Is cruising on HAL worth it ?

[MOYSHA]

Although we have been on about a dozen cruises, we have never cruised on HAL. We want to cruise in Nov or Dec this year and prefer to go out of Tampa. That would mean going on the Veedam. The problem is that we've been to the ports the V goes to many, many times. Our all time favorite line is X. Is it wirth cruising HAL just for the cruising alone, since we have been to all of these ports?:confused:

[Roz]

Only you can answer that question. If you like X, I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't like HAL.

Roz

[Orcrone]

I've never sailed with Celebrity. However from what I've learned from people who've sailed both I'd say that Celebrity is similar to HAL.

[jhannah]

It would be good for you to sail on the Veendam to compare it with your Celebrity experience. Holland America ships are known for their staterooms that are a bit larger than industry standard. They are full of fresh flowers and fine artwork, and have lots of comfy places to curl up with a good book. Give it a try, then let us know what you think.

[lougee1043]

have you considered driving over and sailing out of ft lauderdale

[Orlandocruiser]

We have cruised out of Ft Lauderdale several times and from Tampa once. It would have to be a really special itinerary to get us to drive all the way to Ft Lauderdale again. Most time in Ft Lauderdale the ship didn't return to the same berth from which it left, meaning you have to shuttle bus over to the parking garage and then return with your car to get your luggage or take your luggage on the bus and then fight for a spot on the elevator to get up in the parking garage. The HAL terminal in Tampa is right across the street from the one-level fenced in parking lot. The luggage attendant took our luggage to the car and there we were! It was the best ending to a cruise ever ( with the possible exception of when HAL had ships out of Port Canaveral - we called when we got in and our son came to pick us up) There is nothing like a stressful disembarcation to take the glow off a really nice cruise. We are going on the Ryndam in November and although we have been to many of the ports we plan to enjoy the ship.

[HappyRev]

In the past, we sailed RCI, Carnival and HAL.

Out of these three lines, my favorite is HAL with RCI a not too distant second. Sail on HAL and see what you find out.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. We live close to Baltimore and I wish that they would sail out of Baltimore so that my wife and I could sail with them again.

Good Luck

[KAKcruiser]

We had taken about 15 cruises on different lines - Carnival, Princess, NCL, RCCL when we tried HAL in 1999. Since then we have taken 15 cruises on HAL and have no interest in sailing on any other line. (Well, we strayed once on Celebrity and I regretted it.) Why not give HAL a try? What do you have to lose?

[caviargal]

IMO, the ports - when considering a Caribbean cruise - are almost irrelvelant. I prefer the Southern but SJU is a pain to get to for me.

The ship is always my first priority.

I really enjoyed the service aboard HAL and our suite was simply wonderful! While I did not care for the decor and layout of the ZUI, my first HAL cruise in 18 years, everything else more than compensated.

I do prefer the look and layout of the M class Celebrity ships and also give an edge to dining room food and service on X, my last cruise on Celebrity (Mercury) was a huge disappointment.

I have read many times that Vista class ships are not the best representation of the HAL experience, so I personally look forward to one of their smaller ships one day.

[kryos]

Although we have been on about a dozen cruises, we have never cruised on HAL. We want to cruise in Nov or Dec this year and prefer to go out of Tampa. That would mean going on the Veedam. The problem is that we've been to the ports the V goes to many, many times. Our all time favorite line is X. Is it wirth cruising HAL just for the cruising alone, since we have been to all of these ports?:confused:
Personally, if I didn't care for the itinerary, I wouldn't sail HAL just for the sake of sailing HAL. But that's just me. When I take a cruise, I usually take it for the itinerary and fortunately for me, HAL has always had the best itineraries for my tastes.

As long as the cruise line doing the itinerary is one that I felt comfortable with (i.e., in my case not Carnival or RCCL), then I'd take that ship over HAL. So, if Celebrity is doing an itinerary that you prefer, and you like sailing Celebrity, then I personally would stick with them.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Tricia724]

The "downside" of taking lots of Caribbean cruises is that you keep hitting the same ports. We've done those ports several times, too, in the last few years and frankly, I wouldn't be too anxious to do the Western Caribbean again in the near future. I like to have something different to look forward to, even if it's just one different port. Some people just like to cruise for the ship...for me the cruise is a combination of the onboard activity and the itinerary.

I think you could have an enjoyable cruise on HAL, but it might be tough to have to derive all of your pleasure from the ship itself if you don't have anything to look forward to at the port stops. But you are the only one who can decide whether the ease and convenience of sailing out of Tampa outweigh the itinerary.

[Cruishappy@aol.com]

We have been on 54 cruises --- on different cruise lines --- RCC - NCL - Costa - Princess - and by far HAL is our favorite --- it is worth every penny - the suites leave nothing to be desired - the service is impeccable - the food is wonderfull - we are looking forward to sailing on the Noordam in October - the one cruise line that we would never ever ever go on again is Celebrity ---that had to be the worse cruise experience that we ever had - our second choice would be RCC - we were just on the inaugral voyage of the Freedom of the Seas --- a beautifull ship --- however would have second thought on cruising on her --- she is exceptionally large -- but it is quite an experience to be standing on one end of the ship and not be able to see the other ---- STICK WITH HAL --- I KNOW YOU WILL BE HAPPY -- GO AND ENJOY

[bepsf]

I think that if the itinerary is important to you, I'd investigate sailing from Ft Lauderdale as the HAL ships return to the same piers on their weekly sailings (don't know about Volendam tho - I think it depends on what day of the week she returns to FL)

On the other hand, Veendam is a nice ship - about the size of Zenith, but with balconies and much better accomodations.

Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy your experience on HAL

[Toad]

Although we have been on about a dozen cruises, we have never cruised on HAL. We want to cruise in Nov or Dec this year and prefer to go out of Tampa. That would mean going on the Veedam. The problem is that we've been to the ports the V goes to many, many times. Our all time favorite line is X. Is it wirth cruising HAL just for the cruising alone, since we have been to all of these ports?:confused:


NAAAAAAAH, I wouldn't cruise on HAL, and as you can see from the devoted posters on this site, most people would agree with me. None of us really like much about crusing anyway and we just all spend WAAAY too much time here hoping to see someone bash our next cruise choice. I would say a brief reading of this board should convince you. Besides I prefer the ship all to myself anyway.

[crafter315]

We just returned from a cruise on the Veendam. Our suite was so fabulous! We had invited our daughter to cruise with us, so we wanted to have lots of room. Well, we sure got that! Some cupboards sat empty the whole week since we had more storage space than we needed. That was a nice plus! Our daughter slept on the fold out sofa and we never once had to worry about whether her bed would be ready for her that evening. Our meals were terrific and the service couldn't have been better. I can't think of anything we didn't like about our cruise. Sailing out of Tampa was very easy. We arrived two days early and stayed at the Grand Hyatt. It was worth every penny! When we sailed, we were totally relaxed and ready for a great vacation.

[Alexborngal]

NAAAAAAAH, I wouldn't cruise on HAL, and as you can see from the devoted posters on this site, most people would agree with me. None of us really like much about crusing anyway and we just all spend WAAAY too much time here hoping to see someone bash our next cruise choice. I would say a brief reading of this board should convince you. Besides I prefer the ship all to myself anyway.

So sorry, you don't get the ship to yourself. I haven't seen any HAL bashers and I don't think I will.

[Toad]

This was all a "tongue in cheek" post, which obviously was not understood by all.

[Toad]

BUT.... I really would not mind the ship all to myself.

[mechcc]

It all depends on what you want from a cruise. Personally, your complaints about the port in Ft Lauderdale seem trival to me, but then we live in landlocked Texas. One man's irratant is another man's bliss, and I'm looking at it from a different perpective so can't be rational. Determime what is most important to you and go from there.

Each cruise is different and expectations are different. Go for what you want from this cruise. The answer will be clear.

[michmike]

Our 1st cruise was on Celebrity and then we tried HAL and have stuck with it for the past 5 cruises. Hard to beat their Indonesian / Filipino crew for attitude and service, their beds for comfort; as someone else mentioned, the larger than average staterooms. Fresh flowers everywhere are a plus, food is good, albeit not quite as upscale as Celebrity was (but keep in mind that was 6 yrs ago, so things may have changed on Celebrity). Very few children which is a plus for us.

We've sailed on the Veendam and liked it as much as any of the HAL ships we've been on.

Another point of clarification, a few of the posters have mentioned how nice the suites are on HAL. I don't have any personal experience w/ Hal's suites but we generally book outsides and have been more than happy with them. So don't feel you have to book a suite to have a good experience on HAL. Many who do go that route seem to enjoy the special lounge (Neptune) that is provided for suite passengers. As for us, we prefer to cruise more often, in more humble lodgings. To each their own.

Bottom line is that I can't imagine you would be unhappy giving HAL a try and like a few of us, you might even become a convert. *S*

[MOYSHA]

Thank you all (well, at least most of you :rolleyes: ) for your replies. We will be on the Veendam in November :) . I know we will enjoy the cruise and the experience of cruising with HAL

[richstacy]

HAL is famous for its great itineraries. Just a suggestion, but why not book a cruise on HAL to somewhere you haven't been??:confused: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon5.gif