New to HAL

[Lisah101]

I am very excited about my first cruise with HAL, but still recovering from the sting of having my Carnival 14 day European cruise cancelled only 3 weeks before departure.

 

We've rebooked for Oct on the MS Rotterdam, but I have so many questions I'm not even sure where to start. I know this will be a different cruising experience, but not sure about all the details. Anyone know the main differences that has experience on both cruise lines?

[SwissMyst]

Just back from 50 days (London to Singapore via 14 days in Indonesia) on the Rotterdam so at least I know that ship, but never sailed on Carnival. My guess is it will be a very different experience, and hopefully for the better but this does depend on what you are looking for.

 

The Rotterdam, while an older smaller ship, is a genteel lady with all her parts working and a wonderful crew and staff. Food was very good; special Pinnacle restaurant was excellent. Formal nights were formal. Cabins were spacious with lots of storage - even for 50 days. Shore excursions were excellent and worth the price for the most part. Ship was not lively as most were middle age to older passengers and our days in port were full of activity.

 

Excellent lectures and libraries are signature on HAL ships and draw a lot of quiet, self-contained passengers. However, our long specialty cruise attracted a lot of Dutch who were somewhat younger and stayed up later enjoying more of the night life than the rest of us American/Canadians/British who barely could stay up to see the late shows at 10pm.

 

Welcome to HAL and tell us more about what you want to find in your upcoming cruise. Since this ship has so many specialty itineraries it will attract very different crowds, ages and nationalities than some of the more standard cruise line itineraries so each cruise with her will probably be very unique.

[HamOp]

Your change in plans may well be a blessing in disguise!

 

The Rotterdam is a fine lady, and a favorite of many here on the boards.

 

She was my first back in 2004. Here is my favorite picture of her just to get your blood flowing.....

 

[Hugh0906]

I am very excited about my first cruise with HAL, but still recovering from the sting of having my Carnival 14 day European cruise cancelled only 3 weeks before departure.

 

We've rebooked for Oct on the MS Rotterdam, but I have so many questions I'm not even sure where to start. I know this will be a different cruising experience, but not sure about all the details. Anyone know the main differences that has experience on both cruise lines?

 

Well the first thing you will notice is the difference in the age of the passengers. Not only is HAL geared for an older clientele but it appears that this is your first longer cruise. You would have noticed an older demographic on a 14 day Sunshine cruise also.

 

The biggest difference is in food service. on HAL you can order a full room service dinner or breakfast if the dining room is open. I'd rate the specialty dining (pay extra) venues equal. Carnival has always had an excellent deli sandwich menu and superior pizza for a quick meal. HAL has a superior breakfast buffet, an equal lunch buffet and a superior evening dinner buffet where you can enjoy some or most of the offerings of the main dining room. I'd rate both main dining rooms equal for dinner. There will be at least one bar on the ship offering pre-dinner snacks

 

If you are in an inside, outside or verandah cabin, it will be similiar in size with the exception of HAL having some oversize inside cabins. If you are in a deluxe suite you are in uncharted territory for a Carnival cruiser. The decor in all cabins will be more subdued or refined compared to Carnival cabins.

 

You may take on all the wine you want with HAL. You may purchase hard liquor if you desire at a more reasonable price onboard.

 

Before the cruise you can download to your ipod an art tour if you wish. We've enjoyed it on the HAL ships we've cruised.

 

Thats about all that comes to mind at the moment.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Hugh in Dallas

[gelo7]

Your change in plans may well be a blessing in disguise!

 

The Rotterdam is a fine lady, and a favorite of many here on the boards.

 

She was my first back in 2004. Here is my favorite picture of her just to get your blood flowing.....

 

Love that picture.

[Lisah101]

HamOp, you might be right about this being a blessing. I'm not much of a party person, but love food and history. I do however, get the feeling most of the passengers are retired. My husband was retired, but I'm still working and as a full time telecommuter, he had to go back to work (he was driving me crazy).

 

We are very excited and I have to start planning excursions. Previously I had organized private group tours because I did not like Carnival's group tours. They were much too large and spent too much time waiting/shopping - I want more history

[HamOp]

Love that picture.

 

Thank you very much. If you'd like the full size file of it for printing, drop me an email here

 

 

HamOp, you might be right about this being a blessing. I'm not much of a party person, but love food and history. I do however, get the feeling most of the passengers are retired. My husband was retired, but I'm still working and as a full time telecommuter, he had to go back to work (he was driving me crazy).

 

We are very excited and I have to start planning excursions. Previously I had organized private group tours because I did not like Carnival's group tours. They were much too large and spent too much time waiting/shopping - I want more history

 

Depending on the length of your cruise, you will find a mixture of ages. While true the longer trips do tend to skew older, I assure you you won't be the youngest or the oldest on board.

From what you describe, I believe you will love your HAL cruise. Please do come back and tell us all about it.

[agabbymama]

You will find a teak wood promenade deck that surrounds the ship (no up a deck or down a deck to continue to circle the ship). Great for walking and enjoying the views.

 

You will find wooden deck chairs with warm blankets (depending upon destination).

 

You will find real flowers all around the ship. Even in Alaska on the open deck, there were orchids on the tables. HAL contracts with florists to keep the flowers real and beautiful.

 

You will find a pool with a retractable glass domed roof, so inclement weather doesn't stop pool use.

 

There used to be a Yum Yum man standing at the door as you exited the MDR (not sure if that is still true) with after dinner mints, ginger, little treats etc.

 

A nice sized ship that you can easily maneuver around, and no exceptionally long lines. Seems to be more room for the people that are on-board.

 

You will see trivia games, bingo, nice lectures, a nice library, BUT you won't see any beer drinking contests, or hairy chest contests.

 

While I have cruised Carnival, RCCI, NCL, Princess and Celebrity, HAL is my preferred line. Just seems a notch above the others. I haven't tried Regent or Crystal or Silversea (they are a little above my pocketbook).

 

We did our Med cruise on the Grand Princess, and in Athens we pulled in beside a HAL ship. We dwarfed her in length and deck height. I was ready to jump ship.

 

Have a wonderful cruise, wish I was going with you!

[SwissMyst]

.....

We are very excited and I have to start planning excursions. Previously I had organized private group tours because I did not like Carnival's group tours. They were much too large and spent too much time waiting/shopping - I want more history

 

Only rarely have the HAL shore excursions we have been on included shopping. I hear you, and know exactly what you are talking about from other tour group experiences.

 

There might be free time and occasional request stop for shopping, but typically these excursions have very competent guides who do give you local background and history as the primary focus.

 

On our last trip the guide claimed "some passengers" asked if they could stop at a batik store before we got back to the ship and this suggestion was over-ruled by the rest of the passengers. Not sure if in fact there were a "few passengers" making that request or not, or if the guide just wanted us to visit a favorite shop of his, but he got the message we did not want this to be turned into a "shopping experience".

 

And there are tours which at the outset say there will be shopping opportunities,, so if one wants to shop this is always an option. I would say for the most part, HAL maintains credibility in its shore excursions being primarily cultural enrichment activities and not disguised shopping scams.

[Lisah101]

Thank you so much for all the info - we are doing the 11 day Barcelona to Rome trip in October with a few extra days before and after in each port to enjoy the local ambience. I have a "Lanai" room booked now, but the suite is calling to me - just trying to justify my wants and needs.

 

The Lanai looks like a unique experience. It's a bit like having a "front porch" where you can sit and chat with your neighbors.

 

We did have an aft extended balcony on the Sunshine and will miss that, but not the beer or hairy chest competition. I'm a huge foodie so this is very exciting!

 

One more question - there doesn't look to be a large storage area or shelves in the room like Carnival has - I usually store my camera gear, hat, tour books, etc on the open shelves, but this room looks much smaller and not a lot of storage.

[Lisah101]

Only rarely have the HAL shore excursions we have been on included shopping. I hear you, and know exactly what you are talking about from other tour group experiences.

 

There might be free time and occasional request stop for shopping, but typically these excursions have very competent guides who do give you local background and history as the primary focus.

 

On our last trip the guide claimed "some passengers" asked if they could stop at a batik store before we got back to the ship and this suggestion was over-ruled by the rest of the passengers. Not sure if in fact there were a "few passengers" making that request or not, or if the guide just wanted us to visit a favorite shop of his, but he got the message we did not want this to be turned into a "shopping experience".

 

And there are tours which at the outset say there will be shopping opportunities,, so if one wants to shop this is always an option. I would say for the most part, HAL maintains credibility in its shore excursions being primarily cultural enrichment activities and not disguised shopping scams.

 

That is nice to hear, I didn't go to the port talks after the first one when I realized it was just a thinly veiled sales speech on where to shop in each port.

[indokiwi]

That is nice to hear, I didn't go to the port talks after the first one when I realized it was just a thinly veiled sales speech on where to shop in each port.

 

The European itineraries on HAL do not have a Port Shopping Ambassador who will present anything, although you will receive a guide that will tell you a few shops that HAL "Guarantees" in each port. Apparently these people are on HAL ships in Alaska, Mexico and the Caribbean. When we did our Prinsendam cruise, we really took full advantage of the Travel Guide while on board. They are a HAL employee (in this case, it was Frank Buckingham but he is now retired) who not only give lecture on upcoming ports and history of the area, but also have desk hours every day on sea days and are at the bottom of the gangway on port days for last minute questions.

 

Our HAL excursions in Europe tended to be a lot of touring both on buses/cars and on foot with a small amount of free time at each stop for "on your own" exploration or shopping. Everyone seems to really appreciate the balance. We took advantage of transfers in ports that we didn't want a full "tour" on a bus in and just wanted to walk the city. With those, you typically will buy a package that includes the ride from the ship to the city, a city map and a set amount of time before you have to be back to the bus to make it back to the ship before it sails. These are ideal for "walkable" cities. Our favorite "transfer" was in Brugge.

[RuthC]

One more question - there doesn't look to be a large storage area or shelves in the room like Carnival has - I usually store my camera gear, hat, tour books, etc on the open shelves, but this room looks much smaller and not a lot of storage.

The lanai cabins lost storage space when the furniture was rearranged to make a path to the door. The only drawers are the two under the beds.

One of the closets has hanging space in the lower half, and fixed shelves in the upper portion. The other closets have shelving that can be dropped down for use, or raised for hanging clothes---but not both in the same closet. ;)

 

The bathroom vanity is short; there is a shelf under it. There are two small open shelves for toiletries, meds, etc.

[newcruisers04]

:)I am so happy to see that you are planning another adventure in the Med.

Will you be able to use Joe Banana again?

We have been on HAL--Veendam - loved it! Looking at HAL for next summer to do an Alaska cruisetour.!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

HamOp, you might be right about this being a blessing. I'm not much of a party person, but love food and history. I do however, get the feeling most of the passengers are retired. My husband was retired, but I'm still working and as a full time telecommuter, he had to go back to work (he was driving me crazy).

 

We are very excited and I have to start planning excursions. Previously I had organized private group tours because I did not like Carnival's group tours. They were much too large and spent too much time waiting/shopping - I want more history

[SwissMyst]

That is nice to hear, I didn't go to the port talks after the first one when I realized it was just a thinly veiled sales speech on where to shop in each port.

 

HAL has a practice of separating the shore excursion talks from the port lectures, and even the shore excursions which will obviously push taking their own offerings are not just shopping experiences. I think you will value HAL a lot as a low-key, non-hard sell operation.

[SwissMyst]

... I have a "Lanai" room booked now, but the suite is calling to me - just trying to justify my wants and needs.

 

The Lanai looks like a unique experience. It's a bit like having a "front porch" where you can sit and chat with your neighbors.

 

.....

One more question - there doesn't look to be a large storage area or shelves in the room like Carnival has - I usually store my camera gear, hat, tour books, etc on the open shelves, but this room looks much smaller and not a lot of storage.

 

For storage space alone, you might be already talking yourself into a suite but this is a relatively short cruise so the lanai can most likely meet your needs pretty well. But as explained, these lanai cabins are smaller useable space cabins due to the placement of the sliding doors. On our last Rotterdam cruise, the lanai passengers seemed to be enjoying them very much.

 

However, personally I don't think I would choose one mainly due to the need to keep curtains drawn at night for privacy as well as and the light coming in during the night from the public promenade deck.

 

If you are a foodie, please remember HAL is still at a banquet level of dining. Good to very good, but still it is large scale food preparation. There is a wonderful variety and plenty of fresh Lido choices and the Pinnacle on the Rotterdam did reach the level of great but at a small surcharge price - be sure to include a Pinnacle lunch too because it too was exceptional.

 

Save your real foodie experiences for when you are in port, and probably like us will come back to the ship too full to even think about dinner. I like the website Chowhound to search out foreign foodie venues that have never disappointed us.

[paksey]

We also are going on our first HAL cruise, though we have cruised a lot.

We also are going on the Rotterdam, and it is nice to read some people's comments on that ship, as not as many people post comments on the Rotterdam, as the other HAL ships.

We are young retired, but do like some night life onboard, so hopefully we can find some on our cruise this summer. We like the nightlife on Princess, evenm if we have a busy itinerary.

Question:confused:--How is the food in the MDR of the Rotterdam, in case we choose not to go to the specialty restaurants.

What are some of your favorite dishes, for those "experienced"

Rotterdam sailors!

THANKS:)

[kazu]

We also are going on our first HAL cruise, though we have cruised a lot.

We also are going on the Rotterdam, and it is nice to read some people's comments on that ship, as not as many people post comments on the Rotterdam, as the other HAL ships.

We are young retired, but do like some night life onboard, so hopefully we can find some on our cruise this summer. We like the nightlife on Princess, evenm if we have a busy itinerary.

Question:confused:--How is the food in the MDR of the Rotterdam, in case we choose not to go to the specialty restaurants.

What are some of your favorite dishes, for those "experienced"

Rotterdam sailors!

THANKS:)

 

I found the MDR (food) on the Rotterdam quite edible;) favourites - oh there are too many - definitely the crabs legs, the escargots, the prime rib and HAL's lamb is usually very good:) Many of the cold soups are very good and the breads are just plain dangerous (too good).

 

Definitely try the Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant.

[IRL_Joanie]

Your change in plans may well be a blessing in disguise!

 

The Rotterdam is a fine lady, and a favorite of many here on the boards.

 

She was my first back in 2004. Here is my favorite picture of her just to get your blood flowing.....

 

Love that she has her own dedicated (Rotterdam) Rat Catcher instead of just a plain one:)

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

HamOp, you might be right about this being a blessing. I'm not much of a party person, but love food and history. I do however, get the feeling most of the passengers are retired. My husband was retired, but I'm still working and as a full time telecommuter, he had to go back to work (he was driving me crazy).

 

We are very excited and I have to start planning excursions. Previously I had organized private group tours because I did not like Carnival's group tours. They were much too large and spent too much time waiting/shopping - I want more history

 

Been ther in your shoes, and MADE him go back to work before I killed him!! I will tell you though that when he retirtes again, you will enjoy him much better:) Hubby retires completely in June this year (22 years since I made him go back to work) and now I love having him around for more than 3 days at a time:)

 

I think one of the things about our HAL ships is that you get to spend more quality time with each other if and when you want, and this tends to make it better for us:)

 

Since you say that you are not into all the party type things. I think you will enjoy her and the cruise:)

 

To see some photos of her Interior and exterior you can go here to see photos from Cruise Critic members and not just the stock photos from the cruise line itself: http://abqreunion2008.com/Rotterdam/index.html

 

Joanie

[SwissMyst]

Question:confused:--How is the food in the MDR of the Rotterdam, in case we choose not to go to the specialty restaurants.

What are some of your favorite dishes, for those "experienced"

Rotterdam sailors!

THANKS:)

 

There was not a lot of duplication on our 50 day Rotterdam trip so it was hard to establish favorites. There was a lot of variety and I thought they did a particularly excellent job with the lamb; while DH was happy with the duck.

 

Appetizers were creative with the introduction of more asian flavors and preparation. Soups were 100% excellent in both hot and cold varieties. Vegetarian entrees were often so enticing I chose them even though I am not a vegetarian.

 

When nothing grabbed or more likely I was too full from the prior day's eating, I would order an entree dinner salad which was always fresh, crisp and cold. There were a few exceptional desserts we would want to have over and over again but can't remember their names - one was a coffee, toffee chocolate crunch tart that was spectacular.

 

But keep in mind, all dinners will consist of meat, fish and vegetables in some form or another and one can only prepare them differently in only so many ways. My only real complaint and this is strictly personal is too many @#$%$^$%^&%^$!! carrots, in every shape form and hidden disguise. But that is my own quirk.

 

Love them raw, but not as cooked carrot "batons" or "winter vegetables" or "root vegetables". I could start seeing them sneak up on me in a new and novel menu description from a mile away after my 50 days -- but they did add color and are nutritionally dense and store well, so what ya gonna do?

[SwissMyst]

I found the MDR (food) on the Rotterdam quite edible;) favourites - oh there are too many - definitely the crabs legs, the escargots, the prime rib and HAL's lamb is usually very good:) Many of the cold soups are very good and the breads are just plain dangerous (too good).

 

Definitely try the Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant.

 

Ahh yes, the HAL breads .... how could I have forgotten. I would swear every evening I was just going to eat bread only and finally get my fill. Fresh baked and delicious. Wonderful variety. Consistent on all HAL ships.

 

My concession to empty calories this time on such a long trip was to not use the wonderful HAL sweet butter this time, and the breads were still just fine. Though my last night on board, I celebrated and savored finally HAL dinner rolls with sweet butter - heaven.

 

Also HAL offers a very nice selection of after-dinner cheeses which I would often have instead of dessert. Or DH and I would just share one dessert if we could agree on one.

[paksey]

There was not a lot of duplication on our 50 day Rotterdam trip so it was hard to establish favorites. There was a lot of variety and I thought they did a particularly excellent job with the lamb; while DH was happy with the duck.

 

Appetizers were creative with the introduction of more asian flavors and preparation. Soups were 100% excellent in both hot and cold varieties. Vegetarian entrees were often so enticing I chose them even though I am not a vegetarian.

 

When nothing grabbed or more likely I was too full from the prior day's eating, I would order an entree dinner salad which was always fresh, crisp and cold. There were a few exceptional desserts we would want to have over and over again but can't remember their names - one was a coffee, toffee chocolate crunch tart that was spectacular.

 

But keep in mind, all dinners will consist of meat, fish and vegetables in some form or another and one can only prepare them differently in only so many ways. My only real complaint and this is strictly personal is too many @#$%$^$%^&%^$!! carrots, in every shape form and hidden disguise. But that is my own quirk.

 

Love them raw, but not as cooked carrot "batons" or "winter vegetables" or "root vegetables". I could start seeing them sneak up on me in a new and novel menu description from a mile away after my 50 days -- but they did add color and are nutritionally dense and store well, so what ya gonna do?

Thanks for your imput. It was interesting to me that on your long voyage, there was not a lot of duplication. That is nice for the longer cruises!

When we have taken a longer cruise on Princess, there is a lot of repeats!

There are not a lot of people (like me) that like raw carrots, but NOT cooked ones, but I see you are one of them. I also will not like that, and perhaps just try to make it clear to the waiter.

by the way-- how did you like such a long cruise. We are going on a 21 day one this summer, and that is the longest one we have ever been on!

It has a very busy itinerary, which is great!:)

[HamOp]

Love that she has her own dedicated (Rotterdam) Rat Catcher instead of just a plain one:)

 

Joanie

 

Yep, that's what caught my eye. Only one I've ever seen with the ship name on it.

I do have to wonder what the line with the noose hanging from the right side is for. Is that how misbehaving passengers are dealt with?

[SwissMyst]

Thanks for your imput. It was interesting to me that on your long voyage, there was not a lot of duplication. That is nice for the longer cruises!.....)

 

There is repetition in that the basics would be beef, chicken, fish, pork, turkey, lamb and shell fish ...and even liver (which they do extremely well). But the treatment or side dishes would change or perhaps even the names/styles of the preparation.

 

But when you consider all the moving parts of the whole dinner menu of 4 appetizer choices, 4 soup choices, half dozen entree choices including a dinner salad and a vegetarian option and multiple dessert options, the over all whole was one change and variety. Then there would be specialty theme dinners as well that also broke things up. Or some nights we would go to the Lido, have room service or the Pinnacle. Or just go to bed early and not have dinner at all if we had eaten a lot in port.

 

We came to like the longer cruises and now will not consider much under 3 weeks. 50 days was long, mainly in being away that long and the growing expenses of shore excursions, but I was still not ready to get off. However, when a 7 day trip calls at a close by departure port we would still do it.

 

For us now it is the burden of getting to the embarkation/disembarkation ports and jet lag that is the biggest consideration now. Can't quite swing business class airfare at this time (doubles the cost of the whole trip), but that would make these longer trips and more remote destination far more agreeable.

 

So maybe shorter trips and more expensive airfare to get there and back is our next travel budget option. This last time we opted for a lower level ocean view cabin and paid a lot more for shore excursions, where normally we much prefer a verandah or the smaller suites.

 

So this is never a fixed option, but one in flux. Also with some intensive cruising now these past few years, we are starting to run out of those far away places with strange sounding names and maybe can concentrate on a few more shorter ones in our own back yard.