Holland america...opinions???

[bugspost]

We have only cruised 3 times........Royal Caribbean, Princess & Norwegian. We are checking out the different lines to see who we like best. Any opinions about Holland?? I have read some reviews but would like to hear pros & cons. We still have Royal as tops on our list w/Norwegian second & Princess last. On our last cruise, many raved about Holland & the great food,customer service,etc.

 

Thanks for any advice,opinions, tips???:)

[CruiserBruce]

You will find all sorts of info and opinions over on the HAL board, here;

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171

[Kamloops50]

We have only cruised 3 times........Royal Caribbean, Princess & Norwegian. We are checking out the different lines to see who we like best. Any opinions about Holland?? I have read some reviews but would like to hear pros & cons. We still have Royal as tops on our list w/Norwegian second & Princess last. On our last cruise, many raved about Holland & the great food,customer service,etc.

 

Thanks for any advice,opinions, tips???:)

 

You'll find HAL comparable to Princess . The age group might be bit older the Princess and RCI. HAL tends to attract an older age group.That said on short 7 day cruise in the Caribbean that might be quite correct .

[Hlitner]

My only advice (we are Diamond with RCI, Elite with Princess, and 4 Star Mariners with HA) is that if you are under 55 and like lots of activities and entertainment aboard you might want to reconsider cruising with HA. Just so I am clear about motives, we are off for 14 more days on HA next week so we have no problems with the line. But we are in our mid-sixties and love our days at sea reading a good book.

 

Hank

[OCruisers]

My only advice (we are Diamond with RCI, Elite with Princess, and 4 Star Mariners with HA) is that if you are under 55 and like lots of activities and entertainment aboard you might want to reconsider cruising with HA. Just so I am clear about motives, we are off for 14 more days on HA next week so we have no problems with the line. But we are in our mid-sixties and love our days at sea reading a good book.

 

Hank

 

Agree with Hank that you need to reconsider if lots of activities and entertainment are important to you!

 

We like HAL for port intensive cruises when we always enjoy returning to a rather quiet ship and getting to bed fairly early. On the other hand ... too many At Sea days on HAL would bore us silly ... and we are in our mid 60's.

 

LuLu

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[bugspost]

My only advice (we are Diamond with RCI, Elite with Princess, and 4 Star Mariners with HA) is that if you are under 55 and like lots of activities and entertainment aboard you might want to reconsider cruising with HA. Just so I am clear about motives, we are off for 14 more days on HA next week so we have no problems with the line. But we are in our mid-sixties and love our days at sea reading a good book.

 

Hank

 

Hubby 65 & i am 57 so lots of activities & entertainment not a major deal.....we just enjoy cruising.....:)

[Putterdude]

As you can see we have sailed mainly with Princess but with recent changes and cutbacks we have been looking for a new "home" cruise line. We tried out HAL over Christmas last year it was unquestionably the worst cruise, the dirtiest ship and the coldest food we have ever experienced and won't be back anytime soon. As you have enjoyed RCL you may care to try Celebrity which we have found to be very to our taste. We are in our mid sixties.

[bugspost]

As you can see we have sailed mainly with Princess but with recent changes and cutbacks we have been looking for a new "home" cruise line. We tried out HAL over Christmas last year it was unquestionably the worst cruise, the dirtiest ship and the coldest food we have ever experienced and won't be back anytime soon. As you have enjoyed RCL you may care to try Celebrity which we have found to be very to our taste. We are in our mid sixties.

 

thank you........have heard such mixed reviews about HAL........we really loved RCL......course, it was our 1st cruise but am so drawn to simply go back to RCL....but we will consider Celebrity.........heard good stuff about them...

[Starbright]

I absolutely love HAL. It's not always possible for me to cruise with them, but if I could I would always choose HAL first.

[Keith1010]

I would read some of the reviews on the member cruise review board.

 

You won't find everything saying the same thing so I would try to see what items around 80% of those who wrote reviews said.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

Not certain of your age or what you like in activities.

HAL has cut back on the amount activities on their ships -- mainly because they have cut back on staff who ran these activities.

For younger people I suggest the Vista and Signature class ships on HAL.

[Hlitner]

Hubby 65 & i am 57 so lots of activities & entertainment not a major deal.....we just enjoy cruising.....:)

 

Then it sounds like it's time for you to "discover" HA. Although the line is now going through some issues with cut-backs being too obvious it is still one of our favorite lines (76 days on HA just this year). One interesting facet about HA is the amazing loyalty of many of its long time customers. Personally, we have lots of issues with HA and do not feel it is near Celebrity in overall quality....but still find ourselves cruising on HA again and again.

 

Hank

[travlnblueberries]

HA use to be my favorite line, but the past two or three cruises we've sailed with them, their service is going a bit downhill. I'm not saying I wouldn't sail with them ever again, but I wouldn't go out of my way either.

[Taxguy77]

Have not been on RCL, but of the other 3 Celebrity was the best experience and HAL the most comfortable beds and bath.

[mr green]

My finding is that while HAL is a fair cruise line, but activities tend to be a little dull.

 

john

[Aquahound]

We have only cruised 3 times........Royal Caribbean, Princess & Norwegian. We are checking out the different lines to see who we like best. Any opinions about Holland?? I have read some reviews but would like to hear pros & cons. We still have Royal as tops on our list w/Norwegian second & Princess last. On our last cruise, many raved about Holland & the great food,customer service,etc.

 

Thanks for any advice,opinions, tips???:)

 

I really wish I could rave about the food and service on HAL, but my one experience so far was just the opposite. I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam earlier this year and quite frankly, I was bored. I knew what I was getting in to, but I really didn't expect there to be no entertainment past 10 pm. Everything shut down so early and the one hot spot, the piano bar, was too small. As for the food, DW and I ordered room service dinner on several nights....not because we wanted to, but because the dining room service was pretty bad. Even NCL had better MDR service, and that says a lot. ;)

 

I cruise RCI regularly and have been on some NCL cruises, so I know your experience. If RCI is tops on your list, I really think HAL will disappoint you, as it did me.

[Sandy Sails]

My 2008 Westerdam cruise (B2B) had the best entertainment ever! The cruise director was so funny, there was an Elton John impersonator and a funny lady comedian. Together they made up the panel of judges for an American Idol type kareoke show - hysterical! And HAL has the most comfortable beds ever. It was during Spring Break so there were alot of younger people on the ship instead of the usual older crowd.

 

However, I wouldn't go on another HAL cruise expecting a repeat of my 2008 cruise. You just never know...

[NoobCruise]

We cruised HAL for the first time in September to Alaska. We're both early 40s. We had a fabulous time. The service was great and all the staff was so friendly, always greeting you with a smile and a hello.

 

The food was ok. Some was very good. Their crab cakes were amazing. Most was kind of bland. They could definitely use more spices. The desserts, mostly the cakes, were disappointing.

 

We sailed on the Westerdam and it was very clean and in great shape. The bed was amazingly comfortable, and that's a very touchy aspect for me after a spinal fusion. When we travel, most beds are very uncomfortable, but HALs beds were great!

 

The entertainment, for us was hit or miss. The comedian and the juggler were very entertaining. We didn't care for the singing/dancing shows. We thought they were very dated, something grandma would like. We enjoyed watching the kaeroke - there was really some talent there! And we laughed a lot at the Love and Marriage game, Battle of the Sexes, and Trivia. The cruise director and DJ were very entertaining. However, the whole ship seemed to go to bed very early. We walked around the ship after 9 or 10 and it was like a ghost ship. Over 2000 passengers and nobody was around. Although we didn't go tothe casino, disco, piano bar or sports bar because they were heavy with cigarette smoke and I have asthma. Maybe everyone was there. There wasn't much going on around the rest of the ship.

 

Bottom line - we had a great time and would definitely cruise with them again, but may choose another line next time for better entertainment.

[marco]

We also are Diamond/Elite/4 Star. HAL/Princess/Celebrity are our favorite lines, adn the 3, pretty equally. I do like the "fit and finish" and decor the most on HAL. My very favorite feature on HAL is the glass dome over the main pool area. Regardless of the weather, the pool area can always be enjoyed in comfort. I also (IMO) think HAL has the most comfortable bedding.

[luddite]

CruiseCritic is a good resource.

Start by reading some reviews of HAL trips. Read the HAL boards.

There is LOTS of info to be had.

[pris993]

We have only cruised 3 times........Royal Caribbean, Princess & Norwegian. We are checking out the different lines to see who we like best. Any opinions about Holland?? I have read some reviews but would like to hear pros & cons. We still have Royal as tops on our list w/Norwegian second & Princess last. On our last cruise, many raved about Holland & the great food,customer service,etc.

 

Thanks for any advice,opinions, tips???:)

 

 

If you like Royal best... I doubt you would like HAL.

 

We have cruised Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Royal, NCL, Crystal and Cunard plus some lines that are not around anymore. Our favorites are Princess, HAL, Cunard, Celebrity in that order. We have not been on Royal in years... when they started building larger ships, the cabins got smaller and we stopped booking Royal. Their stricker alcohol policy is another reason. Royal seems to cater to a younger crowd... we are 65/80 yrs. Our all time favorite is Cunard... lost of class, great entertainment, good food and service and more formal. Princess and HAL are very similar... we prefer both to Celebrity.

[DDWW]

We have about 20 cruises under our belt (So that’s why my belt is so much bigger now! :o )

Anyway; Really like Princes, Royal and Celebrity. Tried Holland a couple years back for an Alaskan cruise. They had one try to impress us.

They failed.

 

Just one example; Never had wait staff reach across table to serve before or after this trip. Staff was very rushed and did this throughout the trip.

 

DDWW

[cardbucfan]

We've sailed RCL, HAL, Princess and Carnival and honestly, we didn't find that many differences. We've been in suites, regular balcony cabins and our kids in interiors and found the service consistent throughout. The food is similar on all of them with RCL having the worst IMHO, I found Princess to have the smallest cabins but the prettiest ships, the HAL ships were smaller (I don't like the mega ships-makes me shudder!) but certainly had what we needed. Carnival has some great itineraries and decent prices but the only ship we've been on is pretty darn gaudy with its decor. We are upper 40's/50's with two teen boys. Their favorite was a Thanksgiving cruise on Princess but that was the first time they had their own cabin so I'm pretty sure that was the biggest factor there! We generally do port intensive cruises so are up early so night life isn't a huge factor for us. We are there for the ports and relaxation.

[JimAOk1945]

This thread has been very helpful and informative. We were considering HAL for Alaska, but now have doubts.

 

We have been to Alaska twice, once on Princess and once on RC. Maybe we should stick with what we already know is good!

[Barrheadlass]

Our first cruise ever was with HAL in Alaska in Sept. 2011. We've just booked our third HAL cruise. We're slightly younger than you. I enjoyed the shows, felt the food was fine (they are cooking for 1000+ people) and generally were pleased. We're both very good at entertaining ourselves, too.

I would recommend HAL...but must admit we've got an Oceania cruise booked too...just for fun comparison purposes:)