So, how’s HAL doing these days?

[larrywizzit]

We stopped cruising and traveling since the pandemic, and are only now ready to begin again. So I haven’t been aboard since March 2020 (We were  on a cruise that ended on March 8, just before the mess hit the fan)

 

In any case, I just booked a back to back to back - 32 days in the Caribbean just to avoid as much Canadian winter as possible.

 

So my question is, has anything changed greatly? Is the food and service still as good as ever, or have things slipped a bit?

 

I know that CCL is undergoing some financial hardship, so I wondered if this is reflected in the onboard experience? 
 

In any case, we’re going. I just want to know what to expect.

[iflyrc5]

1 hour ago, larrywizzit said:

We stopped cruising and traveling since the pandemic, and are only now ready to begin again. So I haven’t been aboard since March 2020 (We were  on a cruise that ended on March 8, just before the mess hit the fan)

 

In any case, I just booked a back to back to back - 32 days in the Caribbean just to avoid as much Canadian winter as possible.

 

So my question is, has anything changed greatly? Is the food and service still as good as ever, or have things slipped a bit?

 

I know that CCL is undergoing some financial hardship, so I wondered if this is reflected in the onboard experience? 
 

In any case, we’re going. I just want to know what to expect.

We were on the NS for 42 days in Feb/Mar 2022 and all was good.  Doing 28 days in Nov and another 42 in Jan/Feb 2023.

[CruiserBruce]

Take a look around the board. Dozens of discussions on everyone's take on the good and bad. 

[ski ww]

We did a two week Med in July and every thing was great. Food, service, cabin stewards all was right with the world. HAL entertainment in the main show room was still lacking. 

[FlaMariner]

We've been on two cruises since the unpleasantness.......

 

....We've enjoyed them just like always and have a few more booked......

 

Her Majesty thinks the food is better than before.  Me thinks that's just because she missed it so. 

 

Read up on these boards and you will get a good feel......but most importantly, get out there!

 

[friendswithdave]

I thought the entertainment quality took a step back on our Alaskan cruise, but most everything else (including the food) was still top notch. A few minor quibbles include inappropriate attire in the dining room and no butter mint cart after dinner. 

[Mary229]

I think we are all too giddy with the pleasure of sailing again that we are likely very forgiving of any flaw or fault.  The one I thing I know with certainty is cruising in the Caribbean is far better than dealing with the Canadian winter.  
 

 

[seacruise9]

52 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I think we are all too giddy with the pleasure of sailing again that we are likely very forgiving of any flaw or fault.  The one I thing I know with certainty is cruising in the Caribbean is far better than dealing with the Canadian winter.  
 

 

Hi,

 

I agree completely. I have taken four cruises since the shutdown (one Princess and three Celebrity). I had a great time on these cruises and was thrilled to be back at sea. I am booked on the Nieuw Statendam for next month.

 

Chuck

[Daisyloo]

We just did 14 days on the Noordam to Alaska.  It was our first cruise post pandemic and we quite enjoyed it.

We felt the service was excellent.  The crew were great and seemed very happy to be back at work.  The food and service in the MDR was very good and seemed the same as pre pandemic cruises, except that there seemed to be fewer choices.  We found the food in the Lido to be lower in quality and with fewer choices than pre pandemic.  It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great.  But we always found something we liked.

Overall, it was a great cruise and I am glad we did it.

[LocoLoco1]

Carnival’s CEO laid it out in blunt terms recently: ‘I have very high expectations of our ships generating more revenue, from both large and small areas.’ Read to mean: ‘We’re gonna charge for any/all extras’. On a HAL 3/wk in March,2022 we found housekeeping remained top-notch & Lido food was good as ever. Less staff, no free hors d’ovres, no PoolsideActivities, no Librarian, minimal musicians or lectures, no PianoBar no Capt. dinner with 4-5stars or Chocolate Extravaganza, no Caviar samples on GalaNights etc. No Crew stageshow night. HAL KidZone was locked up.  So, expect to pay more for optional Dining/Spa/Liquor extras and entertain yourself methinks. Can’t speak to DieselFuel rationing and such that may shorten Port stops. Having a TransAtlantic soon, so we too await signs of any more cutbacks

[albingirl]

2 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Carnival’s CEO laid it out in blunt terms recently: ‘I have very high expectations of our ships generating more revenue, from both large and small areas.’ Read to mean: ‘We’re gonna charge for any/all extras’. On a HAL 3/wk in March,2022 we found housekeeping remained top-notch & Lido food was good as ever. Less staff, no free hors d’ovres, no PoolsideActivities, no Librarian, minimal musicians or lectures, no PianoBar no Capt. dinner with 4-5stars or Chocolate Extravaganza, no Caviar samples on GalaNights etc. No Crew stageshow night. HAL KidZone was locked up.  So, expect to pay more for optional Dining/Spa/Liquor extras and entertain yourself methinks. Can’t speak to DieselFuel rationing and such that may shorten Port stops. Having a TransAtlantic soon, so we too await signs of any more cutbacks

You make a good point but the cutbacks that you list have been going on for years.  Nothing new.   However, we took 3 cruises last year and enjoyed every one.  Things have changed, some dramatically, all over the world really.

[LocoLoco1]

25 minutes ago, albingirl said:

You make a good point but the cutbacks that you list have been going on for years.  Nothing new.   However, we took 3 cruises last year and enjoyed every one.  Things have changed, some dramatically, all over the world really.

‘The Big Stuff’ cutbacks at Corporate probably won’t show up onboard. From huge Cashews to cocktailpeanuts pale in comparison to Fuel/Interest expenses or getting rid of money-loser vessels and boosting fares for Cabins etc. ‘But THEN what?’ I ask myself, as little cuts onboard eventually turn people off. Tis Crazy to see CCL stock at 1992 levels, less than $7/sh. 

[five.]

The quote and article, in case anyone else is interested in the source:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/28402-carnival-ceo-high-expectations-for-all-9-brands.html

[AFNavigator]

7 hours ago, friendswithdave said:

I thought the entertainment quality took a step back on our Alaskan cruise, but most everything else (including the food) was still top notch.

There have been a number of instances reported on here that the Music Walk entertainment sometimes took a hit because some of the musicians were down due to COVID.  It's not like you can get a new singer or band member at sea when some of them get quarantined.  It's just a new fact of life limitation you have to understand is possible these days. 

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, five. said:

The quote and article, in case anyone else is interested in the source:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/28402-carnival-ceo-high-expectations-for-all-9-brands.html

big problems at Princess for us seniors . Fr too difficult to put Ocean Ready  on to our cell phones & Princess has mostly  new hires with little or no experience   .spent over 6 hours one day to try &  get Ocean Ready on my Cell phone  . There was no help ,so decided to take 2 HAL cruises  because I could still put my pre boarding info the old fashion way on their web site , Done & ready for the Boarding Passes 

[Guest ldtr]

39 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

big problems at Princess for us seniors . Fr too difficult to put Ocean Ready  on to our cell phones & Princess has mostly  new hires with little or no experience   .spent over 6 hours one day to try &  get Ocean Ready on my Cell phone  . There was no help ,so decided to take 2 HAL cruises  because I could still put my pre boarding info the old fashion way on their web site , Done & ready for the Boarding Passes 

To some any problems are insurmountable.  Many other have managed to do either without problem or with minor issues.  Even then one does not even have to use the App on their cell phone if they do not want to.

 

Been on 6 Princess cruises this year operations returning to normal with occupancy rates increasing, compared to when things first restarted and some venues were closed.

 

Got off a HAL cruise a month ago.  Things pretty much the same as pre-covid.

[Damcruiser]

We tested the waters on HAL’s N Statendam after a two and a half year pause in our cruising addiction.  We were greatly impressed with the food and quality of the live entertainment.  We booked 4 more weeks for November-December as a result of our experience.

[larrywizzit]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:23 AM, Mary229 said:

I think we are all too giddy with the pleasure of sailing again that we are likely very forgiving of any flaw or fault.  The one I thing I know with certainty is cruising in the Caribbean is far better than dealing with the Canadian winter.  
 

 

Which is why we’re going.

[larrywizzit]

People, I genuinely appreciate the feedback!

 

Sounds like what we were hoping to hear.

 

Thank you all.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 10/7/2022 at 4:43 PM, AFNavigator said:

There have been a number of instances reported on here that the Music Walk entertainment sometimes took a hit because some of the musicians were down due to COVID.  It's not like you can get a new singer or band member at sea when some of them get quarantined.  It's just a new fact of life limitation you have to understand is possible these days. 

The Rotterdam music walk is doing great.. 

[AFNavigator]

1 hour ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

The Rotterdam music walk is doing great.. 

That's great to hear.

[MISTER 67]

HAL is still a fine product but I wish there were more shows in the main showroom, Music Walk gets a little old after a couple of days on the ship. We just got off the Celebrity Infinity and they had outstanding shows every night in the showroom with standing ovations for all the shows except for the comedian, he was pretty funny but not standing ovation worthy.

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

HAL is still a fine product but I wish there were more shows in the main showroom, Music Walk gets a little old after a couple of days on the ship. We just got off the Celebrity Infinity and they had outstanding shows every night in the showroom with standing ovations for all the shows except for the comedian, he was pretty funny but not standing ovation worthy.

 

 

Activities during the day is also getting rather thin with half of those listed on my recent cruise being related to the Spa, Art Gallery or retail stores.

[Damcruiser]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

HAL is still a fine product but I wish there were more shows in the main showroom, Music Walk gets a little old after a couple of days on the ship. We just got off the Celebrity Infinity and they had outstanding shows every night in the showroom with standing ovations for all the shows except for the comedian, he was pretty funny but not standing ovation worthy.

 

 

The main theatre is a big draw on Celebrity but shows do not change from week to week. Their live music is very limited and dance floors are rarely used.  On their newer ships they are relegated to the atrium of high traffic areas.

[true45]

On 10/9/2022 at 8:12 PM, Damcruiser said:

The main theatre is a big draw on Celebrity but shows do not change from week to week. Their live music is very limited and dance floors are rarely used.  On their newer ships they are relegated to the atrium of high traffic areas.

We were on the Celebrity Summit and The Apex this past year and the entertainment was super.  The Apex has differing entertainment in several venues from the main theater (example — contemporary violin show), smaller theater (ex Motown full band with horns & great lead singer & dance floor) Eden with funky quirky innovative theatre type show and the Atrium area band, music at the pool etc.

We are looking forward to trying our first HAL sailing in the NS next month.  Variety is the spice of life.  
 

Happy sailing