What can be done in Australia if you have a bad cruise?

[Donone1]

HI, my wife and I cruised on the Volendam recently Japan to Vancouver 19 days.

We were woken at least twice every night by the deck hands above our suite.

I reported this on every occurrence even spoke to the deck hands, the noise came from stacking the tables and chairs between 11pm and midnight and unstacking ready for breakfast between 4:30am and 5:30 am. also the store room that was above our stateroom was constantly used at all hours even at 3am in the mornings when a trolley was used to move props around. After a week I was told sorry make the best of it, we will compensate you at the end of the trip. I was told by one of the staff that they always had complaints about these rooms. At the end of the cruise we were refunded $250.

I immediately got in touch with the head office in Seattle and was offered $400 off the next cruise. I have been in touch with the large Australian Travel Agent that sold us the cruise they also had no luck with HAL. I have also been in touch with AFTA no luck there. as far as I can tell if you part with your money to an overseas cruise company and things do not go well you are not covered by the Australian Consumer Guarantee or anything else as far as I know. I feel that we have been ripped off, I certainly would not have booked if I knew the problems. what else can be done?

[sewgood]

I'm sorry for all the noise from above your cabin when you were trying to sleep. I understand your frustration with HAL in their dealings with your complaint and your disappointment with the cabin after paying so much for a suite.

While I can not answer your question about what else can be done we have found it helpful to do a search of cabins reviews if we are going to a new part of the ship or are trying out a new class of ship. Hopefully this might help you with next time you cruise.:)

[icat2000]

Probably not a lot more unless you want to take legal action. Maybe accept their offer and chalk it up to experience. You could also send them a counter offer with what you think is reasonable.

[GUT2407]

Sorry to hear things were so bad.

 

Did you USA a TA?

 

You could always see a good lawyer.

 

We were lucky that our first few cruises we got a cabin that was sandwiched between other decks of cabins and quickly learnt that was the best place to be.

[sewgood]

I agree with GUT we like decks with cabins directly above and below.

[mrs and mrs]

I agree with GUT we like decks with cabins directly above and below.

 

So very true,research,research,and research a bit more.

What seems like a dumb question to a experienced cruiser,is not so apparent to a novice.

Our 4th cruise coming up and we still consider ourselves novices.

Must admit we had a service closet next to us,but its almost impossible to wake the nearly dead.

Or the zonked.

Edited July 12, 2016 by mrs and mrs
2nd wine spelling

[GUT2407]

So very true,research,research,and research a bit more.

What seems like a dumb question to a experienced cruiser,is not so apparent to a novice.

Our 4th cruise coming up and we still consider ourselves novices.

Must admit we had a service closet next to us,but its almost impossible to wake the nearly dead.

Or the zonked.

 

For us it was a large part luck.

 

We loved being two decks down to MDR two decks up to Panorama cafe, so booked it again next time, then started to hear people complain about noise above and below, we realised the issue and have booked there each time, though some ships now it's three or four up and down, but always cabins above and below. Always mid ship (or close to) for different reasons.

 

Service closet can be an issue to watch out for, but seldom had an issue even when one has been directly opposite. If the crew are considerate you're fine, if they're not .... Well doesn't matter how close or far it is.

[GUT2407]

Perhaps I should add that I'm pretty sure NCAT would be the place to make a claim, but I'm not sure you have grounds.

[OzKiwiJJ]

:eek: Bad enough getting that sort of disturbance when you're in an el-cheapo cabin but at the cost of suite I'd be ropeable! :mad:

 

I probably would have made much more fuss while I was onboard - I'm a light sleeper and don't handle lack of sleep very well so after a couple of nights of that I would have been ready to murder someone. :eek:

 

We had a cabin right next to a service closet on Dawn Princess last year and, apart from one morning when they were fixing something in there quite early (8am-ish), we never heard a thing.

[erewhon]

Am very sorry to read of your experience on the Volendam.

Was the Concierge able to intervene on your behalf?

May I ask which stateroom you occupied?

 

I hope that HAL will increase their offer of $400 off your next cruise. I guess that is US$.

 

Good luck to achieve a better outcome.

[cassamanda]

Unfortunately Suites are usually on the top accommodation deck so researching the location is very important.

[sheridan318]

hi

We had the cruise from hell on Hal ,they offered us a couple of hundred dollars compo and we refused saying we were quite ready to take it all the way , anyway in the end they offered us $1000 still loaded as we had to do another cruise with them to access the money off another fare.

We thought a $1000 was a fair amount and settled on it, don't give up

[kuldalai]

Seasoned snoozers will look at the deck plans both of their proposed cabin and the decks immediately above and below to avoid nightclubs, disco, outdoor dining areas, jogging tracks etc . Also avoid cabins near public spaces and lift lobbies/stairways . Caveat Emptor !!!!

[whimsy7]

I am sorry to read that you had such a bad cabin and therefore a bad cruise.

agree with the others that research of the deck plans is very important....relation of your room to other parts of the ship etc. we learnt this through personal experience.

we had a similar problem to you....but a happy outcome.

we were late to book our Alaskan cruise with Celebrity and we were given a room under the kitchen of the buffet.

no problem...or so we thought.......by the time we go to bed, the buffet would be closed so no noise...we'd be up early anyway so noise in the morning would not bother us.

hah! our interior stateroom was right under the kitchen area where there was a bump so we heard noise all night!!

we put up with it for one night but even with ear plugs, we could not tolerate it the next night.

two phone calls to guest services and we were transferred to another stateroom around the corner. blissful and quiet.

thank you, Celebrity.

[GUT2407]

I am sorry to read that you had such a bad cabin and therefore a bad cruise.

agree with the others that research of the deck plans is very important....relation of your room to other parts of the ship etc. we learnt this through personal experience.

we had a similar problem to you....but a happy outcome.

we were late to book our Alaskan cruise with Celebrity and we were given a room under the kitchen of the buffet.

no problem...or so we thought.......by the time we go to bed, the buffet would be closed so no noise...we'd be up early anyway so noise in the morning would not bother us.

hah! our interior stateroom was right under the kitchen area where there was a bump so we heard noise all night!!

we put up with it for one night but even with ear plugs, we could not tolerate it the next night.

two phone calls to guest services and we were transferred to another stateroom around the corner. blissful and quiet.

thank you, Celebrity.

 

Great outcome, but only possible if there's a spare cabin.

[rkmw]

I am sorry to read that you had such a bad cabin and therefore a bad cruise.

agree with the others that research of the deck plans is very important....relation of your room to other parts of the ship etc. we learnt this through personal experience.

we had a similar problem to you....but a happy outcome.

we were late to book our Alaskan cruise with Celebrity and we were given a room under the kitchen of the buffet.

no problem...or so we thought.......by the time we go to bed, the buffet would be closed so no noise...we'd be up early anyway so noise in the morning would not bother us.

hah! our interior stateroom was right under the kitchen area where there was a bump so we heard noise all night!!

we put up with it for one night but even with ear plugs, we could not tolerate it the next night.

two phone calls to guest services and we were transferred to another stateroom around the corner. blissful and quiet.

thank you, Celebrity.

 

if you book late you have to take whats available, some people do book late to snag a bargain so they really cant complain

[The_Big_M]

Perhaps I should add that I'm pretty sure NCAT would be the place to make a claim, but I'm not sure you have grounds.

 

Agreed. This is more a customer service issue requiring individual negotiation, rather than a consumer rights issue as the issues encountered are not typically part of any agreement or relating to promised features.

[Guest012]

I feel that we have been ripped off, I certainly would not have booked if I knew the problems. what else can be done?

 

 

You have stated you booked through an Australian agency so if you feel you were in fact ripped off lodge a complaint online with Consumer Affairs.

 

I do sympathize about noisy cabins and sleep deprivation.....we had one on the Legend of the Seas in November:mad::mad: our continual complaints resulted in 3 days of a cabin smelling of glue plus the noise:eek: so the offer of $$$ compensation to you i guess is better than what we got:rolleyes: not that we expected anything however earplugs would have been a nice gesture!!!!.

 

Question did you choose the cabin yourself ????? or did you book one of the last minute cut price specials .....a late cheap guarantee booking will rarely see you with the best cabin in the best position....

 

Whats left to be done..........Live and Learn.... we all have in one way or another.........

[Donone1]

We were in Room 7062 which was booked 6 months before the cruise. I did hear a lot of other passengers on deck 7 complaining about the noise. Most cabins were directly below the lido or pool. I do believe that we should have been told. The travel agent I booked with tells us they are an expert on the Volendam and HAL, this was not a cheap cruise. The decks below 7 as far as i can tell are ok. We did a lot of complaining and if the cruise was not full we would have been moved. Thank you for your responses. I live and learn.

[rkmw]

We were in Room 7062 which was booked 6 months before the cruise. I did hear a lot of other passengers on deck 7 complaining about the noise. Most cabins were directly below the lido or pool. I do believe that we should have been told. The travel agent I booked with tells us they are an expert on the Volendam and HAL, this was not a cheap cruise. The decks below 7 as far as i can tell are ok. We did a lot of complaining and if the cruise was not full we would have been moved. Thank you for your responses. I live and learn.

 

depends on your travel agent but if you go with a cruise specialist they seem to have a better idea of cruises because they seem to go on cruises themselves and they can be very helpful, we are not allowed to mention names here but if you google you could find a few or if on a cruise talk to your fellow passengers and they can help out to

[erewhon]

Thank you for your reply.

Looking at the deck plan I see your stateroom was below some type of storage area.

During our first cruise we were in 7041, and another cruise in 7035, both of these staterooms are below the carpeted area of the Lido. The only noise we heard was vacuuming in the afternoon, if we were in the stateroom.

I certainly would have heard any night time noise!!

If you choose to sail again on Navigation Deck on the smaller HAL ships, may I suggest that you select a stateroom below the carpeted area of the Lido.

[Beanb41]

Noise from Communal areas late at night or early in the morning can be a real issue. That said we always try to book two decks away from communal areas to avoid such an incident. With decks being steel it is almost impossible to muffle all the sounds coming from above especially

[Donone1]

The travel agent we used would be considered a guru in the cruise agents.

[Embl]

A couple of years ago we cruised on P&O Jewel. Our cabin was below the disco and all we heard until the wee hours every night/morning was stomp, stomp,stomp. Full cruise so we couldn't move. We were advised by Management to check the deck plans more carefully before our next cruise. The end!

[MicCanberra]

Sandwich decks are best (between two other cabin filled decks) but even that doesn't ensure peace and quiet. Always bring ear plugs.