Alaska. HAL or Celebrity?

[Sandifer]

I know this is a HAL forum but I am trying to decide between HAL and Celbrity for an Alaka cruise this August, round trip from Seattle. My husband and I have cruised with both lines in the past but it's been awhile. We like good food, lectures if possible, and quiet. I would also like to do the Tracy Arm excursion. Any advice appreciated.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have you checked how long the ships are in each port?

Are you looking at cruises that do Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier?

[Aquahound]

I know this is a HAL forum but I am trying to decide between HAL and Celbrity for an Alaka cruise this August, round trip from Seattle. My husband and I have cruised with both lines in the past but it's been awhile. We like good food, lectures if possible, and quiet. I would also like to do the Tracy Arm excursion. Any advice appreciated.

 

Can you provide a little more info, like what specific ships and the itineraries you're looking at?

[zookiebird]

The Tracy Arm excursion was a major highlight of our HAL trip but you really can't go wrong choosing them or Celebrity. I'd compare and contrast the overall itineraries, port times and number of ships in port with you (cruisetimetables.com).

[Kamloops50]

I know this is a HAL forum but I am trying to decide between HAL and Celbrity for an Alaka cruise this August, round trip from Seattle. My husband and I have cruised with both lines in the past but it's been awhile. We like good food, lectures if possible, and quiet. I would also like to do the Tracy Arm excursion. Any advice appreciated.

 

With Alaska it's really about the ports not as much the ships . Compare the port times . Do you lose a port that you want to see is replaced with another of less interest? We quite often are willing to drop Skagway for Sitka. We prefer Sitka over Skagway any day.

[Tapi]

We went with Holland America for our Alaska cruise purely because of itinerary. We wanted a roundtrip from Seattle, departing on a weekend, which included Glacier Bay. Holland America provided the best match (and thankfully at a better price). Another bonus which we didn't count on was Sitka. It turned out to be one of the highlights of that cruise!

 

When I think of that trip, my memories are mostly about the ports of call and very few are about the ship and onboard experience, so that should tell you what you should place more emphasis on. [emoji3]

Edited June 26, 2016 by Tapi

[cvpends]

I have done both, and both cruise lines are nice. Check ports and especially port times before booking. That is most important thing.

 

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[geoherb]

We're going on the Amsterdam in August. For me, it was a choice between HAL and Princess. The deciding factor was that HAL goes to Sitka. We've taken three cruises on Princess to Alaska and have never been to Sitka before. Princess does not go there regularly.

[gpb11]

As others have mentioned, first priority is itinerary and matching what you want to do. The ship is secondary IMHO as so much of your attention is focused outward.

[Paulinda]

We agree with Tapi. We recently returned from Alaska and cruised with HAL's Amsterdam. I haven't looked at prices for Celebrity but I know the prices on HAL are relatively inexpensive depending on when you go.

 

Just be aware that there's not a lot of Port time and we thought the stop in Victoria was pretty much a waste of time. We docked there at 6PM and left around midnight. My DW didn't want to leave the ship as there was another 1/2 hour minimum spent to get thru customs and a short shuttle ride to Victoria from the dock. We ended up staying on board packing and getting ready for Sat. morning disembark. We really enjoyed the short time we had at each of the other stops and did several excursions.

 

The food on the ship was very good for the most part and there are various demonstrations on board if you wish to attend. The best part of HAL was that the Amsterdam only has about 1300 passengers vs. the much larger ships that we followed. We didn't tender at any port while the bigger ships were doing so.

[Kamloops50]

We have stopped in Victoria for a day with Celebrity . Got off the ship and just walked thru customs with no wait . There were a couple Asians that had to see Canadian Officials before they where allowed to disembark.

Same thing this spring with Princess.

[RMLincoln]

There is so much to consider: Embarkation port and day of week; Time in port; Day of week in each port with how many ships. Both cruise lines will give you lectures, good food and quiet spaces. Both have similar room types. But prices will vary.

 

What's your style? Do you want MDR dining? Then probably HAL. If you want specialty dining, then probably Celebrity for variety but it's more costly per dinner. Do you want suites? Aqua class on Celebrity with meals in Blu? Do you want a real library? HAL. What about entertainment... slight edge to Celebrity. Room service? HAL.

 

For us, we'd take the itinerary first then check price for the room type we'd want on each ship. The rest is all fluff and either line is good for us. DH says he can't tell the lines apart except for the pizza!

[Sandifer]

Thanks for all the advice. Actually we have cruised to Alaska before, a couple of times. For this cruise it is mostly about relaxation. We have been dealing with health issues for the last year and now just need a stress less getaway. Does the Amsterdam have a good library? On one Hal ship in the past, we could go to the library and listen to classical music. How about any informative lectures? Thanks again

[RMLincoln]

Amsterdam has a more or less self-contained library on Upper Promenade deck; on some deck plans it only shows as Explorations Cafe. It is not sharing with the Crow's Nest as on some other HAL ships. You can listen to classical music in the nice recliners there and have a nice view.

 

There will be presentations by the National Parks Rangers who come on board in Glacier Bay... not sure about your itinerary.

We had lecturers on board Volendam all week but that was several years ago and I hope more recent cruisers can update or confirm that.

 

I like Amsterdam's mid-size and we will be taking a long cruise on her later this year, mostly for relaxation also. One thing I don't like so much about her is that there are comparatively few balcony rooms, and those command a premium price so we will be in an OV. The bigger ships have more balconies so usually do not require so much of a price jump from OV to balcony. But the OVs on Amsterdam are nice, with a couch and a tub/shower. m--

[Sandifer]

I remember the library from a previous trip, now I am looking at the Westerdam because it has the Tracy arm excursion and th Amsterdam doesn't. Do you know if the Westerdam is ask nicely?

[Sandifer]

Sorry typing crazy, I meant is the Westerdam as nice as the Amsterdam?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Sorry typing crazy, I meant is the Westerdam as nice as the Amsterdam?

 

We love both ships:), and have cruised on both to Alaska. If you prefer the Westerdam itinerary, go for it!

 

HAL has the "On Location" guides who give talks on Alaskan history and wildlife, and also answer questions about each port.

 

I have also cruised on Celebrity' s Solstice to Alaska. The ship was beautiful, and we were in one of their Royal suites, so we had a very good ship experience. But for seeing Alaska, I prefer HAL. I found the Solstice too large for handling embarkation and disembarkation efficiently. In addition, we had to tender in Juneau, which cut into our shore time there. I think the Solstice still tenders on alternate weeks in Juneau, but someone else who has been there more recently could perhaps verify that.

 

PS How could I forget to mention that HAL has more open deck space for outside viewing? On Solstice, the bow was only open for suite, elite, and VIP guests, because the helicopter pad there takes up so much room. On HAL, the bow is open for everyone.

Edited June 27, 2016 by middle-aged mom

[geoherb]

The Celebrity ship sailing round-trip from Seattle this summer is sold out for the week we're going. There's room on the following cruise, but the price for an oceanview cabin is more than $1,000 per person more than we're paying for the Amsterdam.

 

Somehow Celebrity is staying longer in Victoria on that cruise than we'll be staying--six and a half hours versus five and a half. But they're both nighttime visits, and we're not planning on getting off the ship anyway there. It's too bad the cruise lines don't offer more itineraries that stop in Victoria during the day instead of the last night of the cruise. But I'd guess they would have to cut something else short if they did that.