What Am I Missing By Not Sailing W/HAL?

[Aquahound]

HAL does not surcharge for ordering from the MDR dinner menu for the first hour, and you can order coffee to the room 24/7..good for early mornings. Again no surcharge.

 

Explorations Cafe with their free snacks. If you are into specialty coffee and can get a drink package, it can be used at Explorations for specialty cofee. Someone else mentioned the covered promenade deck (similar to Norwegian Sun) that does a full circuit, without needing to cut through the interior of the ship.

 

BB King Blues and the Lincoln Stage for a better variety of live entertainment. I didn't think much of their lectures or other entertainment, though.

 

Yes, service was very good both in the MDR and the stewards.

 

Thing is, everything you mentioned is available on other lines. None of that is unique to HAL, except for maybe the formal name they give their cover band (BB King Blues Club).

[mlgb]

Several of the cruise lines surcharge for 24hour rooms service. Which cruise line allows you to order from the MDR with no surcharge during dinner service? (in a standard inside cabin, btw, not a Suite).

 

On the Island Princess, there was not a full circuit lap deck. IIRC on Royal Caribbean, the lap deck was not covered.

 

I've been on ships where you can't have a snack from the Coffee bar without ordering something. And where the coffee bar isn't included in the standard package.

 

Maybe you can clarify WHICH ships you found these on, all at the same time?

 

BB King plays every night but one. Which other cruise line has a dedicated Blues venue? I have not found anything like Lincoln Stage on any of the other ships that I've been on..which ones did you find it on?

 

None of the ships I've been on have a library anywhere near as extensive as Explorations..which ones, again?

[iancal]

We only order room service for coffee and fruit in the AM. Never yet had a charge for it on any cruise line. Have no idea about later in the day.

 

Certainly on Princess you can visit the coffee bar and have a coffee or tea. No charge. Just as there is no charge for the pastry. Indeed, on our last Princess cruise the coffee area also serviced light lunch items. The only item we paid for was the expresso or cap with our coffee card. On our RCI cruise we were able to have pastries without being charged. Cannot remember if we paid for the regular Starbucks coffee or not. Cannot remember the set up on Celebrity. Not that it matters. Paying or not paying for pastry at the coffee bar is not high on our priority list.

[mlgb]

I am talking about premium espresso drinks..not cruise ship standard coffee! I had an issue on the Princess cruise I took with the quality of the free stuff..not very good! And no late night food at all unless you wanted to pay for it.

[Sea42]

There were no pastries, snacks etc available on the Eurodam at the Exploration Cafe.

 

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[Aquahound]

Several of the cruise lines surcharge for 24hour rooms service. Which cruise line allows you to order from the MDR with no surcharge during dinner service? (in a standard inside cabin, btw, not a Suite).

 

On the Island Princess, there was not a full circuit lap deck. IIRC on Royal Caribbean, the lap deck was not covered.

 

I've been on ships where you can't have a snack from the Coffee bar without ordering something. And where the coffee bar isn't included in the standard package.

 

Maybe you can clarify WHICH ships you found these on, all at the same time?

 

BB King plays every night but one. Which other cruise line has a dedicated Blues venue? I have not found anything like Lincoln Stage on any of the other ships that I've been on..which ones did you find it on?

 

None of the ships I've been on have a library anywhere near as extensive as Explorations..which ones, again?

 

You originally said you can order coffee to the room 24/7 free. I don't know of a line that doesn't allow that.

 

Every line I have been on has offered dishes from the dinner menu for evening room service. The only lines I've sailed that charge are RCI and NCL.

 

I've been on numerous ships with a full wrap promenade deck. More have had it than not.

 

Princess, RCI and Carnival have free snacks at their coffee bars. In fact, RCI's Cafe Promenade and Princess' International Cafe have far more choices than HAL. I seem to remember a few cookies and maybe 2 pastry options at Explorations Cafe on my last HAL cruise.

 

The only line I've been on that doesn't include coffee in their package is NCL. There could be others, but that's an exception, not the rule.

 

BB Kings is a cover band. Dedicated Blues venue? I don't know what you consider a blues venue to be but blues is what that band plays the least. The jazz club on RCI Oasis Class plays a lot more blues that BB Kings.

 

Library? You didn't mention a library in your first post. But to answer your question...ever sailed Cunard? Their libraries blow HAL away.

 

Again, what you're listing is not unique to HAL.

[cruise crazy64]

Is there only the Blues and The Lincoln Center for entertainment on the HAL ships? I don't need the rock climbing walls and other "circus" type entertainment, however, I don't think I could take 7 days of blues or classical music alone either. :o Me and three friends are planning an Alaska cruise with land package in June of 2019 and have booked the Island Princess but might look at other less expensive options. I'm looking for other things that HAL might offer for entertainment. Like do they offer any kind of shows or comedy? Even though HAL has been in Alaska longer than Princess, I've heard that Princess offers a better Alaskan experience. Can anyone comment on that? We've all never sailed on HAL and this is our first time going to Alaska.

thanks

Karen

:cool:

[mlgb]

I'm surprised to hear that Eurodam doesn't have the Cafe in Explorations.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/eurodam-405/explorations-cafe-107424/

 

HAL has their big stage with comedians (awful) and their staff productions (awful). There is also some kind of nightclub and perhaps piano bar type entertainment ( I didn't go looking for that). I think their entertainment is quite weak other than the two venues I mentioned.

 

BB King and Lincoln Stage are two dedicated venues. Most of the performers at BB King were from Memphis..and yes they played Blues.

 

Princess also goes to Glacier Bay but I found the food and service worse than HAL, especially the Horizon Court buffet exept their desserts are amazing, Although I did like that HAL scooped ice cream in the buffet at lunch and dinner. On Princess you could only get it in the MDR! Island Princess does not have a full Promenade Deck or an International Cafe, and Horizon Court gets very crowded. You might check out Coral which wasn't as messed up in the remodel as Island and see if they still have a full Promenade deck. I don't think there is an International Cafe on Coral either? At the coffee bar they had on Island, you could not get a free snack unless you bought a coffee there.(I asked).

 

Also, the balconey cabin we had on Island was one of the new ones and had an awful shower..no hand held shower head.

 

When we were on Island there was no late-night dining and room service options were very limited.

 

I liked NCL except that the food really isn't very good although service was. They do like to nickle and dime you. The Sun had an excellent walking deck, similar to Noordam. The lectures on NCL were good, I thought.

 

RCI had pretty awful service although I liked the Windjammer. I don't know that they include Glacier Bay in their Alaska itineraries.

Edited July 2, 2018 by mlgb

[lenquixote66]

Not Lenny, but the Lanai cabin is basically an ocean view cabin with a sliding door to the promenade deck with reserved chairs for your use.

 

So, you have a view plus access to a deck. Kind of an inbetween of an ocean view and balcony.

 

Lots of pics of them on halfacts (dot) com.

 

Many people prefer them - others not.

 

 

There are also 2 deckchairs reserved in front of the cabin .We love Lanai cabins.

[Cruzaholic41]

Most of what I’ve heard BB Kings play was 60s - 80s rock, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and other similar artists. I’ve yet to hear some Beale St style blues.

 

I’ll admit they’re good but to call them a blues band is very inaccurate, regardless of what the sign says.

Edited July 2, 2018 by Cruzaholic41

[KroozNut]

What we enjoyed at BB King's last Fall on Oosterdam was most assuredly NOT Blues. Good music, but more Motown than classic Blues.

[fishin' musician]

BB King's bands offer a wide array of R&B, from old Motown and Stax to Bruno Mars.

 

Back to the Lanai rooms, weren't they formerly porthole cabins on older ships that were retrofitted with glass doors during dry dock?

[RuthC]

Back to the Lanai rooms' date=' weren't they formerly porthole cabins on older ships that were retrofitted with glass doors during dry dock?[/quote']

The lanai cabins were formerly well-placed outside cabins with picture windows. They now have sliders to the promenade deck.

[iancal]

From our perspective HAL has some interesting itineraries. And some smaller, older ships.

 

Other than that, we do not see a a big difference. Far more similarities than differences.

Edited July 2, 2018 by iancal

[Woofbite]

That has to be the Westerdam - probably the ugliest ship we've been on. Queen Mary 2 one of the most impressive but unfortunately nothing else lived up to the grandeur of the ship.

 

 

Other than some really fugly furniture on some HAL ships, I always thought the majority of the decor was nice. Yes, it's dark but it was typically maritime colors....like dark blues and woods, with paintings of old ships in the stairwells. Here are some contrasting pictures, starting with the furniture I'm speaking of and followed by the route they took with Koningsdam:

 

 

 

[Woofbite]

Relax. I wasn't talking about you personally. I was talking about me and people like me.

If the shoe doesn't fit, don't try to wear it.

 

 

Who are you calling old and decrepit? You can’t possibly be referring to me even though you reposted my comment. [emoji848]

 

 

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[MajMom96]

Relax. I wasn't talking about you personally. I was talking about me and people like me.

 

If the shoe doesn't fit, don't try to wear it.

 

 

 

No worries. Just a caution on how you post on this site. Comments tied together tend to come across as personal. A lot of sensitive people on this site and I guess I fell into that category this time.

 

 

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[iancal]

Apparently two things you are missing are numerous cruise cancellations and lots of misinformation/ miscommunication from HAL to those luckless customers.

[bUU]

Other than that, we do not see a a big difference. Far more similarities than differences.

Agreed. While there is a noticeable difference between Carnival and Holland America, there are only slight differences between Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and only slight differences between Holland America and Celebrity (and fwir Princess too). The only cruise line we have been on that stands out is Disney... Much more expensive for what you get in terms of the ship, staterooms, food, etc., but at the same time a much better service and entertainment experience than any of the others mentioned.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[Aquahound]

...there are only slight differences between Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and only slight differences between Holland America and Celebrity (and fwir Princess too).

 

I totally disagree. In my experience, the differences are more than just slight.

[drsel]

Apparently two things you are missing are numerous cruise cancellations and lots of misinformation/ miscommunication from HAL to those luckless customers.

Kindly elaborate

[shepp]

. I don't think there is an International Cafe on Coral either?

 

In the interests of accuracy: there is. It's next to the Casino, which sounds awful but isn't.

 

It did seem the selection was sparser than on the larger ships, though.

[drsel]

thanks xx,