Just off my first HAL Cruise - Hits, Misses, Suggestions from a multi-line cruiser

[LMaxwell]

Just back from my first Holland America cruise (Nieuw Amsterdam) and wanted to share some of my observations and thoughts. 

 

Total number of cruises for me is somewhere around 40, mostly Royal Caribbean, but also MSC, Celebrity, NCL, Carnival, Disney, and some smaller, now defunct lines.  I am well below the average age of Holland America demographics (57 is average age). I tend to stick to shorter "vacation" type cruises versus longer, exploratory travel. I had been warned that Holland America was unsuited for children, that it would be a very old crowd, nothing to do after 10 pm, the product had declined significantly in last few years, that it was not a good fit for my "resort casual" style of vacations, etc. Remarks that are probably familiar to those on the forum. 

 

Found a great deal on a 5 day Bahamas cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam and could resist no longer. My comments are my own opinions and observations; this is a discussion forum of course to exchange ideas, but it's not an open invitation for hostility so please refrain from participating if that's your style. 

 

Things I did not use: Room service, specialty dining, spa, gym, shops, casino.

 

In no particular order I'll present things I liked, things I did not like, and suggestions for improvements that would enhance my experience coming from the perspective of someone who cruises multiple-lines and realizes each has its plusses and minuses. None are perfect.  

 

Hits

The Staff - Efficient, friendly, hard working, not overly in your face or best friend fake nice, no begging for survey scores like on some other lines. Great crew 

 

Ship Appearance and Condition - Fresh, clean, kept up to a nice standard, public areas, restaurants, etc. always clean

 

BB King and Lincoln Center - Well Done; but Holland relies on these for a lot of heavy lifting in terms of entertainment. They are very popular 

 

EXC Lounge on Deck 11 - Great spot - Books, games, coffee/full bar up there

 

Enrichment - Even on short cruise they had multiple enrichment talks and BBC shows.  Attended one of each and thought they were good

 

Club HAL - My kid liked it just fine; very few kids onboard and this was a short cruise. No lines or waits to use club though. 

 

Pools - Real, decent sized swimming pools that you can swim across. Amazing. This is NOT normal across other lines, if you were not aware.

 

Complimentary quick serve food - Pizza and Dive in both very good; pager system works fine. Can order through App also - nice touch. 

 

Lido Marketplace food quality and selection - salad bars, 8 omelette stations (take THAT Royal Caribbean), themed nights, everything is served to you, NO SELF-SERVE - faster and cleaner this way. I like it. Nice ice cream bar with real scooped ice cream. 

 

Navigator App - Fairly easy and straight forward to use. Menus updated daily on app. Deck plans. Check your accounts. 

 

Full width promenade decks - great feature with really nice lounge chairs here. 

 

Standard Balcony Cabin  - Condition, everything worked, complimentary on demand movies, robes to use, beach towels provided, strong shower, balcony condition very clean. Desk area/counter top space at a premium, but whatever. Good closet space. Poor storage space in bathroom

 

Embarkation / Debarkation process  -Fast, painless. Well run. 

 

Ship Decor - Loved the classic ships photos and artwork in all the corridors and stairways. New York themed decor interesting and classy. I wish HAL (and all cruise lines) had QR codes on their artwork so you could buy a print or framed version. Really beautiful ship decor all around. 

 

Minimal announcements on PA - Mornings in port for all clear to go ashore, and midday from Captain. No constant announcements selling inch of gold, tanzanite, or liquor. 

 

Misses

Nightly entertainment - Main theater weak. The dance company onboard was very small compared to other lines. I know the talent works with what they have, no fault of their own, but the one show I sat through was of junior high quality. No excitement or wow factor. 

 

No live music by either pool - Celebrity, MSC...they have great bands that put out nice background music with some energy. Surprised no live music during daytime anywhere really. 

 

Half Moon Cay - Not sure if it is standard but there were 2 ships in; and one was a new Pinnacle class. Tendering took a long time with no communication about wait times. They would run tenders to Nieuw Statendam, fill halfway, then send them to Nieuw Amsterdam. Shade is at a premium (LITERALLY; you don't pay, you don't get shade). Disney, NCL, MSC...all have plenty of trees and umbrellas for guests at their Bahamas private stops, and RCL blows everyone away with Coco Cay. 

 

Lunch Buffet at HMC - Long lines, food was very bad. I don't expect a lot from the beach BBQ's, but this was bad. I suspect part of the negative HMC experience was the 2 big ships in port and may be atypical...but it may not be. 

 

Lido Marketplace dinner hours - Closes at 8pm? We like to eat in dining room then go walk around or catch one of the shorter acts, then go to buffet for dessert and coffee. Surprised dinner closes at 8pm. They do reopen for late night snack at 10:30, which is nice, but that's also because almost all other forms of entertainment onboard except the casino have ended. 

 

Billboard on Board - I am ready to be torched for this...again, not the quality of the talent on board, but extremely tired playlists you can guess before the first note is played. Not much in way of variety of digging past top 10 lists I guess. Tried it a couple of times and there was not much energy there. They don't "duel" and don't really do requests like you'd find on other lines. 

 

Cabanas/Retreats - Ugly, institutional FEMA looking huts. Pure money grab from cruise line. Least amenities of any upcharge of this type of I have seen on any line, and really just robs space from letting people lounge. Retreat area should be a sun deck, and the pool deck cabanas rob an insane amount of shaded deck space for what they can service; many were never used. I am vocally opposed to high cost items that deliver little value to the purchaser and detract from public spaces previously available to all. This is a blanket statement applied to all cruise lines. 

 

Main Dining Room - I think each evening there was some mistake with relatively basic orders (app and main, or extra app for table to share) and inconsistent delivery of meals and service times. Enjoyed our time IN the dining room (nice looking space), but couldn't help but wonder if this is done on purpose to upsell? Menu a bit weird with that club orange special...where they won't tell you what it is if you're not in club orange. LOL.  For the record, this was a short, casual Bahamas cruise and the dining room was never more than 30-40% full. Lots of men and women dressed very casually and so after the first night I joined them in my golf shorts, polo shirt, and boat shoes. I assure you I was among several this way, and staff had no issues. It is clear HAL does not even think the MDR is the best place to dine, which is a strange vibe to get from a cruise line. Now that I think of it, I have dressed this way on every cruise at least the past 5 years. Seems my Amex works just fine for all of them. I understand Cunard is particularly strict, but none of these mid-market lines are and for the 4-6 cruises a year we book (Mid 40's, above median earnings and NW, live right near a port, always choose cruises first over other forms of vacations...) so if it really bothers you, adjust or go Cunard, or ignore it, but don't let it ruin your good times. 

 

Gala night was a joke; there is no events or anything around the ship. Never saw captain or staff. Did see a few people "dressed up" at 3:50PM to stake out happy hour, however most people this trip were very casual (nothing offensive or sloppy, but seaside resort, not luxury cruise).  Why do people on forums get so twisted about Gala nights and how others need to behave...the cruise line doesn't even care about Gala night. 

 

Had heard about a chocolate night or some such event. Nothing. One night at BB Kings they handed out some small chocolate items for 5 minutes and that was it. Cutback? Not done because a "short" cruise? 

 

Suggestions

Needs an outdoor party by one of the pools at night.  The Orange Party was packed in BB Kings, and the huge, beautiful, sea view aft deck pool never had a single thing scheduled. That would have been the place for a great deck party.  Celebrity and NCL know how to put together a night of dancing under the stars. I really wonder WHAT the entertainment/activitied staff on HAL is tasked with doing, to be honest. 

 

Happy Hours - While the 50% off is generous, and menu already decently priced to start with, would have liked to see it offered either longer (literally only 1 hour),  and only in same 2 venues each day. They don't have to give away booze all night, but it would have been nice to see venues rotated around. Ocean Bar would be packed by 4:10. Would be nice to have it at Sea View bar or EXC bar one night just for a change of pace. Or a later evening hour like I heard they used to do. 

 

Please ditch those pool deck cabanas OR add umbrellas for the aft sea view pool area. Or at least canvas cover over *1* hot tub on the ship. Some of us just can't cook in the sun. I admit, it irks me that the only "free" way to get shade is sit at a dining table or on deck 3 under a lifeboat, without paying more for it. 

 

Replace outdated photo gallery with facial recognition/digital screens to order prints as desired - this is common on most other ships by now. 

 

Get at least one visually stunning production show, preferably with a live house band. I can't imagine how boring a 10-14 day cruise would get without some mindless flashy entertainment along the way. 

 

Comedian - He was good; only 1 onboard, had 2 different shows. They should have put him in the big theater one night though, or had a real "adult" comedy set after 10pm. 

 

Some of the ship design oddities I encountered seem to be addressed on newer classes of ships (Can't get to deck 10 from Lido pool area without going inside, no stairs outside anywhere, Deck 10 is useless midship as well)

 

Nightlight in bathrooms would be nice - Celebrity had this. Small touch that goes a long way. 

 

Overall - This was a very good, short introduction to Holland America. I am not 100% sure if I got the full product, or if things were dialed back for this "filler" itinerary. I could somewhat understand if they were.  In many ways it exceeded expectations and dispelled some myths.

 

I enjoyed the cruise very much. The minor misses weren't enough to ruin anything, and nothing seriously wrong.

 

I think there's some areas to enhance experiences and would seem like common sense to the cruise director or activities manager, but perhaps not. I was not looking for a Carnival Fun Ship experience, but I did expect to find something very close to Celebrity. Holland America is NOT Celebrity (Perhaps Princess is closer to Celebrity?).

 

I would return to Holland America though and suggest to others if they are okay with a more relaxing, slower pace and not much in way of entertainment. So many people I met this was their first Holland cruise too to see if they liked it, and I suspect the demographics onboard were not a typical HAL cruise. Still, everyone was nice, no disruptions or issues. The ship felt busy, but not crowded. Was told they only had 1400 onboard. It felt "just right". I could not imagine another 700 people onboard to capacity; the music venues and buffet would simply be overwhelmed and some of the things that ran so well might not have. Was told they only had 700 crew, down from a standard 900.  Is HAL scaling back bookings because of lack of crew? Unsure. It was pretty much right sized though. Can't say anything about Guest Services - never needed to visit or call (that's a win in my book).  I see why HAL has appeal and its fanbase, though I have given up on single brand loyalty a long time ago and nothing about HAL would convince me it would be the one worth being loyal to.  I would give it a 7, maybe 7.5, out of 10. 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by LMaxwell

[Destiny0315]

Thanks for this thorough evaluation of HAL. Most of what you said about hits and misses seems to be spot on about HAL in its current state vs its competitors.

[LMaxwell]

5 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

Thanks for this thorough evaluation of HAL. Most of what you said about hits and misses seems to be spot on about HAL in its current state vs its competitors.

One good dancing under the stars party with live music would have been worth a full point on my grading, and I'm not a big partier. It just fits a Bahamas or Caribbean cruise.

 

The venues with the BEST views of the Ocean had little or nothing ever scheduled at them to use their spaces (Sea View pool, EXC). This is a gripe I have with many cruise lines. I've watched over the years this pattern; eventually the cruise line says we don't need this scenic, top deck space for everyone if it never gets used, and it becomes pay-for-access areas. (Looking at you Royal Caribbean with how you destroyed the Viking Crown lounges).

 

BB Kings is nice, but not all the entertainment should be in a dark small club.  Heck, even use the Lincoln Center players (incredible talented) to play by the Lido pool for a couple 30 minute sets here and there during the day. Or a solo guitar player or keyboard player. Just something to make it feel a bit richer. 

[Mary229]

Very good review and I agree with you on most points. I would mention that the MDR is an excellent experience on longer cruises using fixed dining.  This is where they actually excel.  Your waiter in that circumstance is usually a veteran working with a trainee or newer helper.  They get to know you and make the experience delightful.  I imagine on the shorter cruises it is not the same and once having tried anytime dining I can tell you it is not the same.  
 

 

[4966and556]

I remember when they had a live band around the pools.  They were called the HAL Cats.  Do a search for info.  

[0106]

@LMaxwell Thank you for your review.  I hope you included your comments on HALs post cruise survey too.

 

There are differences when cruising HAL for a shorter cruise but I’m sure that is true on many lines.  
 

I strongly agree with your comments about removing the cabanas from the Lido pool area.  Also, the Lido should be open later.  In fact, I think a small section of the Lido should be open all day.  Of course, there should be a night light in the bathroom too.

 

We enjoy the main dining room food and service.  We have fixed seating,  the waiter quickly learns our likes and dislikes.  On a personal note, I like to dress up and I like to see my husband dressed up too.  I remind him of the dress code in the MDR and he will put on a pair of khakis and a Hawaiian shirt when we are sailing in the Caribbean.  I like the “formal” feeling of the MDR.  I feel like if there is a published rule “no shorts” it should be enforced; if not, the rule should be changed. 

 

[whogo]

Great review, thanks LMaxwell. I particularly enjoyed your comments about the retreat cabanas. I have never cruised on a ship with a tent city and hope I never do.

[LMaxwell]

45 minutes ago, 4966and556 said:

I remember when they had a live band around the pools.  They were called the HAL Cats.  Do a search for info.  

I am sure they did, but they no longer do. Searching for info does little good for the newbie to the brand. 

[cruisemom42]

 

Thanks for your review. I've read a lot of your posts and think we are of similar age and mindset about the onboard experience (though I cruise for itinerary primarily).  Good points made.

 

8 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

I am vocally opposed to high cost items that deliver little value to the purchaser and detract from public spaces previously available to all. This is a blanket statement applied to all cruise lines. 

 

I could not agree more with this!

 

[five.]

I cruised on an Alaska HAL Koningsdam cruise back in May for the first time and my main complaints was that the lido lunch, though very good was the same everyday. And I also did not care for music walk, having the four venues right on top of each other.

 

My wife is fair skinned and HAS to have shade, non-negotiable, so I coughed up the money for a cabana for our next cruise, since it's a warm weather one. Your description of the cabanas sounds terrible lol. But the cruise in this coming March was free, which was also amazing. So we did the spa access and cabana as our cost items. And I might try to bump up to a balcony, we are currently in an interior. At the time of the free interior offer, it would have been $1260 to upgrade to a balcony, no idea if we will have an opportunity to get it cheaper later. I plan to call when we get closer to departure.

 

Your point about no specialty dining, we also went on our first RC cruise and I will say that the non-specialty dining on there was not good. Specialty dining was amazing, but having to paid to get good food really rubbed me the wrong way. I am more likely to cruise with HAL than RC at this point. And we are early 40's.

[daisy-mae]

Thanks for a comprehensive, even-handed review.

 

The comments about the entertainment were spot on. On a recent Zuiderdam cruise, all of the evening activities revolved around the Rolling Stone Lounge and nearby Billboard on Board, with spillover from the casino crowding the venue. Our attempt to escape the crowd and create our own fun was stymied when we discovered that the ping-pong balls and paddles had been removed from the covered pool deck so as not to interfere with the Orange party taking place 5 decks below. 😞

 

The photo lab has moved to facial recognition but the software is in dire need of some major tweaking. We were only able to recover three of the dozen or so photos that were taken, and a server outage halfway through the cruise made things even more difficult for the staff.

 

As to the retreat cabanas, I wholeheartedly agree with the description.

[LMaxwell]

1 hour ago, five. said:

Your point about no specialty dining, we also went on our first RC cruise and I will say that the non-specialty dining on there was not good. Specialty dining was amazing, but having to paid to get good food really rubbed me the wrong way. I am more likely to cruise with HAL than RC at this point. And we are early 40's.

Same.  Would have been Diamond Plus by 35 w Royal but started branching out and found things we did and didn't like on every cruise line, but overall positive and enjoyed the variety. 

 

I'd be interested to try a Pinnacle class ship for a 7 day cruise. I'm not sure HAL longer itineraries on the small ships would be for me at this point. Maybe a partial Panama canal 10/11 day?  

 

I get it, the whole industry has gone this way; things that are Freemium and Premium. One thing I used to love about cruising was disconnecting and not really having to make decisions.  It's a fantasy world for a week. No emails. No calendar to manager. No meetings to show up for. I never buy internet. Even when it's free sometimes I never use it.  For the most part, except for casino/excursion/spa/shops/booze, you aren't presented with options/choices for upgrades and additional expenses and fees.  The less thinking and processing I need to do on vacation, the better.  Now there's extra dollar signs everywhere you turn and I can say no easily, but I'd prefer it just not be there. I'd rather pay a little bit extra and have the services baked in, not be nickled and dimed on just adding sauce on top, so to speak. 

[PACD_JG]

9 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

I see why HAL has appeal and its fanbase, though I have given up on single brand loyalty a long time ago and nothing about HAL would convince me it would be the one worth being loyal to.  I would give it a 7, maybe 7.5, out of 10. 

 

I've only been on one cruise (Koningsdam Alaska 2022), but have an upcoming Thanksgiving cruise (Nieuw Statendam).  I thought your review was spot-on.  I would have given my cruise a 9 out of 10, but admittedly it was because it was Alaska, the weather was fantastic, and my family are all ambiverts.  I just hope my upcoming cruise matches the mystique, but we know it won't since the Caribbean isn't even worth the ink to write on our bucket list.

[BermudaBound2014]

Thanks @LMaxwell; I was wondering how you would fare on HAL (especially with the kids). Like you, I'm younger than HAL's average demographics and have zero brand loyalty. I believe all cruise lines have areas they excel and areas I'd like to see improved. I believe HAL's greatest attribute is their long itineraries and agree with just about every point you have made here. Happy Sailing! 

 

Edited to add: I am stepping on my first post-covid cruise in a few weeks (not HAL). I suspect most things I've come to learn in the last 35 years about sailing maybe quite different. Sad reality of the times.

Edited November 1, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[Banditswife]

19 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Hits

The Staff - Efficient, friendly, hard working, not overly in your face or best friend fake nice, no begging for survey scores like on some other lines. Great crew 

 

Cabanas/Retreats - Ugly, institutional FEMA looking huts. Pure money grab from cruise line. Least amenities of any upcharge of this type of I have seen on any line, and really just robs space from letting people lounge. Retreat area should be a sun deck, and the pool deck cabanas rob an insane amount of shaded deck space for what they can service; many were never used. I am vocally opposed to high cost items that deliver little value to the purchaser and detract from public spaces previously available to all. This is a blanket statement applied to all cruise lines. 

Thank you for your review.  I agree with most of your review.  We are an older couple & have only been on HAL 2x, but both were longer cruises- 19 &21 days. Both on N Amsterdam. These 2 points you made are spot on.  Hate those horrible circus type tents they try to sell you, bad decision HAL.  They detract from the over all beauty of the ship.  Crew:  we found the crew to be awesome on N Amsterdam this past Oct, 2021.  Especially in the Lido/Seaview Pool area.  There was 1 crew member out there every day, knew our names & what we wanted to drink, even if that was a cup of coffee.  He brought it out with the best attitude I have ever experienced on a ship.  We hope to find a similar crew member on our upcoming N Statendam.

[kayehall]

9 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

 

I've only been on one cruise (Koningsdam Alaska 2022), but have an upcoming Thanksgiving cruise (Nieuw Statendam).  I thought your review was spot-on.  I would have given my cruise a 9 out of 10, but admittedly it was because it was Alaska, the weather was fantastic, and my family are all ambiverts.  I just hope my upcoming cruise matches the mystique, but we know it won't since the Caribbean isn't even worth the ink to write on our bucket list.

What month did you go to Alaska?

 

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Happy Hours - While the 50% off is generous, and menu already decently priced to start with, would have liked to see it offered either longer (literally only 1 hour),  and only in same 2 venues each day. They don't have to give away booze all night, but it would have been nice to see venues rotated around. Ocean Bar would be packed by 4:10. Would be nice to have it at Sea View bar or EXC bar one night just for a change of pace.

 

This is a legitimate excellent suggestion!  Having HH only at the Ocean Bar, and no others, required me to arrive early in order to get a seat at the Bar.  And, extending the HH times would be helpful for this cruiser.  And, even better:  make the start one hour later.  

[PACD_JG]

12 minutes ago, kayehall said:

What month did you go to Alaska?

June 25 - July 2, 2022.  Enjoyed it so much that I'm booked for July 22-29, 2023.

[510picker]

Great review and I agree with much of it. One big disagreement is the Retreat Cabanas. We absolutely love these! We are both below the average HAL age, though I am a full-time wheelchair user. Because of the wheelchair, excursions are mostly a no-go, so we spend our excursion money on the cabana. They simply work for our needs.

 

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

[Reds4life]

We are getting ready to go on our first HAL cruise after Christmas and I appreciate the review from an experienced cruiser from other lines. What was the evening shows other than the music rooms? This is where we are most concerned. 

[LMaxwell]

2 hours ago, 510picker said:

Great review and I agree with much of it. One big disagreement is the Retreat Cabanas. We absolutely love these! We are both below the average HAL age, though I am a full-time wheelchair user. Because of the wheelchair, excursions are mostly a no-go, so we spend our excursion money on the cabana. They simply work for our needs.

 

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

That's fair; everyone places value in different places.  As far as the upper deck retreat, I do admit the ocean facing ones do offer privacy and great views, but the rear facing ones just stare at the pool dome mechanism. 

[LMaxwell]

1 hour ago, Reds4life said:

We are getting ready to go on our first HAL cruise after Christmas and I appreciate the review from an experienced cruiser from other lines. What was the evening shows other than the music rooms? This is where we are most concerned. 

 

The first night there was no show in the main theater.  

 

The second night was a mash of the onboard dance group (5 dancers) with the two Billboard piano players. 

 

One night the show was a BBC World film presentation with music played by the Lincoln Center Orchestra (good, but pretty short show). 

 

Another night there was the dance company again so we skipped it. 

 

I would have thought maybe there would have been a love and marriage type show, a game show, I had heard there was a crew talent show at one point in time.  The only audience interactive show I recall (may have been others) was a short 30 minute one held in BB kings between comedy sets.  

 

There were 3 or 4 lectures provided; the one I attended was really well done. However they had the first lecture, in the theater on deck 1 and 2, right around sailaway time.  Since it was a Caribbean themed lecture (and genuinely not a sales pitch for excursions) I think they should have held it in the EXC Deck 11 panoramic lounge.  

[five.]

23 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Now there's extra dollar signs everywhere you turn and I can say no easily, but I'd prefer it just not be there. I'd rather pay a little bit extra and have the services baked in, not be nickled and dimed on just adding sauce on top, so to speak. 

Kind of sounds like you are describing a Viking cruise.

 

Edit: Oh well, was talking to a co-worker yesterday and it did sound exactly what you were saying. Everything cost wise was up front and no extra costs, but after checking on the cost of a Viking cruise, it is not just "a little extra." It's quiet a bit more, so yea it should definitely be better lol.

Edited November 2, 2022 by five.

[wrp96]

Glad to read your review.  I'll be taking my first HAL cruise on 11/20 on Nieuw Amsterdam and have similar cruising experience to you. I'll be on Celebrity Beyond the week before so it will be an interesting comparison.  

[LMaxwell]

3 hours ago, wrp96 said:

Glad to read your review.  I'll be taking my first HAL cruise on 11/20 on Nieuw Amsterdam and have similar cruising experience to you. I'll be on Celebrity Beyond the week before so it will be an interesting comparison.  

 

It should prove to be a comfortable way to relax after Celebrity. I wish I had the opportunity to make such a back to back comparison 🙂