HAL ships sailing at capacity?

[sofietucker]

Just saw--in a HAL thread about covid--that someone recently was on a ship that was at 92% capacity. Didn't identify the cruise line nor ship. What do you know about HAL's current practice: are they trying to fill all the staterooms now? Does that vary by ship?

 

We were on  the Celebrity Edge in June 2021--the first ship out of the US--and while they were less than 1/3 booked "at capacity," they kept bumping everyone up until all the suites were filled. That meant that Luminae was fully packed, wall-to-wall every night, as was the Retreat. Kind of undid the entire purpose. But the main pool was virtually empty, lol! Wondering what we may expect in Sept. on the Nieuw Statendam.

Edited July 30, 2022 by sofietucker

[rubytue]

My room steward on the Westerdam last week said it was 70% capacity. 

[Roz]

@sophietucker, that was me that mentioned 92%.  It was the Rotterdam's March 20, 2022 sailing to the Southern Caribbean.  I got the 92% figure from the Captain, and based on the MDR, show lounge, Lido, BB King's, etc. I thought it was an accurate figure.  When I posted this information in a review when I returned I was questioned about it and some went just short of calling me a liar.  I stand by that stat.

[DaveOKC]

I am sure it varies by ship.  The newest ones seem to be higher and of course the more popular routes and dates result in higher as well.

[CruiserBruce]

Are they "trying" to fill the ships? Of course they are. Minus the cabins being held for quarantine,  and the issues with staffing. There are minimums for staffing/pax ratios, and like everyone else, they are having problems hiring. Several threads around discussing the situation. 

 

On Statendam right now, with reportedly 1523 on board. They seem somewhat over staffed for this number of pax. And they have portions of deck 4 and 5 closed for quarantine cabins. 

[Roz]

I should mention that the service we received on the Rotterdam's 92% capacity cruise was the worst we've experienced on any cruise,  except for the room stewards.  MDR, bars, Dive In, etc. were awful.

[aeraen]

I've been checking the availability on the Zaandam for the 13 Aug sailing,  and everything above the inside cabins is sold out.  I'm in an ocean view room, and was considering bumping up to a verandah if one was available, but I guess not.

 

[JeffElizabeth]

2 hours ago, Roz said:

I should mention that the service we received on the Rotterdam's 92% capacity cruise was the worst we've experienced on any cruise,  except for the room stewards.  MDR, bars, Dive In, etc. were awful.

Thanks for this information.  We were on Oceania in March and April and our ship was at 50%. The service was awesome even with the large amount of new crew being trained. I was worried about cost cutting with inflation but I never expected them to have so much trouble getting enough staff. 

[oaktreerb]

6 hours ago, sofietucker said:

Just saw--in a HAL thread about covid--that someone recently was on a ship that was at 92% capacity. Didn't identify the cruise line nor ship. What do you know about HAL's current practice: are they trying to fill all the staterooms now? Does that vary by ship?

 

We were on  the Celebrity Edge in June 2021--the first ship out of the US--and while they were less than 1/3 booked "at capacity," they kept bumping everyone up until all the suites were filled. That meant that Luminae was fully packed, wall-to-wall every night, as was the Retreat. Kind of undid the entire purpose. But the main pool was virtually empty, lol! Wondering what we may expect in Sept. on the Nieuw Statendam.

HAL doesn’t have exclusive areas so I don’t think you will deal with any crowding.  They have been known to close the upper level of the dining room early in the epidemic when ships were not full.  The only areas that get crowded are the music venues, which are easy to avoid.

[sofietucker]

3 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

HAL doesn’t have exclusive areas so I don’t think you will deal with any crowding.  They have been known to close the upper level of the dining room early in the epidemic when ships were not full.  The only areas that get crowded are the music venues, which are easy to avoid.

True.. except Club Orange for suites and people who choose to buy that perk, and maybe sone of the specialty restaurants, depending on the night. I imagine it will depend a good bit on how many folks are on board altogether. Plus the various Mariners/Captain's gatherings...

[DaveOKC]

11 hours ago, sofietucker said:

True.. except Club Orange for suites and people who choose to buy that perk, and maybe sone of the specialty restaurants, depending on the night. I imagine it will depend a good bit on how many folks are on board altogether. Plus the various Mariners/Captain's gatherings...

In probably 30-40 visits to various specialty restaurants on HAL I have never experienced crowded conditions.  They seem to try hard to space people out and not overbook.

 

[BetsyS.]

29 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

In probably 30-40 visits to various specialty restaurants on HAL I have never experienced crowded conditions.  They seem to try hard to space people out and not overbook.

 

Thank you. Good to know.

[CupKayke]

We were on Westerdamn to Alaska in June and the boat apparently can hold up to 2300 passengers and they were listed as SOLD OUT for at least three months pre-sailing and yet only 1200-1300 passengers onboard.  We were told they were still training and hiring staff.  They were DEFINITELY still training and needed to hire more.  I'm sure all the lines are struggling with getting enough staff on and trained at this point.... I'm just happy life is returning to a new normal and cruise ships are back in the water.  🙂

 

Also, the steakhouse was empty the night we visited.  It was delicious and worth it, IMHO. 

Edited July 31, 2022 by CupKayke

[sofietucker]

22 hours ago, Roz said:

I should mention that the service we received on the Rotterdam's 92% capacity cruise was the worst we've experienced on any cruise,  except for the room stewards.  MDR, bars, Dive In, etc. were awful.

And yet service is one of the main reasons we sail HAL.

 

Interestingly, poor service was also our experience on Celeb's Edge in June 2021. You'd have thought they'd be falling all over themselves to make it great on the first ship out. But many were brand new--our suite steward had never served on any ship before. Luminae staff uniformly a disaster. Crossing our fingers for Sept...

[sofietucker]

1 hour ago, DaveOKC said:

In probably 30-40 visits to various specialty restaurants on HAL I have never experienced crowded conditions.  They seem to try hard to space people out and not overbook.

 

Clearly, our mileage has varied, Dave. In Sel de Mer, Dec. 2021 (on the NS), we were cheek by jowl to the folks on the next banquettes. Won't keep me from eating there again though, lol!

[DaveOKC]

19 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

Clearly, our mileage has varied, Dave. In Sel de Mer, Dec. 2021 (on the NS), we were cheek by jowl to the folks on the next banquettes. Won't keep me from eating there again though, lol!

I do recall Sel de Mer being in a restricted area compared to the Pinnacle and Tamarind, so perhaps that explains it.

 

[southernbreezes]

On 7/31/2022 at 12:23 PM, sofietucker said:

And yet service is one of the main reasons we sail HAL.

 

Interestingly, poor service was also our experience on Celeb's Edge in June 2021. You'd have thought they'd be falling all over themselves to make it great on the first ship out. But many were brand new--our suite steward had never served on any ship before. Luminae staff uniformly a disaster. Crossing our fingers for Sept...

We just got off the Edge July 30th...by far the best service, food, ship we have ever been on. The wine by the glass was excellent which was one of my biggest complaints. We had 1700 on board. After 65 cruises it really was the best!

[SilvertoGold]

On 7/31/2022 at 8:04 AM, DaveOKC said:

In probably 30-40 visits to various specialty restaurants on HAL I have never experienced crowded conditions.  They seem to try hard to space people out and not overbook.

 

In June on the Zuiderdam the first day at sea found a LOT of pax to the Pinnacle.  When we arrived for our 5 pm dinner, there was a line-up of 20 couples.  Never seen anything like this before.  The restaurant was packed solid.  Manager told us he had 120 reservations for that evening:  the two sea days on Alaska cruises are often packed.  Other nights we dined there (first, Juneau, Ketchikan) were normal to sparsely populated.

[C-sea]

32 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

In June on the Zuiderdam the first day at sea found a LOT of pax to the Pinnacle.  When we arrived for our 5 pm dinner, there was a line-up of 20 couples.  Never seen anything like this before.  The restaurant was packed solid.  Manager told us he had 120 reservations for that evening:  the two sea days on Alaska cruises are often packed.  Other nights we dined there (first, Juneau, Ketchikan) were normal to sparsely populated.

Did they have a first night onboard special pricing?

[SilvertoGold]

2 hours ago, C-sea said:

Did they have a first night onboard special pricing?

No first night special pricing, no special pricing any night.

 

The Manager made this sounds like a wild ride every sea day on the Alaska run.

[sofietucker]

1 hour ago, SilvertoGold said:

No first night special pricing, no special pricing any night.

 

The Manager made this sounds like a wild ride every sea day on the Alaska run.

Wild ride! I envision the ships being towed by whales, accompanied by porpoises and dolphins, piloted into harbor by by polar bears, port masters being eagles with puffin assistants. Otters and seals wrangling ships into their berths. Moose on the bluffs to keep watch on the weather...

[JCEdin]

We are currently sailing on the Koningsdam in Alaska. The ship is at 75% capacity and the service is excellent.

Not only that….but today we have perfect weather in Glacier Bay! This is a great cruise
 

[Queenvee]

FYI... The Nieuw Statendam sailing from Copenhagen to Boston (7/16-8/3) was about 50% full - 1500 pax.

[ScottishMaid]

The Nieuw Statendam currently sailing to Greenland and Iceland has 1900 on board according to a passenger.