HAL continuing to downgrade its product

[Expo67]

11 hours ago, Hlitner said:

This thread got me thinking about some good activities for HAL.  1.  Watching a plant grow  2.  Finger painting  3.  Group crossword puzzle class   4.  Monopoly lessons  5.  Group people watching   6.  Reading class.

 

Don't get me wrong, we have enjoyed most of our more than 500 cruise days on HAL.  But DW and I are content to read (we usually have more than 100 books loaded on our Kindles) and socialize.  But those who only cruise on HAL may not be aware that many other cruise lines have a much more ambitious activities schedule (and the staff to pull it off).  If you look at a daily Princess schedule for a sea day you will find dozens of activities from the sedate things (art and crafts, cocktail making, cooking demos) to more physical such as ping pong.  They also do fun things like "egg drops" in their atriums (it is a real hoot) various dance classes, and once they even had a steel drum demo and lessons.  You will also find computer classes (with Microsoft certified instructors) on various software such as spreadsheets or simply Windows.  In fact, their ships have computer rooms (with about 20 stations) where they can-do hands-on instruction.  Celebrity has Apple stores on their ships and also conducts various classes.   We have also seen various activities such as passengers vs officers pool volleyball (lots of fun to watch).  

 

But on HAL we have done our share of "nodding off" while relaxing in the Crows Nest.  At times we have thought that the major activity on HAL is "nodding off" and we would likely be among the winners of that activity :).

 

Hank

 

 

U gotta fight me and the Mrs for that one Hank. 😉 Gonna repeat the 2017 VOV that we did with u two and Cheryl & Larry. Wish we could get all of u onboard so we could have daily contest for king of the nodding. 👍

[cruisemom42]

7 hours ago, cruiseguy56 said:

It isn’t always that people don’t WANT to dine with others on NCL, it’s often an unintended side effect of NCL’s multi-dining locations and reservation policy.

 

Not sure about that. I've read enough posts on the NCL board from those who want no part of sharing their dining experience with others and pretty much was told I must have two heads to want to spend my dinner talking to people I don't know. 😒.  They are consistently emphatic about it.

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Not sure about that. I've read enough posts on the NCL board from those who want no part of sharing their dining experience with others and pretty much was told I must have two heads to want to spend my dinner talking to people I don't know. 😒.  They are consistently emphatic about it.

I agree, and it does seem unfortunate. The general tone is "why would I ever want to eat with someone I don't know".

[Hlitner]

9 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Not sure about that. I've read enough posts on the NCL board from those who want no part of sharing their dining experience with others and pretty much was told I must have two heads to want to spend my dinner talking to people I don't know. 😒.  They are consistently emphatic about it.

I think part of it has to do with the trend towards using social media in place of socialization.  A few years ago, a group of us were having dinner at a high-end restaurant in Niagara on the Lake, CA.  At the next table was an attractive young couple (20s).  DW noticed that those two diners spent their entire time at the table texting (they only put down their phone when they needed two hands to eat).  This went on the entire meal (about 2 hours) and it appeared that the couple never actually talked to each other.  One other member of our party mentioned they probably did not even know how to actually talk to each other since their generation does most socialization through texting.  That has now spread to even many of our older generation.  

 

Here on CC, when the topic of sharing tables with strangers comes up, there are always a few who say things like "we don't know what to say to strangers,"  or "we are uncomfortable eating with strangers,"  I suspect that many have either lost (or never learned) part of the so-called social graces when dealing face to face with strangers.  When we started cruising (in the 70s) sharing large tables was the norm and folks understood that this was part of cruising.  In those days, 2-tops were quite rare.  To this day we still think of some of our best cruises in terms of who we met and befriended at the dinner table.  Many CCers will say that they simply do not like "dining with strangers,"  want to get in and out of the MDR as quickly as possible, don't know what to say to strangers, etc.  We are still old fashioned and enjoy meeting new folks, relaxing at a long dinner (called dining), and interacting with newfound friends.  A good table in the MDR can often be the best entertainment of the day...especially on a line that has dark nights and passes off movies as the main entertainment.

 

Hank

[Navybikermom]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

I think part of it has to do with the trend towards using social media in place of socialization.  A few years ago, a group of us were having dinner at a high-end restaurant in Niagara on the Lake, CA.  At the next table was an attractive young couple (20s).  DW noticed that those two diners spent their entire time at the table texting (they only put down their phone when they needed two hands to eat).  This went on the entire meal (about 2 hours) and it appeared that the couple never actually talked to each other.  One other member of our party mentioned they probably did not even know how to actually talk to each other since their generation does most socialization through texting.  That has now spread to even many of our older generation.  

 

Here on CC, when the topic of sharing tables with strangers comes up, there are always a few who say things like "we don't know what to say to strangers,"  or "we are uncomfortable eating with strangers,"  I suspect that many have either lost (or never learned) part of the so-called social graces when dealing face to face with strangers.  When we started cruising (in the 70s) sharing large tables was the norm and folks understood that this was part of cruising.  In those days, 2-tops were quite rare.  To this day we still think of some of our best cruises in terms of who we met and befriended at the dinner table.  Many CCers will say that they simply do not like "dining with strangers,"  want to get in and out of the MDR as quickly as possible, don't know what to say to strangers, etc.  We are still old fashioned and enjoy meeting new folks, relaxing at a long dinner (called dining), and interacting with newfound friends.  A good table in the MDR can often be the best entertainment of the day...especially on a line that has dark nights and passes off movies as the main entertainment.

 

Hank

Agreed! I love sitting at a large table and meeting new people. I took my 30-something son on a cruise earlier this year and he was weirded out at the thought of sitting by people and having to actually converse 😳 but he soon loosened up and enjoyed himself. Covid (or any other cooties) never stopped me from enjoying the company of others, even on a cruise ship. 

[FlaMariner]

RE: Sharing a table.....

 

We have a different take on sharing a table......

 

In our cruise beginning (our 20s thru 40s) we enjoyed joining others and had a blast getting to know each other and where we were from and what we did and where we had been and where we were going.....And that worked out well because at that time, group tables were the norm.

 

Now cruising in our 50s, we are tired of that and the ice breaker conversation about "where are you from" and "have you cruised much" are just boring,  of no interest anymore and the idle chit chat wears me out. Also, I recall a cruise after Katrina (we lived in New Orleans at the time) and one lady from California at our group table told us "that New Orleans should not be rebuilt".....Ironic that she is from earthquake, forest fire and drought ridden California. And seemed to know best.  Another time fairly recently at a Mariners Brunch we sat with 5 star "experts" who spent the lunch telling us about how awful HAL is now....yet they are onboard yet another HAL cruise.  

 

I agree you can have some great conversations and enjoy the company but for us it is just not worth it anymore......

 

it's more relaxing to avoid that and I'm glad that cruising has improved so that we now have a choice regarding table sharing.   It's another upgrade in cruising, IMO.

 

I'm glad we have choices when heading to dinner!

Edited December 13, 2022 by FlaMariner

[cruisemom42]

2 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I'm glad we have choices when heading to dinner!

 

Choices are great. However, when one is a solo cruiser, spending two weeks dining alone is not an appetizing thought, at least not for me.

 

The original point I was making, however, is that one does NOT really have the choice to share on NCL, at least not like other lines I've been on. 

 

They do not automatically ask you if you want to share a table with others when you arrive to be seated.

 

And among those who've reported back that THEY initiated a request to share a table, many were left sitting at a larger table by themselves because no one came along later who was interested in sharing.

 

I know some have said you can meet others in other spots and make plans to go to dinner together, but that doesn't work well for everyone. I usually pick port-heavy cruises and I am off the ship exploring all day, often on my own, so I don't have that many opportunities to connect OTHER than at dinner.

 

 

[Jldevlin]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think part of it has to do with the trend towards using social media in place of socialization.  A few years ago, a group of us were having dinner at a high-end restaurant in Niagara on the Lake, CA.  At the next table was an attractive young couple (20s).  DW noticed that those two diners spent their entire time at the table texting (they only put down their phone when they needed two hands to eat).  This went on the entire meal (about 2 hours) and it appeared that the couple never actually talked to each other.  One other member of our party mentioned they probably did not even know how to actually talk to each other since their generation does most socialization through texting.  That has now spread to even many of our older generation.  

 

Here on CC, when the topic of sharing tables with strangers comes up, there are always a few who say things like "we don't know what to say to strangers,"  or "we are uncomfortable eating with strangers,"  I suspect that many have either lost (or never learned) part of the so-called social graces when dealing face to face with strangers.  When we started cruising (in the 70s) sharing large tables was the norm and folks understood that this was part of cruising.  In those days, 2-tops were quite rare.  To this day we still think of some of our best cruises in terms of who we met and befriended at the dinner table.  Many CCers will say that they simply do not like "dining with strangers,"  want to get in and out of the MDR as quickly as possible, don't know what to say to strangers, etc.  We are still old fashioned and enjoy meeting new folks, relaxing at a long dinner (called dining), and interacting with newfound friends.  A good table in the MDR can often be the best entertainment of the day...especially on a line that has dark nights and passes off movies as the main entertainment.

 

Hank

The problem for us at the last few shared tables was there was no conversation. They just simply talked...and talked. We got to hear about every cruise they have been on, how they knew the captain, and the best bit was telling us how much they loved sharing a table to be able to share their knowledge to new cruisers. We did not need to be schooled thanks. So we started to get a table for two and have never regretted it.

[FlaMariner]

15 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

The original point I was making, however, is that one does NOT really have the choice to share on NCL, at least not like other lines I've been on. 

 

....another reason to cruise HAL!!!!.....At the dining podium for open seating, the question is always asked:  "And will you be dining with others?"

 

You say "yes, please".

 

We say "no thank you, never again". LOL.

 

And we all enjoy dinner because we had a choice!

[KroozNut]

52 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

We say "no thank you, never again". LOL.

 

That's great, but is the "never again" part necessary? I'm pretty sure that the seating staff is not really interested in your personal reasons why you're not interested in sharing a table.

[FlaMariner]

5 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

That's great, but is the "never again" part necessary? I'm pretty sure that the seating staff is not really interested in your personal reasons why you're not interested in sharing a table.

 

good point....but was paraphrasing a little...and attempting humor.....fail, I see. 

[albingirl]

Yeah, and when people find out where I live, the lecture starts. Why the entire country shouldn't have to bear the upwards cost of insurance because of us .I don't want to hear it and it comes up in conversation wherever I am. No thanks to table shares 

 

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, Jldevlin said:

The problem for us at the last few shared tables was there was no conversation. They just simply talked...and talked. We got to hear about every cruise they have been on, how they knew the captain, and the best bit was telling us how much they loved sharing a table to be able to share their knowledge to new cruisers. We did not need to be schooled thanks. So we started to get a table for two and have never regretted it.

We have also had some less desirable table mates.  But, we always do the various open dining schemes, so if we get a lousy table it is just for that one evening.   After a few days we generally have developed several new friendships and tend to dine with those folks on subsequent nights.  We also love the "hosted tables" on Seabourn and the staff know that we are usually available when they need volunteers to join those groups.  The way it works on Seabourn is that various senior staff and officers routinely host tables for only those that want that experience.  We get to meet most of the senior staff/officers and lots of like-minded passengers (singles and couples) that enjoy meeting other folks. 

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, albingirl said:

Yeah, and when people find out where I live, the lecture starts. Why the entire country shouldn't have to bear the upwards cost of insurance because of us .I don't want to hear it and it comes up in conversation wherever I am. No thanks to table shares 

 

 

On HAL this has happened?

 

I am starting to fear for my upcoming 28 days on Westerdam....

 

Maybe I've been spoiled by so many cruises on smaller ships where conversations have mostly ranged round the delightful events of the day, the anticipated events of the following day(s), and maybe some light discussion of world happenings, previous travel, discovering of mutual interests and the like.

 

I sometimes think people do take things too personally at times -- you can't ask a question or present an opinion without someone getting offended, rather than viewing it as the prelude to an interesting conversation.

 

[robotpony]

50 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

On HAL this has happened?

 

I am starting to fear for my upcoming 28 days on Westerdam....

 

One of recent HA cruises was fully booked, so sharing tables in the MDR was strongly encouraged. The overall experience was positive for us, even though there were a few points of conversation that we let sit with awkward silence. Things like politics are so different between countries and states, and my opinions are generally unimportant on those matters. I'd rather meet new people than avoid a few awkward moments, as despite our differences I'm always curious about everyone's stories.

[albingirl]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

On HAL this has happened?

 

I am starting to fear for my upcoming 28 days on Westerdam....

 

Maybe I've been spoiled by so many cruises on smaller ships where conversations have mostly ranged round the delightful events of the day, the anticipated events of the following day(s), and maybe some light discussion of world happenings, previous travel, discovering of mutual interests and the like.

 

I sometimes think people do take things too personally at times -- you can't ask a question or present an opinion without someone getting offended, rather than viewing it as the prelude to an interesting conversation.

 

No, not yet.  It has happened at church and other local events.  It's like politics.  I wish some people would keep their opinions to themselves.  Like, nobody really cares how fired up you are about things.  

[VibeGuy]

Pleasant dinner conversation really is a lost art.  I’m not sure whether to blame the drive-thru window, partisan cable news, social media or the decline of finishing schools.  
 

I grew up cruising with large-table first-seating dining.  It’s never seemed weird to me.  My widowed aunt who brought me along was a gregarious sort, and about the only concession she made to travelling with a precocious nephew was that we would alternate on which side of her I sat, so she could chat with a fresh tablemate.   If he was single, decent-looking, liked to dance and wasn’t a “confirmed bachelor”, sometimes the swap would happen between the appetizer and the soup.