Been a long time since HAL cruise - what's changed?

Last HAL cruise was ages ago, what's changed?

I remember great service, spotless ships, fine dining and free cappuccinos at Java Café & dinner (which I've seen in other threads are a thing of the past).

I'm a 3 star Mariner, whatever that means - any good perks come with that honor?

If anyone has any current daily programs and/or menus they could post, I'd be grateful. Thanks in advance for any comments!

Welcome back to HAL:)

Here are some of the menus and On Locations (Daily Programs) from our 2014 cruises. They are all in .pdf format so you can download them whenever you want:)

HAL Regular and Specialty Restaurants, Beverages, and Room Service Menus:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/

Alaska 2014 On Locations (July 2014)

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/location/alaska-2/

Joanie

Wow, Java Café?

It really has been a long time since you cruised HAL.

You will no longer have a Java Café. Long gone.

Espresso and Cappuccino are available for purchase at Explorations Café and in MDR. Ships are still spotless and understatedly elegant.

Some are much bigger than when you sailed.

You likely have not seen or dined in an alternative restaurant, Pinnacle Grill. Deicious and an additional charge.

Staffing is down; work load the same which equates to stewards working very hard on servicing more cabins, waiting on more dining tables......

Hotel Service Charge is added daily to our shipboard account as gratuities that are split among front of the house as well as back of the house crew.

No more Dutch Night.

No more Rosarios.

No more Brass Hors d'ouerves server in Ocean Bar.

Hotel Manager is now Hotel Director.

Chief Officer is now Staff Captain.

Maitre d' is now Dining Room Manager.

We are permitted to bring aboard one 750 ml bottle of wine per adult person at no corkage fee. Anything more than that is permitted but there is $18 corkage fee per bottle no matter where you drink it. The days of unlimited wine being permitted carried aboard ended.

LOTS of other changes but that's a start.

Last HAL cruise was ages ago, what's changed?

I remember great service, spotless ships, fine dining and free cappuccinos at Java Café & dinner (which I've seen in other threads are a thing of the past).

I'm a 3 star Mariner, whatever that means - any good perks come with that honor?

If anyone has any current daily programs and/or menus they could post, I'd be grateful. Thanks in advance for any comments!

You likely would benefit from reading the Mariners Society Information at http://www.hollandamerica.com. The fully and clearly outline the not so new Star Mariner Program. Yes, you do get some benefits but the best come at 5 Star Mariner..... 500 days.

The Mariner Medallion Program runs currently with the Star Mariner program but has different terms.

It is all outlined on HAL.com

We are permitted to bring aboard one 750 ml bottle of wine per adult person at no corkage fee.

The "no corkage fee" applies ONLY if you drink that bottle of wine in your cabin.

No more wine cards

Shower gel, conditioner and shampoo are in wall mounted dispensers in the shower, tub or combo.

Do look at the Mariner info on the HAL website. We are 3* also, and the ones we care about are the 25% discount on wine packages, 25% discount on specialty restaurant costs, and 25% discount on Explorations Cafe beverages. For us, the rest doesn't matter, but you may find something that appeals.

You may or may not hear the chimes rung before dinner. Seems to vary day to day.

You have a choice of how to dine. You can choose fixed dining at a fixed time, fixed table (the way you probably remember), or you can go with the anytime dining, where you just show up and get seated at the time you want.

I'm sure I'll think of more. ;)

...You may or may not hear the chimes rung before dinner... ;)

Long forgotten, you made me recall, fondly, our first cruise on the now departed Nieuw Amsterdam and how a Dining Room staff person walked down each corridor with the pleasant chimes announcing the first or second seating.

Those were the days!

Long forgotten, you made me recall, fondly, our first cruise on the now departed Nieuw Amsterdam and how a Dining Room staff person walked down each corridor with the pleasant chimes announcing the first or second seating.

 

Those were the days!

That (now departed) Nieuw Amsterdam was the 2nd HAL ship I sailed on ....

Glad I triggered a happy memory for you :)

A lot has changed. Almost all for the worse.

My advice is to lower your expectations. Your memories of great service, etc. are now history. If you want a premium experience, you can't get it anymore on Holland. There are some wonderful cruise lines out there, but you'll have to pay more.

Your alternative is to hold your nose and book Holland America. You can still have a great cruise, but you'll be miserable if you keep comparing things to the "good old days". A lot of people spend their entire cruise complaining about how bad Holland America has become. Your choice is to either pay for a high quality experience on another line or stay with Holland America and try to find a bargain. They do have some great deals if you are OK with the lower quality.

Good Luck and have fun whichever way you go.

Long forgotten, you made me recall, fondly, our first cruise on the now departed Nieuw Amsterdam and how a Dining Room staff person walked down each corridor with the pleasant chimes announcing the first or second seating.

 

Those were the days!

OK, We will challenge some of the HAL cheerleaders with a basic question, similar to what has been asked by the OP. In the past 10 years what has changed for the better on HAL?

Hank

P.S. We are 4 Star Mainers and have done man HAL days in the past 10 years.

In the past 10 years what has changed for the better on HAL?

Cabins are comfortable, bathrooms roomier than on most other mass market cruise lines, flat screen tvs are nice, DVD players in every cabin, SOE beds and bedding, Pinnacle, Tamarind, Silk Den, Neptune Lounges on every ship, HMC, Four/Five Star Mariner benefits including free laundry which many like and discount on alternative restaurants, 'available every night' items on MDR dinner menu, platters of steamed veggies upon request, selection of cheeses available in Lido at lunch, Asian stir fry in Lido, many versions of eggs benedict at breakfast in Lido, an amazingly complete breakfast menu in MDR and Pinnacle (for Neptune and Pinnacle Suite guests), On Deck for the Cure fundraiser to support cancer research/assistance, Pinnacle Bars on some ships, Mariners Lunch in MDR on Embarkation day, staying in our cabins until time for us to debark, cabins ready (usually) when we board.........

I think each of those things are an improvement and welcome changes from 'years ago'.

A small thing that I really appreciated were the carpets with the name of the day in the elevator. On my last 2 cruises (Noordam) these carpets got replaced by regular ones.

It's not something tremendously important, but I found it both useful and charming.

Cabins are comfortable, bathrooms roomier than on most other mass market cruise lines, flat screen tvs are nice, DVD players in every cabin, SOE beds and bedding, Pinnacle, Tamarind, Silk Den, Neptune Lounges on every ship, HMC, Four/Five Star Mariner benefits including free laundry which many like and discount on alternative restaurants, 'available every night' items on MDR dinner menu, platters of steamed veggies upon request, selection of cheeses available in Lido at lunch, Asian stir fry in Lido, many versions of eggs benedict at breakfast in Lido, an amazingly complete breakfast menu in MDR and Pinnacle (for Neptune and Pinnacle Suite guests), On Deck for the Cure fundraiser to support cancer research/assistance, Pinnacle Bars on some ships, Mariners Lunch in MDR on Embarkation day, staying in our cabins until time for us to debark, cabins ready (usually) when we board.........

 

I think each of those things are an improvement and welcome changes from 'years ago'.

 

The Tamarind and Silk Den are only on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

Guest lecturers are scarce, we had a staff member read a Captain Cook "lecture" on our recent Hawaii cruise. Sales pitches are now called seminars, you may find them for exotic gemstones, acupuncture, chocolate diamonds, tanzanite, birthstones and gods know what else. People attend these sales pitches!

Rock salt is available in grinders in the Lido for unknown reasons. Crunchy salt must be popular in some quarters.

The poorly named As You Wish Dining encompasses all dining options, including open seating.

Smoking rules have changed, see the HAL website, ain't nobody happy on Cruise Critic. Anti-smokers want more restrictions, pro-smokers want fewer, and the rest wish everybody would just shut up about it already.

There are no longer any trays in the Lido. Good luck getting your drink, seat and hot food.

A small thing that I really appreciated were the carpets with the name of the day in the elevator. On my last 2 cruises (Noordam) these carpets got replaced by regular ones.

It's not something tremendously important, but I found it both useful and charming.

Agree! This is very useful on longer cruises when its hard to remember which month much less which day of the week. But I guess we should mention that this idea did not originate on HAL and has been used on some other cruise lines for over twenty years.

Hank

Although I could never be termed a "HAL Cheerleader", I do hope I'm welcome to reply anyway.

A few of the best things that have happened on HAL in recent years are the vastly improved beds (I remember the wooden base with the thin pad mattress on top), and the 4 & 5 star Mariner benefits. I love the 2 free dinners, with additional at a 50% discount, the free day in the spa, and the free Internet minutes on a 100 minute plan.

I'm also happy with the reduced smoking areas, which are so easy to avoid now.

The Tamarind and Silk Den are only on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

Yes, I most assuredly know that.

Seeing they are only on two ships, they don't count as something many of us think

are wonderful improvements? :confused: What is your point?

OP.... I hope these comments have been helpful to you and you'll share some response as to what we've described. :)

The sky is blue.

...................

Smoking rules have changed, see the HAL website, ain't nobody happy on Cruise Critic. Anti-smokers want more restrictions, pro-smokers want fewer, and the rest wish everybody would just shut up about it already.

...................

My point is you listed some features that were on every ship in one sentence and included the Silk Den and the Tamarind. I don't want to see newcomers confused. I know I was and I've been here for a while.

Ah, I see. I seem to cause lots of confusion. :D

I'm happy you were able to work through it and avoid further confusion.

Long forgotten, you made me recall, fondly, our first cruise on the now departed Nieuw Amsterdam and how a Dining Room staff person walked down each corridor with the pleasant chimes announcing the first or second seating.

 

Those were the days!

That kind of ended when HAL went to open seating on the lower level of the dining room.

The days of the meal chimes were when we had early and main seating. The joke used to be that went you went home and heard the chimes go to the front door, rather then the dining room. As you said Walt: Those were the days!

"Snide" seems to have become the order of the day lately with some posters. Is it any wonder people say they are afraid to post here?

Hopefully the OP is managing to get a clear view of what's changed on HAL from all the comments posted.

The Tamarind and Silk Den are only on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

My point is you listed some features that were on every ship in one sentence and included the Silk Den and the Tamarind. I don't want to see newcomers confused. I know I was and I've been here for a while.

 

I'll ignore your sky is blue comment and assume you are having a bad hair day.

Sapper1, thank you for clarifying that information for the OP. Life is confusing enough without having to try to figure out what is extraneous, and what is not applicable. :) I know that when I returned to cruising, lots had changed. Fortunately for me, many kind CC posters took the time to give me information that was helpful/useful.

Sapper1, thank you for clarifying that information for the OP. Life is confusing enough without having to try to figure out what is extraneous, and what is not applicable. :) I know that when I returned to cruising, lots had changed. Fortunately for me, many kind CC posters took the time to give me information that was helpful/useful.

You're welcome, CP. I, too, am extremely grateful for all the valuable information that the wonderful members on CC have taken the time to send my way.

Wow, I didn't realize such a relatively simple question would stir such a heated debate. Thank you to those who posted links and gave some useful information, please keep it coming. I'm not the delusional type who thinks that things I experienced on HAL 100 years ago are the same today. After all, the only constant in life is change, right?

Knowing that the Java Café (fond memories there), dinner chimes (which were fun), Dutch night (which I always HATED), and brass hors d'oeuvre servers (no biggie) are gone won't kill my vacation. Negative-minded, living-in-the-past fellow cruisers will, so please don't join us on May 12th on Amsterdam. As for the type of salt in the Lido, I really don't care, but thanks for the info.

On the positive side, I'm glad to hear that the beds are comfy, the dining choices are varied and the cabins are clean, spacious and, to a degree have been upgraded. Our needs are simple, I can live without trays in the buffet. I trust that the warm, welcoming hospitality of the Indonesian and Filipino crew is, for the most part, still alive and well aboard HAL. Will I be disappointed if it isn't, yes. Will it ruin my trip, no.

If anyone else has additional helpful information - good, bad or otherwise - I'd love to hear it. Thanks again.