The "little things" that have disappeared?

[canadianbear]

It’s the little things that had made HAL so special when we first started cruising.  It probably isn’t even noticed by new cruisers.  We have adapted but still miss some of those nice touches HAL had.  

[ski ww]

The yum-yum man is alive & well, on the Eurodam in Mar

[doone]

4 hours ago, Umbarger said:

I think things have gone down hill ever since the Oprah thing happened.  

Things have been changing way before Oprah on all cruise lines.  Cruise lines have to remain competitive, all cruise lines have had cutbacks, they are all trying to see what works and what doesn’t to stay in business which is good for us consumers, we have options.  Do I miss things that have been taken away onHAL, you bet but I still enjoy HAL and feel I get a good bang for my buck, IMHO.

[doone]

3 hours ago, canadianbear said:

It’s the little things that had made HAL so special when we first started cruising.  It probably isn’t even noticed by new cruisers.  We have adapted but still miss some of those nice touches HAL had.  

Yup!!!

[Friend100]

7 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Down load your own books on Kindle  .Much lighter  & you get exactly what you wanted to read 

 

If you think that is the same, then your experience in a library on a HAL cruiseship is different than my experience in a library on a HAL cruiseship.  Have s nice day.

[DaveOKC]

Yes we too miss alot of small touches.  Also, note how much the costs of things have increase onboard recently - all specialty dining, renewal of vows ceremony, hotel service charge, and more.

[pete_coach]

What is a yum yum man that you all miss so much???

 

[*Miss G*]

8 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

.What people here are saying are the little extras that once were there & no longer  now

 

I get it.  I guess what I am saying by posting a positive is that the constant moaning on this board is tiring.  It really does reinforce the belief people have of Holland America as an old folks line.  To reinforce that, there’s someone wanting to blame it on Oprah.... with positive likes, no less!  If I didn’t know any better I’d run like the wind.  The visual is scary.

[BJzink]

Thanks everyone who responded to my initial question re. whether the new "bigger" ships were endowed with the "little touches" that made HAL special.  Evidently the responders who said that they don't have them either.  So, I am somewhat satisfied that they aren't sucking $$ from the smaller ships.  Thanks again. 

[RocketMan275]

11 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I get it.  I guess what I am saying by posting a positive is that the constant moaning on this board is tiring.  It really does reinforce the belief people have of Holland America as an old folks line.  To reinforce that, there’s someone wanting to blame it on Oprah.... with positive likes, no less!  If I didn’t know any better I’d run like the wind.  The visual is scary.

These threads remind me of a bunch of old folks lamenting the lost days of their youth. Those complaining are getting old and all their complaints are only complaints about their aging.

[FlaMariner]

8 hours ago, Umbarger said:

I think things have gone down hill ever since the Oprah thing happened.  

 

Agree.  She is way too political to be bringing folks together......IMO.  

 

But there are some things I do not miss........if I may.....

 

• Filling out the paper health form at embarkation
• The long lines at embarkation and for tenders (they have magically managed to make them disappear)
• The wasteful time it used to take to disembark (before early self service disembark)
• The nauseating roll call for the safety drill 
• Having to wear a tie at dinner while on vacation...in the Caribbean
• Paper tickets (did you bring the tickets, honey?) and paper boarding pass (that would get wet on HMC)
• Not having pizza & burgers for lunch
• that small movie theatre....now we can watch movies on lido in lounge chairs (at least on the big ships)
• having to go to dinner at a set time (pre-anytime dining put a damper on daily plans)
• entertainment that was just one event in the main stage.....now I've got music walk and choices each night.
• high prices......I'm paying probably less (in terms of real dollars) than I was paying years ago to cruise
• and speaking of high prices, I can now afford a balcony.....that was way out of sight when few were available, if any.

and I'm sure there are many more......It's all good, if we want it to be......but again, what were they thinking when they said "let's get Oprah"?   LOL. Crazy.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2019 by FlaMariner

[GrammieK]

Do you really think that Oprah is in the kitchen saying, "no more chilled soups"?

or "let's get rid of that library"?

i was on an Oprah cruise last November and I noticed nothing different from other HAL cruises. Cutbacks started long before Oprah was involved. Her politics have nothing to do with it IMHO. 

Love my Oprah mug!😀

[ricka47]

34 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Agree.  She is way too political to be bringing folks together......IMO.  

 

But there are some things I do not miss........if I may.....

 

• Filling out the paper health form at embarkation
• The long lines at embarkation and for tenders (they have magically managed to make them disappear)
• The wasteful time it used to take to disembark (before early self service disembark)
• The nauseating roll call for the safety drill 
• Having to wear a tie at dinner while on vacation...in the Caribbean
• Paper tickets (did you bring the tickets, honey?) and paper boarding pass (that would get wet on HMC)
• Not having pizza & burgers for lunch
• that small movie theatre....now we can watch movies on lido in lounge chairs (at least on the big ships)
• having to go to dinner at a set time (pre-anytime dining put a damper on daily plans)
• entertainment that was just one event in the main stage.....now I've got music walk and choices each night.
• high prices......I'm paying probably less (in terms of real dollars) than I was paying years ago to cruise
• and speaking of high prices, I can now afford a balcony.....that was way out of sight when few were available, if any.

and I'm sure there are many more......It's all good, if we want it to be......but again, what were they thinking when they said "let's get Oprah"?   LOL. Crazy.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, some things have been lost in the name of keeping prices reasonable and I miss some of them.  But, we have so many more options now in modern ships among many cruise lines.  I look at pictures of ships from the "Love Boat" days and wouldn't trade the experience now for that. 

 

Our first cruise was on the new mega ship (at the time), Sovereign of the Seas and it was much more elegant than the experience on RCI now.  Entertainment consisted of Phyllis Diller and Jack Jones (speaking of the Love Boat).  Yet, for the dollars spent, we still feel that the value continues to be there.

[CabinBoy2020]

6 hours ago, ski ww said:

The yum-yum man is alive & well, on the Eurodam in Mar

 

Thank you ski ww!  I'll be on the Eurodam in October.  If the Yum Yum Man is there, I'll be a happy cruiser!  I like these old-fashioned (archaic?) customs and hope HAL retains a few.  They make a cruise memorable.

[Tennessee Titan]

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Agree.  She is way too political to be bringing folks together......IMO.  

 

But there are some things I do not miss........if I may.....

 

• Filling out the paper health form at embarkation
• The long lines at embarkation and for tenders (they have magically managed to make them disappear)
• The wasteful time it used to take to disembark (before early self service disembark)
• The nauseating roll call for the safety drill 
• Having to wear a tie at dinner while on vacation...in the Caribbean
• Paper tickets (did you bring the tickets, honey?) and paper boarding pass (that would get wet on HMC)
• Not having pizza & burgers for lunch
• that small movie theatre....now we can watch movies on lido in lounge chairs (at least on the big ships)
• having to go to dinner at a set time (pre-anytime dining put a damper on daily plans)
• entertainment that was just one event in the main stage.....now I've got music walk and choices each night.
• high prices......I'm paying probably less (in terms of real dollars) than I was paying years ago to cruise
• and speaking of high prices, I can now afford a balcony.....that was way out of sight when few were available, if any.

and I'm sure there are many more......It's all good, if we want it to be......but again, what were they thinking when they said "let's get Oprah"?   LOL. Crazy.

 

 

 

 

+1 +1+1!

[Lunar Dragon]

I miss the vase of flowers on each in-room dining tray, flowers are also  now gone from the main dining room  (at least on our Rotterdam cruise this summer.) 

However what I miss the most is the lovely indonesian good bye song sung in the dining room with cabin stewards, kitchen and dining room staff all singing and dancing.  The last night now is absolutely nothing -a brief roundabout from kitchen staff.  Its not even worth going to the dining room for the last evening.  See link I found on youtube.

 

 

It was so much fun!   On the Rotterdam the staff would sing and play instruments!

[mcrcruiser]

Now that last night sining by the staff in the MDR  looks like a lot of Fun  .On our April 7t 2019 Rotterdam cruise this did not happen  .We did have the Yum Yum man though 

[knittinggirl]

17 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

We were on the May-June itinerary.  Good cruise, poor weather...., and I hated tendering in Juneau and Ketchikan.

 

Each of these 21 day itineraries was unique it seems.

What's with tendering in Juneau and Ketchikan?  They each have four or five ship berths on the piers.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, Tennessee Titan said:

+1 +1+1!

 

Where's your dead horse?

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, GrammieK said:

Do you really think that Oprah is in the kitchen saying, "no more chilled soups"?

 

 

No, they hired the guy from Seinfeld. 

[slidergirl]

I heard Sean Spicer was available to replace Oprah...  He will be giving salsa dance lessons... 😉

 

I don't mind HALL ditching the old colonial feel.  So far, nothing that has "gone away" gives me any pain.  Flowers?  As long as no lillies are around, I don't care (lillies are my #1 headache-causing allergen).  Library?  Nope.  Chilled soups?  I don't miss the cream-and-sugar concoctions - I tried one once and never again.

 

As long as I can feel relaxed and enjoy my time onboard, I truly don't care if the Yum Yum Man is there or not.  Now, if they start decorating like the old Farcus-Carnival ships, I'll leave...

[GrammieK]

14 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

No, they hired the guy from Seinfeld. 

 

3rdGenCunarder,

ROTFL!

you are so clever!

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

No, they hired the guy from Seinfeld. 

 

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, knittinggirl said:

What's with tendering in Juneau and Ketchikan?  They each have four or five ship berths on the piers.

 

 

Juneau has four cruise ship berths; there's quite frequently a fifth ship in port and, when that's the case, someone will draw the short stick and has to tender. Ketchikan also has four cruise ship berths. A fifth ship usually shows up on Fridays (some Mondays) with the end result being the same story as Juneau = tendering for the unlucky ones

Edited September 27, 2019 by Copper10-8

[cruisemom42]

3 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

Juneau has four cruise ship berths; there's quite frequently a fifth ship in port and, when that's the case, someone will draw the short stick and has to tender. Ketchikan also has four cruise ship berths. A fifth ship usually shows up on Fridays (some Mondays) with the end result being the same story as Juneau = tendering for the unlucky ones

 

How are berths assigned?  

 

Given HAL's long history in Alaska, it surprises me that they wouldn't have strong pre-existing relationships (if not contracts) regarding space in port.  Or is that not how it works?  Does HAL lose out if they shuffle dates/ships?  

 

Or, heaven forbid, is it Oprah's fault?