TyinPS

This was my 32nd cruise and the worst of all. The itinerary was the Black Sea. On embarkation noticed one quarter of those on board (embarked at an earlier port)and a chunk of staff including kitchen were coughing and sneezing. 2 days into 14 day cruise, I got it. On return advised by my doc that I contracted an easily transmittable viral bronchitis. Ships med denied all and just said it was fall flu or a reaction to their ac. MAny spend days in bed. Muster on this ship incomplete. This was to prove itself 2 am onthe second day when we awoke to the signal of emergency and ran to our muster station. No crew there. Following this a message fromt he captain to return to our cabins and await word of the fire on the Lido deck. Stories varied later. Food was bad and served poorly. Exec chef and bakery chef finally admitted that desserts were commercial frozen items brought onboard. More often I saw crew eating their meals in upscale dining room but all dining rooms shared about the same menus and had the same poor desserts. No welcome aboard, just a one hour hard sell on future cruises by the cruise director's wife. Culinary class first day mostly preempted by the same person for same purpose. Comedian told inappropriate minority joke but was defended by the cruise director who was a 12 year friend. Cruise director also told a homophobic joke. Average age of cruiser 75. 2 I met put onthis ship by their children as a substitute nursing home. SOme onthsi ship months. Avoid this please.

jacketwatch

Sorry to ehar of your bad time. A few thoughts;
1. Unfortunately illnesses can spread rapidly. This is not HAL's fault though their response to it is in question. Yes, it could have been a flu strain.
2. If the muster situation is as you described it should be reported to whoever is in charge os ships' safety conditions whether that be OSHA or whoever else.
3.Frozen desserts? Is this the practice on other mass market lines too?
4. I have never, ever seen ANY crew members allowed to eat in passenger areas. Sorry, I don't believe this one.
5. I once reported an off color joke or situation to CCL and they gave me a serious and well worded reply. Have to tried this approach with HAL?
6. As for the age comment that is very inappropriate on your part. That shows no respect for older people and you will be one some day.

Percy

When I see "old"(and that is relative) people on a cruise ship (or elsewhere).. I think of how hard the person probably worked during his lifetime.

He lived through the Great Depression...perhaps endured the hardships of World War II.

Now here he is at age (perhaps 80) and he is on a cruise ship , still wanting to enjoy life.

Maybe he walks a little slower and his mind is not as sharp as it once was ...and maybe that twinkle in his eye is a littler dimmer now....
BUT

Do you know what.... he HAS lived to age 80...there are many people in life that never attain that goal.

There is No secret to getting old..there is only one criteria..
YOU HAVE TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH!

he has done it and TyinPS,you may get to 80!!!
and if you do.

I hope the younger people of your day, don't make comments about a bunch of 80 year olds on a cruise ship. Because you will be one of them !

Percy

jacketwatch

Hello Percy: Hows the weather up north? Tomorrow it looks pretty nice here and I have a tee time. Hopefully there will be a few more B4 the yr. is out.

Percy

The weather right now is good. I went bike riding this afternoon.

I put the golf clubs away about 2 weeks ago.

I'm a fair weather golfer,I do not like playing golf in the cooler temperatures.... if I have to wear a jacket,then I do not want to play !!

Make sure to Vote for me on Tuesday
Percy

jacketwatch

Actually I play until they close the course, weather permitting. As long as the wind is not howling its OK for me, up to say 45 F and as long as I can walk. Then you stay pretty warm. I am voting on Tues. for sure and as you are a legend here I'll write in "Percy from Fodors." That should do it.

Paulchili

Percy - you should have said you were running.
I would have written you in as well - it's too late now as I had sent mine in already.
Next time

traveller69

Hi Percy -I haven't checked in with you since our Med cruise. It was wonderful. We didn't join my brother on the back to back due to some medical issues but the 15 day cruise from Copenhagen to Athens was one of my favourite cruises (I even got my 300 day medallion and of course sat with the Captain - aren't I special!!!) We took your advice and upgraded to a water view room at the Marriott in Copenhagen. We could actually see the Rotterdam on the horizon as she was arriving that morning. My brother did the Alla tour in St Petersburg with a group I put together for them on cruise critics. They were very impressed with the tour and Alla arranged tickets for them to Swan Lake at the Hermitage as well. Also he printed out your detailed walking guide for the other cities and followed them. He thanks you for that - just excellent.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth to the OLD 75 year average age. You put it very well and I must say that two of my very good friends are ladies in their 80's and I have trouble keeping up with them. Not to mention sense of humour and computer skills!!! Perhaps tyinPS should learn that age is just a number - its how you live your life that counts. I personally plan on staying young forever - even if I am lucky enough to make it to 100!! (and yes I do have quite a few years to go)

jacketwatch

Lets get the OP on the dance floor with Cloris Leachman. My bet is on the old gal.

Percy

Hi traveller69

I am so glad you had a great time and that you upgraded to the waterfront view in Copenhagen.

What did you think of the Church of our Saviour.?
The one with the outside circular staircase wrapping around the steeple.

I was foolish enough to climb it to the top.!!

I could see the Church from my hotel room window.

Alla does a fantastic job for people off the cruise ship in St.Petersburg.

I could not complain about a single item of the tour Alla planned for me after I gave her the details of what I wanted to do and see.

I trust you did not get lost in Tallinn's winding streets !

Glad my "walking guide" trip report helped you in some of the other places.

Yes , I agree, there is never a reason to be critical of older people.

Thank you very much for remembering me and for letting me know about your cruise.
That is so kind of you.

Paulchili:

You can always vote twice !!

jacketwatch:

45 F is a little too cool for me to golf especially if there is a blowing wind. That is only 7 degrees C.

I will be glued to the TV Tuesday Night.

Good Night everyone
Percy

lindam

Wow...we are booked on Prinsendam Sept. 6. People actually pay more money (I've heard) to sail her, because she is a special ship, and also sells out quickly.

I am sorry you had a bad time. Sometimes those things happen, for whatever reason. When you're not feeling well, it can color your perspective on the entire situation. I really don't think we can blame the cruiseline/ship for illnesses, though. What can they do??? We take our chances everytime we go into public places, including hospitals.

Maybe because Prinsendam is so small, there isn't room for baking all of the desserts. I'm sure I would have no problem gaining weight, no matter what.

We are looking forward to our trip on Prinsendam. I'm sure HAL would never let her become second rate. And actually, we prefer an older, classier crowd.

At least this was your 32nd cruise!! Our second(out of 18) was a disaster, but we didn't let it get to us, because we knew there would be more cruises to come. In fact, we are hitting some of the same ports in January that were rained out on that cruise.

ParrotMom

Thank you Percy about your def,. of OLD..Parrot Pop may walk with a cane..but he can be fun to know, very open minded, (liberal) and we are travelers..We dont do the safe islands.. we have been to Machu Pichu before it became a tourist trap, spent a week in Cartegena, roughed it in Costa Rica, been several spots in venezuela..Aruba and most of the Caribbean Islands turn us off.. Not only that..we don't want to hang around with old people..lol..Although on our last cruise met a couple a tad younger than us who were fascinating.. Many years ago on one of our first cruises we were sat with some really, really old people. Well, it seems that one of the gentlemen was the hit of the ship,they had cruised everywhere, he sang love songs to his wife (try to stop him..lol) and flew planes, sang in the church choir and their next trip was to the Amazon..and t his was more than 20 plus years ago.. So, TyinPS... don't turn up your nose at meeting an older person.. you might find them interesting and somebody you might want to follow in t heir footsteps as y ou age. The funniest compliment we have ever gotten was....We want to be like you when we get older..lol..

traveller69

Percy - I just want to let you know that not only did we see the Church of Our Saviour I very proudly pointed the stairs out to everyone and told them I knew someone who did actually go to the top. The only thing that took me by surprise in Copenhagen is trying to cross the street at rush hour - that is BYCYCLE rush hour. Wow - I saw everything from the fanciest new ones to the type I learned to ride on - no three speed then!

I must send you an email to tell you about our Athens stay. Just incredible as we have a friend there.

FainaAgain

I was on a cruise, where the captain announced on the loud-speaker: wash your hands often with soap, do not use public bathroom, if you have symptoms see the ship doctor immediately.

They also watched people entering buffet and restaurants to make sure they sanitize their hands with the liquid provided by ship.

Was the same done on your cruise, Tyin?

(and for the record, none of 4 of us cruising got sick except sea sickness for 2 at the start)

Percy

ParotMom:

Thanks for the comments ..I figured you and Pop were world travellers.

Traveller69:

Yes,when I look at pictures of the Church of Our Saviour ,I cannot believe I made it to the very top.!!

And to make matters worse I had to take some pictures, once I reached the top..........so here I was grasping the rail with one hand so tight that I had white knuckles..
and
taking pictures with the other hand.

I just told myself to not look straight down...just look ahead and take pictures!!

I too was amazed by the bicycles and took pictures of them going to work in the morning.
But you know they are not riding on the road.

The sidewalk for pedestrains is at one level.
The next lower lovel is the bicycle riding path(sidewalk)

then finally ..there is the road.
So Copenhagen has a separate bicycle path for the bike riders that is not on the road level..

although in parts they are riding on the main road but it is marked off by a white line and bicycles painted on the concrete to signify that this is for bike riders only.

I was impressed.

Tell me about Athens,, I had a good time there.
Percy

TyinPS

As a follow up, I had written a letter to Holland American. The response I received 2 months later was a form letter that said "We are sorry you were not pleased (they pushed it off on me), we will pass your comments on and we will grant you a $100 ship board credit on your next cruise with us. Duh???
By the way, for the person who did not believe the staff was eating with the cruisers, well, the cruise director's wife (the one who tried selling on the first gathering) who said they just ate at the Pinnacle the night before and it was wonderful. many times I walked by the "upscale" restaurant we saw staff including once a table of 6 of them..and in work clothes. I ate there one night and had the same almost unfrozen stale pie..I have no problem with age. I am a senior myself (60)..and disabled..but felt it was best to advise of the average age. That was a FACT not a commentary. Sorry some are so sensitive about their age. I hope to be proud and not so sensitive if I ever reach older years. I am cruising on the Splendor in a few months and off to europe in the fall. Never Holland American again.

TyinPS

BTW, I reported the muster issue to the Cruise Director, the captain and later to Holland American in my letter. The said they would look into it and respond to me. I never got an acknowledgement after that. There were hand sanitizers all over the ship even outside the dining rooms. Hand sanitizers are not proven to be effective. They give false assurances and can remove helpful elements from your skin. Read some recent articles on it.I have read other responses on other sites and many have had a similar problem with this ship.
There were also some repeat cruisers on this ship who wanted to extend their voyage from Athens back to the US but didn't as the cruise line would not budge off brochure prices for the Athens Lauderdale run. They had cruised HOLL many years and said they would never again.

Also, I do not see a benefit to anyone searching this ship evaluation reading extended detailpersonalchat between some posters. or hearing personal insults hurled on posters like me by Percy/Parrot and "69"traveller.

TyinPS

..and for those of you new to cruising, the average age of the typical cruiser will help determine the type of entertainment and other aspects of the cruise. The singers/dancers I spoke with defined, with a sigh, their programs as something like Lawrence Welk meets vaudville. My friend booked this for us as a gift and it was too late then to ask the question.

jacketwatch

Thansk for the reply. I still don't believe you inre to the crew eating w/ passengers, esp. in on eof the upscale restaurants. Thats even more incredible. Sorry. Also you could not be more wrong about the effects of hand sanitizers and hand washing. As a nurse for nearly 30 yrs. hand washing was and still is THE most effective way to reduce the spread of infection.

TyinPS

It was the captain, the cruise director and his employee wife, a girl who worked in the store, the guy over entertainment and several others. You don't have to believe anything that you don't want to hear, that's up to you. You also need to update yourself on the hand sanitizer situation. My brother is a family doctor and he showed me current articles in his med journals. Not sure how this helps when people sneeze and cough in close contact anyway.