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

[innlady1]

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?

 

 

Not at all! We have 273 days on HAL...with more coming up...but the one thing I detest are the carpets! So out of character and so very ugly. I don't know what the designers were thinking.

[Caribbean Chris]

I am planning to cruise in February, 2017 on the Zuiderdam, but a lot of reviews are saying the ship is old and in need of updating. However, a lot these reviews are not very recent. I have been on many cruises (Crystal, Cunard, Hal, RCCL, etc.) I sailed this itinerary with HAL many years ago. Any recent thoughts?

 

We were on board in April on the last Canal/Caribbean cruise before she headed to Europe, I believe. There were workmen on board doing quite a lot of exterior work on the lower promenade deck (which made some folks unhappy), and we saw many corridor carpet replacements underway on port days.

 

I had also seen some negative reviews beforehand but thought the ship looked very good. I have only sailed about five of the HAL ships but I've always thought the carpet looks perfectly nice. I tend to notice these since my niece is the vice president of commercial design for a major floor covering manufacturer.

 

The only floor photo I could find from that trip was taken in the Explorer's Lounge just before we disembarked. (Partially covered by Raylene, but I thought it was quite a nice pattern.)

 

[Caribbean Chris]

Just realized after posting that there are probably people murmuring, "what is SHE thinking!" too. :eek:

 

We all do have different taste. :)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Just realized after posting that there are probably people murmuring, "what is SHE thinking!" too. :eek:

 

We all do have different taste. :)

 

I was thinking what a pretty dog that Raylene is:) She perks up the carpet:)

 

I never thought to pay much attention to the carpet on HAL' s ships. It's designed to be (almost) indestructible, and to hide dirt, and that it does means the designers have achieved their purpose:)

[alwaysfrantic]

The carpet bothers me less than the wall panels in the corridors where the staterooms are. I feel like I'm trapped in a grandmother's living room....don't even know how to describe. The look of old wallpaper. I have said depressing a couple of times here. This is just my take on the stateroom corridors, not the rest of the ship.

[avian777]

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

 

Right on - we also LOVE the "Day-of-the-Week" elevator rugs and recall a few years back when HAL discontinued them for a short time, until (apparently) the outcry from disappointed passengers grew so loud that it could not be ignored. So as long as HAL continues the Day-of-the-Week calendar rugs, I will remain wildly indifferent as to the rest of the floor coverings on HAL ships ...

Smooth sailing ...

[blizzardboy]

Three pages on carpets might be a measure of how bored people are out there in CC land. My advice, wear sunglasses if they bother you.

[VennDiagram]

Raylene is beautiful!

[JimAOk1945]

We were on our first HAL cruise in August. We were on the Maasdam. I didn't notice the carpeting but my wife did. But it is a minor issue and it will all probably be replaced at some point.

Edited October 11, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[SeagoingMom]

I venture to say that HAL is not unique in the "ugly-carpet" universe. Have you seen pix showing the carpets on Norwegian (NCL) ships? Really scarily hideous, most of them...eye-poppingly bright colors, mind-bogglingly crazy patterns, and all different in every area of the ship, based on what I have seen in online pix. Seriously off-putting.

 

Some NCL fans find these carpets "happy and cheerful." :eek:

Edited October 11, 2016 by SeagoingMom

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I venture to say that HAL is not unique in the "ugly-carpet" universe. Have you seen pix showing the carpets on Norwegian (NCL) ships? Really scarily hideous, most of them...eye-poppingly bright colors, mind-bogglingly crazy patterns, and all different in every area of the ship, based on what I have seen in online pix. Seriously off-putting.

 

Some NCL fans find these carpets "happy and cheerful." :eek:

 

Yes, the carpets on the Gem class were particularly garish, however as each ship goes in for drydock ALL the carpets are being replaced with newer, softer, more contemporary designs that are quite lovely - the Gem and Dawn are two prime examples.

 

HAL is doing the same, however they are only replacing the carpets piecemeal so it makes it more obvious between the old and new. When the Vista class was launched the carpets, while garish, had at least a consistency in design language. Now you find a crazy quilt melee of original, patched bits of new modern designs and sometimes even infill of older carpets that don't make any sense together.

 

Again, not a deal breaker, but it can have the subtle effect of making you think corners are being cut in this area.

[UPNYGuy]

Yes, the carpets on the Gem class were particularly garish, however as each ship goes in for drydock ALL the carpets are being replaced with newer, softer, more contemporary designs that are quite lovely - the Gem and Dawn are two prime examples.

 

 

 

HAL is doing the same, however they are only replacing the carpets piecemeal so it makes it more obvious between the old and new. When the Vista class was launched the carpets, while garish, had at least a consistency in design language. Now you find a crazy quilt melee of original, patched bits of new modern designs and sometimes even infill of older carpets that don't make any sense together.

 

 

 

Again, not a deal breaker, but it can have the subtle effect of making you think corners are being cut in this area.

 

 

The NCL Jewel class ships are being dry docked to remove the garish carpets. The Gem was already done last year, as was Dawn (Dawn class). The NCL ships once dry docked are far from garish IMHO. Before...that is a different story LOL. We had an awesome cruise on Jewel, but the interior decor was NOT to my taste. YMMV however. I am currently on Gem and find her looking fantastic.

 

 

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