CCL folks thinking of HAL?

[kirchubel]

Hi all -- we love our Carnival Cruises. However, we want to go to the Mediterranean and some of the HAL lines have some itineraries that look great. We are wondering if there are any folks out there who have cruised both? We know that HAL has none of the on-deck fun that CCL has but that may be OK with us. We like to party but its the ports we love the best, and the fun on shore. Suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas? We think we can afford about $2500 pp for a cruise and we need balcony rooms! :)

[travelntreats]

Hi all -- we love our Carnival Cruises. However, we want to go to the Mediterranean and some of the HAL lines have some itineraries that look great. We are wondering if there are any folks out there who have cruised both? We know that HAL has none of the on-deck fun that CCL has but that may be OK with us. We like to party but its the ports we love the best, and the fun on shore. Suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas? We think we can afford about $2500 pp for a cruise and we need balcony rooms! :)

HAL is a ownderful line and I have always enjoyed the atmosphere, service and luxury of their ships. Their staff just seem just so much more personal. It is a more laid back cruise, but the overall experience I believe you will find will by far exceed your expectations and at the same time stay within your budget... depending on the length of cruise and accommodations you are looking for..

[luckycruzer]

in May..I'm a CCL cheerleader..but doing this to get to Spain..then another one on Costa, and fly home.. I'm anxious to expierence the diff..but have cruzed other lines since 1969..alot has changed..102 days and counting

[luvtravel38]

sailed both HAL and CCL last year. Both cruises were enjoyable. I think HAL has better food and overall service whereas CCL has better entertainment and activities. I would sail either cruiseline in the future.

[Kabana]

I have cruised on HAL 4 times and enjoyed it. Great food, excellent service, subdued ship decor. Fewer activities and quieter but on a port intensive itinerary that might be better. More passenger space per ship and the crew is fantastic. Larger library and lots of quiet corners to relax. The Lido buffet is all made to order stations, very little self serve. Probably too quiet for many on a carribean cruise compared to CCL but nice for a Med.

 

Oh and a couple more things

Room service breakfast is pretty much full dining

Ice cream station has a liqueur selection!

[kirchubel]

Sounding better and better. We really don't get into the crazy contests although they are fun to watch, and we are much happier going on port-intensive cruises than the ones that have multiple days at sea. We are going to the Carribbean in May on Victory:D [and have been on Legend, plus a couple of RCCL ships]. Legend was fantastic, the best ship we've been on so far, and we had a wonderful time on that itinerary. We have been contemplating Med. cruises but can't decide between one that goes to Barcelona or one that goes to Turkey so if you have any input on that we'd appreciate that too! Thanks for all the comments so far!:)

[jessemon]

Hi all -- we love our Carnival Cruises. However, we want to go to the Mediterranean and some of the HAL lines have some itineraries that look great. We are wondering if there are any folks out there who have cruised both? We know that HAL has none of the on-deck fun that CCL has but that may be OK with us. We like to party but its the ports we love the best, and the fun on shore. Suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas? We think we can afford about $2500 pp for a cruise and we need balcony rooms! :)

Love HAL...If you look at my siggy you can see how many HAL cruises and Carnival cruises I have been on. As already stated by several people it is more layed back, better service and in my opinion more traditional cruising......

I have a short cruise scheduled with them on the Ryndam after her drydock in February and am really looking forward to this.....;):cool:

[Essiesmom]

Loved my HAL cruise on Oosterdam. You will find little touches that enhance your cruise experience, suvh as port lectureres that tell you about the port, not about the tours offered by the ship and where to shop. Jigsaw puzzles in the library, daily NYT crosswords, daily trivia quizzes plus live trivia challenges. More shows. The Filipino crew did a show, and the Indonesian crew another. I thought the food and service equal on the two lines, in fact, on all the lines I have cruised.

I would go for Istanbul over Barcelona... EM

[robcool]

Just got back from my first HAL cruise. There is a link to the review in my signature. Would I do it again? No line, for me, has given me any reason to go back to them exclusively. They all have good points, and not so good points. For me it is all about the cost and where the cruise goes. I just booked a cruise on Pride next January.

[mudscraper]

HAL also allows it`s passengers to bring on unlimited amounts of wine or champagne and of course water/juice/soda. $18.00 corkage fee if wine is consumed in the dining room.

 

 

Rich

[x-cruiser]

Do past passengers on Carnival qualify for past guests rates on HAL? I know Carnival owns both.

[djacobson]

Do past passengers on Carnival qualify for past guests rates on HAL? I know Carnival owns both.

 

Yes, you do qualify for a discount with any one of the other brands owned by Carnival. You may need to give your TA your Carnival guest number.

[Mtn2Sea]

My DW and I have taken 4 HAL cruises on the Med in the past 5 years and have loved them all. They tend to be port intensive, so the limited on-board activities worked out fine. HAL has what I call more "traditional" ships - more wood and less glitz. As far as Barcelona or Turkey, with no hesitation, I'd recommend Turkey. When I saw we would be stopping in Turkey for our first cruise, I thought that would be a wasted day. We've now been there four times and it's our favorite country, both because of the sights and the people. The food is also great. However, regardless of the Med cruise you pick, you'll love it if you're the least bit interested in history.

[Lineaway]

We went on HAL a couple years back. I enjoyed the cruise and would try them again. However, my wife didn't enjoy it. Kinda funny how nobody has mentioned that HAL has a much older passenger onboard. We are in our 40's and we were the young ones. You might think that wouldn't make much of a difference but it does. Hence the "quiet" atmosphere. Casino was almost empty after 1100, scooters were parked around the ship, food (although excellent) was in really tiny portions (kinda like the airlines). Entertainment was geared toward the older crowd. A perfect example which sums this up....... we were in the main showroom to watch the comedian, he joked about adult diapers and then mentioned that HAL was attracting a younger crowd as he had seen people in their 40's onboard and LOOK, all three of them are here tonight ( he was funny but you get my point). Again, I really enjoyed the cruise as I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the entertainment was ok. Rather nice finding a seat in the casino in the evening.

 

On another topic, I used our past HAL passenger status to get a discount on our first Carnival cruise comming up in March. You have to ask if that discount is available, Its usually not mentioned. It doesn't work on Princess though as I tried.

[yogi2929]

Another thing that HAL has is the YUM YUM man. He is stationed at the front of the MDR at meal time and has an assortment of treats. Things like green apples, red apples & ginger mints.

 

The bad thing about HAL is that there is no 24hr icecream.

 

We've taken our kids on HAL (repo & Alaska) cruises. They have had a great time. The longer the itin the older the pax. True on any line.

 

You can get the Past Passenger rate if one is available for your sailing. The rate is not offered on all sailings.

[osiebosie]

Love HAL. Love yum-yum man.

 

Love,

 

Shay

[adjburch]

DH and I are trying different cruiselines. We have enjoyed them all. Look below to see which ones we have tried.

 

I think you will really enjoy HAL but then again, I have enjoyed every cruise we have been on.

[Nunu]

Another thing that HAL has is the YUM YUM man. He is stationed at the front of the MDR at meal time and has an assortment of treats. Things like green apples, red apples & ginger mints.

 

 

False Advertising. :confused:

[PROCRUISE]

Hi all -- we love our Carnival Cruises. However, we want to go to the Mediterranean and some of the HAL lines have some itineraries that look great. We are wondering if there are any folks out there who have cruised both? We know that HAL has none of the on-deck fun that CCL has but that may be OK with us. We like to party but its the ports we love the best, and the fun on shore. Suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas? We think we can afford about $2500 pp for a cruise and we need balcony rooms! :)

 

We have cruised with both lines and have nothing to really say negative about either line. Food and shows are better on Carnival, service is excellent on HAL.HAL is great for a specific itinerary and if you really enjoy the experience of just cruising.

If you're not going to the Mediterranean soon, you might check out The Carnival Magic. We did the Western and Eastern Mediterranean with Carnival and the trips were fabulous. I think the itinerary is most important and we'd recommend Western Mediterranean first, if you've never been.

[halos]

Mediterranean cruises are all about the ports and less to do with the ships, so I think any line you take for this type of cruise will be wonderful.

[FightOnRon]

If I were a cheerleader I would be one for HAL as my first trip on a CCL ship is coming up. So I can't compare yet, and maybe not even after as I am only doing a trial 4 night cruise,,,but I will agree with most comments about HAL if not compared to CCL. The itneraries are port intensive, the excursions are mind blowing, there are tons of quiet areas on the ship (we were shushed in the library once for talking). I assme the passenger base is older but I can't tell you yet.

 

I do know my first trip with HAL was a 13 day cruisetour in Alaska. We were put in groups of 50 as we traveled around in busses and trains and boats,and of that group of 50, my DW and I were some of the younger ones at 50 years old. I was suprised on how much energy some of the 70 somethings had. I hope I have that much energy when I get there. I can say I never had a bad meal on HAL ever (I will say though I never eat in the buffetts). I've never had an issue with anything on a HAL ship. Cabins always perfect, crew always attentive (and they do learn your names really fast). Oh, another thought, I agree the shows seem to be geared for an older crowd, but again no comparison. For example on my last upon the Eurodam we had a British stage actress board for one night of entertainment, doing a solo act of some opera and songs fomr musicals such as Phantom.

 

 

But I am curious about the Funships so I am stepping out of my comfort zone and giving it a whirl, and will give my most honest opinion taking into account the differences I expect from a 4 night cruise that is 1/2 the price of a HAL equivalent.

[halos]

and will give my most honest opinion taking into account the differences I expect from a 4 night cruise that is 1/2 the price of a HAL equivalent.

 

:eek:

*eek*

 

Short CCL cruises are not the same as long CCL cruises and are a poor representation of the line imo. I'm sure you are aware of this, but wanted to repeat that anyway.

[FightOnRon]

:eek:

*eek*

 

Short CCL cruises are not the same as long CCL cruises and are a poor representation of the line imo. I'm sure you are aware of this, but wanted to repeat that anyway.

 

That's why i say I will try to be fair, flames or not. I have been on one 4 nighter on HAL but it was a repositioning form Vancouver to LA. Don't know if that would be a fair comparision because the HAL ship was on a 21 day leg to Florida (but we had 1 formla night and 3 casual nights),,but 90% of the people got off in LA so it's close to a 4 nighter,,sans ports (we only stopped in Seattle).

[Essiesmom]

Actually, there is a world of difference between a 4 night and a three night cruise, and a universe difference from a cruise to nowhere...on any line! EM

[kirchubel]

Wow, you guys are great. !!!I knew I could count on my Cruise Critic buddies to help us out. The comments about the Magic - I was thinking about that cruise too. It will really depend on the prices and itinerary we can get. My husband is urging Turkey so we may end up doing something on HAL. If you have any suggestions as to the ports you loved best, that too would be apprecciated. I know we can check out the port threads as well. So thank you all for your comments! They are very, very helpful.:)