leck57

First up, full disclosure - we have done 10 cruises with Princess and a couple with Celebrity. We recently completed our first cruise with HAL on Westerdam, a return cruise from Singapore through Malaysia and Thailand. Overall we had a great time and the points I'll raise now, I appreciate, are first world problems. The Westerdam was in good shape, our balcony cabin as good or better than Princess, the crew fantastic with a few exceptions, and dining room food (subjective I know) was as good as any cruise we have taken. However the entertainment was poor, activities limited and often held in poor venues (eg bingo in Billboard), ship layout was not great (had to go to level 10 to get a decent coffee, not in a central location, Billboard was against the casino), on some occasions the Open Dining seating wait time and organization was a shambles, the layout of the buffet was poor. The main issue we had was that the tendering, which was done at two ports we were supposed to dock, was terrible. They ran limited tenders and seemed to have little docking space at the drop off point which slowed the process. At Langkawi I could have swum over to the large port which we have docked at previously, but for some reason HAL dropped anchor and tendered here. At Phuket we waited around three hours total on one day we were there to get to shore and then back. Overall, I quite liked the ship but it had no wow factor and I'd hate to spend many sea days on a cool weather cruise on her. However, we like the look of a cruise in April next year that goes to the Canary Islands then the Baltics, for 27 days. The ship is the Nieuw Statendam. I appreciate that this ship is newer and larger than Westerdam and the itinerary appeals greatly. With Have it All the cost is quite significant for a balcony cabin. I would be interested in the views of people that have been on both ships or Statendam in particular whether the issues I raised above are not so much of a problem on the Statendam. I stress the Westerdam cruise was not a bad one but there were some things we haven't experienced on other cruise lines. Please, no flaming. I have tried to be objective and hope for open minded responses. Thank you.

Sorry for the late reply. There is a large crew door opposite 8018 and a smaller Restricted Access door opposite 8020.

Hi Julia. I haven't forgotten this request of yours and will check it out.

This is my first cruise with HAL so I'm not really across venues prior to this. However I've not seen BB King mentioned. Other than the main stage the venues seem to be Rollong Stone, Lincoln Centre, and Billboard deck 2.

On Westerdam now. In addition to the mechanical stuff, a lot of carpet was replaced in the main public areas.

I do exactly as you do. I think the risk of taking your passport on shore is madness. I've never been asked to show my passport on shore but I know a few people that have their passports stolen when on shore.

Excuse what might be a dumb question. I have done all the Navigator App stuff and have my boarding pass showing on the App. I'll take your advice and do a screenshot but if I didn't, do you need Wi-Fi for the App to work. I have found that accessing Wi-Fi at airports in the past can be a pain and you often have to go through a registration process etc. If I had time, not so much a problem but when you walk into a cruise terminal with eyes generally for what queue to head for, the last thing I want to be doing is setting up a Wi-Fi account. Of course, I am referring to using the App outside of your own country where many phone providers don't provide global access. Specifically, I am in Australia and leaving on a cruise from Singapore later in the week.

I agree with the OP. As soft serve ice cream goes, it is pretty ordinary.

And also question why people ask here. Just about everything that is asked here, the answers are found on the Net somewhere. Using that rationale, they might as well close these threads down.

Such as one of their Connoisseur tours. We did one of those before the cruise and found it fabulous in every aspect. Everything is arranged and most meals are included. If you can afford the extra I would do it.

Yes, the letter was long and in some cases factually incorrect, but overall the OP has a point about a general drop off in standards. If people with over 500 days write to Head Office and let them know that in their opinion Princess isn't as good as previous, then you would hope someone will take notice. Moreso if a number of people complain.

Yes, we are.

On a recent Majestic Princess cruise and Emerald Princess in May, I didn't ask for the paper version but it was left in our room by the steward every evening. Like others I much prefer the printed version.

Similar with us. We have done 10 Princess cruises but doing a HAL cruise in 2 weeks, not due to giving Princess the boot but finding an itinerary we want to do. The HAL on line check in procedure and Navigator App leaves Princess for dead. Just so easy to use and book anything we need.

Thanks for reporting back....but I still can't get why these perks don't show up in the App or under your booking on the Net. If shore excursion credits and Specialty Restaurants are shown then why not the drink package and OBC. Strange.

I have read that these items not showing in your booking is quite common. Like you I have some OBC and the HIA package and can't find it anywhere. We also received 2 speciality restaurant dinners and $400 towards shore excursions and these both show up on the App and I have been able to book both with no cost to the account. I usually cruise Princess and if you have the drink package their system alerts you if you attempt to add any drinks package. As far as I can see the HAL system seems to let you go in and add a drink package even though you already have it included. I gather these things will appear on the App when we have boarded. I do have an email confirming we have OBC and HIA.

Another vote for Blue Horizon. Easy walk to most places. Also recommend Earl's Kitchen and Bar which was within a minute's walk.

We always go to the Crown Grill at least once per cruise. In the last 6 months we have been on the Emerald and Majestic. On the Emerald 6 months ago the meal was 10/10 however on the Majestic in November it was far below the usual standard and not cooked as ordered. I always have the rib eye. I think it comes down to the chef and where they get their meat. Aussie steak is top class but what I had on the more recent Aussie cruise was not that great.

From my point of view I am happy that Port Blair was removed as I saw little attractive about the port plus, as you say, the cost to get a visa. Sorry that you have had this expense. Langkawi and Malacca were also cut but Langkawi is now back as well as different ports in Malaysia and a stop in Indonesia. We are also now overnighting in Penang. This is the new itinerary: 2/3 Singapore 2/4 At sea 2/5 Phuket 2/6 Phuket 2/7 Langkawi 2/8 Penang 2/9 Penang 2/10 Kuala Lumpur 2/11 Tanjungpinang, Indonesia 2/12Kuantan, Malaysia 2/13 At sea 2/14 Singapore

We have received emails that excursions at Malacca and Langkawi are cancelled as we are not going there now and that one port in Malaysia (Kuantan) has been added. The date we are stopping in KL has also changed. No one on the Roll Call for this cruise has seen the revised itinerary as yet.

We are on the same cruise and I've read that if a ship stays overnight they dock at the port and not in the bay off Patong. We've been to Phuket a few times but never by cruise ship and it seems the port is a fair way from Patong which is where you'd normally head. I've seen one site that states a taxi costs about $22-27 but I was wondering whether HAL arrange shuttle buses (at a cost I would assume). Patong is a good area to wander around, heaps of shops both cheap and normal and most involve bartering a price. Plenty of restaurants etc. It is where most of the main tourist hotels are located.

Exactly why we attend them. Occasionally I might get some tips about upcoming ports but it's easy to leave if they aren't much fun. About an hour out of a sea day is no big deal to me on the chance I might get some useful info, as well as meet others on our private tours.

Before we get off on to a discussion about the need for a desktop and monitors, I have a question please. We are about (in early Feb) to take our first HAL cruise after about 10 cruises with Princess. No issues with Princess but looking forward to a change. My question is, with Princess, after you have booked you get deluged with emails about excursions, specialty restaurants etc etc. There are also some useful ones about medical requirements, visas etc. Since booking with HAL (via a TA) I have received nothing from them. My TA sent me a link to the HAL site to input all our details and I have booked excursions and some restaurants, and have completed check-in. So, I think I have done everything but I am surprised I haven't received any emails whatsoever about the upcoming cruise. Is this normal? Thanks for any advice.

Yes I agree, It seems to me that most cruise lines are very deceptive when it comes to sales. We get different Princess sales here but often get the up to 35% off launch fares. Most times it is 5% off and there is one cruise with the 35% off. Plus the free upgrade, but with the fine print that the upgrade is within the same cabin category, not an inside to a balcony etc. Celebrity are just as bad. Recently I received an email from them stating 75% off the second guest in a room. When I looked into one cruise the fares for a balcony for about 10 days was about $9,000 per person and with discount the fares were still way higher than what you would normally pay. I stay away from sales and just book a cruise I like if the price is right.

All I can say is that after many Princess cruises, we have recently booked a HAL cruise for February next year. I have been checking in and making bookings, shore excursions on their system and it is an absolute breeze and pleasure after using the Princess IT crap for recent cruises.