Is HAL jumping the Gun on Jeanne

[hdawson]

Heather. All you good folks are in our thoughts. Again.

[Cruiseoften]

 

Get Real!!! IMO

 

 

onboard - I agree with S7S - in the meantime, have you read the following -

 

Breaking news

 

Hurricane Update

September 24, 2004, - 1:00 pm, PDT

 

The safety of our passengers and crew is our hightest priority. Guests aboard the cruise that departed on September 18th will enjoy Saturday, September 25th, and Sunday, September 26th, at sea away from the impact of Jeanne. The ship was scheduled to arrive in Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) at the conclusion of its cruise on Saturday, September 25th. As noted above, this will now be delayed until Monday morning, September 27th.

 

ms Zuiderdam cruise that was to depart on Saturday, September 25th

 

The Saturday, September 25th sailing of the ms Zuiderdam will now depart on Monday, September 27th at 8:00 pm. The cruise itinerary has been changed with calls in Key West and Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico. The revised itinerary is as follows:

Date

Location

Arrive

Depart

Monday, Sept 27 Fort Lauderdale

8 pm

Tuesday, Sept 28 Key West, FL

8 am

3 pm

Wednesday, Sept 29 Cozumel, Mexico

11 am

11 pm

Thursday, Sept 30 Costa Maya, Mexico

8 am

6 pm

Friday, Oct 1 at sea

 

Saturday, Oct 2 Fort Lauderdale

8 am

 

Guests booked on the Saturday, September 25th sailing of the ms Zuiderdam have the following options:

* Sail the revised 5-day itinerary and receive a Holland America Line future travel discount in the amount of 25 percent of the cruise fare paid in addition to a per person ship board credit*. Amount based on cabin category purchased as follows:

* Inside saterooms (categories NN-I): $200 per-person

* Outside staterooms (categories H-C): $225 per-person

* Deluxe verandah staterooms (categories BC-A): $250 per-person

* Superior verandah suites (category SS): $325 per-person

* Deluxe verandah suites (category S): $425 per-person

* Penthouse verandah suites (category PS): $600 per-person

* 3rd/4th guests sharing stateroom: $100 per-person

 

* Guests opting not to sail will receive a full cash refund. Please contact the Holland America Line reservations center at 800-577-1728 by 3:00 pm PDT Sunday, September 26th to receive this refund.

[justhere]

no need for me to address what onboard said as I, too, totally agree with s7s and heather. i just have to add that it's too bad that HAL didn't tell onboard that the Z isn't sailing until Monday and then let her sail on-time. i know that's a mean thing to say but it would serve him/her right for expecting HAL to know more than Mother Nature.

 

The only good thing is that people like onboard always have unrealistic expectations and are doomed to be disappointed, frustrated and angry when things don't go as expected. And fortunately there will often be times when things don't go as expected so onboard will often be disappointed, frustrated and angry....oh well...too bad!!!

[JDee]

CruiseOften:

 

Thanks for the HAL update. Certainly a very generous compensation option for both those who choose to sail and also for those who choose to cancel.

 

My thoughts and prayers for those who will wind up in Jeanne's path. The worst that we can expect in the Tampa Bay area are just some moderate winds and more rain, at least for now.

[the2ofus]

How often does it need to be said that when you book a cruise in Hurricane season you are gambling that the weather will cooperate. You need to assess your own tolerance for uncertainty. If you can't handle it, don't book it!!

[onboard]

 

 

 

The only good thing is that people like onboard always have unrealistic expectations and are doomed to be disappointed, frustrated and angry when things don't go as expected. And fortunately there will often be times when things don't go as expected so onboard will often be disappointed, frustrated and angry....oh well...too bad!!!

 

 

 

Actually, I think that I am one of the few people that was booked on this cruise that won't be left disappointed, frustrated or angry. Their final statement made me very happy as it made the difference in me getting 90% minus my insurance or 100% plus my insurance and I am still on the way to the Riviera because I was wise enough to look back at what happened three weeks ago. IF I was one of those people who waited until the very last minute when they posted the statement I would be furious because obviously my week wouldn't be half as nice as it will be now. HAL could have been much more responsible IMO and given its cruisers, at least, the courtesy of updating their website when they said they would.

 

 

 

And as for "poor, poor, me", and truly I am a nice person, and I mean this in the best possible way--we all make choices in life. I choose to live in a state that is affected very little by weather: no snow, no tornados, no hurricanes, hardly any rain. So, while I sympathize with those that keep getting hit by hurricanes, you do make the choice to live there.

 

 

 

I made a VERY poor decision to book a Caribbean cruise this time of year and also to book on HAL. Lesson learned. I will rebook the Caribbean on a different line sometime next year.

 

Off to pack for Mexico. Happy Cruising to all and good luck to those in FL.

[DaddyBob]

Heather,

 

YOU GO GIRL!!!! I feel exactly as you do!

 

Daddy Bob

[imsulin]

RCI has also posted warnings about the possible closure of Port Everglades and the revised itineraries for their ships leaving from Pt. Canaveral and Pt. Everglades.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I choose to live in a state that is affected very little by weather: no snow, no tornados, no hurricanes, hardly any rain. So, while I sympathize with those that keep getting hit by hurricanes, you do make the choice to live there.

 

Truly, I mean no disrespect, but there is no town, no state, no country that is safe from everything. I hope you never in your lifetime find that out.

 

And also, just as a point of information, I wasn't complaining. I was merely astounded by your statement. I was fully aware when we moved here 4 years ago that hurricanes would threaten. But I think it's important to point out that in all the years that history has been written, there is no year that 4 hurricanes have hit Florida. There are no more hurricanes than usual this year; they're just all hitting us because of an unusually stubborn Bermuda High.

 

This summer will be written about for years to come. I do think that even if we're "stupid" enough to live in the Sunshine State we lovingly call Paradise, getting hit by 2-3 hurricanes within weeks of each other is a little too much by anyone's standards.

 

And not to belabor the point, but I'd rather live here with the threat of hurricanes than live where it hardly ever rains, never snows, and basically has no weather. But that is, as you say, a personal choice.

[justhere]

 

Actually, I think that I am one of the few people that was booked on this cruise that won't be left disappointed, frustrated or angry.

You missed the point. You already stated in your first post how upset you were. My point is that you will be again. Maybe not now or next week but whenever you blame a company for something out of their control, you will again experience the same headaches. I'm sure HAL held off as long as they could to try and inconvenience the least number of people possible. They had 3 choices:

1. do nothing - you would have been upset as they did nothing

2. state that cruise would leave on time - you would be upset when they eventually changed the sail date

3. state that the cruise would leave on Monday - you would be upset if the port wasn't closed and they could have left on time.

They really couldn't do anything until the Port Everglades port authority acted.

 

I made a VERY poor decision to book a Caribbean cruise this time of year and also to book on HAL. Lesson learned. I will rebook the Caribbean on a different line sometime next year.

 

Doesn't sound like you made a poor decision at all. Look at the number of Caribbean cruises that sail each and every hurricane season with no problem. The number affected is relatively small. Additionally, you hedged your bets by getting insurance so all-in-all, not a bad deal on your part. What makes no sense though is to blame HAL. Any cruise line sailing out of Port Everglades is affected the same way. HAL had info on their website early stating that changes may be possible depending on the storms track.

 

If I was CEO at HAL, I would be concerned that I lost a customer and my question to you would be: "What could I have reasonably done differently that would have made you a satisfied customer?"

 

As it seems that HAL did what they reasonably could do to minimize incovenience and still keep everyone safe, I'd hazard a guess that you couldn't reasonably answer that question. And whenever you answer that with an unreasonable response, there isn't a company out there that could have satisfied your needs. So I stand by my statement that you will again be disappointed, frustrated and angry.

 

I don't work for HAL and I mean no disrespect. Just want you to file this in the back of your mind and think about it next time a situation occurs that is beyond anyone's control.

[Golfgrl1911]

Some of you regulars are a real trip! :rolleyes:

[Golfgrl1911]

Go ahead flame ME because I have an opinion. I don't really care. I'm going on my cruise. I have met some wonderful people on this website that I will probably have for a long time. And have read some posts from some that I would definately avoid.

[CanSail]

Dear S7S & Heather,

Respectively we beg don't start again! Everyones emotions are frayed at times like this, sometimes we must just look at someones anger or upset during posting and realize that it is just that...emotions, and sometimes fears.

Not one persons suffering during trying times is more terrible then the next person, but how we view it to ourselves is how we must accept the situation.

Please just be polite.

Prayers to all.

[onboard]

I always purchase cruise insurance for health reasons. I am never able to guarantee that I will be able to sail on an expected date. I certainly understand situations beyond my, or a companies control. However, that does not excuse their responsibilty to the passengers here. I still maintain that HAL did not take the earlier warnings serious enough and held out to the last possible moment in hopes of getting passengers aboard for their own fiscal benefit instead of the cruisers best interest.

 

IMO, HAL could have and should have kept to their stated promise on their website and kept cruisers better informed of their situation as it developed. If a website update is promised at 1 pm psd, it should not take until 3 pm psd for the information to be updated, especially this close to sail time. When a cruiser calls and asks for information, they should not be re-directed to a stale website. The CSR's at HAL should have had more information than "oh, the website said there would be an update when?".

 

So to answer your question on what I would have wanted HAL to do better:

1)communicate as promised

2) offer options further in advance to cruisers who were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the port authority warnings of impending closure.

 

If #1 and 2 had been accomplished perhaps HAL would have left me, and I am sure others, with a much more professional image of them.

 

In discussing all of this, aren't we forgetting that Disney and Royal Caribbean were much quicker than HAL to delay some of the FL sailings they have for this weekend? One has to wonder if HAL was not privy to the same information they were?

[gizmo]

I think some people missed Onboards point totally. I didn't read her original post as she was blaming Hal for the hurricane nor this last one. I don't think she expected Mother Nature to contact Hal.

 

It appears other cruise lines were faster to respond. Hal did respond much faster this time, for which I gave them credit for earlier, but there appears to be room for much improvement with customer service and promised times for web updates.

 

I watched the weather LAST Sunday morning. There was a 60% chance that Jeanne would do exactly what she did. The weather guy went through the entire thing about the 360 degree turn, and having it come in and hit Florida. All cruise lines should have been totally aware of this prediction.

 

I realize cruise lines cannot make decisions from weather reports a week out, but plans should be in place so they can react in a timely manner. Hal did it better this time, but like I said earlier there is a lot of room for improvement with customer service.

[cusyl]

The Caribbean Princess is having a repeat of my recent cruise during Frances. I got an email offering 5 days for $299. and they arent coming into FLL until Monday. I am afraid this hurricane season is going to be very costly for all the cruiselines.

[doone]

My TA is booked on the Zuiderdam for today, sounds like she isn't going to be sailing on her til Monday. Just her luck, well I am sure she'll have some stories to tell me when she returns, if she didn't cancel it all together. Stay tuned...my TA's name is Jeanne, spelled just like the hurricane!!!!!!!! A bit ironic.

[superstein61]

[quote name='gizmo']I think some people missed Onboards point totally. I didn't read her original post as she was blaming Hal for the hurricane nor this last one. I don't think she expected Mother Nature to contact Hal.

It appears other cruise lines were faster to respond. Hal did respond much faster this time, for which I gave them credit for earlier, but there appears to be room for much improvement with customer service and promised times for web updates.

I watched the weather [b]LAST [/b]Sunday morning. There was a 60% chance that Jeanne would do exactly what she did. The weather guy went through the entire thing about the 360 degree turn, and having it come in and hit Florida. All cruise lines should have been totally aware of this prediction.

I realize cruise lines cannot make decisions from weather reports a week out, but plans should be in place so they can react in a timely manner. Hal did it better this time, but like I said earlier there is a lot of room for improvement with customer service.[/QUOTE]I agree Gizmo - I read Onboard's post the same way you did - and saw nothing wrong with it.

And while I sympathize with and feel sorry for anyone affected by poor weather - quite frankly all this crying from Floridians about being hit a 4th time is getting quite tiresome.

Everyone make's choices in life including where to live - and they must learn to live with the consequences of those choices. Furthermore - Florida is a BIG state. Some parts of the state may have taken multiple hits - but most were hit once. So people - quit the oooh boo hoo crap - its unfair we are going to be hit for the 4th time.

Hell - Western PA has been hit by more of these hurricanes than some of you in FLA.

[localady]

[quote name='superstein61']I agree Gizmo - I read Onboard's post the same way you did - and saw nothing wrong with it.

And while I sympathize with and feel sorry for anyone affected by poor weather - quite frankly all this crying from Floridians about being hit a 4th time is getting quite tiresome.

Everyone make's choices in life including where to live - and they must learn to live with the consequences of those choices. Furthermore - Florida is a BIG state. Some parts of the state may have taken multiple hits - but most were hit once. So people - quit the oooh boo hoo crap - its unfair we are going to be hit for the 4th time.

Hell - Western PA has been hit by more of these hurricanes than some of you in FLA.[/QUOTE]
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=blue]As usual, this statement shows the incredible tact you show in most of your postings.:eek: [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=blue][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=blue]I believe the last time one state had 4 hurricanes come ashore in one year was in the late 1800's in Texas. :( Peoples lives and livelhoods have been destroyed, it seems to me that it is a time for ALL to show compassion for those affected!!!![/color][/size][/font]

[HeatherInFlorida]

[quote name='superstein61']I agree Gizmo - I read Onboard's post the same way you did - and saw nothing wrong with it.

And while I sympathize with and feel sorry for anyone affected by poor weather - quite frankly all this crying from Floridians about being hit a 4th time is getting quite tiresome.

Everyone make's choices in life including where to live - and they must learn to live with the consequences of those choices. Furthermore - Florida is a BIG state. Some parts of the state may have taken multiple hits - but most were hit once. So people - quit the oooh boo hoo crap - its unfair we are going to be hit for the 4th time.

Hell - Western PA has been hit by more of these hurricanes than some of you in FLA.[/QUOTE][font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=3][color=darkslateblue]Again, Superstein, I'm up to here with your nasty posts. I have to question my stupidity in answering, but this is the very last time. Why don't you at least get your facts straight before posting such drivel.[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=3][color=darkslateblue]As it happens there is not one single particle of this state that has not been affected by all these hurricanes and associated flooding. Some areas have been hit 2 and 3 times and for some folks a possible 4th.[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=3][color=darkslateblue]Western PA does not even know the meaning of being "hit" by a hurricane. By the time it gets to you it's a wound down, heavy rain hitter with a little tropical breeze. Puleeeez.[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=3][color=darkslateblue]I really think it's time you let up or everyone here will hit the "ignore" button and be done with you. Before I shut down and get ready for the disaster about to hit, I will most certainly make that a priority. So no point in responding, because I'm done here with you forever.[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=3][color=darkslateblue]Localady, you are ever so much more informed than SS61. He obviously is too busy thinking up hurtful things to say than to watch the news or read a paper. The hurricanes this year have broken all records. Thanks, Localady, for your post.[/color][/size][/font]

[Roadguy]

:rolleyes: [quote name='superstein61']Hell - Western PA has been hit by more of these hurricanes than some of you in FLA.[/QUOTE]
Please tell Me when it was still a Hurricane when it got to western Pa?...:rolleyes:

Bein here in Ga, been thru the leftovers of Frances and Ivan and neither was a hurricane when it headed your way.

Onboard,
Have a great time in Mexico!!
I guess Hal's loss is RCL's gain.:rolleyes:

[hdawson]

Heather I agree with you. The last time there was any significant presence of a hurricane in Pa I think was Hugo. Of course for them it certainly wasn't a hurricane by the time the system arrived. A major rain event but that was it. Gee. That must have been 15 yrs ago. My thoughts are with all the folks in Florida this very unusual season.

[boards]

I already have him on ignore

[HeatherInFlorida]

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=3][color=darkslateblue]Roadguy, I knew I loved you:) ! And thanks, hdawson, ... so nice of you. Boards, you sure knew what you were doing. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but now I'm done. Sometimes it takes a heavy bat;) .[/color][/size][/font]

[nealberk]

People, please calm down and remember that we all have options. If you want a perfect experience with no surprises just plan your trips when
1) It is not hurricane season
2) Airlines do not have major employee contracts unresolved
3) There are no potential catestrophic problems with family and friends.

The amount of stress you are willing to experience dictates the amount of freedom you have with those parameters.

Other options that inluence the amount of stress you might experience include
1) Booking the trip with an experienced travel agent
2) Booking airfare through the cruise line
3) Getting insurance.

Of course these options will affect the price of your cruise. To some people they are worth it, to others they are not.

It is all a matter of tradeoffs, price, convenience, responsibility. Make your choices and live with them.