could not have been more helpful, they planned our entire return home in a matter of an hour or so.

 

We send a "thank you" letter to HAL once everything had settled down expressing our thanks to all that helped.

 

In about two weeks we will board the Eurodam for a BtoB Christmas and New Years cruise and plan to thank and recognize those that helped us during our period of distress.

 

We have had issues over the many years but consider most to be something that is easily resolved, in a couple instances we have send letters to HAL mostly to bring the issue to their attention so they can use it as a learning tool for their staff. People are human and sometimes they do have bad days, their hours of work is unbelieveable and they do get tired, at least I would.

 

We find HAL to be a very special cruise line

 

I highly doubt that the same staff is around from the repo cruise last year. That was over a year ago. I had one of my best cruises ever on the Eurodam last October. I also found the staff to be really great. Certainly you realize that the crew does change and just because you and I had a stellar time doesn't mean that everyone will have the same experience, especially a year later. I get so tired of people saying that they had a great cruise so everyone did. Your or my opinion is not more important than the opinion of others. It would be really nice to respect that.

[jmkennett]

Thanks for all your responses regarding my situation, I am trying to be vague in regard to the incidents that had occurred. But it become a lot more complicated when it should not have.

 

1. Minor incident occurred on 1st day of cruise reported it to Guest Relations, it should of been resolved then it was not.

 

2. Supervisor Of Guest Relations a Ms. (deleted name) while assisting the Guest Relations staff member on the initial report was rude, un-professional and biased in regard to a handicapped customer (me).

 

3. Now the situation escalated to the point of notifying her superior which would be the Hotel Director, Mr. Don Habets about her actions. It should of happened that 1st day or the next morning it did not.

 

4. I had left messages with the front desk for a meeting. But unfortunately Mr. Habets wasn't available at any point during the cruise because of his busy schedule.

 

5. That is why I turned to the boards for help. I am completely aware that I could of waited till I get home and report the incident, but if this would happen to another cruise passenger it would not be right.

 

I want to thank you again all for your advice and wisdom.

 

I feel for your situation. I love HAL but I will not be a cheerleader if it is not warranted. Seems to me a this is a reasonable request and the fact the no one has gotten back to you in four days is ridiculous. I work in AAA Five Diamond Hotel and it is standard to get back to a guest that day or no later than the next morning.

 

I've sailed on HAL many times and have always had great trips. However, the last two cruises I had a major problem with my stateroom. We were on an 11 night sailing and had a broken toilet for the first six days. It worked off and on, but mostly off. Having to go to public restrooms for six days was not ideal.

 

Last year, on a seven day sailing, we had a leak in our cabin which took four days to resolve. We had a nice big, blue, wet vac in our cabin for half the cruise. It was a great addition to the room!

 

I realize things happen and mechanical failures are part of life. However, it was the initial response that left us with a really bad taste, not the mechanical problems. It was like pulling teeth to get someone to help us resolve it. So much lip service and so few results. Getting in touch with a higher up was nearly impossible. We finally got a note to the Captain and then progress was made.

 

In the end, HAL compensated us very well for both problems and apologized, but it was the difficulty getting to that point that was completely unnecessary. We were told on both occasions that before any compensation was given, it had to be approved through Seattle. We received the compensation confirmation on the last evening, on both cruises, so this seems to be the procedure.

 

It would be nice if there was some empowerment on board to resolve these things. Maybe it has changed. I love this line and am currently booked on another sailing. However, it would be nice to see some changes in how problems are handled at the Front Office. I sympathize with you.

[mllewis48]

I'm sorry but I think you totally misunderstood my comment. If course I understand that crews change I'm merely making the point that people make mistakes and hopefully they learn from those mistakes. I also did mention that we too have had issues but overall we are very satisfied. People have differing opinions of minor issues.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sail7seas]

Sail, it was under the 'post to page' section and may have been deleted due to the employee being named.

 

Thank you.

I found it. :)