HAL Has Lost Another Repeat Cruiser

[Sea King]

maybe, just maybe, this was a slight over-reaction by the OP

 

find it difficult to understand how one would leave HAL based on a rude Internet supervisor (especially when HAL offered a refund + a small excuse me payment) and one sick cabin steward who may or may not have transmitted his illness to pax

 

understand the disappointment but maybe, just maybe, this might be a slight over-reaction to what otherwise must have been wonderful cruise

 

by the way: when things go "bad" on board, why do people stop with the front desk? there is a hotel manager on board .. there's even a captain

 

why not head there

[pog27]

What caused me to cancel wasn't the issues onboard, it was the lack of any meaningful response from HAL after the cruise. The fact that it took 6 weeks and the response didn't even address my concerns really turned me off.

 

Like I said the front desk did what they could but I still paid more than I would have paid if the internet package had worked as promised.

[MercedMike]

The OP bought the full package and used four minutes... a $20 credit means he paid 19.75 for each of those four minutes... hardly fair, imo....

 

No, as I read his post, he got a FULL refund PLUS a $20 credit.

 

No cruise line, that I know of, sells internet packages and then gives refunds for unused minutes. Usually the slip you sign, or those Terms and Conditions on the screen that nobody reads, makes this clear. Admittedly the Internet Manager seems to have been very unflexible in this situation, but some people look at policies in exactly that way. I think we wll understand that starting a trend of refunding unused minutes would not be sensible. Therefore, the OP was actually treated very well, in fact receiving something extra.

 

So the question about this employee really is, was she actually "rude" or simply "firm" in supporting policy? Again, my experience is that most complaints of "rude" employees simply means, "she told me NO.":(

[shipmix]

I agree with the post before this one. He got back a refund and a credit for $20 as well. Waiting 10 days to report the issue was crazy if indeed it was such an important issue at the time. Again you explain it was not right to wait 10 days, BUT ( then more excuses on your part) of why you could not make it sooner to see someone. Here for me is the bottom line.

 

1) If you need to contact anyone ( regardless of the product or service ) you need to make your concern/complaint short and to the point. Going on and on about small items will get you no where. Complaining about a $3.00 charge from the medical department only makes you look like a real complainer and cheap. ( someone just looking for something free). Never mention something about a past cruise ( internet on Westerdam) has nothing to do with the current problem.

 

2) Most important. If you had an issue on the ship then you need to report it right away and give them a chance to help you. Once you saw the cabin steward was ill and you were concerned you should have gone right then to the Hotel Manager or Guest Relations Manager and expressed your concerns. ( again giving them a chance to do something and or at least be aware).

 

3)Last but not least you need to be clear what you expect in return from your letter. You never said what you expected. Then you start talking about you want an apology, you wanted a free bottle of wine, etc . You said you did not want a free cruise ... fine.. but then have the courage to say what you feel you should get. Again you will get much more by stating what the problem was , what happened, and what you now feel is due to you. Short to the point and polite.

 

good luck

[shipmix]

I agree

[shipmix]

good luck

[Namvet4]

Perception is reality! The OPs issues revolve around:

Service not as promised

Poor or non existent human communication

Inordinate delay in human communication

 

Notwithstanding the resolution of the issues the evidence presented supports the fact that HAL utilizes a 3rd party vendor to provide a service, yet has no immediate control over the service as it applies to the ships passengers(HAL customers). The representative of the 3rd party vendor operates without immediate responsibility and/or supervision. The HAL employee on board ship initiated an accommodation in this instance. The HAL land based office, at best, was tardy in replying to the OPs written inquiry. And there is the failure by HAL to address an issue that is IMHO a great personal concern; a health issue between employee and customer on board ship.

Being tardy by both the OP (in addressing the issues on board in a timely manner) and HAL (responding to a written inquiry in a timely manner) has exacerbated the situation whereby the OP is truly “voting with the feet and the wallet” The economics of having a captive ship board customer base should prompt a much better response time at the very least!

3rd party vendors are a major part of the CS effort in my field of endeavor. I provide a constant reminder to their “sales” reps in the form of: “continual and or constant complaints from my customers about your service will immediately terminate our relationship”. You serve at my pleasure, and when my customers are displeased so am I!

Perhaps if a HAL manager peruses these boards and reviews this thread it will prompt an inquiry into the relationship with the third party vendor and their representatives’ conduct on board ship. And hopefully the HAL land based office will review its quality control measures for response to customer inquiries!

Just my 2 cents . . .

[MercedMike]

I agree

 

I'm glad you are so agreeable! But with whom? I hope you agree with me;)

 

See the QUOTE button? If you quote the post you are agreeing with we can tell better what you think! Thanks!

[hammybee]

No, as I read his post, he got a FULL refund PLUS a $20 credit.

 

No cruise line, that I know of, sells internet packages and then gives refunds for unused minutes. Usually the slip you sign, or those Terms and Conditions on the screen that nobody reads, makes this clear. Admittedly the Internet Manager seems to have been very unflexible in this situation, but some people look at policies in exactly that way. I think we wll understand that starting a trend of refunding unused minutes would not be sensible. Therefore, the OP was actually treated very well, in fact receiving something extra.

 

So the question about this employee really is, was she actually "rude" or simply "firm" in supporting policy? Again, my experience is that most complaints of "rude" employees simply means, "she told me NO.":(

 

I agree ( with you) and do not understand the beef.

[jtl513]

Normally people in the same cabin would use the same plan (I think?),

These two guys are 'partners', and logically had separate ship-board accounts.

 

and maybe a free bottle of wine of my next cruise as a gesture of goodwill.

That's what the $20 OBC was. Or do you want another 'gesture' for the sick steward?

[twinkletoes4445]

Perception is reality! The OPs issues revolve around:

Service not as promised

Poor or non existent human communication

Inordinate delay in human communication

 

Typical non-customer service. HAL's reputation used to be much better. I hate to see it slipping like this. There's a pattern...and it isn't good. :(

[Copper10-8]

I was unable to speak to Jacqueline until about 10 days into the cruise.

Not being the sharpest pencil in the box compared to some of the more illustrious company here, the part I don't understand is the availability, or lack thereof, of the internet manager to the OP. We were on Prinsendam last year for a 14-day Taste of Europe cruise (two days shorter, yet pretty similar to the OP's Rotterdam experience). The internet manager's desk hours on that cruise were as follows:

Sea days:

9:00 am - 12:00 noon

2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

In port:

8:00 am - 10:00 am

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Seems pretty accessible to me. Now, I was not on the OP's Rotterdam cruise so don't know if this is yet another change HAL is making? Were the internet manager's desk hours cut back that drastically?:confused:

BTW, no room in my book for rude and condescending employees or for passengers!

[Jade13]

 

To clarify the reason I used the per minute plan was I could not log in to use the package I had purchased. In the end I was credited for the package I hadn't used and a $20 onboard credit but I still ended up paying more than I would have paid if I had just been able to use the package. What I had asked for was a refund for the per minute charges since I had purchased the package the first day. I did not want the package to be refunded.

 

quote]

 

Paul makes sense here and with this explanation I would have also asked for the refund on the minutes and the deal with the package that I had signed on for in the first place. The problem was that the internet Manager was rude (perhaps just saying NO, however, he wanted the package that he had chosen at the beginning of the cruise which IS different than trying to get the better deal later on) and unhelpful and Paul had to get his package refund/credit from Hal. Any normal customer oriented person would have straightened this out but this internet Manager was not willing to help. If I understand correctly, if he had just been charged the package price (not $20 OBC by Hal later), he would have had the package deal he wanted in the first place which would have been a better deal. I used a package last year (didn't use the internet this last cruise) and so don't know why one way is easier to log on then the other.

 

He was finally turned off by the response from MaryBeth in Customer Relations and I can attest that I received a letter from her that made no sense and also no call back to two messages on her voice mail and so spoke to someone else who resolved my issue. If I had canceled my last cruise because of one (or two) people with bad customer service I would not have the best cruise ever on the Westerdam.

[Jade13]

I agree ( with you) and do not understand the beef.

 

Hammy, re-read his explanation. He wanted the package that he had paid for in the beginning of the cruise, but had to use by the minute when he could not log on..he thought it would be easy to straighten out since they were more accommodating on the Westerdam. This is different than trying to get the better deal at the end of the cruise.

[kryos]

GN -

 

I have found the GRM almost non-existent on the past few cruises... available fewer and fewer hours/days.

Oh, the guest relations manager on my Veendam cruise was very visible, and we (smokers) kept her busy too. She wrote a very, very detailed letter in response to our concerns about the tightening of the onboard smoking policy, beginning with our cruise on April 1. The only problem was that she wrote the same exact letter to eight people ... some of which had problems with different aspects of the policy than others. My only "concern" was the taking away of that small section of the Lido deck under the magronome ... while others were upset about the casino or other aspects of the policy. Yet we all got the same letter which basically detailed the new policy. Duh! We knew what the policy was. We just wanted it changed. :)

 

But the bottom line was that we kept her pretty busy ... and she even acknowledged that in a friendly way at the Captain's VIP party.

 

I've always found Guest Relations Managers onboard to be readily accessible and approachable. Of course, I generally don't require their services ... but when I have, I have had no trouble gaining access to them. Don't always get the problem resolved to my satisfaction ... but then I guess sometimes that's just not possible.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[chasetf]

........To clarify the reason I used the per minute plan was I could not log in to use the package I had purchased. In the end I was credited for the package I hadn't used and a $20 onboard credit but I still ended up paying more than I would have paid if I had just been able to use the package. What I had asked for was a refund for the per minute charges since I had purchased the package the first day. I did not want the package to be refunded.

I am still confused. Why were you unable to log in to the package ? :confused: Was it their fault, forgotten password, ????? Seems from your original post you were able to use it for four minutes initially, so what caused the problem where you could no longer access the account ???

[pog27]

These two guys are 'partners', and logically had separate ship-board accounts.

 

That's what the $20 OBC was. Or do you want another 'gesture' for the sick steward?

 

Wow there is no reason to get nasty, especially if you don't know what you are talking about. Regardless of our relationship, every person on the ship can create their own internet account, but 1 person cannot create 2 accounts. When you login for the first time you enter your name and cabin #. Both of our shipboard cards linked to the same credit card but I'm not sure how that's relevant.

 

The point is we were forced to use the per minute plan at roughly 2x the cost per minute, the $20 OBC was to partially offset the extra charges we incurred since the front desk had no direct control of the internet charges. So to clarify I did NOT receive a full refund, I paid for all of the internet I used at per minute rates minus 4 minutes. I don't care if the Internet Manager works for MTN and not HAL, the internet was charged to my shipboard account like everything else and since I'm paying HAL I have no choice but to deal with them about internet billing problems.

 

Copper 10-8, I'm out of town right now so I don't have my daily programs with me but I can tell you the availability of the Internet Manager was nothing like that. During the port days her hours were something like 12-2pm and 8-10pm. We were sightseeing all day at every port and believe it or not I have never missed dinner in the dining room on any cruise.

 

I'm not sure why I couldn't log on. After I signed up I was able to log in at first using the password I created but it stopped working so chasetf its as much a mystery to you as it is to me.

 

I appreciate those of you who read everything I wrote and understand where I am coming from. Just to reiterate many of these posts are about the money issue but my main complaint is with how I was treated, both onboard and when I returned home. That is why I canceled my next HAL cruise.

[Jade13]

 

I appreciate those of you who read everything I wrote and understand where I am coming from. Just to reiterate many of these posts are about the money issue but my main complaint is with how I was treated, both onboard and when I returned home. That is why I canceled my next HAL cruise.

 

Yes, but bottomline, you canceled after the canned response from Marybeth. Maybe someone should write to Stein that she sends almost the same response to everyone, takes too long to reply, and won't deal with anyone directly (hides behind pen and paper)..

[jtl513]

Wow there is no reason to get nasty, especially if you don't know what you are talking about.

I'm sorry if I offended you. :o My comment was not meant to be nasty. You said in your letter to HAL "Before that, my partner and I used a per minute plan ..." and I was merely pointing out to Jade13 that there was a logical reason that you would have separate accounts.

[newfarmers]

Wow there is no reason to get nasty, especially if you don't know what you are talking about. Regardless of our relationship, every person on the ship can create their own internet account, but 1 person cannot create 2 accounts. When you login for the first time you enter your name and cabin #. Both of our shipboard cards linked to the same credit card but I'm not sure how that's relevant.

 

The point is we were forced to use the per minute plan at roughly 2x the cost per minute, the $20 OBC was to partially offset the extra charges we incurred since the front desk had no direct control of the internet charges. So to clarify I did NOT receive a full refund, I paid for all of the internet I used at per minute rates minus 4 minutes. I don't care if the Internet Manager works for MTN and not HAL, the internet was charged to my shipboard account like everything else and since I'm paying HAL I have no choice but to deal with them about internet billing problems.

 

Copper 10-8, I'm out of town right now so I don't have my daily programs with me but I can tell you the availability of the Internet Manager was nothing like that. During the port days her hours were something like 12-2pm and 8-10pm. We were sightseeing all day at every port and believe it or not I have never missed dinner in the dining room on any cruise.

 

I'm not sure why I couldn't log on. After I signed up I was able to log in at first using the password I created but it stopped working so chasetf its as much a mystery to you as it is to me.

 

I appreciate those of you who read everything I wrote and understand where I am coming from. Just to reiterate many of these posts are about the money issue but my main complaint is with how I was treated, both onboard and when I returned home. That is why I canceled my next HAL cruise.

 

 

Paul, I reckon you got off lightly:D

 

Way too many HAL apologists, people who live in glass houses and cruisecritters who read half posts - loved the post that kept referring to you as 'her' and 'she' - in amongst the replies to your original post.

 

Loved the 'partners' one especially. We're so lucky society is so enlightened and accepting aren't we?

 

HAL would have locked you in your cabin for 48 hours if you'd had a stomach bug so why aren't sick crew quarantined as well? In an area like housekeeping there is no excuse for allowing sick staff to be making up cabins or cleaning public areas. You had every right to be pi**ed that you ended up with similar symptoms to your steward. I would have been too.

 

Luckily in between the the ugly posts found on the HAL boards (by the dress police, the ettiquette police, the smoking police, Carnival shareholders, etc etc) are those that are non-judgemental and offer great advice and assistance

 

Keep cruising

 

Pete and Al (yes, as in Alan)

[jtl513]

Loved the 'partners' one especially. We're so lucky society is so enlightened and accepting aren't we?

Again, I did NOT intend that to be in any way "unaccepting". Please read my post #44. :mad:

[MercedMike]

Hammy, re-read his explanation. He wanted the package that he had paid for in the beginning of the cruise, but had to use by the minute when he could not log on..he thought it would be easy to straighten out since they were more accommodating on the Westerdam. This is different than trying to get the better deal at the end of the cruise.

 

OK, I'm still confused. In my simple mind, you can't expect to get the package rate for per minute usage. Is that strange?

 

Either he used enough minutes to make the package worthwhile, in which case he didn't need the refund. Or he did not use enough minutes to fill out the package -- in which case he was not entitled to the package rate. Where am I confused? Maybe we need some solid numbers here. How much is the package? And how much did the OP actually pay for his usage?

 

And why did they give him the $20 credit anyhow? Presumably to make up for his perception that he was treated rudely.

 

But the main question is: How is a $20 problem big enough to make him dump an entire cruise line and get the board all this stirred up about it? I've been on many cruises where some problem had to be straightened out by going round and round -- but I sure haven't let a $100 problem spoil a $10,000 cruise for me! And I'm not boycotting any cruise lines because their internet service is messed up ... there wouldn't be any left for me to sail on!

>:-)

[twinkletoes4445]

Paul, I reckon you got off lightly:D

 

Way too many HAL apologists, people who live in glass houses and cruisecritters who read half posts - loved the post that kept referring to you as 'her' and 'she' - in amongst the replies to your original post.

 

Loved the 'partners' one especially. We're so lucky society is so enlightened and accepting aren't we?

 

HAL would have locked you in your cabin for 48 hours if you'd had a stomach bug so why aren't sick crew quarantined as well? In an area like housekeeping there is no excuse for allowing sick staff to be making up cabins or cleaning public areas. You had every right to be pi**ed that you ended up with similar symptoms to your steward. I would have been too.

 

Luckily in between the the ugly posts found on the HAL boards (by the dress police, the ettiquette police, the smoking police, Carnival shareholders, etc etc) are those that are non-judgemental and offer great advice and assistance

 

Keep cruising

 

Pete and Al (yes, as in Alan)

 

 

Boy, that's the truth. He did get off lightly.

 

I pity anyone who has any complaints or issues with HAL. If you dare post (and God forbid, if you're a newbie-then you get the double-whammy-you're a troll and you're making these things up) these complaints, several posters come out and eat you alive.

 

I've read several threads concerning the issues with cruisers being bumped for charters...and the Crow's Nest being "rented" out to groups. I do have a big issue with the CN. We loved the area, and would hate to get on a cruise and not have access to this public area. And for being unhappy about this, I was told maybe I should bang my spoon on the glass and demand entrance (or something like that). That's the spirit... lol

 

Like you said, there are a lot of HAL apologists on this board. lol You have to scratch your head and wonder why. But the OP certainly did get off easy. Maybe because it was his first offense...lol. Best not come back with another complaint!!! Then it will get real ugly.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Paul, I completely understand what you're saying and it really is about service in the end, isn't it? We all understand that things can go wrong, people are people and can mess up, machines can go awry ... it's how those issues are dealt with that matter in the end. A little human understanding goes a long way.

 

I also understand why you cancelled your next cruise with HAL. It's too bad because that might have been an absolute dream cruise, but if nothing else works how else can we let a corporation know that we feel we've been handled badly?

 

Sometimes it's the only card left in the deck you have to play. Hope you find another cruise that you enjoy!

[twinkletoes4445]

Paul, I completely understand what you're saying and it really is about service in the end, isn't it? We all understand that things can go wrong, people are people and can mess up, machines can go awry ... it's how those issues are dealt with that matter in the end. A little human understanding goes a long way.

 

I also understand why you cancelled your next cruise with HAL. It's too bad because that might have been an absolute dream cruise, but if nothing else works how else can we let a corporation know that we feel we've been handled badly?

 

Sometimes it's the only card left in the deck you have to play. Hope you find another cruise that you enjoy!

 

And the voice of reason has arrived...thank goodness!!! :)

 

Heather...you are a class act.