Why HAL?

Some friends were surprised when I told them my world voyage was going to be on Holland America (HAL) rather than Cunard.  After all, I had a wonderful time on my Cunard world voyage, loved the dressing up in the evening, the British ambience on board, and of course, my balcony.  So why did I switch to Holland America for this cruise?  There were a number of factors which influenced my decision.

In my first blog I explained how I ended up deciding to cruise on Cunard.  My first choice had been HAL but the balconies were almost $30,000 more than on Cunard (which put them way out of my price range).  For this world voyage I decided I was fine with an oceanview cabin.

For a number of years I have been reading blogs by world cruisers on HAL.  After taking three cruises on Holland America, I knew that I would enjoy a world cruise with them.  Although I don’t think you get quite as good a mix of nationalities on HAL that you get on Cunard, there always seems to be many Canadians (more than I have seen on Cunard) along with a few other nationalities.

The world voyage begins and ends in Fort Lauderdale which is very easy (and fast) to get to from home.  Jetblue has two non-stop flights a day between Richmond and FLL and they take about two hours.

I had heard many good things about a travel agency in Seattle called Cruise Specialists.  They give a number of perks for world cruisers that AAA (former travel agency) do not – on my first world cruise AAA gave me $200 onboard credit and a bottle of wine.  I asked some people I met onboard HAL if they used Cruise Specialists and how they liked them.  Heard only positive comments and was given the name of a specific agent who came highly recommended.  Cruise Specialists provide the following for HAL world cruises.

·      $200 OBC or $200 off the excursions they offer (which usually are a little cheaper and with smaller groups than the ones HAL sponsors)

·      Pre-cruise hotel overnight stay

·      A special cocktail party and dinner the night before the cruise

·      Transportation from the airport to the hotel and the hotel to the ship

·      A windbreaker and choice of a tote bag or small messenger bag

·      A voyage host (or hosts)

·      Private onboard events and gatherings

·      (Saved the best for last) a 6% discount on the cost of the cruise (minus taxes and fees, of course)

Holland America also gives perks for certain categories of cabins and for booking by June of the year before the cruise.  These include the following:

·      Fed Ex pick up of two suitcases to be delivered to the ship and returned to home afterwards

·      OBC based on category of cabin (I get $350 + $150 for booking shortly after my last cruise)

·      Pre-paid gratuities (a savings of about $1400)

·      A 3% discount on the cost of the cruise (minus taxes and fees again) if paid in full before June 1, 2017

Guests in suites get even more benefits.

Due to missing ports and changed itinerary, HAL gave everyone on the 2016 South Pacific cruise a 12% credit of the cost of that cruise to be used on a future cruise.  For me, that was just over $1000 and helped to bring down the cost of the world cruise.

As of now, I think the thing I will miss the most about Cunard is the dress code.  I really do like “dressing” for dinner and especially the formal nights.  HAL has watered down formal nights to “Gala Nights” where there are a few more restrictions in the main dining room but formal wear is optional.  I have read that the people on the world cruise tend to be dressier than on shorter voyages.  I still plan on taking my formal wear (a few less items than on Cunard) and enjoying “dressing up” in the evenings.

Stay tuned to find out how HAL stacks up against Cunard!

Smooth sailing until next time!