Back to Non HAL After HAL

[qsuzi]

Our issue with certain HAL ships does not primarily pertain to pricing-it pertains to age and condition of ship.

 

Thanks for clarifying. Good point.

[rafinmd]

I see you are a fan of the Prinsendam like others who are very loyal to that ship. I am not surprised to see Crystal, Winstar, and Cunard at the top half of your list but curious as to why you ranked Silversea at the bottom. Do you think you will try Princess at some point?

 

My Silversea cruise was Athens to Dubai in 2007. It was kind of a collection of little things that added up to a big disappointment, especially because I started with high expectations. It started even before the cruise began when they were very late getting my documents out and we had a 2-day stay in Safagia Egypt and by the time I got the documents the deadline had passed for any meaningful activity there.

 

Perhaps I should have done more research but they said "dine when you wish", and the dining room didn't open until 7:30. I ended up feeling that they were trying to decide for me what I should want. It didn't help that the CD (who knew of my disappointment in that regard) was regularly on the PA saying "For those who want to dine EARLY (emphasis hers) the dining room will open at 7:30".

 

On a cruise I will generally stop in the lido early and get a cup of coffee and take it back to my room well before breakfast. The Silversea station didn't open until later than I liked and early in the cruise I was approached by a steward in the lounge who essentially told me "If you want coffee in your room go back to your room, call room service, and wait for it to show up (my paraphrase of his words). I did the next day, and when the coffee arrived the steward tried to set it up on the table. He pulled the table up out of the stand and I had no useable table in my room for about 3 days.

 

We also went to sea for 4 days with a 2-day supply of laundry soap.

 

My Silversea cruise was just a few months after my first time on Cunard. On that cruise I don't think I was ever addressed by name by any Cunard crew and left the ship feeling it was too big and impersonal. I felt like a nameless interchangeable widgit. I softened my view of Cunard after Silversea (and every successive Cunard voyage was better than the first). On Silversea everybody knew my name but it seemed to stop at that. My wishes, desires, and feelings didn't seem to matter and I felt like just a widgit with a name.

 

Overall, I thought Silversea was the equal of Crystal in the extras but mediocre or less on the basics.

 

I have no plans to try Princess although I would if the conditions are right. Their ships are a bit too big for my desires; while I prefer smaller that's not a hard and fast rule. At this point whenever I've looked at a cruise there have always been other options I know I will like.

 

Roy

[drgrinch]

How many times have you had the issues you mentioned on Princess and how recently have you sailed them? We found a very good product without the issues you mentioned during our January cruise with them and hope we have the same experience in December when we sail on the Crown again. There were also many things we like on our first HAL cruise.

 

We did a Western Caribbean on the Emerald at the end of March and are scheduled to sail again with Princess on the Grand next Christmas. We did encounter less issues on the Emerald than on the Sapphire so there are differences from ship to ship. The bartenders, MDR food and luggage problems were a constant on both ships however.

[qsuzi]

We did a Western Caribbean on the Emerald at the end of March and are scheduled to sail again with Princess on the Grand next Christmas. We did encounter less issues on the Emerald than on the Sapphire so there are differences from ship to ship. The bartenders, MDR food and luggage problems were a constant on both ships however.

 

Just bad luck on the luggage I would think but the other two will hopefully improve. Did you mean Xmas 2015 or 2016? We have not sailed on the Grand but that is an older ship. Checked and it was refurbished in 2013 so thats good. We were on the Sapphire in april 2009 and really liked the two extra dining rooms on Deck 6 (Pacific Moon and Santa Fe).

Edited April 14, 2015 by qsuzi

[drgrinch]

Just bad luck on the luggage I would think but the other two will hopefully improve. Did you mean Xmas 2015 or 2016? We have not sailed on the Grand but that is an older smaller ship if my memory serves me right.

 

2015. In my understanding,the Grand is basically the lead ship for a general class that has expanded to versions that hold from 2500 to 3000 people. There are significant differences within the general design for the different builds but they are broadly similar in layout.

[qsuzi]

2015. In my understanding,the Grand is basically the lead ship for a general class that has expanded to versions that hold from 2500 to 3000 people. There are significant differences within the general design for the different builds but they are broadly similar in layout.

 

I revised my comments because when I looked to see when the Grand was refurbished I also saw the passenger size - boy was I wrong.

Edited April 14, 2015 by qsuzi

[qsuzi]

2015. In my understanding,the Grand is basically the lead ship for a general class that has expanded to versions that hold from 2500 to 3000 people. There are significant differences within the general design for the different builds but they are broadly similar in layout.

 

Just spotted your cruise list. Did you like the Veendam?

Edited April 14, 2015 by qsuzi

[drgrinch]

Just spotted your cruise list. Did you like the Veendam?

 

Loved it! The Veendam and Amsterdam are our two favorite ships. We prefer smaller ships and will try out the Massdam to Alaska in 2016.

[davis0056]

We used to sail Celebrity exclusively. When I booked our first HAL ship my husband said all I'd do is compare it (negatively) to Celebrity. Loved HAL from the minute we boarded. We've had some great cruises (14 night cruise on Amsterdam to Alaska) and some mediocre ones (14 day Maasdam to New England). We went back to Celebrity in November with friends and both agreed that HAL was a couple of notches above. We just cancelled our planned Celebrity cruise back to Alaska (this will be our 7th cruise to Alaska) to switch to the Noordam. Doing RCCI in July out of Galveston with the grandkids (5 and 7 yo) for their first cruise.

[qsuzi]

We used to sail Celebrity exclusively. When I booked our first HAL ship my husband said all I'd do is compare it (negatively) to Celebrity. Loved HAL from the minute we boarded. We've had some great cruises (14 night cruise on Amsterdam to Alaska) and some mediocre ones (14 day Maasdam to New England). We went back to Celebrity in November with friends and both agreed that HAL was a couple of notches above. We just cancelled our planned Celebrity cruise back to Alaska (this will be our 7th cruise to Alaska) to switch to the Noordam. Doing RCCI in July out of Galveston with the grandkids (5 and 7 yo) for their first cruise.

 

Thanks for adding your comments. What are a few of things you like better on HAL? What RCI ship will you be on?

[Bedruthen]

Can't rate HAL yet as we take our first cruise with them next month. Our favourite lines would rank

 

Cunard. QE2

Celebrity Century

Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas

P&O. Oriana

Princess

Costa

 

However I do think a lot depends on the actual ship in the fleet and even the itinerary can influence our opinion of the ship.

[qsuzi]

Can't rate HAL yet as we take our first cruise with them next month. Our favourite lines would rank

 

Cunard. QE2

Celebrity Century

Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas

P&O. Oriana

Princess

Costa

 

However I do think a lot depends on the actual ship in the fleet and even the itinerary can influence our opinion of the ship.

 

Thanks for commenting. What HAL ship will you be on next month and why did you select HAL/that ship?

[Bedruthen]

Thanks for commenting. What HAL ship will you be on next month and why did you select HAL/that ship?

 

We will be on Niuew Amsterdam, but to be honest, we didn't select the ship, more the port of departure. We are hoping to do an Alaskan Cruise next year, and choice would be HAL or Princess, so good opportunity to try out HAL.

[epixx]

We're a family of four who have sailed on HAL, Carnival, Princess, Norwegian, Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity.

 

We like them all! We actually think they're much more similar than dissimilar, and each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Our least favorite was Disney, due to only marginally edible food and "hokeyness" of the entire experience. We picked another HAL cruise for this summer for the combination of itinerary, vacation timing, and price.

[qsuzi]

We're a family of four who have sailed on HAL, Carnival, Princess, Norwegian, Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity.

 

We like them all! We actually think they're much more similar than dissimilar, and each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Our least favorite was Disney, due to only marginally edible food and "hokeyness" of the entire experience. We picked another HAL cruise for this summer for the combination of itinerary, vacation timing, and price.

 

Thanks for adding your comments.