What Would You Like to See Gone?

[pms4104]

I fill in both the on-line and the paper form, and go to whichever line is shorter in the terminal. Then when I get to the desk I just tell them I did the on-line, and all is good! :)

I understand that many do as you indicated ... I simply feel that the special lines are extraneous and could be eliminated.

[vbmom87]

Oops! I am booked on a HAL cruise but have not sailed with them before, so i obviously spoke too soon about the recycling thing. I recently got off Princess and saw no recycling boxes or bins anywhere. So kudos to HAL!!

 

from what I have read, HAL is one of the most environmental friendly cruiselines.

[vbmom87]

I agree that way too much paper was sent to our cabin. It ended up in the paper recycling box attached to the trashbasket but it would be better if it had not been printed. There were also recycling bins on the promenade.

 

!

 

I think one paper announcement for the whole week would be enough. Then reminders could be on the TV Channel. I agree, there was too much paper waste. At least they do recycle it.

[DFD1]

My granddaughter likes the monkey hanging from the coat hanger wearing my sunglasses. Other than that, they can take away the towel animals. LOL

[CinWin]

I would be very happy if there was a smoking ban on the ships. Also hope that the cabanas on the Eurodam will be gone by the time I go on my cruise in January. Probably wishful thinking on my part for both removals. :rolleyes:

Cindy

[d60kott]

Please stop requiring the wait dining room waitstaff entertain me during dinner. Hey, all I want to do is have a nice dining room experince, then go to the theater if I want to be entertained.

[Growler]

This might take an attempt or two, but I'll persevere (the site has been pretty unresponsive for me these last two days).

 

My first reaction to the OP's question was fairly straightforward.

 

Art Auctions and the Art 'Gallery'

Just NO. Get rid.

 

Photographers, and the Photo Gallery.

By all means have a single professional photographer available to take formal pictures, but I DO NOT MEAN SOME STUDENT WITH A CHEAP DSLR wandering round the dining room, or mugging everyone every time we want to disembark for a tour. No need for a photo gallery (see note on IT below)

 

Dining

'Special' dining nights such as Masterchef's doodad or any which require the crew to parade and make an embarrasing spectacle of themselves. (Sorry, but I like getting dressy once in a while, so Formal nights stay on my ship;)

) On HAl particularly, I'd like to see the Pinnacle Grill (and on the Eurodam, Tamarind/Canaletto) chefs be given a wider range of options regarding the menu. Even a 'Daily Special' or two wouldn't come amiss, especially in certain parts of the world where it might be possible to pick up some 'luxury' items fairly close to source (ie from the fishermen in the next quay etc)

 

'Port Shopping Assistants' and their 'lectures'. What I'd REALLY like to see and hear is a talk before each port day from someone who knows the locale, and can point me in the direction of craftsmen who are making something out of the ordinary, preferably in a traditional style, from local materials. Do we really need to know how to get to Diamazite Interglobal on the high street in EVERY port?

 

That's about it for the nasties, now - what would I like to see ADDED

 

Decent IT systems. These days, it should be mandatory for every new ship to have the most modern of IT systems. This would negate the need for most of the daily papers delivered to every cabin, and could easily provide a home for the photo galleries etc. Wireless internet through the tv is easily doable these days, and if your paying $1Bn for your ship, what's another $300K? Actually, it would be less than that, because much of the infrastructure is already in place, it just needs updating and spreading around a bit.

 

Anyway - that's MHO, if I think of anything else, I'll pop up again!

 

Interesting to note that not one person mentioned the Cabanas on the Lido on the Eurodam :D

 

<edit> Damn, CinWin mentioned the Cabanas as I was typing - lol

[madelinerose]

JMO - but the room stewards have far too many other chores to do than have to worry about making the towel animals.

 

 

It takes just a minute or so and when people love them they tend to make it all worthwhile for the stewards. Therefore, the stewards don't mind at all and neither does the cruiseline. Happy stewards make for happy passengers. ;)

[pipedreams62]

It seems that most of the things everyone wants to get rid of

 

Photographers

Baked Alaska Parades

Towel Animals

 

These were all things that were so cool the first time we saw them. I guess we should just abolish them?

 

Who cares about the first time cruiser anyway?

 

This whole photography thing is a joke,some of these people think they lead a life on the ship,of Angela Jolie and Bradd Pitt.

 

From the moment they open their eyes,they are stalked by the Paparazzi

(I mean the ships photograpers.) They open their door for room service and they're being photographed,they step out on their balcony they're being photographed. They're in the casino they're photographed,they're in the spa they're photographed. It's NOT this way,and people you're really just not that popular (I hate to be the bubble burster.)

 

Towel animals? I never even give it a thought. A questionaire for towel animals (talk about a waste of ink and paper)

 

 

Let's get down to brass tacks

 

things I'd lie to see go

 

People who ignore the dress code on formal night.

 

people who have their tips removed

 

people who let their unruly kids run all over the ship

 

people that have to knock 6 people over to be the first on a tender

 

people who hog chairs

 

people who DON'T wash their hands after coming out of the bathroom

 

Oh yea did I mention? Towel animals don't cause any of these problems.

[WeLoveCruising]

What I Would Like to Go Now:

• Art Auctions which are bad enough, but especially the "art" placed haphazardly all around the atrium and Ocean Bar.
  
• Master Chef's Dinner
  
• The sale tables all around the shops and Lido
  
• Photographers taking pictures at every port, holding up the line getting off the ship.
  
• All the spa "seminars" that are to push products and services

What's Gone and Not Missed:

• Those tacky massage chairs for $1 outside the Piano Bar

I Might be in the Minority, but I do like: :)

• Formal nights
  
• Towel animals
  
• Baked Alaska Parade

[madelinerose]

Let's get down to brass tacks

 

things I'd lie to see go

 

People who ignore the dress code on formal night.

 

people who have their tips removed

 

people who let their unruly kids run all over the ship

 

people that have to knock 6 people over to be the first on a tender

 

people who hog chairs

 

people who DON'T wash their hands after coming out of the bathroom

 

.

 

 

You'd have the ship to yourself! :D

[cf_chuck]

Your post struck a number of cords with me, so I hope you don't mind giving me a piggy back ride.

 

This might take an attempt or two, but I'll persevere (the site has been pretty unresponsive for me these last two days).

 

I've had a good number of problems as well.

 

Art Auctions and the Art 'Gallery'

Just NO. Get rid.

 

This wouldn't hurt my feelings. I'll go to real auctions, not the ones they call auctions on ship.

 

Photographers, and the Photo Gallery.

By all means have a single professional photographer available to take formal pictures, but I DO NOT MEAN SOME STUDENT WITH A CHEAP DSLR wandering round the dining room, or mugging everyone every time we want to disembark for a tour. No need for a photo gallery (see note on IT below)

 

Makes sense to me. When I first started cruising, I think there were 2 people that handled the job and one that handled the photo gallery. One of the two was the photographer and the other an assistant. With the right IT system, the gallery could easily go, but it would require some tagging by the camera.

 

Dining

'Special' dining nights such as Masterchef's doodad or any which require the crew to parade and make an embarrasing spectacle of themselves. (Sorry, but I like getting dressy once in a while, so Formal nights stay on my ship;))

 

I wouldn't mind seeing the MC go for a couple of reasons. It delays the service and the show is not that entertaining. I agree that having a suspension of any parade during dining is a waste and a waste of time. But formal nights stay for me also.

 

'Port Shopping Assistants' and their 'lectures'. What I'd REALLY like to see and hear is a talk before each port day from someone who knows the locale, and can point me in the direction of craftsmen who are making something out of the ordinary, preferably in a traditional style, from local materials. Do we really need to know how to get to Diamazite Interglobal on the high street in EVERY port?

 

This is right up the alley of my interests, and in many cases, not an easy thing to ferret out using internet searches because there is a lot of extraneous stuff that needs to be weeded out before the good stuff shows up. I've found that the local vendor stands carry some of this, but they also carry a lot of junk, so it's not an easy task to land somewhere to find the right trinket. On my first Caribbean cruise, I came up short on internet search results for at least one port, so I went to the Shopping Assistant for advice. She looked at me with a blank stare and said something to the effect that I should try the vendor stands to see if they worked. After wandering around for a couple of hours, I did pick something up that was inexpensive, just as a cheap memento. I've gotten better in doing net research on the subject, but still wade through a bunch of extraneous stuff.

 

That's about it for the nasties, now - what would I like to see ADDED

 

Decent IT systems. These days, it should be mandatory for every new ship to have the most modern of IT systems. This would negate the need for most of the daily papers delivered to every cabin, and could easily provide a home for the photo galleries etc. Wireless internet through the tv is easily doable these days, and if your paying $1Bn for your ship, what's another $300K? Actually, it would be less than that, because much of the infrastructure is already in place, it just needs updating and spreading around a bit.

 

I can't recommend wireless for this kind of thing, but a decent video on demand (VOD) system would work just as well, I think. How is it that three star hotels can do this and five star cruise lines can't? I would very much appreciate a VOD system since I don't inhabit the room for much time during the day, so getting access to what I want when I want it would be a big boon for me. "Your next movie will start shortly" gets tiresome.

[Copper10-8]

Last time I checked, no one is being forced with physical violence to have their photos taken onboard. If you don't want your photo taken, tell them so. We had several folks at our dining room table on Eurodam do just that and the photo dweebs complied; no problem!

 

On one of the formal nights, we ran into a choke point where the photo staff was busy taking pics of those folks who wanted them. A line had formed. All it took was to by-pass that line and, while the photographer was "setting up" his shot, to cross over behind him. Problem solved,

[Travalerie]

 

People who ignore the dress code on formal night.

 

 

Is wearing a nice black suit and silk black tie considered NOT following the dress code? We don't want to rent a tux in case our kids are not up for formal night...so we thought to bring his best suit from home.

[Copper10-8]

Is wearing a nice black suit and silk black tie considered NOT following the dress code? We don't want to rent a tux in case our kids are not up for formal night...so we thought to bring his best suit from home.

 

You'd be perfectly fine with that! Formal dress onboard no longer means a tuxedo

[ANSalberg]

Seeing as many are resistent to change in most forms on the ships, is there anything you would LIKE to see disappear? Anything aboard really annoy you or you think a total waste?

 

 

Other passengers.

Passengers who think a line waiting -doesn't mean "THEM" and push ahead.

Passengers who have an inside cabin and are insensed that there could POSSIBLY be a party for suite passengers that doesn't include them!

Passengers who constantly moan "Crystal does it/this better" If you love Crystal; SAIL Crystal .

Passengers who are INCREDIBLY demanding and "forget" to say "Thank You".

Passengers who are rude to the dining room stewards; This sends me right up the WALL!

[cf_chuck]

This whole photography thing is a joke,some of these people think they lead a life on the ship,of Angela Jolie and Bradd Pitt.

 

I'm not for a complete abolishment of the photographers, but I would like to see them reigned in.

 

There is no reason that I can think of why they must herd people to get their pictures taken on embarkation or in ports. It should be easy for anyone wanting to have their picture taken to have it taken, and those that don't to be able to easily avoid the experience. My experience is that these people are pushy in various venues and I find that an aggrivation.

 

There is no reason that the venues for having formal night photos taken should be in high traffic areas which block the flow of people. I have had this occur on the last two cruises, with the backdrop on one side of the aisle and the photographer on the other. Since on each of theese cruises, photos were offered in areas that did not block the flow, people who wanted their pics taken had the option without inconveniencing anyone else.

 

In my opinion, the whole photo thing has gotten out of hand and needs to be reigned in. If someone wants their pic taken, there should be a way to have this happen without any inconvenience or hassle to someone that choses otherwise. Some photogs seem to take no better than others, but there should not be a reason I even have to say no, IMO.

[pipedreams62]

I'm not for a complete abolishment of the photographers, but I would like to see them reigned in.

 

There is no reason that I can think of why they must herd people to get their pictures taken on embarkation or in ports. It should be easy for anyone wanting to have their picture taken to have it taken, and those that don't to be able to easily avoid the experience. My experience is that these people are pushy in various venues and I find that an aggrivation.

 

There is no reason that the venues for having formal night photos taken should be in high traffic areas which block the flow of people. I have had this occur on the last two cruises, with the backdrop on one side of the aisle and the photographer on the other. Since on each of theese cruises, photos were offered in areas that did not block the flow, people who wanted their pics taken had the option without inconveniencing anyone else.

 

In my opinion, the whole photo thing has gotten out of hand and needs to be reigned in. If someone wants their pic taken, there should be a way to have this happen without any inconvenience or hassle to someone that choses otherwise. Some photogs seem to take no better than others, but there should not be a reason I even have to say no, IMO.

 

 

I've been on 9 cruises (just a drop in the bucket compared to some other lucky people) I've never experienced this on any ship. The movies that they film all trip and then sell at the end of the trip. I've never made 3 seconds of footage in 9 cruises.

 

All thru my day I have opportunites to simply say 'No Thank You"

 

I have telemarketers calling all day and I say 'No Thank You"

 

I have kids banging on my door trying to sel me magazine subscriptions.

 

I simply say 'No Thank You"

 

I go to the store and the guy wants to sell me a Newspaper subsciption

 

I simply say 'No Thank You"

 

I leave the store and girls scouts are trying to sell me cookies

 

I simply say 'No Thank You" (I bought 10 boxes last week)

 

This is the phrase I simply use.

 

When I get off the ship and the guy has his pirate costume on and motions me to take a pic. I simply say

 

'No Thank You"

 

It's always worked for me with no problems.

 

I don't doubt you've had problems. I just never have.

[cf_chuck]

It's always worked for me with no problems.

 

I don't doubt you've had problems. I just never have.

 

You've had a different experience than I. Last trip out of Port Everglades, the embarkation photographers had the access blocked to the ship. Everyone had to queue up to go through the photo op. When I got to the point, I started to walk through. One of the photogs jumped in front of me and blocked the path. I said no thank you. He persisted in ushering me to the photo op. I said no thank you again. He remained in my path. Rather than continuing to hold up the line, his persistence won. They got their pic, but not any purchases from this puppy.

 

I've had other experiences where no thank you wasn't taken on the first try. I have had a few where it was.

 

Part of the challenge in dealing with these people is that they don't work directly for HAL. From my experience, they inconsistently exhibit the same considerations of courtesy and service that the HAL crew does. Making comments on the survey hasn't changed anything that I can see, which is my reason for stating that I think they need to be reigned in.

 

Now I will acknowledge that my sensitivity to the Port Everglades experience was aggrivated by things out of HAL's control. Late flight arrival the day before, aggrivations with the transfer to the hotel, and a hotel transfer to the port that got me to the terminal (because of late hotel arrival) during a crunch time. So after clearing the check-in lines, my singular thought was to get to the ship, plop in a chair on the Lido and begin cruising the port and relaxing. I've had enough embarkation photos taken that I know I won't be interested in the results, I'm hardly in peak form for a photo op.

 

BTW, you have more cruises than I do, so if you haven't encountered these kinds of aggrivations, you're lucky.

[CowPrincess]

So many people want the art auctions gone, yet they are a HUGE revenue generator for HAL. Keep the art auctions, please -- it helps keep the cost of my fare down :D

[cruz chic]

There is no reason that I can think of why they must herd people to get their pictures taken on embarkation or in ports. It should be easy for anyone wanting to have their picture taken to have it taken, and those that don't to be able to easily avoid the experience. My experience is that these people are pushy in various venues and I find that an aggrivation.

I think RevNeal in his live from the Eurodam thread said that it was mandatory to have the embarkation photo taken (not the one that is associated with your card). This is really stupid to me. If a person started to make a loud fuss I think they might change their mind. I've been hassled so many times by the photogs even after I've said no. I've had to get rude and then they seem to understand. I don't know why a simple no doesn't do the trick.

[jtl513]

So many people want the art auctions gone, yet they are a HUGE revenue generator for HAL. Keep the art auctions, please -- it helps keep the cost of my fare down :D

I don't want to see them gone ... but I would like to see them moved out of the Atrium/Ocean Bar area into the Half Moon/Hudson/Stuyvesant rooms.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It takes just a minute or so and when people love them they tend to make it all worthwhile for the stewards. Therefore, the stewards don't mind at all and neither does the cruiseline. Happy stewards make for happy passengers. ;)

 

I have personally watched some cabin stewards spend several minutes making 1 towel animal -- add up all that time -- cabin stewards have many rooms to make up each evening. And some of them also have to take time to open up the sofa beds and prepare them for the night, etc.

[IheartHAL]

• I Might be in the Minority, but I do like: :)
  
• Formal nights
  
• Towel animals
  
• Baked Alaska Parade

 

I do too. I very much look forward to those things :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't want to see them gone ... but I would like to see them moved out of the Atrium/Ocean Bar area into the Half Moon/Hudson/Stuyvesant rooms.

 

Notice that I mentioned in post #28 -- all the ships have an art gallery.

On the Vista class ships they are located down on the Lower Promenade Deck -- plenty of room to have the auction there. It's located between the Pinnacle Bar and the Explorer's Lounge.

On the R and S class ships it is a small gallery located next to the Wine Bar across from the Wajang Theatre -- this area was formerly the Java Cafe. For the last couple of years the Wine Bar on the ships that we have been on has not been open or used for anything. Take it out -- expand the gallery -- thus a larger one for the art auction.