What Do You Like & What don't you Like

[mcrcruiser]

Since we started cruising in the early 90s we have witnessed a mass of changes ,

 

The ones that stands out most for us are not as good food quality & entertainment value:(

 

What say you ?

[tractortom]

I don't much care for the trend towards 'larger' ships, and the carnival atmosphere that is part and parcel with the large ships. We cruise quite a bit with Royal Caribbean, the large ships are awful. Rock climbing walls, zip lines, water parks, and an extra expense for most of it. I enjoy mid-sized ships, that have a sense of quiet and reserve to them, and less like going to the circus.

 

Tom in Okeechobee, FL

[sail7seas]

I don't much care for the trend towards 'larger' ships, and the carnival atmosphere that is part and parcel with the large ships. We cruise quite a bit with Royal Caribbean, the large ships are awful. Rock climbing walls, zip lines, water parks, and an extra expense for most of it. I enjoy mid-sized ships, that have a sense of quiet and reserve to them, and less like going to the circus.

 

I aN not thrilled with the smaller crews. . Some are worked so hard they BARELY have a moment to saY hello to a guests. Back ' then' , we got to know lots of stewards and very mdh enjoyed that. We would often see them again on a future cruise and could inquire about their fAMILIES etc. I don't like constant over head back ground ' music all ove r the ship and often too loud for many of us. . I liked it when we had more time in ports. the p orts didn't move they are the same distance from each other bu t the ships seem to sail more slowly to save fuel and that makes for less time in port.

 

I DO like the specialty restaurrants that have been added. I actually like the more relaxed dress codes on the ships as long as the majority of pax at leas a make themselves Presentable for dinner in THE DINING ROOMS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I miss

Tom in Okeechobee, FL

 

Many things ont he ships are better today but many things are not. IMO

[Sea girl 23]

Just looked at Royal Caribbean's website..looks like most of the fun stuff(water park, etc.) is free(unless I'm missing something ?)

[Lizzie68]

I don't much care for the trend towards 'larger' ships, and the carnival atmosphere that is part and parcel with the large ships. We cruise quite a bit with Royal Caribbean, the large ships are awful. Rock climbing walls, zip lines, water parks, and an extra expense for most of it. I enjoy mid-sized ships, that have a sense of quiet and reserve to them, and less like going to the circus.

 

Tom in Okeechobee, FL

Totally agree. We love the Radiance and the Mariner OTS.

 

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[innlady1]

I don’t like the cutbacks...entertainment, food, lectures...all of it. [emoji849]

 

 

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[iflyrc5]

I don't like the cutback in the CD staff and HAL taking the librarian off the ships. Looks like they are basically abandoning the library.

 

I do like the new America's Test Kitchen programs and the fact that cabins are ready to use when we starting boarding. Also like that HAL has a Catholic Priest on board for daily mass.

[JimnKaren]

I second the thought on removing Librarians and allowing the book shelves to fall into disarray. I was just on Eurodam and first day (not having sailed yet from Vancouver), I checked out the situation. The area marked fiction had fewer than 20 books! Guest services told me that passengers had been stealing them and they would not be replaced because too many passengers are using e-readers. Harrumph!

 

Jim

[freestyling]

We do like the ship’s crew and the majority of the European ports. We dont like more than 3 sea days in a row or the cost of business class flights overseas! We love Alaska cruises and spending additional time in Vancouver.

[Sea42]

I was disappointment to learn that there is now a limit on how much wine you can bring onboard without paying corkage. It has been several years since we've been on a cruise and I'm so glad that was not the case for our Mediterranean cruise.

[Tapi]

I like:

 

- The fact that the cost of cruising has actually decreased over the decades. Adjusted for inflation we were paying 3 times more for the same exact cruise in the 90's than now.

 

- The variety of stateroom categories available now. When I started cruising, the options were basically a standard inside, a standard oceanview, or a suite (that was nothing more than a larger room with a window). It's nice to have so many choices these days. From the standard inside and oceanview, to balconies, deluxe balconies, mini suites, standard suites, family staterooms, multi-room staterooms, all the way to palatial multi deck suites with enhanced suite perks.

 

- The variety in dining options. Yes, quality may have gone down at the MDR, but I'm glad that I don't have to eat there for every sit down meal because there are no other options. With up to 24 dining options on some of today's largest and newest ships, it's fantastic to have the option of trying something different every day. And even though many of the more upscale restaurants come with a an added charge these days, I'm still ahead of the game because the cruise fare is generally lower than what I used to pay decades ago.

 

- More stringent smoking policies. It wasn't long ago when you couldn't escape cigarette smell, even in your stateroom because smoking was allowed everywhere. More than once I walked into a stateroom that smelled of stale cigarettes because others before me had smoked in there. Now you can actually walk around the ship and breathe!

 

- Variety. More ships, more itineraries, more ports of call, more cruise lines. Many options for ever changing and expanding demographics. Sometimes the hardest part is narrowing down what cruise line, ship and itinerary to take because there are so many.

 

- Enhanced kids programs. When I was a child in the 80's, kids clubs were either non-existent or an afterthought. I still have memories of meeting at the card room to do arts and crafts and then begging my parents to never send me back there. Today, raising a young family, the offerings for kids are so good that it's sometimes hard to pry my own children out of the kids club. While we enjoy our time together tremendously and we spend most of our time as a family, my children look forward to spending time at the kids club and meeting and playing with other cruisers their own age.

 

- The introduction of more flexible dining times. While I know that a lot of people still look forward to eating at the same table, at the same time, and with the same people every night, this arrangement was something that I never enjoyed unless I was traveling with friends or extended family. Ever since flexible dining over a decade ago, I've never gone back to assigned dining. I enjoy the flexibility of dining when I want, where I want and with who I want. And although I don't care for assigned dining, I'm glad that it's still available for fellow cruisers who do care.

 

- Entertainment quality. While I still don't care for most of the amusement park type of entertainment, like water slides, zip lines, surf simulators, etc, I do appreciate the better quality and professionalism of many stage performances these days, some which rival the best stage entertainment on land. How quickly do we forget that decades ago, the nightly entertainment consisted of one amateurish show in a small venues with low ceilings.

 

Not everything is a superlative these days, and I do yearn sometimes for a more traditional and intimate cruise experience, as well as a closer connection with the sea. But overall. I consider modern cruising to be leaps and bounds better today what was offered before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[avian777]

... Also like that HAL has a Catholic Priest on board for daily mass.

 

I agree 100% - that is the reason that we are 100% loyal HAL cruisers and will remain so, as long as HAL continues to have a Roman Catholic priest on every one of its cruises. To insure that HAL continues this practice, I urge all who value it to (1) tell HAL how important the Cruise Ship Priest Program is to you via e-mails, letters and your cruise survey responses, and (2) make financial contributions to Apostleship of the Sea - USA (http://www.aos-usa.org/), which provides all of the cruise ship priests to HAL and handles all recruitment, vetting, scheduling and logistical support.

[avian777]

I like:

 

- The fact that the cost of cruising has actually decreased over the decades. Adjusted for inflation we were paying 3 times more for the same exact cruise in the 90's than now.

 

- The variety of stateroom categories available now. When I started cruising, the options were basically a standard inside, a standard oceanview, or a suite (that was nothing more than a larger room with a window). It's nice to have so many choices these days. From the standard inside and oceanview, to balconies, deluxe balconies, mini suites, standard suites, family staterooms, multi-room staterooms, all the way to palatial multi deck suites with enhanced suite perks.

 

- The variety in dining options. Yes, quality may have gone down at the MDR, but I'm glad that I don't have to eat there for every sit down meal because there are no other options. With up to 24 dining options on some of today's largest and newest ships, it's fantastic to have the option of trying something different every day. And even though many of the more upscale restaurants come with a an added charge these days, I'm still ahead of the game because the cruise fare is generally lower than what I used to pay decades ago.

 

- More stringent smoking policies. It wasn't long ago when you couldn't escape cigarette smell, even in your stateroom because smoking was allowed everywhere. More than once I walked into a stateroom that smelled of stale cigarettes because others before me had smoked in there. Now you can actually walk around the ship and breathe!

 

- Variety. More ships, more itineraries, more ports of call, more cruise lines. Many options for ever changing and expanding demographics. Sometimes the hardest part is narrowing down what cruise line, ship and itinerary to take because there are so many.

 

- Enhanced kids programs. When I was a child in the 80's, kids clubs were either non-existent or an afterthought. I still have memories of meeting at the card room to do arts and crafts and then begging my parents to never send me back there. Today, raising a young family, the offerings for kids are so good that it's sometimes hard to pry my own children out of the kids club. While we enjoy our time together tremendously and we spend most of our time as a family, my children look forward to spending time at the kids club and meeting and playing with other cruisers their own age.

 

- The introduction of more flexible dining times. While I know that a lot of people still look forward to eating at the same table, at the same time, and with the same people every night, this arrangement was something that I never enjoyed unless I was traveling with friends or extended family. Ever since flexible dining over a decade ago, I've never gone back to assigned dining. I enjoy the flexibility of dining when I want, where I want and with who I want. And although I don't care for assigned dining, I'm glad that it's still available for fellow cruisers who do care.

 

- Entertainment quality. While I still don't care for most of the amusement park type of entertainment, like water slides, zip lines, surf simulators, etc, I do appreciate the better quality and professionalism of many stage performances these days, some which rival the best stage entertainment on land. How quickly do we forget that decades ago, the nightly entertainment consisted of one amateurish show in a small venues with low ceilings.

 

Not everything is a superlative these days, and I do yearn sometimes for a more traditional and intimate cruise experience, as well as a closer connection with the sea. But overall. I consider modern cruising to be leaps and bounds better today what was offered before.

 

Tapi, thank you for this very thorough and honest assessment.

[Shelo]

Yes, thank you Tapi- even as a relatively new cruiser, I entirely affirm the points you made.

 

There are two recent additional changes specifically on HA that we really like. First is the addition of Lincoln Center Stage. Top level classical musicians performing multiple daily recitals is a major highlight and draw for us. The calibre of these musicians has been excellent and their repertoire exciting (even the selections that are clearly trying to appeal beyond a traditional classical music loving audience like us!). Lincoln Center Stage is a main reason why we are now repeat HA customers. Second, after all the reasons Taki mentioned, is the free on-demand in-cabin entertainment (on the new flat screen TVs). The programming choices also cover a great variety and we have always found numerous things we wanted to watch. Winding down the day with tea, Lido cookies and a movie has become a most enjoyable ritual for us.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Over the years we have noticed that the quality of the food has gone downhill.

Cutbacks -- less staff for cabins, dining room, Lido, bars, etc.

Cutbacks in the amount of activities -- bring back more staff there.

No librarians. HAL should not assume that everyone has e-readers.

Loved it when we theme nights in the dining room --i.e., Dutch night, Italian night, etc.

Evening shows have gone downhill and way too short.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

I don't much care for the trend towards 'larger' ships, and the carnival atmosphere that is part and parcel with the large ships. We cruise quite a bit with Royal Caribbean, the large ships are awful. Rock climbing walls, zip lines, water parks, and an extra expense for most of it. I enjoy mid-sized ships, that have a sense of quiet and reserve to them, and less like going to the circus.

 

Tom in Okeechobee, FL

 

Amen, Tom. I agree!

[zookiebird]

One thing I miss is the Love In Any Language performance.

[RetiredNow]

Since we started cruising in the early 90s we have witnessed a mass of changes ,

 

The ones that stands out most for us are not as good food quality & entertainment value:(

 

What say you ?

 

Here's one pet peeve. The "new" HAL daily program does not fit into my photo binders anymore. They are 1/2 inch too tall. Have this huge collection of binders from all past trips anywhere in the world, and the last (estimated) 3 years worth of binders from HAL cruises look like crap with that extra 1/2 inch sticking out at the top. Plus, this format for daily program is not nearly complete, AND there is usually unused space every day! Go figure! Must be a custom size, too. So they are probably paying extra for that strange size paper!

[mightycruisequeen]

We don't like Tamarind. We LOVE Tamarind.:hearteyes: Wish every single HAL ship had one!

We didn't care much for the shower/toilet design on Koningsdam, but we survived.

We LOVE the BB King bands, as well as the very talented classical musicians in Lincoln Center.:cool:

We still LOVE the friendly, hard working crew on HAL ships. :halo:

[CruiseGal999]

I miss the midnight buffet with all the ice sculptures and sculpted butter art and fancy carved fruit, and delish desserts and chocolates, etc.

[SnorkelMoose]

I miss the midnight buffet with all the ice sculptures and sculpted butter art and fancy carved fruit, and delish desserts and chocolates, etc.

 

 

 

I miss this, too.

 

The good news is that the daily desserts are still delicious, and there’s a nice variety of them :)

[KroozNut]

We dont like more than 3 sea days in a row..

 

The more sea days the better for us.. Aren't itinerary choices awesome?! ;):D

[Hlitner]

What I strongly dislike is the HAL air booking situation. With most other cruise lines (such as Princess) one can simply go online, enter their booking number, and explore lots of different air options including the use of various airports, dates, class of travel, etc. With HAL there is no online capability. This means we have to either call our Cruise Agent (and then she has to sit on the phone with HAL for a long time) or we call HAL ourselves and sit on the phone for heavens knows. When I recently booked air from JFK to Singapore for a Princess cruise I was able to model different options from 6 different East Coast airports over a period of several days. Being able to do this online took me about 10 minutes. If done on a phone call it likely would have taken over an hour and still left me thinking that I might have missed a better option.

 

Hank

[SetAnOpenCourse]

The more sea days the better for us.. Aren't itinerary choices awesome?! ;):D

Better for me too! (As long the speed is not super-slow, like it was on our RCI cruise from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas.)

[DeeniEncinitas]

🤔 I’m not fond of all the cut backs IMO!!

Too many to say.

Love the Pinnacle and Tamarind!!!!

Denise:)