What Can You Tell Somone Who's Never Cruised on Holland America?

[Figsgrandma]

So far we've only cruised on Princess and Royal Caribbean, but are looking at Holland America because it's one of the few cruise lines sailing out of New York this winter.

 

I'm interested in anything you can tell me, the good and the bad, and not only how it compares to the other cruise lines, but what I can expect, in general, from a Holland America cruise.

[constructiondude]

I've only been on HAL so I will let the more experienced cruisers help you compare but what I can tell you about HAL that I like is that their ships look like ships and not gaudy Las Vegas hotels. Their are wraparound promenade decks and almost all of the public rooms are oriented toward the water so you never forget that your on a ship. The food is great, the service excellent and I can spend all day and did in their spa. Slots are tight like most ships. Can't comment on the entertainment because I don't go much for that. You won't feel as crowded in on HAL as you would RCL from what I have heard. Not sure about Princess. I think you should at least give HAL a shot.

 

PS I know you said just one thing but once I get going as I'm sure most of us, its hard to stop.

[navybankerteacher]

The food on HAL is superior to that on Norwegian or Carnival; the service is also noticeably better. There are numerous small touches which set HAL apart: fresh flowers in public areas, fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast, more attractive, "traditional" marine architecture and interior decor: lots of brass work (which is kept polished), a ships hull which looks like a ship: dark blue with white superstructure --rather than a boring white, which looks like a modern office building lying on its side -- dining rooms surounded on three sides with wide and tall windows - Carnival's are often fully enclosed and claustrophobic. Norwegian's ships are painted with garish swirls of color - which make one think of a used car lot. There

is a promenade deck (teak) which circles the ship -- Carnival ships have a miserly few feet of open deck on either side.

 

The traditional assigned seating gives one a regular group to eat with each dinner (my personal preference) while Norwegian's "freestyle" often results in long waits at popular eating times - often sharing a table with a new group each evening. Also, the "freestyle" approach seems to lead to a more casual approach to dress code - arguably trivial, but it does seem to result in a louder, somewhat more uncouth atmosphere. Sadly, Norwegian seems to depend heavily on revenue from lottery tickets and bingo sales -- the continual announcements for which create something of a carnival (lower case) atmosphere. There is a wider variety of music, for dancing and/or listening on HAL - while Norwegian and Carnival seem rarely to have anything other than throbbing disco music --- to each his own.

 

Finally, the passengers attracted to HAL, like me, are a little calmer - we do not have the hairy chest and wet tee shirt contests, or the "spring break" atmosphere which seems to prevail on Carnival and, to a lesser extent, on Norwegian. These are strictly personal and subjective observations - I am sure there are many who would prefer the livlier, noisier mood on Norwegian and Carnival,.

[Aussie Gal]

We have sailed on both Princess and HAL and find the two lines are very similar. Both have good food and on both we have always found the staff and crew to be excellent. We have over 100 days with HAL and are Platinum with Princess so have experienced both on a number of cruises.

 

We have never been on a Princess ship that has had anytime dining. We have only had traditional dining on both cruise lines. If you are used to anytime dining then HAL will be a complete contrast with its set dining times.

 

I think HAL is a little more conservative or formal than Princess which is a little more laid back, but all our cruises on both lines have been enjoyable and we would retun to both.

 

HAL does have beautiful flower arrangements throughout the ship and wonderful art work. Also their Explorers Cafe is a great idea with the internet, library and coffee area all together.

 

On both ships you receive fruit each day in your cabin though HAL has it over Princess when it comes to breakfast in the cabin, as you can order a hot breakfast whereas on Princess you only order a Continental. Also on disembarkation day, on a HAL ship you are able to stay in your cabin until your number is called whereas on Princess you have to wait in a lounge.

 

We also prefer the food in the Lido on HAL than on Princess. I think the choices are better and I love having ice-cream all afternoon not just at a set time. The same applies to the hamburgers and pizza though of course this doesn't help the waistline.

 

I would try HAL, especially if the itinerary is what you are looking for. I am sure you will not be sorry.

 

Jennie

[newmexicoNita]

So far we've only cruised on Princess and Royal Caribbean, but are looking at Holland America because it's one of the few cruise lines sailing out of New York this winter.

 

I'm interested in anything you can tell me, the good and the bad, and not only how it compares to the other cruise lines, but what I can expect, in general, from a Holland America cruise.

I have cruised all the mass marketed lines except Princess and short of writing a book, I will try to give you a really quick break down. You know what to expect from the lines you have cruised so let me cover briefly what I and some of my clients might say about Carnival, NCL and HAl. HAL has larger cabins, very comffy beds and yes, fresh flowers, but from what I have heard the fresh flowers are being used as mush as in years past. The food is much better in my opinion, especially the Lido buffet. How often do you get really hot food, made while you are in line, or almost cooked to order? When they say, be careful the plates are hot, they mean exactly that. As for service, some was better than most lines, some service lacking. HAL to me, is for the cruiser who isn't looking for much activity and is content to read a book, see an occasional show and maybe take part in a few activities, but the demographics will be an older crowd, more reserved and less likely to want much socializing. Even the few nights where they offered the game shows like "not so newly weds" were a bit on the boring side. Many of the activities that are offered carry a pretty healthy price tag.

 

Carnival, of course is geared to those who do like to stay up later at night, the food is good, but not outstanding and the cabins are as big or bigger than HAL. You will always find something to do on sea days.

 

NCL is known for freestyle dining among other things. Freestyle is gaining in popularity, In fact 2 HAL ships are going to give it a try starting in January. It will be more like Princess offers, you can opt for traditional or open. For us, the choice of so many places to dine as well as choosing the times works well. Traditional dining offers early seating which is too early for us and late seating too late. I also like the itineraries offered by NCL. As for service, this is strictly the luck of the draw: we have had lousy room steards, ok ones and outstanding ones on all lines. For us the energy level of the guests and the crew on NCL keeps us coming back. One thing I don't like about NCl, they do push the booze and the bingo more than some lines, but HAL did a pretty good job of letting us know about Bingo, over and over and over!!!

 

Hope this gives you a little insight into what the different lines are like, including HAL> NMNita

[Figsgrandma]

Thanks, everybody, for your responses.

 

A little about us. We're both in our late 50s, and while we like a ship that has activities, we're not "party animals". We're fairly active, and like to do a lot of walking.

 

So far, we've always done traditional dining, but after our experience on our last cruise we're considering trying personal choice next time if the ship has it (our last cruise was the first one where we were travelling alone, and looked forward to meeting interesting table mates. While they turned out to be nice people, they all seemed to think they could arrive at the table whenever they wanted, even if it was 30 minutes passed the designated seating time. We figure that with personal choice, even if we're sitting with different people each night, presumably we'll all be at the same point in our meal).

 

NCL is the other cruise line that cruises from NY in the winter, and I've noticed from their website that the ships seem very colorful, especially the cabin decor, which seemed a little bold. From the pictures, the HAL decor seems more to our taste.

 

We're still not sure if we'll be able to get away this winter, but even if we don't, whatever you can tell me now I'll remember for the future.

[newmexicoNita]

Thanks, everybody, for your responses.

 

A little about us. We're both in our late 50s, and while we like a ship that has activities, we're not "party animals". We're fairly active, and like to do a lot of walking.

 

So far, we've always done traditional dining, but after our experience on our last cruise we're considering trying personal choice next time if the ship has it (our last cruise was the first one where we were travelling alone, and looked forward to meeting interesting table mates. While they turned out to be nice people, they all seemed to think they could arrive at the table whenever they wanted, even if it was 30 minutes passed the designated seating time. We figure that with personal choice, even if we're sitting with different people each night, presumably we'll all be at the same point in our meal).

 

NCL is the other cruise line that cruises from NY in the winter, and I've noticed from their website that the ships seem very colorful, especially the cabin decor, which seemed a little bold. From the pictures, the HAL decor seems more to our taste.

 

We're still not sure if we'll be able to get away this winter, but even if we don't, whatever you can tell me now I'll remember for the future.

Personal choice is something everyone should try. As for table mates, as many of us have found out: they can make or break a cruise. You mention the boldness of NCL ships. When we sailed the Jewel last year (it was brand new at the time) I had seen the pictures and thought how gaudy can a ship get. well I am certain they paid a fortune to the deocorators because when we got on the ship we were pleasantly surprised: Bold is a good word, but instaed of being gaudy, it was a really upbeat experience. DH never says much about the ships; when he saw the Jewel his words were WOW. If subdued is what you like, HAL will offer that more than NCL. If walking is your thing, that you can do on any ship. NCL will offer a great deal more activities, but HAL offers a certain class. NMnita

[Hollyhawk]

We found the food in the lido on NCL to be passable (I'm being kind). The dining room selections we made were good, not fantastic just good.

The lido on HAL is much better, I give it a 7-10 depending on your choice of offerings. We have always had fantastic beef entrees on Hal; prime rib to die for, steak sandwich from room service killer, all cooked RARE the way I like it, oh and great lamb too. I don't cook much red meat at home due to DH's cholesterol problem.

What I do not order on HAL anymore is king crab legs, they are shriveled dried up freezer burned and salty, lobster bisque salty as he** and no lobster to be seen.

We always bring our own kit of spices and condiments, we like well seasoned and spicy foods and so far we've found the only dish in that category any cruise line can do is a curry dish.

Need to note this has been on Caribbean cruises.....Alaska and New England sailings may vastly differ due to suppliers.

[newmexicoNita]

We found the food in the lido on NCL to be passable (I'm being kind). The dining room selections we made were good, not fantastic just good.

The lido on HAL is much better, I give it a 7-10 depending on your choice of offerings. We have always had fantastic beef entrees on Hal; prime rib to die for, steak sandwich from room service killer, all cooked RARE the way I like it, oh and great lamb too. I don't cook much red meat at home due to DH's cholesterol problem.

What I do not order on HAL anymore is king crab legs, they are shriveled dried up freezer burned and salty, lobster bisque salty as he** and no lobster to be seen.

We always bring our own kit of spices and condiments, we like well seasoned and spicy foods and so far we've found the only dish in that category any cruise line can do is a curry dish.

Need to note this has been on Caribbean cruises.....Alaska and New England sailings may vastly differ due to suppliers.

I agree with your assesment about the NCL buffets compared to the Lido. Lido is probably the best I have ever seen, actually hot foods are hot. Most buffets and I don't care what you pay the hot foods are warm at best. You were smart not to order the crab legs on HAL. That was one of the few dishes that totally disappointed me. AS for the prime rib, the first offering was tasty and tender, the second go around, tender but lacking in taste. Of course I am not one to think Prime Rib has that much flavor anyway. I much prefer a good steak. yes, HAL does have better food than NCL. If this is the reason someone chooses a cruise line, then I would recommend HAL over any mass marketed line, but I hope most look past food only. NMNita

[bentpilot]

Not to hijack this thread, but as it seems to be trending towards food, I couldn't help but to add our $.02 worth.

 

HAL is only the second cruise line we have been with, and reading all the posts about how HAL's food is so much better than other lines, makes me not want to cruise with anyone!

 

We found all of HAL's food (with the one exception of the room service burgers) to be amazingly unremarkable - this includes room service, Lido and dining room (we did not tray Pinnacle). The food may have been hot, but it was lacking in taste.

 

I know this is all subjective, however, for us (early 30's) the three words that sum up our food experience with HAL our:

 

1) bland

2) institutionalized

3) disappointing

[Hollyhawk]

Since we are the subject of food, if one reads the menu closely, you will find many recycled items with very interesting descriptions. We choose our cruises based on the itinerary and cabin we can afford; with that said we will never sail without a balcony.

[Hollyhawk]

Whoa, can't fix spelling error....Please pardon me!

[newmexicoNita]

Not to hijack this thread, but as it seems to be trending towards food, I couldn't help but to add our $.02 worth.

 

HAL is only the second cruise line we have been with, and reading all the posts about how HAL's food is so much better than other lines, makes me not want to cruise with anyone!

 

We found all of HAL's food (with the one exception of the room service burgers) to be amazingly unremarkable - this includes room service, Lido and dining room (we did not tray Pinnacle). The food may have been hot, but it was lacking in taste.

 

I know this is all subjective, however, for us (early 30's) the three words that sum up our food experience with HAL our:

 

1) bland

2) institutionalized

3) disappointing

your age may explain your finding the food on the bland side. We are older, but accustom to using lots of spices. i will say the more trendy spices weren't used as much and food on ships will never be the same as a 4 or 5 star land based restaurant. they are preparing for too many people. One of the things we loved about the Amsterdam was the selection. There were nights I had to really think hard to decide what emtree I wanted because the choices were so varied. Yes, food is subjective and maybe cruising isn't for you. If you feel like spending the money you may find lines like Oceana more to your liking. NMNita

[wskon]

your age may explain your finding the food on the bland side. We are older, but accustom to using lots of spices. i will say the more trendy spices weren't used as much and food on ships will never be the same as a 4 or 5 star land based restaurant. they are preparing for too many people. One of the things we loved about the Amsterdam was the selection. There were nights I had to really think hard to decide what emtree I wanted because the choices were so varied. Yes, food is subjective and maybe cruising isn't for you. If you feel like spending the money you may find lines like Oceana more to your liking. NMNita

 

As anyone knows from reading these boards I am a huge fan of HAL. I just got off my 6th cruise. Yes - cruising and food are important. Yes HAL has always been far superior to other cruise lines. Celebrity a close second, carnival not to far away. However the experience I had with food on the Volendam was terrible. The food was cold, bland, and horrible choices. The meat (lamb, and beef was of poor quaility). HAL's service is the best and I will cruise with them again - hoping I just hit an off cruise. My DH and I are in our early 60's...

[newmexicoNita]

As anyone knows from reading these boards I am a huge fan of HAL. I just got off my 6th cruise. Yes - cruising and food are important. Yes HAL has always been far superior to other cruise lines. Celebrity a close second, carnival not to far away. However the experience I had with food on the Volendam was terrible. The food was cold, bland, and horrible choices. The meat (lamb, and beef was of poor quaility). HAL's service is the best and I will cruise with them again - hoping I just hit an off cruise. My DH and I are in our early 60's...

Amazing how things can be so different. We just got off the Amsterdam and for the most part the food was outstanding. The last night we had leg of lamb, not the best I have tasted but certainly average or better. The fish we had was outstanding and we had 5 or 6 choices every night, not counting the vegetarian dishes. Our biggest complaint was not enough activities and not the best service. I guess this just goes to show you, it isn't just the cruiseline one chooses but the ship and the particular sailing. You mention Celebrtiy being just below HAL, we put HAL heads and shoulders above Celebrity. NMNita

[wskon]

Amazing how things can be so different. We just got off the Amsterdam and for the most part the food was outstanding. The last night we had leg of lamb, not the best I have tasted but certainly average or better. The fish we had was outstanding and we had 5 or 6 choices every night, not counting the vegetarian dishes. Our biggest complaint was not enough activities and not the best service. I guess this just goes to show you, it isn't just the cruiseline one chooses but the ship and the particular sailing. You mention Celebrtiy being just below HAL, we put HAL heads and shoulders above Celebrity. NMNita

 

I know what you mean - different cruiseline different ship - different sailing. We had always experienced excellent service on Celebrity but the food wasn't quite as good. That is why I said this time the food on HAL was far from memorable. I guess cruising is becoming a hit or miss situation anymore. I did feel better to know that I wasn't the only one that thought the food had gone way down hill on this pacticular cruise.

Sandy

[Aussie Gal]

Amazing how things can be so different. We just got off the Amsterdam and for the most part the food was outstanding. The last night we had leg of lamb, not the best I have tasted but certainly average or better. The fish we had was outstanding and we had 5 or 6 choices every night, not counting the vegetarian dishes. Our biggest complaint was not enough activities and not the best service. I guess this just goes to show you, it isn't just the cruiseline one chooses but the ship and the particular sailing. You mention Celebrtiy being just below HAL, we put HAL heads and shoulders above Celebrity. NMNita

 

We spent 34 days on the Veendam in September and all of October and we found that every evening there was always something different to try and for the most part very enjoyable. It is very hard to plan a different menu for so many days and yet the Chef did a marvellous job. For a ship with over 1200 passengers we thought the food was excellent.

 

The Lido at lunchtime could not be faulted. One would have to be very fussy to complain about choices and whether it was tasty or not.

 

We do not expect to be eating 3 star Michelin food when we board a ship, it is just not possible, but we do like to look forward to our meals and we found that even after 33 days, we still enjoyed our last meal on board.

 

Jennie

[Randy H]

My wife and I have sailed Holland, Celebrity, Princess, RCN, Norwegian (some years ago) and Carnival (as well as Regency, now gone, and Chandress (morphed into Celebrity)). We haven’t sailed on one of the very exclusive lines… they offer a different experience.

 

 

Holland has never forgotten its history as a shipping line. Some other lines use nautical themes in their decoration. Holland uses images of their ships going back to the early 19th century, and images of ships going back much further. The “Dutch Officers” are part of the tradition. I like this aspect of the cruise.

 

As for service an amenities… Norwegian and Carnival are a notch (or two) below. RCN is supposed to be in the same league with Norwegian and Carnival, in our opinion is much better, closer to a mid level experience rather than a entry level. Most cruises less than week in length are several notches below cruises on the same line. Generally, Holland does well as does Princess and Celebrity.

 

A cruise ship dinning room is by virtue of its size a banquet hall, which is not conducive to over the top cuisine, but most cruise ships do very well when considering the volume produced by the kitchen. If you come from a large metropolitan area, with a restaurant “scene” the food will be better at home. If you are a foodie, the food may not live up to the hype. On the other hand, the food on board most cruise ships will surprise you with its quality and variety.

 

Food and service varies from cruise ship to cruise ship from the same line, as well as from cruise to cruise, so the best experience on Carnival may be better than the worst on Celebrity. (but that would be unusual) Celebrity probably has better food in the dinning room, but takes more risks to get there, and so more often fails in the attempt. Holland has its Culinary theater, which and creates an image of culinary excellence. I like the Pinnacle on Holland.

 

Generally my wife and I avoid the Lido… but Holland seems to do well there. Holland has a better variety of shore excursions… We both like the Thalassotherapy Pool on Celebrity.

 

Based on all of the above, my wife and I like Holland and Celebrity best. When choosing between the two we look at the ports and schedule.

[HoneyGV]

Not to hijack this thread, but as it seems to be trending towards food, I couldn't help but to add our $.02 worth.

 

HAL is only the second cruise line we have been with, and reading all the posts about how HAL's food is so much better than other lines, makes me not want to cruise with anyone!

 

We found all of HAL's food (with the one exception of the room service burgers) to be amazingly unremarkable - this includes room service, Lido and dining room (we did not tray Pinnacle). The food may have been hot, but it was lacking in taste.

 

I know this is all subjective, however, for us (early 30's) the three words that sum up our food experience with HAL our:

 

1) bland

2) institutionalized

3) disappointing

 

I must agree in part with what you say about the food on HAL. When we sailed in Feb 06, the food was very bland and tasteless (to us) compared to Carnival's (taste is a matter of opinion). When we sailed the Volendam last month I noticed a difference in the food..it was actually much better than it was in Feb. There were some changes I do believe..and for the better. The scalloped potatoes in the Pinnacle were so good, the chef sent me his recipe to my cabin and I'm going to try to make them for Christmas dinner. (I think the heavy cream had something to do with it):D

[cruisequeen10]

I've cruised mostly with Princess, 1 with RCCL, 2 with NCL and now 2 with HAL. When I cruised with HAL on one of their Mother's Day cruises a few years ago, I just hated it. When I booked the HAL (Zuiderdam) cruise for the Alaska trip this summer, it was because it was the cheapest round trip Vancouver I could find. I was a little leary sailing with them, but the price had a lot to do with it. Once I was on board, everything fell into place and I enjoyed it so much that I am planning on cruising with them again next year and bringing the whole family. I just hope that they like it.

[newmexicoNita]

We spent 34 days on the Veendam in September and all of October and we found that every evening there was always something different to try and for the most part very enjoyable. It is very hard to plan a different menu for so many days and yet the Chef did a marvellous job. For a ship with over 1200 passengers we thought the food was excellent.

 

The Lido at lunchtime could not be faulted. One would have to be very fussy to complain about choices and whether it was tasty or not.

 

We do not expect to be eating 3 star Michelin food when we board a ship, it is just not possible, but we do like to look forward to our meals and we found that even after 33 days, we still enjoyed our last meal on board.

 

Jennie

I agree with you. We did have a few less than memorable meals, but all in all we were more than satisfied. I guess I just don't understand what some people expect in food. BTW, I am considered a blue ribbon cook and almost always prefer eating at home to eating out as I find my cooking better. Sorry, if this sounds like bragging, but I am just trying to understand how some can be disappointed in HAls food. NMNita

[Figsgrandma]

Once again, thank you for all your comments. I'm sure, now, that if we decide to make the trip, we'll enjoy HAL.

[tonykj1]

I have cruised all the mass marketed lines except Princess and short of writing a book, I will try to give you a really quick break down. You know what to expect from the lines you have cruised so let me cover briefly what I and some of my clients might say about Carnival, NCL and HAl. HAL has larger cabins, very comffy beds and yes, fresh flowers, but from what I have heard the fresh flowers are being used as mush as in years past. The food is much better in my opinion, especially the Lido buffet. How often do you get really hot food, made while you are in line, or almost cooked to order? When they say, be careful the plates are hot, they mean exactly that. As for service, some was better than most lines, some service lacking. HAL to me, is for the cruiser who isn't looking for much activity and is content to read a book, see an occasional show and maybe take part in a few activities, but the demographics will be an older crowd, more reserved and less likely to want much socializing. Even the few nights where they offered the game shows like "not so newly weds" were a bit on the boring side. Many of the activities that are offered carry a pretty healthy price tag.

 

Carnival, of course is geared to those who do like to stay up later at night, the food is good, but not outstanding and the cabins are as big or bigger than HAL. You will always find something to do on sea days.

 

NCL is known for freestyle dining among other things. Freestyle is gaining in popularity, In fact 2 HAL ships are going to give it a try starting in January. It will be more like Princess offers, you can opt for traditional or open. For us, the choice of so many places to dine as well as choosing the times works well. Traditional dining offers early seating which is too early for us and late seating too late. I also like the itineraries offered by NCL. As for service, this is strictly the luck of the draw: we have had lousy room steards, ok ones and outstanding ones on all lines. For us the energy level of the guests and the crew on NCL keeps us coming back. One thing I don't like about NCl, they do push the booze and the bingo more than some lines, but HAL did a pretty good job of letting us know about Bingo, over and over and over!!!

 

Hope this gives you a little insight into what the different lines are like, including HAL> NMNita

NMNita-

This is the first I have heard about 2 HAL ships trying some version of Freestyle dining in January. Do you know which ships are going to be testing this?

 

Thanks