First HAL Cruise, Not Impressed

[Brentt_M]

I have the a lot of the same complaints about craps on HAL and that is my primary game too. I agree there are better options out there if that is your only focus, but I keep going back to HAL cause I find they onboard experience to align better with my personal preferences than some of the other lines.  I generally just switch to placing numbers vs come bets while on HAL and yes higher play definitely can attract a crowd watching the table. 

[dockman]

On 10/8/2023 at 8:24 PM, Mosaic said:

Jeeze, some of you people are just too harsh.  Yes, we have had BAD food on HAL and BAD service also.  It happens.

So if/when you get bad food do you just eat it in silence or ask for something else?  Of course it is possible that you will be served something you don't like but i have never ever had a problem just ordering something different....if you don't like anything at all on the entire menu then just maybe the problem is you need to be on Silversea or Crystal or Seabourn paying a whole lot more than on HAL.

[nannygoatjunction]

I don't understand why the op is getting hammered here? It's simply their opinion, and we all have a different one. We are never likely to get a free Cruise, not do we have any interest in gambling, but appreciate the time spent giving a review. One persons experience and perceptions are not another's, no right or wrong. You would have to have pretty thick skin to shrug off some of nasty directed comments posted here. Totally unnecessary. In my opinion, of course. 😅

[Shmoo here]

1 minute ago, nannygoatjunction said:

I don't understand why the op is getting hammered here? It's simply their opinion, and we all have a different one. We are never likely to get a free Cruise, not do we have any interest in gambling, but appreciate the time spent giving a review. One persons experience and perceptions are not another's, no right or wrong. You would have to have pretty thick skin to shrug off some of nasty directed comments posted here. Totally unnecessary. In my opinion, of course. 😅

I think the issue is HOW the review was worded.  It's sufficient to say "I didn't like the food".  But saying "it's like dog food" is a bit inflammatory.  Also, when asked to clarify what's "not fresh" there's been no response.

 

To top it off, to come to a HAL specific forum to say that HAL is bad could be a direct attempt to get a response.  A bad review could have been place in a more neutral area, if the attempt was to sway people's opinions about whether to cruise HAL or not.

[nannygoatjunction]

3 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

I think the issue is HOW the review was worded.  It's sufficient to say "I didn't like the food".  But saying "it's like dog food" is a bit inflammatory.  Also, when asked to clarify what's "not fresh" there's been no response.

 

To top it off, to come to a HAL specific forum to say that HAL is bad could be a direct attempt to get a response.  A bad review could have been place in a more neutral area, if the attempt was to sway people's opinions about whether to cruise HAL or not.

Even your reply is subjective 🙂 not everyone is good with words, or words that suit how you wish to read it. My hubby is very bad with words, it doesn't make what he has to say of any less value.  What is a neutral area? I come specifically to this area to read posts specifically about HAL. Good, bad and indifferent. 😁

[Blackduck59]

24 minutes ago, nannygoatjunction said:

I don't understand why the op is getting hammered here? It's simply their opinion, and we all have a different one. We are never likely to get a free Cruise, not do we have any interest in gambling, but appreciate the time spent giving a review. One persons experience and perceptions are not another's, no right or wrong. You would have to have pretty thick skin to shrug off some of nasty directed comments posted here. Totally unnecessary. In my opinion, of course. 😅

 

I think perhaps the opening post which came about 5 minutes after starting the cruise is actually part of the reason for the pile on. It was clearly intended to inflame, which the OP succeeded in. Then after some posts from members were deleted, the OP has failed to gain any sympathy with their predicament. It's unfortunate that their "comped" cruise didn't live up to expectations. That being said a small amount of investigation on OPs part may have avoided the current situation.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Blackduck59

[Laminator]

Food, as has been discussed here numerous times, is subjective. The casino not so much. The OP claims the casino is empty. All I can relate is my experience but casino mgmt has always opened up the high limit BJ table for me no matter what time of day it is. They may ask me to wait 15 to 20 minutes for a dealer to return from break but they have always opened the table. I think they would do the same for the OP if he asked to have the craps opened. Especially if he is a high roller.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Laminator

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, Laminator said:

Food, as has been discussed here numerous times, is subjective. The casino not so much. The OP claims the casino is empty. All I can relate is my experience but casino mgmt has always opened up the high limit BJ table for me no matter what time of day it is. They may ask me to wait 15 to 20 minutes for a dealer to return from break but they have always opened the table. I think they would do the same for the OP if he asked. Especially if he is a high roller.

 

The key here is OP doesn't seem to ask anything on board, they simply complain on CC. Complaining that the casino is empty is a non starter, all that means is that many HAL cruisers don't care for gaming and of course some would play except they aren't interested in gagging on the smoke in that space.

[Laminator]

15 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

The key here is OP doesn't seem to ask anything on board, they simply complain on CC. Complaining that the casino is empty is a non starter, all that means is that many HAL cruisers don't care for gaming and of course some would play except they aren't interested in gagging on the smoke in that space.

He should be on the NA. The casino on that ship is 100% non smoking so i am quite sure no one is gagging on the smoke. 

[mawvkysc]

Question:  How come Victoria can count as a foreign stop but Vancouver can’t? Alaska cruises often make that short stop at night to Victoria to satisfy the law.

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, Laminator said:

He should be on the NA. The casino on that ship is 100% non smoking so i am quite sure no one is gagging on the smoke. 

I think the OP is a smoker, my comment was that gaming doesn't seem to be high priority to many HAL cruisers. The part about smoking was that there are many HAL cruisers who don't smoke and may want to play in the casino but the smokers have priority in the space.

[Laminator]

Just now, Blackduck59 said:

I think the OP is a smoker, my comment was that gaming doesn't seem to be high priority to many HAL cruisers. The part about smoking was that there are many HAL cruisers who don't smoke and may want to play in the casino but the smokers have priority in the space.

Most if not all HAL ships have a separate non smoking room now. 

[Shmoo here]

40 minutes ago, nannygoatjunction said:

What is a neutral area?

I'd suggest the "Write a Review" link here on Cruise Critic

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/collect/

[Shmoo here]

11 minutes ago, mawvkysc said:

Question:  How come Victoria can count as a foreign stop but Vancouver can’t? Alaska cruises often make that short stop at night to Victoria to satisfy the law.

For a round trip cruise (begins and ends in the same US port) a call at ANY foreign port works.

 

For an open jaw cruise (begins and ends in 2 different US ports) a call at a DISTANT foreign port is required.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Shmoo here

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, Laminator said:

Most if not all HAL ships have a separate non smoking room now. 

Zaandam's casino is wide open to many parts of the ship and the smoke drifts to many adjacent areas. Maybe the answer is have an enclosed "smoking" casino space so the smokers can gag on each other's smoke.

[Laminator]

2 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Zaandam's casino is wide open to many parts of the ship and the smoke drifts to many adjacent areas. Maybe the answer is have an enclosed "smoking" casino space so the smokers can gag on each other's smoke.

I think that is the way HAL is moving. Rumor has it the casino on the NS will be expanded during dry dock. Supposedly the staircase that goes downstairs will be eliminated. BetMGM sports betting will be begin to be deployed early next month on the Carnival Horizon and move thru the remainder of the Carnival and HAL fleets afterwards. This leads me to believe that casino expansion is coming. And hopefully a viable solution to separate the smokers and non smokers. 

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, Abe3689 said:

We stopped in Vancouver, so I can get off. Technically it would be Vancouver to San Diego. Many are getting off that I spoke to last night. I assumed others were getting on too? 
 

In any event people can sneer at me and say I’m crying and my expectations are too high, but it’s really not. Asking to have craps open during the day is pretty standard on other lines. Having 3,4,5x odds is standard on all the other lines (as opposed to double).
 

I had no issues with Celebrity, who I assume has access to the same provisions. The food they’ve served at the Buffett on Lido is embarrassing. The dinners have been great. The staff has been very nice and delightful. 

Vancouver is not a far distant port so no that not work. 

[TheMichael]

5 hours ago, nannygoatjunction said:

I don't understand why the op is getting hammered here? It's simply their opinion, and we all have a different one.

 

Let me help you understand: when you deliver an opinion publicly, you accept that there may be issue taken with that opinion, especially when it is delivered melodramatically ("dog food"). 

 

If I give my opinion in a public forum, I expect to receive feedback. That's why people do it in the first place. If OP didn't want reaction, he should have written it down on a piece of paper and mailed it to himself, not publish it on the most-read cruise message board. 

 

I also think the reaction comes from the fact that 99% of the people reading his diatribe would trade places with him in an instant. Free Panama Canal transit on even an average HAL ship? Yes, please! There comes a point when someone who overdramatizes issues starts telling people more about themselves than about their trip.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by TheMichael

[ChinaShrek]

7 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

 

I also think the reaction comes from the fact that 99% of the people reading his diatribe would trade places with him in an instant. Free Panama Canal transit on even an average HAL ship? Yes, please! There comes a point when someone who overdramatizes issues starts telling people more about themselves than about their trip.

 

But how many of those people are heavy gamblers? I have no interest in a free cruise that doesn't have a casino but you might. I am finding the response from gamblers especially useful.

[AV8rix]

13 hours ago, Laminator said:

Food, as has been discussed here numerous times, is subjective. The casino not so much. The OP claims the casino is empty. All I can relate is my experience but casino mgmt has always opened up the high limit BJ table for me no matter what time of day it is. They may ask me to wait 15 to 20 minutes for a dealer to return from break but they have always opened the table. I think they would do the same for the OP if he asked to have the craps opened. Especially if he is a high roller.

 

With VERY few exceptions that has been my experience too.  I'd chew ground glass before I'd EVER play 6/5 on land or at sea, so the hosts have generally been very gracious in opening the high-limit BJ table for me -- even in the mornings on sea days.  So I agree with you, with sufficient staffing they'd probably open the craps table if asked politely.

[Hlitner]

Somebody was recently telling me about the only casino game/machine that always “pays off”.”  It is called the ATM.

 

 

[TheMichael]

1 hour ago, ChinaShrek said:

But how many of those people are heavy gamblers? I have no interest in a free cruise that doesn't have a casino but you might. I am finding the response from gamblers especially useful.

 

I would say that of that 99%, 99% are not heavy gamblers. Either way, the OP didn't even take on his gambling woes in that OP. It was about "dog food" and a friend's computer glitch problem.

 

And about that - if OP is abandoning ship in San Diego, is he going to leave his friend? Again, we seem to be learning more about the OP than about the ship.

[IAcruising]

19 hours ago, nannygoatjunction said:

My hubby is very bad with words, it doesn't make what he has to say of any less value.

 

Actually, it does. Words matter. They are meant to convey a certain meaning or feeling. If you get them wrong, how is anyone supposed to understand what you *really* mean or feel?

 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, IAcruising said:

Words matter. They are meant to convey a certain meaning or feeling.

 

Some words stir up strong feelings. Back in my teaching days, we called it "loaded language." Also hyperbole. 

 

I think the OP vented without addressing his main problem. I think he got on the ship and discovered the casino was not what he wanted/expected. You know how something that's a big deal to you goes wrong and then everything after that is wrong, too? Even if it really isn't. 

Edited October 11, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Mary229]

20 hours ago, ldtr said:

Vancouver is not a far distant port so no that not work. 

I just sailed from Vancouver to San Diego so it does work

 

the OP clearly is not enjoying the experience.  Why try to convince him to stay?  He seems to know what he likes and dislikes so he needs to find the best method to bail out.   This reminds me of a thread where the first cruise was transatlantic and after one day they discovered they hated being on a ship - that could drive someone crazy.  Better to end it as soon as possible 

Edited October 12, 2023 by Mary229