Holland America has me soooo confused.

I've cruise mostly Celebrity over the last several years and have cruise back to the 90's on other lines however I've never sailed Hal. My next four cruises are on Azamara and Oceania. But I thought I would try Hal for a Jan or Feb Caribbean getaway more than 7 days that's not overpriced. All I got was analysis paralysis.

 

How do you do it? There are so many different ships, way so many cabin categories and so many many other considerations.

 

Can anyone point me in a direction that makes Hal simple to understand and book? I was looking for a cruise with value.

I've cruise mostly Celebrity over the last several years and have cruise back to the 90's on other lines however I've never sailed Hal. My next four cruises are on Azamara and Oceania. But I thought I would try Hal for a Jan or Feb Caribbean getaway more than 7 days that's not overpriced. All I got was analysis paralysis.

 

How do you do it? There are so many different ships, way so many cabin categories and so many many other considerations.

 

Can anyone point me in a direction that makes Hal simple to understand and book? I was looking for a cruise with value.

 

If you want newer ships, you will either want to look at Koningsdam (Pinnacle Class) newest, or Nieuw Amsterdam & Eurodam (Signature Class), a little bit older. Age wise, the Vista Class is next (Westerdam, Zuiderdam, Noordam, Oosterdam). (And a bit smaller).

 

The remaining classes of the ships are much older and smaller. Some people love them (including us) and others prefer newer and shinier.

 

I highlighted the newest ones for you based on the types of ships you have been sailing. Just a best guess what might appeal.

 

Tell us what appeals to you in a ship and what category you normally book (HAL's categories are pretty basic, it's just location that separates them and makes it appear more complicated) and perhaps we can help more.

Can anyone point me in a direction that makes Hal simple to understand and book? I was looking for a cruise with value.

You mentioned over 7 days, so I'm going out on a limb and recommend the 11-day Southern Caribbean Wayfarer, 14 Feb, 2018 on the Eurodam. We've cruised this itinerary on a different ship, and it hits a lot of nice stops. We were on the E'dam last January. She went through refurb and upgrades about 8-9 months ago, had a great crew and is one of our favorites. You'll get a great value in this cruise. You can do the same cruise on the Koningsdam in early January, but that "new ship smell" will cost you about 70-80% more. I don't know what kind of cabins you normally book. Give us some idea and hopefully we can direct you accordingly. Explore 4 is a great promo that will kick off around the first of August that you might want to consider before booking.

We enjoyed our 10-day cruise on the Zuiderdam that did the partial Panama Canal (through the locks and into the lake and then back out). Our neighbors were on a Celebrity cruise to the Panama Canal right before us--but their ship just docked at Colon and did not go through any of the locks. They had to take an excursion to see them.

What type of cabins do you stay in on the other cruise lines? How large are the cabins? Do you like balconies or verandahs?

What ports are you interested in?

Give us some more information and we can help you select.

We've been in Aqua Class a couple of times on the Celebrity M class. Our last two were on the S class. I've really liked the aft view cabins which we've had on both classes. Our next three are a starboard balcony, then in two aft cabins to Alaska and the Panama Canal. Those are R class. Our fourth is a Transatlantic in an extended O class Oceania starboard balcony.

 

We tend to like the medium size rather than the larger. The Celebrity S has been the largest. We're not interested in suites. I like good food without having to do specialty dinning. We like the liquor packages that Celebrity used to have before they started playing games with it.

 

From the sounds of it, Blizzardboy may be on to something with his suggestion. I'll check that out. Thankx. I stumbled on the Zuiderdam based upon what Geoherb suggested. I like that. There is an aft VC on the Navigation deck. Will that create much noise from above?

 

For those who have sailed both Hal and Princess, would you mind tell me what you liked about Hal over the other lines?

Edited July 22, 2017 by ChucktownSteve

DH and I did the 10-day Panama Canal cruise on the Zuiderdam last Nov. and loved it. Great stops and going through the locks was very interesting as there was a woman who narrated what was happening over the PA system. Food and crew on HAL are exceptional. We had a Neptune Suite and it was excellent, but we have had several regular verandah cabins on other HAL ships that were very satisfactory. We haven't sailed on Celebrity, so can't compare, but we would highly recommend HAL to anyone. The ships are elegant and the service impeccable. Since you aren't interested in specialty dining, you would be very happy with the meals in the main dining rooms. Room service serves hot breakfasts unlike Carnival room service breakfasts. We also enjoyed the Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Zaandam, and the Maasdam - a variety of ship sizes and ages. You can't go wrong with Holland America!

I enjoyed HAL's food over Celebrity's food in the MDR and buffet.

 

 

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My TA told me that Zuiderdam is going into dry dock for a two week refit in October. She also said HAL is planning on improving their food. Plus she had a group rate on an interesting itinerary to the Southern Caribbean, Partial Panama Canal and Costa Rica.

 

I'm saving about $2800 in an aft balcony on HAL vs. the lowest Celebrity balcony category mid ship that doesn't do the Canal & Panama or Costa Rica .

 

Thankx for your input. I've got a cabin being held and probably going to pull the trigger tomorrow.

We've been in Aqua Class a couple of times on the Celebrity M class. Our last two were on the S class. I've really liked the aft view cabins which we've had on both classes. Our next three are a starboard balcony, then in two aft cabins to Alaska and the Panama Canal. Those are R class. Our fourth is a Transatlantic in an extended O class Oceania starboard balcony.

 

We tend to like the medium size rather than the larger. The Celebrity S has been the largest. We're not interested in suites. I like good food without having to do specialty dinning. We like the liquor packages that Celebrity used to have before they started playing games with it.

 

From the sounds of it, Blizzardboy may be on to something with his suggestion. I'll check that out. Thankx. I stumbled on the Zuiderdam based upon what Geoherb suggested. I like that. There is an aft VC on the Navigation deck. Will that create much noise from above?

 

For those who have sailed both Hal and Princess, would you mind tell me what you liked about Hal over the other lines?

 

 

 

We have cruised on Celebrity's Reflection in Aqua class and enjoyed our cruise immensely. Blue was probably our favorite part of that cruise. That said, we loved our HAL cruises! The ships are generally smaller and more intimate... less crowded in every way. I also felt the ships were cleaner and better maintained. I recommend that you try a SIgnature Suite... it's a great sized stateroom (almost double the size) and will likely cost you less than an Aqua class stateroom. Use the extra $ for a spa pass or speciality dining which is also less expensive. We enjoyed our dining in the MDR... always able to get a table for two by a window... very intimate and fun!

 

 

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