Large Group Disrupting Dining on Zaandam May 31, 2015

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hmmmm...I've been told that Silk Den isn't available to be booked for private parties. :confused:

 

 

That is what we were told the first time we sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010.

But it was different on both our 2013 Fall cruises and 2014 spring cruises.

Money talks.

[sail7seas]

Hmmmm...I've been told that Silk Den isn't available to be booked for private parties. :confused:

 

We were at a HAL hosted party in Silk Den on Eurodam. The lounge was closed to those not invited..

 

[sail7seas]

Did I miss the name of this group? If they take over the whole dining room for a sitting that group would be too large for me.

 

A couple of years ago my sis and I were on a cruise in the Caribbean and (un-known to us) there was a large group onboard. The Lido Pool area was closed down to the rest of the passengers for an entire afternoon on a sea day so this group could have some function there! NO way would I go on a cruise with another large group!

 

Same thing happened to us years ago on Ryndam. It was 2001 and there was such a large group, we never got to use Crows Nest in 10 days and aft pool was closed to us one sea day when they had a private party. There were many disruptions to our use and enjoyment of the ship and it was very unpleasant. Crew did the best they could to control the out of control rudeness we encountered being told we were 'in the way' being on the ship but I hope to never be on a ship again with such a large group. Doesn't matter in the least who the group is comprised, it is just their sheer numbers that make it miserable for others.

 

[localady]

Same thing happened to us years ago on Ryndam. It was 2001 and there was such a large group, we never got to use Crows Nest in 10 days and aft pool was closed to us one sea day when they had a private party. There were many disruptions to our use and enjoyment of the ship and it was very unpleasant. Crew did the best they could to control the out of control rudeness we encountered being told we were 'in the way' being on the ship but I hope to never be on a ship again with such a large group. Doesn't matter in the least who the group is comprised, it is just their sheer numbers that make it miserable for others.

 

 

Encountered the same thing with a group that comprised more than half of the pax. Unable to access even the dining room because entire seatings were occupied by the group. I felt like a second class passenger even this one one of the few times we were in a Neptune Suite. :(

Would avoid a cruise like that again.

[Hflors]

We can't provide the name of the group because it is with a travel agent and it's not allowed here on CC. But this is not the same as the group that you have encountered. This is just a bunch of people all booking through one TA. I have cruised at the same time as one of his groups and there was no impact whatsoever. They don't need to meet onboard and they, typically, don't take over any public areas. Why they would book an entire dining time is a mystery to me since many would prefer another time.

 

OMG!!!! I think I am brain dead today. I get it now. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

[Hflors]

Same thing happened to us years ago on Ryndam. It was 2001 and there was such a large group, we never got to use Crows Nest in 10 days and aft pool was closed to us one sea day when they had a private party. There were many disruptions to our use and enjoyment of the ship and it was very unpleasant. Crew did the best they could to control the out of control rudeness we encountered being told we were 'in the way' being on the ship but I hope to never be on a ship again with such a large group. Doesn't matter in the least who the group is comprised, it is just their sheer numbers that make it miserable for others.

 

 

Same here. After my experience , my take is any group large enough to take over the dining room for a whole seating is reason enough for me to cancel my cruise for that date!

Edited January 23, 2015 by Hflors

[I_r_a]

Hey KY,

 

>PCC was quite cagey during our lengthy phone conversation about the topic. Only tried to convince me not to cancel our bookings,.... <

 

Bail out.

 

There are other cruises just as nice.

 

Ira

[oaktreerb]

Hey KY,

 

>PCC was quite cagey during our lengthy phone conversation about the topic. Only tried to convince me not to cancel our bookings,.... <

 

Bail out.

 

There are other cruises just as nice.

 

Ira

 

If this is in reference to the title of the thread you are being silly. HAL needs to sell cabins. They will turn over a certain number of cabins for travel agents to advertise and book. This is not a large group with a common purpose other than to be tourists in Alaska. HAL will hold MDR tables to release closer to sailing so that they have a clear idea of passenger preferences. MDR to my knowledge has never guaranteed anybody a particular table or dining time without giving a disclaimer that they may not be able to honor the request.

 

The PCC probably had no clue what you were talking about as it is not a convention or business group.

[Mary Ellen]

We've cruised with this particular TA group on board when they made up about 1/3 of the passengers. They had no impact at all on our cruise. Not even their cocktail party interfered with our plans. A few years later, when on Oceania, we met someone who had been on that same cruise. She didn't even know there was a group on board, certainly not one of that size, until the end of the cruise when her daughter suggested they sign up to get emails from the TA. We wouldn't hesitate to be on the same ship with them in the future. The suite cocktail parties and/or luncheons on HAL have impacted our cruise more than this group. :rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

Same here. After my experience , my take is any group large enough to take over the dining room for a whole seating is reason enough for me to cancel my cruise for that date!

 

The trick is learning about the large groups. The cruise lines are not forthcoming in sharing that information even when directly asked. For obvious reasons, they keep as quiet as possible when they know there is a large group booked. :rolleyes:

 

[Hflors]

The trick is learning about the large groups. The cruise lines are not forthcoming in sharing that information even when directly asked. For obvious reasons, they keep as quiet as possible when they know there is a large group booked. :rolleyes:

 

 

Your right Sail. The cruise line is not forthcoming in sharing the info. If they did I believe most people wouldn't be to interested in booking with a large group onboard. I don't think it is very fair to the rest their customers(outside of the group) not to be allowed to enjoy the public spaces that they have paid for and expect to enjoy. I can tell you we were pretty ticked (and so were a lot of others) when we were denied use of the Lido pool on a sea day, because the large group had booked the pool area for the afternoon!!!

So the best bet is to do research and you find out there is a large group onboard choose another date or ship!

[Kyoceans]

OP here. Thank you all for your input and information. Just to update you - the other folks we are travelling with can't change travel dates due to school and work obligations so we are sticking with the May 31st sailing. PCC was able to "confirm" early dining for us all even though it is still not offered as an option online or though ships services. I don't know if this is due to our suite bookings, Mariner status, or just to keep me quiet. I spoke to ships services again today. They confirmed there are currently 3 groups booked on this cruise. As usual, no information will be provided as to size and composition of the groups or if they will have exclusive use of public spaces. They "can't discriminate against groups" to quote ships services. If the groups do turn out to be just the travel agency bookings as some of you have indicated, I look forward to meeting some of them and getting the agent's info so I can book some of his great deals in the future. I WILL enjoy my trip regardless. I'll be cruising and I'm sure at least one bar will be open to all! Cheers!

[Alberta Quilter]

I'm glad you got the dining time you wanted. And I hope you get the TA info, too.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Hlitner]

Yeah, we have heard HAL and other lines use the "we cannot discriminate against group" argument to keep others in the dark. On the other hand, they have no problem discriminating against every non-group passenger by denying them access to various public rooms and even some entertainment (this has happened on RCI). This is an absolutely STUPID and false argument as disclosing the nature of groups is not "discriminating" against anyone! It is simply allowing for full disclosure so that reasonable folks can make decisions based on facts rather then having to speculate. In fact, many large groups will advertise when they have "group" cruises on their own web sites. We think that HAL's and other lines only concern is protecting themselves (the cruise line) from passengers who might cancel because they do not want to be on a cruise dominated by 1 or more large groups who get special privileges. We have been on HAL cruises when the Crow's Nest (our favorite place for a pre or post dinner cocktail) was closed to accommodate groups. ARGH!.

 

Hank

P.S. This is not a rant about HAL, but a rant about all the mass market lines!

Edited March 3, 2015 by Hlitner

[jessed]

I'm on this cruise and have been confirmed early upper dining since I booked online a few months ago.

[jessed]

Any update on the "large" group?

[Boatdrill]

That is what we were told the first time we sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010.

But it was different on both our 2013 Fall cruises and 2014 spring cruises.

Money talks.

 

I pay in American dollars just like everyone else. :)

Tamarind IS available to be reserved for exclusive use by private parties;cost is 200% of capacity.

 

To the best of my knowledge Silk Den (bar and lounge) is not available for private parties. This was according to the Onboard Event Services Manager at HAL about 2 years ago. But maybe the policy has changed...

[sail7seas]

I pay in American dollars just like everyone else. :)

Tamarind IS available to be reserved for exclusive use by private parties;cost is 200% of capacity.

 

To the best of my knowledge Silk Den (bar and lounge) is not available for private parties. This was according to the Onboard Event Services Manager at HAL about 2 years ago. But maybe the policy has changed...

 

Perhaps policy aboard has changed but we were invited to two different cocktail parties in Silk Den. Nice parties we enjoyed but maybe they have stopped permitted private use of that lounge?

[PatsyAnne]

If the TA who shall remain nameless sells a really good deal, maybe the PCC wouldn't tell you so that you wouldn't cancel with PCC and switch to the TA. Just a thought, although probably an incorrect one.

[DreamingBig1]

We are unable to confirm early dining on May 31st Zaandam Alaska sailing. Per PCC, this is due to space being held for a group, thus ship is not confirming anyone for early dining. It may or may not become available closer to cruise date.

 

I am less concerned about dining times than I am about cruising with a group large enough to hold an entire dining room. PCC will not tell me anything about the group. I searched for all the usual suspects in all the usual places and can't find any information about said group. I plan to call HAL group booking department and will post any info I get from them. Does anyone else have any info about this?

 

Who are what are the usual suspects you are referring to?

[Kyoceans]

Road scholars, quilters, knitters, inspiration, lifeway, amway, jazzdagen, etc. Just the "usual" groups that are listed on charters and groups threads. Quest to figure out what groups comprise the "3 groups booked" on our pending cruise was so we could get an idea of the numbers involved. 30 group members quite different "share the ship" experience versus 500 group members...

[B Russo]

I would take a different cruise.

[HokiePoq]

Even though we will not be on any of those cruises, I sure would like to know why early dining is closed to regular passengers for 3 different cruises.

 

Keep us updated with any news you learn.

 

This is an issue in my opinion as well. Early dining is usually the most popular and first to fill up. If this is done, the whole ship should be a charter. Otherwise other passengers are definitely second class citizens.

Only large group we've sailed with has been a company of jewelry salesladies. Only thing I noticed was a lot of ladies in pretty jewelry on that one. They were not disruptive. I would hate to have to reschedule a family celebration like that. Wonder if there's another ship on the same dates?

[taxmantoo]

The trick is learning about the large groups. The cruise lines are not forthcoming in sharing that information even when directly asked. For obvious reasons, they keep as quiet as possible when they know there is a large group booked. :rolleyes:

 

 

Agree that they do tend to keep quiet about groups.

 

Two years ago, we were confirmed late dining (table for 2) on the Eurodam in the Caribbean. At embarkation, I realized our cards were made out for "Open Seating". When I checked with the maitre 'd station and showed him our boarding pass confirming our reservation, they informed me that there was a group on board and there was nothing they could do.

 

I proceeded to guest services and received the same answer. They said we could go to "open seating" at the same time every night. The entire ship was "open seating" except for that one group who had late dining confirmed (... we did meet later with some of the group who were also quite upset because they preferred early dining or open seating). We prefer the upper dining room. I stayed there and told them I would not budge until I spoke to the Manager. When she came, she was a very nice lady who obviously was taken aback by HAL Headquarters' decisions. She understood that we were 4-star Mariners and staying in a Neptune Suite (not that this should matter but it did). There clearly was not much she could do. She eventually comped us at the Pinnacle for the first 3 nights until she could find a table in late dining for us. I knew by the 4th night that a lot of the people assigned to late dining were unhappy with their assignment and simply not showing up.

 

Back home, I wrote to Headquarters and Stein Kruse complimenting the Guest Services Manager's understanding of the situation and flexibility in dealing with irate passengers but severely criticizing Headquarters for putting her in that situation. I received a nice letter back with an apology and coupon for a complimentary Admiral's Choice Wine Package on our next cruise.

[DreamingBig1]

Road scholars, quilters, knitters, inspiration, lifeway, amway, jazzdagen, etc. Just the "usual" groups that are listed on charters and groups threads. Quest to figure out what groups comprise the "3 groups booked" on our pending cruise was so we could get an idea of the numbers involved. 30 group members quite different "share the ship" experience versus 500 group members...

 

Cool.... I would prefer to not to be with a very large chartered group. A small chartered group wouldn't be that bad.