First Time on Hal - Question

[Jamrenjer]

Hi all!

My wife and I are considering going on the Oosterdam. We have had been on Princess, RCL, NCL and Costa. We have never been on HAL. We hear it is great-- but would love to hear from anyone on how it compares to let's say RCL or NCL? Any little info or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much!:)

[marcyjane]

Hi,

Will also be on Oosterdam August 2009 for the 1st time & 1st time HAL cruiser as well. I've been searching and reading all the threads I can on Oosterdam and our Europe Ports of Call.

Cruised on NCL-RCL & CCL, I like RCL & CCL better than NCL, but yet to see how HAL will stack up. I'm like you I hear they are above board on all things.

Can wait to read the post from all the cc members that have sailed HAL Oosterdam.

Marcy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi all!

My wife and I are considering going on the Oosterdam. We have had been on Princess, RCL, NCL and Costa. We have never been on HAL. We hear it is great-- but would love to hear from anyone on how it compares to let's say RCL or NCL? Any little info or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much!:)

 

Definitely go for it!!

The oosterdam is a great ship!! You will love her!!

[Williebill]

While never having sailed aboard NCL, I have sailed RCCL. In my opinion, HAL is far above RCCL in every way.

Bill

[ekerr19]

We really enjoyed the Oosterdam - far more than the Westerdam. We like the Noordam best of all Vistas, but the Oosterdam is our second favorite.

 

I like the understated decor and elegant feeling on the Noordam, and we were pleasantly surprised by the nice decor on the Oosterdam. We had a great crew on the Oosterdam and it seems as if a lot of the crew enjoyed sailing on that ship too.

 

The layout on Vistas is quite easy to learn, we find it really easy to get around. If you get a chance, check out the hydrotherapy pool in the spa area - it is well worth the extra cost. The Pinnacle was also very nice on Oosterdam.

[cruisencrazy]

We have sailed on NCL and RCCL many times. HAL is our favorite. We sail on NCL if we are looking for no frills, not to dress up, just to be lazy. We go on RCCL for fun, but with teenage kids, that's more fun than we can stand. We love HAL and will spend Christmas on the OOsterdam to have a wonderful upscale and no stress vacation. Everything is as it should be, just perfect.

[Sprocket]

We have been on NCL (Sky), great time...... RCCL Vision of the Seas, let's say we got what we paid for that time. Still enjoyed the cruise itself, but service was definitely lacking. The Oosterdam is really very nice, great food, service and decor. Some don't care for the Vista class of ships, but we would sail her again in a heartbeat.

[Jamrenjer]

We really appreciate the comments! Thank you very much!:)

[geocruiser]

I have sailed on Costa (many years ago) and twice RCCL and many times on HAL. The last cruise on RCCL was 3/08. We were on Mariner of the Seas. It was a big beautiful ship. But for me it was too big. One of the main things that I did not like about Mariner was their lunch menu in the dinning room. It was the exact same 5 or 6 choices every day. But each day they would add one new thing. So the same old 5 /6 food choices and one new one every day. Most of the choices (for me) were not that great. It looks like they want you to eat at the buffet at lunch. And that was not as good as HAL.

Maria

[wwinfl91]

We have been on both Costa (once) and RCCL several times and on HAL 7 times. HAL is a little more relaxed in some ways than RCCL. The food and service are better on HAL than on either Costa or RCCL. The cabins are bigger than the ones on RCCL and on most ships all the balcony cabins have tubs and showers. HAL ships decor is more upscale and dignified than many other cruise lines. You will find a slightly older clientel for the most part on HAL than any of the other lines you mentioned but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to do and enjoy on a HAL cruise. We were in our very early 50's when we went on first HAL cruise and were definitely in the younger 20% of the passengers on the cruise.

 

We started with HAL and then started trying other lines to see what we might be missing and we still come back to HAL for a dependable product and an enjoyable cruise.

 

Give it a try and see if you like it. You might also want to check out Princess which has also become one of our favorite cruise lines recently.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[DFD1]

The differences are like daylight and dark. HAL is head and shoulders better than the others.

 

JMO

[Jamrenjer]

Thank you again for your feed back! Hope it works out for us to go.

We appreciate your comments.

[Down-Unders]

Hi all!

My wife and I are considering going on the Oosterdam. We have had been on Princess, RCL, NCL and Costa. We have never been on HAL. We hear it is great-- but would love to hear from anyone on how it compares to let's say RCL or NCL? Any little info or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much!:)

 

 

 

Have sailed Princess but the majority of our cruises have been with NCL. We sailed on the Ryndam in April our first time on HAL, we honestly did not compare just had a wonderful time, so good we are off again in January 09, have not abandoned NCL we are on the SUN in March 09. Enjoyed breakfast in our room, late dinner with great service, library, fellow passengers and the elegance without being pretentious.