Celebrity or Holland America?

I'm planning a transatlantic cruise for next March or April. I've kinda narrowed it down to either....

1) Celebrity FLA to Rome 4/22 16 Nights on Reflection

or

2) HAL FLA to Rome 3/30 14 Days on Westerdam

Any thoughts on which line/ship offers the best experience for days at sea? Prices are roughly the same for a verandah suite.

For us, after taking a couple of HAL cruises, we won't cruise them again for a few reasons. First, HAL has a more liberal smoking policy. We find the public areas on HAL ships to be dark, and not welcoming. The food in the MDR is Ok, but the buffet leaves a lot to be desired. HAL ships seem to close up at night even earlier than on Celebrity.

You really should look at Oceania.

Best varies by person.

For us we prefer Celebrity over Holland but you will find other who say just the reverse.

I would do some reading about each cruise line and ship.

I also recommend ordering a copy of the Ocean Cruising Book written by Douglas Ward and published by Berlitz. It is terrific as part of ones research.

https://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-Cruising-Cruise-Ships-Guide/dp/1780048319/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469354870&sr=8-1&keywords=Douglas+Ward

Keith

I think Keith is quite right, some would prefer Celebrity, some would prefer HAL. Both lines are fine to sail with. It really depends on what is important to you. Some like HAL's smoking policy, some hate it. Service is similar on both, food does not vary all that much from one line to another. Food is always subjective. One poster thought HAL's buffet was not that good. I prefer HAL's over Celebrity, both are fine, I just liked the more options and diversity of items over a longer cruise. On entertainment both are similar in my opinion as neither one is that outstanding.

On a longer cruise such as a TA, I read a lot, so HAL's libraries are a plus, as Celebrity's libraries leave a lot to be desired. The Reflection is a larger ship than the Westerdam and does have more amenities available.

I don't think you would go wrong on either ship, but as Keith has mentioned, it would probably be best for you to do some research and see which line offers the things that are more important to you. Good Luck.

The food is comparable on both, I believe the service on HAL is much better, the free heated pool on Celebrity is a real plus, I do not like breathing other people's smoke ( but have noticed it too much on HAL), I like traditional ship design so I appreciate HAL's teak promenade and brass and wood interiors and maritime inspired art - while deploring Celebrity's warehouse appearance - especially on the promenade deck. HAL's classic dark blue hull certainly beats the slanted blue - white design and hideous stack (still, those are more seen by others rather than by those on board -- and are not as awful as the rediculous hull paintings on NCL - which always make me hope that no one l know will see me boarding or debarking.

All in all:

I prefer HAL, but find Celebrity a very close second.

I can't answer your question about better onboard experience in a veranda suite, but I would take the Celebrity cruise for the two extra days and more ports.

Westerdam:

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART

Thu Mar 30 Fort Lauderdale, FL 4:00pm

Fri Mar 31 At Sea

Sat Apr 1 At Sea

Sun Apr 2 At Sea

Mon Apr 3 At Sea

Tue Apr 4 At Sea

Wed Apr 5 At Sea

Thu Apr 6 At Sea

Fri Apr 7 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal Noon 11:00pm

Sat Apr 8 At Sea

Sun Apr 9 Cadiz, Spain 9:00am 7:00pm

Mon Apr 10 Malaga, Spain 8:00am 6:00pm

Tue Apr 11 Cartagena, Spain 8:00am 3:00pm

Wed Apr 12 At Sea

Thu Apr 13 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 6:00am

Reflection:

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART

Sat Apr 22 Miami, FL 5:00pm

Sun Apr 23 At Sea

Mon Apr 24 At Sea

Tue Apr 25 At Sea

Wed Apr 26 At Sea

Thu Apr 27 At Sea

Fri Apr 28 At Sea

Sat Apr 29 At Sea

Sun Apr 30 Tenerife, Canary Islands 8:00am 4:00pm

Mon May 1 At Sea

Tue May 2 Malaga, Spain 10:00am 8:00pm

Wed May 3 Cartagena, Spain 8:00am 5:00pm

Thu May 4 Barcelona, Spain 9:00am

Fri May 5 Barcelona, Spain 4:00pm

Sat May 6 Nice (Villefranche), France 9:00am 7:00pm

Sun May 7 Florence / Pisa (Livorno), Italy 7:00am 7:00pm

Mon May 8 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00am

Did the Reflection 16 this Spring. Especially nice itin with extra stops.. Will book it again for 17.Now my favorite X ship.

Good point -- the Celebrity itinerary seems to offer more.

In my experience, Celebrity has a few more onboard activities during sea days than HAL. (Although to be fair I have not been on a TA and I have heard that HAL does have a bit more planned on sea days on those...)

I go with the "Reflection", but ONLY because you'd have 2 days in Barcelona. One of our favorite European cities that we've been to a few times, but never tire of going back. If the ports are of little or no interest to you.....tuff choice. We love both lines.

In additional to the longer itinerary, particularly the overnight at Barcelona, Celebrity offers a significant plus: sailing more than three weeks later should mean better weather - the Atlantic in early April can be pretty chilly.

Book a starboard side verandah - being on the sunny side all day will make a big difference that time of year.

One thing to bear in mind is that the Westerdam is heading to dry dock, so there may be some preparatory work going on.

We are big fans of Holland America Line but, I would choose the Celebrity Reflection which is much newer than Westerdam.

Also, the Celebrity itinerary is much more appealing particularly with an overnight stay in Barcelona, Spain and a stop in Nice, France.

Have a great cruise whichever one you pick.

Jonathan

I'm planning a transatlantic cruise for next March or April. I've kinda narrowed it down to either....

 

1) Celebrity FLA to Rome 4/22 16 Nights on Reflection

or

2) HAL FLA to Rome 3/30 14 Days on Westerdam

 

Any thoughts on which line/ship offers the best experience for days at sea? Prices are roughly the same for a verandah suite.

Definitely the Reflection. The ship is much more beautiful, entertainment is better, casino is smoke free and Celebrity doesn't allow balcony smoking.