Question about condition of a cruise ship after a period of charter

[FONToKNOW]

Our family is booked the Noordam’s July 16th sailing. It appears that the ship is chartered for almost the entire month before.

 

Should we be concerned about the condition of the vessel after such an extended period of charter sailing?

 

Does anyone know who chartered Noordam for this period?

[hammybee]

There was a post, awhile back, that said this was an extended corporate charter, an insurance company, perhaps Allstate. It's not confirmed.

 

I would not be concerned about the condition of a ship, following a charter.

[6rugrats]

Why do you think a charter group would be any different then a group of non-charter passengers?

[FONToKNOW]

I think it would depend on how the charter is run. Is the contractor running four 7-day cruises? Or two 14-day cruises? Or 3 10-day cruises?

 

Is there going to be a full compliment of crew on-board during the charter? Are they going to work as hard during a charter?

 

If the boat was chartered to reward high yielding agents or corporate performers are those people going to be more likely, less likely or equally likely to tip as well?

 

It would seem like there are lots of reasons charter passengers might behave differently from non-charger passengers. It would also seem likely that the crew might behave differently during a period of charter than during normal sailings.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I think it would depend on how the charter is run. Is the contractor running four 7-day cruises? Or two 14-day cruises? Or 3 10-day cruises?

 

Is there going to be a full compliment of crew on-board during the charter? Are they going to work as hard during a charter?

 

If the boat was chartered to reward high yielding agents or corporate performers are those people going to be more likely, less likely or equally likely to tip as well?

 

It would seem like there are lots of reasons charter passengers might behave differently from non-charger passengers. It would also seem likely that the crew might behave differently during a period of charter than during normal sailings.

 

Why would it make any difference to you on your cruise? Why are you worried about the behavior of crew and passengers on the cruises taking place before yours affecting your experience? :confused: You and your family are not on the charters, why does it matter to you? Whether a cruise is a charter or not, the crew and staff of the Noordam will continue to function with their usual professional demeanor, and the ship will continue to be maintained and operated at the usual HAL standards.

[FONToKNOW]

Would you want to be on a plane immediately following it's operation as a charter for a college football team?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Would you want to be on a plane immediately following it's operation as a charter for a college football team?

 

Heh. Interesting analogy. I was a flight attendant for Pan American for seven years, and believe me, HAL's standards of ship maintenance far exceed those of airlines' aircraft cleanliness.:p You haven't experienced excitement until you've done a 14-hour flight from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (an officially "dry" country) to New York City on a flight where all the booze is free!:eek:

[Ephraim]

These are wet charters. The full compliment of crew is on the ship keeping it ship shape. The only thing that you would have to worry about is if they are bigger drinkers than normal.... I have heard of ships being understocked in some alcohol after some of the more partying crowds on a charter, but I imagine that the cruise companies are already pretty used to that by now as well.

[sfnew2sail]

The company that is chartering the Noordam for a month is the company my husband has worked for for over 30 years. It's a very well known insurance company and the people with the company who will be on this charter are very reputable. The company has chartered the ship for four 7-day cruises. My husband and I will be on the first group's cruise, June 8-15. Our first cruise--really looking forward to it. Don't worry about the condition of the ship--it will be fine when you board.

[Boytjie]

I think it would depend on how the charter is run. Is the contractor running four 7-day cruises? Or two 14-day cruises? Or 3 10-day cruises?

 

Is there going to be a full compliment of crew on-board during the charter? Are they going to work as hard during a charter?

 

If the boat was chartered to reward high yielding agents or corporate performers are those people going to be more likely, less likely or equally likely to tip as well?

 

It would seem like there are lots of reasons charter passengers might behave differently from non-charger passengers. It would also seem likely that the crew might behave differently during a period of charter than during normal sailings.

 

I don't see any reason why a charter's passengers would behave any different from other passengers. Whether it is 1, 2 or 3 cruises it will still be the same total number of passengers that could go on regular cruises during the same period.

 

The same ship's crew would be there keeping the ship in the same shape - they would love to have the charter passengers back as repeat customers (for charters or regular cruises). As a matter of fact, on the RSVP charters they bring extra staff on board - especially for the spa.

 

And I have heard that the RSVP charters tip better and are a lot more fun that a regular cruise and a break from the monotony of their regular schedule; the staff jump for the chance to work on them.

[Boytjie]

Would you want to be on a plane immediately following it's operation as a charter for a college football team?

 

Well, the airlines I usually fly clean the planes before the next flight...

[FONToKNOW]

Thank you!

 

We are generally go with the flow types, but we are traveling with my in-laws who definitely sweat the details. I just wanted a sense of if we needed to manage expectations down a little.