HAL Zaandam / Sept 29th Cancelled!

[SanDiego Single]

Well I am not going to break the rules either but so many uptight people about so many no so important things. :)

[bubbajones]

... I agree wholeheartedly that there can be certain cliques on any message board and outsiders are treated as having to earn the trust of those already established. I've seen it happen on CC and - I'll probably be burned at the stake for this - its quite a huge factor here on the HAL board. I've been posting here for over a year and I'm still feeling like I'm an outsider.

 

=============

 

I think what I have learned very quickly here is that I am probably just not a "HAL flavored personality" - it seems to be a breed of its own. I have truly enjoyed all of my 25, maybe 30 (I really don't count, it doesn't matter to me) RCCL/Celebrity cruises (lines probably considered to be of a lower status in the CC boards caste system, I suspect).

 

This was my first negative cruising experience (maybe I have just been lucky) and unfortunately it comes with a HAL booking. Oh, well.

 

I think that what is helping me feel so disconnected on the HAL board is that in my job I treat all of my customers as valued, whether they are purchasing a small item on sale or a high priced item. Each and every one of my customers is important to me. Apparently, since I only purchased a one night cruise, I am not entitled to the communications and customer service that comes with a seven day cruise or longer. That is where I disagree with so many of the HAL postings.

 

Thanks for the recommendation to stay with the cc boards - I will - and since I am a very loyal RCCL/Celebrity customer and only started dabbling with HAL cruising lately, the simple solution is indeed to retreat and shift over to some RCCL boards for perhaps better personal connections and communications for those upcoming RCCL/Celebrity cruises.

 

I have indeed let my TA know how unhappy I am with this cruise cancellation and she promises me that she is in contact with the HAL Regional Sales guy. If/when I hear something I might update with a post. But for now, I consider the matter of my cancelled Zaandam cruise in my wake, and hardly worth the electricity in my computer (much less the gas in my car tank).

[SanDiego Single]

Bubba,

 

Please let us know how this turns out.

 

Thanks

[the2ofus]

Bubbajones, I really don't understand why this thread has turned so sour. Nor am I sure what you expected from the thread.

 

You posted your problem and your thoughts on the problem. Several people posted their thoughts and suggestions. Most of the posts were carefully worded and made suggestions to you as to possible reasons why things occurred as they did, or offered suggestions as to courses of action you might take.

 

You received expressions of sympathy and concern for your dilemma.

 

Your post was also met with skepticism regarding your issue due to the fact that you were not known to the group, and we had no frame of reference. You were still treated with respect.

 

Frankly, I think that if we were all in a discussion group at some kind of public gathering and you made the same opening statement, you would have received very similar responses.

 

Your decision that this board is rough on newcomers is based on your interpretation of this one isolated experience, just as your decision not to sail with HAL is based on one isolated experience.

 

Please do continue to post on CC. Please reconsider your decision not to sail with HAL again. Please let us know what further response you get from your TA and HAL.

[bubbajones]

5 of the first 10 postings suggested that me and/or my concern might not even be credible because this was my first posting (a reality, and badly defective conclusion, that stunned me) --- and then one person wondered out loud why anyone would ever book a 1 night cruise - in a bit of a 'nose up.' First impresssions of the HAL board --- not very favorable.

 

Yes, a few of the postings and emails have been supportive and helpful, but the trend is hardly anywhere in that direction (I just reread the posts).

 

Fortunately, I now have the benefit of some direct emails that acknowledge that the HAL boards are perhaps the roughest around in terms of opinions and personalities, so I should view my experience given that history and not take the jabs so personally.

 

I'll be fine --- the HAL boards on CC is one grain of sand on a very large beach, so to speak. I'll move to chair and umbrella a few feet away and we will all be just fine. :)

[SanDiego Single]

We have better drinks :)

[Tinknock50]

5 of the first 10 postings suggested that me and/or my concern might not even be credible because this was my first posting (a reality, and badly defective conclusion, that stunned me) --- and then one person wondered out loud why anyone would ever book a 1 night cruise - in a bit of a 'nose up.' First impresssions of the HAL board --- not very favorable.

 

Yes, a few of the postings and emails have been supportive and helpful, but the trend is hardly anywhere in that direction (I just reread the posts).

 

Fortunately, I now have the benefit of some direct emails that acknowledge that the HAL boards are perhaps the roughest around in terms of opinions and personalities, so I should view my experience given that history and not take the jabs so personally.

 

I'll be fine --- the HAL boards on CC is one grain of sand on a very large beach, so to speak. I'll move to chair and umbrella a few feet away and we will all be just fine. :)

 

I completely understand your situation. I think some long time posters here are so afraid they will wind up saps, they jump to conclusions and brand you as a trouble-maker (or at least hint at it).

 

I hadn't posted for a long time on the HAL board ( yes I was an "old-timer") until I recently booked the Zaandam. Most forgot who I was and I experienced the unpleasantness a newbie sometimes gets here. I just stuck with it and many nice people answered my questions. After a while, I just started ignoring the "bad apples" and hung in there until someone helped me.

 

I am glad you were able to find the help you needed, if only privately.

 

I wouldn't give up on HAL.....I think you will like it once you actually get on board. Also, I hope you have a great time on all your other cruises.

[SanDiego Single]

I couldn't have said it better Tink. I have seen this in so many other posts and wondered why and how did this serve to make this board better? You always have a few bad eggs where ever you go its unfortunate but a fact of life.

[bubbajones]

I completely understand your situation. I think some long time posters here are so afraid they will wind up saps, they jump to conclusions and brand you as a trouble-maker (or at least hint at it).

 

I hadn't posted for a long time on the HAL board ( yes I was an "old-timer") until I recently booked the Zaandam. Most forgot who I was and I experienced the unpleasantness a newbie sometimes gets here. I just stuck with it and many nice people answered my questions. After a while, I just started ignoring the "bad apples" and hung in there until someone helped me.

 

I am glad you were able to find the help you needed, if only privately.

 

I wouldn't give up on HAL.....I think you will like it once you actually get on board. Also, I hope you have a great time on all your other cruises.

 

Thanks....

 

I guess I was terribly naive for expecting that I'd be welcomed with a posting count of 1. I am apparently a non-entity until I successfully pass through the secret HAL Boards Ring of Fire, as someone suggested.

 

I am now told I've actually just passed through The Ring of Fire when the Maitre'd asks if he can use my tuxedo, while I am wearing it, to light off the Cherries Jubilee in the Dining Room. Apparently, I won't be conscious during the actual Welcome to the Cruise Critic HAL Boards induction, usually held in the Medical Center, after second dining but before the last show starts, although the ship's photographer will catch me up on the event the next day at $12.95 each.

 

Of course, I am really impressed when someone has a posting count of 2,109 - especially when I discover that many of their posts are completely off strand --- fussing about the opposite sex or spouses, complaining about the airlines, sharing recipes, or even recaping what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner today (and they are not even on a cruise ship for these meals).

 

I was just reminded - duh - that this place is called CruiseCRITIC and so there are actually people here who will launch their judgments and opinions in all directions, even misdirectedly at cruiseline passengers visiting the Board. (Reminder to self: this is CRUISEcritic, not CRUISEPASSENGERcritic.)

[SanDiego Single]

This is the reason I have not attended the CC get togethers. Although I am sure that they are mostly full of great people I just feel like some people are there just to see how many cruise days you have and to count them againt how many you don't have. But again I know that this isn't the case with MOST of the people at these meetings or the feelings of MOST of the people on this board.

[SanDiego Single]

This is the reason I have not attended the CC get togethers. Although I am sure that they are mostly full of great people I just feel like some people are there just to see how many cruise days you have and to count them againt how many you don't have. But again I know that this isn't the case with MOST of the people at these meetings or the feelings of MOST of the people on this board.

[Tinknock50]

This is the reason I have not attended the CC get togethers. Although I am sure that they are mostly full of great people I just feel like some people are there just to see how many cruise days you have and to count them againt how many you don't have. But again I know that this isn't the case with MOST of the people at these meetings or the feelings of MOST of the people on this board.

 

I did attend a big one on Princess and it was actually pretty nice.

One lady did say..."oh, you're a Holland America refugee."

Sounded kind of snooty but she turned out nice otherwise.

 

Attended a smaller one on the Ooosterdam and they were all very friendly people.

 

But then none of these people were the rude ones you sometimes see on this board

[hammybee]

So often when things do not turn out as we expect, our reaction is to point the finger of blame at someone else or at ourselves. In this case I do not think there is anything off about the OP or the posters who responded.

 

I am the one that suggested "Twilight Zone". I did this because recently, there have been a series of "Bad HAL" postings from people new to the boards that did not pan out. I will go so far as to say some of them were fabricated. This seems to happen in cycles- a new poster comes to the board to rant. And my gut reaction, like some of the others, was, "here we go again". It had nothing to do with you and it had nothing to do with a disregard for new posters.

 

I have been around the CC Boards for 6.5 years, longer than most.

Over the years, it seems to me, that for the most part, the people on this board are far more seasoned cruisers, generous and tolerent than many who frequent the other boards, where it too frequently gets vulger, personal and ugly. Occasionally a few HAL posters will get into it about something. And when it does happen, most posters see it for what it is and give it a wide berth. The real difference is that many of the posters have perspective.

 

Over time, you get to know the hot buttons, appreciate the "pee in your pants" humor and come to appreciate there there are always more personalities than posters.

 

It sounds like something, somewhere fell through the cracks on your cruise. Maybe it was HAL or maybe it was your TA. The good news is that it was a day cruise and not something longer, requiring additional expense on your part. I would not judge HAL by this single incident nor would I judge this board by this thread. Given your vast personal experience with cruising, this and HAL may be your new home.

[AlohaPride]

It seems as though because I was a first poster, it is simply tradition to consider illegitimate the poster, the information and the inquiry.

 

I guess these boards are similar to getting your first credit card --- from birth you are automatically considered credit unworthy until someone, somewhere, takes a chance on you and let's you demonstrate your credit worthiness. As a low count poster, yourself, they will probably now assume you and I are in cahoots of some sort.

 

 

Hi BubbaJ :D

 

I haven't really posted on this thread, but I wanted to take the opportunity to defend those on this board you seem to think as being unwelcoming. The reasoning behind the distrust was threefold. First, this is the third or fourth thread about a cruise being cancelled in the past 2ish weeks. This is highly uncommon for HAL, and recently there seems to be a LOT of postings about "cancelled cruises" that turn out to be untrue. Secondly, the OPs of these untrue accounts of cancelled cruises tend to be first time posters. Third, when OPs don't post ALL of the relevant facts natural questions come to mind. Why did you not tell us in your original post it was only a one day cruise? Obviously, after being gullible with other first time posters, people tend to learn to be rather suspicious of accounts such as yours. It isn't personal. It's Classical Conditioning - you learn through experience. The experience of those on this board in relation to "cancelled cruises" is not good. What you sensed as being hostile and unwelcoming was simply caution on the part of those not wanted to be taken advantage of again.

 

There have been a lot of people on this board willing to do research for you. It wasn't you who came forward and told us this was a one night cruise, but someone else who was willing to do the research. I have only been a member of this board for about 3 months. I received a wonderful welcome. I hope you realize that this was not a personal vendetta against you. Rather a natural suspicion of yet another "cancelled cruise" story.

 

Please visit these boards again, as I am sure you will find support, friendship, guidance, and a sense of community here on the HAL boards.

[RuthC]

Mary, thank you. :)

[RevNeal]

Thank you very much, Mary.

 

My déjà vu remark was issued in precisely the context which you bring to light. Thank you!

[Mary Ellen]

bubbajones - Sad to say, you probably would have received a much harsher 'welcome' on some of the other line's forums. ALL types of boards have a problem of 'trolls', 1st time (or very low post counts) who post that something 'horrible' has happened - for the only reason - to 'stir the pot'. Mary (AlohaPride) has done a good job of explaining what has happened here recently. The one I most remember (not a troll, but a first time poster who wasn't forthcoming with the facts), being someone in the industry who basically booked 'space available' and became incensed when space wasn't available - of course this took several pages of postings to get the information.

 

If it is any help, I have a brother/sister-in-law (live in Seattle) who took one of the 1 night cruises (VAN/SEA) this spring. Though it would be an 'interesting' night to sample the cruise line (one they hadn't sailed before). They will not be doing one again. I've always felt the worst days of a cruise are the days you embark and disembark (lines, confusion, waiting...... ) and the further apart they are, the better.

 

Good luck and I hope you get more information from your TA.

[the2ofus]

Nicely said, Mary. If I recall, your postings have been misunderstood a time or two, but you have kept your cool and worked through those problems, exercising tact and dignity. I am really looking forward to meeting you and your DH in person in just seven weeks.

[AlohaPride]

Nicely said, Mary. If I recall, your postings have been misunderstood a time or two, but you have kept your cool and worked through those problems, exercising tact and dignity. I am really looking forward to meeting you and your DH in person in just seven weeks.

 

I can't believe it's just 7 weeks! It's going to be AWESOME to play tour guide and introduce you all to my lovely island home :D

 

I'm glad I wrote my response well. I thought it was a bit confusing. It's good to hear it was understandable :o

 

My spelling, on the other hand, is an entirely different story!! :cool:

[Tinknock50]

Thanks Mary,

You explained very well why many posters said what they said.

 

But here is something else to consider.....A new person would have no idea what has gone on before they posted for the first time. So when you see post after post expessing suspicion of your post , or making references to past less-than-articulate new posters, you don't get a welcoming feeling.

 

Its kind of like when you enter a party and you don't know anyone there.

In the corner, there are a group of regulars and you can tell by their body language and glances,they are discussing "who is this outsider?"

 

I think I would turn around and leave if I got a reception like that.

 

I try to put myself in the new posters shoes and give them the benefit of a doubt first. There is plenty of time later to fault them if they turnout to be "Trolls". No need to rush to be the first to "spot" them.

[AlohaPride]

Thanks Mary,

You explained very well why many posters said what they said.

 

But here is something else to consider.....A new person would have no idea what has gone on before they posted for the first time. So when you see post after post expessing suspicion of your post , or making references to past less-than-articulate new posters, you don't get a welcoming feeling.

 

Its kind of like when you enter a party and you don't know anyone there.

In the corner, there are a group of regulars and you can tell by their body language and glances,they are discussing "who is this outsider?"

 

I think I would turn around and leave if I got a reception like that.

 

p.s. I would have been almost as upset as the OP if this happened to me. I don't handle change well, and when it's just plopped in my lap without warning, I tend to overreact too. I probably would have had guns blazing to begin with and then realize that I was overreacting - much like the OP. So, on that point I can relate. I just wanted to say this because I had not yet expressed my sorrow for the OP's situation.

 

I try to put myself in the new posters shoes and give them the benefit of a doubt first. There is plenty of time later to fault them if they turnout to be "Trolls". No need to rush to be the first to "spot" them.

 

I would tend to agree if the first response were so...but the first 6 posts (first 5 responses) were not a challenge or suspicion. They were ligitimate questions and words of sympathy. It wasn't until the WHOLE story came out that people began to question. Why was research on the part of the responders needed to figure out that this was a one night cruise? Unfortunately, when people are burned, they have trouble trusting different people in similar situations.

 

You could say that the dog who has been beaten, who is now in a new, more loving home should give his new owners the "benefit of the doubt." SHOULD we trust every new poster? Sure. Is this realistic? No.

 

There is a saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." This is the reason so many were jumpy on this topic.

[RevNeal]

I try to put myself in the new posters shoes and give them the benefit of a doubt first. There is plenty of time later to fault them if they turnout to be "Trolls". No need to rush to be the first to "spot" them.

 

Sean, I understand what you're saying. And, for the most part, I agree. In THIS particular case, however, the initial impression I had was one of a "do-over" of a prior thread. And that impression would have been the same had it been a poster who had posted a thousand or ten thousand times before. It was just STRANGE that here we were, within just one month, seeing yet ANOTHER claim of a cancelled cruise. Not that I necessarily doubted the report ... just that it seemed so strange to see yet ANOTHER one, so quickly.

 

As a board we really DO need to be more aware of how to respond to newcomers. What we've experienced, over months or years posting here, may seem obvious to us; but those who are new here have NO perspective upon which to judge our statements or even WHY we will post what we post and the way we post. It is also true that, thanks to the nature of the board-posting media and the conventions which go with it, it can sometimes be easy to either misunderstand or misinterpret what another person is attempting to say; it's easy to read intentions and agenda INTO what another writes which simply are not there. It's easy to see expression and mood and attitude where entirely different facts may apply. If that's true for EVERYONE -- even "seasoned" veterans of these boards -- is it any surprise to us that such is the case for people who are new to this venue?

[newmexicoNita]

I was booked on HAL / Zaandam for a Sept 29th Seattle to Vancouver, BC and my cruise agent just emailed me that the cruise is cancelled. No explanations, no apologies, (HAL won't tell my agent anything), just that the cruise is cancelled and there was a promise that I would get a full refund.

 

I have taken more than 25 cruises (mostly on RCCL/Celebrity) and each of these vacations has been a pleasurable experience. Last year I took my first cruise on HAL with Ryndam from San Diego to Mexico and it was very nice, so I decided to try them again with Zaandam. Guess that was a mistake!

 

I am stunned, as seems to be my cruise agent, on how insensitive and actually indifferent HAL is to this situation. Cancel a cruise a month before it leaves, without even the courtesy of explaining why the cancellation --- and it almost is made to seem that I should be thankful that they are giving me my money back. Bizarro!

 

What bad customer service....needless to say, I won't be sailing HAL again!:( :( :(

I certainly understand how you feel and have no idea what happened, but give it time: I am sure HAL will soon be letting us know why this happened. Think of the revenue they loose. They don't do these kinds of things just because it sounds like a fun thing to do or because every employee wants to take a vacation. NMNita

[newmexicoNita]

Ferry Watcher, I hadnt even noticed in the first post that it was a Seattle to Vancouver, does HAL do one night cruises? I wonder if a group booked it for something?

I didn't pick up on that either. it would still be maddening but more like a restaurant deciding to close for the evening for some reason, not the same as a week's cruise being cancelled. I bet they couldn't fill the ship. NMNita

[Tinknock50]

......Unfortunately, when people are burned, they have trouble trusting different people in similar situations."

 

There is a saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." This is the reason so many were jumpy on this topic.

 

This is the OPs first experience here, so you never could have been "fooled once". Someone else "fooled" you. That saying applies to a particular person, not people in general.....or people "who sound like them". And on top of that, the OP posted a concern that was important to him.

 

I had a feeling my last post would not be considered what is was meant to be. Just thought responses could be more helpful and less motivated by fear of being fooled.

 

Also did not mean there weren't many helpful replies.....and at least one of the doubters later lent some helpful advice. Perhaps we could hold our fire a little longer than post #6 until we know more whats up.