I love Holland America, but man, the carpets ....

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Let me start by saying I think the overall decor of the Holland America ships is very pretty, with lots of antiques and gallery quality art. That said the carpets are a mess - especially on the S&R Class and Vista Class ships. The original carpets were garish on a good day, but now there is such a hodgepodge of the original carpet designs mixed with new more modern carpet designs (which are mostly quite lovely) that it really brings the whole elegance of the ship down. I just watched a comprehensive walk through of the Zuiderdam from July and OYE - I have a headache .....

 

Why do they not come up with a more cohesive carpeting scheme for the hallways, stairwells, etc to help make the ship feel more cohesive? I know there is expense involved in replacing carpet, but it is relatively minor in relation.

 

Am I the only one who feels this way?

[cabinluvn]

I guess I am so thrilled to be on a HAL ship, I don't stress about the carpets

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jabcruiser]

I guess I am so thrilled to be on a HAL ship, I don't stress about the carpets

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Agree, haven't noticed the hodgepodge. But I do LOVE the "Day of Week" elevator carpets! Especially useful on longer cruises when you kind of lose track of time! Or day of week.

Jane

[CruiserBruce]

Carpet colors are not very high on our priority list when we are on a ship...

[AtlantaCruiser72]

My education was in commercial interior design, so I know I'm more attuned than most. Carpet colors/patterns don't affect my choice of cruise lines, or my enjoyment of a trip, but it is something I notice and scratch my head over. HAL is not alone in this - I'm sure I could find examples on every cruise line, but it seems HAL is more consistently inconsistent in this very, VERY minor area :o

[Krazy Kruizers]

I really don't pay much attention to the carpets.

[lvz2cruz]

We were at a hotel this past weekend that had crazy carpeting and I said it reminded me of a cruise ship.

It's one of those things like a muster drill that say "You're on a cruise".

[sail7seas]

For me, it is not a big deal. If I like the carpeting, fine, if I don't, for me itt is a big So

What !! :D

Edited October 5, 2016 by sail7seas

[navybankerteacher]

Not a big deal by any means - but on a number of ships I couldn't help fixating on one of the random shapes in their "standard" carpet which seemed to be repeated fleet-wide. Once it struck me as looking like a giraffe, I couldn't help noticing it everywhere on every ship. I look forward to checking out Westerdam in February (I suspect I may miss it if not there).

[OlsSalt]

You are not alone and I agree, it is a shame the carpets have not come up to the standards of so much else that HAL offers. But it does have to be a huge expense and parts of the ship get more wear than others so I suspect it ends up a patchwork effort to stay ahead of just normal wear and tear.

 

All I can say it has gotten better than on our first cruise on the Maasdam in 2009. That time we walked around the ship kind of chuckling about the truly mismatched remnants and the multiple directions the interior decor was taking in those day.

 

We loved the ship and we were new to cruising so we just took it in stride too - we don't cruise for carpet but given the chance why not pick more tasteful patterns and color combos?

 

We noted also those cute little Dutch tiles in the Maasdam showroom in 2009, which unfortunately had nothing to do with the color or design of the wall coverings nor the carpet - it was really a mishmash. Unfortunately the one charming signature element, those charming little tiles, were the first to go in a later make over.

 

Bilious was a term I would often use for carpet on the Vista ships - some almost created a sense of sea sickness when you looked at them.

 

However today, these random remnant, "fire sale" end of the lot choices of carpet. remind us of the many ways we get our value out of HAL because the operating expenses are not spent on high end decor, which may be foolhardy to keep up once you start.

 

Take a look at the new make-overs on some of the HAL ships on their website - which is promised to be eventually fleet wide, starting with the Eurodam and the Osterdam. Recent photos of the Westedam look pretty too. And from other reports it looked like the Noordam had its act together better right from the start. The Zuiderdam definitely needed a decor face lift just a few months ago -design and color wise.

 

Rotterdam, Zaandam and Volendam have been our favorites in the old school HAL decor variety. Amsterdam the least, which was a surprise since that is the 'flagship". Looks like we also might be in for a fresh makeover on the Veendam which I will find out in just a few more days.

 

So it appears HAL ships are starting to look far more competitive and reflect far better the level of quality of its other features that HAL has always consistently offered. Now the interior look of the ships is catching up to support the quality of the brand..

 

I would always caution new people to HAL that they would find the decor a bit dated, more like a visit to an old aunt's fusty, but comfortable county home.

Edited October 6, 2016 by OlsSalt

[3rdGenCunarder]

I am not trained in design, but I find it interesting. On our recent Zuiderdam cruise, I did notice that there were areas with new carpet (deck 1 atrium area, Lido) that seemed newer and at odds with the hallway carpets.

 

What I find most interesting on the Vistas is the number of variations in color using the same design. The hallway carpet that I think is supposed to look like ripples exists in shades of purple/orange, reds, blues, aquas, pinks, and more. I think they generated a design into which they could plug an endless array of colors. That's the advantage of CAD, variability. I believe each floor on Zuiderdam had a different carpet.

 

We were on 7 and it wasn't the ripple carpet. It was the other abstract design, which I suspect is the one in which navybankerteacher saw giraffes. Ours was dark blues and the "giraffes" were dark navy or black. It reminded me of something in a movie, and that drove me crazy until I figured it out. Remember in "Ghost" the black shapes that were the souls of bad people being torn from their bodies and sent to hell? That's what the black "giraffes" looked like to me. After that the carpet really creeped me out!!!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

While carpets definitely would not sway my choice of ship, or cause a cruise to be unenjoyable it was just something I was musing on as I watched a recent walk through tour of the Zuiderdam. The carpets featured heavily due to the way the videographer held the camera, and they had a real penchant for filming the hallways where the Mia-mosh of carpets is most obvious. Probably more so on film than in real life.

 

It seems I'm not the only one who has noticed this, but like everyone else all the great aspects of HAL far outweigh this "quirk"

[Dr. Cocktail]

While carpets definitely would not sway my choice of ship, or cause a cruise to be unenjoyable it was just something I was musing on as I watched a recent walk through tour of the Zuiderdam. The carpets featured heavily due to the way the videographer held the camera, and they had a real penchant for filming the hallways where the Mia-mosh of carpets is most obvious. Probably more so on film than in real life.

 

It seems I'm not the only one who has noticed this, but like everyone else all the great aspects of HAL far outweigh this "quirk"

 

I found your posts particularly amusing as each time I board a HAL ship, after about five minutes I shudder and turn to my partner. My statement is ALWAYS the same which is a slight misquote from the wonderful travel writer Bill Bryson: "it looks like someone ate a bowl of Skittles, threw up and had it lacquered into a pattern!"

[iancal]

Carpet color/design is at or near the bottom of our priorities, along with the color of the hull or the cruise line logo.

 

We only care if it is frayed, ripped, or dirty.

 

Just booked a SA cruise this afternoon. Selected the ship but we neglected to check on the ship's floor coverings.

Edited October 6, 2016 by iancal

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I found your posts particularly amusing as each time I board a HAL ship, after about five minutes I shudder and turn to my partner. My statement is ALWAYS the same which is a slight misquote from the wonderful travel writer Bill Bryson: "it looks like someone ate a bowl of Skittles, threw up and had it lacquered into a pattern!"

 

The only thing funnier than that quote was the fact that I was eating skittles as I read it and now my iPad screen looks like a HAL carpet pattern...

 

Thanks:p

 

P.S. - I was joking about the skittles and the screen but I did laugh so hard it scared my cat

Edited October 6, 2016 by AtlantaCruiser72

[Dr. Cocktail]

All the HAL loyalists can get as sniffy as they want, but after all of my cruises on basically every line, I think that I can weigh in with some authority on this matter!

 

It really costs no more to make it tasteful than it does to make it garish and ugly.

 

And yes ... the gross uglitude of some of the HAL design decisions over the year have affected my enjoyment of the product. My voice is still sore from having to yell over the red walls in the Nieuw Amsterdam's dining room .....

[3rdGenCunarder]

All the HAL loyalists can get as sniffy as they want, but after all of my cruises on basically every line, I think that I can weigh in with some authority on this matter!

 

It really costs no more to make it tasteful than it does to make it garish and ugly.

 

And yes ... the gross uglitude of some of the HAL design decisions over the year have affected my enjoyment of the product. My voice is still sore from having to yell over the red walls in the Nieuw Amsterdam's dining room .....

 

(bold is mine) What you say is true, they are garish. But every time we hit rough seas, it crosses my mind that the garish carpets do have the advantage of hiding stains. ;)

[Sillyjilly]

My education was in commercial interior design, so I know I'm more attuned than most. Carpet colors/patterns don't affect my choice of cruise lines, or my enjoyment of a trip, but it is something I notice and scratch my head over. HAL is not alone in this - I'm sure I could find examples on every cruise line, but it seems HAL is more consistently inconsistent in this very, VERY minor area :o

 

So funny that you brought this up. I can't even put a picture up on my wall right, so I would never notice unmatched carpet. However,

I have a similar problem from working in formal wear. I always want to run up to people and show them the proper way to wear their cummerbunds and studs. LOL

Edited October 6, 2016 by Sillyjilly

[BeagleOne]

Haha, I love "gross uglitude"!

 

I was on the Zuiderdam years ago and found the decor awful, not sure if it has changed since then. IDK why cruise ship carpets are so busy and garish, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were to hide stains.

[jmps]

If you are amused by HAL carpets take a Carnival cruise. The one we went on felt like we cruising on a cross between a Vegas casino and a brothel. The main themes were purple and urns of all sizes. We enjoyed the cruise it was a fun time but we still talk about that decor.

[Karennella]

Yes, I hated the carpet on the Konsingdam. It reminded me of a casino and I imagine the patterns are to hide wear and tear.

But carpet is very out of fashion here, which is a shame for us. We really prefer it upstairs in our house and when we get new carpet the place will still look dated. Funny thing was when we built our first house many years ago we put in a jarrah (West Australian hardwood) floor to save the cost of carpet. It ended up being the most valuable thing in the house.

[mame42]

My education was in commercial interior design, so I know I'm more attuned than most. Carpet colors/patterns don't affect my choice of cruise lines, or my enjoyment of a trip, but it is something I notice and scratch my head over. HAL is not alone in this - I'm sure I could find examples on every cruise line, but it seems HAL is more consistently inconsistent in this very, VERY minor area :o

 

I have a similar background, so I do notice; in fact, I often rearrange furniture in hotel rooms when I feel the balance is off. The secret is to enjoy just enough wine while onboard to blur the carpets!

[hunt182644]

I was going to reply to the snit:eek: some are having about carpet, but decided I have better things to do.:D:D:)

[Aquahound]

I agree...I think HAL has hideous carpets and some pretty awful interior designs. I love the artwork of HAL ships in the stairways, but that's about it. In fact, I had wondered if HAL's interiors were designed by Carnival's Joe Farcus. Probably not, but you get the point.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I was going to reply to the snit:eek: some are having about carpet, but decided I have better things to do.:D:D:)

 

And yet you did reply...

 

Nobody is having a snit or saying the carpets "ruined my cruise." But for those of us who are aware of design, it's interesting to wonder "what were they thinking?"