There was no type of a welcome beverage when we boarded the ship. And the passengers did not participate in the formal gala attire at dinners.
Nothing was done to celebrate the new year – Besides a few flimsy swag New Years hats we saw being given out. As we had booked specifically a New Year’s cruise, we were let down that there was nothing special about it at all. Except for wishing the staff – who were wonderful-happy new year every time we talked with them.
So it was a diminished experience and disappointment overall. Food quality was especially disappointing. Aside from the main dinner menus, it seemed that each Chef had been tasked with creating a meal that cost $.50 to serve. It was quite obvious that cutbacks were made, likely due to the monetary loss from Covid shut down over the past two years. However we were still expecting the value and the quality level of experience as we had in pre-Covid times.
If we had been advised to lower our expectations, we would not have been so disappointed.
But rather, all of the messaging seem to imply that it was business as usual. Which it was not.
Our state room 8168 was awesome. No complaints about the room or the accommodations.
The staff was extremely kind, genuinely helpful and very happy. We really appreciated all of the staff members on our cruise.
Incidentally when we got home we found out that the Covid rate was up to 400% in Jalisco, Mexico. Nobody mentioned anything about additional safety measures when disembarking in Puerto Vallarta. Which I thought was very strange.
We really appreciated all of the staff members on our cruise.
Some of the guests, adults and children, were wearing their mask below their nose, or under their chin. Most of the time the ninth deck was covered with unmasked passengers.
We saw the crew on the other hand, meticulously cleaning and sanitizing all over the ship. That was an inconsistency with many passengers on board. I think if there was an area for unmasked passengers to be separate and segregated from the masked passengers that may help eliminate the feeling of not being safe.
We spent the last two days in our room, knowing that there was Covid aboard the ship. For the last 36 hours, after New Year’s Eve dinner in the main dining room, we did not leave our state room until it was time to disembark. Then that was quite a disorganized fiasco.
We had port by port, decided it was better for us to forgo shore excursions, for safety’s sake. In fact we did not even disembark at any of the ports.
It would have been nice if the captain had provided safety information regarding Covid on the ship and advice for trecking ashore. Rather than trying to hide it, we would’ve appreciated acknowledgment of the facts and truthful honesty.
The CDC had come out with an announcement that no person vaccinated or not should cruise at all. This announcement came out Dec 30, during the time we were on board the Koningsdam. Despite this alarming health update and the Koningsdam being in the news a day before we sailed, there was not a peep of a word mentioned about Covid-19. In times where crisis is blatantly obvious, it’s best to acknowledge that and to go with the flow making sure that you retain open communication.
Instead it felt like everything was being brushed under the rug so to speak. It was like there was a deep dark secret that nobody wanted to talk about. The captain just said, “Wear your mask so we can keep sailing.” However if people didn’t wear their mask, nobody said anything.
Also, the loudspeaker in the room only worked once, when the crew was conducting drills and a mention of “hard quarantine” and “quarantine” came blaring into our stateroom. For all other announcements during the week, we had to open the cabin door each time we wanted to hear an announcement from the hallway loudspeaker. So apparently the crew did not know how to operate the loudspeaker correctly for the state rooms to hear daily announcements.
I think the lack of communication from Holland America, added to a feeling of insecurity. As our ship was in the news the day before our departure (the news about the Koningsdam was not able to disembark passengers at Puerto Vallarta). This made us feel concerned wondering why we had not heard directly from the cruise line, regarding additional safety measures or reassurances regarding our cruise. Let alone, we were wondering if the ship would be sailing back towards PV the next day or not.
The HAL offices were closed for the holidays when I tried to call and find out. Holland America could have provided personal email or communication via the Navigator app regarding the safety and protection and reassurance that the ship was still sailing despite the news. I think educating customers would be helpful. After watching the countdown on the navigator app for 63 days until our cruise, it would’ve been helpful to have some real time communication regarding the crisis updates.
We have cruised over 30 times, with Royal Caribbean, Princess, Norwegian, and even carnival, and Viking. We were hoping to fall in love with Holland America, since it leaves right from our hometown San Diego, and offers a lot of nice routes that we would enjoy.
However this experience has left us not wanting to return to Holland America lines, we will rather fly to another port city to take a cruise on another cruise line. It’s too bad because we had really hoped to have a long lasting cruising relationship with Holland America lines. I feel like there was an opportunity lost in attracting and retaining us as loyal cruise customers.
We gave our time, money and expectations to Holland America and in return did not feel reciprocated.
And now here I am, taking more than an hour or two out of my day, to provide feedback regarding me and my husband and our experience on your cruise line. We have things to do and are busy with work which now I have taken time away to provide HAL with valuable insights that hopefully will improve experiences for hundreds of future passengers and what do I get for that?
Probably nothing. If you ask customers to take a survey and they provide valuable information that should be more valuable to Holland America than the customer who silently deletes the survey, which I typically do and never gives you their business again.
Making sure that communication is proper, given at the right time and place, in a timely manner and appropriately distributed would be a good start on making the Holland America experience better.
Another thing you could do, would be to reimburse the $119.00 for our shore excursion that we did not take in Puerto Vallarta. My husband was not feeling well, due to a recent surgery and accident, and we did not want to take the additional risk of going to shore. Incidentally when we got home we found out that the Covid rate was up to 400% in Jalisco, Mexico. Nobody mentioned anything about additional safety measures when disembarking in Puerto Vallarta. Which I thought was very strange.
Would we go again? If we were offered the opportunity to cruise again with Holland America, we may reconsider it once Covid is less prevalent.
But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself.
February 18, 2023
#myjourneys
