HAL Loyalty

[Cqis]

How loyal are you to HAL? I ask this because I am curious. I wanted to see what the Norwegian Epic looked like. My DH said "You don't need to look I am not going on any other ship." We have sailed other lines, but once we started sailing HAL we have not been on any other line.He won't even look at the site.

[MrsMuir]

I guess we're more or less sold on HAL after six cruises, each one a bit longer than the one before it. I would like to see what "luxury" cruising is like, or a trans-Atlantic aboard Queen Mary 2, or try a sailing ship, but when it comes down to it, HAL's wonderful crew and travel-focused atmosphere wins the day. We enjoy the traditional, nautical atmosphere of the Holland America ships, especially the smaller R- and S-class ships.

 

Mrs M

[Krazy Kruizers]

No HAL cheerleader here.

 

With our experiences on a couple of cruises this past year and with HAL moving more out of the American market, we are looking to find another cruise line.

[Kathyh1313]

DH and I alternate between HAL and NCL. We haven't been on the Epic (as yet!) Each line has its strength and weaknesses. What we love about NCL is the relaxed, freestyle approach, all the time resort casual dress, and the many varied dining venues (yes, even those with an upcharge), its all about choice.

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy!:)

[Bramcruiser]

How loyal are you to HAL? er ship." We have sailed other lines, but once we started sailing HAL we have not been on any other line.

 

Apparently not as loyal as I expected. I too fell in love with HAL but quite frankly after last year's trip - which was excellent - I found myself in need of taking a break and thus booked another line for this year's vacation. Oh the horror!:eek:

 

HAL still ranks as one of my top two favourites but I just think every now and then you need to shake it up and do something different. Yes, I will likely do HAL again but just not today.

 

Its sort of like eating the same thing for dinner every night.

[hypercafe]

We chose the trip based on price and itinerary. We live in NYC so take the lines that call here the most. HAL did the Bermuda trip this year but have been there lots so skipped it. We have a great time on all, each has their own thing.

[JJPacer]

We chose the trip based on price and itinerary. We live in NYC so take the lines that call here the most. HAL did the Bermuda trip this year but have been there lots so skipped it. We have a great time on all, each has their own thing.

 

Same here. Price and itinerary. We enjoy other lines just as much and sometimes more than HAL.

[George C]

We chose the trip based on price and itinerary.

 

Same here I like HAL and our last 2 cruises were HAL but we are now shopping and might go back to RCCL or Celeberity or Princess or even Costa. Right now we need to either do HAL to Bermuda in May or Europe of Celeberity in Oct or RCCL in Nov to Carribbean or possibly 2 cruises. Bringing your own wine gives HAL a plus for us.

[isujim]

We sailed on HAL for the first time, a year back and enjoyed it so much we are going again this fall, this time on a 10 day cruise. That said, we enjoy Princess and RCCL.........itineraries are important to us and we left RCCL because their itineraires were getting stale to us........

 

We think both Princess and HAL have some great itineraries........of course maybe we are just new to both lines and are experiencing something different.:)

[sail7seas]

Our early years of cruising, we sailed RCI, Princess, Celebrity and Carnival (sort of but that's a long story) and HAL. We gradually came to sail only HAL as others disappointed us in ways that were meaningful to us.

 

We have now sailed HAL exclusively for many years, have about 70+ cruises with HAL and never look at any other cruise line.

 

Yes, I guess we'd call that loyal to HAL. :)

 

BUT we feel they have been loyal in return. They always provide the cruise we hope for, the ships are always spotlessly clean, the crews are friendly and competent, the crews are well managed and well trained (a few tiny exceptions here or there ;) ) and HAL has been important in providing the escape, fun, rest, refreshment we seek on a regular basis.

 

We hope to sail those beautiful blue hulled ships for many more cruises.

[agabbymama]

DH and I alternate between HAL and NCL. We haven't been on the Epic (as yet!) Each line has its strength and weaknesses. What we love about NCL is the relaxed, freestyle approach, all the time resort casual dress, and the many varied dining venues (yes, even those with an upcharge), its all about choice.

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy!:)

 

That's funny. All of things you note about NCL are exactly the reason I DON'T care for NCL.

 

I've cruised Carnival, NCL, RCCI, Celebrity, Princess and HAL. If I had my druthers, I will stick with HAL. I like the ambiance, all the brass and wood, the Navy and white paint job, the teak wood promenade deck surrounding the ship (no up a deck or down a deck to completely walk around the ship), medium sized ships, fresh flowers (not silk or plastic), real wash cloths in the restrooms (not paper), prefer MDR fixed early seating (half the fun is getting to know your tablemates & wait staff), best beds at sea, friendliest staff (all of them smile & say hi, not just your room steward), and of course The Yum Yum Man (I'm old enough to remember the Phillip Morris ad).

 

I have paid for meals when I pay for the cruise, I don't pay to go to restaurants while on a cruise. But that's JMO.

 

I always check HAL prices first, but sometimes they are more than I can afford, thus the other cruiseline experiences. But I won't make that mistake again. If I can't afford HAL, then I won't cruise.

[LUV2CRUZalso]

We definitely go with itinerary choice first. That said, we then look at HAL and if they don't have what we would like and when we are looking to cruise, we next check with Celebrity. We tend to lean towards the cruise lines with a more mature clientele..... not looking to have the drama of college parties etc.

 

We have had a tendency to also look at RCCL, but have yet to pull the trigger on that choice.

 

Cheers to ALL!!! Enjoy your cruises, regardless!!! It is a great sport!!! :D

 

Denny (& Karen) ;):p

[m steve]

since we book balcony cabins and my partner smokes. I think they need to change some of the menus and itineraries as we have repeated a few too many times. We don't do a lot of activities and enjoy the laid back attitude of HAL. They also treat you as adults not going thru your luggage looking for liquor. We are trying to find a cruise for November and February that we haven't done before. The other lines don't seem to offer a lot of difference in cruise options.

[Crusin Kelly]

Itinerary and Price... however...

We have only done 3 cruises.. first on Carnival... never again!

2nd to Alaska on HAL - Great experience - mostly because of Alaska, but when I was presented with hot split pea soup while sitting on the deck in Glacier Bay, I thought that THIS is the way it is supposed to be.

3rd was on a brand new Solstice class ship the Eclipse on X - great cruise because it was a brand new ship AND we liked the style and class of Celebrity.

We have gone back to HAL on this next trip (in 27 days).

But as I say, itinerary and price ... but it will be between X and HAL - and maybe Cunard... I want to wear a jacket (no-tie) to dinner on non-formal nights and not feel out of place.

[iancal]

No, we are not loyal to any line. They all have their attributes and we have never been disappointed on any.

 

We shop based on itineray, price, and ship. Ship is probably as big, or perhaps a bigger, factor for us as cruise line. We have a few preferred cruise lines, of which HAL is one, but that is as far as it goes.

[V'sGirl]

We stay with HAL because of all the reasons agabbymama stated. I guess we are just creatures of habit. Our lives at home are hectic with long, stressful days, so we want our vacations to be the opposite. We know the ships and love them, we know that the Ocean Bar is the place we will gravitate to before and after dinner, and that our after dinner walk around the ship will be uninterrupted and leisurely. I think leisurely is the key word. We spend many sea days just sitting on our verandah listening to the ocean and reading - heaven!

Agabbymoma, you sound just like the table-mates we enjoy and stay friends with after the cruise is over.

[jhannah]

We have cruised only HAL and Princess. We have never had a bad cruise. There have been a few service mishaps here and there; but nothing truly substantial. We enjoy both cruise lines ... for different reasons.

 

HAL gets an edge up for us when it comes to crew. They are hard-working as they aim to provide us with a wonderful vacation. Also, Holland America ships look like nautical vessels ... not shopping trolleys or floating resort hotels.

[Arwen]

We have been loyal to HAL, but not so much now. We have done 10 cruises with HAL, one with Celebrity and just got back from a cruise on the Princess Sapphire.

 

We prefer HAL's itineraries. I also like certain ships. The Nieuw Amsterdam is one of my favorites. I am a "gym rat" and after taking 12 cruises, Nieuw Amsterdam gets my vote for BEST cruise ship gym and aerobics room.

 

Hubby and I have been disappointed with a number of things on past HAL cruises. For me, it had been the less than stellar handling of my dietary issues, which HAL once excelled at... no longer the case.

 

For pleasure and relaxation, likely would choose the Nieuw Amsterdam for a shorter cruise or the Princess Sapphire. The Sapphire handled my gf needs very nicely!

 

For the best itineraries, HAL still comes out on top. For food service, Princess.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We started out with our first cruise being RCI, then the 2nd HAL and liked it a lot so then tried another RCI again and then back to HAL and at the 2nd HAL cruise we knew it was home....OK so speed a ahead a few years after numerous HAL cruises I changed careers due to my old position being eliminated (3 yrs Ago) my new career in order to keep cruising I was told I did need to try other cruise lines so we did. I sailed Celebrity which we liked a lot, Princess which in looking back now was OK and might return, back to RCI for a 7 day on a large ship and no way no how would we ever return. Then two NCL's which we loved...I know who would of guessed, we went into the NCL cruises expecting to hate them;). Then we finally returned to HAL last March after two years of no HAL cruises and oh how we missed HAL. It was so good to be back home. Since March 2011 on the Nieuw Amsterdam we also did Alaska on the Westerdam last May, then 2 weeks to Hawaii on the Oosterdam in October, now leaving on the Westerdam this coming Sunday and then May 8th will have 11 days on the Zuiderdam. So I guess that is being pretty loyal after trying the rest and returning to HAL but we are returning to NCL in November. HAL just does not have enough sailings that go to Roatan and we love that port :)

But just in conclusion I think a lot depends on how comfortable you feel with a cruise line, kind of like trying on a pair of shoes :D We are so fortunately that there are so many different cruise lines with their own unique style. What I might find is good for me might not be at all what some one else likes. We call HAL home but may once in a while go play somewhere else :cool:

[kakalina]

Yes, we are loyal to HAL. In fact, we have never tried another line. We are of the school of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". HAL has consistently offered us everything we want or need in a cruiseline.

 

For personal reasons we haven't been on a cruise in over a year; and can't wait to get back on a HAL ship in October. Wahoo!!!!

[Sbilko]

When we, DW and I, were choosing our first cruise,:) I told her “chose the cruise you want, my only requirement is that the cruise line and ship have officers who are properly trained and have experience.” She chose the old Westerdam and I agreed. This comes from growing up in Halifax, NS, where my uncle was Chief Harbor Pilot, so I got to go with him and got to witness the ship handling abilities of many ship’s officers of many nationalities.:confused:

 

DW still will let me veto a cruise, if it has officers I do not feel are as well trained as they should be.:eek: She thanks me for my requirement, every time she reads of a cruise ship incident!!!!

[white lake]

I agree with you. We have been on 22 cruises all with HAL and like you say "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Always feel like "A King and Queen" when we are on a HAL ship. We have made many friends over the years especially with some of the crew and always hope that we meet again on another HAL cruise.

[PathfinderEss]

How loyal are you to HAL? I ask this because I am curious. I wanted to see what the Norwegian Epic looked like. My DH said "You don't need to look I am not going on any other ship." We have sailed other lines, but once we started sailing HAL we have not been on any other line.He won't even look at the site.

Ok, I'm with your DH, I won't look at other cruise lines. We have done Celebrity - RC - Carnival - Princess and for me when I cross the gang way on to a Hal ship I'm home, that's where I belong. We fit them, they fit us. My DH keeps trying to get me to try other cruise lines. I will never do RC again, Princess and Celebrity are good but my heart still lies with Hal. Being they are taking away the Oosterdam from the west coast, I may have to go back to Princess, we'll see, but for now it is Hal for me and yes I'm loyal.....

[Dianebear]

Hi - Dianebear here. I am new to cruise critic still learning. Glad to be here.

[sail7seas]

Hi Dianebear. Nice to meet you. :)

 

Pull up a deckchair and stay a while.