HAL - General Thoughts?

[dv70]

I recently received an unpleasant email from Celebrity informing me of the cancellation of our February 2022 Summit sailing out of San Juan. Unfortunate, especially since I had just a few weeks prior Lift & Shifted to that sailing from a similar early 2021 sailing. Having now used my Lift & Shift, I find myself without a cruise at all...

Thus began the search for a suitable replacement. We have some experience with Royal, having sailed 4 times with them, but were looking for something new and different, and a bit more upmarket. Thus the interest in Celebrity. The search has led to a possible good fit with Holland America on the new Rotterdam out of Fort Lauderdale. I have read (and fully enjoyed!) Billy's review of his Nieuw Stantendam sailing - and was looking for any more information about HAL in general: impressions, must-do's, things to know, what to expect, etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KathyC]

@CruiseHabit Bill  is an experienced HAL cruiser!  Did you search through the site for any of his trip reports?  

[karl_nj]

I haven't sailed on HAL yet, but I would totally be "on board" with checking it out if the itinerary and dates worked out for me.

All things being equal, I think my travel agent would steer me more towards Princess over HAL if I was traveling with my kids.  But if there aren't any children that will be traveling with you, I wouldn't have any concerns about booking it.

I would encourage everyone to try out other cruise lines, and not just stick with one brand.  It's fun to see the little differences.

[JLMoran]

On 12/23/2020 at 9:34 AM, karl_nj said:

All things being equal, I think my travel agent would steer me more towards Princess over HAL if I was traveling with my kids.  But if there aren't any children that will be traveling with you, I wouldn't have any concerns about booking it.

 

My TA advised the same to me when I booked our 2022 sailing to the Mediterranean. I was looking at all of the lines, and had mentioned to her that I wanted to see what HAL had given the typically nice itineraries they seem to offer, plus the large number of music venues on board (at least with some of the more recent ships) that would appeal to us. She said even with those, and our kids both being adults by the time we sail, they'd prefer Princess over HAL.

That said, if this is a Caribbean itinerary you're looking to replace, my TA also said that if she was doing a Caribbean sailing that Princess would be far from top of her list for first choice of cruise line; but no comment about HAL for that kind of trip. Seemed that was purely based on itinerary options and on-board activities & amenities for the numerous sea days when compared with other lines. Billy had good things to say about HAL on his Caribbean sailing, so I'd still keep them in the running here.

[dv70]

Thanks for the comments / feedback - it is appreciated! 

We decided to go ahead and book with Princess. We found a reasonably good deal on an aft balcony on the Sky in January 2022 (hopefully...).

 

Thanks again

 

--Dave

[CruiseHabit Bill]

I should probably fix my notifications, eh?  I just noticed this now.  Apologies @dv70

We were booked on Sky Princess for late March of last year - so that's one we hope to make up this year ?

To me, the standout thing about HAL is their musical entertainment.  Lido Market food is great quality, and overall I have no big complaints, but music is the one thing that stands out more than any other.  Princess, well, it's the only major line we've not yet sailed - so we'll see if you get to post a review before we do.  Report back!

[dv70]

Thanks Billy! Will do for sure, assuming we get to go...