Cabin change - very upset

[TRLD]

12 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

During the post Covid period we all were spoiled IMO with good cabin upgrades and assignments.   Now that the ships are filling up, we all need to be more careful with our bookings.  As already mentioned - be sure to mark your reservation Do Not Upgrade, unless you are certain that you would be happy with ANY cabin rated higher by HAL.  

Keep in mind that pretty much all of the mass market lines have recently been making changes giving them more control of their inventory. These include things like changes in language of the cruise contract, making some cabins guarantee only, restricting when larger capacity cabins be booked by 2 people, increasing the price difference between selected and guarantee, etc.

 

Marking a reservation as do not upgrade may reduce the chance of a forced move, atleast it used to. But if any of the lines decide they need a given room, and make a change they will.  With the push to more guarantee bookings, the odds of last minute changes go up.

 

If the OP is a UK citizen, and booked under UK terms, there could try review the current language of the UK cruise contract and potentially try a claim under the 2018 PTR that they had selected a room, and that the room they were given, without choice was not equivalent for several.reasons.

 

 

 

 

[syesmar]

It’s quite unfortunate that this happened. I recall being separated from our bags for 3 days on a Baltics cruise and it was unnerving. It would have been nice for HAL to notify you of the room change, advised you to update your luggage tags and offered some sort of help when the bags were delivered to the stateroom number on the tag.

 

I hope that by the end of the trip the happy memories will outweigh the rocky start. That’s what happened with us by the end of our aforementioned sailing, and now we have stories to tell about the time our—and 50 other passengers’—luggage was delayed. Wishing you a happy anniversary trip and pleasant memories from here on out.

[albingirl]

Happy anniversary and sorry to hear about the luggage and noise.  The only thing that I've found put me to sleep easily is a good old fashioned baseball game on the tv.  Best sleep aid known to man (or woman). The cruise line, more than likely, will do something nice for you for your troubles.  Good luck.

[Mary229]

26 minutes ago, albingirl said:

Happy anniversary and sorry to hear about the luggage and noise.  The only thing that I've found put me to sleep easily is a good old fashioned baseball game on the tv.  Best sleep aid known to man (or woman). The cruise line, more than likely, will do something nice for you for your troubles.  Good luck.

That’s a good idea. David Attenborough is my nap buddy.  The best naps I had on a cruise ship were when Hal partnered with BBC 

[Roz]

Would someone explain to me what this children's bathtub is?  I've never heard or seen such a thing. 

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, Roz said:

Would someone explain to me what this children's bathtub is?  I've never heard or seen such a thing. 

I guess when HAL said half bath, the designer misunderstood. Once completed the marketing team put lipstick on a pig

Edited June 17 by Mary229

[Roz]

@Mary229, does it have a shower, or is it truly a small bathtub?

[Mary229]

Just now, Roz said:

@Mary229, does it have a shower, or is it truly a small bathtub?

I don’t know.  I will be staying in one this fall as we were originally 3.  Now that we are two I will use it as a closet. 

[Mary229]

5 minutes ago, Roz said:

@Mary229, does it have a shower, or is it truly a small bathtub?

I looked it up

 

bed, 1 sofa bed for 2 persons & 1 upper bed.
2 bathrooms — one with bathtub, shower, sink
& toilet; one with shower & sink.
Approximately 222–231 sq. ft.

[rafinmd]

16 minutes ago, Roz said:

Would someone explain to me what this children's bathtub is?  I've never heard or seen such a thing. 

It's like a regular tub but short.  A typical bathmat covers almost the entire bottom of the tub.

 

Roy

[rbp3072]

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I looked it up

 

bed, 1 sofa bed for 2 persons & 1 upper bed.
2 bathrooms — one with bathtub, shower, sink
& toilet; one with shower & sink.
Approximately 222–231 sq. ft.

Mary (and Roz) - Halfacts has some pictures of those Family OV rooms. I've never stayed in one either, hope that helps and that you'll enjoy the layout.

 

Unrelated, reference the "No Upgrade" option, I can not for the life of me remember if the 'checkbox' still existed on our most recent booking made via HAL's website. I recall it being there for our prior online bookings via their site, (and always checked it, as on two cruises I wanted that aft-wrap, and the most recent we wanted a particular inside cabin as it was the largest, and didn't want to risk an 'upgrade'.

 

This most recent booking if it was still an option to check, I'm sure I did. Then again, I don't know what they could possibly consider an 'upgrade' as we splurged on the PS, but anything is possible, haha.

[Roz]

Now I'm totally confused. 😀

 

Based on what @Mary229 posted, it sounds like this 2nd bathtub does in fact have a shower and there's a sink.  I would think it would come in handy with 2 people in the cabin. 

[SilvertoGold]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I looked it up

 

bed, 1 sofa bed for 2 persons & 1 upper bed.
2 bathrooms — one with bathtub, shower, sink
& toilet; one with shower & sink.
Approximately 222–231 sq. ft.

We have actually spent 6 weeks in a Family cabin on the Koningsdam and want to note that the above description is correct.

I found the small bathroom's shower fine but there wasn't much room to towel off once out of the shower.  Mostly we used the main bathroom which was a typical HAL Pinnacle class size, although I used the small bathroom daily for washing up. It was also useful for hanging up my handwashing.

I note that the room stewards do not seem to think anyone uses the small bathroon when there are just 2 occupants since they had to be asked to change towels in it.

Edited June 17 by SilvertoGold

[waiting2retire]

I was in a family ocean view on the Rotterdam earlier this year and enjoyed having the second bathroom. It would have been even better with a toilet, but it had a sink and a shower, not a tub. With two single females, it meant that we could at least have our own area to shower and spread out our toiletries. 
 

We took a paid upgrade to this room from an inside cabin for a nominal amount about 2 weeks before sail date. Seems either HAL holds some back in case families need them or they are just not very popular. Ours was fine, not noisy, deck 1 forward. 
 

Of course we chose the upgrade, a far different scenario than experienced by the OP. Hope you can see your way past this disappointment and enjoy your anniversary cruise in spite of it. 

[LetItSnow]

19 hours ago, BackNow said:

We were also on the Koningsdam to Alaska in Sept 2023.  Been to Guest Services a few times.  Most of the time, the persons I talked to didn't seem all that interested in talking to me even when no one was in line behind me.

 

In reading the comments on other threads on Cruise Critic, other people on other ships also did not get service from Guest Services.  It is a hit and miss depending how lucky you are.

 

In my opinion, you were badly treated and should file a complaint before you leave the ship. 

Is this a Koningsdam thing maybe? I've never experienced bad service on the 2 other HAL ships I've been on.  I really want to know since we're on the K in August round-trip from Vancouver. 

[Mary229]

5 minutes ago, LetItSnow said:

Is this a Koningsdam thing maybe? I've never experienced bad service on the 2 other HAL ships I've been on.  I really want to know since we're on the K in August round-trip from Vancouver. 

I find the K’s dining room management subpar by HAL standards but the rest of the staff I find excellent 

[Glolane]

On 6/16/2024 at 10:22 AM, twincheryl said:

We are new to HAL, having only booked 3 cruises.  Where do you mark your booking? Did not notice this option when booking online.

I agree that there is no option when booking online. Holland Americas website was a nightmare. And it wasn’t any easier talking to agents on their 800 number. Example is they say your package includes an upgrade but HA never makes it clear what that upgrade is. HA is the perfect acronym! You’ve got to have a sense of humor!!

Edited June 17 by Glolane

[Toad]

I wish OP would return and tell us how it is going….. 

[kevingastreich]

On 6/16/2024 at 12:45 AM, Florin said:

We have just boarded a Holland America Alaska cruise on Koningsdam. Having spent a long time researching cabins we booked an ocean view cabin in the middle of the ship, not near any elevators or noisy areas, back in September 2023. We checked in and printed our luggage tags and boarding passes two weeks ago, but the night before we boarded we noticed that our cabin number had changed on the Navigator app. On boarding we went straight to the desk and asked why. We were told that our new cabin was larger and therefore an upgrade and that the ship was full so we couldn’t move to our previously allocated cabin.

 

Our bags did not arrive in our cabin, and although we asked at the desk no one seemed interested in finding them. I very quickly realised that our luggage tags had our original cabin number on them and told them this. However,  they refused to go to that cabin to look for our bags. They said they could not remove bags from another person’s cabin. They didn’t make an announcement or try to look for the passengers in the cabin containing our bags, they just said if the bags were in there they couldn’t do anything. In the end my husband went and stood outside our original cabin. At 9 pm the passengers arrived at their cabin and sure enough our bags were in there. This ruined the embarkation day for us. 

 

The new cabin is not an upgrade, it is a family cabin very slightly bigger but only because there is an extra bathroom with a tiny bath for children. The wardrobe is completely taken up with 5 life jackets, the cabin is in a horrible position at the back of the ship, and it seems to be right underneath the engines with banging and whining going on all the time. I can’t possibly sleep with all the noise. We do not understand why we were moved to this cabin and we are really upset. We have not been offered any other cabin or compensation and at this point in time we just want to get off the ship. Any advice at all would be appreciated. 
 

 

People try to save a buck by booking a category instead of a specific cabin and then this happens.

[VMax1700]

10 hours ago, Glolane said:

 Example is they say your package includes an upgrade but HA never makes it clear what that upgrade is.

There is no upgrade included in HIA.  The HIA+ does include 'upgraded internet and drinks oackage' and is therefore an 'upgrade' on the standard HIA.

[Navybikermom]

After reading all this, I consider myself very fortunate that I don’t care where my cabin is located and I’ve never sailed a long enough itinerary to need a big checked bag (always have carryon). I found earplugs that stay in my ears, and meclizine works wonders for motion sickness. 

[bajae]

11 hours ago, kevingastreich said:

People try to save a buck by booking a category instead of a specific cabin and then this happens.

But the OP did book a specific cabin. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

There is no upgrade included in HIA.  The HIA+ does include 'upgraded internet and drinks oackage' and is therefore an 'upgrade' on the standard HIA.

 

That's correct. CO is the packagae that includes a cabin upgrade (within the same "meta category") if available. HIA does not include an upgrade. HAL has so many packages and offers that it gets confusing.

[Iamthesea]

22 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I don’t know.  I will be staying in one this fall as we were originally 3.  Now that we are two I will use it as a closet. 

 

Let's hope that your stateroom is not changed/needed for a family of 3 (or more) before you sail.😮🤞

 

OP - So sorry for your experience.  Hopefully, you will get satisfaction with the hotel manager.

Edited June 18 by Iamthesea

[BackNow]

The crew on the Koningsdam was mostly quite good.  Even the Lido buffet.  Guest Services was sub-par.  So is the Dive-In burger.

 

While having lunch at the Lido buffet, I went over to the Dive-In for a chicken burger.  No one was in line.  In 2022, people was commenting that the burgers were great but the line was long and took 45 minutes to be serve.  It took me 15 minutes for a lukewarm leftover burger and cold hard fries.  All the times I walked by, there was either one person or no one lining up.  Have seen a couple of burgers in the warming rack if you want one right away.  Never went back again.

 

The pizza place was much better.  The pizzas were generally made to order.  During lunch (and probably dinner) they had a lot of stuff prepared ahead of time.

 

The Lido for ice cream were in big buckets and were supposed to be hard ice cream.  Looks like the buckets were kept at room temperature for a long time and were melted (every day).  A lot of people lined up for it.  Not me.

 

The ice cream at Gelato looked way better but costs extra.

 

On the Koningsdam in 2023, at the MDR Deck 3 was for set seating only.  Very few people took early seating.

 

The free coffee at the MDR and Lido was not very hot.  The purpose was probably so you won't burn yourself.  Specialty coffee was hot.  Even the plain hot water at the Grand Dutch Cafe was hotter.