HAL and Celebrity

[KAYEF]

We have almost 100 days on HAL and have also cruised on Princess and NCL. I'm looking at a Celebrity cruise and have read good things about that line. Can people who have sailed both HAL and Celebrity please tell me what "some" of the differences would be. I know the cabins are smaller on Celebrity. We had the Infinity in all of our Alaska ports with us last summer and she looked "pretty."

Thanks!:confused:

[jd1966]

Haven't sailed HAL yet but the Solstice (S) Class ships are fantastic!! They're new, classy and a step above the Millennium (M) Class ships which are in themselves excellent. The M-Class sounds similar to the Vista class ships. One of the biggest differences will be Celebrity's very restricted smoking policies. It is not allowed in staterooms, balconies or most public areas. There is one club with limited smoking and several areas outside.

[Papa T]

We have almost 100 days on HAL and have also cruised on Princess and NCL. I'm looking at a Celebrity cruise and have read good things about that line. Can people who have sailed both HAL and Celebrity please tell me what "some" of the differences would be. I know the cabins are smaller on Celebrity. We had the Infinity in all of our Alaska ports with us last summer and she looked "pretty."

Thanks!:confused:

 

I think in general you will find the two lines very similar. Staffing and sq. ft. per passenger is much better than Princess and the Solstice Class ships have gotten particularly great reviews. Itineraries aside, I would not put Princess or NCL in the same class with HAL or Celebrity.

[KAYEF]

:pTHANKS! You've both helped me a lot.............I had the feeling that Celebrity was more of a HAL experience than the other two AND, the no smoking will be a REAL bonus!

[SantaFeFan]

We had the Infinity in all of our Alaska ports with us last summer and she looked "pretty."

Thanks!:confused:

 

You can't go wrong with a cruise on the Infinity. One of my favorite ships! She's even nicer inside. A great design, kept in great shape, and a wonderful crew. Couldn't ask for a better experience.

[neilrr]

KayeF - The food and service are comprable on both lines and both are excellent. The main difference we felt was the age of the crowd. Celebrity leans toward 40-65 crowd while HAL tends more toward the 65 & up crowd. Night life was very quiet on HAL too (though we were in Alaska). Crew was very nice on HAL ( primarily Phillipine) and Celebrity has a more European crew.

 

Good luck and have a great cruise.

Neil

[AHB27]

We agree that HAL v Celebrity is a win:win debate ! HAL (Volendam) was us our first cruise experience and we loved it. Further cruises on Volendam and Noordam (twice) confirmed our satisfaction. Last year we tried Cunard (Queen Vic) and Celebrity (Equinox) and found both to be excellent. Celebrity and HAL are comparable across the board. Food excellent on both (and superb in Pinnacle Grill & Murano etc). Service level excellent on both. Cabins very comfortable on both; HAL's bathtubs will please some and their cabin size (including wardrobe/drawer space) is slightly better. Celebrity Solstice-class cabins, however, are stunningly attractive and superbly equipped. Some HAL ships (eg Volendam but not Noordam) have self-service launderettes, which we like.

 

The passenger demographic is probably a bit younger on HAL and HAL decor is a little more sober/staid (but very classy). Celebrity have good libraries; HAL's are better (Cunard's are better still !).

 

However, we found Celebrity Solstice-class to be par excellence in terms of overall ship design and so our two trips this year will be aboard the new Celebrity Eclipse.

 

We plan to cruise Princess next year (for itinerary reasons) but expect to have many future trips on both Celebrity & HAL. We find Celebrity's loyalty scheme (Captain's Club) to be a real plus.

[AJD]

Celebrity:

 

More elegant dining,

Rather better food,

Far better specialty restaurants,

Many choices of alternative dining (Solstice class),

Limit 2 bottles of wine on embarkation, none on stops,

More expensive drink prices,

Lower cruise fare,

Better theater layout with more comfortable seating,

No wrap round promenade deck.

[DHADEN]

Not sure which ships of HAL you've been on, but we were on Maasdam. A great ship, but smaller and lots more movement in seas.

 

The Infinity is a fabulous ship - our best cruise ever was last year on her.

I think the food is a step up from HAL, and the service is as good or better. And the Passenger/Space Ratio is the best we've experienced.

 

Also, we love the nightlife of live band and dancing after dinner, and Infinity had the best we've experienced in a long time.

 

Hope This Helps.

[neilrr]

We agree that HAL v Celebrity is a win:win debate ! HAL (Volendam) was us our first cruise experience and we loved it. Further cruises on Volendam and Noordam (twice) confirmed our satisfaction. Last year we tried Cunard (Queen Vic) and Celebrity (Equinox) and found both to be excellent. Celebrity and HAL are comparable across the board. Food excellent on both (and superb in Pinnacle Grill & Murano etc). Service level excellent on both. Cabins very comfortable on both; HAL's bathtubs will please some and their cabin size (including wardrobe/drawer space) is slightly better. Celebrity Solstice-class cabins, however, are stunningly attractive and superbly equipped. Some HAL ships (eg Volendam but not Noordam) have self-service launderettes, which we like.

 

The passenger demographic is probably a bit younger on HAL and HAL decor is a little more sober/staid (but very classy). Celebrity have good libraries; HAL's are better (Cunard's are better still !).

 

However, we found Celebrity Solstice-class to be par excellence in terms of overall ship design and so our two trips this year will be aboard the new Celebrity Eclipse.

 

We plan to cruise Princess next year (for itinerary reasons) but expect to have many future trips on both Celebrity & HAL. We find Celebrity's loyalty scheme (Captain's Club) to be a real plus.

 

MK7Cruiser - I was really surprised that you thought the general demographic of people on Celebrity were older than HAL. I have to disagree with you. The people are much younger on Celebrity and as DHADEN said below -- it was much better nightlife on Celebrity.

 

Not sure which ships of HAL you've been on, but we were on Maasdam. A great ship, but smaller and lots more movement in seas.

 

The Infinity is a fabulous ship - our best cruise ever was last year on her.

I think the food is a step up from HAL, and the service is as good or better. And the Passenger/Space Ratio is the best we've experienced.

 

Also, we love the nightlife of live band and dancing after dinner, and Infinity had the best we've experienced in a long time.

 

Hope This Helps.

 

DHADEN - Though we enjoyed HAL -- I have to totally agree with you. It is a much younger crowd and far better nightlife on Celebrity. We are going on Millennium in March and Solstice in June -- can't wait -and we are now Elite members of Captain's Club -- great new benefits...

 

Neil

[neilrr]

Misposting - Sorry

Neil

[PatriciaGail]

We've sailed on the Maasdam and the Volendam and enjoyed both cruises. We've sailed on Celebrity's Zenith, Constellation, and soon to be on the Millenium. No complaints on either. The one plus thing on HAL is that all of the cabins offer bathtubs. I loved that!

[lblk]

We sailed on 12+ Celebrity Cruises and then 3 HAL cruises (chosen for itineraries) before returning to the Mercury last month. We find the food on Celebrity a notch above HAL's and the service is far superior on Celebrity. Also, Celebrity's new restricted smoking policy is a great plus for us. It's nice to get into the main dining room without having to fight your way through a wall of smoke in the Rendevous Square. We definitely now consider Celebrity our cruise line of choice!

[Denny01]

We go with Celebrity as our Line of choice: Elite and agree with AJD when comparing ‘X’ with most other lines we’ve done (Celebrity, Princess, RCL, Cruise West, Carnival). But we are looking at the HAL Eurodam cruises next year around the UK and up to Norway. Nice mix and we think it would be fun. Waiting to see if Celebrity does anything close to it, but if not, we may very well go with HAL and the info here has helped a good deal.

Personally, I don’t look too much at ‘demographics’, we end up meeting good people and enjoy the individuals that we seem to find – although I understand the interest in age groups. But this thread has provided some good info and some things we’ll use to make our decision.

One question: the Eurodam seems to have a lot of bathtubs. We are looking at Verandas. Do the regular (Delux?) verandas have the shower in the bathtub and no shower stall? Not a showstopper, but just interested. (Edit: just saw PatriciaGail's post right when I was adding this!). May 'enjoy' the bathtub depending on how big it is - does it fit two???

Thanks in advance. If we get more ‘up’ on this itinerary, we’ll head over to the HAL forum, but thought I’d just jump in and ask here since there are HAL cruisers who know ‘X’ also.

Denny

[JEDIKNIGHT]

How are the Suite Perks on HAL, vs Celebrity? How about the butler service?

 

Thanks.

[JEDIKNIGHT]

Since it's a HAL/X comparison thread one more question...

 

Is the Asian food selection good on Hal? On my previous X cruise I found the Indian and Stir Fry to be of supreme quality.

[KAYEF]

Since it's a HAL/X comparison thread one more question...

 

Is the Asian food selection good on Hal? On my previous X cruise I found the Indian and Stir Fry to be of supreme quality.

 

HAL ~ Every lunchtime, one of the stations in the Lido (buffet) is Asian and they are cooking it right there; it's excellent. Lunchtime in the MDR sometimes has wonderful Indonesian dishes as well.:p

[Rotrix]

 

One question: the Eurodam seems to have a lot of bathtubs. We are looking at Verandas. Do the regular (Deluxe?) verandas have the shower in the bathtub and no shower stall? Not a showstopper, but just interested. (Edit: just saw PatriciaGail's post right when I was adding this!). May 'enjoy' the bathtub depending on how big it is - does it fit two???

 

 

Denny

 

The regular veranda cabin do have the shower in the bathtub, and it does not fit 2:eek:. Only the Deluxe Suite PA, SA, SB SC has both bathtub and shower. On the Vista ship, the Mini Suite SS, SY, SZ also has both shower and bathtub.

[Rotrix]

How are the Suite Perks on HAL, vs Celebrity? How about the butler service?

 

Thanks.

 

No Butler on HAL, here is the Suite Perks

 

Include all the Deluxe Suite amenities, plus:

 

[*]Complimentary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning throughout your cruise

[*]Premium duvet, oversize bath towels and soft, cotton bathrobes and slippers

[*]Gorgeous corsages and boutonnieres for the first formal night

[*]Hors d'oeuvres served before dinner each evening on request

[*]Binoculars and umbrellas for your use on the cruise

[*]Cocktail party with ship officers

[*]Priority boarding for tender ports of call

[*]Special disembarkation service

[*]Priority dining and seating requests

[*]Exclusive daily breakfast service for suite guests only

[*]High tea service in suite on request

[*]A special Suite guest lunch event on cruises over 7 days in length

[*]A very special amenity exclusively for guests cruising in a Deluxe Verandah Suite or Penthouse Verandah Suite, the industry-leading Neptune Lounge features a private place to relax, socialize with other suite guests and enjoy the personalized service of a concierge. The fleet-wide lounges provide worktables, large screen television, library, sofas and chairs, refreshments throughout the day and wi-fi for a small charge. One-Touch 24-hour Concierge Service is available when the Neptune Lounge is closed.

[kelmac]

We have almost 100 days on HAL and have also cruised on Princess and NCL. I'm looking at a Celebrity cruise and have read good things about that line. Can people who have sailed both HAL and Celebrity please tell me what "some" of the differences would be. I know the cabins are smaller on Celebrity. We had the Infinity in all of our Alaska ports with us last summer and she looked "pretty."

Thanks!:confused:

 

My wife and I use to alternate between Celebrity (15 cruises) and Holland America (8 cruises). We've taken a break away from HAL for a bunch of reasons (another thread), but here is my take on things:

 

Things great on HAL

--nice size ships with a good space ratio.

--warm and professional service onboard.

--wrap around teak wood promenade deck.

--very good MDR food and an excellent Lido buffet.

--some of the best itineraries at sea.

--great beds and beddings.

 

Things great on Celebrity

--modern and bright decor.

--happy international crew that provides great service.

--excellent MDR cuisine.

--the best alternative restaurants at sea.

--no smoking in cabins, balconies and most areas of the ship.

--if your cruise price drops, even after final payment, Celebrity will

rebate the difference to your credit card.

--very nice entertainment venues.

--we've made seven visits to the Captain's table on Celebrity.

--Nothing in HAL's fleet can compare or compete with Celebrity's new

Solstice class of ships. Their third Solstice class ship floated out of

production yesterday.

 

Both of these cruise lines were very close in "bang for the buck", but as of late Celebrity is on a roll compared to HAL.

 

Have a great cruise!

Kel:)

[KAYEF]

Do you have to book through Celebrity to get that refund if the price drops?

I'm really excited about our first X cruise...........Infinity repo. in Sept/Oct.

That's one of my favorite itineraries.

[kelmac]

Do you have to book through Celebrity to get that refund if the price drops?

I'm really excited about our first X cruise...........Infinity repo. in Sept/Oct.

That's one of my favorite itineraries.

 

Hi Kay,

 

Nope! I keep track of pricing even after final payment; I check several sites to see if there has been a price drop; my last three Celebrity cruises have had price drops after final payment and I contact my TA and they request the new rate. I get a new invoice and a couple of weeks later a negative number appears on my credit card statement. One 11 night Constellation cruise I started in a $1,400 p/p inside cabin and ended up in a $900 p/p balcony cabin by the time the ship sailed. Three major price drops.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

Kel:)

[AHB27]

MK7Cruiser - I was really surprised that you thought the general demographic of people on Celebrity were older than HAL. I have to disagree with you. The people are much younger on Celebrity and as DHADEN said below -- it was much better nightlife on Celebrity.

 

Neil

 

Neil,

 

Of course, you are absolutely right ! I meant to say "younger than HAL" !!

 

Alan