HAL much improved, but problems with "policies"

[cruiserchuck]

We recently returned from a 10 day Sea of Cortez cruise on the Ryndam. We had only traveled once with HAL before, about 5 years ago, and were not that impressed. At the time, Celebrity was our favorite cruise line, and we did not think HAL was as good as Celebrity. More recently we had taken several cruises with Crystal, but went back to Celebrity for a cruise last January. We felt Celebrity had slipped, and decided to try HAL again, especially since we could drive to/from the San Diego pier.

 

The drive down from Los Angeles was uneventful, and we arrived at the pier shortly around 1:00 pm. The boarding process was very quick, and we were on the ship in about 10 minutes. We went to our ocean view cabin on the lower promenade deck, and the room was large and in good shape. We had not realized that people walking on the wrap around deck could see into the room at night; thus in the future we probably would avoid cabins on this deck. The cabin was generally quiet, and smoke free, although we did notice a smoke smell some days in the hallway. We assume the smell was coming from other cabins, which all had a ventilation grate on the door. We otherwise were not disturbed by smoke on the cruise. HAL had a special questionnaire regarding imposing further restrictions on smoking on board. We hope they do so.

 

When we booked, only as you wish dining was available, and we were very pleased with how it worked. We asked and received a table for two every night. The food on the cruise was very good, and service was very quick and efficient. We felt the food and service was far superior to that on our last Celebrity cruise. The beef, lamb, chicken and pasta dishes were especially good. We liked the fact that we were allowed to order main course pastas dishes as appetizers whenever we wanted (except in the Pinnacle Grill.) Celebrity, in contrast, had told us they could not serve main courses as appetizers.

 

We were also pleased that the main dining room was open for lunch on most days. On Celebrity, it was closed on most days in port. We enjoy being served in the main restaurant much more than the eating at the Lido. We find it more relaxing, and we eat less. On the days we ate in the Lido it was usually crowded, and the food was not as good. Although we never ate dinner at the Lido, we went every night to look at the main courses dishes, which were on display there. Our Lido viewing helped us decide which courses to order in the main restaurant.

 

We thought the ship was a perfect size – not too big, and not too small. We went to the shows most nights, and never had a problem getting a good seat, even if we arrived late. The singer from Australia was the best.

 

We had been to Mexico many times before, and did not really take the cruise for the ports. The tours we took were good, but we really did not do too much off the ship.

 

We went to the Pinnacle Grill one day for lunch, and as we had almost every day in the main dining room, we asked for a pasta main dish as an appetizer. We were first told that we could not do so. When I asked why, I was told it was corporate policy, and we would be charged an extra service charge if we did so. This made no sense to me, since we had done so every day in the main dining room, and it was not like we were trying to order extra steaks – it was a chicken pasta dish. The waiter finally said he would talk to the manager and see if we could have the pasta as an appetizer. He never let us know what the decision was, but we eventually did get the pasta. The onion soup that I received was served in a fancy bowl with a top, but it was luke warm at best, and was one of the worst soups that I had on the cruise. If I had not already worn out my welcome by asking for the pasta, I probably would have said something, but I did not really want to find out what the corporate policy was on luke warm soup. We were somewhat worried when we received the bill, but were relieved to find out there was no extra charge. We feel that HAL should inform customers about the extra charge policy, assuming it really is the policy. We looked at HAL’s website, brochures and cruise documentation, and did not see any reference to a second service charge for additional courses.

 

We were also not too happy with the folks at the front desk. Only the woman in charge seemed to know how to handle issues. The other people were pleasant, but did not really appear to know how to resolve any issues. I had a concern about a prebooked shore excursion, which we learned several days into the cruise had been substantially changed. When I went to the front desk to ask about a refund, I was told that I would have to deal with the shore excursions folks. Since the shore excursion desk was closed, I asked the woman to talk to them, and have them call me. I was told that I would have to come back during the very limited time the excursion desk was open. Since I had other plans for that time, I again asked if they would let the excursions folks know about my issue. I was again told no. Finally the head woman came out, and told me she would provide my concerns to the shore excursion folks. She did so, and the matter was easily resolved. I was standing at the front desk on the last day of the cruise, and a fellow passenger was receiving similar treatment. She was worried about getting to the airport on time with a HAL transfer, and the gentleman at the desk did not seem to comprehend her concerns, even though her flight was in about two hours. I was relieved that I did not have to worry about getting to the airport.

 

We were also not pleased that the $9 a day fuel surcharge was not refunded, apparently based on the price of oil on one day in early November, even through our cruise started in mid December. Oil was much lower at the time we started our cruise than at the time HAL first instituted the initial $5 a day surcharge. In fact, oil was at a five year low during our cruise. When we inquired about a surcharge refund, we were told it was corporate policy not to refund it, and that there was no one on board who could discuss it, since it was a Carnival corporate policy, and HAL had no authority to deviate from it. We called HAL after we returned home, and were essentially told the same thing. We believe it was inappropriate for HAL to not refund the surcharge, given the extremely low cost of oil before and during our cruise.

[kryos]

When I went to the front desk to ask about a refund, I was told that I would have to deal with the shore excursions folks. Since the shore excursion desk was closed, I asked the woman to talk to them, and have them call me. I was told that I would have to come back during the very limited time the excursion desk was open. Since I had other plans for that time, I again asked if they would let the excursions folks know about my issue. I was again told no.

Just a hint for the future. If you have a problem with the shore excursions folks, they have a drop-in box where you normally would drop in a reservations form if you wanted to take an excursion. What I do is drop in my note with my cabin number and ask them to call me and give them a preferred time. They will call. I've used that method in the past when it wasn't convenient for me to come to the shore excursions window during their normal open times.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your review. Happy to hear for the most part you enjoyed your cruise.

 

About your shore excursion issue, the front desk does not deal with shore excursions. It is not for them to be involved in that. They were right to tell you to deal with shore excursion office and did you a favor to accomodate that your schedule for your convenience. Shore Ex has a box you can leave a message in if they are not open.

 

It is known that if you order two entrees in Pinnacle, you are charged an extra amount. You can have all the courses you want but two entrees are not permitted. In the main dining room, large amounts of the pasta entree have been prepared and it isn't a problem for them to serve a smaller portion for appetizer. In Pinnacle, food is not prepared in large quantities like that. The entrees in Pinnacle are considered ample by most people and only order one.

 

The fuel surcharge was announced and the formula for when it would be removed, while very detailed, was made known. We were on a 14 day cruise in December and also would have liked to have the charge eliminated but missed the date that would happen by only a few days. We knew about the charge and agreed to it when making our final payment. Therefore, we knew we owed it.

 

 

 

[Texas Tillie]

cruiserchuck, I think your problem with the "little" things is that you've done some cruising on Crystal and are trying to get HAL to do those things that are "no problem" on Crystal. This is where you see the real difference between Crystal and the mass market lines! You just have to realize that HAL, Princess, etc. go for the lowest common denominator and you run into problems if you're looking for special service. As they say, you get what you pay for!;)

[JerseyJaguar]

We otherwise were not disturbed by smoke on the cruise. HAL had a special questionnaire regarding imposing further restrictions on smoking on board. We hope they do so.

So you didn't have a problem with your cabin smelling like smoke and you "were not disturbed by smoke on the cruise" but you still want them to put even more restrictions on smokers?

 

:rolleyes:

[hammybee]

The cruise brands under the Carnival umbrella were the first to suspend fuel surcharges. Those sailing on or after 12/17 got a refund. Those sailing before this date, paid it.

 

Celebrity and Crystal refunded surcharges for sailings on or after 1/1/09, if you had made final payment.

 

The spot price has nothing to do with the price paid for fuel by the cruise lines.

[Opinions]

Cancelled

[HALFans]

Although we never ate dinner at the Lido, we went every night to look at the main courses dishes, which were on display there. Our Lido viewing helped us decide which courses to order in the main restaurant.

 

What a great idea! I hadn't considered doing this on a regular basis. The few times we'd done it was just when we didn't really feel like changing our clothes for dinner. (We generally dress up a tad for the Dining Room and evening's activities.)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

Sorry you had some problems.

Many of us know to use the "drop" box at the shore excursion desk -- we just write a note and put in an enevelope. Front desk is not in charge of shore excursions.

Fuel surcharges -- HAL had it on their web site and it was discussed here in a thread about the 25 trading days where it had to be below $70 a barrel -- and those days had to be consecutive. So we all knew about it. We also didn't get our surcharges back from our 14 days on the Eurodam.

Even though you asked for the chicken pasta to be an appetizer -- it is really an entree and if you ordered -- and it sounds like you did -- another entree -- it is HAL's policy to charge extra whenever you order a second entree -- for lunch and dinner.

Will you be returning to HAL?

[Pettifogger]

Texas Tillie: Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I feel compelled to submit a muffled objection to your classification of HAL as a mass market cruise line. I "graduated" from mass market lines to HAL when I belatedly learned about the differences and I would never go back.

[Jade13]

it is HAL's policy to charge extra whenever you order a second entree -- for lunch and dinner.

 

 

 

 

Is this just in the Pinnacle Grille, or some new policy in the Main dining room as well?

[Mary Ellen]

The spot price has nothing to do with the price paid for fuel by the cruise lines.

From the HAL site:

We reserve the right to re-instate the fuel supplement for all guests at up to $9 per person per day should the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) increase above $70 per barrel.

The price went above $70 for one day in the time period HAL uses to determine if the supplement will be charged for the OP's cruise.

[hammybee]

Texas Tillie: Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I feel compelled to submit a muffled objection to your classification of HAL as a mass market cruise line. I "graduated" from mass market lines to HAL when I belatedly learned about the differences and I would never go back.

 

The opposite of mass market is a niche market. With 14, and soon to be 15 ships in the sea, carrying well in excess of a million passengers a year, it's all about the masses.

 

The average price point on a typical 7 day sail in the hyper competitive Caribbean, Alaskan and Mexico markets shows that it is often necessary for HAL to undercut the competition ( Carnival, Princess, RCK and NCL) to fill their ships.

 

Those of us who appreciate HAL, appreciate the differences from the other cruise lines.

[geshaw30]

We're on the Ryndam in May and Cruisechuck I agree with you-"further restrictions" cannot come soon enough. However that is a topic that has been beaten to death on countless posts and no need to reopen it here. Glad you had a good time. We are considering Celebrity in the future so your observations were helpful.

[hammybee]

Is this just in the Pinnacle Grille, or some new policy in the Main dining room as well?

 

PG, just like in any restaurant.

[whogo]

Experienced HAL cruisers kryos, krazy kruisers, and sail7seas knew about the shore excursion drop box. Should not the front desk personnel also have known and mentioned it to the OP? We too were frustrated by the short opening hours. By the time we found out that our son's Panama shore excursion was canceled, the excursion desk was closed. The front desk was no help, did not mention the drop box nor did they give any other useful advice.

 

I got a similar "not my job" attitude reporting a damaged stair tread that I stumbled on. I reported the hazard to a Lido worker who said he could do nothing about it. A Lido officer looked at it and said that he thought that maybe someone was working on it. I bumped into the hotel manager who went to look. I do not know whether he took any action, but it was fixed the next time I took those stairs.

[sail7seas]

Whogo....... I agree that if the front office folks did not mention the drop box to you (or OP), they should have. It was a simple thing to point out to you and no excuse not to.

 

[mamaofami]

PG, just like in any restaurant.

 

 

Hammy, I love your avatar.

[HALFans]

I got a similar "not my job" attitude reporting a damaged stair tread that I stumbled on. I reported the hazard to a Lido worker who said he could do nothing about it. A Lido officer looked at it and said that he thought that maybe someone was working on it. I bumped into the hotel manager who went to look. I do not know whether he took any action, but it was fixed the next time I took those stairs.

 

The two times I've mentioned a minor thing (I thought - just in passing) to the HM on a HAL ship... well, it's like nothing I've ever experienced before. He's all 'Thank you for letting me know' and smiles and shakes your hand, etc.

 

Then later on, there must be rumbles, flashes of lightning, sounds of heads rolling, etc. because the next time you turn around it's been taken care of. Almost as if a prayer was somehow granted by some omnipotent being.

 

Yes, a Holland America Hotel Manager is someone who can Get Things Done and actually cares about what you say. ;)

[InTheWASide]

The two times I've mentioned a minor thing (I thought - just in passing) to the HM on a HAL ship... well, it's like nothing I've ever experienced before. He's all 'Thank you for letting me know' and smiles and shakes your hand, etc.

 

Then later on, there must be rumbles, flashes of lightning, sounds of heads rolling, etc. because the next time you turn around it's been taken care of. Almost as if a prayer was somehow granted by some omnipotent being.

 

Yes, a Holland America Hotel Manager is someone who can Get Things Done and actually cares about what you say. ;)

 

I agree with you on this.

 

there are so many times people just go "My steak is tough. HAL ought to be able to read my mind and/or facial expressions. It BETTER get better tomorrow."

 

Simply SAYING SOMETHING can get so much done. And the HM is in charge of anything non-mechanical on the ship, so assuming the Front Office can't resolve whatever is going on, the Hotel Manager is the best route to go.

 

Especially for all the

rumbles, flashes of lightning, sounds of heads rolling, etc. because the next time you turn around it's been taken care of. Almost as if a prayer was somehow granted by some omnipotent being.

 

:D:D

 

:cool: