Rethinking HAL Signature Ships - Now I Know What They REALLY Are

[Hlitner]

"Cheerleading" is fine to a point at which some folks do not let facts get in the way of reality. HAL is a very good mass market cruise line and there are certainly pros and cons to each of their ships (we could be cheerleaders for the Prinsendam). But when compared to other cruise lines upon which we cruise (14 to date), HAL does not even make our top 3 list. And if one wants to do comparisons of larger vessels we could have a fun debate of the Signature Class vs other ship designs ( such as Celebrity Solstice Class or RCI Radiance Class). And if one insists that HAL is truly a luxury line(it is not) then it might be interesting to compare Signature ships to perhaps a Regent ship or Crystal ships.

 

Hank

 

 

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[Sheik]

Please stop calling HAL a premium, deluxe or luxury line. I am Dutch, but I am absolutely not proud of the overall HAL product. We sailed HAL a couple of times, just to give them a 'second' change, over and over again. Their itineraries are often better than what other lines offer (my opinion). That is mainly the reason why we choose HAL. But not anymore. Our last cruise in March (MS Rotterdam - Indonesia) was excellent, but not thanks to HAL. The ship and cabin was in poor condition. The refurbished cabin was dirty and a lot was broken down (the 'new' pillows and sheets contain blood stains!!!) . The service was sometimes non existing and tourprices (double the price of the same RCCL/Celebrity tours!) were too high. We've sailed different cruiselines and lots of cruises, but HAL is definitely NOT a 4 star cruiseline.

Edited June 4, 2014 by Sheik

[RuthC]

I know that when you've been asked about this in the past you replied that you concentrate on "flagships" --

Hi, Jazzbeau. Welcome to the HAL board.

 

I don't know how familiar you are with HAL ships, but since you mentioned CT's concentration on "flagships" I thought you might like to know that's not true in this case.

Neither the E-dam, nor the Nieuw Amsterdam is a HAL flagship.

 

Holland America does have two co-flagships. They are the Rotterdam and the Amsterdam (not to be confused with Nieuw Amsterdam).

[Hlitner]

The term "Flagship" has becoming a somewhat meaningless term and many cruise lines do not even with the label. A Flagship is simply any ship a cruise line wants to call a Flagship. In the Navy it does have a meaning as a "Flagship" is simply the ship that carries the Admiral...and his personal "Flag." Since there are no Admirals working on HAL this is not a valid term. As to the Rotterdam, we find any ship that trashes its 2nd pool (to cram in extra cabins) and replaces it with a "birdbath" to be a pitiful example of a line's best vessel. Our personal experience cruising on the Rotterdam (on its commemorative voyage from Rotterdam to NYC) was that it was among the worst ships we have ever cruised (and we have been on more then 60 different vessels). We could start with moldy wet carpet in the starboard-aft part of the dining room ("we do not have time to repair the leak....but it will be done eventually"), an unhappy crew (smiles were very infrequent), the aforementioned "birdbath," etc. Ironically that commemorative crossing had over 1000 Dutch aboard (they were a lot of fun) and many told us the only premium part of the ship were the excellent bittenballen served every day.

 

Hank

[goleta]

Thanks cruisetrail for your in-depth reviews of HAL Signature Class and Celebrity S-Class. Thanks to your review I have added HAL to my list of lines to monitor.

 

Now that I understand a little of what appeals to you in a cruise ship, it would be interesting to read your review of Celebrity M-Class (no Promenade Deck, which I agree is a real loss, but beautiful art deco furnishings [not recreations, but the original ones from the Normandie etc.]) and Coral/Island Princess (I think you would find the overall design to your liking).

 

I know that when you've been asked about this in the past you replied that you concentrate on "flagships" -- but given trends in cruise ship design (bigger, flashier, more and more focus on squeezing dollars rather than pleasing passengers) you should reconsider. Help more people appreciate the last of the great designs still sailing!

 

We loved our stay on the Xpedition. I see you are going in 2015. We of course enjoyed all the excursions, and really enjoyed returning to the ship with staff waiting at the top of the stairs with everyone's favorite drink and munchies! We enjoyed the aft deck. We also got to know everyone by name and are still in contact with several. We went 4 years ago this October. The ship is nothing great nor bad but perfect for this type of journey.

Enjoy it!

[legion3]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2045540

[kazu]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2045540

 

very interesting. thank you for the link.

[Lizzie68]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2045540

 

Thank you for this link - it is very interesting reading.:)

[alli]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2045540

 

Yes, it is interesting reading! Even the second time around.

[RuthC]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2045540

Well, that IS interesting reading. Thank you very much for the link.

[innlady1]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2045540

 

thank you from me, too. Interesting for sure.

 

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[mamaofami]

A very interesting review. Thanks for posting the link.

[sapper1]

It's a long read but very interesting. Thank you for posting the link.

Edited June 6, 2014 by sapper1