HAL and the GLBT Community

[Rotterdam]

I have been sailing on HAL since the mid 1970's.....over the years & changes for the most part I enjoyed it..I have been on over 50 cruises (I am 50 y/o) on many different lines.

 

That being said in 2007 I took my last HAL cruise & won' return any time soon....I like good food & service & a choice of entertainment ...my last HAL cruise was on the noordam..11 days out of NYC to the carib in February...the line now has been attracting a younger crowd(ha ha) but the service & food is mediocre at best....they are also cramming in more passengers on ships so the service lacks in many depts....the service in the DR was so poor we only ate there 3 or 4 nites.

 

As far as nite life...BORING...Boring Boring...in the Crows nest it was literally dead....the bars were empty & we ended up just going to bed early...even the disco was sad...

 

we are not big party people but we do like our cocktails & staying up to dance a couple of nites.....no chance on NOORDAM.

 

This past Feb we sailed on QM2 13 days in Feb again out of NYC.....we really enjoyed the ship & the variety of entertainment & choices for dining & bars....

My partner(he is 47 yo) was happy in the pub watching the super bowl w/ other passengers - it really was a fun nite...and we loved the jazz combo in the Chart Room & the classical concerts..a couple of nites we danced in the disco - the space per passenger is excellent......and I am not a great fan of big ships but we will go back to Cunard/ QM2.

 

That being said I just booked a 4 day bahamas cruise on RCCL Majesty of the Seas for next month - I have not been on RCCL for many years but this cruise fit my schedule for a quick get away. Matt FLL is doing the 3 day after I disembark & apparently those cruises are much more "FUN".

 

Another line i enjoyed - was MSC - its European - not for everyone - but the Italians(as always won me over)...

 

We are now looking at Celebrity for FEb.......no more HAL for us!!!!!

[voyeurism26]

My partner and I are both in our early 40's and we have been sailing on HAL since 1995. You can say we are very loyal to HAL. However, I do recommend going on HAL for a 7 day cruise..its not a party ship...but the age ranges from 25-75 in age...but more into 40's-50's. We have made many friends with str8 older couples and had a blast and we also made friends with many gay men. HAL is very gay friendly...many staff members are FOD so don't think twice about going on HAL. Just don't go on a 10 day or more cruise on HAL unless your over 65 or more :)

 

Celebrity is also very good and will not dissappoint.

 

-David

[jjb415]

Jack, sorry to see that we will miss you by one week on the Oosterdam. We will be sailing on Nov. 8.

 

Hope you have a great trip!

 

Thank you !! :) I hope that you have a great trip also. Anxiously awaiting my cabin assignment here. Just saw the Oosterdam while in Victoria, BC, and she is looking good.

[Duncarob]

Just off the HAL Volendam and it was wonderful. You don't go on HAL for the nightlife, but otherwise the atmosphere was just so refined and relaxing. I truly felt pampered. These ships are not like the flashy, vegas-style ships of Carnival, RCI or NCL but more like a very upscale hotel. I'll definitely sail on HAL again.

[Rotterdam]

Duncarob....Volendam is a wonderful ship - Great size & decor...I was on her back in 2000...unfortunately other than her sister(Zaandam) HAL did not follow this path.....even a year later on the Zaandam on the same itinerary - I could tell Carnivore was changing HAL's direction.....

 

 

 

Just off the HAL Volendam and it was wonderful. You don't go on HAL for the nightlife, but otherwise the atmosphere was just so refined and relaxing. I truly felt pampered. These ships are not like the flashy, vegas-style ships of Carnival, RCI or NCL but more like a very upscale hotel. I'll definitely sail on HAL again.

[jjb415]

That being said I just booked a 4 day bahamas cruise on RCCL Majesty of the Seas for next month - I have not been on RCCL for many years but this cruise fit my schedule for a quick get away. Matt FLL is doing the 3 day after I disembark & apparently those cruises are much more "FUN".

 

Another line i enjoyed - was MSC - its European - not for everyone - but the Italians(as always won me over)...

 

We are now looking at Celebrity for FEb.......no more HAL for us!!!!!

 

Hey Rotterdam,

 

I hope you enjoy the Majesty of the Seas, the Monarch out of LA has really impressed me - although the cabins are TEEEEENY, they really do a fantastic job with the 3 and 4-day sailings. The Boleros Lounge is fun. A lot of people will miss her when she goes the the Panama Canal.:(

 

Can you tell us more about MSC? Friends who sailed them loved the European itinerary, but, said that otherwise it was all cigarette smoke and ill-behaved children. I'd love to hear your impressions.

 

Thanks in advance. :)

[Rotterdam]

I did a 7 day carib cruise on the Opera a couple of years ago - it is a European cruise in that the food & servoce is different - I was raised & prefer the european experience..its a bit more proper & the food different. For instance you just dont ask questions of someone w/out first saying good morning(or such). Many Americans take this as rude or indifference but te Europeans just would not adress someone without some sort of proper greeting....

 

As far as the food is concerned - yes the beef is a no no...but I stuck to the soups, pastas & fish & salads....teh portions are small but surely with several courses most people are satisfied....there is no super sizes etc....tehre was a limited room service menu available.

 

I loved the size of the ship...the cabins are small - not as small as teh RCCL tho.....it was Presidents week and there were maybe 25 kids that seemed very well behaved(again I found the European kids better behaved than the American counterparts on other cruises).

 

I do not go to shows etc...but the lounges were full & plentiful & people really enjoyed drinking & dancing....fun stuff...the cocktails were good...again no supersize....and the disco fun fun fun...the Italians know how to put on a party!!!!

 

 

There was plenty of deck chairs and pool area(the NCL Dawn was the worst as far as pool areas IMO). The steam & sauna were great.....

 

There were a couple of service issues(mainly language issues)but I found it overall a very good cruise....and I would go on MSC again.....

 

 

Thanks for te words on the Maj of Seas......its just a short R&R for me,,,,just cocktails & pool & a promenade deck....I'll post when I return!!!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Hey Rotterdam,

 

I hope you enjoy the Majesty of the Seas, the Monarch out of LA has really impressed me - although the cabins are TEEEEENY, they really do a fantastic job with the 3 and 4-day sailings. The Boleros Lounge is fun. A lot of people will miss her when she goes the the Panama Canal.:(

 

Can you tell us more about MSC? Friends who sailed them loved the European itinerary, but, said that otherwise it was all cigarette smoke and ill-behaved children. I'd love to hear your impressions.

 

Thanks in advance. :)

[xander]

Hi Rotterdam,

 

I've been tempted by MSC as they offer some really great value & interesting itineraries here in Europe. They've also launched some new ships which have been well received - Orchestra, Poesia (?) , Musica. The only thing that's held me back is our Costa experience which was dire, especially the food. We lived on pasta and pizza for a week which was not good for the waistline.

 

How would you rate the food on MSC compared to RCCL and NCL? And what about the smoking and multi lingual announcements?

[jjb415]

Thanks Rotterdam for giving us your thoughts on MSC and to the OP for letting us highjack this thread for awhile. :)

 

Have fun on your next sailing!

[Rotterdam]

As far as announcements & smoking - neither was a problem for me( I never smoked) The food was ok - nothing outstanding..typical 2-3 star European, not as many choices in buffets etc as some American lines....

 

I know what you mean about Costa...years ago they were great but once Carnivore took over it went down hill......we too lived on salads etc...I found the food to be just plain weird...nothing tasted as it should of....

 

We were on NCL a few years ago & the food was a bit better than MSC & on RCCL we ate buffet (in fairness it was a 4 day Mexican cruise) so I can't really judge...that being said I would pick MSC over the 2 lines because of the European ambiance I always find something to eat & we now have dinners & lunches in ports at great restaurants, so if we miss a meal in the DR - no big deal....

 

Many Americans find MSC lacking because there is not as much food & the entertainment is different(I read a review once that stated the music in all the lounges wasn't danceable....yet I found the lounges & dance floors filled - it reminded me of the old Costa, Home & Italian lines.

 

I sailed on the OPERA & really like that size ship - plenty of space...the cabins are small but so are RCCL.....

 

To give you an idea of my tastes I'll rate the cruises I have sailed on in the last few years...1 being poor - 10 being great

 

Noordam 2007 - 4(bad food, really bad service , packed ship)10 day carib

 

QM2 2008 - 8(surprised by good service & food / actually liked space

ratio) 13 day panama carib

 

OPERA 2006- 7 (good service /food so so / great ship) 7 day carib

 

Costa Med 2005- 6 (so so service mediocre food, great spa facilty...hated the vegas decor

 

RCCL - Monarch 2004...5( bad food, herd mentality of crew , it was ok for what it was..we never ate in the DR) 4 day mexico

 

NCL DAWN 2004 -7 (ok food , so so service,,,hated the pool area, great mens locker room facilities) 10 day carib new years

 

QE2 2003 - 9 ( great ocean liner good food & service) 14 day Panama Canal

 

Celebrity Horizon 1990's- 8(nice ship good food & service) 7 day Bermuda(several times)

Celebrity Zenith 1990's- 8(same as Horizon) 7 day bermuda(several times)

 

HAL Prinsendam 2006 - 7(loved the ship, so so food, service so so) 15 Trans Atlantic

 

HAL Volendam 2000 - 8(great ship good food & service) 10 day carib

HAL Zaandam 2001 - 7(great ship good food - so so service) 10 day carib

 

I leave Monday for the RCCL Majesty of the Seas..I"ll let you know what Ifind there....

 

We now cruise for itinerary & ship.....I wanted a quick getaway at sea...so the 4 day cruise , then my other half & I will meet & stay 6 days at the Ritz Carlton in Ft Lauderdale....

 

our next cruise will most likely be a carib in February....

 

Cheers...and cocktails...

 

Hi Rotterdam,

 

I've been tempted by MSC as they offer some really great value & interesting itineraries here in Europe. They've also launched some new ships which have been well received - Orchestra, Poesia (?) , Musica. The only thing that's held me back is our Costa experience which was dire, especially the food. We lived on pasta and pizza for a week which was not good for the waistline.

 

How would you rate the food on MSC compared to RCCL and NCL? And what about the smoking and multi lingual announcements?

[greg_atlanta]

HAL Westerdam 10/19 had an FOD meeting on the schedule every day in the Atrium Bar on deck 1. That space was awkward so we moved it to the Ocean Bar on deck 3.

 

Average attendance was 20 men each day (no women), and with my somewhat trusty gaydar I'd guess there were at least 10 other FODs who didn't attend the meetings.

 

Aaron (the waiter at the ocean bar) took good care of us and brought extra snacks and such -- and gave us the scoop on the other gay staff members (the filipinos, at least). He was a hoot in the staff show.... I won't spoil the surprise.

 

The demographics skewed older (quite a few walkers and wheelchairs) but it wasn't a nursing home at sea. The few kids/parents on the ship were pleasant (parents can be worse, you know). Not a glam scene at all. Food was great in the dining room for dinner, but just predictable for b'fast and lunch.

 

I'll do HAL again for a modest premium over other cruises (I'd say it's 25% better than RCI) but I'd like to try some other lines first.

[Rikerbehr]

I have cruised 2 times so far on Holland America Line and are packing for are 3rd one in Dec.

 

I found the ships to be nice, the staff to be outstanding. On our last cruise we participated in 2 wine tastings, and 1 pub crawl. The pub crawl went to all 5 bars on the ship and was a blast about 40 people participated from 20's year olds to a couple in the 60's.

 

Everyday they have a FOD in one of the bars. When we took our photo's for formal night they posed us as a couple.

 

There are plenty of things to do on there cruises, they are not know for big parties, but they do have some good events. I am 40 and my partner is 31 and we both had stuff we could enjoy together and apart.

 

The art on all their ships is fantastic and they have art auctions you can watch they also have the Food and Wine Kitchen that shares the theater where the Exec. Chef shows you how to cook up some great recipies.

 

I hope you enjoy yourself, we are looking forward to many more cruises on Holland America Line.

[AFuncruiser]

In the last 20 months I have been on a Celebrity Trans Atlantic a Holland America Hawaiian cruise and a Holland America Trans Atlantic. I am booked on Celebrity's December 2008 Trans Atlantic. In between these cruises I jump on Carnival’s oldest ship out of Jacksonville a couple times a year. I just returned from a nine day back to back on Carnival. Get me on the water at a good price with a decent outside cabin and I am a happy camper.

Thanks to cost cuts there are no premium cruise lines any more.

Dennis

Jacksonville, Fl

204 days at sea

24 cruises

11 cruise lines

T/P, T/A, Hawaii, Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific

Booked

Celebrity Century T/A 14 nights 12/1/08

 

 

 

[Schplinky]

In the last 20 months I have been on a Celebrity Trans Atlantic a Holland America Hawaiian cruise and a Holland America Trans Atlantic. I am booked on Celebrity's December 2008 Trans Atlantic. In between these cruises I jump on Carnival’s oldest ship out of Jacksonville a couple times a year. I just returned from a nine day back to back on Carnival. Get me on the water at a good price with a decent outside cabin and I am a happy camper.

Thanks to cost cuts there are no premium cruise lines any more.

 

Dennis

Jacksonville, Fl

 

 

 

I couldn't agree more. I think one of the better oxymorons in travel is "premium mass-market," especially when it is so often applied to lines costing less than their competitors.

[boatboat]

In the last 20 months I have been on a Celebrity Trans Atlantic a Holland America Hawaiian cruise and a Holland America Trans Atlantic. I am booked on Celebrity's December 2008 Trans Atlantic. In between these cruises I jump on Carnival’s oldest ship out of Jacksonville a couple times a year. I just returned from a nine day back to back on Carnival. Get me on the water at a good price with a decent outside cabin and I am a happy camper.

Thanks to cost cuts there are no premium cruise lines any more.

 

Dennis

Jacksonville, Fl

 

204 days at sea

24 cruises

11 cruise lines

T/P, T/A, Hawaii, Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific

 

Booked

Celebrity Century T/A 14 nights 12/1/08

 

 

 

 

What ship .... I'm on the Galaxy TA b2b

[Gwa123]

We have sailed on Hal 6 times now and have booked on our 7th 11/29. My partner and I are both 41 and we have made several friends on board on our trips. HAL have always treated us with respect and we have always attended the well published FOD meetings.

 

As for the photogpher. We went on our Honeymoon (Gay marriage is legal in the UK where we come from) on a HAL cruise in May. when we mentioned it to the photogpher he took 13 different shots. holding hands arms round each other ETC. He made the straight people wait until he had finished!!

 

Go on treat yourselves go on HAL, elegant ships, great food and no crowds.

[voyagerx]

My partner and I have 250 days on HAL and 91 on Celebrity. On short HAL cruises the crowd is quite mixed re age. On the long cruises (grand voyages ranging from 35-100+ days) there are practically all retirees. Last Dec. on the a 10 day sailing out of New York on the Nordam we met a goodly number of guys (all younger than we) but everyone socialized before, during and after dinner. We became so close with a lovely young couple of guys from Holland that we visited with them during a cruise last summer. HAL has always been very gay friendly, usually announcing FOD parties without being asked. Food and service on HAL has always been excellent, though truth be told, the food was consistently better on the grand voyages. Great stars tend not to play cruise ships.

 

Celebrity has a somewhat younger crowd and can be very gay unfriendly. They seem not to have a policy that is followed by all cruise directors re FOD meetings. We have had mostly good but also a very nasty experience on this line. Food is good and service relatively elegant, especially in the specialty restaurants.

Both lines, in my estimation, are far superior to RCL (have only done 35 days with them).

[HALFans]

The only entertainment I would love is a chamber orchestra tucked away somewhere. I love Classical Music but can't find much of it on RCCL which is why I am looking at HAL.

 

The Explorer's Lounge will have a small string ensemble that performs every night, and will do 'dinner music' duties at least one night during the cruise.

 

If you're going to do a cruise on the Zaandam, they even have a Pipe Organ in the center of the ship that performs several times a day - complete with animated cymbal/drum playing figurines. On the 15 day Hawaii cruise we took on her it seemed to play Classical music at least 2/3 the time.

[ikelmay]

Celebrity has a somewhat younger crowd and can be very gay unfriendly. They seem not to have a policy that is followed by all cruise directors re FOD meetings. We have had mostly good but also a very nasty experience on this line.

 

I think there are a few lines out there that have a very loose FOD policy. Our experience with Celebrity has always been very positive ...... also applies in our opinion to Carnival which I know gets a bit of a rough ride from rainbow critics. We look forward to a longer HAL cruise - we have only completed a 4 day repositioning so I think we are unable to judge them.

[HALFans]

Our experience with Holland America Line has been pretty mixed.

 

Our 1st cruise on the old Westerdam II had an announced FOD meet and greet shortly after the Sail Away party. Being cruise newbies we didn't know what it was so didn't go or pay any particular attention to any other meetings there might have been.

 

Our Ryndam Alaska cruise 10 years later was a MUCH different experience, and we practically had to badger the CD into having one. It ended up being the last night of a 7 night cruise, had only 1 brief PA announcement, no print announcement. It was unhosted in the Crow's Nest at 10:30PM competing with the DJ's 'Farewell' party as he was changing ships the next day. Still, 8 couples at least stopped by, and only about 1/2 of them were folks we expected to see. Perhaps the others didn't hear or just weren't interested in joining in that late in the evening/cruise.

 

Our Hawaii cruise was again a different story. Our Zaandam CD Adam was not only by far the finest CD we'd had on a HAL cruise, he was also a FOD. (Duh, imagine that coincidence???) We had several FOD parties where at least the first couple of rounds were picked up by HAL, and overall probably had 5-6 FOD meetings on that 15 day cruise.

 

So in our experience, Holland America is rather hit or miss with the entire FOD concept.

 

Hey Holland America - Adam stands out as a star in my book, and his stint as our Cruise Director couldn't have come at a better time, as I was getting very disgusted with HAL over this and was going to try Princess for our next cruise.

 

As for our 'Couples' treatment by HAL Staff and PAX, our experience has been almost 100% positive on HAL, and we don't have any real complaints.

[Seattle M&M]

We've been on two HAL cruises and one RCL. We met lots of gay people on HAL and on the one RCL cruise there were very few. It may have just been a coincidence but they also refused to host an FOD gathering on RCL too. They seemed much more uptight. Granted, we are ancient--I'm almost 52 and my partner is 46, but HAL has seemed very gay friendly and fun for us.;)

[HALFans]

Our Ryndam Alaska cruise 10 years later was a MUCH different experience, and we practically had to badger the CD into having one. It ended up being the last night of a 7 night cruise, had only 1 brief PA announcement, no print announcement. It was unhosted in the Crow's Nest at 10:30PM competing with the DJ's 'Farewell' party as he was changing ships the next day. Still, 8 couples at least stopped by, and only about 1/2 of them were folks we expected to see. Perhaps the others didn't hear or just weren't interested in joining in that late in the evening/cruise.

 

We'll be on the Ryndam again March 2009 and hope we can give an improved report on this ship. We'll let you know!

[RlrCstr]

We'll be on the Ryndam again March 2009 and hope we can give an improved report on this ship. We'll let you know!

 

I was on the Ryndam a few months ago (October) on a seven day to Mexico from San Diego. The ship was wonderful, but if you have Drew from Australia as your CD, then there will be NO FOD meetings. He either chose to ignore or forget requests made for a meeting to be put in the daily program.

[ottawapuppy]

If not, at least no fighting over pool chairs!

 

Even if there was fighting over the pool chairs, you'd probably win easily by kicking their walkers out from under them.

Kidding! (mostly....)

[HALFans]

The ship was wonderful, but if you have Drew from Australia as your CD, then there will be NO FOD meetings. He either chose to ignore or forget requests made for a meeting to be put in the daily program.

 

I checked with Karla C. who is the Coordinator for the Maasdam, Ryndam and Statendam. She said that she won't know until the end of February who the CD will be for the March 05 2009 sailing.

 

I suspect he's the same CD I had in 2006 on the Ryndam. One lame excuse after another why it didn't get scheduled. I finally wrote yet another note in his office and handed it to his staff.

 

I'll see if we can dig up the daily logs and confirm weather or not it's the same bad apple.