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Not what I was Guaranteed

donh1

By donh1,
in Holland America Line

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donh1

donh1

Posted
Posted

:mad: Just looked at the Immigration Form to find out our room assignments. 5 Cabins booked for G category and have been assigned HH rooms. Can the cruise line actually assign a room with a lesser value than what they guaranteed. My question is should I attempt to hammer this out with the cruise line now or simply wait until I get to the pier and demand that they live up to their end of the contract. Any suggestions.... :mad:

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FlorenceItaly

FlorenceItaly

Posted
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It's my understanding that you should not receive a room lower than you booked. I would contact your travel agent asap. At the pier will be too late. Please let us know how it goes. On my upcoming Mar cruise, I booked a guarantee HH, and my biggest concern is my sis and I having rooms near one another, but I knew when booking I was taking a chance. At the solo rate, I needed to go with the most cost effective rate. When are you sailing?

 

Marie

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torpeedo

torpeedo

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I don't think they can/should present you with accommodations less than your guarantee. I don't know anything about G's or HH's so don't know if one is better than the other. I would definitely go to your TA right away or HAL if you booked with them to see what happened to your guarantee!

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FlorenceItaly

FlorenceItaly

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I don't think they can/should present you with accommodations less than your guarantee. I don't know anything about G's or HH's so don't know if one is better than the other. I would definitely go to your TA right away or HAL if you booked with them to see what happened to your guarantee!

 

HH is the lowest in the oceanview category...it is obstructed. It then moves up to H, GG(obstructed) and G...this is how it is listed on the HAL site. So, he is quite a few categorys below what he booked. I have to wonder if there was an error on the part of the TA when it was booked. You may want to double check your cruise deposit, and cruise confirmation statement. On both those documents it should clearly indicate what you booked and paid for.

 

Please let us know how it turns out. Best Wishes.

 

Marie

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RevNeal

RevNeal

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If you booked a G category Guarantee and they have placed you in HH cabins, then they have made an error and, in the very least, you are due a refund for the difference between the G category Guarantee (which you paid) and the HH category Guarantee (where you ended up). As it is, you're not getting what you booked ... and a Guarantee is a "guarantee" of that or better. I would DEFINITELY have your TA call and negotiate with them for either a reassignment or commensurate compensation.

 

Something similar once happened to me. I had booked a J-category Guarantee with single supplement aboard the Maasdam and they put me in an MM ... way aft and two decks down. It was one of those last-minute fiascos that I didn't discover until I presented myself at the pier for check-in (it was before the day of online Immigration forms, etc). I protested the assignment. I showed the shore-staff my paperwork indicating J-category Guarantee and demanded that they do something about this mistake. They appeared to be as puzzled as I was about why I would be assigned a SIGNIFICANTLY lower category of cabin than what I had paid for (we're not talking a few dollars ... we're talking nearly FIVE HUNDRED dollars). They called over shore supervisors and reviewed paperwork. After about 10 minutes of discussion among themselves, they even called Seattle and conferred with them. After all this, the word was "we're sorry for the mix up." I inquired as to the difference in cabin-price -- on the close order of $500 difference -- and I was informed: "We will consider providing you with onboard credit to make up the difference in category, but there's noting else we can do." Glumly, but resigned to the inevitable, I settled for the MM category cabin and boarded (what else could I do? ... I was in Europe and my ride back to the States was floating at the pier and at least it had a cabin with my name on it). My boarding picture was NOT flattering and I was NOT a happy cruiser, but at least I was aboard. The steward took me to my cabin aft on A Deck. It wasn't bad, and was right around the corner from the aft elevators, so access to the rest of the ship would be easy. I sat down, signed, and then decided that, since I had no luggage yet I would go up to the Lido Deck for lunch.

 

40 minutes later, when I arrived back at my cabin, I found the Hotel Manager (Fritz) standing outside my door writing me a message. We introduced ourselves and he apologized for the mix-up and handed me a new door key (this was before the unified ID cards also worked your door) and said that, if I so-desired, he would be happy to escort me to my new cabin. I guess the quizzical look on my face was funny because he laughed and said "let me help you with your carry on luggage;" we went into the MM and got my carry on bag (checked luggage had not yet arrived) and we made our way all the way forward and up to the Verandah Deck, where he led me to one of the C-category cabins on the port side just forward of the forward elevators. As we made our way he explained that the error was entirely his department's fault, but that they had 2 outside cabins on the Verandah deck set aside for errors and emergencies and that the shore-staff should have simply called his office aboard the ship and not Seattle. He opened the cabin's door and I entered to discover my checked luggage already there along with a bottle of champaign, compliments of the captain, cooling in a bucket. I expressed my deepest thanks and the Hotel Manager took his leave.

 

Sometimes things do turn out good. This happened in 1999 and it was THE event which cemented my loyalty to HAL. I had been cruising HAL off-and-on for 5 years at that point and was considering trying out other Lines ... having just completed a wonderful cruise to Antarctica aboard the Orient Line's classic ocean liner, the Marco Polo. But the way this fiasco was handled by HAL showed me that they truly did care about doing what was right, and not just about what was expedient. At least, that was the case under Lantermann. I don't know if that's still the case, today. All I know is that that was the largest upgrade I have ever received. I've gone from M to E ... but never from MM to C. :)

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Lucyt1207

Lucyt1207

Posted
Posted

I'd also ask TA for a copy of the original booking from HAL. This way you can be sure what was actually booked by your TA. There is the possibility that the TA made the mistake in the initial booking or didn't look at the written confirmation when it arrived.

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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I'm with Lucy - sounds as though the TA didn't check everything when the confirmation came back from HAL. If that be the case, then that TA needs to compensate you somehow. Doubt if there is still time to get the category you want. That would be the last time that I would use that TA if it turns out it was their mistake.

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donh1

donh1

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All of our travel documents from the cruise line show "G" . Of the 5 cabins assigned 4 are GG and HH. One is yet to be assigned showing 000 . We booked the guarantees because of the price and the off chance of getting an upgrade. We booked a category that was acceptable to us. As some of you kind folks have suggested I'll leave this with my online travel agent to sort out. I believe with the documentation I have the problem lies squarely with the cruise line and not my travel agent.

 

I will definitely let you know how it plays out. They have two weeks to get it right or at least make it right. Let's hope at the end of this I'll be able to give you a happy face......:mad:

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donh1

donh1

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My online travel agent has been great....After the TA made a call to the cruiseline three cabins have been corrected with an upgrade. They didn't say how much of an upgrade or what cabin number. One remains the same at a lower category.(I am curious about that but,,,, someone other than I understands the bigger picture) My cabin remains to be assigned.... I do remain optimistic that Holland America will make it right. I am finding the whole event fascinating.

Interesting side note....Last year we were booked on the Dawn Princess for a 10 day trip and months before we were to depart the cruiseline cancelled two of the ports of call. We managed to get a $250 per person room credit. Worked well for those of us who were on the low end budget bookings. Others with thousands more invested understandably felt cheated... I firmly believe that all of the cruiselines strive to do what is right recognizing that their future lies with customer satisfaction.

 

I'll keep you posted on the end result. I may be the guy they are towing behind in the lifeboat. Barb... threw few hotdogs my way from the outside barbeque . They may not feed me....:)

 

Don

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XBARBSX

XBARBSX

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Don,

 

Anything you want, just holler !!!!! Our cabin is on the aft, so if you're tagging along we'll have a straight shot...........!;)

 

Seriously, keep that positive attitude and everything will work out. We've got our fingers crossed.

 

Barb

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kryos

kryos

Posted
Posted
Greg-That must have been Frits Gehner. He is great!

 

Gary

Was this guy ever on the Zuiderdam? That name sounds awfully familiar. I think he dined with us one night on my b2b in summer of 2004. He also brought the onboard commediene, Julie Barr, to dine at our table that evening as well.

 

He was the consumate host and it was a great meal. Just wondering if this was the same guy ...

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

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