Finally did it

[EDLOS]

Decided to vote with my feet and canceled 25 day Transpacific on Maasdam and booked B to B Celebrity 29 day cruises in Asia.

Last four cruises on HAL left me with the feeling that HAL really doesn't care about anything but the bottom line, reducing entertainment, activities on board, enrichment programs, raising prices on beverage packages, specialty dining, shore excursions, but spending ? dollars on Oprah. Just found it irritating enough to walk.

Will miss the free laundry ! And could find that the grass is not greener on the other side of the street. I think that I am not alone though, with other veteran HAL cruisers

[princeton12321]

Not to rain on the parade but we were Celebrity cruising regulars for a long time and decided to try Veendam to Bermuda. We're weary too of an older ship (not that the Millennium class are that much newer- only a handful of years). The Celebrity ships were a little larger but felt much more crowded. The HAL onboard product is MUCH better all around compared to Celebrity. Celebrity isn't nearly what it used to be. Veendam won nearly all around compared to Summit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[john2003]

I hope Celebrity meets your expectations. We have tried them twice and they have not wowed us. That said I know they also have a very loyal following.

 

Sent from my LG-H812 using Forums mobile app

[CruiserBruce]

As a business, if you don't worry about the bottom line, you don't have a business for very long.

[RJ2002]

Hope you enjoy Celebrity. It has a different vibe than HAL for sure, more contemporary. I don't think the service was quite as friendly and refined as HAL. We sailed them once, in Aqua Class (essentially a verandah cabin with dining perks). You dine in a smaller dining room called Blu. Limited menu with clean, simple preparations.

 

If there was a unique itinerary that appealed to us, we'd consider them again, but they are really not on our radar these days.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When the cons out weigh the pros, it is time to rethink your cruising plans.

Do let us know how your Celebrity cruise goes.

[doone]

I also miss the old days of cruising, was also thinking of switching cruise lines for my family cruise in 2019, but after doing some research on these boards we decided to stay with the devil we know than the devil we don't. Unfortunately all the lines have cut backs, but I have always found HAL to offer a good bang for your buck. I hope you enjoy your cruise.

[kazu]

Good luck with your new cruise plans. If you were unhappy then it is the best thing to do.

 

I hope your grass is greener on the other side.

[ICUQT]

I was in the same place of mind as the OP a couple of years back. Sailed nothing else but HAL for 25+ cruises. My loyalty to HA and my comfort level with them was strong. I could echo everything the OP describes and like him I left HAL to try other cruise lines. But times are changing and it is not only with HA but it is industry wide. I have tried Princess and Celebrity and I have also gone back to HA for a sailing. I no longer have that loyalty I had with HA. Because they are all just average cruise lines (IMO) and if I look hard enough I can find something, usually trivial and minor with all of them. Now I shop for cruises based on price and itinerary and what works best for me and what cruise line fills my need.

 

bob

[bUU]

Not to rain on the parade but we were Celebrity cruising regulars for a long time and decided to try Veendam to Bermuda. We're weary too of an older ship (not that the Millennium class are that much newer- only a handful of years). The Celebrity ships were a little larger but felt much more crowded. The HAL onboard product is MUCH better all around compared to Celebrity. Celebrity isn't nearly what it used to be. Veendam won nearly all around compared to Summit.

Combined with the OP perhaps we have a testament to the adage that the grass is always greener on the other side. All these companies operate pretty much the same way. Our choices as consumers is essentially either to go or to stay home. The good news is that Holland America doesn't take away your elite status because you tried another cruise line. You can come back and they won't begrudge the diversion.

 

As a business, if you don't worry about the bottom line, you don't have a business for very long.

Very true.

[esimon]

So very interesting that someone would think there is a cruise line that doesn't have money as the bottom line. Let me know when you find it. you won't find better service than on HAL. Hope you are happy on what ever line you find

[sammiedawg]

I've never understood the almost blind loyalty some seem to have to a cruise line. Especially when that line has slipped.

By all means try something different.

[Cruising-along]

We sail on both Celebrity and HAL. There are pros and cons of each, but we give the edge to HAL for their itineraries and ease of inexpensive laundry options.

 

On Celebrity unless you are Elite or higher, you either pay by the piece :eek: or (I believe) $50/bag compared to HAL's $20/bag. That's ok for a 7-day cruise, but anything longer can get expensive. Love HAL's unlimited and by the bag options (for everyone).

[Georgie562]

Have my first cruise with HAL in November specifically with the Maasdam and boy let me tell you, I can't wait to board. This cruise was specifically chosen because of itinerary and price so all the other stuff really is unimportant to me. Just put me on a clean ship with decent food and I am a happy camper. I've learned to not be loyal to just one line as cruise lines tend to change every so often.

 

Sailed with Celebrity last year B2B on the Summit and it was just an "okay" cruise.

Happy Sailing.

[NMLady]

. ...Now I shop for cruises based on price and itinerary and what works best for me and what cruise line fills my need.

bob

 

That is what we have always done. So we have cruised on most of the major cruise lines. We look first at itinerary, then price.

[geoherb]

I hope you have a great cruise. I'm another disappointed by HAL's cutbacks in entertainment and activities. Our number 1 cruise line is Princess, followed closely by HAL, and then distantly by Celebrity. I still look at all three, but the first two have gotten the majority of our business for the past dozen years.

[SilvertoGold]

I've never understood the almost blind loyalty some seem to have to a cruise line. Especially when that line has slipped.

By all means try something different.

 

Blind loyalty: c'est moi. Just so you can see another point of view:

 

At first HAL was everything we wanted. Then, changes, nothing over the top, just differences, somethings gone, somethings added. OK with us, 4 star rewards compensated a bit, so that offset some changes. HAL presented a good to very good value for us.

 

Recently, more changes, more serious ones, offset by 5 star rewards and a few extras.

 

As a poster noted, the bottom line for HAL is all. It is harder and harder for us to find what we considered, and now still consider, value on HAL (strictly in our own view). If we lived in Florida and wanted to cruise the Caribbean, it would be fine, but we don't.

 

We add and subtract the good and the bad. Blind loyalty is a tricky thing.

[candbgirl]

That is what we have always done. So we have cruised on most of the major cruise lines. We look first at itinerary, then price.

 

 

 

Me too. By doing this I am rarely disappointed, don't spend time looking for things to criticize and just enjoy sailing to beautiful places. There is so much to be thankful for and enjoy in life. Including tons of wonderful cruise lines.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[RMLincoln]

To EDLOS: We've enjoyed our Celebrity cruises, and I hope you do too.

But we also keep enjoying HAL, although last year and later this year our HAL cruises are long ones and I think they have more enrichment and maybe even better food(?) than shorter cruises. Usually we book the itineraries we want, no matter the cruise line and we have enjoyed NCL, Princess and yes even a 48 night one-off Carnival! DH says that between HAL, Princess, NCL and Celebrity the biggest difference he finds in the pizza. We have had good food on all these lines and Carnival too. And service I think is all very similar. That may not be what you want to hear, but I do hope you have a great time and tell us what it was like for you. m--

[princeton12321]

So very interesting that someone would think there is a cruise line that doesn't have money as the bottom line. Let me know when you find it. you won't find better service than on HAL. Hope you are happy on what ever line you find

 

 

 

Seabourn, Regent, Silver Sea, Ponnant, Cunard grills. Pretty broad statement to say you won't find better service than HAL because the above are vastly better. But HAL does give a good value for service for what you pay.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sammiedawg]

Seabourn, Regent, Silver Sea, Ponnant, Cunard grills. Pretty broad statement to say you won't find better service than HAL because the above are vastly better. But HAL does give a good value for service for what you pay.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I have sailed on quite a few lines, luxury, premium, mass market. Mass market lines have all cut back to hold prices down so they can fill their ships. They offer a good value for the money, an inexpensive way to see the world.

I've had kind, sincere service on every line as all cruise employees want to please. But service really suffers when staff numbers are reduced.

I cannot say Holland America service is better than their mass market competitors, they are all about the same. It is no where near as good as luxury lines because HAL doesn't have equivalent staff numbers.

[Tampa Girl]

Seabourn, Regent, Silver Sea, Ponnant, Cunard grills. Pretty broad statement to say you won't find better service than HAL because the above are vastly better. But HAL does give a good value for service for what you pay.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Again, a matter of opinion and, perhaps, the particular sailing. Having sailed in the Cunard Grills, however, I do not find their service any better, much less vastly better. And we much prefer the quality of HAL's food - with one exception, the Grills' rack of lamb. Yum.....

[shorefolks]

We cruise for itinerary and, roughly, price. That has led us to 3 mass market lines (Princess, Celebrity, and NCL) and 1 premium line (Oceania). In February we take our first HAL cruise and are looking forward to the new experience. After 20-some cruises, I think we are only able to make a very few generalities:

 

(1) Food - The most subjective category, it also seems to vary more from ship to ship than from line to line. Thus, most of the mass market lines are roughly equal to each other in broad satisfaction for us. (The exception to this is Oceania but, at their prices, it should be better- and it is.) We've been both pleased and disappointed on different cruises within the same line. If pressed, I might say Celebrity's food is a bit boring.

 

(2) Service - The biggest differentiator by far is not the cruise line but the nationality of the staff member. Filipinos and Indonesians are almost always the friendliest and happiest people you can meet. Eastern Europeans can seem a bit cold at first but they warm quickly after they get to recognize you. Still, the hard-to-describe vibe of a "happy ship" seems to occur least often on Celebrity, most often on Princess and Oceania.

 

(3) Intangible - For whatever reason or collection of reasons, we seem to get more of a "home again" feeling when we board a Princess ship. Maybe it's Vines (the wine bar with tapas) or the International Cafe (pastries and sandwiches in the atrium) or the larger balcony on Caribe deck of Grand-class ships - but probably it is just a seeming eagerness to please.

 

None of the above means that we wouldn't sail any of the mentioned lines again. As said earlier, for us it is about itinerary and price. After that, it is just a matter of finding where you are comfortable- and hoping it stays that way.

[igraf]

Most of us do shop by price and that has resulted in the industry-wide cutbacks and/or the newer enormous ships.

 

igraf

 

 

 

I was in the same place of mind as the OP a couple of years back. Sailed nothing else but HAL for 25+ cruises. My loyalty to HA and my comfort level with them was strong. I could echo everything the OP describes and like him I left HAL to try other cruise lines. But times are changing and it is not only with HA but it is industry wide. I have tried Princess and Celebrity and I have also gone back to HA for a sailing. I no longer have that loyalty I had with HA. Because they are all just average cruise lines (IMO) and if I look hard enough I can find something, usually trivial and minor with all of them. Now I shop for cruises based on price and itinerary and what works best for me and what cruise line fills my need.

 

bob

[ICUQT]

Most of us do shop by price and that has resulted in the industry-wide cutbacks and/or the newer enormous ships.

 

igraf

 

You maybe right but I don't think price is the leading factor in cutbacks in the cruise industry. Because cutbacks, reorgs, "doing more with less" affects the bottom line and that bottom line is profit for the investor/shareholder. Why are they building bigger ships...simple because they can fill the cabins (supply & demand) with people like us an increase their profit. As another poster stated what company (not quoting) isn't concern with the bottom line? How long do you think a CCL investor/shareholder would invest if they showed no return on investment? The job of a good CEO is to maximize profits.IMO It's all about the money and cutbacks are part of the equation.

 

bob