HAL value overall

[Windsailer]

I'm not quite sure what this means but I'm going to respond to what I think you are trying to say. On the eurodam you could access a number of things on a mobile device. I could view my reservations, the itinerary, book specialty restaurants and view my online bill. You could print your bill yourself as well.

 

What if you don't have a mobile device? HAL should come out of the dark ages and have that info on the TV in the cabin. Perhaps they should think of doing that instead of those relatively useless new partnerships they are entering into.

[cruz chic]

We had the Signature Beverage Package. On several occasions, the computers were down and they insisted they would charge us, then the changes would be reversed once the computers were back up. The charges were not reversed. I had to go to concierge on two occasions to get the charges straightened out. 1. I had to surrender our SBP cards to get the charges reversed. This did not take a few minutes but several hours. This meant we did not have our cards to buy drinks on our package while the cards were surrendered to correct their mistakes. 2. When they finally credited our drinks, they charged the drinks to the current day that they corrected the charges, not the day we drank them. Since HAL has a 15 drink a day limit, this meant we maxed out on drinks on two days, making our SBP cards invalid by about 9:30p, as it looked like we hit our 15 drink limit. This was some pretty poor accounting, in our opinion, and we gave HAL three opportunities to address it (onboard, post cruise survey, follow up email). They chose not to.

 

I'm very disappointed with the way Hal chooses (or not chooses) to deal with issues. I had several issues on my last cruise that I wrote to them about. I rec'd an email that was more like a commercial than anything else. My only wish was for these issues to be addressed and clearly they didn't really care. If this doesn't improve on my next cruises I will go elsewhere.

[SilvertoGold]

We had the Signature Beverage Package. On several occasions, the computers were down and they insisted they would charge us, then the changes would be reversed once the computers were back up. The charges were not reversed. I had to go to concierge on two occasions to get the charges straightened out. 1. I had to surrender our SBP cards to get the charges reversed. This did not take a few minutes but several hours. This meant we did not have our cards to buy drinks on our package while the cards were surrendered to correct their mistakes. 2. When they finally credited our drinks, they charged the drinks to the current day that they corrected the charges, not the day we drank them. Since HAL has a 15 drink a day limit, this meant we maxed out on drinks on two days, making our SBP cards invalid by about 9:30p, as it looked like we hit our 15 drink limit. This was some pretty poor accounting, in our opinion, and we gave HAL three opportunities to address it (onboard, post cruise survey, follow up email). They chose not to.

 

Sorry about that!

HAL accounting on the ships has been a source of great mystery for us, but this really is amazing. No training for what happens if the computers go down, I guess.

I hope they learned something from this and spread the word throughout the fleet.

[cruz chic]

What if you don't have a mobile device? HAL should come out of the dark ages and have that info on the TV in the cabin. Perhaps they should think of doing that instead of those relatively useless new partnerships they are entering into.

 

Can't say that I disagree with you. Hal seems to like to blow money on bs things instead of taking care of what they should. I was just wanting to correct some info with my post. I did like having my account access on my iPad. It was very easy to keep track of. I'm not sure it would work as well for me on a tv.

Edited November 29, 2015 by cruz chic

[knittinggirl]

We did Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity this year.

 

Royal Caribbean's JS has a nice big room. Coffee and tea kettle in the room, a nice assortment of toiletries. Double loyalty credit. No daily newspaper. No flowers anywhere on the ship unless you order in advance. No pen and no pad. Free Meclizine at Guest Relations. No Laundremat.

 

Princess - Lotion and 1 bar of soap and mystery body wash & shampoo in dispenser in shower. Pen and pad. Flowers for purchase at flower cart. Laundremat - but a lot of washer out of order. Charge suite gratuities, and get only 1x loyalty credit.

 

Celebrity - Concierge Class - Balcony w/ benefits. Free meclizine, very small room (somewhat of a shock after mini/JS. Loyalty credit sliding scale depending on room category.

[Tom O.]

We did Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity this year.

 

Royal Caribbean's JS has a nice big room. Coffee and tea kettle in the room, a nice assortment of toiletries. Double loyalty credit. No daily newspaper. No flowers anywhere on the ship unless you order in advance. No pen and no pad. Free Meclizine at Guest Relations. No Laundremat.

 

Princess - Lotion and 1 bar of soap and mystery body wash & shampoo in dispenser in shower. Pen and pad. Flowers for purchase at flower cart. Laundremat - but a lot of washer out of order. Charge suite gratuities, and get only 1x loyalty credit.

 

Celebrity - Concierge Class - Balcony w/ benefits. Free meclizine, very small room (somewhat of a shock after mini/JS. Loyalty credit sliding scale depending on room category.

 

Thank you for the comparison. But for me, the only item your list that I would care about is the room size. Maybe because I am a man, I care very little about toiletries. As long as there is a bar of soap and some shampoo, I am ok. But my wife may disagree.

I know that when you pay extra for a suite, you expect to be treated nicely. But room size, furniture, and service would be the highest priorities for me.

[iancal]

When we compare cruises it pretty much comes down to ship, itinerary, cabin.

 

We have found service, food, and entertainment to be about the same on several cruise lines, including HAL with the exception of NCL where it is usually better.

 

We assume food is mediocre-good (then surprised when it is very good) and comparable across three of four cruise lines. Same with entertainment.

 

Ship is key for us. Then itinerary. Cabins are often about the same size but sometimes not especially if we snag an extended balcony which we enjoy very much.

 

We weigh those up based on price. Some HAL ships we consider, others we simply would not consider. Same with a few other lines but we find that we need to be more careful with HAL in this regard.

Edited November 29, 2015 by iancal

[qsuzi]

We did Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity this year.

 

Royal Caribbean's JS has a nice big room. Coffee and tea kettle in the room, a nice assortment of toiletries. Double loyalty credit. No daily newspaper. No flowers anywhere on the ship unless you order in advance. No pen and no pad. Free Meclizine at Guest Relations. No Laundremat.

 

Princess - Lotion and 1 bar of soap and mystery body wash & shampoo in dispenser in shower. Pen and pad. Flowers for purchase at flower cart. Laundremat - but a lot of washer out of order. Charge suite gratuities, and get only 1x loyalty credit.

 

Celebrity - Concierge Class - Balcony w/ benefits. Free meclizine, very small room (somewhat of a shock after mini/JS. Loyalty credit sliding scale depending on room category.

We primarily sail JS on RCI and getting that double credit is great. While cabin/balcony sizes vary by ship (each cruise line) generally the Minisuite cabins (323 vs 297) are larger on Princess and the JS balcony sizes (73/57) are larger on RCI. We have not sailed Celebrity. Not sure if the Signature Suites (Westerdam) are considered Junior/Mini Suites but if they are the total size, including balcony, are listed as 372-384.

Edited November 29, 2015 by qsuzi

[Tom O.]

We have found service, food, and entertainment to be about the same on several cruise lines, including HAL with the exception of NCL where it is usually better.

.

 

It just shows how food perceptions vary. I agree, that food quality is about the same on several cruise lines. But my one exception would be NCL where it was decidedly worse. But I am comparing just MDR food, where we almost always dine. On our two cruises on NCL the choices and quality of food in the MDR was the worst we have ever had on a cruise. But even the food in the NCL MDR, was far better than we are used to in restaurants on land.

[albingirl]

It just shows how food perceptions vary. I agree, that food quality is about the same on several cruise lines. But my one exception would be NCL where it was decidedly worse. But I am comparing just MDR food, where we almost always dine. On our two cruises on NCL the choices and quality of food in the MDR was the worst we have ever had on a cruise. But even the food in the NCL MDR, was far better than we are used to in restaurants on land.

 

Well, I haven't sailed with NCL for at least ten years but I will be going with them soon. I'll have to see how this works out. However, the cruiseline is running a Black Friday sale, so we received a generous dine around package and unlimited beverage package, as well, to go along with our booking. Seems the perks are getting pretty good over there.:)

[avian777]

Well, I haven't sailed with NCL for at least ten years but I will be going with them soon. I'll have to see how this works out. However, the cruiseline is running a Black Friday sale, so we received a generous dine around package and unlimited beverage package, as well, to go along with our booking. Seems the perks are getting pretty good over there.:)

 

Hope you enjoy your NCL cruise.

[avian777]

... Short answer, HAL is a great value for me because it fits what I like to do and how I like to do it...

 

... I find HAL to be a very good vacation value.

 

I like that HAL has quiet ships. That's important for me. I like that there is not much to do on board. I vacation for the quiet and lack of anything to do. I don't need to be entertained all my waking hours. HAL goes to the ports I want to see, and it's a lovely journey getting there. I like that I can walk around the promenade deck, outside with the opportunity to change my view by just walking around. I don't sit in deck chairs; I'm too restless for that. I prefer to do my reading inside and HAL offers quiet lounges (most of the time) for that. I like HALs selection of ocean view cabins, and the size of those cabins. I do not want or need a balcony, so the extra money would be wasted.

 

I take ship-based shore excursions because the work has been done for me...

 

HAL offers the best vacation value for me. It may not for others. But by the same token, even though other cruise lines may have cheaper fares or more inclusive packages does not mean that those choices would be a better value for me.

 

IMO HAL is a great vacation value for the reasons quoted above (as well some others not quoted in this post) and also because HAL has a Roman Catholic priest (who celebrates daily Mass) on board every one of its cruises. So if spiritual renewal is an important component of a person's vacation experience, HAL is the hands-down, best value choice.

[albingirl]

Hope you enjoy your NCL cruise.

 

Thanks. Sure we will.

[chloes nana]

Wow! 700 bucks a day!!! I can only imagine what some of my most recent vacations would be like if I had spent $700 a day.

 

First, I don't think spending six hours in a city is seeing that city, I consider it a layover. And I seldom leave the airport during a layover, just too much trouble.

 

My last few vacations I can not think how one could spend $700 a day. The Black Hills of South Dakota it would be impossible, as far as I know. One would have to look very hard for a suite that cost more than $200. And the best dinners can be had for less than twenty.

 

Olympic National Park would too be impossible to spend $700 unless one was flying in live Maine lobsters three times daily.

 

Seattle can be done for less and still seem luxurious. San Francisco could possibly test the $700 limit, but it wouldn't be low end luxury, either. Disney, either Land or World, can be fully experienced for less than $700 and that would include the whole Princess experience.

 

I recently did a Denver tour. Much less than $700 and not once did I feel I was roughing it (now I know why they call it The Mile High City).

 

I suppose that some people like cruising enough to think $700 a day is value. I just wish I could be their travel agent and plan a week for them in the Pacific Northwest. I could take that five grand, book a luxurious week and still have enough left over to take a modest vacation myself.

 

Ysome Of us have spent numerous years growing up in America and doing family vacations until retirement that we need to broaden our horizons. Cruising is like thinking outside the box. Other countries, other cultures, etc... Just saying

[chloes nana]

Wow! 700 bucks a day!!! I can only imagine what some of my most recent vacations would be like if I had spent $700 a day.

 

First, I don't think spending six hours in a city is seeing that city, I consider it a layover. And I seldom leave the airport during a layover, just too much trouble.

 

My last few vacations I can not think how one could spend $700 a day. The Black Hills of South Dakota it would be impossible, as far as I know. One would have to look very hard for a suite that cost more than $200. And the best dinners can be had for less than twenty.

 

Olympic National Park would too be impossible to spend $700 unless one was flying in live Maine lobsters three times daily.

 

Seattle can be done for less and still seem luxurious. San Francisco could possibly test the $700 limit, but it wouldn't be low end luxury, either. Disney, either Land or World, can be fully experienced for less than $700 and that would include the whole Princess experience.

 

I recently did a Denver tour. Much less than $700 and not once did I feel I was roughing it (now I know why they call it The Mile High City).

 

I suppose that some people like cruising enough to think $700 a day is value. I just wish I could be their travel agent and plan a week for them in the Pacific Northwest. I could take that five grand, book a luxurious week and still have enough left over to take a modest vacation myself.

 

 

some Of us have spent numerous years growing up in America and doing family vacations until retirement that we need to broaden our horizons. Cruising is like thinking outside the box. Other countries, other cultures, etc... Just saying

[Avery's Gram]

Honestly, all cruise/restaurant food is compared to what I prepare in my own kitchen. I have had some I do not prefer....just like home . I have had some I loved.....just like home, except I assume the chef could repeat it, not always tru at home. And some are fabulous...could never be replicated at home! (And I never need to cook....what could be better?)

Barbara M. In NH