An Introduction to the Ships and Classes of the HAL Fleet

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting the up date.

[gelo7]

Thanks, this was quite helpful.

[nancyjo]

Can anyone tell me the difference between Verandahs class VB, VD , VE?

[RuthC]

4 hours ago, nancyjo said:

Can anyone tell me the difference between Verandahs class VB, VD , VE?

Location. Location is the main difference, with some variation on the different classes of ships playing a secondary role. 

[RGEDad]

The best tool I have found to see what cabins are what category & Location is :

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com

It shows the cabins and class for each deck, and you can see what is above and below the cabin. 

Some cabins have images available

Only difference I can see from the public to Member site is the Member site has some additional cabin videos available and you can can get paid a princely sum (50¢) for submitting photos (Haven't done that yet).

When booking cabins I always have program that open on one side of the screen.

Over the years we have moved from primarily Va cabins to Vc&Vd - just because we tend to like the locations better.

[jeh10641]

On 5/14/2019 at 1:30 PM, Himself said:

As of today:

Explorer: Prinsendam

 

 

S class

Maasdam

Veendam

R Class 

Rotterdam

Volendam

Zaandam

Amsterdam

 

 

Vista Class

Zuiderdam

Oosterdam 

Westerdam

Noordam

 

 

Signature Class

Eurodam

Nieuw Amsterdam

 

Pinnacle Class:

Koningsdam

Nieuw Statendam

Ryndam ( under construction) 

Actually this is outdated. Under Pinnacle Class, Ryndam is actually Rotterdam VII. Prinsendam is gone from the fleet. Under R Class Rotterdam and Amsterdam are gone. As are Maasdam and Veendam.

Edited February 6, 2022 by jeh10641
Timed out.

[SUESEABE]

@jeh10641  Did you look at the date of the posting??  5/14/2019

[jeh10641]

23 hours ago, SUESEABE said:

@jeh10641  Did you look at the date of the posting??  5/14/2019

I did not notice the date but did not see any list that was up to date.

[ski ww]

Looking for pictures of cabins type FB / FA on the Nieuw Statendam. They are the large family  cabins for 4-5 guests on main deck.

[0106]

On 11/24/2021 at 1:20 PM, RGEDad said:

The best tool I have found to see what cabins are what category & Location is :

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com

It shows the cabins and class for each deck, and you can see what is above and below the cabin. 

Some cabins have images available

@ski ww use the link above for pictures of family cabins.

[ski ww]

Thanks for the link.

[drbeamer]

Has anyone sailed in the Pinnacle Suite on Zandaam? Just booked it for 2023 Canadian cruise. I’ve googled and can’t find anything specific to this suite. 
 

Thanks,

 

Brian

 

[twodjs]

Halfacts dot com has pictures of the PS for the Amsterdam and Rotterdam (retired from the fleet in 2020) but from the same class of ship as the Zaandam. They should give you at least a rough idea of the layout.

[cruzer0007]

On 7/22/2021 at 7:01 AM, RGEDad said:

One of the things we have really enjoyed is after dinner (we dine early) - and all the nights festivities - is to go to the Pizza place on the ship and get a late night custom made/custom cooked pizza. Unknown to me - and this only came to light when booking the myriad of post-COVID cruises - not every HAL ship has a Pizza (NY Pizza/Slice) place. It appears to be only the Signature & Pinnacle class have them on-board and all my previous cruises have been on these two classes, except for one. Early in our cruising life we did sail on the Westerdam - but that was before we understood the finer things in late night cruising life...

 

 

does anybody know what "late night" pizza really means for this class of ship ?  Our first/only HAL cruise was on Westerdam, they didnt have this venue onboard, only had late night pizza at the Lido buffet, and on that cruise, late night meant 10:30 to 11:30 .... that was not exactly my view of late night, but once we learned of that constraint, we managed ok.   Are the late night operating hours the same for the dedicated pizza venue (for the ships that have that venue) ?

[robotpony]

2 minutes ago, cruzer0007 said:

does anybody know what "late night" pizza really means for this class of ship ?

 

From our August experience on the Koningsdam, the pizza place was open after midnight at least some of the nights. Things started shutting down around the pool around 1AM those nights (I think) and were already pretty quiet, though with the time change it may have been midnight.

 

We ordered pizza after dancing at the BB King venue (and hopping to the duelling pianos) a few nights, and it was fantastic. The vibe around the pool late at night is pretty great, not a lot of people, nice and cool, and some nice snacks.

 

 

[cwd79]

Any recommendations for a good midship large interior room on Eurodam? I believe it’s a J category that I booked. Just hubby and I for an 11 day Panama Canal cruise in Jan. Thanks for any advice. 

[RuthC]

10 minutes ago, cwd79 said:

Any recommendations for a good midship large interior room on Eurodam? I believe it’s a J category that I booked. Just hubby and I for an 11 day Panama Canal cruise in Jan. Thanks for any advice. 

A J-category on Main Deck, starboard side, as close as possible to the atrium. I've been in most of those cabins on all the Vista and Signature classes of ships. 

Those are the largest inside cabins on the ship, and larger than outside cabins. There is more open floor space than the Neptune Suites. 
Starboard side puts you further away from the bandstand in BB King's. Closer to the atrium is further away from the entertainment areas on the deck above. 

[cwd79]

Thanks for the info. We have another cruise scheduled for the Rotterdam and I called today as we had an ocean view guarantee and I wanted to see what it would cost to get a midship room. The rep said 99% of the ocean view rooms are on main deck 1. Only a few were available so I went with 1119 which appears to maybe be under the shops. They had some more on the port side but would have been under the clubs or possible kitchen. So, hoping we made a good choice with 1119. Not sure if it's  bigger than a standard interior room or not. As we were previously on the NS in a standard interior and that was pretty small but still worked for hubby and I. 

[Guardsy]

Why is this ancient posting still even here?  Cannot someone create one that has some relevance to the ships now on the water?

[RuthC]

16 hours ago, Guardsy said:

Why is this ancient posting still even here?  Cannot someone create one that has some relevance to the ships now on the water?

Most of the ships in the fleet are mentioned in this overview. 
If you feel the ones that are missing should be added, please, feel free to do a comprehensive description as Doug did. It would be helpful. 

[Seasick Sailor]

20 hours ago, Guardsy said:

Why is this ancient posting still even here?  Cannot someone create one that has some relevance to the ships now on the water?

 

Some folks read these posts first before asking about a particular subject and get their answers here. If you had read previous posts regarding HALS onboard liquors, you would have not asked us about your previous post question "No liquor bottle orders" That ancient question was kindly responded to by several posters!!

 

"Patience Young Grasshopper "!! Lol

[Guardsy]

3 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Some folks read these posts first before asking about a particular subject and get their answers here. If you had read previous posts regarding HALS onboard liquors, you would have not asked us about your previous post question "No liquor bottle orders" That ancient question was kindly responded to by several posters!!

 

"Patience Young Grasshopper "!! Lol

What, are you just a posting stalker?  

 

FYI, the HAL system was not working correctly when I asked my question.  It was not showing any options of gifts other than flowers and renewal of vow items.  No bottle sales., no wine options, non e of that existed on the page.

 

In the case of this description and comparison of ships, many of the ships don't exist anymore, and new ships are not mentioned, unless you want to troll through dozens of pages.  But that isn't the point of these "top of the page posts", is it?  Their purpose, which appears no longer, was to answer some of the most asked questions.  In this case, most of the info is FAR outdated.

[HELENPSL]

On 9/23/2022 at 4:56 PM, cwd79 said:

Thanks for the info. We have another cruise scheduled for the Rotterdam and I called today as we had an ocean view guarantee and I wanted to see what it would cost to get a midship room. The rep said 99% of the ocean view rooms are on main deck 1. Only a few were available so I went with 1119 which appears to maybe be under the shops. They had some more on the port side but would have been under the clubs or possible kitchen. So, hoping we made a good choice with 1119. Not sure if it's  bigger than a standard interior room or not. As we were previously on the NS in a standard interior and that was pretty small but still worked for hubby and I. 

You have chosen my favorite cabin.  We stopped doing veranda when we realized how little time we spent out there.  Now we do midship ocean view either 1119 or 1117.  It’s near the elevator so it’s convenient but there’s no noise.  You will love it.

Helen

[MVPinBoynton]

I updated this list five year's ago before my last HAL cruise.  Since I am going on the Nieuw Statendam next month, I thought that it was time to update it again.  Lots of changes.  It has been way too long since my last HAL cruise.  So glad to finally be able to enjoy a Pinnacle Class one.

 

 

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting the fleet update.