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I am writing you in regards to an incident which has left me deeply dissatisfied with Holland America Lines (HAL) and their parent company Carnival Cruise Lines. For the past 30 years I have always received very good service and customer care HAL, Carnival Cruise Lines and the vacation providers and travel agents I have dealt with.

Over the years I have, with my family, taken approximately over 10 cruises and traveled to resorts in countries around the world. All of my trips have been exceptional experiences minus the occasional, understandable glitch. However, on a recent vacation I received what I categorize what I feel is very poor customer care and responsibility for their actions, dictated by a very poor corporate culture within Holland America Lines.

From September 24 to October 4, 2015 I joined my parents on the Fall Colors cruise from New York City to Quebec City. It was an exceptional holiday with wonderful ports of call; an excursion I would recommend to my friends. Although I will not now, nor may I ever in the future, recommend Holland HAL, or any of the Carnival-owned or operated cruise lines, due to their handling of the following incident.

On the morning of September 26, 2015 I left my stateroom shortly after 8.00 AM to have breakfast. When I returned the room had been made up. I went to retrieve my IPad, which I had left on top of the sofa bed. It was not where I had left it.

After an extensive search of the stateroom I spoke to the stateroom attendant who was working on another room down the passageway. He assisted in helping us search the room for the IPad during which we pulled the sofa bed out. It was at this point we discovered the IPad. It had fallen off the bed; its cover had been punctured and screen shattered when the sofa bed was made up.

The attendant apologized for what happened and suggested that my I complete a report with the customer service desk on the ship. I filed a report with that morning and was told I would have to follow this up with a formal submission of claim for damages once the cruise was complete.

The formal claim was submitted to Holland Americaโ€™s customer Claims Department on October 9, 2015 after receiving what I perceived was a somewhat abrupt and discourteous reception during my initial conversation with the claims department representative.

I contacted the HAL claims department on October 23, 2015 to insure the claim had been started and spoke with agent who found the claim document, but acknowledged that it had not yet been put into the system. She promised to activate it that day and suggested that it would take a month to six weeks to hear from their office.

On December 10, 2015, having not heard from Holland America, I contacted the claims department again. I spoke with a Property Claims Specialist who after taking all my information said he could not locate my claim and suggested I resubmit it.

Before the conversation ended, however, the agent managed to locate the claim document, but noted once more that a claim had not been started. He apologized for this, blaming it on recent staffing changes their department had undergone. He said would start the claim for my son that day and fast track it. He said he would get back to me by the middle of the following week.

After not hearing from the claims specialist by Thursday December 17, 2015, I called the HAL again. The agent said he was waiting for a report on the incident and would attempt to get an answer to me by Friday. Within one half of an hour, I received a rather blunt email response from the claims specialist saying that HAL had denied my claim on the grounds that their cruise contract states that damage to electronic devices is not covered by their policy.

During a brief follow-up phone call with the agent on Friday, the agent said there was nothing more that could be done to remedy the situation. I requested, and the agent promised to fully document the handling of the claim and the decision made and forward the information to his supervisor to review and respond to me. To date I have had no further response.

I feel I have received the run around for the last three months and have basically been ignored by Holland America Lines.

I am frustrated and disappointed with HAL, and its corporate parent, Carnival Cruise Lines. Their lack of organization and response in dealing with this matter as well as their commitment to customer care and service is disgraceful. They have shown both negligence and disrespect in their management of this situation.

The damage caused to the IPad resulted from the negligence of a Holland America Employee, not my son. Holland America Lines apparently wishes to overlook this fact in their handling of this claim. Replacement of this device is significant. Holland America accepts no responsibility for this damage and has made it clear they have no plans to offer financial restitution for the damage caused.

I realize that many large corporate entities respond this way to an initial claim, sometimes ignoring the claim altogether, hoping that the consumer will not pursue the issue and will give up. I, however, am not one of these individuals. Please feel free to spread this story on what I consider is an example of poor corporate culture, lack of responsibility and to some degree corporate greed.

Reason of review: Poor customer service.

Monetary Loss: $850.

Preferred solution: Full refund.

Holland America Line Cons: Refusal to help us.

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What a lousy customer you are. You have had and were having a nice cruise.

YOU LEAVE THE IPAD ON TOP OF THE SOFA BED INSTEAD OF ON A TABLE OR DESK. The room is made up and the person making it up does not see the IPAD on the unmade bed and it falls down in the bed while it is begin folded up. - Your bad.

Also you had agreed that the cruise line would not be liable for damage to electronic items. You agreed to that yet now you don't want to uphold your end of the bargain, nor do you have the integrity to do what is contractually and morally right and accept the fact that your acts contributed to the damage and that you accepted the risk of loss.

Your reference to your son not damaging it, makes no sense. Obvious what you agreed to was that the cruise line would not be liable if THEY damaged it negligently.

You act very spoiled by stamping your feet and demanding your way, without seeing your were negligent also and accepting the results of your agreement. The cruise line would probably title their complaint "customer takes no responsibility, has a culture of entitlement and self-centeredness, and fails to abide by the terms of the contract they agreed to."

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