karatemom2

We just returned from our first HAL cruise on the Amsterdam. We are veteran cruisers and have cruised with Carnival, Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, but mostly with Princess which is our favorite line. We were attracted to HAL’s wonderful Alaska Explorer 14 day itinerary as it offered the opportunity to visit some really wonderful Alaska ports that we had not been to before. We got off to a bit of a rocky start with HAL when the cruise we originally booked for 7/13 was chartered and we were forced to change dates, but in the end we felt that the move over offer and OBC were fair and reasonable. So we were very excited to try a new cruise line and a great Alaska itinerary.

Following is our review of our HAL experience.

Embarkation: Very easy and smoothly handled at Pier 91 in Seattle. We stayed at The Maxwell Hotel near the Space Needle the night before which was a wonderful experience. Just a gem of a hotel with a perfect location, lovely rooms and superb service. We arranged a van to take our group of six to the port at 10:30 a.m. and after just a brief wait we were onboard before noon and enjoying lunch in the dining room. I was appreciative that HAL afforded us Mariner’s status for our previous Carnival and Princess cruises. Our luggage was delivered promptly and by sail away we were all unpacked and ready for our 14 day Alaska adventure.

Stateroom: We were in room 2686 with our family of four. The room was spacious enough with plenty of storage, but I disliked the configuration with the closets right across from the bathroom. It is such a narrow hallway entrance and trying to navigate getting into the closets while someone is going in and out of the bathroom created a bit of a traffic jam in the mornings. The room location near the aft exit onto a small deck area that had stair leading up to the Promenade deck was very convenient to get outside and see the scenery. Our room steward wasn’t particularly friendly but did an adequate job of keeping our room clean. We had difficulties with the remote control for the TV from day one which we tried to discuss with him in the hopes of having it replaced, but to no avail. But overall with some minor oversights, he did a fine job and we really didn’t have any big complaints. The beds were very comfortable for everyone except my daughter. She slept on the bed that converted from the couch and it took a few days to figure out a way to make it work for her. Ultimately we ended up leaving the couch cushion underneath her mattress for extra support and adding a few layers of blankets to make it more comfortable. My son slept in the drop down bunk and was fine.

Dining/Food: This was where our experience ranged from the good, the bad to the ugly. We were very excited to try a new line with a new menu and dining experience. We chose Anytime Dining for our group of 6 and never had any problem getting a table in the dining room. The gentleman at the desk every evening was exceptional and always did his best to make sure we were seated at a table by the window. Overall the food in the dining room was very good, with a few exceptions. We enjoyed variety of foods offered and the presentation was always nice. The desserts were somewhat of a disappointment. The variety and quality was not what we are used to on Princess. My sister did really love having the Baked Alaska options every night and I liked the daily fruit crisps. Where the experience really paled was with our dining room services. With the exception of a few nights when the service was excellent, we found the dining room service poor. The staff was friendly but the service was painfully slow most nights. On average our dinners lasted over two hours, sometimes nearly two and a half hours. We tried to arrive early at the dining room most evenings when it opened at 5:15 p.m. or shortly after and despite that we were almost never able to make the Trivia at 7 p.m. A few evenings when we arrived near 6 p.m. we were racing to make the 8 p.m. show and opted to skip dessert a couple of times just to get to the entertainment. Our beverage service was also slow with our drinks not being delivered some evenings until we had already completed our appetizers and were waiting for our entrees. And the staff seems very confused by the beverage cards (we found them confusing as well!) I really prefer the unlimited beverage packages we have had on Carnival and Princess. All of this was compounded by the little mistakes such as forgetting an appetizer and then serving it after the entrée, neglecting to bring the sauce for the soufflés, getting one basket of bread and one small container of butter for 6 people and having to make multiple requests for a bit more, pepper mills being empty and never replaced even after it was requested. Compared to our other cruises the dining services just seemed a bit sloppy and uneven. I’m a pretty tolerant person, but after multiple evenings of sitting for twenty minutes between our appetizers and entrees even my patience was running thin.

And the few times we ate at the Lido we found the set up confusing, crowded and chaotic. We gave up on getting drink service in the buffet and just went and got our own drinks at the bar. My favorite thing was the grill and the turkey burgers which were terrific! The main thing that disappointed about the Lido was the strange hours. I have never been on a cruise where there were times it was hard to find food! We were stunned to find that the buffet closed at 8 p.m. and didn’t open again until the late snack at 11 p.m. There were many nights when we would have liked a snack before bed or nights we skipped dessert and wanted to run up to the buffet after the show and it was closed. Room service was an option at least, but even that was a mixed bag. We loved being able to have a hot breakfast from room service, but our order was only delivered correctly on a couple of days. Most days there were items missing and on a couple of occasions entire meals were missing and we had to send the server back to retrieve the rest of our order. I’m really not one to complain even though it probably sounds like it. Truly I am easy to please. But given our experience on other lines I was really so surprised how lacking the overall food service experience seemed. Let me reiterate though that the food overall was very, very good so when we finally got it that part was enjoyable! We also really enjoyed afternoon tea (especially the Indonesian Tea) and the ice cream station at the buffet.

Entertainment/Activities: We went to most of the production shows and overall they were pretty good. The dancers in particular were excellent. The guest entertainers we saw were all really enjoyable and the Queens Lounge was a nice venue and we always found good seats. The piano bar was one of our favorite spots to spend time in the evenings after the show and Piano Man Roy was excellent and so much fun. We did find the daily activities a bit lacking, at least where our interests are concerned. It was a bit sedate for our taste which seemed to be the overall feel of the cruise in general. I was glad this was a port intensive cruise because the sea days were a little dull. The weather kept us indoors on most sea days so I did take the opportunity to catch up on my reading and did manage to read 3 books. But I missed the variety of trivia, games and group activities we are used to on Princess.

Kids Club: We didn’t really have high expectations for the Kid’s program going in and that was a good thing as the program for my daughter was disappointing. The activities for preteens onboard were very limited. The focus seemed to be on the younger kids and teens. Fortunately my daughter made a friend her age and they had fun together. There was very little for my son who is 18 and too old for the teen club. He attended one of the Generation Next activities but it was all people in their mid-twenties. I would say that HAL could definitely stand to improve their offerings for tweens and college age kids.

Casino: My husband enjoys the Casino and even though we had been warned going in there was likely not a Craps table onboard, that was a disappointment for him. He did however really enjoy playing blackjack and was very, very impressed with the Casino staff onboard. In fact he felt they were the friendliest and most welcoming staff he has ever played with on any of our cruises. He made certain to write a very complementary note about all of them at the end of our cruise.

I will cover the ports in my next installment!

I would love it! We have done the 10 day from San Francisco a couple of times and would jump at the chance to book a 14 day from LA.

Renting a car or doing the walking tours are both very economical options. The "Days of 98" Show is fun and fairly inexpensive. Here is a link:

http://www.thedaysof98show.com/

I'm sorry, a lot of books of fiction do not contain accurate HISTORICAL information. Michener's Hawaii isn't exactly accurate either. A lot of authors don't even try to be accurate. I find Michener's books very well written (whether accurate or not).

 

I read for entertainment, not HISTORY. If you want accuracy, read a History Book, and a lot of times, they aren't accurate either.

 

I quite agree. I'm a Michener fan and have read the vast majority of his books. He has a unique ability, in my opinion, to weave fascinating stories and characters around a geographical and historical backdrop. These books are fiction and certainly I would not argue there are instances in all of his novels where actual history might conflict with his account of events. However, as with most things, history itself is subject to interpretation depending upon your point of view.

But Michener's books are wonderful reads if you enjoy good storytelling and sweeping historical settings. They leave you with a wonderful sense of place and time and I thoroughly enjoy them.

This is in no way meant to be argumentative or critical of those who don't care for his books as everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just thought I would offer another point of view.

Oh and Alaska by James Michener.

A few recommendations:

Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London

Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush: Secret History of the Far North by Lael Morgan

Songs of a Sourdough by Robert Service

Thank you so much for the information. I am excited to give it a go!

I had never even heard of geocaching so I Googled it and it sounds like such fun. Is there a web site where one can learn more about how to do it and geocache locations?

Thank you! That's very helpful.

On our Princess cruises our kids enjoy something you can purchase called the Ultimate Kids Program which allows for unlimited mocktails, smoothies and milkshakes in addition to sodas. Does Carnival offer a similar program? In searching the board I have only found references to the unlimited soda/juice card. If not, can you purchase mocktails and milkshakes? We are going to be on the Spirit in a few weeks and excited kids are asking what to expect since we are not very familiar with Carnival.

I hope Princess recognizes what a gem they have in David Cole. We have cruised on many different ships and have never had a CD who even comes close to being in the same league. I wish every CD could learn from David the art of being visible, friendly and truly engaged with passengers. He is in a class by himself as far as I'm concerned.

Our group of six did a tour with Ketchikan Taxi Cab Tours a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed our day with Dave. He took us to areas outside of Ketchikan that we would never have thought to explore. Some beautiful hiking trails, waterfalls, beach areas with tidepools. We saw bears at Herring Cove and also Totem Bight park. He was a great guide and very personable. You'll enjoy your day!

Thank-you, well I got 23 of the 25 items. The 2 things I did not get was a book of matches (not Princess) and an king of spades. The grossiest one was an flavored olive from the Adagio Bar. Luckily I bring zip lock baggies to put food from the buffet in to take for snacks when exploring on the islands. Everything else on the list I got from the ship except a t-shirt with one of the ports on it, which I could have gotten from the ship but I didn't I got it in the port.

Did you win? Our friends completed the list and ended up tying for first so they shared the prizes with another couple. They had quite a lot of fun doing it though!

We had traveled with 4 in a Sapphire balcony last year and it was tight but we made it work. The twins were pushed together against the wall and we put the nightstand on the other side. At night the pulldown came down over our bed and the foldout was set up right next to our bed. During the day it was folded up and the steward stored it behind the curtain against the balcony door.

It seems like on the ships it is still called the UKP, but when you pre-order online it is the Ultimate Soda and More.

 

Has anyone out there ever bought it on the ship under the new name?

Just off the CB and the stickers they put on the cards still say "UKP".

Yes with the UKP sticker you can order mocktails at dinner. You can also order any of the items listed at any bar except the milkshakes and malts. Those can only be ordered at Scoops - the ice cream stand near the pool.

Wow those descriptions of Cabo Wabo don't sound at all like the place where my family had lunch a couple of years ago. It was fun and friendly and the food was great, albeit expensive. We enjoyed it and are looking forward to making another visit next spring when we go back on our Carnival cruise. I would imagine it is a very different place in the evenings, and certainly not a place I would take the family. But as has been pointed out, during the day it seemed very safe and welcoming.

We once found a rather large diamond ear ring on the floor near the X-ray machine when you enter the ship. I took it to the pursers desk and noticed that the young woman who took it form me did not log it in, and like you I had a bad feeling about it, so I immediately asked for it back and told her to please make a note in the lost and found that I had found it and if someone asked about it to call my cabin. Sure enough by the time I got back to my cabin their was a message. The woman described it and came and got it. I don't think she would have gotten it back if I had turned it in instead of keeping it.

How I wish I had done that! The lady started going to the Purser's desk the same evening we found her locket and told me she checked back every day of the cruise. In desperation she posted notes around the ship, including the one I just happened to see in the game room. Had I kept it and just given my name to the Purser with a description of the item, she would have gotten the locket back right away. If I ever find something valuable in the future I will keep that option in mind.

Something I have also learned is to make sure you hand the item over under one of the cameras they have posted at intervals above the desk which are used to monitor cash transactions. Also, make sure it is logged, that they take your name and that you are provided something documenting you turned it in. And get the name of the person accepting the item. It seems sad to have to go to those lengths, but unfortunately is a necessary precaution to keep everything honest and aboveboard.

Great review! Sounds fun.

Some people do the right thing

Agreed. We tried to do the right thing on one of our cruises on the Golden a couple of years ago and sadly it left me feeling very upset and jaded. My husband found a beautiful antique looking gold locket on the Promenade deck the evening of our sailaway. It had clearly probably broken off a chain around someone's neck and had fallen on the ground. I immediately took it to the Pursers Desk and asked if that is where I should turn in a lost item. There was just one gentleman that I spoke with at the edge of the desk where I walked up as it was later in the evening. He took the locket from me and said he would put it in their safe. As I walked away I got an uncomfortable feeling, thinking perhaps he should have logged it in somewhere or taken my name or something. But I told myself that's silly and went on about my cruise.

About day 10 of our 14 day cruise I happened to go into the game room to look for my son and I noticed a bulletin board where people were posting messages. One jumped out at me immediately as it had a hand drawn picture of a heart on it with scrolling decorations. I read it in amazement as it was a passenger searching for a gold antique locket that had been her mother's that she lost the day we left. I honestly couldn't believe what I was reading, but I was so excited thinking that I would be able to reunite this lady with her lost locket. So I immediately called her cabin and told her my story and she came right down to meet me at the Pursers deck. Imagine my shock when the same young man who I had handed the locket to just days before looked at me like a deer in the headlights, denied he had ever seen or spoken to me, denied ever receiving a locket and said there was no such item in lost and found. The manager was called in a pulled out a LOG where items are supposed to be recorded and of course there was no record.

The whole security process and investigation that followed is too much to discuss here, but suffice it to say that this poor woman never got her locket back despite every effort and I don't know if the employee in question was ever adequately disciplined as it ended up being my word against his. Sadly the end of the desk where I handed him the locket is outside of the range of cameras so there was no video evidence and searches of his cabin and work area turned up nothing.

I truly believe that most people, especially those working aboard Princess ships are honest, but there is always a few bad apples and unfortunately I ran into one. The locket did not have great monetary value, but incredible sentimental value to a woman who had just lost her dear mother months before the cruise and wore her locket as a means of comfort. I still feel sad about it to this day.

The only times I've seen fans or carpet cleaning has been when someone was sick or made a mess, or there was a toilet problem, so it's been very few times. Princess is far more likely to replace carpet, which I've seen done during a cruise on several occasions.

Ditto to this. The one and only time we have seen fans was when one of the public restroom toilets had backed up and flooded into the carpeted area outside the restroom. And even then it was for a very brief time and that area could have been easily avoided by taking an alternative route.

On our last voyage on the Sea Princess in July, the piano player in Crooners was hilarious. He was an okay singer and his repertoire was large, but it was his banter with the crowd and especially the folks that walked past him oblivious that a show was on... and what he'd say to them. Very funny. I was searching for my Patters but couldn't find them... I think his name was Martin something and he was British.

I think you are referring to Larry Dunsmore. He was amazing. So funny! He was really a highlight for us on our Sea Princess cruise last summer.

Weren't you two on the Sea Princess over the 4th of July cruise this summer to Alaska? Looking forward to taking some classes with you both on the 11/24 cruise coming up.

 

Cruisin Oldies

Yes that was Elua! We were on the Sea Princess at the end of July and were so pleased to find them entertaining in the Wheelhouse!

Dave,

Will you be on NEXT November (2011) or is this your vacation time each year?

The person leaving on vacation (and was also on vacation this time last year too) is actually David Cole the Cruise Director, not Dave of Elua. They will be onboard through the holidays and into next year. Of course I can't answer for next year, but I will say we have very much enjoyed Elua - both their music and classes - on our previous Christmas cruises to Hawaii.

Perhaps, with ELUA onboard, and even with the substitue CD, the Hawaiian themed activities will be business as usual. ELUA plays such a huge role in the Hawaiian programming, as I understand it, because they and David Cole collaborated in developing it.

I believe ELUA are husband and wife ..... David (not Cole) and Leialoha.

This is very true! We were onboard over Christmas last year and were very disappointed to know that David Cole would be on vacation as we have been so impressed with him in the past. But in his absence, the schedule he developed was kept in place, his CD staff did a great job keeping the energy up and Elua was key in keeping the Aloha spirit going. We missed David Cole and the replacement CD sure wasn't as great, but it seemed like he was still there in spirit. We are going to miss him again this year but we are confident that with Elua and rest of his team, we will still have as much fun as we did last year!