Will NEVER use HAL again!!

[dougnewmanatsea]

As far as a resemblance to the Raffaello & Michaelangelo thats not realistic...the hull of the AL had a bulge at the water line

Tumblehome :) !

 

Personally, I really like tumblehome. I can't explain why - it's just one of those quirky things about old ships that new ships don't have too much of.

 

But I wasn't speaking of the hull... More the superstructure, mast, funnel, etc. The stuff that was "new". The hull of course was the same one from 1939 - well except for the bow which was new too.

 

Anyhow, this sort of thing is like a Rorschach test - obviously I see a resemblance and others don't. I see strange things sometimes ;) .

 

ACHILLE LAURO (ex WILLEM RUYS) also had a lot of tumblehome incidentally. Apparently at that particular time, the Dutch were very fond of tumblehome. As I said, I like the way it looks... I guess not just so much for aesthetic reasons as that it's just very distinctive and a bit "different".

 

The current ROTTERDAM has distinctive tumblehome - I thought that was rather a nice coincidence since it used to be so common on Dutch liners.

 

the Oceanic also has that streamlined look

Ah yes, but she has tumblehome ;) !

 

Seriously though, OCEANIC is another ship that borrowed a lot of her design from the Italia liners of the period. In fact all of the other Italian shipping companies really copied Italia. It also helps that the employed a lot of the same designers, shipyards, etc. of course...

 

One thing that made MICHELANGELO/RAFFAELLO and OCEANIC stand out and seem particularly "modern" was that they had flat sheer (in fact I don't think OCEANIC has any sheer at all). This is very different from most of the other Italian liners (or other liners of the period for that matter) which had very pronounced curved sheer.

 

Speaking of OCEANIC, I have heard a rumor from Spain that this is her last season with Pullmantur. Very sad if true :( .

 

I would absolutely love to sail her in the Med but alas I don't think I can get away this summer... And if I could it would be a tough choice between her and MONTEREY (on the same basic itinerary)...

[xpcdoojk]

I've said it before and I'll say it again if for no other reason than to just drive everyone nuts:D ... everybody has their favorite. Celebrity is mine. HAL is second.

 

Everyone is right. Whatever is a person's cruise line of choice is the best cruise line .... for them!:)

 

But if you don't cruise on a line for 7 or 8 years, you really can't judge.

 

Amen. I cruised on Carnival one time back in 1998. My opinion of them has almost no validity in facts, and my opinion is now based on the biases that I have had reinforced in me by my participation in forums like this.

 

Honestly, the experience on a cruiseline can change ship to ship and even sailing to sailing. Those who globally infer some kind of trend or consensus based on a single sailing on a single ship this year are allowing their prejudices to the fore of their thinking.

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

And I recently tried Celebrity and - while it wasn't bad- I won't be going back. Still, I haven't seen HAL sailing with lot's of empty cabins. My upcoming Prinsendam cruise os sold out and we haven't reached last payment date, yet.

 

But you go right ahead and sail some other line. I'm sure those folks over on the Celebrity board will be very welcoming :rolleyes:

 

Dave you have posted over there haven't you?:D :D Welcoming, that is just the word I was thinking of and I really like Celebrity! ;)

 

jc

[Rotterdam]

Last May I saw the OCEANIC in Barcelona & she looked wonderful & very current / modern even after all these years & changes to her interiors. Great design may be defined by a certain era but will stand up through the ages. The FRANCE is another example - prior to the addition of decks as the NORWAY.

 

As far as the PRINSENDAM she is a much smaller ship & anyone that has sailed on her knows how wonderful & what an unique experience it is to be aboard - she has great bones & has the feel of a private club. Grumpy & Slinkie hit a home run by picking her as their first HAL experience sailing on the world cruise on her last year. She has a very loyal following & sells out fairly quickly. Sail her before she sails into the sunset!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Rotterdam, I'm looking forward to boarding Prinsendam in December of this year. I couldn't believe when I found a 10-day itinerary we could afford. To be back on a ship with less than 800 passengers is honestly beyond my dreams. I can't wait:) .

 

On another note, you can like sailing Celebrity without feeling welcome on the Celebrity boards. I've never really enjoyed the main Celebrity board (except to read) ... visiting there usually feels like a tight circle with locked hands and I'm way beyond trying to beat my way in.:D

 

On the other hand, the Celebrity Roll Calls are amazing and great fun before a cruise. Maybe I've just been unlucky, but I've never found the HAL Roll Calls to gather as much steam.

[RevNeal]

Honestly, the experience on a cruiseline can change ship to ship and even sailing to sailing. Those who globally infer some kind of trend or consensus based on a single sailing on a single ship this year are allowing their prejudices to the fore of their thinking.

 

I agree completely.

[RevNeal]

On the other hand, the Celebrity Roll Calls are amazing and great fun before a cruise. Maybe I've just been unlucky, but I've never found the HAL Roll Calls to gather as much steam.

 

In general I would agree that the HAL roll calls tend to be a bit anemic ... but there have been some great exceptions. The Maiden Voyage of the Noordam had a great, active Roll Call thread. At times, I miss it. We had fun on that thread.

[xpcdoojk]

I agree as usual with Heather and the Rev.

 

RCI and X cruise critic parties were always well attended even before CC started the official relationship. Once that initial meet and mingle meeting started though roll calls in those forums really took off, primarily because there would be an official time and place on board as determined by the cruiseline. So a lot of people sign up on the roll calls. On my 18 month roll call for my Rotterdam cruise there were about 5 of us that regularly planned gatherings. Another half dozen wandered in on the roll call to usually never return.

 

The X board here is one of the most closed forums at CC and that is saying a lot. :D

jc

[RevNeal]

On my 18 month roll call for my Rotterdam cruise there were about 5 of us that regularly planned gatherings. Another half dozen wandered in on the roll call to usually never return.

 

That would be about average for HAL Roll Calls, I'm sorry to say. The Noordam Maiden Voyage Cruise and the Veendamer Cruise are two outstanding examples, however, of where dozens of people were posting for more than a year and a half before the cruise departed. It was great fun, and I look forward to other such Roll Calls in the future.

 

For a LONG time the HAL area of CC was a place to meet and chat and such -- i.e. argue and fight :( -- but it has only been the last year and a half, or so, that groups of us have started making concerted efforts at actually MEETING on ship and doing group activities together. The result, in my experience, was a wonderful Maiden Voyage cruse on the Noordam ... and a large percentage of what made that cruise so great was the friendships I made before the cruise, and then solidified DURING the voyage. Friendships with friends whom I now miss, now that I'm back in the "real world."

[xpcdoojk]

Rev

 

It is a wonderful thing to have friends and to spend time with them. While my roll call group was not large, it was fun to be half way on the other side of the world and to see another familiar face, and to be able to exchange pleasantries with them on the streets of Buenos Aires or in Puerto Montt. Or to hear about their getting robbed in Santiago at the airport. OK, well that wasn't good to hear, but still they had someone to share their story with, and sharing things like that is the start of healing them. I have made friends with a English couple that we met on our first RCI cruise in 1996, they have cruised with us twice since then, and have visited us at our home a few times and we have visited them at their home, and in fact, we are planning on spending Christmas with them in the Canary Islands. Others I stay in touch with via email or these forums.

 

It is a shame that more people don't take advantage of the oppurtunities to meet and share with their fellow forum members.

 

JMHO

 

jc

[Captain Crunch]

And I recently tried Celebrity and - while it wasn't bad- I won't be going back. Still, I haven't seen HAL sailing with lot's of empty cabins. My upcoming Prinsendam cruise os sold out and we haven't reached last payment date, yet.

 

But you go right ahead and sail some other line. I'm sure those folks over on the Celebrity board will be very welcoming :rolleyes:

 

water finds its own level

[dakrewser]

jc - I have posted on the X boards with little or no response. There are one or two helpful people but most appear to believe in a closed circle. Still, as Heather (I think) mentioned, the Roll Call for our X cruise was great with a couple of dozen couples posting and getting together. I've had a Roll Call for our upcoming Prinsendam cruise going for a few months now, and there's exactly 2 of us posting to it. Still, we did decide to spend our 3 days in St. Petersburg together sharing a guide...

[Cath66]

I have to agree with others. It's a shame this happened to you, but I don't think you can hold HAL responsible. I clearly remember them telling us not to put alc. out with luggage. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that somebody missed it in your session, but common sense would tell me not to leave alcohol in the hallway. It'd be a pretty good scam for people to run. Either arrange for somebody to 'steal' it from outside your door, then get reimbursed. Free booze for all! I'm sure somebody has tried it, which is why you're not getting what you want from HAL.

It's an unfortunate fact of life that a few dishonest people make life 'tougher' for the rest of us.

 

At the risk of being flamed by others.... I have to say, your attitude as presented in your post is exactly why the person who came up with 'the customer is always right', should be shot.

[xpcdoojk]

jc - I have posted on the X boards with little or no response. There are one or two helpful people but most appear to believe in a closed circle. Still, as Heather (I think) mentioned, the Roll Call for our X cruise was great with a couple of dozen couples posting and getting together. I've had a Roll Call for our upcoming Prinsendam cruise going for a few months now, and there's exactly 2 of us posting to it. Still, we did decide to spend our 3 days in St. Petersburg together sharing a guide...

 

I quit posting at the X board a couple of years ago, except to tweak a few of the resident clique members. They really think that they are a comedy team, and unless you fawn upon how creative they are they are not likely to pay any attention to you. It is in my opinion the strangest board here at CC. Although the Princess board is a close second. I will probably sail with X again since I get good perks on them and RCI due to my status, but still I am not rushing to book with them. Right now I am leaning towards HAL because HAL appears to be the last cruise line that has world class itineraries. I really appreciate how the people in this forum accepted me over the last two years. I learned a lot and it helped make my virgin HAL cruise a great experience. Several people here I consider good friends and hope to meet them someday on a ship going somewhere!

 

Cheers until we sail together

 

jc

[HeatherInFlorida]

Cath, no one will flame you for saying that. As you can see, the OP went away and most everyone else agrees with you!:D

 

Dave, our Prinsendam roll call is equally pathetic. A few of us posted, said we were going and now it's dead in the water. Maybe when we get closer (it's not until Decemer).

 

jc, you are more than accepted ... you are looooooooved;) .

 

I agree about the Celebrity board although I will say when I've asked direct questions there people have been very helpful and nice. But when I attempted to simply lend an opinion or "chat", I was completely ignored. And everyone here on the HAL board knows how hard that is to do!!!:)

[xpcdoojk]

Heather, most people in all of the forums truly want to help people enjoy the cruiseline they love. So, if you can ignore the handful of cranks you can always get the information you need.

 

Now, I know how to get their attention in the X room, because I know how to crank them. :D ;)

 

jc

 

PS thanks for the love... who would've thunk that!:D

[mim100]

newbie question here...and it's straight curiosity only....what cruiseline is being referred to as "X" ?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi, Mim ... we mean Celebrity. You'll always see the huge "X" on their ships. Someone here can probably give you the history of what that stands for. Somewere along the line, I read it. But I can't remember!

[xpcdoojk]

Originally Celebrity was owned by the Greek Chandris shipping family. If you were a member of a Greek society in college the X or chi is the Greek version. Hence they put it on their ships. When RCI bought Celebrity they didn't change the branding.

 

I am not a historian so don't sue me if any of that isn't exactly right, but I think it is the correct gist. :D

 

One of the great things that I loved about Celebrity is they play the Greek national anthem when they leave port. Love it.:)

 

jc

[gizmo]

The letter X on the ships' funnels is the Greek letter for C (CHI) and stands for Chandris, the line's founding family. In other words, the X is the first letter of the name in Greek !

[JRachels]

Hi, Mim ... we mean Celebrity. You'll always see the huge "X" on their ships. Someone here can probably give you the history of what that stands for. Somewere along the line, I read it. But I can't remember!

 

The X stands for Chandris. It was a Greek line and the spelling would have begun with the Greek letter X for C. Chandris was purchased by RCCL.

 

Joyce -- Speaks a little Greek

[xpcdoojk]

That was funny 3 answers in one minute! :D Proving people want to help!:D

 

jc

[mim100]

Wow...thanks to all for the great answers !! yes you're all very helpful :)

[Grumpy1]

amazing how many Celebrity experts there are lurking over here...:D

 

jc, we haven't had much opportunity to say Hi to you, but your South American journal has been printed out and is in my "stack of stuff" to help with ideas for our shore excursions. Many thanks for the information.

[xpcdoojk]

amazing how many Celebrity experts there are lurking over here...:D

 

jc, we haven't had much opportunity to say Hi to you, but your South American journal has been printed out and is in my "stack of stuff" to help with ideas for our shore excursions. Many thanks for the information.

 

Grumpy along with finishing my taxes, finishing my review needs to be back on my priority list!

 

Go to Iguasso Falls. It was spectacular.

 

jc

 

PS I am not lurking. I would be lurking at Celebrity, which was one of my points. :D