Coming full circle back to HAL 🤞

[Ken the cruiser]

It’s funny as we get older, I’m 70 and my DW is a few years younger, our cruising desires seem to have changed. I know, who knew!! 😂

 

We initially started cruising with HAL back in 2012 and eventually made 4 star. We initially shied away from Princess because they had too many sea days on their longer 21-35+ day itineraries. Then came the HAL transition to the Music Walk along with the reduction of quality production shows in the main theater back around 2017 or so.
 

So we jumped over to Oceania (for their longer more unique itineraries) and Celebrity for the “fun time” cruises with their quality main theater entertainment, lectures, and daily game shows, even on their short 7-11 day cruises! But then “negative” experiences on Oceania kept occurring, so we started to seriously look at Princess for their longer itineraries and “fun time” entertainment and quality production shows.
 

Then came the pandemic and all stopped. Now if you’ve become addicted to cruising like we have, we couldn’t wait for cruising to start back up and started booking as soon as it became clear it was going to restart! In fact since the restart, we’ve cruise over 135 days between Celebrity and Princess. Then my DW found this 38-day B2B on NCL from Athens to Dubai, then from there down to Cape Town, which I currently am posting our daily adventures to on a Live From. Normally we don’t book NCL because they target a younger demographic, but this itinerary was too awesome to pass up.

 

Which brings me to the point of this thread. We are now finding production shows have not wowed us very much on most of the cruises we’ve been on since the restart, except for the Celebrity E-Class ships Apex and Edge. They were pretty cool! But not so good in general on the rest of our Celebrity, Princess and now NCL cruises. So when we removed the “main theater” entertainment factor from our “want list” (today) while at breakfast in the MDR, that brought HAL back into the picture, especially since we’re already 4 star and have free laundry! 😁

So if I might ask, what type of Music Walk entertainment is currently being offered during the evenings and on sea days?
 

Do they by chance have comedians and/or illusionists perform every once in awhile? Do they still have the BBC Earth presentations in the main theater?

 

Do they offer multiple trivia games on sea days as a fun entertainment option?

 

Do they still offer lectures on their longer 15+ day single itinerary cruises?

 

Any thoughts will be appreciated. 😁

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[oakridger]

55 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So if I might ask, what type of Music Walk entertainment is currently being offered during the evenings and on sea days?

On Pinnacle Class ships you get BB Kings band, Rolling Stone Rock Room, Lincoln Center Stage quintet/quartet strings with piano, and Billboard Onboard Pianos.  Other smaller ships don't have both BB King and Rolling Stone Rock or Billboard....depends on ship.

 

55 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Do they by chance have comedians and/or illusionists perform every once in awhile? Do they still have the BBC Earth presentations in the main theater?

Yes, again depending on the ship there can be comedians, illusionists, singing groups such as Cantare quartet in the main theater or BB Kings.  BBC Earth was presented on my last cruises.

 

55 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Do they offer multiple trivia games on sea days as a fun entertainment option?

Yes.

55 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Do they still offer lectures on their longer 15+ day single itinerary cruises?

Any thoughts will be appreciated. 😁

 

Yes, they have some on the shorter cruises also, but on mine they were presented by the cruise director, not an outside subject matter expert.

 

Read some of the current Live From threads for more details!

 

~Nancy

Edited November 28, 2022 by oakridger

[SueMo]

I agree with the above poster with the exception of multiple trivia games on sea days.  On our October Nieuw Statendam, two trivias were offered daily regardless of whether it was a sea day or not.  One was at 4:30 pm and the other at 6:30 pm.  I found the 6:30 pm trivia inconvenient because it conflicted with many passengers' dinner plans.  Maybe they are offered more often on some of the other ships.

[kazu]

Just got off the Oosterdam - not a Pinnacle Class ship but the entertainment was actually quite decent - especially the pianist/singer & Cantare 

 

We had a guest lecturer who was excellent.

 

Several different things on the agenda as well such as the Cook off with the Captain and HD - very entertaining.

 

Service at the Sea View Bar was exceptional.  Dining room was good - food wise, for sure.  The two specialties were very good.

 

All in all a big surprise when I kept hearing about cutbacks.

[Ken the cruiser]

14 minutes ago, kazu said:

Just got off the Oosterdam - not a Pinnacle Class ship but the entertainment was actually quite decent - especially the pianist/singer & Cantare 

 

We had a guest lecturer who was excellent.

 

Several different things on the agenda as well such as the Cook off with the Captain and HD - very entertaining.

 

Service at the Sea View Bar was exceptional.  Dining room was good - food wise, for sure.  The two specialties were very good.

 

All in all a big surprise when I kept hearing about cutbacks.

If I might ask, how long was your cruise and did he/she give a different lecture every sea day? In the past prior to 2017, HAL usually only provided a lecturer when it was a single itinerary 15 days or longer, like a PC cruise, Voyage of the Vikings, etc.

[Ken the cruiser]

33 minutes ago, SueMo said:

I agree with the above poster with the exception of multiple trivia games on sea days.  On our October Nieuw Statendam, two trivias were offered daily regardless of whether it was a sea day or not.  One was at 4:30 pm and the other at 6:30 pm.  I found the 6:30 pm trivia inconvenient because it conflicted with many passengers' dinner plans.  Maybe they are offered more often on some of the other ships.

Thanks! We usually eat when the MDR first opens, so my guess is neither of those times would be a good fit for us.

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask, how long was your cruise and did he/she give a different lecture every sea day? In the past prior to 2017, HAL usually only provided a lecturer when it was a single itinerary 15 days or longer, like a PC cruise, Voyage of the Vikings, etc.

 

It was a 14 day cruise - Transatlantic.  Our guest speaker started speaking once the Sea Days started.  I believe he spoke for 6 of our 7 sea days.  I don’t believe he spoke on the single sea day between the ports but my memory can be short 😉 

 

My experience has differed from yours as we always had a guest speaker on our Transatlantics, normally B.C. (Before Covid). Certainly always did on the Prinsendam.

[Ken the cruiser]

24 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

It was a 14 day cruise - Transatlantic.  Our guest speaker started speaking once the Sea Days started.  I believe he spoke for 6 of our 7 sea days.  I don’t believe he spoke on the single sea day between the ports but my memory can be short 😉 

 

My experience has differed from yours as we always had a guest speaker on our Transatlantics, normally B.C. (Before Covid). Certainly always did on the Prinsendam.

Thanks! The only time we had a guest speaker was on a 16 day PC cruise on the Veendam in 2017, and he was quite informative. When we asked our HAL PCC about lecturers, she said they usually only had them on select “boutique” cruises 15 days or longer. I guess that now includes TAs. With regards to the Prinsendam, if I recall every one of her cruises was a boutique one! 😁

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! The only time we had a guest speaker was on a 16 day PC cruise on the Veendam in 2017, and he was quite informative. When we asked our HAL PCC about lecturers, she said they usually only had them on select “boutique” cruises 15 days or longer. I guess that now includes TAs. With regards to the Prinsendam, if I recall every one of her cruises was a boutique one! 😁

 

LOL - yes P’dam was boutique in many ways 🙂 

 

But, we also had one on our Rotterdam TA (went to check to make sure my memory is still working).

 

 

[Ellencruise]

Oosterdam sounds like a nice ship, can’t wait for March cruise

[AV8rix]

Guest lecturers, you say?

Well, on the first anniversary cruise on ms Rotterdam last month and we had the BEST!!!  Bill Miller (billmilleratsea.com)! !  That cruise from Rotterdam to New York (then Fort Lauderdale) commemorated the sailing of the first Rotterdam, exactly 150 years ago. Bill Miller’s talks alone were worth the price of the cruise!.

 

There will be a repeat anniversary cruise in April in the opposite direction, commemorating the date of the actual start of the Holland America Line.  I don’t know if they have engaged Bill Miller again.  You might want to check on that if the itinerary interests you.

 

The cruise was generally good.  The only problem was service in the MDR.  My friends and I quit using it after just a couple of days.  Always about 2 hours, so interfered with evening’s entertainment. Otherwise a fine ship and crew.

Edited November 28, 2022 by AV8rix

[Ken the cruiser]

OK, I have to ask regarding the Music Walk venues. Do people just sit and listen to music every night, even if they don’t drink? Is there any variety within a specific venue or is it just like any lounge setting, just different depending on the venue you decide to sit in. If you like to dance, I can understand. But otherwise it just sounds a little boring, especially if you’re on a 21-35 day cruise. What am I missing? 🤔

[oakridger]

Speaking to my last two cruises mentioned above, some people drank, and some didn't.  Some danced. Each venue had its own band.  BB King Band always played in the BB King Lounge.  On the bands off nights the comedians were sometimes in the BB King Lounge, or they were in the main stage. The bands each generally played two or three sets per night.  If you don't want to listen, just go somewhere else for the evening is what I did.  Movie or main stage or walk outside or go to your balcony and have a drink and star gaze.  Same as any vacation to me.  There are choices.  Pick what you enjoy!

 

~Nancy

[Ken the cruiser]

13 hours ago, oakridger said:

Speaking to my last two cruises mentioned above, some people drank, and some didn't.  Some danced. Each venue had its own band.  BB King Band always played in the BB King Lounge.  On the bands off nights the comedians were sometimes in the BB King Lounge, or they were in the main stage. The bands each generally played two or three sets per night.  If you don't want to listen, just go somewhere else for the evening is what I did.  Movie or main stage or walk outside or go to your balcony and have a drink and star gaze.  Same as any vacation to me.  There are choices.  Pick what you enjoy!

 

~Nancy

Thanks! I’ve been checking out some of the other Live threads as you suggested, and I’m just not feeling much has changed in the past 5 years as the narratives still give us the feeling HAL is just “too relaxing” for us. However, if there are at least quality lectures offered on the longer 15+ day “boutique” cruises as well as their TAs, then that’s definitely a positive!

 

I will say we were sure wowed on our last In-Depth EXC cruise on the Maasdam in Oct 2019 when we circumnavigated Australia! But sadly it appears the In-Depth EXC program disappeared with the Maasdam. Too bad, but we will still put HAL back on the potential list to check for cruises in 2025 and beyond just in case an awesome 3+ week itinerary appears.

 

 

[jeh10641]

Hi, Ken the cruiser,

My wife and I are big HAL fans and we are 80ish. Our last trip was 12/21 on Rotterdam (11 nights, Caribbean). The Music Walk is so diverse that there was always something to go to. We are not dancers but there were always people on the dance floor. We are not drinkers (adult beverages) but still enjoyed the music whether it was Rolling Stone, Billboard, BB Kings or Lincoln Center. The venues for the most part did not compete for time. Cantare in the Main Theater was an awesome a cappella group. I heard that the dance shows are great as well. Sorry we missed those. The BBC shows are worth visiting. We played trivia every day around 4 PM. Never won but had fun. There were also late morning trivia events. I do not remember 6:30 PM trivia. There were two different comedians in BB Kings and both were very funny and "clean". On Rotterdam a not to miss dining venue is the Grand Dutch Cafe. They had the best chocolate chip cookie I ever ate plus other food (free). Beverages were extra charge. Tried all four specialty dining. Usually, I find they are not worth the extra cost. On Rotterdam, they were worth every penny and more! Enjoy your return to HAL. Why wait until 2025?

 

Jim

[REOVA]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! I’ve been checking out some of the other Live threads as you suggested, and I’m just not feeling much has changed in the past 5 years as the narratives still give us the feeling HAL is just “too relaxing” for us. 

 

 

 

 

The Pinnacle ships do offer more music and dining venues, even a movie or game on big screen by the pool. Trivia was 3 times on sea days (music trivia at night). My DW and I love music, (we don't dance or drink much) and enjoyed the different venues. But the quality of the musicians can vary and as others have found, HAL gives them a list of songs so they may repeat each night (at least on our 10 day they did). So unless you want to sit and drink or don't mind hearing repeat songs, you will have time to enjoy other parts of the ship. We sailed multiple times this year and have seen the shows in the theater (which repeat on each cruise - Step One, Cantare, BBC) so if you haven't seen them yet, it's worth it. The  CD did good presentations for the 10 day (however I believe presentations are same on other ships).  On longer voyages they had local talks/presentations on World Stage. Both comedians on World Stage and BB King lounge were good. Those that like the smaller, quieter ships seem not to like the Pinnacle ships and vice-versa. We try to cruise to explore longer destinations and usually getting back to the ship to relax is what we want. But for a short experience on a Pinnacle class, it's worth a try since you already have free laundry. 😉 

[albingirl]

I personally love the Pinnacle class...all shiny and new. Dutch Cafe and all that. But, our favorite cruises were on the transatlantic in the past. Many more activities and special treatment overall. The Captains ball on the Maasdam is a fond memory. Endless lobster and shrimp and crab legs set up as a tree in the main dining room as a   treat. People talk about cutbacks on this forum, and of course there are, but we've had alot of fun and continue to do so on HAL.

[Ken the cruiser]

I keep reading about internet issues on most of the HAL live threads. We very much enjoy using the internet on the balcony of our cabin. For me, especially, since I like to post to Live From threads. Is that, in most cases these days on HAL ships, going to be an issue? It hasn’t been so far on the other cruise lines we sail with since cruising started back up?

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[The-Inside-Cabin]

48 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I keep reading about internet issues on most of the HAL live threads. We very much enjoy using the internet on the balcony of our cabin. For me, especially, since I like to post to Live From threads. Is that, in most cases these days on HAL ships, going to be an issue? It hasn’t been so far on the other cruise lines we sail with since cruising started back up?

 

While are occasional issues, in general, the internet is fine.   I have been able to post videos to youtube.

 

Where you are in the world is a bigger factor - Carribean - blazing speed....middle of the pacific . just ok

 

 

[REOVA]

7 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I keep reading about internet issues on most of the HAL live threads. We very much enjoy using the internet on the balcony of our cabin. For me, especially, since I like to post to Live From threads. Is that, in most cases these days on HAL ships, going to be an issue? It hasn’t been so far on the other cruise lines we sail with since cruising started back up?

 

You may find HAL behind in technology and wifi. They changed service a few years back but isn't up to level as others. (But technology changes faster than we can keep up.) But even so it will depend on location as well as number of passengers on ship. Obviously Trans Ocean will have drop spots.And we've had problems off west coast of S.A. and Africa. And if many passengers are trying to access at same time, you'll have problems but overall not a problem. You may need to find a seat need a router/extender if balcony is not in good location. But we've made video calls from our cabin with again, some areas dropping connection, but on overall cruise you should ok (except Antarctica).