My first and last cruise on Holland America

[TiogaCruiser]

Elderhostel changed their name for 2 reasons - upgraded accommodations, as already stated, and we Baby Boomers don't like being referred to as elderly. ;p

 

Roz

Baby Boomer here.

Or perhaps to reach into younger generations???😇

[Roz]

Baby Boomer here.

Or perhaps to reach into younger generations???😇

 

They're still geared to the "older" set, but have added trips and tours that are advertised for grandparents and grandchildren.

 

Roz

[iancal]

HAL needs to step up their entertainment program. They seem to be migrating to the 'newly wed and nearly dead' cruise line. Don't know if it is attributable to cutbacks or to an incredibly inept HQ entertainment co-ordinator/manager/VP. Something is amiss.

[alwaysfrantic]

Did you not select a fixed dining time in advance? By taking 4 nights to get the same waiters it makes me think you chose open seating and made them accommodate your decision.

[alwaysfrantic]

HAL needs to step up their entertainment program. They seem to be migrating to the 'newly wed and nearly dead' cruise line. Don't know if it is attributable to cutbacks or to an incredibly inept HQ entertainment co-ordinator/manager/VP. Something is amiss.

 

We sail HAL because my husband likes the quiet but I definitely think they need more fun onboard. You are so right.

[Barrheadlass]

Elderhostel changed their name for 2 reasons - upgraded accommodations, as already stated, and we Baby Boomers don't like being referred to as elderly. ;p

 

Roz

 

 

I am currently on a Road Scholar trip in Europe. Accommodations are very nice, food excellent, people still mostly baby boomers plus a few slightly older. The group is VERY active... This my first RS trip and it won’t be my last.

[Roz]

I am currently on a Road Scholar trip in Europe. Accommodations are very nice, food excellent, people still mostly baby boomers plus a few slightly older. The group is VERY active... This my first RS trip and it won’t be my last.

 

Thanks for posting about your experience. I'm anxious to try one of their trips. I've heard nothing but good things about them.

 

Roz

[bornfreenowexpensive]

So to clarify the above, I am a very experienced traveler. I am a stickler for details. On the rare occasions I have used travel agents, they made more mistakes than I have ever made. And I have made some, like showing up a day early for a reservation. More than 12 cruises, more than 6 Road Scholar trips, 20 years worth of independent travel around the world, some Tauck trips, and small group photography tours and riding tours around the world. We camp, we RV, we stay in 1 Star if we have to (near Sydney airport) to 5 Stars for very special occasions.

 

I love Road Scholar. They stay in mostly 3 star hotels, location is more important than accommodation. Most of the time the food is fine, occasionally not. But the learning and experience, as well as the fellow travelers we meet rate 5 star in my book.

[iancal]

We are headed away from cruising. Still do not but not nearly as much. Starting to look at OAT and Road Scholar as a replacement or to complement our independent travel. Now, we tend to cruise as a vacation from independent travel.

 

From a financial perspective we do not feel that cruises compete as well as they did eight or ten years ago against other travel products in the marketplace. We see increasing fares, decreasing quality, which for us translates into less value. We thought that we would do more cruising when we retired. Looking back, the opposite is true.

[EDLOS]

And similarly, if we wanted to spend a week or two at an amusement park or in Las Vegas, we could easily do that instead of going to sea.

 

Middle ground in terms of activities and entertainment in cruising is certainly something to strive for, but usually easier said than done.

 

Left HAL in 2016 (4 Star) due to diminished entertainment, activities, and enrichment talks ( 83 years young) and have sailed since on two Celebrity, four Norwegian cruises each cruise 14 days or longer and have two more booked upcoming on NCL. Have been very pleased with the amount and quality of the entertainment, activities, and lectures on both. It's not difficult to to do HAL, just go back to the way you did it 4 to 5 years ago. You can watch the Frozen Planet Video just so many times, have a ships orchestra of only 3 persons, enrichment lectures done by the Shorex Staff and the BB King Blues group blasting you out of a too small venue and rarely playing any Blues. OPRAH?????

[Roz]

We are headed away from cruising. Still do not but not nearly as much. Starting to look at OAT and Road Scholar as a replacement or to complement our independent travel. Now, we tend to cruise as a vacation from independent travel.

 

From a financial perspective we do not feel that cruises compete as well as they did eight or ten years ago against other travel products in the marketplace. We see increasing fares, decreasing quality, which for us translates into less value. We thought that we would do more cruising when we retired. Looking back, the opposite is true.

 

What is OAT?

 

Roz

[iancal]

Overseas Adventure Tours. They specialize in small group tours to interesting locations.

[Crazy For Cats]

HAL needs to step up their entertainment program. They seem to be migrating to the 'newly wed and nearly dead' cruise line. Don't know if it is attributable to cutbacks or to an incredibly inept HQ entertainment co-ordinator/manager/VP. Something is amiss.

 

I agree. Just off the 14 day Rotterdam cruise and two nights main show was EXC tours and one night was a "blockbuster" movie, "Rampage", which is on DVD. I complained in my survey.

[igraf]

This one was your fault. If you wanted the same waiter for all dinners then you should have selected traditional fixed-time dining rather than open seating. Everyone who goes with traditional seating gets the same wait staff every night.

 

I don't see how you could expect to have the same wait staff ever time you went in for open seating.

 

igraf

 

 

 

... It was important to sit at the same table with the same wait staff for all dinners, so that the correct gluten free meals could be ordered. It took 4 nights to get this arranged, and that only after a discussion with the dining room manager..

[syesmar]

. . . Just off the 14 day Rotterdam cruise and two nights main show was EXC tours and one night was a "blockbuster" movie, "Rampage", which is on DVD. I complained in my survey.

2 nights EXC Tours?!?! Oh dear! I hope that’s not a trend.

 

We had 1 movie for evening entertainment aboard the Zaandam, but that was the night prior to disembarkation and we were in Victoria til 10:30pm, so I found that excusable.

 

What was very odd, however, was that there was no substitute when the evening’s guest singer got seasick for our 8pm show. The entertainment was just abruptly cancelled, no movie, game show, quiz, nothing. And they didn’t inform those planning to attend the 10pm show in advance, either, even though they were aware at least 2 hours prior. I’ve never had that happen during a sailing. (I really have no other complaints. I enjoyed the Zaandam and we had a fantastic time).

[Roz]

Overseas Adventure Tours. They specialize in small group tours to interesting locations.

 

Thank you! I see they're associated with Grand Circle Travel.

 

Roz

[OHCruiser]

My husband and I just returned from the same cruise. We thought it was fabulous all around, but we went for the itinerary.......

We had an onboard naturalist and an EXC "local guide" with her own desk. Both were available constantly.

 

 

Because of tour times and prime options for animal sightings during extended daylight sailing times, we opted to eat only in the Lido, Pinnacle, or Canaletto. The Lido food was basic--meats, fish, potatoes, rice, veg, soup, salad, appetizers, etc.--and well prepared. The staff was very eager to please. Overly rare prime rib was grilled to the diner's specs. The Pinnacle was nice, but it was the Canaletto that shined. OMG, the zuppa di pesce and the chicken cacciatore were the best ever.

 

 

 

We attended the 8pm shows nightly. The production shows were top notch--4 excellent primary singers, a great band, and fine dancing. The single entertainers were also very good--comedians, a pianist, a jazz saxophonist, a singer, and 2 BBC specials with live music.

 

 

We did go to 2 movies, moving our preferred dinner time to 7:15pm, but still got a seat at the show. We attended several lectures by the local guide.

 

 

We considered this 14 day cruise one of the very best we've done-- the perfect blend of ports, tours, sea days, education, entertainment, and food. I'd gladly repeat it again. We're nearing 4* status, and the crew, captain, and cruise director on the Zaandam were extraordinary.

 

 

The only thing I would have changed was the bed...........why HAL can't get the fabulous beds of Princess--when they're sister companies--I'll never know.........maybe next cruise.

[Overtime4me2]

My husband and I just returned from the same cruise. We thought it was fabulous all around, but we went for the itinerary.......

We had an onboard naturalist and an EXC "local guide" with her own desk. Both were available constantly.

 

 

Because of tour times and prime options for animal sightings during extended daylight sailing times, we opted to eat only in the Lido, Pinnacle, or Canaletto. The Lido food was basic--meats, fish, potatoes, rice, veg, soup, salad, appetizers, etc.--and well prepared. The staff was very eager to please. Overly rare prime rib was grilled to the diner's specs. The Pinnacle was nice, but it was the Canaletto that shined. OMG, the zuppa di pesce and the chicken cacciatore were the best ever.

 

 

 

We attended the 8pm shows nightly. The production shows were top notch--4 excellent primary singers, a great band, and fine dancing. The single entertainers were also very good--comedians, a pianist, a jazz saxophonist, a singer, and 2 BBC specials with live music.

 

 

We did go to 2 movies, moving our preferred dinner time to 7:15pm, but still got a seat at the show. We attended several lectures by the local guide.

 

 

We considered this 14 day cruise one of the very best we've done-- the perfect blend of ports, tours, sea days, education, entertainment, and food. I'd gladly repeat it again. We're nearing 4* status, and the crew, captain, and cruise director on the Zaandam were extraordinary.

 

 

The only thing I would have changed was the bed...........why HAL can't get the fabulous beds of Princess--when they're sister companies--I'll never know.........maybe next cruise.

That sounds almost exactly the same as my cruise on zaandam July 2nd very similar with the lectures and the tour people being available often. We had a great time. Again, we ate in the dining room 95% of the time, and my friend is gluten free. We did the open seating and they never missed having her gluten free information and were always right on top of it. I was very impressed and this is the 5th time I've sailed with her and it's been that way every time. That's one reason why she prefers eating in the dining room.

 

Sent from my SM-G930VL using Tapatalk

[Dunelm]

In 1984, Neil Postman wrote a prophetic book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death: The Role of Entertainment and Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business." I see echoes of this book here. It seems that we are living in a society that is consumed by entertainment. I think we make our own fun, and have enjoyed every cruise we have taken on several lines. The best shows in Las Vegas cost hundreds of dollars. Some folk on ships are not paying hundreds of dollars every day for food, transport, room, and multiple venues of entertainment. Life is too precious to spend time looking at what is bad. I am not always a Pollyanna, but I tend to see a lot of good and privilege in just being on a ship. Peace and Joy!

[ZN1300]

No matter the cruise line, you can have a bad experience on any given ship. Our worst ship was the NCL Sun. We had a litany of complaints about that one. Sailed on a few other NCL ships that were fine. Sailed the Pacific Princess last year because we like the itinerary and we heard good things about Princess. We didn't care much for that ship either. May try them again at some point. But on HAL our complaint would be few and far between. Biggest complaint there is the slow internet.

We don't need or want most of the shipboard entertainment on any of the ships we've sailed, especially the shows that fill the room with the fake fog. We are perfectly happy bobbing on the ocean and visiting different ports.

[rj42]

After finishing a Princess cruise today, I can hardly wait to get on the Zaandam in 2 weeks. The Zaandam buffet is light years above the cattle pen slop troughs on Princess and their syrup coffee. The Lido on HAL will prepare your meat for your taste as you wait, and it’s warmer than in the dining room—I get my meat and lobster there and have salads and soups in the MDR. The HAL tvs show all their movies and the upgraded tv systems have hundreds of movies. Or you could just download Amazon movies on a tablet and watch them in the library or Crow’s Nest.

Or watch movies at home and enjoy the talented classical musians on HAL instead.

 

I’ve had several “I’m never sailing them again!” moments with every cruise line, but then I get home and remember the good parts and want to be at sea again. Now when I’m about to suffer sea-rage I go outside on the promenade, gaze at the beautiful ocean, and listen to Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” or Louis Armstrong’s “Beautiful World”.

[Barrheadlass]

Thank you! I see they're associated with Grand Circle Travel.

 

Roz

 

Yes, but the groups are wayyy smaller...generally a max of 16 ( and I took one that only had 4 people!), more adventurous, more challenging physically as a rule. I’m about to take my 5th OAT trip and have 3 more booked. No single supplement but spots are hard to come by sometimes.

[Roz]

Yes, but the groups are wayyy smaller...generally a max of 16 ( and I took one that only had 4 people!), more adventurous, more challenging physically as a rule. I’m about to take my 5th OAT trip and have 3 more booked. No single supplement but spots are hard to come by sometimes.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Can't wait until I'm retired and can go on some longer adventures.

 

Roz

[Roz]

Now when I’m about to suffer sea-rage....

 

Sea-rage...I love it! :p I've had that occasionally, like when some rude person cuts in line or some drunk is going off at the muster drill. Thanks for the laugh.

 

Roz

[syesmar]

My husband and I just returned from the same cruise. We thought it was fabulous all around, but we went for the itinerary. . .

We had an onboard naturalist and an EXC "local guide" with her own desk. Both were available constantly.

 

. . . We attended the 8pm shows nightly. The production shows were top notch--4 excellent primary singers, a great band, and . . . .

 

We considered this 14 day cruise one of the very best we've done-- the perfect blend of ports, tours, sea days, education, entertainment, and food. I'd gladly repeat it again. We're nearing 4* status, and the crew, captain, and cruise director on the Zaandam were extraordinary. . . .

 

I have to agree, the Zaandam singers on our July 30 sailing were the best of any ship’s singers from all our cruises. Every show may not have been my favorite, but they were by far the most talented group we’ve seen. A definite improvement!

There were far more EXC lectures and talks than on any previous sailing. EXC Guide Jeanette was so informative and added a local touch, which enhanced the Alaska experience.

Edited September 13, 2018 by syesmar
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