Volendam Cruise Letter to HAL- A complaint

[voyeurism26]

Below is a letter I sent to HAL regarding our cruise onboard the Volendam April 12th thru April 22nd.

 

*********************************************************

April 25, 2007

 

Dear Holland America Line,

 

I recently was a guest onboard the Volendam during the April 12th thru April 22nd sailing. My letter is a complaint letter outlining my disappointment onboard the ship. I’m not going to complain about the two fires onboard or the virus that was spreading but simply about customer service and quality. My traveling mate and I have been on several HAL cruises and we have taken many other cruises on various other cruise lines. It has been two years since my last cruise on Holland America Line and I have notice some changes with quality and customer service from the last time we traveled on a HAL ship.

 

My first complaint is about the Internet service. The first day of the cruise my travel partner and I decided to sign up for Internet service. On April 12th, Thursday when we arrived at the cafe we asked about the price. It was a very simple plan and easy to sign up for the service. We decided to purchase Plan B, which was 100 mins. for $55.00. We were told if we sign up by midnight of that day we would receive an additional 10 mins. We thought this was a great price and we needed to sign up for the service anyways due to the fact we are business owners and we needed to keep in touch with our office. The next day, April 13th we received in our daily program along with an insert of certain promotions and “sales” the ship was offering, the Internet café was having a half price sale for the Internet service plans. What angered me was that the person that suggestion we signed up for the internet service should have told us to wait for the next day so we could have paid half price. I felt ripped off when this happen, the half price sale should have been promoted at least the 4th day into the cruise and not the next day. When I went down to the Internet café to complain, the person behind the desk was more interested in chatting online with whomever rather then to listen to my concern and she told me that there is nothing she can do and continued to chat online with whoever she was chatting too.

 

My second complaint is when the Virus broke out onboard the ship, I didn’t mind that the staff had to serve us the food in the Lido restaurant. However, they seem to be very concerned about portion control when it came to serving out the food to the guests. They didn’t listen to my request for what I wanted. For example, it was breakfast time, all we wanted was muffins and a few Danish. My travel partner stood online for juice and I took two plates and went to the station that was serving the Danish and muffins. I kindly asked the server for two cheese Danish on one plate and a cheese Danish and muffin on the second plate, I don’t think this was an unusual request. The server then placed one cheese Danish on one plate and on the second plate gave me one muffin, when I told the server that I wanted more Danish, he looked at me as if I had a third eye. Now before I go on any further, I’m a tall man 39 years old and weigh 257 lbs. Now most will say I need to loose weight and I shouldn’t be eating that much Danish, but I’m on vacation and if I wanted 10 Danish then I should get 10 Danish on my plate…but the point is that I didn’t want that many Danish…all I wanted was two Danish on one plate and on the second plate a muffin and Danish, I had to explain to the server that the request is for two adults and I kindly again, with a firm tone, requested more Danish and with hesitation the server reluctantly gave me what I wanted. Here is another example. We went to the sandwich station, I requested a ham sandwich on a roll. The person preparing the sandwich cuts the roll in half and asked me again what I wanted on the sandwich…I told him all I wanted was ham, tomato and lettuce. He actually placed one thin slice of ham on the roll and proceeded to place one slice tomato with a handful of lettuce. I looked at the person preparing the sandwich and kindly asked him to place more ham on the sandwich and I pointed out that I’m a big guy and I really like to have more meat on my sandwich, again reluctantly he open the sandwich and place one more piece of ham…I laughed and told him to place two more slices which he did. He looked at me nasty and handed me the dish and gave me a look to get away from his sandwich station. Why is HAL being so stingy with its food? Especially on a ten-day cruise you would expect more. Here is another example, the Lido restaurant just open for lunch. We missed breakfast so we decided to eat an early lunch. I first requested to have cereal, but I was told that everything was put away and I no longer can have the cereal. So I figure okay, I will just have some fresh fruit and some yogurt. When I requested a bowl of mixed berries the person literally scooped in my bowl about 4 berries and handed me back the bowl. I looked at him and laughed and requested more berries. Again this server was reluctant to give me more berries. So I had to demand that he give me more berries and with hesitation, he filled my bowl with berries. I couldn’t believe that I had to actually fight for a bowl of berries!

 

My third complaint is the dinning room food. Again, the portion control issue, did the portions shrink? Here I’m going to compare, perhaps due to the fact I haven’t been on HAL for the past two years and in those two years we have been on Celebrity Cruise Line and on those ships dinner portions are very large and you can request off menu items so perhaps I became spoiled but when you have the surf and turf dinner I was totally amazed that the filet mignon was the size of a silver dollar and drenched in béarnaise sauce and the lobster tail was less then 3oz. When removed from the shell, it was like eating a jumbo shrimp. I couldn’t believe my eyes that HAL can actually serve such a small controlled portion, but of course I requested another lobster tail and of course I had to fight for it. It wasn’t only the surf and turf but the problem was with all the dinners in the dinning room that the portions were smaller then I have ever seen, however the portions in the pinnacle restaurant still remain same. I was surprised that HAL didn’t cut back the portions in the pinnacle restaurant. Maybe next year HAL will raise the prices to $40 per person and cut the portions in the pinnacle soon.

 

My fourth complaint is the bar service. Now I realize that this ship was full of elderly people and my travel mate and I were one of the younger couples onboard, but this doesn’t mean we don’t drink or perhaps the elderly onboard would drink more if the bar servers would just ask for the drink order. Here is what I experienced, I noticed that most of the bar servers just huddled together in a corner near the bar just joking around and not interested in asking for drink orders. I was sitting at a table by the swimming at the aft of the ship. I was drinking an ice tea and I was trying to get the attention of one of the bar servers to order a drink, they didn’t see me and I was to lazy and sunburned to walk to the bar so I just sat there to see how long it would take them to come to me. It just happen the Captain was walking towards one of the tables and sat and ate lunch with another officer of the ship, to my amazement, all of a sudden when they noticed the Captain had arrive and in there presence, the cocktail servers disbursed from being huddled together and started walking to the tables asking for drink orders. I was very thankful that the Captain arrived and the bar staff “started working again”. In the meantime, I was deciding if I wanted to order a Pina Colada or Marqurita. When the server approached me I asked for a Pina Colada, the server looked at me in the eye and told me, “ah you don’t want a Pina Colada, they make them here terrible,” and walked away very fast before I can give him a second request for the Marqurita. Matter of fact I was surprised that he didn’t even suggest an alternative drink and he walked away so fast I couldn’t order any drink, I guess he lost a sale and a tip and didn’t need the sale. This was the mood throughout the ship and the staff regarding the bar service and service in general.

 

Which brings me to my fifth complaint, regarding the staff in general. They had no energy and seem to be bored and over the fact they were on the ship and really didn’t seem they wanted to be there. It seem that the staff were just going through the motions including the cruise director and the staff, from the singers and dancers, to the DJ to the bar servers and the servers in the dinning room and lido restaurant, service was at a all time low.

 

My sixth complaint, and this one is my favorite complaint. Okay! I go to the shore excursion desk, out of everyone on the ship they seem to be the most energetic and upbeat. I was waiting my turn to be served next, as I was waiting I hear the man (I think he had a French accent) tell the guest to book the natural bridge tour in Aruba, he suggested that it’s a great tour and hyped it up and sold the tour to the guest. Since I had already been in Aruba I had to agree with the Shore Excursion man as he sold the tour excellently and how I remember it. Now it’s my turn and I asked him if there are any car rentals still available by the dock. He suggested that I take the tour but I told him that I took the tour back in 2004 and it was great but this time we rather rent a car and do our own tour and we also are going to go to the natural bridge but I did purchase a tour for Costa Rica which was great. We finally get to Aruba, get off the ship and rent the car for $45.00 for the day and continue to go to the natural bridge. We followed the tour buses to the natural bridge tour. It took us about 30mins. to get to the natural bridge. When we arrive, the bridge is broken. It fell due to corrosion and fell apart in December 2005. The first thing I thought when I arrived at the natural bridge and seen it was destroyed was the voice of the shore excursion guy telling the couple that the bridge is beautiful and its such a natural wonder and a must see and all the people on the ship that paid $69 per person to see a pile of rocks. I tell you, how low can HAL get to not give a disclaimer that the natural bridge is no longer a bridge. Even in your brochures you advertise and display pictures of the natural bridge in Aruba and your shore excursion staff is still promoting this tour without disclosing that the bridge is no longer. I’m sure that your staff and HAL is aware that in December of 2005 the bridge has been destroyed, so why are you still promoting this tour or should I say HAL is falsely promoting this tour without giving a disclaimer. This is false advertising!

 

My seventh complaint is regarding the activities onboard the ship. This was our first ten-day cruise, prior to this cruise we have only taken seven-day cruises. I was surprised that there was no reggae band, the cruise director and the staff had very limited activities planned. We have been on seven-day cruise onboard other HAL ships and found it to be very lively, but this was a floating retirement home. Forgive me but I’m 39 years old and my travel partner is 40 and we couldn’t believe the drastic difference between a 7-day cruise and a 10-day cruise. I’m sure if there were more activities and a band playing more often, I’m sure that the other guest would be a bit more lively and perhaps order a few drinks, Is this normal on longer HAL cruises?

 

My eighth and last complaint goes back to the issue of not disclosing information to guests. We purchased liquor in the duty free shop. This was our first time purchasing onboard a cruise ship from the duty free shops. We normally purchase liquor, perfume and such items in the ports. We purchased the liquor and had no problems, the problem occurred when we got off the ship, we filled out the customs form and we claimed the liquor we purchased onboard the ship. When we proceeded to leave the area and hand the customs officer our declaration form for the liquor we purchased, he looked at us, looked at the boxes of liquor and told us to take our liquor and to see another customs officer. We were directed to walk to a table with two customs officers, one officer didn’t speak, the other officer was asking us questions about our purchase, we explained to him that we made the purchase onboard the ship and he told us that we had to pay an additional $11.40 for additional duties. Its not the extra money that we had to pay, but my concern was why didn’t the person in the duty free shop inform us that we may have to pay additional duties when getting off the ship. However, what angered me was the fact that we started to get harassed and endured sarcastic remarks from this particular customs agent. I was wearing a Tag Heur watch and my travel mate was wearing a Rolex watch, which wasn’t purchased on the ship or in port. The customs officer was harassing us regarding our watches. He made my travel partner take off his watch to inspect the watch and doubted that he purchased the Rolex years ago. In addition he asked us about our living arrangements didn’t believe we lived together. Then he asked us what we were doing on this ship and made a comment on how two young guys can afford to be on such an expensive cruise and wear expensive watches, we told the agent that we were in our late 30’s and early 40’s and then asked us what we did for a living. We told him that we are video producers and then he sarcastically smirked at us and said, “Oh, you guys must be do porn videos to afford expensive cruises and watches”. Our main objective was to declare liquor and not be question about career, watches and living arrangements. If the inspector wanted to charge us extra duties on the liquor we purchased then he should have just done his job without harassing us about our living arrangements, the type of watches we wear and the type of career we have. In addition, to be treated by an inspector with sarcastic over tones and harassing and false acquisitions, this type of treatment was uncalled for and should be looked into. At this point its easy for the cruise line to place this blame and pass the buck onto the US Customs department but the person that sold us the liquor onboard the duty free shop should have told us that we maybe confronted by US customs inspectors and/or to pay extra duties. I didn’t appreciated getting off your Holland America ship to be harassed and have sarcastic remarks from a customs officer. I think this was a horrible way to end a vacation. Once we arrive back at home port, we are still guests of Holland America Line and someone from HAL should inform US customs on what is going on when guests leave the ship.

 

 

I know this letter maybe long and most probably will be ignored by HAL but I will be posting this on various cruise boards for others to read and pass this along to many friends and family that cruise on HAL and other cruise line. I’m not asking for a refund and I’m not asking for credit of any kind, I just want these issue’s addressed and perhaps taken care of so others can enjoy there future cruises.

 

Regards,

XXXXXXXXXXX

[kakalina]

Wow. Sounds like your cruise was severly impacted. We did run into this employee apathy you speak of on our most recent cruise. It makes a difference.

 

Sorry you both had such a frustrating cruise.

[DFD1]

It seems to me that your letter is about as clear and objective as it can possibly be as a complaint letter.

 

I hope you sent it registered, return receipt requested and addressed to the president of Holland America Line, and not by email or FAX. If it accurately reflects your experience, and I'm sure it does, then your letter deserves the attention of an important HAL executive. IMO.

 

The conduct of the customs inspector was as unprofessional as any I have ever heard of.

[DFD1]

One more thought about all this. I am becoming more and more convinced as time passes that the automatic tip policy has started to effect the quality of staff and crew service on board Holland America ships.

 

IMO

[clm101798]

I hope you wrote to the customs department about that harassment! I am horrified at the treatment you received, that person should be fired.

[Goofyisme]

Too long, too rambling, too full of irrelevent information. Your right it will most probably be ignored. That is too bad because if it really was this bad you should write a letter that will produce results/reactions from the service provider involved.

I think you let your emotions get the best of you here and unfortunately reduce the effectiveness of your letter.

Hopefully you at least feel better getting it off your chest.

Good luck on future cruises.

[DFD1]

O.P.......I hope you will come back and let us know what, if any, response you get from HAL. For them to ignore your letter would be very telling...emotion or not!

[peaches from georgia]

I find your complaints to be fair and have no doubt they are all justified (except maybe for the customs officer issue which is not a problem HAL can solve). However, no letter of this kind should ever be longer than one typed page. I'm afraid it will not be read, sorry to say.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Voyeurism:

 

I don't discount any of your complaints whatsoever. However, I am one who has experience working with letters of complaint ( I used to work for Pan Am, seven years as a flight attendant, plus six months in an administrative position. Then I quit before I had a nervous breakdown:eek: ). I agree with Goofyisme; the best format for a letter of complaint is to keep it as short and succinct as possible. Rambling letters are difficult to read, and also difficult to address; the scope is so wide.

 

While I sympathize with your customs experience, please bear in mind this is an issue over which HAL has virtually no control.

 

Very sorry to hear of your negative HAL experience.

[voyeurism26]

I'm sure when HAL reads the letter if they do or not at least I got it off my chest and voiced my opinion and had the opportunity to place it on a forum such as this.

 

At least if one future guest reads my complaints they will have some insight and some knowledge of what to expect.

 

I thank everyone for there kind remarks....I will go on HAL again, but only 7 day cruises and for longer cruises I was recommended going on Princess or going back onto Celebrity.

[leoandhugh]

Hoping that you do not have to write complaint letters in the future, BUT if you do, you would do well to follow the advice that tells you complaint letters, to be effective, should be short and succinct. Yours, while having merit and presenting some serious issues, is not going to get the attention it deserves because it rambles on too much. Sorry you had such disappointment, but if you return to Princess or Celebrity you will be a happy cruiser:) :)

[Copper10-8]

Sorry, things did not go as expected on Volendam for you! Very interesting letter with some valid complaints on uncharacteristic behaviour by HAL employees. We went through Code Red on Ryndam 3 weeks ago and were also being served (as opposed to selecting ourselves) at the Lido but did not have the "portion control" issue. On the contrary, you asked for one hard-boiled egg and you got two, one scoop of oatmeal and the guys filled that cup to the rim.

The 'broken bridge" made me chuckle. Of course Shorex should know by now that Aruba's natural bridge is no more! Happened almost a year ago, if I remember correctly (there was a thread on it here on CC). It's still a nice vista but what used to be the bridge is now laying on the bottom of that inlet.

I would not have gone so in depth on the Customs officials in your letter to Seattle. You hinted at it, HAL has absolutely nothing to do with Customs Agents, the Dept. of Homeland Security does, so whoever reads your letter in Seattle is going to breeze right over that part. Some of the comments you attributed to the officials were way out of line and unprofessional on their part. In my book definitely reason to ask for a supervisor and make him/her aware. (I deal with that more than once a week at work - some are valid, some are not, some are outright lies)

Just a piece of advise, if HAL's onboard shop staff does not offer it, ask questions about paying extra duty on items like liquor, perfume, jewelry, etc. (The C/D usually mentions it in his debarker;) talk). Another piece; if you guys are used to wearing Rolex and Tag Heuer watches, obvious quality pieces of jewelry you don't see everyday, and they are still new looking, I would strongly advise bringing the original sales receipts with you to show to the agents in case they question you on the date of purchase. You might find this hard to believe but there are those folks who purchase themselves a new Rolex in Charlotte Amalie (or elsewhere), throw the box away, and wear that new puppy on their wrists as they stroll off the ship acting like their noses are bleeding. That's why those agents "key" on that!

Hope you have a better time on your next HAL cruise!

[bepsf]

I feel for you - but I agree with the others that your letter is rather long and rambling and difficult to follow. Stating that you're an oversized person has nothing to do with the stinginess of the servers - if a guy half your size requested four and got two, the issue is the same. Furthermore, your issue with US Customs has zero to do with HAL, so including it is pointless.

[Sundagger]

Every so often a single cruise elicits many opinions - this seems to be one. This is the 3rd thread I've found on this cruise. In one thread, c4me was "disappointed". jascruise, willowoodf, the2ofus, vacays all said they had a "great cruise". sjdnv "loved every minute".

 

I've been following these threads because I was on the same one the preceding week. I also said that it was a great cruise.

 

I might have viewed things differently if I had been under Code Red, but I can't imagine that my excellent cabin steward, dining room steward, and wine steward would have been any different. I've commented that the strings were disappointing and that some servers in the Lido were apathetic, but the great majority were still anticipating everyone's needs just as on my other HAL cruises.

 

It would be very interesting to see what the majority of the comment cards said - HAL customer service may wonder if they really were all from the same cruise.

[sab490]

I have written "complaint" letters to cruise lines, but never have I (or would I) start out by saying this "is a complaint letter!" I always temper any criticisms with some statement of what was good about the cruise. It gives your criticisms more credibility.

 

As far as the customs issue, anyone who has cruised before has certainly had to fill out the declaration forms and should have listened to at least one disembarkation talk and should know about the customs limits on liquor and other purchases. To blame the shop clerks is ludicrous!

 

As for the customs agent's behavior, it is reprehensible, but as others have said, that is an issue for the feds, not HAL.

[hammybee]

Duty free shopping is subject to quantity and dollar limitations. Regarding duty free alcohol, each person may bring up to 2 liters of alcohol into the U.S., duty free. After that, it is taxed. Perhaps you were not aware of this. Perhaps you did not read the fine print of the documents you received.

 

Once you leave the ship, any ship,on any cruise line, you are no longer a guest of the cruise line. It's you versus Customs. Any complaints about how you were treated should be addressed to U.S. Customs.

[genevaraye]

We were on the same cruise referenced below, and while it was a little annoying to constantly be santizing everything and to experience what "code red" was like, I still think the cruise was a very nice cruise.

 

We never once experienced any portion control and, in fact, made comments more than once that there was "too much food" on our plates (particularly at dinner). My husband ordered a second type of soup and a second meal two different nights and had absolutely no problem receiving them.

 

I'm sorry you had such an awful experience with the customs agent, and it's clear that he/she stepped over the line. I would address that issue with the Feds and let them know the agents name, conversation, etc. in a brief and factual letter.

 

It is amazing how so many people on the same ship can have different experiences. We were happy with our cruise even with the code red situation. Our theory is this -- "a bad day on a cruise is still better than a good day at work." :D

[serendipity1499]

I agree with everyone else..A three page complaint letter will not be considered..

 

Your whole first paragraph & the last paragraph about the customs agents do not belong in a letter such as this..Customs Agents do not work for HAL..And even though their attitude toward you was reprehensible you cannot blame HAL for this...You should send a succinct letter to the Dept. of Homeland Security..

 

The other paragraphs in between should be short..Superfluous info such as your age, weight & whether or not you should be eating two danish should never have been mentioned...

 

Re your Customs Problem: HAL sent you a booklet entitled 'Know before you Go" with your tickets....In this booklet it outlines the customs allowance for U.S. Citizens..The onus is on you to know the customs allowance, before you purchase anything..It is not up to a clerk in any store or on HAL to advise you about your customs allowance..They deal with non-us citizens who may or may not have the same allowance in their home country & are just transiting the U.S...In the same booklet it strongly suggests registering your valuables before leaving home..If you had read this portion & taken the precautions of registering your watches prior to boarding, you would not have been questioned.. DH has an expensive camera & I have several pieces of expensive Jewelry which are a few years old..We always take our receipts with us to avoid any confusion in Customs... Once we could not find a camera receipt, so DH registered with customs at our local airport..

 

As a retiree from an International Airline I have to agree with Copper 10.. Many times Passengers purchase jewelry & camera's, throw away the boxes & wear it home without claiming it..They try to get away with it, & Customs is on to this.. I see nothing wrong with them questioning your watches..But I do not condone their way of questioning you..

 

If you were so unhappy with the service & portions, why didn't you ask to speak with the Hotel Manager before disembarking? Sorry to hear you were unhappy with your cruise, but hope you will enjoy your next one..

[hammybee]

I lifted this from another board. It has nothing to do with the OP's plight but I thought it was a hoot:

 

 

 

We have another winner from my latest batch of comment cards:

 

"We are very old and tired. We enjoy the shows, but do not have enough energy to applaud. A proper cruise line would install a push button on the back of every chair in the auditorium. Pushing the button would cause a recording of applause to play. This way we can conserve our energy. Thank you."

[Stock Cop]

NOT to belittle your situation on Volendam BUT, if you are distressed about "portion control", Don't eat at my house:D

My wife is on a healthy eating binge and portion control is ALL I get:D

 

I sailed on Volendam this past November and I saw none of the situations

you have related. I am sailing V'dam again this November and I certainly hope the things you have described are taken care of, esp. the Noro.

 

Wishing you a much better cruise next timr.:cool: :cool:

 

Rich:cool:

[willowoodf]

Wow. Were we on the same cruise?

 

Portion control in the dining room? I almost always left some food on my plate, there was just too much. And I have quite a healthy appetite. Trust me! Our dining servers were ALWAYS happy to bring two appetizers, two soups, two entrees, two deserts, and on surf and turf night, they were asking "more lobster?" to our whole table. A few at the table went for seconds, and were asked if we wanted thirds, but nobody took them up on it.

 

The Lido was a bit stingy on some of their portions, but if we asked for more of something, it was always given to us without a "fight". And I think that the Lido line actually went faster than when it is self serve.

 

I do agree with one of the things you said - the Internet Cafe staffers were MUCH too interested in chatting online and giggling amongst themselves than to help people who needed some help. They were so loud I had trouble concentrating on what I was doing. This behavior of the staffers continued for the whole cruise, as DH and I used up the Internet plan we purchased. I actually made a comment on them in our disembarkation survey.

 

I had the opposite experience with bar servers. I got tired of saying "no thanks" to the eager servers when I didn't want something.

 

I'm sorry your experience was so opposite of mine on the same cruise.

 

Mary

[Orlandocruiser]

RE Natural Bridge: We took that tour November 2006. While the printed book that comes with the docs may have included the natural bridge the pink flyer which you receive on the ship to use to book tours did have a disclaimer that the bridge had collapsed. BTW the tour was interesting even without the bridge being there (the tour still took you to the site).

[jascruise]

Sorry that you had issues on your cruise.

 

We were on the same cruise and had an altogether different experience. We found no problems with portion control, either in the DR or Lido. We did not find a degradation in attitude or service, with some occasional exceptions, as some of the staff were stressed and overworked more than usual because of the virus-control measures.

 

As to the Customs issue. There is no excuse for a lack of professionalism or courtesy and hopefully you got the name of the inspector (they all wear name tags). You should voice a complaint with the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility or similar department. If the guy treated you rudely, he has done it to others.

 

Having said that, it's the individual traveler's responsibility to know how much can be imported duty-free. I would think that the person in the gift shop onboard, or salespeople in stores on shore, aren't about to tell you the duty-free limits. Even so, the Customs person's actions and comments were way over the top and were clearly inappropriate.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Your recent cruise on the Volendam sounds like what I reported in some areas when we cruised on her in Nov.

 

Keep us informed when you hear from HAL.

[gizmo]

A couple comments on portion control.

 

I agree the portions in the dining room are small. Some appitizers in the dining room are no more than 1 mouthful. If you compare it to what you receive in a restaurant at home, it is a big difference.

 

The 1 piece of ham on the sandwich I have experienced myself. I wasn't paying attention, and took my sandwich to a table. It was mostly lettuce with 1 piece of ham. This only happened once, and that was on my last cruise in Dec. on the Volendam.

 

In the Lido some of the servers give out very small portions, but I have not had a problem asking to have more put on my plate. I don't think this is anything new since I have seen this on many ships.