A little bit of background info. Myself (Andrew) and my partner (Brad) have never cruised before. We are in our mid 20's and have traveled extensively throughout the US, Mexico, Canada and Europe. We both work in the service industry (myself in customer relations and Brad in restaurant management & events planning) so service is important to us. While neither one of us are critical or arrogant, we do expect a certain "effort" out of people but no more then we would expect out of ourselves. This covers a broad spectrum of areas.
Pre-Cruise. Saturday, the 24th: I had searched for months and months on these boards and after reading some negative but mostly positive reviews, I decided on the Hyatt Pier 66. We wanted a room with a balcony that overlooked the port and this fit the criteria. I booked a "Tower Deluxe" room back in July(4 months in advance). During the booking process I had requested an early check in (which she said wouldn't be a problem), non-smoking (again, no problem) and a view of the port (which she couldn't guarantee). I assumed that since we would be arriving around 1pm or so (only a 5 hour drive from our house), reserving a port-view room wouldn't be a problem since we would probably be earlier than most that would arrive. The price was 189 plus tax plus a resort fee plus a parking fee. This was a little steep but still cheaper than the Embassy Suites down the road and this had a better view. I happened to check the prices about 2 weeks before we left and saw that the price had gone down to 149 so I called and mentioned the problem and they gladly adjusted the price (GREAT DEAL).
After dropping our dog Cappy (a Jack Russell) off at the kennel, we were on our way. Like expected, we arrived at the hotel around 1pm. We pulled up and the gentleman asked if we wanted to valet or self park. We chose self and he told us to drive straight into the parking lot that was directly in front of us. We gathered our things and went into the lobby (very beautiful) to check in. The gentleman we spoke to was very efficient and told us that if we wait about an hour (he even offered to call our cell phones when it was ready) he could get us a port view. We had no problem with that so we went out by the pool. It was a little overcast and had just finished raining so we decided to have lunch out by the pool restaurant. The menu is limited to salads and sandwiches and is very pricey but very good. After eating we went back to the front desk and spoke to the same man and he said everything was all set and gave us our keys. We were up on the 14th floor I believe. We went to check out the room and sure enough, it was on the complete OPPOSITE side of the tower overlooking the pool. Had this been a normal situation where I didn't care, we would have stayed.....but no. He said this was port view and that's what we want. So we go back downstairs and explain the situation and he said he may have made a mistake so he gives us new keys and directs us to a new room. This time IT'S A SMOKING ROOM.............................AND IT LOOKS AT THE POOL!! So we go back down just a little bit more agitated (keep in mind we have all our luggage with us because we were told the room we wanted was ready) and explain the problem again. He apologized (as they always do) and gave us new keys to a room. So we go back up and find the room and realized that the door is slightly open. We knocked and no one answered so we opened it up and low and behold, IT WASN'T CLEANED............AND IT LOOKS AT THE POOL. At this point it's past 3pm and I'm at the end of my rope. We go back downstairs and apparently everyone who was there had either gone on a break or gone home because there was a new lady there. We explained the situation and she said that if we come back after 4 when check in time was she could accommodate us and refused to help us until then. We wanted to clarify that we would get a correct room and she said she might have one available but it was dirty. We asked if we could see it and she said no because it was hotel policy (even though we had just visited a dirty room). So we asked when it would be ready since we have been here since around 1 and she said she didn't know but she couldn't do anything to help us until after 4 because that's when check in was. She was very rude and I did everything in my power not to snap at her. So to kill some more time we went and laid by the pool. We came back at 4 and her manager happened to be standing right behind her and it was like talking to a different person. She was so friendly and efficient and sure enough, we finally got the room that we were expecting. Only took 3 hours of arguing. However the view was worth it.