Very Bad HAL Maintenance.....or is it just me?

[kazu]

Kazu,

Aside from this discussion, have you heard anything from Georgina and Gerry?

We used to cruise with them and have not seen any of their posts on this board.

 

Oh yes, talk to them quite often ;).

 

Georgina has posted a bit but she is very busy right now with work. She is posting on our roll call though.

 

Both of them are doing well and are happy and healthy :)

 

Apologies for the thread drift.

[navybankerteacher]

Of course older ships are more likely to have the occasional "wear and tear" - but most negative reports posted are anecdotal - we are currently on Zuiderdam and have not experienced any age-related maintenance problems - I do regret the loss of public space arising from some of the modifications, but still enjoy great service, good food, and a reasonable size ship on an ideal itinerary.

 

Yes, this report of my expericience is anecdotal - but as valid as the negative ones.

[crewsgirl]

Looking at the Australia trip on the Noordam. Can anyone address specific issues with this ship? We love HAL and are booked on the new Koningsdam in June but wondering about Noordam in 2019. Has anyone done that Australia/NZ itinerary and if so, what are your thoughts regarding the Noordam on that trip?

[USN59-79]

Cabin No., pls? I'm hoping it isn't the one that we have booked for the 2018 Grand Asia.

Both outside cabins. The one that flooded was 1960; the one that had no heat was 1899.

[rkacruiser]

I also am of the opinion that it makes Carnival Corporate sense for when the Prinsendam is retired to covert one of the older Seabourn ships to Prinsendam III. If feasible, maybe another deck added or the ship split and another section added to increase capacity and provide for additional public areas.

 

Among the tinkering that was done to Royal Viking Sun was the creation of the Ocean Bar and the Pinnacle Grill in the space that had been part of the Main Dining Room. Royal Viking Line operated single seating dining on their ships and that area was needed for dining purposes.

[UPNYGuy]

;p

 

And that is one of the reasons we will not sail on Princess. We were flooded out but there was no "out" to go, so we to got sleep with fans blazing, luggage ruined, etc.

 

Carried on for the bulk of our cruise. I can't stand the sound of a normal fan at home when I sleep, so I think we all know how loud those fans are. 5 days of it.

 

And NO compensation so you did better than we

 

If the food had been good it would have helped. I lost 10 pounds on that cruise. Now, admittedly we can all lose a few pounds, but I don't need to lose 10 :p:D

 

 

 

Same issue as to why we wanted for a very good deal to appear to return. We were flooded out of our cabin on Statendam, and the front desk lied about cabin availability. We were holed up at Canada Place (ship was cleared to leave, but conditions were too severe). We stayed on, but watched half the ship disembark. As it turned out, many were on the ship for the 5 day coastal cruise. We were doing the 12 day Alaska combo with the 7 day and 5 day repo down the coast. The front desk lied about cabins being vacant AFTER we sat through the meeting giving us the disembarkation information. DW was hopping mad. We had a blower in our cabin for at least 3 days. HAL compensated us with a dinner at Canaletto. I was NOT happy with how we were treated.

 

We were back on Eurodam this year after a 5 year absence, and service had thankfully improved. But to be frank, we will be booking more on Royal Caribbean (the cruise we just disembarked was phenomenal, and the way HAL used to be 10 years ago) and Oceania. And who knows what we will think of MSC [emoji23]

 

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense. I’m midair typing this on a touchscreen.

 

 

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[iancal]

I suspect that cruise line executives are playing the short term game for their own game. Executive and senior management remuneration that is variable and tied directly to revenue and profit goals. With significant bonus money for overachieving those goals.

 

Plus stock options. Depending on the strike price and the maturity, they have an interest in pumping up the numbers in order to see the stock price rise. Whatever they can do to complement the parents performance and not been seen by the other cruise lines as negatively impacting corporate goals or performance.

 

All this points to keeping older ships as long as possible, cutting back on maintenance, reducing staff levels in order to sweeten the bottom line, performance bonuses, and the stock price.

[Slarty]

We were on her a few weeks ago ... 7-day Montreal to Boston. Apart from dripping light fixtures around various elevators (mainly aft), there were no buckets in the Lido. We also had a "farting" bathtub that every few seconds would "burp" a sewage stink. Also our cabin made loud wooden creaky noises all night on 2 nights of moderate seas. Other than that, it was Grrrreat! LOL

[johnmik1]

Looking at the Australia trip on the Noordam. Can anyone address specific issues with this ship? We love HAL and are booked on the new Koningsdam in June but wondering about Noordam in 2019. Has anyone done that Australia/NZ itinerary and if so, what are your thoughts regarding the Noordam on that trip?

We sailed Noordam from Sydney to Vancouver in April, and that will be our last HAL cruise.We had a signature suite with a balcony that was filthy dirty and splattered with paint.The toilets routinely failed.There were water buckets throughout the ship due to leaking pipes.My wife entered one of the public restrooms and noticed that the wall looked wet and after touching it,the was fell apart and landed on the floor.The entertainment was nonexistent and we never once saw the cruise director or any officer.The orange juice was like watery Tang and I saw them pouring it from concentrate,in the lido.The dining room service was at time,a joke.I asked our waiter for iced tea five times and finally saw it sitting at the waiters station and got up and retrieved it myself.When I asked for sweet and low,it was provided with no spoon for stirring.I proceeded to stir it with a knife,while four waiters watched me and continued their conversation.We just returned from 14 nights on Regal Princess and had the opposite experience than that on HAL.I mentioned all this in the cruise survey and did email HAL who responded with a boatload of credit,dinners and gifts.They will go unused.We have sailed on 53 cruises so we have an idea of what to expect.I would avoid the Noordam,at all costs!JMHO

[Tampa Girl]

Both outside cabins. The one that flooded was 1960; the one that had no heat was 1899.

 

I am relieved. Thank you. We have 6220.

[navybankerteacher]

I suspect that cruise line executives are playing the short term game for their own game. Executive and senior management remuneration that is variable and tied directly to revenue and profit goals. With significant bonus money for overachieving those goals.

 

Plus stock options. Depending on the strike price and the maturity, they have an interest in pumping up the numbers in order to see the stock price rise. Whatever they can do to complement the parents performance and not been seen by the other cruise lines as negatively impacting corporate goals or performance.

 

All this points to keeping older ships as long as possible, cutting back on maintenance, reducing staff levels in order to sweeten the bottom line, performance bonuses, and the stock price.

 

 

Well put. Short-term maximizing is the logical result of corporate compensation plans which reward for "performance" on a short term basis. Only when bonuses are subject to clawback over a period of years will bonus programs contribute to good management.

[KroozNut]

It's just you. Just off Oosterdam yesterday, and she was in great shape!

[SFBayAreaShipLover]

It's just you. Just off Oosterdam yesterday, and she was in great shape!

 

That’s great to hear this, I am one that’s feels there not trying to let there ships get in bad condition on purpose. Partner and I sailing on Oosterdam Oct 13 and looking forward to it. We sailed the Amsterdam last May and over all thought ship in good shape. Carpets in main atrium were wrinkled l and needed renewing. But consider they are cleaned often it happens. Saw lot crew

Maintenance going on, same for Westerdam last Year.

[bcummin]

"or is it just me?"

 

We were also on the recent Voyage of the Vikings with you, Hank. I noticed different things.

 

Yes, there were occasional buckets in the Lido. The base of the aft MDR windows looked shabby to me, needing TLC. But your other concerns did not jump out at me. Maybe I was enjoying the voyage too much to notice.

Our stateroom was almost perfect. An electrical problem and a toilet concern (it always worked) were promptly fixed.

 

I did notice crew members working hard to polish and clean frequently in the public areas. We were spoiled rotten. I cannot complain.

 

Barbara

 

P.S. Actually I had two complaints: no Protestant clergy or Rabbi this year and no fresh squeezed orange juice.

Edited October 9, 2017 by bcummin

[Tampa Girl]

How interesting and how timely.

 

Enlightening is the word I would use. It's nice to hear facts rather than only opinions or speculation.

[innlady1]

"or is it just me?"

 

We were also on the recent Voyage of the Vikings with you, Hank. I noticed different things.

 

Yes, there were occasional buckets in the Lido. The base of the aft MDR windows looked shabby to me, needing TLC. But your other concerns did not jump out at me. Maybe I was enjoying the voyage too much to notice.

Our stateroom was almost perfect. An electrical problem and a toilet concern (it always worked) were promptly fixed.

 

I did notice crew members working hard to polish and clean frequently in the public areas. We were spoiled rotten. I cannot complain.

 

Barbara

 

P.S. Actually I had two complaints: no Protestant clergy or Rabbi this year and no fresh squeezed orange juice.

 

 

No freshly squeezed orange juice? [emoji521][emoji521][emoji521] Oh no. We're booked on the Rotterdam in February and that's one thing I always look forward to. [emoji53]

 

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

No freshly squeezed orange juice? [emoji521][emoji521][emoji521] Oh no. We're booked on the Rotterdam in February and that's one thing I always look forward to. [emoji53]

 

 

 

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On recent HAL sailings, there has been no fresh squeezed OJ in the Lido, but there was for MDR breakfast on Zuiderdam in September.

[Lauren and John]

Hi. We were on the Rotterdam VOV July 15, 2017. Delicious fresh oj in the MDR; not sure about the lido. The only one of the above issues that we truly experienced was the mildew smell a couple of nights in the Crows Nest while the BB King band was playing. I remember wondering what the mildew would do to the musician's lungs. They were FANTASTIC, by the way. To be honest, I did notice some stray buckets and pumps around, but no more so than on other ships I have been on. I also noticed constant upkeep. Lots of attention paid by the crew to the woodwork and other maintenance issues. The trip was fantastic, with the best crew and food we have experienced in about 10 cruises.

 

 

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[sammiedawg]

Hi. We were on the Rotterdam VOV July 15, 2017. Delicious fresh oj in the MDR; not sure about the lido. The only one of the above issues that we truly experienced was the mildew smell a couple of nights in the Crows Nest while the BB King band was playing. I remember wondering what the mildew would do to the musician's lungs. They were FANTASTIC, by the way. To be honest, I did notice some stray buckets and pumps around, but no more so than on other ships I have been on. I also noticed constant upkeep. Lots of attention paid by the crew to the woodwork and other maintenance issues. The trip was fantastic, with the best crew and food we have experienced in about 10 cruises.

 

 

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Wow, someone is accepting buckets and pumps as the norm. It is definitely not the norm outside of the older ships of Holland America.

 

I would be personally concerned about mildew, mold, mustiness.

[innlady1]

On recent HAL sailings, there has been no fresh squeezed OJ in the Lido, but there was for MDR breakfast on Zuiderdam in September.

 

 

Interesting. It was never served in the MDR, just the Lido.

 

 

 

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[slidergirl]

It's just you. Just off Oosterdam yesterday, and she was in great shape!

 

How does a comment about the Oosterdam the other day relate at all to what Hank commented about the Rotterdam weeks ago? Comparing apples and tomatoes...

 

Hank's reputation on CC is above reproach; I trust his opinions and comments. Others...

[bcummin]

No freshly squeezed orange juice? [emoji521][emoji521][emoji521] Oh no. We're booked on the Rotterdam in February and that's one thing I always look forward to. [emoji53]

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In August I was told in the Lido that the freshly squeezed OJ was available only for the Neptune suites.

 

Barbara

[Tampa Girl]

How does a comment about the Oosterdam the other day relate at all to what Hank commented about the Rotterdam weeks ago? Comparing apples and tomatoes...

 

Hank's reputation on CC is above reproach; I trust his opinions and comments. Others...

 

I wondered about the same thing at first, but then assumed that she was was only saying that not every HAL ship should be assumed to be in the condition of the Rotterdam

 

As far as trusting one poster's comments over another, are you suggesting that posters should not relate their own, differing experiences on the particular ship? That is what it sounds like.

Edited October 9, 2017 by Tampa Girl
misspelling

[liketraveling]

Just got off the Ooesterdam on Saturday. Ship was in good shape.

 

There was wear and tear on the carpet in the Midship Elevator.

 

I was on the Ooesterdam in 2010. I like the billboard, BB Kings and Lincoln Stage addition.

[navybankerteacher]

Interesting. It was never served in the MDR, just the Lido.

 

 

 

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We've always found it in MDR for breakfast - the last time we saw it in the Lido was on Prinsendam in Fall 2014 - and then it was obviously diluted.