Are HAL "Grand Voyages" Really Grand?

[TeamBozo]

My wife and I have sailed several times with HAL and have been quite satisfied so far. We are seriously considering a 75 day Grand Voyage to Asia next year and have some concerns. The price per day is fairly high (higher than any other HAL cruise we've taken). They seem to claim that the service, food, entertainment, etc. on Grand Voyages is upgraded. Is this really true? I would appreciate hearing your experiences.

[tcook052]

Asked recently:

 

What makes a Grand Voyage Grand?

[kazu]

My wife and I have sailed several times with HAL and have been quite satisfied so far. We are seriously considering a 75 day Grand Voyage to Asia next year and have some concerns. The price per day is fairly high (higher than any other HAL cruise we've taken). They seem to claim that the service, food, entertainment, etc. on Grand Voyages is upgraded. Is this really true? I would appreciate hearing your experiences.

 

I haven't done one yet, but I have been living vicariously through the postings and blogs from Mary Ann & Kween Karen. Lots of info.

 

Looks like there are all kinds of gifts and special celebrations and from what I have read, the guests are treated like royalty. I don't think we can do a 75 day until DH retires and I have fewer dogs (leave them for 75 days :eek:), but the cruises sound glorious to me.

 

there are definitely different foods, gifts, special occasions, different celebrations that happen on these that we don't see on the shorter cruises (20 days is our max so far).

 

Kween Karen seems very happy indeed :):)

[rkacruiser]

Yes, the voyages are "Grand"! I think the quality of the food and menu selection is stepped up a notch or two; entertainment often includes some "name" entertainers (on one of my grand voyages, Regis Philbin and the Osmond Brothers were the "biggies"), the staff goes "all out" in the area of decorations for special theme nights, often on formal nights, small gifts (and sometime not so small) show-up in the stateroom. (In fact, reducing some of these small gifts and reduce the price a bit would be OK with me.)

 

HAL says that the crew chosen for these voyages are their best. I think that is probably true for 99% of the crew, but there is no guarantee of that. The worst cabin steward I have ever had, one who tried to jump ship at one port, was on a Grand voyage.

 

Pricing is higher than a more typical voyage. But, I do think, overall, it is worth it.

[Pettifogger]

Our Grand Voyage experience is limited to one segment of thirty or thirty-one days, but we remember it fondly.

 

Comparing the service with that on other HAL cruises is highly subjective, but I tried to make it a little less so by keeping track of the number of stewards I wanted to commend and it came out as twice as many as on other HAL cruises. In 112 days on various HAL ships, we've never encountered a dining room steward who was less than very good, so the Grand Voyage service was indeed grand.

 

On Grand Voyages fixed dining is available to everyone. On our segment, most of them wanted early fixed. The room service manager seems to have been assigned the unenviable task of dealing with that problem and he seems somehow to have done it, since we got our preferred early fixed dining and we are very ordinary passengers. I concluded that on Grand Voyages they try to treat everyone like a suite passenger.

 

But to us the most memorable difference was the desserts; I had hazelnut cappuccino mouse cake and my wife had chocolate peanut butter pie. They could have missed all the ports and left us with thirty or thirty-one sea days and we would not have complained if those two desserts were always available.

[okiecruiser71]

Always wanted to do one of these. Maybe when I'm retired. Right now the gratuities alone would bankrupt the wife and I, especially on one of those 120 day trips.

[twodogmom]

I signed up for the grand world cruise for 2012. I can hardly wait. I've heard it is the best, and I'm looking forward to seeing so many of the places on my bucket list. I'm lucky a table mate from a cruise I took in March 2010 will be on the cruise also. We will be table mates again.

 

What I'm worried about, is what to take for cloths. I'll need both winter and summer and some in between. At least 25 days into the cruise I will get my 4 stars, so that will help with laundry.

[ScottishMaid]

I signed up for the grand world cruise for 2012.

What I'm worried about, is what to take for cloths. I'll need both winter and summer and some in between. At least 25 days into the cruise I will get my 4 stars, so that will help with laundry.

 

Hi Donna,

Don't worry about the clothes. Take them all and ship them ahead. Just enjoy you can afford a world cruise.

Jill

[Maryandi]

It always amazes me - the most people you hear from with your question are people who admit they have never taken one - What's with that ?? Don't even respond people !!

 

We have our 3rd Grand Voyage scheduled for 2012 to South America - our first was to the Med and Africa and the second to Asia/Ausralia.

 

My thoughts to you - DO IT, the guest speakers, food, gifts, ports, specaial attentions and many more incidentals are wonderful and we were happy we took every one.

 

If I had to make a complaint - is - it's time to use newer ships. To keep retreading the same ships over & over for the same areas ( including the World Cruises), it needs to be upgraded. HAL has wonderful ships - change them around sometime.

 

Have fun, MaryAnn

[ANSalberg]

"Oh YES, they ARE Grand!" We have actually been on 4 of the grand voyages -including a World Cruise, since we retired. The one YOU refer to- the Aasia Pacific cruise is a FAVORITE and we did 1/2 of one [ out of Singapore] in 2002 [ I'm not sure, but I don't think it was called "Grand" then; 2002] But did a World and 2 Asia plus one centered on Australia/NZ -and Pacific Islands. And we LOVE LOVED LOVED them!

We are LONG past the point where we like FLYING anywhere [ the 2002 including flying DEnver to San FRansisco to Taipei, to Singapore; TRUST me - it was a grueling flight] So ONE advantage is flying ONLY from Denver to Seattle. HOWEVER then you are committed to a much longer cruise [ Oh, the torments we suffer!] So ADD the days you are cruising BUT subtract the air-fare AND daily meals/entertainment and I think you've pretty much got WHY those cruises cost more!

The itineraries are amazing- Kamchatka Russia, 4 -6 ports in Japan, CHINA [ closed for SO many years to the western world!] SE Asia [ Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore.....culturally VERY diverse and SO interesting -AND you are cruising, visiting, PORT days, and cruising again - a RELAXED agenda NOT possible [ or desireable] on a 7, 10, or 14 days cruise! OK -NOT done YET!!!!!! Indonesia; You are seeing HOME to many of your "new" friends on Holland/America ships [ We've over the years MET many family members and been HUMBLED by their welcoming and loving manner.] NOT done YET!!!!! Then into Australia and sometimes NZ.......an ENGLISH speaking [ easy] part of the world -There too; LOVING and WELCOMING people! THEN [ rather than flying home from a VERY distant port - a leisurely cruise to Pacific Islands [ possibly French Polynesia or Fiji.......and into Hawaii] and THEN....HOME [ southern California, usually] SHORT flight back to Denver.

IF this looks in ANY way interesting -AND you are either retired or have extra time to do 65-76 days - AND the money to afford this KIND of cruise. I'd say; THEN go for it!!!!!

JUst this WEEK we've had MORE sabre-rattling [ Egypt] but I always think; WE retired at the PERFECT time to "See the world; OUR world -as it IS -not as anyone interprets FOR us-not as it WAS -as it IS! NOW!" and how AMAZING is THAT?????

Anne

[Maryandi]

Hi Anne, I felt like I was there again, Thanks - MaryAnn

[RuthC]

They seem to claim that the service, food, entertainment, etc. on Grand Voyages is upgraded. Is this really true? I would appreciate hearing your experiences.

Although a long time ago, thinking of my Grand Cruise always brings back fond memories. Yes, it was "grand" in every sense of the word.

The pillow gifts---and a suitcase to put them in!, chocolate truffles, superb service and entertainment. Oh, yes, and some great ports, too.

If you have the chance to take one, then do it. Just do it!

[ANSalberg]

Hi Anne, I felt like I was there again, Thanks - MaryAnn

 

HI!!!!! Mary Ann, NICE to "see" you -How are you guys??????

[Juanita462]

We are taking our third Grand Cruise next fall and have decided to do only Grand and World cruises from now on. They are definitely a step above the regular cruises.

I agree that they could give out fewer gifts and lower the price as far as we are concerned. Have a stack that we have never opened.

 

It was wonderful to meet the families of some of our staff in Indonesia and so nice to see many of the crew with their wives and children.

Our room steward told us that the noise in his cabin was incredible!

 

The food is wonderful and the entertainment is better and the service

- except for one or two occasions - is incredible.

 

You do need to pick your cabin carefully - we had two bad cabins - one was over the butcher shop and the other had diesel fumes in the room on port days. One was fixed with a move to another cabin but the other was not. If you post and ask which cabins to avoid, people will let you know.

[ricki]

We are taking our third Grand Cruise next fall and have decided to do only Grand and World cruises from now on. They are definitely a step above the regular cruises.

I agree that they could give out fewer gifts and lower the price as far as we are concerned. Have a stack that we have never opened.

 

It was wonderful to meet the families of some of our staff in Indonesia and so nice to see many of the crew with their wives and children.

Our room steward told us that the noise in his cabin was incredible!

 

The food is wonderful and the entertainment is better and the service

- except for one or two occasions - is incredible.

 

You do need to pick your cabin carefully - we had two bad cabins - one was over the butcher shop and the other had diesel fumes in the room on port days. One was fixed with a move to another cabin but the other was not. If you post and ask which cabins to avoid, people will let you know.

 

Which cabins should we avoid when selecting a large ocean view on the Amsterdam? We booked the September, 2012 Grand Asia/Australia Voyage. We are very excited about the ports! Wow!

 

Ricki

[Juanita462]

cabins 1913 and 1915 are over the butcher shop - lots of noise at night with equpiment rolling across the floor and banging against the walls.

Then an hour of sawing meat in the afternoon.

 

If you are a sound sleeper it probably wouldn't bother you - but

the vibrations came right through the bed and wall so there was no getting away from it.

 

The head of customer relations was very good and gave us a master key and the numbers of 3 cabins to check out and told us to pick the one we liked the best. we moved up one deck and it was great - no noise at all.

[USN59-79]

We took the 69 day Grand Asia and Australia cruise last fall. We loved it. Everything seemed a step above a regular cruise, including the crew members. Leaving from Seattle and returning to San Diego was great and probably saved a couple of thousand in air fares. I recommend them and particularly the Amsterdam.

[Paul123]

Yes GRAND VOYAGES are very grand indeed. I really don't think words can adequately express what being on one of these very special trips is like.

 

A would say everything about them is a different experience compared with a 'normal' cruise.

 

For example, the interaction with crew is much more pronounced because so much time is spent with them. They do really become more and more like family as the days progress.

 

There is also something about the other pax. Perhaps it's because they too will be on the ship with you a long time that feelings to wards fellow pax are a little stronger.

 

Ship's officers including the Captain and Hotel Manager seem to be much more visible and accessible and they tend to treat pax as being a little more special.

 

Food is always a good notch up on other cruises with addition choices and selections.

 

Once you have completed a Grand Voyage it is difficult going back to the 'normal' type cruise again.