New to HAL

[t60]

Hi everyone, We´re Elite on Princess but have now deserted them and booked our first HAL cruise. (Zaandam for March 2014 Valparaiso to Buenos Aires) so we´re starting off as the lowest grade of passenger.

What differences between Princess and HAL will we notice eg quality of shows, food, drinks prices, internet access,costs etc.? We like dancing, are there opportunities for this, live bands etc. Are there dance classes, craft classes, choirs (nothing sporty or trivia/bingo)? What about port lectures, do they actually give information about the ports, how to go about getting round on your own, or are they just selling talks?

As we will be in South America, is the ship likely to bring on board specialist tango dancers?

Daily guides to what´s on around the ship? Port information leaflets?

Do people decorate their cabin doors onboard? We will be celebrating birthday and anniversary, will they give us balloons and a card on the door like Princess? Drinks packages, coffee cards...so many things we need to know

 

We don´t have any HAL brochures in the TAs in Spain

 

All information gratefully received

 

Sandy in Spain

[kazu]

Hi everyone, We´re Elite on Princess but have now deserted them and booked our first HAL cruise. (Zaandam for March 2014 Valparaiso to Buenos Aires) so we´re starting off as the lowest grade of passenger.

What differences between Princess and HAL will we notice eg quality of shows, food, drinks prices, internet access,costs etc.? We like dancing, are there opportunities for this, live bands etc. Are there dance classes, craft classes, choirs (nothing sporty or trivia/bingo)? What about port lectures, do they actually give information about the ports, how to go about getting round on your own, or are they just selling talks?

As we will be in South America, is the ship likely to bring on board specialist tango dancers?

Daily guides to what´s on around the ship? Port information leaflets?

Do people decorate their cabin doors onboard? We will be celebrating birthday and anniversary, will they give us balloons and a card on the door like Princess? Drinks packages, coffee cards...so many things we need to know

 

We don´t have any HAL brochures in the TAs in Spain

 

All information gratefully received

 

Sandy in Spain

 

Welcome to the HAL board and welcome to HAL:D This is a great choice for a first cruise. That itinerary was great and we really enjoyed it.

 

I have sailed both and think that HAL's food is better (food is subjective and others may disagree).

 

You will find some things similar and some things different.

 

I think you will find HAL's beds more comfortable. Fresh squeezed oj in the morning, less crowded Lido (IMO).

 

Yes, there are the activities you are mentioning along with food cooking demonstrations. There are usually port lecturers on board. We certainly had them for this cruise.

 

Bringing on performers is very dependent upon sailing time, port regulations and stuff like that. We did have performers come on board when we went but it has been my experience that this is happening less and less.

 

There is a daily guide delivered to your room the night before so you always know what's going on along with port guides.

 

Decorating of cabin doors is very dependent upon the cruise and the passengers but it certainly is done, particularly for birthdays.

 

Hope this helps a bit - I will let others share their experiences and opinions:D

[t60]

Thank you for the welcome Kazu. 2yr ago we sailed from Rio round the Horn to San Francisco, so we have visited some of the ports before, so it will be interesting to compare with the Princess cruise.

The roll call for our cruise is very quiet unfortuneately.

I must admit we are looking forward to sailing with HAL as I´ve been an avid follower of KweenKaren´s blogs

 

Sandy in Spain

[Krazy Kruizers]

Internet Prices

The advantage of having your own laptop is that you can work off-line and then just copy and paste once you are online -- will save minutes.

 

 

It doesn't matter whether you use the ship's computers or you take your own lap top -- the price is the same for Internet:

 

You will be charged a one-time activation fee of $3.95.

 

Satellite Internet Time Plans:

Pay as you go $0.75 Per Minute

Time Plan 1: 1000 Minutes -- $250.00

Time Plan 2: 500 Minutes -- $175.00

Time Plan 3: 250 Minutes -- $100.00

Time Plan 4: 100 Minutes -- $55.00.

 

Many times you can get bonus minutes for the various plans -- it is not always advertised -- you have to ask -- and it has to be done on Embarkation Day.

Also look for other specials advertised in the daily program.

 

Warning -- the Internet can be sloooooow at times.

There are no coffee cards. HAL has Beverage Cards that you can buy -- no savings on them.

You can buy a Drink Package - It runs about $45 plus 15% gratuity a day and must be bought the first couple of days of the cruise and had to be bought for the entire cruise. Also each person over the age of 21 must buy the package -- no sharing. There is a limit of 15 drinks a day -- can be used to buy specialty coffees in the Explorations Café, alcoholic drinks of a cost no higher than $7, house beer, bottled water and sodas. Catch -- no premium alcohol and only house wine.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL does not provide free balloons for the doors for birthdays and anniversaries -- you have to buy them. Your TA should have notified HAL but you should check with the dining room manager to reconfirm your birthday and anniversary so that a small cake will be delivered to your table after dinner. Some people have reported that they have gotten a card from the captain -- we have never gotten them. Like you -- we are also Elite on Princess and always got the balloons and a card from the captain when we sailed on them.

Are you able to get into HAL's site? There are e-brochures that you can down load. Also once you log into HAL's site, you can go to your reservation and view all the items that are for sale.

HAL has what is called the "Explore" booklet which will give a description of each port, where to shop and eat -- and sometimes will talk about transportation. The pages can be torn out of the booklet.

Each night when you return to your cabin after dinner, the daily "On Location" will be in your cabin to plan the next day's activities.

[t60]

Thank you Krazy Kruisers.

 

I always bring my netbook along to write a diary, so I write the text as a word doc, then copy and paste for any emails etc. much more $ efficient

 

The TA told us there was only fixed time dining, 6.30 and 8.30pm no form of anytime dining, but looking through some of the peoples blogs, they have mentioned anytime style dining, do you know anything about dining times and how they work out with show times please? We opted for 8.30pm, but I´m beginning to think that might be too late

 

What are the libraries like, now people tend to use e-readers?

Sandy in Spain

[rafinmd]

I wonder how conversant your TA with HAL. Open seating not available sounded strange and I just tried a test booking on your cruise; Open seating was the default that came up for me. I did not get the option for late seating, so if you think you might want it I would hold onto it, but it sounds like you should ask your TA to put you on open seating or at least waitlist for it.

 

I think you'll enjoy the Zaandam. It's the only HAL ship I've sailed more than once (to be corrected in November).

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

I also just did a dummy booking for your cruise.

Open Seating and Early dining are available.

Open Seating is from 5:15 - 9 PM.

Early dining is 5:45 and Main dining is 8 PM. Sometimes HAL will change the dining times slightly -- but rarely does this.

From HAL's site -- listed for your cruise:

Dining Preferences

 

 

 

On Holland America Line Cruises, we invite you to dine "As You Wish®", to choose the venues, styles, and dining times that suit you for each meal.

 

Savor Italian cuisine one night and a perfectly grilled porterhouse steak the next. In the Main Dining Room you have the freedom to take your place at a specific seating time or be spontaneous, following your desires: one level of the Main Dining Room is reserved for open seating, with seatings at 5:45 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

 

Onboard, there are restaurants to suit every mood and style:

• Pinnacle Grill: for an evening of exceptional intimate dining, reservations only.
  
• Lido Restaurant: for quick casual dining, featuring bountiful food choices throughout the day.
  
• Canaletto: Indulge in a classic restaurant featuring regional Italian food in a relaxed setting.
  
• Slice: for a fresh piece of pizza poolside.
  
• Explorations Café: for fresh pastries and espresso.
  
• Terrace Grill: for a grilled burger or sandwich outside or an elegant afternoon tea.
  

And of course, you can enjoy In-Room Dining 24-hours a day.

 

Special dietary needs, such as vegetarian, diabetic or gluten-free meals, are easily accommodated with advance requests. Kosher meals and a Health Conscious Dining option are also available. To arrange special meals, please contact the Ship Services Department at 800-541-1576 at least 90 days prior to departure. As You Wish® dining is available on all ships and on all cruises.

 

 

The shows are usually at 8 and 10 but we have been on ships when the show times were 7 and 9.

 

[0bnxshs]

<SNIP>

 

What are the libraries like, now people tend to use e-readers?

Sandy in Spain

 

Sandy,

 

Welcome to HAL! You will find that the libraries aboard HAL ships are some of the best equipped anywhere. Lots of titles on the shelves, if you spend some time you'll even find books donated by authors who've cruised on the ship. There are a ton of reference books and a couple hundred (or more) fiction and non-fiction selections including fairly recent publications. They are easily on par with Princess libraries and, IMO, exceed them. Lots of puzzles and games as well. Also, you can check out DVD titles to play on your in-room DVD.

 

One thing to note, as you've sailed Princess enough to be Elite there, you will be recognized as a repeat HAL cruiser also. You might want to consider having lunch in the MDR on embarkation day rather than the Lido as most do. It's most often served from 12p to 1:30p. And you'll get a bonus of extra internet minutes if you buy a package on embarkation day (which is advertised in the old "Explorer" / new "On Location" distributed daily and is similar to the "Princess Patter") and all you need do is log in and choose a plan or see the internet manager (usually located in the library).

 

And yes, there is "anytime dining" available on HAL.

[8pawz]

Sandy,

 

In the past three years we have mainly sailed Princess and HAL so I have in my mind a few comparisons. When someone asks me to explain in one sentence the difference I reply that in the public restrooms Princess has paper towels while HAL has cloth towels. to me that explains it - HAL is just one step up in service/amenities. that being said, Princess I believe excels in daytime and evening entertainment and things to do though we have loved the HAL piano bar, computer/photography classes and cooking demonstrations. I don't see too much difference in food, maybe giving HAL a slight edge. We always book a mini suite on Princess and have booked SY suites on the Noordam and Eurodam but will be splurging on the Neptune suites for the Amsterdam and Volendam as they don't have the SY suites we like.

 

The bottom line is we make a decision between the two based on itinerary and ship. This February we are on the Island Princess for a full PC cruise as only Princess stops for the full day in Panama City. But, we are taking HAL on Alaska and Far East cruises.

 

If you like Princess I am sure you will like HAL.

 

Joan

[moviefan2010]

I think the food as much better on HAL but I have only been on one Princess cruise and will never go back since I thought the dining room food was OK at best.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Krazy Kruizers]

Besides being able to dine in the dining room on Embarkation day since you have sailed on Princess (there will be a * on your ID card) -- you should also be invited to the Mariner's brunch which is usually near the end of the cruise.

[Typhoon1]

Welcome to the HAL board. I think you'll find HAL very much to your liking.

[whogo]

Hi everyone, We´re Elite on Princess but have now deserted them and booked our first HAL cruise. (Zaandam for March 2014 Valparaiso to Buenos Aires) so we´re starting off as the lowest grade of passenger.

What differences between Princess and HAL will we notice eg quality of shows, food, drinks prices, internet access,costs etc.? We like dancing, are there opportunities for this, live bands etc. Are there dance classes, craft classes, choirs (nothing sporty or trivia/bingo)? What about port lectures, do they actually give information about the ports, how to go about getting round on your own, or are they just selling talks?

As we will be in South America, is the ship likely to bring on board specialist tango dancers?

Daily guides to what´s on around the ship? Port information leaflets?

Do people decorate their cabin doors onboard? We will be celebrating birthday and anniversary, will they give us balloons and a card on the door like Princess? Drinks packages, coffee cards...so many things we need to know

 

We don´t have any HAL brochures in the TAs in Spain

 

All information gratefully received

 

Sandy in Spain

I have not sailed Princess. As for HAL, unless things have changed:

 

There should be free Tai Chi classes offered a couple of times per day.

There should be lectures by a naturalist for a cruise around Cape Horn.

There should be a bridge lecturer and organized bridge games and non-hosted bridge games.

My last two longer cruises have featured port lecturers that talked about the areas visited without making shopping plugs.

Holland America has a more relaxed smoking policy. Smoking is allowed on balconies.

I have not seen art auctions recently.

To prevent the spread of disease, there is no self service food at the start of a cruise.

Food is good on HAL, but in the main dining room hot food is rarely hot, cold food is rarely cold.

There is no charge for fairly extensive room service. You may have main dining room menu items delivered during dining hours.

Princess probably has better entertainment. I regularly see empty dance floors on HAL. HAL has an early to bed reputation.

[RuthC]

I have not seen art auctions recently.

Oh, you just haven't been looking hard enough. ;) Art auctions are there. :mad:

[PathfinderEss]

I think Sandy, you will really enjoy sailing on the Zaandam. We were on her for three weeks this past spring, wonderful ship and wonderful crew.:)

[whogo]

Oh, you just haven't been looking hard enough. ;) Art auctions are there. :mad:

I have not cruised since last November. The Prinsendam had a small "art" gallery, but I do not remember their cluttering up the aisles and holding an auction. As long as they stay out of my way I wish the art auctions well and hope they subsidize my cruise fare.

[sail7seas]

Thank you Krazy Kruisers.

 

I always bring my netbook along to write a diary, so I write the text as a word doc, then copy and paste for any emails etc. much more $ efficient

 

The TA told us there was only fixed time dining, 6.30 and 8.30pm no form of anytime dining, but looking through some of the peoples blogs, they have mentioned anytime style dining, do you know anything about dining times and how they work out with show times please? We opted for 8.30pm, but I´m beginning to think that might be too late

 

What are the libraries like, now people tend to use e-readers?

Sandy in Spain

 

 

Hi Sandy,

Welcome. Happy you found us here on CC/HAL forum.

 

Your TA needs to update his/her information regarding dining.

 

What KrazyKruisers described above is correct.

We always have TraditionaL Main, Fixed dining at 8 P.M.

All HAL ships have two level MDR. The lower level is for flexible dining and the upper is for Traditional both early sitting and then main.

 

[0bnxshs]

I have not cruised since last November. The Prinsendam had a small "art" gallery, but I do not remember their cluttering up the aisles and holding an auction. As long as they stay out of my way I wish the art auctions well and hope they subsidize my cruise fare.

 

The biggest difference in art auctions between the 2 lines is that Princess handles them in-house while HAL does them through Park West. I don't remember if Prinsendam had auctions in May/June of this year when we were on board but the other HAL ships generally do.

[Appygirl]

Sandy, you're a Princess cruiser and for a first experience on HAL being on the Zaandam you could be disappointed. The thing to remember is its about the destination not the ship.

 

The entertainment on the Zaandam - evening singers, dancers, etc and the activities and lecturers - are probably the best in the HAL fleet. Things can change depending on the cruise director's choices but I was very impressed with the Zaandam's entertainment. Entertainment on Princess is very good, and I would say overall Princess entertainment is better than HAL. However we're talking the Zaandam, so pretty equal to what can be expected on Princess.

 

Cabins, depends on category, are usually a bit larger on HAL than Princess. Furniture in our Zaandam cabin had cigarette burns on it but the cabin was fine and we had excellent stewards. So pretty equal to Princess.

 

Food and food service staff. If it was another HAL ship I'd say HAL is better than Princess in this area. However the Zaandam is the worst I've encountered in the HAL fleet. The good news is recently people are giving good reviews to the food and food service on the Zaandam. Oddly enough people are complaining that the Noordam has gone downhill in this department so I'm wondering if they've swapped staff between these 2 ships! The Zaandam has the rudest maître d's I've encountered anywhere - land or sea. The Zaandam is the only cruise ship I've been on where passengers yelled and argued with the maître d's after having been antagonized by them. Its also the only ship I've been on where a woman cornered the dining room manager trying to make a getaway up the stairs and reamed him out very loudly for over 10 minutes over the crappy service and food. She probably went on longer but that was when we were seated and we couldn't hear her anymore. There were at least two times I was in the dining room at dinner that complimentary champagne was brought around to the passengers to make up for the bad service accompanied by the dining room manager and his apologies. Food was OK. There's been cutbacks to the service staff so its probably one waiter doing everything or maybe one assistant helping several servers. Poor guy can only be in one place at a time so the food might be sitting in the kitchen awhile before he can serve it to the table. Compare the Zaandam food and service to Princess and Princess wins. Compared against another HAL ship - I would say Princess loses. Food is subjective but overall I prefer HAL. HAL has a better room service menu than Princess. HAL has better breakfast choices and more juice choices than Princess.

 

If you enjoy the International Café on Princess you'll be disappointed that the Zaandam doesn't have anything like that. Also food service in the Lido Restaurant (buffet) closes at 8pm. It opens again around 10:30pm for an hour for appetizer items with a different theme each evening. If you're used to going up to the Horizon Court on Princess whenever you like and getting a bite to eat, you need to plan ahead on the Zaandam or take advantage of room service cause it won't be open again until breakfast.

 

Overall attitude of the food and beverage staff towards passengers was good, polite, what you'd expect. However you can tell there is something not right with this department. When not dealing with passengers, they crowded together in little groups chatting in their own language, very agitated and very unhappy. Clearly management problems and I can understand why. A pipe had burst outside the dining room and the hotel manager was standing there looking at it. So that makes everyone else look up to see what's going on. My husband asked what happened and the manager said it was scheduled maintenance. My husband, who's a contractor, said "you scheduled a leak?" All the passengers around us laughed. The manager glared at him and turned around and stomped off, looking over his shoulder and glaring the whole time. That got even more laughter. But if this is management attitude to the crew as well - that sure explains a lot. For a small ship the Zaandam is not well managed.

 

If you like smaller ships, you'll like the Zaandam. If anyone in your party is in a wheelchair or walker you won't like it so much.

 

Very close to call but if I had my choice of going on the Zaandam or any Princess ship, I'd probably take Princess.

 

Enjoy your cruise and remember its all about the destination.

[t60]

Thanks everyone for your insights. We wanted to sail with HAL and chose Zaandam for the itinerary, even though we have visited most of these ports before on Rio to San Fran cruise. We knew Zaandam was a smaller ship & rounding the Horn the wrong way may be a little choppy!

Libraries, we´ve noticed on recent princess cruises the number of non fiction books has diminished significantly as people now use Kindles etc

Entertainment. Having cruised so many times with Princess the shows don´t change that often and we´ve lost count of the number of times we´ve seen British Invasion. The lectures we´ve attended have been a bit hit and miss

Dining. I think you´re correct that out TA who we´re dealing with over the phone is not experienced with HAL, but because of all your infoemation we´ve only just realised that! Q Will we be able to change to open seating once on board or can we just use open seating on occasional evenings as we wish?

EliteOBNXSHS I was interested to see our previous cruises on Princess will be recognised (at least to a limited extent). The TA never mentioned this. Is it something that will be done automatically or do we need to contact HAL directly? Love lunch in the main dining room, on Princess the Horizon Court has always been like a zoo. Internet Package sounds good. Can you pick up a signal in the cabins? I was imaging I might be looking for free internet in all the ports!

Art auctions It will make a change to see different art work, we go to art auctios for the free ¨champagne¨

Whogo Like Tai Chi classes, only ever encountered them on board once before when they were very well attended

Now for the biggy SMOKING we are non smokers should we have booked a non smoking cabin? Where is smoking permitted on the ships, eg bars, casino, open decks etc?

If someone can give me info re taking wine on board I´d be grateful I´ve read about a new policy from january, while on other threads people have been talking about taking as much on as you want. On Princess it´s one ¨free¨bottle pp at embarkcation while anything else taken on is charged corkage, but implementation of this seems very hit an miss. We bought some lovely stuff when we were last in Chile

I´ll stop now. Thank you everyone for the information so far, I´ll try and persuade my OH to pick up a HAL book when he visits UK next month as he doesn´t like using my laptop

Enjoy your day

Sandy in Spain

[jtl513]

All HAL ships have two level MDR. The lower level is for flexible dining and the upper is for Traditional both early sitting and then main.

You forgot the Prinsendam again! :D But even there, with a single level, there are Open Seating dining tables.

 

Dining.Q Will we be able to change to open seating once on board or can we just use open seating on occasional evenings as we wish?

You can't just use Open Seating dining on occasional evenings. You're allowed a one-time switch from Fixed to Open or vice versa. Going from Fixed to Open is usually easy do once on board, and it's best to do it on embarkation day. There will be a table set up near the dining room where you can make the switch.

EliteOBNXSHS I was interested to see our previous cruises on Princess will be recognised (at least to a limited extent). The TA never mentioned this. Is it something that will be done automatically or do we need to contact HAL directly?

It should be automatic. When you fill out your OnLine CheckIn it should indicate that you are 1-star. If it doesn't, email the Mariner Society.

Internet Package sounds good. Can you pick up a signal in the cabins?

The strength varies depending on how close you are to a router or antenna. Sometimes if you have a weak signal opening the door a couple of inches helps.

Now for the biggy SMOKING we are non smokers should we have booked a non smoking cabin? Where is smoking permitted on the ships, eg bars, casino, open decks etc?

All HAL cabins are non-smoking inside, but smoking is still allowed on balconies. Smoking is permitted most of the time in the Casino (some nights may be designated as non) and there are limited smoking areas on outside decks.

If someone can give me info re taking wine on board I´d be grateful I´ve read about a new policy from january, while on other threads people have been talking about taking as much on as you want.

Until Jan 31 you may bring on as much wine as you like from every port. After that date you may bring one bottle per person, at embarkation only. None after that! Many of us are hoping HAL will relax their policy to be like Princess, with additional bottles allowed at stops with a corkage fee.