HAL newbie comment about this forum

[ab0si]

My first HAL cruise is coming up in a few months. Having never sailed with this line before (or thought about sailing with HAL), until recently I have never wandered into this forum. A few observations might --- or might not --- be of interest to some of the regulars here.

 

1) Obviously the regulars here are Holland American Fans. Unlike some of the other line-specific fora, almost all seem to accept that no line, including HAL, is perfect. There does not seem to be the almost religious zeal I see on some of the other fora. There is a very comfortable feeling here.

 

2) Every question I've asked has been answered quickly and fully -- sometimes with gentle pointers to where the information can be found on the line's web site; sometimes with answers to the questions I should have asked.

 

So, thank you all for your help (so far, more help needed, I'm sure <grin>).

[IRL_Joanie]

My first HAL cruise is coming up in a few months. Having never sailed with this line before (or thought about sailing with HAL), until recently I have never wandered into this forum. A few observations might --- or might not --- be of interest to some of the regulars here.

 

1) Obviously the regulars here are Holland American Fans. Unlike some of the other line-specific fora, almost all seem to accept that no line, including HAL, is perfect. There does not seem to be the almost religious zeal I see on some of the other fora. There is a very comfortable feeling here.

 

2) Every question I've asked has been answered quickly and fully -- sometimes with gentle pointers to where the information can be found on the line's web site; sometimes with answers to the questions I should have asked.

 

So, thank you all for your help (so far, more help needed, I'm sure <grin>).

 

You are quite welcome!!

 

Though I do have to add, that sometimes we can get a bit...uh...er....rowdy... And resemble the other forums of which you speak. It depends upon the subject matter:)

 

Joanie

[Krazy Kruizers]

For the most part everyone here is very friendly -- some of us stay away from those hot topics -- just not worth getting the blood pressure up.

 

So if you have more questions -- ask away.

 

Someone will find the answer -- often the search function isn't working or if it does -- you get tons of threads to sort through.

[SwissMyst]

You will find many here have tried other cruise lines and find there is just something almost undefinable to like about HAL. I feel it in the more human scale to its operations - like a visit to an old, comfortable country home with some nice antiques and some genteel wear showing it has been well-used and well-loved. There are genuinely nice people at all levels of staff. That is what feels number one for us as the HAL difference. Thanks for your thoughts.

[maxout]

You are so welcome!

 

Feel free to ask about anything but the following: :D ;) :p

 

Smoking

Formal Night Dress Code

Bathrobes on the prowl

Tipping!!!

Should Children Cruise?

Are Hal Passengers all Old and/or nearly dead?

Air Conditioning/sewage odors

Liquor/Beer smuggling

Is HAL better/worse/equal to any other possible cruise line and why?

I didn't buy insurance so HAL should take care of my cancellation because I'm special?

Has Cruise quality slipped??

Does Adult Pool really mean "Adult Pool??"

Should I book an 0800 flight home from a ship arriving at 0700?

 

Darn, I just realized we'd have nothing to "talk" about :D

 

Before somebody else says it... Bless my heart! ;) :D

[Sailkeywest]

Welcome to HAL forum! I have yet to sail my first HAL cruise either, but really love living vicariously through the stories of others' travels. Everyone here has been most helpful, I think some of them could write books on the subject!

 

On Rowdy: Sometimes the written word is more often misinterpreted than the spoken one. Perceptions of what is written may vary, and enough on that. :)

 

Can I ask what other cruiselines you have enjoyed?

 

P.S. I cheated and checked your profile to find my answer. :P Crystal! I've read very nice things about them, very nice :)

[SwissMyst]

You forgot the "I saw a spot of rust on the ship" hot topic. :p

[snorkelingsearchers]

And Price Reductions!:D

[sevenseasnomad]

And tipping!

[Taxguy77]

You are so welcome!

 

Feel free to ask about anything but the following:

Should I book an 0800 flight home from a ship arriving at 0700?

 

Darn, I just realized we'd have nothing to "talk" about

Before somebody else says it... Bless my heart! ;) :D

 

Wouldn't that make this the least-used forum?:confused::p

[ab0si]

You are so welcome!

 

Feel free to ask about anything but the following: :D ;) :p

 

Smoking

Formal Night Dress Code

Bathrobes on the prowl

Tipping!!!

Should Children Cruise?

Are Hal Passengers all Old and/or nearly dead?

Air Conditioning/sewage odors

Liquor/Beer smuggling

Is HAL better/worse/equal to any other possible cruise line and why?

I didn't buy insurance so HAL should take care of my cancellation because I'm special?

Has Cruise quality slipped??

Does Adult Pool really mean "Adult Pool??"

Should I book an 0800 flight home from a ship arriving at 0700?

 

Darn, I just realized we'd have nothing to "talk" about :D

 

Before somebody else says it... Bless my heart! ;) :D

 

hehe.

 

The good news is that I have always refused to:

a) ask those questions

b) respond to those questions

c) care about those questions

d) understand the purpose of those questions

[ab0si]

Welcome to HAL forum! I have yet to sail my first HAL cruise either, but really love living vicariously through the stories of others' travels. Everyone here has been most helpful, I think some of them could write books on the subject!

 

On Rowdy: Sometimes the written word is more often misinterpreted than the spoken one. Perceptions of what is written may vary, and enough on that. :)

 

Can I ask what other cruiselines you have enjoyed?

 

P.S. I cheated and checked your profile to find my answer. :P Crystal! I've read very nice things about them, very nice :)

 

Ya, recently it has been Crystal. Before that it was Orient Lines -- before NCL bought and killed it. The old Orient Lines' Marco Polo had the worst cabins, the worst entertainment and the worst food .. and I still miss them. Interesting itineraries, diverse passengers and a superb staff made up for a lot. The food problem was solved by ordering the Philippino food from the crew's mess (probably against all sorts of health rules, but by far the best food on the ship and if you the crew, it could magically appear every dinner). Cruised them once post-Norweigen take over and NEVER AGAIN.

 

Crystal: I love to travel. My wife does not particularly enjoy travel -- except for cruising and to her that means sea days. So we've done quite a few Pacific and Atlantic crossings and other cruises with most of the time at sea (South Pacific, Panama Canal, Norge coast, etc.). For the rest, I head off on my own for land trips hither and yon. My wife loves Crystal, so we splurge for an occasional cruise.

 

HAL: my brother and his spouse, their two sons and the sons' partners are taking the Amsterdam through the Canal, so I decided to join them (solo). That about covers the in depth research I did before forking over my money to Holland America. :)

[kazu]

HAL is certainly not Crystal and as long as you don't compare I think you will be very pleasantly surprised. Have a great cruise and share with us when you come back. and in the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to post. Everyone is happy to help. enjoy your cruise :)

[ab0si]

HAL is certainly not Crystal and as long as you don't compare I think you will be very pleasantly surprised. Have a great cruise and share with us when you come back. and in the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to post. Everyone is happy to help. enjoy your cruise :)

 

Thanks!

 

HAL isn't Crystal and Crystal is not HAL .. that's not a problem for me. I loved Orient Lines and they were CERTAINLY not Crystal. :)

 

Actually, I have uncovered only one "issue" so far with Holland America:

the beer list is ugly (as is Crystal's btw <grin>)

I think I can survive that problem. :)

[Sailkeywest]

Panama Canal Cruise, that one is on my list! If you are going in an aft-wrap, photos are welcomed. :)

[DFD1]

First time we sailed on a HAL ship, several years ago, we came away saying we felt like we'd spent 10 days as guests in a beautifully decorated and superbly staffed home.

 

We have not had that feeling on any other cruise line.

 

I hope you like HAL. We think it is unlike any other cruise line.

[ab0si]

DFD1: I keep reading about how good the service is on Holland America. I am looking forward to it.

 

Sailkeywest: "aft-wrap?" I assume that means a rear facing cabin with a wrap-around balcony? Sorry, not this time. You DO want to make a full canal transit (after reading "The Path Between the Seas.") I've done several of these and am looking forward to my HAL version.

[Hawaiidan]

I wil lthrow our one highly amusing thing thai I have observed here is that many persons seem to love to use all sorts of special codes rather than using english or what ever language is mor comfortable.

It makes reading rather fun because pople make up the same coded word and use it, to mean different things and its even funnier when you see that the codes they use are long established to mean totaly other things.:rolleyes:

 

Maybe they fear that Osama will hack in and get the cabin next to them.

 

Anything wrong with plain good old words. or is that not cool ?

[slotl]

Thanks!

 

HAL isn't Crystal and Crystal is not HAL .. that's not a problem for me. I loved Orient Lines and they were CERTAINLY not Crystal. :)

 

Actually, I have uncovered only one "issue" so far with Holland America:

the beer list is ugly (as is Crystal's btw <grin>)

I think I can survive that problem. :)

 

When you reach your first port, find a grocery store and purchase a 6 pack of your favorite beer and put it in your refridge to drink in your room. In our experience, HAL has never confiscated a 6 pack we purchased on shore. Then at your next port, another 6 pack.

 

No problem.

[SwissMyst]

Ya, recently it has been Crystal. Before that it was Orient Lines -- before NCL bought and killed it. The old Orient Lines' Marco Polo had the worst cabins, the worst entertainment and the worst food .. and I still miss them. Interesting itineraries, diverse passengers and a superb staff made up for a lot. The food problem was solved by ordering the Philippino food from the crew's mess (probably against all sorts of health rules, but by far the best food on the ship and if you the crew, it could magically appear every dinner). Cruised them once post-Norweigen take over and NEVER AGAIN.

.......

 

Found a lot of former Marco Polo passengers on the MV Discovery (Voyages of Discovery Grand Voyage - Asia to Africa Jan 2010) offering close to the same thing as the old Marco Polo, but food and entertainment was pretty good, with cabins small and functional that would be putting them in the best possible light.

 

But what a great ship, crew, staff and itinerary. And another off shoot out of the same family is the brand new single ship line Voyages to Antiquity that had a rocky first few months but seems to be pleasing everyone now - again, small old ship but with unique itineraries and more inclusive items than MV Discovery. Nice to go back and forth between the relative cruising comforts on HAL and the more challenging adventure trips on these small unique itinerary lines. We found we liked HAL price and value a lot after our single Crystal experience. (Singapore to Dubai) The smaller HAL (1200 px) R and S class ships about the same size as Crystal and have become our favorites in the HAL fleet.

[Tamaracboy]

My first HAL cruise is coming up in a few months. Having never sailed with this line before (or thought about sailing with HAL), until recently I have never wandered into this forum. A few observations might --- or might not --- be of interest to some of the regulars here.

 

1) Obviously the regulars here are Holland American Fans. Unlike some of the other line-specific fora, almost all seem to accept that no line, including HAL, is perfect. There does not seem to be the almost religious zeal I see on some of the other fora. There is a very comfortable feeling here.

 

2) Every question I've asked has been answered quickly and fully -- sometimes with gentle pointers to where the information can be found on the line's web site; sometimes with answers to the questions I should have asked.

 

So, thank you all for your help (so far, more help needed, I'm sure <grin>).

 

hehe.

 

The good news is that I have always refused to:

a) ask those questions

b) respond to those questions

c) care about those questions

d) understand the purpose of those questions

 

Welcome to HAL.Fan.Club <LOL>,

 

Actually most of us don't consider ourselves "cheerleaders", just wise people with discerning taste ;)

 

If you want to feel like you know the best of HAL passengers and the general ambiance on board, you could not do better than following the Blog of Kween Karen from her South Pacific grand voyage:

http://dreamcruise.kweenkaren.com/

A lot of us are anxiously awaiting her next SA blog.

 

Also, Many MANY questions can be answered by following the links in Joanie's

(IRL_Joanie) signature. She's something of an Encyclopedia here.

 

A lot of us regulars appreciate your discretion in dealing (or NOT) with certain "Hot" topics. :cool:

"maxout" forgot two more subjects on the No-No list:

Trays in the Lido

&

Booking Handicapped cabins for the able-bodied

Quite a few megabytes were singed with these topics :eek:

 

r.

[MightyQuinn]

Every question I've asked has been answered quickly and fully --

As they say ... what goes around, comes around. And now you're receiving the same helpful advice here on the HAL forum that you so readily give on the Europe forums. I know many folks, including me, have benefited from your advice. Thanks for all you do over there.

 

I do believe you will enjoy HAL. It's all about calibrating your expectations & not getting wrapped up in endless comparisons with other cruise lines. Enjoy it for what it is!

[ab0si]

Found a lot of former Marco Polo passengers on the MV Discovery (Voyages of Discovery Grand Voyage - Asia to Africa Jan 2010) offering close to the same thing as the old Marco Polo, but food and entertainment was pretty good, with cabins small and functional that would be putting them in the best possible light.

 

But what a great ship, crew, staff and itinerary. And another off shoot out of the same family is the brand new single ship line Voyages to Antiquity that had a rocky first few months but seems to be pleasing everyone now - again, small old ship but with unique itineraries and more inclusive items than MV Discovery. Nice to go back and forth between the relative cruising comforts on HAL and the more challenging adventure trips on these small unique itinerary lines. We found we liked HAL price and value a lot after our single Crystal experience. (Singapore to Dubai) The smaller HAL (1200 px) R and S class ships about the same size as Crystal and have become our favorites in the HAL fleet.

 

Interesting. thanks! The cabins sound like clones of the ones on the Marco Polo. Tiny and not only could yo hear your neighbors's TV, you could hear them breathe. <grin>

[ab0si]

Quinn: Thanks for your kind words .. appreciated.

 

Tamaracboy: OK, added to the verbotten list. The list is pretty much the same for most of the fora. Saving deck chairs seems to be a biggie also. :)

 

I had already found Joanie's very helpful information. excellent stuff there. I'm going to check out the blog you suggested right now.

[Sailkeywest]

I wish every line on CC had a site like Joanie's! Quick Ab0si, make us a Crystal one? ;)