Why Would You/ Why Do You Continue to Sail?

[sail7seas]

I've wondered this for a while so please bear with me........

 

There are some folks who are consistently negative and almost always have a negative comment re: HAL but they continue to book and cruise with them?

 

Could someone help me out here to explain why?

 

If one's list of dissatisfactions is so high they feel the need to keep telling those of us who love HAL what is consistently wrong on their cruises....... why in the world do they spend their money and vacation time returning again and again? If they almost never have something to praise or compliment, why keep booking HAL cruises?

 

Thanks.

 

(Don't misunderstand - I'm not saying they don't have the right to say what they wish as, of course, they do. Nor am I saying they don't have the right to dislike whatever they wish.)

[lka1012]

I must go down to the sea again

to the lonely sea and sky

All I ask is a sailing ship

and a star to guide her by.

by someone I can't remember right now

 

I have found the positives of crusing, in particular with HAL, to far outweigh the negatives

[pms4104]

I must go down to the sea again

to the lonely sea and sky

All I ask is a sailing ship

and a star to guide her by.

by someone I can't remember right now

 

I have found the positives of crusing, in particular with HAL, to far outweigh the negatives

John Masefield

[jtl513]

HAL is "just right" with us - not too fancy, not too common, not too expensive, etc. We feel "at home" on HAL.

[suse]

And I am so there! Why, oh why, do people complain all the time? I don't get it. I love, love, love to cruise. There, I said it.:) Except for the bingo stuff. That's something I don't get. But everything is is fantastic, don't you think? Might be human nature to complain?:confused: Not for me to ever figure that one out.

[Travelrd]

OP.....I agree with you 100%. My feeling about this is "whine, whine, whine try another line" Everyone has a right to their opinion and the right to post it here, but I'm so tired of reading the constant whining about all the things wrong with HAL and how they're changing. And it's usually the same small group, around 25 to 40 well travelled cruisers all the time. Most of them are over 50, mostly retired and have money to travel well on HAL. But they don't really have the money to travel well on Seabourne, Regent or Crystal cruises so they don't give them a try once in awhile. They need to try a more upscale, luxury cruise line to really make a comparison. I think HAL gives very good value for their prices. I'm have not cruised very much but I thoroughly enjoy cruising. I always cruise solo in a mni suite so I'm paying 200% of the fare and I don't mind. I love HAL and I love Princess. I have good experiences on both. I must admit the beds, the verandas, the bathrooms, the room service menu and the beds are superior on HAL.

 

Thank you for your post.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I don't know the answer to your question, Sail. I guess that ultimately, each person has to come to terms with the experience known as life. The world is full of imperfections everywhere. People are only human, and it's human nature to want everything in life just the way that each individual imagines it should be. Maybe we project our own personal longings and yearning for all that is good onto our jobs, our relationships, even our vacations.

 

I used to think that cruising was glamorous, sophisticated, and exciting in a way that my own life isn't. I don't think that anymore. But I do believe cruising on Holland America is good value for the money. It's a reliable and economical way of seeing the world and getting out of my own little bubble. There are still many nice features of cruising on HAL; I feel at home there. I'm grateful that in difficult economic times I still have the opportunity to go on a cruise. For me, it's icing on the cake.

[YXU AC*SE]

I've wondered this for a while so please bear with me........

 

There are some folks who are consistently negative and almost always have a negative comment re: HAL but they continue to book and cruise with them?

 

Could someone help me out here to explain why?

 

If one's list of dissatisfactions is so high they feel the need to keep telling those of us who love HAL what is consistently wrong on their cruises....... why in the world do they spend their money and vacation time returning again and again? If they almost never have something to praise or compliment, why keep booking HAL cruises?

 

Thanks.

 

(Don't misunderstand - I'm not saying they don't have the right to say what they wish as, of course, they do. Nor am I saying they don't have the right to dislike whatever they wish.)

 

+1. I might add, it seems oddly contradictory that the most strident of these voices often are the same posters that have two or three (or more) upcoming HAL cruises listed in their footers.

 

Scott.

[Travelrd]

BRAVO/BRAVA to all those postings above my previous one. You are all so right!

[May4]

I've wondered this for a while so please bear with me........

 

There are some folks who are consistently negative and almost always have a negative comment re: HAL but they continue to book and cruise with them?

 

Could someone help me out here to explain why?

 

 

I'm somewhat perplexed by that as well. Furthermore, I wonder why a few pax - very few I'm happy to say - want to engage me in an "isn't this just awful!" conversation while on board. I NEVER find this to be fun, and try to disengage as quickly and as politely as I can. Sometimes the complainer seems absolutely taken aback that I won't join in the gripe session.

 

 

On a terrific Voyage of the Vikings trip one summer, there was non-stop complaining about the $10 daily charge which had just been instituted. The cruise director, Susan Wood, had answered many, many questions about it for weeks. Finally in apparent exasperation she asked, "Is anybody enjoying anything on this cruise?"

[lovebug33]

There are people that are going to complain no matter what. We have friends who complain about everything on every cruise they ever go on. They've only cruised on one line, but I don't think it would matter what line they sailed on. They would still complain. A lot of it is that they are always looking for some sort of OBC so that they can have a cheaper cruise. These are the type of people who not only complain about a cruise, they complain about everything in life. I don't think they would know how to exist without complaining!

[ewynn07]

Some people say...their glass is half full...others say their glass is half empty...our glass is FULL and never spill a drop. Love them cruises!!!

[catl331]

#1 Never had a bad time on HAL or complaints. #2 Because of Cruise Critic, I am addicted. Oh well!

[hal lover]

I for one have always been satisfied with HAL. I have been on RCCL 4 times. Go with RCCL and you will never complain about a HAL cruise again! HAL for me is a homey feeling. Small enough ships to see familar faces now and then and of course the service is excellent! Whatever small cutbacks or others complaints are, I will ALWAYS be a fan of HAL, especially the Maasdam!;) It's funny-I have a friend who when I tell her I am cruising HAL again, she says let me guess, the Maasdam.

[Mary Ellen]

I see people expressing their opinions - good and bad. I haven't seen whining about poor cruises, only whining about others whining. When that gets too bad, I find the "Ignore" feature is my friend. :D

[LVSue]

HAL is "just right" with us - not too fancy, not too common, not too expensive, etc. We feel "at home" on HAL.

 

Boy! That's it in a nutshell. I have no idea why folks who don't feel that way continue to cruise on HAL. Wish there were a "negative" alert so I could avoid their posts altogether.

[GmaPajama]

I'm always fascinated with the number of hits a complaint thread gets, compared to a praise thread. Maybe people just don't find much interesting in those of us who are perfectly satisfied.

[Copper10-8]

A woman was at her hairdresser's getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her husband. She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded:

 

"Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's crowded and dirty. You're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?"

 

"We're taking Continental," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"

 

"Continental?" exclaimed the hairdresser." That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late.

 

So, where are you staying in Rome?"

 

"We'll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome's Tiber River called Teste."

 

"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks its gonna be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump, the worst hotel in the city! The rooms are small, the service is surly, and they're overpriced.

 

So, whatcha' doing when you get there?"

 

"We're going to go to see the Vatican and we hope to see the Pope."

 

"That's rich," laughed the hairdresser. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."

 

A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo. The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome.

 

"It was wonderful," explained the woman, "not only were we on time in one of Continental's brand new planes, but it was overbooked, and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot.

And the hotel was great! They'd just finished a $5 million remodeling job, and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their owner's suite at no extra charge!"

 

"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "that's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."

 

"Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder, and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors, and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me."

 

"Oh, really! What'd he say?"

 

He said, "Where'd you get the ugly hairdo?"

[pipedreams62]

I think the answer is "Chronic Malcontents" complaining about HAL is only the start.

 

These people spend their whole day complaining. On land they go for coffee in the morning and complain. They go to a department store and complain. They pick up their dry cleaning and complain. That's all they know. If there was nothing to complain about, how would they function?

 

another head scratcher is "HAL Cheerleaders"

 

This is a HAL message board,full of people that are fond of HAL and cruising on their ships.Naturally you'd have cheerleaders DUH

 

A San Diego Chargers Board You'd Have Chargers Cheerleaders

 

A Boston Red Sox Board,you'd have Red Sox Cheerleaders

 

A Detroit Red Wings Board You'd have Red Wings Cheerleaders

 

Just fill in any team for that particuliar board and you'll have cheerleaders.

 

and that's a good thing

[hoopman]

Heading for the Oosterdam Mediterranean on July 30. Not a negative thought in my mind.

[innlady1]

That's the best I've read in a long time, John....I'm going to have to print out your post!:D

[ger_77]

"Where'd you get the ugly hairdo?"

 

Good one, John!

 

We've had people ask us why we would want to go to a place like Bulgaria - it's dirty, full of gypsies, pickpockets and there's nothing to do. When asked if they've ever been there, the answer was "No, but I've heard. . . "; have they ever cruised? "No, but I've read . . ." Have you ever been to the Black Sea? "No, but I've seen on . . ." Sorry, I just don't have time for the likes of them; life's too short. We want to experience places, people, and things that we wouldn't normally see at home, and to paraphrase Jim Vrhovac, we want to see the cheque to the funeral home bounce like a rubber ball. :D

 

I've always been of the mind that if you can't bring perfection to the table, don't expect it to be served to you. I make gaffes on a daily basis - some big, some small; why would I expect everything to be perfect all around me? It wouldn't fit!

 

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

[MightyQuinn]

Honest opinions about HAL should be welcome here - good, bad or indifferent. They are valid reflections of personal experiences & preferences. But there are opinions expressed here that are extreme on either end - hyper-positive or hyper-negative. Readers need to make their own decisions about such info. I simply edit out.

 

Now here’s our opinion. We consider ourselves loyal HAL customers. We’ve sailed HAL exclusively since 1992 and never gave a second thought to other cruiselines. For us, it was always HAL. Over the last year, we noticed some changes in HAL that prompted us to cast our eyes elsewhere. We've decided to give Oceania a try later this year. This doesn’t mean we’re going to the dark side or won’t sail HAL again! In fact, we’re as excited about our upcoming Oceania cruise as we are in planning another HAL cruise for 2010. For us, it’s not a zero-sum game. ;);)

[kyriecat]

I like to cruise because I like to wake up to a new place every day without having to unpack. I like not having to figure out where to go for dinner each night. I also like having someone else clean up for a couple weeks.

 

I haven't decided if HAL is the right fit for me. I really like their itineraries, which is why I booked my previous cruise with them. I would like to try HAL again because I like Zuiderdam's PC cruise itinerary for next spring, but hubby isn't quite as willing to give them another go yet. Normally we like more activities than HAL provides (RC is our normal cruise experience) but have been unhappy with the service declines in RC over the last 2-3 years. The service on HAL was definitely better than RC's current level but, for waiters at least, not what RC was 4-5 years ago. I guess no cruiseline is. Our cabin steward was fanstastic though.

 

Hubby and I had one of those infamous problem cabins on Maasdam (no AC, no hot water, and wet carpet from a water leak). We'd had a rough few months early in the year and needed a relaxing cruise so the lack of activities on HAL wasn't really a problem this trip. Plus we were on an itinerary with only 3 sea days out of 14. However, the lack of AC made the cabin extremely warm (80+ deg F) which makes hubby very cranky (me too). If we didn't have the balcony to get some relief, I think I would have gone crazy. Also, it's a good thing HAL loungers are comfortable - I slept on the balcony a few nights because it was too hot to sleep inside without the fan and too noisy to sleep with it running. Going from a hot cabin to an icy shower first thing in the morning also doesn't go over well. The wet spot on the carpet I could live with and our cabin steward put towels over it a couple times a day.

 

Hubby is starting to mellow since it's been 3 months. I asked him the other day about trying another HAL cruise on a newer ship. Instead of H*LL NO, my answer this time was he'd think about it since he also likes the itinerary. Maybe in another 3 months the answer will be yes. Maybe Zuiderdam would be a better fit for us.

[bobpatj]

Two more Happy HAL Cruisers! :) We don't expect everything every day to be perfect, but WOW, all the wonderful places HAL ships have sailed us to since 2001!