Have we made a big mistake?

[serendipity1499]

We last sailed on the Noordam in Nov. 2012 & had a wonderful cruise.. She is a lovely ship! :):):):)

[PatLuv]

we've booked our first HAL cruise in March,and it feels right.I've read some negative reviews on the Eurodam,but as I work in the service industry,I know you can't please everyone.I like what I see.I enjoy the posts here on the forum.I'd give it a try,whats to lose?!;)

[Rutheth]

We were on the Noordam for 22 nights in July/August. We had a great time. The Noordam was lovely. Great promenade, great service, quietish sun bathing areas. Food was lovely but not as much choice as I would have liked but this was probably just my taste!

 

I really like Celebrity and my husband likes HAL. We often discuss the differences! It is not as modern as the newer Soltice ships but still a great ship.

 

I hope you have a great time.

 

 

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[Hlitner]

Before our most recent Princess Cruise (we have been Elite on that line for many years) we would have rated HAL below Celebrity and above Princess in most categories. But comparing our latest Ruby Princess to our last few HAL cruises (we are 4 Star Mariners) we now rate HAL below Celebrity, Princess, and many other cruise lines. Just spent an hour today reading lots of recent HAL cruise reviews (here on CC) hoping that our HAL impression (of a huge downslide in many categories) was wrong. But a majority of the reviews only further confirmed our own experience of a pretty awful Lido (quality and service) and so-so MDR. Quite a few reviewers also mentioned the "beat up" condition of various things on their ships (this is also our own experience) which is troubling. We sometimes get the feeling that HAL has redefined the term of "deferred maintenance" although we hope this is not true. Will be on another HAL cruise (38 days) at the end of this month and we shall have to decide if there will be anymore HAL cruises in our near future.

 

Hank

[kazu]

Before our most recent Princess Cruise (we have been Elite on that line for many years) we would have rated HAL below Celebrity and above Princess in most categories. But comparing our latest Ruby Princess to our last few HAL cruises (we are 4 Star Mariners) we now rate HAL below Celebrity, Princess, and many other cruise lines. Just spent an hour today reading lots of recent HAL cruise reviews (here on CC) hoping that our HAL impression (of a huge downslide in many categories) was wrong. But a majority of the reviews only further confirmed our own experience of a pretty awful Lido (quality and service) and so-so MDR. Quite a few reviewers also mentioned the "beat up" condition of various things on their ships (this is also our own experience) which is troubling. We sometimes get the feeling that HAL has redefined the term of "deferred maintenance" although we hope this is not true. Will be on another HAL cruise (38 days) at the end of this month and we shall have to decide if there will be anymore HAL cruises in our near future.

 

Hank

 

which ship are you sailing on Hank, if you don't mind me asking?

[may1021]

Have been on the Noordam and love it. Sailed on Celebrity 2 years ago because of itinerary. Liked Celebrity but like HAL better. No such thing as a bad cruise though. You will enjoy HAL. Last year we did Nieuw Amsterdam and we had the Dancing with the Stars people with us for 2 weeks. Best entertainment I have ever seen on a cruise ship...very fun! Have a good time.

[Viesczy]

You're going to have a GRAND time on the Noordam, don't worry!

 

Most negative reviews are more about folks running their yaps and not them having legitimate complaints.

 

The "there should've been more taupe" and "I wanted my lobster tail on it is side" whines are just irritating to NO END. 99% of the negative reviews are posted by people whose sole purpose in life is getting as much attention as possible (due to their massive inferiority complex). They are the kind of people that when you ask them about X, they don't talk about X but rather they talk about themselves with X as only the backdrop.

 

Example, how was "the zoo"? Their answer, "I was so hot/cold/bored/excited... I was... I was... I was..." Every answer to any question posed to them has the copious use of "I".

 

Derek

[iflyrc5]

We have been on the Noordam several times - great ship and great crew - enjoy.

[hillsprint]

Ultimately, I think if you go to any board on this forum, you'll find folk saying things have gone down, it's not as good as it used to be, etc, etc. The celebrity forum is just the same.

 

There are glass half empty folk and glass half full folk, it's the same the world over.

 

I'm looking forward to my Noordam cruise, if you go looking for problems, then you'll find them and if you go looking for a good time, then you'll find that too.

 

So go looking for reasons to cruise with HAL and not for reasons not to, and you'll not be disappointed.

Edited September 8, 2014 by hillsprint

[Hlitner]

which ship are you sailing on Hank, if you don't mind me asking?

 

The next cruise is on the Oosterdam (our first time on that particular vessel). The prior three were on the Westerdam and Veendam. Our favorite HAL ship still remains the "ole rust bucket" Prinsendam :)

 

Hank

[happygran]

You're all right..........you're either half full or half empty types.........

 

We're certainly half full!! We've had some land based holidays in dire hotels but have always had a blast.........and enjoyed ourselves. If you sit around moaning about every little thing...........then you don't enjoy yourselves. You make the most of it. You can always find things to enjoy. We had a dire hotel in Malta but went around the island on the local buses for a couple of dollars plus we found a bar serving a double scotch for 25c.......

 

Cruises? Some lines we wouldn't choose to go back on but enjoyed those holidays nevertheless..........

 

As I said, we're looking forward to HAL.

[Hlitner]

You're all right..........you're either half full or half empty types.........

 

We're certainly half full!! We've had some land based holidays in dire hotels but have always had a blast.........and enjoyed ourselves. If you sit around moaning about every little thing...........then you don't enjoy yourselves. You make the most of it. You can always find things to enjoy. We had a dire hotel in Malta but went around the island on the local buses for a couple of dollars plus we found a bar serving a double scotch for 25c.......

 

Cruises? Some lines we wouldn't choose to go back on but enjoyed those holidays nevertheless..........

 

As I said, we're looking forward to HAL.

 

If HAL served a double single malt scotch for 25 cents we would call them the best cruise line in the world :)

 

Hank

[Tante Amalie]

I wouldn't go so far as to say you've made a mistake, but I would recommend that you lower your expectations. The last few cruises we've had on Vista ships (including Noordam) have been pretty disappointing. HAL is obviously cutting way back on quality and service across the board, but for some reason it seems worse on the Vistas.

 

How you feel about the cruise probably depends mostly on your attitude and expectations. I recommend that you expect the worst and hope for the best. Hopefully you got a good deal on the price-- that's the only reason I can see to cruise on HAL these days. They do have some incredible bargain basement prices. Unfortunately, that's probably why the quality has gotten so bad.

 

Good Luck. I hope it goes OK for you and that you have fun.

[Candiaccruiser]

We spent three weeks on the Noordam earlier this year, our third cruise on this ship, and had a wonderful time. She is a beautiful ship and you will have a great cruise. Enjoy!

 

 

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