While on a recent cruise with RSVP Vacations which was chartered on the Holland America MS Zuiderdam, I experienced an extreme lack of service and attention to detail that surprised me based on Holland America’s Prideful push that this ship was the first of your 5 Star Vista Line.

Our cruise was the second leg of a two week charter, and while waiting in line to enter the terminal, I spoke with someone who had taken part of the first week leg of the trip. He seemed to be overjoyed about not only the trip but also highly praised the Odyssey Restaurant. Before embarking on my trip I had read some web site reviews of the ship, and those were mostly negative. I however, having spent many years in the hotel industry took both perceptions into account and boarded the ship with absolutely no preconceived expectations except to have the time of my life.

Upon boarding and going to our rooms, we found everything to be clean, and in order. A couple of my friends found some personal items from the previous guest left in their nightstand however. We then strolled through the ship, making it to the dinner reservations table where the officers from the ship and RSVP staff handled our reservations efficiently.

After checking out the ship I joined my friends in their cabin, whereupon their luggage was delivered. I have to say the luggage was delivered far quicker than on my previous cruise (Carnival). Their cabin steward appeared and we asked a few questions. One of which was where the laundry room was (I had previously read on the web that this ship charged for many things that were free on other ships and so I wanted to test it). He indicated in broken English that there were no Laundry/Ironing areas. It would be necessary to turn in laundry to the laundry service.

I soon was to experience a number of events that would qualify this ship as having the worst service I have ever experienced in my life.

My group proceeded to the Lido Pool Aft to enjoy the ship’s leaving Ft. Lauderdale. I first experienced a bartender at the Lido Bar that spoke broken English, and did not exert any customer service skills at all. He slowly moved throughout his station taking an order every minute or so and rumbled around arranging glasses, wiping the bar and taking his time to complete an order. When I finally asked him for my order it took a good 3-4 minutes to complete the transaction. My initial thought was, if the cruise ship makes money on the bars, why he was moving so slowly to accommodate us?

After that, my group and I proceeded to enjoy our voyage towards Key West!

I later joined my group for our early dining assignment. We all gathered at our table and upon ordering found that the waiter was unaware of the menu as one guest at our table asked about what were the ingredients included in a desert dish. He was unable to respond. I later asked, (as I had before on Carnival without question) for a copy of the dinner menu. The waiter acted hesitant, which I accepted, because I was on the early dining schedule. There was a later seating, after all. He came back a few minutes later and said that he would hold a menu for me and give it to me the next day. This was certainly acceptable but then he came back to me 10 minutes later and said he checked with his supervisor and it was a new “regulation” that they cannot give out menus, but instead, we could buy them! I immediately thought this was a sham because the menus were printed with the RSVP name and could never be used again. It is a piece of paper that would be thrown away later. I also have to comment that when we first boarded the ship, we went to the Lido Restaurant and enjoyed the food served there. I later found that I did not enjoy the food at the Vista Dining Room for most dinners. One night I ordered the Filet Mignon and it came out tasting like dried up Roast Beef. I had to refuse it and reorder the Duck. This was slightly better. The Captain’s Dinner was a disappointment for my friends and me in that they did not have Steak and Lobster available. I’ve heard this is a staple for that dinner. The night that Lobster was available, it was spongy and ill-prepared.

Later in the week it became apparent that the Odyssey Restaurant was booked or not available. We learned that it was due to the fact that on the first leg of the cruise many people had booked reservations and did not show up. Therefore they released much of the staff for the second leg. Many nights, I had friends that were on the wait list and went to see if they could get in. They saw only a handful of people and many empty tables but could still not be seated. It was later relayed that due to the above, there was not enough staff to allow other entries. This poses the question, if there is a service that was not utilized by another cruise’s guests, should the following guests have to deal with that consequence? Perhaps there should be a regulation that if someone is 15 minutes late for their reservation, the table would be released. With this standard the staff could have been retained for our cruise and they would have made the money. Money is another issue. The literature that I received prior to the cruise was misleading. What I read was that there was no charge, however it was suggested that if you wanted to tip the wait staff it is advisable because that may be the only time you see them. The reality was it was fifteen dollars a head to experience it…plus tip I am sure!.

The breakfast routine was also very awkward. They had three buffet lines going, the first one had the regular items plus they were preparing fried eggs and omelets (one order at a time). The second one was just fast buffet items (scrambled eggs, bacon, etc) and then the third one had the same. For some reason everyone always went to the first one and the line was always long. Could they not just have one buffet for the items that took longer and had more orders being done at once? Finding anything other than coffee or tea was challenging as well. Glasses of orange juice and punch were left in obscure locations that many of us didn’t see until the 4th day. I also found muffins and croissants, but never found anywhere to make toast.

In the evening of the first night when we expected to enjoy the early entertainment in the Vista Lounge we had comedian Judy Gold performing. She started the show in a fabulous fashion and had the crowd very pleased until during one of her punch lines an alarm sounded. It was a short time before the Captain (or his assistant) came on the speaker and announced that there was a fire on board! He indicated that they would investigate the event and notify us of further developments. Immediately my friends became alarmed, but Judy Gold continued with her act and hoped to ease the fear. Unfortunately, every time she was to deliver a punch line the alarm would sound. With each alarm, the Captain (or Assistant) sounded more frantic. Eventually there was an announcement for all personnel to report to their station. It was at this time that I noticed even the lighting booth in the showroom was vacant of employees. I immediately had thoughts of a fire breaking out and 900 guests in the showroom panicking. My initial thought was that the cruise ship played such an importance of the lifeboat drill from a person’s room, but nothing was stated about what should happen when in another part of the ship. Should I report to my same muster station? If so, where was I to get a life jacket? There might not be enough time to get to my room to get my life jacket and then proceed to my muster station! Frightening! It turned out that it was apparently an electrical fire from some device (a laptop that was plugged into the outlet under the TV on the desk). We were never informed. If it was some device that was plugged in by a guest, I would assume they would make an announcement to all passengers to make sure the problem did not occur again. This did not happen. It may be one of those “new ship” things.

The following day, we docked in Key West and enjoyed the day, and then upon returning to the ship we planned for the evening’s events. A short time into the evening while at a party, my cabin mate came to me and relayed that he went through the ship on the Lido deck trying to find a bathroom. He asked 5 people where the bathrooms were and due to the language barrier, not one employee could answer. He eventually found one himself. I later went to find a public restroom and found that all public restrooms had electronic doors. It was necessary to push a button to open it and push a button to close and lock it as well. When leaving it, I tried to open the door and found it would open only a short bit. After pushing the button a few times the door only opened about 5-6 inches. I pushed against the opening of the door to open it further and found that the doors have a metal edging. It sliced my palm open. While mostly what was a surface wound, blood started flowing and I immediately went to the nearest employee location, which was a bar that was on the Upper Lido deck and pointed out the cut to the bartender. I didn’t want to cause a scene but quietly showed him the blood flowing over my palm and told him I was concerned about other passenger’s safety with these doors and wanted him to report the situation. Thoughts ran through my mind (based on hotel my experience) that he would immediately call a manager and responded with first aid actions. Antiseptic should be applied. However, he kept pouring drinks and expressed no concern. It wasn’t until the bar was closing that he symbolically offered me a free drink. Any cut is a serious matter; a cut from a bathroom door is certainly more alarming. It is imperative that the proper first aid administrations are carried out, and that all employees either know themselves or who can perform these functions.

Throughout the week, it became very clear we could not depend on any line staff to assist us. They couldn’t understand English! Most passengers that I spoke with gave up on speaking with any service attendants. Through out the week, whenever going to the Bar, we experienced the same slow, almost non-existent service. Once while joining friends at the Lido Aft, I went to the bar there and stood waiting to order a drink. While I stood there, no more than 10 people had approached the bar while I stood there, however it took 20 minutes to fill my order and that was only because I had to eventually yell out my order repeatedly for the bartender to make sure he heard me. No bartender throughout the ship ever gave eye contact…they had their job to do…no matter how slow!

I found it very interesting as well that the Captain’s Reception was a bore. The Reception was no more than gathering all attending in the showroom, making us sit facing the stage. It felt like a funeral in process and I would never have joined if I knew what to expect. My understanding is that the Captain’s reception should be a chance to meet the captain and briefly speak with him. In addition to that, it turns out that the photo opportunity with the Captain at the Captain’s Reception was not with the Captain at all, but with the Hotel Manager.

With this example of how a Captain runs his ship, it would appear to me that the Captain had no interest in meeting the guests. I assume this is why the line staff has no interest in serving us.

The final night was a one of the most unbelievable, service-wise. While we were dining, a waiter dropped an entire strawberry sorbet down my back. His response was so slow and unapologetic that I wanted to bring it to the waiter’s attention. What I got from the waiter was a muddled “Sorry” and then he was off. No concern if my clothes were soiled or for the inconvenience. Later, I stopped by the front desk to settle my account and asked if they had a comment card for the ship. They said they did not but that RSVP had a comment card. I then asked what they do for a regular un-chartered cruise and they said they do have comment cards but refused to give me one because RSVP had theirs.

I relayed my experiences when I returned to Los Angeles to my good friend who had taken a Holland America Cruise to Alaska a year and a half ago, and he was shocked at the service. Holland America? What has happened? Why did we experience this?

While on my cruise last year with Carnival and RSVP and experiences with that staff -- the Captain himself actually showed at many events and especially at the final disembarkation talk truly expressed a heartfelt interest that we book with them again -- and all other points of a guest’s experiences, I certainly have no interest in booking with either of the Holland America and RSVP cruises in 2004. The service does not justify the expense.

For RSVP’s part, I have to say that it was obvious that it was decided among yourselves what the entertainment should be. “Dead End Disco Diva’s” don’t do it! You showed on this cruise that you really don’t have a connection to the passengers. You were there when we boarded and when we left, but were virtually non-existent throughout the cruise itself. On my last cruise with RSVP the interaction with your representatives was far superior. You should be more visible. We are, after all, your paycheck!