Least favourite HAL ship and why

Within the next year, my husband and I will be able to go on another HAL cruise. We have been on the Noordam many times and would like to try another HAL ship. We would like to avoid a bad HAL ship, if there is any such thing. I haven't been reading any awful reviews lately and I was wondering if I missed something outrageous.

We will also be looking at the elegant explorer for that experience as well. We are quite certain that she won't be on the list as a least favourite.

If you don't mind, could you also include your least favourite port.

Thanks everyone! Cathy (and Mike)

My least favorite HAL ship was easily the E-dam. I should cut it some slack, as it was the inaugural cruise, though. Some cabins were filthy dirty, since the construction dust hadn't been cleaned. Things were falling apart---a friend had the shower fall off while she was cleaning up for dinner. :eek: The doors to the dining steward stations were falling off.

What a mess.

However, she would still be my least favorite as she is just too big. I'm sure all the parts were secured a long time ago, and the crew learned how to work together. But the size of the ship is still the same.

I also don't like the Lido cabanas, especially on the walking side of the pool. They made the walking space too cramped. At least HAL learned something from that, and moved the cabanas on the Nieuw Amsterdam to starboard.

And that awful step, instead of a ramp, to a dining area in the Lido was just an accident waiting to happen. As far as I know, it's still a step. I'm not going to stumble on it again.

Nieuw Amsterdam without question for us. There were a multitude of problems on that sailing and didn't care for the crowding on the Lido with the cabanas.

didn't find the service as good nor the food as on other HAL ships.

Now that being said, many love this ship. The Tamarind and silk den are very good so that is a plus.

We prefer older ships. Prinsendam is our favourite. Zuiderdam service and food was far superior (for us) to the N Amsterdam as was the Westerdam. Maasdam is probably our second favourite ship right now.

Least favourite port? Nassau springs to mind.

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Least favourite port? Nassau springs to mind.

I have heard a lot of folks say they don't like Nassau, and I have never been there so I am unknowledgeable about that place.....can you say why you don't like that port Kazu?

I have heard a lot of folks say they don't like Nassau, and I have never been there so I am unknowledgeable about that place.....can you say why you don't like that port Kazu?

Sure, once you've been there once - it's enough IMO. there's a couple of nice spots and some picturesque people/horses, etc. but unless you want to go to the beach or gamble - there's not really much there IMO. You also don't wander too far off the main path (if you get my drift).

But then again we're also not a huge fan of Turks and Caicos - we went to explore and saw a little bit - but seriously a 'man made tourist attraction' at the port doesn't thrill us. We went to Margueritaville, but once was enough for us there too. sorry:o

My inlaws were on the NA inaugural. They hated it.

I am also not a fan of the Nieuw Amsterdam. Too big. Food and service were sub par. I especially did not like the Lido on that ship. The good part of the N.A. cruise was that it was in the Mediterranean, which I love.

Least favorite port is probably Grand Turk. I do not care for ports that are made for tourists. I would rather be in a place where I can explore.

Hate to say this but the Prinsedam is getting / acting very OLD. Her systems are having issues like absolutely no hot water for 5 days on the Grand So America cruise in > 65 cabins, AC quitting on more than 1 occasion and for extended periods of time (and of course we were in the Amazon River), side thrusters not operational so parking in ports was a hassle and took forever (in fact one thruster was in Europe being repaired). They spent something like a million dollars on 'upgrades' including enclosing the rear deck off the Lido but did not add extra AC or heat so it is either steaming or you need a jacket depending on where you are sailing. Wish they had spent the money on more of her internal systems. We have loved the Prinsedam and sailed on her on many occasions as you cannot beat her itineraries but unless absolutely necessary, we will never sail on her again.

Oh my, the NA is our next ship! I'm not expecting to "love it", though. This one is all about the itinerary.....21 day Collectors Cruise westbound across the pond.

I'm already prepared to not like the claustrophobic cabanas at the Lido Pool. They look dreadful. It is what it is.

The plus side is that we're looking forward to experiencing Tamarind...and the New York décor.

And then it will be back to the "S" class ships and the Noordam! ;)

:mad: Veendam, No aft pool, my favorite spot on any cruise. Also Rotterdam same reason. Went from my favorite to 2nd least favorite when the pool was removed.

Have not found a HAL ship we haven't liked of the ten we have sailed on. We have had a few incidents on a couple but not enough to turn us away. We prefer the smaller ships.

As far as ports go it depends on where you are sailing. There are some ports throughout the world that one visit suffices. Previous comments concentrate on the Caribbean and the ports we don't care to visit again are Nassau, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos. Roatan, Honduras, St.Crioix, USVI. Once is enough.

Sure, once you've been there once - it's enough IMO. there's a couple of nice spots and some picturesque people/horses, etc. but unless you want to go to the beach or gamble - there's not really much there IMO. You also don't wander too far off the main path (if you get my drift).

 

But then again we're also not a huge fan of Turks and Caicos - we went to explore and saw a little bit - but seriously a 'man made tourist attraction' at the port doesn't thrill us. We went to Margueritaville, but once was enough for us there too. sorry:o

Thanks for your reply. I understand completely.......some ports/places are "once is enough and done"......I also understand about "staying on the path"!:)

I never saw much value in a return trip to Cozumel, for example, or Grenada, or way back when, Caracas, Venezuela. Others, like St. John, I could return to many times because of the natural beauty of the island and beaches. I could make a big list of "okay, I could go back there" and "once and done" as I am sure many people can. I know one thing, Alaska is one of those places that I don't think I could get enough of! :D

We very much enjoy spending time outside on the Promenade Deck. The ships with lanai cabins have a limited number of unreserved chairs, which becomes a problem. Also, without lanai cabins, the Promenade Deck is usually quiet with people reading or having quiet conversations. That all changes with lanai cabins. Just a personal preference, but an important one to us.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Set one foot outside that perimeter fence and the locals are in your face/won't leave you alone

Zuierdam, most of the public toilets were not working for by 10 day cruise, also had issues with some staff.

Least favorite, by a long shot, of all the ships sailing the seven seas is the Ryndam. I've been on 28 cruises over five cruiselines and our two worst cruises have been on the Ryndam. Crew friendly, food very good, and everything else lacking when compared to the others. We wouldn't go on this ship, even if it was free. Enough said.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Set one foot outside that perimeter fence and the locals are in your face/won't leave you alone

Agreed!!!!

Conversely...we loved the Ryndam last winter. Loved the first 14 days, but was not a fan of the 7 day itinerary on our Collectors Cruise...except for Key West. Couldn't pay me to go back to Santo Tomas. Guatemala, or Costa Maya, Mexico. Definitely our very least favorite ports.

Least favorite ship would be the Rotterdam (hard to believe that we booked the Veendam in a weak moment) because of her awful design! One swimming pool (often taken over by a few kids), a large "bird bath" on the aft end of the ship (so they could replace the pool with a few more cabins), those silly promenade cabins (there is a reason no other cruise line does this), etc. We can't wait for the next HA drydock to see how they can ruin some more of their vessels.

As to ports, this is easy. Constanta, Romania.

Hank

Least favorite ship is Veendam. Only one pool and when we were on her, the staff was not what we would have expected from Hal. I understand that her staff has undergone a complete revamping since we sailed her 2 summers ago.

Least favorite port was Montego Bay where there were lots of stories about robberies near the beaches and natives stopping tour buses, getting on, and robbing passengers.

I have to say, no ship qualifies as a "least favorite ship". If we're on a cruise, we enjoy it to the max!

Least favorite ship is Veendam. Only one pool and when we were on her, the staff was not what we would have expected from Hal. I understand that her staff has undergone a complete revamping since we sailed her 2 summers ago.

 

Least favorite port was Montego Bay where there were lots of stories about robberies near the beaches and natives stopping tour buses, getting on, and robbing passengers.

Have to agree. I've heard from a trusted member here they've greatly improved the service, food, etc., on the Veendam but it's still the last ship I'd book. As for ports in the Caribbean I'd say Jamaica was way up there on the "been there, done that" list with no interest to do it again.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Set one foot outside that perimeter fence and the locals are in your face/won't leave you alone

Now how could I have forgotten that one:eek: absolutely agree - I'm not intimidated often and even though we had a ship's tour we wanted to explore after- no way - 10 minutes and we were back on the ship.

any itinerary with this port is off my list

No way will I set on that ship again. The absolute worst room steward ever and a really, really rude Maitre D in the MDR.

Another vote for the E-dam. The bigger the ships get the less I like them and HAL does not have the formula for big ships down pat anyway.