Mediterranean HAL or Celebrity for family

As a Carnival shareholder, I've always figured we could always find a cruise on one of the Carnival brands. That way we could put some money in our pocket with the shareholder benefit and by actually being customers.

But, in looking at Mediterranean cruises for 2012... we CAN'T ignore the dramatically lower price for Celebrity. Ten day Celebrity Equinox is about $700 cheaper per person (multiply by four in our family). We've never sailed Celebrity before.

We will have two boys with us (ages next year 9 and 11).

Our boys travel well. However, I'm a bit worried about whether there will be enough to interest them in the greek isles. Wondering if they would like Norway better (Vikings, etc).

What are your thoughts about Mediterranean for those ages and Celebrity vs. HAL?

As a Carnival shareholder, I've always figured we could always find a cruise on one of the Carnival brands. That way we could put some money in our pocket with the shareholder benefit and by actually being customers.

 

But, in looking at Mediterranean cruises for 2012... we CAN'T ignore the dramatically lower price for Celebrity. Ten day Celebrity Equinox is about $700 cheaper per person (multiply by four in our family). We've never sailed Celebrity before.

 

We will have two boys with us (ages next year 9 and 11).

 

Our boys travel well. However, I'm a bit worried about whether there will be enough to interest them in the greek isles. Wondering if they would like Norway better (Vikings, etc).

 

What are your thoughts about Mediterranean for those ages and Celebrity vs. HAL?

ONLY MY POINT OF VIEW.HAL good for family with small kid 1-3 years old,after its boring for kids and I would prefer X

ONLY MY POINT OF VIEW.HAL good for family with small kid 1-3 years old,after its boring for kids and I would prefer X

I agree, X might be a better environment for the kids in facilities and programming. X is also a Greek based brand and so may provide some advantages in that part of the Med.

I'm not sure which itin might appeal more to the kids. I'd guess that depends on the kids and their interest. Either would be enriching and eye opening.

If you aren't worried about the ambiance then Costa might be one to look at to satisfy your connection to Carnival. They used to be the leading cruise line in Europe and wonder if that is still so.

X would be better for the kids instead of HAL. If you decide to go outside the CCL Family, RCCL or NCL is better for your kids.

Have fun!

Check out the prices for the Carnival Magic if you want lower prices. That's what I'm sailing in the Med this October.

Roz

My ds has done the Med with her daughters twice. The first time they were the same age as your children. They did Costa. she liked it.

This time they did the Eurodam and she liked it better. She was impressed with Hal's kids' programs for her youngest daughter. her older daughter found a friend on the cruise and they hung out together.

I have read some really good things on HAL's programs for children and/teens. I was quite surprised as was she.

They enjoyed all aspects of their Med and did do Greek Isles, etc.

The better ship for children is hard to determine. You might want to check the Costa prices to get some bang from your Carnvial stock for the fun of it.

Celebrity and Hal both have things in their favour. Meds are usually pretty port intensive so the ship itself may not be as big a concern to you.

a med cruise is so port intensive, the ship is less of a feature. i would be most concerned with the itinerary (and time in port) and , of course, price.

one thing to think about on norway cruises: a certain component of that will be 'scenic cruising' where you are supposed to just sit back and enjoy the view. not sure how much your kids will enjoy that, as opposed to being off the ship exploring.

one thing to think about on norway cruises: a certain component of that will be 'scenic cruising' where you are supposed to just sit back and enjoy the view. not sure how much your kids will enjoy that, as opposed to being off the ship exploring.

Good point/information.

We sailed the Noordam last summer with our girls 12 and 15 yo last summer and hooked up with another family who had 2 boys 9 and 11 yo for several excursions through cruise critic. All the kids had a wonderful time. Our girls really prefer HAL ships over Celebrity and Carnival (believe it or not!). They like the nicer, less crowded atmosphere and find the kids club staff to be more personal and fun (compared to Carnival). We all have gotten to love the friendly crew on HAL and find the staff in general on Celebrity to be a bit more formal and less fun. Price would sway it for me though. When we went on Noordam last summer to Greece, Italy, Turkey and Croatia the 3rd and 4th passengers were free. Use the money you save by booking with Celebrity on shore excursions. They are expensive, especially with the unfavorable exchange rate, and you'll want to see and do as much as possible. Celebrity and HAL are both top notch. We haven't yet done the Norway cruises so can't comment on that.

As a Carnival shareholder, I've always figured we could always find a cruise on one of the Carnival brands. That way we could put some money in our pocket with the shareholder benefit and by actually being customers.

 

But, in looking at Mediterranean cruises for 2012... we CAN'T ignore the dramatically lower price for Celebrity. Ten day Celebrity Equinox is about $700 cheaper per person (multiply by four in our family). We've never sailed Celebrity before.

I'm stunned! When I was looking for a Med. cruise this year, Celebrity was $500-$600 more expensive than HAL! What a difference a year makes!

That much being said, I love HAL's kids programs. They are great. Your children will be most entertained. However, for the difference in cost. . . I'd go Celebrity.

As a Carnival shareholder, I've always figured we could always find a cruise on one of the Carnival brands. That way we could put some money in our pocket with the shareholder benefit and by actually being customers.

 

But, in looking at Mediterranean cruises for 2012... we CAN'T ignore the dramatically lower price for Celebrity. Ten day Celebrity Equinox is about $700 cheaper per person (multiply by four in our family). We've never sailed Celebrity before.

 

We will have two boys with us (ages next year 9 and 11).

 

Our boys travel well. However, I'm a bit worried about whether there will be enough to interest them in the greek isles. Wondering if they would like Norway better (Vikings, etc).

 

What are your thoughts about Mediterranean for those ages and Celebrity vs. HAL?

We've been cruising with our kids since they were 6 & 9 (now 18 & 21), and they've been on both HAL and Celebrity, as well as others. They never got into any of the kids' programs on any of the lines, they've always just enjoyed hanging out with us and enjoying the ports. They also prefer X and HAL to the other lines, as do we! We did the Equinox in the Med last summer, and it was fabulous - great ship and itinerary. It was the first ship that any of us have been on that we've all said that we want to go back (and we did!)

The Med is port intensive, and you will all be busy during the day and tired at night. My two cents is that there will be plenty for them see in the Med ports and that either line would be a great trip for them. Greece and Italy have so much to offer; you will all love it.

Looks like we will book Celebrity based on price unless HAL comes out with a deal in the next few days.

Go ahead and book the Celebrity ship, but make sure that you have no cancellation penalties until next year. Then what you can do is keep checking prices for the next year. We have been on 4 European cruises with our kids (3 Med and 1 Baltic), three times with Carnival and once with Princess. We found that the prices really fluctuate, especially in the downward direction. We also sailed HAL for 14 days to Alaska with our kids. We found that closer to the sailing date, HAL eliminated the cruise fare for the entire 14 days for 3rd and 4th passengers in the cabin. You are likely to get a good deal if you keep watching the prices. I also suggest you look at the brand new Carnival Breeze, which has some really good Med itineraries for 2012, as well as the Princess Grand Med itinerary. We sailed the latter and found it was great for the kids and had an outstanding itinerary. That said, we will be trying Celebrity this summer with our kids, for the same reason as you (unbelievably low prices).

My children have done the kids programs on both HAL and Celebrity (two daughters, now ages 8 and 12). They enjoyed both, but, by a wide margin, preferred HAL. The Celebrity staff was far more rule bound and formal than the HAL children's program staff. HAL staff took them on excursions all around the ship, got to know them each very well and really had more of fun "camp counselor" style.

The Celebrity staff was more formal (little suits for uniforms), more distant and seemed to be quite obsessed with "rules"--For example, at one point they organized the children into a talent show and invited the parents to watch. Our (then 7) year old daughter chose to do ballet dance as her talent. No surprise, she had not brought her ballet slippers on the cruise. The show was to be on a very small carpeted platform. She wanted to dance in socked feet so that she could get her feet into the dance positions. The staff insisted that she wear shoes throughout the 4 minute performance on the carpeted little stage as a "safety issue"! It wasn't a big deal, our daughter went along with it without a problem, but it does illustrate the staff style and priorities.

Penny wise and pound foolish?

You'll spend thousand on the airfare, thousand on the cabin and possible another thousand on the port excursions. Yes in many ports you can spend upwards of 100 buck/person.

I'd not let the cruiseline sway me. I'd pick the ports I want and than select the ship that sails it. Yeah it might cost a couple hundred more. I for one would choose to sail an inside cabin to get the ports I want than miss the ports but have a better cabin or sailing experience. Med is all about the PORTS, PORTs PORTs. Did I mention ports? If you want Venice, Cairo, Rome, Athens, Florence, Istanbul or whatever it is would you give up one for a few hundred bucks or a better ship or better kids club? Don't let a little OBC sway your decision. Make the ports the selection critieria IMHO

As a Carnival shareholder, I've always figured we could always find a cruise on one of the Carnival brands. That way we could put some money in our pocket with the shareholder benefit and by actually being customers.

 

But, in looking at Mediterranean cruises for 2012... we CAN'T ignore the dramatically lower price for Celebrity. Ten day Celebrity Equinox is about $700 cheaper per person (multiply by four in our family). We've never sailed Celebrity before.

 

We will have two boys with us (ages next year 9 and 11).

 

Our boys travel well. However, I'm a bit worried about whether there will be enough to interest them in the greek isles. Wondering if they would like Norway better (Vikings, etc).

 

What are your thoughts about Mediterranean for those ages and Celebrity vs. HAL?

We were on the Eurodam last May in the Mediterranean with our 3 kids and they loved it. Our daughter age 10 went up to Club HAL every evening. Our boys, ages 19 and 17, enjoyed the cooking class and the live music. As a matter of fact my oldest and I are leaving Friday for another Mediterranean cruise aboard the Noordam. I agree, choose the ship for the ports especially in Europe. But don't let people tell you HAL is not for kids.

Diane;)