One Practical/Reasonable Thing?

[edmusic]

Eliminate smoking in cabins and in the Crow's Nest.

We frequented the crows nest almost every night on our recent Nieuw Amsterdam cruise and we didn't encounter any smoking at all the whole week. I'm pretty sure it is a smoke-free zone on all the ships.

[scopewest]

24 hour Lido and 24 hour Neptune Lounge. Or at least extend the hours.

 

Menus, activities, and a daily running total of your charges shown on the TV would be nice.

 

More choices on HAL logo clothing. We used to be able to get some really nice collared shirts with HAL logos on the shirt pockets, and on our last two cruises there was zilch selection. I saw a gentleman insist on one of the caps in the window display (which they gave to him to buy) and that was the only cap of that style available from what I could see.

[andeesue]

We frequented the crows nest almost every night on our recent Nieuw Amsterdam cruise and we didn't encounter any smoking at all the whole week. I'm pretty sure it is a smoke-free zone on all the ships.

 

Unfortunately, smoking was allowed in the Crow's Nest (behind the bar) on the Zaandam this April. Very unpleasant. Would love that smoking be banned everywhere.

[HAL4ME]

unfortunately, smoking was allowed in the crow's nest (behind the bar) on the zaandam this april. Very unpleasant. Would love that smoking be banned everywhere.

 

 

me too!

[Jemima]

We frequented the crows nest almost every night on our recent Nieuw Amsterdam cruise and we didn't encounter any smoking at all the whole week. I'm pretty sure it is a smoke-free zone on all the ships.

 

Nope, the Crows Nest is only smoke free on the Signature class ships and on 3 of the 4 Vista ships. Smoking is allowed in a portion of the Crows Nest on R & S class ships and one of the Vistas. We'd like it smoke free on all the ships.

[sapper1]

I would like to see a proper freezer for the ice cream tubs so that they would not have to serve ice cream that is already half melted. The tubs sit in a cooler which does not keep the ice cream hard. It's a petty complaint, I know, but I like ice cream the way Ruth likes chocolate. Whenever I have a dish onboard I have to do seven laps around the deck to compensate, so it would be nice to totally enjoy the treat by having it nice and cold.

[kazu]

Having the Neptune Lounge available 24 hours (unstaffed for 1/2). What a great idea! It would be easy to implement on the ships where you need your room key to enter the room.

 

Being able to get coffee/tea there (especially early in the morning) instead of the Lido would be really nice :)

[Bippie]

A copy of the MDR lunch and dinner menu delivered to all cabins on a daily basis or have them visable on the tv screen would be wonderful.

 

I was about to post a similar suggestion. I suspect they know the menus for the entire cruise even before the cruise departs, so make them available. I always have to call HAL to ask which nights will be formal nights so having that information and the menus available as early as possible would allow me to plan which nights would be best for the specialty restaurants.

 

....and add another vote for smoke free cabins/balconies. This works at most major hotel chains and should be doable on the ships.

[G&G]

I also agree with Ruth that the menu should be posted at both ends so that anyone entering the Lido restaurant can see what the offerings are. Also, I like the idea of posting the day's activities by the elevators, or at least in the stairwell area.

 

Great ideas. Regent posts the day's activities in the elevators.

[Nanner]

Agree with sevenseasnomad that the absence of the Yum Yum man is something we noticed in a big way the past two cruises. We loved to be greeted by a smiling face at the end of dinner, and the server always got to know what we liked and our names before the cruise was more than a few days out.

 

On the Zuiderdam last year, we were hard pressed to even find the cart, and never saw it staffed.

 

As for the champagne welcome, I only recall that on Celebrity, and we started cruising in 2003 with HAL. I do remember being escorted to the cabin, though.

 

Little touches that have gone the way of the dodo, I guess.

[kazu]

[quote=Bippie;29043851

 

....and add another vote for smoke free cabins/balconies. This works at most major hotel chains and should be doable on the ships.

 

Actually, most major hotel chains permit smoking outside (very close to the doors, by the way) and on the balconies

[paulista1950]

Eliminate smoking in the guest cabins, including the balconies.

 

This would be my choice too.

[jakkojakko]

When we did a full transit on Celebrity, the narrative was available in the room.

 

I swear I remember past HAL cruises where there were speakers in the cabin (Susan the CD and her "Toodle-oo" come to mind). As long as we could turn them down/off when we don't care to listen, it would be grand to have available for times that you are transiting a canal, or if a pod of dolphins are off starboard, etc.

 

There is a dedicated tv channel for the narrative. If you want to hear the narrative in your room, just switch to that channel.

[paulista1950]

have one lounge - inside, and not the casino - where smoking is mandatory.

 

Fair enough and this lounge should be the ONLY place aboard where smoking is allowed!:D

[kyriecat]

I agree with many of the suggestions already posted!

 

- I would love to have the interactive TV to check spending.

- The glasses in the lido are too small - I have to get 2-3 of them.

- The buffet should stay open later. We walked in at 7:30 one night and they were already putting the food away. We felt very rushed and didn't even get dessert. Other cruiselines have the buffet open until 9 or 10.

- Enforcement/marking of the non-smoking areas would be nice. On Zuiderdam my husband and I were sitting on the stools in the back of the theater. A couple sat two stools down from us and started smoking. They asked a waiter for an ashtray and he brought them one. I thought the theater was non-smoking so I asked the waiter. He just shrugged and walked off.

- Refrigerators in the cabins that actually keep things cold.

- Larger sizes for HAL shirts. I've tried to get a "dam ships" shirt on two cruises but they never have anything larger than a medium available. I can wear a large but prefer XL. Those are usually common sizes but not on HAL. I couldn't even find a "Zuiderdam" shirt in anything larger than medium.

- I'd like to see the ships as non-smoking, but I know that isn't "practical" so how about 1 night per week as non-smoking in the casino?

- Have the evening passenger-participation games scheduled so the people in later seating can attend. On Zuiderdam Majority Rules, Battle of the Sexes, Marriage Game, etc. were always schedule for 9 PM so late seating people missed them.

- "Modern" music (released after 1980) in the dance lounge. I'm almost 40, which isn't that young, but the music that they played on Zuiderdam in the evenings was too old for me!

[Jade13]

Take yet another shot at improving the HAL website.

 

IMO, it's still nowhere near "user friendly".

 

They could start with eliminating the annoying pop ups, and simply send everyone to a "please log in" page.

 

 

HAL has the best website of all of the cruiselines we have used. It is much better than Celebrity, Azamara and SilverSea.

 

The issue you describe is specific to your computer and set-up.. My computer is set up so I go right to the log-in page and my password is also saved on my computer, so I just log-in.

[Randyk47]

HAL has the best website of all of the cruiselines we have used. It is much better than Celebrity, Azamara and SilverSea.

 

The issue you describe is specific to your computer and set-up.. My computer is set up so I go right to the log-in page and my password is also saved on my computer, so I just log-in.

 

I can't speak to the Celebrity or Azamara websites....we won't cruise with them anymore so I don't even check....but I can speak to recent Silversea experience. Silversea has a good site in terms of information but the on-line check-in system is nowhere nearly as good as HAL's. It's harder to use and almost seems like it's old technology in terms of how you enter information. Granted Silversea apparently still mails documents, or at least I think they do as there's some reference to getting cruise documents in a "silver box", but that doesn't or shouldn't have any impact on the user friendliest of their website.

[fann1sh]

Jade13, Randyk47 - thanks for the feedback on other cruise websites.

 

I guess it's a case of me comparing apples to oranges again. There are many travel agencies with price comparison/cabin selection/search functions far superior to (and much faster) than HAL's. However, those sites don't include check in, etc. - crucial functions of the line's own site.

 

And yes - being a Canadian intent on currency comparisons makes my account(s) configurations quite different than others.

 

Perhaps the new version of the Firefox browser will help block the pop-ups, even after I've logged in. Or, perhaps that's a function of having two accounts, so there's always one account I'm *not* logged into.

[buckirj1]

Longer Lido hours, and self-service laundries on Vista-and-above ships.

[northernphoenix]

I would love to have a doorbell that could be heard on the veranda on the Vista ships as they have on some of the other classes of ships.

I second that motion. It is annoying for the persons in the next staterooms, as well.

 

Marilyn

[fatcat04]

More interactive features on the in cabin TV and interactive kiosks around thee ship... daily schedule, menus, ordering of room service, scheduling spa treatments and dinner reservations requests, that kind of stuff. Some of this might be integrated now as it has been a few months since I have been on a HAL ship. For those that don't feel comfortable with the technology there should always be a person available but since so many of us are used to this kind of technology in our daily lives, I think it could potentially be a time saver.

[bobpatj]

Bring back tiles with pictures of your ship, on them. Possibly copies of Capt. Card's paintings?

[TiogaCruiser]

How about a few informative sessions by the navigator or one of the cadets about the areas being sailed? It would be good experience for the cadets and interesting for pax.

[luxurysailer]

I agree with many of the suggestions already posted!

- "Modern" music (released after 1980) in the dance lounge. I'm almost 40, which isn't that young, but the music that they played on Zuiderdam in the evenings was too old for me!

 

Kyriecat,

I would beg to differ with you. "Almost 40" is very young on most HAL ships. Insofar as your taste in music is concerned, I hope they play some music you like. However, since most of us HAL pax are considerably older than "almost 40," would it be OK with you if they played 50's and 60's music admixed with rumbas, waltzes, foxtrots until about 10PM? Then they can start adding your music into the mix and start playing it exclusively at 11PM when all of us old geezers hit the sack. Click this link for what we want to hear:

.

[kazu]

I second that motion. It is annoying for the persons in the next staterooms, as well.

 

Marilyn

 

That is a really nice idea. How many times have one of us had to stay in the room if we were expecting company or room service - or gone to friends and had to knock and leave and then phone them as they were on the verandah and couldn't hear us (even if we were invited)