Beverage Shortages and Other Cuts

[Stateroom_Sailor]

16 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

And I was told last night in Pinnacle Grill (on that same cruise) that they also are out of tawny port at or near the HIA limit….

 

They keep this up on Westerdam, everyone is are going to have to pitch in for home brew!

 

 

[scooter6139]

On NCL/Princess cruise lines I recall getting the first glass of wine already poured, then I get to see the bottle when getting a refill.  But my memory might be faulty.

 

Did someone say they ran out of ALL Diet sodas on Westerdam?  That would not be ideal, as while I do drink wine and mixed drinks on a cruise, my diabetic butt does like to get 3-6 diet sodas per day.  

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 4/21/2023 at 11:31 AM, scooter6139 said:

On NCL/Princess cruise lines I recall getting the first glass of wine already poured, then I get to see the bottle when getting a refill.  But my memory might be faulty.

 

Did someone say they ran out of ALL Diet sodas on Westerdam?  That would not be ideal, as while I do drink wine and mixed drinks on a cruise, my diabetic butt does like to get 3-6 diet sodas per day.  

 

IMO, they should be discounting the drink and HIA packages if they're running out of beverages.  We're not allowed to board the ship with a sob story about our own finances (perhaps affected by supply chain), and get our excursions, tips, and specialty dining for 25%-50% off.  If the cruise line or a passenger can't meet their obligations, regardless of fault, new deals or cancellations need to be arranged.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

The cruise lines are having a hand full with the vendors.

 

[HappyInVan]

Could it be because HAL isn't paying the vendors on time?

 

What a way to run a cruise company! 😬

[Stateroom_Sailor]

51 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

The cruise lines are having a hand full with the vendors.

 

 

Would you accept that as an excuse if you ordered filet mignon and got salisbury steak from a food delivery service?  Even if the problem where not the restaurant's fault, this situation results in the customer getting hosed, and the business making extra profit out of the situation.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

3 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Would you accept that as an excuse if you ordered filet mignon and got salisbury steak from a food delivery service?  Even if the problem where not the restaurant's fault, this situation results in the customer getting hosed, and the business making extra profit out of the situation.

There is a expression, When you are on a ship you have to be flexible. Some people have a hard time with being flexible. We don't 

 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

5 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

There is a expression, When you are on a ship you have to be flexible. Some people have a hard time with being flexible. We don't 

 

 

Where would you draw the line on passenger responsibility, vs the cruise line's?  

 

Let's say for example a passenger is upset that they ran out of Cherry Coke, and goes through the last 2 nights of their cruise drinking regular Coke.  Should they have our sympathy?  Probably not...

 

What if you're a Earl Grey tea drinker, and it is out your entire cruise.  All other black tea alternatives are out too, such as Westerdam has recently experienced.  Should you be flexible and drink green tea for a change of pace, despite the ship circling Japan (where tea is plentiful)?  

 

Also on Westerdam, what if the red wine keeps disappearing?  What if all that's left is white wine, and it starts disappearing too?  At some point drink packages become a ripoff, but where do we call it?  Hopefully not when we're down to cheap vodka shots, bottled margaritas, and Boones Farm.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Stateroom_Sailor

[mcrcruiser]

Here in San Diego we have mo shortages of any thing we want to buy  . Just can't comprehend why cruise lines have so many shortages . Certainly they can re stock in the ports they stop at ,if available  at that port . This is a business & satisfying their customers wants is their  business

 

 PS we all know what happens to  business who do not meet customer needs & wants

Edited April 23, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[CruiserBruce]

8 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Here in San Diego we have mo shortages of any thing we want to buy  . Just can't comprehend why cruise lines have so many shortages . Certainly they can re stock in the ports they stop at ,if available  at that port . This is a business & satisfying their customers wants is their  business

 

 PS we all know what happens to  business who do not meet customer needs & wants

So, when are you going to quit sailing them?

[Florida_gal_50]

6 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

There is a expression, When you are on a ship you have to be flexible. Some people have a hard time with being flexible. We don't 

 

Are they flexible with refunding your money for what you paid for hia or not charging you extra for the higher end items?  Are you ok paying for filet and getting a dive in burger?

[Florida_gal_50]

16 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

So, when are you going to quit sailing them?

Or when are people going to stop saying things like this? There can be enough good things to balance off the not great.  I personally find sailing in a Neptune suite is a HUGE difference than sailing in a balcony and the variance between ships is also huge.  

[Destiny0315]

51 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Here in San Diego we have mo shortages of any thing we want to buy  . Just can't comprehend why cruise lines have so many shortages . Certainly they can re stock in the ports they stop at ,if available  at that port .

The cruise lines are not buying from the same suppliers in every foreign port and can't guarantee that those suppliers they do buy from will have everything they need when they need it and at a reasonable price. It's not like they can just send a few crew members out to the local Wally World in(name the port)to pick up anything they are out of to satisfy what may be only a few pax.

[mcrcruiser]

37 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Or when are people going to stop saying things like this? There can be enough good things to balance off the not great.  I personally find sailing in a Neptune suite is a HUGE difference than sailing in a balcony and the variance between ships is also huge.  

Agree 1000% . Yes there are good things about any cruise .I have never been on a horrible cruise ,who make the beds ,wash the dishes & make my meals . Then again ,the cruise lines must live up to their end of supplying  the daily wants & needs of their clients /customers . Any land based restaurant who can not give their customers the meals they have been accustomed to receiving soon finds themselves loosing business 

[mcrcruiser]

13 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

The cruise lines are not buying from the same suppliers in every foreign port and can't guarantee that those suppliers they do buy from will have everything they need when they need it and at a reasonable price. It's not like they can just send a few crew members out to the local Wally World in(name the port)to pick up anything they are out of to satisfy what may be only a few pax.

Yes some  things  you said are accurate . Now let's look at the cruise lines  experience . They know the passenger load & they also know how much has been used on past cruises of every item they serve . Therefore ,why are there shortages on so many items that people are complaining about ?

[Destiny0315]

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

They know the passenger load & they also know how much has been used on past cruises of every item they serve .

Your may be given them too much credit! Ordering inventory for food/drink service at any level can be a tough calculation to say the least and even more so when a high percentage of your customers are changing sometimes weekly!

[mcrcruiser]

55 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Or when are people going to stop saying things like this? There can be enough good things to balance off the not great.  I personally find sailing in a Neptune suite is a HUGE difference than sailing in a balcony and the variance between ships is also huge.  

Any business needs to be more consistent  in their product to be successful . Too many changes that do not suit their  customer base will only lead to disaster over time. 

[PalmSprings]

My experience over the last 8 days onboard is the opposite of what’s being whined about here - I have not had a single thing that I ordered in any bar or dining location be out of stock.

[mcrcruiser]

6 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

Your may be given them too much credit! Ordering inventory for food/drink service at any level can be a tough calculation to say the least and even more so when a high percentage of your customers are changing sometimes weekly!

This is the hospitality industry . So let's take a Hotel with restaurants . What will happen over time should this hotel with restaurants  not carry sufficient items ?

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, PalmSprings said:

My experience over the last 8 days onboard is the opposite of what’s being whined about here - I have not had a single thing that I ordered in any bar or dining location be out of stock.

Then count yourself  fortunate 

[Destiny0315]

6 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

What will happen over time should this hotel with restaurants  not carry sufficient items ?

Maybe this...🙂

https://youtu.be/puJeP

 

[Mary229]

12 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

This is the hospitality industry . So let's take a Hotel with restaurants . What will happen over time should this hotel with restaurants  not carry sufficient items ?

I was at a restaurant recently with delayed deliveries, it is not uncommon these days, this was not my first recent experience with restaurant shortages of supplies but more importantly labor.  There are truck driver labor shortages.  Of course cruise ships don’t have the luxury of getting daily deliveries.  

Edited April 23, 2023 by Mary229

[Florida_gal_50]

45 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

The cruise lines are not buying from the same suppliers in every foreign port and can't guarantee that those suppliers they do buy from will have everything they need when they need it and at a reasonable price. It's not like they can just send a few crew members out to the local Wally World in(name the port)to pick up anything they are out of to satisfy what may be only a few pax.

And yet hal seems to struggle more than any other cruise line.  Seems to be a choice to me. I am impressed by the amount of people on this board that know all the inner workings of hals business.

[mcrcruiser]

23 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

Maybe this...🙂

https://youtu.be/puJeP

 

Funny video  .However comparing fine dining to a fast order cook dinner  does not cut the mustard

[Destiny0315]

15 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I am impressed by the amount of people on this board that know all the inner workings of hals business.

You may be right. Because HAL has had such a loyal following for so many years there are probably more people on here that know what things are expected of a HAL cruise compared to those who are actually now working for them. The trouble is the people on here are not in position to change things one way or another. 

 

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

.However comparing fine dining to a fast order cook dinner  does not cut the mustard

No mustard just ketchup!😀