We have decided to jump ship from NCL to HAL!

[cruiseagona]

Just returned from a BTB 14 day cruise with NCL and we are taking the plunge. We are jumping ship. Here we come Holland America. I did investigating, research... whatever you want to call it. After 10 NCL cruises it's happening. No more washy washy, no more Park West (definitely not sorry to see that go), no more watching Top Gun 3 nights in a row. We loved the buffet, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. Already set for the Rotterdam next February. 

 

Has anyone else jumped ship after being so loyal for a long time? How did it go?

[LloydJr]

8 minutes ago, cruiseagona said:

no more watching Top Gun 3 nights in a row

Why would you waste your time watching any crappy movie when on a cruise ship.  There are far more interesting ways to spend your limited time.

[cruiseagona]

We like to relax in the room too. We lost our daughter 3 years ago and need quiet relaxing time.

[FlGoodShips]

Washy washy is good. Art work is nice to look at when you go thru. No need to buy. Also so much to do on NCL...why would you be watching tv?? 

[complawyer]

so what is hal offering you that ncl isn't? we've been on 24 ncl cruises over the past 13 years. hardly ever hear "washy washy" any more. if this annoy's you, skip the buffet.

 

we have never bothered to go to the park west auctions. if you did research, you'd see that is one of the biggest rip-offs imaginable, and most cruise sights specifically indicate to skip it.

 

im sure that (1) there are other movies available other than top gun (2) there are certainly other option available on an ncl cruise other than staying holed up in your cabin watching movies.

 

ive researched also, to the extent my wife and frequent traveling companion accuse me of being anal (an accusation with which i wholeheartedly concur)

 

most ncl cabins i find are larger. check msc suites, some so called suited are the same size or smaller than ncl's club clubs suites, the itineraries (in general) are amazing, and the prices, are in line with other cruise lines. 

so be careful when you jump, i wouldnt want  you to misstep and fall into the water by accident.

 

let us know what you liked about hal when you get back.  ive looked at celebrity offerings, rcl, msc, and i have determined that you still get the best "bang for your buck" with ncl.

 

the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own 

[Oakman58]

I'm Platinum level and I've been looking for a new cruise line too.  So far I've tried Holland, Carnival, and Princess.  Carnival was great just don't do any short cruises with them.  Food was very good in the main dining room and onboard entertainment was very good.  The comedy club left much to be desired on our cruise.

 

My Holland cruise was excellent but they come up a little short on entertainment, but still good.  Food was very good in the main dining room.

 

I just returned in January from a 16 day Princess cruise and all I can say is, never again.  With the exception of the French Onion soup, the food in the main dining room came up short.  I didn't get to try either the steakhouse or the Italian because Princess cancelled our reservations and closed the steakhouse.  Standard balcony cabins don't have a loveseat in the cabin, instead all they have is one chair.  When we ordered breakfast room service I had to drag a chair from the balcony in so we both had a place to eat.

 

Both Holland and Carnival still serve filet mignon and lobster tails in the main dining room.  Of the three ships I had the most fun on Carnival however, I wouldn't cruise with them during spring break or when school is out for the summer.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Oakman58

[woodley]

I am platinum with NCL but won't be sailing with them again.  Last two cruises they not only missed ports but also countries. No reason given and no refund of port fees.  No longer getting what you paid for and everything is lack luster. Entertainment is a joke. Over the years we have sailed on most cruise lines and we like celebrity and MSC so we have MSC booked for July, Azamara booked for November 2023 and celebrity for November 2024.

[Oakman58]

9 minutes ago, complawyer said:

 

 

most ncl cabins i find are larger. check msc suites, some so called suited are the same size or smaller than ncl's club clubs suites, the itineraries (in general) are amazing, and the prices, are in line with other cruise lines. 

so be careful when you jump, i wouldnt want  you to misstep and fall into the water by accident.

 

the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own 

 

I can't agree with you on that point.  Vista suites on Holland, and the Ocean suites on Carnival are larger than NCL's club suites.  And the mini-suites on Princess are a lot bigger than what NCL offers.  I wish I would have booked a mini-suite when I took my Princess cruise.

 

[RD64]

A good jump - and a wise choice. You won’t regret it.

[Naismith]

I don't feel the fanatical loyalty to a cruiseline that some people report.  I go with the best itinerary and price.  Most of our travel is land trips, so we only cruise once a year, maybe.

 

If I ever tour Hawaii, I will of course go on Norwegian Pride of America, as their itinerary is unique.

 

For Alaska, HAL has much better port stops and enrichment lectures.  

 

We've decided that ships with about 2,000 pax are the best fit for us, enough food choices and entertainment but not so crowded.  So that means only a few NCL, two Princess, a few HAL.  

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

Good luck..

[SKCruiser007]

26 minutes ago, cruiseagona said:

We like to relax in the room too. We lost our daughter 3 years ago and need quiet relaxing time.

HAL rooms are very nice in which to relax. If you can get a Signature Suite, or Neptune Suite, you may find, like us, that hanging out and watching movies is one of the nicest things to do at sea. Room service, as I recall it from last November is mostly free and delicious. The Have it All package is reasonably priced. 

 

Sending my condolences on the loss of your daughter.

 

[Cruising Lynne]

I think it is good to branch out. You can always book another NCL cruise some other time. 

 

I really enjoy cruising with Norwegian, but no blind loyalty here. I am also giving Holland America Line a try, thanks to a casino voucher. We have a nine night coming up this fall on Rotterdam. I know I will miss the true Freestyle dining experience of NCL, but am excited to explore a new ship. One feature it has that you do not find on NCL, is a main pool area with a retractable roof which can be used in any type of weather. Also, I have reluctantly realized that my husband and I are getting to be what I believe is a good age for HAL. The music walk seems like the type of music that we will enjoy.

 

I am cruising NCL soon and still plan on buying a couple of Cruise Next certificates. That said, we may also try Princess with a cruise voucher that I am picking up soon at another casino. It is for HAL or Princess, as was the voucher I am using for the Rotterdam trip. I guess they are both ramping up their casino programs. The HAL trip with the voucher is still costing us quite a bit, since I upgraded the room and added the Have it All package.. At least I will save some with their lower daily service charge.

 

 

 

[sailawaybellaluna]

I'm currently writing a review on the NCL Joy which was my 33rd cruise, but my friends first.

 

I can say, I can understand why you'd want to make the jump the Holland America.

 

It's very elegant and feels a bit like I imagine cruising would feel 100 years ago. I love the gala evenings, the violin music from The Lincoln Center Stage, and the amazing room service delivered on Dutch Delft dishes. I'm wishing I took her on a HAL sailing, but we're planning another.

 

My next two cruises will be quite different! Taking the kids on Carnival's newest ship, the Celebration and then meeting with extended family to sail the Nieuw Statendam in the Baltics this summer.

[Ken the cruiser]

Good for you! 👍

We started with HAL back in 2012 until their entertainment strategy changed to focus on implementing their Music Walk venues back around 2017, and it just got too “relaxing” for us. Then we tried a few cruises with Celebrity and Princess, but wound up cruising with Oceania 10 times. But then we found we could book Celebrity sky suites for about the same amount as Oceania concierge veranda cabins. We’ve also cruised with Crystal a few times, which had a super awesome enrichment program, but a little more expensive.
 

But as we started to accumulate more cruises under our belt, we started booking cruises with more sea days and started drifting towards Princess, as they offer some very unique 3-5 week ones. But still cruise with Celebrity quite often. Then this past November we went on an awesome 38-day B2B on the Jade from Athens to Cape Town by way of Dubai. So now NCL has us looking at their itinerary options.

 

Bottom line, there are quite a few quality cruise lines out there to try, so have fun searching for the ones that make you happy! For us as we’re cruiseaholics, it’s not only about the itinerary, but also about having fun while we’re cruising on the high seas, AND choosing cruise lines that offer free laundry as a perk somewhere in their loyalty programs!! What can I say, free laundry becomes a viable asset when you’re on a 3+ week cruise! 😂 

 

[cruzercruiser]

We are much less experienced cruisers than many of the others replying but here is our experience. We had done 3 NCL cruises and enjoyed them all. Did a HAL cruise in December because we wanted a West Coast itinerary. We liked it but will be going back to NCL for our next cruise. We found the buffet, which we really enjoy, to be far less appealing on HAL. MDR food about the same. But the entertainment on HAL was really lacking for us. I have heard NCL is also cutting back in that area but HAL just didn’t have shows or music we enjoyed. The other big draw for us is the Thermal Suite and NCL is far better and more relaxing than HAL. You’ll enjoy your HAL cruise ’m sure, we did. But for us, it’s back on board NCL.

[LloydJr]

3 hours ago, cruiseagona said:

We like to relax in the room too. We lost our daughter 3 years ago and need quiet relaxing time.

Top Gun is relaxing time?  There are much better options on ANY cruise ship.

[nferr]

I've done a couple of cruises on HAL. I like them. But they really don't do any cruises out of NY anymore and I rarely see any solo deals.

[Seas2mountains]

I’ve had a few HAL cruises but as others mentioned, the entertainment was quite disappointing as there weren’t many options. 

We have had a great experience on MSC in the Yacht Club and will return to them for another cruise later this year.  

[KateQ22003]

We absolutely loved HAL; the service and quality are second to none. Unfortunately they don't sail close to my home so I go with NCL, but HAL is a great product. I think you will be very happy with your choice.

[callmebetty]

We jumped to HAL to do an Alaskan cruise. Our wraparound aft corner suite was amazing! It was an older demographic and things shut down really early. May have been the itinerary, but after 10ish, nothing but the casino was open.

[cruiseny4life]

As a kid I always wanted to cruise on Holland America. Mainly because all their cruise brochures showed Alaska and I was obsessed with Alaska. I've been to Alaska, but I still haven't sailed Holland America. Now, as a so-called grown up, I have friends who cruise Holland America. One is on a ship right now. 

 

On his last cruise, he sent me photos of the main dining room and buffet menu. There were two days when I would have eaten soup and salad. Nothing more. I'm not a picky eater, but the Holland America menus look terrible. Food aside, Holland America doesn't have a Haven/Retreat/Yacht Club-like area, so it's definitely not on my list of lines to sail. Having said that, enjoy Holland America! If you're looking for a more traditional cruise, I'm sure it'll serve your purpose. 

 

As an aside, NCL, please start adding the buffet/main dining room menu to your app!

[BostonGal35]

we are sapphire and the only line we've considered trying is MSC (until i read subpar reviews) and Virgin as this would allow us to sail at times we normally avoid as we HATE being on board when kids are out of school

 

my first cruise ever was Carnival, never again (although some say the larger ships are better i was on Sensation which was scrapped i think last year?) and fiance has done Disney which he said is great, but its like 2x the cost and kids and mickey mouse in your face everywhere isnt my speed. 

[Cruising Lynne]

7 hours ago, BostonGal35 said:

we are sapphire and the only line we've considered trying is MSC (until i read subpar reviews) and Virgin as this would allow us to sail at times we normally avoid as we HATE being on board when kids are out of school

 

my first cruise ever was Carnival, never again (although some say the larger ships are better i was on Sensation which was scrapped i think last year?) and fiance has done Disney which he said is great, but its like 2x the cost and kids and mickey mouse in your face everywhere isnt my speed. 

We are also Sapphire, and have cruised with Royal and Celebrity in addition to NCL. The smaller Royal ships are likely to have fewer children than the big ones with all the attractions. You may like to try them for a change from NCL. My next cruise is with NCL out of Boston which is only 1 hour from home. It is the easiest vacation we ever do, and I love Bermuda. Last year we also enjoyed the added stop of Bar Harbor. I agree with you completely about not cruising during school vacations. We always go before school gets out.

[BirdTravels]

On 3/5/2023 at 7:41 PM, cruiseagona said:

Just returned from a BTB 14 day cruise with NCL and we are taking the plunge. We are jumping ship. Here we come Holland America. I did investigating, research... whatever you want to call it. After 10 NCL cruises it's happening. No more washy washy, no more Park West (definitely not sorry to see that go), no more watching Top Gun 3 nights in a row. We loved the buffet, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. Already set for the Rotterdam next February. 

 

Has anyone else jumped ship after being so loyal for a long time? How did it go?

Have a great time.