Veendam is horrible
May 15th, 2008, 06:40 AM
#21
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You're kidding ??? This is what the fuss is all about ?? Where is the stained and dirty carpet? HoleS in the wall. If I cannot put my fist in it, it is not much of a hole. I assume the pictures were extensively cropped to exaggerate the damage but it still doesn't look very severe. The room has had some wear and tear but nothing effects functionality.
When this post started it sounded over the top -- VEENDAM IS HORRIBLE. I expect some comments about the pool, the dinning room, food service that would support such a blanket statement. Then holes in the walls, filthy room in total disrepair, etc. and I expected a room trashed by a bunch of teenages. Now we are seeing a room with a few nicks and bumps. IMO, you trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. It just doesn't compute.
If the room was truly unclean, then that is unexcusable BUT easily corrected in about an hour and you seemed to imply that your hard working cabin steward did a good job. But complaining about a torn towel? I sure it was replaced the next day or within the hour if you asked.
I believe you in the sense that it is your perception of the turth. I not sure I would have shared the same perception. I have never counted or looked for the nicks and chips in my rooms.
We have done about 60 days of cruising, 20 with Holland Am, and there has always been little problems but it depends on you ability to roll with the situation.
Don't know your prior travel experience but this doesn't rise to the level of demanding half you money back. I have the feeling that Holland Am would be just as happy if you didn't cruise with them in the future.
When this post started it sounded over the top -- VEENDAM IS HORRIBLE. I expect some comments about the pool, the dinning room, food service that would support such a blanket statement. Then holes in the walls, filthy room in total disrepair, etc. and I expected a room trashed by a bunch of teenages. Now we are seeing a room with a few nicks and bumps. IMO, you trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. It just doesn't compute.
If the room was truly unclean, then that is unexcusable BUT easily corrected in about an hour and you seemed to imply that your hard working cabin steward did a good job. But complaining about a torn towel? I sure it was replaced the next day or within the hour if you asked.
I believe you in the sense that it is your perception of the turth. I not sure I would have shared the same perception. I have never counted or looked for the nicks and chips in my rooms.
We have done about 60 days of cruising, 20 with Holland Am, and there has always been little problems but it depends on you ability to roll with the situation.
Don't know your prior travel experience but this doesn't rise to the level of demanding half you money back. I have the feeling that Holland Am would be just as happy if you didn't cruise with them in the future.
May 15th, 2008, 07:13 AM
#23
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I see this kind of wear and tear in almost every hotel room or cruise cabin I have ever stayed in.
I sure would never call this horrible disrepair it is just normal wear. Do you expect cabins to completely replace chipped furniture every time it gets damaged? And a ripped towel can be replaced right away.
I can understand dirty but not just wear and tear.
I sure would never call this horrible disrepair it is just normal wear. Do you expect cabins to completely replace chipped furniture every time it gets damaged? And a ripped towel can be replaced right away.
I can understand dirty but not just wear and tear.
May 15th, 2008, 07:52 AM
#24
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Ripped towel? The cabin steward made a caterpillar for your enjoyment, as they always do, out of spear towels, and he deared to pick a towel not up to your standards? I've noticed you don't complain on the quality of your bath towels in the restroom area.
Chipped furniture - how many hotels can say they don't have any? Why do you expect anything ideal with customers changing every week or so? Your complains would be valid if the cabin would be dirty, it simply looks, as I said, your expectations were too high.
Chipped furniture - how many hotels can say they don't have any? Why do you expect anything ideal with customers changing every week or so? Your complains would be valid if the cabin would be dirty, it simply looks, as I said, your expectations were too high.
May 15th, 2008, 08:35 AM
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I can’t believe that the pictures you posted are what you are upset about. I didn’t see any of the filthy conditions you complained about. First of all – lesson learned for you – be sure you book a cabin that is in the location you want. Of course mid ship cabins are in a higher price category so don’t expect to get the lowest advertised price and get a prime area for your cabin.
The cabin had some wear and tear – to be expected you were not on one of the exclusive high priced ships that would cost you at least 4 or 5 times what you paid. I see that you expected ½ of your money back – looks like you paid less than $900 each taxes included. You couldn’t get a hotel room of the quality you would expect for that money let alone having 3 meals a day, entertainment and the experience of visiting new ports. I have stayed in $300/night hotel rooms that showed wear and tear but as long as the room is clean I would never complain. That’s life and that’s travel. If you are going to cruise again be prepared to pay a lot more for the accommodation you are expecting and understand that weather inunpredictable so ports can be cancelled. Its for your own safety – you should understand that.
The cabin had some wear and tear – to be expected you were not on one of the exclusive high priced ships that would cost you at least 4 or 5 times what you paid. I see that you expected ½ of your money back – looks like you paid less than $900 each taxes included. You couldn’t get a hotel room of the quality you would expect for that money let alone having 3 meals a day, entertainment and the experience of visiting new ports. I have stayed in $300/night hotel rooms that showed wear and tear but as long as the room is clean I would never complain. That’s life and that’s travel. If you are going to cruise again be prepared to pay a lot more for the accommodation you are expecting and understand that weather inunpredictable so ports can be cancelled. Its for your own safety – you should understand that.
May 15th, 2008, 10:47 AM
#27
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FainaAgain -- SHARP EYE -- good catch. You are correct, it is one of the towel animals. Didn't see that. And I am sure that towel was chosen for the ratty end. It fits. This has to be NJgal's first cruise. Too bad.
May 15th, 2008, 11:34 AM
#28
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LOL when I saw a towel animal the first night on my first cruise, I immediately went to the bathroom to see how many towels left. It was such a relief to see "my" towels are not used for that!
And on NJ's picture you can see, it's not a towel hanging on a rack, it's a neatly folded towel laying on a blanket on a bed.
My complaint was different: the animal was wearing MY spare glasses which I kept in a CLOSED glass case, like a box with a lid. The steward opened my case! Was it his business to do that? The cruise company only thanked me for letting them know
And on NJ's picture you can see, it's not a towel hanging on a rack, it's a neatly folded towel laying on a blanket on a bed.
My complaint was different: the animal was wearing MY spare glasses which I kept in a CLOSED glass case, like a box with a lid. The steward opened my case! Was it his business to do that? The cruise company only thanked me for letting them know
May 17th, 2008, 05:27 PM
#30
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NJgal, sorry about your disappointment. We each have our own standards. You have the right to be upset when your's are not met.
In some ways, IMO, HAL is a nice line. However, it is a mass market cruiseline, not luxury. So it is possible to experience many disappointing issues with them.
DH & I have many cruises with HAL & other mass market lines. We have had good cruises with HAL & one (our last) horrible cruise with HAL. The problem seems to be their "old" ships - yours was the Veendam, ours was the Maasdam. Our toilet became non-functioning so often & for so long that at one point we went 24 hours without one. I could not get the front desk staff to assist, other than saying a message has been left with maintenance. It finally got resolved towards the end of our cruise because we attended the Captains talk in the theater. Luckily I got the microphone & asked if he could possibly find anyone on the ship who would fix our toilet! It got fixed immediately. We did not get any sorrys or benefits from the Captain or from HAL. That's why we won't cruise with them again. Not because of the toilet, but because of the lack of customer service.
When I gave my report on cruisecritic, I was told that "sh_p happens"!
Hope your future trips are more pleasing for you.
In some ways, IMO, HAL is a nice line. However, it is a mass market cruiseline, not luxury. So it is possible to experience many disappointing issues with them.
DH & I have many cruises with HAL & other mass market lines. We have had good cruises with HAL & one (our last) horrible cruise with HAL. The problem seems to be their "old" ships - yours was the Veendam, ours was the Maasdam. Our toilet became non-functioning so often & for so long that at one point we went 24 hours without one. I could not get the front desk staff to assist, other than saying a message has been left with maintenance. It finally got resolved towards the end of our cruise because we attended the Captains talk in the theater. Luckily I got the microphone & asked if he could possibly find anyone on the ship who would fix our toilet! It got fixed immediately. We did not get any sorrys or benefits from the Captain or from HAL. That's why we won't cruise with them again. Not because of the toilet, but because of the lack of customer service.
When I gave my report on cruisecritic, I was told that "sh_p happens"!
Hope your future trips are more pleasing for you.
May 18th, 2008, 05:38 AM
#32
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Oh, you had a run in with the Fodor Nazis and bullies. Stay away from the Lounge in that case. They're brutal over there, especially if you don't agree with them.
I agree NJgal -- you should have expected more.
I agree NJgal -- you should have expected more.
May 18th, 2008, 08:20 AM
#33
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NJgal, please do post again. I'm sure in your travels you will have vital info to share with those of us who are truly interested. IMO what you have learned is what many of us have learned on many travel message boards. Use them for getting information important to you - they are wonderful for that.
If/when you share your viewpoints, be very specific about the fact that these are YOUR viewpoints, you have a right to them because your money paid for the trip, & those who don't agree, start their own thread! MOST IMPORTANT - then just ignore the posts you don't like & respond to the others. I've tried it & it works for me. You should have read the thread I started about where can we find American food in Italy because we didn't like their food - WOW!! But I was prepared for the irates & just utilialzed the valuable info from those who truly wanted to share info.
See you next time, Julie
If/when you share your viewpoints, be very specific about the fact that these are YOUR viewpoints, you have a right to them because your money paid for the trip, & those who don't agree, start their own thread! MOST IMPORTANT - then just ignore the posts you don't like & respond to the others. I've tried it & it works for me. You should have read the thread I started about where can we find American food in Italy because we didn't like their food - WOW!! But I was prepared for the irates & just utilialzed the valuable info from those who truly wanted to share info.
See you next time, Julie
May 18th, 2008, 09:26 AM
#34
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NJgal...If you do NOT post again, then "THEY" have won. And Fodors becomes "THEIRS".That is what they want.Not what the editors want.Your opinion is important.It counts.It keeps this a public forum, not private for those who use this and other forums for their own purposes.Like trying to convince the rest of the world they should be editor or Travel and Leisure.Or other travel magazines.Or that they should have their own websites....I say to that, get your own frickin website.Blog your blog, do it and leave me to the information of the public.
May 18th, 2008, 11:04 AM
#35
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BeachBoi, didn't know this was a contest. Who won? Who are they? I thought this was a discussion, pro and cons, evaluation of arguments, presentation of the facts, find the truth, who is being the bully?
May 18th, 2008, 03:01 PM
#36
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Ironically BB slams the supposed "rippers" with rips of his own. Nothing new there. Overall the tone of the replies were civil for the most part though a good dose of dismay was expressed due to the wide disparity between the descriptions given vs. what was actually seen in the pics. Was there some sarcasm? Yes but it sure could have been more. JM2C. Time to move on.
May 20th, 2008, 10:55 PM
#39
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I have been trying to stay away from this "discussion" but here is my 2 cents worth.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. No one ever wins if there is no discussions. Everyone loses if NJgal does not post again as we would have lost another point of view. By the way, perception is reality. If NJGal's perception is teh ship has poor maintenance, then to her, it is poor maintenance. It doesn't really matters what everyone else thinks or what the truth is.
We all have our perceptions and to us, that perception is real. How often we have felt that we were mistreated by someone (spouse, boss, parents, friends etc) and after the fact, we realiaed that we were not? But at the time, our perception is that we are being mistreated and to us, that was real.
Our perception is that the crusie lines are charging a fuel surcharge to make more money and gouge us. It doesn't matter when a barrel of oil was less than $65 when they set the price of the cruise and the oil is at almost $130 a barrel and still rising. Well, that's not our problem and the cruise lines should lose money becasue they did not gaze into their crystal ball and guess the right oil future price.
To us, that perception is reality. The cruise line is "nichol and dime-ing" us to death. What used to be free are now extra cost items. Our perception is gouging. The fact is the are just trying to stay afloat. No pun intended. If you don't believe me, just look at how the airline industry has chanegd since 911.
Back to NJGal's complaints. Based on the pictures, and some of the descriptions, I would say there are grounds for a legitimate complaint. Even for a mass market ship, they have to do better maintenance. The least they could have done is to fix the damaged trims to the furniture. Who will have to pay for the damaged expensive suits and evening gowns that ripped becasue of the poor reapir state of the furniture? Those suits and gowns can cost thousands of dollars.
You know what is my biggest pet pees for hotels? (and cruise ships too) It is the plugged, slow draining, bath tubs or shower stalls. There is nothing worst than taking a shower and standing in a pool of water not draining.
The usual cause for the plugged drain is hair and it is yucky. I would say at least 30% of the hotels (even the high end ones) has slow draining problems becasue the staff does not clean the clogged drains.
My solution? Carry a pair of surgical tweezers and disposal latex gloves and unclogged it myself. I would put the glob of hair in a water glass (complete with some water for effect) and take it down to the front desk and ask politely to see the manager.
Usually, you will get some startled looks, followed by an apology, and soemtimes, something complimentary. By the way, I sanitize my tweezers with the in room coffeemaker's hot boiling water after the deed.
So, NJGal, keep posting as your opinion is valuable. We all lose if you stop posting. By the way, if you do get a refund, good for you. If not, that's real life.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. No one ever wins if there is no discussions. Everyone loses if NJgal does not post again as we would have lost another point of view. By the way, perception is reality. If NJGal's perception is teh ship has poor maintenance, then to her, it is poor maintenance. It doesn't really matters what everyone else thinks or what the truth is.
We all have our perceptions and to us, that perception is real. How often we have felt that we were mistreated by someone (spouse, boss, parents, friends etc) and after the fact, we realiaed that we were not? But at the time, our perception is that we are being mistreated and to us, that was real.
Our perception is that the crusie lines are charging a fuel surcharge to make more money and gouge us. It doesn't matter when a barrel of oil was less than $65 when they set the price of the cruise and the oil is at almost $130 a barrel and still rising. Well, that's not our problem and the cruise lines should lose money becasue they did not gaze into their crystal ball and guess the right oil future price.
To us, that perception is reality. The cruise line is "nichol and dime-ing" us to death. What used to be free are now extra cost items. Our perception is gouging. The fact is the are just trying to stay afloat. No pun intended. If you don't believe me, just look at how the airline industry has chanegd since 911.
Back to NJGal's complaints. Based on the pictures, and some of the descriptions, I would say there are grounds for a legitimate complaint. Even for a mass market ship, they have to do better maintenance. The least they could have done is to fix the damaged trims to the furniture. Who will have to pay for the damaged expensive suits and evening gowns that ripped becasue of the poor reapir state of the furniture? Those suits and gowns can cost thousands of dollars.
You know what is my biggest pet pees for hotels? (and cruise ships too) It is the plugged, slow draining, bath tubs or shower stalls. There is nothing worst than taking a shower and standing in a pool of water not draining.
The usual cause for the plugged drain is hair and it is yucky. I would say at least 30% of the hotels (even the high end ones) has slow draining problems becasue the staff does not clean the clogged drains.
My solution? Carry a pair of surgical tweezers and disposal latex gloves and unclogged it myself. I would put the glob of hair in a water glass (complete with some water for effect) and take it down to the front desk and ask politely to see the manager.
Usually, you will get some startled looks, followed by an apology, and soemtimes, something complimentary. By the way, I sanitize my tweezers with the in room coffeemaker's hot boiling water after the deed.
So, NJGal, keep posting as your opinion is valuable. We all lose if you stop posting. By the way, if you do get a refund, good for you. If not, that's real life.
May 21st, 2008, 02:18 AM
#40
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If we have a disagreement over an issue and the other party leaves because of it its not our loss IMHO. Its their choice so just move on. I would like to see NJ back but its really up to her. I can't control her behavior so for me its not my loss really. Maybe its hers. JM2C.
