PLEASE HELP! Considering HAL, have ?'s NEED answers ASAP

[tinaparrotthead]

My DH and I are considering a cruise on the Zuiderdam in March 07. We have cruised 5 times with Carnival (don't like Carnival at all) and with Princess, we have been very happy with Princess. We have heard it said many times that HAL is mostly age 60 and up cruisers. We are in our late 40's and love the Caribbean live Music by the pool and we love live bands and dancing at night to the sounds of the 60's & 70's. I found a posting of the activities for the day for a sailing in 05 and I didn't see anything in the lounges that would appeal to us.

Can anyone please respond and tell us what we could expect in the entertainment venues? Thank you so much to all who respond!:)

[kryos]

We have heard it said many times that HAL is mostly age 60 and up cruisers. We are in our late 40's and love the Caribbean live Music by the pool and we love live bands and dancing at night to the sounds of the 60's & 70's. I found a posting of the activities for the day for a sailing in 05 and I didn't see anything in the lounges that would appeal to us.

Can anyone please respond and tell us what we could expect in the entertainment venues? Thank you so much to all who respond!:)

The entertainment will depend on the sailing. If you're talking a 7-day Caribbean cruise, yes ... there will be plenty of music in the lounges and bars and much of it will be 60s and 70s style. Also, there's been reports here of piped in music ... some folks say it is too loud ... throughout the ship ... lively type music. Also, if you are on a Vista class ship ... you will have the Northern Lights Disco with a dj and live music there in the evenings.

 

As for HAL being 60 and up ... that is not necessarily true. Depends on the itinerary. On the seven-day Caribbean and Alaska cruises ... during peak months (kids out of school, etc.) and on the Vista ships ... you can get a much, much younger age demographic than on the longer HAL voyages.

 

HAL cruises will be more "laid back" than Carnival ... for sure. But you will certainly have music and dancing available every night ... some Caribbean music out by the pool during the lunch hours ... and a reasonably lively night life. I guess whether you enjoy HAL or not will depend on what you are looking for ... a relaxing cruise with a decent night life, or a high energy experience. If it's the latter, perhaps you would be better served on another line such as Royal Caribbean.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[SF49erfan]

HAL offers a lot of nightlife if you want to take advantage of it. The Crow's Nest has a DJ and dancing every night and it is usually themed(SockHop, Country Western, etc) Ocean's Lounge has a live band that plays pops with dancing. The Explorers Lounge has a strings group that plays easy listening music but nothing to dance to.Also, the piano bar has all kinds of sing-alongs.

As for ages - We were just on the Maasdam to the Caribbean and there were all age groups represented from 80+ to young couples with todlers in strollers. HAL has it all.

We have never done a Carnival cruise, but have done Princess and really liked it, but we love HAL. Hope you have a great cruise!

Terry

[dakrewser]

You probably won't like HAL as much as you like Princess. That's neither good nor bad, but when you've found something you like it's best to stick with it...

[kakalina]

As others have said it depends on the length of the cruise more than anything else. On shorter cruises you get a demographic of younger, working persons. On longer cruises you generally will find older, more often retired persons. Of course, there will always be exceptions but this is a general observation. Vista class ships have more nightclub type options than the other classes.

[hammybee]

You probably won't like HAL as much as you like Princess. That's neither good nor bad, but when you've found something you like it's best to stick with it...

 

I'm with you on this one. The evening dynamics on HAL change dependent upon the passengers and it can swing from quiet evenings to having people who want to party all night. I am thinking a lot of this has to do with group bookings too.

[bepsf]

I'm in my early 40's and enjoy HAL, but I think it's the type of line where you kinda have to make your own fun - there won't be hundreds of folks in the disco till 2am, and there won't be dance parties out on the open decks...

If you prefer a party atmosphere, you may want to stick w/ Princess or even try MSC.

[Willsot]

We took a Carnival Cruise (Mexican Riviera) and had continuous poolside music, live and loud. Last five cruises have been with HAL and I do not recall any poolside live music, one of the little reasons we continue with HAL (we are 53 and 56).

[kryos]

We took a Carnival Cruise (Mexican Riviera) and had continuous poolside music, live and loud. Last five cruises have been with HAL and I do not recall any poolside live music, one of the little reasons we continue with HAL (we are 53 and 56).

We had live music at the pool for about an hour or so during lunch time on my recent Amsterdam cruise. It was a Caribbean style band. I can't swear they play everyday ... probably just on sea days ... but I caught them a couple of times, so I know they play out there.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[vpoopsy]

Just got back from the Zuiderdam. I have also cruised Carnival and Princess. I think Carnival is the biggest partier, Princess in the middle then HAL. I think alot of it also depends on your cruise staff. This cruise staff was a blast. They had a disco night and they all dressed up. We did not go to the Northern Lights, but I know there was an alumni group that was up all night dancing. We were in the Crow's Nest a couple nights and one was 50's and it was fun. The did hula hoop contests and stuff like that.

 

We sat out by the pool on our "sea day" and there was a guy that played taped music and he played the steel drum. Wasn't too loud and we were sitting right next to him. It wasn't all day either.

 

IMO, HAL is top notch when it comes to service, but it was an older crowd, averaging 70 years old. Maybe going in March, it could be different because most of our older folks were hibernating in Florida from the cold weather in NY.

 

There was alot of dead time on the ship and I don't remember having that on the other two I sailed.

[xpcdoojk]

You probably won't like HAL as much as you like Princess. That's neither good nor bad, but when you've found something you like it's best to stick with it...

 

I agree and with Brian.

 

jc

[newmexicoNita]

My personal opinion is, if you like the night life and activities Princess or NCL might be a better bet. yes, the itinerary and length of cruise will make a difference. HAL is the class of the mass marketed lines, but is geared to the older traveler. One thing though, you mention March. March is the season for spring breaks especially with Easter being early this year. This will bring more families and kids on board. HAL might work well in this situation as the cruisers will be a little younger but there will not be an influx of kids like on some lines. NMNita

[tinaparrotthead]

Thanks to all who have posted with experiences on the Zuiderdam and HAL in general. One thing I don't think I said in my original post is that it is the Zuiderdam / Eastern Caribbean on March 31st out of Ft. Lauderdale. We have a VA Verandah (#7102) being held until tomorrow and so can anyone tell me a couple more things:

1) This cabin is toward the aft on port side with a smaller ship like the Zuiderdam, is there much vibration toward the aft?

2) What is the stability like in rough seas on this smaller ship?

3) I may have given a wrong impression to some with my original post...I apparently came off as being quite the partier which is certainly NOT the case. My DH is a musician and so very much enjoys the different live bands that we have encountered on previous cruises. We have NEVER been to any of the discos on any of our cruises...we always say we are going to but end up seeing what late show is in the main Theatre on board and then usually go to bed as I am up at 5 a.m. most mornings....I say all of that to restate for those who may have misunderstood what I was looking for in "entertainment" Are there "broadway" style shows in the main theatre on the Zuiderdam???

 

Thanks again for ALL of your responses......and for posting with some answers to these questions! You guys on the HAL boards are very nice, I haven't seen the attitudes on the HAL board that I have seen on some of the others! Thanks!:)

[vpoopsy]

Zuiderdam is not one of the smaller ships. It was parked next to the Prinsendam in one of the ports and is quite a big larger. We had some rough seas and you can definetly feel the ship moving. That's going to happen on any of them. We were in a forward cabin on the 6th floor and never felt "vibration".

[vpoopsy]

oops, duplicate

[dpm321]

We have cruised 9 times, including three times on HAL. We just returned from a trip on the Westerdam last week and noticed a considerable difference from last year's cruise on the same ship. I would estimate without exaggeration that the average age must have been around 70 years old. My wife and I are in our early fifties. We had a table for 8 at dinner and the next youngest person was 72. Made it hard to find common ground for conversation. Also, the large number of people in walkers and wheel chairs made movement around the ship somewhat difficult and the age tended to sway the entertainment. While there is a small nightclub on board for "younger" people, most of the bands and music are geared to an older crowd. The comedian was excellent though and was able to play off the aging crowd very well!

 

Another change we noted this year was that the quality of food in the dining room has gone down a bit and the service has also suffered. This line used to be known for quality of food and service but I think maybe the Carnival ownership is beginning to have an influence. Next year we're going back to Princess.

[vpoopsy]

I agree with dpm321 The food was so-so and the "shows" were average. Lot's of wheelchairs. We had fun, but I think we'll go back to Princess or try Celebrity if we cruise again.

[mergek]

what is a DH?

[RuthC]

what is a DH?

It stands for Dear (or Darling, or Dumb, or Dastardly, or, well, you get the idea) Husband.

 

I see you're new here, and welcome to Cruise Critic. But I have to say---

This thread is TWO YEARS OLD! There really isn't any need to bump up a thread that's this obsolete to ask your question. You could have started a new thread. And please do! We'd love to talk to you.

[ssminnow]

also you need to think about what surcharges (fuel/dental care for the crew) they might spring on you after you book the trip.