Anyone cruised DCL and HAL?

[my3kids]

For the next two spring breaks, the Magic is sailing the eastern route, which we have already done. HAL Zaandam , also out of Port Canaveral, is sailing its western route the designated week in 2004. Has anyone sailed HAL to compare it to DCL for me? I recognize the difference will likely be 100 children on board vs. 1000, and the programming will be a bit more limited for the kids. So, I guess I'm interested in if anyone has used their children's program and just how limited it is. How do the staterooms campare? Meals, pools, beauty of the ship, etc...

Thanks for any information you can provide.

 

[DisneyGator01]

I did a HAL cruise, but in Alaska and it was a great cruise Ship was nice, well kept and good service, and the food good as well. I still prefer DCL for cruising overall, but Alaska was amazing and I would love to go back.

I don't have children, but I hardly saw any--but I don't think Alaskan cruises draw families, so I can't really answer most of your questions. Holland America is probably the cruise line I would sail again, if I had to pick a non-DCL cruise--they have good iteneraries and I enjoyed it a lot more then my RCCL or Carnival cruises.

 

[totallytigger]

I sailed on HAL with my then 7yo DD about 2 1/2 yrs ago. There was only 1 other child in the kids program on that cruise(eastern) and luckily it was a girl about 9 yrs old. The two of them had a great time because they were the absolute center of attention with the whole crew but the children's facilities were very lacking.

My DM and 23yo DD went on another HAL cruise this past May(western) and reported that there were many more children on that cruise. They sailed on one of the newer ships. Perhaps HAL realized that they needed to upgrade their children's program in order to attract more families.

Bottom line is that HAL is a top notch cruiseline and with their no tipping policy you can save a few hundred $$$ on that alone.

Depending on the age of the children, I would definitly consider cruising with HAL to the Western.

 

[KathyTX]

We've cruised DCL twice, and HAL's Zuiderdam in the Western Caribbean this summer.

There were a fair number of kids on HAL, but nowhere near as many as on DCL. The ones we spoke with were enjoying the kids' program, but we had no first hand experience with it (DS chose to spend time with Grandma instead of cruising.)

We had a beautiful little suite and concierge service- and the price was less (a lot less) than a category 6 would have been on Disney.

Food- wonderful. Entertainment- I thought it was on par with Disney, although not aimed so much toward the kids.

Wait Staff- mostly Filipino. Very polite and courteous, but not as playful as on DCL.

There was a more relaxed ambience on HAL, more nightlife, a gorgeous dining room, a terrific alternate restaurant (on a scale with PALO- impeccable service and exemplary food.)

All for a lot less $$.

I do want to comment on HAL's "no tipping" policy mentioned by another poster: HAL's policy actually "no tipping REQUIRED". They do not add the tips to your account, and they do not publish any recommend tip rates. This does not mean that you should not tip- only that the tip is between you and your servers. PLEASE, for the sake of all those you serve you during your cruise, tip your servers appropriately!

I would not hesitate to cruise HAL again- at least on one of these newer ships.

 

[jlawall]

I've sailed on both and HAL is a nice line. I doubt if the rooms compare (DCL is so spacious compared to most lines.) I thought the food on HAL was excellent. I would go by the itinerary options.

 

[Toxicesq]

It's not just that there are fewer kids on HAL, it's also that the cruisers in general seem to be older. Not just older than DCL cruisers, but other lines as well. We took two 11 year olds on a HAL Alaska cruise a few years ago, and they were one of a mere handful of kids/teenagers aboard. The only other kid their age was the grandchild of the dialysis nurse on board for some of the passengers. And this was a summer, vacationtime cruise.

Last Christmas week, we took these same kids, now 17, on a HAL Panama Canal cruise. While there were more kids and teens on board this one than the Alaska cruise, in general there were also many, many senior citizens. Many more than I've noticed on other lines. It seemed to us that as a result of that, HAL programmed adult activities with an eye toward the older crowd. For example, one of the after dnner activities on several nights was a sing along of (very old) oldies. The adults in our party were in their 50's -- but we were the "kids" of the adult generation. I'd say that a large percentage were a good 15-20 years older than that. Scooters and walkers abounded.

I hope that this doesn't sound age-ist. I don't mean it to be. I'm just trying to convey our impressions that the HAL passengers, as a whole (at least on the two most recent HAL cruises we've done) are a more subdued, sedate group, and that the activities were geared in large part toward that crowd.

 

[my3kids]

Oh my...a sing-a-long! My husband would just die!

Thank you all for your responses! It does sound like a lovely line, but maybe not the most fun for kids during the school year. We take our children along to nice hotels and resorts that aren't particularly geared towards children and we always have a good time together even in the adult setting. It would probably be fine, but there also might be better options for fun for everyone.

Thank you all so much. We do love food, fresh flowers, elegant surroundings, but they just might like a water slide too!

 

[KathyTX]

Originally posted by Toxicesq
It's not just that there are fewer kids on HAL, it's also that the cruisers in general seem to be older. Not just older than DCL cruisers, but other lines as well. We took two 11 year olds on a HAL Alaska cruise a few years ago, and they were one of a mere handful of kids/teenagers aboard. The only other kid their age was the grandchild of the dialysis nurse on board for some of the passengers. And this was a summer, vacationtime cruise.

Last Christmas week, we took these same kids, now 17, on a HAL Panama Canal cruise. While there were more kids and teens on board this one than the Alaska cruise, in general there were also many, many senior citizens. Many more than I've noticed on other lines. It seemed to us that as a result of that, HAL programmed adult activities with an eye toward the older crowd. For example, one of the after dnner activities on several nights was a sing along of (very old) oldies. The adults in our party were in their 50's -- but we were the "kids" of the adult generation. I'd say that a large percentage were a good 15-20 years older than that. Scooters and walkers abounded.

I hope that this doesn't sound age-ist. I don't mean it to be. I'm just trying to convey our impressions that the HAL passengers, as a whole (at least on the two most recent HAL cruises we've done) are a more subdued, sedate group, and that the activities were geared in large part toward that crowd.

I agree that the HAL demographic in general, and on the Alaska itineraries in particular, is older.

However, the newer and much larger Zuiderdam and Zaandam are drawing a different crowd. More of the RCCL, Princess, and NCL Caribbean crowd. I think you'll see lots more kids on these two ships than on any other HAL ships.

And I've found that the older, traditional, loyal HAL cruisers don't care for these new ships. Just more evidence that they truly are different from the rest of their fleet.