C4HCG Posted October 23, 2022 #1 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Am in England and just watched a programme on TV cruising in the Caribbean hosted by a lady called Susan Calman. On a Holland America ship, which didn’t look anywhere near as nice as the Equinox but the destinations were good, any views? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueMo Posted October 23, 2022 #2 Share Posted October 23, 2022 I just got off the HAL ship Nieuw Statendam. It is beautiful. Gorgeous artwork, great layout--every bit as nice as X's ships. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4HCG Posted October 23, 2022 Author #3 Share Posted October 23, 2022 1 minute ago, SueMo said: I just got off the HAL ship Nieuw Statendam. It is beautiful. Gorgeous artwork, great layout--every bit as nice as X's ships. How big is it? The one on this programme looked maybe 9 decks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted October 23, 2022 #4 Share Posted October 23, 2022 2 minutes ago, C4HCG said: How big is it? The one on this programme looked maybe 9 decks. The Statendam is 12 decks, 99,500 GTW. Cruised on her once in 2001. Our only Holland America cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Vickie Posted October 23, 2022 #5 Share Posted October 23, 2022 We sailed Eurodam to Alaska last month. Lovely ship, great crew, enjoyed the entertainment, food as good as Celebrity’s. The ship is bout the same size as X’s M class ships. We’d sail HAL again for the right itinerary. We’ve done both our Alaska cruises on HAL and were booked for a Mediterranean itinerary we haven’t seen on any other line, which got cancelled by Covid. It hasn’t shown back up yet, and we’re waiting for X and HAL to bring out their 2024 Med itineraries to compare. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipeeinthepools Posted October 23, 2022 #6 Share Posted October 23, 2022 9 minutes ago, davekathy said: The Statendam is 12 decks, 99,500 GTW. Cruised on her once in 2001. Our only Holland America cruise. There's a new Nieuw Statendam built in 2018. Passenger capacity about 2666 and about 975 ft. A little smaller that the S-class ships. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted October 23, 2022 #7 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Just now, Ipeeinthepools said: There's a new Nieuw Statendam built in 2018. Passenger capacity about 2666 and about 975 ft. A little smaller that the S-class ships. We'll pass. Personal preference only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mom says Posted October 23, 2022 #8 Share Posted October 23, 2022 (edited) JMO, but I don't think there's much of a quality difference between HAL and the Celebrity M or S class ships. But I've no idea what the OP considers "nice". Edited October 23, 2022 by mom says 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4HCG Posted October 23, 2022 Author #9 Share Posted October 23, 2022 12 minutes ago, mom says said: JMO, but I don't think there's much of a quality difference between HAL and the Celebrity M or S class ships. But I've no idea what the OP considers "nice". Just didn’t look as classy that’s all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted October 23, 2022 #10 Share Posted October 23, 2022 We have cruised on both quite a few times. Simply put IMHO if you like to go see a variety of production shows and guest entertainers in the main theater during the evening hours, Celebrity is the better choice. If you don’t care about main theater entertainment, you should give HAL a try. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4HCG Posted October 23, 2022 Author #11 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Just now, Ken the cruiser said: We have cruised on both quite a few times. Simply put IMHO if you like to go see a variety of production shows and guest entertainers in the main theater during the evening hours, Celebrity is the better choice. If you don’t care about main theater entertainment, you should give HAL a try. Thank you, good advice 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nashna Posted October 23, 2022 #12 Share Posted October 23, 2022 There was a huge difference between Holland America and Celebrity as far as I am concerned. We were so disappointed in Holland America. The dining room was crowded, noisy and disorganized. In spite of having dining reservations each night, we had to wait ten to fifteen minutes in line to be assigned to our table. The food was not up to par and the dining room staff was the worst we have experienced at sea. Our main entre was served before a wine steward came to our table. Dining poolside was almost impossible as groups of people played cards in the dining area at noontime. Our grilled hamburgers were cold before we found a spot to sit. We missed several shows as most cruisers got to the theatre 45 minutes before the show to get a seat. The only bright spot was amazing night club type shows for rock and jazz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipeeinthepools Posted October 23, 2022 #13 Share Posted October 23, 2022 If you want longer cruises to different ports, HAL seems like a logical choice to me. For people that enjoy real balconies, HAL seems much more attractive than any E-class ship. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMLAalum Posted October 23, 2022 #14 Share Posted October 23, 2022 1 hour ago, davekathy said: The Statendam is 12 decks, 99,500 GTW. Cruised on her once in 2001. Our only Holland America cruise. Our only HAL cruise too when she was brand new in 2018. We walked to her berth immediately from the EDGE. I felt like I was a time traveler back to the 1950s on the “new” Nieuw Statendam. One and done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted October 23, 2022 #15 Share Posted October 23, 2022 (edited) 23 minutes ago, TMLAalum said: Our only HAL cruise too when she was brand new in 2018. We walked to her berth immediately from the EDGE. I felt like I was a time traveler back to the 1950s on the “new” Nieuw Statendam. One and done! Apparently the "Nieue Statendam isn't what we cruised on April 2001. She was just called the Statendam at that time as was less than 56,000 GTW. We haven't considered another HAL cruise. Edited October 23, 2022 by davekathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkWiltonM Posted October 23, 2022 #16 Share Posted October 23, 2022 The buffets on the new HAL ships are great. That's Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, and Rotterdam. We sail on Celebrity and Oceania as well. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NMTraveller Posted October 23, 2022 #17 Share Posted October 23, 2022 I am thinking about retrying HAL again. It looks like their newer ships have more similiarities with S class plus HAL has better and longer itineraries. X keeps on shortening theirs. I am not a fan of E class. Regarding the shows, that is really not an issue for us. We just drive downtown if we want to see a world class show not constrained by the size of a ship or the budget of a ship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shep_Proudfoot Posted October 24, 2022 #18 Share Posted October 24, 2022 I’ve only sailed the Oosterdam and it’s an older ship, but I was fairly impressed with HAL. Considering the age of the ship it was immaculate and felt nowhere near as dated as a Royal Caribbean ship of similar vintage I had sailed a year earlier. Food not quite to Celebrity standards but the musical entertainment was superior on HAL. Celebrity feels more innovative, modern and unique in many ways vs HAL’s very traditional.I feel they’re very much peer lines for my tastes and would sail HAL again if the itinerary, timing and cost worked, but I still consider Celebrity my go-to and best all around of the mainstream lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retird Posted October 24, 2022 #19 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Now pose the same question on HAL board. Would be interesting to see if responses are similar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipeeinthepools Posted October 24, 2022 #20 Share Posted October 24, 2022 4 minutes ago, retird said: Now pose the same question on HAL board. Would be interesting to see if responses are similar I think that the people on the HAL board would likely sail HAL in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retird Posted October 24, 2022 #21 Share Posted October 24, 2022 6 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said: I think that the people on the HAL board would likely sail HAL in the future. Maybe, but many have tried other lines and may choose different lines based on Itinerary 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Junky Posted October 24, 2022 #22 Share Posted October 24, 2022 I’d sail on HAL’s newer ships. The older girls, not so much. IMO they have better itineraries than X 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrcruiser Posted October 24, 2022 #23 Share Posted October 24, 2022 We are Elite + with X & 3 Star Mariners with HAL . The New Pinnacle ships imo are equal to the S class or the M class . Food is subjective buy we found the food & service about equal . There are some things X is known for & some things HAL is known for .I would gladly sail either line based on itineraries . The main difference is we found X generally more expensive 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsdogs Posted October 24, 2022 #24 Share Posted October 24, 2022 If loyalty benefits interest you, HAL doesn't have very good ones. You don't even get priority boarding until you have 200 cruise days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipeeinthepools Posted October 24, 2022 #25 Share Posted October 24, 2022 31 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said: ... The main difference is we found X generally more expensive Now there's a reason to sail X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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