Comparison Questions: HAL vs NCL

Hi all,

DW and I are huge fans of HAL and have been on several HAL cruises. We love the aft corner suites on the Vista ships.

We have an oppurtunity to sail on the Norwegian Spirit and were wondering if anyone has sailed on both. If so, could you draw some comparisons between the lines and ships.

Also, how do the suites amenities and perks compare? I'm sure they dont compare to HAL ;)

Thanks in advance,

Tim

I’ve sailed on both lines (Norway, Norwegian Wind, Norwegian Dawn, Maasdam, Volendam, & Rotterdam) and like both for different reasons. The Norway was in a class of its own, and we sailed the Wind pre-Freestyle, so my NCL comments are mostly regarding the Dawn.

The largest differences you will find are in the dining routine. If you love eating every night with the same wait staff, you may wish to make a standing reservation early on at one of the restaurants on the Spirit. On the other hand, you may enjoy trying a different restaurant each night on the Spirit, and eating early or late according to whim. Some dining venues have an extra charge; some don’t.

The décor and passengers on NCL are a bit livelier. There seemed to us to be more families and children on NCL, but that may vary depending on the season and the length of the cruise (longer cruises have fewer children and our HAL cruises were mostly longer and off-season—we have not sailed on Vista class). I prefer the more sedate passenger mix and understated décor on HAL, but on the other hand, the people- and fashion-watching my sister and I enjoyed on the Dawn were a delight, and I came to appreciate the décor on the Dawn as festive. Also, the Spirit was originally designed for NCL’s Asian branch and photos I’ve seen of it show a somewhat different esthetic from the rest of the fleet.

Both lines feature artwork throughout the ship. Spas and fitness centers are comparable. The crew on NCL comes from a greater variety of national backgrounds than on HAL, and there are female as well as male waitstaff and cabin attendants. The crew and service on both lines has been excellent in our experience.

The shows on NCL are superior to HAL. Elegant touches like the classical combos in the Explorer’s Lounge are nicer on HAL. We are not night owls, but if you are, I think you’ll find more to do on NCL.

DH and I stayed in a Romance Suite (AD category) on the Dawn and the butler service was wonderful. Having several meals served to us by the butler in our cabin was delightful. We stayed in a standard outside on Maasdam and a mini-suite on Volendam and Rotterdam, so I can’t really compare NCL suite amenities to HAL’s. From what I’ve read, the “courtyard villas” on the Norw. Spirit appear to offer a unique set of perks—that courtyard is sort of like an open-air Neptune lounge with hot-tubs!

Happy sailing, whatever you decide.

Sorry, I was mistaken. It's not the Norwegian Spirit that has the "courtyard villas." Still a pretty ship from all accounts, however.

DH and I have done two cruises on NCL and one was on the Spirit (Alaska in 2006). We have had balcony's on both NCL cruises so can't speak to suite perks. The balcony category on NCL is smaller than HAL and it is shower only - no bathtub and shower. There is no self-serve laundry on NCL but the Vista Class HAL doesn't have that either. We did enjoy the freestyle dining on the Spirit - especially the Shogun restaurant. We tried each restaurant and the "dining" room and the food was good all around. The Lido Buffet on HAL is better than NCL. DH and I actually made a list comparing HAL with NCL on the Spirit and HAL came out better. There is no daily quiz on NCL but the Bingo is much better, more fun (uses the electronic Bingo boxes - DH won a lot of $$ on NCL playing Bingo). The showroom is more of a "cabaret style" with theater like seating. There were more children on NCL than have ever been on a HAL cruise. No high tea on NCL either. Our first cruise was on NCL but we like the size of the ships on HAL, the fewer passengers on HAL and I like having a bathtub and a little more room to move around in my room. We would probably do another NCL cruise but would save to be able to go into a higher category that would give me these preferences.

:) We Have Sailed On Both About A Month Apart. Noordam In March And Spirit In April. Both Are Lovely

Ships But Truthfullyas Much As We Love Hal We Enjoyed Almost All Aspects Of The Spirit Cruise More. We Are Not Great Fans Of The Vista Ships As We Prefer The Smaller Ships And The Spirit Filled That Bill. We Found The Food Excellent On Both But Much Larger Portions On Spirit. Ist Time We Ever Tried Freestyle Dining And We Liked It. Noordam's Dining Room Seemed Very Tight And Service On Our Table Was Painfully Slow. When It Came To Fillet Mignon And Lobster Night The Steaks And Lobster Tails Were Easily Double Hal's Ones, And Waiters Kept Asking If We Wanted More. We Only Stayed In A Balcony On Each Cabins On Hal Much Nicer, But We Spend Very Little Time There Anyway The Heasd In The Spirit's Cabins Were In My Opinion Nicer Than Hal But No Tub. The Shower, Water Closet And Sink Are Three Seperate Areas On Spirit And The Shower Is Actualla Verygood Size Stall. Ncl Shipboard Life A Little More Livelier Than Hal Some Of The Nicest Spaces Ive Ever Seen On The Spirit Including An Awesome Bridge Viewing Area. The Spirit Was Originally Built For The Oriental Trade And All Furnture Is A Tad Smaller Than On Other Ships, Hardly Noticeable. The Staff On Ncl, Outstanding Shows About Even On Both But Spirits's Theatre Is Laid Out In A Way That The Only Way In Is Right In Front Of The Stage And People Are Entering For About The First 15 Minutes Of Each Show. Spirit's Spa Had Two Endless Smimming Pools Where You Could Smim Against The Current Never Crowded. When We Went Schools Were On Break In N.j. So There Were A Lot Of Kids On Board, But You Rarely Saw Them As The Ship Has A Fabulous Kids Area That Is Huge. We Were Very Leary About Going On Ncl As Truthfully We Never Heard Any One Say Anything Great About Them But We Got A Great Military Rate, Went And Really Enjoyed It:)

Dolphin Iv, Sunward, Nordik Express, Mv Bond, Northern Ranger, Big Red Boat Ii 2x, Carnival Victory, Rotterdam Vi 2x, Regal Empress, Kwartha Voyegeur, Golden Princess, Maasdam 2x, Quieen Mary Ii, Carnival Legend, Nordic Empress, Noordam, Norwegian Spirit, Also Uss Spartanburg County, Uss Moale, Uss Myles C Fox, Uss Damato, Uss Vogelgesang, Uss Ortolan, Uss Fulton, Waiting For Jan 07 Ryndam 30 Day Hawaii And South Pacific

As far as we are concerned, there is NO comparison between the two when it comes to "class and quality"...............last year on NCL to Alaska and back, we didn't have salmon OR halibut one single time!! When we asked, we were told, "fish comes frozen, we serve what we are given"......

This summer on Veendam, we had salmon fixed two different ways at dinner EVERY night and halibut often as well. The buffet on NCL was awful.....no other way to describe it...........not enough tables at which to sit, plastic "glasses"............tables not cleaned up.

We do love the freestyle dining on NCL but that's about it.

We had NO pools on our cruise (NCL)...........they were just drained, that's it.

Public bathrooms were filthy.

Elevators were tiny.

Cabins are 142 sq. ft. whereas on HAL they are 196 sq. ft. (I'm talking regular, oceanview cabins here)..............there is also a huge difference in both bathroom and shower size as well.

Soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc. are high quality on HAL. On NCL they are liquid in a container on the wall. (no lotion)

Just the beds alone would make me choose..............HAL's beds are amazing.

I will close by saying NCL had the best disembarking organization we've ever had (Holland America, Princess, NCL)........it was SO fast we were amazed............very smooth.

Look at it this way.............would you prefer teak decks and lounge chairs or plastic and...............I can't recall the decks on the NCL ship, but they weren't wood, that's for sure.

We did enjoy the freestyle dining on NCL, it allowed for a lot of flexibility in scheduling. The fact that we were with another couple helped since we could always get a table for four easily. I personally also liked the relaxed dress code. I'm not a tux or suit kind of person and enjoyed just being able to dress with dockers and nice shirt for dinner and the evening. I'd really have no qualms about recommending NCL. We had a forward facing suite on our last trip and it was very nice with excellent butler and concierge service (also a huge balcony). We had some CC friends in one of the Dawn's owner's suites (forward) and they were really nice (front and side balcony).

As mentioned, NCL's disembarkation process was excellent. You could choose to just wait in your room until your color was called.

Well we have cruised a many of ships, from princess to rccl, ncl to celebrity and more. We have had the privledge of cruising in suites on the last several cruises. I have to say that we heard the NCL was going to be on the bottom compared to the other ships we have been on. We paid $6k for 7 night alaska cruise and had a fabulous suite and unforgetable experience on NCL. Our own jacuzzi tub w/ seperate shower both overlooking the ocean. We had the concierge service, butler service and to tell you the truth we never waited for anything, it was worth the extra $$.

We have a ab suite coming up on the Oosterdam on Oct 3rd which we are very excited about. We leave in just a few days and hope to have as much fun as we did on the Star. We will know soon is HAL is nearly as NCL and I will tell you that they will have a hard road to sale us on thier product vs NCL.

Good luck,

Arthur

btw: we have never had a bad cruise... take care

I am anti-NCL after what has happened with the SS Norway. I'm a traditionalist at the old age of 37.

I like designated tables (preferably for 2) and designated seating times. Don't get me wrong, I'm a people person. However my wife and I only get 1 week away to be just by ourselves (mom watches our son). During that short period I want to dine with my bride. I'm not there to meet new people or make small talk. Sorry if I offend.

I can't stand that free-style cruise concept - but that's just me. Thanfully my wife feels the same way. To each their own.

Cheers...

I sail NCL and HAL and all other mass marketed line with the exception of Princess. It's about the freestyle dining and more casual envirnment which I like, on port intensive cruises, Hawaii and the Med.

I have sailed only in outside cabins on NCL and they are smaller than Hal's. Food is subjective. In my case, I prefer HAL's food and Pinnacle Grill to anything on NCL. I do not eat seafood and portion size is not important to me.

Service is good on NCL, much better than I expected but I find HAL's staff to be more seasoned and sincere.

I strongly prefer the look, feel and quality of HAL and always come home.

We haven't cruised HAL in the past few years, but have found our NCL experiences to be quite satisfactory. I enjoyed the open dining and casual atmosphere. Looking forward to revisiting HAL next year even if I have to pull that suit out of the closet :).

If you are in an AC suite or higher on NCL you will be spoiled. The butler and concierge service are amazing. Free bottles of wine and booze, flowers, sodas, afternoon hors d'ouerves, free laundry, priority tendering, bedding that rivals HAL (only in the suites), priority boarding and disembarkation, among other things. The staterooms/bathrooms are big in suites.

Yes, food quality is not as good in main restaurants as HAL but specialty restaurants were great. Yes it is a casual atmosphere in dress and in freestyle dining. I didnt notice poor service or unclean ships, and our pools have been full

I sail NCL and HAL and all other mass marketed line with the exception of Princess. It's about the freestyle dining and more casual envirnment which I like, on port intensive cruises, Hawaii and the Med.

 

I have sailed only in outside cabins on NCL and they are smaller than Hal's. Food is subjective. In my case, I prefer HAL's food and Pinnacle Grill to anything on NCL. I do not eat seafood and portion size is not important to me.

 

Service is good on NCL, much better than I expected but I find HAL's staff to be more seasoned and sincere.

 

I strongly prefer the look, feel and quality of HAL and always come home.

Hi hammybee, I have not been on NCL yet but reading lots of reviews I had reached the same conclusions and was thinking of taking NCL to NewEngland/ Canada. I beleive they go from both New York and Boston.

The price point is a little better than HAL and that cruise for me would be about the ports more than the ship. What do you think?

Always when it is time to relax, eat, dance, and look at the sea, I pick HAL, best traditional experience so far.

I am anti-NCL after what has happened with the SS Norway. I'm a traditionalist at the old age of 37.

 

I like designated tables (preferably for 2) and designated seating times. Don't get me wrong, I'm a people person. However my wife and I only get 1 week away to be just by ourselves (mom watches our son). During that short period I want to dine with my bride. I'm not there to meet new people or make small talk. Sorry if I offend.

 

I can't stand that free-style cruise concept - but that's just me. Thanfully my wife feels the same way. To each their own.

 

Cheers...

Certainlly what is good for one isn't for the other. BTW, if you are anti NCL since the demise of the Norway what ship have you sailed that offered Freestyle? The Norway of course did not. NMNnita

Hi hammybee, I have not been on NCL yet but reading lots of reviews I had reached the same conclusions and was thinking of taking NCL to NewEngland/ Canada. I beleive they go from both New York and Boston.

The price point is a little better than HAL and that cruise for me would be about the ports more than the ship. What do you think?

 

Always when it is time to relax, eat, dance, and look at the sea, I pick HAL, best traditional experience so far.

This is a toughie. I would most likely sail with HAL on this intinerary. These are my reasonings:

HAL goes to Q City and Montreal whereas NCL is R/T NYC. If however, I still lived in NJ, I would go with NCL because it would not involve air fare and the cost of the trip would be substantially less.

While this is a quasi port intensive cruise, the sailing times do allow sufficient time to rest, dress and present for dinner and given the time of year, heat and physical activity is unlikely to take the toll that it does in Hawaii or the Med.

HAL's size may be more appropriate to the ports than NCL on this intinerary.

I do believe that NCL is the cruise line to watch. They have the pulse of the emerging market and hit a home run with the Freestyle and casual dress thing. Freestyle seems to work best when the ship has been designed for it, giving the passenger multiple choices for dining.

Having said all this, the experiences are quite different, not better or worse- just different.

Let me know what you decide to do and how it turns out.

Thanks Hammybee, I'll keep it all in mind. alot for me does depend on the airfare. I need to book roundtrip air to save money. But I can keep an eye on the cruise prices and air prices for awhile with an open mind and just see what happens. I bet another ship will get added to that route which could give even more choices.

Thanks for the quick help and ideas.

I've sailed both lines and I have to say that NCL cannot compare to HAL. HAL is by far is the best! From the cabins to the service, there is nothing that can compare to HAL. I have never had a bad experience. I have never been on a cruise where I have been made to feel that I am the only passenger on board.

Certainlly what is good for one isn't for the other. BTW, if you are anti NCL since the demise of the Norway what ship have you sailed that offered Freestyle? The Norway of course did not. NMNnita

I indicated that I have not sailed NCL since the Norway incident. I don't need to "experience" something to know that I won't like it - trust me on that. I have read enough about it to know it's not my style. I want to know that my table for two will be there at a set time each and every evening. Same place, same staff - no surprises. Yes that is boring to some but it is my style. I'm a status quo kinda guy and it works for me. Like I said, to each their own; but the dining set-up along with Star Cruises behavior (current NCL owners) just don't turn me on. Cheers...

HAL vs NCL..

Well not really much of a comparison. Maybe sheet steel and water..

Thank goodness HAL which by the started it all has come home once again to the greater NYC area here.

NCL did start the Bahamas with the current Chairman of HALs parent firm CCL:NYSE seeing the PROFIT MOTIVE... and bought a hulk painted it white and went underway... what is his net worth now FIVE + Billion $USD

Capitalism works well!

reminds me of a few B2b Dolphin Cruises in the so called Deluxe Suite where we had 21 lights and only 7 worked...

Trying both lines is fine if you want to see first hand , as I would.

The Spirit we will be on by invitation again at the end of the month.

HAL is really miles ahead of most C Lines.

When a ship goes out of NY and/or NJ it is so much nicer and safer than flying to another port.

That is now major factoring in our choice of ships/lines/destinations and COST BASIS is still teh bottom line ...-----__________ is it worth it..?.. the question should be yours as well..

:eek:

I surely hope you have great time on the Spirit. Let us know what you think in lots of detail.

It will help with all our tough decisions to determine value....:)