Thinking of Jumping Ship from HAL? Here's a review of our experience.

[OlsSalt]

For general comparison only on costs, 90 Day -Ticker reports 11 day Caribbean cruises for a suite on HAL ships is approximately $2,500, and Regent balcony suite is $7,500, but inclusive of a number of items not included in the HAL price.

Edited December 2, 2013 by OlsSalt

[Sea-travelers]

Thanks for the review and comparing Hal to another cruise line. I remember being on a Celebrity ship and having that same vibration throughout the cruise and how much it disrupted eating in the dining room. I read these reviews and for every reason to think about changing from HAL to another cruise line...there is 2 or 3 reasons to stay put. Some friends of ours are going on the Noordam with us in February, first time on HAL, and it will be interesting to get their opinion of HAL as they love Princess. Thanks again for the review.

[janmcn]

Great, helpful review! I guess you saved us some $$s that we can spend on more HAL cruises!

[gray eagle]

Over the last year we have had two Regent cruises ( Mariner and Navigator) and one HAL (Eurodam). Food was better on Regent as were the rooms. Service was fine on both but we aren't demanding at all. Bartenders remembered our drink preferences on Regent, but we still thought service was about equal between the two. We preferred the Mariner over the Navigator. We have two upcoming HAL cruises and one on Regent. All things being equal we would always pick Regent. But Regent can't compete with HAL on iteneraries.

I really get tired of having to bring a couple of hundred dollars in small bills to tip the staff for every interaction. Paying upfront is a major plus and HAL does nickel and dime you at every turn. Regents cost does include a pre night hotel and airfare, we upgrade to business on all overseas flights on both Regent and HAL. If you go to the bars, like wine with meals, eat in the specialty restaurants and go on tours ( which are better on Regent) the cost is about the same.

[Thebes]

I just realized that the link I provided in my post might not work . . . try this:

 

https://plus.google.com/photos/115703190496459823290/albums/5952206754102638673?authkey=CNePt-O7uMzfeg

 

Bruce

 

Thank you lordSpain for the detailed and thorough review. I truly enjoyed reading it. I would be interested in how much this cost u compared to the same itinerary on HAL. Thanks again for your precious time :)

[nobog]

Been on Princess, HAL, Celebrity, and finally - Crystal. The Crystal gets a 10 out of 10 with everyone else bringing up the rear. Now, this was only on one TA but we were impressed. The price was not that far off after you consider the all inclusive. You can tell the difference the moment you step on the ship, someone personally guides you through the check in process (yes it was on board - not in a terminal) and get you comfortable 'till your room is ready. 8am up in the crows nest (2 people and myself are the only ones to be seen) - anything I can get you sir? And so goes the entire cruise. We book for itinerary and HAL is our next cruise but we will always consider Crystal.

Happy travels, Jim

[OlsSalt]

Thank you lordSpain for the detailed and thorough review. I truly enjoyed reading it. I would be interested in how much this cost u compared to the same itinerary on HAL. Thanks again for your precious time :)

 

90-day Ticker is a good place to do general price comparisons, knowing that there are always adjustments and special deals that any one individual passenger may obtain from their own arrangements. We have found HAL prices track well on 90-Day Ticker so we assume the other cruise line prices are also close to what one would pay.

 

Trick is to find exact comparisons since there are so many different names and configurations of cabins, a direct comparison is hard. And naturally even harder are the X factor items each line has that either add or detract from the final value.

[Thebes]

90-day Ticker is a good place to do general price comparisons, knowing that there are always adjustments and special deals that any one individual passenger may obtain from their own arrangements. We have found HAL prices track well on 90-Day Ticker so we assume the other cruise line prices are also close to what one would pay.

 

Trick is to find exact comparisons since there are so many different names and configurations of cabins, a direct comparison is hard. And naturally even harder are the X factor items each line has that either add or detract from the final value.

 

Thanks for the analogy :)

[LordSpain]

We booked this cruise back in February. At that time it was $6,199.00 pp but we received a $400.00 pp allowance for booking our own air. I am fanatical about checking the prices of any cruise we book just in case the price goes down. The HAL cruise we have booked for next spring has gone down three times. I remember checking this one many times after we booked and all it did was go up. I'm sorry but I can't remember what the price was on sailing date.

 

Bruce

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Bruce, I want to thank you for your honest comparison review. Often times doing things totally out of our norm makes us realize that the grass is not always greener :) Or actually I cannot help but see Dorthy saying... there is No Place Like Home (meaning HAL) ;)

I get the opportunity to talk to those that do sail some of the various luxury lines and while there are always those that have their favorites and Regent definitely has lot of cruisers that love them. I have heard similar comparisons when it comes to Regent. I actually would say that your report might have read a bit different had it been Seabourn or Crystal. I had hoped to do a similar comparison this past October with HAL to Crystal but sadly that did not happen.

Regents big push by their sales reps are to push they are better and actually the same price as Celebrity or Holland America when you add in the shore excursions and adult beverages. They have a bit twisted pamphlet that demonstrates they are a better value by listing a HAL cruise price, cost of shore excursions and cost of adult beverages and specialty dining.... like I said it is a bit twisted :D. Sadly I have never bought into it and the numbers have never added up for me. Now with some (not all) Crystal cruises I have seen where in doing the comparison of what is included Crystal can be pretty equal to HAL. But Crystal also does not add in shore excursions and air and hotel.

I am actually a bit surprised at the service issues and the number of times they could not get things right. In my opinion that is just wrong and I do hope you wrote them or did their survey to express your opinion. This was a case they could have easily won over a new cruiser to the Luxury side but instead they shut the door and locked it.

[LindaM]

I came very close to not reading this thread as I usually skip the ones that don't pique my interest. We've sailed Navigator twice....so I was very interested in your take on it.

 

What I like about Navigator is that the least expensive cabins are 350 Sq. Ft. with veranda. I believe if we sailed Crystal, we'd probably be in a smaller cabin, unless we wanted to pay a lot more.

 

I think you are very wrong about the shows. The Jean Ann Ryan shows are spectacular. They are so much better than the mediocre shows we saw recently on Prinsendam. Regent does better than HAL on shows, IMHO. The first couple of nights, there was only one bar waiter in the show lounge. I really think the management on Navigator is lax with service.

 

We didn't like the Italian restaurant on Navigator. Their interepretation of Marsala was unlike anything I've had in my life. And, we didn't like not having an option for a quick meal in the evening. The service was extremely slow, as it was in the Compass Rose. I found the food choices there to be limited.

 

We had good luck with the room service. What is nice is that there is a table, which is then covered with a white tablecloth.

 

Comparing Navigator to Prinsendam, we feel the Prinsendam experience is very close. We've heard (after my online criticism) that the other Regent ships have better service. We will try them in time, mostly because of HAL's new wine policy.

 

I agree that on our second Navigator cruise, I just didn't feel that it was a luxury experience. We also missed ports due to rough seas. We heard that if there are limited spots (berths???), because Navigator pays less because of it's size, big ships take precedence.

[cruisetrail]

Nice report.

It brings me back to the time I decided to try a "luxury" (or "luxury light") ship.

I had all prepared: vacation, deposit, hotels..

Then I started a thorough research of the ship.

I found a dwarf that looked really miserable in comparison with a resort cruise ship.

The "luxury" included upscale dining & service and some prepaid things that I did not need at all.

On a positive side was the itinerary.

The ship was lacking very important facilities I would like to have on such an expensive cruise.

I don't mean climing walls and shopping malls.

I mean comfort and well-being at sea: pools, sun decks, open space, promenade deck, sea views, sports facilities, modern thermal suite.

 

Luxury entertainment: no theatre, no live orchestra.

 

Fortunately I had enough time to cancel all this "luxury" and save my cruise vacation. We really missed one port of call, but we'lll be there some time on a land-based vacation.

 

"Luxury cruises" is a specific cruise industry term with a very narrow meaning that has little in common with luxury of cruising one can expect on a resort cruise ship.

[OlsSalt]

I…. I believe if we sailed Crystal, we'd probably be in a smaller cabin, unless we wanted to pay a lot more.

…..

 

Our two Crystal experiences were in the low level ocean view cabins - very small, poor layout and a very cramped bathroom. Crystal's strongest point is its high end decor so there is a lovely feeling of luxury when in fact it lacks a lot of basic amenities one finds routinely on HAL ships. Some of the food was better; some not. The dining room felt less rushed with tables spread further apart, but a closed-in dining room with none of the wide open windows found on HAL ships, particularly the smaller ones. (Except the Prinsendam)

[kazu]

Nice report.

It brings me back to the time I decided to try a "luxury" (or "luxury light") ship.

I had all prepared: vacation, deposit, hotels..

Then I started a thorough research of the ship.

I found a dwarf that looked really miserable in comparison with a resort cruise ship.

The "luxury" included upscale dining & service and some prepaid things that I did not need at all.

On a positive side was the itinerary.

The ship was lacking very important facilities I would like to have on such an expensive cruise.

I don't mean climing walls and shopping malls.

I mean comfort and well-being at sea: pools, sun decks, open space, promenade deck, sea views, sports facilities, modern thermal suite.

 

Luxury entertainment: no theatre, no live orchestra.

 

Fortunately I had enough time to cancel all this "luxury" and save my cruise vacation. We really missed one port of call, but we'lll be there some time on a land-based vacation.

 

"Luxury cruises" is a specific cruise industry term with a very narrow meaning that has little in common with luxury of cruising one can expect on a resort cruise ship.

 

While I do not call HAL's smallest ship luxury, it is a step up from the others in the fleet, at least in our experience.

 

On that little ship, you find most of the things you are looking for :D

 

Lots of live music on this ship, entertainment - smaller and solos, but very good. There is a movie theatre, fitness centre - tons of open space - beautiful views, beautiful MDR and Pinnacle and of course, a Promenade deck.

 

 

Her spa doesn't have everything that the bigger ships do - but it's certainly fine.

 

She's older and she's a ship, not a floating hotel - one of the reasons we like her :D

 

I have found more public space and views on the other smaller ships as well :D

Edited December 3, 2013 by kazu

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[julia]

Having tried a smaller "luxury" line, I must say that I concur with a lot of the OP observations. Especially when it comes to ship movement! We were fine for several days, until the Seaborne Spirit went through the Straits of Messina. It was an all day hurl-a-thon for me, and stoic greenness for DH.

We did enjoy the country club atmosphere, the flowing drinks, the caviar sailaways, and the super-attentive staff though! :)

[barbarah33]

Thank you for sharing. I am counting the days until I step aboard another blue hull. :)

[peaches from georgia]

[quote name='julia']Having tried a smaller "luxury" line, I must say that I concur with a lot of the OP observations. Especially when it comes to ship movement! We were fine for several days, until the Seaborne Spirit went through the Straits of Messina. It was an all day hurl-a-thon for me, and stoic greenness for DH.

We did enjoy the country club atmosphere, the flowing drinks, the caviar sailaways, and the super-attentive staff though! :)[/QUOTE]
I can't speak to the smaller Seabourn ships like the Spirit, but the new 'larger; ships like the Sojourn ride beautifully. We had a few nights with very rough seas and had no problem at all. I am one that hates even the slightest rocking and rolling, but the Sojourn was wonderful. Have had much more bouncing around on cruises while on much larger ships. I'm not convinced size of the ship has anything to do with its stability. And everything else about Seabourn was truly luxury also and met all our expectations.

[cruisetrail]

[quote name='peaches from georgia']I can't speak to the smaller Seabourn ships like the Spirit, but the new 'larger; ships like the Sojourn ride beautifully. We had a few nights with very rough seas and had no problem at all. [/quote]

Pehaps because one of the leading engineers of the project was Dr. Stephen Payne. :)

[QUOTE]I am one that hates even the slightest rocking and rolling, but the Sojourn was wonderful. Have had much more bouncing around on cruises while on much larger ships. I'm not convinced size of the ship has anything to do with its stability. [/QUOTE]

Finally it depends on the sea (types of waves).
In fact, a larger ship still have more chances to stay stable at rough seas.


[QUOTE]And everything else about Seabourn was truly luxury also and met all our expectations[/QUOTE]

IMO these two ships are the closest to what is supposed to be a luxury ship: Chrystal Serenity and Seaborn Sojorn (class of ships).
The first one is large enough, but lacking modern spa.
The second has a modern spa, but is lacking open space. It's not closed in like Azamara or Oceania, but promenade...
We can argue if a "cruise-and-booze floating hotel" should or should not have promenade deck, but speaking of "luxury at sea", no promende - no luxury.
Neither Azamara, nor Oceania will hold a candle to those two ships.



[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/5vdi8o.jpg[/IMG]

[LordSpain]

[quote name='peaches from georgia']I can't speak to the smaller Seabourn ships like the Spirit, but the new 'larger; ships like the Sojourn ride beautifully. We had a few nights with very rough seas and had no problem at all. I am one that hates even the slightest rocking and rolling, but the Sojourn was wonderful. Have had much more bouncing around on cruises while on much larger ships. I'm not convinced size of the ship has anything to do with its stability. And everything else about Seabourn was truly luxury also and met all our expectations.[/QUOTE]

While I think that the size of a ship actually does has something to with stability, it is not the only factor to consider. I would expect that larger ships more recently engineered specifically for cruising would have a smoother ride.

A little post-cruise research revealed that the Navigator had its keel laid down in 1988. The Hull was constructed by former USSR (Russia) as a naval support vessel strengthened for navigation in ice. The hull was purchased by RSSC and the superstructure was finished by Mariotti Yards, Italy. It entered service in 1999 for Radisson Seven Seas Cruises.

I’m assuming that since its original hull engineering had nothing to do with luxury cruising might have something to do with the way it handles rough seas.

Bruce