How Has HAL Changed?

I stole the idea for this thread from another line's general discussion forum . . .

This fun question is for the veteran cruisers who've sailed with Holland America for years. I believe many of us would enjoy and appreciate hearing anecdotes or stories about what cruising with HAL was like "back in the day"?

Were passengers more well-dressed and/or behaved?

Was the general atmosphere more refined or even stately?

Was there more passenger interaction?

Were two-tops as popular then as they are today?

What shipboard activities do you miss?

What venues or customs have gone the way of the dinosaur?

What was Half-Moon Cay like, when it opened?

Hello Calgon1 !

… November 2008 …>

First time I cruised with HA there was the DAM dollars program. At that time the Canaletto, Slices (pizza) and Tamarind doesn't exist nor Eurodam and Niew Amsterdam.

They also have a Last Gala Dinning (remember the giant salad bowls) but this bored the crew... and the PAX !

No Pirate Bar on HMC.

A «forum fight» exploded about the subject : Trays in the Lido !!!!!

At that time you were TRAY POSITIVE or TRAY NEGATIVE..!

The PAX actually seems older. Respect. More electric chairs. They cut a little the dinning offer, the menu hold now in one page.

Ahhh ! Good times !

Holacanada from Quebec City

I think my first HAL cruise was about 16 years ago. As best as I can remember..ships were smaller, there were no balconies, and no extra fee restaurants.

The passengers were better dressed in the evenings, there were more upscale foods served like cherries jubilee, caviar, frequent lobster, and steak, desserts were much better. There was a baked Alaska parade in the dining room on the last night.

It seems like the ships are prettier now with larger cabins, more lighting and fresh flowers. Now several of the ships have the cabanas which add to our enjoyment.

Changes have been made some for the better and some not. Just my opinion.

Marcia

I stole the idea for this thread from another line's general discussion forum . . .

 

This fun question is for the veteran cruisers who've sailed with Holland America for years. I believe many of us would enjoy and appreciate hearing anecdotes or stories about what cruising with HAL was like "back in the day"?

 

Were passengers more well-dressed and/or behaved? Ansolutely

Was the general atmosphere more refined or even stately? Yes

Was there more passenger interaction? Yes -- we used to often talk to others while having pre-dinner cocktails.

Were two-tops as popular then as they are today? We used to enjoy tables for 4 and 6 -- but that quickly changed -- mainly due to repetitive conversations.

What shipboard activities do you miss? Special wine sail-away parties, meeting the captain as we entered the show room for a wonderful show -- complete with brochure. For those of us in the suite -- special dinners with the captain on longer cruises -- all suites invited.

What venues or customs have gone the way of the dinosaur?

What was Half-Moon Cay like, when it opened?

When we finally made it to HMC -- our luck was not good at the beginning -- no Cabanas -- just beach with umbrellas -- no clam shells -- much better offerings at the BBQ and a longer stay there -- not just a few hours.

Miss the Passport to Fitness and the Dam Dollars which came later.

The female bar servers who would dress in Dutch uniforms during happy hour and serve Gouda or Edam Cheeses.

The dining room many nights decorated for Dutch Night, Italian Night, etc.

When we finally made it to HMC -- our luck was not good at the beginning -- no Cabanas -- just beach with umbrellas -- no clam shells -- much better offerings at the BBQ and a longer stay there -- not just a few hours.

Miss the Passport to Fitness and the Dam Dollars which came later.

The female bar servers who would dress in Dutch uniforms during happy hour and serve Gouda or Edam Cheeses.

The dining room many nights decorated for Dutch Night, Italian Night, etc.

I would have loved to see the female bartenders in Dutch uniforms during happy hour serving Gouda or Edam Cheese.

May as well post some of my memories too . . .

First cruise, as we put our cards in the reader, the crewman looked at the screen and called, "B-5", then greeted SunFlower and I by name. An Indonesian man handed SunFlower a flute of champagne, and introduced himself , "I am Sapto, your steward. Your bags, please?" Taking our carry-ons, he lead us to our cabin (B-005 on the old Nieuw Amsterdam).

Rosario Strings playing in the atrium.

Hot h'orderves in the lounges during the pre-dinner hour.

Midnight buffets. Every other night.

Different theme, each night for dinner.

Dutch Night - Little blue caps for the men and white caps for the ladies.

Flaming Baked Alaska.

Only one $pecialty restaurant (Pinnacle Grille).

Blue leather portfolios for the cruise documents.

Rosario Strings playing in the MDR on formal nights.

Suite Dinner.

Mariners Reception on Formal Night in Show Lounge.

Abundant floral arrangements throughout the ship.

Lemonade on Deck and at the pool served to us.

Dover Sole

Liver and Onions

Passport to Fitness

Logo Merchandise applicable to each ship for sale in Shops on Board.

Many more crew members taking care of fewer guests.

Ship's Hostess

Cruise Staff working with CD for 'fun activities'

Who Remembers the Horse Racing? :D

Who is Mr and Ms ' (fill in name of ship)

Lovely Brass Cart from which they served hot hors d'ouerves

Dutch Night and the beautifully painted Dutch Hats many crew made for guests

Rosario Strings playing in the MDR on formal nights.

Suite Dinner.

Mariners Reception on Formal Night in Show Lounge.

Abundant floral arrangements throughout the ship.

Lemonade on Deck and at the pool served to us.

Dover Sole

Liver and Onions

Passport to Fitness

Logo Merchandise applicable to each ship for sale in Shops on Board.

Many more crew members taking care of fewer guests.

Ship's Hostess

Cruise Staff working with CD for 'fun activities'

Who Remembers the Horse Racing? :D

Who is Mr and Ms ' (fill in name of ship)

Lovely Brass Cart from which they served hot hors d'ouerves

Dutch Night and the beautifully painted Dutch Hats many crew made for guests

 

 

You're breaking my heart with your list. On my first HAL cruise I identified Mr. and Mrs. Maasdam - we then formed the nucleus of the winningest trivia team - gaining Maglights, dam mugs and various other trophies - rather than the pins (if you are lucky) awarded now.

The cruelest cut of all was finding the fresh squeezed OJ in the Lido being seriously diluted (Prinsendam - Fall 2014).

To try and make you feel better, Navybankerteacher, :) I'll start a list of positive changes to HAL:

Great mattresses

Flat Screen TV's and DVR players

Pinnacle Grill (rather than Odyssey and Marco Polo)

More of a 'station' arrangement in Lido

Any way You Want it Dining

Mariners Embarkation Lunch

Earlier Embarkation and cabins usually ready to be occupied

Staying in Cabins until Disembarkation Color/Number called

Half Moon Cay

Cabanas at HMC

More Caribbean ports

Grand Turk Carnival Playground

Elemis Products in bathrooms - not all would agree they like them but I do :)

Wine Packages - not all would agree they like them and I'm one that does not

Exploration Café

Besides the Horse Racing, on some ships -- Alaska -- we had the whale racing.

First ships we were on there wasn't any Lido open for dinner any night.

There wasn't the Pinnacle Grill or any specialty restaurants on the S class ships. You could only have dinner in the dining room.

How about NO STABILIZERS. First HAL cruise was on the old Volendam in 1980. Came out of Bermuda headed to NYC in 30 ft seas. Not many people up and about. Waves higher than the promenade deck.

Now that was cruising. NOT. Reminded me of my days on a Navy Destroyer where we took a roll from 52 degrees on one side to 52 on the other side.

The Volendam was probably doing half of that with a lot of pitching up and down.

May as well post some of my memories too . . .

 

First cruise, as we put our cards in the reader, the crewman looked at the screen and called, "B-5", then greeted SunFlower and I by name. An Indonesian man handed SunFlower a flute of champagne, and introduced himself , "I am Sapto, your steward. Your bags, please?" Taking our carry-ons, he lead us to our cabin (B-005 on the old Nieuw Amsterdam).

 

Rosario Strings playing in the atrium.

 

Hot h'orderves in the lounges during the pre-dinner hour.

 

Midnight buffets. Every other night.

 

Different theme, each night for dinner.

 

Dutch Night - Little blue caps for the men and white caps for the ladies.

 

Flaming Baked Alaska.

 

Only one $pecialty restaurant (Pinnacle Grille).

 

Blue leather portfolios for the cruise documents.

I do remember when the Rosario Strings played as we got on the ship and were handed a glass of good champagne.

We have quite a few of the special Dutch Hats that the crew made for us.

Taken specially to your cabin.

How about NO STABILIZERS. First HAL cruise was on the old Volendam in 1980. Came out of Bermuda headed to NYC in 30 ft seas. Not many people up and about. Waves higher than the promenade deck.

 

Now that was cruising. NOT. Reminded me of my days on a Navy Destroyer where we took a roll from 52 degrees on one side to 52 on the other side.

 

The Volendam was probably doing half of that with a lot of pitching up and down.

Our first cruise ship was the Cunard Countess -- 14 days out of San Juan.

18,000 tons and no stabilizers.

I stole the idea for this thread from another line's general discussion forum . . .

This fun question is for the veteran cruisers who've sailed with Holland America for years. I believe many of us would enjoy and appreciate hearing anecdotes or stories about what cruising with HAL was like "back in the day"?

 

Were passengers more well-dressed and/or behaved?

Was the general atmosphere more refined or even stately?

Was there more passenger interaction?

Were two-tops as popular then as they are today?

What shipboard activities do you miss?

What venues or customs have gone the way of the dinosaur?

What was Half-Moon Cay like, when it opened?

LOL..I bolded your statement because I remembered the same discussion on this board several months ago..

The other board probably stole the idea from the HAL board..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2170537&highlight=hal+changes

Check out Walt's reply..

I miss those chimes.. Also miss not being greeted by our Steward on boarding & being taken to our cabin.. But we love the early boarding & being able to stay in our cabins later prior to disembarkation..

I too miss so much on HAL:

The old sail a ways with drink specials, crew playing games and giving away prizes, making everyone even more excited about their upcoming cruise.

Horse racing

Violin player in MDR

Mr. and Ms. Amsterdam or whatever ships name you are on

Captain's cocktail party

Hot apps in lounges before dinner

New things about HAL:

Pinnacle Grill

I still enjoy cruising but do miss a lot of what we did have with HAL, they were always set apart from some other cruise lines as they were, and still are, Class!!

I miss the string quartet. Such a lovely way to wind down in the evening. I enjoyed chatting with the players.

To try and make you feel better, Navybankerteacher, :) I'll start a list of positive changes to HAL:

 

Great mattresses

Flat Screen TV's and DVR players

Pinnacle Grill (rather than Odyssey and Marco Polo)

More of a 'station' arrangement in Lido

Any way You Want it Dining

Mariners Embarkation Lunch

Earlier Embarkation and cabins usually ready to be occupied

Staying in Cabins until Disembarkation Color/Number called

Half Moon Cay

Cabanas at HMC

More Caribbean ports

Grand Turk Carnival Playground

Elemis Products in bathrooms - not all would agree they like them but I do :)

Wine Packages - not all would agree they like them and I'm one that does not

Exploration Café

 

Some of these are good - but I'm inclined to see something of a net loss. However, since fares really have not risen in many years, it seems ingracious to complain.

Some of these are good - but I'm inclined to see something of a net loss. However, since fares really have not risen in many years, it seems ingracious to complain.

IMO it's not ungracious to complain.. I truly believe they should raise the cabin prices & bring back so many of the things they have done away with.. I keep track of all the per diem rates of our cruises..

On our last HAL cruise on the Ryndam in Nov. 2013 to the South. Carib, we actually paid less per night than we paid on our first HAL cruise on the Ryndam in Oct. 1998 to the South Carib..

$212.75 per night in 2013 as opposed to $267 per night in 1998..

That's crazy!!! ;) I say charge us more & bring back some of the refinements we've lost due to the low ball fares for inside & outside cabins..

Don't have brochures to compare balcony & suite rates in 1998, therefore don't know if they are the same, higher or less..

I think the suite prices are higher. I was cleaning out some old documents stored in my computer memory and looked at old confirmations of bookings. I only glanced but exact same cabin on same ship seemed to be higher today for Caribbean and for sure on Canada/NE. I think Panama Canal cruise suite prices are up but the passage fare per person for the Canal are higher. I can't say about Australia, Europe or even Alaska.

I think the suite prices are higher. I was cleaning out some old documents stored in my computer memory and looked at old confirmations of bookings. I only glanced but exact same cabin on same ship seemed to be higher today for Caribbean and for sure on Canada/NE. I think Panama Canal cruise suite prices are up but the passage fare per person for the Canal are higher. I can't say about Australia, Europe or even Alaska.

You're correct, at least as far back as when they were just plain old S category staterooms. Based on our records, which date back to the mid 90s, the suite prices outpaced inflation. If you want a really interesting comparison, consider the cost of an A cabin on the old Noordam. Adjusted for inflation, it's quite a bit more than an SS is today. An A on the old ship had a "picture window." No balcony, and a small cabin to boot.

Lest we forget, some things have actually gotten better over the years. (He says, rolling up the hand cranked window on his jalopy.)

Does anyone know why they got rid of horse racing? I know that the easy answer is that there wasn't room once they added those awesome Lido cabanas, but I'm pretty sure that the horses were put out to pasture long before that.

You're correct, at least as far back as when they were just plain old S category staterooms. Based on our records, which date back to the mid 90s, the suite prices outpaced inflation. If you want a really interesting comparison, consider the cost of an A cabin on the old Noordam. Adjusted for inflation, it's quite a bit more than an SS is today. An A on the old ship had a "picture window." No balcony, and a small cabin to boot.

 

Lest we forget, some things have actually gotten better over the years. (He says, rolling up the hand cranked window on his jalopy.)

Interesting discussion. Amazing that Sail still has records from then.

You're correct, at least as far back as when they were just plain old S category staterooms. Based on our records, which date back to the mid 90s, the suite prices outpaced inflation. If you want a really interesting comparison, consider the cost of an A cabin on the old Noordam. Adjusted for inflation, it's quite a bit more than an SS is today. An A on the old ship had a "picture window." No balcony, and a small cabin to boot.

 

Lest we forget, some things have actually gotten better over the years. (He says, rolling up the hand cranked window on his jalopy.)

Our first HAL cruise was Noordam III in what was supposed to be a suite. I had to stand on the couch to look out the window and see what the weather was. The lifeboat blocked most of our view but we had a truly wonderful time and knew we had found our cruise line of choice. We laughed and partied and played so much on that cruise we couldn't wait to return. :) Our next HAL cruise was on the brand new Statendam which has just joined the fleet and that is when we started with what were then called "S" Suites. We were hooked. :) We loved the cabin and verandah right away......

Does anyone know why they got rid of horse racing? I know that the easy answer is that there wasn't room once they added those awesome Lido cabanas, but I'm pretty sure that the horses were put out to pasture long before that.

Oh, yes. Horse racing was long gone before the cabanas made an appearance.

I can't recall any explanation for sending the horses to the glue factory; we just noticed they weren't there anymore.

There was a time when the Cruise Director had a staff of about 4, and the time (especially sea days) was filled with activities designed to bring passengers out and have fun together. The idea of providing activities where passengers could meet & spend time together was evident.

All of a sudden those things---horse racing among them---pretty much disappeared. It seemed to coincidental with a cut in cruise staff, and a focus on income producing activities.

Oh, yes. Horse racing was long gone before the cabanas made an appearance.

I can't recall any explanation for sending the horses to the glue factory; we just noticed they weren't there anymore.

 

There was a time when the Cruise Director had a staff of about 4, and the time (especially sea days) was filled with activities designed to bring passengers out and have fun together. The idea of providing activities where passengers could meet & spend time together was evident.

 

All of a sudden those things---horse racing among them---pretty much disappeared. It seemed to coincidental with a cut in cruise staff, and a focus on income producing activities.

Ruth, did teams dress up and passengers could bet on which horse team won? That is how Princess did it and a great time was had by all.