Some Changes I’ve Noticed.

I fear that the financial crisis coupled with the autocratic nature of bean-counting has severely affected the quality of luxury cruising. Holland-America has always had a good reputation for service, comfort and efficiency. I have seen all of this deteriorate since my last cruise 15 months ago. The staff seems less trained in protocol and decorum. If I inquired about a difficulty 15 months ago, the response was “It will be taken care of immediately.” It usually was. Now the response is “I’m sorry, there has been a computer problem we cannot control” or else it is suggested that the passenger may be in error. Even if the passenger might be in error, isn’t it better simply to try to correct the problem first? You would never hear a representative say “I’m sorry but your party is not in our computer, especially after having been presented with the entire HAL boarding package, personalized ticket books and “Signature early boarding passes” in each of our names. One would think that regardless of your faith in the computer it is very likely that we are legitimate passengers and our documentation should be sufficient to board. Our prepaid HAL Excursions were also lost and we were asked to provide proof that we had purchased them. The credit card information we had supplied for each stateroom was also lost.
After our boarding debacle and subsequent “glitches” [HAL’s word] over the next two days we inquired about some type of compensation. We weren’t looking for a free cruise just some expression to let us know that they understood what we had encountered and how it affected our attitude toward the Holland-America Line. Their expression was a small dish of candies in Saran Wrap.
Some changes I have noticed are also worth mentioning. In the Lido dining room one can avoid the formality of a fancy restaurant for a casual “cafeteria” setting. The choice of food is good and set up in stations one can move through or skip according to appetite. They have decided to do away with trays. Unless you are gifted with more than tow arms like an exotic deity you must fill your salad plate, take it to your table, fill you entree plate, take it to the table, select your beverages, take them to the table, select your dessert, take it to the table and select your bread and starters and take them to the table. You do work up a good appetite but, really! Not new but also quite annoying is that carbonated beverages cost extra. You can by a “soda” card [20 for $18.00] but it is only good on glasses of soda, usually ¾-filled with ice. A whole can of Coke costs the same as the Frigo-Bar. They don’t sell enough alcohol that they need to supplement the coffers with high fructose corn syrup? I remember on the Rotterdam that the dessert display was the first thing you saw when you entered the Lido Restaurant. It is now delegated a to a small refrigerated case by the ice cream machines [which are often on the fritz].
There are no more coin-op laundry facilities. You can wash your stuff in the sink or use their service. Socks, undershorts or panties are $2.00 a pair. Shirts and blouses are $3.50; slacks $4.00. Is this high? I have not used a laundry service before but it seems high. They do have package options but they don’t include dry-cleaning or express service. On the plus side, their robes [quite comfortable and available in many sizes [even mine] are only $49.00 if you would like to purchase one.
Lastly, I fear that HAL is now marketing to the Families-with-Out-of-Control- Kids demographic. It used to be a line that you could be fairly certain would not be over-run by undisciplined children running roughshod in the dining rooms, hallways, library and stairwells. It’s beginning to resemble a Disney or Carnival Caribbean cruise. We are now docked in Barcelona and I am looking out the window at Montjuic. A wonderful day is in store.