Hal's website is a train wreck!!!

[Hflors]

Honestly Hal's website is a total train wreck!   I tried about 4 times today to book a cruise.   Nothing special just a normal booking.  Everything was fine until I tried to change the cabin.  At that point I got the infamous blue circle that keeps spinning around.  Finally after the 4th try I gave up and called Hal's customer service line.  I just wish they could get it together with their website or just give up and go back to the old one.   And while I am on the subject I think it is terrible that in order to fine out all the available cabins in any category you have to go to a Travel Agent's website to find out that information!   But if you can't even change the cabin even after you find the one you want from the "other" website you are still back to square one or rather calling Hal's phone reps!   

Hal please get a new IT department and get the website fixed!

[mcrcruiser]

We do not bother trying to print out boarding passes & bag tags any longer,from their web site  .We call & HAL send them via e-mail  & we print them here .

Edited January 26, 2019 by mcrcruiser

[Djptcp]

I have sent feedback several times as I think many people have. HAL probably spent thousands of dollars revising their website and aren't too keen about changing it. I agree that it is totally not user friendly and I actually gave up trying to book any HAL cruises for a long time. It wasn't until I received an incredible casino rate promotion that I returned to HAL, but had to call to make the booking and couldn't do it online. Normally, I book all our cruises online. The new website is just not intuitive and the worst part is trying to select a cabin and it becomes a frustrating mess. On the old website, I could enter my DH's Mariner number and the price would decrease - can't do that anymore. There is currently another thread on the HAL forum about how bad the HAL website it.

[deliver42]

The HAL web site is, by far, the worst of the mass market lines. Even makes  MSC 's look good.

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

The HAL web site is, by far, the worst of the mass market lines. Even makes  MSC 's look good.

Obviously, you haven't tried Celebrity's website lately, it is just as bad and impossible to navigate.  

Edited January 26, 2019 by terrydtx

[JCBAY4]

I was trying to pick airline seats on flight ease hen all of a sudden I got an error message.  Called Hal & the CSA said “ it looks like you cancelled your flights”!!! Transferred to the airline dept. & she got it straightened out but said it happens all the time!  

[midwest 852]

I agree hate it so much next two cruises on NCL. 

[OlsSalt]

Continued reports of lost website sales should be of grave, red alert, concern to HAL management and stockholders..

[Vict0riann]

I have never even tried to book a cruise on the website, I don't know how to get past the first page.  I just find it difficult to even search for a cruise to take.  The last few cruises we have booked, I have heard about on CC, called our PCC and she has looked it up for us!

 

I loved that little chart they had in the past, which listed every ship and where it was sailing throughout the year.  

Edited January 26, 2019 by Vict0riann

[Fouremco]

9 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

I loved that little chart they had in the past, which listed every ship and where it was sailing throughout the year.

While not quite the same format, you can easily acquire the same information.

 

1. On the main page, scroll all the way to the bottom;

2. Click on "Our Ships;

3. From the list of HAL's ships, click on "View Cruises" for the ship in which you are interested.

 

I find that the biggest problem with the current website is that you can still do many of the things that you did before, but in a very different and non-intuitive way. When in doubt, use Google. For example, searching on "nieuw statendam cruises 2019" and clicking on the first result will take you to step 3 above for the NS.  

[OlsSalt]

11 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

While not quite the same format, you can easily acquire the same information.

 

1. On the main page, scroll all the way to the bottom;

2. Click on "Our Ships;

3. From the list of HAL's ships, click on "View Cruises" for the ship in which you are interested.

 

I find that the biggest problem with the current website is that you can still do many of the things that you did before, but in a very different and non-intuitive way. When in doubt, use Google. For example, searching on "nieuw statendam cruises 2019" and clicking on the first result will take you to step 3 above for the NS.  

 

Request was for the former chart to see ALL ships. On one page.

[Fouremco]

6 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Request was for the former chart to see ALL ships. On one page.

Which is why I said "While not quite the same format".

[horseymike]

something tells me this is not an accident, they do not want you to be able to access the inventory of available cabins,

they keep that to themselves and the travel agents.

[OlsSalt]

12 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Which is why I said "While not quite the same format".

 

It is or it is not. It is not. 

[SFO Peter]

22 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

I loved that little chart they had in the past, which listed every ship and where it was sailing throughout the year.  

======

 

From the Cruise Atlas page 205 which is online as well.  Hope this is what you are looking for.

 

Peter

 

 

[RuthC]

No argument from me that the website is a 'train wreck', but I found one 'car' on the train that seems to be working well.

I just went in to book Pinnacle Grill reservations and shore excursions for an upcoming cruise. The shore excursions portion went very well. Selection was easy, as was moving on to the next ports. Everything landed in the cart, as requested, and the purchase went through smoothly.
Pinnacle was not as easy to maneuver around to make multiple selections, with some back tracking, but those requests also went through.
Couldn't make manicure appointments at all, though. If anyone knows the trick to that, please share!

[knittinggirl]

 I sent an email to website support, and got a form letter back.  Clean your cookies, what operating system do you use, etc.

 

Not a fan of needing to fill two pages, where one used to work fine.  W/ multiple months, have to enter one, then reenter the form to get the next and so on.

Edited January 26, 2019 by knittinggirl

[Nymich]

It's the strangest thing they all sell tons of cruises and they all have lousy websites.   Speaking of websites this one can here can fail at any time!

[Vict0riann]

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

While not quite the same format, you can easily acquire the same information.

 

1. On the main page, scroll all the way to the bottom;

2. Click on "Our Ships;

3. From the list of HAL's ships, click on "View Cruises" for the ship in which you are interested.

 

I find that the biggest problem with the current website is that you can still do many of the things that you did before, but in a very different and non-intuitive way. When in doubt, use Google. For example, searching on "nieuw statendam cruises 2019" and clicking on the first result will take you to step 3 above for the NS.  

 

Yes, that's what I have to do - but it's not usually a specific ship I'm looking for, but a specific area.  Which means I have to go through ship after ship to find whichever part of the world I'm interested in.

[Vict0riann]

1 hour ago, SFO PETER said:

======

 

From the Cruise Atlas page 205 which is online as well.  Hope this is what you are looking for.

 

Peter

 

 

 

That's the one!  Thanks, Peter.  I will have to bookmark it!

[kazu]

I don't like the new website and I make no bones about it.

 

I find it cumbersome causing too much work to just check another category.

 

but I'm one of those silly people that think websites should be user easy.

 

But, I've had no problem booking dinners,  tours and even flight ease on it.

 

All went well and I got done what I wanted to so, for booking it seems to be fine (at least when I try).

 

It's the searching for cruises and checking different cabin pirces that is a PITA.

 

The old site was much more efficient for that IMO.

[dockman]

Hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars being paid regularly to OTA  (online travel agencies )in commission payments because people get fed up with the Holland America site where a direct booking would save HAL these commission payments.

 

Any company can make mistakes but when you allow the mistakes to go on and on and on for months or longer that's not a mistake it is incompetence.

 

As a stockholder I prefer to see those commission dollars go to the HAL/ CCL bottom line instead of an online travel agency that owns and operates not a single ship but has simply managed to create a user friendly website.

[Hflors]

Thanks everyone for "chiming in".  I feel so much better that this just isn't me.  I am just glad the captain and crew of HAL's ships are better at their jobs than their IT departments otherwise we would all be in a lot of trouble!

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, Fouremco said:

 

I find that the biggest problem with the current website is that you can still do many of the things that you did before, but in a very different and non-intuitive way. 

 

I am not arguing that the new HAL site has problems. But I also feel like a good deal of the 'angst' expressed here has to do with people having to adapt to a different website than the one they've used for years.  Is it really 'non-intuitive' or is it just 'different'?  

 

As someone who navigates many different cruise line and travel agency websites, the HAL site (navigationally speaking) isn't really an issue for me. It doesn't seem non-intuitive. But operationally speaking, there are clearly still problems that need fixing....

 

Just like the recent CC "refresh", I suspect people will eventually figure out new ways to do the same things on the HAL site, and HAL will get the annoying glitches fixed. 

[OlsSalt]

17 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I am not arguing that the new HAL site has problems. But I also feel like a good deal of the 'angst' expressed here has to do with people having to adapt to a different website than the one they've used for years.  Is it really 'non-intuitive' or is it just 'different'?  

 

As someone who navigates many different cruise line and travel agency websites, the HAL site (navigationally speaking) isn't really an issue for me. It doesn't seem non-intuitive. But operationally speaking, there are clearly still problems that need fixing....

 

Just like the recent CC "refresh", I suspect people will eventually figure out new ways to do the same things on the HAL site, and HAL will get the annoying glitches fixed. 

 

By now, the new site should feel like an old site since it has been around long enough for us old dogs to learn new trick. But it keeps throwing new non-intuitive twists and traps and I chronically now spend my time trying to be specific in the side bar. 

 

What was intuitive about not putting in the 2020 world cruise in the "plan your cruise" links on the website itself and yet it exists if you google "world cruise 2020". Is it intuitive to have to know what you want upfront so you can directly search for it.

 

What was intuitive about not wanting to get trapped in their "interactive map" and just see a listed itinerary on one page. Did the website page tiny box that simply said "list mode" know I was looking for a list? Why didn't it say "itinerary" since that is what it was offering as an alternative to their Temple of Doom interactive map.  

 

But even that leap of faith link that maybe "list mode" might turn up a more compact itinerary for that particular cruise provided a multi-click endless scrolling affair that took forever to view the route, if you could remember each and every port shown a few pages prior.  

 

Or is it intuitive to use the website to easily explore and find what they have to offer? When exactly did you last use the new HAL website to book your next HAL cruise?

 

It is teaching me new tricks, but very few treats.   I hope using the feedback side bar that in time I will be able to teach it some new tricks, like K.I.S.S.   (Keep it simple, stupid)

Edited January 27, 2019 by OlsSalt