World Cruise Staff move to the Zaandam

[KirkNC]

The biggest challenge maybe do they even want to come back.  Right now many are probably unemployed and between now and when jobs reopen on the ships maybe a long time.  With gradual reopenings the projected course I am not sure individual crew members can or will wait 12-18 months to get their jobs back.  Many may decide to move on.

[SilvertoGold]

I can imagine that this would be the case for many.  Long time to be unemployed, so some may reinvent themselves with an excellent C.V. with HAL. Would Henk and Crystal retire? 

[Sir PMP]

9 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

You do know Twinkle is the very competent asst. beverage manager on Amsterdam, right? 😉

Yes, and married to Sonny the drummer of the Station band...

[Sir PMP]

2 hours ago, KirkNC said:

The biggest challenge maybe do they even want to come back.  Right now many are probably unemployed and between now and when jobs reopen on the ships maybe a long time.  With gradual reopenings the projected course I am not sure individual crew members can or will wait 12-18 months to get their jobs back.  Many may decide to move on.

Yes, it all depends how well the new president will try keep the 'old' crew in tact..

[KirkNC]

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

I can imagine that this would be the case for many.  Long time to be unemployed, so some may reinvent themselves with an excellent C.V. with HAL. Would Henk and Crystal retire? 

I have wondered the same thing.

[dchip]

Please include Manny in your letters! He was an excellent wine steward and all around great guy!
 

Cheers, Denise 

[kazu]

4 hours ago, KirkNC said:

The biggest challenge maybe do they even want to come back.  Right now many are probably unemployed and between now and when jobs reopen on the ships maybe a long time.  With gradual reopenings the projected course I am not sure individual crew members can or will wait 12-18 months to get their jobs back.  Many may decide to move on.

 

Agree - not to mention they were stranded on a cruise ship for months trying to get home.

 

They have not had a pleasant journey.  They might not want to risk reliving such an adventure again 😉 

[SilvertoGold]

29 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Agree - not to mention they were stranded on a cruise ship for months trying to get home.

 

They have not had a pleasant journey.  They might not want to risk reliving such an adventure again 😉 

 

Depends on each person's situation, but I agree, some may rethink the impact of working at sea.  No real problems in the past, but there may be a feeling, at this time, of a very uncertain future for crew in the business.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Jeff Gentry created a "road map" for a letter to write to Gus about GWC2022 officers and crew. I mentioned the names of some of the dining room officers and Jeff's response was to let these officers choose their own 'teams'.

Either way, this is a 'road map and should not be copy pasted because it will look too 'fake'. Let's make each letter a little different to show how personal this issue is to us.

[bouhunter]

41 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Jeff Gentry created a "road map" for a letter to write to Gus about GWC2022 officers and crew. I mentioned the names of some of the dining room officers and Jeff's response was to let these officers choose their own 'teams'.

Either way, this is a 'road map and should not be copy pasted because it will look too 'fake'. Let's make each letter a little different to show how personal this issue is to us.

I think the President of HAL will have a few higher priorities over the next 12 months.......

[drowelf]

6 hours ago, KirkNC said:

The biggest challenge maybe do they even want to come back.  Right now many are probably unemployed and between now and when jobs reopen on the ships maybe a long time.  With gradual reopenings the projected course I am not sure individual crew members can or will wait 12-18 months to get their jobs back.  Many may decide to move on.

And a big challenge for the officers too. With the contraction in the Cruise Industry, there are going to be quite a few officers on the beach for the foreseeable future. Now some may retire and others can probably transition to non-cruise line ships, but its going to be lean pickings for sure. 

 

Most likely the cruise industry will not be back to the peak it was for many years and I don't think anyone can predict what its going to look like 5 to 10 years from now. Are the mega-ships toast? Will it be smaller/mid-size ships? Larger infirmaries? And what will the price point be?  Its a whole new world. International Air Travel is going to be interesting too. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by drowelf

[BJzink]

Hope I get to meet some of this wonderful crew on Zaandam next July - Voyage of the Vikings!

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

And don't forget to book Dolly on the Zaandam ASAP so she can break in the new WC crew if the Amsterdam crew can't be reassigned. 😉

[Tampa Girl]

On 7/19/2020 at 11:15 AM, Sir PMP said:

Yes, and married to Sonny the drummer of the Station band...

 

Sonny, then, was the man with the wonderful voice.  He brought everyone in the Crows Nest to their feet.  This, BTW, was on Amsterdam's 2018 Grand Asia.  I echo all the laudatory comments of the crew and staff on the Amsterdam.  It would be nice if many them could be transferred to the Zaandam's Grand voyages.  OTOH, I suspect that the crew and staff on these voyages receive some specialized training for dealing with long-voyage passengers.  

[Sir PMP]

27 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Sonny, then, was the man with the wonderful voice.  He brought everyone in the Crows Nest to their feet.  This, BTW, was on Amsterdam's 2018 Grand Asia.  I echo all the laudatory comments of the crew and staff on the Amsterdam.  It would be nice if many them could be transferred to the Zaandam's Grand voyages.  OTOH, I suspect that the crew and staff on these voyages receive some specialized training for dealing with long-voyage passengers.  

Yes, I remember, I was on that cruise..

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

OTOH, I suspect that the crew and staff on these voyages receive some specialized training for dealing with long-voyage passengers.  

 

I would not on bet on "specialized training".  My GWV cabin steward was on his second contract having served on Prinsendam.  When I arrived at my cabin, it was not properly prepared for me.  I wanted to go to the MDR for lunch and wished to wash my hands before I left the cabin.  No soap; no towels along with no "When, Where"--whatever it was called then.  I washed my hands at a restroom outside the DR.

 

Arriving in Singapore, he tried to jump ship, was caught, and fired.  He had employment issues with HAL because of family issues that HAL did seem to be rather "tone deaf" to understand from what he told me.  Even before this final episode, there was nearly daily a "supervisor" in his work area overseeing his work.  

 

 

[rkacruiser]

The marketing technique that HAL has used for years concerning superior, experienced staff on their world cruises depends, I think, on the mix of those staff members whose contracts allow for such service.  

 

My final segment of the 2007 World Cruise:  no staff issue whatsoever.

 

As I have stated my full 2008 World Cruise was different.  The Hotel Manager for that cruise was different than 2007.  While an experienced and successful HM on other HAL ships (I think he was the introductory HM on the Noordam), did his arrival in 2008 make a difference?

[Lazy Lakes]

On the last world cruise were several crew members with there first contract with Hal, Orlando had changed the old policy that only the best of the fleet could serve on the WC. And opened employment  up for every one.

I never had a bad crew experience  on any cruise, they go out of there way to help you. It usually  were the officers who were arrogant and did not interact with the passengers or even say hello. The Maasdam last year 21 day Alaska from the Captain down was the worse bunch of officers.

 

 

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, Lazy Lakes said:

On the last world cruise were several crew members with there first contract with Hal, Orlando had changed the old policy that only the best of the fleet could serve on the WC. And opened employment  up for every one.

 

This is not my experience.  Sorry, but your post is incorrect.

 

My 2008 Grand World Cruise sailed well before the arrival of Mr. Ashford.

 

My stateroom Steward was on his 2nd contract.  His first contract was aboard Prinsendam.  I embarked in Fort Lauderdale to a stateroom that was incompletely prepared for my arrival.  There were neither towels or soap in the bathroom for me to wash my hands before I went to lunch.  The daily program was missing.  He was missing.

 

During the cruise, I obviously met him and we became friendly.  Throughout the first half of the cruise, there was most often a Housekeeping Supervisor in my Dolphin Deck corridor keeping an eye on his work.    (That was unusual, I thought.)

 

Shortly before we arrived at Singapore, he informed me that he was going to "jump ship" to return to his home in Indonesia because Holland America Line had denied his request for leave (with, he said his wife's doctor's documentation) to return to his family because of a difficult pregnancy.)  He did so.  Gangway security caught him.  He was fired.  We had briefly discussed the implication of his actions before our Singapore arrival.  

 

Was this gentleman "the best of the best" for Grand World Cruise Service" to their guests by HAL?  

 

Many were.  To say that all of the crew are is a stretch of the imagination that can only be made by someone who is in marketing.

 

I still worry at times about that Stateroom Steward.  He was, and I hope he still is, the good person that I saw in him.

 

W

[Tampa Girl]

On 7/19/2020 at 3:29 PM, bouhunter said:

I think the President of HAL will have a few higher priorities over the next 12 months.......

 

I was thinking the same thing.  A plea to please a very select group of cruisers seems a little . . . tone deaf?

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I was thinking the same thing.  A plea to please a very select group of cruisers seems a little . . . tone deaf?

 

Tone deafness seems to be an issue that is affecting many in these United States on many current issues and concerns.