Comparing Celebrity to HAL

My husband and I just returned from a very enjoyable 11 day Italy and Croatia cruise on the Celebrity Constellation. We are 3 Star Mariners on Holland America but chose Celebrity because we had heard many good things about Celebrity and really liked this itinerary. There are many similarities between the two cruise lines and in short, we now have two cruise lines from which to choose from. I will give you my perspective of HAL versus Celebrity.

Embark/Disembark – Organized and fairly quick on both lines. Upon entry to the Celebrity ship we were greeted by loud rock music that surprised us, but we found a quiet venue to wait for the cabins to be ready. On HAL we could have gone directly to our cabin.

Ship – The Constellation has a nice decor and well cared for. Very inviting as are the HAL ships we have been on. The ships are laid out very similarly.

Staterooms - We had an Oceanview cabin on Deck 2 on this cruise. Size and Layout of the cabin was much like similar rooms on HAL. Oceanview cabins on HAL have a smallish window above the bed. I preferred the large round window we had on Celebrity. The small settee was next to the window, so you could enjoy the view sitting on the bed or the settee. Bathroom size essentially the same and room stewards excellent on both lines. HAL beds are more comfortable than Celebrity.

Buffet – Food good on both lines, though I would give an edge to HAL for variety, fresh orange juice (had to use your beverage card for fresh squeezed on Celebrity), and number of servers around to clean tables and replenish coffee, water, etc. Overall we noticed a lack of servers in all venues on Celebrity. On HAL ships, there is always someone nearby to take an order or assist you without hovering. Pop music played rather loudly all the time in the Celebrity buffet. I would have preferred quieter, mellower music. Celebrity seating seemed less crowded than HAL, maybe due to the fact that there are other dining rooms for Aqua staterooms. I ate Eggs Benedict most every morning and on Celebrity there was just one guy prepping, cooking and serving which made for long lines. HAL generally has several servers at this station.

Dining Room – Dining Rooms nice on both lines. Food choices on Celebrity are not as varied as HAL and I believe the food on HAL is a little better. Servers are attentive on both lines.

Specialty Restaurants – Ate at both Tuscan Grille and Ocean Liners on Constellation. Food was good but price was higher on Celebrity and I don’t think the quality was any better than Pinnacle Grill or Canelletto. Odd that Tuscan Grille windows look out at a deck and railings rather than nice floor to ceiling ocean view you have at the Pinnacle.

Poolside Grill – HAL’s is much better, especially with the newer menu. HAL also has the taco bar with salads that are available throughout the day. Again, we were frustrated by lack of help at Poolside grill on Celebrity. There was just one guy taking orders and cooking, whereas HAL has a group of folks and gets the orders out quickly.

Café Bacio – (Specialty coffees) – Celebrity has the pastries/desserts and coffee options like at Explorers Lounge on HAL. However on Celebrity you can actually sit down and be waited on and coffee is served with biscotti. Very relaxing for a late morning or afternoon snack. Both lines charge for coffees but not pastries or desserts there. You can use your beverage card to pay for the specialty coffees.

Bars – In almost every bar, we had to look for a server or go place the order at the bar. Celebrity had no real drink menus to tell you what was in any of the drinks. The menus on the table listed what drinks were available for each beverage plan, but didn’t explain the drinks. We never saw a drink of the day advertised like on HAL, nor did Celebrity have any bar snacks in any of the bars we were in. The Reflections lounge (similar to HAL Crow’s Nest) was a nice place to relax during the day. There was a bar there, but only open at night, so you couldn’t get a soft drink or glass of wine while relaxing.

Activities – This is where HAL could take note of the way Celebrity does things. When you won one of the various trivia or other games, you got a signature (or maybe 2!) on a signature card that you kept throughout the cruise. At the end of the cruise you “cashed” your signatures in for Celebrity merchandise – a pen for 1 signature, caps, tote bags, lanyards, tshirts, etc for more signatures. Was so much better than playing for a silly HAL pin!! Some of the evening games were Port vs Starboard games that encouraged you to get to know some other people in order to win for your side.

Entertainment – No piano bar or Adagio Strings on Celebrity, but did have many good entertainers scattered around the ship. The guest entertainers in the Showroom were good, as are HAL’s usually. The Celebrity cast productions – singers and dancers – were, in my opinion, better on Celebrity than on HAL.

Overall – We thoroughly enjoyed our Celebrity cruise. My husband and I preferred the diversity of age groups on the Celebrity cruise – seemed to have more active seniors than “older” seniors. We also enjoyed the mix of nationalities – I don’t know whether that is due to the European cruise or the cruise line. We booked another Celebrity cruise on board and will now compare Celebrity and HAL for itinerary and price before booking.

Thanks for the review. The Constellation is a M class ship, if you have the opportunity try one of the newer S class ships as the layout of buffet, the Lawn, more specialty restaurants, cabin bathroom layout are very impressive and could tip the scale even more towards Celebrity :-).

Thanks very much for the detailed review and comparison. We have never tried HAL but most people say good things about them. We are booked on Constellation next year for Italy & Croatia. How were the ports on your cruise?

I appreciate your review and thought I would chime in. I've wanted to do a comparison for a long time. We were loyal HAL customers always traveling in a Neptune suite. For a long time, I was complaining that we were not getting enough for our money. Two years ago our TA suggested we give Celebrity a try. Since then we have completed three Celebrity cruises and have four future cruises booked. Our first two cruises were in a concierge level, our last was in a celebrity suite. In January after just four cruises we will be elite status. After over 100 days on HAL we received no special benefits. Not even a drink for being in a suite. The benefits for a suite class on Celebrity are amazing. Special dinning room for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Michaels Club, far superior to Neptune Lounge. I do believe the food quality on HAL was slightly better than Celebrity and the beds on HAL can't be beat. The room attendants on both lines work extremely hard and deserve every tip they get. We enjoyed every HAL cruise and would do it again, if something came up. But, for now we are hooked on Celebrity because I believe we are getting more for the money.

Thanks for info.

We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and are now actively exploring other cruise lines. We booked our first non-Celebrity cruise for September on MSC in Europe. I don't think HAL is in our current wheelhouse...but you never know!

One question about your info...you said you could have gone directly to your room on HAL...Does that mean your rooms are ready or that you can just drop off your bags?

Typically on Celebrity boarding starts at 11am or so and then rooms are ready at 1pm or so....what are typical timings on HAL?

Nice review, We will be on the Constellation July 30th, it will be our first time on Celebrity. We have been on HAL three times Alaska twice and Mexico one time. Our last trip two years ago on HAL was just ok nothing special so we decided we needed a change and this Celebrity cruise fit all our needs and where we wanted to go so I can't wait to compare both lines.

Thank you for the review.

We are two star Mariners on HAL. I think the MDR on HAL is much better than Celebrity but the Lido is much nicer on Celebrity. We have only sailed on S Class ships for Celebrity.

Currently Celebrity is our flavor of the month but we will probably visit HAL again some day.

Thanks for the comparison. How does HAL compare with X on smoking areas?

Thanks for the comparison. How does HAL compare with X on smoking areas?

It depends on the side of the fence you're on. On Celebrity there is no indoor smoking anywhere, including the casino and of course, like almost all other lines, except HAL, no balcony smoking.

My husband and I just returned from a very enjoyable 11 day Italy and Croatia cruise on the Celebrity Constellation. We are 3 Star Mariners on Holland America but chose Celebrity because we had heard many good things about Celebrity and really liked this itinerary. There are many similarities between the two cruise lines and in short, we now have two cruise lines from which to choose from. I will give you my perspective of HAL versus Celebrity.

Embark/Disembark – Organized and fairly quick on both lines. Upon entry to the Celebrity ship we were greeted by loud rock music that surprised us, but we found a quiet venue to wait for the cabins to be ready. On HAL we could have gone directly to our cabin.

Ship – The Constellation has a nice decor and well cared for. Very inviting as are the HAL ships we have been on. The ships are laid out very similarly.

Staterooms - We had an Oceanview cabin on Deck 2 on this cruise. Size and Layout of the cabin was much like similar rooms on HAL. Oceanview cabins on HAL have a smallish window above the bed. I preferred the large round window we had on Celebrity. The small settee was next to the window, so you could enjoy the view sitting on the bed or the settee. Bathroom size essentially the same and room stewards excellent on both lines. HAL beds are more comfortable than Celebrity.

Buffet – Food good on both lines, though I would give an edge to HAL for variety, fresh orange juice (had to use your beverage card for fresh squeezed on Celebrity), and number of servers around to clean tables and replenish coffee, water, etc. Overall we noticed a lack of servers in all venues on Celebrity. On HAL ships, there is always someone nearby to take an order or assist you without hovering. Pop music played rather loudly all the time in the Celebrity buffet. I would have preferred quieter, mellower music. Celebrity seating seemed less crowded than HAL, maybe due to the fact that there are other dining rooms for Aqua staterooms. I ate Eggs Benedict most every morning and on Celebrity there was just one guy prepping, cooking and serving which made for long lines. HAL generally has several servers at this station.

Dining Room – Dining Rooms nice on both lines. Food choices on Celebrity are not as varied as HAL and I believe the food on HAL is a little better. Servers are attentive on both lines.

Specialty Restaurants – Ate at both Tuscan Grille and Ocean Liners on Constellation. Food was good but price was higher on Celebrity and I don’t think the quality was any better than Pinnacle Grill or Canelletto. Odd that Tuscan Grille windows look out at a deck and railings rather than nice floor to ceiling ocean view you have at the Pinnacle.

Poolside Grill – HAL’s is much better, especially with the newer menu. HAL also has the taco bar with salads that are available throughout the day. Again, we were frustrated by lack of help at Poolside grill on Celebrity. There was just one guy taking orders and cooking, whereas HAL has a group of folks and gets the orders out quickly.

Café Bacio – (Specialty coffees) – Celebrity has the pastries/desserts and coffee options like at Explorers Lounge on HAL. However on Celebrity you can actually sit down and be waited on and coffee is served with biscotti. Very relaxing for a late morning or afternoon snack. Both lines charge for coffees but not pastries or desserts there. You can use your beverage card to pay for the specialty coffees.

Bars – In almost every bar, we had to look for a server or go place the order at the bar. Celebrity had no real drink menus to tell you what was in any of the drinks. The menus on the table listed what drinks were available for each beverage plan, but didn’t explain the drinks. We never saw a drink of the day advertised like on HAL, nor did Celebrity have any bar snacks in any of the bars we were in. The Reflections lounge (similar to HAL Crow’s Nest) was a nice place to relax during the day. There was a bar there, but only open at night, so you couldn’t get a soft drink or glass of wine while relaxing.

Activities – This is where HAL could take note of the way Celebrity does things. When you won one of the various trivia or other games, you got a signature (or maybe 2!) on a signature card that you kept throughout the cruise. At the end of the cruise you “cashed” your signatures in for Celebrity merchandise – a pen for 1 signature, caps, tote bags, lanyards, tshirts, etc for more signatures. Was so much better than playing for a silly HAL pin!! Some of the evening games were Port vs Starboard games that encouraged you to get to know some other people in order to win for your side.

Entertainment – No piano bar or Adagio Strings on Celebrity, but did have many good entertainers scattered around the ship. The guest entertainers in the Showroom were good, as are HAL’s usually. The Celebrity cast productions – singers and dancers – were, in my opinion, better on Celebrity than on HAL.

Overall – We thoroughly enjoyed our Celebrity cruise. My husband and I preferred the diversity of age groups on the Celebrity cruise – seemed to have more active seniors than “older” seniors. We also enjoyed the mix of nationalities – I don’t know whether that is due to the European cruise or the cruise line. We booked another Celebrity cruise on board and will now compare Celebrity and HAL for itinerary and price before booking.

Thank you for your review. We have just switched to HAL for a Japan - Vancouver - 30 day cruise because we thought the itineraty was better to our liking. day

Excellent comparison by sciteach603. I've been on both lines and I agree with virtually everything you said.

A few more things to consider.

The Solarium is a great feature of Celebrity ships that HAL lacks. Celebrity's smoke-free casino is a real plus.

On the other hand, HAL has fresh flowers throughout the ship, which Celebrity doesn't have. Also HAL ships have an outdoor promenade deck that circles the entire ship. The Celebrity ship I was on, the Summit, doesn't have that.

Both HAL & Celebrity are very nice cruise lines and we've cruised on both ... but lean toward HAL ... especially for port intensive cruises. :)

Thanks for info.

 

We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and are now actively exploring other cruise lines. We booked our first non-Celebrity cruise for September on MSC in Europe. I don't think HAL is in our current wheelhouse...but you never know!

 

One question about your info...you said you could have gone directly to your room on HAL...Does that mean your rooms are ready or that you can just drop off your bags?

 

Typically on Celebrity boarding starts at 11am or so and then rooms are ready at 1pm or so....what are typical timings on HAL?

You can do either or both. Cabins are ready when you board, so you can hang out in your cabin or just drop your bags off and go explore. HAL usually boards at 10:30 to 11, at least the last time I used them (March 2015).

They also let you have room service the last day for breakfast and you wait in your cabin to disembark. Nice features to have, wouldn't keep me from cruising another line. We tried Princess this year, and will be going on our first Celebrity and RCI next year for Australia and NZ.

Looking forward to doing my own comparisons but I am a bit nervous about both Celebrity and RCI. The destination is the actual key but it's nice to enjoy the ships as well.

ML

ML

Thanks for your comparison of the 2 lines. We have sailed on Celebrity twice, Carnival once, and Royal Caribbean once and have always wanted to sail on Holland. Our first cruise was on the Millenium where we renewed our vows at 25 years - we loved the cruise - it was wine themed and we sailed down the Pacific coast. Carnival was with my father-in-law and his wife - it was okay - it was on Liberty and we did not like how you could not walk from one end of the ship to another. We went on a Western Caribbean and loved the ports. On Royal, we went out of New Orleans and our ship was crippled - it set the tone for the whole cruise where I will not sail with them again, but, my husband would. This April, we are boarding the Equinox for the Ultimate Caribbean in April. Looking forward to being back on Celebrity. Maybe we will try HAL next.

You can do either or both. Cabins are ready when you board, so you can hang out in your cabin or just drop your bags off and go explore. HAL usually boards at 10:30 to 11, at least the last time I used them (March 2015).

 

They also let you have room service the last day for breakfast and you wait in your cabin to disembark. Nice features to have, wouldn't keep me from cruising another line. We tried Princess this year, and will be going on our first Celebrity and RCI next year for Australia and NZ.

 

Looking forward to doing my own comparisons but I am a bit nervous about both Celebrity and RCI. The destination is the actual key but it's nice to enjoy the ships as well.

 

ML

 

ML

I have only sailed on Celebrity so that's my only frame of reference...How does HAL get rooms ready so fast?

I have the feeling that on Celebrity they spend every minute of the turn around time getting rooms ready (it's not like it only takes a couple of hours and they just close off the access for no reason??? is it??)

On Celebrity you have to be out of your rooms by 8am (i think that is it) and then about 1 or so rooms are ready.

And to the poster about the "promenade"...(again I only have Celebrity as frame of reference)...I thought Summit (which is my personal favorite Celeb ship...and a big part of that is this feature) had a GREAT promenade...I didn't realize that other ships had a "full" one! I spend hours each cruise on Summit hanging out there...very quiet and love watching the water...being that close. The S class ships have NO area that you can do that!

I have only sailed on Celebrity so that's my only frame of reference...How does HAL get rooms ready so fast?

 

I have the feeling that on Celebrity they spend every minute of the turn around time getting rooms ready (it's not like it only takes a couple of hours and they just close off the access for no reason??? is it??)

 

On Celebrity you have to be out of your rooms by 8am (i think that is it) and then about 1 or so rooms are ready.

 

And to the poster about the "promenade"...(again I only have Celebrity as frame of reference)...I thought Summit (which is my personal favorite Celeb ship...and a big part of that is this feature) had a GREAT promenade...I didn't realize that other ships had a "full" one! I spend hours each cruise on Summit hanging out there...very quiet and love watching the water...being that close. The S class ships have NO area that you can do that!

I've always thought that a lack of a wrap around promenade deck on Celebrity ships was it's one BIG epic failure! Having said that, after 29 cruises on Celebrity and nine on HAL, Celebrity wins in 85% of the categories.

We've taken a five year break from HAL, but are going to give them another try in December. We booked an inside cabin, because a balcony is worthless, many times, as you can have smokers all around you. I think Holland America is the only cruise line left that allows smoking on balconies.

Give the new Edge Class ships of Celebrity a promenade deck like the one on the Queen Mary 2, coupled with the best features of the M and S class, and you may have the perfect ship!?

Enjoy!~

Kel:)

It depends on the side of the fence you're on. On Celebrity there is no indoor smoking anywhere, including the casino and of course, like almost all other lines, except HAL, no balcony smoking.

Since we sail in balcony cabins, this has been a deal breaker for us about HAL. (Which is too bad, since they have some interesting itineraries.) We love Celebrity's strict no-smoking policy.

Thank you OP, for your detailed comments.

Since we sail in balcony cabins, this has been a deal breaker for us about HAL. (Which is too bad, since they have some interesting itineraries.) We love Celebrity's strict no-smoking policy.

 

Thank you OP, for your detailed comments.

Same for us - will not consider HAL until they change their balcony smoking policy (which probably won't happen anytime soon, as there seem to be enough people who like it). Before other lines restricted smoking on balconies, we had 2 cruises where our balcony was completely unusable due to smoke at all hours of the day and night.

I have only sailed on Celebrity so that's my only frame of reference...How does HAL get rooms ready so fast?

 

I have the feeling that on Celebrity they spend every minute of the turn around time getting rooms ready (it's not like it only takes a couple of hours and they just close off the access for no reason??? is it??)

 

On Celebrity you have to be out of your rooms by 8am (i think that is it) and then about 1 or so rooms are ready.

 

Well, honestly, I don't know how they do it, but they do. Possibly they have other staff help that morning (you know--waiters from dining room, laundry personnel, others). But i have never seen tons of staff rushing around the last morning. I think it's Princess who also does this. It is really nice to stay in your cabin, with breakfast and coffee, waiting to depart. And HAL uses a silent disembarkation--you just leave at your scheduled time.

We tried Princess for the first time this past March. Embarkation was totally stupid and slow. This was in Houston, which they aren't using anymore. More experienced Princess cruisers said this was different than in FLL but I have no experience with that. I did find disembarkation really awkward, compared to HAL. Had to get up early, so we could go to breakfast in the buffet, before 8:30 (I think this is the time, I could be wrong). Then run down to cabin to finish any packing and wait for our time to go to designated lounge. They were very clear--DON"T go before your assigned time. We arrived right at our assigned time and got into the lounge to wait. They did have coffee and maybe some pastry. I didn't like it as much as HAL, but not a deal-breaker.

Maybe we have been lucky, but haven't had any smokers on HAL balconies bothering us.

We are trying Celebrity (and RCI) next year to Australia. Should be interesting.

ML

Thanks very much for the detailed review and comparison. We have never tried HAL but most people say good things about them. We are booked on Constellation next year for Italy & Croatia. How were the ports on your cruise?

Loved this itinerary! The ports were wonderful and this area is so pretty! Would highly recommend going to Lake Bled and Ljubljana in Slovenia. We arranged a private tour of 6 and had a wonderful day! You might look at our Roll Call for Celebrity Constellation May 9 Croatia/Italy cruise. A very active roll call and many ideas for excursions.

One word why we never will cruise HAL: smoking

Thank you for your review. We have been on the Constellation twice in Europe in the last couple of years. We don't recall hearing any loud rock music on her at any time.

We would like to give HAL a try, but that isn't going to happen because of the health issues with their relatively liberal smoking policy.

One word why we never will cruise HAL: smoking

Living in Seattle, HAL is our "Hometown" cruise line and we have sailed with them three times but the smoking stops us from booking again. We have also been invited on board for lunch a few times as part of a group we support while the ship (Oosterdam, Westerdam) is moored in Seattle for their Alaska season. Both times, smoke.

I am highly allergic to cigarette smoke. Any whiff of it causes an immediate debilitating sinus headache. One where I have to go and take something and lie down in a dark room for hours. I didn't pay as much as we pay for a cruise to do that onboard.

If they were to adopt an X-like smoking policy, we might be interested. I love the size of their ships and when we have been on board for lunch, the B.B. King lounge was outstanding--what a venue and band.

Jim

Thanks for the review. The Constellation is a M class ship, if you have the opportunity try one of the newer S class ships as the layout of buffet, the Lawn, more specialty restaurants, cabin bathroom layout are very impressive and could tip the scale even more towards Celebrity :-).

I totally agree! Now that I have been on both classes, I will only do S class. The OVC layout is so much more conducive to breakfast or lunch.

The itinerary of Croatia and Italy can make up for the difference in ships, but we loved that Itinerary on the S class, while the ports were some of the best. Yes, as the OP mentioned, it is a gorgeous place. I will return!!! Not old enough fir Hal and hate smoke.

Thank you OP for my wife and I are looking at our 2nd Alaskan cruise just not sure which line X or HAL (never sailed either) your review is great in helping us decide.