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Name: Theodore H. Focht
Email: tfocht@cusave.com
Age: 63
Occupation: Attorney
NumberOfCruises: 30
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Holland-Statendam
SailingDate: March 29,1998
Itinerary: Hawaii
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 97
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 88
DeckService: 93
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 93
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 88
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 93
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 98
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 98
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 93
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 88
SpaceRatio: 98
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 30 Apr 1998
Time: 20:27:07
Remote Name: 204.96.211.207
Remote User:
Comments
This was a 16 day cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii and back. Because of that itinerary,
it had the disadvantage of 5 1/2 days at sea sailing from LA to
Hawaii; then 5 days of port calls in Hawaii; followed by 5 1/2 days of sailing back to LA;
however there really is not a thing HAL can do about that. Overall
the cruise was very enjoyable and met our expectations based on our past experience with
Holland America. They do most of the important things very
well, and the areas where they slip a little are usually not that significant and their
slip is not so bad. The ship is beautiful and well maintained. The staff is
friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and adds to the enjoyment of the cruise. The service -
both in the dining room and from our room steward - was what we
have come to expect from HAL. It is one area in which they seem to excel. The ports of
call were delightful - but then how could one miss with the Hawaiian
islands? We had 5 ports of call at four of the islands, and that provided a nice sampling
of what the islands have to offer - from the 'big city' feel of
Honolulu to the natural beauty of the Big Island. This otherwise fine cruise experience
was marred somewhat by two very disturbing events during the
cruise. 1. The first occurred before we even sailed from the Los Angeles Harbor (San
Pedro). The ship discharged some of its fuel into the harbor. This
resulted in the authorities, understandably, putting a hold on the ship until the 'spill'
was cleaned up and the cause was established and corrected. As a
consequence, our scheduled sailing at 6 PM was delayed approximately 11 hours - we in fact
sailed about 5 AM the next morning. The unfortunate result
of that late sailing was that we could not reach the Hawaiian Islands on schedule, and the
itinerary had to be revised. This resulted in a shorter time in
some of the ports, and it was a disappointment to many passengers. Since the only
explanation we received for the fuel spill was that 'some fuel from the
fuel tanks leaked into the ballast tanks and was discharged into the harbor when the
ballast was discharged', it seemed to many of us that it was HAL's
fault for the delay and inconvenience. 2. The second disturbing event was the appearance
of a very violent and distressing gastrointestinal illness which
afflicted a substantial per centage of the passengers very early in the cruise. It started
while we were sailing to the islands. . It was so bad that inspectors
from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta boarded the ship at two ports of call in
Hawaii to investigate and try to determine the cause. By the end of
the trip the CDC had not issued any report or findings so at the time of this writing we
still do not know what the problem was or what was the cause. The
'best guess' of most of the folks we talked to was that there was something in the food or
water aboard. Both of the problems we encountered are the
types of things which can occur when one travels. However, in both instances, we are of
the opinion that HAL must bear some responsibility for the events.
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