What are your favorite things about sailing with HAL?

[My & Mau]

• Caring and smiling staff...always interested in the comfort of the passengers, and very approachable
• A sense of substance and know how with the Captain and his staff
• A variety of food options; we never go hungry...substantial breakfast menu in MDR, delicious Asian offerings, vegetarian/Indian options, salads in Lido, delicious lamb chops in Canaletto, etc.😉
• Musical choices that we enjoy: from classical offerings, to rhythm and blues, piano sing-a-longs, to BBC on world stage.
• Passengers are amiable and interesting...
• A friendly atmosphere overall

[daisy-mae]

Pickleball!

 

It appears that HAL has recognized that seniors have actively embraced the racquet sport and the cruise line has adapted their tennis courts to accommodate us, even scheduling a daily time slot for play.

[mcrcruiser]

Great friendly crews  .Wonderful food & service .  Better itineraries & pricing than Celebrity cruise line . Terrific entertainment especially the newer ships 👍

[SumoCitrus]

2 hours ago, Sea-Bos said:

the people walking around with their own music blaring. 

 

 

That happens on Carnival? Thanks for the warning. Sounds miserable!

[Diver2014]

 

Crow's Nest

the food

spotless ship 

fresh flowers

friendly staff (and passengers, I'm happy to say)

no waterslides

fewer kids

 

The only thing that disappoints me about HAL is their website.  I booked a (nonrefundable) cruise yesterday on the wrong dates because I missed clicking on the date in their scroll down menu because I was concentrating on the cabin type and sale price.  Now we are going a week earlier than planned but it's not that much of a problem.  I wish their website was as easy to use as Princess. I didn't see the wrong date until I received our confirmation of payment.

Edited July 14, 2019 by Diver2014

[sail7seas]

The very well trained and experienced crew at almost all levels

 

When they speak with you, they look at you  . and not off into space as so many presons in service postions do these days.

 

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[DeeniEncinitas]

My favorite thing sunrise and sunsets on our balcony!! This is very special for me.

Denise😊

 

[canadarocks]

Hi Lauren! Hopefully you'll enjoy a HAL cruise. I look forward to one of your great reviews afterward!

 

My favorite difference between HAL & Princess is Happy hour from 4pm-5pm with a small plate of appetizers and then Sip & Savor (I think that's what it's called) at 5pm with a nice glass of wine and a different appetizer for $5. Lovely pre-dinner tradition.

 

Also..... on the older HAL ships.... extra large inside J cabins on the Main Deck!

 

And the aft pool area on HAL ships is WAY bigger than on Princess! 🙂 

Edited July 15, 2019 by canadarocks

[Sea-Bos]

10 hours ago, SumoCitrus said:

 

That happens on Carnival? Thanks for the warning. Sounds miserable!

Actually it depends on the itineraries. That happened on a cheap 4-day out of LA. I usually like it, but we are ready for a change.   I am interested to see what HAL is like now. We went 17 years ago and we were way too young to appreciate it and we were awakened every morning by “bingo Pete.” Bingo Pete was the deal breaker. 

[JustinPlusLauren]

2 hours ago, canadarocks said:

Hi Lauren! Hopefully you'll enjoy a HAL cruise. I look forward to one of your great reviews afterward!

 

My favorite difference between HAL & Princess is Happy hour from 4pm-5pm with a small plate of appetizers and then Sip & Savor (I think that's what it's called) at 5pm with a nice glass of wine and a different appetizer for $5. Lovely pre-dinner tradition.

 

Also..... on the older HAL ships.... extra large inside J cabins on the Main Deck!

 

And the aft pool area on HAL ships is WAY bigger than on Princess! 🙂 

 

Thank you so much! I'll be posting a thorough review upon my return! It's all part of the fun in reliving the trip! 🙂

[Ken the cruiser]

We like walking around their full promenade decks to burn off some of those extra calories. 

[ricko999]

Friendly crew.

Good food.

Smaller ship.

No water parks!

No go carts!

A real promenade deck, 3 laps = 1 mile! 😉

 

 

[lyndarra]

Another vote from me for the Crows Nest. Also trivia and happy hour coinciding.

BB Kings anyone?

HAL also seem to do more ports than other mainstream ships. Hence a booking 0n Maasdam Feb 2, 2020 Auckland/Sydney.

[quack2]

Teak promenade deck and library.

 

Other lines seem to be junking their libraries making it virtually impossible to find quiet spaces on the ship.  I really dislike being bombarded with crappy music from the lounges.

Edited July 15, 2019 by quack2

[puppycanducruise]

Great crew.

Interesting itineraries.

Fresh flowers.

Promenade deck.

[avian777]

On 7/12/2019 at 11:20 PM, JustinPlusLauren said:

 ...what are your favorite things about HAL? What are some things that set it apart from other cruise lines? ...

 

As long-time HAL cruisers, there are literally too many "favorite things" to list here, so I'll just give you the one thing that sets HAL apart from ALL other cruise lines:

There are many differences (and also similarities) between HAL and the 3 lines on which you have cruised but IMHO 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 and always has been our hands-down choice.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Burgers and fries at the Dive In and Unlimited Laundry!

[ontheweb]

On 7/13/2019 at 9:44 PM, JeffElizabeth said:

The service is so nice and personal. They know your names and will remember your drink preferences and other details like how you prefer your omelettes. "Right away, Sir Jeff!"

On our first HAL cruise, the dress DW intended to wear on the first formal night ended up extremely wrinkled when we unpacked. She sent it out hoping it would be back for the next day. It was and several room stewards, not just ours, came to check that everything was fine. Later we sent laundry out, and DW thought their were things missing. They were not missing, she just did not notice them hanging up instead of being laid out. Again the stewards were there concerned when she reported that there were things missing and gently showed her where they were.

 

We have on all lines found room stewards to be great, but on HAL they are the absolute best!

[SargassoPirate]

On 7/14/2019 at 1:35 PM, Diver2014 said:

 

Crow's Nest

the food

spotless ship 

fresh flowers

friendly staff (and passengers, I'm happy to say)

no waterslides

fewer kids

 

The only thing that disappoints me about HAL is their website.  I booked a (nonrefundable) cruise yesterday on the wrong dates because I missed clicking on the date in their scroll down menu because I was concentrating on the cabin type and sale price.  Now we are going a week earlier than planned but it's not that much of a problem.  I wish their website was as easy to use as Princess. I didn't see the wrong date until I received our confirmation of payment.

 

So sorry to hear about booking the wrong date. So easy to do with a wonky website.

 

I book most all of our cruises online with the travel department of our big box warehouse club.  I can search multiple cruise lines for the timeframe I'm looking for and once I've zeroed in on a cruise, I can search for a particular cabin that I want. Easy beezy.

 

That was how we ended up on HAL several years ago. I was searching for a way to get to Europe for a land vacation there and found a HAL transatlantic that put us there one day ahead of when we needed to join a tour. Perfect.

 

 

[JimnKaren]

One of the thing that I keep seeing here, is the crew. That can make a BIG difference in a cruise that is more than 7 days!!

 

Jim

[Susieinph]

We’re headed for our second HAL cruise, this time to Alaska July 28 - August 4. All these comments are making me remember what a great time we had on our last cruise on the Maasdam. We loved happy hour and trivia.  Sorry to our more sedate cruisers, we had a great time on the pub crawl and look forward to the “orange” party.  Our room steward was fantastic! Overall the crew was incredibly friendly and courteous. We’ve tried 4 different cruise lines but I am looking forward to sailing HAL again.

[travelx4]

5 minutes ago, Susieinph said:

Sorry to our more sedate cruisers, we had a great time on the pub crawl

HAHA - we loved our pub crawl on our NYE Rotterdam cruise!  So fun with our CC friends that we met in our roll call!

 

Love the kind, courteous crew (never a bad experience). Love the food (everything in the MDR! Crepes in the Lido! Swiss Muesli!).  Love that we can drop our bags in the room upon boarding. Love the magical laundry service. We love the non-chaotic atmosphere of HAL ships.  On a HAL cruise, we feel like we can truly relax and enjoy our vacations.  Honestly, I could go on and on about how much I love HAL. 

 

We did a Norway cruise on the Koningsdam last summer and guess what? We loved it!  Enjoy yours!

[akenned]

I am in my early 40's and I love HAL because their ships do not have a party crowd and provide the relaxing atmosphere that I seek.  I have gone on 5 HAL cruises (Westerdam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Nieuw Statendam) and my experience has always been consistently good.  These are some of my favourite things:-
 

• Room service breakfast!  Here is a link to the typical menu for non suite guests:  http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Room-Service-Breakfast.pdf
• The Tamarind - I highly recommend booking this specialty restaurant. Its pan asian fusion and my favorite dish is the wok seared lobster!  Well worth the $25 charge IMO just make sure you go with a big appetite 😉
• The aft pool is adults only and I love the wake view while enjoying a cocktail or two
• Fresh flowers and art collections throughout the ship
• BB Kings blues band is awesome entertainment on an evening.
• Bread pudding in the lido!  (and chocolate croissants!)
• The eggs benedict station in the lido
• Build your own pizza at the NY Pizza/Deli is wonderful.  Here is a link to the menu: http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NY-Deli-Pizza.pdf
• The service of the staff on the ship is always exceptional. Always smiling and happy to help you.
• I love getting a spa pass for the week so I can enjoy the heated loungers, hydrotherapy pool and saunas every single day of my cruise.
• This may seem silly to some but I love the movie selection on my interactive room tv
• The WANG WANG cocktail is always a must. 🙂
• The chocolate parade
• America's test kitchen

 

[Floridiana]

Interesting itineraries and the crew!

[syesmar]

On 7/15/2019 at 10:17 AM, quack2 said:

Teak promenade deck and library. . . . 

On a recent Nieuw Statendam sailing, I missed the previous design of the promenade deck, as the newest ship did not feature deck chairs and some of the views were obstructed by life boats.  The library offerings are now mostly coffee table books and it is located in the Crow's Nest.  Still a beautiful, nice ship, but those were 2 things that made HAL "HAL" to me and I missed having them.

Edited July 16, 2019 by syesmar