New to HAL...need help!

[vapple]

We have been cruising on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for many years. We love Celebrity! We are planning a cruise to the Caribbean to celebrate a significant birthday...just to "veg out" and have a good time. The only ships available for our time are all HAL ships...the Westerdam in particular. Does anyone out there have any suggestions or advice...or warnings about this ship...food, amenities, cabin suggestions (we usually take a balcony).

 

Appreciate all your help.:)

[Shmoo here]

We have been cruising on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for many years. We love Celebrity! We are planning a cruise to the Caribbean to celebrate a significant birthday...just to "veg out" and have a good time. The only ships available for our time are all HAL ships...the Westerdam in particular. Does anyone out there have any suggestions or advice...or warnings about this ship...food, amenities, cabin suggestions (we usually take a balcony).

 

Appreciate all your help.:)

 

Haven't been on the Westerdam, but have been on her sister ship (Zuiderdam), as well as a couple of other HAL ships.

 

We enjoyed all our HAL cruises. We did have a verandah (VB) on the Zuidy, but oceanview on the others. Our most recent HAL cruise had the best food on a HAL cruise we've had thus far.

 

You should come on over to the HAL forum and ask questions there:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have quite a few days on the Westerdam. She is a lovely ship.

We have never had any problems on her. There are all types of balcony and verandah cabins. It all depends on what you want to spend for a cabin.

This is the only HAL ship that has the Chocolate Seduction. Forget about it -- expensive for the Bon Bons and other chocolates. They can only make a few chocolate non-alcoholic drinks and I think it is 3 chocolate alcoholic drinks. Can't even make a chocolate martini.

[cruisead]

HAL has a more liberal smoking policy, allowing smoking on balconies and in the casino and one sports bar. We found that the smoke from those two indoor places does tend to drift into other areas nearby.

 

We didn't care for our most recent Eurodam cruise as we didn't like the smoking policy, the dark, and very narrow corridors on the public decks (not cabin decks) and just the general layout of the ship. We didn't find the food to be particularly good when compared to Celebrity, especially the alternate restaurants (Tamarind is excellent, though). Air conditioning in the cabins were also a problem. In all the cabins our family booked, not one had good air conditioning, despite our complaints to both the concierge and guest services.

Edited September 6, 2014 by cruisead

[vapple]

Thanks for your input...very helpful.

[OVgirl]

HAL has a more liberal smoking policy, allowing smoking on balconies and in the casino and one sports bar. We found that the smoke from those two indoor places does tend to drift into other areas nearby.

 

We didn't care for our most recent Eurodam cruise as we didn't like the smoking policy, the dark, and very narrow corridors on the public decks (not cabin decks) and just the general layout of the ship. We didn't find the food to be particularly good when compared to Celebrity, especially the alternate restaurants (Tamarind is excellent, though). Air conditioning in the cabins were also a problem. In all the cabins our family booked, not one had good air conditioning, despite our complaints to both the concierge and guest services.

 

Hal does allow smoking on balconies, but the only indoor smoking area is the casino, and then only if you are playing.

 

There is usually one outdoor smoking area on one side of the aft Lido deck.

 

The layout and design is not as glitzy as some of the other cruiselines. It tends to be more along the traditional lines.

 

We have enjoyed all our cruises with Holland America as well as a couple with Celebrity. We have found them to be very similar and would booked either one again.

[cruiseapril]

We enjoy HAL and have been on the Westerdam. Very good cruise to Half Moon Cay, Aruba, and Curacao.

[kebhouse]

I guess it might depend on your age too. We enjoyed our HAL cruise but we were the only people under 40. We had friends which made it easier but the age difference was very notable. Even the piano man went on and on about how he never got to play for younger people. We were on a group cruise so it wasn't our choice.

 

That said, we rented a pool side cabana one say that was just heavenly and none of the other ships we have taken have had that option. Again, we enjoyed it but would probably not do another HAL anytime soon.

 

 

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[cruiseapril]

We like the relaxing atmosphere on HAL. Also, the food is quite good. And we have always had plenty to do-for sure.

[hospvol]

We are over 70 and were amazed at the people that were sleeping everywhere even in the computer lounge! This was on the Noordam. :eek:

[subtchr]

We usually cruise Royal, with one on Celebrity, and both of those fit our style well.

 

I cruised on HAL last January on the Nieuw Amsterdam, but it was not a typical cruise, so I can't really comment on the usual clientele. It was a Legendary Rhythm & Blues cruise, a full charter, so the atmosphere was VERY different from a typical vacation!

 

I had an absolute blast, and there were things I noticed about HAL that had nothing to do with the type of cruise, some good and some bad.

 

I did not like the decor nearly as well as on Royal or X. Nothing TOO gaudy, and some art deco touches I liked, but man, there was a lot of RED in the dining room!

 

As for food, we ate in the MDR once and weren't impressed, and ate our other dinners in the buffet. This wasn't because the food was fantastic (although it was perfectly fine), but because we didn't want to spend time being served when we could be listening to music, and rubbing elbows and chatting with the musicians in the buffet line! I did not like the setup of the buffet, with long rows of counters instead of the "islands" on Royal and X.

 

Two venues we did absolutely love (and I'm not sure whether they have these on the ship you are considering) were the grill/snack bar by the pool -- grilled salmon burgers to die for! -- and the spa, specifically the thermal suite and hydro pool. We got the week long pass, and it was the best decision we ever made. Oh, my...the huge hydro pool soaked every care away, and the thermal suite was a perfect spot to completely relax.

 

We had a balcony cabin, and overall I thought the cabin was better than Royal or X. There was a bathtub even though it was just a standard balcony, and the storage was amazing, including a large drawer under the foot of each bed. So smart!

 

Have a great cruise whatever you decide!

[vapple]

Thanks to all who replied. We will take all your comments to heart. Any hints on things to do, places not to miss on a HAL ship..esp. the Westerdam? Overcrowding an issue at all? Which specialty restaurants are really good? Long waits for anything? We are seasoned cruisers...just never on a HAL ship. Looking forward to a wonderful cruise.

 

Thanks again in advance! :)

[momofmeg]

We like the relaxing atmosphere on HAL. Also, the food is quite good. And we have always had plenty to do-for sure.

 

My only gripe was too many smokers once Celebrity went stricter on their smoking policy which sent former smoking Celebrity loyalists to HAL. Because of their lenient smoking policy when most other lines had gone stricter; I have not cruised HAL in almost 5 years. I understand though in 2015 HAL has a similar policy, no balcony smoking. Otherwise the 2 lines are very similar. I feel if the OP likes Celebrity, they will like HAL.

[OVgirl]

Thanks to all who replied. We will take all your comments to heart. Any hints on things to do, places not to miss on a HAL ship..esp. the Westerdam? Overcrowding an issue at all? Which specialty restaurants are really good? Long waits for anything? We are seasoned cruisers...just never on a HAL ship. Looking forward to a wonderful cruise.

 

Thanks again in advance! :)

 

We enjoy having dinner at the Pinnacle Grill for both service and menu selection.

 

Check the dates carefully, because some of the Westerdam cruises are including the Explore4 promo, which includes a Pinnacle Grill dinner and also the Signature Beverage Package.

[woldridge]

We were on the Westerdam a year ago in April for a cruise to the South Pacific, followed by an Alaska cruise (42 days). While we are Celebrity fans, here are some of the highlights of the cruise:

 

1. Much better alternative dining for dinner in the lido when you do not want to dress for the dining room. They have almost everything that is on the dining room menu for that night, including most of the appetizers. While it is still buffet style, the tables are set with tablecloths and the e is great wine service.

2. Excellent bread pudding served daily in the lido.

3. We had a guaranteed balcony cabin and ended up with an aft cabin. It was very spacious and had a huge balcony. However, the balcony furniture was badly in need of refinishing and the padded loungers needed to be replaced. Room also had a bathtub - big bonus. I think a lot of their rooms have bathtubs.

4. Did not care for the Pinnacle restaurant - it was more a service issue than a food issue. Loved the Italian alternative restaurant that is set up nightly in one area of the Lido. I know the menu has changed since we were there, but the service and food was fantastic.

5. In a couple areas, usually the Crows nest and one other lounge, they have 2for 1 drinks from 5-6 or maybe 4-5. This was a great money saver, and they also served hot snacks and crispy crunchies!

6. Drinks are less expensive on HAL than Celebrity.

 

Other:

1. The specialty coffee place (Explorations Café) and the library are both located in the Crows nest...seemed like a strange place to me. The view from the Crows nest is wonderful, but on the Alaska portion of our cruise, it got quite crowded up there.

2. Entertainment was awful. It may have been due to the part of the world we were in, but of the movie "ARGO" was shown 3 times in the main theater as the only entertainment for the night. I still have not seen the movie, if that tells you anything.;) Also, they were doing a fleet-wide, year-long Dancing With the Stars thing where passengers competed, one won from each cruise and then they had an opportunity to compete on another cruise (I am sure at their own expense) to win a free cruise. Anyway, that also was the whole entertainment for one night - twice as we did 2 cruises. Every entertainer, including all lounge entertainers did a main stage show, one per each group. The dancers only did 3 shows in 35 days. They were bored out of their minds, but told us they were paid to only do those three shows and help with a few other things, like Dancing With the Stars.

 

Those are the main things that I can think of. We like HAL and would sail on her again. We are Elite + on Celebrity, but have been on enough HAL cruises to be 3 star.

 

Barb

[vapple]

Thanks, Barb. Great hints, comments and suggestions.

[vapple]

Thanks. Will look into the Explore4 Promo...sounds promising. Already aware of the Signature drink package.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Westerdam has the Pinnacle Grill -- $29 per person. We have eaten there quite a few times and only a couple of times we have had bad service and/or bad food.

The other specialty restaurant is the Canaletto -- Italian -- $10 per person. We do not care for the new menu.

The Lido also serves dinner and many of the items there are the same ones served in the main dining room.

You can also order room service for dinner from the main dining room menu. You do have to call within 1/2 to 1 hour of the dining room opening to place your order for whatever time you want it delivered to your cabin.

[cruiseapril]

We enjoy the breakfasts in the Lido- especially the Belgian waffles.

 

In our opinion, HAL has very good buffets.

[momofmeg]

We enjoy the breakfasts in the Lido- especially the Belgian waffles.

 

In our opinion, HAL has very good buffets.

 

I think Celebrity's are slightly better but yes they are good.