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

[BruhnSisters]

Favorite Things from past New Year's Cruise on Koningsdam:  (Random Order)

*  Walking around the promenade deck (I know it is more narrow than other ships, but it is still there) and enjoying the gorgeous ocean.  Nice view from Sports Deck too.

* Professional and hard working crew everywhere on board.

* B.B. King's Blues Club Musicians

* Clean and comfortable cabins with comfy beds, nice restrooms, tv with movies, good AC/Heat.

* Comedians on board.

* Food:  

- Tamarind:  Jewels of the Sea Soup, Crispy Duck

- Dutch Cafe:   Pea Soup, the Apple Bacon Pannenkoek and also Irish Coffee

- Room Service:  Vegetable Frittata, Bacon, and Croissants  

* Going in the hot tub when it is raining.

* And MOSTLY my Fellow Passengers:  Friendly, classy and warm.  Appreciate they mood they create. by not being snobby or rowdy . . . just interesting and fun!

[RD64]

48 minutes ago, BruhnSisters said:

Favorite Things from past New Year's Cruise on Koningsdam:  (Random Order)

*  Walking around the promenade deck (I know it is more narrow than other ships, but it is still there) and enjoying the gorgeous ocean.  Nice view from Sports Deck too.

* Professional and hard working crew everywhere on board.

* B.B. King's Blues Club Musicians

* Clean and comfortable cabins with comfy beds, nice restrooms, tv with movies, good AC/Heat.

* Comedians on board.

* Food:  

- Tamarind:  Jewels of the Sea Soup, Crispy Duck

- Dutch Cafe:   Pea Soup, the Apple Bacon Pannenkoek and also Irish Coffee

- Room Service:  Vegetable Frittata, Bacon, and Croissants  

* Going in the hot tub when it is raining.

* And MOSTLY my Fellow Passengers:  Friendly, classy and warm.  Appreciate they mood they create. by not being snobby or rowdy . . . just interesting and fun!

Yes all of the above and everything else too. But truly the passengers - a worldly, well travelled, and respectful bunch. My only areas for improvement are the red tomato sauces which I found excessively sweet - and the coffee in the Lido  (personal preferences) - neither which would prevent me from taking another HAL cruise.

[scubacruiserx2]

The last song that the Jukebox Rogues performed was another Four Seasons hit

 

 

When we later talked to Billy and Jonathan we found out that unlike the group Unity who moved together to another HAL ship , the 4 guys were going in 4 different directions . Billy to Rock of Ages , Jonathan was going on vacation to Paris , Garrett to another HAL ship and we forgot where the other guy was going . HAL choose some great performers for this cruise and it was nice to be able to share some time with these talented performers and nice people .

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you @BruhnSisters and @RD64 for sticking to the topic of this thread What are your favorite things ( preferably recent ) about HAL ?

We're glad that you had a good experience with HAL and thank you for sharing your view with us .

Edited September 10, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

A Happy Grandparents Day to all of the Grandparents out there . 🙂😊

[Haljo1935]

Favorite thing about HAL is the amazing Crew. Never once (that I can recall) did a crew member not greet me & wish me a good when in sight. I've never had a grumpy Cabin Steward even though I know they have bad days, too.

And Grand Dutch Cafe - LOVE the GDC!!

Oh and candied 🥓 🥓  Absolutely love Clothesline Candied Bacon.

[scubacruiserx2]

5 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Favorite thing about HAL is the amazing Crew. Never once (that I can recall) did a crew member not greet me & wish me a good when in sight. I've never had a grumpy Cabin Steward even though I know they have bad days, too.

And Grand Dutch Cafe - LOVE the GDC!!

Oh and candied 🥓 🥓  Absolutely love Clothesline Candied Bacon.

 

Agree with all points . We called it honey baked bacon . 😁

[Haljo1935]

Oh crud - I failed to mention laundry. The fabulous laundry service us definitely a favorite about HAl.

I think I've learned there's a lot to love about HAL and that I don't have just 1 favorite thing 🫣🤭

[scubacruiserx2]

Returning to our Grandparents Day theme . We had sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam from Alaska to our home port of Port Everglades and we were pretty familiar with the ship and we felt that the crew was more like extended family ( EF ) which both we and they loved . Our last night at sea was our oldest grandson's 20th birthday which we missed but we promised him a cruise .

 

 

We have been with him on Carnival , NCL , Princess and a European cruise in a family suite on Celebrity when he was 14 .

But now that that he was officially old we wanted his opinion on HAL . The price was right at $ 100 to stay in our S aft wrap cabin , but at almost 6' 4 " we thought that it be cramping his style and all of our privacy in one room together . We booked the cabin next door to ours and left the balcony door open so he could use the whole balcony - provided that he would respect the closed curtains policy .

 

 

We had to change rooms in PE and they were still working on ours when we got back on the ship ( In transit ) so we ducked into Tyler's room to wait and check it out .

 

 

 

 

 

 

A pretty sweet bachelor's pad for a 5 day cruise . We agreed to meet him after lunch , downstairs where would introduce him to the ship and the EF . They knew all about him and we thought that he might like the Pinnacle and some clothesline bacon for dinner . 🙂🙂

[scubacruiserx2]

An empty ship on changeover day

 

 

 

 

We got a phone call at lunch from our daughter that she and Tyler were there . So we hustled down to meet him and he was the only one there . The ladies in the Neptune Lounge had heard about Tyler so we introduced them before returning to our interconnecting rooms now that Tyler's balcony divider was open . Our concierge in the center is from the Ukraine and still has family Russia so she can only talk about the weather with them . Of course we always support on deck with a cause since the cause was the Ukraine .

 

 

 

Tyler  is always hungry so we grab a snack for him before dinner . We forgot if it was the Dive Inn or the N Y Pizza but he loved both 

Edited September 11, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[rj59]

I drifted away from HAL for a number of years, drawn by Princess and Celebrity. But now the other two are engaging in the same sort of cutbacks, so I've seen the same degradation of the cruise experience. What's drawn me back to HAL (3 coastal cruises in the coming 3 days):

1. While prices are pretty consistently high lately for a solo cruiser like me, they drop the price of coastal cruises significantly (like $24/pp/nt for an inside on Koningsdam going in October). I also went on Volendam to Alaska in June for around $100/nt for a solo oceanview. Last-minute huge drops give me buyer's remorse on other lines.

2. Pre-KDam, they're still the best ships with a level, wraparound outside promenade (along with Cunard). I'm big on whale watching, walking outside, getting away from crowds, and watching sunsets, so the older HAL ships are the best in the cruising world. 

3. First year of restart was glorious on other lines, with 30% occupancy on  large Princess, NCL, and Royal ships. Two experiences this year on full ships with 3500-4000 pax were nightmarish--lines, shows completely full, stress and anger, loud and long dining, rushed crew. I even felt that on KDam in early December last year--just too many people in too little space, not my usual comfortable HAL experience. So HAL older ships offer a smaller-ship experience, with Volendam/Zaandam a perfect size to ride out the current cruise mania. 

4. Princess recently stopped the ability to combine military/shareholder OBC. HAL now offers a $100 military OBC for cruises of any length. Show you value my service and loyalty, don't use veterans for cheap cutbacks. 

5. I went to a UW Husky football game, and HAL sponsored the Wave between quarters, which was a clever nautical tie-in and good advertising for the wealthy alumni there. 

6. On KDam they had grab-and-go Dive-In burgers, good for when I don't want to wait with a beeper.

7. HAL sushi used to be stale and dry, but on KDam it was fresh and tasted like restaurant sushi.

8. Showers on KDam--even an inside was the largest I've had on a ship, with a rain shower head.

9. Beecher's mac and cheese at most buffet meals...now that's a corporate sponsorship I can like. 

10. I really like the HAL font, logo, ship color scheme, and balanced beauty of the ships. No other ships get me excited just to see them in a harbor. 

[scubacruiserx2]

We really like the Signature Class of ships ( Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam ) with their large rooms / balconies , full and flat promenade  Retreat and Tamarind with it's more centralized location . The Tamarind is our favorite restaurant and we loved the quite and view of the retreat . We were there for the lunch announcements and we felt like something was up so we recorded the midday comments from the Captain . We would recommend the CC setting on the video at the 2 minute mark .

 

 

 

The policy of the wearing masks for the crew members was now optional and it was nice to see their smiling faces at last 🙂😊.

Edited September 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

When we booked Tyler's Birthday cruise it includes HMC , Nassau and Grand Turk . His best friend's mom is from Grand Turk and it's one of our favorite places to eat at and SCUBA dive with Ty for his first visit there . Unfortunately HAL cancelled it and replaced it with Key West which was in full Fantasy Fest mode which was antithesis of what both we and Ty cared to see and do . Ty spent his first 4 years of life at our house when his mom was in nursing school so he's more like our 4th child than our first grandson . Here's of view of where we eat and what we see when we dive in Grand Turk .

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Dinner at the Pinnacle on the first night .

Tyler's first time having Escargot and clothesline bacon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And once again our friends in the Pinnacle took good care of us . He loved everything there and thought that it was the best dinner that he ever had on all of his cruises .

Edited September 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The last time that we had been to Key West with Tyler and his younger brother ages 11 and 6 . We also had our son , DIL and their 3 y.o. son . Our youngest daughter and her husband ( who were married on a cruise ship ) also went so it was the whole family except Ty's mom the nurse who couldn't get the time off . We went in January so the weather was nice and found a good price on Carnival during the Winter break . So we could afford to pay for the whole family and it was our last cruise on Carnival . We were tied up at Mallory Square which is famous for it's sunsets and filled with people and Buskers and our late departure incurred the wrath of the locals and visitors as their view was blocked by the ship .

It would be interesting to see Ty's impression of Key West 9 years later , and we had a long day there and not much entertainment on the ship the first night so we went to bed early .

[scubacruiserx2]

We were up a little early to beat the crowds and beat the midday heat .

We were there during Fantasy Fest and we had hoped to avoid some of the craziness by going early while the night owls slept it off . We like the wide Promenade on the NA .

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Fest

 

We took the Pedicab to a photo hot spot before the crowds got there . It's about 1.3 miles - about a half hours walk away on bad knees .

 

 

The driver was a wealth of information and answered our questions about where to eat . He's talking about visiting the cemetery which is a popular thing to do here especially a few days before Halloween .

 

 

 

So we got our token been there done that photo for Tyler's mom and a little bonus .

 

 

We love the eclectic architecture - it reminds us of Coronado Island

 

 

Edited January 8 by scubacruiserx2

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Just a minute or 2 away is the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhett and Scarlet are residents

 

 

Peaceful Coexistence

 

 

We decided to walk down to Duval Street to the Restaurant that we wanted to have lunch at . The lady at the Butterfly place had also recommended it and told us that half of the residents wanted cruise ships to visit and the other half didn't want any so they agreed to 1 per day and that we were the lucky one .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The place that we chose for lunch was about halfway to the ship which was about 1.2 miles away . 

The king of the road is everywhere here

 

 

We chatted with the owner who grew up in Hawaii so it wasn't about the island of Key West as much as Hawaii .

 

 

 

I really liked the wooden surfboard next to the TV and he said that it belonged to his Dad . I also liked the art work which was done by a local . The place reminded us of the place that we ate lunch at on Santa Catalina .

 

 

 

 

 

We liked the Conch Fritters but the pork sliders were excellent

 

http://www.kayakeywest.com/menu.pdf

 

It looked like it might be a long wait for the men's room though

 

 

As we ate lunch we chatted with Ty about a test that he had to take to drive wave runner that he wanted to drive solo . We had talked to a lady on the pier earlier that morning and she said that anybody born after 1988 had to take the test . Me or my wife , a couple of old goats could drive one or Ty could if we rode with him . We both wanted to take a nap and Ty wanted to solo so we all hoped that he would pass the test . On the the practice tests that they gave us , none of the 3 of us could pass them even with our all 3 of us trying to answer them together !

[scubacruiserx2]

As we walked back we went by an empty Sunset Pier Restaurant and Mallory Square which would be  filled at sunset . 

 

 

The view from our room in the afternoon

 

 

Tyler had passed his test and his group passed near us single file on their tour

 

 

 

A couple of people were late coming back to the ship which was blocking the sunset which is a BIG DEAL here and the main reason that some people get irate . We moved just before sunset and you could see the crowd gathered at Mallory Square waiting for us to move .

 

 

 

We heard a round of applause not knowing if it was for us moving or the sunset - but  it was a good one 

 

 

We love aft balconies on HAL especially with the wake during the sunrise or sunset

 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[valancy1]

On 8/7/2023 at 6:50 PM, Blackduck59 said:

I'm not sure we've had many "we think HAL is great" type threads. Recently it has been a seemingly endless parade of HAL sucks and it's not what it was threads. Someone started a specific ship "They're doing great" thread which I certainly appreciated by me as my wife and I prepare for our first HAL experience and were beginning to think we made a big mistake booking a HAL cruise.

I just very recently had my first HAL experience and it was more than I ever thought it would be.  I hope you'll make your own impressions because we absolutely loved HAL. So much so that we just booked Hawaii for Christmas.  Can't wait.

[Blackduck59]

2 minutes ago, valancy1 said:

I just very recently had my first HAL experience and it was more than I ever thought it would be.  I hope you'll make your own impressions because we absolutely loved HAL. So much so that we just booked Hawaii for Christmas.  Can't wait.

I ran a whole thread of Observations on Zaandam, it shouldn't be too far back on the HAL board. Feel free to have a look. We booked a 14 day New Zealand to Australia in March of 2025.

[Judy795]

I booked a 21 night cruise on the Rotterdam through Norway next June.I booked it specifically for the itinerary.   It will be our second HAL cruise, the first since the pandemic and the first since 2018 to Alaska. Our previous cruises were only on small ships (650-1000 passengers).
I had very high expectations for the Alaska cruise because my good friends did over 20 cruises with HAL from 2000-2012 and raved about them. 
Most of the Alaska cruise (12 nights) was a big disappointment in terms of food quality, entertainment, and the mobs of people who joined this cruise. I had been to Alaska several times before, we were with friends, and we made the best of it. 
I have read good things now about the Rotterdam, and again I have high expectations. I know there is a difference between a very small ship and a midsize ship. I just hope it won’t be a replay of Alaska. I don’t think so. It’s not an itinerary children would like, and it’s just focused on all thing’s Nordic. 

[Blackduck59]

@Judy795 I'm not sure "high expectations" is a good mindset when preparing for a cruise. Set a reasonable group of things the cruise should accomplish for you, hopefully those boxes get checked. Food is so subjective, what I may think was a poor choice may be a wonderful meal for someone else.

Good luck for a fantastic voyage, don't set the bar so high that it can't be reached.

[Dobby36]

@Judy795 the destination and the length should produce a very different crowd than the shorter Alaska experience you had at first.  That’s been my experience, at least. I think HAL excels at the longer voyages to more unique locales.  Interms of ship, there are many who have qualms but Rotterdam is their newest and flagship, if you ask HAL. Hope you enjoy!

[Mary229]

5 hours ago, Dobby36 said:

@Judy795 the destination and the length should produce a very different crowd than the shorter Alaska experience you had at first.  That’s been my experience, at least. I think HAL excels at the longer voyages to more unique locales.  Interms of ship, there are many who have qualms but Rotterdam is their newest and flagship, if you ask HAL. Hope you enjoy!

I agree.  I don’t sail on cruises of less than 3 weeks.  I don’t even want to do a back to back because of the issues of quality.  The only exceptions I make are with great trepidation are transoceanic sailings and  sister cruises 
 

for short cruises HAL is no different than any other mass market line so price should be king.  

Edited September 15, 2023 by Mary229