Orlando Ashford is leaving HAL

[BarbarianPaul]

We’re four star mariners, and over the last few years have just grown so bored with the lack of any meaningful activity on board the HA ships. At night, Music Walk just wasn’t our thing, and sadly the remaining entertainment was really subpar.

[polar1]

O No!  Does this mean the the $75. President's Cut Tomahawk Steak (that no one ever ordered) will now be off the menu?

 

  

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

Well, for what it's worth, he was very personable & friendly to us when we had a private chat onboard the 2018 GWC.

 

Too bad he's getting all these negative comments.  You gotta break some eggs to make an omelette. 😉

[IllinoisGirl1978]

In a few short months the s**t hit the fan. He had to  get the Westerdam to dock and bring those passengers home safe and sound.  He also had the Covid19 illness/ death on the Zaandam/Rotterdam.  I don't blame him ( if he was at the end of his contract)

 

On another note this was a planned departure, because wasn't his wife and younger son aboard the Amsterdam on the 2020 World Cruise? An announcement while visiting with his family and the crew would have been a better way to announce his HAL departure.  

[Lido - Lanai]

13 minutes ago, IllinoisGirl1978 said:

An announcement while visiting with his family and the crew

He never got the chance to board the Amsterdam's 2020 World Cruise. He was planning to join his wife and son for a week, then the virus struck and that was the end of those plans. I don't think his departure was planned... not by him anyway!

Edited May 13, 2020 by Lido - Lanai

[MISTER 67]

21 hours ago, Cruiser Bruiser said:

I have done two MSC cruises in the past year, and I have two more booked. I know that in North America MSC gets a bad rap because it is so Italian, but I love MSC in part because they have a new production show every night of a 7-night cruise. They also have a full, engaged cruise staff that hosts activities throughout the day. That cruise staff is lead by a traditional cruise director. MSC is also much more affordable than HAL, so HAL has no excuse in not offering production shows and live musical entertainment around the ship throughout the day.

True, MSC has great entertainment not only in the main showroom but also in all the lounges and the Atrium. The reason is that MSC has tons of money because they are second largest shipping company in the World. I also like them because they don't gouge, their prices for photos, drinks and souvenirs onboard are the lowest in the industry. I'm not sure about shore excursions as in the last 15 years  we have only sailed in the Caribbean and there is nothing we haven't seen in the islands over the past 38 years.

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by MISTER 67

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, polar1 said:

O No!  Does this mean the the $75. President's Cut Tomahawk Steak (that no one ever ordered) will now be off the menu?

 

  

Not necessarily- I understand you can now get a second helping for $10.

[DFD1]

9 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

True, MSC has great entertainment not only in the main showroom but also in all the lounges and the Atrium. The reason is that MSC has tons of money because they are second largest shipping company in the World. I also like them because they don't gouge, their prices for photos, drinks and souvenirs onboard are the lowest in the industry. I'm not sure about shore excursions as in the last 15 years  we have only sailed in the Caribbean and there is nothing we haven't seen in the islands over the past 38 years.

 

 

 

 

We've not sailed them yet because of the size of the ships, but we're now thinking about it. Your comments are interesting. Thanks.

Edited May 13, 2020 by DFD1

[Sir PMP]

15 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Not necessarily- I understand you can now get a second helping for $10.

and a third for $5:00...

[Roz]

I forgot all about the $10 2nd entrée surcharge.  That was a wonderful idea. 😏

[bobpatj]

We had a lot of unique experiences on Westerdam, but we did have Production Shows with a full cast of Singers & Dancers.  Is that the only ship that still had them in 2020 ?

[MISTER 67]

1 hour ago, DFD1 said:

 

We've not sailed them yet because of the size of the ships, but we're now thinking about it. Your comments are interesting. Thanks.

Let me add that they do have big ships, we sailed on the Divina 4 times with 4000 passengers but that ship is very well designed and didnt seem that big, she is also beautiful. We sailed on the Seaside last year, 1000 more pax but MSC was going after the younger crowd with that ship, too much glass and mirrors plus they had a 5 story atrium with a DJ most of the day playing ear shattering Electronic Dance Music. We will never sail again on the Seaside. 

Once cruising opens up again the Armonia will be sailing out of Tampa year round and is only 65,000 tons. 

 

All that being said HAL is still our favorite line, love the Vista and Signature ships, they are the perfect size besides being very classy with service that can't be beat along with the full wrap around promenade deck.

Edited May 13, 2020 by MISTER 67

[The-Inside-Cabin]

O No!  Does this mean the the $75. President's Cut Tomahawk Steak (that no one ever ordered) will now be off the menu?
 
  

Hey! We have ordered that steak! (Wink)

For the whole table. We enjoy the spectacle!

Here is Presty slicing it up!




Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Himself]

3 hours ago, polar1 said:

O No!  Does this mean the the $75. President's Cut Tomahawk Steak (that no one ever ordered) will now be off the menu?

 

  

My hope is that there is still a menu!

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Not necessarily- I understand you can now get a second helping for $10.

 

Now you've done it..............

 

[Copper10-8]

58 minutes ago, bobpatj said:

We had a lot of unique experiences on Westerdam, but we did have Production Shows with a full cast of Singers & Dancers.  Is that the only ship that still had them in 2020 ?

 

Amsterdam still had  a full production cast this year until her pax "were thrown off" in Freemantle 

[rafinmd]

13 minutes ago, Himself said:

My hope is that there is still a menu!

Wouldn't be surprised if it is plain paper and destroyed after use for a while.

 

Roy

[Himself]

2 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Wouldn't be surprised if it is plain paper and destroyed after use for a while.

 

Roy

That would be sad!

[hotzej]

Please return the Grand World Voyage back to the   "Grand" World Voyage  once again.

Edited May 13, 2020 by hotzej

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Wouldn't be surprised if it is plain paper and destroyed after use for a while.

 

Roy

In my experience, the actual menu itself is just a replaceable paper insert inside a folder.  

 

 

In fact, the dessert menu handed to us was just the paper insert

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Shmoo here

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Wouldn't be surprised if it is plain paper and destroyed after use for a while.

 

Roy

 

Maybe the menu is on an Ipad that is then disinfected after each use?

[Cruiser Bruiser]

3 hours ago, DFD1 said:

 

We've not sailed them yet because of the size of the ships, but we're now thinking about it. Your comments are interesting. Thanks.

They do have small ships. Armonia, which was sailing to Cuba and now will be sailing out of Tampa, is only 58,600 GT, so a bit smaller than HAL's R-class. If you think you might sail with MSC, do a lot of research in advance as the line is quirky. Example: your key card is located in your cabin, and you collect it from your cabin when the announcement says cabins are ready. You then have to link a method of payment to the key card using an onboard kiosk after you have already boarded the ship. That process is so totally unlike anything the North American lines do and is an example of what frustrates folks who have long cruising histories on familiar lines. But, for entertainment, cheap drinks, and old-school traditional-style cruising with a first and second seating in the MDR, MSC is really lovely and an outstanding value.

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, Cruiser Bruiser said:

If you think you might sail with MSC, do a lot of research in advance as the line is quirky.

 

3 minutes ago, Cruiser Bruiser said:

for entertainment, cheap drinks, and old-school traditional-style cruising with a first and second seating in the MDR, MSC is really lovely and an outstanding value.

 

My MSC Meraviglia cruise in January supports your thoughts.  The entertainment that I witnessed on Meraviglia was more enjoyable for me than what I saw on my preceding Volendam cruise or during my following Eurodam cruise.  

[Janet76]

With both CEO departing CCL, is bankruptcy on the horizon?  From what we heard on latest Q10 filing, CCL holds 4.6 billion in customer deposits which I believe CCL used our money to pay bills.  Even with bond offering and such, CCL don't have enough liquid to cover current liability.  We are losing faith each day. It seems like more and more are filing CC disputes as well.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Janet76

[DFD1]

When it is safe, if Armonia is still sailing from a Florida port, we'll likely give it a try. We've sailed a dozen different Cruise lines over the years, many of them now gone, so sailing a new one is no problem. Might be fun.

 

The overriding feeling we've had about HAL over the past couple of years is simply that it's dull and the feeling of elegance has slipped away.