Why HAL?

[arobryn]

Hi all - I'll be booking our first cruise this week so I've been on here reading. I'm booking a HAL cruise just because it happened to fit perfect into the schedule, but as I read through the HAL posts I'm seeing a fair bit of loyalty to the cruise line and I was wondering why.

 

What makes HAL so special and how do you compare it to some of the other lines?

 

And thanks for all the other great info gathered here. I'll be booking on the Oosterdam and it's been great fun following Nobby as he traveled the cruise I'll be doing in Feb. And the general cruise tips have been wonderful! Knowing all this before I go I'm sure will make the experience all the more fun!

 

~ L'aura

[jhannah]

For me it all boils down to the crew. The Indonesian and Filipino stewards are smiling, friendly, and anxious to please in every way they can. I think they are super, and provide that "something special" to my cruise experience.

[savannahgirl1]

We took our first HAL cruise 10 years ago for our honeymoon. What we really loved about HAL is the demographics, we enjoy the more "mature" crowd. ;) We love the service aboard a HAL ship. Everyone on board goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure your happy. The size of their ships, especially the Veendam appeals to us much more than ships that can hold 5000 people. Their food is very good. It has an "old fashioned" feel to their cruise experience. The feel of the glory days of cruising. at least in my opinion. :rolleyes: Its a very sophisticated way to cruise, or at least I think so. :D Oh, and I like their itineraries better than some lines.

[pipedreams62]

[fann1sh]

I first cruised with HAL for a very practical reason: we had 3 people wishing to share a cabin, each wanting their own lower bed - in an inside! This was not common back in the mid 1990's, and none of the cruise lines we'd sailed with before could fill the bill.

 

I was blown away by the amazing size of the stateroom (Statendam, K548 :D) and level of service in a very modest cabin. We had a minor ventilation problem, and it was dealt with promptly or graciously.

 

I liked - and still do - a wrap around promenade deck, fresh flowers in the public rooms, and a smaller ship with no long lineups. I've sailed other lines since my HAL Statendam voyage, but keep coming back to HAL.

[world~citizen]

The crew is great but the whole package is solid. I know that might not help but it is the truth.

 

You'll see what I mean by that soon enough. :)

 

Smooth sailing to you

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We have sailed on Cunard, Princess (Elite members there), NCL and 1 RCI cruise. When the other cruise lines started open seating dining we stopped cruising them as we like traditional dining. Now that HAL has AYWD -- which we haven't tried yet -- we are now thinking of our options.

Yes we like our large Delux suites -- BUT -- having to deal and fight with HAL over being able to book these Delux suites for 2 weeks is making us think in another direction -- Princess is winning here.

Although we have been loyal to HAL -- spending big bucks on them -- as HAL starts to change itineraries -- treat some people very special on their cruises no matter how many days they have sailed on HAL -- we are starting to think in a different direction.

So even though you may see me posting a lot here -- I can't say that I am one of those true

HAL Cheer Leaders" as some are.

[luv2cruise450]

We keep coming back to HAL because the crew is the best! They are the warmest, friendliest people who genuinely want you to be happy while on board. And the HAL ships are a very nice size without feeling crowded or that you have to walk the length of several football fields to get anywhere. We cruise other lines too...and we have enjoyed them but we do return to HAL. And most of all...every time we step foot on yet another HAL ship...we feel like 'we've just come home'! And it's true that HAL has probably the most repeat cruisers of all the cruise lines! I remember when we sailed the Noordam III...it was soon after Pres. Bush declared war and a lot of people were afraid to travel...so for our TA sailing...there were only 700+ pax on board...but out of that number almost 600 were Mariners! I think that speaks volumes on HAL loyalty!

Enjoy your sailing!

[brucory]

The HAL ships are very clean,and kind of grand. They have beautiful artwork, teak (at least teak-look) decking, and comfortable furnitiure.

 

There is no white plastic furniture or blue "fake grass" decking on HAL...

 

We like the general ambience and there seems to be sense of calm (exception is the LIDO - That place can be like Times Square on NYE).

 

:D :D :D

[LindaJ+]

Oosterdam was our first (and so far only) cruise ... and we just thought the service was great, food yummy and the ship beautiful. We just loved the whole experience.