Want to try HAL

[BigAft]

My wife and I have only sailed on the Grand,Golden, Carib. Princess and the Brillance of the Seas, all with balconies or mini-suites. Want to try a new line.

 

Any suggestions as to which HAL ship we would enjoy? We love the Carib weather and enjoy the various islands, but the ship is important also.

 

Any help would be welcomed.

 

Thanks,

Larry

[Spot]

What is important to you when you cruise?

[Stevesan]

If you liked the larger ships,you'll probably prefer HAL's Vista class ships: Zuiderdam, Westerdam or Oosterdam. The smaller S Class might be too small and sedate for you.

 

As to cabins, the SS category is nearest to Princess' minisuites. The cabin size is large enough to be comfortable for two and there's a decent sized balcony. The balcony categories are slightly larger than Princess' balcony cabins. We booked an SS on a B2B E/W caribbean on Zuiderdam. It was great fun with a better demographic mix than our S Class experience, but we like those as well. That's testified to by our booking a 14 day on Veendam for next year. I've posted a number of photos on Cruise-Addicts web site including some SS cabin pix. They're under "Zuiderdam B2B Sep 2003". Be sure to click on "list galleries alphabetically' or you'll likely miss it:

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/picturepost/index.php

 

Dining is traditional only with four dining times, two early and two late.

We've recently booked our first Princess cruise on Grand. We're looking forward to the experience.

[doone]

From some of the pictures I have seen posted here, I think the Westerdam and Oosterdam look to be the best out of the Vista Style ships.

[DFD1]

Polling here indicates the Volendam, one fo HAL's mid sized ships, is a favorite of experienced cruisers who post here. I mention her because she will be doing l0 and 11 day Caribbean cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale this fall and winter. She is a beautiful ship with beautifully decorated pubic rooms and well arranged staterooms. The ports of call are interesting and the pricing seems very competitive.

 

We are booked on her for ll/26/04. This will be our 5th HAL Cruise and our 30th over all.

 

We have found HAL cruises to have a certain quality about them that is hard to put into words, but is very comforting and satisfying for us. They may not be the very best in any category, but they are good enough that more passengers return to them than almost any other cruise line.

 

Good cruising. I hope you like HAL.

[Spot]

Very well spoken DFD1.

[doone]

I'd agree with that, I love the Volendam and I will be sailing her for the second time next March.

[michmike]

Veteran of 3 HAL cruises here with 4th coming up 11/6. I would advise trying one of the (is it S class ships?) anyway Maasdam, Veendam, Zaandam, Volendam rather than the Vista class. Based on the posts I've seen here over the past yr and a half or so, those are the ships that inspired much of the loyalty HAL experiences. Still hearing WAY too many mixed reviews of the Zuiderdam, less so about Oosterdam and Westerdam. We've sailed now on Maasdam, Veendam and Zaandam and have enjoyed every one of them. Upcoming cruise is on Volendam which is the sister ship to Zaandam so certain that we will like her as well.

 

Our only other previous cruise (our first) was on Celebrity's Galaxy. Had a good time and for my money the food on Celebrity is more ambitious and better presented than on HAL but we prefer the size of the S class better as well as the service provided by the Indonesian and Filipino crews. On Galaxy the elevators were always full and crowds often an issue. Never have gotten that feeling on HAL and more often that not have the elevators to ourselves.

 

Don't believe all the geriatric biz. There is a good mix of folks on HAL and every trip we have met folks we enjoyed. If you want to be busy doing something all the time and need to party til the cows come home, you may want to reconsider HAL altogether. But if you want a good relaxing week on a very nice ship with great service and altogether adequate (if not inspired) food then you will pleased with HAL.

[TedC]

I suggest the Oosterdam or the Westerdam. They're similar to the Brillance of the Seas but with fewer passengers and MUCH better food and more selections.

 

We cruised the Baltic on the Brillance during its first year. The ship was beautiful but the food very disappointing. We've also enjoyed the Zuiderdam, but prefer the O and W.

[RevNeal]

The Volendam is a wonderful ship. I really enjoyed her ... so much so I've been aboard her three times!!!! :D

 

I'll be on her sister ship, the Zaandam, beginning THIS Saturday. WooHoo!

[Sage]

I too would agree that the Volendam would be a good ship. I have yet to sail on her, but I have heard such great things.

 

Revneal, is it already that close. I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[RevNeal]

What do you mean "already"????

The last 3 weeks have been the longest of the year! ;)

 

Yes ... it's that close. There are only 3 days left for me to finish getting ready. I began, about 3 months ago, with a list of things I needed to do. By the time I scratched the last item off that list (yesterday) I had built up another list of things to do NEARLY as long as the first one!!!! :D Most of those things will have to be completed after tomorrow. After Wednesday night services I'm FREE. Thursday is my last mad-house day of trying to wrap up affairs, pay bills, stop mail, etc. Friday I'll be busy taking Dorcas (my puppy) to my parents, making arrangements at the vet in case there's trouble to enable my parents to care for her, and a last minute stop by the pharmacy to pick up my perspecriptions (which should be filled by then) ... and ... OH MY WORD! ... I've forgotten to get blank videotapes for my camcorder!!!!! YIKES! Add another thing to my list to go get!!!!!

 

Packing will have to be pretty much finished Thursday because, on Friday night, I have tickets to the Symphony. I wasn't able to change them for a different night (like Thursday night) and I don't want to miss this concert anyway ... so ... I'm going. :) That means I have to be ready to go BEFORE that. :)

 

Anyway ... time is short. 3 full days to get "my rat killing" done, as the saying goes. :) Then ... I'm off.

[imsulin]

Geez, Rev...it's just like you to wait until the last minute! You really need to get organized, and I can help! Take me, for example...I did last month's laundry on Sunday after skipping church, emptied last year's litter box last Thursday, and paid last May's bills tonight. I pride myself on being organized, and you should do the same.