Comparision against holland america

[chandrisellinis]

Appreciate any comments as have tended to stick with HA or Princess

[KirkNC]

Appreciate any comments as have tended to stick with HA or Princess

 

We do all three. X has a more active customer base, I find their ships more modern style versus HAL's more regal style. Food is good. We really look at all three and go with itinerary and price. I like X's smoking policy the best hands down.

[chandrisellinis]

Thanks Kirk, now I need to check that smoking policy as we are non smokers.

[kelmac]

What's not to like about either cruise line? Both Celebrity and HAL offer a great product and my wife and I will BtoB these two cruise lines from time to time.

 

I've cruised HAL nine times and Celebrity 18 times. Both lines have wonderful service and very good cuisine. Here is my head to head comparison:

 

HAL has:

--very good MDR cuisine

--pretty good alternative restaurants

--excellent warm and quiet service with an Asian feel

--traditional decor and a variety of ship sizes

--large, but dark cabins

--outstanding wrap around promenade deck

--great cold weather ships

--smart itineraries

--basic entertainment

--best private island; Half Moon Cay

--nice beds

--some issues with A/C systems

--poor smoking policy

 

Celebrity has:

--excellent cuisine in the MDR

--the best alternative restaurants at sea

--bright, modern decor and the best large ships at sea (Solstice Class)

--well thought out cabin designs, with excellent showers

--international crew and great service

--super return customer program; Captain's Club

--great smoking policy (no smoking inside anywhere, no smoking in cabins or balconies)

--pretty good entertainment

--so, so itineraries

--becoming more expensive

 

I must say that Celebrity consistently treats us very special; we've visited every area of the ship (Bridge, Engine Room, Galley, Back Stage, Crew Quarters); visited the Captain's Table eight times; free internet; free laundry; two hours of free drinks/horsd'oeuvres every night. HAL's Mariner Program is basic; we've made one visit to the Captain's Table (Veendam).

 

We will continue to cruise both lines, as they offer a great cruise for the dollars spent!

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[cruising teacher]

We used to sail on HAL and Celebrity equally. When Celebrity started its new Loyalty Program we were finished with HAL. Celebrity's itineraries are getting more interesting with Australia and Northeast Asia. I expect them to continue to diversify with the five Solstice class ships.

[newsier]

What's not to like about either cruise line? Both Celebrity and HAL offer a great product and my wife and I will BtoB these two cruise lines from time to time.

 

I've cruised HAL nine times and Celebrity 18 times. Both lines have wonderful service and very good cuisine. Here is my head to head comparison:

 

HAL has:

--very good MDR cuisine

--pretty good alternative restaurants

--excellent warm and quiet service with an Asian feel

--traditional decor and a variety of ship sizes

--large, but dark cabins

--outstanding wrap around promenade deck

--great cold weather ships

--smart itineraries

--basic entertainment

--best private island; Half Moon Cay

--nice beds

--some issues with A/C systems

--poor smoking policy

 

Celebrity has:

--excellent cuisine in the MDR

--the best alternative restaurants at sea

--bright, modern decor and the best large ships at sea (Solstice Class)

--well thought out cabin designs, with excellent showers

--international crew and great service

--super return customer program; Captain's Club

--great smoking policy (no smoking inside anywhere, no smoking in cabins or balconies)

--pretty good entertainment

--so, so itineraries

--becoming more expensive

 

I must say that Celebrity consistently treats us very special; we've visited every area of the ship (Bridge, Engine Room, Galley, Back Stage, Crew Quarters); visited the Captain's Table eight times; free internet; free laundry; two hours of free drinks/horsd'oeuvres every night. HAL's Mariner Program is basic; we've made one visit to the Captain's Table (Veendam).

 

We will continue to cruise both lines, as they offer a great cruise for the dollars spent!

 

Enjoy!

Kel

 

Thanks Kel - although we have never sailed HAL we will be "flipping-over" from RCCL and looking forward to the change.

 

g

[Bobby Dee]

There are those who swear by HAL Unfortunately, each of the two times we sailed on HAL, we've had problems with the ship maintenance or the customer service (Purser or Front Desk) department. I am aware that these things can happen on any ship, but my wife absolutely refuses to consider another Holland America cruise. Perhaps if we were to win a free cruise...but then again, we don't enter their contests.

On the other hand, we love Celebrity. What do you expect, we hang out on the Celebrity board?

[TLCOhio]

We do all three. X has a more active customer base, I find their ships more modern style versus HAL's more regal style. Food is good. We really look at all three and go with itinerary and price. I like X's smoking policy the best hands down.

 

To back up and support the comments from Kirk, below are a few of my pictures from our Solstice experience last June. You can see more below from the full live/blog that I did. That contemporary, classic style was nice and impressed us on our first sailing with Celebrity. From others who have done HAL, they say that line is a little more "traditional". Depends on what you like and seek.

 

We just booked last month for the Celebrity Solstice Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland, 14 days. We will get into Australia early and plan added stops prior to the cruise, including for around Cairns and doing the Great Barrier Reef. Fortunately, our cruise has "extra" stops in NZ for Napier and Bay of Islands. With their new ships, Celebrity seems to be working to be more creative in scheduling their port stops, various locations in the world, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 79,693 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

On the top, back of the Solstice, here is a wider view of Corning Hot Glass show area, plus the green grass and the unique covering designs for this special area of the ship. Classy design touches and style!!:

 

 

 

The Solarium was one of our favorite areas. Food and drinks were nearby and it was very relaxed and sophisticated. Quieter, too, as it is an adults-only area. Two hot tubs here. Not crowded, especially in the evenings. Nice art and design with this facility. Wonderful setting for relaxing and watching the outside water/shore views, enjoying subtle inside action, etc.:

 

 

 

In the top, back area near the Sunset Bar with live grass, some enjoy this area by reading, playing on the lawn or sun-bathing there. Usually, it’s not too crowded!:

 

 

 

This is a view of the library area on the tenth floor that overlooked the central, open core area of the ship. Not a great book selection here, but it is a nice-looking area with a quiet reading hideaway.:

 

 

 

Many times at the pool in the afternoons, the “party band” was going at it with great tunes, adding to the fun and excitement around the pool area of the Solstice. Just like done by some famous California pop groups, we were hearing “fun, fun, fun” underneath the sun!!:

 

[chandrisellinis]

Many thanks for the comments will definately be booking a Carnival cruise soon. :)

[chandrisellinis]

Kirk, great summary and what about those pictures from Terry ... now I cannot wait :D

[woody14h]

We do all three. X has a more active customer base, I find their ships more modern style versus HAL's more regal style. Food is good. We really look at all three and go with itinerary and price. I like X's smoking policy the best hands down.

 

I totally concur with this poster. Can't go wrong with any choice.

[TLCOhio]

Kirk, great summary and what about those pictures from Terry ... now I cannot wait :D

 

Appreciate the nice comments on my pictures. Those were not "trick" photos. That's the real thing. We were really impressed for how Celebrity got it right with these Solstice ship designed. The German builder really did it well with the quality and style of these ships. Also, kelmac had a good summary of the various, key factors to consider. Lots of good options to consider and from which to chose.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 79,693 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[retired067]

Many thanks for the comments will definately be booking a Carnival cruise soon. :)

 

Where did Carnival come from, I thought it was Celebrity vs Hal

[hypercafe]

We have sailed on both and just came back from a HAL trip. I really liked the itenery howeve I didn't think it was worth the money because of the condition of the ship, quality of food etc. I think we are done with them. We really like X for the style and feel of the ships along with they give a much better bang for the buck.

[hawkeye3d]

We've only sailed HAL, second cruise this Sept, then the first X in April. With that being said the one glaring difference I see is HAL’s policy on wine. HAL allows you to bring whatever amount and whenever you want. All these stories about X’s “naughty room” put me off a bit. Now if X offered wines at a lower price I would be more inclined to go along with their view. Just my 2 cents.

[boogs]

Appreciate any comments as have tended to stick with HA or Princess

 

Based on your user name, you NEED to go with Celebrity. Celebrity Cruises was founded in April 1988 as a subsidiary of the Greece-based Chandris Group to operate upmarket cruise ships to Bermuda. It was eventually bought by Royal Caribbean Corp. The signature "Χ" displayed on the funnel of Celebrity ships is the Greek letter chi, for "Chandris".

 

You have a connection with Celebrity! ;)

[boogs]

Those were not "trick" photos. That's the real thing.

 

The photo of the library almost looks like a painting! Something about the lighting, the shadows, the books on the shelf, and the woman sitting in the chair, give it that look. Must have been a result of refraction from the glass in the elevator that you were shooting the photo through.

[Zoey1]

Last year we sailed on the Westerdam, (first time for both HAL & Alaska) to be fair, the weather was horrible (such heavy fog that every one of our excursions got canceled) however the line itself was a major disappointment! If you did not eat at the "regular" scheduled times and wanted to get a late lunch, you were pretty much out of luck. There were VERY few choices, they did not replenish if out of something (whether it be muffins or lunch meat, whatever) during the day there was nothing going on, (we at least had the concierge lounge to sit and mingle with people), help didn't go out their way, they were pleasant enough but never the extra mile.

 

The perks on HAL were the cabins (we had a suite) were AMAZING, maybe the nicest out of all the lines we sailed with, nice itinerary's and the specialty restaurants were really great.

 

This past winter we sailed with Celebrity (Eclipse) for the first time..wow what a difference. They totally went the extra mile, more things to do, didn't matter what time you wanted to eat, always food available, we enjoyed it so much we booked the Infinity for Alaska this summer!

[airhose]

I've sailed both lines, Celebrity gets my vote most often. The smoking policy on HAL means I have to hold my breath to get through the casino to get to the theatre (travelling with my father, who is a slow walker and doesn't do stairs), and I had to leave my lovely reading lounge on the promenade deck when a pipe smoker lit up nearby. I realize that he was perfectly within his right to do so, but it sure confirmed that my first choice lies with Celebrity!

[Bison]

To back up and support the comments from Kirk, below are a few of my pictures from our Solstice experience last June. You can see more below from the full live/blog that I did. That contemporary, classic style was nice and impressed us on our first sailing with Celebrity. From others who have done HAL, they say that line is a little more "traditional". Depends on what you like and seek.

 

We just booked last month for the Celebrity Solstice Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland, 14 days. We will get into Australia early and plan added stops prior to the cruise, including for around Cairns and doing the Great Barrier Reef. Fortunately, our cruise has "extra" stops in NZ for Napier and Bay of Islands. With their new ships, Celebrity seems to be working to be more creative in scheduling their port stops, various locations in the world, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 79,693 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

On the top, back of the Solstice, here is a wider view of Corning Hot Glass show area, plus the green grass and the unique covering designs for this special area of the ship. Classy design touches and style!!:

 

 

 

The Solarium was one of our favorite areas. Food and drinks were nearby and it was very relaxed and sophisticated. Quieter, too, as it is an adults-only area. Two hot tubs here. Not crowded, especially in the evenings. Nice art and design with this facility. Wonderful setting for relaxing and watching the outside water/shore views, enjoying subtle inside action, etc.:

 

 

 

In the top, back area near the Sunset Bar with live grass, some enjoy this area by reading, playing on the lawn or sun-bathing there. Usually, it’s not too crowded!:

 

 

 

This is a view of the library area on the tenth floor that overlooked the central, open core area of the ship. Not a great book selection here, but it is a nice-looking area with a quiet reading hideaway.:

 

 

 

Many times at the pool in the afternoons, the “party band” was going at it with great tunes, adding to the fun and excitement around the pool area of the Solstice. Just like done by some famous California pop groups, we were hearing “fun, fun, fun” underneath the sun!!:

 

Great photo's ! If you don't mind me asking I would be interested in what camera you used for these ?

[Jade13]

What's not to like about either cruise line? Both Celebrity and HAL offer a great product and my wife and I will BtoB these two cruise lines from time to time.

 

I've cruised HAL nine times and Celebrity 18 times. Both lines have wonderful service and very good cuisine. Here is my head to head comparison:

 

HAL has:

--very good MDR cuisine

--pretty good alternative restaurants

--excellent warm and quiet service with an Asian feel

--traditional decor and a variety of ship sizes

--large, but dark cabins

--outstanding wrap around promenade deck

--great cold weather ships

--smart itineraries

--basic entertainment

--best private island; Half Moon Cay

--nice beds

--some issues with A/C systems

--poor smoking policy (Changed this year - no smoking in cabins)

 

Celebrity has:

--excellent cuisine in the MDR

--the best alternative restaurants at sea

--bright, modern decor and the best large ships at sea (Solstice Class)

--well thought out cabin designs, with excellent showers

--international crew and great service

--super return customer program; Captain's Club

--great smoking policy (no smoking inside anywhere, no smoking in cabins or balconies)

--pretty good entertainment

--so, so itineraries

--becoming more expensive

 

I must say that Celebrity consistently treats us very special; we've visited every area of the ship (Bridge, Engine Room, Galley, Back Stage, Crew Quarters); visited the Captain's Table eight times; free internet; free laundry; two hours of free drinks/horsd'oeuvres every night. HAL's Mariner Program is basic; we've made one visit to the Captain's Table (Veendam).

 

We will continue to cruise both lines, as they offer a great cruise for the dollars spent!

 

Enjoy!

Kel

 

I agree with all but did not like the alternative restaurant on Celebrity. The worst meal at sea.

 

On HAL we have visited the Galley, Back-Stage and Crew Quarters. We prefer HAL's itineraries and crew. Celebrity is is significantly cheaper on the cruises we have looked at.

 

The difference is MoMA (Celebrity) vs MET (HAL).

 

We just got off a 22 night Veendam cruise from Santiago to NYC and taking a Silhouette TA from Civitavecchia to Ft Lauderdale later this year

[chandrisellinis]

Thanks again for great comments its CELEBRITY :D

 

BOOGS -- X it is, thanks fo the interesting history.

 

AIRHOUSE -- This non smoking policy sounds great to me.:)

[leonardofan]

Nobody has remarked on the passenger mix--in my experience more people from the coasts and more Europeans on X, more Middle America on HAL.

Friendly, cultured people all, depends who you miss more (or who you want to get away from for a change).

 

Both brands are terrific--you can't go wrong with either.:)