iceman93

I repeatedly wondered if the author made a mistake and actually posted the ratings in reverse order. Either way, HAL is middle-of-the-pack which is probably about right.

After 15 you're on your own dime. And I have to say, my wife and I probably drink more than the average passenger and never hit that limit. Here's an example of a "max" day: 1) fancy coffee drink from the crow's nest while getting ready in the morning 2) mimosa at breakfast 3+4) two cans of water to take on a shore excursion 5+6) two glasses of wine with lunch 7) poolside cocktail in the afternoon 8) soda mid-afternoon 9) cocktail with the evening show 10) pre-dinner cocktail 11+12) two glasses of wine with dinner 13) post-dinner apertif 14) cocktail at BB King's 15) pre-bedtime whiskey or cognac I have trouble imagining us drinking more than that, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. And if on one particular day we both wanted more, it's not that expensive to pay for them. Honestly, I think the beverage packages are a good step towards making HAL more upscale and towards an all-inclusive environment.

You can also go to the MDR after embarkation to locate the table to which you've been assigned. If you don't like it, that's the best time to go to the maitre'd to ask for a change and to make any special requests such as "near an aft window". But as others have said, your dining time and table size should be arranged in advance of the cruise.

One of the first things I asked at the Neptune Lounge on my cruise last summer was to upgrade the Signature package to the Elite package. Luckily the concierge showed me a sheet listing exactly which drinks were included in Elite that weren't in Signature. There were very few, and even fewer we were likely to order, so we chose not to upgrade and didn't regret it.

As others have said, "dressy night" on HAL allows the gamut from tuxes and evening gowns (and yes, there will definitely be some guests who enjoy getting dolled up) to the more common suits and dresses, all the way down to collared shirts with slacks. It's actually nice now to have the option to get as dressed as one wants to get. For the orange party, all they ask is to add some orange to your ensemble. Again, you will see some people who go all out with really ridiculous (but fun!) orange from head-to-toe. Many people wear orange clothes more than they normally would, while some just add an orange accent or two. The ship will probably provide cheap trinkets like orange sunglasses, hats, or feather boas. On my two cruises since the orange party has been a thing, on one ship it was the most minimal experience you can imagine while on the other it was a ton of fun and all the ship's staff really got into it.

If not the casino then I would think the front desk would accept them for payment to your onboard account (which you could turn into casino cash). But I've never heard of a bank refusing to accept coins--that's crazy!

@OlsSalt, your complaint is valid for sure. You paid extra for what HAL advertised as a quiet escape, and other guests ruined that. Then HAL didn't do the right thing, which would have been to apologize, refund your money, and enforce their own rules by cracking down on the other guests. If they weren't willing to crack down (because it sounds like, from your reports, these annoying guests were somehow "VIPs"), then they still should have apologized and refunded your money. But what happened to you, while it did involve unruly children, isn't really about children. It's about rude, self-entitled, rule-breaking guests. One could assume, for example, that they were also consuming copious amounts of alcohol. But it wouldn't be right to say HAL shouldn't serve drinks, or that they shouldn't allow alcohol in The Retreat. So please stop bringing this story up in every thread about children on HAL--you have my full sympathy for what happened on your cruise, but you chip away at it a bit every time you bring it up in a thread that complains about children on cruise ships.

And I also think HAL still does a wonderful job with keeping those blue and white vessels looking spic-and-span. We pulled up next to a Princess ship in one port last summer and my 10 year-old was disgusted at the rust and filth on it. It really did look bad, particularly in comparison.

I think you'll still be very pleased--my family was with our two most recent HAL cruises. If you read some threads here on CC, you would think there are fewer activities on a HAL ship than on a cargo vessel--that's simply not true. And there are still much more than glimmers of the former HAL; overall I think you'll find the experience largely mirrors what you're used to.

I'm someone who has different experiences and perspectives on shipboard entertainment: - As a cruise ship guest who's spent hundreds of days at sea on a few different cruise lines. - As a Disney Imagineer who was involved in various aspects of themed entertainment around the world. - As a professional DJ who has worked both club and mobile gigs for decades in a REALLY wide variety of venues and audiences. And I'll sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I think HAL had a really good thing going about 20 years ago. They had enrichment lectures, cooking demos, art classes, wine tastings, and other "upscale" options like that. They also had a variety of outside performers (comedians, magicians, etc.), energetic sailaway parties, Caribbean deck barbecues, live musicians in lounges and the main dining room, and late-night DJs playing different styles of music in various venues at night. They have stripped most of that away, and I agree with other posters who say one of their big mistakes was moving to branded partnerships (America's Test Kitchen, Billboard, BB King's, even Microsoft and Chateau Ste. Michelle). Holland America has what could itself be an EXTREMELY powerful brand, but they fail to embrace that and instead spend money and resources courting other brands that may or may not have been really good fits. The World Stage is a venue with incredible potential that is barely utilized--I have to imagine the executive who made the pitch to spend all the money on the World Stage then left the company, and no one else shared the vision of what the place could be. I'll often say that what makes Disney unique in the cruise market is that they are the only ones who are an entertainment company that happens to have cruise ships, while everyone else has cruise ships that happen to feature entertainment. I don't expect HAL to live up to Disney when it comes to onboard entertainment. And even today's HAL, with its limited offerings, creates an overall cruising experience that my family (ages 10-51) loves. But could it be better? Of course. Like everything else about HAL right now, it seems like a brand adrift, unsure who its target market should be and how it should focus resources. To me, customers who complain "there's nothing to do" on HAL are simply looking to complain. Part of HAL's charm is its ability to make a cruise about the journey, which blends both the destinations and the ship experience. Expecting it to be like RCCL, or Disney, or Viking, or whomever else is silly. But to be successful in the increasingly competitive marketplace, HAL better figure out its niche soon, and make it clear to customers what that niche is. Otherwise I'll sound like a REAL fuddy-duddy when I lament how I used to like to sail on HAL at all...

The only "nastygram" was the OP's rude letter (one example, referring to the recipient by last name only). It really came across as an unfocused rant. The reply from HAL was polite, professional, and did the best job I think it could have in providing a reasoned, rational response.

Why call to book a cruise? There are so many ways to do it online!

This may not help you at all since my family exclusively sails in Pinnacle Suites, so we don't know if the treatment we get is BECAUSE we're in the PS cabin, because we're in a Neptune and above, because we're 4* Mariners, or is simply great customer service offered to all HAL guests. But my advice would be to ask for whatever you want (within reason), and the worst the staff can do is say "no". If a specialty dining restaurant doesn't show availability on the Navigator app when you want it, ask. If there's an off-menu item you want from room service, ask.

Us too, although I think this is one of those little things that used to make HAL a "premium" rather than a mainstream line. Every time we would let our dining room stewards we had a specialty dinner reserved for the next night they would tell us they already knew and hoped we had a wonderful meal. That level of back-of-the-house communication didn't seem to happen on our two most recent sailings.

My wife and I are whiskey fans so were very much looking forward to Notes on our NS cruise last year. Our enthusiasm quickly waned, however, when we found out the bartender leading the tastings wasn't well-trained at all. He read from a script and wasn't able to answer questions (even really basic ones from guests who knew nothing about whiskey), but that didn't stop him from making stuff up and acting very confident about his answers. We stopped going after the third one which included Jack Daniels--the bartender made up a bunch of stuff but was eventually stopped in his tracks by one of the other guests who, as it turns out, works at the Jack Daniels distillery and had to correct almost everything he had said!

I've crossed the Arctic Circle three times and the equator once. Got certificates from HAL for each event but there were no ceremonies or fun activities, which was particularly disappointing for the equator.

Honestly, this is the root of the problem. HAL came up with their "worry-free promise" to get folks back to booking cruises. If they didn't do a proper financial analysis to see what this was going to cost them, shame on them. One of the reasons I became loyal to HAL was because of the premium experience they offered, to include customer service at all points in the process. Yes, everyone is having trouble hiring and retaining good staff these days, but HAL is allowing their brand to be dragged down rather than putting in the effort to show that they are actually better than the competition.

How are those Apple devices working for you? 😁

What is the theoretical item/contaminant/whatever that people are afraid will be tracked from a flip-flop "worn all over the ship" into the hot tub, and what will be the ultimate impact of said item getting into the temperature- and chemical-controlled water?

Me too. But judging by the number of posts piling on about how ridiculously disgusting this behavior is, I think you and I must be the outliers.

Nothing to lose by asking! I'd start with the guest services desk (or Neptune Lounge, if you have access). If you bump into an officer with a lot of stripes, ask them. Ask the Club HAL attendants. Be polite and ready to accept a bunch of no's, but if you don't ask then the answer will definitely be "no"!

I actually think those are two plausible theories, @gregma60!

Yes, your agency should be able to see it all. If the $100 is the one through them and not the military one, perhaps they can deal with HAL on your behalf to make sure it gets credited properly.

I'm not aware of any flag in the account. But I went through the verification process and the OBC applied automatically to my last two sailings. Maybe print out the verification confirmation and bring it with you just in case?

See https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/onboard-activities/cruise-activities/kids-club.html. I'm pretty sure you have to register no matter the age, but only kids need to be signed in and out (tweens and teens can come and go as they please). Unfortunately for you, only your youngest will be able to participate, as the maximum age is 17. And they are absolutely strict on that--your older ones will not be able to go with their youngest sibling for video games or anything else.