Anyone switch from RCCL to Holland and like it?

[elaine5]

We have been on 4-5 RCCL cruises. Some were great, some just OK. No major issues, but finding food in MDR is not like is was 5-10 years ago and we don't want to pay almost $100 per night for a family for specialty. Our family is booked for RCCL next spring, but can go on similar cruise on Holland America Eurodam or Niew Amsterdam. Anyone jump ship to HA and like it better. We are in our 50s with 2 teens and concerned that HA will be too boring, but our teens are shy and don't do group sports or teens clubs, so maybe it doesn't matter? Anyone LOVE HA and why?

[xpcdoojk]

We did a HAL cruise a decade ago to south America. There was not a single person under the age of 18 on the cruise. Which is probably not normal, because it was a long cruise during the school season. That said, there is much less to do, and I didn't find the food to be any better. If the goal to to go somewhere then HAL is great. If you are doing a typical Caribbean cruise then I can't imagine that the kids would prefer it to RCI/NCL or even Carnival.

 

jc

[George C]

We switched from RCCL to Princess then did 4 recent cruises on Hal ( Westerdam/Zuierdam/Massadam/Veendam) before switching back to RCCL, I did not think food or service was better than RCCL, I thought they were about even. RCCL has way better entertainment and more thing to do. Live music ends about 11:30 on Hal and it is not as good as RCCL. Ships are much smaller some 50,000 tons others about 85,000 tons, some Hal ships had just 1 pool which I disliked. People seem to dress a little better on Hal than RCCL and Hal gets all ages but mostly a little older than RCCL.

[HACKT]

We have done 5 HA cruises inc 1 to Alaska last September. We normally prefer RCL but chose HA for the itinerary out of Seattle. We were very disappointed in HA this time. The ship was boring and the dining room food, which in the past was always good on HA, was terrible. Our daughter, 24, went with us and did not enjoy the ship. So we prefer RCL with Norwegian as our #2 choice. I'd only recommend HA If their itinerary was unique.

[JLBellaCC]

We returned from a 7 day on the Nieuw Amsterdam. They announced that there was 180 kids under the age of 18 on board. This was around spring break time- March 15th. We chose this ship for the itinerary- and were also concerned about whether the ship would be a good fit for us, we are early 50s, but very active. The ship is quieter- not as much action for sure, especially kid-wise. But, alternatively, the pools were never overly crowded- we got a Lido cabana for the week and loved that! We would go on another HAL cruise, but I would not make them our "go-to" cruise line. For me, I would not recommend the line for a family with kids, but of course each parent know their kid's travel style best. But for me, I would rather have too many options for my kids and have them elect to hang out by the pool, than to have no choices for them but to sit by the pool. That said, I am sure you would still have an enjoyable cruise because it is a very nice ship, they have good itineraries, good food and a bad day on a ship nearly always beats a good day on land!

[MMOMOM]

We've cruised mostly RCCI and love it. We did a couple Carnival and they were fun too. We weren't crazy about the NCL Epic, but I've found it's really a 'one of a kind' ship and it was also Spring Break which was really wild with college kids. That was not our most favorite cruise, but it was a good price and we still had a good time. The one time we cruised on HAL, the Eurodam, to be specific, was wonderful. We loved it. We were told it was all old people, it was not. Course we are no spring chickens, but our life style is active and young. We saw all ages there. We thought the food and service were wonderful and wouldn't hesitate to go on HAL again. All that being said, you know your kids better than anyone. If we had taken our kids when they were the ages you mentioned, I think they would have had a great time. However, today it seems the kids sometimes may need more bells and whistles than before when we were traveling with them. That's just the way it is. So, it's hard to recommend other than to tell you our experience and that is, we loved it! :) Whatever you choose, Happy Sailing! :)

[Friend100]

Comparing to RCI ships (Voyager class and above), HAL ships will be more boring ... I mean quiet :D which is to our liking. The overall atmosphere is very low profile and sedated. It almost feels like Royal Caribbean wants to WOW you 24x7x365, always in some kind of action and want to always be on front page; while HAL doesn't care much at all and continue to do what they have been doing for decades and try desparately to stay off the spotlight.

[jm485]

I took a HAL cruise a couple of years ago with my MIL. If you are cruising for the experience in the ports and time together as a family, it probably will be OK for you.

 

I thought the on-board entertainment was geared toward folks my MIL's age (now mid-70s). The magicians and comedians definitely seemed to be targeting their interests, as did most of the music/dancing. Most nights, I was happy to head back to the cabin and read after an after-dinner drink, while my MIL would go to the shows (I was in my early 40s at the time). So if you enjoy the shows on the ship, HAL might not be a great choice.

 

If you are on a shorter trip during a time when kids are on break, there might be more kids on the cruise you are considering. But I do think HAL generally attracts an older crowd. Whether you and your family would be comfortable in that environment is something you'd have to decide.

 

My MIL and I were talking about cruises when she visited recently. She'd just returned from a SilverSea trip, my husband and I were talking about taking an RCI trip and so we were thinking about options. She likes HAL because she knows the line, she likes the level of service (personal, without being overbearing), she has always liked the excursions, etc. But, as she put it, she can see where we would prefer something a bit more "lively."

 

I'd cruise HAL again if it was an itinerary I wanted and the price was right. But it probably wouldn't be my first choice.

Edited April 13, 2015 by jm485

[vickila]

We closed up the casino one night at 10:30 pm. Entertainment called shows is generally tops 4 singers, very disappointing. We tried HAL 3x. Would try it again to make me feel like a youngun again compared to most on the ship! V.

[WyKnott]

I did an Alaska cruise on the Noordam. Loved it, there were all age groups, and the food was great. The menu seemed to have more international dishes. One thing I loved was the congee for breakfast in the Lido buffet.

[Topo Gigio]

I did the Eurodam for the 2nd time last November (Thx G. week) and loved it. Planning on going on the Nieuw Amsterdam this winter.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Topo Gigio

[tidygirl]

We just did our first HA cruise Mar 15th, IMO food was pretty good, entertainment and sea days for us were boring. We aren't into cooking classes, photography classes etc. Hubby and I are very active 48 and 49 years old. I think our young adult kids (20's) would have been bored as they don't drink or party.

If you want to read a review on March 27th with more details of the differences jump over to HA forum and look for 1st timers on Holland my opinion.

I still would do HA again if it meant different ports as that is our main priority when cruising!

Edited April 14, 2015 by tidygirl

[bigeagle12]

We did one HAL cruise .. great food and service.

 

We were mid 50's and average age was 75+ .. everything geared to older crowd .. piano bar was all 40's and 50's with a little 60's music .. casino closed around midnight .. just very little nighttime activities.

 

We loved the ship, itinerary, service, and food .. but will probably will not try them again for 15 or 20 more years.

[boulders]

After about 5 RCCL cruises, I tried HAL. I've done a 24 night cruise and a 21 night cruise. I find HAL's customer service a lot better than RCCL. My 24 night cruise was in the Med in July and there were plenty of families on board. The 21 night cruise was to Antarctica and while there weren't many families, I'd say the average age was late 50's. I didn't see anyone I thought was over 70 on that cruise. I'm early 50's. My dd16 prefers HAL. She likes that she can make friends more easily because there's not so many and she likes the afternoon tea. DS19 and ds9 prefer RCCL.

[fishin' musician]

DW and I prefer the Princess overall, but have taken 4 or 5 RCL and 2 HAL including a cruise over Christmas with DD and SIL on Nieux Amsterdam. RCL would definitely get the nod if family/kid activities are a factor. HAL is quieter both litterally and decor wise. The programs are more enriching than outrageous. I think much of this decision comes down to the personalities of the kids. I think both products are great and look forward to more cruises on them.

[tdk]

We have done 1 cruise with Hal because someone in our group likes Hal ....we just aren't old enough for Hal and frankly hope I never am. This time he is going with us on royal ... We hope to show him what he has missed. Onboard entertainment doesn't compare to royal.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

For better MDR food, I would consider Celebrity or Carnival. Haven't done HAL yet, but they've got some great itineraries so I'll give them a shot regardless.

[masonpips]

We did Holland last summer out of Boston to NE. I have a "mini" review in my link below. My teens were 15/16 during the cruise. They don't do the teen club (LOVED the kid's clubs when they were younger) and we had a 3 generation cruise and port intensive, so we spent a lot of time off the ship or with family. But, we had a blast overall! If you can get over the fact that you're not earning points on RCCL (we're getting close to Diamond + so I always think about that) and enjoy it for trying something new, I think you'd like it!

[Cindy]

We've taken two HAL cruises -- an 11-night and a 7-night. If I was choosing between RCI and HAL based on non-specialty restaurant food alone, it would be HAL in a landslide. However, there's more to a cruise than food. We loved our first HAL cruise (Noordam), which was the 11-night, but our second (Westerdam), to Alaska was one of the least memorable cruises we've had. My mom was with us (81 at the time), and even she thought the ship was boring!:eek:

 

There were virtually no children on either sailing, but we took both cruises when school would have been in session just about everywhere. If you choose to try HAL, choose one of the big ships during a time when there will be families on board.

[mtebor]

We did Alaska on HA instead of RC and enjoyed it. There weren't a lot of kids onboard which didn't bother our daughter. She did enjoy their library much more than rccl.

 

I enjoyed the laid back cruising without all the announcements and gimmicks that rc does. I know that rc is cutting back on announcements now.

 

I thought the food was comparable to rc as well.

[awestover89]

We did a HAL cruise a decade ago to south America. There was not a single person under the age of 18 on the cruise. Which is probably not normal, because it was a long cruise during the school season. That said, there is much less to do, and I didn't find the food to be any better. If the goal to to go somewhere then HAL is great. If you are doing a typical Caribbean cruise then I can't imagine that the kids would prefer it to RCI/NCL or even Carnival.

 

jc

 

My sister, mom, and grandma went on a HAL cruise to the Panama Canal, I think during the early spring but I can't remember exactly. My sister was 25, my mom 43, and they said they were the two youngest people on board. They might have been exaggerating about my mom, but my sister was convinced that there was at least nobody younger than their mid to late 30s on board other than the crew. She ended up spending most of her time hanging out with the crew just to have somebody her own age to talk to. Again, it could have been the fact that it was during the school year, but she was pretty disappointed with that fact.