A couple on a Holland America cruise spent $600 to upgrade their room and got an extra feature not listed in the brochure: several maintenance men with a great view through the passenger windows as they sandblasted and hammered away at the lifeboats outside. The couple, who were on the ship for two weeks to celebrate their honeymoon, were told the noisy (and nosy) work would continue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the duration of the cruise.
That’s when the husband posted about the situation on Reddit, where it has garnered over 5,000 upvotes and who knows how many angry tweets to Holland America from internet users outraged on the couple’s behalf. Here are some quotes from the husband:
“Here’s what you get when you pay $600 to upgrade your room for your dream cruise. They’ll be there the whole time. Thanks, Holland America.”
“We have talked to the front desk. They can’t move us and they didn’t seem very interested in reimbursing us but said they will “see what they can do.” I’m sorry guys but I don’t want weird dudes staring at us during our honeymoon. So I figure maybe someone on Reddit knows what to do.”
“We definitely knew the view would be impaired. But I’ll tell you who doesn’t have an impaired view: the construction people, inside our room, for the whole cruise.”
“Front desk says they will be there for the duration of the cruise from 9 to 5. So you’re partially right. Not 24 hours a day. Just during the day. Still, we’re jetlagged and we’d like to nap.”
“Before I decided to post this video, I went to the front desk twice over the period of a few hours. They told me that the lifeboats are repaired on a cycle and that lifeboat 13 (the one outside my room) is up in that cycle. She clearly said they will be repairing it for the duration of the cruise, from 9-5. It has not been the whole cruise yet, we are trying to save our trip.”
“We’re going to hit the hot tub or something. Maybe get a drink. Didn’t think this would get as viral as it did, but hey, I’ll be waiting to hear from corporate. Still a very unsatisfied customer.”
The user went to bed without the issue resolved, but Reddit ‘magic’ occurred overnight in the form of a couple hundred tweets directed at Holland America, leaving their replies page a non-stop display of this cut and paste response:
Our team onboard has reached out and is working directly with the guest. Thank you for your concern.
— Holland America Line (@HALcruises) July 17, 2016
As for the poor newlyweds dealing with a different kind of grinding than they expected…
Around 9:30 last night, our room phone rang and it was the head of guest services. It was a very quick call but long story short, he said they were aware of the video and were engaged with discussions internally regarding how to handle it. I know very little else about their reaction to this.
They are refunding our $600 upgrade and comping us a nice dinner on the ship. They said they have something else in mind but are still discussing. I do not know what that means.
They can’t for sure say whether or not the maintenance outside our window will continue, although it appears that there is still plenty of work to do as far as I can tell, although that’s just my opinion.
They can’t move us because the ship is full, which I understand.
We have a plan to go do a long tour of Norway today so we’ll be off the ship for the night, returning tomorrow. This has not ruined our trip. We intend to have a blast and have another 2 weeks to do so.
A few dozen more articles like this should be enough to get Holland America cruises to make this situation right. A bunch of free drinks should help… I’m sure the PR department for the cruise line could use some as well.
(Via Reddit)