HAL versus Carnival

[Woodfaerie]

I will be sailing on my first HAL cruise this December (ms Nieuw Amsterdam) and can already see with the postings that things will be very different than my Carnival experiences. It sounds much more mellow. I love the outside theater on Carnival but it sounds like HAL does not have such a thing. Thats fine! ocean breezes and that delicious sound of humming engines will do it for me. I look forward to seeing how a ship from the other side of the tracks sails!

[avian777]

... I normally cruise Carnival and Norwegian a couple of times. What type of differences can I expect to find between these lines and HAL?

...

 

 

There are many differences (service, price, food quality, entertainment, cabin size, etc., etc., etc.) between Carnival and Norwegian on the one hand and HAL on the other, but IMHO there is only one significant difference between them - only HAL has a Roman Catholic priest (who celebrates daily Mass) on board every one of its cruises. Since spiritual renewal is an important component of our vacation experience, HAL is our hands-down choice. YMMV

[Woodfaerie]

I asked my DH the question, "What is the difference between HAL and Carnival?". He jokingly shot an answer back: "About $4,000". I got a good laugh for the day on that one.

 

Too funny! I agree with your hubby. For the category of cruisers such as myself that would rather cruise more often but on a shoe string budget,well Carnival has allowed me that. They have always had the more affordable rate which is a must for me.

 

I will be on the ms Nieuw Amsterdam due to a good rate at a time of the year I have never cruised before. I look forward to this new experience! (I start to detox about a week after each cruise, not a pretty sight.)

[winddawn]

Interestingly, one of the reasons why we chose HAL over Carnival for our cruise to Alaska was because HAL was considerably cheaper and the itinerary was better. Part of it had to do with the fact that they were offering a kids sail free promo, so our 2 kids only paid taxes. And even though the initial price was already lower than Carnival, as our sailing approached, we took advantage of several price drops, a complimentary upgrade, and boarded the ship with OBC in our account! [emoji3]

 

 

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Good point, Tapi. In my experience, HAL is more generous with their upgrades as sail date approaches. I've only sailed HAL 3 times, but each time, I was offered a free or very reasonable upgrade. That's pretty rare on Carnival. One other difference I appreciate is HAL offers hot food for room service where Carnival does not. One other difference I noticed is HAL's in-cabin liquor by the bottle is considerably cheaper on HAL than it is on Carnival.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Good point, Tapi. In my experience, HAL is more generous with their upgrades as sail date approaches. I've only sailed HAL 3 times, but each time, I was offered a free or very reasonable upgrade. That's pretty rare on Carnival. One other difference I appreciate is HAL offers hot food for room service where Carnival does not. One other difference I noticed is HAL's in-cabin liquor by the bottle is considerably cheaper on HAL than it is on Carnival.

 

Bolding is mine.

You are correct, I find HAL's liquor by the bottle for the stateroom very reasonable compared to other lines I have researched. Wine prices, not so much. But then again, wine seems to have a high markup no matter what line you are on, not just HAL.

[*Miss G*]

I will be sailing on my first HAL cruise this December (ms Nieuw Amsterdam) and can already see with the postings that things will be very different than my Carnival experiences. It sounds much more mellow. I love the outside theater on Carnival but it sounds like HAL does not have such a thing. Thats fine! ocean breezes and that delicious sound of humming engines will do it for me. I look forward to seeing how a ship from the other side of the tracks sails!

 

There is an outside theatre on the Koningsdam. :)

[3rdGenCunarder]

There is an outside theatre on the Koningsdam. :)

 

And the nice thing is they can close the roof in bad weather, so you can still watch the movie.

[iancal]

We could care less about having a Roman Catholic Priest, or any other faith leader for that matter, on our cruise.

 

Not even number 1000 on the one thousand things that we want on a cruise.

[Tapi]

We could care less about having a Roman Catholic Priest, or any other faith leader for that matter, on our cruise.

 

 

 

Not even number 1000 on the one thousand things that we want on a cruise.

 

 

It all boils down to giving passengers choices. Even though you personally don’t care for any type of religious services, based on the full room attendance that I witnessed every time I walked by, there are a lot of fellow passengers that do care. Thankfully Holland America has thought of, not only these passengers, but about the many Catholic crewmembers that they employ (HAL employs heavily from the Philippines which is predominantly Catholic). That’s truly the real reason why HAL employs a resident priest in all of their ships. There’s something to be said about an employer who cares enough about their employees to do this.

 

I “couldn’t care” less for the casino or culinary center on HAL ships. but I personally wouldn’t frown upon their practices if they offer these choices to those passengers who do care for them. Some will attend the casino while others will attend mass. Some will attend both or neither. Once again, it all boils down to choices. [emoji3]

 

 

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[Dreams42Day]

I asked my DH the question, "What is the difference between HAL and Carnival?". He jokingly shot an answer back: "About $4,000". I got a good laugh for the day on that one.

 

 

:'):')

[Underwatr]

On HAL, there are far fewer children and young adults. The HAL crowd is older.

The Comedian on a HAL cruise last week commented that on HAL, the term "70's music" refers to the audience.

[navybankerteacher]

Haven’t been tuxes on HAL for awhile, Gala nights a collared shirt and pants works for many.

 

Have you recently sailed on a HAL ship? I have always seen tuxes (not as many as before, but always some) on HAL gala nights.

[bennybear]

Have you recently sailed on a HAL ship? I have always seen tuxes (not as many as before, but always some) on HAL gala nights.

 

Yup, Nary a tux and only the very odd suit in November on the Zuiderdam and May on the Noordam 2017. I was surprised by how casually some people dressed for a Gala night.

Edited March 8, 2018 by bennybear

[cruisekmc]

People have asked us what line we like best. I feel that each ship can be different. Not necessarily the line. Service, food and entertainment can vary greatly from ship to ship. The Cruise Director can make such a big difference. The size of the ship and the itinerary can make the difference as well. One of the reasons HAL has an older clientele because of their pricing.

 

For example, a cruise to the Mediterranean is a busy one. There isn't a lot of time for partying and the emphasis on entertainment like a Caribbean cruise. After a full day of sightseeing/touring you can be exhausted. I think it's important to take all of these things into consideration.

 

The one thing we do like is a relaxed dining experience. When on vacation, getting up early and touring or a beach day, who knows how hungry we'll be or what time we want to eat. We prefer to have more of a relaxed schedule rather than assigned seating times. That can make a difference for you when selecting a line.

 

Sometimes it's just fun to switch it up and try different lines and the size of the ship. Whatever you decide just enjoy and make the most of it.

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

Yup, Nary a tux and only the very odd suit in November on the Zuiderdam and May on the Noordam 2017. I was surprised by how casually some people dressed for a Gala night.

 

Interesting - there were easily a dozen tuxes in our immediate area of Zuiderdam's MDR in September. Perhaps southern itineraries are very different.

[DaveOKC]

Almost all of our cruises are on HAL, but we did Carnival once due to a family event.

 

Carnival had more things to do and a more active evening scene. Cabin fares were lower.

 

HAL had larger cabins, quieter environment, easier to find pool loungers (Carnival was terrible), better food (IMO), daily Mass, and friendlier crew.

[JT1962]

Interesting - there were easily a dozen tuxes in our immediate area of Zuiderdam's MDR in September. Perhaps southern itineraries are very different.

 

 

 

On our Rotterdam Western Caribbean cruise in January, we saw very few tuxes. My estimate of the mix on Gala nights would be 5% tuxes, 60% suit / tie, 20% shirt / tie and 15 % collared shirt, no tie.

 

 

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[Seavoyage]

I cannot say enough bad things about our - most certainly - last experience on Carnival. Never again....

[avian777]

It all boils down to giving passengers choices. Even though you personally don’t care for any type of religious services, based on the full room attendance that I witnessed every time I walked by, there are a lot of fellow passengers that do care. Thankfully Holland America has thought of, not only these passengers, but about the many Catholic crewmembers that they employ (HAL employs heavily from the Philippines which is predominantly Catholic). That’s truly the real reason why HAL employs a resident priest in all of their ships. There’s something to be said about an employer who cares enough about their employees to do this.

 

I “couldn’t care” less for the casino or culinary center on HAL ships. but I personally wouldn’t frown upon their practices if they offer these choices to those passengers who do care for them. Some will attend the casino while others will attend mass. Some will attend both or neither. Once again, it all boils down to choices. [emoji3]

 

Spot on, Tapi!!! (y)(y)(y) Thank you for being a voice of reason and tolerance.

[iancal]

Not certain why you would think that I frown on have faith based services available. It is simply that this is not something that interests us in any way. From our perspective it is on par with our view of Bingo or Mariner's lunches. We would not participate in any of those activities.

[Tapi]

Not certain why you would think that I frown on have faith based services available.

 

 

Respectfully read my post again. I said that I personally would not frown upon it. I didn’t say that you did or would.

 

 

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[Hogladyrider]

Respectfully read my post again. I said that I personally would not frown upon it. I didn’t say that you did or would.

 

 

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Tapi I have followed your postings and cruise reviews for a long time.

 

After 20+ Carnival cruises and other one leaving this Saturday, we are looking for a much more relaxed and quieter cruise experience, hence we are seriously considering HAL for a Panama Canal cruise. Now being retired our party days are behind us.

 

Our Carnival cruise in January was not as enjoyable as previous cruises and it was due to the clientle not the cruise line. Yes, we have noticed the cutbacks, but nothing we can't live with. Now that we don't have to use vacation days we have more time to enjoy cruising when we are not traveling in our RV.

 

We found ourselves retreating to our cabin to enjoy solitude on our balcony on our last Carnival cruise because fellow cruisers behavior was less than desireable.

 

Thanks again for your input on HAL vs Carnival, truly appreciated as your a trusted source!

[Underwatr]

The first fellow passenger I encountered on my recent HAL cruise was wearing a cowboy hat (of sorts) that he had fashioned out of a couple of Bud Light 12-pack boxes. We didn't see him again until he walked past at Sloppy Joe's in Key West near the end of the week, but be aware that they're out there.

[avian777]

Respectfully read my post again. I said that I personally would not frown upon it. I didn’t say that you did or would.

 

(y)(y)(y) Thanks again, Tapi!!!

[Tapi]

Tapi I have followed your postings and cruise reviews for a long time.

 

 

 

Thanks again for your input on HAL vs Carnival, truly appreciated as your a trusted source!

 

 

Hogladyrider:

 

Thanks for your post! Very much appreciated! [emoji3]

 

I started cruising on Carnival in my 20’s, and I truly enjoyed it tremendously. But like you, as I’ve aged, I have found myself looking for a bit more relaxed and maybe refined cruise experience. And I’ve enjoyed trying new cruise lines and finding my new “niche”. I’m not quite ready to call any specific cruise line “my favorite” just yet, but I definitely have some that stand out more than others.

 

Many times I’ve read how people are choosing to leave Carnival because “it has changed”. But personally, I chose to leave (or at least take an extended break from) Carnival because I’m the one that has changed. I’m older, more traveled, a bit more discerning and (gasp) more mature.

 

With that said, I still continue recommending Carnival but only to people who I know will enjoy their product. And although it’s been a few years now since my last Carnival cruise, I continue giving them credit for the fun times that I enjoyed on their ships. I also look forward to someday setting foot on another Carnival ship. Maybe when the Panorama sets sail? [emoji3]

 

 

 

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