Is HAL as BAD as the latest reviews-------food-entertainment??????

[fb0075]

AWFUL AWFUL reviews last several months---

[Arizona Wildcat]

7 minutes ago, fb0075 said:

AWFUL AWFUL reviews last several months---

What is your point?  In general Cruise Critic has turned into exactly that.

For example, a recent Celebrity cruise had some 6 mostly negative reviews and zero positive.  We observed things very differently.   Many of the negatives such as a cruiser who went to breakfast for about 30-45 minutes and railed that his cabin had not been cleaned are either silly or people looking to gripe.

On our holiday Princess cruise service was slow and reviews went on and on about this, problems with the app and an issue with tender tickets.  The app having issues?  I simply turned on the TV in our cabin.  The dinner service was the result of a holiday cruise and about 500 children.

Plus remember few people give compliments; while many more like to complain.

Same for everything today from cruising, driving in traffic and shopping.

[kazu]

I think it is very dependent on the ship you are on and, of course, the crew.

 

And, honestly people who want to complain tend to review more than those that are content or semi-content.

 

Sailed on the Oosterdam in November and found the food decent.  Actually liked a couple of new twists they had like the dip for the shrimp cocktail.  Canaletto on the ship was wonderful - PG was ok.  My table partners were happy but I have seen better PG food and service so perhaps I am overly critical?  

 

Oosterdam added a few fun events on the Transatlantic and the Captain’s cook off challenge had everyone laughing so hard they were aching.  

 

Strangely on the Koningsdam in December-January - I didn’t find the same cocktail sauce - too bad. Had one meal in the MDR on that ship and one lunch in the MDR and was not thrilled with either.  Food was edible but not fabulous and service left a lot to be desired.  Fortunately I had Club Orange so ate the bulk of the meals when I wasn’t at specialty restaurants there.  CO food was very good as was the service.  Tamarind on that ship was wonderful as was the Canaletto.  Did several meals at both.

 

entertainment is not one of HAL’s strong suits - but there were some decent shows a few nights (not all) and some performances on the K from locals which were enjoyable.

 

Really liked Lincoln Centre Stage.  Rolling Stone is too loud to enjoy IMO - wrong place for them.  BB Kings was good.

 

Service on the Oosterdam was fabulous.  The guys and gal at the Sea View Bar were incredible and went above and beyond.  I can’t say enough good about them.

 

I didn’t find the same on the Koningsdam - I don’t know if they were short staffed or overwhelmed.  Staff were pleasant as always and in some places (like Club Orange) the service shone but in other places (like the Sea View Bar, MDR) it was noticeably lacking.  There just weren’t enough staff at the key times.  the ones working were certainly working hard to keep everyone tended to and happy.

 

So, no I wouldn’t say all HAL cruises are awful.  But experiences can vary from ship to ship and even cruise to cruise.  

 

Certainly if one expects to get on a cruise now post pandemic and expect to see things as they were B.C. (Before covid) they are in for disappointment.  they are going to see changes and it’s not just on HAL.  Unless you are booking luxury, you can expect to see some changes and potential cutbacks such as one less shrimp in your shrimp cocktail.  The cruise lines have a lot of red ink to overcome  and, they are still getting new staff as they lost a lot in the shut down so, some are not as experienced as in the days past.

 

they have the same struggles as many in the hospitality industry do coming back.

[momcesa]

My husband and I did a 7 day Canada to Boston cruise in Sept. The food was fabulous. We ended up in the Main DR every night for dinner because we loved a specific waiter and they let us change to a set dining time. Because of how great that trip was, we are leaving soon on a 35 day HA cruise. Can't wait,

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Certainly if one expects to get on a cruise now post pandemic and expect to see things as they were B.C. (Before covid) they are in for disappointment.  they are going to see changes and it’s not just on HAL.  Unless you are booking luxury, you can expect to see some changes and potential cutbacks such as one less shrimp in your shrimp cocktail.  The cruise lines have a lot of red ink to overcome  and, they are still getting new staff as they lost a lot in the shut down so, some are not as experienced as in the days past.

 

 

I trimmed the original post down to this paragraph because this is something we will deal with for a while. I saw it on Cunard, too. In June I was in Princess Grill, and service at dinner was excellent because of the staff-to-passenger ratio and the fact that they put their best servers in the Grills. In September, I was in the MDR, and service was poor. We sat with menus for 20 minutes, waiting for someone to take our order. The assistant waiter made errors that someone with more than a months' experience would not make. They're scrambling to get good staff and get them trained. 

 

I could see where HAL is cutting. Mostly small things, some of which I mentioned in my review of Eurodam. Nothing was a big deal that "ruined my cruise."  I didn't mind that they saved money by not having pens made with "Holland America" on them, but I did find it funny that the pen said STAPLES. I would have thought they might have bought plain pens to make it less obvious that they were saving money. (Or maybe they've got a commercial tie-in with Staples?)

 

As Kazu said, it's all over the hospitality industry. Hotels give you the option to skip having your room serviced, so a potentially germ-laden stranger won't be in your room. They benefit from this if they're having trouble hiring workers or saving money by not hiring the usual number of workers. 

[CruiserBruce]

Sailed 3 times in 2022, for a total of 32 days. Didn't lose any weight...that is for sure.

 

Food is totally subjective. And people think that everything is perfectly normal after Covid. It is much easier to complain that to think logically about what is happening.

[jimbob22]

We were on Rotterdam in late December, and it was fine, food and entertainment were good.  Some cruiselines seemed to implement cutbacks around January 1, but I haven't seen anything indicating Hal did anything drastic around then.

 

Mind you, that was our first Hal in 5 years; from what I understand the entertainment is pretty much the same on every Hal ship, so if we do another Hal soon, I'd probably skip some of it.

[Seasick Sailor]

38 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

 

 I didn't mind that they saved money by not having pens made with "Holland America" on them, but I did find it funny that the pen said STAPLES. I would have thought they might have bought plain pens to make it less obvious that they were saving money. (Or maybe they've got a commercial tie-in with Staples?)

 

 

Or maybe the room steward didn't notice the last cabin occupants left their Staples pen behind..

[Seasick Sailor]

We spent 45 days on Rotterdam from Dec 11th til Jan 25th. Loved the crew. A few meals were disappointing.  Surprised the meals we normally enjoyed in Tamarind were lacking service and food was meh. Lots of kids during Christmas week. Our cabin was accessible, spacious, clean and all requests were met. Towel animals stayed on our desk til the next Gala night. Flowers were delivered from the front desk after a small snafu. The crew made us little origami gifts and our beverage runner (Anthony) love him.. made us a cute gift out of a champagne wire. 

 

We also had a Holland America pen...

 

We are sailing on the 35 day Hawaii/Tahiti cruise in a few weeks on Koningsdam. (2-18) Will see what happens, but we always sail knowing life is good and God has blessed us.

 

 

[cruisemom42]

I think it's a bit unfair to say Cruise Critic is only full of complainers. People on this site tend to be those who cruise more and who know more about cruising than the general public. As such, they are often going to look beyond the surface and make comparisons with past cruises and/or other lines.

 

It's undeniable that nearly every cruise line is having to make cutbacks at this time due to massive debt acquired during COVID and the slower than expected restart (with many FCCs being used up). It's not "subjective" when menus feature fewer items, and those items are less expensive. Or when it's clear that there are fewer servers in the dining room and fewer stewards in the halls.

 

I think HAL is making cut-backs. But I think other lines are also making cut-backs. It's one of those moments where in order to get the "same" cruise experience, you'll probably have to move up to a more premium line. Only you can decide to live with the current offering, move up and pay more, or find alternative ways to vacation.

[idiebabe]

We’ve sailed five different Ships since the restart for nine Cruises.   The one thing they all had in common was a lack of Entertainment in the Main Show Lounge.  On all the Ships the Menus are lacking and need improvement.   For example:  The one night the Menu had four Pasta dishes on it and it wasn’t a themed Italian night.  The Ships are starting to sail full now so hoping things will improve!  

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, fb0075 said:

Is HAL as BAD as the latest reviews-------food-entertainment?

No.

 

We were on board (K'dam) from 29 Dec - 14 Jan (B2B). Enjoyed food (Lido and Specialty Dining about equally) and classical music including BBC films with live accompaniment. There were fails (halibut in Pinagrill, go figure), but overall quite pleased and have two bookings in 2024.

[REOVA]

If you go into anything expecting something and don't get it, you get disappointed. 

 

Most of the disappointment comes from not having what we are used to. 

 

With that said HAL has 40% less entertainment options than it used to. Probably 40% (if not more) new crew. The larger ships have never been staffed to handle the passenger count (even pre covid) so new crew will add a learning curve. (So we don't eat in MDR on Pinnacle ships, which is not an issue for us). 

 

We try to listen to everyone and anticipate problems (which they usually become pleasant surprises if we don't see them) and work our plans around known issues. 

 

We expect food to be good quality, hot and tasty and cabins to be clean (as well as they can be). Have we seen slip ups and misses, absolutely but not more than others. (Different passengers can have different experiences even at the same table). Are the activities down, limited, repeated...yes and we expect that on HAL based on what they planned pre covid and then got hit with. Have we had to get our own drinks, water, juice etc,  sometimes. Yes. Did we hate the cruise because of this. No. 

 

We like the journey and itinerary. The vessel for us is to relax between intensive ports. But we are more glass half full than most.  We've sailed on ships for 100+ days that had buckets catching leaking pipes and some cabins with burst plumbing. While these things will happen on older ships, we still know people who looked past it. The crew still works hard to make the experience good. We spent time on Rotterdam, which is new and beautiful but creaked every night. Pick your poison. 

 

HAL will never be what it was to many. But neither will any other line during the next few years. IF they make it and really look at "the customer" or find their groove/niche, they will continue to have loyal customers for a mass market cruiseline. Will we sail on other lines that have a good itinerary and value, absolutely. But you have to match expectations to reality in these times. 

 

 

 

 

 

[colin v]

The truth lies in the middle. It's probably not as good as it was, and its probably not as bad as some make it out to be.  Its really doesn't matter what other people think. What matters is did you feel as though YOU received value for YOUR $$$. 

 

Dinner in the MDR could be all you can eat lobster and I would jump ship.  Others would eat until they couldn't move.

 

Take your chance, block out the noise and enjoy the journey!

[oakridger]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

There were fails (halibut in Pinagrill,

 

And the funny thing is that my Halibut in the Pinnacle Grill in October (Nieuw Amsterdam) was the best meal I had that entire cruise! (Amongst many other very good meals on board)

 

45 minutes ago, colin v said:

Take your chance, block out the noise and enjoy the journey!

 

So, I agree with @colin v.  Everyone just go and see for yourselves!

 

~Nancy

[crystalspin]

46 minutes ago, oakridger said:

And the funny thing is that my Halibut in the Pinnacle Grill in October (Nieuw Amsterdam) was the best meal I had that entire cruise! (Amongst many other very good meals on board)

Thanks for your experience. DH will give it another try as it is among his favorites (when it is good).

[montythecat]

Of course there have been some awful reviews. There are

inevitably a wide range of views in the cruise community. However,

my reading of HAL reviews is that the balance is firmly tipped

towards the positive. Yes, some post COVID changes but certainly 

not enough to put us off. We are on Oosterdam for two weeks from

24 February which we are looking forward to. I will do a post 

cruise summary with a conclusion as to whether our optimism

was justified.

[Real NHDOC]

When people complain about issues on cruises now I always remind them about how bad service has gotten on land.  Hotels that now routinely only clean rooms every 3-5 days (and the prices are up 25-50%).  And the service in some restaurants is terrible and if you leave less than 20% tip you better never come back - even for the people at the airport who just hand you a pre-made sandwich for $15.  

 

It's a different world now.  Yes, they now default to cabin service only once a day.  Is that the end of the world?  No.  Is every experience perfect?  No.  It's still head and shoulders better than a typical service experience on land and still, overall, a much better value. 

[Florida_gal_50]

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Thanks for your experience. DH will give it another try as it is among his favorites (when it is good).

I’ve had the halibut in the pinnacle a few times.  It has not been good.  I did have it in club orange and it was excellent.

[albingirl]

The titles of threads like these are sort of like rubberneckers on a highway.  Made ya look.  Doesn't accomplish anything but just attention grabbers.

[pirate cruiser]

I have noticed the negative reviews and comments generate the most responses. I have posted 2 positive experiences on our Dec. cruise with very little response. We were on Eurodam in 2013 and NS in Dec. and the only real cutback I noticed was the once a day cabin cleaning but that's no big deal to us as we try to make it as easy as we can for the stewards. Speaking of pens I really like the HAL logo ones and I noticed there were very few on NS and they were gray now. I was told the new pens they were getting had no logo and were cheaply made-we met an awesome server in the Lido and told her how much we missed the logo and she said she still had plenty and gave us several ! We love BB Kings and Rolling Stone room but I can understand how the loudness may be too much for some. Bottom line is we just like being on a HAL ship and you can still find areas to get away from it all-just have patience and go with the flow and remember you are on vacation !

[dogo88]

On our Panama Canal cruise in Jan of 2022 the food was pretty good in the specialty restaurants. Dinning room had less of a selection and portions were clearly smaller. But food was ok. On our two 7 day back to back Caribbean cruise in October we decided to eat only in the specialty restaurants. All the specialty restaurants had good food except the Pinnacle. Worst meals we ever had in a Pinnacle Grill. Actually walked on on the second time. I've posted the issues previously. 

Was it the ship or supply issues? Don't know. We are booked for the mid March 11 day Southern Caribbean Cruise. Hopefully Pinnacle will be better. 

[DCThunder]

1 hour ago, albingirl said:

The titles of threads like these are sort of like rubberneckers on a highway.  Made ya look.  Doesn't accomplish anything but just attention grabbers.

In other words, clickbait!

[Hlitner]

"What is the point?" (2nd post).  Consider that as a long time HAL cruiser (5*) a combination of reviews (mostly here on CC) and various posts from folks I respect, has persuaded us not to book any more HAL cruises (we continue to cruise on several other lines).  Since we are already committed to a 42 day cruise on the Westy, we will hope for the best, expect something less, and truly pray that we come away from that experience having booked a few more HAL cruises in the near future.  

 

But, "what is the point" for us had a big impact on our future bookings.  In the past 3 weeks we have booked cruises with Explora Journeys (quite excited to try this new line) and Princess (many things about this line we prefer over HAL).  

 

The recent restructuring on upper management is an indication that Jan Swartz is aware of some "issues" and is moving to make changes.  Whether this has some fast results remains to be seen.

 

Hank

[pirate_dad]

There are a couple things i have noticed post-covid.

 

They skipped out on the towel art. I only got it 2 times in 3 cruises in my vista suite and I asked for it for the kids.

 

The main dining room has cut back on the silverware and glasses normal used for a MDR place setting. No salad fork, bread plate etc... I think it makes the experience less grand. The food has been a step down in quality in the MDR. I eat now in Club Orange mostly. They cut out the NY Strip steak option and only do it on occasion or you can get the $40 dry aged. I think it is a bunch of little things that combine to make the overall experience cheaper (for lack of a better word). If you hadn't cruised on HAL prior to COVID you probably wouldn't notice but if you had it is noticeable. I just think they made some cuts in areas that really don't save them a lot of money but impact the experience. I am getting on a ship tomorrow so I will update but in Nov it was the above... I would also say Club Orange is definately worth it.