After HAL, which other cruise lines would I like?

[smalldog]

Hello all, I've cruised HAL twice now and I like the quieter, more relaxed style of things. However, HAL doesn't do some of the itineraries I'm interested in.

 

If anyone has cruised HAL and also some other lines, do you have any suggestions about which ones I might prefer?

 

Sun Princess has a cruise from Fremantle to Brisbane that looks interesting, but I'm not sure about the ship etc...

 

In Australia, P&O has by far the biggest presence, but their marketing seems aimed at the party crowd, and they get some seriously bad press here, due to breakdowns, failures to sail, illness and even murders on board. :eek: So I'm thinking maybe I'm not that keen to try P&O! (sorry if you love P&O, I may have got the wrong idea about it)

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts and suggestions regarding comparisons with HAL. :)

[erewhon]

smalldog,

welcome home from your cruise on the Volendam.

 

Will be watching with interest for responses to your query.

Have also been looking at that Sun Princess cruise,as we would like to do a cruise closer to home,and avoid long flights if possible.

 

Agree with you re P&O.!!

 

Hope you are not affected by the flooding.

[ceejay3377]

As an Aussie cruiser I too am interested in opinions and options for cruising down under. I have sailed P&O twice, Star Cruises once and HAL once, and while "never" is a very long time, it is extremely unlikely you will find me on a P&O ship while there are other options. I find HAL to be so much better in so many areas for a comparable price.

 

P&O FANS DO NOT READ THIS PARAGRAPH: P&O can be like a floating youth hostel at times. I had a great time partying on the Sky back in 2002 This was before Dianne Brimble's death, and yes there was plenty of drug taking. I was personally offered ecstacy in the disco, and no I didn't!!. My later cruise on the Sun was just altogether disappointing. The crew were distant. They really only interracted with pax if they had to. I overheard some crew (not staff) whinging about the passengers one day, and I had to wonder why they were on the ship in the first place. My husband and I were quite happy to disembark at the end of that cruise.

 

Princess sails out of Melbourne in Summer. This is much closer to home for me, and balcony cabins are much more affordable. I am also wondering whether the Rhapsody (out of Sydney) is an experience I might enjoy.

 

Here's what I like about HAL/the Volendam:

 

* I understand that the Volendam has two sets of stabilsers and they are used frequently. There is little motion when compared to P&O, who I believe pull their stabilisers in when under steam to improve fuel economy. I am fine in rough weather and raging seas, but my husband gets motion sick on a roundabout!! He was not seasick at all in 14 days on the Volendam, but was frequently seasick on the Sun

* The staff (not crew) are good on P&O but are wonderful on HAL. The experience on HAL is what it is because of the staff and crew.

* The food is way better on HAL in terms of variety, freshness and cost. Apart from the Pinnacle and Explorers cafe, all food is included on HAL. On P&O you have to pay at many food outlets, especially outside "dining times" (like pizza, hotdogs, burgers, sushi bar, etc). The food quality and variety is consistently good on HAL, but deteriorates on P&O with every day the ship is at sea ...

* The beds are BRILLIANT on HAL :D

* HAL is classic cruising, like something from a bygone era. I love getting dressed up for dinner and having a bit of class about me lol. I love the teak wraparound deck. I love the attention to detail, the flowers, the style of the Volendam.

 

What are Princess and Rhapsody like by comparison? I am wondering if it is worth looking to Asia and doing fly-cruise-fly itineraries for something different, as the South Pacific itinerary is starting to get a bit repetitive. I look forward to any suggestions CCers might have

 

Cheers,

 

Ceejay

[terigo]

Celebrity Century does Australia/New Zealand itineraries, and I think is pretty much in the same league as HAL....unless you are a smoker, since Celebrity has more restrictive policies.

[kelmac]

If you like HAL, you will probably like:

 

--Celebrity*

--Cunard**

--Oceania***

--Azamara***

 

* -- same price range as HAL

** -- little more expensive

*** -- could be twice the price

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[navybankerteacher]

Celebrity is quite comparable toHAL in accomodatations and service. Sadly, their ships seemtolack the classis elegance of HAL - the promenade deck for example has an enclosed, almost industrial, fee to it --- steel deck vs teak, no classic deck chairs,etc.

[kelmac]

Celebrity is quite comparable toHAL in accomodatations and service. Sadly, their ships seemtolack the classis elegance of HAL - the promenade deck for example has an enclosed, almost industrial, fee to it --- steel deck vs teak, no classic deck chairs,etc.

 

I agree with NBT about the promenade decks; HAL and Cunard have great teak wood, wrap around decks. I find Celebrity's bright and modern decor, and art work, to be more impressive than HAL's traditional, dark layout. I would also give Celebrity the edge in cuisine quality. Their new Solstice Class ships could be the best large ships at sea!

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[DRWhit]

We enjoyed our cruise on the Celebrity Century, and found the two lines very comparable. It just depends on what you like as to which line you would like the best. I think HAL is a bit more laid back and classic cruise, Celebrity a bit more active.

[alpal1993]

My first cruise love is Celebrity.We are 1 cruise credit away from Elite.We tried HAL for the first time last June cruising 14 Nights on Amsterdam to Alaska.We have now booked our second HAL cruise for March. The Itinerary offered during our time frame as well as cost have been the reason for the change.

Somehow Celebrity has not fit into our criteria.Looking into our 3 HAL cruise for 2013 New England/Canada in the summer.Celebrity doesn't even offer any cruises to this destination at that time

[Cinder Again]

I like both Celebrity and Princess, but I love Regent more, if it comes near you, or has itineraries you like...the best food and beautiful cabin, it even had a walk in closet! Regent is "country club casual" every night, no formal nights, and some liquor (but not all) and soft drinks/water are included in the price.

Hal, Celebrity and Princess all seem pretty similar to me, except I prefer Hal's staff, and smaller ships. If they had an itinerary I liked, I wouldn't hesitate to take any of those three.

[jotabecu]

I also think Celebrity and Princess.

 

Also Oceania but their sailings in Asia/Pacific area are very few.

[TraelorMex]

We are veteran HAL cruisers. Tried Azamara last year. Was very impressed by the ship, the crew (especially the captain) and the itinerary. We thought the food was not as good as HAL, and we hear prices are more than HAL at this time. But for a smaler more intimate cruise experience, maybe want to give it a try..

[Jade13]

Azamara, or Celebrity Soltice class.

 

Azamara and HAL have the best itineraries but Azamara only has two ships.

[SwissMyst]

We are veteran HAL cruisers. Tried Azamara last year. Was very impressed by the ship, the crew (especially the captain) and the itinerary. We thought the food was not as good as HAL, and we hear prices are more than HAL at this time. But for a smaler more intimate cruise experience, maybe want to give it a try..

 

Interesting comment about the food on Azamara because I thought they were trying to be a Crystal Cruise competitor. We also find the HAL itineraries to always be more unique or even just one port stop better than both Princess and Celebrity, the lines most frequently used for comparison with HAL.

 

I'll put in a pitch for the single ship lines Voyages of Discovery and Voyages to Antiquity because they are not as expensive or deluxe as Regent, they do offer some very nice inclusive packages with flights to embarkation, disembarkation ports and with VTA, with wine and shore excursions included too. But these are specialty cruises with far more attention to education and enrichment than pure entertainment.

[mudscraper]

We were on the Sun Princess in 2007. Pool area was super crowded compared to HAL. We were turned away from the show lounge at least twice due to being at full occupancy. And of course the tiny showers that Princess is known for. But we had a great cruise with good food and a very nice staff.

[m steve]

but if you like the HAL balcony cabins, then book a mini suite to get the same space. Celebrity is another good choice but if you smoke, you can't on your balcony.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I agree with Celebrity as a good cross over, not sure I would agree with Princess unless it was on one of their smaller ships.

Now I know this is shocking statement but I actually recommend NCL for unique itineraries (not your normal 7 day and 3 and 4 day short cruises) NCL really has crew that are the most like HAL and does a lot of things more like HAL than any other cruise line. While pricing is usually lower if you take the money you save with NCL then figure that into going to the specialty restaurants almost every night. You will have a premium experience. The entertainment in most cases is superior to HAL in talent and quality of production. They use Elemis bath products on board just like HAL not the weird off brands that are not that great like Princess and Celebrity. I have found all their premium restaurants to be great. They have some very unique itineraries at pricing that does not scare you from traveling. But they do charge $12.00 PP per day for tips but in the broad scheme of things I found their crew to be some of the best at sea.

[ariawoman]

If you like HAL, you will probably like:

 

--Celebrity*

--Cunard**

--Oceania***

--Azamara***

 

* -- same price range as HAL

** -- little more expensive

*** -- could be twice the price

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

I'd like to add that you'd probably like Seabourn as weel, but it would get *** as well :-) Seabourn treats you like you're famous. They dont even let you carry your own plate from the buffet to the table! I was seriously pampered on that cruise. If you like the really small ship feel, Seabourn would be good as well. We sailed on their smallest, Seabourn Spirit which held 206 passengers. They also have some larger ships now (Odyessy and Pride I believe are their names) but they are still tiny maybe topping off at 500ish passengers. That's how they have the insane level of service. Also seabourn is considered all inclusive, including alcohol, that was interesting. The clientelle I can't speak to, as I was on a private charter, however I've heard it's on the older side.

[SwissMyst]

Went over to the NCL website to take a look and it is interesting how different cruise ships choose to make their first visual impression. NCL was an ariel view of their high activity Lido pool area with water slides - sending a youth and action message. (And for me a turn off but this would be just the right touch for those looking for higher-energy ships than HAL.)

 

The gap between website imagery and marketing between cruise lines and actual experience is worthy of its own topic. Some can be off-putting like MV Discovery which comes across as stuffy and formal, when in fact it is hearty and more basic down home cruising, and HAL which does look a bit more young, intimate and elegant than its actual experience from its first website impressions.

[Alliea]

HAL has the best food, no matter what ship of theirs you go on, it seems. I think the next best food I have had was on Celebrity, then, RCL, after that would be Carnival, and then NCL. I know this is just the food side of the question.. though.

[rugbypopsie]

Take a peek at the photos of the Singapore/Sydney cruise on the Diamond Princess just posted on the P and O board ..I am a big fan of the US based Princess ships. Elegant without being stuffy and very affordable.

[Willsot]

I would agree with Celebrity. For a completely different experience, I recommend a river cruise. We loved our Eastern Europe Danube cruise with Viking this fall.

[smalldog]

These are great answers people - thanks! Keep 'em coming!

 

I knew you guys would know about cruise lines... ;)

[smalldog]

smalldog,

welcome home from your cruise on the Volendam.

 

Will be watching with interest for responses to your query.

Have also been looking at that Sun Princess cruise,as we would like to do a cruise closer to home,and avoid long flights if possible.

 

Agree with you re P&O.!!

 

Hope you are not affected by the flooding.

 

Thanks for asking erewhon, I was a bit worried about my house because I'd heard a few bits about the endless rain but none of the stories we got in NZ were saying anything about Brisbane, so we didn't really know what we might find. However, both our houses were fine, thankfully. The creek down the back has been flooded but it didn't reach my door.

 

My sister lives in Bundaberg, and she's up on slightly higher ground thank goodness, but some of her old neighbours when she lived in Rockhampton are not so lucky. Most of Rocky seems to have absolute water frontage just now.

 

As for avoiding those long flights... amen to that! Even flying home from Sydney on Sunday made me cranky (combination of heat plus too many souvenirs in our baggage weighing it down). The Sun Princess cruise actually ends in Brisbane, which means just a taxi fare home... What a dream that would be! :)

[smalldog]

P&O FANS DO NOT READ THIS PARAGRAPH: P&O can be like a floating youth hostel at times.

Is that a bit unkind to youth hostels? ;) :D (apologies to P&O fans)

 

* I understand that the Volendam has two sets of stabilsers and they are used frequently.

* The beds are BRILLIANT on HAL :D

* HAL is classic cruising, like something from a bygone era. I love getting dressed up for dinner and having a bit of class about me lol. I love the teak wraparound deck. I love the attention to detail, the flowers, the style of the Volendam.

 

Thanks Ceejay, I do like the teak decks (which I actually use, for my daily walks) and the beds on the Volendam. I also appreciate the stability, as I am the seasickness queen. Only slightly queasy once in 16 days on the Volendam when we had a beam sea during dinner, and not sick at all during some very rough weather crossing the Tasman.