HAL Help!

[ColoradoJuli]

I just got off the most miserable cruise on NCL. I have always sailed on Carnival and was looking forward to a more 'subdued' sailing. The sailing was subdued with maybe only 12 kids on board, but the ship, food, staff sucked! I will never go on a NCL again.

 

We are scheduled to sail on the Zuiderdam in May. I have a few questions that I need answers to before I make my final payment. All information would be very helpful.

 

Is smoking allowed in the staterooms?

Is smoking allowed by the elevators?

Are there areas of the ship that are smoke free?

What is the food like? Is it gourmet or bad restaurant?

How is the staff? Are they there to help you or are they just doing their job?

Is there food at all hours of the day and night other than room service?

Is there a couch in the veradah rooms?

How is the entertainment? Is it first rate or poor high school production?

How is the coffee? Is coffee available 24/7?

Is there a lido deck where we can sit and enjoy our food or drink our coffee and not be in the midst of the pool games?

What is the adult/kid ratio? And how well behaved are the children? Are they kept busy at all hours so they are not creating havoc for the adults?

If there is tendering, how is the process done. Is it orderly or a complete disaster?

If you have been on the Zuiderdam, would you go again and would you go again on HAL?

 

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I really feel like I got the short end of the deal on this last cruise. It was so awful and I know the Carnival product, that I am considering going back to Carnival just so I do not experience another lousy cruise. It is too much money to be spending to not be enjoying my vacation.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

[Oceanwench]

I sailed on the Zui in November 2003 and I am going again May 14.

 

As far as smoking, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to smoking. I only noticed people smoking in the casino because there were so many of them!

I have to think that smoking would not be allowed in elevators.

 

Food was good. But it's subjective and depends on what you're used to. I thought it was good! Especially enjoyed The Pinnacle.

The staff was wonderful.

Entertainment was OK - nothing memorable.

There was a couch in our verandah room.

 

There is a lido deck -- the lido restaurant is a nice place to enjoy food/drinks.

I spent a lot of time at the lido pool and did not find it to be chaotic. Very relaxing. I don't recall any pool games while I was there.

 

Very few kids on the Zuiderdam [or the Oosterdam] when I went, but I cruise in November, before Thanksgiving vacation. The kids I did see were very well behaved. I think Club Hal keeps them busy during the daytime.

 

Tendering was done by tickets, at least for the first few hours. Pax went to the Queens' Lounge and picked up tickets to tender over to HMC or wherever.

By the time I was ready to take a tender, they were just doing first come/first served.

 

Yes, as I said, I am going on the Zuiderdam a second time.

Last year I cruised on the Oosterdam and on an RCCL ship. Preferred HAL.

RCCL did have good food, but I found it too crowded, too chaotic around the pool, etc.

When I compare my experiences in cruising, I am amazed at how different they were!

I find HAL more relaxing ... and more civilized!

[Orcrone]

Is smoking allowed in the staterooms?

Yes smoking is allowed in the staterooms.

 

Is smoking allowed by the elevators?

Not sure about this one.

 

Are there areas of the ship that are smoke free?

The dining rooms are smoke free, but that's about it.

 

What is the food like? Is it gourmet or bad restaurant?

Somewhere in between. It's definitely not bad restaurant. However, when you're cooking for hundreds at a time you cannot expect 5* caliber. I would say it's about as good as I'd expect considering how many people are fed.

 

How is the staff? Are they there to help you or are they just doing their job?

The staff is very friendly. But on my last cruise the DR staff seemed to be overworked, not leaving much time for socializing.

 

Is there food at all hours of the day and night other than room service?

I don't remember breakfast hours. Lunch in the Lido started around 11 or 11:30 and continued until 2. After that you could still get deli sandwiches, tacos, burgers and hot dogs until about 5. It reopened around 6 for dinner and continued until about 7:30 or 8. They then had a nighttime buffet from 11 until midnight.

 

Is there a couch in the veradah rooms?

Yes, there are couches in most (if not all) cabins.

 

How is the entertainment? Is it first rate or poor high school production?

I enjoyed the entertainment on the Maasdam, however, entertainment is very subjective. Shows I thought were very good, others weren't impressed with and vice versa.

 

How is the coffee? Is coffee available 24/7?

Coffee (and tea) are availabe 24/7 in the Lido.

 

Is there a lido deck where we can sit and enjoy our food or drink our coffee and not be in the midst of the pool games?

Don't know for sure about the Zuiderdam, however, pool games were virtually non-existant on the Maasdam. Also, there's more than one pool if games are taking place.

 

What is the adult/kid ratio? And how well behaved are the children? Are they kept busy at all hours so they are not creating havoc for the adults?

That depends on when you travel. May should not have as many kids as during school break. Holland America will probably not have as many kids as other lines. As for how they act, bad behavior is not limited to a particular cruise line.

 

If there is tendering, how is the process done. Is it orderly or a complete disaster?

HMC has tendering. We went to a lounge and received tender passes based on when you arrived. We received a pass for tender 16 and it took 2 hours to get to the island. Suite passengers receive priority tender passes.

 

If you have been on the Zuiderdam, would you go again and would you go again on HAL?

This will be my first cruise on the Zuiderdam.

[doone]

Oh my goodness, I am sorry you didn't enjoy NCL, but the Zuiderdam should be a better product, IMHO. I sailed NCL many years ago and was not impressed, but that's another story.

 

To answer some of your questions:

 

Smoking is allowed in the cabins of all cruiselines, excpet for Disney.

 

Smoking is only allowed in the designated areas or outside. There is no smoking in the dining room or show lounge.

 

The food is excellent, in my opinion, but food is subjective, so that's hard to answer.

 

Food won't be available 24/7 except for room service, but believe me, you won't go hungry.

 

HAL has never really had alot of kids onboard, but then came the Zuiderdam that they marketed as a family orientated ship. While you may or may not have alot of children onboard, this depends upon when you sail, and that's for any cruise line, not just HAL. If you sail during school vacations or summer time, you are more likely to have kids onboard, than a non vacation week.

 

Service has always been spectacular, I sail HAL for the service from the friendly Philipino and Indonesian crew, they are the greatest.

 

The HAL ships I have sailed (I haven't sailed the Zuiderdam yet, but will on March 12th) have couches in all cabin categories.

 

I like the coffee, but others may say they don't, another subjective area here.

 

HAL's weakest point, IMHO again, has been their entertainment, but I find it to be satisfactory and then sometimes they get some great entertainment.

 

You'll find very few pool games on HAL. Go to the aft deck pool area, no pool games there, that I have experienced anyways.

 

I have always found HAL's tendering process to be organized, it can sometimes be the guests onboard that don't comply.

 

I have been sailing HAL for well over 20 years now, so I would say the answer to that question is YES!!!!

 

I hope this helps and I am sure there are some other posters that can add their experiences also. If I were you, I would give the Zuiderdam a try.

[ColoradoJuli]

Oceanwench - We are scheduled to be on the same cruise. That is if I decide to go ahead and take it. I am sort of leaning toward a land based all inclusive. I just really got burned on this last cruise.

 

Thanks everyone for their input. I really appreciate it.

[Oceanwench]

There's a roll call for the may 14th sailing!

 

Take some time to think things over ... HAL is a wonderful cruiseline, IMO.

[doone]

I agree, don't cancel your cruise because you had one bad one. HAL is a wonderful cruiseline.

[Esme]

I have never seen people standing by the elevators smoking - no ash tray containers there.

 

The Ocean Bar is split in the middle by the Atrium - Starboard side for smoking and the other side, where they play music, is non-smoking.

 

No smoking in any of the restaurants, including the Lido Buffet.

 

Smoking is allowed in certain sections at the pool, but these will be designated by a sign on the table.

 

Aft Lido pool is quieter than pool under the Dome, although if there are very few children on board, both are quiet. No belly flop, hairy chest contests on HAL.

 

I wouldn't say there is food at all hours of the day or night, but you won't go hungry. :D There is always room service. Coffee is available 24/7 at the Lido restaurant

 

Food is subjective - one person may think it's wonderful and the next might think it was not very good.

[jhannah]

I concur with the thoughts already presented. We have sailed the Zuiderdam, and would do so again if the itinerary was right for us. We have found HAL ships to be a cut above.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Juli, most of your questions have been answered so I won't duplicate. What people don't realize is that you are asking about smoking not because you want to smoke, but because you have a problem with smoke (if I recall previous threads correctly).

 

I honestly don't think you'll find it an issue. I've not had any problems with smoke on HAL ships. On the Oosterdam I noticed hardly any smoking and our cabin had clearly been aired out beautifully if there had been anyone smoking there.

 

The only thing NCL and HAL share is the "L". Don't let this last cruise put you off. You've been looking forward to this and you should go.

[ColoradoJuli]

Heather - You are right. I was trying to get a feel on how smokey the ship is. We couldn't find a 'clean' spot on NCL and DH refuses to go again if he has to be breathing smoke the entire time. You really can't blame him because he is highly allergic to the smoke and his throat closes up. This even occurs with smoke from a fire.

 

The main things I am looking for is if the ship is smokey or is it big enough that there are areas that one can go to get away from the smoke.

Eating is always an event on a cruise ship. I want the eating to be an event and not a drudgery as it was on NCL. We also were hungry at night and could not find any food. We really liked Carnival's 24 hour pizzeria. And their pizza is wonderful! My folks want coffee day and night and good coffee. It doesn't have to be Starbucks, but it does need to taste good. We also had a couch in our room and found this wonderful and would like a couch in our room on the Zuiderdam. I guess these are my main concerns. I just never realized how very different cruise lines can be. I assumed some things were standard like food always being available.

 

Thanks again for all of the input. I really appreciate it. My TA is checking into some all-inclusive land packages and is going to get back with me tomorrow. I will then have all the information that I need to make a decision. I will admit right now that I haven't a clue what to do. I just want to have a wonderful celebration of my 40th birthday.

[ekerr19]

If you have been on the Zuiderdam, would you go again and would you go again on HAL?

 

I did - we haved sailed numerously on HAL, but it will be never again on Zuiderdam - for us, it was the cruise from "you know where" but we are probably the minority.

 

There are many others who love it - and I do not wish to take anything from their reviews/opinions.

 

We cruised when the Zui was fairly new and we had a great time in the Suite, but we do not care to repeat the experience - mainly because we prefer the "S" class ships... if you are interested, you can email me for the particulars of our voyage - I have no wish to offend anyone who has had a great time (or is planning a great cruise) on board that ship. :)

 

I am at lskerr@comcast.net

[ColoradoJuli]

Well...I made up my mind. After talking to DH we both decided that we want to do a land based vacation for my birthday. So I have cancelled the cruise and instead booked the Sandals resort in Jamaica.

 

Thank you everyone for your input. I really appreciate the help. Maybe we will try HAL in January when we take our annual cruise.