Oceanwench

And you got DNCE too!

That was great to watch. I was on the second two-day cruise for the naming ceremony, concert, etc.

It is a beautiful ship.

Our friends have a service dog. They've cruised on HAL a number of times.

The small area where the dog does his business is forward on the Promenade Deck.

The dog is trained to go in that small space - which is a couple of squares of turf.

He has a command, I think it's "hurry," and he knows it's time to go and be done!

DH is handicapped and in a wheelchair. When he was able to walk, he still had a handicapped parking placard. Some disabilities are not visible.

I believe the Brat Pack show moved to the main stage several months ago.

I saw it in the dinner theater and thought it was great.

Has anyone seen it in the main theater? I can't remember if it is appropriate for kids. Just concerned about language -- and I can't recall if some adult language was used.

We drive to the port. My husband takes a dozen medications along with insulin injection and an MS drug he injects.

We never take the original bottles, we carry on all meds and have never been questions.

Were they to take away his meds for the duration of the cruise, they would have a very ill man to take care of.

When sailing on another line, I packed the original bottles and never was asked for them.

My husband is in a wheelchair and cannot walk. We need a HC cabin.

Those cabins are *bigger* for a reason -- they are designed to accommodate wheelchairs.

We book our cruises a year out, most of the time.

The number of HC cabins is very, very small as compared to a standard cabin. For example, Norwegian Escape has 45 HC cabins. Period. So while an able-bodied person has access to thousands of cabins, a person with a wheelchair has access to 45.

I have no problem with the HC cabins being released after final payment to the general inventory.

But please, don't get the idea any ship is going to sail with hundreds of HC cabins vacant ...

I would give anything to have a husband who could walk and who would be capable of booking a regular stateroom.

Then we'd be able to take last-minute cruises or book guarantees.

This question comes up periodically on this board, and it's always interesting to see what people's experiences have been.

DH is in a wheelchair, cannot walk at all. We are 4-star Mariners, so we've had a lot of cruises under our belts. Only ONE offered him the option to stay inside for muster drill. I can't remember which one, but it could have been Volendam.

All of our other cruises have been on Vista or Signature ships.

We've talked to Access & Compliance (they told us to ask at the front desk of our ship), we've talked to our concierge. Everyone has insisted that he go outside for the drill.

The biggest problem we encounter is the lip at the doorway (as Ruth C mentioned) that his chair cannot easily cross going back inside. When the drill is over, the crew disappears. We have to rely on kind passengers (usually it takes two strong men) to give him a push up and over.

Earlier this year we cruised on Disney and Norwegian. Both were very accommodating. Besides assigning us to indoor muster, they placed us in the back of the room. And on both ships we were tapped on the shoulder before the drill ended, and told by crew that we could leave to avoid the crowd and get an elevator!

I wish HAL would do that.

Some people act as if wheelchairs are there to get in the way of their vacation!

Well, people in wheelchairs (DH is one if them) are entitled to vacations too

A little courtesy is appreciated. :)

We're 4-star Mariners and have been loyal to HAL for years.

We always said we'd never sail on a mega-liner.

But we planned a family cruise for last January, and the kids wanted to go on a ship that had more things to entertain their kids.

Because we had sailed on Norwegian Escape on the inaugural, we knew it would be a good fit.

It was fantastic. So much to see, so much to do. The food was fantastic, the entertainment outstanding. Service was excellent.

The only times it felt crowded were embarkation and debarkation - which has been our experience with HAL too.

As far as distances from point A to point B - I thought everything would be a trek when looking at the ship. Well, it never felt that way!

We had an aft cabin, so it should have felt like a long distance to everything. Nope. Never did.

Escape had so much right in the atrium section - it's the heart of the ship and so many bars, restaurants and venues were there. So it's not a long walk, because we never found ourselves going from aft all the way forward.

Friends of ours, also HAL fans, decided to join us. They said they'd never had so much fun on a cruise.

All of us are booked for next winter.

I don't do ropes courses or water slides - Escape has both - but the presence of those did not affect my enjoyment of the ship in any way.

People were friendly and helpful (DH is in a wheelchair) and courteous - more so than on any HAL cruise we've taken.

We will still sail HAL I'm sure, but I am now open to other experiences with other lines.

May be better to get a job in their corporate office, then get discounts for cruising.

In the last month I have sailed both DCL and NCL ... And I wonder how I will ever adjust to going back on HAL.

NCL tacky?

I found it wonderful!

And I don't know if any cruise line can beat DCL when it comes to kids clubs! Although I hear NCL's is very good!

We just sailed on Norwegian Escape, and that ship has the card slot for the lights too.

Guessing it's the way the industry is going, and I don't see it as a bad thing.

On the Star Wars sailing, they had the characters walking around only that one day - and no Disney characters were out that day.

I noticed on the last night of the sailing, they took a lot of the Star Wars merchandise out of the stores.

So it seems to me it was pretty regulated on how much Star Wars influence they want on the ship.

We were on the Jan. 30 cruise and were impressed with the service!

We ate several times at O'Sheehans, and we visited the bar there and the Skyline Bar quite often. Always got served immediately!

The only "bad" service we had was one breakfast in The Haven. Slow, slow, slow - and the server never brought my bacon, though I asked twice.

People at the next table also were complaining about her.

Stick with Norwegian.

They have so much that you like - that other lines don't have.

And no cruise is a perfect match!

We have yet to find a Special Needs muster on a HAL ship, though we have asked the front desk and the concierge.

DH has a hard time getting out on the promenade deck in his wheelchair, and requires assistance getting back inside after the drill. There is a threshold that is difficult for him to cross.

We recently sailed on Norwegian Escape and Disney Fantasy.

On Escape our muster station was in a MDR. After we checked in, a crew member came over to us and suggested we sit close to the entrance of the room, so when the drill was over, we wouldn't be mobbed by people exiting.

I was impressed!

That has never happened on HAL, and we are always on our own after the drill ends.

On Fantasy, our muster station was in the movie theater. We were in the HC accessible area. as the drill was drawing to an end, a crew member came over to us and escorted us out of the theater ahead of the crowd.

I have come to dread the muster drill on HAL, but the experiences on the other two lines was fairly pleasant.

The weather we've been getting in South Florida is not the typical "10-minute shower" we get in our rainy season.

I think the OP was concerned because the recent weather has been pretty turbulent.

We sailed on Disney Fantasy Jan. 9 and our weather wasn't the greatest.

in Cozumel we had driving rain and wind - many people didn't get off the ship because it was so bad. It lasted all day - not 10 minutes.

The Pirate Deck Party and fireworks were canceled.

Had a bit of a sprinkle on Star Wars Day @ Sea for the deck party, but it held off.

Did not get into Castaway Cay because if the wind/waves. We headed back to Canaveral and it rained relentlessly the whole way back. When we disembarked, people at the terminal were telling us how bad it was there the previous day - so it was a fairly large storm system.

For us, the weather was a minor inconvenience. We really wanted to go to Castaway Cay, as it was our first Disney cruise. Maybe next time!

I've only been on Norwegian Escape, and there was an adult pool area that was off limits to kids.

We cruise HAL a lot, and on that line there are so few kids, every venue feels like adults only.

HAL ships pretty much shut down by midnight. We go to the Piano Bar and when it closes, we come out to an empty casino and deserted bars.

We are boomers, just went on our first Disney cruise and would go back in a heartbeat. It was just the two of us, and we had so much fun!

We really hope to take the kids and grandkids next year, because all of us are Disney fans!

Outrageously good, from start to finish!

Excellent service, wonderful food, lovely setting.

It was one of the highlights of our cruise!

Don't miss it!

We had 10:30 reservations and were too full to go to dinner that night!

Jumping in with our experience on both Disney (Magic) and HAL: Volendam, Ryndam and Westerdam. 4 Days on the Magic was the same cost as a week on the Ryndam in 2014.

 

I guess you can tell our family (two children aged 14 and 11 now) prefer HAL over Disney which, I know, isn't common. But we are over-scheduled, over stressed, and over tired when we board a ship for a vacation. We were not a fan of the Disney food, in fact the worst meal we had anywhere at anytime in any country was on the Magic in Carioca dining room. It was inedible and many tables felt the same way; so bad the waiters didn't even try to make excuses. The theming is fantastic but I wonder if it is all to take your attention away from what is on the plate. The buffet was mass-market American food so french fries, hot dogs, chicken fingers, mac n'cheese, with a pasta casserole thrown in. The seafood was exceptional. Just indicating why we were not a fan of the Disney food. We actually were told by the Cruise Director to eat all we could as that is the only way we would get our money's worth! People took that advice to heart.

 

We have never had an unacceptable mean on HAL.

 

The shows on HAL are not Disney quality. Where HAL excels in the ability to enjoy the surroundings by being able to look out, walk around the Promenade deck or just sit and enjoy without music and announcements.

 

We enjoyed the Rainforest but found that people would pretend they were going to the gym and change into a robe and go into the Rainforest for free, taking up loungers for hours (there were only 5 or 6).

 

We always find enough activities to do but again our focus is to distress, unwind and enjoy the view. People enjoy trivia, dancing lessons, casino activities, cooking, movies, basketball, a version of tennis, lectures (on longer cruises), etc. The BBKing show is loud but fantastic and I am not a fan of the Blues. Crew News posted examples of daily activities so that will give you a good idea if it is for you.

 

Good luck in deciding.

Wow - sorry to hear you had a bad dining experience on DCL.

We thought the food (and presentation) wonderful and never had a bad meal - wish I could say the same about HAL!

One night on DCL, DH wasn't very hungry and hardly touched his entree. This alarmed the server, and before long we had the head waiter and dining room manager at our table! They were so concerned that he was not happy.

The server then told DH that every night going forward, he would have lamb chops (a favorite) prepared for DH in the event that DH could not find something he liked on the menu.

I thought the buffet was great.

Of course they will have the chicken fingers, fries, etc. for kids -- and on Fantasy there were the "fast food" restaurants by the pool, like HAL's Dive-In, but with better variety and desserts.

But in the buffet restaurant there were carved meats, shrimp, crab legs, Asian dishes, all kinds of veggies. I never saw hot dogs in the buffet restaurant.

I think we all choose cruise lines for different reasons.

I, too, like to de-stress from my job and caregiving duties (which really never go away), and HAL is wonderful for that.

Next time I book a cruise for the two of us, it will probably be HAL. Need to get those 4-star Mariner perks, since we just turned to 4 on our December cruise!

But given the OP's obvious enjoyment of DCL - a dozen cruises - I think HAL might not be a good fit for the family.

I have been on Norwegian Escape, and I would recommend it highly.

Lots going on.

So much so, that when I sailed HAL a month later, I could not help but compare and find HAL lacking in many areas.

Norwegian, like DCL, has a vibrant atrium area (as does Regal Princess) with so much going on in this central core of the ship.

Escape has The Waterfront, with restaurants and bars outside so you can see the sea, and it's a vibrant entertainment district.

There was always so much to do - high caliber entertainment on stage - and I think it compares favorably with DCL.

As an aside ... Never saw kids misbehaving on DCL. Even DH commented on how well behaved the kids were!

I was concerned that his being in a wheelchair might be problematic - as kids run without looking at times - but we never even had a close encounter!

So many times the younger ones would hold the elevator for him, and they were so courteous.

Yes, there were kids crying at times - and they were pounding up and down the halls - but we never had an issue with kids in general, and would book DCL in a heartbeat!

More about Star Wars Day:

The theme music from the movies plays all day/evening on the ship.

The MDRs have a special Star Wars menu.

So it's kind of hard to get away from it -- but it's so much fun, why would anyone want to?

They even had a SW 101 class for the uninitiated!

Our cabin host left a sign on our mirror (one of those static cling type) that said The Force is Strong on this Ship.

A fun memento of our cruise!

We got SW T-shirts that had the ship's itinerary on the back. Most popular item in the shops!

We are having very unusual weather down here in Florida for January.

Tornadoes!

Right now we hope we can sail them again soon too, who knows we may find a line that suits us better and end up thanking them in the long run.

I think you've gotten a lot of good advice from many here!

You should explore the other forums on CC - maybe you have already?

You will find the perfect fit, I am sure!

Do give Norwegian Escape a look-over!

The op wasn't asking if dcl was right for them. They are leaving dcl as its too pricy. The op asked if Hal was right and I said either RC or carnival would likely be better. I have no idea why you decided to tell me about dcl :confused:. No one said Hal attracts a younger crowd. I get tired of hearing that everyone is ancient from the same posters.

Thanks for the schoolin' -- I expected it.

I was responding to your comment, then expanded on it.

The rest of my post was not necessarily directed solely at you.

Others do the same thing, but don't get taken to task for it! :eek:

DCL is pricey - and worth every cent!

Wish I could cruise with them again soon.

I don't know which cruise line you will ultimately settle for, but steering away from HAL was the right decision. We have only been on one HAL cruise but two DCL cruises. Disney really *REALLY* excels in the entertainment department. The dining is also superior. When you think about it, ALL of DCL regular restaurants would be specialty restaurants on HAL, because of the theme-ing.

I love both lines for two completely different reasons. If I want a laid-back, traditional, respectable cruise, I go to HAL. If I want a fun-first, let my hair down, young-at-heart cruise, DCL is my choice.

Excellent comparison!

And so true about DCL's main dining rooms!