Considering HAL Rotterdam - question for LONG TIME Carnival cruisers

[cruiseguy56]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:12 AM, jimbob22 said:

 

Hal is not big into comedians, so if that's a must, then you may not like it.

That's interesting. We've never NOT had comedians on any of our HAL cruises. We've even had two different comedians on an 11 day HAL cruise.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

42 minutes ago, cruiseguy56 said:

That's interesting. We've never NOT had comedians on any of our HAL cruises. We've even had two different comedians on an 11 day HAL cruise.

 

Yep - I don't expect anywhere near what we had last month on the Mardi Gras. Probably 4-6 comedians who had, between them (adult and general audience) 20 different shows. Carnival is into their comedy, that's for sure.

 

Tom

[jimbob22]

49 minutes ago, cruiseguy56 said:

That's interesting. We've never NOT had comedians on any of our HAL cruises. We've even had two different comedians on an 11 day HAL cruise.

Our last cruise had one, and she struggled.  So I'm not asserting that they're extinct on Hal, just that they are not plentiful and that 'having a great comedy scene' isn't a big Hal bragging point.

[Djptcp]

We are Carnival Diamonds and Holland America 4* Mariners so lots of experience on both lines and our cruises on both are usually free ones from the casinos. We have sailed on the Rotterdam 4 times and have a 12-day Panama Canal cruise booked on her for Oct. Comparing Carnival to Holland America is like comparing Walmart to Neiman Marcus. While we are loyal Carnival cruisers (closer to home ports while Holland sails out of Ft. Lauderdale and is a 4 hour drive from home) and will sail on the Freedom next month, we much prefer Holland. We sail mostly in suites on Holland and with a Neptune Suite we have access to dinner in the private Orange Club dining room. The food and crew are superior on Holland and the ships are elegant without the glitz of Carnival.

 

Holland has music venues for the evening and some shows, but I'm in the casino most of the time. I think there is probably more to do in the evenings on Carnival.

 

We also prefer Holland as there are many fewer kids on board.

 

We live 45 minutes from the Port of Tampa and Celebrity now has a ship that sails from there. We have booked 3 Celebrity cruises now (comparable to Holland) and look forward to trying a new cruise line.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

31 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

We are Carnival Diamonds and Holland America 4* Mariners so lots of experience on both lines and our cruises on both are usually free ones from the casinos. We have sailed on the Rotterdam 4 times and have a 12-day Panama Canal cruise booked on her for Oct. Comparing Carnival to Holland America is like comparing Walmart to Neiman Marcus. While we are loyal Carnival cruisers (closer to home ports while Holland sails out of Ft. Lauderdale and is a 4 hour drive from home) and will sail on the Freedom next month, we much prefer Holland. We sail mostly in suites on Holland and with a Neptune Suite we have access to dinner in the private Orange Club dining room. The food and crew are superior on Holland and the ships are elegant without the glitz of Carnival.

 

Holland has music venues for the evening and some shows, but I'm in the casino most of the time. I think there is probably more to do in the evenings on Carnival.

 

We also prefer Holland as there are many fewer kids on board.

 

We live 45 minutes from the Port of Tampa and Celebrity now has a ship that sails from there. We have booked 3 Celebrity cruises now (comparable to Holland) and look forward to trying a new cruise line.

 

Thanks for the reply 🙂

 

I think you'll like Celebrity (and their smoke-free casinos). They've tightened up on the Blue Chip Club comps. It used to be that I could get free balcony cabins and 60% off a suite, now it's 10%. Especially for higher tier suites, that's a huge difference - and explains why we don't have any booked at this time. I've wanted to try their Edge class ship (Beyond or newer, owing to minor differences), but we really like the Solstice class ships - specifically the Reflection or Silhouette (they both have the Lawn Club Grill and The Porch - which the other Solstice class ships don't have).

 

 Tom

[JHU]

On 3/16/2023 at 8:45 AM, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

I'm considering a sailing on the Rotterdam - it's a nice 12 night, hitting a couple places we've not visited (including going through the canal locks and Cartagena). We're looking at a Neptune suite.

 

We enjoy larger ships with more options (dining, activities, etc), and the Rotterdam comes in at just 99,xxx gross tons. From what I can tell, there's a suite lounge, but it's small and doesn't offer much (obviously, no dedicated suite restaurant). I expect, and accept, that with Carnival - but with other lines we sail with, they usually have more to offer.

 

Is there anyone here who can comment on the Pinnacle class of ships with HAL from your firsthand experiences?

 

I've sailed with HAL once, but was not quite 4 years old at the time and can't recall much at all, lol

 

 

Tom

Did my first Holland America cruise in July/August 22022 (35 days).  I have mostly sailed Celebrity, Royal Caribbean.  For HAL, i was on the small Zaandam and thoroughly enjoyed it.   My point is that the level of service, quality of food and overall demeanor of the staff, crews and passengers was wonderful.