After 13 cruises on Carnival

[Nunu]

I'm not sure why but I love reading about other ships on here. Nice job.

[FightOnRon]

I too am glad you liked HAL. If you look at siggys I have only been on 4 cruises, all of them HAL. I think I prefer the quiet too but I don't know, that's one of the reasons I am trying the 4 day CCL cruise next year, see what the FUn Ship is all about. The big advantage (aside from price) for CCL is I can take cruises from a home port and stay off of airplanes,,albiet I cant go far, like Mexico is about it. IF HAL had cruises out of Los Angeles a lot I probably wouldn't try CCL, just save $$ a little longer. But I'll try anything once.

 

Every HAL ship I have been on has had the comedian, the las vegas style show, the magician, and some type of virtuoso in some field for thier shows (on the Eurodam we had a British stage actress one night and she was awesome, if I could remember her name our Brit friends would all know her).

 

A few have asked me when I retunr next March from a CCL ship to try to do a comparison too, I will try but I will preface it now and then that I don't eat the the buffet on HAL and probably won't on CCL either,,,just not into pushing and shoving and they do that on HAL too (and cut in lines).

 

I really love HAL, hope I can love CCL too,,,I am willing to try.

[serene56]

1399 is a great price for a suite- we paid 1299 for a mini on a princess. (I dont think i will do that again)

 

Halos- You should try something new We were afraid to take a princess cruise because we heard it was all old people and nothing to do at night. Figured we"d check it out and form our own opinion- so glad we did cause Princess is now our new favorite.

 

Isnt it funny these ships are all owned by carnival but they are so very different

[MrPete]

What a GREAT picture! What cruising is all about!

[dst]

We tried a Deluxe Suite on the Zuiderdam in 2004 and I must say what HAL offers the suite guests is much better than what Carnival offers. HAL has an older crowd but not as bad as everyone thinks :)

 

We enjoy Carnival but if I am going to spend money on a suite; it would certainly be with HAL and not Carnival. Carnival we get the balcony cabins ;)

 

Speaking of HAL, now you have me thinking, I may have to go look at what they are offering for a summer cruise :D

[Martini Mom]

I was just talking with a friend (a little over 40 yrs. old) who recently went on a HAL ship (don't know which one). She said it was a beautiful ship and her aft balcony was awesome, but the demographic was NOT her cup of tea. Part of it was probably because she knew nothing about the line and wasn't prepared. She said the average age was very old, literally with oxygen tanks, many areas "smelled like your grandma's house" and her cabin's bathroom "smelled like an older woman's perfume". These are just her opinions. That's why there are so many different lines/ships. Everyone can find their match.

[PROCRUISE]

I would also like to thank you for your comparison. I have often wondered about the perks. Since I probably will never book a suite though I wonder if there are any reasons a balcony room on Hal might be nicer than on Carnival?

 

Since I don't drink I think I might enjoy a more laid-back cruise line. What would you say the median age of the passengers was on your cruise?

 

 

 

Standard balcony rooms are basically the same on HAL and Carnival. The biggest difference we notice is just the general atmosphere. I guess as we get older we enjoy the refinement of just a relaxing cruise and don't feel the need to be constantly "entertained." We, however, have nothing negative to say about either cruise line.

[wheatengirl]

We have cruised on Rccl, Norwegian, Princess, Carnival, and Holland America. There are things that i think make each line special in their own way. I love the fact that on Holland America you can eat dinner on your balcony if you like. I love Royal Carribean's ships, they are beautiful. I loved the movies outside on the Princess and their ship was beautiful. I didn't really care for Nowegian even though we went to mostly specialty restaurants I didn't really care for their food which I felt took away from the cruise experience. We were on the new Eurodam last Thanksgiving with Holland America and there were all ages on that ship, however it is a little more laid back than Carnival but we still had a very good time. Their food in their buffet is excellent..better than any other ships that we have been on. I think Carnival's food in the dining room is some of the best we have had on any ship. Each ship that we have been on seems to have its own personality and for us that is the fun part of cruising.

[The4Cruisers]

Hi OP. That was a good post. Glad you enjoyed your HAL cruise. We haven't ventured away from CCL yet, but maybe over time we will. Thanks for your point of view.

[meluvtogocruise]

Thanks for sticking with us on this and answering all of our questions. I have often wondered WHY Carnival doesn't do much for the platinum cruisers. It seems to me if you have that much loyalty to their brand they could come up with a few additional perks to make their customers feel appreciated.

 

Good job on this thread and great pics. You're wife looks like a lucky lady!:)

[AllenF]

Good job on this thread and great pics. You're wife looks like a lucky lady!:)

 

 

No I am the Lucky one :)

[bills blasters]

The price you got is about the same as we paid for a 9a wrap on the Splendor. Might have to check on hal next time. Did you have to wait until the last minute to get that price? We usually book ten months in advance.

[AllenF]

The price you got is about the same as we paid for a 9a wrap on the Splendor. Might have to check on hal next time. Did you have to wait until the last minute to get that price? We usually book ten months in advance.

 

 

Kind of I booked around 12 months in advance because i wanted a certain cabin and every time HAL dropped the price my TA got the reduction. Around 120 days out it dropped to 1599 down from 1849. Then about 100 days out it dropped to 1399 and once again we got the price drop. HAL seems to be very good about that. We made the final payment I think at 75 days. From the roll call there were alot of people who got upgrades also.

Edited November 29, 2009 by AllenF

[btorlv]

We have our 11th ccl booked for April. We also tried ncl twice and imo ccl was a lot better. Thanks for a great review and i dont think ccl will get to upset if you try Hal or Princess since the own all three. We would like to try rcl and hal just to see the differencs.

[czechgal]

Thank you for such a great, informative thread on your HAL cruise. It's refreshing to see this instead of the "Jerry Springer Audition Threads" we have been seeing on this board lately.

 

It certainly makes me want to try other lines.

 

Thanks again. I am looking forward to more information and especially more pictures!

 

Lisa

[tess2cruz]

Thanks, I have done HAL once and it was a great cruise. Yes, much more quiet than CCL for sure. But that can be nice, boring at times, but it was a great cruise. The food on ours was pretty good as well, comparable to CCL. BUT I LOVED that we could get dinner, from the dining room delivered to our balcony, that was amazing. Thanks again, brought back some good memories.

[Dorene1]

For those who are concerned about age, what I have noticed based on my own experiences, the longer the cruise it seems there are less young passengers. Carnival does not do too many longer cruises. I have heard HAL has beautiful ships but not too much activity past 9:00 pm

 

Dorene

[NCTribeFan]

I just turned 57 last week and have been told that HAL is "too old" for me. And, no, I'm not a party-til-you-puke type of Carnival cruiser.

 

I don't go to shows hardly ever any more. I don't hang around by the main pool. I saw my first ever Hairy Chest competition on the Triumph CTN in October only because I was feeling seasick and needed to be up on deck in the fresh air. It was actually very funny, but it's not something I plan on watching again.

 

I sail with my DD, so no need for romantic dinners for 2 on the balcony. We prefer to sit at large tables at set times in the dining room. We enjoy getting to know our wait staff and fellow diners. It's all just part of the cruise experience, imo.

 

I have always managed to find some place relatively quiet to sit and read on Carnival ships.

 

BUT, there is always an option to do something should you choose to do something. I think that's what I like. I don't HAVE to be involved in all the craziness, but I can if I want to.

 

I'm sure I'll sail HAL one day (especially since next month will probably be my last with DD as she's now nearly 24). I have a cruise buddy who I'm sure would enjoy HAL more than Carnival (even though she introduced me to cruising on Jubilee in 2001). But if I sail solo, I'll stick with Carnival because of the solo price.

 

I like having the option to do as little or as much as I wish. I love my peace and quiet, but I also like to be able to do something when I decide I want something to do.

[JudiinMt]

I have cruised with Carnival since I don't even remember when... (anyone else remember the Tropicale?) I really don't know how many times I've done a Carnival cruise but I can easily count 23 of them. I have also enjoyed Princess, Costa, NCL, Renaissance and HAL and even a Mississippi Riverboat cruise one year.

 

There is not a single cruise I couldn't find something good about and some that there were some unfortunate issues but all in all I love cruising.

 

I think the length of cruise and the time of year make a lot of difference on the demographics of any ship. I took my kids at 17 and 20 on a 7 day Mexican Riviera on CCL assuring them that they would have a ball....well guess what, it ended up being the oldest crowd I've ever seen on any ship. It was comical trying to get thru the wheelchairs and walkers. BUT they still had a ball.

 

I think CCL has great food - lots of opportunity for participation in things and I can always find a quiet place to read and relax.

 

I think HAL has the BEST desserts! They taste as good as they look. On our HAL cruise we shared a table with a couple that were on their 25th HAL cruise and a brother and sister that were students at UCLA and Boston University. We were in the middle - and we all met people in our age groups and interests during the day but enjoyed our dinner group as diverse as it was. I did feel like we were "pampered" a little more on HAL. Someone to carry our tray and find us a place to sit in the buffet area.

 

I loved the innovation of Personal Choice Dining on Princess. It really suits us when we travel with friends and everyone starts out from different time zones. I enjoy the quieter atmosphere but still find plenty of activity if I'm interested.

 

NCL has the best itineraries and though I'm not a huge fan of the food - I don't go hungry. The prices are great and even a few "pay" meals won't set you back much. The production shows are great and we enjoy the "freestyle" atmosphere.

 

Costa was a surprise in that I expected better food on an Italian ship - but - we still enjoyed the trip.

 

Actually I think my least favorite but maybe the most expensive was the Mississippi River cruise. But I am glad I got the experience.

 

I guess I'm rambling but I just wanted to encourage people to try different lines if the price or the ports interest them regardless of what they hear from others. There will be old people and young people and people in between on all cruises. There will be good things and maybe some not so good things but all in all ---YOU ARE ON VACATION!!!

[greenboi]

Does HAL push the fruity drinks like CCL does? At times, I get tired of being asked if I want a drink.

[FightOnRon]

Does HAL push the fruity drinks like CCL does? At times, I get tired of being asked if I want a drink.

 

I honestly don't recall ever being pushed into drinking on HAL. On the first day when they have the sendoff party around the pools they will have servers with trays of the HAL versions of the DOD but they just ask if you want one and if you say no, they're gone. If you do order a drink they will try,,on the first day,,to sell you a cocktail card which is actually a good deal but,,at least from my experience, they pretty much leave you alone.

 

My favortie bar on HAL ships is the Crow's Nest which is foreward above the bridge. You get a 180 degree panoramic view out of the windows of where you're going and they have really nice recliner chairs that face looking out,,,if you're lucky enough to snag one. If not there are tons of tables. You can sit there, a server will come by and ask if you want a drink, you say no and they're gone.

[happy cruzin]

What a GREAT picture! What cruising is all about!

 

Agreed!! :D

[Nunu]

You can sit there, a server will come by and ask if you want a drink, you say no and they're gone.

 

My brain tries to say "no", but I always say "yes". :eek:

[cathyz]

As far as old people onboard I have done a carnival cruise where there were 800 people from century city retirement home in FLA onboard LOL actually carnival has quite a few older folks who cruise them also it is just that all the kids that run around kind of blur them out :)

 

The main difference between the Kids on HAL and Carnival from what i saw is on HAL is 95% of the parents supervise them and do not let them run free. Compare to maybe on 50% on carnival

 

I think the kid situation varies from cruise to cruise and of course time of year. We've never had problems with kids on any of our cruises (lucky I guess or we just don't go to the 'kid' areas), but also don't cruise in the summer or major holidays. Anyway, we are definitely Carnival cheerleaders, but I have to say when were on the Splendor last month, it was by FAR the most geriatric cruise we have evern been on and there were only a handful of kids, so maybe they just didn't blur out the silver and scooter crowd, as you say (watch out for those scooter folks, they can be dangerous!). I was actually very surprised at how many 70+ folks on board, so I guess it doesn't really matter which cruise line you choose anymore. We'll stay with Carnival for the price and 'fun', too much quiet would put me to sleep but glad you liked HAL, I've heard it's nice, had some friends who loved it (he has since passed away tho, so she goes with us on Carnival now and she's an energetic 85)! :D

[AllenF]

Please dont misunderstand me when i say the cruise was quiet that it wasnt dawn of the dead. Actually there where many places hoping every night on my way back to the room after my casino fun and this was between 11 and 12 pm every night. By quiet I mean no constant annoucements no dull roar at dinner (though we only ate twice in the MDR) and overall atmoshere. There are always loud people and HAL was no different just that there were not as many. We ate breakfest in the Pinnacle grill (suite perk) so of course that was quiet compared to any Lido. Carnival is a great cruise line I did sail them 13 times there food and service are outstanding and i have met many great people on Carnival. Also I have done 12 day Europe and Hawaii plus Alaska on Carnival much older crowd and very few kids. I am compareing Caribbean cruiseson Carnival and HAL. With this economy all cruise lines are offering deals. I am by no means bashing Carnival my point is MY taste have changed and it appears for me that HAL has a definate edge on where i will spend my money in the future. But we are trying Celebrity in April :)

 

Again let me say carnival is a great cruise line and you can definately get cabins at a great price and outstanding bang for your buck.

Edited November 30, 2009 by AllenF