afraid to try other cruise lines

[TraelorMex]

Hey Jade13,

"Just curious when you were on Azamara, what itinerary, did you write a review, and what was disappointing?"

 

I did not mean in any way to disparage Princess or Azamara. I have a hard time putting into words what I am trying to say. Our Azamara cruise was very nice...we loved the ship, loved the captain (a former olympian gold medalist). And the itinerary was simply a once in a lifetime event for us...the Holy Lands..We loved it. STILL, it was not HAL. Same with Princess. Ship was very nice. Crew were very efficient...but still, not HAL. There was just something missing on these two cruise lines. Something, intangible...for example, our first cruise on HAL the young server handing out trays (this was awhile back) asked us our names during the very first lunch in the Lido. He told us his name. The next morning he was there, handing us our try, and welcomed us with a warm 'good morning, Tom and Barb'....I almost fell over! Another thing comes to mind; we don't drink, but the DW likes to have a glass of water during the evening shows. One of the barmaids on our most recent cruise with HAL made it a point of coming over to us and chatting, and bringing the DW a glass of water. Every time she recognized us! These are just two minor items out of a list of dozens I could name which might in some small way highlight those, 'intangibles'.

 

It's really frustrating to try and explain: Princess is nice, but their service is 'cold' albiet efficient. Same with Azamara...seemed to lack a 'warmth' about the service personnel.

 

Like the cow eying the 'fresh' grass on the other side of the fence, we'll probably try another line sometime, perhaps Oceana, but I just have this vague unease that we'll be spenidng the cruise wishing we had stayed with HAL....

 

Excuse the rambling. I appreciated the many responses. Happy crusising to all..whatever line you chose.

[TheCalicoCat]

Something, intangible...for example, our first cruise on HAL the young server handing out trays (this was awhile back) asked us our names during the very first lunch in the Lido. He told us his name. The next morning he was there, handing us our try, and welcomed us with a warm 'good morning, Tom and Barb'....I almost fell over!

 

This is nice & yet we had a very similar experience on 2 different Carnival cruises. On the first one Heri (I still remember his name) was a bar waiter, he was so kind to my 2 year old son - one night he even brough him over some mariscino cherries. Similarly, Raj the head waiter on that sailing, knew that I wanted water with lemon & sliced lemons were always waiting when we got to our table. On our second sailing, my son fell in serious like with Roni in the MDR, so much so that we ate there every chance we had, so that my son could see "My Roni." Yes, I agree these are intangible, but they do make your cruise & they can happen on any line.

[Hlitner]

We enjoy HA (will soon be 4 stars) but have also cruised on 11 other cruise lines and enjoyed them all! But in talking to fellow passengers (over many years) we get the feeling that cruise passengers (and travelers in general) fall into two basic classes. 1. The person that loves familiarity. They find a cruise line they enjoy and stick with it forever. They get a comfortable feeling on that one line and do not like change. If they try another line they are always comparing things to their favorite line and never quite satisfied. and then there are the more adventuress travelers 2. These folks enjoy the kind of variety you can only find on multiple cruise lines. We are in this class. As much as we love HA (will be doing a 62 day cruise in the spring) it is fun to have some variety (will be on Celebrity next week). When we go on Princess we look forward to their Pizza (the best at sea) and the wonderful balconies on the Caribe Deck of their Grand Class ships. On Princess we like their souffles at diiner, on Celebrity we love their Escargot (which you can order at every dinner), on Celebrity we love the perks we get for being Elite, on RCI we like the Diamond Club perks, etc etc. On HA we love the sandwich bar in the Lido, the Egss Benedict station for breakfast, the fresh squeezed OJ in the morning, etc.

 

As frequent cruisers we also get bored with the same shows on the same lines. Most cruise lines keep some of their shows for as long as 8 years. On our upcoming Celebrity cruise the main shows will probably be the same as the shows we had on another Celebrity cruise in October. In fact, on HA we usually find the shows somewhat boring (how many times can they keep doing shows with "Broadway" themes. Some lines have Blue Man Group shows, others have Cirque type shows, RCI has amazing Tango shows (on some ships), etc etc.

 

Hank

[G&G]

If you love HAL, I would give the following cruise lines a try!

 

--Oceania -- best cruise cuisine I've experienced.

 

--Azamara -- similar to Oceania.

 

--Celebrity -- great food and service for a large ship cruise line.

 

--Cunard -- feels like HAL on steroids.

 

We will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam for the holidays next month, and BtoB it with Celebrity's Millennium. This is the second time we've paired these two lines together. You've got to think outside the Lido!:rolleyes::)

 

Kel

 

Thanks for the comparison. It look like we started cruising the same year (1978). We just booked out first and second cruise on Oceania and have heard great things about Oceania.

 

Though we have sailed 30 times with HAL, we like to try other cruise lines. It like the boy who only ate peanuts until someone offered him cashews.

[NMLady]

We have been loyal HAL cruisers for many years. We simply love HAL. Everything about them. HAL was our very first cuise experience (Ryndam, Alaska). Over the years, after reading about other cruise lines, we decided to test the waters, so to speak. We sailed on Princess...then at our T/A's recommendation we sailed on Azamara.

 

Both of these we found to be very disappointing. They just 'were not HAL'. Which leads me to wonder: are there any loyal HAL cruisers out there who have tried another line that they really enjoyed as much as HAL?

 

I am not quite sure what it is that makes HAL so distinctive, but I figure there must be some other lines which closely replicate the 'HAL' experience. Just afraid to try other cruise lines...do not want to be sittin on a 'new' ship and kicking myself the whole cruise by thinking, 'gee, we coulda been on HAL'....

 

As you can see from my signature, we have cruised on many lines. Each one has things we like, and things we don't like.

I think that maybe Celebrity comes the closest to HAL for formality and service. Oceania has excellent service and food, but no formality and mostly shared seating at dinner.

We choose cruises by itinerary and price. We've never been totally disappointed in a ship or its service, maybe in a few aspects, but not enough to be kicking ourself for the whole cruise.

Don't be afraid to branch out to other cruise lines. You'll find ones you like, but you'll probably also always return to HAL for some cruises.

[Traveling Bob]

We have been loyal HAL cruisers for many years. We simply love HAL. Everything about them. HAL was our very first cuise experience (Ryndam, Alaska). Over the years, after reading about other cruise lines, we decided to test the waters, so to speak. We sailed on Princess...then at our T/A's recommendation we sailed on Azamara.

 

Both of these we found to be very disappointing. They just 'were not HAL'. Which leads me to wonder: are there any loyal HAL cruisers out there who have tried another line that they really enjoyed as much as HAL?

 

I am not quite sure what it is that makes HAL so distinctive, but I figure there must be some other lines which closely replicate the 'HAL' experience. Just afraid to try other cruise lines...do not want to be sittin on a 'new' ship and kicking myself the whole cruise by thinking, 'gee, we coulda been on HAL'....

 

Is it possible that you just don't like doing new things? There's nothing wrong with that and you should stick with HAL. But as you can see below, we've been on a few different lines. Liked some better than others, but we don't regret any one of them. All had their pluses and minuses, but for us, doing somthing new is a big plus. We like HAL a lot and will be back again in February. But given an appropriate price and at the right tme, we'd try something new every time.

[phinn]

We have enjoyed all of our cruises on other lines, but really, really enjoy HAL. We feel that HAL has some of the best itineraries.

 

I am loyal to Celebrity, but for our next cruise, sis and I chose HAL because of the itinerary. I am going with an open mind and will do my best not to compare everything to X. I have also cruised RCCL and Carnival. Still getting over Carnival cruise, but would not rule them out entirely for future. I would say in trying a new line, see if you can book a shorter 3 or 4 night cruise to get the feel of the line. HAL not having that option for me is why it took a long time for me to book a cruise with them, but we are both very excited about going on a new line for a new experience. You can read a lot of reviews, but I think you have to experience it for yourself to decide what's best for you. Happy cruising!

[Floridiana]

We cruised on one ship each with Oceania, Azamara, HAL, Princess and NCL. We had the best food on Oceania, the best desserts and baked goods on Azamara, the best enrichment speaker and library on HAL, the best entertainment on Princess and the worst = drunken passengers on NCL. We also cruised on the Haumana and on the Aranui which are French Polynesian ships. They were a great, unique, and very enjoyable experience.

 

We will book any of the lines again if we like the itinerary. I have not looked back at NCL, however. That one week NCL cruise almost put me off cruising altogether. Passengers, crew, food - all of them subpar. It's been a while ago and things might have changed for the better.

[KirkNC]

We have sailed on Carnival, RCL, X and Princess. I would (and will next June) sail on either X or Princess again, the others, probably not. We still prefer HAL but can have a delightful time on X or Princess. I find HAL's distinctive ships and wonderful crews to be hard to beat but sometimes the intinerary is more attractive elsewhere.

 

Kirk

[Susie51]

I am addicted to cruising , so I like all the Cruise Lines

 

Me too! That said, however, for me -X- comes closest to HAL. One thing I would change about HAL is more tables/space in the buffet. On Infinity and Century there were lots of tables.

[hvsteve1]

We like HAL---especially Prinsendam. Out of 22 cruises, 4 have been with HAL. In all honesty, I cannot figure out what is so special about HAL in comparison to most other lines. IMHO, there are positives and negatives about all the lines. Just depends on what is important to you.

 

We are sailing on Regent in March, and on Ocean Princess to the Greek Isles in Sept, so I may change my opinion!

 

Having sailed Regent the past three times, I can tell you that everyone who sails Regent after a mass-market line says they can never go back. We're sailing HAL next year because no luxury line goes to Hawaii R/T. If we were to factor in the cost of a good suite, beverages (we like wine with dinner and cocktails during the day), tips, specialty restaurants, shore excursions, etc., it is not much of a savings to use HAL because all of that is included with Regent, including airfare, transfers and hotel. So, when you add up all the costs of a mass-market line, it is not that much more expensive to use a line with smaller (400+ to 700+ pax), all suite, all balcony, all-inclusive ships where they really fuss over you.

 

Now, I don't want to sound like a snob. However, the fact that we can do a luxury line for not much more money (assuming we go first class on HAL) with the more intimate, laid back atmosphere, seems to make sense.

[lcand1923]

Our first cruise was on the Ryndam to Alaska. We then sailed on the Veendam and Rotterdam. Our local TA had a good price for a Baltic Cruise on the old Marco Polo. (We had been looking at a Baltic on HAL.) We were hesitant to try a new ship, but really enjoyed the cruise, eventhough we kept walking into walls (the Marco Polo had mirrors everywhere). Our TA THEN had a good price on a Western Med cruise on Oceania. We thought we would give the line a try. Oceania became our favorite line. We loved the restricted smoking policy and the no formal nights. Some of its food offerings beat HAL, some don't. The cabin stewards on Oceania are the best we've had anywhere. The service in the various dining venues seems to vary, but on the whole is decent. Each line is different and has something unique to offer.

[Route6A]

We have sailed on quite a few lines and are now 4 star on HAL, but have been disappointed in our last two cruises with HAL. The crew has been wonderful always, but we are now leaning toward Celebrity and Cunard, because we like the lectures, food and general atmosphere better on those lines. I don't think we will sail HAL as much anymore for those reasons.

[Leeroy-Jenkins]

I agree, they are so different you can't compare. We cruise HAL and RCI, love them both.

 

Exactly!

[Traveling Bob]

We will book any of the lines again if we like the itinerary. I have not looked back at NCL, however. That one week NCL cruise almost put me off cruising altogether. Passengers, crew, food - all of them subpar. It's been a while ago and things might have changed for the better.

 

I find this to be an interesting comment. I also put NCL at the very bottom of my list. Yet, I have several friends, who I consider to be very intelligent people, who love NCL. This seems to bring everything back to the OP with his inordinate love of HAL. I guess that is why there are so many cruise lines. Literally, its whatever floats your boat!

[travelnap]

I find this to be an interesting comment. I also put NCL at the very bottom of my list. Yet, I have several friends, who I consider to be very intelligent people, who love NCL. This seems to bring everything back to the OP with his inordinate love of HAL. I guess that is why there are so many cruise lines. Literally, its whatever floats your boat!

Traveling Bob, I think the whatever floats your boat is absolutely correct. Different people enjoy different things so that is why one person enjoys a specific cruise line and another doesn't care for it. There are good cruises and some could be better cruises, but I have not found a bad cruise yet, and I have sailed on most of mass market lines. Yes NCL is different than HAL or Celebrity, somethings better, somethings worse. If you like the more formal type of cruise experience you will probably prefer HAL or Celebrity, if you like a more relaxed atmosphere, you will probably like NCL. I just got back from a TA on HAL on Monday and it was an enjoyable trip. Last year I did a Panama Canal cruise on NCL and it was also a very enjoyable trip. I have sailed on NCL 6 or 7 times and I have yet to see the drunks you hear about, but I will say that I did see more bathrobes in the LIDO on HAL this trip than I have seen on other lines. Of course though that may be because HAL is one of the few that provide bathrobes for all their guests. LOL

[Hlitner]

The thing about NCL is that they offer cruising at very low prices. We also know some folks who love that line because they will pay for inexpensive accomodations and pay for the better eating venues at every dinner. In the end they say their cost is still pretty cheap....and the food in the better restaurants is better then the food on many other lines.

 

Hank

[fleckle]

This is similar to the people who get stuck in a rut and always go to the same place in the mountains or by the seashore for their vacation year after year.

 

They find their comfort zone and are afraid to try anything new or different. We have some family members who are like that. They even order the same flavor of ice-cream every time.

 

Others like variety and enjoy the adventure of trying new experiences. They do not go on cruise line A expecting it to be like cruise line B any more than they would go to a Mexican restaurant and complain that it was not like their favorite Chinese restaurant.

 

Even if you do persuade those with a closed mind to try something different, often they will just keep comparing the new experience unfavorably to the old, familiar one, insisting that their previous choice was so much better. People see what they want to see.

 

So in some cases it is better to leave them alone and let them continue doing whatever makes them comfortable, even when you know they are missing out on a lot by limiting themselves that way.

 

I agree with Traveling Bob, whatever floats your boat (or ship) ..........

[Susie51]

This is similar to the people who get stuck in a rut and always go to the same place in the mountains or by the seashore for their vacation year after year.

 

They find their comfort zone and are afraid to try anything new or different. We have some family members who are like that. They even order the same flavor of ice-cream every time.

 

Others like variety and enjoy the adventure of trying new experiences. They do not go on cruise line A expecting it to be like cruise line B any more than they would go to a Mexican restaurant and complain that it was not like their favorite Chinese restaurant.

 

Even if you do persuade those with a closed mind to try something different, often they will just keep comparing the new experience unfavorably to the old, familiar one, insisting that their previous choice was so much better. People see what they want to see.

 

So in some cases it is better to leave them alone and let them continue doing whatever makes them comfortable, even when you know they are missing out on a lot by limiting themselves that way.

 

I agree with Traveling Bob, whatever floats your boat (or ship) ..........

 

Good points.