Is HAL listening to Cruise Critic and FB comments?

[Randyk47]

I have no idea if and how much HAL monitors Cruise Critic or other social media nowadays.   I know from personal experience they did at one time to the point they would visit our personal travel website and send us comments or questions about our HAL cruises.   They’d use the email link on our site to contact us and that is only available from our website so they had to be at least visiting.  As we pulled back from HAL as our primary cruise line of choice six years ago the comments and questions obviously stopped.   Seems to me I recall others on CC reporting HAL generated contact from CC posts and cruise reviews.   We also had a HAL employee who unofficially would post here but he moved on.   I got the impression HAL knew he was posting here so his participation was known though not necessarily officially sanctioned. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

15 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

By the pool, right? They did that on Koningsdam over the summer as well.

 

Only K'dam and NS have the large screen at the pool. The other ships don't have the double-height pool area, so the screen wouldn't fit. Some of the smaller ships (R and S class) have a screen at the aft pool, but I haven't seen it get much use.

 

[LMaxwell]

On 11/29/2019 at 12:50 PM, Shmoo here said:

Now, I do find the entertainment on Carnival, Princess, and now HAL has all changed.  So they are no different from each other.  

 

 

 

 

Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhh....I *keep* reading comments like this everywhere and it is something really holding me back from booking HAL.  We don't go to casino and find Carnivals evening entertainment sparse on longer cruise; some nights basically "nothing" except house bands in the bars. 

 

I am staring at my latest courtesy hold and can't decide...

[qoap24]

On 11/29/2019 at 8:13 AM, Himself said:

I am sure HAL has someone reading the boards and I hope they try to improve.  However a more positive way of communicating is to bring these matters on the post cruise surveys might be a more effective way of communicating concerns to HAL.

That was our number one complaint on the surveys, lack of entertainment. I sure hope someone is listening. 

[Aquahound]

3 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhh....I *keep* reading comments like this everywhere and it is something really holding me back from booking HAL.  We don't go to casino and find Carnivals evening entertainment sparse on longer cruise; some nights basically "nothing" except house bands in the bars. 

 

I am staring at my latest courtesy hold and can't decide...

 

"Nothing except house bands in bars" describes HAL to a T.  At least on Carnival (or any other line for that matter), you also have nightly choices of passenger participation game shows, comedy clubs, and other fun activities.  Also, there's at least one relaxing lounge, even if its the central atrium, where a softer band is playing.  All that has been eliminated on HAL.  The acts on the music walk are pretty much it, and it's the same thing every night. 

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

"Nothing except house bands in bars" describes HAL to a T.  At least on Carnival (or any other line for that matter), you also have nightly choices of passenger participation game shows, comedy clubs, and other fun activities.  Also, there's at least one relaxing lounge, even if its the central atrium, where a softer band is playing.  All that has been eliminated on HAL.  The acts on the music walk are pretty much it, and it's the same thing every night. 

 

I haven’t been on a ship yet where there is the new music but I thought Adagio was still on the ship from the Live threads I have seen?

I hope so.

 

It guess I’ll find out for myself in April but based on past sailings (as recent as April - May this year) I don’t think everything has been eliminated from HAL.  What has been eliminated may impact everyone differently.

 

Amazingly enough, and this is a sad statement, I saw better shows on the Prinsendam and Rotterdam that I did on the larger ships. Most were solos or small shows on those smaller ships  but they were enjoyable.  But, everyone has different tastes 😉 

[Aquahound]

7 minutes ago, kazu said:

I haven’t been on a ship yet where there is the new music but I thought Adagio was still on the ship from the Live threads I have seen?

I hope so.

 

I'm by no means a HAL expert, but isn't Adagio the string quartet that's being replaced by Lincoln Center Stage?  If so, I would think ships have one or the other. 

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

I'm by no means a HAL expert, but isn't Adagio the string quartet that's being replaced by Lincoln Center Stage?  If so, I would think ships have one or the other. 

 

Actually, Adagio is a duo now - has been for a while.

And a live thread I was following posted the When and Where’s with both the Lincoln Stage Centre and Adagio.  Lincoln Stage Centre is totally different than Adagio IMO.

 

If it’s gone when I sail, I will be saddened.  We have normally had good performers and enjoy it very much.  Time will tell and since the Lincoln Stage Centre is new for us, we’ll soon see.  I’ll post what I find on my LIve thread. 

[LMaxwell]

I'm less concerned about stuff for my kid to do (Club HAL) than I am about finding things for my wife and I to do at night.  

 

Does anyone have a recent 7 night Caribbean cruise daily papers from Nieuw Amsterdam or Eurodam? 

Edited December 3, 2019 by LMaxwell

[Aquahound]

38 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Actually, Adagio is a duo now - has been for a while.

And a live thread I was following posted the When and Where’s with both the Lincoln Stage Centre and Adagio.  Lincoln Stage Centre is totally different than Adagio IMO.

 

If it’s gone when I sail, I will be saddened.  We have normally had good performers and enjoy it very much.  Time will tell and since the Lincoln Stage Centre is new for us, we’ll soon see.  I’ll post what I find on my LIve thread. 

 

Ah.  Gotcha.  Adagio has not been on either of my most recent HAL cruises (Eurodam and Koningsdam).

 

16 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

I'm less concerned about stuff for my kid to do (Club HAL) than I am about finding things for my wife and I to do at night.  

 

Does anyone have a recent 7 night Caribbean cruise daily papers from Nieuw Amsterdam or Eurodam? 

 

I cruised Eurodam in September.  I did not save any of the dailies but I can tell you they were quadruple spaced.  Other than the MainStage shows, which were only lectures a couple nights and a freakn' movie one night, the choices were the BB King Band, Billboard pianos, and Lincoln Center Stage.  The BB King band was great but the venue sucked.  The piano venue was much better but the pianists sucked.  Lincoln Center Stage was only early evening and it's not actually a lounge.  None of the things I mentioned in post #105.  Also, no pool parties, deck BBQs, or dance venues other than BB King.  Be forewarned...there isn't much variety of things to do in the evenings.

[3rdGenCunarder]

12 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Actually, Adagio is a duo now - has been for a while.

And a live thread I was following posted the When and Where’s with both the Lincoln Stage Centre and Adagio.  Lincoln Stage Centre is totally different than Adagio IMO.

 

If it’s gone when I sail, I will be saddened.  We have normally had good performers and enjoy it very much.  Time will tell and since the Lincoln Stage Centre is new for us, we’ll soon see.  I’ll post what I find on my LIve thread. 

 

I would be surprised to see both Adagio and Lincoln Center on the same ship as they are both "classical" and I can't see HAL spending money on two similar groups. IMO Lincoln Center is way better than the best Adagio pair/groups I've seen on HAL. 

 

[kazu]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I would be surprised to see both Adagio and Lincoln Center on the same ship as they are both "classical" and I can't see HAL spending money on two similar groups. IMO Lincoln Center is way better than the best Adagio pair/groups I've seen on HAL. 

 

 

Thanks.  Appreciate the insight and impressions.

 

I’ve been a bit spoiled with the Prinsendam’s Adagio who have been superb so, we’ll soon see when I return to a Vista ship in the spring.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

Thanks.  Appreciate the insight and impressions.

 

I’ve been a bit spoiled with the Prinsendam’s Adagio who have been superb so, we’ll soon see when I return to a Vista ship in the spring.

 

The other good thing about Lincoln Center is that people actually LISTEN. Everyone listens. Poor Adagio, with only two performers, didn't always command people's attention. OK, it's a lounge and not everyone is there for the performance, but I've heard some loud conversations during Adagio performances. No rudeness like that during Lincoln Center. 

 

[colonialinnkeeper]

We have experienced some really good and talented Adagio duo/trios but have found we really enjoy more the Lincoln Stage performances.  The addition of another violin, cello and viola really enriched the music and enjoyment of it.  The programs were varied with the usual classical pieces, with regional music, broadway musical programs and single composer concerts.  

 

Kazu, I think you will enjoy this group.  The musicians on our recent NS trip had all graduated from excellent schools with some kind of masters degrees program in music.  They really meshed well and you would have thought they had played together much longer than the few months they had been playing on the ship.

[YXU AC*SE]

In case you wanna audition?  https://www.rwsnyc.com/lincoln-center-stage-auditions/      Not too bad of a gig for a young person -->  $4,000 – $5,000 per month, commensurate with education and experience. Guest status, travel, meals & lodging, single cabin on board provided.    Scott.

[3rdGenCunarder]

8 minutes ago, YXU AC*SE said:

In case you wanna audition?  https://www.rwsnyc.com/lincoln-center-stage-auditions/      Not too bad of a gig for a young person -->  $4,000 – $5,000 per month, commensurate with education and experience. Guest status, travel, meals & lodging, single cabin on board provided.    Scott.

 

Darn! Wish I'd been more diligent about practicing the piano. 

 

[Daisyloo]

To answer the OP's question - yes HAL does read CC. 

About a year ago I was contacted by a moderator of CC asking if they could give my contact info to HAL,  as HAL wanted to talk to me about a comment I had made on CC.  I agreed and a short time later HAL contacted me.  So yes, they are interested in what people here on CC are saying.

[iancal]

They may feign interest in comments.  But really, their web site has been a disaster for years in comparison to that of others (competitors and those under the same corporate umbrella)  both in terms of design and performance.   

 

One would think that since this  a marketing tool, a sales tool, and a potential revenue generator that HAL might pay attention to the comments on the forum.  So...perhaps they do pay attention but simply  do not action anything.

Edited December 3, 2019 by iancal

[MisterBill99]

4 hours ago, iancal said:

They may feign interest in comments.  But really, their web site has been a disaster for years in comparison to that of others (competitors and those under the same corporate umbrella)  both in terms of design and performance.   

 

 

People complain about the Royal and Celebrity sites as well. The HAL site doesn't seem that bad to me.

 

And I think they probably have interest when something actually goes wrong. If we are complaining about a direction they have decided to take, it's not clear that they will react. Hopefully if they see it enough in the post-cruise suvreys, where actual customers tell them that they don't like it, they will realize that they have a problem.

[Aquahound]

8 hours ago, Daisyloo said:

To answer the OP's question - yes HAL does read CC. 

About a year ago I was contacted by a moderator of CC asking if they could give my contact info to HAL,  as HAL wanted to talk to me about a comment I had made on CC.  I agreed and a short time later HAL contacted me.  So yes, they are interested in what people here on CC are saying.

 

HAL also talked to me about a certain thread.  To HAL's credit, they took action and corrected the problem.   😊

[*Miss G*]

You guys are killing me with your veiled comments!  Luckily they don’t notice my posts because I am a Ninja.  

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

People complain about the Royal and Celebrity sites as well. The HAL site doesn't seem that bad to me.

 

And I think they probably have interest when something actually goes wrong. If we are complaining about a direction they have decided to take, it's not clear that they will react. Hopefully if they see it enough in the post-cruise suvreys, where actual customers tell them that they don't like it, they will realize that they have a problem.

I don't know about cc or facebook. but I did get an e-mail from them after a post cruise survey. So those are at least read.

[ASIWISH]

While I agree with everything you are saying, I think it’s important to note that cruise fares are at or about the same price they were when we travelled on our first cruise in 2008.

 

I’d imagine HAL has a difficult time making amenity decisions when passengers aren’t willing or able to increase their spend.

[MisterBill99]

6 hours ago, ASIWISH said:

While I agree with everything you are saying, I think it’s important to note that cruise fares are at or about the same price they were when we travelled on our first cruise in 2008.

 

I’d imagine HAL has a difficult time making amenity decisions when passengers aren’t willing or able to increase their spend.

 

How is that any different than other cruise lines? They've added new ways of getting you to pay extra like specialty dining and expensive stores on board. And HAL's prices for cruises more than 6 months out seem to be pretty high. It's only as you get closer in that they get cheaper. And they're getting to that point with a bunch of available inventory because enough people aren't booking.

 

If you want to make an excuse, say that it's because they have smaller ships so the revenue per ship is lower. But it doesn't excuse them also gutting the entertainment on the new Pinnacle class ships, which of course are still small compared to other lines.

Edited December 4, 2019 by MisterBill99

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, MisterBill99 said:

But it doesn't excuse them also gutting the entertainment on the new Pinnacle class ships

 

They have gutted the entertainment on the Pinnacle ships?