Platinum cruiser's review of first HAL cruise

[NCTribeFan]

So, I'm back from my 2-week, roundtrip cruise to Hawaii on HAL's Zaandam. Here's the link to my review (link to my Webshots album is at the end of the thread).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1321160

 

The cruise was excellent. But honestly, I didn't find HAL to be that vastly different. I've always had very good service on my Carnival cruises, good food, and a comfortable cabin.

 

As expected with a cruise this long, the crowd was considerably older. The ship was lovely, the food was wonderful, the crew was great, and Hawaii was incredible.

 

I won't hesitate to sail HAL again if they offer the itinerary I want at the per-day cost I think is reasonable. But I wasn't so impressed that I'll turn up my nose at Carnival!

 

After all - for me - it's all about getting to beautiful ports at a reasonable price. I'll sail on whatever cruiseline gives me that!

[vwrestler171]

Thats the same way I feel, I'll try any cruise line if the price is right. Only thing is most of the good prices I find are on Carnival. :)

[golfadj]

We are also platinum and have been thinking about trying another cruise line.

 

How was the entertainment? We love what Carnival has including the comedy club and would hate to be bored at night.

[travelntreats]

Great way to summarize cruising.....each cruiseline has its positives and not so positives.....but are alike in many ways.

 

The itinerary is first thing I look at....followed my what a ship has to offer that meets my needs or rationale for sailing a specific itinerary... then we get down to pricing meeting the budget, given the length of cruise and itinerary.

 

Spot on assessment OP..... THANKS !

[jimbo5544]

Nice review and pictures. Thanks for the different viewpoint. Looked through your pictures but did not see any of the room.

[NCTribeFan]

I forgot to take any pics of the cabin, but it looked basically just like your standard IS cabin on Carnival. It may have been slightly larger that the 185 sq ft I'm used to, because it had a tub in the bathroom.

 

I covered the entertainment as I went along, and tried to summarize at the end. I'm pretty particular about music, and have generally been underwhelmed by the music on Carnival, except the last few Music Something bands. I did think HAL's was a little step up.

 

The timing of the shows was a bit off. The early shows were at 7, but late dining starts at 7:45. The late show is at 9, which works great for early diners, but late diners aren't finished. So, if you have late dining, it's tough to see the complete show of either early or late showing.

 

Of course, the dining room is all the way aft, too, and with that crowd of elderly shufflers, it's difficult to get anywhere quickly! :p

 

Our guys in the Ocean Bar played until 11:30 every night, and the piano bar was still going strong (although don't expect the sit around the piano and sing-along thing). Not sure how late the DJ hung around. Somehow, I just can't imagine that crowd dancing all night to hip-hop!

 

It was really nice, though, to have other things to do during the day! When the weather isn't bright, hot sun, or if you just prefer to NOT hang around the pool constantly, it's great to have the opportunity to do something other than trivia, bingo, or the casino. I enjoyed the cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Center. They also show movies there, but, somehow during the 14 days, I never quite found the time to go see one! Amazing how that happens. I also didn't go to any of the computer/camera classes. My cousin did and thought they were great.

 

Having a speaker to talk about the islands was also really neat. He was available to talk with people individually, also.

 

So, there were some very nice touches that we don't get on Carnival. On a 2-week cruise, those extras are nice to have. On a week-long cruise, I usually don't have time to do all the things I want to do anyway, so I probably wouldn't take advantage of too many of those options.

 

Still, I may look into a HAL cruise for next December. I'll have to see what the prices look like. One other plus on HAL's side is that they have lots of itineraries that go to HMC, which is my very favorite place in the Caribbean. And they have some 10-days cruises, which seems like an ideal length to get to some new islands and some old favorites.

[PA Dutchman]

we found You get more of the elderly shufflers or should I say the gray shufflers on any cruise over 8 days. Im working on the gray part so we fit in.

[chachi]

After all - for me - it's all about getting to beautiful ports at a reasonable price. I'll sail on whatever cruiseline gives me that!

 

Me too! Glad to hear your point of view on a different cruiseline. I have only been on Carnival and RCI. I don't venture out much since I have always had fun on my cruises at a reasonable price.