Just back from Norwegian Escape and a brief comparison to all my Holland America cruisesI I

[BetsyS.]

Thanks very much for your thorough review!  😊

[dogo88]

Great review. Brought back some memories. It's been 10 years since we were on the Getaway which is a sister ship to the Breakaway. And as you have pointed out the signature issue we found on the ship was the level of noise. In some places it was deafening. And the blasting huge speakers on the dock at every port. Always can tell when NCL or Carnival are in port. 

 One place we did enjoy on the ship was the Waterfront. It had a number of locations with couches and chairs where you could sit and watch the sea go by. Then wander over to a close bar and grab a drink. Unfortunately, like pool chair hogs, these places got cluttered with towels and personal belongings left there to save the space. 

  

[albingirl]

18 minutes ago, dogo88 said:

Great review. Brought back some memories. It's been 10 years since we were on the Getaway which is a sister ship to the Breakaway. And as you have pointed out the signature issue we found on the ship was the level of noise. In some places it was deafening. And the blasting huge speakers on the dock at every port. Always can tell when NCL or Carnival are in port. 

 One place we did enjoy on the ship was the Waterfront. It had a number of locations with couches and chairs where you could sit and watch the sea go by. Then wander over to a close bar and grab a drink. Unfortunately, like pool chair hogs, these places got cluttered with towels and personal belongings left there to save the space. 

  

I didn't see the chair hogs there.  By the pool, probably, but there were constant reminders that staff would remove things after an hour and you could retrieve your things at guest services.  No chair hogs in the Waterfront area.  It was really nice.

[Toad]

Have sailed NCL and won’t do it again. Agree with your review but thought the food in the main dining area was very poor.

[albingirl]

4 minutes ago, Toad said:

Have sailed NCL and won’t do it again. Agree with your review but thought the food in the main dining area was very poor.

Some things were better than others, for sure. 

[kazu]

I sailed NCL years ago (and I do mean years).  My friend was a huge fan.  We sailed with them a few times.  Once they switched to free style dining she said never again after one cruise.

 

I owe it to NCL that we started to travel more.  Our first TA was on NCL - a classic, no longer in service & really nice but talk about Assisted Living.  I’ve never seen so many people with oxygen tanks and nurses ever.  DD DH and I swore that we would travel while we were healthy and good enjoy it.  HAL is nothing compared to what I saw on that cruise 😂 

 

I know from reports that  the Haven offers a wonderful experience but that’s pricey and not sure I like the “ship within a ship’ concept.  

[MISTER 67]

2 hours ago, cbr663 said:

So appreciate your review.  The largest ship we have sailed is the Koningsdam and my concern with the larger ships is noise and crowds.  We are looking for smaller, not larger.  

 

There are 2 things that HAL needs to do to win us back:  improve both its onshore and onboard service and improve its onboard entertainment.  Until then, we will continue looking elsewhere.  If everything aligns we will booking a European River cruise this week.  🤞

Agree on HAL, we love their ships especially the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam, we were very loyal to them but just too many cutbacks in food, service and entertainment, so they lost us.

Edited January 28 by MISTER 67

[LAFFNVEGAS]

@albingirl Thanks for your review.

We love NCL and HAL each for different reasons. I think a lot depends on your cruising style and where you like to hang out. I will admit for the most part we do book The Haven. With that concept you have the best of both worlds. Lots of quiet places to relax, but yet you have the whole ship to see great entertainment and be out and about.Tom loves their buffet because they are open a lot longer and more hours than HAL and is actually very good.  We love breakfast in the Haven Restaurant far better than Club Orange. We also love restaurants on board such as Le Bistro, Onda (but that is currently only on 3 ships) Ocean Blue and Q Texas BBQ are our favorites. We generally only eat night time dining 2 to 3 times in the Haven restaurant because we very much enjoy the specialty restaurants.

I know it can get crowded and noisy on NCL but to be honest we just stay away from it. 

NCL tends to have a bigger variance of ages on board and everyone is friendly. To me it is kind of crazy I have never seen so many people chat with each other in the elevators like I do on NCL. People tend to not talk much on HAL to others in elevators (Princess is even worse) but on NCL everyone is happy and saying Hi to everyone. I find it kind of refreshing.  

If penny for penny was equal in comparing The Haven to Neptune Suite, I would probably never return to HAL but in my experience in the past few years since the return to cruising from the pause The Haven even in the lowest category for same cruise HAL offers is considerably more money. On more expensive cruises with HAL I can at least get a Signature Suite that gives me more real estate. Since we want to cruise more rather than less I need to look at the bottom line. We do have 2 upcoming NCL Cruises in the Haven for 2024 then next one is mid April. But I also have 3 HAL cruises booked one for 2024 and 2 for 2025. For the time being we are just going to split it up between the two.

[albingirl]

36 minutes ago, kazu said:

I sailed NCL years ago (and I do mean years).  My friend was a huge fan.  We sailed with them a few times.  Once they switched to free style dining she said never again after one cruise.

 

I owe it to NCL that we started to travel more.  Our first TA was on NCL - a classic, no longer in service & really nice but talk about Assisted Living.  I’ve never seen so many people with oxygen tanks and nurses ever.  DD DH and I swore that we would travel while we were healthy and good enjoy it.  HAL is nothing compared to what I saw on that cruise 😂 

 

I know from reports that  the Haven offers a wonderful experience but that’s pricey and not sure I like the “ship within a ship’ concept.  

NCL is pretty young now. I saw very few old people on this cruise. 

[kazu]

6 minutes ago, albingirl said:

NCL is pretty young now. I saw very few old people on this cruise. 

 

Oh yes, I agree.  I didn’t mean to insinuate it had old passengers now.

 

I doubt that the SS Norway (which became the SS France) would appeal to that demographic now.  I liked the classic lines of that ship.

 

 

[albingirl]

4 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

@albingirl Thanks for your review.

We love NCL and HAL each for different reasons. I think a lot depends on your cruising style and where you like to hang out. I will admit for the most part we do book The Haven. With that concept you have the best of both worlds. Lots of quiet places to relax, but yet you have the whole ship to see great entertainment and be out and about.Tom loves their buffet because they are open a lot longer and more hours than HAL and is actually very good.  We love breakfast in the Haven Restaurant far better than Club Orange. We also love restaurants on board such as Le Bistro, Onda (but that is currently only on 3 ships) Ocean Blue and Q Texas BBQ are our favorites. We generally only eat night time dining 2 to 3 times in the Haven restaurant because we very much enjoy the specialty restaurants.

I know it can get crowded and noisy on NCL but to be honest we just stay away from it. 

NCL tends to have a bigger variance of ages on board and everyone is friendly. To me it is kind of crazy I have never seen so many people chat with each other in the elevators like I do on NCL. People tend to not talk much on HAL to others in elevators (Princess is even worse) but on NCL everyone is happy and saying Hi to everyone. I find it kind of refreshing.  

If penny for penny was equal in comparing The Haven to Neptune Suite, I would probably never return to HAL but in my experience in the past few years since the return to cruising from the pause The Haven even in the lowest category for same cruise HAL offers is considerably more money. On more expensive cruises with HAL I can at least get a Signature Suite that gives me more real estate. Since we want to cruise more rather than less I need to look at the bottom line. We do have 2 upcoming NCL Cruises in the Haven for 2024 then next one is mid April. But I also have 3 HAL cruises booked one for 2024 and 2 for 2025. For the time being we are just going to split it up between the two.

Agree with the friendliness factor. I did find Haven pricing to be very high, so it was a balcony for us. I love your reviews since I  don't cruise as much these days. I confess to eyeing a transatlantic for this coming fall  on HAL 

[albingirl]

Just now, kazu said:

 

Oh yes, I agree.  I didn’t mean to insinuate it had old passengers now.

 

I doubt that the SS Norway (which became the SS France) would appeal to that demographic.  

 

 

Thanks. I always enjoy your reviews  too. Your travels are interesting to follow. 

[OlsSalt]

Hal is a good value cruise line. Any other specific designation are meaningless.

 

If you think you get good value for the price and want to return again and again, that is a good definition of a value cruise line. It HAL prices increased to offer more lavish on-board entertainment, that would not be a value cruise line for us. 

[albingirl]

Now, back to football. I'll check back tomorrow. Thanks all.

[mawvkysc]

4 hours ago, Toad said:

Have sailed NCL and won’t do it again. Agree with your review but thought the food in the main dining area was very poor.

I agree. One and done for us because of the food. 

[Haljo1935]

Have not cruised on NCL, but look every couple months as they have a driving port but HAL does not. Size is what mostly keeps me from booking; your comparison really helps - thanks for doing it.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Oh yes, I agree.  I didn’t mean to insinuate it had old passengers now.

 

I doubt that the SS Norway (which became the SS France) would appeal to that demographic now.  I liked the classic lines of that ship.

 

 

 

She had been a beauty in her day. By the time I sailed on her, NCL was sailing her on the cheap. No more teak promenade. it was some kind of spongy stuff for a jogging surface. Crumbly and full of patches. Cheap astroturf on the sunbathing deck. There were very few remnants of her days as the France. Because the kitchen was small and couldn't be expanded, they couldn't do freestyle dining. She didn't fit with where NCL was heading and I think they were happy to scrap her. Very sad end for a beautiful lady. That was our last NCL cruise.  

[kazu]

36 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

She had been a beauty in her day. By the time I sailed on her, NCL was sailing her on the cheap. No more teak promenade. it was some kind of spongy stuff for a jogging surface. Crumbly and full of patches. Cheap astroturf on the sunbathing deck. There were very few remnants of her days as the France. Because the kitchen was small and couldn't be expanded, they couldn't do freestyle dining. She didn't fit with where NCL was heading and I think they were happy to scrap her. Very sad end for a beautiful lady. That was our last NCL cruise.  

 

Ahh that’s a shame.  We sailed her when she still had her teak promenade and teak decking.

I loved her MDR - heck I loved the ship and the crew.  She certainly didn’t fit into NCL’s future plans but she was a very nice ship.  My friend way back then knew the ship and we both knew her captain.  He warned that if we were going to sail - now was the time and we went.  I think we had 3 offers to change cruises as the prices were skyrocketing.  DD DH and I were both working and besides a  couple of 7 day Caribbean doesn’t compare to a 15 day TA 😉 

 

Booking early can pay off 😀 

 

[HappyInVan]

6 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

@albingirl Thanks for your review.

We love NCL and HAL each for different reasons. I think a lot depends on your cruising style and where you like to hang out. I will admit for the most part we do book The Haven. With that concept you have the best of both worlds. Lots of quiet places to relax, but yet you have the whole ship to see great entertainment and be out and about.Tom loves their buffet because they are open a lot longer and more hours than HAL and is actually very good... 

 

 

I have to agree. That's why I'm exploring MSC and its Yacht Club. Can it be any worse than an HAL Pinnacle ship?

 

[FrankieSue]

14 hours ago, kazu said:

I sailed NCL years ago (and I do mean years).  My friend was a huge fan.  We sailed with them a few times.  Once they switched to free style dining she said never again after one cruise.

 

I owe it to NCL that we started to travel more.  Our first TA was on NCL - a classic, no longer in service & really nice but talk about Assisted Living.  I’ve never seen so many people with oxygen tanks and nurses ever.  DD DH and I swore that we would travel while we were healthy and good enjoy it.  HAL is nothing compared to what I saw on that cruise 😂 

 

I know from reports that  the Haven offers a wonderful experience but that’s pricey and not sure I like the “ship within a ship’ concept.  

I totally agree with you Kazu and we also do as much travelling as we can while we are fit and healthy but I admire those with nurses and oxygen tanks who are still travelling rather than vegetating in nursing homes and I hope that when I need some nursing I am still out there enjoying life as much as I can

[akeka]

HAL is my favorite mainstream cruise line but I really like NCL for solo cruises outside North America.  They have interesting itineraries to Europe and Asia and lots of solo cabins.

[Boatdrill]

23 hours ago, albingirl said:

The ship is huge,and I have never been on such a large ship.  It was massive.  We have sailed with NCL however, but have been true loyalists to HAL.

Thanks for sharing your experience on NCL. I'm curious about your thoughts on the design of the ship, inside and out, such as ample outdoor public space, and unobstructed sightlines to the ocean. Is there a wrap around walking or jogging deck ?  For a Carib/warm weather  cruise, is there enough outdoor space to accommodate lots of people comfortably ?

How is the interior public space ? Is there a theme...glitzy, or soothing ? Colorful ? For example some large Princess ships have a hotel lobby type feel (also found in the wide passageways from lounge to lounge).  Their interior decoration seems to have an Italian influence throughout.

 

Sorry for all the questions. Just curious about what the ship looked like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[albingirl]

5 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

Thanks for sharing your experience on NCL. I'm curious about your thoughts on the design of the ship, inside and out, such as ample outdoor public space, and unobstructed sightlines to the ocean. Is there a wrap around walking or jogging deck ?  For a Carib/warm weather  cruise, is there enough outdoor space to accommodate lots of people comfortably ?

How is the interior public space ? Is there a theme...glitzy, or soothing ? Colorful ? For example some large Princess ships have a hotel lobby type feel (also found in the wide passageways from lounge to lounge).  Their interior decoration seems to have an Italian influence throughout.

 

Sorry for all the questions. Just curious about what the ship looked like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your questions.  I found it had a quiet interior, but you wouldn't know it from the paint on the hull.  Interior restaurants were fairly quiet, generally, and thoughtfully designed.  The Savor and Taste restaurants were our saving grace, since they were complimentary but fairly small and quiet as well.  Other people have said that the food is horrid, but we are pretty discriminating in this area, and do disagree with that observation.  The ship was fairly easy to get around, but when you needed to pass through the casino it was stinky with smoke.  The Waterfront area had plenty of couches and comfy chairs for sea viewing, reading or napping.  The deck doesn't go all the way around, but provides easy walking for most of the ship.  There are walking areas on upper decks, but far too sunny for our taste.  The LaCuccina Restaurant had the most Italian influence in design, but I was disappointed in the experience,  You can dine outside the restaurant on less windy days.  The shopping area had little interest for me since it had its usually junk and high priced items.  Surprisingly, there was not much in the way of clothing from Ralph Lauren or Nautica, or other well known brands.  Just cheap glitz.

Overall, a pretty easy ship to navigate.  The Atrium area was always a mob scene, since alot of typical game shows were held there, and the pool area was impossible to navigate, since it was way too small for so many people.

Bars were plentiful and it was always easy to get a drink.  No major congestion there, but we stayed away from the chaos.

Huge ships are not for me but I was a fan of the Maasdam and Veendam ships, particularly for a long cruise.  The trend toward larger ships is daunting.  However, I do like the Statendam and have sailed on her several times.  She's just about right with Club Orange and the Dutch cafe.  However, her dining room is obnoxiously noisy and I really disliked that feature.  We never ate in the large main on this ship, so I have no knowledge of how that went.  The table are set up in long rows to share and we are not share table people.  Only, because my husband has lost all hearing in one ear.  

Hope this is helpful.

[BetsyS.]

My family and I loved the Veendam too! We miss it.

[OlsSalt]

25 minutes ago, BetsyS. said:

My family and I loved the Veendam too! We miss it.

 

Ahhh, the good old days when HAL had four "S" class ships and four "R" class ships to choose from. Before they built those huge Vista class ships, and never looked back.

 

S: Statendam, Veendam, Maasdam, Ryndam

R: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Zaandam, Volendam

 

Now down to only two out of those original 8 truly signature HAL brand smaller ships. Glad we got to know them all.  (Sigh)