New to Holland America? This is for you...AKA "HAL For Dummies"

"Tea" on HAL is nice but not special.

 

 

 

"High Tea" on HAL is *spiffy*, but in the style Dutch royalty uses (buffet for everything but

 

the tea), rather than English style (3-tier stand at your table).

On the recent Eurodam Cruise in July, I attended 4 teas. At two of the teas, the 3 tier stands were used, and at the other two teas, the waiters came around with trays of sweets and savories.

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18 months ago all our "high tea" items were delivered by the waiters.

"Tea" on HAL is nice but not special.

 

"High Tea" on HAL is *spiffy*, but in the style Dutch royalty uses (buffet for everything but

the tea), rather than English style (3-tier stand at your table).

On the recent Eurodam Cruise in July, I attended 4 teas. At two of the teas, the 3 tier stands were used, and at the other two teas, the waiters came around with trays of sweets and savories.

 

 

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Interesting. I was talking about on Eurodam in May.

The ordinary "Teas" were 3-tier stands, and as I said, nothing special.

The one "Royal Dutch High Tea" was a buffet extravaganza.

So... Either a recent change in policy or a case of YMMV.

Hello,

The posts here have been great! Thank you for all of the information. I am traveling with my parents to Mexico in December, this will be my first cruise with HAL and my parents who are in their mid-seventies and it is their second cruise ever. My question as follows: is there something we should not miss while on board? We are planning to attend the shows but there are always tips from experienced cruises that I like to get... other cruises have talks on the ships; which my husband and I have found very interesting as you learn a lot of how they operate and how they are built. The HAL offer galley tours, etc? Thank you so much for any information you can offer.

Olivia

On the recent Eurodam Cruise in July, I attended 4 teas. At two of the teas, the 3 tier stands were used, and at the other two teas, the waiters came around with trays of sweets and savories.

 

 

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Hello,

The posts here have been great! Thank you for all of the information. I am traveling with my parents to Mexico in December, this will be my first cruise with HAL and my parents who are in their mid-seventies and it is their second cruise ever. My question as follows: is there something we should not miss while on board? We are planning to attend the shows but there are always tips from experienced cruises that I like to get... other cruises have talks on the ships; which my husband and I have found very interesting as you learn a lot of how they operate and how they are built. The HAL offer galley tours, etc? Thank you so much for any information you can offer.

Olivia

Yes, there is usually a galley tour on board and there are usually talks. On our cruises there has been a virtual bridge tour. Interesting. Some about the ships and some are interviews with captain, engineer, entertainers, etc.

Hello Nefoodies,

Just a couple of points following our recent Fjords cruise on the Koningsdam.

Our Aft verandah was both wide and deep. Bigger than our Haven H4 NCL verandah!!!

We too had been loyal to another cruise line......Platinum NCL and we were very favourably impressed by H A. The MDR was very good.

Not sure if New Amsterdam has Tamarind.....if so do go. We went twice and enjoyed it a lot.

Have a great time.

deeko

Hello,

......... The HAL offer galley tours, etc? Thank you so much for any information you can offer.

Olivia

HAL usually has Galley Tours at 10:30 AM on the first sea day. It is good to be their a bit early to complete the health certificate that is now required for all who enter the galley. Galley things to note are the photos of every dinner plate that show how each plate must look before leaving the galley, the single person operating all of the Room Service, the examples of culinary artistry on display, and the size of the President's Cut Steak for the Pinnacle Grill.

Here are some photos of my latest galley tour:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/ms-westerdam-2/westerdam-kitchen-tour

Not sure if New Amsterdam has Tamarind.....if so do go. We went twice and enjoyed it a lot.

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

An overlooked goodie is a sheet with a summary of all the artwork on board along with directions for a self-guided tour. Frequently the ship will actually have an organized tour.

Check with the Customer Service desk when you board.

Yes, there is usually a galley tour on board and there are usually talks. On our cruises there has been a virtual bridge tour. Interesting. Some about the ships and some are interviews with captain, engineer, entertainers, etc.

Thank you! I will be on the lookout for this in the activities flyer.

HAL usually has Galley Tours at 10:30 AM on the first sea day. It is good to be their a bit early to complete the health certificate that is now required for all who enter the galley. Galley things to note are the photos of every dinner plate that show how each plate must look before leaving the galley, the single person operating all of the Room Service, the examples of culinary artistry on display, and the size of the President's Cut Steak for the Pinnacle Grill.

 

Here are some photos of my latest galley tour:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/ms-westerdam-2/westerdam-kitchen-tour

My parents are going to love this. Thank you! I am trying to get a rough activities itinerary so that we have something to look forward each day, besides the ports! :):)

My parents are going to love this. Thank you! I am trying to get a rough activities itinerary so that we have something to look forward each day, besides the ports! :):)

We recently sailed on the Veendam to Bermuda in June. During the sea days, the Art Gallery director conducted tours of the ship's artwork, as well as a lecture on new art mediums, such as digital photography. The tours were fascinating. I saw things that I had just walked past and hadn't noticed. I am hoping that all the ships will add these types of onboard activities.

My advice is to try all the music venues and see which one you enjoy. We always like the shows, but on the last cruise the piano bar singer was fantastic and we found ourselves skipping the shows to listen to him.

I'm glad they had these tours for you on the Veendam to Bermuda. I was told they had been discontinued when we took this cruise.

More importantly, isn't mooring in Hamilton great. We loved it!

The performers contract usually run 3-6 months long. So, generally the show will change every 3-6 months or so.

The changing of a show to a new one is not dependent on the performers' contracts. When their contracts end, new performers for the same shows will come on to replace them.

Changing to a different show requires changing out of all the scenery and props. That is expensive and is not usually done until a show has been on a ship for around 5 years.

The changing of a show to a new one is not dependent on the performers' contracts. When their contracts end, new performers for the same shows will come on to replace them.

 

Changing to a different show requires changing out of all the scenery and props. That is expensive and is not usually done until a show has been on a ship for around 5 years.

Scenery? Props? on HAL??

Shows and entertainment certainly do change more often than 5 years. ;)

And, since some are individual//small group performances they do change as the new performers are brought on board.

Scenery? Props? on HAL??

 

Shows and entertainment certainly do change more often than 5 years. ;)

The main stage shows performed by the cast are on the ship for several years. The stage props for HAL ship shows are stored behind and/or below the visible stage area. The cast members may come and go depending upon their contracts (typically they keep together as a group for their contract).

We’ve taken the behind the scenes stage tours on every HAL ship we’ve sailed on and it’s a fascinating tour.

Scenery? Props? on HAL??

Aren't there exotic costumes and fabulous sets on the shows of HAL?

Yes, drsel, there have been some (fairly) exotic costumes and (sort of) fabulous sets on some of the shows we've seen on our HAL cruises. However, the HAL shows are not "staged" to Broadway standards ... and, of course, the patrons are not paying Broadway prices. The quality of the performers is, IMO, top drawer and generally on a par with many of the productions I've seen on Broadway.

(y)(y)(y)

Thanks, I'm looking forward to a HAL cruise. On the lookout for a good deal.

HAL appears to be more expensive than the competition.

If you are looking at a HAL cruise drsel, entertainment is not one of HAL's fortes, overall. Some ships have some pretty fantastic ones, but many are smaller performances.

Keep in mind that the "shows" will vary depending on the size of the ship.

The smaller ships lean more to single performers/duets, etc. They are very talented, no question but they are not the "fabulous costumes and sets". those entertainers change on a regular basis as their contract ends. On the longer cruises, they also bring entertainment on board from some ports which is quite good.

The Main show is quite good but the predominant entertainment on those ships (depending on the length of your cruise) will be much smaller shows and fewer performers. After all, the stages are smaller like the ships. ;)

Thanks. So how do the activities and entertainment compare with Royal, Celebrity, Princess, Norwegian, Carnival, MSC and Costa?

Thanks. So how do the activities and entertainment compare with Royal, Celebrity, Princess, Norwegian, Carnival, MSC and Costa?

I can only compare the entertainment on HAL with that of Royal and Celebrity, and would rank them Royal then Celebrity then HAL. Like food, however, it can be quite subjective.

Dress code question...

Hello everyone, This may have been posted but I was not able to locate the answer. For dinner in MDR are dress collar shirts and slacks for gentleman and summer dresses or capris for women allowed and also, on Formal Nights, is it a MUST dress up at MDR? My husband and I do not like to get too fancy and he normally wears a dress shirt and a jacket with slacks for Formal nights. Is this allowed on HAL? I will be cruising with my parents in December.

Happy Sailings!