Tell me about HAL...

[pallas14]

Hi Everyone,

 

Tell me about HAL - I am trying to get a feeling for the atmosphere/ culture on the line. I have cruised on Royal Caribbean a couple of times before and although I very much enjoyed it, I'd like to try a different line.

 

My fiance and I are looking for a honeymoon cruise, we've been looking specifically at a 7 day cruise on the Westerdam leaving from Ft Lauderdale at the end of December. We are looking for a mix of relaxation and neat ports/ excursions, and that cruise looks like it has it.

 

We are not really "party people", more like "relax over a glass of wine and watch the ocean with a good book" people.

 

Thanks for the info!

[ldog]

We've met many honeymooners on HAL. You will find a good mix of people at the end of December as it's still school holidays.

 

Read these boards and you'll get a general idea.

[diveoz]

Hi Everyone,

 

Tell me about HAL - I am trying to get a feeling for the atmosphere/ culture on the line. I have cruised on Royal Caribbean a couple of times before and although I very much enjoyed it, I'd like to try a different line.

 

My fiance and I are looking for a honeymoon cruise, we've been looking specifically at a 7 day cruise on the Westerdam leaving from Ft Lauderdale at the end of December. We are looking for a mix of relaxation and neat ports/ excursions, and that cruise looks like it has it.

 

We are not really "party people", more like "relax over a glass of wine and watch the ocean with a good book" people.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptuals! You are either nuts, in love, or both, either way I wish you a great life together!

 

Like you we haven't sailed HAL yet. I am 46 and my wife is soon to be 40 (the reason for our upcoming trip). We will be sailing Zuiderdam, Westerdam's sister ship, Thanksgiving week. I chose HAL for a few reasons. My wife really disliked the Carnival atmosphere of that cruise line, and we are not party animals. I was looking for a mid-sized ship with a relatively high crew/passenger ratio, a high level of service and lesser passenger loads.

 

We are locked into the week mentioned as our kids are off school as are the family members watching them. Our higher level choices, were Princess, NCL, RCCL, and HAL for 7 day sailings in the Caribbean. After lurking on these boards and reading tons or reviews for all the ships sailing at the time, I settled on HAL.

 

Reasons: The suites on HAL have a higher level of service and are priced better than any of the others I looked at for that week. We reqire a suite as I am trying to convince my wife that cruising is a good thing :D. I read in more than one place that HAL is in the premium bracket and I liked that. Finally, the passenger loads on Zuiderdam were really favorable - 1,848 on Zuiderdam versus 2,400 to 4,400 for the alternative ships.

 

Westerdam was one of our options as well. It holds 1,916 passengers and was a solid option, but I chose Zuiderdam for scheduling reasons more than anything. I understand that Westerdam is in better condition as it is finished with a major drydocking that Zuiderdam won't have until spring.

 

Given that our cruise week, like yours, is a holiday week, there will be plenty families and family aged adults on our ship and that was somewhat important to me as well. I would suspect that there will be more youngsters like yourselves :) (assuming you are in your 20s - you didn't say) on board your ship than usual.

 

Anyway, I wouln't try to convince to to sail HAL as I'm new to it too! Do your research, see what ships leave the week (or weeks) you can leave and compare and contrast those things that are important to you. If you require ice skating, rock climbing, golf or whatever, you probably want a different cruise line. Whatever ship you decide to go on you will have a great time as Honeymoons are unlike any vacation you have experienced before, or will experience down the road - especially once the kids come!:D

 

Here's a link to the Westerdam page on another site that I used to help make my decision: It's really easy to navigate between ships and has tons of pics and reviews from multiple websites.

http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/westerdam.htm

 

Happy cruising and good luck!

 

Jim

[Lynne Myrna]

Pallas14.....& diveoz......We were first time cruisers on Hal last Christmas, we have previously cruised on Disney, Royal Caribbean & Carnival.....in our opinion, Hal was the better choice for us. The service was the best!!!! During Christmas, there were lots of Children on board, & they were extremely well behaved. The group of passengers were mixed, young, middle aged, & seniors. We had the best cruise. The food was delicious, & the entertainment was very good. We are repeating the same cruise for our birthdays....(that's how beautiful & classy it is)....Happy cruising.....& Pallas14...good luck on your upcoming marriage:)

 

Lynne:)

[Black Blur]

Hi Everyone,

 

Tell me about HAL - I am trying to get a feeling for the atmosphere/ culture on the line. I have cruised on Royal Caribbean a couple of times before and although I very much enjoyed it, I'd like to try a different line...

We are not really "party people", more like "relax over a glass of wine and watch the ocean with a good book" people.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Pallas14-

First of all congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. I am 47 with a 46 year-old wife, married 23 years with 2 sons, 19 and 16. Before our most recent second Alaska cruise on HAL after trying Celebrity (just my wife and me) and Carnival. My wife and I are not really "party people", more like "relax over a glass of wine and watch the ocean with a good book" people. The Carnival experience last year convinced us that its not the line for us. Although we found the food and service to be quite good, things like tripping over room service trays in the stairwells and sharing the hot tub with naked teenagers making out really turned us off.

 

Now, we knew not to expect the same level of service and amenities on a Carnival Mexican Riviera cruise as we had on a HAL Alaska cruise (they are owned by the same company and they they try hard not to tarnish the brands either way). Celebrity was in the same class as HAL. If you take a cruise to attend the shows (we do not, did not attend a single one on our last cruise), Celebrity has the edge over HAL. If what you care about is space in your cabin (hopefully, Verandah for you guys), HAL is a better value than Celebrity. Food, service, public areas, excursions are all about equivalent between the two lines. On HAL, make sure you treat yourselves to the Pinnacle Grill. It is well worth the modest cover charge and you will have the meal of your life (bring on your favorite bottle of wine and pay the $15 corkage fee). We have no experience on Norwegian or RCL.

 

Have fun!:)

[jtl513]

Just based on your last sentence and my one cruise on RCCL, I predict that would love the Westerdam. IMO, she is second only to the Noordam!

 

On HAL, make sure you treat yourselves to the Pinnacle Grill. It is well worth the modest cover charge and you will have the meal of your life

The PG experience can range from excellent to poor. We have had two so-so experiences, and will not go back unless it is a gift.

[Lynne Myrna]

The PG experience can range from excellent to poor. We have had two so-so experiences, and will not go back unless it is a gift.

__________________

 

I agree with you....our experience at the PG was fair....I thought nothing special, & will stick with the regular venue....

 

Lynne:)

[pisces1]

We've sailed on Cunard, Celebrity, and Norwegian. Couldn't wait to try HAL and did so this past June on the Amsterdam round trip to Alaska from Seattle. We specifically chose this line because it was deemed to have more "sophisticated" clientele (as opposed to party hunters and limbo lovers) and the ships were said to have more of the old world nautical charms such as woods and neutral colors vs. brassy modern decor.

 

We did enjoy the ship and the wonderful service and were only disappointed in the food. There were some major misses, and that was sad since a fine lingering meal is our favorite form of entertainment besides watching the waters and wildlife from our balcony. Is it a deal breaker? No, but since there are other cruise lines that fit into our preference list, I think we're going to try another one on for size.

[toodycat]

Pallas14, First Congratulations on your impending marriage! We sailed the Westerdam to the Eastern Caribbean last February and would be sailing it again this February, had the ship not been entirely booked for the week we wanted. It is a gorgeous ship and you will have a great time. If you are not the kind of person who is entertained by an MC screaming, "Let me hear you say yeah!!!" at the top of his lungs or by belly-flop contests, then HAL is the line for you. The atmosphere is relaxed and sophisticated. Expect to see fresh flowers, antiques and art work throughout the ship. The service is excellent. Our cabin and wait staff really did their utmost to make sure we were happy all the time. We thought the food was delicious and the wine list was very good as well. Not only did we really enjoy all our dinners, but my husband and son, who are both big buffet fans, thought the Westerdam buffet with its multinational stations was the best ever. We all had a great meal at Pinnacle Grill one night. The activities were fun. You won't find the diversity of things to do that you might on RCL. but we were never bored. The ship is beautiful and it is easy to spend your time on a lounge somewhere reading a book. The Crow's Nest is a quiet spot for that if you don't want to read on deck during the day. At night, the clubs and shows were a great deal of fun. Even though we were some of the youngest folks at the piano bar as we were traveling with a much older group, we had a great time and won the name that tune contest one night. The karoake competition was a lot of fun, too. As for the ports, Tortola is gorgeous. Definitely plan to go to Cane Garden Bay. Unfortunately, due to weather, we missed Grand Cayman. The 12 meter regatta in St. Martin is a lot of fun, but nothing beats a day at Half Moon Cay. Rent a cabana, if you can. It is wonderful to have a home base on the beach! If you book the Westerdam, you will have a wonderful and romantic week together.

[newmexicoNita]

what a fun way to celebrate you marriage, a cruise.

 

Normally, I would differ from the rest and not recommend HAL to honeymooners, but because it will be late Dec the ship should have a great mixture of ages with lots for everyone to do. HAL doesn't offer quite as much in the activity line as some ships. Food is very subjective: for us, the best part about HAL was the food, but I disagree about PG. As honeymooners it might be a wonderful, romantic place to enjoy a meal, but for $30 per person we didn't find the food much better than anywhere else on the ship.

 

Our cabin steward was outstanding plus the cabins are larger than many other lines.

 

If you really don't care about lots of night life, can be content with many of the cruisers older (even in Dec this will still be the case) and are looking for a little more culture than on RCI or some of the other lines, go for it.

 

Nita