Hal ideas

[Ray4Fun]

Whats best thing HAL has?

Edited January 25, 2022 by Ray4Fun

[Mary229]

Itineraries and relative peace and quiet.  People rave about the music venues

[oaktreerb]

Ships with lots of inside and outside viewing areas for scenic cruising.

[jeh10641]

Hi, Ray4Fun,

HAL is best for food, music venues (not theatrical productions), service, ports of call, quiet elegance, not a stickler for dress codes (with a few exceptions).

 

Jim

[KirkNC]

Crew and itineraries.

[jhannah]

I agree that the crews and quiet elegance are really at the forefront. Ships are great, too.

[rkacruiser]

The Crew!  The feeling when I step aboard a HAL vessel that "I am home".  
 

[ontheweb]

22 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Crew and itineraries.

Yes, and once upon a time also the libraries.

[MarkWiltonM]

On the Pinnacle class ships, the veranda cabins are very nice and the bathrooms have large glass showers with very good water pressure. We also like the buffet on HAL above all mainstream cruise lines. And the Crow's Nest is terrific.

[pirate_dad]

Food and Crew. Balconies and rooms are very good

 

It would be nice if they had more outdoor places like bars and restaurants its what i like about Virgin and Celebrity. I also like the music and more upbeat atmosphere at the pool. BBC Earth is boring after the 2nd day.

[highscar]

@rkacruiserI know what you mean.  When I went on my first solo cruise I went out on the balcony, took a selfie and said “honey, I’m home” 

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, MarkWiltonM said:

On the Pinnacle class ships, the veranda cabins are very nice and the bathrooms have large glass showers with very good water pressure.

 

The walk in showers are a great improvement as compared to the bathtubs that have high sides to step over to get into the tub.

 

1 hour ago, pirate_dad said:

BBC Earth is boring after the 2nd day.

 

Yes.  

[FlaMariner]

Crew, food, price........in that order.

[pirate_dad]

Food and Crew. Balconies and rooms are very good

 

It would be nice if they had more outdoor places like bars and restaurants its what i like about Virgin and Celebrity. I also like the music and more upbeat atmosphere at the pool. BBC Earth is boring after the 2nd day.

[Cruisercl]

Good thread.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 1/24/2022 at 8:50 PM, KirkNC said:

Crew and itineraries.

I second that.

[Oceansaway17]

prior to Koningsdam, I liked the wrap around covered promenade.

 

Also, liked itineraries that were different than other cruise lines.

For instance, in 2010 I took Amsterdam on a 14-day coastal for Alaska that even docked in Anchorage for 14 hours.  Was wonderful seeing Kodiak, and Homer as all the regular ports and glaciers.

[mightycruisequeen]

On 1/24/2022 at 7:50 PM, KirkNC said:

Crew and itineraries.

yup!😎

[zgscl]

There are several reasons that I keep returning to HAL. In no particular order: 

1. The crew are exceptional. They recruit basically all of the onboard service staff from the Philippines & Indonesia with specific departments pulling from one country or the other. The officers are primarily Dutch. While the crew on most cruise lines are good-very good I have always found the HAL staff have more cohesion and camaraderie than I have seen on other lines. There is a separate chef for the Filipino crew & one for the Indonesian crew so they can have food from home every meal and special rice is stocked for the crew. 

2. The ships. They are midsize with even the largest being dwarfed by the largest on Princess/Carnival/Royal Caribbean. No waterslides, go kart tracks or ice skating rinks anywhere to be found. There is a relaxed atmosphere onboard. I have really enjoyed the Music Walk concept that has been added. 

3. There is a big focus on enrichment based activities such as cooking demonstrations, cultural & educational talks, etc. While I do not love the Step One Dance Company or the nature movies that get played over and over on every cruise, the addition of the Music Walk has been fantastic and is a wonderful way to spend the evenings. 

4. The guests are generally a very nice bunch of folks to travel with. HAL cruisers tend to be on the older (or much older side). Most have been down to earth very pleasant to sail with. There are not many kids on most sailings, and even on cruises during school holidays I have always found the kids onboard to be quite well behaved. 

5. After my last cruise I have to mention The Retreat Cabanas. Wonderful service in a relaxing private area. Amazing way to spend days at sea (or in port). 

6. Specialty Restaurants. I absolutely love all four of the specialty dining concepts. While I am less thrilled with the MDR lately, I don't mind doing specialty every night (at least on a 7 day cruise). I also like the Club Orange concept. 

7. Neptune Suites - Really a great product.The aft wraps, concierge & Pinnacle Breakfast (or CO on the newest ships) is a really great combination for us. 

[jeh10641]

On 1/25/2022 at 4:49 PM, ontheweb said:

Yes, and once upon a time also the libraries.

The Library on Rotterdam is fantastic. Lots of copies of lots of book with ocean view seating areas and brightly lit. Books are by category - fiction, mystery, nonfiction, poetry, young adult and more. I was verry impressed compared to what saw on my previous HAL trips. I was in the book business for 40 years.

 

Jim

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, jeh10641 said:

The Library on Rotterdam is fantastic. Lots of copies of lots of book with ocean view seating areas and brightly lit. Books are by category - fiction, mystery, nonfiction, poetry, young adult and more. I was verry impressed compared to what saw on my previous HAL trips. I was in the book business for 40 years.

 

Jim

Nice to hear some ships either still have great libraries or possibly have had them restored,

[dawei]

Jim--My first time on a Pinnacle class ship occurred last week. The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship! What I noticed in her library was the absence of history, biography and reference sections. And the non-fiction cubby was so small, I thought it was a joke.

By displaying multiple copies of the same but limited titles, I felt someone other than me was trying to select my reading choices.

Unlike you, I have no background in the book business. These are just my impressions.

Examples of good shipboard libraries on HAL, in my view,  is the library on the Volendam and on the former Prinsendam.

 

David

[DENIE]

Good thread!  After several Celebrity cruises, and jumping into Oceania in June 2022, we are getting ready to book Koningsdam in December 2022.  Lots to like!  We were last on HAL (Oosterdam) in 2010.

[puppycanducruise]

Crew, itineraries, food and promenade deck.

[Ray4Fun]

I find it interesting you mostly say Crew is what you love. To me, that is probably the best comments I could ask for.