HAL cruiser considering Celebrity

[CruiseRQA]

We are experienced cruisers mostly on HAL for the past 10 years.   Typically we take on Caribbean cruise in the winter for a warm weather get away.   We have been on Celebrity in the past - Horizon,  Summit, Equinox, but not in the past 10 years or so.   As our last HAL cruise (Oosterdam) was a bit of a disappointment we are considering something different this year and so are wondering what our Celebrity experience might be like in 2020 as compared to the Summit or Equinox of 2010.

 

Rumor has it that Celebrity is instituting various classes on their ships and wonder how that would impact the common man in a veranda cabin without much loyalty status. 

 

Any comments on the current food and dining experience as well as entertainment would also be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance. 

[ProfCruise]

I sailed on my first Celebrity cruise (I've cruised Princess, HAL, Carnival, RCCL, and NCL previously) recently (a 14 day b2b) and jotted down some of my initial impressions here, if you might find that helpful.  https://profcruise.com/prof-cruises-first-impressions-of-celebrity/

 

You can also find all the menus I compiled from restaurants and bars here: https://profcruise.com/celebrity-menus/

 

I loved Celebrity and will definitely be booking another sailing soon!  Hope you love it!

 

[Turtles06]

29 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Rumor has it that Celebrity is instituting various classes on their ships and wonder how that would impact the common man in a veranda cabin without much loyalty status. 

 

Celebrity is "revolutionizing" its M- and S-class ships, and, as part of that "revolution," is turning the only forward-facing exterior deck on the M-class ships into a Retreat Sundeck that is off limits to everyone except suite guests.  There's also a Retreat Sundeck being created on the topmost forward-facing deck on the S-class ships, but I believe there should still be some exterior forward-facing space on a lower deck where one could stand.

 

We recently returned from a two-week cruise on the Summit, which underwent the "revolution" earlier this year.  She does look beautiful, and the buffet has been modernized from the old high-school cafeteria line to separate stations, which was a huge improvement.  Previously, we had preferred the S-class ships (the Silhouette being our favorite), but I think that the revolutionized M-class is now a worthy rival.  I have to say, though, that I cruise to be connected to the water, and having no place on the ship where I could be on an exterior, forward-facing deck (especially during sail-ins and sailaways, but also on sea days) was very off-putting to me.  (I have no problem with suite guests having their own dining room and lounge, there are other places for everyone else to eat and hang out, but I feel differently when a unique public space is now off limits.  I realize others may not care.) 

 

We took our first HAL cruise a year ago, on the Zuiderdam, and I really appreciated that the Captain opened the bow to everyone during every sail-in and sailaway.  

 

I think you will find the food quality on HAL and Celebrity to be similar (Celebrity has a more varied buffet at dinner, with longer hours), and the entertainment on Celebrity to be more interesting and less limited in variety than we found it to be on the Zuiderdam. 

 

I would give Celebrity a try.  You will find the Summit very different (and mostly far better) than it was in 2010.  (We sailed on her sister ship, the Infinity, in 2013, and she was really in need of an upgrade even back then.)

 

I have a full review, with photos, of our recent Summit cruise, here:

 

 

PS: the photo in the link above is not mine, it was inserted by a glitch on Cruise Critic that often does this when someone links to a thread.  (I have plenty of food pictures of my own in that thread. 😄)

 

Edited October 29, 2019 by Turtles06

[Travrat]

I sailed the Koningsdam last 2 years in a row. It was not perfect on HAL but as far as I can tell Celebrity will nickel and dime you in ways HAL never would! I have not sailed Celebrity in 4 years so booked a Christmas cruise on Equinox only to find out after booking that they raised their specialty dining surcharge by more than 50% for the entire week and removed all discount dining packages! $70pp for a specialty restaurant- really?? HAL has many free food venues like Dutch cafe and NY Deli and pizza. Celebrity has no extra free food venues- they charge for pub food- $12 for sliders! Their drink prices are very high compared to other cruise lines as well- $15 martinis+ 20% gratuity. Not sure about entertainment on Celebrity but loved all the music venues on Koningsdam. BB Kings, Lincoln Center classical concerts, dueling pianos and Rock Room. Hope the Equinox cruise will be great but Celebrity has definitely made me second guess cruising with them after all the hidden extras on my sailing

[chemmo]

Travrat’s experience I think is holiday cruise specific.

 

We have booked discount four night dining packages without any issue on previous cruises. You can also wait until you are on board and negotiate a deal for the speciality restaurants if you are flexible with day/time. 

 

We do tend to book suites but still enjoy the ship wide experience. We love the Solarium area and find the buffet quality very good. Make sure you look at the ‘Today’ to find out where and when live music is taking place. 

 

We do enjoy having a drinks package. Useful for coffee, sodas and water as well as alcoholic drinks....nice not to think about what you are spending!

 

We have not cruised HAL so can offer no comparison...

 

[ghstudio]

We are just off our first HAL cruise on the Veendam....we are also frequent Celebrity cruisers...our last on the Constellation from Venice to Barcelona earlier this year.  The Veendam is only 1350 Passengers...vs about 2200 on the Constellation.  While it likely varies by cruise length, etc....I think you'll find more younger folks on Celebrity....we almost felt young on the Veendam and we're in our 70's.  Celebrity offers more activities during the day, although many are either shopping events or other activities that cost extra $'s.  Overall, Celebrity will cost far more on board than HAL..for example the laundry special (until you have status) on Celebrity is something like $50 for a bag...HAL is $20....drink prices on Celebrity are many $'s more than on HAL and there are no happy hours on Celebrity....sometimes there is a drink of the day for $5 or so, but it's that one drink.  Food is subjective....With the exception of a terrible steak in the Pinnacle Grill, I found the food on HAL actually better than Celebrity and the seasoning much better. Specialty restaurants are more expensive on Celebrity...but, with the exception of that steak, the quality is about the same. Both have very good buffets.  Nightlife is certainly better attended on Celebrity. but that's the age thing again.  Hard to compare entertainment...shows on the Veendam were to canned music (size of ship, I guess)...Celebrity has a live band.  both have some entertainment in the bars at times.  

 

I think Celebrity, HAL and Princess are essentially equal...each has their pluses and minuses.  We would cruise on any of them if the itinerary/schedule worked for us....in fact our next three cruises are on Princess, HAL, and Celebrity.  Princess with friends who want to visit their grandson during the cruise; HAL with an interesting itinerary; and Celebrity with friends who don't like to fly because of it's new, almost in our back yard, home port in Tampa although it was a toss up with HAL....the tie breaker was the perks we get on Celebrity.

Edited October 30, 2019 by ghstudio

[Cruise a holic]

I think you will be very happy.  Celebrity ships are beautiful and the cabins, especially after the revolution are great.  We really enjoy the food, service and entertainment.  We also take the drink package and find that it works great for us, as well also enjoy specialty coffee at café al baccio and soft drinks and bottled water- in addition to wine and a few alcoholic drinks daily.  Laundry services also have "specials" during the cruise and you pay one flat rate- not $50. 

 

I do not like Princess- a Celebrity want to be in my opinion- I think you will really enjoy Celebrity- especially the s class ships.

[Fouremco]

8 hours ago, Travrat said:

HAL has many free food venues like Dutch cafe and NY Deli and pizza. Celebrity has no extra free food venues

Simply not true. For example, Café al Bacio, the Mast Grill and the Spa Café all offer free food.

[Fouremco]

@CruiseRQA, DW and I more or less alternate between HAL and Celebrity and would be hard pressed to pick one over the other as our preferred cruise line. Our choice of cruises generally comes down to itinerary, dates and price. On HAL, we've sailed on a variety of classes, from S-Class (Maasdam) to Pinnacle Class (both K'dam and Nieuw Statendam). While our two cruises this year were with HAL, our next two are with Celebrity.

 

While I don't think that you can go wrong by choosing Celebrity for next year, I wouldn't let one disappointing cruise with HAL alone make you, ahem, jump ship. Coincidently, our most disappointing HAL experience was also on the Oosterdam, in the fall of 2014, but that didn't stop us from enjoying two HAL cruises in 2015. 

[George C]

It’s been a few years since we cruised hal, we have done a few celebrity cruises recently, we live celebrity suite perks with suite lounge and dinning room. We also prefer celebrity buffet over Hal. Hal is better at entertainment.

[Travrat]

33 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Simply not true. For example, Café al Bacio, the Mast Grill and the Spa Café all offer free food.

Yes, but HAL has a better poolside grill offering more options and freshly cooked burgers and free sandwiches and desserts at their coffee venue. They simply have more "for free" options than Celebrity!

[hrhdhd]

22 minutes ago, Travrat said:

Yes, but HAL has a better poolside grill offering more options and freshly cooked burgers and free sandwiches and desserts at their coffee venue. They simply have more "for free" options than Celebrity!

 

Yeah, and those are all that's available in the afternoons between lunch and dinner setups in the buffet, and the dinner buffet closes at an absurdly early time.

 

I'd rather have the lengthier buffet times on Celebrity than a sandwich because there isn't another option on HAL.

[Cruise a holic]

Also didn't mention other positives about Celebrity.  No smoking Casino and  limited daily announcement policy.  I suggest the poster identify the ship he/she is interested in sailing on and read the reviews.

[Maya_C]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

Laundry services also have "specials" during the cruise and you pay one flat rate- not $50. 

 

I do not like Princess- a Celebrity want to be in my opinion- I think you will really enjoy Celebrity- especially the s class ships.

On a 12-day cruise in the Caribbean (January 2019) on Summit, the so-called special flat-rate for a single bag of laundry was $50. I hesitate to think what the non-special rate was. 

[ghstudio]

yes, the HAL dinner buffet closes very early (8:30 or so) and ice cream is only available at certain times during the day.  OTOH, the pool food includes a variety of hamburgers/hot dogs plus an excellent taco bar.  HAL's ice cream is "better" per my DW....bagels are much better on HAL (they aren't rolls with a hole stuck in them); breadsticks are much better (and addictive) on Celebrity.  There's a wider choice of desserts/pastries on Celebrity, but those on HAL are flakier and in many cases just better than Celebrity's current pastries....but no cafe B'cchio on HAL and those free cookies/pastries at almost all times of the day are very nice.  No gellato on HAL, but Celebrity has very good gellato, however at a steep price.  HAL had minimal announcements, however when there were important announcements concerning itinerary changes or expected rougher seas, they announced in the staterooms.....Celebrity never does that...if you aren't in a public area, you may miss those announcements.  Both will give you printed paper advertisements in your door each day for spa treatments, art auctions, etc....no winner there.  

Edited October 30, 2019 by ghstudio

[Mynki]

12 hours ago, Travrat said:

I sailed the Koningsdam last 2 years in a row. It was not perfect on HAL but as far as I can tell Celebrity will nickel and dime you in ways HAL never would! I have not sailed Celebrity in 4 years so booked a Christmas cruise on Equinox only to find out after booking that they raised their specialty dining surcharge by more than 50% for the entire week and removed all discount dining packages! $70pp for a specialty restaurant- really?? HAL has many free food venues like Dutch cafe and NY Deli and pizza. Celebrity has no extra free food venues- they charge for pub food- $12 for sliders! Their drink prices are very high compared to other cruise lines as well- $15 martinis+ 20% gratuity. Not sure about entertainment on Celebrity but loved all the music venues on Koningsdam. BB Kings, Lincoln Center classical concerts, dueling pianos and Rock Room. Hope the Equinox cruise will be great but Celebrity has definitely made me second guess cruising with them after all the hidden extras on my sailing

 

Travrat, you might misunderstand this post but I'm going to try and do you a favour...

A couple of years ago we had a member who's real name escapes me, so we'll call him 'Anonymous'. 😉

He had a bad experience on a Celebrity cruise and then he found out that if he had booked in the US instead of the UK he could have taken advantage of a price drop on his sailing. This irked him a lot and he's probably still feeling the butt hurt to this day. 

Long story short, 'Anonymous' hijacked multiple threads on the Celebrity sub forum and other cruise line sub forums in an attempt to attack and discredit Celebrity. He became boring very quickly and he failed to realise that people would not be influenced by his rants. His posts went on for months. Don't be that guy. 

 

The second you set foot on your ship is the second you have the potential to have the best vacation of your entire life. If you approach it with the right attitude and the right frame of mind. If.... you're still posting with a negative attitude after your cruise the chances are that's it's down to you and not the cruise line. Forget about all of the frustrations you've encountered so far. Concentrate on your ports of call and what you're going to do. Join your roll call and take an active roll and make some new friends etc. Your trip could be absolutely awesome. MAKE IT SO AND ENJOY YOURSELF! 

[Miaminice]

4 hours ago, Travrat said:

Yes, but HAL has a better poolside grill offering more options and freshly cooked burgers and free sandwiches and desserts at their coffee venue. They simply have more "for free" options than Celebrity!

sorry, that is just not true... We cruised with both lines and food variety and free restaurants are definitely points that go to Celebrity.

[Travrat]

2 hours ago, Miaminice said:

sorry, that is just not true... We cruised with both lines and food variety and free restaurants are definitely points that go to Celebrity.

What free restaurants does Celebrity have other than what was mentioned above- Mast Grill, the Cafe and Aqua spa?

[Oville]

47 minutes ago, Travrat said:

What free restaurants does Celebrity have other than what was mentioned above- Mast Grill, the Cafe and Aqua spa?

Oceanview Cafe serves pasta, pizza and salad bar from 9:30pm to 1:00am and Cafe al Bacio sweets are free from 6:30am to midnight.

Edited October 30, 2019 by Oville

[Travrat]

16 minutes ago, Oville said:

Oceanview Cafe serves pasta, pizza and salad bar from 9:30pm to 1:00am and Cafe al Bacio sweets are free from 6:30am to midnight.

If you eat a 3-4 course dinner why do you need a buffet from 9:30 PM to 1:00 AM?Most people say the desserts on Celebrity look good better than they taste. Quality over quantity is more important to me. 

[Oville]

1 minute ago, Travrat said:

If you eat a 3-4 course dinner why do you need a buffet from 9:30 PM to 1:00 AM?Most people say the desserts on Celebrity look good better than they taste. Quality over quantity is more important to me. 

Most people?

[Travrat]

4 hours ago, ghstudio said:

yes, the HAL dinner buffet closes very early (8:30 or so) and ice cream is only available at certain times during the day.  OTOH, the pool food includes a variety of hamburgers/hot dogs plus an excellent taco bar.  HAL's ice cream is "better" per my DW....bagels are much better on HAL (they aren't rolls with a hole stuck in them); breadsticks are much better (and addictive) on Celebrity.  There's a wider choice of desserts/pastries on Celebrity, but those on HAL are flakier and in many cases just better than Celebrity's current pastries....but no cafe B'cchio on HAL and those free cookies/pastries at almost all times of the day are very nice.  No gellato on HAL, but Celebrity has very good gellato, however at a steep price.  HAL had minimal announcements, however when there were important announcements concerning itinerary changes or expected rougher seas, they announced in the staterooms.....Celebrity never does that...if you aren't in a public area, you may miss those announcements.  Both will give you printed paper advertisements in your door each day for spa treatments, art auctions, etc....no winner there.  

BTW, Koningsdam has gelato- it is not free but available

[Travrat]

1 minute ago, Oville said:

Most people?

A lot of people on these boards and truthfully, from my own experience I think the cakes and other desserts are not very good on Celebrity. Food is subjective 

[edgee]

Non smoking casinos on all Celebrity ships is a HUGE plus. HAL has designated five of their ships to have non smoking casinos, but smoke permeates to a large part of public areas on their other ships, including their two newest. That alone is a disqualifier for me.

[Travrat]

7 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

 

Yeah, and those are all that's available in the afternoons between lunch and dinner setups in the buffet, and the dinner buffet closes at an absurdly early time.

 

I'd rather have the lengthier buffet times on Celebrity than a sandwich because there isn't another option on HAL.

I don't eat at buffets during dinner but I would rather have a freshly grilled burger or hot dog at lunch than one that was previously cooked and lying in a grease filled pan. I would rather have a personal pizza made fresh to my specifications than  pizza pre- made. I like the freshly toasted bagels and lox which are served late into the morning at NY Deli- just saying