How is HAL different

[OlsSalt]

When it comes to price I think that it is folly to evaluate mass market cruises based on price. Their prices are based on given points in time. No different than airlines.

 

A higher fare on an identical itinerary/date cruise on Princess, HAL, Celebrity, RCI certainly does not necessarily imply a better product, better experience.

 

It only implies that that the higher priced cruise line may be experiencing higher occupancy rates at that particular point in time for that specific ship/itinerary. It could also mean that they use a different fare revenue maximization algorithm.

 

For the past several years we have noticed that HAL has blown out Alaska late booking fares at a much lower price than their competition. This certainly does not imply to me that the HAL is an inferior product simply because their pricing was more aggressive. We found the opposite when pricing late booking Med cruises and it does not imply to us that the HAL product is superior to the other offerings.

 

To underscore the distinction: A "value" decision considers price, but is not the only consideration when making choice of a cruise line. So no folly. Just a way of making an individual choice for one's self. Comfort and familiarity with a particular cruise line can also factor into its personal "value" for that particularly consumer.

 

Hard to put a "price" on that. Both tangibles and intangibles make up a "value" cruise line decision.

Edited January 15, 2017 by OlsSalt

[iancal]

I recognize that. We shop for value, not price. However some people, and some TA's like to equate price with value and price with anticipated experience.

 

So, for our preferences, there would be much more value to us in a Celebrity Equinox or Sun Princess cruise than there would be in a HAL Veendam or NCL Star cruise. We would willingly pay more for the former two and we would expect the value (and our expectations) to us to be far higher. In more than one instance we have actually paid less for a comparable itinerary/date.

 

We would never consider on either of those two ships but that does not mean that we would not cruise on other HAL or NCL ships. We would and we have.

Edited January 15, 2017 by iancal

[OlsSalt]

I recognize that. We shop for value, not price. However some people, and some TA's like to equate price with value and price with anticipated experience.

 

So, for our preferences, there would be much more value to us in a Celebrity Equinox or Sun Princess cruise than there would be in a HAL Veendam or NCL Star cruise. We would willingly pay more for the former two and we would expect the value (and our expectations) to us to be far higher. In more than one instance we have actually paid less for a comparable itinerary/date.

 

We would never consider on either of those two ships but that does not mean that we would not cruise on other HAL or NCL ships. We would and we have.

 

Agree, we shop for value too an sometimes it comes with a much higher price than HAL with actually far less in service and amenities simply because we have liked the enrichment lectures and the unique itineraries on the now-defunct Voyages of Discovery (13,000 reservations left hanging at the last minute bankruptcy - due mainly allegedly to the falling value of pound).

 

For the extra money we get a cramped, small and very low amenity cabin, small older and noisier ship, fewer dining options, slim library, few public areas, limited outdoor space, limited entertainment, but very good food and a wonderful group of like-minded adventure and enrichment-oriented passengers who put "keep calm and carry on" into daily practice..

 

For us that higher price cruise represented "value" too. Or at least it did. :(

[iancal]

It is never good when a supplier, travel or otherwise, goes under.

 

Let's hope the majority of folks are covered by industry insurance such as ABTA in the UK, or have paid by credit card and can therefore get a refund/reversal of fares paid.

 

It is one reason why we never, ever pay cash, cheque or debit, and we never pay before the final payment date.

Edited January 15, 2017 by iancal

[OceanTraveller4ever]

There are good reasons to stay with one cruise line. As I only did HAL, I will outline why I think they are the best.

 

Familiarity with the ships, PCC, staff. offerings, etc.

 

1. The ships are just the right size. and rarely feel crowded. The only choke points may be on elevators, but the stairs are never crowded :)

Once in St-Maarten, we were beside the Oasis of the Sea, They had four double gangways to discharge, and accept passengers. The lineup was hundreds of feet long, Our Hal ship had one gangway, with folks just walking up to it.

After a long hot visit to an island, it is just deplorable to wait so long to get back on a ship.

 

2, Staff will remember and recognize you from earlier cruises. The hotel manager from a prior Zdam cruise, remembered me when subsequently on the Wdam.

He helped immediately on a cabin matter, that would have gone unheeded if not for recognition. This was the same for the MDR maitre 'd, and the restaurant services manager.

 

3. Mariner point system that afford discounts, laundry services, and so many other benefits,

 

4, Dealing with a good HAL PCC has some advantages. Three reasonable upsells to Neptunes in six cruises is a pretty good average.

 

5. Cabin and verandah size/layout are hard to beat for the cost. The bigger ships look like beehives from the side.

 

There are many other good points to be made for HAL, but the above are my main ones.

 

Call me a HAL cheerleader, its OK :)

[3rdGenCunarder]

These two posts hit my main points about HAL.

 

I have cruised several times on NCL, and I have always met congenial, entertaining people. However, on HAL one meets fascinating people, no matter what their ages, who have been there, done that, and still look for new adventures.

 

[bold is mine] I agree! HAL passengers may look older, but I prefer to think of us as experienced travelers.

 

Having cruised both HAL and Carnival ( and believing that NCL and RC is closer to A Carnival type cruise than HAL ) the biggest difference is The Vibe.

 

The Vibe is that initial feeling you get when you step on board.

 

With Carnival I get that I'm ready to go go go feeling.. it's kind of a frenetic, hyper , excited state of mind.

 

On HAL I feel more peaceful.. more Serenity Nowish. It's a slower pace of life and perfect if you are cruising for relaxation and ports .

 

It's definitely not a party boat though there will be some that party on it. Even the party people do it with more restraint and respect than Carnival cruisers.

 

For the most part HAL cruisers are more respectful to others , and do not have the "it's my vacation and I'll do what I want" mentality.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bold is mine] We find HAL to be relaxing. I love the combination of interesting ports mixed with days of gazing at the sea. And I hadn't thought about it before, but part of the relaxing feel of HAL is not having to deal with rude people.

 

I think another part of the relaxed vibe is knowing you are not on the ship with 5999 other passengers.

[RMLincoln]

I find plenty to do on sea days, so much so that I have conflicts of all the interesting happenings. Maybe this is because we have been on longer cruises? I also find plenty to do on Celebrity, NCL, Princess and even Carnival, though Carnival has lacked the enrichment presentations and what they have offered has not been up to HAL's level, even on our Carnival Splendor 48-night cruise around South America.

 

On HAL we've usually had at least 2 lecture presentation per sea day, 2 trivia sessions per day, daily culinary arts demos, movies multiple times, deck games, cultural presentations every sea day specific to the region of the itinerary, dance classes, card groups and games groups.... plus all the "advertising" presentations such as spa classes, fitness classes, art auction classes, casino classes.... And bingo if there are enough interested.

 

Some of these types of events were only on sea days but many were also on port days for those who didn't visit the port or only did so for part of the day.

 

Then there's the future cruise presentations, "sale of the day" at the shops, mixology classes and wine tastings. Tai Chi is usually in the mornings but sometimes also in the evenings, early morning stretch and daily morning walk on deck with the cruise director, daily religious services... we had clergy representing 3 faiths on our last cruise!

 

I'm sure I've left out many things that are offered because this is off the top of my head, but if you are concerned about there being opportunities to your liking I suggest you seek out the On Locations daily programs for a cruise similar to your itinerary.

 

I find there is so much to do it's hard to say no to it all at times and make time to relax and read a book. m--

[Hlitner]

There are good reasons to stay with one cruise line. As I only did HAL, I will outline why I think they are the best.

 

Familiarity with the ships, PCC, staff. offerings, etc.

 

1. The ships are just the right size. and rarely feel crowded. The only choke points may be on elevators, but the stairs are never crowded :)

Once in St-Maarten, we were beside the Oasis of the Sea, They had four double gangways to discharge, and accept passengers. The lineup was hundreds of feet long, Our Hal ship had one gangway, with folks just walking up to it.

After a long hot visit to an island, it is just deplorable to wait so long to get back on a ship.

 

2, Staff will remember and recognize you from earlier cruises. The hotel manager from a prior Zdam cruise, remembered me when subsequently on the Wdam.

He helped immediately on a cabin matter, that would have gone unheeded if not for recognition. This was the same for the MDR maitre 'd, and the restaurant services manager.

 

3. Mariner point system that afford discounts, laundry services, and so many other benefits,

 

4, Dealing with a good HAL PCC has some advantages. Three reasonable upsells to Neptunes in six cruises is a pretty good average.

 

5. Cabin and verandah size/layout are hard to beat for the cost. The bigger ships look like beehives from the side.

 

There are many other good points to be made for HAL, but the above are my main ones.

 

Call me a HAL cheerleader, its OK :)

 

Interesting post for which we thank you. But alas, some of us disagree. For us, variety is truly the "spice of cruising" and we have managed to cruise on 14 lines (including 480 days on HAL). When we spend a lot of time on HAL, we often get the same production shows (which last for years), menus, etc. While this sameness is desirable for some, we truly love the many differences we find on various cruise lines, ship sizes (we have been on 20 passenger to 3800 passenger).

 

As to PCCs, we are outspoken opponents of the concept. We can save 7-10% by booking elsewhere (which can amount to thousands of dollars on a single cruise). And we do get upsell offers through our various cruise agencies (we seldom have any interest in upsells).

 

We do agree with you that its nice to come aboard and renew relationships with old staff member friends. This does happen to us on HAL...and it also happens on many other cruise lines :). In many cases DW gets hugs from bartenders (on HAL and elsewhere) which perhaps should give us a message :). We have gone to the Crows Nest on the Prinsendam (upon boarding) to be greeted by bar tenders that even remember our favorite drinks (from a prior cruise). On the other hand, we were recently on the Celebrity Eclipse where, on the first night, a bar tender remembered my favorite Cognac (from a previous cruise) and quickly told me there was none aboard....but he had something better.

 

So my simple take on the subject is that DW calls Paris her favorite city in the world. However, we still enjoy going to many other countries and cities. And it is the same with cruises. HAL remains one of our favorite cruise lines (especially with their new smoking policy) but we still enjoy cruising on many other lines...and look forward to trying more lines in the future.

 

Hank

[Cruzaholic41]

There is a big difference between HAL and the lines you mentioned. But some of the posts in this thread are a little delusional. To somehow suggest HAL cruisers are more adventurous and fascinating than others lines - well, that post made me laugh. And staff will remember the names of frequent cruisers on any line.

 

The biggest difference is the average age on board, and the entertainment.

[iancal]

HAL cruisers are more adventurous and fascinating? Really?

 

We must have missed that movie.

Edited January 16, 2017 by iancal

[Sequim88]

It is a complete mystery to me why anybody would choose one cruise line over another based on entertainment.

 

At first I had the same thought then had some more thoughts (or speculations) about this. When I think of HAL as a "go to" line it is for Alaska more so than the Caribbean, where I might select a line with "Caribbean" in the name. :rolleyes: But HAL really does do a lot of itineraries to/from Alaska out of Seattle and Vancouver - and more now with moving Oosterdam in (from the Med) and putting Amsterdam on a 14 nt schedule. Maybe too this Alaska-centric feeling is influenced by HQ location in Seattle.

 

But Alaska cruises are far less about on-board entertainment and activities so these are secondary considerations. The views and "cruising" are the prime activity and some of this I think might define an attitude fleet wide. The "entertainment isn't needed as much" idea.

 

It will be very interesting this coming June to compare HAL to RCCL as well as to what we remember of HAL from last time.

 

On the Indonesian/Filipino staff idea I agree - much more cohesion than a widely mixed nationality staff. We noticed that right away on first RCCL cruise. The staff just "clicked" better.

[cruisemom42]

Building on what's been said and what I've experienced, I suspect the differences in lines have more to do with itineraries than the cruise line itself. My one HAL cruise in the Caribbean was not unlike other Caribbean cruises I've taken on Princess and Celebrity, but it was worlds different from HAL Med cruises I've taken.

 

I also imagine that longer cruises attract a different group -- perhaps indeed more well-traveled as the potential pool of cruisers would be those with time and money for longer trips.

 

I look forward to taking some of these longer cruises at some point, once I'm retired. But I wish HAL would provide the same types of activities, enrichment speakers, etc. on shorter cruises as they reportedly do on the longer ones...

[WA Bubbles]

Our 1st cruise of 12 was in 2001 with HAL and have taken 2 on CEL. If you are going on a vacation and want to feel relaxed and refreshed and not have to worry about taking a vacation from a vacation when you return I would stick with HAL.

 

The entertainment is set for the older crowd but some are really good, not all. There are other nightly options in the various bars and other locations and they don't push you to drink and listen.

 

I would say the food is excellent and they have good options (vegetarian/vegan/sugarfree) , the service is excellent and the various excursions are available for the young and hearty as well as the slower paced individuals. You won't have cruise directors or constant announcements thru the day on the sound system.

 

The staff is OUTSTANDING on HAL, much better than on CEL. On our cruise with CEL the wait staff always complained and made their complaints about mgmt. to the guest. They complained about low pay. The staff on HAL always greets you by name when they you (especially room steward/dining staff). When we provided extra tip on excellent service they would thank us. You never hear them complaining and they talk to everyone with the utmost courtesy especially the hard to understand guest who are hard of hearing or don't understand very well.

 

One other most important item the ships are VERY CLEAN. Every night the staff is cleaning the stairwells and decks.

[TheCalicoCat]

HAL is quieter & has FAR better itineraries IMHO.

 

No one else has a 14-night Alaska cruise itinerary that even come close to the one that HAL offers. (Caveat - I did not look into Uncruise, National Geographic, Crystal, Regent & the like - just mass market.)

 

FWIW My previous experience is with RCCL & Carnival.

 

I've had a great experience on each line - just depends on what you are sailing for. For me its the itinerary most, I live close enough to NYC that I don't generally bother with the onboard entertainment. (I don't care to have my "time" planned out for me.)

[Aurora95]

HAL is my favorite.

 

 

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[Aurora95]

HAL is my favorite.

 

 

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I like the shows, the itineraries, the crew, the smaller ships, and the passengers!

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

These two posts hit my main points about HAL.

 

 

 

[bold is mine] I agree! HAL passengers may look older, but I prefer to think of us as experienced travelers.

 

 

 

[bold is mine] We find HAL to be relaxing. I love the combination of interesting ports mixed with days of gazing at the sea. And I hadn't thought about it before, but part of the relaxing feel of HAL is not having to deal with rude people.

 

I think another part of the relaxed vibe is knowing you are not on the ship with 5999 other passengers.

 

Correct - HAL offers better service than other mass market lines - and, while offering admittedly less "exciting " entertainment, it also does not attract thousands of people for whom "exciting" entertainment is most important.

 

It is our preference to sail on a ship with a thousand or so people who share our interests, .than on one with several thousands of people with whom we have little in common.

[iancal]

Cannot speak to longer cruises but I do think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

We consider the HAL difference to be ships and itinerary.

 

HAL service is very good however we would not say that it is superior to what we have experienced on Celebrity or Princess. Or RCI for that matter. Nor have we found HAL personnel to be any more or any less gracious than what we have experienced on other cruise lines. This may be because we cruise on several lines and do not build up more than a passing acquaintance, if any, to staff members. It is not 'old home' week for us when we board a ship so this does not enter into our consideration.

 

We find food and entertainment to be so subjective, variable, and changing within cruise lines that reasonable comparison is impossible. Most especially in these days of obvious cost cutting and staff reductions. It would be a stretch to consider HAL immune from this trend.

 

We do not expect the same choices, and level of entertainment and dining venues on a 1000 passenger ship as we do on a 2500/3000 passenger ship.

 

So for us the decision is never cruise line centric. It always starts with itinerary, then ship. All of our other preferences flow from this. It means that we do not build up to the same level of loyalty program that we would if we only cruised on one line. Our view is that this is a minor inconvenience given the wonderful choices of ship, cruise line, itinerary, and price that are in the marketplace today.