HAL vs other cruise lines

[iancal]

HAL has a variety of ships of different ages. 

 

I believe that you need to carefully match your personal preferences to  specific HAL ships vs the fleet as a whole based on ship size, age,  amenities, entertainment, etc.  

 

[Peace2U]

8 hours ago, travelnap said:

I would agree, I have sailed on most of the mass market lines and the trivia on HAL is a bit more challenging than on most lines, but be warned, there are some long time cruisers aboard who also love trivia and they are hard to beat.

 

Overall I think you will enjoy the HAL experience.  HAL is more about the itinerary than they are about the ship itself.  Very relaxing most of the time, so if you are looking for a ship with all the bells and whistles that the new mega ships have, then HAL might not be a good fit for you.  But if you sail for the trip itself and going on a partial canal transit sounds like you are, then you will enjoy your trip.  Have a great cruise.

Thank you! I can't wait!

 

[Nymich]

I go on HAL because I think the food in the buffet, mdr and specialty restaurants is better...…..for me anyways.

I like the smaller ships because they are laid back and relaxing and I can get a good lift from the BB King Club to get me through the week.   When they added this club in 2013 it actually motivated me to book HAL.

The Pinnacle ships are pretty much the same as far as food and relaxation but you can now get a big punch from the Rolling Stone Rock Room.  Rotating this club with the BB King All Stars is a big change for HAL but one I personally like.

 

That being said we go as much as we can and this year looks like it is Celebrity and MSC for now anyways.  We have different reasons why we enjoy these.

[mcrcruiser]

We really like HAL's food & smiling service waiters  . We sailed other lines & imo none come close to  HAL in the main line cruise industry . Where HAL lacks is their main shows   ;but their itineraries way make up for that lack , The closest we sailed with compared to HAL is Celebrity ships  . However ,you must compare size to size & age to age for all ships to make a better comparison 

 

 We like HAL & thus continue cruising & Princess ships but for different reasons .

[Peace2U]

11 hours ago, I Luv Crusin said:

We love HAL!  We sailed the Rotterdam this past fall and it felt like we were coming home!  We are natural early birds so that's not a problem for us.  I was surprised how casual elegant night was, after making my DH wear a tux!  

 

I liked attending the Window's workshops.

 

Can't wait to cruise again!

I would have thought that formal night would have looked like a gala. I am sure he looked great in the tux regardless.

 

[Peace2U]

2 hours ago, Nymich said:

That being said we go as much as we can and this year looks like it is Celebrity and MSC for now anyways.  We have different reasons why we enjoy these.

 

We haven't tried MSC. I hadn't been impressed with the reviews. I would love to hear your experience. Maybe I shouldn't disregard them.

[Nymich]

19 minutes ago, Peace2U said:

 

We haven't tried MSC. I hadn't been impressed with the reviews. I would love to hear your experience. Maybe I shouldn't disregard them.

We went on the Divina in the Yacht Club but it has been years since they got a new ship to Florida.  We are committed to TRYING to only go on a ship once while we are still working.  We booked Seaside and Meraviglia in the Yacht Club.  You can get tons of info over on their board.  The entertainment and production shows on the Divina blew away anything we have ever seen at sea.  In addition the Divina is a beautiful ship.   Like I said we go towards the lines strength as we navigate around lol.

Was MSC food as good as HAL imo no.   Did they have music like BB Kings and RS Rock Room no.   But we won't expect that when we board either.

We have also traveled HAL the most and there is a reason for that.  HAL is a very good cruise line.  MSC and NCL are great if you are in the YC or Haven otherwise they are crazy.

HAL is the one who is solid no matter where you are on the ship!

[HELENPSL]

We started cruising with HAL because of their longer itineraries.  This is something we try to do once a year.  We just came off of a 1 week Caribbean cruise on Princess in a balcony cabin.   We live an hour from the port and the deal was too good to turn down.  But there were little things that I noticed that I believe puts HAL a notch above.  As someone else mentioned, HAL has the towels in the public bathrooms as opposed to paper towels on Princess.  Is it the end of the world?  Of course not!  But it is a nice touch.  We found the cabin bathroom to be much smaller than on HAL.  One thing that did annoy me - HAL gives you fluffy bath sheets which real sized people can actually use when they get out of the shower.  The towels on Princess were much smaller and thinner. So I thought...ok...I'll use one the robes to dry off.  Princess robes are cotton and not the thick terry cloth robes that you find on HAL.  And while the food on Princess was good it cannot compare to the food on HAL.  Believe it or not, we will sail Princess again since the timing of certain cruises work better for us.  Thankfully, our next cruise is in April on the Prinsendam.  As soon as I board a HAL ship I feel like I'm coming home.

[Homosassa]

9 hours ago, HELENPSL said:

 As soon as I board a HAL ship I feel like I'm coming home.

And there usually is a smiling crew member at the bottom of the gangway in ports that says, "Welcome home" as you board.

[Hlitner]

We have been blessed to have cruised upon 15 different cruise lines....including our share of time on HAL.  One reason why DW and I love cruising on different lines is that each line (and sometimes certain vessels) have their own "personality" and we happen to love the variety.  When it comes to HAL, we tend to do longer cruises with amazing itineraries.  If we were to generalize about HAL we would say it attracts older passengers (especially on longer voyages) who are generally well-traveled and terrific cruise mates.  We agree with the term "sedate" when it comes to HAL cruises where we often find most of the passengers in bed (or at least their cabins) by 10pm.  HAL would be the last line we would choose if we were looking for late night activities.  In fact, the only late night activities on many HAL cruises are the night staff doing a great job cleaning the ship  :).   

 

As to activities, HAL has really cut-back on the Cruise Director staff and activities.  On some HAL cruises it seems like the only major activity is trivia...which is sometimes taken very seriously by a few passengers  (which is why we now avoid trivia).  Another strange thing on HAL is that they will sometimes have a movie (and not necessarily the latest movie) as their major evening activity.   We have sometimes walked into one of these movies only to find quite a few fellow passengers comfortably nodding-off (in preparation before going to their cabin to sleep).

 

Another "warning" about HAL to those who like to dine late (in HAL terms this would be after 7:30).  Late diners may well find themselves in pretty empty dining rooms...as a majority of HAL cruisers prefer to dine by 6.  DW and have gone to the MDR around 8pm on many nights, and will often tell the Maitre'd we would like to share a large table (a great way to meet new folks and make friends).  But at 8pm sharing may not be possible because you might find that you are the last folks entering the MDR :).

 

Hank

[SumoCitrus]

10 hours ago, HELENPSL said:

As soon as I board a HAL ship I feel like I'm coming home.

 

This.

[Peace2U]

12 hours ago, HELENPSL said:

We started cruising with HAL because of their longer itineraries.  This is something we try to do once a year.  We just came off of a 1 week Caribbean cruise on Princess in a balcony cabin.   We live an hour from the port and the deal was too good to turn down.  But there were little things that I noticed that I believe puts HAL a notch above.  As someone else mentioned, HAL has the towels in the public bathrooms as opposed to paper towels on Princess.  Is it the end of the world?  Of course not!  But it is a nice touch.  We found the cabin bathroom to be much smaller than on HAL.  One thing that did annoy me - HAL gives you fluffy bath sheets which real sized people can actually use when they get out of the shower.  The towels on Princess were much smaller and thinner. So I thought...ok...I'll use one the robes to dry off.  Princess robes are cotton and not the thick terry cloth robes that you find on HAL.  And while the food on Princess was good it cannot compare to the food on HAL.  Believe it or not, we will sail Princess again since the timing of certain cruises work better for us.  Thankfully, our next cruise is in April on the Prinsendam.  As soon as I board a HAL ship I feel like I'm coming home.

Wow, we love Princess, so it sounds like we will also love HAL. Thanks!

[Peace2U]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

We have been blessed to have cruised upon 15 different cruise lines....including our share of time on HAL.  One reason why DW and I love cruising on different lines is that each line (and sometimes certain vessels) have their own "personality" and we happen to love the variety.  When it comes to HAL, we tend to do longer cruises with amazing itineraries.  If we were to generalize about HAL we would say it attracts older passengers (especially on longer voyages) who are generally well-traveled and terrific cruise mates.  We agree with the term "sedate" when it comes to HAL cruises where we often find most of the passengers in bed (or at least their cabins) by 10pm.  HAL would be the last line we would choose if we were looking for late night activities.  In fact, the only late night activities on many HAL cruises are the night staff doing a great job cleaning the ship  :).   

 

As to activities, HAL has really cut-back on the Cruise Director staff and activities.  On some HAL cruises it seems like the only major activity is trivia...which is sometimes taken very seriously by a few passengers  (which is why we now avoid trivia).  Another strange thing on HAL is that they will sometimes have a movie (and not necessarily the latest movie) as their major evening activity.   We have sometimes walked into one of these movies only to find quite a few fellow passengers comfortably nodding-off (in preparation before going to their cabin to sleep).

 

Another "warning" about HAL to those who like to dine late (in HAL terms this would be after 7:30).  Late diners may well find themselves in pretty empty dining rooms...as a majority of HAL cruisers prefer to dine by 6.  DW and have gone to the MDR around 8pm on many nights, and will often tell the Maitre'd we would like to share a large table (a great way to meet new folks and make friends).  But at 8pm sharing may not be possible because you might find that you are the last folks entering the MDR :).

 

Hank

 Great info. What are your favorite lines out of the 15? Which ones to avoid? We like to try a variety too but so far favor Princess. We are early diners and early to bed people, so this might be a welcome change to noise at night.

[Hlitner]

Just now, Peace2U said:

 Great info. What are your favorite lines out of the 15? Which ones to avoid? We like to try a variety too but so far favor Princess. We are early diners and early to bed people, so this might be a welcome change to noise at night.

We really do not have a long-time favorite as the lines are often changing (often not for the best) and we try to also change with the tides.  For several years we have really favored Celebrity, but that ended soon after Lisa Lutoff-Perlo took over the line (she moved over from RCI) and decided to cut-back many things while drastically increasing prices.  I call it the "death by a thousand cut-backs."  Princess had fallen out of favor for a few years, but has now worked itself back into our good graces.  HAL, despite its many issues with old ships with too many maintenance issues, has long been high on our list because of its terrific itineraries.

 

Our most recent cruise was 21 days on MSC's Divina when we decided to forego our usual annual Celebrity Caribbean cruise and try MSC's highly touted Yacht Club (ship within a ship).   This was a very different cruise experience and we were happily blown away by the entire thing....and quickly booked another cruise on that same ship in the same cabin :).  While we would not consider cruising on MSC outside their Yacht Club, for now, this YC experience has moved very high on our list.  We will soon try our 16th cruise line (Seabourn) and are curious to discover if it is worth the extra dollars.  Both Oceania and Viking Ocean cruises are on our future "to try" list and we would also love to go back on Crystal...if we can find the right itinerary at a reasonable price (good luck with that).  Some family members have recently discovered Viking Ocean Cruises (they are also big time Princess cruisers) and loved that line.  Their judgement is excellent so is driving us to book a future cruise on that line.

 

MSC is a line that we really think bears watching.  It is the only large cruise line that is privately owned (by a single Italian family) and thus does not have the same bottom-line mentality as public companies.  MSC is a huge corporation with deep pockets and are growing by about 2 new ships a year.  Within 5 or 6 years they will have 29 vessels including several in a new smaller ship/high end category...which really has our interest.  Our 21 days on the Divina did teach us that this line has a lot of staffing issues relating to its rapid expansion.  On MSC you do find a lot of crew on their first contract and it shows in terms of service.  However, within the Yacht Club the staff was truly amazing (the best we have experienced on any cruise line).  Another fun part of MSC is that it attracts a very international group of cruisers (North Americans are often in the minority) which is something we really like since its fun meeting folks from all over the world.

 

I still shake my head at this "loyalty" thing shared by many cruisers.  We are certainly loyal to ourselves and our family, but any loyalty to a cruise line only goes as far as the last cruise.  Perhaps that is why after more then forty years of extensive cruising we never get tired of the experience.  Variety keeps it fresh and interesting.

 

Hank

[Peace2U]

On 1/24/2019 at 12:30 PM, Hlitner said:

We really do not have a long-time favorite as the lines are often changing (often not for the best) and we try to also change with the tides.  For several years we have really favored Celebrity, but that ended soon after Lisa Lutoff-Perlo took over the line (she moved over from RCI) and decided to cut-back many things while drastically increasing prices.  I call it the "death by a thousand cut-backs."  Princess had fallen out of favor for a few years, but has now worked itself back into our good graces.  HAL, despite its many issues with old ships with too many maintenance issues, has long been high on our list because of its terrific itineraries.

That's sad to hear. I really liked our Celebrity cruise.

On 1/24/2019 at 12:30 PM, Hlitner said:

 

Our most recent cruise was 21 days on MSC's Divina when we decided to forego our usual annual Celebrity Caribbean cruise and try MSC's highly touted Yacht Club (ship within a ship).   This was a very different cruise experience and we were happily blown away by the entire thing....and quickly booked another cruise on that same ship in the same cabin :).  While we would not consider cruising on MSC outside their Yacht Club, for now, this YC experience has moved very high on our list. 

Sounds nice. Will have to look into that.

On 1/24/2019 at 12:30 PM, Hlitner said:

We will soon try our 16th cruise line (Seabourn) and are curious to discover if it is worth the extra dollars.  Both Oceania and Viking Ocean cruises are on our future "to try" list and we would also love to go back on Crystal...if we can find the right itinerary at a reasonable price (good luck with that).  Some family members have recently discovered Viking Ocean Cruises (they are also big time Princess cruisers) and loved that line.  Their judgement is excellent so is driving us to book a future cruise on that line.

How are prices on those lines? I heard they are kind of expensive.

 

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, Peace2U said:

That's sad to hear. I really liked our Celebrity cruise.

Sounds nice. Will have to look into that.

How are prices on those lines? I heard they are kind of expensive.

 

 

Total quick and dirty look for 7 Day Caribbean - RT Florida- prices are all over the place but if one searches one can find a verandah cabin (to compare to the all verandah luxury lines), but also much cheaper if the cruise line had ocean view and inside cabins:

 

7-Day - Caribbean - RT Florida   - verandah cabin

 

Very rough comparison: - differences between size of ships, ports, cabin availability, amenities, what is included or not, time of cruise but this basically how they tend to fall into the same relative clusters - plus they can differ in the final price, hotel service port fees etc

 

Celebrity - $799

HAL - $899

Princess - $888

 

MSC - $1119

RCI - $1399

 

Viking - $2999

Crystal -$ 2583

Regent - $3199

Oceania - $2879

 

 

[kochleffel]

All this is interesting, because I recently found a HAL itinerary that might suit me. I've looked at Holland America bookings before, but because I usually travel alone and would rather spend money on shore activities, food, and the like than on a 100% singles supplement, the pricing usually hasn't worked. The one I'm considering now is in January 2020 in what appears to be an "off" week for cruise travel, and the total fare is acceptable.

 

I have mixed thoughts about Holland America. I may already be in the "older" demographic, but I'm not sure how people define that -- I would be 68 by the time of the cruise and I'm very sedate, although I'm not part of the "in bed by 9:00 p.m." brigade. The entertainment on HAL, such as it is, may be more to my taste than what I've experienced recently on another line, and activities worthy of a theme park have no appeal. On the other hand, I was on a cruise recently on NCL where I seemed to be in the youngest 10% of the passengers. I had a great conversation at breakfast with a passenger who was 90 years old and on her 56th cruise, but I also noticed passengers who seemed to be unaware of their surroundings.

 

I have to confess that I have a slightly negative impression of HAL passengers, based solely on posts on this board. It's possible that I would have the same impression of passengers on other cruise lines if I read those board more attentively.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Peace2U said:

That's sad to hear. I really liked our Celebrity cruise.

Sounds nice. Will have to look into that.

How are prices on those lines? I heard they are kind of expensive.

 

So true.  For decades we have usually looked for decent deals when we booked trips/cruises with some exceptions such as the Voyage of the Vikings cruise (loved every minute).   But in the past 3-5 years there have been many cut-backs on the mass market lines (including HAL) with most lines increasing prices.  We now realize that some of the luxury lines, or even ship within a ship concepts like MSC's Yacht Club, will often offer a better overall value then the mass market lines.  Of course one still should shop around for good pricing and compare price against quality and amenities.  Even with HAL, when you look at the pricing of some of their great itineraries (like the VOV) and then factor-in onboard expenses, there are cases where you can actually do better with a higher-end line.  HAL still has some terrific deals, and great itineraries, so this line is in our future plans. 

 

Speaking of Viking Cruises (we have yet to go on that line) a few of our friends (who normally cruise on mass market lines) have recently tried Viking....and they all quickly booked future cruises with that line despite the relatively high cost.   Perhaps in our old age we have reached the point where we are willing to pay more for better :).

 

Hank

[BJzink]

Speaking as a single woman traveling alone, I love HAL because I feel safe at all times, even on tours.  The ports are so interesting, and the lectures informative.  Where else could I learn about the origins of Tango or Mata.  As mentioned, the staff is attentive, knows my name by the second day, and go out of their way to make me feel comfortable.  I am not impaired at all, go on tours that require lots of walking, and love to learn anything.  

The other thing that differentiates HAL from other cruise lines is their use of fresh flower arrangements all over the ships.  

[DrSea]

On 1/22/2019 at 6:02 PM, knittinggirl said:

They offer a daily laundry special, while most other lines offer the laundry bag special for one day a week.   Once you get to 200 cruise points, you start getting that daily laundry special as one of your perks. 

 

Other loyalty benefits, 25-50% off specialty dinners.  Other cruise lines offer the 50% off the first or second night only.

 

You can place special orders in the MDR.

 

HAL also offers longer cruises.

 

Coffee is better, even MDR coffee.  I'm not a fan of the cruise lines that serve horrid coffee in the MDR so you'll buy their specialty coffee.

 

Cloth towels and hand lotion in the public restrooms.

 

 

About the lotion...I have very dry hands from using hand sanitizer literally about a hundred times a day.  

 

How do I get the lotion without touching something that could give me the norovirus or touching something even worst 😷

[DrSea]

Is there anyone who is 40 or below on HAL? The way everyone talks about it, it sounds like the median age is 68

[danb35]

13 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Is there anyone who is 40 or below on HAL?

My wife and I (40 and 45) just sailed with them, and we weren't the youngest people on board--though I'd say we were in the bottom 10%.

[knittinggirl]

30 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Is there anyone who is 40 or below on HAL? The way everyone talks about it, it sounds like the median age is 68

We went on a 14+11 day B2B on the Serenade of the Seas.  On the 14-day leg, most were 55 or over, but on the 11 day, the general age dropped to mid-40s.    The older passengers could do the 14-day cruise plus the pre-and post cruise travel easier than the with the younger.  11-days is about good enough for working passengers that get only two weeks off a year.

38 minutes ago, DrSea said:

About the lotion...I have very dry hands from using hand sanitizer literally about a hundred times a day.  

 

How do I get the lotion without touching something that could give me the norovirus or touching something even worst 😷

We use facial tissues for opening doors and also touching the lotion pump.  They usually have a trash can right by the door for disposing of the tissues.  

 

I'm pretty sure I can recover from Noro faster than a broken bone..   On our first Voyage of the Vikings, after a couple rough days at sea, we saw a woman with a bruise over most of her face.  By the time we got to Boston, she was almost back to normal.

Edited February 7, 2019 by knittinggirl

[DC1979]

1 hour ago, DrSea said:

Is there anyone who is 40 or below on HAL? The way everyone talks about it, it sounds like the median age is 68

Me.  I was in my early 30s on my first cruise with HAL and I absolutely loved it.  Yes I was amongst the youngest ones on it.  But I enjoyed my experience very much.  And seeing some on the people coming off the other ships at various ports, I was so glad I chose HAL.  I could not imagine being stuck on a ship with some of them.  (Note, this is not to say there is anything wrong with them, or that I am better.  It’s just not the style of vacation that I want.  I prefer more relaxing, quiet, understated, elegant, etc.  Of course those people looked like they were having a blast, and I was happy for them, and they probably would have hated HAL. All different kinds of people in the world, and nothing wrong with that.  Just know what you want, and choose wisely!!). 

[dundeene]

There is something we like about all of the lines we have tried.

A short list;

currently. . . .  a bit stuck on HAL,  good food, reasonable prices, love the ability to walk around the entire deck, old school feel and service, quiet ships, easy to relax, good space to person ratio 

 

Princess , good food, tons to do, like the club class experience, Royal and Regal are beautiful ships, reasonable prices, good production shows and entertainers. (bad side is tiny balconies!) 

 

Celebrity, food in Blu was good (did not love the buffet), clean ships, reasonable prices, a variety of itineraries, nice spas

 

Oceania, best food! free specialty restaurants, price includes airfare, fantastic suite experience, all non-alcoholic beverages included (downside is the higher price)

 

We are looking at trying Viking Ocean Cruises as well. 

 

We are loyal to each cruise line in a way. We strive to be honest in reviews, look for the positives on each trip, treat both the staff and all others cruisers with respect, and leave public spaces and our cabin in the same condition we found it.

 

It is difficult to compare apples, to oranges, to plums! My advice is to try them all.