Loyal Celebrity cruiser tries HAL

[Muushka]

I posted this over on the X board also.

 

We are loyal Celebrity cruisers.  Love the ships and the staff.  Love the perks with the Captain's Club.  We had never sailed Holland America before and never gave them much thought.  But right around Thanksgiving they had some great rates on a 2 week Christmas/NYE cruise on a brand new ship that we couldn't refuse.  And the dates were perfect for us so we did a little research and booked it.  The price of their lowest suite (Vista) was only $200 (total) or so more than the regular balcony cabins, so we figured we would give it a try.  After trying it, I would not pay that extra price for it.  It is not comparable to a Sky Suite on X (but the low price for HAL makes me understand why). 

 

So for us, if we can swing it, a suite (probably Sky) on X will be our first choice.  Luminae, Michael's Club and all of the other suite perks makes it our favorite choice.  If we ever want to do another 2 week holiday cruise, a balcony on a HAL ship will be just fine.  X holiday cruises have become so expensive these past few years, and suites are way too expensive.

 

 

 

 

Celebrity and Holland America (Nieuw Statendam) Comparison

 

The official welcome aboard

 

 

X  What's better than a warm smile and a nice glass of sparkling wine?

 

HAL  No bubbly, but warm smiles!

 

 

Christmas

 

X wins.  They had an artificial tree that almost looked real and they played more Christmas music. 

 

HAL had a bunch of boxes stacked in the shape of a tree.  Not even green boxes.  It wasn't very Christmassy.  HAL was too politically correct.

 

Refrigerator

 

HAL wins.  Big time.  Best cabin refrigerator ever in any cruise line cabin.  Nice and cold

 

X Meh.  Just like all of the others

 

Nightlight

 

X  wins.  they had one in the bath

 

HAL didn't

 

Ship Model

 

X wins.  They (like Disney) have the great detail, molded plastic models

 

HAL had a glass, minimal detail model.  We always get one for Christmas cruises, not this year.

 

Robes

 

X wins.  I love my bathrobe and X's is a thick, luxurious terrycloth robe

 

HAL is a waffle type, not very thick, not very luxurious

 

Balcony

 

X wins

 

They both had footstools (we always do Concierge class on X and I don't know if all of the balconies on HAL had them).  They seemed to be about the same size.  X has a sliding glass door, HAL's door swung open onto the balcony.  Sliding door is much more convenient.  I would have to give the nod to X

 

HAL highly tints the balcony glass.  So much so that the water color is distorted!

 

Cabin readiness on embarkation

 

HAL wins.  They came into our cabin the day of debarkation while we were having breakfast and started getting it ready.  No problem for me! I appreciated being able to get into our cabin at around 12 when we boarded 2 weeks ago.

 

X  Like all other cruise lines, after 1.

 

Disembarkation

 

HAL It just seemed more orderly and calmer.  Plus that pre-cabin cleaning is helpful.  The steward put everything out for us, easier to gather.

 

X  We have had a couple of bad disembarkations and unless we are in a suite, they are usually chaotic.

 

But if we are in a suite, it's great.

 

Trivia

 

HAL  It seemed like they put more thought into the questions.  But they do need to add some different types of trivia other than general.  I did convince them to do a couple of music trivias.  So maybe it will improve.

 

X  Over the past couple of years it has gone downhill.  The people who are running it clearly are not having a good time.  Not a lot of thought goes into it.

 

Casino

 

Not that we gamble, but we do walk through them. 

 

X wins because it is totally smoke free.

 

HAL, I believe, has rotating smoke free days.

 

Main Dining Room

 

It is a toss up.  Except for the lobster, see below.

 

Buffet

 

X wins.  The Oceanview Cafe has 'pods' which work very nicely.  And the food is very good

 

HAL  Has sections that you still line up for the food.  After 14 days the food became tiresome.

 

Specialty Dining- we didn't experience it on HAL so we can't compare

 

Lobster

 

I finally, after trying 4 different cruise lines had a delicious lobster in the MDR!

 

HAL wins the lobster war.  X, DCL and RCI are all inferior!

 

Burgers

 

HAL wins.  At their outdoor Dive-In.  The fries were great also.

 

X  Their burgers at the Mast Grill are pretty good, but not as good as HAL

 

Laundry

 

HAL HAL HAL.  I can't say enough good things about their laundry!  We opted for the $7 a day for the entire length of the cruise (we were on for 2 weeks so it was $98).  All of the laundry you want cleaned and PRESSED!!!  On hangers or folded in a nice basket wrapped in tissue, amazing! 

 

X Stuffs it into a bag.  X, check out the competition!!!

 

Shower

 

HAL It was a great shower.  It is a walk-in and quite large.  Very nice

 

X  I used to think they had the best shower!

 

Coffee

 

HAL It was delicious.  And at all venues (that were no charge).  Even the decaf!

 

X  I have to go to Cafe al Baccio to get a good cup

 

APP 

 

HAL has one, X needs one!  Hopefully they will have one next time we cruise on X.  They had the menus on the app!!!  However, the app did not always work and we couldn't get it to work for IM

 

Television

 

HAL  It was HUGE!  It had to be at least 50"

 

Television Programming

 

HAL  They had so many movies to watch!  Yes, I am one of those passengers who watch TV while on a cruise!

 

Hairdryer

 

HAL You don't have to hold a button to be able to use it.  Yay!

 

X  You have to hold a button to be able to use it.  Boo!

 

Binoculars

 

HAL  We were in a Vista Suite.  The binoculars were as good as the pair that we brought and didn't have to use!

 

X  For those who have seen them, BYOB (binoculars) right?

 

Theater/Shows

 

HAL Their theater (on NS) is amazing.  A 270 degree LED screen surrounded the theater for some amazing shows.  One in particular, Humanity.  The other shows were ok, on par with X. 

 

Musical Entertainment

 

HAL Hands down.  They have 3 venues on deck 2.  They had classical music (5 strings) perform 3 shows a day for several days during the week.  That same venue in the evening featured a band under the BB King banner.  They were excellent.  Motown and blues.  In the Rolling Stone venue was rock.  And across the way were dueling pianos.  A husband-wife team and they did a great job.  So basically every single evening you could listen to some great music.

 

X  You never know what you are going to get on X for music.  Usually not that good.

 

Some random comments:

 

HAL had a poolside restaurant, NY Deli and Pizza.  I love Ruebens.  What a treat!   My husband loved their pizza (but he loves X's pizza also).

 

Ship design - X

 

Suite amenities - X  Although we stayed in a low-end on HAL, from what I have read, the perks are not that great for all of the suites on HAL.

 

HAL gives a very nice Voyage Log on the last evening of the cruise.  Nice touch!

Edited January 30, 2019 by Muushka

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I have never sailed in a suite on Celebrity so don't know what the different names mean. But as an FYI, the Vista Suite on HAL used to be called a veranda suite which really is a balcony on other lines. You might have liked HAL's Neptune Suite with the access to the Neptune Lounge but those can be pretty pricey.

 

I did like your comparison between the two. Objective and very complete.

[Cruising-along]

Thank you for the fair and balanced review! We sail both HAL and Celebrity (HAL more only because we like their longer itineraries and even more their far superior laundry). 

 

I especially agree with your views on the burgers, laundry and coffee. The burgers on our Infinity cruises were not made fresh, they were dry hockey pucks kept in a warmer. I found the coffee to be undrinkable unless it was a specialty coffee. I have complained since our first X cruise about their expensive laundry. Paper bags, really? And unless you reach a high level of loyalty you pay by the piece. After 4 cruises on X, 2 of which were 2 weeks long, we’ve never seen a by the bag offer. 

[Walfam]

Thank you! Hairdryers that only run when a button is pushed is a deal breaker for me and my arthritic thumbs.  Even in hotels.  I always bring my own travel hairdryer on land trips.  I've been eyeing giving X a try after 13 years hiatus, but I will pass, unless I want to pack that hairdryer. 😊

[HokiePoq]

Thank  you, OP, for a very fair comparison.  We are four star Mariners and Elite on X.   Only thing I wouldn't agree on is the buffet.  I've found HAL's better but perhaps that is personal experience on the ships I've been on.  Celebrity/RCCL has a much more generous loyalty program.....but I am looking forward to my first time with the free laundry.   I have coveted the beautifully done ship laundry on many previous HAL cruises.    As you said, sure beats the stuff the bag deal.

[OVgirl]

It seems that on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, the 'suites' are not much of an improvement over a regular verandah. Looks like you have to go up to a Neptune Suite to get some value. 

Overall, all the staterooms on these 2 ships are much smaller than the other HAL ships.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for doing a great comparison of the 2 cruise lines.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Muushka said:

Celebrity and Holland America (Nieuw Statendam) Comparison

As DW and I more or less alternate between HAL and Celebrity. We might not agree with you on every point, but we found your comparison really interesting and very fair. Thank you!

[Nymich]

2 hours ago, HokiePoq said:

Thank  you, OP, for a very fair comparison.  We are four star Mariners and Elite on X.   Only thing I wouldn't agree on is the buffet.  I've found HAL's better but perhaps that is personal experience on the ships I've been on.  Celebrity/RCCL has a much more generous loyalty program.....but I am looking forward to my first time with the free laundry.   I have coveted the beautifully done ship laundry on many previous HAL cruises.    As you said, sure beats the stuff the bag deal.

Yes I would go with HAL food in the buffet over Celebrity.

[Jammu2]

Pretty good info. We are trying our 2nd X cruise in October. Our 1st, in 2013, was on Century and it soured us on the brand.

[mcrcruiser]

Like your comparison  between X & HAL .Well done

 

 We are Elite + level with Celebrity  .  Imo HAL is  best in the MDR for service & food quality & variety  .We also enjoy the lido food better on HAL as well as their pizza & Fiver in Hamburgers  .  We are about to  sail on koningsdam in March  ;but ,we just sailed Eurodam  & a tub shower is a plus for us 

 

 We may not sail many Celebrity cruises in the future  ,mainly because they & RCCL ships do not frequent to San  Diego (home port )  or San Pedro  port (we then sail Princess from this port )  neat LA & we can drive to both  ports ( max time 1 .5 hour drive ) .This is a huge advantage over flying with the inconvenience & extra cost & limited & extra cost baggage fees  .We are doing a 12 day R/T Alaska cruise on Royal Princess balcony  Alaska from San Pedro  .We have done 5 prior Alaska cruises & tours  .so much easier to drive pre tour to the Double Tree hilton hotel the night before ,have a wonderful breakfast ,leave the car parked fro  free & get the hotel free shuttle to & back from the pier 

[I_r_a]

Thanx for sharing, M

 

Ira

[Hawaiidan]

Not to ruffle any feathers  having sailed both many times.      To be objective your moving down in quality across the board.   HAL  is wonderful for what it is  a staid middle of the road cruise experience.    Celebrity  is a step up...      That said I would be looking up the ladder  to Azamar, Oceania , Cost a bit more  but both deliver far more than caleb and thus a far greater value      Neither has a class system and offer Superior service and cuisine with 1/3 the passengers.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for your comparison.