HAL Cruise Line

[ScottC4746]

We are thinking of taking another cruise in 2014 but we (42 and 49) are beginning to feel RCCL is too young for us. We love higher quality culinary choices, relaxing entertainment neither of us are dancers, we don't want the high energy disco, we love high levels of service on a cruise. How is HAL in the GLBT community? It will be our frist HAL cruise.

[bobnjeff]

We are thinking of taking another cruise in 2014 but we (42 and 49) are beginning to feel RCCL is too young for us. We love higher quality culinary choices, relaxing entertainment neither of us are dancers, we don't want the high energy disco, we love high levels of service on a cruise. How is HAL in the GLBT community? It will be our frist HAL cruise.

 

I am 51 and have been on HAL twice back in 2008 and 2011. Both times were great. Meet great guys onboard. Great service and food and entertainment. Both times were on the smaller HAL ships, the Veendam and the Amsterdam. I love the smaller ships. We have a cruise booked on the Veendam for Dec of this year. Hoping the price drops a bit more. We are also booked on Celebrity which is cheaper. Celebrity is great but I find HAL just a little nicer and more traditional. Give them a try I am sure you will have a great time.

[wripro]

Another line to consider is Oceania. Beautiful ships, great food and service and terrific itineraries.

[K2Cruises]

We have cruised on Holland America numerous times (5 Alaskan, one Baltic and one Canada/New England). We have always experienced excellent service and those little extras that make Holland America superior to other lines we have cruised. The food has almost always been above average and it has become our cruise line of choice. When we began cruising on Holland, I was in my late 30's and I am now 50. It is a much more relaxed experience than many of the other lines but that's the way we have always preferred it.

[frankc98376]

Ships are registered in The Netherlands- the first country to recognize marriage equality!! How can you go wrong? :)

All jokes aside we will be getting married on The Oosterdam in May. Everyone we have spoken with at HAL and the wedding planners has been WONDERFUL and supportive.

One woman at HAL in Seattle commented that she would like to get to the ship and see our wedding- I said "please do and make sure and give us a hug".

Will always be #1 with us!

Edited April 18, 2013 by frankc98376

[Rotterdam]

We are thinking of taking another cruise in 2014 but we (42 and 49) are beginning to feel RCCL is too young for us. We love higher quality culinary choices, relaxing entertainment neither of us are dancers, we don't want the high energy disco, we love high levels of service on a cruise. How is HAL in the GLBT community? It will be our frist HAL cruise.

 

After many many cruises w/ HAL my partner & I gave up on the line completely. They certainly are not what they once were. We are a couple of years older than you guys but for us the lack of quality on the HAL ships was a big turn off. THe Indonesian crew cannot do enough for you - unfortunately there is not enough of them. Food is very subjective but we found it to be on the bland side. We live in Manhattan & travel a great deal so we are foodies and the food onboard grew tiresome very quickly. We also have no interest in the mega ships now coming out....

 

We planned more land based vacations this year but plan on trying Oceania next year. We felt we did not want the formality of Regent & Seabourn....friends that have travelled on Oceania have nothing but rave reviews about their ships, service & food. We did sail on Azamara - Oceania has 2 similar size ships & we really enjoyed the ship for the 16 days we were onboard...we just think at this point Oceania has done a really good job w/ their product.

 

Please let us know what you decide.

[Texas Duo]

My partner and I took a cruise to Alaska on with HAL in June 2012. We had a wonderful time. We live in Texas and it is much easier for us to cruise on Carnival due to port locations, but would sail HAL exclusively if they sailed out of our area. The ship was beautiful and the service was excellent. We had an amazing time.

[keithm]

We are thinking of taking another cruise in 2014 but we (42 and 49) are beginning to feel RCCL is too young for us. We love higher quality culinary choices, relaxing entertainment neither of us are dancers, we don't want the high energy disco, we love high levels of service on a cruise. How is HAL in the GLBT community? It will be our frist HAL cruise.

I think you'll have a good cruise. You might want to try their newer ships, or perhaps the Princindam(their most elegant)As for us(we're close to 10 years older than you)We always did Cunard. We liked the formality of the "ocean liner" style. It is quite formal & some may not like that.I'd also give Celebrity or Oceania a try. Oceania is really making a name for it'self in the area of really fine dining, but less formal than Cunard. With Cunard pretty much abandoning the Caribbean, we have to look to other lines.

[Rotterdam]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1318690

[TxnAquarian]

I can't give you a suggestion about HAL, as we are doing our first HAL cruise this summer. But we are Celebrity devotees - we are only doing HAL because Celebrity isn't offering any itineraries we haven't done. Celebrity, in our opinion, is fabulous. I highly suggest giving them a try in Aqua Class - some extra room perks, plus a private dining room for breakfast and dinner for Aqua Class guests only. It is the closest thing to the luxury lines that I have found - and I have been on Regent and Crystal many times. It is upscale, without being stuffy. And we find the age range is very mixed, which appeals to us. Plus, there is a very welcoming LGBT environment onboard. I can't suggest Celebrity enough.

 

We'll let you know how our June cruise is on HAL. As much as we love Celebrity, we are always interested to try new companies.

 

 

 

Michael

[donnatello]

We're 3-star mariners and HAL is one of our favourite lines, for several reasons, the fit and finish of the ships, the art, the service, the dome over the pool, the most comfortable beds and bedding on any line, the dining. I do agree with "Rotterdam", but as is the case of EVERY cruise line, no one will increase the base price of a cruise, but as costs go up, they just cut back on everything! Personally, I'd rather pay a bit more and get a bit more! And yes, we much prefer the "Statendam" class of ships over the megas. We loved our cruise on the "Noordam", but still prefer the smaller ships. We thought HAL did a good job with GLBT meetings and activities and will certainly sail with them in the future.

[Kenito]

We are thinking of taking another cruise in 2014 but we (42 and 49) are beginning to feel RCCL is too young for us. We love higher quality culinary choices, relaxing entertainment neither of us are dancers, we don't want the high energy disco, we love high levels of service on a cruise. How is HAL in the GLBT community? It will be our frist HAL cruise.

 

My opinion is that the GLBT community is a fixture in the cruise business, and while there may be individual cases anywhere, as a "rule" I am simply not concerned about being gay on a ship these days. And... I usually travel in a group, so people can sniff us out even without gay-dar. :rolleyes:

 

I go on cruises to do things I can't do at home; I enjoy the ports and ships... could care less about the discos, all night parties, and rock walls. So yeah, I hear you.

[CrusingJoe]

My opinion is that the GLBT community is a fixture in the cruise business, and while there may be individual cases anywhere, as a "rule" I am simply not concerned about being gay on a ship these days. And... I usually travel in a group, so people can sniff us out even without gay-dar. :rolleyes:

 

I go on cruises to do things I can't do at home; I enjoy the ports and ships... could care less about the discos, all night parties, and rock walls. So yeah, I hear you.

 

Oh you can change from being gay on a ship!:eek: Just kidding, thought the statement was cute. I agree we too could care less about the discos, all night parties, and rock walls, but like being with our gay family.

[donnatello]

We're "3 Star mariners" and love HAL. We've always had a wonderful timeand really, really like HAL for a variety of reasons. There have always been FOD get togethers and mostly orchestrated by staff who were also "members" of the club.

[Kenito]

Oh you can change from being gay on a ship!:eek: Just kidding, thought the statement was cute. I agree we too could care less about the discos, all night parties, and rock walls, but like being with our gay family.

 

But why would we want to? :rolleyes: Cruising is fun! ;)

[Bramcruiser]

Only you can finally decide whats right for you but I suggest that you at least try HAL to see if its a fit for you. I'm approaching 50 (next year) but was always 50 in mind even back when I was in my 20s. So I was always older than any of the products aimed for the "young crowd". When people would say that HAL was only for older people I said, Great! :)

 

HAL is currently tied for my and my SO's favourite cruise line with Cunard (although admittedly we are blowing the budget and doing our first ever luxury small ship experience this year on Silversea). Try it you might like it.

 

David

Not afraid to go back to HAL on a future cruise!

[soldham]

We have been cruising on HAL since we were in our 20's and have no complaints. Yes - the quality has dipped a bit but is still very good value.

[my crow's nest]

Since you say you prefer a higher quality culinary experience may I suggest you dine in the Pinnacle Grill. On our last HAL cruise we used it for breakfast, lunch and dinner almost everyday and it did make it more special.

[wripro]

Isn't the menu the same there every night?

[soldham]

It is but there is quite a bit of variety. Our try a ship that has a Tamarind restaurant. I could (and have) eaten at it many times on a cruise....

[my crow's nest]

Isn't the menu the same there every night?

 

Yes, but there was enough variety for us. The food was much better then that in the main dining room and the service more refined. It's also quiet and more personal. We liked it a lot and would do it again.

[keithm]

Yes' date=' but there was enough variety for us. The food was much better then that in the main dining room and the service more refined. It's also quiet and more personal. We liked it a lot and would do it again.[/quote']

Pricewise, about how much did that end up costing for the voyage?

[my crow's nest]

I think it was $20 per day.

[soldham]

Pinnacle is $25 per person and Tamarind is $15. I usually go to the Pinnacle once but my personal opinion is that it is not that much better that the main dining. Just a nicer ambiance.

[keithm]

I think it was $20 per day.

That's really not bad. I guess it gets steeper if you add drinks to those meals, however.