Slow Boat to China - HAL Amsterdam

[world~citizen]

Now back from hibernation, I have posted a review.

 

What follows is the substance of it:

 

The original intention of this cruise was to get us to or near Japan where we would visit with old friends.

 

This was actually a segment of a segment of the world cruise that was meant to begin in Mumbai. When we saw a shore excursion opportunity to Angkor Wat we priced it and decided to begin the segment in Singapore instead, and spend what we would have spent on shore excursions for a three day holiday in Bangkok, three days in Siem Reap (for Angkor Wat) and three days in Singapore where we would meet the ship.

 

The cost of those nine days in 5 star hotels and air from Bangkok to Siem Reap and Siem Reap to Singapore equalled what we would have paid for a two and a half day shore excursion offered by HAL for each of us! Such are the costs of shore excursions.

 

The Ship

 

The vessel is what you would expect from one of HALs flagships. It seemed to be in terrific condition. From cabins to public rooms, the ship is beautiful. I didn't see evidence of aging. Our cabin had a leak in the bathroom and there was an occasional odor of diesel fuel just outside our door, but neither interfered with our enjoyment of the ship.

 

People are always interested in food.

 

HAL seems to be putting the money out in the food and beverage department. The usual comfort food was available poolside, as was an assortment of pastries for a good part of the day in the Lido. Breakfasts were unremarkable which is not a bad thing. They were breakfasts and hard to fault in the Lido or DR.

 

Lunch was a different matter. The stir fries were awful, and truly an embarrassment. The vegetable chicken stir fry had a single piece of chicken and when I asked where the vegetables were, the server found one with his tongs and added it to my dish. I would not mention it except that I saw a video of the executive chef talking about his wonderful "fresh fresh fresh" stirfries so I thought it was worth a notation.

 

I think dinner was what you would expect for a vessel catering to North American taste. The steaks in the dining room were of generous portion. I don't think they did vegetables well and on the whole I thought dinners sort of missed. Or - it may just be that we don't eat those sorts of dinners anymore. I heard no one speak of the food in either positive or negative terms. Oddly enough, complimentary champagne flowed on two nights.

 

As to the atmosphere of the ship, well, that was a big surprise.

 

We were used to going on vacation cruises with other people going on vacation cruises - with all the positive energy that that implies. Cruisers are usually excited, and that rubs off on the crew.

 

Well the majority of people on this ship had been aboard for a very long time, with a long time to go. They were "residing" on the ship as opposed to cruising on it. It seemed to be less a vehicle for a cruise than a giant apartment building with a rolling view. The atmosphere was flat. You saw it in the passengers and you saw it in the staff. I have never seen staff so ambivalent. Not nasty or lazy - they just didn't take the pains to give a darn.

 

This was an observation confirmed to us by other cruisers who came on for a while in Singapore. "Boring" was the word that kept coming up to describe their experience.

 

Certainly it cured us of considering a world cruise in our retirement.

 

The ports themselves were interesting. Cambodia and Viet Nam were both worth the visit. though the port was quite a distance from Ho Chi Minh city.

 

I would say I do not agree with HALs new policy of requiring no signature for beverages purchased under $20. I myself have disagreed with charges on my cruise bill on previous cruises and by producing the original signed bill, the issue was resolved.

 

Business should be done in a business-like manner, and charges should be signed for.

 

Bills, however small, must be signed for in the shops. When I enquired as to why, they said their experience was such that bill signing was deemed to be imperative. I agree.

 

Also, HAL has a policy of not allowing your internet time to lapse if you are still connected with your computer. The rationale is that it is a courtesy to allow you to finish your business. But if you forget to log-out and leave your computer or ipod or device connected for an hour or so, you will be billed. I asked the administrator how that could be as it would be clear that a machine was not used over that time. He said Windows machines send message packets out periodically and that constitutes use.

 

So Moral Hazard hit HAL. Wall Street sails the high seas.

 

Guest Relations was surprised to hear of the new policies which are fleet wide. They sent a message to HAL about both issues. HAL sent a subsequent communication stipulating the $20 rule must be followed. I heard nothing about the internet rule.

 

We disembarked in Hong Kong in what was a smooth process, and we were on our way.

 

Would we sail HAL again - probably, but not based on their performance on this cruise.

 

Smooth sailing...

[CtheW0rld]

interesting observations, especially about the 'mood'. i suppose i would feel more 'at home' if i were onboard for 100+ days.

[maxout]

Thank you for your thoughts. :)

 

Not sure where you are from but it has become very common in the US to not have to sign for charges under $20-25. This is true at fast food venues, some bars, pharmacy's etc. even higher amounts can be purchased without signature at a Gas pump. Not sure if you have seen "paypass" but you can basically wave your card over a sensor and the trans is completed. On my last HAL cruise, even if I didn't sign I was still given a receipt.

 

Not logging out on the internet is HALS fault??

 

Usually if you fail to do this once and go talk to the Internet Manager they will at least credit you back some of the time wasted/added. If you leave your sprinklers on in the yard do you not expect to pay for the water??

[Himself]

I think there is a difference between a seven or ten day cruise and a 100 day cruise. The clientel would be different and if you were on for 100 days you would be a liver as opposed to a cruiser.

[world~citizen]

Thank you for your thoughts. :)

 

Not sure where you are from but it has become very common in the US to not have to sign for charges under $20-25. This is true at fast food venues, some bars, pharmacy's etc. even higher amounts can be purchased without signature at a Gas pump. Not sure if you have seen "paypass" but you can basically wave your card over a sensor and the trans is completed. On my last HAL cruise, even if I didn't sign I was still given a receipt.

 

Not logging out on the internet is HALS fault??

 

Usually if you fail to do this once and go talk to the Internet Manager they will at least credit you back some of the time wasted/added. If you leave your sprinklers on in the yard do you not expect to pay for the water??

 

Nope!

 

I think you understood the point though.

 

As to the sprinklers, well there is no water quota either.

 

Smooth sailing...

[world~citizen]

I think there is a difference between a seven or ten day cruise and a 100 day cruise. The clientel would be different and if you were on for 100 days you would be a liver as opposed to a cruiser.

 

I think that is exactly it, though we were on a 21 day cruise which really was a cruise, if you know what I mean.

 

World cruising is a different beast.

 

Smooth sailing...

[maxout]

If you haven't already seen this, it is a wonderful log of the entire cruise of which you were a part. Enjoy... :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1106228&page=4

[world~citizen]

If you haven't already seen this, it is a wonderful log of the entire cruise of which you were a part. Enjoy... :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1106228&page=4

 

Saw it.

 

Its a different thing when you sail a full world cruise, which is exactly my point.

 

However, there was no consensus even among the those who did the full sail, as there never is. What we learned is that a world cruise is not for everyone.

 

I'm very glad they enjoyed their adventure.

 

Smooth sailing...

[whogo]

Also, HAL has a policy of not allowing your internet time to lapse if you are still connected with your computer. The rationale is that it is a courtesy to allow you to finish your business. But if you forget to log-out and leave your computer or ipod or device connected for an hour or so, you will be billed. I asked the administrator how that could be as it would be clear that a machine was not used over that time. He said Windows machines send message packets out periodically and that constitutes use.

 

Interesting. HAL could have a pop-up to announce that time is running out and give you an opportunity to purchase more time, or they could just bill you for more time without giving you a choice. Which way maximizes profit?

 

HAL may have learned this trick from magazine subscriptions, which now mention in tiny print that they will charge your credit automatically for renewals if you do not tell them not to.

 

Thank you for the excellent report, world~citizen.

[SwissMyst]

We recently did a 42 day "Grand Voyage" on another ship (and even crossed paths with the Amsterdam in Mauritius).

 

It was our first time on a longer cruise and we kind of hit a wall at 30 days, and while the last two weeks had some terrific ports and shore excursions that were well worth the extra time as long as we were that far from home, it did become more of a chore to face the daily ship routine after that novelty had waned.

 

We loved it in toto, but in specifics I doubt if I would ever want to go more than 3 or so weeks again.

 

I am getting my sea legs back again on just a quickie 7 day HAL trip, but think the 2-3 week ones work the best for me.

 

But looking at all those 42 days of pictures make me so happy we jumped in and did it. Memories of the harder times (high seas and general sickness) don't even exist any longer. But hope those memories don't come back on our next one.

[world~citizen]

We recently did a 42 day "Grand Voyage" on another ship (and even crossed paths with the Amsterdam in Mauritius).

 

It was our first time on a longer cruise and we kind of hit a wall at 30 days, and while the last two weeks had some terrific ports and shore excursions that were well worth the extra time as long as we were that far from home, it did become more of a chore to face the daily ship routine after that novelty had waned.

 

We loved it in toto, but in specifics I doubt if I would ever want to go more than 3 or so weeks again.

 

I am getting my sea legs back again on just a quickie 7 day HAL trip, but think the 2-3 week ones work the best for me.

 

But looking at all those 42 days of pictures make me so happy we jumped in and did it. Memories of the harder times (high seas and general sickness) don't even exist any longer. But hope those memories don't come back on our next one.

 

Yes there are the vacation pictures.:)

 

Here are ours:

 

http://www.loisandbill.info

 

Smooth sailing...

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Noticed that you said champagne was flowing at dinner a couple of nights. Who provided the champagne? Was it just your table or the entire dining room.

 

Sorry about the crew not being up to par on your cruise.

[world~citizen]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Noticed that you said champagne was flowing at dinner a couple of nights. Who provided the champagne? Was it just your table or the entire dining room.

 

Sorry about the crew not being up to par on your cruise.

 

It was the Captain's birthday on one occasion and a formal night on the other but that doesn't normally get you champagne.

 

On the latter occasion the seas were very rough and there were a lot of people who couldn't make dinner. Perhaps the champagne was a reward for the brave souls who managed to dine at all that night.:)

 

Smooth sailing...

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks

 

We have had some very rough seas -- most of the dining was empty -- nothing free.

 

Have been on cruises when the captain had a birthday -- nothing free.

 

BUT -- one time we missed a port and every one got a free glass of champagne -- that was a long time ago.

[world~citizen]

Thanks

 

We have had some very rough seas -- most of the dining was empty -- nothing free.

 

Have been on cruises when the captain had a birthday -- nothing free.

 

BUT -- one time we missed a port and every one got a free glass of champagne -- that was a long time ago.

 

I know.

 

Imagine. Two free champagne evenings over nine nights. I guess that is hitting the jackpot.:)

 

Smooth sailing...

[Gamelan1971]

My mother and I went on the Mumbai to Hong Kong leg of this trip. I had a great time, whereas my mother was less impressed.

 

I have a stressful job and when I go on cruises, I like being pampered, catered to, and catching up on my rest. I don't need a big party and often can't even stay awake that late; I'm recharging my batteries from work. As a plus, I love HAL because there are Indonesian staff, and having lived there for a couple of years, I can speak the language and enjoy talking to the staff.

 

I felt that the Indonesian and Philippino staff were amazing on this trip and I was sad to part ways with our dining room steward, our wine steward, and also our room attendants. Other staff, in Shore Excursions and the spa in particular, were good too. In many ways, the staff were the highlight of the cruise- had they been below average, this may have made for a miserable cruise experience.

 

We participated in the Shore Excursion to Angkor- it was my fourth trip and my mother's first to Angkor. While it was expensive, I thought the tour was great and I'd recommend it to others. It was really a highlight of that trip for me and HAL executed it well.

 

In the end, my mother felt very strongly about not wanting to ever go on a world cruise (even a leg of it), though she has ample time and money. While she is a friendly women and gets on well with lots of people, she made very few friends on this cruise. Many (but of course not all) of the world cruisers were dismissive and unfriendly toward us when they found out we were only on a segment of the grand voyage. A couple of people went as far as to tell us that we really couldn't say we were on a Grand Voyage or World cruise because we hadn't booked for the entire voyage! How childish! We chose the cruise for the itinerary and had no designs on bragging to others that we had taken a "Grand Voyage!" And we never spoke of this as though we were on a Grand Voyage so those comments seemed unnecessarily over the top and elitist.

 

The "if you did not get on in Fort Lauderdale I don't want to have anything to do with you" attitude that was displayed by a large number (but not all) of the world cruisers was a major turnoff for my mother. I may choose to take one of these world cruises, but not for at least another 20 years! I truly enjoyed myself and I think I would like a world cruise, but I know I will probably appreciate it more when I am in the more typical age demographic for World Cruisers.

 

Another thing- several people asked my mother and myself to "define the nature of our relationship." We are mother and daughter and we were both greatly offended and bothered by that question. My mother is a widow of 3+ years with a spiky haircut- she thought it made her look more youthful! In any case, these people who asked were not even interested in talking with us, they just wanted to find out if we were lesbians! As Jerry Seinfeld said, "not that there's anything wrong with that" but we are mother and daughter and definitely not lesbians.

 

I did not let these things ruin my cruise- I still had a great time and was able to visit one of my favorite parts of the world while recharging from my stressful job- but these Grand Voyages are different than normal cruises and not for everyone. We have contacted our travel agent and told her of our experience and warned her that there were some who made us feel that we were second class citizens because we were "only" taking a leg of a Grand Voyage and that it detracted significantly from the social experience on board.

[CtheW0rld]

In the end, my mother felt very strongly about not wanting to ever go on a world cruise (even a leg of it), though she has ample time and money. While she is a friendly women and gets on well with lots of people, she made very few friends on this cruise. Many (but of course not all) of the world cruisers were dismissive and unfriendly toward us when they found out we were only on a segment of the grand voyage. A couple of people went as far as to tell us that we really couldn't say we were on a Grand Voyage or World cruise because we hadn't booked for the entire voyage! How childish! We chose the cruise for the itinerary and had no designs on bragging to others that we had taken a "Grand Voyage!" And we never spoke of this as though we were on a Grand Voyage so those comments seemed unnecessarily over the top and elitist.

 

The "if you did not get on in Fort Lauderdale I don't want to have anything to do with you" attitude that was displayed by a large number (but not all) of the world cruisers was a major turnoff for my mother. I may choose to take one of these world cruises, but not for at least another 20 years! I truly enjoyed myself and I think I would like a world cruise, but I know I will probably appreciate it more when I am in the more typical age demographic for World Cruisers.

 

i was wondering how high the 'snob factor' would be on a world cruise. now i know.

[Krazy Kruizers]

My mother and I went on the Mumbai to Hong Kong leg of this trip. I had a great time, whereas my mother was less impressed.

 

I have a stressful job and when I go on cruises, I like being pampered, catered to, and catching up on my rest. I don't need a big party and often can't even stay awake that late; I'm recharging my batteries from work. As a plus, I love HAL because there are Indonesian staff, and having lived there for a couple of years, I can speak the language and enjoy talking to the staff.

 

I felt that the Indonesian and Philippino staff were amazing on this trip and I was sad to part ways with our dining room steward, our wine steward, and also our room attendants. Other staff, in Shore Excursions and the spa in particular, were good too. In many ways, the staff were the highlight of the cruise- had they been below average, this may have made for a miserable cruise experience.

 

We participated in the Shore Excursion to Angkor- it was my fourth trip and my mother's first to Angkor. While it was expensive, I thought the tour was great and I'd recommend it to others. It was really a highlight of that trip for me and HAL executed it well.

 

In the end, my mother felt very strongly about not wanting to ever go on a world cruise (even a leg of it), though she has ample time and money. While she is a friendly women and gets on well with lots of people, she made very few friends on this cruise. Many (but of course not all) of the world cruisers were dismissive and unfriendly toward us when they found out we were only on a segment of the grand voyage. A couple of people went as far as to tell us that we really couldn't say we were on a Grand Voyage or World cruise because we hadn't booked for the entire voyage! How childish! We chose the cruise for the itinerary and had no designs on bragging to others that we had taken a "Grand Voyage!" And we never spoke of this as though we were on a Grand Voyage so those comments seemed unnecessarily over the top and elitist.

 

The "if you did not get on in Fort Lauderdale I don't want to have anything to do with you" attitude that was displayed by a large number (but not all) of the world cruisers was a major turnoff for my mother. I may choose to take one of these world cruises, but not for at least another 20 years! I truly enjoyed myself and I think I would like a world cruise, but I know I will probably appreciate it more when I am in the more typical age demographic for World Cruisers.

 

Another thing- several people asked my mother and myself to "define the nature of our relationship." We are mother and daughter and we were both greatly offended and bothered by that question. My mother is a widow of 3+ years with a spiky haircut- she thought it made her look more youthful! In any case, these people who asked were not even interested in talking with us, they just wanted to find out if we were lesbians! As Jerry Seinfeld said, "not that there's anything wrong with that" but we are mother and daughter and definitely not lesbians.

 

I did not let these things ruin my cruise- I still had a great time and was able to visit one of my favorite parts of the world while recharging from my stressful job- but these Grand Voyages are different than normal cruises and not for everyone. We have contacted our travel agent and told her of our experience and warned her that there were some who made us feel that we were second class citizens because we were "only" taking a leg of a Grand Voyage and that it detracted significantly from the social experience on board.

 

Thanks for the report.

Now I know that I am not interested in a world cruise or even a segment of it.

[durangoscots]

You know.... you do run into snobs on all cruises ... on my cruise last year several people were dismissive ... it was only my second cruise (as opposed to many years of transiting the Atlantic on ships in the days when they were also a way to get there, but that is not considered "cruising"). You are right, you do run into people on the world cruises who feel that because they got on at the first, they are superior but also recognize that many people who have been on for the full trip are sort of "sot in their ways". They are disorientied when there is a turn over of passengers. And sometimes the whole character of the ship seems to change. They may just not be as friendly, not because they are snobbish, but because they are small talked out and had gotten very used to other people. It is much easier when you are on at the beginning and get off before the end which is what I did a few years ago ... did 77 days of the 103 beginning with the start of the cruise in New York, although there were some people on that came over from England.

 

Susan - who would do a segment, if it were going where I wanted to go.

[ANSalberg]

Gamelan1971. I hope that there weren't too many of the kinds of people your report mentions who acted badly. Unfortunately that kind CAN color your emotions of how you FELT about the entire segment of the cruise. And the OTHER [diffinitive question] was absurd; surely you know that! At BEST it was presumptuous!

We took a similar segment of a longer cruise/ flying into Singapore -in 2001. The CCers on that cruise were a marvelous bunch as a whole but the tone of acceptance was set mainly by the leader; Bob - who welcomed us warmly. And that made ALL the difference!

Your part of the World's itinerary is exactly the part we would do again because of the cultural adventures you surely had in India and Asia [ I separated them because the cultures are so very different from each other] and it is so difficult to even GET to that part of the world from where WE live! [We are LONG past wanting to FLY there!] But what we saw there, and experienced there, and learned there -was marvelous.

I am so sorry your Mother had to go thru what she did; it was simply inexcuseable ANY way you look at it! A ship -and a HAL ship on top of it - DESERVE patrons who are open and friendly and welcoming in a COMMON environment. Chalk this up to- NOT the HAL line but the individuals. [ unbelieveable!] and please think - all of you responders - "I will NEVER behave in THAT manner" and then don't!

[ookpik]

What extraordinary behaviour from your fellow guests! Unacceptable in every way. I feel bad for you that it impacted you and your mother so;what a disappointment for you both to be on this lovely trip and to come across people like that. I must say that(Only ever sailed with HAL) there are many many fellow passengers who feel a sense of entitlement these days;and many who confuse "Money" with "Class".I have sailed for many years and have noticed quite a change in some of our fellow passengers,most are still the happy to be aboard, well traveled, interesting and humourous sort but there is a growing crowd of malcontents who seem to enjoy trying to make others miserable!

Take heart and hope that you were just with the wrong crowd!

Give HAL another chance,as a wise poster above said,it isn't the ship ,it is the fellow cruiser that can make or break a journey.

Cheers!:)

[maxout]

I find it amazing that people would chose to "not take a World Cruise" or "not chose to do a segment of a Grand Voyage" based on a couple of negitive experiences by a few persons on one ship.

 

I can see how some persons on these voyages might be "clubby" having been together for several months, I guess it might sometimes be like joining a new school at midterm. I tend to find that really trying to engage others by showing an interest in the experiences they have already had, asking their advice about the ship's routines etc. goes a long way in breaking the ice. That being said, some people are truly snobs/grumpy/holier than thou etc. I find they are usually pretty easy to detect and avoid :D

[world~citizen]

What extraordinary behaviour from your fellow guests! Unacceptable in every way. I feel bad for you that it impacted you and your mother so;what a disappointment for you both to be on this lovely trip and to come across people like that. I must say that(Only ever sailed with HAL) there are many many fellow passengers who feel a sense of entitlement these days;and many who confuse "Money" with "Class".I have sailed for many years and have noticed quite a change in some of our fellow passengers,most are still the happy to be aboard, well traveled, interesting and humourous sort but there is a growing crowd of malcontents who seem to enjoy trying to make others miserable!

Take heart and hope that you were just with the wrong crowd!

Give HAL another chance,as a wise poster above said,it isn't the ship ,it is the fellow cruiser that can make or break a journey.

Cheers!:)

 

We would probably sail HAL again, just not on a world cruise or segment.

 

One thing I didn't do in my review was compare the land holiday part of our vacation with the cruise segment...mostly because I didn't know how to incorporate it smoothly.

 

We enjoyed 5 terrific leisure days of exploration in Siem Reap for Angkor Wat. We got up when we wanted, toured when we wanted, stopped touring when we wanted, ate what, where and when we wanted etc. It was a true pleasure.

 

On the third day a Japanese tour group came into our hotel for a day. At the temples you could see them rush in, find THE photo opportunity, line-up for the photo, then rush off to the next temple to do it all over again - all day- in blazing heat. DW said to me: my god - that will be us when we get on the ship. Kind of a revelation.

 

The routine of the traditional holiday is so much different than the routine of a cruise ship. No where is it more evident than when you sandwich a cruise within a larger holiday itinerary.

 

If you look at the photos, you may consider how the ship segment of the holiday is so much less colorful than the rest.

 

That contrast , I think, was even more stark because the ship segment was part of a world cruise, and even more routine and less exciting than a normal cruise vacation.

 

I sympathize with the other comments respecting the attitude of those who were on board for the whole journey. There was an us-and-them thing, but we certainly would let that ruin our holiday.

 

If you wish to see the photos: loisandbill.info

 

Smooth sailing...

[Gamelan1971]

What extraordinary behaviour from your fellow guests! Unacceptable in every way. I feel bad for you that it impacted you and your mother so;what a disappointment for you both to be on this lovely trip and to come across people like that. I must say that(Only ever sailed with HAL) there are many many fellow passengers who feel a sense of entitlement these days;and many who confuse "Money" with "Class".I have sailed for many years and have noticed quite a change in some of our fellow passengers,most are still the happy to be aboard, well traveled, interesting and humourous sort but there is a growing crowd of malcontents who seem to enjoy trying to make others miserable!

Take heart and hope that you were just with the wrong crowd!

Give HAL another chance,as a wise poster above said,it isn't the ship ,it is the fellow cruiser that can make or break a journey.

Cheers!:)

We are still very loyal HAL cruisers. My mother has done many cruises (all with HAL) and she's chalking it up to an anomaly based on the personalities on board. In fact, when we were talking to our travel agent, she suggested that we let Seattle know our thoughts; I was interested in doing so but my mother did not want to bother- as she said "what can you do if people don't like you?"

 

In any case, we did meet some very nice people on the ship and as I said before, it wasn't all bad and I had a great time in any case.

 

For those who provided some commentary on why this would be the case on a world cruise, I completely agree- people get set in their ways and of course, there are provincial, snobby types everywhere. However, when I saw this thread and noticed that someone had posted a trip report based on taking a leg of the same cruise we had just been on, I felt compelled to share our experience. While every cruise is different, it is important to know that there were many on the ship who regularly take the 100+ day Grand Voyage each year with HAL- we met people who had been doing so for many years in a row. They had their own social groups and often had their own little parties and things in their suites, at the Pinnacle Grill, etc.. This is great and I have no problem with it, but I do think others should know what they are walking into when they join the HAL 100+ day Grand Voyage (whether for a segment or for the entire Grand Voyage) because when people already have their own established social groups, it changes the social dynamic considerably and this sort of environment is not for everyone.

 

In addition to the comments I cited in my first post, my mother found the whole concept (particularly that some were using this like a winter vacation home and the established social networks) to be a major turnoff. In truth, I liked it, and I've already told her that I want to do a Grand Voyage with her in 20 years- when she is 88 and I am 58. So I am hoping she will change her mind!

 

After debriefing with our travel agent, I suggested to my mother that we try Crystal sometime and her response was "I am going to stay loyal to HAL" so I think we'll be cruising HAL for many years to come.

 

There is a lot to love about HAL and I look forward to many more cruises with them. The overall concept of HAL is very appealing to me. They have earned my loyalty. I think the key thing that could drive me away from HAL is if they stopped hiring the wonderful Indonesian and Philippino staff. But after talking to someone from corporate recently, I don't think I need to worry about that.:)

[peaches from georgia]

On one of our HAL cruises we become friendly with the Guest Relations Mgr to the point she shared stories about the regular World Cruise pax. Believe me what you ran in to is par for the cruise. A very close knit and closed group and difficult even for the staff. If it makes you feel better there is even a pecking order of entitlement within the 'in group'. She regaled us with stories, but it certainly didn't lead any of us to want to join this cruise any time soon.