Calling all Experienced Cruisers! :) Opinions on HAL Compared to Other Cruise Lines

My husband and I are 'shopping' for cruises in January/February 2019. A little about us:

• We've been on Celebrity and Carnival cruises before and have really enjoyed both. We've enjoyed the activities, music, and entertainment that seems to be going on constantly. It gives us the option to participate, sit back and observe, or do our own thing!
  
• We're 30 years old and are leaving the 2 kiddos behind for a week or fun and relaxation!
  
• While we're not big 'party animals' (usually in bed by 11 pm), we do enjoy some nightlife and enjoying a few cocktails.
  

With that being said, the perfect itinerary for us happens to be on HAL Oosterdam. We've never been on HAL and I've read a few reviews that seem to say that there's not much going on and the ship is a bit run down.

Can anyone speak to your onboard experience on HAL, maybe specifically the Oosterdam. What's the nightlife and activities like? General demographics of couples/people on board? Anything else we should know about?

Thank you!

If you go in January/February, you will not have school-age kids on board. Or, maybe a few who are home-schooled. A 7-day itinerary will have 4 ports, that won't wear you out.

The evening's activities will be similar to what you have experienced on other 7-day cruises.

It's a good ship, we were on her several years ago. I don't think that you will be disappointed.

Jim

My husband and I are 'shopping' for cruises in January/February 2019. A little about us:

 

• We've been on Celebrity and Carnival cruises before and have really enjoyed both. We've enjoyed the activities, music, and entertainment that seems to be going on constantly. It gives us the option to participate, sit back and observe, or do our own thing!
  
• We're 30 years old and are leaving the 2 kiddos behind for a week or fun and relaxation!
  
• While we're not big 'party animals' (usually in bed by 11 pm), we do enjoy some nightlife and enjoying a few cocktails.
  

With that being said, the perfect itinerary for us happens to be on HAL Oosterdam. We've never been on HAL and I've read a few reviews that seem to say that there's not much going on and the ship is a bit run down.

 

Can anyone speak to your onboard experience on HAL, maybe specifically the Oosterdam. What's the nightlife and activities like? General demographics of couples/people on board? Anything else we should know about?

 

 

Thank you!

I have read a "few reviews" about Carnival and Celebrity and they sound perfectly horrible. That is what happens with reviews. So if you liked both Carnival and Celebrity for the reasons you stated, I don't think you would be happy on the Oosterdam.

We probably have a few more days on HAL than on Celebrity, but we enjoy both immensely. Both have pros and cons, but I'd be hard pressed to say "I prefer _________ because ________." We usually book based on itinerary, so if you've found one on the Oosterdam, go for it. We've only sailed on her once, a seven day Alaska cruise out of Vancouver, but we were very happy with all aspects of the cruise. That was in 2014, so I leave it to others to comment on her current condition.

We are older, but it sounds like we enjoy the same type of evening activities. I generally prefer Celebrity's entertainment, but I've no idea what is currently offered on the Oosterdam.

DW and I are Princess Elites and would not hesitate to book a Holland cruise Smaller ships, better entertainment venues than Princess, no comments on food too subjective , do like that Holland has retractable pool roofs Going on a Holland cruise in November followed by a Princess in January ?

Carnival and HAL have nothing in common. Carnival is like Spring Break and Holland is like a Retreat.

Celebrity lands somewhere in the middle of the two. I have been on them all multiple times.

Not sure its the right thing for you unless you are looking for a quiet relaxing cruise versus what you

are used to. We like HAL because the food is better in our opinion and we enjoy the BB King Club.

In addition HAL has traditional looking ships with the exception of the Koningsdam which is more modern looking and we like that about those older ships.

If you can find a slower gear and find a way to appreciate it you will have a good time. If you are looking to step it up a bit because you are away from the kids this probably wont do it. We have no loyalties to any of the lines we just have a good idea of what to expect when we book it based on the company. We expect a quieter more peaceful relaxing cruise with good food and that has been what HAL delivers. Good luck with your plans!

We have been so very happy with HAL ships and cruises, that we honestly don't look at the other lines any longer. I had only been on one Carnival cruise and swore I would never do it again! We usually cruise in March and one year we found that there were only 19 children on board the entire ship! We enjoy the smaller ships, the ports and itineraries that HAL lines up. We love the various bars and clubs on board, the shows and the activities are enough for us. We are 59 and 70 respectively, and our upcoming cruise on the Oosterdam will be our 6th on HAL but the first on this ship. I have been reading that though it is an older ship, it has recently come out of dry dock with the current upgrades. We love the Aft pool on the ship, with it's pool free from kiddos and the bar and music. In any case, any day on a HAL cruiseship in March is better than a cold day in Vermont!:D

Carnival and HAL have nothing in common. Carnival is like Spring Break and Holland is like a Retreat.

Celebrity lands somewhere in the middle of the two. I have been on them all multiple times.

 

Not sure its the right thing for you unless you are looking for a quiet relaxing cruise versus what you

are used to. We like HAL because the food is better in our opinion and we enjoy the BB King Club.

In addition HAL has traditional looking ships with the exception of the Koningsdam which is more modern looking and we like that about those older ships.

 

If you can find a slower gear and find a way to appreciate it you will have a good time. If you are looking to step it up a bit because you are away from the kids this probably wont do it. We have no loyalties to any of the lines we just have a good idea of what to expect when we book it based on the company. We expect a quieter more peaceful relaxing cruise with good food and that has been what HAL delivers. Good luck with your plans!

Well said, Nymich. Totally agree with your points.

At 30ish you will be grandkids to many, if not most of the HAL clientele. Compared to Carnival you can probably double the average age. To X, you can probably add 20 years. At 60 I am young on HAL, about average on X and Princess. I'm not saying the age difference is a negative, just trying to set your expectation.

The vibe aboard is serene and compared to Carnival, you might call it sleepy (we were one and done on Carnival).

FWIW, my 30ish daughter and son in law have traveled twice with us on HAL and would/will go again in a heartbeat.

So, if you are ok with old folks and not a lot of nightlife or daytime younger activities, HAL is a fine experience.

If you want lots of activities, I'd recommend Royal Caribbean. That said, we hadn't been on a HAL ship for many years but did part of the 2018 World Cruise on the Amsterdam and we found that we saw a multitude of things we liked better on HAL.

Daytime activities tended to be more "sedate" with no cannon ball or "prettiest mens legs" contests at the pool but a relaxed atmosphere.

All of the night time shows were excellent.

Staff is EXCELLENT!!! They couldn't do enough for us.

Food was far superior to RCI, Carnival and Celebrity, even in the Lido Cafe which is HAL's buffet type eating area but they had many made to order items there which we really enjoyed.

Not sure why OlsSalt said you wouldn't enjoy HAL. Since you said you want to relax away from the kids and are an early to bed type couple, you'll probably really enjoy the ship.

We're booked on Oosterdam for its February 2 cruise.

I’ll wade in! So my husband and I took our first HAL cruise when we were 27 (We’re now 35!) And we’ve since sailed twice on the Eurodam. We haven’t ever sailed on Carnival or Celebrity, so I cannot speak to that comparison, but we enjoy HAL. We like the laid back feel, we enjoy being with people who are from similar backgrounds, who’ve shared similar experiences (ie, professionals, well traveled). After we became parents, we’ve cruised on Disney a few times, but in November 2018 over Thanksgiving, we decided to return to HAL, this time with our four year old son— sailing on the Oosterdam. We are really looking forward to it!

We enjoy going to a bar for after dinner drinks, listening to some live music (these activities likely to be curtailed somewhat in November since our son will be with us, lol!), but HAL is low key. The ships are elegant. The clientele is generally friendly and engaging. We’ve met others our age on board. Contrary to some opinions, it’s not a floating assisted living community, and we’ve not felt ostracized because we were maybe from a “younger” demographic. All you can do is try it!

Was on the Osterdam last November and had a wonderful cruise. Also on Carnival Dream in January. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least and will be my last Carnival cruise even though I have 182 days on Carnival. The activities on HAL are plentiful but different than Carnival. Daytime activities include enrichment lectures, tea, cards, trivia, several pools, basketball, pickle ball, a well equipped gym with exercise, stretch and spin classes and even a beanbag toss contest but alas, no hairy chest contest. Evening activities includes main showroom entertainment that is similar to Carnival, song & dance, comedy, a featured singer, magic etc. Piano bar. Lounge with jazz trio for listening and dancing. Classical music. A more contemporary group for listening and dancing. A blues club on some ships. Trivia. Movie theater. Casino. Etc.

IMHO food is superior on HAL and tablecloths are used every meal in the MDR.

Never saw a drunk on HAL and the children are fewer and well behaved.

If you are a mature 30 and not trying to drink yourself to death you should enjoy a HAL cruise.

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We have done Oosterdam 2 times and Eurodam once. It is my favorite line. Love the smaller, quieter ships. Enjoy the music in the Lincoln Center and also the piano bar. Loved the spa for their ceramic beds and the greenhouse pool. Very relaxing. Check them out on sail away day. We have done Carnival 2 times and that is enough, we are not party people. Like you we are ready for bed by 11pm. We also appreciate it being mostly adults. We did a Christmas cruise with them and still only a few, well behaved children. Did RCL years ago and scheduled to take son, DIL, and grands for Christmas 2019 on Allure of the Seas. Would only do that big with kids that need to be entertained and my DH wanted to do Allure of the Seas to try out all they offer.

I find that the demographic follows the length of the itinerary, no matter what cruise line: more younger people on shorter cruises; more older people go for longer cruises. We have found many multi-generational families on shorter cruises so I doubt that you'll be the only 30-somethings on board.

I was on Oosterdam over a decade ago, but I thought then that she was a most elegant ship.

What type of room do you want? Oosterdam will have couches in OVs and Balcony rooms, and some of the insides (look for the square-ish rooms on the deck plans). Princess usually only has couches in mini-suites and above... some changes to that with their newest ships... maybe not a deal-breaker but maybe worth considering.

The rest is pretty much subjective such as food, but HAL has a good reputation for their food service and with that I"ll say that their room service has a better selection than other lines - hot breakfasts, flexibility on what you request.

And a lot depends on your itinerary... others mentioned enrichment lectures, well on longer cruises yes, but not so much on a short Caribbean itinerary. There are 2 pools - midship, which has a sliding cover; and aft which is uncovered. The pools have enough room in them to actually swim, and the hot tubs are usually available for a soak without having to cram in.

We try to pick an itinerary we like, at a price we like, then we enjoy what the ship has to offer and go with those strengths. Every line has strengths, but if you find that their strengths don't match well with your desires, then you'll know it's not your cup of tea! But really, even on an off-cruise, it's hard to have a bad day on a cruise ship! Happy shopping! m--

I’ve been on Celebrity Summit, Disney Fantasy both to the Caribbean, and most recently HAL Westerdam to Alaska over 4th of July. We had a younger than usual crowd in HAL. We went with relatives who have sailed HAL multiple time and they said this was the youngest crowd they’d ever seen on a HAL cruise. Most looked to be in their 69-70’s but there were 160 kids and lots of extended families with people in their 30s-50s. Entertainment was not as good as Disney or celebrity, food was better than both. Ship was very nice and felt updated. Atmosphere a lot like celebrity, very few announcements, daytime activities were pretty sedate. Downside was no top 40/current music venue, but the B.B. king band and billboard piano players were excellent, they played a variety of music but no dance club. Your experience might be different in Caribbean when school is in session. I would absolutely go on HAL again and preferred it over Disney to be honest.

My husband and I are 'shopping' for cruises in January/February 2019. A little about us:

 

• We've been on Celebrity and Carnival cruises before and have really enjoyed both. We've enjoyed the activities, music, and entertainment that seems to be going on constantly. It gives us the option to participate, sit back and observe, or do our own thing!
  
• We're 30 years old and are leaving the 2 kiddos behind for a week or fun and relaxation!
  
• While we're not big 'party animals' (usually in bed by 11 pm), we do enjoy some nightlife and enjoying a few cocktails.
  

With that being said, the perfect itinerary for us happens to be on HAL Oosterdam. We've never been on HAL and I've read a few reviews that seem to say that there's not much going on and the ship is a bit run down.

 

 

Can anyone speak to your onboard experience on HAL, maybe specifically the Oosterdam. What's the nightlife and activities like? General demographics of couples/people on board? Anything else we should know about?

 

 

Thank you!

Have sailed MS Oosterdam several times and I can assure you you will love the ship:) she is better than before IMO. night life is much better than some HAL venues and the crew always seems topnotch. She is a beauty so enjoy