HAL vs Celebrity?

[jkgourmet]

We are seniors who have cruised 25+ times.  We always HAPPILY sail in the cheapest cabins that get us the perks we want On the itineraries we want (on Celebrity, that means an OV cabin).  We booked insides in The pre-perk days.  We aren't loyal to any cruise lines.  In fact, we've sailed on 7 different cruise lines.  Celebrity, HAL, MSC, RCCL, NCL, Princess, and Carnival.  We would sail on any of them again except RCCL and Carnival.  

 

Our last 4 and next one have been on Celebrity primarily because the perks make the pricing pretty much unbeatable for our preferences.  But HAL is offering some deals with similar perks that make the pricing in an OV cabin very competitive.

 

it's been years since we sailed HAL.  for those who have sailed both recently-ish, Can you give me your thoughts, please?  I'm not interested in what suites offer - it's not the way we travel.  

 

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by jkgourmet

[4774Papa]

11 minutes ago, jkgourmet said:

We are seniors who have cruised 25+ times.  We always HAPPILY sail in the cheapest cabins that get us the perks we want On the itineraries we want (on Celebrity, that means an OV cabin).  We booked insides in The pre-perk days.  We aren't loyal to any cruise lines.  In fact, we've sailed on 7 different cruise lines.  Celebrity, HAL, MSC, RCCL, NCL, Princess, and Carnival.  We would sail on any of them again except RCCL and Carnival.  

 

Our last 4 and next one have been on Celebrity primarily because the perks make the pricing pretty much unbeatable for our preferences.  But HAL is offering some deals with similar perks that make the pricing in an OV cabin very competitive.

 

it's been years since we sailed HAL.  for those who have sailed both recently-ish, Can you give me your thoughts, please?  I'm not interested in what suites offer - it's not the way we travel.  

 

 

We always avoided HAL because of their awful smoking policy.  A couple of years ago HAL modified its policy banning smoking on balconies.

 

I understand that smoking is still allowed in the Casino, which means we can't walk thru that area or go near the opening of the casino.   We did Alaska in Fall of 2016 and an independent land tour that included Denali.  Our day Tundra tour bus stopped and picked up about 40 HAL passengers.  They brought with them a nasty smoker's odor that permeated our bus.  I opened the window a bit for fresh air and people complained.  I doubt if we would go with HAL unless the deal was a real bargain, since we don't have loyalty status with HAL.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We did 3 days at sea, 7 day land tour into the Yukon and Denali.  I don't remember smelling smoke once.  Nieuw Amsterdam may have had stricter policies after dry dock, and most of the people on our land tour had never cruised before.  Only a few were repeats from HAL, or crossed over from Princess.

 

HAL has changed the Crows Nest into a destination kiosk, shore excursions, cafe, mini library, and observation.  Gone is the dance floor, if I'm understanding the old design correctly.

 

Classical, Blues, and Rock venues are being added, with enhanced focus on music.  The new Pinnacle Class is using advanced tech in the theater, similar to Edge and Quantum.  The TVs have hundreds of movies and shows on demand for free.

 

 

 

 

[George C]

It’s been a few years since hal but did celebrity last year , I find lines very similar in general, older crowd, decent food, although celebrity buffet is way better than Hal’s. Entertainment might be a little better on hal ,  as already said smoking can be a issue and no really late entertainment past 11 or midnight. 

 

[floridacruisers]

 We just got off HAL's Oosterdam last month and are now 2 star Mariners. However, we are Elite+ on Celebrity so here's my take on the two. I would sail either one without any hesitation. 

 FOOD.. I found HAL's MDR to be a bit better than Celebrity. This might be different on the Edge so I can't comment. The

buffets were on a par with both being very good. Specialty restaurants vary with both. Murano's on Celebrity is very good as is Tamarind on HAL.

SERVICE... Great on both with a touch more warmth with HAL probably due to the country of origin of the crew members.

SHIPS.....Quite different. HAL's are more of the classic style which we like and Celebrity ship are more modern which we also like. We're happy with either.

SHOWS....Been there, done that and find both about equal. Don't do many shows nowadays. Do like HAL's B.B. King blues club and the new Classic Rock Club. The BIG difference between the two is volume in the different formats. HAL's is reasonable and Celebrity's is ear splitting. That's important to me since something so loud can mess up your ears. It's the main reason we have done more HAL cruises lately.  

PRICING...That is a big bugaboo I have with Celebrity. It is all over the place. We are currently booked on the Reflection in Aqua Class at $1199.00 each for a 7 night cruise. I have to watch Celebrity's pricing constantly. My last check showed the same cabin for $2299.00!!!

  HAL is more reasonably priced and yes, they too play with pricing but nowhere near the level of Celebrity. I do miss my bennies on HAL that go with Elite+. I am willing to forego some of those for a much more reasonable price. Celebrity's bennies are better than HAL's. 

 

So what does all this mean??? Try both and see what you can get that YOU feel is the best value for your dollar. You can't go wrong with either one of them IMHO.

 

Phil..............floridacruisers

     

[bEwAbG]

The casinos on Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam are now non-smoking.  The only places to smoke on those ships are outdoors.

 

The two newest ships (Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam) do allow smoking in their casinos, which is disappointing to those of us who cannot tolerate indoor smoking areas. 

 

I was on Nieuw Amsterdam twice this past year.  It's an excellent ship.  Similar to the M-Class experience on X to me. 

 

This was a topic just a few weeks ago.  I & many others provided more thoughts on this thread:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2638308-how-does-celebrity-compare-to-holland-america/

[Miaminice]

We will do our first cruise with HAL to Japan in April. The itinerary was more interesting to us since we did the one offered with Millennium already. HAL‘s price was wayyyy better when we booked. 40 % less than Celebrity.

 

 

We will let you know how it was.

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Miaminice

[Hlitner]

Doing comparisons with HAL can be tricky.  Some of what we would say is dependent on the actual ship and itinerary.  There are big differences between some of the older medium size HAL vessels vs their newest larger ships.   For example taking a transpacific cruise on the Maasdam (with its new unique EXP program) would be completely different then a 7 day Caribbean cruise on Nieuw Statendam.

 

Hank

[hcat]

3 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

We did 3 days at sea, 7 day land tour into the Yukon and Denali.  I don't remember smelling smoke once.  Nieuw Amsterdam may have had stricter policies after dry dock, and most of the people on our land tour had never cruised before.  Only a few were repeats from HAL, or crossed over from Princess.

 

HAL has changed the Crows Nest into a destination kiosk, shore excursions, cafe, mini library, and observation.  Gone is the dance floor, if I'm understanding the old design correctly.

 

Classical, Blues, and Rock venues are being added, with enhanced focus on music.  The new Pinnacle Class is using advanced tech in the theater, similar to Edge and Quantum.  The TVs have hundreds of movies and shows on demand for free.

 

 

 

 

Not a show  I would stay  for...may as well stick with X!

[ExArkie]

I know from reading these boards that I am an outlier in this experience, but on our one HAL cruise about six years ago, I found the MDR service horrible (almost an hour wait for appetizer, then the order was wrong) and the food worse.  Everyone else on these boards seems to not have had this problem, based on what I read, but we certainly did.  I am willing to believe our cruise was an anomaly, but we were definitely not the only people on the ship that had the same opinion.

 

We did not have any other problems and quite enjoyed other aspects, but the dining experience soured me on their line rather drastically. 

 

This trip was on the Oosterdam, Vancouver to Seward, at the very beginning of the Alaska season.  Perhaps it was just a new crew and kitchen staff that hadn't learned how to do their jobs?

[Iamthesea]

Our cruise on HAL about 8 years ago was excellent on the Eurodam!  Yes, that earlier HAL cruise was better than our most recent N. Amsterdam cruise (this past December) but I think a lot had to do with cut backs that all cruiselines are doing. And it's hard to like a buffet after being on Celebrity ships!  HAL's entertainment was great, the crew was as welcoming as always, and the atmosphere of the ship was so subdued.  Lots of nooks,  and many different bar areas to choose from, etc.

 

Now, the week after our N. Amsterdam cruise, we sailed the Celebrity Edge.   We much preferred our HAL experience over the Edge experience.  Edge was so different from any other cruise we have experienced.   We did not enjoy the ship layout, looks, and most of the entertainment.  The highlight was being in AQ and dining in Blu.   The Edge cruise was our 18th Celebrity cruise in 10 years.  We have one more booked for Europe 2019 on the old style Constellation.  Looking forward to that cruise, but not sure we will book Celebrity again unless it's on a Solstice class that has not been Revolutionized. The Solstice Deck is our favorite to hang out on a sunny day.  It is being turned into the Retreat Deck for Suites.  

 

We are currently looking at a HAL cruise for Europe 2020.  The rates are so much better, as well.

 

So, as floridacruisers says, it really depends on what you like.  HAL has a more laid back atmosphere that we prefer.   The Revolutionization that Celebrity is bringing to their ships is starting to turn these 60' somethings off.  

Edited March 9, 2019 by Iamthesea

[mac66]

It's been said that while X caters to the baby boomers, HAL caters to the greatest generation (i.e, their parents)

[Iamthesea]

My parents and grandparents were frequent sailers of HAL.  I guess my DH and I have their taste.  My 3 adult children like HAL, as well.  They went on their first HAL cruise when they were Middle School to College aged.    Having said that, my grandparents would probably not recognize the HAL brand today.  Back then, they wore fur stoles and tux to dinner each night.  My parents would also be surprised at the HAL changes.  

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, mac66 said:

It's been said that while X caters to the baby boomers, HAL caters to the greatest generation (i.e, their parents)

 

I don't think that's as true anymore, especially considering the addition of the Rolling Stones Room.  It was mostly baby boomers on our cruise.  Granted it was Alaska, 7 days, which will lean younger.  Quite a few Gen X from Vancouver and Asia.

 

They seem to be targeting destination travelers and music lovers, IMHO, which is why some younger people are receiving the product better than they would have 5 - 10 years ago.

[bEwAbG]

I found the demographics on Nieuw Amsterdam to be similar to X.  I sailed on it twice this past year: once to Alaska (in May) and then to the Eastern Caribbean in February.  We are early-mid 40s and didn't feel out of place at all.

 

Both were 7-day cruises.  Longer cruises on any line are going to attract an older clientele because they're the ones most likely to have the time to stay on a ship for a few weeks.

[cruiserchuck]

We usually sail with Celebrity, but recently took a HAL cruise on the Eurodam.  We thought the overall experience was very good.  We thought the food in the MDR was just as good as if not better than Celebrity.  If the price were the same or less, we would consider sailing with HAL again.

[Nymich]

We have jumped back and forth between the two and we will be on Reflection in April on our 5th cruise with Celebrity.  We have done 6 cruises now on HAL.   We think the food is better on HAL and the nightlife has been better on HAL as well.  HAL has this reputation of being dead but trust me it is changing.  The two largest HAL Pinnacle class ships have the Rolling Stone Rock Room in addition to BB Kings.  Overall we would  put HAL above Celebrity for how they have upgraded the music with the before mentioned venues and if forced to choose would prefer HAL over Celebrity.

We have always done Aqua or better on Celebrity because of Blu and the other perks otherwise we probably would not have done  4 cruises with them. 

[wytygr8]

3 hours ago, mac66 said:

It's been said that while X caters to the baby boomers, HAL caters to the greatest generation (i.e, their parents)

 

Catering to people who are over 90 seems like a questionable business plan.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

7 hours ago, floridacruisers said:

PRICING...That is a big bugaboo I have with Celebrity. It is all over the place. We are currently booked on the Reflection in Aqua Class at $1199.00 each for a 7 night cruise. I have to watch Celebrity's pricing constantly. My last check showed the same cabin for $2299.00!!!

 

I'm confused... Are you saying that YOUR cabin increased for YOU after you had already booked it? Or that the prices for new bookings increased? If the second, that is not at all uncommon among the industry as inventory dwindles. If the first...why do you continue to cruise them? (And if the first I might have to break my Lenten resolution to quit changing my trips all the time and cancel my planned Equinox cruise...)

[Iamthesea]

I am pretty sure that floridacruisers stateroom went up in price for new bookings. Her rate will remain the same as when she originally booked it.  We have had plenty of cruises go way up in price after we have booked.  We feel lucky to have booked when we did.    However, there have also been times when the price of our cruise category went down and we were able to move up to a higher category at little or no cost.  It's really the luck of the draw.  One really needs to check rates daily.

[trvlwrld]

Last summer we did Alaska on our first HAL cruise (Princess is usually our go to but we have been disappointed with all of the cut backs in quality on Princess so wanted to branch out)....after 14 days with HAL (food was not good—activities were very bland) we have decided to book 2 cruises on Celebrity (transpacific / Japan) in hopes of finding something better....fingers crossed!

[mac66]

23 hours ago, wytygr8 said:

 

Catering to people who are over 90 seems like a questionable business plan.

 

I guess it was said 10 years ago when they were only in their 80s.  😄

[suec12]

I am a frequent X cruiser but have done HAL twice. IMO HAL is a bit more elegant than X - HAL has fresh flowers, decor from their Dutch history, I think all have actual promenade desks that are covered and go all the way around the ship - I like those aspects of HAL but will probably still look for an X itinerary first - in the past, X has usually been a better value. 

[Hlitner]

19 hours ago, trvlwrld said:

Last summer we did Alaska on our first HAL cruise (Princess is usually our go to but we have been disappointed with all of the cut backs in quality on Princess so wanted to branch out)....after 14 days with HAL (food was not good—activities were very bland) we have decided to book 2 cruises on Celebrity (transpacific / Japan) in hopes of finding something better....fingers crossed!

Good luck with that :).  We have done quite a few Celebrity cruises (Elite Plus) but have been appalled at all the cut-backs (and price increases) under the tenure of their current CEO.  HAL has also caused us some grief with various cut-backs and nagging maintenance problems on nearly every ship we have cruised.  Out of some frustration (and disappointment) we have reduced our cruising on both of those lines and done more Princess (less issues then we have had on HAL) and tossed in some MSC(Yacht Club) along with Seabourn.  Other cruising friends have moved towards Oceania and Azamara.  Finding our "sweet spot" in the cruising industry is like chasing a rabbit as each line has been cutting-back and making changes at such a fast pace...that its hard to keep from stepping into a deep hole

 

Hank

[Stateroom_Sailor]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

HAL has also caused us some grief with various cut-backs and nagging maintenance problems on nearly every ship we have cruised. 

 

Dare I ask?  We went on HAL just after dry dock, so naturally didn't notice anything.  Their hotels in Whitehorse and Dawson were less than desirable.

 

After our 14 days on Carnival Pride, maintenance has become something we watch out for.  Yellow water, freezing/scorching showers, mold in the vents, poor bedding, veranda door handle falling off due to being stripped from so many re-screws, gangway down, stabilizers down, and engine room fire.  Between that and declining food, poorly behaved bored and irritabel passengers, a cold spreading everywhere, with many all too willing to share it, we had one hell of a time...