Holland America never again

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I am cutting the wait staff some slack right now.  That said I have , for years, expressed concern over the restaurant service levels as they continue the proliferation of specialty experiences without adding additional crew. On my last two cruises there does seem to be a trend towards lido dining leaving the dining room half full.  That is weird because I find the most decline in the lido - service and menu.

I have not noticed the same unprofessional service in other specialty restaurants.  The Canaletto has been excellent for instance.  The way I understand it is that is sort of a training ground for the servers when I’ve chatted to the crew.  I’m pretty sure 90 percent of people in the workforce are stretched pretty thin for many, many years.  I only know of a couple people where I wonder how they keep their job.  I know I’ve never been in that position.

[albingirl]

Many people swear by the excellent service in Pinnacle, but our last two cruises were on the NS, and the Canaletto staff was exceptional.  They were over and beyond excellent.  We'll be sailing again with NS in the fall, and I am hopeful this remains the same.

[idiebabe]

We've had excellent Service in the Specialty Restaurants on all our Sailings (five) since the Restart.  We had some hiccups on our last Cruise (Eurodam in AK) due to the Ship being almost Full and the Waitstaff in DR (both lunch and Dinner) not being able to handle it.  It's not their fault because they were stretched too thin!  Our one NS Cruise in mid-March I found the Specialty Restaurants excellent including Sel de Mer but the food in DR was inconsistent and subpar.  I was on the same Ship in early December and it was night and day and food was very good!  In March, they were short-staffed especially in the Kitchen having new Employees as well as the staffing issues.  It seems many went home when contracts ended and they were having a hard time getting replacements due to the U.S. Government holding up their Visas, etc.  

We all need to be patient with regards to many new Employees still in training, Staffing shortages, etc. and Cruising and on Land won't be pre-Covid experiences for a very long time.  However, they should not be booking the Ship almost Full knowing this.  It's a disservice to the Passengers to do so.  A Passenger count of 1300 passengers will definitely have a different experience than a 2000 Passenger count with the same Staff!  

[newcruzer2]

On 6/14/2022 at 10:13 PM, Brodysmum said:

Why would I get flea bites on a cruise.

the bronchitis was not their problem, which I said.

I should have known I wouldn’t get any sympathy from these boards. I have been a member here since 2016, and I thought I would get some understanding how I felt. My cruise consultant said to send a letter into guest relations, I did, but have had nothing but bad results since, thank you for understanding 

I'm curious did you stay in a hotel at the departure port. I am obviously implying you might have got the fleas at the hotel ( not to defend the cruise line) I'm just saying.

Your experience does sound very trying, but I don't think HAL could have done must else.