Leaving for first HAL cruise on Saturday and nervous!

[andilynnwright]

Hello,

I have been reading this HAL board religiously since I booked my cruise. I am so greatful for the wealth of information that is shared. However, it has made me a little nervous and anxious about my upcoming cruise. I'm worried that the food quality is not going to be good, that the entertainment will be terrible and that other passengers might be rude. I've read many posts about cutbacks, poor entertainment and mean people. I'm certainly not worried about customer service as I've read just as many posts about how great the crew is on Holland America.

Going on a vacation is a luxury for me and not something I get to do very often. I'm a hard working American that saves up for such a trip. My previous cruise experiences have been with Disney, Royal Caribbean and Princess and I loved every moment. This will be the first cruise for my friend and I hope she falls in love with cruising as much as I have so that I will have a new cruising partner.

Is my nervousness and anxiety an overreaction? Will my cruise be all that I've been dreaming of and certainly as good as my previous cruises? I thought long and hard and search far and wide for the right cruise and both my time and money is very valuable to me.

Thanks for your help and honest feedback. I would greatly appreciate any responses.

Thank you,

Andrea

[YOW]

Is my nervousness and anxiety an overreaction?

In a nutshell, why worry about what you cannot control? :)

Best to go in with a positive attitude... and a 'blank slate' when it comes to expectations. We try our best not to compare the cruise we're currently on to cruises we've taken in the past. Just soak in the experience and enjoy all that's there. I may have some similar tendencies as what you've alluded to, and I find that I'm enjoying life most when I've "let go" instead of "gripping."

Having said that, if something isn't to your liking, e.g. in the cabin or dining room, don't hesitate to ask politely for it to be remedied. Be proactive and positive about your hard-earned vacation.

And have a great time! :D

[1cruiselvr]

I think you are worrying for nothing. I've been cruising for a very long time and have never experienced anything on a HAL ship that ruined my vacation. Remember, the folks that post here are a very small percentage of the total number of people that cruise on HAL. I firmly believe you will have a very memorable vacation. Stop worrying and enjoy! Happy Sailing!

[edmusic]

I look at it this way: the worst day on a cruise ship is still far better than the best day on land!:D

[amster65]

Those people that complain are the nitpickers. They go around checking the carpeting, bar stools for wear. They find little spots of rust and the declare the ship a rust bucket. From what I have read the Eurodam is fabulous. I was on the Zuiderdam, which is older, and found no problem with it. Have a great cruise, I know you will..........:)

[Dreamer757]

What ship will you be on?

I think you have nothing to worry about. I have sailed twice with HAL, with my third trip already booked. The first time I was too tired to even worry about the evening entertainment. We only made it to two shows, but they were great. The second time we went to all of the shows and enjoyed them.

The food on both cruises was good to great at all meals. Some of my favorites were the butternut squash soup with toasted beet chips, the southwestern lasagna....drool. It was rare for me, a very picky eater, to not find many options to choose from. My husband loves the french onion soup that is always available.

I think you are going to have a fabulous time! And you will sleep great thanks to the lovely beds that HAL provides!

[sassyredhat]

AHHH~~~~the OOsterdam. We will see her docked here in SD. :)

Honestly, we love HAL. Haven't sailed the O, but you couldn't ask for better crew. The food is really good too. You will have a wonderful time.

Lucky you. :cool:

Pat

[bet410]

Remember: most of the things people worry about never happen! Cruises are supposed to be fun. Set your mind at ease, forget your worries and have a fantastic time!

Don't think about the negative comments you may have read. Most of the time people who have been happy with their cruises don't start a thread about their wonderful time. It's the ones who are disappointed, annoyed, etc., who feel they have to vent somewhere. So for every negative comment you see, there will most likely be at least 10 people who have been very pleased with their cruises.

[andilynnwright]

Thanks everyone so much for the kind words and encouragement. I am leaving on the O on Saturday from San Diego. I did the Mexican Riviera on Princess with my Mom and Sister and am now taking my friend Stefanie for her first cruise. She lives in San Francisco so it was just easier for her to cruise Mexico rather than the Caribbean.

I am very excited and will report to you when I get back. It's been a tough couple of years so this trip is long overdue :)

[Buckett]

Would love to read your review when you come back! I have been on the Oosterdam at least 4 times, most recently this past April when I took my little 7 year old niece on her first cruise. :D We had a wonderful time, and I have always had a nice time on the O when I've sailed her in the past. I think you will too! :)

[leetara]

I just got off my first HAL cruise (Eurodam) a few weeks ago. I'm an almost 40 year old mother of 4 kids ages 4 to 13. It's rare that my husband and I get away by ourselves. So needless to say, we had a wonderful time. It was our 3rd cruise ever. I scoured these boards as well and headed to the port with a few worries, like you described. Once we boarded, the worries vanished. Yes we had some rough seas, our snorkel excursion was cancelled in Grand Turk due to poor underwater visibility, and we were almost completely rained out of St Thomas (complete with thunder and lightening). The Lido was sometimes busy and it was ocassionally hard to find a deck chair. I even had to send back one of my MDR fish dinners because it was gross. I was cheerfully served something else very delicious (that I didn't have to cook myself or clean up after, by the way). Our spirits were never dampened. Seven days of being waited-on on a cruise ship was priceless!

[VermeulT]

I posted some of those "negative" comments... and they weren't meant to be negative... just a statement of my observations. And all of them combined still weren't enough to ruin my vacation. Maybe it brought it down from a 10 to a 9 (out of 10). But it was still the best 2 weeks I've had for years.

Just enjoy yourselves and everything will be great.

[RMLincoln]

I thought the Oosterdam was the most elegant ship! I loved being on her. I have not sailed Disney nor Royal Caribbean but have been on Princess, Celebrity, NCL and Celebrity, and i can honestly say that there were things on every cruise and every cruise that I loved.

The HAL experience will be a bit different from other lines, as every line has it's own personality, so go with their strengths. I think they have better food than most lines. I love the chilled soups and I have found thier beef and lamb very enjoyable. I ask our waiter what he thinks is excellent tonight, becasue if I ask, "What's good?" he will undoubtably tell me that it's all good! But they know what people like and what goes back uneaten. And send back anything you don't like - never eat food on a cruise ship that you are not enjoying! There are alwasy other choices.

For enterainment, well I'm easily entertained. I appreciate all the entertainers and usually go to all the shows. We don't have these opportunities at home so it's all good for me! Maybe in DC you have lots of fabulous entertainment as the usual so it may be different for you, but if you don't like the shows, enjoy the many music venues, or try something new. I tried line dancing on Amsterdam and laughed pretty hard about my lack of direction. I make some of my own entertainment: I check out the library and find some books that I probably woudln't buy but would like to look at. I check out the iPod tour of the ships artwork, usually about 45 minutes to an hour going around the ship - no charge and the librarian has them. I enjoy getting to meet and know people at trivia, something I don't do at home! And I've loved learning at the digital workshops, again free.

I've heard people complain loudly and rudely about small stuff. Bad form and "small" people! But if there is something that would make your well-earned vacation better for you, do ask and usually they will bend over backwards to please you. I have little sympathy for folks who come back and complain about about things they never brought to the crew's attention to give them a chance to remedy. I have seen amazing extensions of the crew to provide excellent service.

My motto is that it's hard to have a bad on a cruise ship, and HAL has a very good reputation for service at an affordable price. Those who want frenetic activities usually don't cruise on HAL and poo-pooh it but for most of us we love the laid back, elegant atmosphere.

Have a wonderful vacation and don't sweat the small stuff. Ask questions here to help your learning curve be up to speed when you step on board adn you'll be that much further ahead in enjoying your cruise. m--

[Dreamer757]

The ms Oosterdam was our first ever cruise and we loved it! We had the best dining room stewards and room stewards. The staff was very personable. We really wanted to take the Oosterdam to Mexico, but it was off sailing Hawaii when we had time off. Enjoy your well deserved vacation (and know that I am super jealous that you are sailing with HAL! :))

Here is a part of my review about the ship from Sept 2010.

Public Rooms: No complaints. The ship was well taken care off. The crew was constantly cleaning or touching up areas of the ship.

State Room: We stayed in Cabin # 5014, a deluxe veranda outside stateroom. Our room stewards were Ratno and Alus. We only spent the first few days on the balcony because the weather turned very wet and cold. The bed was very comfortable. The room stewards kept the room very clean and tidy, even when we retreated to our cabin for an afternoon nap. The bed would be made a second time and turned down for the evening when we returned from dinner.

Dining: The Lido – We had a few meals in the Lido. Breakfast consisted of waffles, ham, hash browns, fresh fruit, pastries, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Lunch was always grilled sandwiches or hamburgers, which were fine. We tried the taco bar, but did not enjoy it. My favorite dessert of the entire cruise was on the first day, Dutch Chocolate Cake. It was so yummy! We also had ice cream every day around 2:00 PM.

The Main Dining Room – We had late dining. Our dining stewards were Didiet and Dika, both were very personable and provided great service. We enjoyed most of our meals in the MDR. My favorite dinner was southwestern manicotti with fontina cheese (and I don’t even like cheese.) We were at a table for six, but only one other couple was ever there. Upon exiting the MDR after dinner there is a gentleman, Jetro, serving after dinner mints and ginger. He would ask for use to sing song to him, “yummy, yummy, good for your tummy” before we received our mints. He was a riot. Breakfast and lunch service was slow at times, but the food was never cold. It was fun meeting new people at every breakfast and lunch. There was only one awkward meal conversation that got a little heated between a few other guests.

Pinnacle Grill – We did not have a good experience at the Pinnacle Grill. Our server was not very friendly or attentive. We both ordered the filet mignon cooked medium plus and they came out very rare. We tried to eat them, but it was nearly impossible. The server took the steaks back to the grill and they were brought back charcoaled on the outside and medium rare on the inside. The sauce that was served with the steaks did not taste good and the texture was off. They maitre’d offered to comp our meal and bring us dessert, but our server never brought the dessert menu. The area where the Pinnacle Grill is located is by a main traffic area and was very noisy. Based on our experience, we would not spend an extra $40 to eat at the Pinnacle Grill.

Entertainment: We only caught a few shows, a comedian named Max Elliott and an illusionist named Leo Ward; both shows were great. We did not see any show by the onboard singers or dancers.

Spa Services: On embarkation day, we went to the spa open house. I wanted to sign up for a pedicure, and we also ended up signing up for a hot stone massage and a facial. I would not recommend the hot stone massage. The pedicure was fine, but expensive considering the service was not that of a high-end salon. The facial was relaxing.

Staff: Overall very friendly, courteous, and warm. Our cruise director, John, was funny and the Captain was informative.

[jkrislc]

I think your worries are for not, although I admit have those same worries myself particularly when changing cruiselines. Particularly with HAL, I was concerned about cruising with them after having spent the previous three cruises on DCL. However, it was just as good as an experience as DCL at half the price. Further, my son actually enjoyed the kid's club more as there were fewer kids.

I was slightly disappointed in the food, but the food wasn't bad by any means and I'll be back on the Oosterdam in December, so that should say something. I'm actually eager to go back as I now know what I liked and what I didn't so I can maximize my dining pleasure. Of course, food is subjective, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Every night I always found something that was fabulous, be it an appetizer, soup or dessert. And if you're a meat eater, I highly recommend the Pinnacle Grill and their bone-in rib eye steak. We also enjoyed Canaletto as well.

A cruise is what you make of it. However, I didn't find any of the passengers to be rude and I found the crew to be extremely nice.

Don't worry and have fun!

[michigan tim]

Try to forget all the negative stuff you've absorbed here and go into this cruise with a fresh, open mind. This will likely be the mindset of your friend (unless you've shared the posted polution with them). Many (most?) cruisers spend a lifetime trying recapture the magic of their first cruise and hopefully this will hold true for your friend.

[tangerinebunny]

The major thing that I've learned reading here is that the cruiser brings her attitude with her.

Some of these posters just seem to go with the flow, make the best of things, and have a great cruise.

You don't want to be one of the others.

[Himself]

I was first on HAL in November 0f 1996 and I was last on HAL last July. I have averaged two voyages a year and one year I did three (that was in 2000.) I have NEVER had a bad meal on HAL. I have been on ships with very bad write ups and a month later I go on the same ship and the experience is outstanding. Just go and enjoy the cruise and don't be listening the the negative whiners.

[northernphoenix]

I fully understand your pre cruise anxiety! Our first cruise with Hal was on the Volendam for Alaska. I spent months on CC reading about the various excursions, the ship, the dining, the embarkation, the disembarkation, the spa, and on, and on, and on! The week prior to our flight to Vancouver was really quite uneasy, but I must tell you that everything was perfect, and I had worried for nothing. It was so perfect that DH and I purchased future cruise credits, and used these for our cruise to the Baltic this past fall. I did not have one moment of pre cruise anxiety for this holiday, and know that our Mediterranean cruise will be just as perfect. Have a great holiday,
Marilyn

[Jean1946]

We were on the Eurodam a few weeks ago and had a blast. Met lots of great people. Most of them were met in the Crowe's Nest playing Trivia. We had never ever played before on the ship. Food was great mostly. I tend to order things that I would not ordinarily eat but I knew I could order something else if I wanted to. Also, the breakfast wait staff were great. After the first morning I did not have to ask for a small bowl of grits to be served with my omelet rather than as a cereal. And, when I walked in with my pink can of TAB, they knew to bring me a glass of ice!!!

Don't worry about the little things, and ultimately they are all little things as long as you have a good time and keep a smile on your face.

[Sandi3667]

Another two thumbs up for the Oosterdam. She was our first cruise (to Alaska in May), and we had a wonderful time. If Leo Ward is still on board, definitely see his show. The crew shows were very entertaining. We were looking for a scenic, relaxing trip, and that's what we found. The two people in our group who were more partiers had fun. My friend & I were more 'go-with-the-flow', and we had a blast as well.

Go into it with an open mind. We had a few hiccups along the way, but nothing to ruin the trip.

Now we're debating whether to stay with HAL on a Caribbean trip, or try another line. Right now, I'm leaning towards HAL.

[Viesczy]

Andrea,
you're going to have a great time!

There are a lot of whine babies who would bawl like the whine babies they are if one of their utensils happend to be 1 degree off in its position. Some folks, no matter how much their fannies were blistered with kisses, will complain to no end; their only happiness is unhappiness.

Will there be rude folks? No worse than what you've seen in your life but far less than you fear.

Will the food be bad? You won't walk away from your cruise looking like you were liberated from Dachau!

Will the entertainment be bad? It'll be better than what is available on network TV.

You're going to have a great time!

Derek

[tangerinebunny]

Dereck, I took your post to heart and decided to spend an hour at WalMart pre-cruise. Now even the grumpies should look good!

[Typhoon1]

Enjoy. You'll be back soon.

[jayjaycan]

Don't worry..be happy.

If you were satisfied with RCCL.Disney and Princess you will find the food on HAL better than Princess.the entertainment not as good as Disney and not many rude passengers.You will have some people that irritate you but this occurs on any cruise ship.Ignore them.

[zookiebird]

Dereck, I took your post to heart and decided to spend an hour at WalMart pre-cruise. Now even the grumpies should look good!


Best Post I've ever seen!!!!

[gelo7]

You will love HAL, have a great cruise.

[Cruise4K]

Hi Andrea,

I will be on the cruise with you. I have been on many different cruise lines and with cruise critic just like other review sites, I just look for trends that seem common among the reviews. There are people who have one little negative thing go wrong on their cruise and then everything about the cruise was awful. I say that opinions are like butts - everyone has one!! I make my own judgements. Based on my previous experiences with HAL I know that it will not have as many entertainment options as Carnival or Royal Caribbean but I like the HAL ships decor & ambiance better than Princess. The age demographic can tend to be older especially on the longer cruises. Other than on NCL, I have never disliked the entire weeks food choices but when the ship cooks for so many people at one time, I know that somethings might not be to my liking but that is why you can always send the food back and request something else.

With your friend, I wouldn't share with her the bad reviews you read but just let her form opinions for herself so you can both go into with an open mind and still have a great time!!

I hope we can meet at the meet & mingle on Sunday morning.

Kristi

[garsny]

Xanax.

[ariawoman]

I spent a bunch of time worried about - get this - what direction the bed would be facing (head towards front of ship or head towards back of ship). I had myself convinced that I would not be able to sleep/would get more seasick if my head wasn't towards the back of the ship (so basically in bed you're sailing in the direction our feet are lol).

I got on the ship (this was on Celebrity this year) and the bed was the wrong way! OMG! What was I to do???

Yeah, i was fine. LOL. I worried all that time and it didn't bother me in the LEAST.

I am seasick prone, but still it didn't matter to me.

Just goes to prove we spend all this time making up things to worry about, when really, we need not do that. I had a wonderful vacation and enjoyed every minute of it.

Enjoy your cruise!