Destiny0315

They should have hired a former HAL Captain too as part of the deal...

Sure, the cost of the crew member may not have gone up much, but the cost of butter mints surely has gone through the roof since 2005.😊

There was and HAL even offered for sale a DVD of a typical show...

Thanks for this thorough evaluation of HAL. Most of what you said about hits and misses seems to be spot on about HAL in its current state vs its competitors.

Well one thing that can be said about NCL is that they were one of the first to start implementing added costs for this and that while onboard, some of which was worthy of it, some not. Their customer base has been seeing that for years now and has adjusted to it, while the HAL customer base has seen some things just disappear with no options offered.

I agree on the fact that HAL will take you to places that NCL will never venture to but even the destination cruisers are looking for things that make travelling to those destinations more interesting and valuable than just another "ride on the boat".

Right, even NCL offers an exclusive Studio Lounge for the pax in their Studio inside staterooms that is very similar to the Neptune Lounge in some ways with complimentary snacks and refreshments, a large screen TV, and available room service from there, at a considerably lower price point.

How about having a fly in the MDR in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, can that be added to the registry?

Happy to read this that HAL is keeping up with current popular trends at least in this area. This may quiet a little bit those who think wrongly that shuffleboard is all you would find on HAL ships.

Back around 10 years ago I took a Behind the Scenes tour that was offered of the Veendam theater. They showed us the props, costumes and the stagecraft involved in the productions. One of the takeaways was just how small and narrow the changing and makeup areas were. Imagine a large family all using a single bathroom in a house.

https://youtu.be/L0wNlN8WqnU Link to You Tube video of some of the flooding in Costa Rica

The Captain is also the person who would make the decision about the crew and passengers wearing their life jackets if needed. Not saying that this is a similar situation but the Captain does have difficult decisions to make sometimes daily.

I hear you mate regarding HAL's apparent disconnect with the Australian home market. My own family in Australia can't believe how ironic it is that if they booked the same cruise to see most of their own country which they have never seen that they would have to pay a premium.

These offers are generated though the same place that handles HAL's casino deals but are being offered it appears to a random group of both casino and non-casino players and to most Mariner levels.

When I first received this offer by email on 9/30 I spent most of that night awake trying to figure out how I could pull off this deal of a lifetime for a bucket list trip to Australia where I do have some family. The 34 day cruise from San Diego to Sydney on 10/8 for roughly $500($300+ taxes/fees and $200 OBC back, followed by the circumnavigation 35 day cruise on 11/12 for $917($717 taxes/fees and $200 OBC back)...69 days for less than a $1,500 initial investment!! In the end I wasn't able to commit to this last-minute dream adventure but hopefully somebody else out there did.

Maybe bankrupt... https://startuptalky.com/apple-failed-products/

After reading your post and your screen name I thought of the cabin scene from A Night At The Opera movie and I know why you want to get in your room as soon as you can.

I never considered the Maasdam (or Veendam) ships to be old, but instead just more seasoned and distinguished especially compared to Carnival's Fantasy Class ships like the Paradise and Elation that are still sailing!

Who's sails first? What's on shore? I don't know is on third berth!😊

The bottom line from anybody reading the last few posts here would be an agreement that many of the things you liked or disliked in the past on a Holland America cruise are gone or going and if they are coming back in any form on the older ships is the question that is still up in the air.

Geez my memories of libraries on HAL ships (and other lines) have always been good. Helping to work on and hopefully complete before debarkation day a group puzzle was always an extra treat on a HAL ship. A newbie on here would think that the libraries were filled with old and near homeless people like some inner city libraries are. And your theory on how the spread of Covid and even Norovirus may be linked to those library books needs to be brought to the attention of the CDC stat.

Having a new library onboard will be a welcome addition for those going on the 128-day Grand World Voyage.

With the Zuiderdam scheduled for a dry dock during the first two weeks of December before it leaves Fort Lauderdale on its Grand World Voyage on 1/3/23, what do you think is on the service order or would like to see other than an oil and lube job and some buckets of fresh paint?

Remember the biggest gamblers are the cruise lines as they are in effect the house depending upon us to feed their cash drawers.

I have received both types of offers this year myself from different cruise lines. Having a system set up already to send out the true casino offers it would make sense to utilize that system to send out the "free room" offers even to non-casino players, with expectations for them to spend much more than the $200 OBC on a 7/14/21/35-day cruise throughout the ship.