How Does HAL Compare?

[mcrcruiser]

  Service &   pleasing ship crews , better food overall , great long  viages with interesting port stops is what HAL is most noted for 

[LabMom57]

We like HAL but we don't need a lot of entertainment/lectures since we like port-heavy cruises. I would not advise doing a long trip your first time out unless the itinerary is your driving force.

 

As others have said the food and staff are very good on HAL. We had a ball on our first HAL cruise. We leave on our second one in a week. 

 

YMMV!

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Do you happen to know how it is decided which ships will dock where in Dublin?  Are small ships prioritized for docking there vs. being tendered?

 

I'm disembarking there on upcoming Azamara cruise (700 pax) and hoping they wouldn't be tendering for disembarkation.

 

Smaller ships dock in Dublin.  Azamara Onward (1st July '24) and Azamara Quest (25th July '24) are both listed as docking in Dublin Port.

Here is a link to the docking schedule for Dublin Port and for Dun Laoghaire.

A few ships do actually dock in Dun Laoghaire, but very few!

 

[PROCRUISE]

Have cruised with: CCL, X, HAL, RCCL, Norwegian, Princess, Viking and Windstar. Will pretty much stick with HAL now due to fair pricing, longer itineraries, good food and usually outstanding crew/staff members. I also prefer the Pinnacle class vessels where Orange Club is worth the cost.

[jlawrence01]

7 hours ago, rodndonna said:

We did NCL Viva (our first since Covid) in January and based in that cruise would say you can expect better food on HAL.

Certainly more entertainment options on NCL.

 

As others have said, maybe try a  shorter cruise to test HAL out before committing to a 28 day cruise. You never really know until you try it, and HAL is definitely a different vibe which may or not be your cup of tea. 

 

I would agree that NCL has better entertainment options, especially in the main theatre.  However, the difficulty is ever getting a seat especially in the smaller venues.  I have found that the entertainment venues on the Epic which carries 4000-4500 passengers are no larger than the ones on HAL ships that carry 2800-3000.  Also, since there is no staff at the smaller venues, many people show up an hour early and reserve 20-30% of the seats.  In other words, you show up 30 minutes early and there are no seats.

[Toad]

I did NCL once and agree with the OP’s complaints and more.  Never again.

[crystalspin]

On 3/29/2024 at 7:09 AM, FredZiffle said:

...we're considering a 28 day B2B on the Nieuw Statendam.  My wife is especially concerned about trying a new line for the first time on such a long voyage.  We're in our late 60's and have just gotten tired of NCL with the lack of entertainment (seems like it's 90% game shows now), the bad food, and the lack of daytime activities that interest us.  Is HAL any different?  My wife is looking for more, for lack of a better word, educational presentations on ports and culture during the day instead of all trivia and sales presentations like on NCL.  Decent food is also a priority. 

I think you should bite the bullet and book the cruise you are interested in! A 7-day Caribbean cruise is not going to give you a feel for a longer HAL cruise anyway. For example, the educational presentations will be more on longer cruises, probably non-existent on short ones. Entertainment is not HAL's strong suit, but they are apparently making some changes. The food is good! And the crew is cheerful and helpful (which wasn't the case on our one NCL cruise).

 

As far as daytime activities, we mostly read Kindles and sip something, but there are always many things listed in the Daily. They have re-installed libraries on I think all of the fleet (or are in the process). The Nieuw Statendam has Explorations Cafe in the Crows Nest for looking at the sea, and Grand Dutch Cafe on Deck 3, for people watching -- it's across the Attrium from the "Front Desk"! 

 

If you drink at all, I would recommend booking with the Have-It-All fare. It costs the same as the lower alcoholic beverage package (actually less!) which it includes, so the wifi, specialty dining, and shore excursions are gravy! Or, if you don't think you drink enough (including non-alcoholic) but would be buying the other perks, the drink package is gratis! (It's about half and half $-wise.) Also your HIA deposit will be refundable. If you really don't see the purpose of the perks, but want a refundable deposit -- call and ask for the Advantage Fare.

 

Hope to see you on a 'Dam Ship soon!

[montythecat]

Our cruising life has changed completely since our first

HAL cruise a couple of years ago. We have now been with

them four times with two more booked for this year. Staff

are outstanding and food is so much better with more

imaginative menus than other medium range cruise lines.

The entertainment is another compelling reason for us

seeing the world with Holland America. It may not suit

everybody but on Nieuw Statendam you will get a rock

band, pianists and a blues/soul band. Each of them will

play three 45 minute sets every night six days a week.

They each have a night off once a week. We rarely go

to the theatre. I am not keen on the type of

productions which Celebrity provide. HAL are the only

company which provides a different approach with

its musical offerings and we are very grateful for 

these innovations.

[TV Dad]

In my opinion, you will LOVE Holland America. The cabins are gigantic, compared to NCL. The Main Dining Room menu is far superior to NCL. The entertainment is designed for folks your age. You will not be disappointed. 

[rj59]

HAL is the worst ship for entertainment, because they don't have any production shows at all, just a few dance shows. Their food is good, far above NCL, although they followed their cost-cutting measure of having a single lunch menu in the dining room for sea days. They also got rid of on-board lecturers in favor of corporate TED talks, where the cruise director reads a script from a teleprompter. If you want decent entertainment, good food, and a huge number of guest lectures, try out Cunard. They have an older crowd, like HAL, the only one with a strict dress code on formal nights, but they usually have 2 different lecturers on board. They have things like dance classes, a fancy afternoon tea, a really excellent pub, and a 2-story library with thousands of books, which no other line has now. Their ships are very similar to HAL ships, so when I went on it I mostly knew where everything was. They have pretty good 10-night Alaska itineraries, some out of Florida, and of course their classic ocean liner between England and NY on the Queen Mary 2. 

[deeeeeeem]

We’ve been on the Nieuw Statendam the past two weeks and there were no educational presentations or whatsoever. That might be something to consider if that’s something you’re especially looking forward to. 

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, rj59 said:

HAL is the worst ship for entertainment, because they don't have any production shows at all, just a few dance shows. Their food is good, far above NCL, although they followed their cost-cutting measure of having a single lunch menu in the dining room for sea days. They also got rid of on-board lecturers in favor of corporate TED talks, where the cruise director reads a script from a teleprompter. If you want decent entertainment, good food, and a huge number of guest lectures, try out Cunard. They have an older crowd, like HAL, the only one with a strict dress code on formal nights, but they usually have 2 different lecturers on board. They have things like dance classes, a fancy afternoon tea, a really excellent pub, and a 2-story library with thousands of books, which no other line has now. Their ships are very similar to HAL ships, so when I went on it I mostly knew where everything was. They have pretty good 10-night Alaska itineraries, some out of Florida, and of course their classic ocean liner between England and NY on the Queen Mary 2. 

You are describing 2022 and the first half of 2023. There is now a changing menu for lunch with regional specialties and depending on the ship and itinerary there may be a wide spectrum of lecturers and appropriate cultural entertainment.  I say good riddance to dance and production shows.

Edited April 2 by Mary229

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, rj59 said:

try out Cunard. They have an older crowd, like HAL, the only one with a strict dress code on formal nights, but they usually have 2 different lecturers on board.

 

Are they selected to complement the itinerary or are they just random experts?

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, deeeeeeem said:

We’ve been on the Nieuw Statendam the past two weeks and there were no educational presentations or whatsoever. That might be something to consider if that’s something you’re especially looking forward to. 

If I might ask, was the two-week cruise one unique itinerary or was it two seven-day itineraries sold as a combined 14-day cruise along with being sold as two separate 7-day bookings? We have found in the past that makes a big difference regarding what educational/port talks might be provided.

[C 2 C]

On 3/29/2024 at 10:09 AM, FredZiffle said:

We're long-time NCL cruisers (with an occasional Princess or Celebrity thrown in), but we're considering a 28 day B2B on the Nieuw Statendam.  

 

How does Holland America compare?

We have cruised a lot: a bunch on Celebrity, a dozen or so with Princess and Royal, 20+ on HAL and one Norwegian, the Dream (aka the nightmare).

In September 2022 we cruised on HAL Nieuw Statendam from Quebec to Boston and back and enjoyed the ship so much we booked 8 B2Bs over Christmas and New Year.  We love this ship but the entertainment ie., theatre was mediocre on a good day.  The "music walk" however was great from jazz to classical to the Rolling Stones.  From reading the latest comments, the music is not as varied as it was a year ago.  No one has better itineraries than HAL.  The food is great, the service is wonderful but don't book because of the entertainment on board.  The quality just varies too much.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, C 2 C said:

We have cruised a lot: a bunch on Celebrity, a dozen or so with Princess and Royal, 20+ on HAL and one Norwegian, the Dream (aka the nightmare).

In September 2022 we cruised on HAL Nieuw Statendam from Quebec to Boston and back and enjoyed the ship so much we booked 8 B2Bs over Christmas and New Year.  We love this ship but the entertainment ie., theatre was mediocre on a good day.  The "music walk" however was great from jazz to classical to the Rolling Stones.  From reading the latest comments, the music is not as varied as it was a year ago.  No one has better itineraries than HAL.  The food is great, the service is wonderful but don't book because of the entertainment on board.  The quality just varies too much.

I guess that pretty much explains why we currently prefer Princess over HAL. BUT we're going to give HAL a fresh look on an April 2025 22-day Eurodam cruise from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle. One thing I also have to mention is that the rumor the singers and dancers are coming back has definitely got us excited, as we do enjoy going to theater shows every evening rather than hanging out in a lounge every night listening to music. 

[mgtravelsalot]

Cunard will give you all you want great lectures, shows, activities. The lectures will be both port selective as well as other topics. at least 2 per day. QM2 even has a planetarium with several shows. The others ships have things to do as well. I love HAL but often do Cunard for transatlantic now. Ships are elegant.  They do dress up more at night but you can always just go to their buffet which is good.   My  MOM loved it .

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lots of opinions here and of course you will hear all favoring Holland America over NCL.

We are 5 Star with Holland America most recent HAL cruise was in December, then previous November and previous to that August. We are Sapphire with NCL but our last NCL was February of 2023 but in 12 days will be boarding NCL Joy. HAL and NCL are our 2 favorite cruise lines.

My view of both lines may not be the same as most because we cruise Haven on NCL and 95% of the time Suites on HAL. But even if we did not sail in Haven for NCL my take on them would probably be the same. For Food we only eat in the Specialty Dining on NCL, that is where they shine. They have always been consistent from ship to ship with what they serve. If you are one that does not want to spend the extra for specialty then possibly the food quality has gone down hill in the main dining room but then so has HAL. Our November cruise on Koningsdam was honestly one of the worst cruises we have ever had for over all food in 60+ cruises but HAL redeemed themselves when we cruised on Nieuw Statendam in December. And there lies the problem with HAL they are extremely inconsistent. One ship can be great, then next not so much. Overall I like the buffet better on NCL. NCL also offers more non pay options and places to eat  at all hours, Holland America does not. There is no Local on HAL and the buffet closes very early in the evening, then does not reopen with very limited items for about an hour at 10:30 at night.

Entertainment...I know that is actually a sore subject for both lines. NCL had always been far better than Holland America but with NCL going cheap on shows it is not good for them but HAL is still not good. Some nights it will be hard to even find something to do unless you can get to one of the lounges early and camp out for a chair. At least with NCL there is several things going on at the same time with much larger venues that for the most part is easier to find a seat.

Stateroom accommodations over all HAL staterooms are larger with more amenities but I find the regular staterooms on Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam to not be nearly as nice as the older ships and the space and balconies are much smaller.

Comparing Crew, this is where I feel they are tied, it was odd you mentioned that Officers were not out and about on NCL because that has been happening with HAL for several years and my previous NCL cruises I thought Officers were more approachable. I may find in 2 weeks that has changed. Over All crew for both I find to be extremely friendly and felt they are very similar. 

 

As stated if you can before you commit to a long expensive voyage I would try to do a quick 7 day cruise on Holland America or at least before you have to make final payment on the long cruise. And preferably on the same ship or same class of ship you are looking at with HAL to get a feel of what HAL is all about. If this was 15+ years ago I would say that HAL and NCL had far more in common than not with the exception of when they started up with the Free Style Dining which was about 18 or 19 years ago. 

Overall we like both cruise lines, and after our upcoming NCL we will be back on HAL for August, then November on NCL Bliss. 🙂

[albingirl]

I always liked NCL and HAL.  However, on our recent cruise on NCL's Escape, I found it to be too much, with 4500 guests.  Crazy busy.  Food was fine, especially in specialty restaurants, but Taste and Savor, part of the MDR, were fine.  Entertainment was far better on NCL, but then, that's not overly important to us.  Itinerary is key.  We like HAL best because the ships are smaller, and the ports are amazing.  We are avid readers, so I imagine that helps to chase the daytime boring hours away.  Not much happening there that interests us, except that a lounge chair with a good book and and a glass of good wine go a long way lol.

[FredZiffle]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask, was the two-week cruise one unique itinerary or was it two seven-day itineraries sold as a combined 14-day cruise along with being sold as two separate 7-day bookings? We have found in the past that makes a big difference regarding what educational/port talks might be provided.

B2B 14 day cruises.  The 2nd part is a TA.

[Ken the cruiser]

Hopefully your second leg will have more informative talks, especially since it’s a TA. 

[dawnvip]

Its been 20 years since we last sailed with NCL, so hard to compare those long ago memories with our most recent HAL 18 day SA cruise last November. I can say that we were very happy with HAL in terms of food, service, itinerary, ship amenities and spaciousness. Quite easy to find a spot to sit where ever we went. 

 

However, we are going on Regent in June because the cost for a 14 day B2B Alaska is the same as HAL for same room category once you include HIA, tips, etc. Will let you know which one we like better in a few months! ☺️

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, dawnvip said:

Its been 20 years since we last sailed with NCL, so hard to compare those long ago memories with our most recent HAL 18 day SA cruise last November. I can say that we were very happy with HAL in terms of food, service, itinerary, ship amenities and spaciousness. Quite easy to find a spot to sit where ever we went. 

 

However, we are going on Regent in June because the cost for a 14 day B2B Alaska is the same as HAL for same room category once you include HIA, tips, etc. Will let you know which one we like better in a few months! ☺️

I am just curious, here is a 7-day Regent cruise in June from Vancouver to Seward where the cheapest veranda cabin is $6,699 pp or $957 pp/day, including all perks. What HAL category are you comparing it with?

 

[dawnvip]

16 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I am just curious, here is a 7-day Regent cruise in June from Vancouver to Seward where the cheapest veranda cabin is $6,699 pp or $957 pp/day, including all perks. What HAL category are you comparing it with?

 

 

We booked category F2, which is fairly close to a Signature Suite on HAL. My TA got us a better deal than what is captured in your post, in CAD $ (so 30% savings right there). I'm also comparing overall cost to our "usual" final bill which includes an extra 1 or 2 specialty restaurant nights over the course of the 14 nights, excursions in each port, drinks over the HIA cap (my wine and DH's scotch), etc. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I would have gladly sailed HAL in June if my TA had not gotten the Regent for us!

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, dawnvip said:

We booked category F2, which is fairly close to a Signature Suite on HAL. My TA got us a better deal than what is captured in your post, in CAD $ (so 30% savings right there). I'm also comparing overall cost to our "usual" final bill which includes an extra 1 or 2 specialty restaurant nights over the course of the 14 nights, excursions in each port, drinks over the HIA cap (my wine and DH's scotch), etc. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I would have gladly sailed HAL in June if my TA had not gotten the Regent for us!

Thanks for sharing. Have a great cruise!!