Changes since 2009?

[Vols4Cruising]

My DH and I have just booked our 10 year anniversary trip with HAL. It's been 5 years since we have been in HAL...or any cruise ship for that matter. I wondered if anyone could give us a quick run down of the major changes? We have this idealistic view of HAL and want it tobe the same as it was back in 2009, but know things have changed...for both the good and the bad. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[startwin]

My DH and I have just booked our 10 year anniversary trip with HAL. It's been 5 years since we have been in HAL...or any cruise ship for that matter. I wondered if anyone could give us a quick run down of the major changes? We have this idealistic view of HAL and want it tobe the same as it was back in 2009, but know things have changed...for both the good and the bad. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

You'll have a great time, regardless. No trays in the Lido is the biggest change I can think of, followed by serving staff cut-backs, and the fact that your server is responsible for individual glasses of wine, but the wine steward will take care of you if you order bottles. So it won't be quite the same but it will still be a great experience.:)

[sail7seas]

Menus have changed considerably and cabin stewards now work in teams. Two stewards clean together for all cabins.

 

Westerdam is a lovely ship.

We've had some good cruises on her.

Edited February 16, 2014 by sail7seas

[rafinmd]

Your cabin should be ready as soon as you board. You are allowed one free bottle at wine at embarkation, any others incur a corkage charge. I don't know if HAL had "Luggage Direct" in 2009, but for quite a modest fee you can leave your luggage outside your stateroom the last night of the cruise and not need to deal with it again until you get to your home airport.

 

I'm sure quite a few changes, keep an eye on this forum and ask questions to uncover the things we forget.

 

Roy

[NMLady]

My DH and I have just booked our 10 year anniversary trip with HAL. It's been 5 years since we have been in HAL...or any cruise ship for that matter. I wondered if anyone could give us a quick run down of the major changes? We have this idealistic view of HAL and want it tobe the same as it was back in 2009, but know things have changed...for both the good and the bad. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

No free welcome champagne. If you accept a drink you'll need to give your ship card to pay for it.

 

If you want an after dinner cup of Cappucino or espresso there is a charge for it.

 

I feel the quality and presentation of food has slipped but that is a subjective opinion.

 

The friendly service is as excellent as ever. You will have a wonderful time.

[oo7 Bond!]

Your cabin should be ready as soon as you board. You are allowed one free bottle at wine at embarkation, any others incur a corkage charge. I don't know if HAL had "Luggage Direct" in 2009, but for quite a modest fee you can leave your luggage outside your stateroom the last night of the cruise and not need to deal with it again until you get to your home airport.

 

I'm sure quite a few changes, keep an eye on this forum and ask questions to uncover the things we forget.

 

Roy

What a nice posting. Your glass must always be half full. I hope our cruise paths cross someday.

 

To the OP. Change is good.... Don't get discouraged with the negative comments and have a great cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

For the first 48 hours, the Lido will be in Code Orange -- you will not be allowed to touch anything -- not even glasses of water, cups of coffee, bread, etc. This is to help reduce the Noro virus coming onto the ship.

There is a Happy Hour on all days except Embarkation Day. It is usually from 4 - 5 PM in the Crow's Nest and the Ocean Bar (at least those were the hours when we were on the Westerdam). And there will be another in the Casino around 11 PM. You buy one drink and get the second one for $1 -- it must be the same drink -- nothing over $7 -- only house wines -- no premium alcohols.

HAL also has Beverage Cards -- even though you don't save anything on them, I find them convenient to use rather than my ID card. Using your ID card means that you have to keep all your receipts and them check them against your bill at the end of the cruise. Using the beverage card, after use, I just check my receipt and throw out the old receipt. They also take the 15% service charge off. These cards can be used to buy bottles of wine (not packages). And you can use them to buy bottles of water and coffees/teas in the Explorations Café.

There is a soda card -- you save a little money on it -- fountain drinks only -- about 6 ounces per drink.

HAL has also started a "Star" Mariner program. I don't how many days you have on HAL -- but you may want to read about the star program on HAL's site.

Dining room Coffee

Cappuccino - $1.75

Coffee Latte - $1.75

Espresso -- $1.25

Extra Shot - $0.50

I think it was in 2010 was when a new Breakfast menu was introduced in the main dining room -- very nice.

The Pinnacle Grill just introduced a new menu and its price is now $29 per person.

One evening in the Pinnacle Grill there will be a Le Cirque dinner -- limited menu and price has been raised to $49.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The wine policy has also changed recently.

You are permitted to bring on 1 bottle of wine -- 750 ml -- per person in the cabin for each person over the age of 21.

If you bring on extra bottles - you have to pay a corkage fee of $18 per bottle. This charge will be done upon Embarkation.

All bottles of wine must be brought onto the ship with your carry-on luggage.

[GmaPajama]

Hey, Zak and Laura! I'm so glad to know you're cruising again. I'll never forget how much fun you two were at the game shows on the Maasdam. Every time you won one, we all went wild! HAL has not changed so much that you won't feel at home again.

 

Can you believe it ... we're missing you by just one week! So sad!

[POA1]

There is a new B. B. King Blues club on the Vista and Signature class ships. There is a new set of concept bars called Mix on the smaller ships.

The cheese selection in the dining room is much improved.

 

Some of the activities have been updated. The Pinnacle Grill menu has been modernized somewhat.

[CowPrincess]

Shampoo, shower gel and conditioner are now in dispensers mounted on the shower wall. Still Elemis.

 

No longer have "wine cards".

 

There have been some reports that the pillow chocolates have changed.

 

We've been on a couple of ships that offer "Asian Station" in the Lido at lunch. Worth checking out IMHO.

[GmaPajama]

Yes, the pillow chocolates have definitely changed. Plain gold squares, about 1 inch square by 1/8th inch thick. I struggled to find the chocolate flavor, and ended up tossing most of them. It's a BIG deal when I toss chocolate!

[billbunger]

Menus have changed considerably and cabin stewards now work in teams. Two stewards clean together for all cabins.

 

We just got off of the Eurodam this morning, we only had one steward, when asked if he had a partner the reply was no. He then went on to explain that there are a number of single steward cabins on the Eurodam.

[RuthC]

We just got off of the Eurodam this morning, we only had one steward, when asked if he had a partner the reply was no. He then went on to explain that there are a number of single steward cabins on the Eurodam.

For every rule, there's one or two exceptions---including this one. ;)

[Mekka]

Welcome back to HAL and I hope you have a wonderful cruise. Unfortunately, you may find that there have been many changes since your last cruise and that most of them are for the worse. The responses to your question thus far seem to sugar coat what's happening at HAL (and all mass market cruise lines). The last five years have seen unprecedented cost cutting and the predictable impact on quality.

 

The one big positive change is price. You may have paid a lot more for your cruises in the past. You can get some very low cost cruises today. This has opened the market to literally millions of new cruisers (15 million+ per year).

 

But you get what you pay for and some of your memories of HAL may not be realistic any more. HAL used to be a premium cruise line. They have consistently cut their service and quality during the last five years in order to remain competitive on price. For example, a Hotel Manager recently told me that his food budget per day is exactly the same as it was five years ago, but that food prices have risen tremendously over that same period. Year by year, they keep cutting back on the quality of the food they purchase and it really shows. I have cruised consistently on HAL for the last 5 years and the changes may seem more gradual to people like me who cruise frequently. The cumulative impact of five years of cuts could be jarring to you.

 

The same thing is happening to service. HAL still has the same wonderful, friendly and hard working crew. But they are being asked to do much more now. They clean more rooms, wait on more tables and are always in a hurry. We used to love chatting with the crew and seeing pictures of their families. It still happens, but not so often. They are stressed out and really busy. They do their best, but service can be slow. I never blame them personally. They are working in a system that has no slack time for idle chatting. Your room will still get cleaned and your food will show up eventually, but it's not like it was 5 years ago.

 

Your attitude and expectations will play the biggest role in determining how much fun you have. Keep an open mind and "glass half full" attitude and you'll still find HAL to be a good experience. It's just not the same experience you might remember.

[TeamBozo]

HAL has gone downhill rapidly in the last 5 years. It's hardly recognizable anymore. Selling off the small ships and replacing them with big ones will only make it worse. My advice to the OP is to not get your hopes up too much.

[Mekka]

I'm not sure I would go that far, but it certainly helps to have realistic expectations. HAL has evolved from a premium and somewhat luxurious brand to just another mass market line. The main difference is that their ships are smaller and old. The passengers aren't particularly young either.

[elycelynne]

This isn't a really big deal, but if you ever played trivia or any other activities where you were awarded prizes, the "prizes" have gotten really cheap.

 

My first HAL cruise was in 2009 (after the discontinuation of "DAM Dollars", so I never got in on those prizes), but even then they would still give away nice things like umbrellas, travel mugs, caps, etc. Fast forward to present day -- If you win trivia? You get generic HAL pins. The team I was on was lucky enough to win on a day when they upgraded to a deck of HAL playing cards. Ooohhhh!!! They used to give bottles of champagne (okay, I know it's not Dom Perrignon, but even so) each night to the winners of pub trivia. I don't know what the prize was this time, but it really was only a one-time thing because only the cumulative winners got a prize.

 

I guess this is just another symptom of cost-cutting in order to stay within the same budget that's been in place for a few years.