Does HAL have Champions?

[Copper10-8]

 

 

Is that Cannon behind Joe "Just the facts, Ma'am" Friday?

[pipedreams62]

Is that Cannon behind Joe "Just the facts, Ma'am" Friday?

 

 

Great observation. I never thought of that. If it isn't Cannon it's his twin.

[dam1050]

Thanks for the welcome. I understand the skepticism of course, but I look forward to contributing to the conversation.

 

SarahatHAL

 

It's only natural that people would be skeptical Sarah, when you joined over a year ago and are only now contributing to the forum, however that being said it is true that not all of us post as frequent as others.

 

Welcome to the boards and we look forward to your insights.

[hulamoon]

Welcome Sarah, thanks for the reassurance.

[doncarlos]

welcome sarah...i , too , have been a " Reader " for sometime but only recently joined and then began to post.............we all look forward to your contributions , don carlos

[Mary Ellen]

Agreed. It's one thing if a cruiseline notices a particular poster, and throws an unsolicited bennie (or two) his/her way, as a gesture of thanks.

It's another thing entirely if there has been a "meeting of the minds" that a "tit for tat" relationship between the poster and cruiseline is established. In that case the credibility of everything the poster says is now suspect.

 

To sell your honor for a few bennies is sad, but that's what Royal Champions means to me.

I fully agree with Ruth and am appalled with RCIs "Champions".

 

Thank you, Sarah, for your input. Welcome.

[jbhcw]

Well it's either Cannon or Rev Neal, there is a resemblance:D

 

And.....welcome Sarah from HAL. I'm actually a little surprised that someone from HAL thought it was important enough to make a statement on this thread.

 

AZJohn, understand your concern about the whole situation. I have always considered the "Everything is always wonderful posts" and the "Everything is awful posts" with a large grain of salt:eek:

[serendipity1499]

Sarah, I too, would like to add my welcome & thank you for Posting on this thread..

It's nice to know that HAL cares enough about those of us on this forum to weigh into our threads....

Also so happy to know that HAL does not have paid Shills, which I consider the Royal Champions to be..

 

And thank you Laura for permitting Sarah to come into this forum as an official HAL PR...

 

Cheers...:)Betty

[babyher]

"an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms!".......................

I'll come in again!;)

 

 

 

And when I say there is abolutely NO cannibalism in The Royal Champions, I mean almost none.

 

Sincerely,

 

Capt B.J. Schmellings ...in a white wine sauce with shallots, mushrooms and garlic :)

[usha]

I'm actually a little surprised that someone from HAL thought it was important enough to make a statement on this thread.

I have to admit, I'm thinking exactly the same thing.

What does HAL care about what RCCL is doing, and what sort of fall-out is HAL trying to head off by getting their own PR mgr. involved in this thread?

[DutchByAssociation]

I would just like to welcome HAL_PR here to CC. Personally I hope to be able to read a lot of posts from her. How refreshing it will be to have an officially sanctioned response from someone at HAL on some of these threads that are just rife with speculation and assumptions.

 

I appreciate and enjoy reading the posts on CC from DutchByAssociation and reading the DBA blog, but DBA can only answer so much as they are here in an an unofficial capacitity as stated by DBA, here for their love of cruising and HAL.

 

So welcome aboard Sarah. Glad to see you here!

 

Rochelle

 

I love how you refer to the blog as a "they" when it's actually a "me" :)

 

And trust me. There are many things that I know the answer to, but as it's currently proprietary, not yet released, etc etc etc there are many things I just simply can't comment on and I tend to avoid those posts altogether (not to mention to read every single thread is simply not possible... at least until "me" becomes a "they" :) )

 

And to also address the other current issue, Welcome Sarah! Although I thought you had decided on Sarah@HAL or something like that... :)

 

Who am I kidding though, I don't disclose my name, department OR position...

 

Nevertheless, my "officially voiced" calvary has arrived :)

[DutchByAssociation]

It's only natural that people would be skeptical Sarah, when you joined over a year ago and are only now contributing to the forum, however that being said it is true that not all of us post as frequent as others.

 

Welcome to the boards and we look forward to your insights.

 

Not to mention I can vouch for her and no one ever really questioned me. :eek:

[jtl513]

It's only natural that people would be skeptical Sarah, when you joined over a year ago and are only now contributing to the forum, ...

Make that 2 years ago!

 

What does HAL care about what RCCL is doing, and what sort of fall-out is HAL trying to head off by getting their own PR mgr. involved in this thread?

Of course HAL cares about what ALL of the competition is doing! And Sarah (IMO) is just trying to calm some of the fears/concerns/suspicions that some have expressed on this thread about possible "evangelists" on this forum.

[hulamoon]

As I see it there are a few ways of dealing with the issue.

 

HAL could laugh off brand X's current issue and just be glad they hadn't participated themselves.

 

They could say, "Problem, questions? What problems and questions?" This is the ostrich solution.

 

Or they could notice that a lot of cruisers that are their customers want to know where they stand on the issue. So I for one am glad they decided to say something. Curious minds want to know and all that.

 

The original post asked, right? If they were quiet what would be left with thinking?

 

So thanks to Sarah and DBA for posting for us, it is just good PR I think.

[HeatherInFlorida]

...................

 

That a flock of poster geese who have long encouraged others to cruise their favored cruise line might be acknowledged by the cruise line, is indeed small potatoes, compared to some of the serious stuff happening on the internet.

 

Being skeptical about what we read on the internet is a good thing.

 

I completely agree, Hammybee. It's just that we weren't tackling that problem here. This is just an idle pastime and really not that important when considering all the real problems in the world.

 

It's for just that reason that a cruise message board would be the last place people would generally think they would run into deception.

 

Anyway, Sarah from HAL has told us we have no need to worry. HAL pays no one to shill for them here which I never expected they did. Even RCI is open and upfront about their "Champions", they're not keeping it a secret.

 

Beyond that, who knows? I'm careful about everything I read anywhere on the internet, including here, because I learned early on that things aren't always what they seem.:)

[Copper10-8]

Sarah is (was) here because HAL cares about its image and Sarah apparently has just a little bit to say about public relations for the company! Rather than have rumors/unsubstantiated assumptions/speculations out the ying yang/ah ha moments/little hairs on individual's backs that stand up (and I'm not referring to that Orang-Utang with #3 stencilled on his back at some NASCAR event in the other thread:eek:) run rampant, she stepped up to the plate and hit a home run out the park, thereby squashing all the aforementioned innuendos.

Oh and yes, Cannon in that pic with Joe, does look like a youinger version of the Rev:cool:

[Boytjie]

It's only natural that people would be skeptical Sarah, when you joined over a year ago and are only now contributing to the forum, however that being said it is true that not all of us post as frequent as others.

 

I joined CC in 2005 and my first post was in 2007 IIRC. Many lurk a while before diving in. :)

[OCruisers]

The ONLY thing positive I have to say about this whole unfortunate "Champion Thing":

 

:rolleyes: Very likely it happens more than we realize on all lines (not discussed favors) .... At least, RCCL is "up front" about it! :D

 

Whatever .... Any cruise line has the absolute right to do this ... and, while I don't care for it, very much support their right to do so.

[hulamoon]

I am waiting for the dust to settle, It could be there is more to the story... "than absolute rights."

 

Not much in life or advertising is really free. Not every campaign is successful.;)

[AlexandNessa]

I have to admit, I'm thinking exactly the same thing.

What does HAL care about what RCCL is doing, and what sort of fall-out is HAL trying to head off by getting their own PR mgr. involved in this thread?

These are my thoughts exactly. After all, the primary purpose of a PR agent is to create a favorable public image and downplay any negative exposures. If anything, I'm a bit more skeptical that a PR agent has come out of the woodwork for this.

[hulamoon]

Could it be Sarah was just answering the question?

[dam1050]

I am personally of the firm belief that ALL the cruise lines have their own set of "champions" on these boards, and I've felt that way for many years now - not that it bothers me. Frankly it makes me laugh to think that some take some of this stuff so seriously.

 

Obviously Cruise Critic has to make money from advertising and partner relationships in order to provide this free service to all of us.

 

I've taken many, many cruises on several lines over the years -- all enjoyable, none 'perfect in every regard' but to see some cheerleaders on each board rip apart any people who might say anything in the slightest against the particular cruise line or sailing that "they" fancy as if they could/can never do no wrong --- I'm sorry, that just doesn't wash with me. :)

 

It didn't take me long to realize that if one wasn't ALWAYS a total ra-ra-ra can do no wrong cheerleader for a particular line, then one really wasn't that popular on these boards. I guess that's why it's taken me almost a decade to make nearly a thousand posts. (if i make that far...)

 

Back to your regular scheduled posters ...

[sail7seas]

I feel very badly about all of this RCI stuff and the image it projects on other high number/eager posters who are enthusiastic about their particular cruise line.

 

There really and truly are people like me who enjoy our cruises, love the ships, and particularly the crews on HAL as much as we write here that we do. Our cruises are all wonderful to the point of my wanting to post and say so. NO ONE has ever once asked me to write anything. I have never written one word that wasn't of my choice with no 'payback' expected or given. I have free time and being on CC is one way I enjoy spending some of it.

 

I believe people from HAL read here and it wouldn't make sense for them to not do so. IF HAL has such a Champions arrangement I can tell you I've never heard of it and certainly am not a part of it. Shucks....... I wouldn't mind a free cruise!!! :D

 

I hate whenever what someone else does has the chance of sullying another person's word or reputation. While it might be possible to prove RCI is paying some people in kind, it is impossible for someone to prove they are not being paid or offered anything.

 

Thank you, Sarah, for entering the conversation. There are some who will remain cynical and skeptical and there's isn't much that can help that IMO I personally hope you'll remain here and post regularly. Your 'word of authority' info is very helpful.

 

 

 

 

[Lurker1]

I joined CC in 2005 and my first post was in 2007 IIRC. Many lurk a while before diving in. :)

 

Precisely! That's how I got my nick. (But it wasn't from HAL folks, but from a bunch of Cunarders on the QM2).

[Lurker1]

I feel very badly about all of this RCI stuff and the image it projects on other high number/eager posters who are enthusiastic about their particular cruise line.

 

There really and truly are people like me who enjoy our cruises, love the ships, and particularly the crews on HAL as much as we write here that we do. Our cruises are all wonderful to the point of my wanting to post and say so. NO ONE has ever once asked me to write anything. I have never written one word that wasn't of my choice with no 'payback' expected or given. I have free time and being on CC is one way I enjoy spending some of it.

 

I believe people from HAL read here and it wouldn't make sense for them to not do so. IF HAL has such a Champions arrangement I can tell you I've never heard of it and certainly am not a part of it. Shucks....... I wouldn't mind a free cruise!!! :D

 

I hate whenever what someone else does has the chance of sullying another person's word or reputation. While it might be possible to prove RCI is paying some people in kind, it is impossible for someone to prove they are not being paid or offered anything.

 

Thank you, Sarah, for entering the conversation. There are some who will remain cynical and skeptical and there's isn't much that can help that IMO I personally hope you'll remain here and post regularly. Your 'word of authority' info is very helpful.

 

 

 

I don't want a free cruise, just an upgrade. :D:D

I think many would agree that we appreciate the input from HAL personnel on this board, whether it's official from someone like Sarah, or from someone who posts, or someone who sets up a blog.