Review: Part one of...?

[CDRMark]

Hal-0-ween Dam Cruise Review

Westerdam 29 Oct06

FLL/at sea/Grand Turk/Tortola/St Maarten/at sea/HMC/FLL

 

Greetings and Hallucinations! I’m sure there will be other reviews of this event, despite the shy, retiring nature of the participants, but I thought I would offer a short one with a "compare and Contrast" flavor.

Firstly, I have to say what a treat the entire evolution was! A first class operation from start to finish, and we HAL Ccers are a super bunch! It was such a pleasure to put faces to names. Everyone was wonderful.

Kudos to Ziggy and her helpers (and Heather for the initial prep work!). There were planned events, but not so many that personal time was infringed upon. The CC HAL-O-ween DAM Tee shirts were perfect. I got two offers to buy mine. (Didn’t take ‘em. J ) I am glad to call all of you friends.

 

Background: DW and I are new-ish cruisers. Two previous cruises, both HAL, both Maasdam from Norfolk (our hometown), so new debark port, Ft. Lauderdale (which required more travel and less luggage). Steep learning curve there! The joys of a 15 minute drive to the ship with so much luggage the Teamsters union filed a grievance.

Flying down the night before departure and getting to meet the group was a special treat. Great pick of a watering hole, too!

Quick free shuttle to the terminal Sunday A.M. OK now THAT’S a terminal. Norfolk’s is still under construction and will only handle one ship at a time. Hopefully we will have traffic!

 

Aside: Norfolk just announced the facility will be called "The Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center". Coincidence? Well, yes actually…..

 

Embarkation was smooth and the personnel were helpful and courteous, as usual. Porters were actively soliciting tips. Signs inside and not initially visible said they are salaried and do not work for tips. Capitalism. Arrived about 11:00 and were on aft Lido by 11:45, un-laxing as rooms were not yet ready for occupancy. So we were not able to be escorted to our cabin. No big.

 

Got to our cabin about 2 P.M. We had booked a verandah but were offered the chance to upgrade to an S and took it. We had an S on Maasdam so it seemed like a good way to compare. Way to take one for the team, huh? Cabin seemed comparable in size and layout overall, with a slightly smaller dressing area, but a larger bathroom (Tub/shower AND separate shower; two sinks. Makes hurrying on formal night easier.) Balcony was nice and long, but not deep enough for a lounge chair, and there were none. A/C worked great and bedding is as always top of the line. Cabin Steward (Oman) was super. Neptune lounge staff appeared overburdened, or else new to the position, but facility is great. Many of the cabins which have access to Neptune are waaaay away from it (right Grumpy?) simply due to ship size.

 

First impression of the ship: Large!

We had seen her in St Maarten in 2004 when we were there on our first Maasdam cruise and were impressed. Love HALs color scheme for the fleet. I realize that the Vistas are not mega ships, and I do have aircrat carrier experience, but compared to Maasdam, our only other cruise ship, we felt she was big, but manageable.

The layout is good, and fairly intuitive after wandering around for a day or two.

 

The décor and interior are bright without being garish. I would relate it to a classy Las Vegas property. Much different from Maasdam, which we decided we prefer, and find more sedate and classic. Artwork and flowers are the usual joy that we take so much for granted.

 

The crew are standard HAL. Superb. Friendly, and helpful. When I made a sharp U-turn one day in a companionway, a crewman asked if I needed a direction pointed out, and made it sound as if it was his fault I was lost. Sweet. Our Cruise Director was the first one in three cruises who made an impression; an extremely positive one at that. He was just on the right side of too perky. Upbeat without being soooo cutely annoying. He "adopted" us and I have no doubt the other groups he visited with felt the same way. Great job Billy!!

 

The midships glass elevators are a special treat, unless the seas are rough and one is susceptible…eek!

One of them was out of order for most of the cruise, but I never saw that it resulted in a back-up of passengers.

 

The main (Vista) dining room was lovely, with Chihuly-like "glass" objets above the center stairs. We were informed that due to potential liability issues which might result from hanging several tons of glass above the passengers heads, they were in fact plastic. Still, nice.

Service was very confused the first night while the staff and pax got used to one another. Drink/wine orders were not taken until almost halfway into the meal. This was an aberration which was fixed by night two and was perfect thereafter. All the usual cliches apply. Great staff, helpful and remember your likes and dislikes after the initial order. Blah blah blah we are SOOooo spoiled, ain’t we?

 

Food was very good to great. There is a real problem getting meat any doneness lower than medium (oddly except for the duck which was perfectly pink; go figger). Portions are on the small side but there is no problem getting two of something if you asked. The lobster tails, frequently overcooked and soggy, were also perfect. Room service was timely and as ordered. Eggs Benedict when requested were perfectly poached every time! That is tough to do in a food service kitchen!

Lido food was good too with few lines that I saw. Crowd control is very good., which is a must on bigger ships.

 

Average age was significantly lower on this cruise than our prior two. Many couples in their 20s and 30s, some with kids. I have heard that this is true of shorter cruises and Vistas in general.

Smelled no adverse smells. Saw no major problems. Maasdam suffered through the Bermuda Triangle and some major rough seas, but we made HMC both times. Heavy seas caused us to cancel HMC this time. So, we are batting .667 for HMC

More later. Any questions?

Cheers!

MarkB

[stanford's girl]

Great review Mark! :)

 

It was wonderful to meet you and Carolyn. Her and I had a blast doing the scavenger hunt together and we won so that made it even better. :cool:

 

And I have to agree with you about what a wonderful group this was. Can't wait to do the repeat with everyone in 2008. :D

[earl_m]

Thanks for the review. I will be there on sunday!!:D

[cruznon]

Great review Mark. Thanks for sharing. it's so nice ot be spoiled by HAL , isn't it???

[hammybee]

I loved the cadence of your review. Thank you for taking the time to share your perceptions with us.

[AAAAmerican]

Nice >point of View<

 

Was there real Lemonade aboard? Gratis?

Real Cheese Cake without too much Flour as a filler?

 

How was the new Pinnacle Grill (Steak House) nmenu courses.. main dishes, most people still call them entrees (enter)...?

 

Did they have Nelson County or Ablemarle County, VA Wines from the olcal ventors there? They have some of the Worlds Best Grapes as well Fox grapes and Lady Apples too.:cool:

[CDRMark]

Triple A:

Not a lemonade drinker or cheesecake eater so I have no personal knowledge of those, tho I do not remember lemonade. Maybe another

Hal-o-weener can answer.

Pinnacle entrees were outstanding. Was nice to see the addition of "specials", one in each category.

Did not care for the location of the Pinnacle on Westerdam; too many tables "on display" in the atrium. The seclusion of Pinnacle on Maasdam, with rows of window tables, was special for us.

I think all the wines in Pinnacle were from the Northwest, primarily Washington State.

More later

Mark

[Dog Mommie]

Mark,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write such an honest, well thought out, review!

 

Ours may differ some on the points of the ship (although we much prefer the smaller ones, too!), my dh and I agree, wholeheartedly, that the VERY BEST part of the cruise was the opportunity to make so many new, and wonderful, FRIENDS!

 

Best to the both of you!

 

Dog Mommie

who imagines that even landlocked:eek: , this crew would have a ball!!!

[Copper10-8]

Thanks for the time and effort to write a review, Commander! Sounds like everyone had a great time on the ship and with each other!:) Fun cruise to be on!

[slineberry528]

Great review Mark, glad everyone had a great time. Sorry you missed HMC.

[Ziggy7]

Great review Mark!

You and Carolyn are very special people and it was truly our pleasure meeting you both! That wife of yours is a keeper hehehe but you know that already! She takes the most amazing photos!

 

Hope your business does well and you are able to find a little more time off to visit us on the boards hehehe :)

[CDRMark]

DW was in charge of pix and took over 1200. She is travelling again and we'll post some when possible.

I'll have a few more groups later today (hopefuly)

Hi Susan; sorry you couldn't join us. Maybe next time?

Mark