Feedback... Please

[Santeeruss]

I recently had a sailing with HAL. MS Oosterdam to Alaska. It was my first cruise with HAL in 34 years. My wife and I were celebrating our 28th anniversary and our first vacation without kids ever.  I booked a VD guarantee, they gave me a VA (I don’t think it was an upgrade as available rooms had smaller verandas) and 3 days prior to sail they offered me an upsell upgrade, which I paid for. All my paid ‘indulgences’ and excursions were supposed to be transferred to the suite. Long story short, nothing, including the excursion tickets were delivered to the suite. Guest Services were visited 9 times over 4 days (week cruise) to get missing items either delivered or refunded and they forgot our anniversary. They still charged the suite (me) $200+ gratuity and repeatedly said “Sorry” and smiled. Four weeks of emails to guest Relations only resulted in “We’re sorry. See you soon” emails. I have 90+ days with this line and expected to get at least what I paid for. We missed one excursion and several on board events while waiting for Guest Services to fix things. There is absolutely no incentive to give them another chance.  Am I expecting too much?  I was honestly expecting a discount on a future cruise. A detailed daily log was provided to Guest Services and HAL. Thanks for reading. 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Santeeruss

[kevingastreich]

Sorry to hear.  We were on Oosterdam last month and had hot water issues in the cabin.  Guest relations kept working on it until they had it fixed and they also compensated us generously.  Sorry to hear of your problems.

[Santeeruss]

Our A/C was ineffective in the suite. We put a chair in the balcony door to cool down the room. I kinda expected better CS, being a 3 star cruiser with them. 

[kazu]

Oh dear, OP - so sorry to hear this.

 

We’ve had upsells and not had problems getting things moved over but ours were perhaps earlier than yours.

 

I totally agree with you.  Bad enough you had to go once to get it fixed and it should have been fixed the first time.  I’m so sorry you had to go over and over - I’ve been down that road once but for a much lesser issue (but still important to me) than yours.

 

I don’t blame you for being upset and I am truly surprised and dismayed that HAL has not not done a dam thing for you.  Don’t blame you a bit for how you are feeling.

[Santeeruss]

How do I know my concerns are even reaching higher levels?  I feel like I’m dealing with Tier 1 customer service. I had a family member that trains international customer service, review my emails, and they think HAL dropped the ball big time. Maybe things have changed in the 34 years and 10 near perfect sailings with HAL and this is the new normal?   

[bennybear]

The frustration is that one doesn’t feel heard or important to HAL.   Also the way individuals are dealt with varies so greatly.    We recently also did a paid upgrade to a suite, which had a blocked shower drain which ran all over the bathroom first day.  We called guest services and it took three days to get it finally fixed.  No compensation at all.   I do think the plumbing should all be in working order.  

We were also celebrating our anniversary and booked a pinnacle grill lunch to celebrate where it was  ignored.   Not even a dessert offered as they changed it to brunch without notice.   That and some other dining issues and the higher costs has me thinking of trying out some competitors,  though we are in striking distance of that silly free laundry.

though we still appreciate the ship staff and itineraries. 

[Santeeruss]

Although it has absolutely no bearing on the cruise, it was my first vacation in 8 years and my first “totally letting someone else do everything“ vacation in 34 years.  I can’t afford another ‘bust’ vacation again. My 10 previous HAL cruises were memorable. 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Santeeruss said:

How do I know my concerns are even reaching higher levels?  I feel like I’m dealing with Tier 1 customer service. I had a family member that trains international customer service, review my emails, and they think HAL dropped the ball big time. Maybe things have changed in the 34 years and 10 near perfect sailings with HAL and this is the new normal?   

 

And that's the problem.  I think the ball got more than dropped on this one.

 

I can tell you I had the same issues when I sailed Oceania and I wrote a carefully drafted, objective letter with the issues we encountered (I'm not a complainer by nature but believe me we were not alone and a lot of O cruisers shared our dismay).  My letter did get to the top tier as I had found out who to write to and I got the "looking forward to seeing you on O again" type of line.  Nothing was done. So, no cruise line is perfect and O is more expensive than HAL.

 

I haven't had to write to HAL much but I found they at least gave the appearance to listen and usually did something.

 

I'm sorry they haven't for you.  Who did you address your letter to?  Maybe forward it (and some think snail mail is more effective than eamil - your famly member would know that better than I) to the office of the president.  I'm sure someone on the boards remembers the right email address.

 

If you've had a lot of memorable cruises, I'm not sure what to say.  If it were my first cruise, I'd be gone with the 'once bitten twice shy' but if you have had other great cruises and, this is a one off, it's a tough one. 

 

 It sounds to me  like someone in Seattle flubbed the transfer of your information and you were the victim of their mistakes.  Not sure though why the front desk couldn't have fixed it up right off the bat.  I know how not fun it is to go to the front desk over and over again for something you should have.  Frustrating, tiresome and no way to spend a vacation.

 

 

[Rosmerta]

You should be able to find the list of executives, the manner in which to write to them about the problem and general advise on how to proceed on this website: https://www.elliott.org/

 

These are consumer advocates specializing in travel related problems.

[bEwAbG]

Agree with following the Christopher Elliott method at the website above, particularly this page:

 

https://www.elliott.org/answers/how-to-fix-your-own-consumer-problem/

 

The detailed log of issues is not an effective strategy because after a certain point, it comes across as whining and is easier for them to tune out.  Distill that down to the most important, keep it relatively short, and let them know what you're expecting without asking for a free cruise.  Don't start by sending the letter to the CEO's office because you have no where to go from there.

[SempreMare]

24 minutes ago, Rosmerta said:

You should be able to find the list of executives, the manner in which to write to them about the problem and general advise on how to proceed on this website: https://www.elliott.org/

 

These are consumer advocates specializing in travel related problems.

 

What a great idea @Rosmerta!   I've enjoyed his columns and approach.

[caribill]

5 hours ago, Santeeruss said:

I have 90+ days with this line and expected to get at least what I paid for.

 

5 hours ago, Santeeruss said:

 I kinda expected better CS, being a 3 star cruiser with them. 

 

A company should provide great customer service if a lot of business, a little business or even no business was done with them before.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP - sorry this happened to you.

 

For starters you should have selected a cabin of your choice when you booked.  I do not believe in guarantees.

 

Also you should write a letter to HAL about your problems.  E-mails are rarely answered when it comes to problems.

 

Hope you hear from someone.

 

 Let us know what happens.

[dfish]

When Guest Relations dropped the ball on an issue we had back in 2015, I sent my third email and did a cc to Orlando Ashford.  OAshford@hollandamerica.com     I had a reply in 24 hours.

[rucrazy]

11 hours ago, Santeeruss said:

 Am I expecting too much?  

I believe that anytime any business fails to live up to the expectations either promised or perceived due to that businesses failure to follow through, then I would have to agree with your position.

[DaveOKC]

To OP - your situation is unusual, as we have taken upsells many times and never an issue.  Regardless,  it sounds likr HAL should have done a better job addressing the issues with you.  If you upgraded to a Neptune Suite, the concierge in the Lounge should have been able to fix things for you.

 

We book with HAL directly, so we get a written confirmation with all the included "perks" clearly sated on it.  Regular TAs should also be providing this.  Either way, we always double check these things right after we do the paid upgrade.

[Santeeruss]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. We booked everything through HAL. Airfare, transfers, excursions, drink packages, indulgences, etc. While processing the upgrade over the phone, the rep reassured me that everything was transferred over. We were offered a signature Suite and as it was our anniversary and first vacation together without the kids, I gladly paid the upsell. My last civilian cruise was in 1985 so maybe I expected things to be perfect. Things have changed in the 34 years since I last sailed with them. 

The GS supervisor suspected my information from the shore computer did not transfer to the ship computer, but with connectivity at sea, I had a hard time buying that. I showed him my printed HAL manifest so he could have taken the missing information and packages and manually entered them. Even after requesting the post sailing survey (they sent to another persons email), I still haven’t received it. They may not want to hear what I have to say. 

[VMax1700]

3 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

For starters you should have selected a cabin of your choice when you booked.

 

HAL seem to push guarantee cabins now.  It is the first thing offered on their website.  It is also HAL who offers the upgrades/upsells.  Therefore HAL should be able to make the connection when pax move cabins through guarantee or upsell.

To say otherwise, as you have done, is rather unkind of you.

[grest]

wishing you well...hope this gets resolved soon.

 

[caribill]

20 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

For starters you should have selected a cabin of your choice when you booked.  I do not believe in guarantees.

 

 

Sometimes a GTY is all that is available in the desired category.

[ski ww]

That sounds like a very bad experience and I can understand why it would leave you with a bad taste about cruising with HAL. I hope you get some kind of answer from HAL soon. Good luck.

[Santeeruss]

Thanks. I called guest relations at 0900 yesterday and asked for the person assigned to my case (I know her name, just didn’t want to post it). I was told she was on another call and she’d call me back. That didn’t happen. Maybe today? In her signature, she has “Office of the President”, but maybe all the guest relations have that as well. 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Santeeruss
Added

[Santeeruss]

Not having sailed in 34 years and not familiar with the ship, I took the recommendation of the booking agent and went with a guarantee. That in no way should have affected the dismal service we received. The stateroom was assigned 2 weeks out and the indulgences and excursions were order well before that. 

[iancal]

Don't believe in gtys?  What is not to believe???  We have had many of them.  On all lines including HAL.  They all worked out just fine.

 

I do not understand the connection between exceptionally poor customer service and a gty cabin.  Is there a connection?

[iceman93]

Any business can make a mistake.  What sets ones that care about their customers from those that only care about their profits is their service recovery.  IMO, that is where HAL has completely failed the OP here.  There is no way they should have had to deal with guest services so many times while on board, and still be getting the runaround even now.

 

Personally I've had some great service recovery from HAL, but that doesn't mean they don't badly mess it up from time to time.  I agree with the suggestion to write a polite, factual letter (not phone call, not e-mail) to Seattle with specific requests for compensation.  Don't be greedy, but without specifying what would make you happy, you leave the folks there thinking that maybe the standard "Sorry about that, hope you'll give us another try" letter will be sufficient.  They also don't know whether to offer you OBC on a future cruise, a complimentary upgrade next time, or whatever else.  Some things make some people very happy while come across as empty or not commensurate to the customer service failures to others.