Gary, I love your videos! My partner and I love to cruise but we prefer a much more traditional style that you tend to get on the ultra luxury ships. We are in our 20's with a young daughter and we travelled on Azamara last year but it definitely wasn't the right ship to take such a young child on! Nice to see that there is an ultra luxury ship that caters to the family market, going to check it out. We are travelling with P&O in November but I haven't sailed with them since I was 8 or 9 years old and I think things may have changed a bit! Hopefully it will be a better option for our little girl though! - I'd love to see a video of yours that features P&O so I can have an idea of what to expect nowadays! :)
As someone who speaks passable German, as well as my first language English I would find one of these cruises as an interesting affair! I mean I would find any cruise that lasts more than 3 days an interesting one ha! Don't get me wrong, the Hull to Amsterdam dash is a good time, but as that is far as my budget stretches I will continue to live vicariously through videos like these lol I continue to enjoy your informative breakdowns Gary thanks for the continued hard work of travelling around the world... on these... cruises? Wait a minute... Very much jealous hah. There are certainly more leisure cruise companies in the world than I was aware of beyond the massive few. I bet each one has a distinct ethos/atmosphere to them and what makes them stand out? Out of the all the vids I have watched on your channel Hapag-Lloyd catches my interest a bit more than some of the others.
I am somewhat surprised that you did not care so much about the food. We have been on many ships and cruise lines, some of them claiming they have the best food. Well, they might have excellent food, but they are not in the same class as the food on the Hanseatic ships. We have been on the Europa 2, the inspiration, and the nature. They all had the best food overall of all the cruise lines we have been on, and that includes the "luxury" cruise lines. What sets the Hanseatic ships apart is not only the food quality but also the food presentation. We eat also with our eyes! And that includes everything, from appetizers to desserts, from breakfast buffet to dinner. We had the best desserts on these ships ever! Aside from the food, I fully agree with your evaluation. The ships are "nüchtern" = bland. But they have furniture details we have not seen anywhere else: e.g. the integrated refrigerator that works as drawer. Excellent idea. What we definitely did not like is the overcomplicated main light switch.
A rather less expensive cruise option request for Gary - I love his reports, how about more on cruises with Marella, CMV, Fred Olsen, P&O etc. By the way, the only one I haven't tried on that list is Fred Osen.
Thanks, as an example we are off to the far east with Marella - the cruise line formerly known as Thomson. We will visit Bangkok, Singapore, Penang, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Cambodia, Vietnam plus a few less known resorts. By any measure that is a superb cruise. The proof is in the pudding. I will let you know about it if that is of use to you.
An excellent review. I would add two comments: With regard to the non inclusion of alcoholic drinks, admittedly my last cruise on the Europa 2 was two years ago, I found the selection of wines and spirits to be both very extensive, and reasonably priced, and there was no service charge. As one myself, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' policy towards solo travellers is extremely discouraging in that for any given cruise only 4-6 staterooms will be released for solo occupancy. It is very frustrating to see on a cruise plenty of availability for double occupancy but none for solos.
Thanks. Good issue on solo travellers. many lines are starting to bring in single cabins on their new ships to cater better for this important market. Hopefully Hapag Lloyd will !
Hapag is simply the best there is. Their ships are old, yet for decades they keep the top spot. Getting a cabin at all is difficult and paying for it even more, but once you‘re on board you are truly a guest.
Nice cruise line. I’m to boring an probably stay with Celebrity cruises. They leave from Bayone New Jersey an is only 40 minutes from my home. I do however look forward to your videos, excellent work, if this called work.
I started researching the idea of creating a TH-cam channel and made/edited a couple of experimental videos...I think it's reasonable to call this work! On the other hand, I can think of less enjoyable ways to make a buck so there is that upside to it :-)
It is going to be interesting to see how Hapag-Lloyd reacts to Ritz-Carlton coming on line, from what I have seen Ritz will have a similar price point, will this force HL to lower their fares, or go truly all inclusive ? Only time will tell. One thing in their favor, we were looking at booking 7 cabins on Viking Ocean for a family trip, right before we booked they changed the policy regarding under 18's, of course we happen to have someone who will be just shy of 18 at the time of the cruise, so Viking is out, for some reason I didn't even think about HL, I will have to do some research now.
i don’t think i would like it, i do not like german food, there would be more smoking, i.e on balconies and shore excursions. two languages over the speaker. Too formal. The ships look nice though.
Well Gary you have disappointed me this time. This ship has been elevated by Berlitz and you sounded star struck. As I told you before I have had 2 trips on board and found the ship/company to have some weaknesses. You have basically ignored your personal findings and published a verbal company brochure reading. English speakers could find they are in a very small minority, it varies cruise to cruise. What about embarking and disembarking ? I found Hapag Lloyd poor at that. At the end of my last cruise with them they did not have a berth, we and bags were tendered off. What about the numbers of smokers you can get on a German ship, I had smokers on both balconies next to mine and at the open air Sansi bar deck. Being a small ship I found entertainment a shade random,poor film and TV in cabin (no BBC nor USA), the jazz bar (Club2) not always in use. What about all the food, I found many sides to German cooking less interesting than I hoped, those pathetic scones! What about room service, don't you find it poor to have to call reception and give your room number just to order very ordinary delivered food. What about when you return to the ship and have missed the restaurant meal time, I found little worth eating at Yacht Club Grill. I found the cabin walls thin and not sound proof enough. Thick robes in the tropics. Double bed made up from singles, and what about the bedside light switches I and others had warned you about. The VERY slow WiFi. Spaces are not often air conditioned enough for non Germans who like warmth. Some passengers, obviously top suite people were clearly well looked after even tables reserved on deck for the buffet so no true equality even at this price. Restaurants needing to be booked ahead. Spa nudity.... I think the large number young German crew members and their service level worthy of high praise. So many things other than perfection you could have mentioned, but I suppose these companies and free trips are your living.
As a smoker I find it interesting that they allow smoking on the balconies. All other cruise lines have stopped that. If this line is more smoker friendly I would love it.
I've sailed with H-L multiple times and most Americans would hate it. He uses the word 'slightly' a lot and wow, that's an understatement. The biggest difference is the culture of the passengers, for example, German guys going on shore excursions wearing jacket and tie ...
Gary, I love your videos! My partner and I love to cruise but we prefer a much more traditional style that you tend to get on the ultra luxury ships. We are in our 20's with a young daughter and we travelled on Azamara last year but it definitely wasn't the right ship to take such a young child on! Nice to see that there is an ultra luxury ship that caters to the family market, going to check it out. We are travelling with P&O in November but I haven't sailed with them since I was 8 or 9 years old and I think things may have changed a bit! Hopefully it will be a better option for our little girl though!
- I'd love to see a video of yours that features P&O so I can have an idea of what to expect nowadays! :)
As someone who speaks passable German, as well as my first language English I would find one of these cruises as an interesting affair! I mean I would find any cruise that lasts more than 3 days an interesting one ha! Don't get me wrong, the Hull to Amsterdam dash is a good time, but as that is far as my budget stretches I will continue to live vicariously through videos like these lol
I continue to enjoy your informative breakdowns Gary thanks for the continued hard work of travelling around the world... on these... cruises? Wait a minute... Very much jealous hah.
There are certainly more leisure cruise companies in the world than I was aware of beyond the massive few. I bet each one has a distinct ethos/atmosphere to them and what makes them stand out? Out of the all the vids I have watched on your channel Hapag-Lloyd catches my interest a bit more than some of the others.
I am somewhat surprised that you did not care so much about the food. We have been on many ships and cruise lines, some of them claiming they have the best food. Well, they might have excellent food, but they are not in the same class as the food on the Hanseatic ships. We have been on the Europa 2, the inspiration, and the nature. They all had the best food overall of all the cruise lines we have been on, and that includes the "luxury" cruise lines.
What sets the Hanseatic ships apart is not only the food quality but also the food presentation. We eat also with our eyes!
And that includes everything, from appetizers to desserts, from breakfast buffet to dinner. We had the best desserts on these ships ever!
Aside from the food, I fully agree with your evaluation. The ships are "nüchtern" = bland. But they have furniture details we have not seen anywhere else: e.g. the integrated refrigerator that works as drawer. Excellent idea.
What we definitely did not like is the overcomplicated main light switch.
A rather less expensive cruise option request for Gary - I love his reports, how about more on cruises with Marella, CMV, Fred Olsen, P&O etc. By the way, the only one I haven't tried on that list is Fred Osen.
They are on my list. I’ve got videos about Fred Olsen and looking at trying to do the others next year! Thanks for the tips !
Thanks, as an example we are off to the far east with Marella - the cruise line formerly known as Thomson. We will visit Bangkok, Singapore, Penang, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Cambodia, Vietnam plus a few less known resorts. By any measure that is a superb cruise. The proof is in the pudding. I will let you know about it if that is of use to you.
Have a great time. Yes, please keep me posted on how it goes!!!
Thanks, Gary. I appreciate your complete reporting!
Thanks. Great to hear!
I like those tshirts, I’m order some one of these days
An excellent review.
I would add two comments:
With regard to the non inclusion of alcoholic drinks, admittedly my last cruise on the Europa 2 was two years ago, I found the selection of wines and spirits to be both very extensive, and reasonably priced, and there was no service charge.
As one myself, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' policy towards solo travellers is extremely discouraging in that for any given cruise only 4-6 staterooms will be released for solo occupancy.
It is very frustrating to see on a cruise plenty of availability for double occupancy but none for solos.
Thanks. Good issue on solo travellers. many lines are starting to bring in single cabins on their new ships to cater better for this important market. Hopefully Hapag Lloyd will !
On my list. Looks like a beautiful experience
Awesome! Good to hear!
Awesome. I may have to check this one out!
Great! Hope you like what you find out
Hapag is simply the best there is. Their ships are old, yet for decades they keep the top spot. Getting a cabin at all is difficult and paying for it even more, but once you‘re on board you are truly a guest.
The mentioned Europa 2 was commissioned in 2013. Hanseatic Inspiration was commissioned in 2019. Not what I'd consider "old".
Thanks for the great info
Nice cruise line. I’m to boring an probably stay with Celebrity cruises. They leave from Bayone New Jersey an is only 40 minutes from my home. I do however look forward to your videos, excellent work, if this called work.
I started researching the idea of creating a TH-cam channel and made/edited a couple of experimental videos...I think it's reasonable to call this work! On the other hand, I can think of less enjoyable ways to make a buck so there is that upside to it :-)
It is going to be interesting to see how Hapag-Lloyd reacts to Ritz-Carlton coming on line, from what I have seen Ritz will have a similar price point, will this force HL to lower their fares, or go truly all inclusive ? Only time will tell. One thing in their favor, we were looking at booking 7 cabins on Viking Ocean for a family trip, right before we booked they changed the policy regarding under 18's, of course we happen to have someone who will be just shy of 18 at the time of the cruise, so Viking is out, for some reason I didn't even think about HL, I will have to do some research now.
Good point. Sorry about the Viking change affecting you. Hopefully H-L works out.
Have you done an update on this line?
Yes, it is out this week actually!
i don’t think i would like it, i do not like german food, there would be more smoking, i.e on balconies and shore excursions. two languages over the speaker. Too formal. The ships look nice though.
Well Gary you have disappointed me this time. This ship has been elevated by Berlitz and you sounded star struck.
As I told you before I have had 2 trips on board and found the ship/company to have some weaknesses.
You have basically ignored your personal findings and published a verbal company brochure reading.
English speakers could find they are in a very small minority, it varies cruise to cruise.
What about embarking and disembarking ? I found Hapag Lloyd poor at that. At the end of my last cruise with them they did not have a berth, we and bags were tendered off.
What about the numbers of smokers you can get on a German ship, I had smokers on both balconies next to mine and at the open air Sansi bar deck.
Being a small ship I found entertainment a shade random,poor film and TV in cabin (no BBC nor USA), the jazz bar (Club2) not always in use.
What about all the food, I found many sides to German cooking less interesting than I hoped, those pathetic scones!
What about room service, don't you find it poor to have to call reception and give your room number just to order very ordinary delivered food.
What about when you return to the ship and have missed the restaurant meal time, I found little worth eating at Yacht Club Grill.
I found the cabin walls thin and not sound proof enough. Thick robes in the tropics. Double bed made up from singles, and what about the bedside light switches I and others had warned you about.
The VERY slow WiFi. Spaces are not often air conditioned enough for non Germans who like warmth.
Some passengers, obviously top suite people were clearly well looked after even tables reserved on deck for the buffet so no true equality even at this price.
Restaurants needing to be booked ahead.
Spa nudity....
I think the large number young German crew members and their service level worthy of high praise.
So many things other than perfection you could have mentioned, but I suppose these companies and free trips are your living.
As a smoker I find it interesting that they allow smoking on the balconies. All other cruise lines have stopped that. If this line is more smoker friendly I would love it.
I've sailed with H-L multiple times and most Americans would hate it. He uses the word 'slightly' a lot and wow, that's an understatement. The biggest difference is the culture of the passengers, for example, German guys going on shore excursions wearing jacket and tie ...
Peter PeterM i have been a
on several cruises and always the double/queen/king beds were two singles.
@@RayJorg If most Americans would hate it then it's probably the one for me. - lol
@@paullewis2413 Yes, exactly the same for me.