John Russell

Jan 9, 2025

Sometimes Good Things Change

My wife and I did our first Holland America cruise in October 2024. It was an egalitarian experience where everybody in the common areas seemed to enjoy the same quality and level of service. Many seemed to appreciate the Lido Buffet area and fare. There were always many food choices, reasonable food quality, plenty of seating etc. And good company was all around us. There was a certain positive and friendly vibe to the Lido area. We personally met many varied and interesting people at the Lido. It often was as simple as asking if we could join a couple at their table. Actually, we thought it was one of the best parts of our trip. The vibe continued and in many cases grew as we experienced the wonders of Alaska together. We liked this cruise so much that we booked a second HAL cruise to the Eastern Caribbean in early December 2024. The second cruise started out much like the first one. Then things changed after a couple of days aboard. All of a sudden, curtains went up along one full side of the Lido pool deck area, reducing pool area seating and many scenic views greatly. We were told these cordoned areas were restricted and had up-charges for their usages. Shortly afterwards, "special dinner meal" areas, with more up-charges, also presented themselves in the Lido seating area. This meant that two very large areas at each end of the Lido were physically cordoned off. This is the first time when Lido users literally had to search for a table. It was not uncommon to see sailors standing with dinner plates in hand waiting for a table vacancy. This was the first of two times when I had to clean my own table and stack used plates from my table to sit with many other used plates on a table across the aisle from where we settled. A paying client should not have to perform these tasks. It was also the first two or three times when we were asked to vacate our lunch table so that staff could start preparing tables for the up-charge dinner service that evening. So much for enjoying an unhurried drink and pleasant conversation with new sailing friends after lunch. When I ran into my first up-charge dinner experience, the one and only server was trying his best to keep up with the action. He simply couldn't keep up. It was my distinct impression service focus had shifted to the up-charge areas and the Lido experience suffered accordingly. This was now a different cruising experience. I felt this change enough that I approached a food services manager (based on his uniform) and expressed my feelings to him. I did preface my comments by saying that I understood HAL's had a right to alter services to improve their bottom line. I did stress however that I felt that things were clearly different from our first HAL cruise. Frankly, he seemed indifferent and defensive. I could have related my sentiments more tactfully and gracefully to the manager. But I approached him on the spur of the moment. In hindsight, I should have walked away and pondered my feelings and responded in a more measured way. That is really my goal with this review. By the way, I have absolutely no difficulty in HAL selling different and more discriminating cabin packages. These are personal choices with personal amenities, priced accordingly. My comments are really geared to what I thought were the ship's common areas where all sailors were naturally intermingling, dining etc. And there seemed to be a conscious effort on the part of the crew to promote and nurture these interactions. Let me remind HAL re: this ship, that when you start to alter things in many ways, there will be changes in the 'feel' of an operation. There will be fall-out. Of course, the risk you run is that you drive repeat clients away especially as they seek to find the enduring allure they thought they had found with HAL For example, my wife and I have booked two other cruise since our December 2024 trip; one to the Panama Canal and one to the Caribbean. These dollars could have easily been put in HAL's register instead of going to a competitor. Does this mean that we wouldn't consider HAL for future cruises. No, not at all. But it would be fair to say that, at least, our expectations will be different. And by trying out competitive cruises, we may or may not book HAL again. Let me conclude by saying that HAL can run its business in any way it sees fit. But I would stress if this re-engineering were to continue that they not lose sight of the ambience in the Lido area and work to maintain and sustain it. And, at the very least, they should work diligently to provide acceptable service levels and comfort in the Lido area. Finally, I would caution any future HAL sailors to be prepared for this new way of doing business, assuming the re-engineering continues, and make their spending and cruise line choices accordingly.