Not been on Hal in 5 years how is it now

[Madamexxx007Madame007]

Hello,

 

i cruised mostly HAL in the past, but did not cruise for the last 5 years. 
would you say Hal has changed much, if so how. 
i would like to go back 

tks. Diane

[Sir PMP]

It's falling apart.

[Seasick Sailor]

I respectfully disagree with @Sir PMP

 

We have sailed HAL, Viking Ocean, NCL.  (We would choose Viking hands down if we could afford it)

 

This will be our 3rd Christmas cruise coming up on the beautiful Rotterdam. We enjoy all the dining venues,  our cabin is accessible with a great roll out balcony. I enjoy the games. Trivia, Bingo etc. Rotterdam is in great shape. We enjoy the crew and still hear from some after 3 years. We also took the Hawaii Tahiti cruise in Feb/March and it was wonderful.

 

 

[OlsSalt]

"Covid" knocked the socks off all cruise lines.  CCL had to incur over $10 billion dollars of debt just to keep its inventory floating, while earning no income.   Corners will need to be cut for along time until that debt gets paid off.

 

That said, our pre and post-"covid" cruises have been very acceptable and we did not miss much - the basics are still  there. And slowly some of the cut backs, and loss of experience crew and staff are slowly easing .

 

If you still travel to see things and enjoy room and board included,  you may miss nothing at all. But if you want/need a lot of on-board extras, they may not all be back. Which also sounds like the case in other cruise lines too,  with similar price points. 

 

 

[albingirl]

We think things are fine. Like anything else, there are some changes, but your happiness will probably depend on how your general outlook on life is. 

[Toofarfromthesea]

5 hours ago, albingirl said:

We think things are fine. Like anything else, there are some changes, but your happiness will probably depend on how your general outlook on life is. 

 

Truer words were never spoken.  Whether you are determined to be happy or unhappy, you can always find reasons to make it so.

[zonk42]

I would echo what others have said. The experience is mostly he same. I would describe things as a bit “simpler”. Food, entertainment, activities, stateroom service, etc. all very good.

 

The biggest change we noticed was in the MDR. Service just seemed “off” to us. Less attentive, rushed, forgot things, failed to offer coffee, etc. Nothing major, but just off the quality we had seen previously. Perhaps this is just temporary or a fluke of our specific cruise.

[Oceansaway17]

23 hours ago, Sir PMP said:

It's falling apart.

What is?

ships or service or itineraries or prices?

 

I mean all lines have issues especially NCL

[albingirl]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

What is?

ships or service or itineraries or prices?

 

I mean all lines have issues especially NCL

Pretty sure he's joking. Based on his usual postings which are generally funny.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

No, HAL is not like it was five years ago. Neither are the other cruise lines, our favorite restaurants, familiar hotels, the local supermarket, the doctors office, or anything else I can think of. Times have changed.

Compare HAL now to everything else now instead of comparing to standards of yesterday. I’m still happy with what we’re getting for what we’re paying.

[Sir PMP]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

What is?

ships or service or itineraries or prices?

 

I mean all lines have issues especially NCL

It's a combination of all of the above, except for the pricing which is cheap, but the ships are coming apart: Volendam, Zaandam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, they need to go, but there are no new ships on the horizon, which tells me that the end is near. The service is not as it was before, because the crew itself is becoming less interested, the itineraries are predictable, that's why they need to refocus the direction where they want to go. After 1521 days with Hal I am looking at other possibilities.

[Gunther1]

Ah, the proverbial can of worms has been opened.  

 

I tend to agree more with :

 

“Your happiness will probably depend on how your general outlook on life is.”

 

Me, I’m grateful to be on a ship…not having to cook or clean.

 

Yes, things are not the same as five years ago, but neither am I….or you….or the world.   Sh*t happens.  One adapts ….or whines about how it used to be.

 

 I am fully aware that I am lucky to be able to take a cruise and not live in the Mideast, the Ukraine, or any other area that is racked with various issues.

 

Let the inevitable complaints commence………………

 

 

[Toofarfromthesea]

2 hours ago, albingirl said:

Pretty sure he's joking. Based on his usual postings which are generally funny.

 

How would the OP know that?

 

But now we see that he meant it seriously, not as a joke.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Toofarfromthesea

[OlsSalt]

37 minutes ago, Sir PMP said:

.......... After 1521 days with Hal I am looking at other possibilities.

Hope you come back after 1521 days on that "other possibility", and tells us how it beat its  predictability. 

[albingirl]

1 hour ago, Sir PMP said:

It's a combination of all of the above, except for the pricing which is cheap, but the ships are coming apart: Volendam, Zaandam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, they need to go, but there are no new ships on the horizon, which tells me that the end is near. The service is not as it was before, because the crew itself is becoming less interested, the itineraries are predictable, that's why they need to refocus the direction where they want to go. After 1521 days with Hal I am looking at other possibilities.

Whoops. Sorry. Apologies.

[Banditswife]

We only sailed HAL once pre covid, but have sailed HAL 5 X post covid.  Strictly my opinion, but I have enjoyed HAL more post covid than I did our 1 pre covid.  The crew is still great, food good/acceptable, accommodations good/acceptable, entertainment ok/acceptable, & price fantastic.  Like others have said: the world has changed, including myself, since covid.  I am a bit older than when I took my 1st HAL cruise in 2017- so maybe my age, employment status, has something to do with it.  I don't want an active cruise, I want a relaxing cruise & HAL delivers.

[Sir PMP]

57 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Hope you come back after 1521 days on that "other possibility", and tells us how it beat its  predictability. 

Well, the big monsters can only go to the same ports, which is predictable.

[ellieanne]

On 11/13/2023 at 10:11 AM, Madamexxx007Madame007 said:

Hello,

 

i cruised mostly HAL in the past, but did not cruise for the last 5 years. 
would you say Hal has changed much, if so how. 
i would like to go back 

tks. Diane

Before my cruise in September, my last one had been in January 2018.
I found a few differences in the line, mostly as a result of staffing. For example, the room stewards now have more rooms to service, so they are a bit busier. But on the plus side (to me anyway) there was an option to have room cleaning only once a day. I always felt it was unnecessary to have room cleaning twice a day anyway, so I opted for only the evening cleaning & turn down service with just a quick mini-bar & ice replenish in the morning, and often we didn't even need that. I think the option for room cleaning is a great addition, but I can also see why it was done, as the number of room stewards has been cut, which is not necessarily a good thing.
In the dining room, the wine stewards have been eliminated and the waiters/assistant waiters have taken over that role in addition to the regular food related jobs. This made for delayed food service, chaotic beverage service and generally longer mealtimes than on past cruises. Our drink orders were taken early in the meal service, but often we didn't get our key cards back until dessert was served, and even then sometimes we had to wait to leave to get our keys back. Also, we noticed that serving drinks delayed meal service, so there was more down time in the dining room. And, much to my disappointment, the YumYum Man and the post-dinner mints have been eliminated. It is a minor thing in the overall scheme of things, but it was very noticeable to me, as I always liked getting some mints or candied ginger to finish the meal.
Do not let this dissuade you from taking a HAL cruise. Overall the experience is fantastic, but you will notice some changes from pre-Covid sailings.

[ClippyJoe]

New staff are being trained, plus ships, similar to people, get older but still travel. I have been on several trips since covid ended.Gradually things are falling into place. The library is back, and soon hopefully, we will have something similar to Lincoln on the music walk. For me, any day is a blessing when I think of those we have lost over the last years...

[Ken the cruiser]

If I might ask as we are looking forward to cruising with HAL again starting in April 2025. For those that have cruised on any HAL ship in the last year or so, do they offer some sort of entertainment in the main theater every night? It’s OK if there aren’t any production shows, but at least some sort of entertainment every night that we can sit and watch? Also, is there usually a fun game show every night? 
 

We enjoy doing these two things in the evening on the others lines we cruise with as well as on HAL when we used to cruise with them from 2012 - 2019.

[montythecat]

Our HAL experiences have been limited to four post COVID cruises

and we have one booked for 2024. We are very happy with Holland 

America. Two cruises on NS (our favourite so far) and two Oosterdam.

Previously we used Celebrity a lot. Not any more. The things we like

in particular which keep us booking are :

Music  :  We love the rock bands in The Rolling Stone Lounge. For

a bit of variety the two pianists are usually very good.

Food. :  Generally imaginative menus in the MDRs and good

quality food. Excellent speciality restaurants, particularly 

Tamarind.

The Dutch Cafe : A good reason for booking Pinnacle Class

ships.  Our regular lunchtime choice.

Itineraries. :  Generally get us where we want to go.

Drinks  :  Package suits us and is cheaper than other

comparable cruise lines.

 Crew  :  Odd lapses but usually as good as it gets. 
The Crows Nest  :  A forward facing lounge. We do not

understand why many cruise ships no longer have one.

As you will gather I would certainly recommend HAL,

as we have found it, to the OP.

 

 

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For those that have cruised on any HAL ship in the last year or so, do they offer some sort of entertainment in the main theater every night? It’s OK if there aren’t any production shows, but at least some sort of entertainment every night that we can sit and watch? Also, is there usually a fun game show every night? 

 

Fun game shows? No.

 

Show in the main theatre every night?  You can't count on it. On my 28-day around Japan there were 5-6 nights in the theatre where either the HAL "documentary" or a moview were all that was on offer.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, cruisemom42 said:

Fun game shows? No.

 

Show in the main theatre every night?  You can't count on it. On my 28-day around Japan there were 5-6 nights in the theatre where either the HAL "documentary" or a movie were all that was on offer.

Thanks, and that's OK too. We're still looking forward to what the Eurodam has to offer on our 21-day PC cruise in 2025. One thing we definitely learned from our 38-day NCL Africa cruise last year was that we need to treat every cruise as if it was the first time with that particular line and not judge them based on what we take for granted on other cruise lines OR even on the same cruise line prior to the pandemic. But I will say the overall cost for a HAL cruise, if you book early enough, is definitely less expensive overall than they were on average 5+ years ago when we stopped booking with them!

 

For example, our upcoming HAL aft-facing veranda cabin on the PC cruise, with the HIA Early Booking bonus, was $254 (gross) or $149 (net) per person per day, with "net" meaning minus the HAL provided OBC, TA booking discount, and $60 pp/day for the HIA option. That definitely wasn't the case regarding cruise fares back in 2018 and IS the main reason we're giving HAL another try. So if their evening entertainment is not what we have come to expect on the other cruise lines, that's OK. Just like with NCL, we will adjust and appreciate the entertainment options HAL does provide and form our opinions at that time. My guess is we're going to have a great time, as the itinerary is also something we are very much looking forward to!! 😀

[cruisemom42]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks, and that's OK too. We're still looking forward to what the Eurodam has to offer on our 21-day PC cruise in 2025. One thing we definitely learned from our 38-day NCL Africa cruise last year was that we need to treat every cruise as if it was the first time with that particular line and not judge them based on what we take for granted on other cruise lines OR even on the same cruise line prior to the pandemic. But I will say the overall cost for a HAL cruise, if you book early enough, is definitely less expensive overall than they were on average 5+ years ago when we stopped booking with them!

 

For example, our upcoming HAL aft-facing veranda cabin on the PC cruise, with the HIA Early Booking bonus, was $254 (gross) or $149 (net) per person per day, with "net" meaning minus the HAL provided OBC, TA booking discount, and $60 pp/day for the HIA option. That definitely wasn't the case regarding cruise fares back in 2018 and IS the main reason we're giving HAL another try. So if their evening entertainment is not what we have come to expect on the other cruise lines, that's OK. Just like with NCL, we will adjust and appreciate the entertainment options HAL does provide and form our opinions at that time. My guess is we're going to have a great time, as the itinerary is also something we are very much looking forward to!! 😀

 

Good attitude going in. I enjoy cruising multiple lines and agree that wishing one line was same as another is rather fruitless. There are almost always trade-offs. 

 

For myself, I also have to judge based on the fact that I travel solo and HAL (and most mass market lines) are almost always twice as much per person for me. So what is acceptable at $150 or $250 per night per person may seem less so at $300 or $500 per person.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Good attitude going in. I enjoy cruising multiple lines and agree that wishing one line was same as another is rather fruitless. There are almost always trade-offs. 

 

For myself, I also have to judge based on the fact that I travel solo and HAL (and most mass market lines) are almost always twice as much per person for me. So what is acceptable at $150 or $250 per night per person may seem less so at $300 or $500 per person.

 

 

I’ve also learned that keeping up with each cruise line’s booking “rules of engagement” is also very important and are sometimes drastically different between cruise lines.
 

That is another thing that attracted us to HAL. Some of those new booking perks include booking within 90 days of an itinerary becoming available and booking more than a year out provides additional HIA early booking perks. Then there is the new Military OBC perk along with the AARP membership perk. Then on top of that there are the AARP 10% discounted gift cards. Am I missing anything? BTW none of these that I’m aware of were available prior to the pandemic, with some only recently appearing.