Would anyone like to read feedback after my first ever HAL Cruise?

[SSBrickNJ]

The title says it all.

If a few people are interested I will gladly compose a thread.

[Sir PMP]

I am interested.

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

Me too, since I (also a Jersey-ite) am embarking on my first ever HAL next week😄

[Alberta Quilter]

Yes, please.

[Holly g]

Yes

[Crew News]

Sure. 

[SUESEABE]

Yes

[AFNavigator]

Very interested.

[SSBrickNJ]

34 minutes ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

Me too, since I (also a Jersey-ite) am embarking on my first ever HAL next week😄

Wow...you must be excited!

OK, I've had some encouraging posters so I'll put something together soon

[schwesterellibelli]

Yes please.

[aliaschief]

Waiting. Let’s hear it.

[dchip]

Yes please! 

[SSBrickNJ]

Composing it now...

[Roz]

Hurry up....just kidding! 😉

[lyndarra]

Feedback is always welcome, preferably balanced and unbiased.

[SSBrickNJ]

Me: A NJ husband and elementary school teacher.

My wife: A NJ wife and office staff working specializing in accounting

Together we've been on 4 Royal Caribbean Cruises and One Carnival Cruise.

We like Royal C.

Carnival was not to our liking.

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Our first ever HAL Cruise was on Nieuw Statendam.

It sailed from Copenhagen Denmark on August 2nd and return to Copenhagen on August 9th.

Some people opted to stay on beyond that point and those fortunate people are on that ship as it goes from point to point in the "British Aisles"

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Embarking was super easy. Just show up with your boarding passes and your passports.

HAL had our stateroom keys waiting for us in the slot outside our stateroom.

Our first cruise in the past we had a balcony room...our second ever cruise was a window view room. Since then we always save money and get the Inner Stateroom.....I mean....we can view the ocean a million places throughout the ship. Our room is just for sleeping, etc.

THE INNER STATEROOM WAS INCREDIBLY FUNCTIONAL! SO WELL THOUGHT OUT!

The future first time HAL cruiser will be impressed by how many clever places HAL has created for you to place your belongings.

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The ship was tastefully or delightfully decorated with modern art.

The elevators were perfect. Attractive and reliable.

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The food ....well I'll give my viewpoint and throw in what my wife said. Your experience will likely vary. Food is a very subjective thing....agreed?

I was soooo looking forward to the Lido Market experience and I was very disappointed.

The Nieuw Statendam Youtube video I'd seen that was created by a HAL fanatic really set my expectations high. My actual experience fell far short. The lines for the food were long and the servers provided small-ish portions. I learned on days 2 thru 7 to give verbal guidance re that.

At breakfast on Royal Caribbean I was used to having orange juice with my Lido Breakfast. I did not have to select a "Drink Package". Orange Juice at Breakfast was free and plentiful.

NOT on this HAL ship.

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The Main Dining Room looked great and the staff was professional and friendly as well.

Yet MY WIFE found the taste of the food to be not up to Royal Caribbean.

As for me, one night I ordered the Ravioli and they brought me a plate with THREE raviolis on it.

I couldn't hold back and I let out a little laugh.

Without me asking, they figured it out and brought another plate.

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The World Stage is a wonderful facility.

It has such flexibility and is a great venue to enjoy a variety of programs.

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The musicians on this ship were...are...sooo talented!

We enjoyed each group but I'd like to give a special focus to the 2 pianists in the Billboard Hits lounge. They were very likeable...entertaining and talented.

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Other entertainment besides music was very limited. Bingo....Trivia...like that.

I wish HAL was like Royal C and had a KARAOKE Lounge.

They don't. Someone months ago said HAL does a great job on the destination itinerary and they do an "ok" job on the Entertainment.  I kind of agree...but again I should stress that we enjoyed the various musicians at multiple venues VERY MUCH!

So on a 1 to 100 scale I'd give HAL a score of 88.

My wife would give them an 85.

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Was this helpful? 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by SSBrickNJ

[USN59-79]

Yes, it is helpful.  If HAL got 88 and 85, what score would you two give Royal C?

Ray

[SSBrickNJ]

27 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

Yes, it is helpful.  If HAL got 88 and 85, what score would you two give Royal C?

Ray

We would be unified.  A 92.

[SSBrickNJ]

It is NOT my purpose to promote Royal C. It was my purpose to share my thoughts on HAL. I DID enjoy myself. I did!😉

[USN59-79]

16 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

We would be unified.  A 92.

Thanks.  That sounds fair.  I think pre-covid HAL would have been higher, but we have experienced it before and after.  We have decided to try Seabourn for our next cruise.

Ray

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

It is NOT my purpose to promote Royal C. It was my purpose to share my thoughts on HAL. I DID enjoy myself. I did!😉

85 is a good score.   I am assuming you are a bit younger than most HAL cruisers and am glad to hear you enjoyed it.  We started sailing HAL in our early 40s and what brought us were the great itineraries.  

[SSBrickNJ]

36 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

85 is a good score.   I am assuming you are a bit younger than most HAL cruisers and am glad to hear you enjoyed it.  We started sailing HAL in our early 40s and what brought us were the great itineraries.  

85 is my wife's score. 88 is mine. Yes...I have way more positive thoughts than negative thoughts.

[SSBrickNJ]

56 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

Thanks.  That sounds fair.  I think pre-covid HAL would have been higher, but we have experienced it before and after.  We have decided to try Seabourn for our next cruise.

Ray

Seabourn?

I'm not familiar.

I'm going to look for a Youtube video.

I'll be right back if I find one.*
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Found one easily....let's watch it together...

It was visible for 10 minutes then it wasn't.

Sorry if someone comes to this post and cannot view it.

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Ah ha! It's part of the Carnival Family of cruises....but the very top...the very upper.

Like Carnival is Chevy....and Seabourn is Cadillac. Chevy and Cadillac are both GM companies...but completely different!

Edited August 17, 2023 by SSBrickNJ

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, SSBrickNJ said:

85 is my wife's score. 88 is mine. Yes...I have way more positive thoughts than negative thoughts.

I personally like the small portions as I do the whole 5 course meal but never be shy about asking for a larger portion or a double helping.  I agree about the lido.  I like a few things on the lido - the salad bar, the taco bar at the Dive In and those occasional special stations. As an example they will offer a seafood boil if you are in a port famous for that like Boston and once they had a Thai lunch featuring the chefs of the Tamarind.  Otherwise I will eat in the MDR

[newcruisers70]

Thanks for your review.  You are right, food is a very subjective thing.  However 🙂 I will push back a little bit on your observations.  We were on the same cruise (and the one the week before), and found many positives and some negatives re: the Lido experience, but imho it was possible to plan around and 'avoid' the negatives and have an overall great experience.  For example, the food lines were only long at specific times, avoid those (predictable) times and there were no or minimal Iines.  This cruise had a huge proportion of Spanish (at least Spanish speaking) guests, who tend to eat late, and this exacerbated the normal 'its more crowded during the last hour of breakfast' dynamic.  The crepe station lines were often long, and made worse by people holding places in line for other family members, but the omelette stations were always quick and efficient.  Orange juice availability was spotty, but there was always at least one station with it, so if you really wanted it it was available.  We never saw long (or any, really) lines at lunch, and only once at dinner.  A few of the servers did give out curiously small portions, but were happy to give second or third servings if asked.  Frankly at times this was a positive, if one wanted to try a little bit of several different dishes.     

 

Overall we found the food quality to be good, at times very good (the fish dishes were normally very good, especially at the MDR, and the cooked items at the Asian station in the Lido also stood out), and occasionally excellent (the Arctic char).  My previous cruise was on Celebrity immediately pre-covid, and imho the food quality on these two HAL cruises was in line with that, which was a pleasant surprise considering the general 'things are much worse post-Covid' tenor of a lot of the comments on CC.  

 

I agree with you about the Entertainment shortcomings.  There is some very good music, but it is all packed together in the evening.  For a ship that really promotes its music concept, its a bit strange that there is nothing during the daytime, even on sea days.  Other cruises I have been on have had things like solo guitarists, pianists or string quartets sprinkled throughout the day at various lounges, but there was none of this on these cruises.  I understand that the classical music is returning, but again, only in the evening.  Adding a couple of solo musicians (a guitarist and pianist) to play during the daytime would be a big (and inexpensive for HAL) plus.