The Case of the Missing Restaurant Reservation

[harryw]

In the end, everything worked out and we had a delicious first time dinner

at Tamarind on the Koningsdam last month. BUT -

-  Prior to embarkation, I made an online reservation. And received an email confirmation. And

my credit card was charged $50.

-  On the day of the reservation, we decided to change the date. So I called Tamarind, and was told

that there was no record of the original reservation. But they made a new reservation for my preferred date.

-  As I was concerned about not being charged twice, I inquired at Guest Relations, and was

told that indeed, yes, I had an original reservation, and it was rescheduled.

-  Though, I never received the original reservation reminder at my stateroom. And as I said, Tamarind claimed

that it wasn’t in the system.

 I’m wondering if anyone has had a similar snafu.

 

[Gigi1977]

I think others have reported problems from time to time.  We have not had a problem but I always carry proof of purchase and confirmation number for just such an incident.  

[Krazy Kruizers]

Over the years we have also had similar problems.

 

And I just whipped out my copies of the confirmations and stood there until they got everything straightened out.

[harryw]

I should have thought of that. I was so upset after calling the restaurant, I stepped off the elevator, was not looking, and tripped on the base of a sculpture. I hurt my shin, had a minor cut on my knee and went to Medical Services for a bandage.

[VennDiagram]

We made and paid for Tamarind reservations online for one cruise.  Two nights, 2 people each night.  After the first night we cancelled the second reservation.  We ended up getting credited for both nights so I went to the Front Desk to get it sorted out, to make sure we got charged for the reservation we had used.  I essentially got told I was too stupid to understand their accounting.

 

Uh, okay.....

 

Not exactly the same snafu as yours, but definitely a snafu.

[harryw]

It was a challenge getting Guest Services to understand the problem. 

[RuthC]

1 minute ago, harryw said:

It was a challenge getting Guest Services to understand the problem. 

It always is. 

[VennDiagram]

2 minutes ago, harryw said:

It was a challenge getting Guest Services to understand the problem. 

 

Yes, it often is. 

[Dulciana8]

A similar  situation happened to us at Tamarind while on our Nieuw Statendam cruise in November. Booked a reservation in advance, paid for it, had an email confirmation... but once onboard, nothing by way of a note confirming our dinner reservation. A visit to guest services (sort of) resolved the situation— we were able to get a new reservation but on a different night, not our preferred night... and since we had an email confirmation for our online payment we weren’t double charged. 
 

Thankfully resolved, but in my opinion still an unnecessary hassle. 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Dulciana8

[harryw]

Perhaps this is a computer programming glitch. Someone who knows HAL’s organization should pass this recurring problem on to the proper Department.

 Maybe You will be rewarded.

[old mike]

Had lots of similar problems, one cruise in particular, 56 days on the westerdam from Vanvouver to Singapore in tne fall of 2017, just one problem after another with all our prepurchased, dinners/drinks/trips. Apparently the systems did not update correctly at the start of the cruise. I had hard paper copies and electronic copies of all the purchased vitems and got tired of producing them. Being in a Neptune with the concierge  service was helpful, I would otherwise have spent hours at the guest services counter or on the phone.We no longer prepurchse anything  and never will again. The staff on board are fantastic, the IT people who do not have to interface directly with customers are a disaster as far as we are concerned, and the whole debacle was front and center on our post cruise review to HAL

I personally see more and more issues in everyday life related to attrocioius  quality assurance practices in the software industry. Since the inception it's an industry sector that has consistently over promised and  grossly underdelivered with no to minimal liability  consquences. 

 

toungue in cheek the attached video is probably from the company that supplies IT services to HAL

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by old mike