montythecat

We jumped ship from Celebrity to HAL last year. We were attracted by The Music Walk entertainment. We were on NS and Oosterdam and thoroughly enjoyed both of them with The Pinnacle Class NS being our favourite. It is a beautiful ship and there was nothing about it which we disliked. The same does not apply to Celebrity Apex. We will not be using Edge Class ships again. The music on HAL is much more to our tastes compared to the Celebrity offerings. We preferred every aspect of the design and the facilities on NS compared to Apex. Food was comparable. Good on both. I find the lack of a forward facing lounge on Apex to be a bizarre design decision. We are looking forward to being back on Oosterdam in 3/4 weeks time. However, I hope HAL build more Pinnacle Class ships in order to expand our choice of itineraries which remain our priorities, although the ships we book come a very close second.

Apex was certainly rolling quite interestingly for a short while on entering San Juan. It must have cost Celebrity quite a few dollars to replace the broken plates which made a bolt for freedom in one of the midship restaurants. The rolling we experienced is apparently not unusual but was more noticeable than usual on this occasion.

I agree. DC’s two posts with graphs are very illuminating. I didn’t work as hard when looking at comparisons between X and HAL but I am pleased to see that they confirm my much less detailed conclusions. In trying to extend my pension and savings as far as possible into my future DC’s efforts do help me with that task. Thank you.

I have just been looking at UK Celebrity prices for 2024 and they are frightening. Around £300 ($360) per night for inclusive cruises out of Southampton in June. No flights are, of course, required. For Caribbean cruises in February the prices with flights are about the same but are not inclusive. In contrast, the Holland America prices in the Caribbean for fully inclusive cruises with flights average £225 ($270). These are all standard balcony prices. Post COVID we have been giving HAL a go and like it a lot, particularly the entertainment on the Pinnacle class ships. Everything else (dining experiences, service etc) is comparable. Our previous allegiance to X (we are Elite Plus) looks looks as if it is coming to an end, hastened by my dislike of the Edge class ships. 2023 is Silhouette’s last. summer season sailing out of Southampton, to be replaced by Apex in 2024. We are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy a lot of holidays every year but it does mean that cost is an important consideration and Celebrity’s current price structure inevitably means that we are increasingly looking elsewhere.

On a very fine balance I would recommend Viking but would agree 100% with uktog that Viking are happy to miss a port and substitute a sea day without making any effort to maintain the published itinerary or find an alternative port. They are also inclined to provide ridiculous excuses for such changes. Azamara seem to try and avoid such alterations. This might be worth bearing in mind when booking your cruise.

NantahalaCruiser is entitled to think that the lack of a forward facing lounge is a ‘major suite marketing strategy’ but it certainly seems to be discouraging a lot of people from booking holidays on E class ships. Furthermore, I reckon a modest redesign of the bow end facilities could see the gym relocated and a lounge reinstated. Does the gym need a forward view ?

Each to their own but we are very much in the opposite camp. We are now booking HAL cruises on Pinnacle Class ships for one main reason and that is Music Walk. We love every aspect of it including the classical quartet. Music from Bach to Bon Jovi. It is our definition of entertainment heaven. Our days on Celebrity with, in our opinions, their old fashioned theatre productions with acrobats/aerialists are now almost over. There are also other good experiences on The Pinnacle Class vessels which are leading to us booking HAL.

The simple answer to the original post is very easy and it is free. Helpful details of the rail link have been provided. Direct flight transfers between Heathrow’s terminals can be a pain but a stay at The Sofitel (lovely hotel) involves entering the UK. Entry and departure procedures will take place on separate days.

I don’t need to know in advance of the cruise who the CD is but I am definitely on the side of those who think a good CD can contribute significantly towards the enjoyment of a cruise. For example, Alejandro (on Apex last Autumn) is a hoot. I am so glad Argentina won the World Cup just for him. He likes mocking English football and he has now got added ammunition (of a friendly nature) when he is on stage.

Interesting comments. We like Millennium which has given us two of our favourite cruises. We have cruised a lot with Celebrity (Elite plus) but are now drifting away, mainly to HAL and Azamara and occasionally to NCL. The main reason is my dislike of the Edge class ships and the lack of progress in refurbishing all the S and M class ships.

Much prefer S class. If you are inside there are many venues with views out across the ocean which are not available on the E class ships. The most obvious omission on E class is the lack of any forward facing lounge for the majority of passengers which I consider to be a major design error. I like the connection with the outside world which is mainly absent on E class.

I am glad to read that you have bitten the Ephesus bullet. I do hope you love it as much as we did.

Our delightful archaeology graduate guide offered us a carpet shop stop. We declined and said that we already have a very nice Turkish rug in our lounge (true, not a fib). It was no problem for her. I think she was actually pleased that we didn’t have to do it. She was so outstanding that I was happy to add a bit more to her already generous tip for being so gracious in not insisting on the visit.

Nafplion : Corinth Canal and ancient Corinth (however, more ruins ! ?) Excursion required. Quite an attractive town. Kusadasi : Ephesus is magnificent. Go on, give it a try. We had a very good tour booked through Viator. Not much to do in Kusadasi apart from a gentle stroll to nearby island. Dubrovnik : No excursion needed. Stunning place, much of it rebuilt recently but you would never know. Rhodes : Rhodes Town has plenty to look at . Walkable from the ship. If you want to go further afield Lindos is very attractive. Excursion or maybe local buses. Santorini : Beautiful. Thira Town is nice but Oia is the prettiest place with wonderful views. We used local buses. Enjoy !

Exactly. Couldn’t agree more.

Itinerary, itinerary, itinerary. The NCL itineraries are perhaps a little more imaginative than Celebrity but there isn’t much in it. In the end it may come down to which cruise line you prefer and $$$. If you want to add some days at the start or end of the cruise, which you may well want to do at the beginning after flying in from the US, then you might wish to consider which city would most appeal to you. Athens ? Barcelona ? Rome ? …..and others. What a lovely decision to have to make !

There is no forward facing lounge and trivia is usually held in The Club which is a space without windows. The layout in the rear facing Eden is not particularly conducive to views or sociability. Compared to M and S class Celebrity ships I thought the lounges and bars on Apex were rather inward looking. There was less of a feeling of actually being on a ship.

I generally agree with Deec. We were on the same cruise. Flora and fauna weren’t significant features of the cruise and the ports on The Amazon were ok but not particularly memorable. However, we did enjoy the experience of gently pootling up a river of this magnitude on a lovely cruise ship. Just being on Viking Sea a thousand miles from the ocean was somewhat mind blowing but keep your expectations under control. I doubt very much whether you will see any jaguars or sloths. We certainly didn’t.

I agree with BetsyS. and would add any of the four venues on Music Row in the evening which ought to satisfy most musical tastes. We were very happy with the entertainment which was being provided earlier this year.

Ah….my favourite topic! We were on Apex in October and it was one of my least enjoyable cruises, Celebrity or any others, we have chosen. The itinerary would have to be unusual and/or compelling (such as meeting up with a friend) for us to return. We are Elite Plus, a status accumulated by booking balcony cabins, sometimes Aqua, but never suites. Edge Class positives : 1. The four MDRs. A very clever concept with the variety of decor making the experience delightful. It also means if we liked one dining room in particular we could concentrate on that one. 2. Internal appearance. On the whole it worked, but that would be expected on any new ship. We thought the same with Nieuw Statendam. 3. Cabins. Generously proportioned. Good bathroom. Plenty of storage space. Negatives : 1. Lounges and bars. Too many internal without views beyond the ship. In particular, the lack of a high up, forward facing lounge is a criminal omission.I thought we might miss it and we certainly did. The mixture of music with Martini Bar and Cafe Al Bacio as the main sociable area of the ship didn’t suit us. Eden was neither bar nor dedicated music venue. 2. The swimming pool. Too shallow. 3. Entertainment. On Millennium (21 February to 3 March 2022) we enjoyed the guest performers (Irish, Rock and Singer/Songwriter covers). Great variety. On Apex it was mainly middle of the road music with no get up and go, and old-fashioned stage shows with acrobats/aerialists, or whatever the correct terminology is. I grew out of that sort of stuff when I was about eight years old. Celebrity seem to be very proud of their theatre productions. That’s fair enough but a greater range of musical offerings would be appreciated. The cons do not outweigh the pros which leaves us with refurbished M and S class ships, HAL Pinnacle class ships and NCL refurbed Jewel class ships with the occasional dipping of the toes into the Azamara and Viking ponds.

We were on Apex in 6115 in October. 12 nights Eastern Mediterranean. The design of the balcony element of the cabin is slightly weird. It took a bit of getting used to but it was ok. The space is modest but we don’t use our balconies that much. However, we do like having fresh air whenever we want it. The cabin itself was certainly large enough, excellent bathroom and plenty of storage space. 6115 is slightly above the theatre so there was occasional noise from musicians practicing in the afternoons. It was not intrusive and we weren’t often there anyway. If we were to book an Edge class ship again (possibly unlikely unless it was a particularly special itinerary) there was nothing about a porthole/balcony cabin which would put us off.

Moly moo is absolutely right. Greenwich is as much London as Brooklyn is part of New York.

Music Walk is also where the classical quartet perform. They have their own room so it is like having a mini concert which is lovely, unlike most cruise lines which have a couple of violinists, or some other combination, playing in a noisy lounge setting with nobody listening to them. I genuinely do believe that HAL try and take music seriously and provide for all tastes.

We have recently dipped our toes into HAL because we were attracted to The Music Walk offerings. On The Pinnacle class ships we thoroughly enjoyed the variety on offer. To have a rock band on a cruise ship was, for us, a real treat. I find the Celebrity theatre productions rather old fashioned. Acrobats ! Oh no. The classical quartet were excellent and the two pianists on HAL were very entertaining. Trivia was frequent and well run. All in all we were very happy with the entertainment which was on offer but this topic is incredibly subjective, but that is one of the good things about cruising, alternatives are available.

Thank you for such a beautifully written review. I am looking forward to reading your observations about the UK next year. As for the inside pictures of LSF, I think you are being unduly modest by a significant margin by awarding yourself a C plus. They way better than that and I particularly liked 8,9,11,12 and 13. I thought they were spectacular with the framing of the pictures and the colours being more like an A. I found LSF to be a very frustrating photographic experience which I failed to solve. I just couldn’t get it right. You showed me how it should be done. I must now go back sometime and give it another go.