Not much help

[HappiestWhenCruising]

So our cruise is on 16 Dec 06. I have gotten our documents for the 4 of us. However, I have booked two rooms; one I selected, the other a guarantee. When the documents came, it still only showed that two of us were in a guaranteed room. So I decided to call HAL today. The girl I spoke to said that since I had booked this cruise through an outside travel agent, they would have to call to find out if a room was assigned to us. I said "so if I get my agent to call you, you will tell her what our room number is?" She then admitted that even though she wasn't supposed to tell me, we still didn't have a room assigned. Apparently 7 days before the cruise, they should have a room number for us and I need to call my TA and find out what it is; they won't be sending that info directly to me. I also asked if she could tell me who would be the musical entertainer for our cruise, she said she didn't know.

So, not much help from the reservation help line. Also, I can't believe that they can only tell the TAs info about "MY" cruise and not me, the actual person paying for and taking the cruise.

Anyone else have similar problems?

[WindyCity]

Have you filled in your Immigration Form online? If not, do so. If so, then you can keep checking it, since your cabin assignment will appear on the form once your cabin has been assigned and you don't have to go through your TA.

As to the musical entertainment. Does it really matter? Will it make you cancel your cruise? Then, make it one less worry and forget about it till you get surprised on board.

Have a great cruise!

[bepsf]

Entertainment staff can change at a moment's notice - sickness, family issues and subsequent reassignments keep those folks on the move all the time.

 

Reservations staff might be able to find out who the Captain, HM or CD will be on your specific cruise (tho Shipservices is a much better resource for that sort of thing), but they certainly aren't going to know with any certainty which "Male Singer 1" or "Female Dancer 3" is on which ship at any given time...

[jhannah]

It is standard practice for a cruise line to not provide info directly to the passenger when the cruise was booked through a travel agent. It's professional courtesy. The cruise line is paying a commission to the TA, so that TA needs to be doing the footwork. Also, a cruise line rep talking to a customer can put them at odds with their TA. The passenger can misinterpret what the cruise line rep says and create friction with the TA. It's just best for all info to flow through one funnel.

[dakrewser]

With a GTY you may not know until you are boarding what gthe cabin number is.

[Navy_Chief]

Our curret booking we found out 14 or so days in advance by using the booking number to log onto the immigration form as suggested. HAL will not speak to you unless you booked directly with them, that's theirs and every othe lines policy. In our case, we did book directly with HAL but didn't need to call them knowing how the GTYs work. We had a GTY on Rotterdam, went from an Ocean view G to an E. We didn't know the number on that cruise until we got pierside. This cruise, we booked a GTY VF and are assigned a VB near the aft evevator bank where we wanted to be. But as dakrewser pointed out, this still could change with an additional "upgrade" when we get pierside. Not likely (because our whole family is in this area of the ship, 3 cabuns and the reservations are tied together), but it has happened.

 

Brian, I'm kinda scratching my head with your responce, was that meant for another thread??? :confused:

[jhannah]

Brian, I'm kinda scratching my head with your responce, was that meant for another thread??? :confused:

I'm not Brian (nor do I portray him on TV) but I can provide an answer. The OP asked this question in the post: "I also asked if she could tell me who would be the musical entertainer for our cruise, she said she didn't know."

[Navy_Chief]

I'm not Brian (nor do I portray him on TV) but I can provide an answer. The OP asked this question in the post: "I also asked if she could tell me who would be the musical entertainer for our cruise, she said she didn't know."

 

Must have been the lack of coffee Jim :D

[hammybee]

There is no problem. You chose to use a T/A who then becomes your agent, not HAL's. In exchange for often better fares, the T/A is there to take some of the load off of HAL Customer Service. And as dakrewser said, you may not know your cabin number until the time of boarding, regardless of how you booked your cruise.

 

Ususally GTY cabins are sold at a discount to others in the same category. It gives HAL, or any carrier, for that matter, some flexibility. You may end up in any cabin in that category or possibly being upgraded, but don't count on getting something you did not pay for.

[HappiestWhenCruising]

Thanks for your responses. I feel better now knowing that it wasn't just that I got someone on the phone who was unwilling to help me.

As for the entertainer question. It wasn't like I was asking about the dancers or one of the crew show singers. I was asking specifically about the musician who puts on his own show. And no, I won't be canceling my cruise if I find out that its a different one than I am hoping for. Its just that the one I was asking about was on this same cruise ship earlier this year. He really did make the whole cruise experience a lot better. Between him, the magician and the comedian, I always looked forward to the evening performances of any one of them. This time I am taking my two older kids and I was hoping that they would get an opportunity to see him as well. Its the Elton John impersonator that I am speaking of. I know that if he was on board, my kids would enjoy his shows. I realize that illnesses can come up to change plans and all, I just thought that it being less than a month away, the cruise lines would know who they had booked. I guess I was wrong.

Thanks for all of your replies. I guess I am just getting too anxious about my trip in general. I can't wait to go.:)

[richwmn]

The Elton John impersonator is Joel Mason. From his website (www.eltonjoel.com) --

Nov 11 - Dec 23 : Holland America cruise (with comedian Julie Barr) from San Diego (Mexican Riviera).

 

 

[Roz]

This is much ado about nothing, IMO. If it's important to you to deal directly with the cruise line, then don't book thru a TA. If it's important to you to know ahead of time where your cabin will be, then don't book a guarantee. If you want to see a specific entertainer, buy a ticket for one of their land based shows.

 

Roz

[HappiestWhenCruising]

xxxx

[HappiestWhenCruising]

Geez Roz....I have been reading these boards for a couple years now. I have seen people ask the most mundane question and get nice people out there to answer them. Do you jump all over everyone who posts a question. or just me?

I have seen people questions about the number of plugs in a room or something as simple as whether or not freshly squeezed orange juice is available in room service or just in the Lido dining room.

I don't think that me wanting to know what room I am staying in 3 weeks before a cruise is such a big deal. Yes I booked a guarantee, the first time, I might add. And yes, I was looking forward to seeing Joel Mason's shows with my family.

I am sorry if these types of questions offend you. I thought these boards were for people like me to ask questions and get responses from seasoned cruisers, not be berated for wanting to know a few things in advance. I also have no idea what dining time I have either, it says I am waitlisted. I figured there was no point asking the girl on the phone that question either.

This is only my fourth cruise and I have never experienced so many unknowns before. But apparently I can't ask my questions of some of the cruise critics without getting nasty replies.

Thanks so much Roz for your help.

[Navy_Chief]

Please feel free to ask questions. I for one am more than willing to pass on my experiances. :D

[the2ofus]

Another way to find out about entertainers is to start a thread asking if anyone knows which ship Joel Mason is on now and if he'll likely be on your cruise. There are lots of friendly folks here who have probably talked with Joel and will willingly share the info with you.

 

Hope you and your kids have a wonderful cruise. Any cabin can be great, as long as it is on a HAL ship and as long as you are on a cruise.

[richwmn]

According to his website, Joel Mason is doing Mexican Rivera cruises until the 23rd of December. If you are on the Oosterdam leaving San Diego it looks like you are in luck.

 

Rich