Back to Non HAL After HAL

[qsuzi]

Did you return to your favorite/other cruise line after sailing HAL and did your view of that line change? Is HAL your new favorite cruise line or is that still to be determined? We will be looking at RCL (Jewel of the Seas) and Princess (Crown) with fresh eyes when we sail them in June and December respectively. We know we will sail HAL again (Westerdam in September).

[Aquahound]

Did you return to your favorite/other cruise line after sailing HAL and did your view of that line change? Is HAL your new favorite cruise line or is that still to be determined? We will be looking at RCL (Jewel of the Seas) and Princess (Crown) with fresh eyes when we sail them in June and December respectively. We know we will sail HAL again (Westerdam in September).

 

My view of other lines actually improved after sailing HAL because I didn't realize how much I enjoyed certain things until I didn't have them....like interactive televisions and late night live music.

 

I'll certainly cruise HAL again because I think they offer the best itineraries, but of the 5 lines I've sailed in order of my favorites, HAL falls as follows:

 

1. RCI

2. Celebrity

3. Princess

4. HAL

5. NCL

Edited March 17, 2015 by Aquahound

[qsuzi]

My view of other lines actually improved after sailing HAL because I didn't realize how much I enjoyed certain things until I didn't have them....like interactive televisions and late night live music.

 

I'll certainly cruise HAL again because I think they offer the best itineraries, but of the 5 lines I've sailed in order of my favorites, HAL falls as follows:

 

1. RCI

2. Celebrity

3. Princess

4. HAL

5. NCL

 

I appreciate your feedback. Why is RCI a good fit for you? Have you sailed them recently and if so have you found overall food quality has declined?

[InTheWASide]

My ranking of the lines I've been on would be:

 

1. Celebrity (BARELY)

2. HAL

3. Norwegian

4. Carnival

5. Princess

[cbr663]

Our view of HAL has improved after our recent cruise with Celebrity. We missed the larger cabins on HAL, the cooking demonstrations, the movie theatre, the Lido, room service, and Half Moon Cay.

 

We don't know yet if HAL is our cruise line of choice. We still have at least one more HAL cruise to do and we are looking at Oceania and river cruises also.

[qsuzi]

My ranking of the lines I've been on would be:

 

1. Celebrity (BARELY)

2. HAL

3. Norwegian

4. Carnival

5. Princess

 

Thanks for your feedback. Will you be trying RCI in the future? I would like to understand why you rated Carnival higher than Princess? Would you be willing to give Princess another try?

[qsuzi]

Our view of HAL has improved after our recent cruise with Celebrity. We missed the larger cabins on HAL, the cooking demonstrations, the movie theatre, the Lido, room service, and Half Moon Cay.

 

We don't know yet if HAL is our cruise line of choice. We still have at least one more HAL cruise to do and we are looking at Oceania and river cruises also.

 

River cruises also interest us. Have you done much research and have a recommendation of companies you are considering for a river cruise? I briefly looked at Oceania and won't say never. Have you compared size and price of mini suites and suites on other lines to HAL. We found the Princess mini suite comparable size and less price to our HAL Vista suite. We have not been to Half Moon Cay but heard very good things.

Edited March 17, 2015 by qsuzi

[Aquahound]

I appreciate your feedback. Why is RCI a good fit for you? Have you sailed them recently and if so have you found overall food quality has declined?

 

I do, but I also think food quality has declined on all the mass market lines. When it comes to MDR food, I think the quality is equal on all the lines. It just comes down to what invidivual dishes I prefer....and the lamb chops on RCI remain one of my favorites. On the other hand, I think the steak on HAL that is available every day is better than RCI's. That's all a wash to me.

 

My biggest draw to RCI is the entertainment, especially the Broadway shows on Quantum Class, Oasis Class and 2 of the Freedom Class ships, along with the ice shows. I also like how there is live band music in several venues that play late. So far, Giovanni's Table is my favorite specialty restaurant across all the lines I've sailed, and no other line has wowed me with their new ships more than RCI. Solstice comes close.

[InTheWASide]

Thanks for your feedback. Will you be trying RCI in the future? I would like to understand why you rated Carnival higher than Princess? Would you be willing to give Princess another try?

 

I've always wanted to try Royal just never found the right combination of a ship that interests me with a good itinerary and a good price. Many RCI ships are priced A LOT higher than others running a similar itinerary in the area. The Freedom and Oasis Class ships appeal to me the most but I would consider anything Voyager Class and up.

 

Simply put, I find Princess boring and it doesn't help that I had a bad experience with a room steward that was rummaging through our things (that experience which is understandably a "one off" aside we truly found the ship pastel and boring. It tried so hard to be all things to all people that it never "hooked us". I would try them again... Regal Princess appeals to me. But the price would have to be real good since there's some perceived risk in giving them another shot.

 

Carnival by comparison was exactly what they brand themselves to be... Fun! Breeze was a beautiful ship with tons of different spaces whether we wanted to relax, have a great time on the sun decks, a bite to eat, etc. The Pizza was better on Princess but Carnival was better in every other way

[dogo88]

Did you return to your favorite/other cruise line after sailing HAL and did your view of that line change? Is HAL your new favorite cruise line or is that still to be determined? We will be looking at RCL (Jewel of the Seas) and Princess (Crown) with fresh eyes when we sail them in June and December respectively. We know we will sail HAL again (Westerdam in September).

 

Our path was a bit different. We've done HAL for so long it was getting stale and since they stopped doing the Caribbean over the summer we decided to try the competition. We did RCI Allure and NCL Getaway. Both were big surprises. And both come to be equally enticing.

 

The one thing we did find was going from HAL we were trading walkers for baby carriages.

 

But we are back on HAL. The main reason for this trip is only due to ports visiting. Given a choice with ports being similar we would be hard pressed to not go on either of these three lines. With all three have pros and cons which overlapped, but no clear winner.

 

Dan

[lazey1]

Thanks for your feedback. Will you be trying RCI in the future? I would like to understand why you rated Carnival higher than Princess? Would you be willing to give Princess another try?

 

Our rating of the lines we have been on:

#1 HAL, a hundred times better than

 

#2 RCCL, good crew, comfortable beds, lousy food, tiny cabin, had to pay extra for decent size veranda, and far to loud. still much, much better than

 

#3 Norwegian, terrible food, terrible beds, tiny cabin, tiny veranda and a crew that would only speak to you if absolutely necessary.

[Alcarondas]

This thread is very interesting to me. Having only sailed HAL, it's good to see all the perceived pros and cons of all the competing lines collected in one place.

[qsuzi]

I've always wanted to try Royal just never found the right combination of a ship that interests me with a good itinerary and a good price. Many RCI ships are priced A LOT higher than others running a similar itinerary in the area. The Freedom and Oasis Class ships appeal to me the most but I would consider anything Voyager Class and up.

 

Simply put, I find Princess boring and it doesn't help that I had a bad experience with a room steward that was rummaging through our things (that experience which is understandably a "one off" aside we truly found the ship pastel and boring. It tried so hard to be all things to all people that it never "hooked us". I would try them again... Regal Princess appeals to me. But the price would have to be real good since there's some perceived risk in giving them another shot.

 

Carnival by comparison was exactly what they brand themselves to be... Fun! Breeze was a beautiful ship with tons of different spaces whether we wanted to relax, have a great time on the sun decks, a bite to eat, etc. The Pizza was better on Princess but Carnival was better in every other way

We have not tried the Breeze but she gets great reviews and so much about her is different than the older Carnival ships so I do understand your choice. Princess is not for everyone and sounds like you are not likely at this point to sail them again even if you had not had the bad experience. I had read mixed reviews of the Regal Princess and prices still are too high as you say. RCI starts being more affordable once you move up in categories, e.g., as Diamond we get $225 off a balcony room and free drinks at night can be a savings. Still you do have to search for the better deals. The Jewel will be our first experience on the Radiance class which many say is their favorite. Thanks for sharing your comments.

[qsuzi]

I do, but I also think food quality has declined on all the mass market lines. When it comes to MDR food, I think the quality is equal on all the lines. It just comes down to what invidivual dishes I prefer....and the lamb chops on RCI remain one of my favorites. On the other hand, I think the steak on HAL that is available every day is better than RCI's. That's all a wash to me.

 

My biggest draw to RCI is the entertainment, especially the Broadway shows on Quantum Class, Oasis Class and 2 of the Freedom Class ships, along with the ice shows. I also like how there is live band music in several venues that play late. So far, Giovanni's Table is my favorite specialty restaurant across all the lines I've sailed, and no other line has wowed me with their new ships more than RCI. Solstice comes close.

 

The shows on the Veendam were good quality but not near the production of the Broadway shows you reference. I like that you can sign up in advance for the shows and see so many of that high quality on one cruise. We have not tried Giovanni's Table but will make a point of doing so when on the Jewel.

[qsuzi]

Our path was a bit different. We've done HAL for so long it was getting stale and since they stopped doing the Caribbean over the summer we decided to try the competition. We did RCI Allure and NCL Getaway. Both were big surprises. And both come to be equally enticing.

 

The one thing we did find was going from HAL we were trading walkers for baby carriages.

 

But we are back on HAL. The main reason for this trip is only due to ports visiting. Given a choice with ports being similar we would be hard pressed to not go on either of these three lines. With all three have pros and cons which overlapped, but no clear winner.

 

Dan

Dan you made me smile. We stopped Princess for 4ish years because it was getting stale for us and our return in January was very favorable. There are definitely pros and cons about ships the size of the Allure but this is an option we have made 3 times and probably will again although we prefer the Oasis. Love the many dining choices , venues, and activities, but there are cons. It's amazing how they can spread that many people out as great as they do to control crowding (screens to let you know status) and have the best embarkation and disembarkation for any ship we have been on - kudo's to RCI for configuration and staffing of the terminal specifically to handle the number of people. Our HAL cruise was 7 day Veendam during Spring break so is not typical from what I read as far as age.

[qsuzi]

Our rating of the lines we have been on:

#1 HAL, a hundred times better than

 

#2 RCCL, good crew, comfortable beds, lousy food, tiny cabin, had to pay extra for decent size veranda, and far to loud. still much, much better than

 

#3 Norwegian, terrible food, terrible beds, tiny cabin, tiny veranda and a crew that would only speak to you if absolutely necessary.

 

Thanks for your comments lazey. Hope beds have improved and I understand your far too loud comment. My very loyal RCI friend also has commented on how much the food has declined. We almost, but did not try, Norwegian and not on our radar for the foreseeable future.

[qsuzi]

This thread is very interesting to me. Having only sailed HAL, it's good to see all the perceived pros and cons of all the competing lines collected in one place.

 

I also find varied comments interesting and that is one of the reasons we became interested in trying HAL.

[dogo88]

Dan you made me smile. We stopped Princess for 4ish years because it was getting stale for us and our return in January was very favorable. There are definitely pros and cons about ships the size of the Allure but this is an option we have made 3 times and probably will again although we prefer the Oasis. Love the many dining choices , venues, and activities, but there are cons. It's amazing how they can spread that many people out as great as they do to control crowding (screens to let you know status) and have the best embarkation and disembarkation for any ship we have been on - kudo's to RCI for configuration and staffing of the terminal specifically to handle the number of people. Our HAL cruise was 7 day Veendam during Spring break so is not typical from what I read as far as age.

 

Our opinion of Allure was exactly as you described Oasis. It is an awesome ship that has a lot to offer. It's amazing how they do it so well give the size of the ship. One nice thing we found on the jogging track at the stern were teak chairs. Not many, but not many folks there either. So we were able to relax far from the crowds and enjoy the sea rolling by reading or napping.

 

This fall we're looking to go back on the Allure. HAL has a lot going for it but it's not the only game in town and each line needs to earn our business.

 

Dan

[cruz chic]

Hal was my first cruise in 1984 and I hated cruising. After that I got married and my now ex had no interest in cruising. Flash forward to 1999 and I thought I would try it again. Once again I returned to hal. Since then I've tried carnival, princess and celebrity. I have no desire to try RCI as I think it wouldn't be for me. I don't enjoy carnival and celebrity but do like princess. Hal is still my favorite.

[qsuzi]

Hal was my first cruise in 1984 and I hated cruising. After that I got married and my now ex had no interest in cruising. Flash forward to 1999 and I thought I would try it again. Once again I returned to hal. Since then I've tried carnival, princess and celebrity. I have no desire to try RCI as I think it wouldn't be for me. I don't enjoy carnival and celebrity but do like princess. Hal is still my favorite.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Cruz Chic.

[George C]

I sailed Hal 4 times in a 3 year span ending in 2013, but hated that the lack of things to do after 11:30 pm, loved Pinnacle, one of the best restaurants on any ship

Favorite line RCCL really love entertainment , ice show is amazing live music past 1am, good specialty restaurants, better suite perks

Have cruised Celebrity and Princess , more likely to do Celebrity again

Have cruised NCL and Carnival will not likely cruise either one again

Here is my surprise pick, we loved Costa, love the Italian food and staff and would book them again

[take us away]

Our rating of the lines we have been on:

#1 HAL, a hundred times better than

 

#2 RCCL, good crew, comfortable beds, lousy food, tiny cabin, had to pay extra for decent size veranda, and far to loud. still much, much better than

 

#3 Norwegian, terrible food, terrible beds, tiny cabin, tiny veranda and a crew that would only speak to you if absolutely necessary.

 

Agree with the above comments but would also add Princess as #3 with okay food, new beds are comfortable, okay service, decent entertainment - as most anything is better than Norwegian.

 

Would rather cruise longer and more often than pay for a river cruise + airfare for only a short cruise even though the itineraries look wonderful. DH does not drink and I drink only on occasion so an all-inclusive cruise is somewhat a waste of money for us.

 

It is so hard to leave the itineraries and most especially the service of HAL so I guess we are confirmed HAL sailors.

[qsuzi]

I sailed Hal 4 times in a 3 year span ending in 2013, but hated that the lack of things to do after 11:30 pm, loved Pinnacle, one of the best restaurants on any ship

Favorite line RCCL really love entertainment , ice show is amazing live music past 1am, good specialty restaurants, better suite perks

Have cruised Celebrity and Princess , more likely to do Celebrity again

Have cruised NCL and Carnival will not likely cruise either one again

Here is my surprise pick, we loved Costa, love the Italian food and staff and would book them again

We also find entertainment on RCI the best and most choices and the ice skating shows are my husbands favorite. Many HAL cruisers agree that entertainment is one area that needs improvement. We haven't tried Costa. Do they sail out of any US ports?

[qsuzi]

Agree with the above comments but would also add Princess as #3 with okay food, new beds are comfortable, okay service, decent entertainment - as most anything is better than Norwegian.

 

Would rather cruise longer and more often than pay for a river cruise + airfare for only a short cruise even though the itineraries look wonderful. DH does not drink and I drink only on occasion so an all-inclusive cruise is somewhat a waste of money for us.

 

It is so hard to leave the itineraries and most especially the service of HAL so I guess we are confirmed HAL sailors.

 

I appreciate your comments take us away. You hit the nail on the head of why we seriously haven't looked into River cruises. I have read from other HAL cruisers about staff shortages and that service has been effected. Overall we found service to be good on our recent HAL cruise but saw areas where increased staff would be improve service.

[JanDom]

We have also tried some cruise lines. Our Ranking is :

 

1. HAL

2. Carnival

3. RCCL

4. Celebrity

5. AIDA

6. NCL

 

We tried AIDA and NCL only once but we die not like it!

We tried X three Times, the Exquinox was Great and we loved it. On Eclipse and Infinity the Food was not good, Even in the blu.

Rccl is nice but i don't like the plastic plates...

Carnival was a fum cruise and this is why we made the other cruises ... And HAL was our Last. The Ships are not as new as some others but it was clean, the Food was excellent and we loved the initary...

So for this year we booked ....

Two HAL cruises 😄😄