Of the ships you have cruised on, which is your favorite and why?

[DFD1]

Which is (or was) your favorite ship of all your cruises and why? It would interesting to hear about your impressions of the ships you have sailed on, to learn which is your favorite and why.

It's a hard question for me to answer, but I think it was the Norway. Thre was just something about her that was special and unlike any other.

[grandma bev]

Favorite cruise ship is usually the one I'm on!

Yes, the Norway was a grand old lady. Very old. ;) Loved her jazz and big band cruises in the 80's and 90's, then the food got bad, staff didn't know what they were doing, but the music was so good we kept going and ignored the rest.
Now we are fortunate to have done jazz cruises (40's music) on the wonderful Maasdam and Zaandam. Dam, those dam ships are classy. HAL has many music themed cruises for us old folks that are still chasing our High School Music.

B.

[dakrewser]

The Renaissance R7. We sailed on her during her maiden season in 2000. 650 pax, 350 crew. No children, no smoking. If they'd only had assigned seating dining, it would have been perfect. Our cabin was approx. the size and shape of a HAL Outside Verandah (VA, etc.) while the ship's appointments were the equal (or better than) those of an S-class HAL vessal. Sadly, Renaissance went under not too long after that and the R7 is now a charter vessel in Europe. But Oceania's Regatta and Insignia are her sisters (the R1 and R2) and Princess' Tahitian Princess is the re-named R8, so we might try one of those some day to see if the experience remains the same.


-dave

[RuthC]

Favorite ship? Ever? That's easy---the ss Rotterdam of 1959.
She was a traditional ocean liner in art deco style. She looked like a ship should look.
Her artwork was very special---the double helix staircase was a work of art in itself. The partitions between the staircases depicted the heavens down to the deepest part of the sea as you decended to lower decks.
Has there ever been another room to rival the Ritz Carlton? The mosaic along the staircase and that brass dance floor can never be replaced.

Style and elegance---along with some lovely cruises---make her my all-time favorite ship.

[RevNeal]

I agree, Ruth ... she was the "Grand Dame." I was honored to cruise on her only twice, but I loved her.

After her, my favorite would have to be the Volendam. GREAT ship, GREAT crew. Though, I must say that the Statendam was also wonderful.

[luv2cruise450]

We've enjoyed all the ships that we've been fortunate enough to sail with but if I had to choose a favorite...it would have to be the MS Amsterdam. When we sailed with her...for 21 days...we just fell in love with her decor and elegance. She is a very classy ship with a superb crew and staff and would love to sail with her again! She is not mega sized nor too small...just the right size and very easy to navigate.
Happy sailing!

[Bill S]

Given that I am a 'johnny-come-lately" compared to a lot of regulars here, and have only sailed on HAL, my choice may not be as credible, but our favorite is the Amsterdam-have sailed on her twice and she is just elegant, comfortable and had great crews both times. I wish we had starte crusing a long time ago to experience a cruise or two on one of the classic liners.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Amsterdam #1 on our list.

She is a very beautiful ship.

We love all HAL ships.

[daju22]

So good to hear that three out of seven people have picked the Amsterdam as their favorite ship. We will be sailing on her in November and I'm sure she'll be our favorite also.

Why is she your favorite ship?

Thanks,
Judy

[Tatka]

Every ship has something special...

1) Celebrity Century - lots of wood, easy to navigate, yaht-like look.

2) RCI Splendour - great autrium , alot of glass, nice views.

3) HAL Zuiderdam - beautifull ship, tons of interesting artwork, largest and comfortable inside cabins.

[dexter]

1. Zuiderdam. loved it because of the large suite.
2. Pride. artwork and it was our first eastern carib. cruise
3. Constellation. Just plain classy

[LizB1]

I would say the following:

1) ss ROTTERDAM V for the reasons Ruth C mentioned (25-cruises on her)
2) ss NIEUW AMSTERDAM (1939) also for her artwork, leather chairs in the
Smoking Room, and classic features, etc.
3) ms ROTTERDAM VI (guess because we have sailed on her 194 days since
her inaugural and we know her the best of all the new ships.

[bdmarine]

1. The Norway - had the greatest cocktail lounge afloat
2. The Zaandam - beautifully appointed, great balance of passengers and space
3. Silver Whisper - the country club goes to sea

[cunarder]

The QE2.
I love oceanliners. Can't beat the history of Cunard and the ships she has sailed over the years. There is nothing like the feel of a oceanliner on a transatlantic sailing over the North Atlantic.

Ed

[RedmondCruiser]

Noordam - We have 8 or 9 cruises on the Noordam, not by design but due to convenience of schedule. I still like the smaller ships and we have many great memories from the Noordam. I still like the Noordams crows nest bar over all the others. It's sad to see her go - Old Rotterdam would take 2nd place.

[gizmo]

I have to join in a couple of the others.

1. The Norway
She was a Grand Lady. Bdmarine mentioned this ship had the greatest cocktail lounge. The International Lounge on this ship would be hard to be beat.

2. The Rotterdam
I like the decor and art work.

[Esme]

Rotterdam V - same reasons as RuthC and LizB1 - sailed her 7 times. 19 day Hawaii cruise was the best!

Now - Volendam - lovely ship and great crew.

[mountainmare]

The SS France. A grand adventure for a 12 year old who was traveling to live in France for a year!!!

[Smoky]

Rotterdam V . Hands down!! The last of the classic ships!!
We now have floating hotels. Not bad, but not the same.

[ekerr19]

Gee, let's see... hmmm, can we spell NOORDAM? :)

Love that ship, as many of you know. I will miss her greatly. Look forward to the NEW Noordam, hoping to sail on her right away...

Second favorite is the Amsterdam.

Third favorite is the Maasdam.

[mhshapiro]

My favorite so far has been the Crystal Harmony, mainly because the crew on that ship is superbly competent and very friendly.

[Charliesmom]

This is our first cruise with HAL. Up until now our favorite ships have been the Sun, Sea and Dawn Princess ships, mainly because their mini-suites are wonderful. They have a separate bedroom and sitting room and a lovely bathroom, although the bathrooms don't look quite as nice as the Zuiderdam pictures.

We have been dedicated Princess cruisers up until now. I just couldn't pass up the bargain for a full suite that we are getting for our 12/12 Westerdam cruise.

Roberta

[DFD1]

These are wonderful postings, full of good memories. When this thread is finished, I'm going to see which ship has the most fans here and, if she is still sailing and I haven't sailed on her, I'm going to book a cruise on her before it's too late. Best to all, DFD

[Melianne]

My favorite would be RCCL's Rhapsody of the Seas. I picked it from a list of ships that were being built at the time. Through internet pictures I followed through all of the building stages (good pix availabale) to it's completion. We sailed on the Rhapsody during it's inaugural year. It was such great fun to finally board and explore a ship I had watched for so long!

The Rhapsody is beautifully fitted out. Lots of buttery leather and brass, and beautiful artwork. We enjoyed our cruise to the S. Caribbean immensely.

I'm looking forward, with great anticipation, to our upcoming Dec. cruise on the Zaandam. It will be our first time on a HAL ship.

[Cameron-by-the-Sea]

Please keep posting. This is a great thread and I love hearing from all of the experienced cruisers out there. Thank you! :)

[ron46936]

Nothing quite compares to the Club Internationale on the Norway and the enclosed promenade. That's our all time favorite.

The new ships (1995- present) all have the potential to be great depending upon the crews and activities. We loved Century, Mercury, and Norwegian Sun.

[karensj]

We loved the Galaxy. The staff was fabulous and the ship was simple beautiful. We haven't cruised on HAL yet. I am sure after February we will be saying that we loved the Zaandam.

Karen