First-time HAL observations

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, Naismith said:

 

That's a good question.  I certainly picked up some little hints, like being sure to get to Lincoln Center Stage early for a seat.  No hardship since I always had a book with me, and sometimes had conversations with other people.  (My husband thought I was crazy to go almost 30 minutes early, but of course there were already a dozen people there.)

 

Thanks to reading here, I was able to explain about the tradition of the Yum Yum Man, even though there was never a person by the cart.  

 

Some of the info I came across was outdated.  I had read about DVD checkout, but Zuiderdam had already upgraded to the onscreen, on-demand movie system for the television, which worked well.  

 

What did NOT add to my enjoyment was the lectures about to get a better deal.  I am glad for others who cruise more frequently and have a great relationship with their TA.  But those who went beyond sharing their own experiences to rather lecture ("...you need to....") were not helpful.  I was trying to use a TA for the reasons mentioned, but the extras that I was being offered were not valuable to me.  We've never been interested in the premium dining venues, and drink packages are useless because we don't drink alcohol and I can't drink carbonated drinks. (I ended up booking directly from HAL when they had an offer for free gratuities and the price had dropped to the range I had pre-determined was acceptable.)

 

Thanks for you reply.  Filtering the good advice here on CC from the outdated/irrelevant is always an issue.

Edited November 26, 2019 by Crew News

[cat shepard]

10 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

Thanks for you reply.  Filtering the good advice here on CC from the outdated/irrelevant is always an issue.

Especially when things change without notice, or are inconsistent fleetwide.

[FlaMariner]

Great review and a great reminder to us as to why we like and sail HAL.  

 

 

[jay888]

I’ve just returned from my first cruise with HAL on the the Westerdam and I could have written that review.  Everything your have written I would agree with.  The one thing that I was not happy with at first was the paper cups in the Crows Nest, they should ask you first if you would like a paper cup or a china one.  Also that you can not get a cappuccino in any other bar beside the crows nest.

[kazu]

Thanks for the excellent review and follow up comments.

 

Very enjoyable read 🙂 

[SargassoPirate]

I agree with the first time HAL cruiser's observations since they echo our impressions on our first HAL cruise years ago. We booked it quite by accident when looking for a transatlantic that would get us to Europe at a particular time.  We loved it, and always consider HAL when looking to book cruises.