I Tried HAL

[Ozzmund]

We have taken one HAL cruise (NE and the Maritimes) and had a very good time.

Their music venues were a hit and worth a visit each night.

 

No issues with the food, if I didn't like something they quickly exchanged it for something else.

 

If the right itinerary and price came around, we would sail with HAL again.

[ReneeFLL]

I just got back from a 10 day Panama Canal cruise in an aft cabin on Holland America. It was my first cruise with them and I was pleasantly surprised. I posted a mini review on their board if you're interested in seeing what I discovered about the other cruise line. I used to be a Celebrity loyalist until the double/double program really kicked in and LLP got her hands in the pot.

 

Here's the thread. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2607531

 

I realize that cruise line may not be for everyone and there are still countless Celebrity loyalists. I hope you continue enjoying your Celebrity cruises like I used to.

 

Thanks for the review. One of the things that really got my attention was that you said they didn't have the very obnoxious selling. It has become beyond horrible on both Celebrity and Royal. I do my best to ignore them and say I'm not interested, but constantly having to do that is very annoying. Looks like there is just another plus for me to try them out.

[Tatka]

Veendam can have issues but it's my favorite HAL ship. Captain are crew are fabulous. We've been on for cruises of 7, 35 and 48 days and loved it even in an inside cabin. That self service laundry was a real asset on the longer cruises. Hate that it's scheduled to be sold IIRC.

Haven't tried the Zuiderdam.

We liked V. Very cozy and nice. Loved aft area a lot and theater, great paintings.

We thought buffets hours were weird. From 5 to 8 pm and then open again at 10:30. Also we didn't expect that such a classic ship wouldn't have shuffleboard.

 

With Zuiderdam.... maybe it was growing pains of adjustment to large ships... but when your cabin isn't made by 1 pm, or when you are spending more than 2 hours in mdr because service is extremely slow and with smiles, but with tons of errors too.... After sailing with Celebrity it was a big contrast. I hope things are better now.

[Texed]

I cruised on HAL ,........once. :)

[Cruise Junky]

I cruised on HAL ,........once. :)

LOL. Great answer.

[Miaminice]

Our last cruise was on Millennium to Japan and we loved the destination so much that we decided to do it again.

 

Celebrity only offers an itinerary 90 % the same as the one we just did. HAL offers one that is almost completely different - for 2000 Euro less. So we booked HAL for 2019.

 

Things will be different, yes. But because of all the info I was given by people I rely on, I am not worried a bit.

[Oville]

I keep trying to book HAL, I really do..but just can't do it. Our one and only cruise was awful. The food sucked, the room sucked, the only decent thing was the itinerary and the price. Just can't get excited about going on them again.

 

We were on Koningsdam in late Jan. early Feb. for 11 days. Never, ever again will we step foot on HAL. Our 1 night in the MDR was enough, we ate all other meals in specialities. The music venues were so crowded before dinner it was ridiculous. I agree, the cabin was awful, thankfully we had an oversized balcony.

 

You know when you are in trouble when you get a note on the first day of your cruise to return to your stateroom to use the bathroom do to sickness onboard. We did as asked, were fanatical about keeping our hands scrubbed, tried to move from the many coughers who refused to cover their mouths, but alas, both got sick and upon our return home DH was hospitalized for 5 day with double pneumonia.

 

I wish I could say one good thing about our 11 days....maybe Tamarind;).

[Oville]

I cruised on HAL ,........once. :)

 

We’ve cruised 3 times :(. Not sure why.

[Miaminice]

You know when you are in trouble when you get a note on the first day of your cruise to return to your stateroom to use the bathroom do to sickness onboard. We did as asked, were fanatical about keeping our hands scrubbed, tried to move from the many coughers who refused to cover their mouths, but alas, both got sick and upon our return home DH was hospitalized for 5 day with double pneumonia.

 

I am sorry you had to experience this. But why is this specific to any cruise line?

We are big fans of Celebrity. However, washing hands and using sanitizer is nothing Celebrity passengers are better in.

 

If you cruise often, you are prone to catch something at some point... same in aircrafts.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your report.

Keith

[ChucktownSteve]

And I believe smoking is still allowed in the casino. It was like a fog on zuiderdam. Saved us a lot of money :cool:

 

I played a couple of TX holdem games and walked through the casino a lot. I never smelled ANY smoke. As a former two pack a day smoker, I would have recognized it. ;p

[Cruise Junky]

I played a couple of TX holdem games and walked through the casino a lot. I never smelled ANY smoke. As a former two pack a day smoker, I would have recognized it. ;p

That’s good. I was used to smoke in the casino as we cruised Princess a lot around that time but that was nothing compared to HAL.

[MVPinBoynton]

Our last cruise was on Millennium to Japan and we loved the destination so much that we decided to do it again.

 

Celebrity only offers an itinerary 90 % the same as the one we just did. HAL offers one that is almost completely different - for 2000 Euro less. So we booked HAL for 2019.

 

Things will be different, yes. But because of all the info I was given by people I rely on, I am not worried a bit.

 

Hi Oliver,

I’m sure you will enjoy your HAL cruise. There are things you will miss that HAL doesn’t have; and find things about HAL that X doesn’t have. After being on 21 X cruises, I have enjoyed our 2 recent HAL cruises. It is is nice to try other lines for new experiences; but I am also looking forward to our upcoming X cruise, since we do enjoy them.

[ghstudio]

Steve....were you the youngest on-board? Is there still any truth to the old rumor that the average age on HAL was dead?

[MVPinBoynton]

Steve....were you the youngest on-board? Is there still any truth to the old rumor that the average age on HAL was dead?

 

I don't find HAL passengers any older than on X, at least for the longer cruises. I will say that I thought that Oceania had the oldest passenger group of any line we have been on. I don't know if that is always the case; but there seemed to be more people with mobility issues, my wife being one of them now.

[Hlitner]

Did you notice much smoking on the ship? The restrictive Celebrity policy was one reason that I started, and continued, with Celebrity. I've also enjoyed HAL cruises in the past, but it's been five years or so. Azamara is great, but I think they've priced themselves out of my price range, especially with the lower Canadian dollar.:(:(:(

 

HAL recently (a little over a year ago) imposed a new smoking policy in line with many other lines. They no longer permit smoking on balconies and limit the smoking areas on deck (similar to Celebrity). Inside the ship they still allow smoking in the Casino (with some smoke free nights) but there are even some limitations imposed on that. We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and 5 Star Mariners on HAL....but will admit that we are not real happy with the cut-backs we have experienced on both lines. The OP mentioned the entertainment they liked on their HAL cruise...but that type entertainment is only on a limited number of HAL ships. The Lincoln Center and BB King groups are only on the larger ships so one needs to do their homework before booking to see what is on that particular ship.

 

As to food, its a mixed bag on both lines....where cut-backs seem to have been the recent policy. There are some things we like better on HAL...and some things are better on Celebrity.

 

Hank

[Luvcrusn]

Sorry, I was reading through the thread and hadn't gotten to the answers to this question. Please ignore

quote=ChucktownSteve;55467534]I didn't notice any smoking. Perhaps I just wasn't in the restricted smoking section.

Is smoking allowed in the casino or other indoor areas of the ship? I'm super sensitive to it. We've been considering trying HAL, but that's holding me back since it really causes me distress.

Edited March 7, 2018 by Luvcrusn
addition

[parrotfeathers]

I sailed on Eurodam before the smoking regs were changed. I do not smoke. I could smell it but it didn't bother me except perhaps in the casino. I didn't smell any smoke in my cabin. The Neptune lounge was different than RCL. At certain peak times, there was an attendant who poured the coffee for you (very nice touch). Their afternoon canapés were varied and not run of the mill. Not much sitting area. No alcohol of any kind. Unfortunately it closed every night at 10 p.m. so there was no specialty coffees available. But I don't think the machine made lattes or cappuccinos. They may have changed all that by now. I think a lot of people liked HAL because it allowed smoking everywhere then.

[Tatka]

Steve....were you the youngest on-board? Is there still any truth to the old rumor that the average age on HAL was dead?

It really depends on itinerary and ship. There were many families on Zuiderdam in August, but we were almost the youngest on Veendam during our cruise to New England and Canada in the beginning of September in our mid forties.

Although we were absolutely the youngest on our RCCL cruise to Canada in October in our early forties. :) also Celebrity Mercury California Coastal cruise featured pretty mature crowd

[lvz2cruz]

This is timely as I am debating Summit or Veendam to Bermuda.

We loved the X of 15 years ago but have had much better crew and food on HAL in the last 5 years or so.

If Veendam was still in NY it would be an easy decision. But 4 hours less to drive to Summit is very tempting.

I agree with posters that you don't have to restrict yourself to one cruise line. We have better perks on X but lean to HAL because the better experience outweighs the benefits. I would not limit myself to one though.

[jan.dv]

Just returned today from Koningsdam southern Caribbean, our first on HAL. Smoking from the casino drifted to the music venues and was disgusting—the very worst part of the cruise for me. Horrible, and might keep me from another HAL cruise. We were among the youngest, in our 60’s. Food was wonderful! Service was excellent. Main stage singers & dancers were so disappointing (bad) but Lincoln center, Billboard & BB King were excellent (except for the smoke smell).

 

I sailed on Eurodam before the smoking regs were changed. I do not smoke. I could smell it but it didn't bother me except perhaps in the casino. I didn't smell any smoke in my cabin. The Neptune lounge was different than RCL. At certain peak times, there was an attendant who poured the coffee for you (very nice touch). Their afternoon canapés were varied and not run of the mill. Not much sitting area. No alcohol of any kind. Unfortunately it closed every night at 10 p.m. so there was no specialty coffees available. But I don't think the machine made lattes or cappuccinos. They may have changed all that by now. I think a lot of people liked HAL because it allowed smoking everywhere then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[RickT]

I too sailed Hal (New Years Cruise on Eurodam) and while I enjoyed it, I feel I enjoy X more.

 

Food - Food was very good but I think the biggest difference was completely different menus from what I've had on X (X needs to update it's menus more often.

 

Ship - Hands down the S-Class and M-Class ships appeal to me more than the Eurodam did. I found the Eurodam "dark" and it did not appeal to me.

 

Staterooms - Comparable.

 

Entertainment - While I liked Billboard and BB King on the Eurodam i found there were large gaps in the evening where there was no live music (or DJ). I find X has more and is generally more lively at night which appeals to me.

 

Staff - Comparable.

 

What it comes down to is that all things being equal I will choose X over Hal, but just like my New Years Cruise, if HAL is offering an itinerary that X isn't I will gladly sail them but they would be my 2nd choice.

[Tatka]

This is timely as I am debating Summit or Veendam to Bermuda.

We loved the X of 15 years ago but have had much better crew and food on HAL in the last 5 years or so.

If Veendam was still in NY it would be an easy decision. But 4 hours less to drive to Summit is very tempting.

I agree with posters that you don't have to restrict yourself to one cruise line. We have better perks on X but lean to HAL because the better experience outweighs the benefits. I would not limit myself to one though.

I don't think Celebrity offers worse food or service than Holland by any means. We loved Summit several years ago

 

But of course Veendam used to stop in Hamilton, which could be appealing to some people

[Lady Chew]

We are Elite on Celebrity, and will be 5-star on HAL after our next cruise (August).

We sail on HAL for the longer itineraries that take us exploring in new places; their ships are small enough to get into places that can't/won't fit larger ships. We won't sail on HAL in the Caribbean ... we want Celebrity for that.

We do think the age on HAL skews older (we are mid-60s), of course these are longer cruises, and most people with that kind of time are retired. There are plenty of older folks on Celebrity as well, but they are balanced out by a greater number of children. We like having the mix of ages, it makes a happier, more fun, atmosphere, that we like for the Caribbean cruises.

We think the food on Celebrity is better; not that the food on HAL isn't good - it is - just that Celebrity is just that little bit better. The service is about the same.

Most of the time we cruise on "regular" balcony cabins, only once in a great while in a suite. We like HAL's staterooms better. They have more storage (with the exception of the tiny little bolt-on cabin we had on the Zuiderdam one time), and Mr Chew, who is 6'4"+ swears that HAL has longer beds.

[parrotfeathers]

HAL had a few very nice "touches" the first year Eurodam was sailing. I remember the yum-yum man and the string quartet. Lunch was free in the Tamarind. The crew was always very attentive. But suite perks are definitely better on RCL and Celebrity.