New to HAL - compared to Princess/Celebrity?

[jabcruiser]

Hi @all,

 

For Aug. 2017 I am booked on Koningsdam, my first HAL cruise ever... :)

 

As you see in my sig. I have sailed several other cruise lines, including Princess and Celebrity, which are considered as most comparable (although I found NCL to be a little better than Celebrity in terms of service and food).

 

How does HAL compare to Princess, Celebrity and NCL?

What can I generally expect as service?

-Do I also get some complimentary items on warmer sea days, such as cold towels, or snacks, as I experienced with the other lines?

-Does HAL still feature ginger after dinner, and serve some snacks when ordering a drink @bar?

-Are there free drinks @gangway when returning to the ship?

-Buffet seems to be closed some hours - where do I get something free to eat during buffet closing times?

 

As I was really really satisfied with Princess and really looking forward to them, I expect HAL to be very similar to them, maybe even better... :)

Very surprised that you rank NCL higher than Celebrity for food. I would have expected the opposite based on our previous NCL experience on the Sky. Granted this was many years ago but we found food to be pretty awful and service even worse. Hated layout of the ship as couldn't get "from here to there" without lots of detours. So not interested in NCL again. Have been considering trying Celebrity, but if NCL food better than theirs then not interested. We love HAL food, BB King Blues Club(other entertainment not so much), service, smaller ships, itineraries. But have done Carnival in the past and enjoyed that, just not up to HAL. Looking forward to trying Princess in the future when we see something interesting come up. Since HAL has banned veranda smoking will be looking more at other lines we may want to experience as no longer tied to HAL for that reason. Also, really looking into smaller ship experience and want to try

Windstar as think that would be really fun. Will see what comes up for good pricing and itineraries.

[denatravels]

Very surprised that you rank NCL higher than Celebrity for food. I would have expected the opposite based on our previous NCL experience on the Sky. Granted this was many years ago but we found food to be pretty awful and service even worse. Hated layout of the ship as couldn't get "from here to there" without lots of detours. So not interested in NCL again. Have been considering trying Celebrity, but if NCL food better than theirs then not interested. We love HAL food, BB King Blues Club(other entertainment not so much), service, smaller ships, itineraries. But have done Carnival in the past and enjoyed that, just not up to HAL. Looking forward to trying Princess in the future when we see something interesting come up. Since HAL has banned veranda smoking will be looking more at other lines we may want to experience as no longer tied to HAL for that reason. Also, really looking into smaller ship experience and want to try

 

Windstar as think that would be really fun. Will see what comes up for good pricing and itineraries.

 

 

I wouldn't base your decision about NCL on the sky as its one of their oldest ships (if not the oldest). My first cruise was on the breakaway-- I had the dining package for a very reasonable price (MUCH less than other lines) and thought the food was good, even at other meals when I didn't eat in specialty. My upcoming NCL cruise I only have 4 nights specialty dining, so that will be the first time I'm trying complementary restaurants at dinner.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[RuthC]

And a key agument for HAL is the Single Share Program, where I do not need to pay any single supplements... :)

That's not the given it used to be, so don't count on it. At a minimum, the price for a single in the program has increased to more than the per person/double occupancy rate. Sometimes it isn't available on a particular cruise at all.

So, if you have memories of how the program worked, be sure to check before heading into it again. Ask questions before you commit.

[Liz54]

Every person who cruises has their own idea what is important on a cruise ship.

I divide these issues into basic needs and perks.

The basic needs include quality of the cabin; quality of food; service in restaurants and from steward; cleanliness of ship; how the ship handles processes such as restaurant seating, tendering, and disembarkation.

Perks would include ship entertainment; activities on board; internet service; laundry, smoking issues, etc .... the list goes on and on.

None of the perks are necessary, but each passenger has their favorites, and ones they could care less about.

Basic needs are required by all passengers to be performed well.

I think most cruise lines are pretty good at covering the basic needs.

A prospective cruiser has to consider which perks are important to him, and see which cruise lines offer them. Then compare these perks with cost and itinerary to make a decision.

Here on Cruise Critic you can find out what perks are available on cruise ships, and what people think of them. Just remember that if there were no perks at all, a cruise would still be an enjoyable experience.

 

This post breaks it down beautifully. I suggest you edit it taking out the phrase "perks" and replacing it with "plusses" or something. People associate perks with loyalty rewards.

[Aquahound]

Very surprised that you rank NCL higher than Celebrity for food.

 

Same here. It think all mass market food is about the same quality...with the exception of NCL who, in my experience, has had the worst free food in the industry.

[Hlitner]

We have hundreds of days on Celebrity, HAL and Princess and just disembarked the Regal Princess this morning in Port Everglades. About 3 days ago we were chatting with 2 other couples (on the Regal) about just this subject. One major difference upon which we all agreed was "the music." Princess seems to get very good bands who actually know music written after 1940 :). On the Regal we had 2 party-type bands (a Quartet and an Quintet), a decent piano bar player, a terrific steel drum player (essentially a 1 man band), a show band which included keyboards, drums, guitar, and also trumpet, trombone, and sax (instruments no longer on HAL) and also an excellent classical string quartet (not the duos we now get on HAL). Once could walk along deck 7 nearly anytime from 5pm until 12:30am and hear live music coming from more then 1 venue. And we should add that on the Regal it was common to see hundreds of passengers enjoying entertainment after 10pm.

 

As to food, each of the 3 subject lines has their pros and cons. Overall it is simply too subjective to choose one line over the other. We do think Celebrity has the best alternative restaurants (between Celebrity, HAL and Princess) but at a big price (in dollars). The Regal's lido buffet blows away the other lines as does Princess pizza. As to the MDR....it does seem to vary by cruise and ship...but in the past year we would give a slight edge to HAL (except for desserts).

 

As to the main production shows, we are simply not overly impressed with any of the 3 lines.

 

As to service, we have found no mass market line that is consistently better then what we get on HAL. And we continue to think that HAL beats all the competition when it comes to fantastic itineraries.

 

Hank

[shipfriend_max]

Same here. It think all mass market food is about the same quality...with the exception of NCL who, in my experience, has had the worst free food in the industry.

 

Seems that such times have changed - I really found the menu and the quality as well as variety on NCL to be as good as on Celebrity, if not a little better.

maybe in the past NCL has been the "walmart" in the cruise industry with slight disadvantages compared to others, but on Jade I was really really satisfied, and others also say so.

 

i was rather really disappointed by RCCL...

 

The best for sure I found to be on Princess and truly hope to have the same level in march 2017. :)

And of course I look forward to what HAL has to offer.

[iancal]

The food that we enjoyed on our last years Sun Princess Fiji cruise, in the MDR and the buffet, was without doubt the best food that we have consistently had on any cruise with the exception of a Crystal cruise.

 

We board the Crown Princess in Feb. Do we expect the same? No, we expect that chances are it will be middle of the road chow similar to what we would have on HAL and Celebrity. But....hoping for a pleasant surprise as we always are on all cruise lines.

[shipfriend_max]

To any recent HAL cruiser: are Royal Dutch Tea, Indonesian Tea and Japanese breakfast still offered? In another German Forum I read some of those things are gone, what I hardly believe...

 

Would be glad to have your comments!!! [emoji5]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Alberta Quilter]

To any recent HAL cruiser: are Royal Dutch Tea, Indonesian Tea and Japanese breakfast still offered? In another German Forum I read some of those things are gone, what I hardly believe...

 

Would be glad to have your comments!!! [emoji5]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Royal Dutch Tea and Indonesian Tea were both offered on the Westerdam in October/16. I believe the Japanese breakfast is still offered.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Alberta Quilter

[iancal]

On balance, we see very little difference between these three cruise lines. The biggest difference is the ships/amenities in their fleets and the frequent cruiser programs of each cruise line. We don't prescribe to the view that one or more of them are so called premium lines. They are all mass market cruise lines.

 

When it comes to itinerary, ship and price win out the day for us. Any perceived differences to us tend to vanish on port intensive itineraries. It is slightly different for us if the ship is a large part of the destination as it is for us on Carib. cruises.

Edited November 23, 2016 by iancal

[kelmac]

As everyone points out, you will have a great cruise on all three of these lines. I like to break it down by categories:

 

Food:

#1 -- Celebrity is better in all categories.

#2 -- NCL with the ultimate dining package is excellent; eat all evening meals in the alternative restaurants; breakfast and lunch in the MDR; avoid the buffet completely. Traditional NCL is not that great.

#3 -- HAL MDR food is very good. P Grill is fine. Going to test the Westerdam out in three weeks.

#4 -- Princess is good, but not great; I think their alternatives are so so. Buffet crowded, but I haven't been on their two newer ships.

 

Ships:

#1 -- I prefer the modern, open and clean lines of Celebrity. Glass showers and well designed cabins.

#2 -- Tie between HAL and Princess; dark traditional look of HAL ok. Princess seems crowded and cheaper building materials; Princess has the best deck spaces; HAL has great wraparound promenade decks (Celebrity's epic failure).

Princess has the largest closets, but the smallest showers.

 

Service -- Tie between HAL and Celebrity. Princess is not far behind. Celebrity's officers are all over the ship interacting with the guests. I like the warm Asian atmosphere HAL provides; the multi-national Celebrity crew is professional and upbeat. Cuts in this area are apparent of all three lines.

 

We are going to keep trying out Princess, but to this point, we don't get it. People seem to love this line, but I haven't had a great Princess experience. Maybe their new ships hold the secret? We are looking forward to returning to HAL now that they are changing their smoking policy. Celebrity is still our go to line, with past passenger perks that are hard to beat. We just rediscovered NCL with their great alternative dining plans. Their entertainment is better than the other three, and their older ships have a pretty good space ratio. We are going to try out their new larger ships in the next year. Even going to give MSC a shot in their Yacht Club.

 

Still like Cunard, Oceania and Azamara ($$$).

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[navybankerteacher]

Attendance at Mass is completely voluntary - neither HAL nor the Catholics on board will pressure you to attend. So, unless you just cannot tolerate the thought of Catholics enjoying the celebration of Mass in private, it shouldn't be an issue for you. JMO

 

In fact, the Catholics on board who are interested in attending are likely to not want others to even know about it - because there is limited seating which frequently require attendees to stand - and those who are not interested in attending are extremely unlikely to evangelize - it should be a total non-event for you.

[navybankerteacher]

Seems that such times have changed - I really found the menu and the quality as well as variety on NCL to be as good as on Celebrity, if not a little better.

maybe in the past NCL has been the "walmart" in the cruise industry with slight disadvantages compared to others, but on Jade I was really really satisfied, and others also say so.

 

i was rather really disappointed by RCCL...

 

The best for sure I found to be on Princess and truly hope to have the same level in march 2017. :)

And of course I look forward to what HAL has to offer.

 

NCL's alternative restaurants offer comparable food quality to that on Celebrity and HAL - but their MDR food quality (and service) is dismal in comparison - which explains the necessity for their much wider range of alternative venues.

[shipfriend_max]

NCL's alternative restaurants offer comparable food quality to that on Celebrity and HAL - but their MDR food quality (and service) is dismal in comparison - which explains the necessity for their much wider range of alternative venues.

 

Okay, so everyone has made it's own experiences and opinions based on that... :)

 

But MY experience was that in the free dining venues the food on NCL was very comparable to that offered on Celebrity sailings, and IMHO the MDR on NCL Jade has had a wider range of choices, and also more seafood dishes, compared to Celebrity - also the service was more or less the same (also NCL had sommeliers, etc), only difference: NCL did not have lobster or filet mignon.

The self-service eateries also have been very comparable, but slightly better with NCL, so far my own expereinces. :)

 

Royal Dutch Tea and Indonesian Tea were both offered on the Westerdam in October/16. I believe the Japanese breakfast is still offered.

 

That's great to read, so I hope they keep it offering until Aug/Sep 2017. :)

On the HAL website such events are still published.

[fishin' musician]

Hey Max, I've done one Celebrity cruise (which is where I met you), and as you are aware, I was completely underwhelmed. But I'll give them another try if/when the right deal surfaces. I'm well into double figures on Princess and close to it on NCL. I've done 2 HAL and have another coming up. To me Princess and HAL are very similar products. Both have an understated décor with HAL a bit darker and more of nautical theme and fresh flowers throughout. I'd put the average age of the HAL customer about 10-15 years beyond that of the Princess customer and they do a good job of catering to this demographic. You will likely become an adopted pseudo-grandson. Two things stand out in my mind as not-to-miss; BB Kings and the room service club sandwich which features carved from the bone turkey and is one of the finest sandwiches I've ever had!

[fishin' musician]

oops....dupe!

Edited November 28, 2016 by fishin' musician

[kelmac]

NCL's alternative restaurants offer comparable food quality to that on Celebrity and HAL - but their MDR food quality (and service) is dismal in comparison - which explains the necessity for their much wider range of alternative venues.

 

nbt,

 

I agree 100%. We've got four NCL cruises coming up, all with the Ultimate Dining Package (eating every evening meal in an alternative restaurant); we will visit the MDR for breakfast or lunch, but we stay out of the buffet completely. That strategy moves NCL right up there with Celebrity in the food department. We will see about HAL, as we have taken a five year sabbatical from this cruise line. We will be on the Westerdam in less than three weeks. A third visit to this ship and our 10th HAL cruise.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[shipfriend_max]

Hey Max' date=' I've done one Celebrity cruise (which is where I met you), and as you are aware, I was completely underwhelmed. But I'll give them another try if/when the right deal surfaces. I'm well into double figures on Princess and close to it on NCL. I've done 2 HAL and have another coming up. To me Princess and HAL are very similar products. Both have an understated décor with HAL a bit darker and more of nautical theme and fresh flowers throughout. I'd put the average age of the HAL customer about 10-15 years beyond that of the Princess customer and they do a good job of catering to this demographic. You will likely become an adopted pseudo-grandson. Two things stand out in my mind as not-to-miss; BB Kings and the room service club sandwich which features carved from the bone turkey and is one of the finest sandwiches I've ever had![/quote']

 

Hey Tim,

 

Thanks for your reply, nice to read from you again... :)

 

Have you booked Koningsda, or which HAL ship?

 

looking back and comparing it to NCL and Princess, Celebrity gets another status for me and also I need to ask what they can do better than others - food and service I found absolutely comnparable to NC in the non-fee-venues.

 

Thanks for your hints regarding what's not to miss, I will do my best to experience it - I am really keen for Koningsdam.

[Lovely other]

Can anyone explain to me why it is that HAL has a Catholic priest in particular onboard ? And why the daily mass? ... I'm an ex-catholic so understand the catholic faith but know of no church that offers mass daily whilst on land ...

[bUU]

Can anyone explain to me why it is that HAL has a Catholic priest in particular onboard ?

I expect that it is because Catholicism is the most common religion in the Netherlands (the nationality of most of the officers of the ship), aside from "No Affiliation".

 

And why the daily mass?

For that I have no clue.

[RuthC]

Can anyone explain to me why it is that HAL has a Catholic priest in particular onboard ? And why the daily mass? ... I'm an ex-catholic so understand the catholic faith but know of no church that offers mass daily whilst on land ...

The priest tends to the spiritual needs of the Filipino crew, who are primarily Catholic.

Daily Mass is customary in every parish that I have ever belonged to, so I am not surprised it's offered for the passengers.

[Tennessee Titan]

PURELY IMHO:

Food on Princess is dreadful. Royal Princess 6/2015. Ate in MDR 3 times (12 nights), inedible all 3. Specialty restaurants only edible food. Lido ok.

I would NEVER cruise on Princess again.....

[denatravels]

PURELY IMHO:

Food on Princess is dreadful. Royal Princess 6/2015. Ate in MDR 3 times (12 nights), inedible all 3. Specialty restaurants only edible food. Lido ok.

I would NEVER cruise on Princess again.....

 

 

To each his own-- I totally disagree. I had at least decent (and some fantastic) food on princess.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[shipfriend_max]

PURELY IMHO:

Food on Princess is dreadful. Royal Princess 6/2015. Ate in MDR 3 times (12 nights), inedible all 3. Specialty restaurants only edible food. Lido ok.

I would NEVER cruise on Princess again.....

 

 

Cannot agree AT ALL!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums