Why Do You Sail HAL Ships ?

[rkacruiser]

Maybe because a HAL experience was my first (one's first love, you know), but, each continuing HAL experience (with an occasional blip in the experience) has continued my preference for HAL.  Why?

 

There is a feeling of "I am home" when I step foot on the deck of the ship.  There is the memory of the Hostess on Rotterdam V soon after I embarked at Seward in 1996, my first cruise since I became a caregiver for my parents--which was a much needed vacation.  She didn't know me.  But, she said:  "Welcome Home!"  Then, on some cruises, hanging from the decks above the gangway when one returns from a shore excursion, there is a large "Welcome Home" banner. 

 

The crew!  Even during my first two cruises in 1970 and 1971 (which was the time when the crew's nationality began to change), my interactions with the crew have always been a reason why I enjoy returning to HAL.  Who will I recognize?  Almost always surprised that a crew member recognizes me and, then, I am embarrassed because I didn't immediately recognize her/him.  

 

The Crow's Nest:  there is no lounge on any ship afloat on which I have sailed that compares with that venue.  The ships of Royal Viking Line had such a Lounge on their ships which I enjoyed.

 

Two of the most recently available amenities available that encourage me to return to HAL is the Hydrothermal Pool/Thermal Suite on the Vista Class ships and continued on the Signature Class ships and improved on the Pinnacle Class ships.  The other is Sel de Mer Restaurant on the Pinnacle Class ships and the pop-ups on the others.  Quality cuisine and service!  

 

Bitterballen at HH; why is it not offered daily?  Dutch Pea Soup when the scenic opportunities offer such, i.e. Antarctica and Alaska.  Bread Pudding at lunch and the Raisin Rolls at breakfast.  The special rolls, i.e. Panama Rolls, available during  visits to those areas.  

 

There are so many reasons why I have been a HAL guest.  

[oldbluff]

26 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Bitterballen at HH; why is it not offered daily?  Dutch Pea Soup when the scenic opportunities offer such, i.e. Antarctica and Alaska.  Bread Pudding at lunch and the Raisin Rolls at breakfast.  The special rolls, i.e. Panama Rolls, available during  visits to those areas. 

OMG, I forgot to mention the raisin buns/rolls! We get them with coffee on the first room service delivery time slot each day. Wonderful way to ease into the day.

[zgscl]

22 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

That's a good one...forgot about that....you only realize how cool that is when you board another cruise line (at least w/Princess) and the room is not ready until afternoon.

People who sail other lines are truly baffled by this one when I tell them. I always forget how spoiled we are that rooms are ready at embarkation. HAL also doesn’t rush you out of your room either like other lines do - I’ve always been able to stay in my room until I disembark even if it’s at the tail end of things. The steward May strip the bed, pull the towels, etc. but there is no feeling of you need to be out. It’s honestly quite impressive that they do this and really makes for a much more relaxing embarkation & disembarkation 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

The best Crew at Sea. 

[zgscl]

19 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

There is a feeling of "I am home" when I step foot on the deck of the ship.  There is the memory of the Hostess on Rotterdam V soon after I embarked at Seward in 1996, my first cruise since I became a caregiver for my parents--which was a much needed vacation.  She didn't know me.  But, she said:  "Welcome Home!"  Then, on some cruises, hanging from the decks above the gangway when one returns from a shore excursion, there is a large "Welcome Home" banner. 

This is so true. I always feel like I’m at home when I come back to a HAL ship. 

[doone]

3 minutes ago, zgscl said:

This is so true. I always feel like I’m at home when I come back to a HAL ship. 

Me too!!

[Pickalily, Wilts]

- We like the mix of nationalities (although as Brits we're always in the minority - no problem for us).

- The ships are spotlessly clean, have an understated elegance, none of the hulls has been scribbled on by a child with crayons and the cabins are comfortable and well designed.

- We don't need to be entertained during the day, but the evening entertainment is varied and the addition of Rolling Stone Rock Rooms on Pinnacle ships is an inspired decision.  These and the BB King Blues Bands have helped to blow away the line's former reputation of being staid and boring.

- The food is good.

- Itineraries are interesting.

- There are many other good points, but above all the crew members are invariably dee-lite-full.

 

We've tried several other cruise lines, including some which call themselves 5*+, but we keep coming back to HAL.

[BetsyS.]

1 hour ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

The best Crew at Sea. 

Agree.  I have been on 4 HAL ships and the crew goes above and 

beyond. I always hope that the crew will be as great as the crew on my 

previous cruises and I have never been disappointed. 

[albingirl]

Mostly the crew and familiarity with the ships. Yep, creature of habit...thats me. 

[morpheusofthesea]

On 10/27/2022 at 1:25 AM, DENIE said:

Most recently, however, we completed our first sailing on Oceania and loved it...but that is a little different product.

Considering our first on Oceania Sirena. What did you enjoy ? Thank you.

[USN59-79]

46 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Considering our first on Oceania Sirena. What did you enjoy ? Thank you.

We enjoyed her beautiful library.  In 2015 we sailed 89 days around Africa when she was the Ocean Princess.

[ontheweb]

6 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

We enjoyed her beautiful library.  In 2015 we sailed 89 days around Africa when she was the Ocean Princess.

Having sailed on the Ocean Princess, I second the statement that it was a beautiful ship.

[USN59-79]

We have loved HAL enough to become 5 star mariners on her.  We have also loved Princess enough to become elite on her.  One of the major differences has to do with the less expensive staterooms.  On HAL, I can book an inside or oceanview and expect to have a room with a small love seat and coffee table and an extra chair so we can comfortably order a hot breakfast in the room.  On Princess, even if I book a balcony cabin there will be nothing like that in the room.  Have you ever tried to eat breakfast while sitting on the bed?

[FlaMariner]

Along with no furniture in a Princess balcony stateroom, I thought it odd that the closet was open......like Motel 6.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

The have banners they hang out side the ship.

Welcome home. 

[BetsyS.]

1 hour ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

The have banners they hang out side the ship.

Welcome home. 

I agree. When I was on the Niew Statendam in August, there were crew on the 

pier when people returned to the ship. They had hot cider and hot mulled wine 

one time.  At other stops they had coffee and hot chocolate.  They always 

said welcome back. Every night when my stepfather and I entered the MDR,

there were several crew members who all said welcome back. The crew is

what makes us keep coming back to HAL.  The itineraries and food are 

other reasons we come back, but the crew is the #1 reason.

[DENIE]

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Considering our first on Oceania Sirena. What did you enjoy ? Thank you.

Hi! We loved the food, much smaller size (1,200 passengers at full capacity - on Riviera, Sirena is smaller).  The crew was great.  Don't want to hijack this thread. I posted a Riviera review in July.  Do check that out, as well as the Oceania Cruise Critic pages. 🙂

[wearesiamese]

On 10/28/2022 at 1:33 PM, Pickalily, Wilts said:

- We like the mix of nationalities (although as Brits we're always in the minority - no problem for us).

- The ships are spotlessly clean, have an understated elegance, none of the hulls has been scribbled on by a child with crayons and the cabins are comfortable and well designed.

- We don't need to be entertained during the day, but the evening entertainment is varied and the addition of Rolling Stone Rock Rooms on Pinnacle ships is an inspired decision.  These and the BB King Blues Bands have helped to blow away the line's former reputation of being staid and boring.

- The food is good.

- Itineraries are interesting.

- There are many other good points, but above all the crew members are invariably dee-lite-full.

 

We've tried several other cruise lines, including some which call themselves 5*+, but we keep coming back to HAL.

I have just booked another HAL cruise but to be honest with you I do wish they hD Ore to do during the day.I am a solo traveler and I have not dfound enough to do during the day.I am doing another TransPacific to Japan next October, and the only other cruiselien I had to choose from that time of year is CELEBRITY,AND  I prefer HAL to Celebrity.I do wish they had paddle tennis courts like Crystal and Cunard have 😞

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Itinerary

Price (suites can also be reasonable)

Food

Service

Comfortable beds

Passengers are low key

[0106]

7 hours ago, wearesiamese said:

.I do wish they had paddle tennis courts

Have you tried pickle ball?  It is available on HAL equipment provided.  Listed on Where & When every sea day on our transatlantic.

[cruisemom42]

10 hours ago, DENIE said:

as well as the Oceania Cruise Critic pages.

 

Although those may well turn you off Oceania. 🙄

[mcrcruiser]

  All of the comments about why you folks sail on HAL is why we sail HAL as well  . Essentially ,we sail  from San  Diego ,our home port  & on occasion we will sail with  Celebrity from San Pedro World Cruise Center ,Los Angeles county    .  If we had known that X  would not frequent  the  SD & LA ports   on a regular basis  when we started   cruising  we would have done many more HAL cruises   .HAL  in just about all areas except the main showroom  is equal  to Celebrity  . Yes there are some  differences  but not enough  to push us to Celebrity 100%    .  

  We have enjoyed  even HALs smaller ships but now our  favorite ships in the HAL fleet are the Pinnacle class vessels    .We just  hope all goes well in the future  for HAL being part of  Carnival  Corp  😀

[Pickalily, Wilts]

12 hours ago, wearesiamese said:

I have just booked another HAL cruise but to be honest with you I do wish they hD Ore to do during the day.I am a solo traveler and I have not dfound enough to do during the day.I am doing another TransPacific to Japan next October, and the only other cruiselien I had to choose from that time of year is CELEBRITY,AND  I prefer HAL to Celebrity.I do wish they had paddle tennis courts like Crystal and Cunard have 😞

 

It takes a lot of self-confidence to travel solo, so I admire you for that.  HAL does have events for solos (admittedly not every day) and, as is mentioned elsewhere, there is pickleball and table tennis available - at my time of life such energetic activity would probably result in a helivac emergency.🙃

 

Hopefully others on your cruise roll-call will be arranging meetings or will have suggestions for making long sea days more interesting.  Good luck and I hope you have an enjoyable cruise.

[Sea42]

10 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Although those may well turn you off Oceania. 🙄

Agreed! I was pleased to find the passengers on our Oceania cruise were much more enjoyable than some of the posters I encountered on the Oceania forum.

[DENIE]

1 hour ago, Sea42 said:

Agreed! I was pleased to find the passengers on our Oceania cruise were much more enjoyable than some of the posters I encountered on the Oceania forum.

True!  We had a great experience with fellow passengers. The crowd can be a bit "rough" on the Cruise Critic site, but also found a lot of helpful advice.