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What are your favorite things ( preferably recent ) about HAL ?

scubacruiserx2

By scubacruiserx2,
in Holland America Line

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scubacruiserx2

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 We spent 6 weeks on the Neiuw Amsterdam and our favorite restaurant was the Tamarind . The people were so nice and the service and food were so good ! And even most of the passengers behaved themselves .

 

 

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scubacruiserx2 Holiday Sharing Rare

scubacruiserx2

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We really liked some of the traditional artwork found on the Eurodam which is the ship that we had our first Neptune Suite on . That suite experience spoiled us .

 

This photo is the Return of the Prodigal Son

 

image.thumb.jpeg.6bad2e1350405a5d30aaa500516dbf8f.jpeg

 

The original Rembrandt which is perhaps his greatest and /or most famous painting , hangs in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg , Russia . We have seen it several times and stood in front of it by ourselves for an extended time - always in awe of the painting and the story of God's love and patience for us to return to Him . It is my favorite painting of Rembrandt and one of my favorite Biblical stories . 

 

A quote from Wikipedia :

 

Depicting the moment of the prodigal son's return to his father in the Biblical parable, it is a renowned work described by art historian Kenneth Clark as "a picture which those who have seen the original in St. Petersburg may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted".[2]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_(Rembrandt)

 

Edited by scubacruiserx2
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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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For us:

The Rotterdam VII

The nightly live music

The sea view aft deck area (other than the smoking area-sorry)

Walking deck on deck 3 

The nightly live music  

Rudi's

New York Deli Cornbeef sandwiches

The nightly live music

the pool deck area 

Half Moon Bar and staff

Oh yeah, the live rock n roll music most nights of our 11 day cruise 🙂

 

We have tended over the years to not sail HAL, but our TA suggested we try Rotterdam and we did this past January and now are booked again on Rotterdam.

Edited by shipshape sam
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Gogoddess5

Gogoddess5

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Never thought I’d enjoy sailing a HAL cruise. Heard it might be too subdued for my tastes. Took advantage of a drop & go offer on Rotterdam VII…loved it!!!  LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT…The ship itself and all public areas were gorgeous.  I loved my cabin (especially that huge glass enclosed shower).  Best food ever on a cruise ship (great-no matter where you ate); entertainment was awesome (especially for music lovers). The crew were outstanding, especially the captain! I especially enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.  Didn’t miss the amusement rides, raucous deck parties or loud & intrusive poolside bands one bit.  This was cruising for grown ups and I liked it…can’t wait til my next sailing with HAL. 
 

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mcrcruiser

mcrcruiser

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On 8/9/2023 at 9:30 AM, OlsSalt said:

Sure hope HAL marketing pays attention to this list since there are pretty consistent favorites. HAL has a special niche, well worth protecting and celebrating. And protecting.

Yes totally agree , After checking into some other lines we always come back to booking a HAL cruise . 

We no longer can fly because my DW has a inner ear problem & we are active mis 80s . so we sail only from our home port in San Diego now . There are   3 itineraries we book  Hawaii , Mexico & Coastal Calif cruises .We have been all over this world  on past cruises  ,Hal's  koningsdam is our next 3 booked cruises with nothing less than 14 days & 2 with 18 day cruises .We book  balcony cabins always ,so we can view the tranquil ocean & oh the sleep is fantastic

 

 We don't take the HIA promo as we are not drinkers nor do we need the internet .We get enough OBC for early booking Mariner ,CCL stock benefit & what our TA gives us . We always cover our tips with OBCs & left over for special restaurants 

 

 We do upgrade right away in booking to Club Orange mainly for the  special restaurant & cabin  upgrade😀

 

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scubacruiserx2 Holiday Sharing Rare

scubacruiserx2

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4 hours ago, Gogoddess5 said:

Never thought I’d enjoy sailing a HAL cruise. Heard it might be too subdued for my tastes. Took advantage of a drop & go offer on Rotterdam VII…loved it!!!  LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT…The ship itself and all public areas were gorgeous.  I loved my cabin (especially that huge glass enclosed shower).  Best food ever on a cruise ship (great-no matter where you ate); entertainment was awesome (especially for music lovers). The crew were outstanding, especially the captain! I especially enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.  Didn’t miss the amusement rides, raucous deck parties or loud & intrusive poolside bands one bit.  This was cruising for grown ups and I liked it…can’t wait til my next sailing with HAL. 
 

 

We're glad that you enjoyed your cruise and had many nice things to say about the ship . We haven't sailed that ship but have sailed the Pinnacle Class like it a couple of times .

We have sailed HAL a lot and prefer the smaller and older

Signature Class like the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam . We have spent 57

days on 8 different cruises on these 2 ships and hope that you might consider trying one of those 2 ships on your next HAL cruise .

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scubacruiserx2 Holiday Sharing Rare

scubacruiserx2

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On 8/8/2023 at 2:23 AM, Haljo1935 said:

Aft cabins in AK are the best!!

Nice pic.

 

Some special memories of Alaska that we only we able to see by going on the HAL Nieuw Amsterdam :

 

# 1 Was about the last thing that we did in Juneau . We were told by the man operating the tram as we descended from Mt. Roberts was that we were the last group of cruise ship passengers making the descent for the season ( last year ) . He told us a story of a lady teaching some children through a story / song in a hip hop style that had us all singing and clapping along with him . It was very entertaining and we all had a smile on our face . Please listen and use the  CC (closed caption ) for hearing so you can see and read the words and please enjoy it !

 

 

image.thumb.jpeg.3ad5d3ef9f163db0d722775b21f41ded.jpeg

 

Edited by scubacruiserx2
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C 2 C

C 2 C

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On 8/8/2023 at 11:16 AM, CruzR887 said:

Here's why HAL is there cruise line we check first when selecting a cruise:

 

You have been reading my mind.  There is not a nicer destination on the 7 seas than the Crow's Nest for cruisers who love to be onboard.  And the Dutch cafe for all the foods I loved when I grew up.

IMG_0799.JPG

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Ken the cruiser "Live from...." Rare

Ken the cruiser

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On 8/7/2023 at 5:16 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 We spent 6 weeks aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam in late September which was the last cruise to Alaska on the NA from Vancouver . We returned to Vancouver and did the repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal and back to our home port of Port Everglades . We mostly loved it and made a number of new friends , some like family . We will be mentioning a number of things as we go along but we would like to also hear from you .  🙂😊 So what are some your favorite things  ?

Thank you for starting this very important thread as it answered many of our questions as to whether we should book another HAL cruise. 😁

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scubacruiserx2 Holiday Sharing Rare

scubacruiserx2

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3 hours ago, electro said:

These are great photos. Can i ask what type of camera/lens you were using?

 

Thank you . The videos and food close ups will be my Sony RX-100 . The still photos like the whales are a Canon DSLR with a wide angle 17- 40 mm lens . The same camera I switch lens for close ups like the Puffins with a 70-300 mm telephoto .

 

IMG_5325%202_zpsnlsroanl.jpg

 

IMG_5247%202_zps3so1z6wr.jpg

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scubacruiserx2 Holiday Sharing Rare

scubacruiserx2

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On 8/8/2023 at 2:23 AM, Haljo1935 said:

Aft cabins in AK are the best!!

Nice pic.

 

Another rainbow from an aft balcony . This one was after leaving the Dominican Republic  on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

75264400_DSC03675(3).thumb.JPG.7ff260cf22d18ec0d4977c45d830eebb.JPG

 

The rainbow followed us in our wake !

 

 

Edited by scubacruiserx2
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