The Hal Threads

[nashkan]

I have been watching (3 years) and posting for 2 years on Cruise Critics .....3 years ago we were on Carnival, last year on NCL and this year we are going on HAL.... I have to say that I am MOST IMPRESSED by the people that post on the HAL Board..... I really hope that it is am implication of the type of people that we will meet on board ......I realize that there is good (and bad) in every group.....but the general tone of peoples that have posted here is of a high caliber and I have been very impressed........ I can not wait for our FIRST cruise on HAL ....(and I pray NOT our last)...just a few weeks away on the Zuiderdam...... I just wanted to tell you ALL that you have been wonderful, have given many GOOD pointers, and are a SINCERE group of people.....you have really made it much easier, as a FIRST time "HAL-LITE", by all your incites and posts...... I know many of us ask the same questions OVER AND OVER AGAIN...but THANKS for having the patience, and still putting up with us ............... GOD'S BLESSINGS to you all .......Most Sincerely Dan

[earl_m]

Welcome aboard.You will not be sorry.

[dakrewser]

Shucks, Dan, you keep that up and we'll lose our reputation for being nasty, opinionated, cheerleaders for the big bad cruise line! :rolleyes:

 

Have a great cruise! You won't regret trying HAL. My first cruise was on Carnival - and it scared me away from cruising again for 5 years! We also enjoyed a lovely cruise on the Norwegian Sky a few years ago. But after trying HAL, well, we think it's the best place to be.

[kakalina]

Welcome to the HAL boards Dan. We are pretty much a laid back group that really love our line of choice. I think you will find some thought provoking discussions here, I know I have.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Dan, welcome to the HAL boards and I'm so glad you like our happy group!!! I also hope you have an amazing cruise on HAL. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[OceanFantasys]

Dan this is my first cruise on HAL too and I have to agree with you that this is the nicest bunch of people I have met on all of the boards. Everyone is so helpful.. Have fun on your cruise !!

Rhonda

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Welcome to the HAL Board Dan, Yes I discover the CC boards before our first HAL cruise in early 2002. I feel like we are a great big family here. Sometimes we do disagree but in the end we are all here to support each other for our passion of cruising and HAL:)

[tomc]

Welcome aboard! I'm leaving in eight days on the Noordam and will be keeping a daily diary, as usual, here on the HAL board. I'll be in the pirate-infested waters of the Caribbean where guys with beards, big rings in their ears, knives between their teeth and guns in their hands will board the ship at night with, "Arrrrrr, mateys, we got us a big 'un this time."

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to the HAL board.

 

You will find the crew on HAL ships to be the best and friendliest in the industry.

[sail7seas]

Welcome Aboard, Dan.

Pull up a deck chair and stay a while. :)

 

Happy you found us and if you have any questions we haven't answered, all you need to do is ask. Someone is sure to know the answer or how to get it.

 

Hope you have a fabulous cruise.

 

[LHC]

Dan,

I too, have fallen in love with HAL and the people on this board are super, but nothing compares to the beautiful HAL ships, the wonderful caring of all the employee's that you will meet, and the other guests who are traveling are polite, excited, and well mannered.

You will have the best time....only those searching for sadness and problems get aggrevated by the little glitches along the way. Embracing the small stuff and enjoying each moment is the way to have the best trip ever.

 

Enjoy,

Linda

[grannynurse]

Dan,

this last cruise, 2 weeks ago, was our first without any of our CC and HAL travel friends. Although we missed them, we met many more super friendly people and made more friends. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, having more time to meet new people.

Thanks for the great comments, We have learned alot here, laughed and cried with eachother, and

We love it here too.

GN

[l929]

Ditto! I think the people on this board are very helpful and nice. I am actually more excited about our upcoming first HAL cruise which isnt until February than our upcoming November Celebrity cruise!

[duck tune]

I'm a relative "newbie" to CC and these boards but I agree that the HAL group is informative and fun. I look forward to finding time to check in and learn something new. DH and I love HAL and can't wait until our next cruise in December. Welcome and I look forward to reading about your first HAL cruise!

[Vic The Parrot]

We try to "behave"

 

 

 

:rolleyes:

[tomc]

We try to "behave."

'Cept for me.

 

There once was a Parrot named Vic,

From New Jersey, he wasn't a hick.

The ships he liked were 'dams

The girls he liked had gams,

And he could click with a chick real quick.

[seaisme]

welcome! you will love the "Z"...we're booked again on her in April. You will find that the passengers on HAL are fun and more refined than on some other lines (in other words, less "wild party" types...but that doesn't mean we don't have our moments!). We have always met the nicest people on the cruises, and have made life-long friends in the course of a week's cruise. Encourage you to join the Roll-call board for your cruise...or start one. it's a great way to meet folks pre-cruise. On our last cruise I knew about 50 people BEFORE we even boarded!

 

Enjoy your cruise...wish we were sailing in 22 days!

Cass

[crzinchap]

Dan,

I couldn't agree with you more. The posters on this board are a class act:) Enjoy your cruise!!!

[ESLO]

Dear Dan,

 

Welcome to the HAL Board of the Cruise Critic Site.

 

We will be leaving in about 5 days for our 11 Day cruise on the Noordam to the Caribbean. We will be having a Meet & Greet the first day at sea and most of us have not meet each other before and are eager to do so. There will be about 35 of us up to now on this cruise that have come forward.

 

Even though we have cruised for over 15 times, now 4 times on HAL, this will be the first HAL Cruise Critic Meet & Greet we will attend.

 

I do also cruise on the Cunard Line and do see a difference on that board with the type of responses that come in. I also see that HAL produces many more postings on a daily basis.

 

Once again, WELCOME!

 

Regards,

:) ESLO

(Ed & Bev)

[cool change]

Dan , you there Dan? We scare you away yet? I love Hal. For our first cruise we tried Carnival and it just wasn't us. Maybe it seemed that I was always in line for something and that there was too many people. But it was our first cruise and we did not know the ins and outs either.

We never thought we would do a cruise again and would stick to land vacations. We tried it once more with Hal and we will be on our fifth cruise with them in a few weeks.

[letsgoplaces]

For what it's worth I too would like to say that after reading these boards for a couple of years that this group is the most civil, understanding and good natured group of people I have seen. It's great, because for people like myself who don't post alot due to the apprehension of being attacked or misunderstood, it makes it so much easier to go ahead and ask the question that bothers you or find out about something that might make your vacation better. I just got back from my first HAL cruise on the Veendam and am working on my review but in short it was fabulous. Along with my husband and friends we were blown away at the fantastic condition of the ship, the comfortable rooms with awesome beds and the best food you could possibley imagine. Our cruisemates were about our age ( 40-50) and older, and as well mannered and considerate as you could want. The staff and crew were professional, kind and made us feel like we mattered. If our next HAL cruise is half as great as the one we just took..........we'll be thrilled. Again my compliments to the group of people who post on the HAL Board and nashkan from my experience on the Veendam it certainly has rung true for me that the politeness and courtesy shown on this board was found in the people on my cruise. We just LOVED our ship and our entire experience with HAL.

Elana

[HeatherInFlorida]

It's wonderful that Dan started this thread because I can see it encouraged some people to post who have been here quite awhile, but don't post too much.

 

I'm so glad to see so many of you express your fond feeling for this board. Overall I agree it's a very civilized friendly board. A few or us "act up" from time to time;) , but where in life does that not happen?

 

Everyone should feel comfortable posting anytime they like. For every person who may disagree with you, there will be someone who does. Who cares? It's your opinion and you're entitled. Just reading the opinions of a handful of people gets tired after awhile. So my hope would be that everyone just jumps on in!!:D