What is your experience on HAL--is 10 PM really bedtime?

[MYMOTHERSCHILD]

I've seen posts recently referring to the "Wheelchair Brigade" on HAL cruises and the lack of anything to do after 10 except go to bed. True--if you want to go to bed. I've cruised on HAL several times, often for the itinerary,twice with a grandson in his late 20's, who said "Yeah!" the second time I asked.

Young people seem to find one another right off (they do stand out!) and have a ball together both on the ship and in port, so he had as much or more fun than on Carnival.

I find old geezers (I'm a very old geezette) to chat with after dinner, even if they're blurry-eyed. If there's music anywhere on board, I whirl around the floor by myself until the music stops. On December 2 (I bought insurance this time in case I drop dead beforehand), I sail HAL again with my daughter. Come sail with me.

MMC

[kazu]

Depends on your cruise - but no, I don't find that 10 pm is bedtime (but then again, we are on late seating:D). If the cruise is very port hectic then and there are early arrivals then yes, some people do go to bed early so they are bright and bushy eyed in the morning:) but overall, I found lots of people in the crow's nest most nights, in the Ocean Bar and listening to the Adagio strings. So no, I don't think everyone goes to bed at 10 pm but shhhhhhhh - don't spread the word;):D

[kakalina]

The definitive answer is sometimes. Really, as kazu said itierary plays a big part in it. We generally are early to bed early to rise people, but once in a while onboard I like to join the late night fun and kick up my heels in the nightclub or disco. There are always people up and about and having fun.

[jaguarstyper]

I think it depends on the itinerary and the ship. I have noticed on Caribbean cruises, the ship seems to stay awake a lot later, especially when the next day is an sea day. When I was in Alaska and the Mediterranean, the ship did get pretty quiet after 10. But, those were more port intensive itineraries. I have found lively evenings in the Crow's Nest and Northern Lights on Vista ships. Sometimes the Piano Bar is busy. But, I have never seen much going on after midnight except the crew, mostly the entertainers in the Northern Lights. I usually head to the casino late and its pretty hit or miss. Sometimes its lively, sometimes its dead. I did play black jack one night in Alaska and when I got back to my cabin, it was daylight. So, if people are there playing, they seem to stay open as long as you're willing to play.

[MYMOTHERSCHILD]

Great to hear that I'm not alone. I admit I'm too energetic for a woman my age--on a cruise! At home, I find it a chore to walk around the block.

[Typhoon1]

Bedtime is whenever we have enough activity in our day. We are early risers, so it normally by 1:00 AM.

[George C]

it might not be 10pm but ship is almost dead at midnight , no more live music or shows of any kind, casino will still be open.

[jpihota]

Just got off the O-dam Alaska cruise five days ago and we stayed up much later than normal most of the 7 nights (even though I banned DH from the casino). This was a younger crowd than the typical passengers, maybe because it was a short cruise.

 

We stayed up dancing in Northern Lights until 12:45 am the second night and the place was still hopping when we left. They had movies scheduled at 10:00 pm every night in the theatre and we went to several of those which had full seatings.

 

I think you can make cruising with HAL whatever you want it to be!

[Loreto]

If we have early excursions the next day, or are worn out from a full day of touring, we would be in bed by 10P.M. We are not clubbers on land and use the ship as a delightful way to reach exotic destinations!

 

Karen

[MYMOTHERSCHILD]

I hope passengers considering HAL cruises are encouraged by the comments here.

At 87, I don't let age interfere with my wanderlust, nor should others. On the other hand, a Celebrity cruise offers a happy compromise--the cons: at a price.

[OCruisers]

it might not be 10pm but ship is almost dead at midnight , no more live music or shows of any kind, casino will still be open.

 

Especially on longer port intensive cruises, we've found this to be true.

 

~~~~

[karatemom2]

On our recent Amsterdam cruise by 10:30 p.m. you could practically have the entire ship to yourself. I've never been on such a quiet ship in the evenings. Sometimes it was almost eerie. I always felt a bit sorry for the musicians who were playing later in the evening to a mere handful of people. We even joked about it with the piano man one evening as he was playing to a virtually empty lounge. The thing that really amazed me was walking down the hall to our room many evenings and seeing the breakfast orders out on door after door by 9 p.m. It was a port intensive cruise, but only a couple of our port days were really early. There were definitely opportunities for evening entertainment, but not many participated so it the cruise just seemed to lack that special energy that a more active group brings to later evening activities.

[NoobCruise]

We just got off the Westerdam Saturday. Dh and I are in our early 40s. We saw very few walkers or wheel chairs. I would say there was a good spread of ages from 30s to I don't know how old lol with the majority in 50s or 60s. I didn't think too many were ready for the retirement home. Most were very active and raring to go.

 

DH and I did notice the majority of the ship seemed to shut down around 9 or 10pm The halls and lounges were oddly empty. 2000 passengers and we wondered where everyone was. However, we did not go down to the Casino, Piano Bar, Sports Bar, or Northern Lights Disco (cigarette smoke), so maybe they were all down there lol There was a 10 pm show each night in the Vista Lounge which was more than half empty. Several times we went to lounges/bar where there was supposed to be live music scheduled and it was completely empty, no one there.

 

We were also on a 7 day Alaska cruise that was port intensive with only one sea day. 2 days were 7:00 am ports and one was scenic cruising and we were up early. DH and I were exhausted and we're supposedly the young'uns on HAL lol

 

I did have an incident where one wheelchair ran over my heel while leaving the Queen's Lounge when the show ended and everyone was crowding out to leave. I don't even know where he came from, except he came from behind and he was just riding roughshod over ALL people crowding out of the lounge, with no regard for anyone elses safety. Being in a wheelchair doesn't give him the right to run others down >:(

[Krazy Kruizers]

We are not night owls. 10 is good for us. Same as at home.

 

We like to be up early -- DH is in the gym at 6 AM nearly every morning.

[fsdj1097]

We always bring our grandson with us on cruises. He has grown up in Club HAL. His curfew is midnight and he almost always stays until then.

 

We prefer the early fixed seating and then going to the show or sit up on the Lido and play cards until 11:00pm or so.

 

I know, I know, we're just wild!

[Coolcruise02]

On our recent Amsterdam cruise by 10:30 p.m. you could practically have the entire ship to yourself.

 

 

Make that 9:30! :)

[YubaSutter]

It has been my experience on HAL that after the 2nd production show, the ship seems deserted.

[iriemon]

One thing I would like to clear up is a wheel chair and walker does not make you old and want to go to bed early. My wife uses a wheel chair and walker and we are not old but due to physical limitations it is necessary, but you will still find us in the piano bar or casino well after midnight and we still make it to an early breakfast. Life is what you make it and we tend to make it fun. I have also seen some older people who would put younger people to shame with their energy. That is the great thing about cruising, you can do or not do what you want.

[NoobCruise]

One thing I would like to clear up is a wheel chair and walker does not make you old and want to go to bed early. My wife uses a wheel chair and walker and we are not old but due to physical limitations it is necessary, but you will still find us in the piano bar or casino well after midnight and we still make it to an early breakfast. Life is what you make it and we tend to make it fun. I have also seen some older people who would put younger people to shame with their energy. That is the great thing about cruising, you can do or not do what you want.

 

I totally agree with this! I didn't mean to be offensive in my post. I referenced wheel chairs and walkers because there have been a number of posts and a few reviews over the last several months that said HAL was a "floating retirement home" full of wheel chairs and walkers. I was disagreeing with that assessment, but maybe that wasn't clear.

 

My dad is 91, sharp as a tack, and still washes their cars and does all their gardening, including digging holes and planting trees. He's so active, we think he's going to outlive us all lol

[iriemon]

I totally agree with this! I didn't mean to be offensive in my post. I referenced wheel chairs and walkers because there have been a number of posts and a few reviews over the last several months that said HAL was a "floating retirement home" full of wheel chairs and walkers. I was disagreeing with that assessment, but maybe that wasn't clear.

 

My dad is 91, sharp as a tack, and still washes their cars and does all their gardening, including digging holes and planting trees. He's so active, we think he's going to outlive us all lol

 

Did not take it as offensive, just hate generalities so it was one of those things I had to get off my chest. God Bless you Dad. Let's put him against one of the younger generation playing games and texting and see who can last longer doing active work! Opps I think I just broke my own rule of putting people in generalize categories! :eek:

[iancal]

No, sometimes it is as late as 10:15 or 10:30.

[E-500]

This is an interesting thread with a lot of thoughtful responses.

 

Our case is that we cruise with another couple and the ladies tend to crash after the second show. The other gentleman and myself like to hang out later, and do all the venues still open, including the piano bar, casino and if truth be told we have closed a couple of bars in our time. Last stop is always to the lido deck stern area for a nightcap and a cigar.

 

Most of the problems of the world have been solved out there, usually with the help of a couple of other night owls. We have fixed the Euro, brought peace to the Middle East, have a plan for Social Security and know what's wrong with today's youth. This is done on the first night, more important issues are addressed later in the cruise.

 

"Ralph"

[MYMOTHERSCHILD]

[

 

I did have an incident where one wheelchair ran over my heel while leaving the Queen's Lounge when the show ended and everyone was crowding out to leave. I don't even know where he came from, except he came from behind and he was just riding roughshod over ALL people crowding out of the lounge, with no regard for anyone elses safety. Being in a wheelchair doesn't give him the right to run others down >:(

 

Happened to me too. A woman on a scooter backed up without looking and ran over my bare toes. I didn't say a word but I sure felt like it.

I guess it depends on the particular cruise and the particular passengers as far as bedtime on HAL goes

[Sir PMP]

It depends on nationality:

 

Canadians: 8:30pm

Kiwis: 9:00pm

USA: 10:00pm

Europeans: 11:00pm

Aussies: Midnight

 

...

[baggal]

I think it depends on the itinerary and the ship. I have noticed on Caribbean cruises, the ship seems to stay awake a lot later, especially when the next day is an sea day. When I was in Alaska and the Mediterranean, the ship did get pretty quiet after 10. But, those were more port intensive itineraries. I have found lively evenings in the Crow's Nest and Northern Lights on Vista ships. Sometimes the Piano Bar is busy. But, I have never seen much going on after midnight except the crew, mostly the entertainers in the Northern Lights. I usually head to the casino late and its pretty hit or miss. Sometimes its lively, sometimes its dead. I did play black jack one night in Alaska and when I got back to my cabin, it was daylight. So, if people are there playing, they seem to stay open as long as you're willing to play.

 

Its daylight in Alaska about 22 hours a day - the sun never really sets.